Kuh-nit Kuh-night

I don't know what was up with the fruit flies tonight. They decided to show up just before my first guest of knit-knite, so what was I supposed to do? Pretend I didn't see everyone waving the flies away? Whatever. I guess our food spread was too delicious to be limited to a human population.

I knew there was only one way to get anything finished, and that was knit-knite. I have a heap (a HEAP) of knitted, unfinished goods, but would rather cast on for something new than take a few minutes to weave in a few ends and be done with it. Tonight I wove in the ends for two scarves, Backyard Leaves and Pink Noodle, both from Scarf Style. That sounds like very little but in fact it might have never gotten done if I didn't have a few friends handy to pin me down and make me do it. Otherwise I might have tried to *gasp* fold my laundry or something equally unproductive and unpleasant.

I haven't hosted in a while, mostly because I remember my last hosting where most folks were fanning themselves furiously because my apartment gets very hot when it is least bit warm outside. (On the flipside, it gets terribly cold when it is the slightest bit cool out.) I didn't want to put anyone through that again and so guiltily sat out my hosting turn, many times over. A few years ago, when our group first formed, hosting became an all-consuming nightmare for me, because being social and playing hostess is not natural or enjoyable for me. I am my mother's daughter, and I would have images of HER parties in my head, and then I would wonder "Which is the coatroom? Did I remember to hire bartenders? Who RSVP'd? Where's the caterer?" I would totally forget that this was essentially an informal event and no one would punish me for a stray bit of dust on the shelves, or mismatched towels in the powder room. I must confess, today I spent more time enjoying my day off and goofing around with friends, and the whole "preparing for guests" thing was a mere blip on the day's radar. I know that sounds callous towards my guests, perhaps, but then isn't it better that I had a positive attitude towards hosting, and not the historically negative one? Seven o'clock is not the dreaded hour it once was. And thank god, the bread finished baking in time!

The first night I ever hosted, I think, was "Penis Night." I had bought a DVD of Puppetry of the Penis, and wanted to screen it for my friends. More people showed up than I thought could possibly fit in our tiny little living room, but we had a great time with our phallic snacks and pointy knitting needles. [BTW I would like that DVD back some day.] That seems like so long ago, because it WAS. Our group has been together for so long... I could say how many years, but we know how I am and how I measure time. I would say: "Our group has been together for FOUR BOYFRIENDS!" That's a LONG time!

What are the UFOs now? The Lack of Safety Culture (begun! yes!) and the Here+There Cables scarf. That is totally permission to cast on for something new ... TONIGHT! Let's see... one sweater, one scarf. That means either one lace project or one sock project. What will it be?