Last weekend... and this weekend!

So we played in Goshen last weekend for their monthly contra dance. It's not a long drive from Chicago (about two-and-a-half hours), so we spent the morning cleaning up at the house before heading out. Dreading the inevitably bad highway food, we put off eating dinner until we arrived in Goshen. After dropping our instruments off at the dance hall, we asked the sound man what he would recommend for a fast bite. He directed us to a few taquerias on the main strip.

"Mexican food in north-central Indiana," we thought as we pondered the population density of Mexican-Americans in Indiana. "Well, it probably won't suck terribly." After surveying our options on Main Street, We settled on this little neighborhood grocery and restaurant.



Holy mama was the food fabulous! We had tacos that were incredibly fresh, perfectly seasoned, and they didn't skimp on the meat.



The total for dinner for the two of us was $5.30. It was an incredibly good food find. It turns out there actually is a very large and growing Mexican-American population here, in part because of the RV industry based in Elkhart. We highly recommend that anyone passing through Goshen have a taco or two at this magnificent little grocery store.

The dance itself was also really fun. It's a youngish dance that's only been going on for a few years, and we had a good time playing for everyone. Except Meg, who was fighting off a cold, had to sneak out to the car at the break to swig Robitussin so she could play guitar without dying.



I, however, was my normal dapper self.



The next day being Sunday (not to mention Easter), this lovely-looking local yarn store was closed. That didn't stop us from peeking into the window, however. They appear to have a wide assortment of solid-colored sock yarn, a major plus for any yarn store.



So that was last weekend. We've reached two milestones as knitters this weekend. Meg came home from the big quilt show in town (she'll have to tell you more about that) with another basket for stash. To say that our stash fits in two baskets is a little inaccurate. The stash has two baskets, but the stash (while we were not looking) established some satellite offices throughout the house. Now, the stash has a third basket.

The second milestone is this: the Inherited Cat. He's a very sweet boy cat, about a year old, with a lot of, um, passengers and baggage. We've been giving him ear drops for some of the passengers, and he's going to the vet on Monday to be relieved of some of his, um, baggage. Two bags, to be exact. Smallish ones. He'll be coming home with us on Sunday night to begin the socialization process with our two other four-legged family members. Maybe we'll put up some cat pictures then (because it's not a knitting blog without a cat photo every so often.) I was going to post a picture of some of the passengers, too, but Meg thinks they are gross, so I'll leave it to your imagination instead. We are searching for quirky boy cat names, however, so leave us suggestions!

Tonight, we're off to our second night of dancing to the beautiful sounds of Wild Asparagus. Last night was so much fun. It was like coming home to all of your best friends and family, an absolutely fantastic feeling. We don't have pictures of last night, though I'll try to remember to take a few tonight. There also may be an after party at our friend Ed's house, where there is sure to be great music!

Comments

Emma said…
SOunds like a good time! Too bad the yarn shop is closed--solid sock yarn is always a good thing. Personally, I am always seduced by the variegated yarn, and then I complain about not having any good patterns to use with them!
lola coca-cola said…
Quirky boy cat names:
Nigel (Nina has a doll named Nigel right now, though he seems to have some borderline personality issues, he insists on being called Dante or Jonas sometimes)
Frank (it's a great name for a cat, no?)
Phinneas
See, I don't need these quirky cat names because I don't have a cat and am not planning on getting one (I think dog #2 would eat it). So you're welcome to them.
LaurieM said…
Why are there stuffed animals on the speakers?
Has anyone else noticed that the Fool is wooly like a sheep?
Did you leave nose prints on the glass of the yarn store window?

Some ideas for a cat name:
Twig - I don't know why, it just popped into my head.
Contra - cause of the music
Boo - cause it's cute and short. I like short names for an animal.

Hmm 'kay. Bye now.
Laurie, those are our two mascots for the Cosmic Otters.
Patience said…
Is Rory O'Moore too obvious as a cat name? I've always been fond of Hull's Victory as a dance and a tune, but that's hardly a name.

Wild Asparagus has been astounding popular at the dances in the now-inactive Cambridge VFW. How crowded do they get out there in Illinois?

NEFFA is next weekend. Himself and I need to go dancing again.
Anonymous said…
Being of the musical bent, we often name our animals after favorite musicians. Our last orange tabby was named (Paul) Butterfield. Topping out at 26 pounds he also answered to "Meatloaf".

Meg in North AL
Thorny said…
Less than $6 for the both of you to eat fabulous tacos? That /is/ a great food find!

For Sir Inherited Cat, I suggest either Eustace, or his acronym: SIC. :)
Abby said…
Hey, Meg and Fool,
I have never met you in person but know you through your blog. You have mentioned living in Chicago enough that when I was in Chicago yesterday and today I wondered if I might run into you. I didn't, but I did find a great yarn shop downtown. I found fantastic alpaca fingering weight for VERY cheap ($6.20 per skein, 2 skeins for a pair of socks)- in solid colors. Although it is decadent, I'm making alpaca socks for myself. (It was Loopy Yarns, by the way, at 719 S State St. I recommend it.)
By the way, I hope Meg is feeling better.
Also, my family is from Indiana, about 30 minutes South of Goshen- Not too far outside of Goshen is a Mexican place that serves mostly Amish customers. I forget which road it's on, but it's a kick to see all the Amish families in for a taco or two.
---jen said…
I want to name our next boy cat Jasper or Seamus, but we're not getting another cat for a long, long time yet (Knock on wood... We picked up 60% of our cats *while moving*), so you're welcome to either if you want. We've used two-syllable people-names for all of ours (Cecil, Abby, Rupert, Malcolm, Layla) with middle names when we could do something cute with it, so sticking with a theme is easier for us. Now, if you're looking for "quirky" names as in the full name that Spoot is short for, which I can't remember, I can't help you there. :)
Mauren Mureaux said…
I've always been fond of the name "Atticus" for a boy animal. I've yet to use it.

Feel better Meg!
Anonymous said…
You could name Mr. Inherited Cat "Asparagus," and call him "Gus" for short. Or "Ass" if he's being a royal pain. ;)

You'd get double points for being a literary reference (T.S. Elliot) AND for naming them after a fellow Contra band!

Win-win! :D
TurnipToes said…
I love good mexican food. And I have eaten enchiladas for like almost a week straight now, haha!

Sounds like good times.

For a quirky boy name I throw the name "Bonzai" into the hat. I named my flying squirrel that with the image of him jumping across the room screaming "Bonzai!!!!!" But of course maybe you don't want your cat to do that. :P

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