The Pancatron

This morning, I got out of bed at 6 am. The sun wasn't even up yet. That is very rare for me, but I had good reason: I had a date with the Pancatron. My grandfather is active in the local Kiwanis chapter, so I volunteer to flip pancakes most years at their annual fundraiser, Pancake Day. It's kind of like a revival without the religion. Most people in town attend, and people who have moved away come back to eat pancakes in a big, smoky tent with their neighbors. Most people dress for comfort and look like they've just woken up. The pancatron is an unusual device. It is the griddle upon which massive quantities of pancakes are cooked, as well as a system of conveyor belts that carry the plates of pancakes to the hungry masses. It's like something out of mid-century science fiction, perhaps because it was invented in the 1950s. I almost always flip pancakes. I actually had to wait until I was tall enough to reach the conveyor belt above the griddle (which is still questionable, so I wear my "tall" clogs). What I fail to remember every year is that in cooking the pancakes, I cook myself as well. It was hot as hell over that fire, and I turned about three shades of red. It was enough to elicit comments from strangers, but I was okay. I just needed a long, Lush-filled shower, and a cool drink.

I saw many of my former classmates, and have decided that most of the people who stayed in the suburbs now have children and are unattractive. That seems like a vast generalization, but I was surprised at how, well, suburban they looked. Not that I am a great fashion plate. I also had the pleasure of eating with two generations of female relatives and engaging in plenty of theatre gossip with a former mentor. I had a good time, but now I feel like taking a long, long nap.

Even though I work in a yarn store, I am still excited by the arrival of the fall yarn catalogs. Knitpicks and Webs arrived the same day. I am contemplating purchasing a couple of store patterns from Webs, though I'm not up for any project acquisition at the moment. I did break down and buy some yarn from Knitpicks to make Juliet, from Zephyrstyle. It looks just like a sweater that I admired at Urban Outfitters. I had an attack of knitter's guilt (ie, I can knit that myself) and liberal guilt (I know what causes UO's owner supports with his profits, and I don't want my money going to any of them), so I'll be knitting a knock off in Cadena. This was largely influenced by Knitpicks sending me a free color card for Cadena the last time I ordered needles from them. I also had a good laugh at the Lion Brand catalog. I don't know how I got on their mailing list, as I am unlikely to knit with any of their yarn any time soon. I'm also not in the market for a pompom tree.

In other knitting news, I want to wish Lisa and Willie a hearty congratulations for finally getting their Ravelry invites. Now do you understand what all of the fuss is about?