Return of the Dust Bowl

Yesterday, I put on a nice, cream-colored blouse for church. When I got home, the blouse was not cream-colored. It was brown. I had put on lipstick, though I normally only wear chapstick. My lips were not pink. They were brown. I had grit in my teeth. In my hair. Between my eyelashes. Going to church has never been so similar to rolling on the beach. In short, Dirt Town earned its name, and there were times driving home when I could not see the lines on the streets directly in front of my car. I've been in heavy fog, but this was worse. This was windy, brown fog. The car jumped from side to side as the wind changed direction. The sky was hazy brown, and when the air cleared, little dust devils pranced down the lanes and over the sidewalks.

The wind never did stop blowing, really. It's still windy now. But the dust settled down that night. I had been planning to do laundry Sunday afternoon, but short of sealing my cloths in a garbage bag to be transported, I would have been unable to keep them clean.

I am, however, very thankful that it wasn't raining yesterday. We do need the rain, but from what I hear, rain + dust storms = showers of mud. In Dirt Town, that is. Oh, Dirt Town. If you'd like to see a picture of Dirt Town with dust, this is a good place to go. Our recent storm wasn't as bad as the third picture with the cloud descending, but the haze was just like the second picture. (And the third picture is where I work!)

On a different note, I've been busy knitting, and I made Brunswick Stew yesterday afternoon (first stew recipe I've seen that calls for butter - but it doesn't taste buttery, just good). It doesn't look pretty, and the texture is a bit mushy, but the taste is to die for. I see myself making this easy-but-long-cooking stew regularly. As for the knitting, it's a green blanket. Right now, it's only about the size of a hankie, but it will grow. And since it's a simple pattern, I may take up blankets and afghans as a replacement to the boring scarf. I will still be finishing up JR Jr.'s red scarf, though. No worries there.

When I feel less lazy, I may post some pictures of the knitted things I'm working on. I might also post some sweet kitty pictures. I may take a page out of Warcrygirl's book and begin the saga of "As the Tumbleweed Blows," the soap opera based on events here in Dirt Town. Or I may start up that thing John's doing, where he lists the books he's reading and their pictures. Again, this is on the chance that I feel less lazy.

Well, I'm off to grade a draft about using tazers on unruly students (no, really, that's the subject) and then it's off to see the building, to watch LotR #1.