The smell of the rubber

G'day all!

Well we learned something this year.

Go away for Easter unless you *like* the smell of burning rubber.

Yep, it was Easternats at the racecourse near us. We are used to the big V8s of the supercars roaring around - the local (and I do mean local -it is only a km away) race track is home to the Holden (GM) V8 supercars, so they test them on Sunday mornings during racing season.

Easternats means that every man and his dog (plus quite a few chics) with a halfway decent tricked up car descends upon Sandown Park. If you are a hoon, you go there. And you burn LOTS of rubber. The wind was from the north today and egads, was it awful! The morning involved lots of big V8s roaring and revving and apparently doing burnouts all the way around the track. Then at about 3 this arvo they started on the burnout championships. I kid you not, it was like we were in a fog, only it stunk of burning rubber. And of course today was the first halfway decent day to get the washing dry.

So next year we go away for Easter.

But one thing that was great? The coppers and the EPA were set up on one of the local arterial roads. They were pulling over ricers and anything that looked a bit hotted up. I saw one ricer pulled over on my way out to do some shopping with a very resigned looking driver leaning on his car (strangely enough the ricer was not an Asian p-plater). On the way back, a V8 Holden (I call them Commodes because despite being a toyota driver, I am a Ford girl through and through) was pulled over and being given the full throttle (in neutral) treatment whilst they evaluated the exhaust. It snapped and crackled and roared just as I went past. It scared the hell out of me cos I am pretty sure it only had a drainpipe for an exhaust, not a legal muffler. If the driver is dumb enough to be out and about in his show car rather than something that is street legal, he deserves what he gets (the drivers are mostly, not always, blokes who drive the big V8s).

So in the best of Australian terms, SUFFER IN YER JOCKS, MATE! Take that as a bit of payback for making our lives stinky this lovely long weekend!

Apart from that, the weekend was fabulous. We did lots and saw things and made stuff and spent waaay too much (but Nathan has an extra bit of income soon, which will help).

I was going to show some of the dyeing I've been doing. Now considering all bar a handful of mylovely readers are away, or at least not reading blogs, I will not put it up online quite yet, cos I want everyone to have a chance at open slather on it. I do intend to sell the stuff I've dyed, and I want to dye more. Here's a sneak preview of one and the other of the lots that are dry.

I did not knit a stitch today. I wound LOTS and LOTS of wool though. Hours of winding and skeining. I think I'll be dreaming of winding and skeining.

Finally, I leave you with this lovely caterpillar.

We were in Bunnings today and saw some plants that we've wanted for a while and they were a very special price, so to speak. As I examined them, I discovered that they have a whole heap of these lovely grubs on them. This one is pretty close to 2 inches long (you can see my forefinger top phalange in the background). I hope it won't eat too much more of the plant and will soon pupate - I want to know what sort of moth or butterfly will hatch out.

anon!

Comments

  1. Bad luck having the carzy burning-rubber peeps nearby, that is a really acrid smell. Hope it clears up pronto.

    The dyed yarn is oh-so-pretty. The rainbow one is my favourite of the two.

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  2. Hmm, that's CRAZY, not carzy. Mind you carzy is somehow more appropriate!

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  3. Anonymous1:56 pm

    Ewwwww. That would drive me really nuts - and probably give me a nasty headache to boot!

    I love the caterpillar :)

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  4. I spent Easter Internet-less and knitting socks down in Moe, well near Moe, where all we could smell was the occasional bonfire. Very lovely! The kiddies ate too much chocolate (I only ate a tiny bit!), I finished of a UFO (turning it into something other than that which it was meant to be, but much more useful) and knitted socks with my own hand dyed stuff. BLiss!! Love your caterpillar. I have been perusing a book of Annemieke Mein's stuff recently and she has such lovely caterpillars and whatnots.

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  5. Anonymous4:47 pm

    A caterpillar is Peri's friend or potential snack!!! Lovely dyeing, especially the rainbow one. We ahve a speedway race thingy down near Epping Forest but it is far away!!!

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  6. Yowza, that whole burning rubber crap would've sent me off to the woods!

    Whoa, you have a lovely, dark, luscious purple there...

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  7. ooooooooo I love the dyed wool. Love the rainbow but heck I would kill for the purples. sooooo luscious

    Shazzy AKA knitwytch

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  8. Show us the yarn! Show us the yarn!

    BTW, I posted a pic on my blog for you to enjoy.

    My sympathies on the rubber fumes. My neighbour has an open fire, and on Sunday the only bit of breeze there was blew it into our back yarn. Felt like we were living in a smokehouse, and I've had a sore throat ever since.

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  9. I can understand your dilemma with the smok'em boys

    we have a young fella who lives three houses up and he roars past here and I can only hope no kids are out there/or that there are no night shift workers trying to sleep

    his TWO in the morning parties are bad enough(imagine a group of teens to twenty somethings playing chase me charley up and down the street at three!) I know we were young once( I mean very young as 40 is young to me as I am IT), but I need my sleep as I work from 5 in the morning,crikies, I hope his kids make his life hell one day!

    Ps check my blog later this week for my latest dye efforts in socks! yummy......

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  10. I luuuuuuuuv going to the drags.

    Bring it on!!!!!!!!

    It's far safer for the young rev heads to go to the drags and race legally than to do it on the streets and lose their licence (or even their life).

    I also luuuuuuuuuv the purple dyed yarn. Oh so scrummy.

    Cathy

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