Pickling....that's what my grandma used to do in the summer...pickled green beans, pickled cucumbers...green tomato chow chow....

I wish I'd paid a little more attention to all this when she was around because now I have decided to try pickling.

We've got gardens....

corn...check
green beans...check
tomatoes...check check
cucumbers...check
pumpkin....I'm still not entirely convinced the plants that came up are pumpkin...

I got some jars from the chow chow my mother in law gave us in the fall...
I got vinegar, and dill...

So I found a recipe and watched a video or two and decided to give it a go. After some frantic vinegar cooking to make a big enough batch, putting jars in water baths and all that, I had 3 jars of pickled beans and onions. I closed the jars like they said- not too tight while they were hot, and sure enough 15 or so minutes later, the jars made popping sounds and sealed themselves- very cool! I can only hope I got the pickling mixture right and they will taste alright now. I guess I'll know in a couple of weeks!

We've been having fun with video stills...I've been going though videos we take of our practicing (always a necessity to try to ge the bugs out) and saving still photos from them because we don't have hardly any decent looking pics of us dancing...

This prompted a round of getting "nice" dance pics made (photos coming soon) but I think I did alright on my own with the stills...the professional photography has some great shots (silhouettes and frozen boleos), but we're just not that fancy. I'm glad we went through the experience though...more on that later...

Here's some recent photos...

It's the end of the year and I decided to take stock of all my tango shoes and give them a good cleaning to start the new year out right. And since the tango shoe blog I had been blogging on for the last year or so (Tango Shoe Divas) seems to be a little defunct (you can still get to it, but you have to know how...) I thought I'd go ahead and keep carrying the torch over here for awhile.

Pretty shoes, while not a necessity for dancing tango, really do become a little bit of an addiction after awhile. And I had a lot of shoe disasters this past year so it's time to reflect on pretty shoes, comfort shoes and what I really think I need for the next year. So I'll go through my shoes by makers and comment on them, what I think of them...and more importantly, how they make my messed up feet feel after an hour of dancing.

Why is this such an obsession? Well, I have a lot of foot problems and so while I want my feet to look pretty, I don't care to be crippled after 5 years of dancing from wearing bad or tight shoes so finding the right shoe is a must...and takes trial and error...in my case...lots of error!

Here's the shoe train: I have 2 pairs of Comme Il Fauts, 2 Neotangos that I am happy with, 2 pairs of Jorge Nel's Forever dance shoes, 2 pairs of Diva-Boutique shoes and my practice shoes....that's 8 pairs of tango shoes, plus the practice pair...heavy on the black, not too bad for a low buget diva. The only thing I really need is a nice pair of dressy neutral shoes....




Now I'll go through them by maker...

The ever fashionable COmme Il Faut:



I'm really not all that fond of CIF...the are so pretty...and have so little padding in the front my feet hurt in as little as 30 mintues when I wear them. I have probably worn these 2 pairs less than 10 times each since I got them. They do cut the shoes well, and they are rock solid stable in the heel placement. But why can't they just update to modern times with the padding and offer a heel that is under 3 1/4" up the back? It's NOT necessary to have teetering heels to look good while dancing....

Neotango:



I like Neotango. They have good flexibility in the soles, which helps me be able to wear them a lot longer while dancing (though not the whole evening most days). These are the pretty sparkly lame' and suede model. The sparkly heel is the main attraction here. And it comes in a more comfortable 6.5cm heel...much more up my alley. The bad news is, they seem to have variable QC when it comes to fit. These are both the same model shoe, but the red ones ran quite wide. That ended up being ok, because I added a padded insole and they feel great...but if you aren't expecting that, well....that's a problem at $170 per pair. And don't even ask about that purple pair my friend exchanged for me in BSAs back in November....


Jorge Nel (Forever Dance shoes)



I like these shoes. They are fun. They were less than half the price of Comme Il Faut at a tango workshop. He was set up at the big tango weekend here and I went a little nuts going back and forth to get the right shoe. They fit alright. I'm not as fond of the heel placements he uses, but the pink ones were my favorite. They shouldn't have fit, but they are cut wide and they did. Bad thing is that the sizing on his shoes is very variable (size 6's labeled as 5, size 6's that fit like 7's and 7's that fit like 6's) so I wouldn't buy over the Internet, only at a show where I could try things on. Worth it for some fun shoes if you can find him at a workshop.

Diva Boutique:



Kathleen designs some nice shoes. The materials are good quality. She does some lower heels and some higher heels. They are comfortable, and decently priced. The only thing I think could be improved on is the padding on the insoles. It could be updated to something newer and more "squishy", and maybe some lower heels that aren't quite so granny looking...


Bloch:



I love my Bloch Splitflex. They are really comfortable. I can wear these little guys for hours. They have a 2 1/2" heel which is high enough but not too high...and very stable shank under the foot with a very flexible sole. (This was my main complaint against "character" shoes in the past, but Bloch solved it.)



And Tara tango:



Though I don't own these, I tried the new Tara Alegria shoes on recently. They are really pretty, very comfortable and had very soft leather with interchangebale cross strap or scarf tie. Her padding in these rocks...it's all the way from heel to toe and nice and "squishy". The bad news is these heels were too high for me (at 3.5") so they could not be my valentine...though she does have lots of low heel styles. I'm usually not all that fond of her styles (too conservative) but these were really nice.

Well- A friend of mine ended up being able to exchange the pretty black and red pair of shoes for me when she went to Buenos Aires....and got me a replacement pair of a style I have worn before...

They are so pretty!!!! They are too tight!!!!

How can the shoe manufacturer's there possibly do any worse on quality control! They are a size 6, but on the regular to narrow side rather than the WIDE side that I need...

So here is a beautiful piece of eye candy...because that's all I can do is put it on the shelf and look at it....my chubby toes just don't like it!

Perhaps I can take them to Houston for Homer and Christina's workshop an dmaybe someone will fit them....

Are you or someone you know addicted to Argentine Tango?

Need a good pair of shoes?

I got these beautiful Neotango shoes from a friend who just got back from Argetnina and got them for me. They are too big...I am a US 6-6.5 and these are a 7.

Black suede with red leather details. leather soles, 6.5 cm heel (2.5" up the front edge and 3" up the back side)- very comfortable. 9.5" length on the insole and 3" width.

I tried them on once and my mom (who wears somewhere between a 7-7.5 tried one on too and found them a little tight for her) so they are brand new, never been danced in.

US retail on these is $170+. I've got them posted for $130 so it's a good discount for a really good quality pair of shoes...

Popular bumper stickers in the town I live in...

"EVOLUTION IS A LIE"

"W"

"Bush 2004"

"Bush 2000"

Well- that ought to give you some idea of what my town is like...always a joy trying to negotiate the minefield of social conservatives here....

Some pictures from a recent milonga we held at a coffee shop...a milonga is both a type of music style danced in the Argentine tango family and also a tango dance party.... :)

Recently, I had a customer who wanted hollow beads. I hadn't done hollow beads in over a year and figured I would regret it but said yes anyway because she has been a regular for awhile and I get sentimental about that and try to please.

Unfortunately- when you don't do something for over a year that you used to do really well, it's very frustrating getting it going again. I felt like I was reinventing the wheel.

But- after a few bad starts- my persistance paid off. The hollow beads I am doing now are some of the biggest and nicest ever. I think I've finally memorized the proper technique for them again!

This weeks hollow beads (and a few others):

Some days- it's like living on a farm around here!

These chickens turned up in our yard a couple of months ago. They've been wandering around in our yard and the neighbors daily...Turns out the neighbor 2 doors down bought them. They just wander up and down our part of the street doing chicken things.... The cats are totally entranced by this. They sit out in their cat pen and watch them every day they show up under the oak tree. I call it chicken TV! (and thank my lucky stars they are not roosters.)

Lampwork and more lampwork. A few people have suggested I post pictures of what I spend my days doing and so here it goes...lampwork lampwork and more lampwork (when I am not dancing tango).

I've been revisting some older ideas with some newer glass. Sculpted flowers made with veiled Gaffer cane, a special glass from New Zealand that has layers of color. When you work with it the beads get a watercolor effect because of the color layering...It also makes a great base for the little floral urn shaped beads. The Gaffer colors are always bright and juicy, which I love.

Go ahead and test your dialect....find out just how Dixie you are...I'm from the South and so it is no surprise at all that I am 68% Dixie in my dialect...y'all. ;-P

http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/yankee_dixie_quiz.html

ok- I got tagged by orangepaisley for this but I will start out saying I don't even KNOW seven people so tagging others will be almost non existant from me...

1. I have a very hard time saying no to anything chocolate.
2. I have a fetish for nice Tango shoes but regular footwear I could care less about.
3. I love to go out and dance but I am a reclusive introvert in most other areas.
4. It's been nearly a decade since anyone has seen my real hair color.
5. I have a purse that says "Tinkerbell".
6. I work with hot glass and a flame but have horrid fears of death by fire. (Probably means I was burned at the stake in a past life.)
7. Almost all my cats have names/nicknames that end in and "ee" sound.

I tag kaleetha, tangomusicology and oliana0 if they happen to read this since i don't really know how this works.

I've been a long time away...well- I still lurked really, I just couldn't remember my password for the life of me...but it's been a busy sort of non-busy 3 months....

I joined http://www.dance-forums.com where you can read all about most any kind of partner dance you like...even Argentine Tango. They get som pretty lively debates going, as one would expect for Argentine Tango.

I joined http://www.tangoshoedivas.com/shoedivas/ so I could be a shoe diva too...well...considering my dance shoe collection, I was probably already well on my way...I have no idea how I happened upon this site...In my quest for a very particular Tango shoe (see below)I was combing all the known North American distributors of Comme Il Faut for a particular purple pair of heels. I think I was looking for shoes by a lady who sells under the name "Diva Boutique" and stumbled across the shoe diva site. There are Tango shoe reviews aplenty, some from me and some from others plus many other stories and tales to satisfy your shoe curiosity.

I tried to start an alternative practica, had no money to fund it, and no one showed up, so closed it down.

Closed down another practica we started last year becasue it really had outlived it's usefulness.

Accpeted a request to run for VP of our local ballroom dance club (yes- now I am VP). Not sure how this will turn out as I told them at the beginning that I am not a good organizer...but I said I would try.

And danced and took workshops as often as possible.


The perfect Tango shoe:

For those who may be dance obsessed (you know who you are), I have recently joined an online dance forum. Plenty of pleasant people and fun topics, covering pretty much all the social dances, including Argentine Tango and West Coast Swing. YOu can lurk all you want.

http://www.dance-forums.com/index.php

I love this...funny thing is we had a conversation with an instructor this past weekend involving exactly this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-629zssP21Y

I was browsing through a Tango forum and found a cute essay on "Tango Physics" in one of the topics:


Tango Physics

The laws of physics apply to tango just as they do to other phenomena. Here
is a summary of current knowledge, obtained from leading text books and
recent research papers. Some of the more advanced theories must remain
speculative, pending further research.

Basics

Tango consists of the interaction of electrically charged particles
operating within a musical energy field.

"There exist just two types of elementary particle: the tanguera particle and
the complementary tanguero particle.

The tanguera particle (or simply tanguera) is electrically charged by the
addition of high heeled shoes and a glamorous dress. The quantity of charge
is directly proportional to the height of the heels and inversely to the
quantity of material in the dress.

In contrast to the tanguera, the tanguero particle is more easily and
economically charged. The very appearance of a suitably charged tanguera is
usually sufficient to charge the tanguero. Some tangueros find themselves
already charged on waking up in the morning, for no apparent reason. The
quantity of charge appears totally unrelated to the tanguero's shoes or
apparel. Indeed, it also seems to be based on the tanguera's shoe height
and dress material."....click link below for more.

http://www.dance-forums.com/showthread.php?t=16623

i'm doing a great job ignoring my taxes...I really hate doing them but I hate having anyone else do them. I just look over their figures anyway so I might as well do them myself...but man..what a drag..I'd rather be dancing. I'd even rather be doing mailouts!

On a bright note, we had a dance practice with some friends yesterday and I had one of the best times I have had in awhile. Orazzio is always so much fun. I swear I'm just going to plug in a camera and video tape him next time. He's always got so many fun little figures to explore there isn't any way I can remember them all! And his lighthearted presence is always good to have around.

This has certainly received some air time but there still may be people (Like me) who don't watch TV and have to get news like this elsewhere:

Pet food recall after illness and renal failure reported in some cats and dogs. This affected some very major brands, including two of the brands I feed my own crew.

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html

Similar info is available on the site for dogs.

My favorite pillow finally fell apart and I had to get rid of it. I tried several times to replace it but couldn't find a proper foam pillow that felt like it so I kept dragging it around with me until it couldn't be hauled about anymore...

So I went pillow shopping.

The first pillow was great for about 3 weeks. Then it went flat as a pancake and way too soft...Stephen loves it so I gave it to him.

the second pillow I basically took out of the package and squished it a couple of times and knew it would be too hard...back to the store...

I have higher hopes for the 3rd pillow. It is at least foam...not as full as my favorite one but it survived its first nap with me and the cat without me waking up with an aching neck.

After an astounding month on eBay in January (in which I made enough extra to pay my yearly sales tax without having to take it from my meager savings) I came home one morning to find the Black Kiki (Blackie) sitting there looking at me with a ripped up back. I had a peek at it and no way was it going to heal on its own...so off the the vet we went. My only commetn was..."well, here goes that extra money from last month..."

I was right to take him (the little booger) but WHY do they have to have something happen to them RIGHT when I'm about to get some more stuff paid off???!!

Ten stitches and an overnight at the vet (and a couple of hundred dollars) later...he's much better and I have been promised the fur they had to shave will grow back at some point.

The little turd better stay out from under houses and fences!