A Few of My Favorite Things

It Turns Out that I Was Mistaken

2012-02-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

Winter isn't here after all.

It's 43 out right now, which is right along the lines of seasonal, but it's supposed to be in the 50's all next week.

That was after this past week, in which it got up to the high 60s.

If this type of weather continues, I may go certifiably insane.

Snow!

2012-01-21T16:38:00.002-05:00

Finally.

I thought winter would never get here.

To Do List

2012-01-17T20:30:00.000-05:00

1. Organize the cardboard boxes in my house so I can bring them in for the program on Thursday.

2. Work on the second sleeve of the FMC (do cardigans really need two sleeves? Maybe I could get by with one...)

3. Double check my queue on Rav to make sure all my intended projects are in there.

4. Finish reading Okay for Now.

5. Do dishes.

6. There must be something else there, but I'm too tired to think of it all.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T16:51:00.002-05:00

And dear, dear, DEAR 2011?

DON'T let the door hit you on your way out.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T23:27:00.002-05:00

And to quote Dickens: May God bless us, every one.

A Call for Help

2011-12-15T18:27:00.002-05:00

Go to the ballgame,
And go to the ballet,
And go see your folks more than just on the holidays.
Kiss all your children,
Dance with your wife,
And tell your husband you love him every night.

Those words are from the song "Turn Up the Music" by the group Point of Grace. It's about living life to its fullest and treating each day like it's magical and special and taking every possible opportunity you have to let others around you know how important they are to you.

On August 24, a good man died who didn't have to. A man I respected and admired, who was kind and good and intelligent and wickedly funny walked into his backyard and shot himself. He left behind a wife and three children. He was 59 years old.

I've struggled mightily over the past four months with the question of Why -- and come to the realization that there is no answer -- at least not one that I have learned. I've also struggled with the What-if-I-had-been-there question, and also come to the unfortunate conclusion that it might not have made much of a difference.

December 16 would have been his birthday. And while I don't know if anyone could have done anything to have made a difference back in August, I do know that there are still people out there who are struggling with depression and suicidal tendencies EVERY DAY. And the good thing is, it's NOT too late for them. So in honor of Flanny's birthday -- and of all the wonderful things he accomplished in his lifetime -- I'm putting out a request for help.

Recently, my friend K participated in an Out of the Darkness Community Walk put on by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I think all the walks have taken place already, but the foundation is still accepting donations through the end of the year. The money raised will be going towards counseling and awareness, and to help remove the "hush hush let's not talk about this" stigma that often accompanies a suicide. Please take a moment to consider donating. It may be too late for Flanny. But it might just make a difference for someone else.

And even if you can't donate?
Kiss all your children.
And dance with your wife.
And tell your husband you love him.
EVERY NIGHT.

You Ever Wonder...

2011-12-07T14:32:00.002-05:00

The storytime room at work looks out onto a cemetery. And every day, during storytime, no matter what age, but it's more prevalent with the younger ones, at least one or two children rush over to look out the window.

At first, maybe, the idea is they're looking at some place where they can't be -- the forbidden outdoors.

Or maybe they're looking out there, because it's someplace different, and not where they are, and they feel like they need to explore it, if only with their eyes.

Or maybe, and this is what's been churning around in my mind the most lately, the kids are seeing something that adults don't. That maybe kids, like in that Kim Cattrall movie, possess some secret knowledge that they lose as they grow older. That there's some sort of romance to the hidden world of babies and toddlers that only they know, and part of that is being able to see and hear things that adults don't. And who's to say that part of that doesn't include being able to see ghosts?

Nah. It can't be that. I mean, there are no such things as ghosts...right?

Give Thanks

2011-11-24T23:21:00.001-05:00

Let's all take a moment today and spend it giving thanks for everything we have, and saying a prayer for the ones who have less.

The Mitts

2011-11-22T17:24:00.003-05:00

I am addicted to the mitts.

There may be no stopping with the mitts.

The mitts may be the new black.

Over the weekend, I whipped out a pair of simple ribbed mitts just to spice things up, but now I am back to the Short 'n Sweet ones.

This is probably not boding well for my mental state.

Rhinebeck

2011-10-31T12:48:00.011-04:00

I'm really rather behind on posting this, but I did want to put up my pics from Rhinebeck and show off my new sweater. So even though Rhinebeck was two weeks ago, here's what it's about.

I managed, by not doing virtually anything else the week before, to finish the sweater:

It was finished in the hotel room the night before. Blocking didn't happen for another week, but I WAS WEARING IT AT RHINEBECK.

I took along the Java socks, but since I wasn't quite at a point in the pattern where I could really work on them, didn't really get a chance to work on them at the festival. These were relagated to the hotel and car intead.

I did, however, get some people to hold the sock. Lisa Grossman held my sock, even though it wasn't one of hers:

Miss Babs held my sock.

Joe from Oasis Yarns held my sock (Somehow, I wasn't able to find a website for them).

George? from Skaska Designs held my sock.

Somehow, I never did get this guy's name, but the Female Parental Unit bought a hat from him, and he had a really cool-lookin weasel at his booth, so I asked him to hold the sock too.

The Chilean miners were there:

Not really. But last year, Rhinbeck happened to fall right after all the Chilean miners were rescued, so I started calling this group that. I actually have no idea what this particular group is named.

The FPU discovered this really interesting tea cozy that doubled as a hat:

Once again, I cannot wait until next year.

Cooperstown

2011-10-21T17:48:00.012-04:00

Those of you who know me pretty well (and even those of you who don't know me as well as you would hope but who have happened to have read my last two posts) know that I'm a pretty hard core baseball fan. And this past spring, the Male Parental Unit said to me and Tiger, "The baseball hall of fame is on my bucket list. When can we go?"

Turns out it suited Columbus Day weekend. So we went. The hall of inductees was first, but it turns out that Tiger is only a CASUAL baseball fan and didn't know a good two thirds of the players. So the MPU and I had great fun ribbing him about this.
Me (after about the twelth person he didn't know): Why did we bring him with us again?.
MPU: It certainly wasn't for his baseball knowledge.

Anyway, Tiger took a picture of me with Cal.

After the hall of inductees, we went up to the museum (which is separate from the hall. Which is important, because the museum includes stuff belonging to people who are not in the hall -- like Joe Jackson and Pete Rose)

I was kind of surprised that there was flash photography allowed in both the hall and the museum, since a lot of the stuff there is really old. But anyway, here is a picture of me next to the display about Cal breaking Lou Gehrig's record of consecutive games played:

And here's a display that I discovered in the room about the World Series. The helmet and old-looking bat belonged to Bill Mazeroski when he hit his walk-off home run in 1960, and the resin (rosin?) bag below them belonged to Ralph Terry. The newish bat belonged to Joe Carter.

Curt Schilling's bloody sock (which totally was the coolest thing ever about the museum)

On the way towards the bookstore, I ran into a BoSox fan and ribbed him about his team losing. He took it graciously. I also asked him how it felt to have to root for the Yankees. He said he might need to go into therapy for it.

Outside of the museum is a statue of James Fenimore Cooper, located on the original place where the Cooper family first lived. He even was gracious enough to hold the sock.

The third really cool thing about Cooperstown is that it's on the banks of Lake Otsego,

which is the headwaters of the Susquehanna.

On Saturday, the three of us went down to the river. We threw some sticks into the water, and guessed whether we would be able to beat them to Harrisburg or not

We're pretty certain we did.

It should be noted here that some of these pictures -- notably the ones with me in my Cal T-shirt -- were taken with Tiger's phone. I'm pretty certain he won't mind me using them, but I want to provide credit for them.

After that it was back to PA before heading to Rhinebeck, where I was furiously racing to finish my sweater.

Random on a Friday

2011-10-07T10:57:00.002-04:00

1. There is a major program here this afternoon.

2. Chaos will reign supreme during said program.

3. I will probably end up with a tick between my eyes.

4. The fact that today is Friday makes the chaos worthwhile.

5. That, and the fact that the Yankees lost last night.

6. And that I'm going on vacation this weekend.

7. Now if I can just find the other sock.

8. And remember my camera.

Where the Wild Things Are

2011-09-29T19:28:00.003-04:00

So in a moment of sheer insanity, about two weeks ago I cast on this sweater, with the intention of finishing it for Rhinebeck (which is in two weeks).

Last night, I sat down to finish the two sleeves. I had maybe ten rounds left. Things were going well. This was great, I thought. I'll finish the sleeves and the ribbing on the body of the sweater tonight.

Right. This is how last night went:

7:00. Sit down in front of tv and turn on Orioles/Red Sox game to knit to. Marvel on the fact that this is actually my tv knitting.

8:30. Finish the sleeves. Perform happy dance.

8:45. Cast on stitches for body after measuring gauge on sleeves. Twice. Place stitch markers every 50 stitches in the process.

8:45-9:20. Work on the ribbing of the body of sweater.

9:25. Realize that, in spite of careful placement of stitch markers, I have failed in the most basic of skills that is counting and cast on 40 extra stitches. Rip out.

9:30. Rain delay in Baltimore. I console myself with restarting my ribbing by switching channels to watch the Yankees/Rays game.

9:30-11:00. Work on ribbing, after counting twice to make sure I have the correct number of stitches this time. Swtitch back and forth between the Yankees/Rays and the Phillies/Braves.

11:00. Play resumes in Baltimore. By this point, I have worked approximately 7 rounds of ribbing.

11:00-12:15. I'm not entirely certain what exactly I did during this stretch of time. I thought I was knitting, but by the end I had only worked a little over 2 rounds.

BUT HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT DID YOU SEE THAT GAME IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES EVER TOTALLY WORTH THE LACK OF KNITTING MY BLOOD PRESSURE IS STILL GOING CRAZY!

12:15-12:45 Finish the tenth round of ribbing while trying to catch my breath and get my heart rate back under control.

12:50 Take a few very deep breaths and realize I need to go to bed, despite the fact that I am still super-adrenaline filled.

Yeah. That was last night. THIS IS TOTALLY WHY BASEBALL IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST GAME EVER!

Bucky Dent and Mookie Wilson? Meet Robert Andino, Dan Johnson, and Evan Longoria.

Where the wild things are. Maurice Sendak truly has never said it so well.

The Best Time of the Year

2011-09-21T14:46:00.005-04:00

Today, I woke up, and there was fog outside.

Now, I realize that to many of you, a foggy September morning doesn't seem like much, but to me, it speaks of wonders and miracles and awesome loveliness that comes but once a year.

One of the most wonderful things about the world is that there are four seasons, and what happens between September and December is nothing short of miraculous. Every September, I can count on the maple tree in front of my house beginning to blush red, on whispers of fog curling down the street, and the apple trees becoming heavy laden with red and yellow freckles. And each year, I am struck dumb with the awesomeness of the beauty of it all.

I could say that fall is my favorite time of year because the kids have gone back to school, and the chaotic, oppressive heat of summer is over. And they do, and it is. But that's not why fall is my favorite.

I could say that fall is my favorite because it's that inbetween time of the year, when you don't have to worry about your heat or your A/C, and you can just lounge around in your jeans and be comfortable. And this is true. But that's not why fall is my favorite.

I could say that fall is my favorite because it's full of apple dunking and hay rides and corn mazes and all sorts of fun things that I loved to do as a child. And it is. But that's not why fall is my favorite.

I could say that fall is my favorite because it's the time that kids get to dress up as pirates and princesses and Lost Boys and roam the streets like ghouls, scaring away demons and devils. And they do. But that's not why fall is my favorite.

I could say that fall is my favorite because it's the time of festivals. Of people bringing the harvest in, of apples and pumpkins polka-dotting the fields, of the celebration of harvest and home, and of food and warmth and love. And this happens, and it is absolutely wonderful. But that's not why fall is my favorite.

Fall is my favorite time of the year, first and foremost, because of its utter beauty. Fall is the time when God reaches out with His paintbrush and covers the earth with a loveliness that is never seen any other time of the year. It is the time of the year when trees burst into flame, when ice faeries dance on the grass in the early morning, when the sky is full of an ocean of blue-ness, and when the smoke of little cat feet fog creeps and curls around the fields. It is my favorite time of the year, because there is nothing, NOTHING more beautiful in the natural world than a maple tree in the fall, and after seeing one you know you could stand before one all day, almost crying at the loveliness of it all.

Happy first few days of fall.

What About the Rest?

2011-09-12T10:53:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, I was watching the Mets/Cubs game on tv, and the big story during the game was all the ceremonies throughout the game. Yesterday was, of course, a big anniversary, and since the Mets were home, well, it was important for the city to remember.

But...

Ten years ago, I was living in an area that was within broadcast range of all the Boston news stations. And when I was watching all the ceremonial loveliness last night, it got me thinking. New York lost that day. She lost A LOT, and the events of that Tuesday morning will forever be engraved in the hearts and minds of the people of the city. But the two planes were both out of Boston, and they were both headed to Los Angeles. Which means those two cities both lost, too.

But last night, there was no mention of the victims from Boston or L.A. In fact, it feels like the passengers on those two planes have become the forgotten ones, the ones no one really remembers, or even cares about. Whenever anyone mentions 9/11, most people focus on the police and firefighters who lost their lives when the towers fell. Or the passengers of Flight 93, who gave their lives so more would not be lost. But that doesn't mean that we should forget the people who were on the two planes who crashed in New York. But we have. We have forgotten them, and last night was a perfect example of the fact. And I find that horrifically sad, not just because, during the original aftermath, I saw the local news put faces to some of those people, but also, because every passenger and crew member on those two planes was a loved one to somebody. And they deserve every bit of remembrance as anybody else who died that day.

So, to all the people of Boston and L.A. who did lose a loved one ten years ago --

Here's to you.

Fabulousness

2011-09-06T18:51:00.003-04:00

This is just about the awesomest thing I've seen in a long while. Enjoy and share with everybody!

The Wind Blows Backwards All Night Long

2011-09-01T18:17:00.006-04:00

And rain makes applesauce. (With apologies to Julian Scheer)

So Hurricane Irene came through this past weekend. It gave us about sixteen hours of steady rain, and tropical force wind on Saturday night.

So on Saturday night, I came home from work, and promptly sat down on my couch with my crock pot, my paring knife, and a peck of apples, and began to cut them up. They simmered in the pot all night long, and on Sunday morning, I not only had a well-drenched lawn, but a yummy bowl of applesauce.

Homemade applesauce is, to me, the epitome of comfort food. Not the Motts stuff you buy in a jar at the store. But the kind where you actually cut and peel and season the apples yourself. Where you put everything in the pot and drift off to sleep and wake up in the morning with the whole house smelling of cinnamon. Applesauce was something my mom would make in the fall when I wee, and on cold, rainy days, I would enjoy coming home from school to a bowl of warm, yummy sauce. Mmmmmmmm. Comfort food.

The world needs a little comfort these days. With everything that happened last week, the earthquake on Tuesday, the suicide on Wednesday, and the hurricane on Saturday, homemade applesauce seemed just the ticket.

And what better time than on a night when a hurricane is blowing outside? The wind blows backwards all night long...and rain makes applesauce.

Next stop: steeking the vest

Random Update

2011-08-24T11:03:00.003-04:00

1. Summer Reading is OVER. Yay!

2. School starts on Monday. Yay!

3. There was an earthquake here yesterday.

4. It was a magnitude 5.8.

5. No one was hurt.

6. But it was all people could talk about the rest of the day.

7. This is because we don't normally have earthquakes here.

8. I put books on plate tectonics and earth science out on display.

9. It still might be all people can talk about for the rest of the week.

10. I need to do some gardening.

Totals

2011-07-27T16:33:00.012-04:00

So this is pretty image-heavy, but here's my totals for Tour De Fleece:

First Up:

Vicki's Ocean. I don't have it all photoed here, but there was 24 ounces total. Combed superwash merino top, which I spun over the fold and did a 4-ply to create a worsted/aran weight yarn. There's about 1100 yards total. I believe there exists plans for it to become a vest.

Next?

The Wicked Witch yarn. Combed merino top from Made By Ewe spun over the fold and 2-plied into a fingering weight. There's about 400 yards total. This yarn was immediately claimed by Earthling. I think she may do socks.

Nextly...

There isn't a picture of this all spun up, but this is corriedale cross top from Spinners Hill spun worsted and navajo-plied into a sport weight. There's about 6 ounces total, although I only spun up 4 during the challenge as the remaining 2 ounces had already been spun up.

Then there is

This bit of loveliness from Fiber Fancy -- merino/mohair blend combed top, spun to fingering weight and kept as a single. There's 540 yards -- it will make a lovely scarf or shawl.

Next, we have

Corriedale top from Gale's Art, spun worsted and navajo-plied into a heavy fingering weight. I was thinking socks or a scarf.

Then there is

This absolute beautiful wonderfulness of BFL and silk from Bullens Wullens, which was spun into 820 yards of laceweight and kept as a single. This, I know will make something totally lovely and lacey. There will be beads, and it will be MINE, MINE, all MINE.

And finally, there is this

Combed corriedale top from Gale's Art spun worsted and navajo-plied into an aran/chunky weight. This yarn has been gifted, and I'm pretty certain the recipient will absolutely love it.

So that brings the total to

24 ounces of the teal
4 ounces of the wicked witch
4 ounces from Spinners Hill
4 ounces from Fiber Fancy
8 ounces from Gale's Art
4 ounces from Bullens Wullens

That's 48 ounces total, which is the 3 pounds that I was gunning for at the beginning. I'm still totally impressed that I got it all spun up. Notice that what ISN'T there is the angora/wool blend that I had been working on, which means that I actually spun a little more than 48 ounces. But the angora/wool isn't done yet, so I'm not counting it in my totals.

The question now becomes, what do I spin next?

Update

2011-07-18T14:47:00.002-04:00

So no pics today, but a quick update on TdF totals:

8 more ounces of the teal superwash merino spun and plied (you've already seen it anyway, do you really want to see more? It really does look exactly like the others.) So far, I have about 650 yards spun up total. There are 8 ounces left to do. V has announced she wants a vest out of it.

3 ounces spun of the BFL/silk blend that I got from Bullens Woolens at MDSW this spring (I think the website is under construction), and I swear that this stuff is so lovely, I'm tempted to eat it.

4 ounces spun and navajo-plied of a random colorway of Gales Art corriedale. There's about 370 yards, so I'm hoping for socks. Maybe.

That's a total of 34 ounces spun so far. I'm still behind by about 2 ounces, but the BFL/silk wonderfulness is spinning up so nicely, I'll probably be able to finish that, plus get a good start on the last 8 ounces of the teal tonight.

Behind

2011-07-12T17:52:00.005-04:00

And I'm officially behind on Tour de Fleece.

So far, in addition to everything I posted last week, I've also completed this:

That's about 300 yards of 4-ply, aran weight merino, that I'm spinning up for the lovely V. (Somewhere, there's a tag. I've lost track of who the vendor was.) There's not quite 8 ounces total, and I have about 16 more of this to go.

I also have this bit of fantabulousness:

That's 4 ounces of a merino/mohair blend from Fiber Fancy, and I'm uber proud of this yarn. It's the first time I've ever been confident enough in my singles that I'm not going to ply it. There's about 540 yards of that gorgeousness right there, and each time I look over at it, I'm tempted to give it a little pat and a smile. Sigh. My Precious.

Then there's this as well:

The tag on this is long gone. I think it only came with a receipt, which has long since met up with the trash can and eloped. But it is a wool/angora blend, hand dyed with black cherry Kool Aid.

Now, I realize that looks like a lot, but Dudes, it totally isn't. Today is Day 11 of the Tour, which means that I'm supposed to have 22 ounces spun up by the end of today. The problem is, I only have about 19, and I don't foresee myself actually doing three ounces today. Two, maybe. Can we say two? I think maybe I'll be able to finish two ounces today.

After the black cherry bunny comes more of the teal merino. Wish me luck.

So Far

2011-07-06T16:26:00.006-04:00

So here's my progress on TdF so far. First up? The Wicked Witch braid from Made by Ewe.

It's four ounces of merino, and there's about 340 yards of the green and black, and about 60 yards of the green by itself. This, I think, will be turn into a very loverly cowl. Or it might be a gift. We shall see.

Then, I've been working on a lot of this bit of wonderfulness from Spinner's Hill

There's six ounces of Corriedale total, although about 40% of it was spun up already. I'm going for about a sport weight, navajo plied. No project in mind as of yet, though.

The Corriedale should be all spun up into a single tonight, and then it will be on to something else. Hmmmm....Decisions, decisions...

TdF Prep

2011-06-30T17:16:00.003-04:00

So Tour de Fleece. The goal is to make some sort of challenge for yourself that you think is going to be difficult (but not impossible) for you to complete spin-wise during the Tour de France. For some of my friends, that goal is to spin a little every day. For another it's to come to the grand finale party.

My goal is three pounds. Which is so far beyond the realm of impossibility that it's laughable. Added to this is the fact that, in order to get ready for TdF, I have told myself that I need to finish A) the grab bag on my drop spindle and B) the Falkland that is on my wheel. By TOMORROW.

I can foresee strong drink in my future. And wee hours of the morning.

I Don't Like Change

2011-06-29T12:35:00.003-04:00

This may not come as a surprise to some of you. But I thought I'd put it out there all the same and announce it. This means that when I spend an afternoon at an open house for a retirement village for my parents (who, I might add, are nowhere near old enough for a community such as this), it does not go well.

I also don't like pressure, but I think this is my own fault, because I was the insane person who decided that she needed to finish up the Heartbeat top and my grab bag prior to the start of Tour de Fleece, which starts this weekend. I have approximately 1/3 of an ounce left in the grab bag, and a little less than an ounce left of Heartbeat.

There are 48 days left in Summer Reading.

This does not bode well for my state of mind, I fear.

Lest We Forget

2011-05-30T23:07:00.003-04:00

"Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free.
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair."
-- Irving Berlin

Today is Memorial Day, the day set aside to remember all our heroes (fallen or standing) from wars past and present, and all the sacrifices that they made. Ever since the French and Indian War -- the first major international war fought on American soil -- broke out in 1754, countless men and women have paid the ultimate price in the names of freedom, honor, and patriotism. Many of those are unnamed, known, as the tomb in Arlington states, only to God.

2011 markes the 165th anniversary of the Seige of Fort Texas, the 150th anniversary of the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. But it doesn't matter whether the men and women whose sacrifices we remember are from a long ago, virtually forgotten war, or if they're from a conflict that is still ongoing today. What is important is that we remember them. That we remember what they did. And that we are grateful to them. And that we will NEVER, EVER forget.

Random on a Friday

2011-05-27T19:08:00.003-04:00

This is a holiday weekend.

The holiday means that H and I are going down to the Green Valley Book Fair on Monday.

The Pole socks are done.

The toe of one needs to be ripped out and reknit.

I need to figure out some way of putting up the chart for it.

The silk is done on the wheel.

Except for setting the twist.

The silk did not like to draft.

I told it to behave.

It didn't.

Because it's silk, I'll forgive it.

There are 615 yards.

Anyone have any pattern ideas?

Happy Mothers' Day

2011-05-08T20:26:00.002-04:00

To all you mothers out there. Without all of you, there would be none of us.

A List

2011-05-02T19:31:00.003-04:00

Of everything that has captured my attention this past week.

The Pole socks. There's no picture of these, just because I haven't taken one yet. Sock one is finished. Sock two is halfway down the leg. I've really been having fun with these -- cables and socks -- it's the perfect combo.

The weather. FINALLY a great weekend. It's been all April showers, rain and dreariness all month long, and then on Saturday, the sun came out, and there was perfect blue skies. Perfect for hiking around Greenwitch Village.

My general lack of sleep. When you get up at 4am two days in a row...

The Persephone shawl. It's blocking on my bed. Apparently, I don't know all that much how to pin out semi-circular shawls -- this one took about 30 minutes before I got the pins right.

The Duchess of Cambridge. The woman is riveting. I don't envy her all that much (ok, let's be honest, I do a little), but there is nothing more beautiful than two people in love with each other. This is what is so fantastic about a monarchy -- the pageantry, the beauty -- we just don't have exciting events like this here in the US. And THE DRESS. Is there absolutely anything more I can say about THE DRESS?? Wasn't it just the other week that V and M and I were all bemoaning the lack of sleeves and lace on wedding dresses?

Sigh

2011-04-23T12:05:00.003-04:00

You ever wonder why sometimes people make big huge deals about things that aren't important? Like when there are so many really important things that need to be discussed and accomplished, and being IGNORED, because of these really unimportant, minute things?

This whole issue about the Birther Bill is bugging me. I mean, let's, for the sake of grins and giggles, just set aside the whole Certificate of Live Birth that was produced to public scrutiny three years ago, along with the announcements made BY the hospital to local newspapers. Because, really, if those things aren't good enough for you, I don't know if there's really anything that is. But the thing that is REALLY bugging me about this whole issue is WHY ARE WE EVEN ARGUING ABOUT THIS???

(I'm wondering maybe if the issue isn't so much of WHERE the dude was born, but WHEN -- like maybe he wasn't really born in 1961, but rather in 1958? Note to self: check up on citizenship status of people born in territories.)

But seriously. Why is it such an issue? Why are we so confounded hung up on this? Why, when I go onto cnn.com, is it the BIG HOT TOPIC? Especially when there are so many other topics out there that I think are far more important and merit much more discussion.

Like maybe, I don't know, the BUDGET?

Rain, Rain

2011-04-13T13:10:00.003-04:00

April showers bring May flowers...

When we were little, Earthling and I would continue with little ditty: April showers bring May flowers. What do May flowers bring? Pilgrims.

What do Pilgrims bring? Thanksgiving.

What does Thanksgiving bring? Food.

And we would go on and on from there, culminating in some really weird and sometimes disgusting things, until we were told to stop. This was probably one of these bizarre and annoying games we would make up on long car rides.

This week, however, April showers may bring May flowers, but they also bring dreary days, low storytime attendance, and bored children.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

2011-04-09T16:30:00.003-04:00

Why does it always have to rain on my day off?
How many calories does a person burn when swimming for 45 minutes?
Why two really good looking guys would be WORKING on a Friday night.
Why it is so blasted tedious to cut out 160 circles of rabbit heads.
Why does mohair wrinkle?

And WHY is it somehow MY FAULT that V refrained from telling her husband about the two looms she bought until today?

Deal With It

2011-03-11T15:08:00.003-05:00

There was a kid at the library the other day who was whining his behind off. Apparently, he wanted to do something, and his mother told him he couldn't, which caused him to throw a tantrum, right in the middle of the library.

My usual response to whining children is that, if they're planning on providing me with whine, they should at least provide the cheese, strawberries, and crusty baggette too. It usually gets a laugh out of my coworkers -- and the exasperated parent. And it's enough that the kid usually stops whining -- at least enough to stare at you in a confused manner.

This time, however, it just ticked me off. Because you know what, Buddy? Sometimes, life isn't a bed of roses. Sometimes, you DON'T get everything you want. Life. Isn't. Fair. In fact, sometimes, life downright SUCKS. And the sooner you figure that out, the better.

And in the meantime, while you're figuring that out, I'll go and tell my friend, who just lost her baby, or my aunt, who is dying of cancer, or all the people over in Japan who just lost their entire homes and livelihoods that they really need to get some perspective on life, because what they're suffering right now is NOTHING compared to being yelled at by your mother for not behaving as you ought.

btw? Here are links to MSF/DWB, the Red Cross, and the Japanese embassy in D.C, so please don't hesitate to pop on over to any of those sights and give what you can.

Food for Thought

2011-03-01T13:56:00.002-05:00

What makes something a fairy tale?

According to the University of Chicago, a fairy tale is a specific type of folk tale, which, according to Merriam Webster, is " a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale circulated orally among a people."

This would seem to indicate (to me, anyway) that a fairy tale has no actual author -- that it is a tale passed down orally from generation to generation until someone finally decides to write it down. That it might take on a slant of a particular culture or people, but that there is no known person who originally told it. Which makes sense to me. Stories like Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel and Gretel might all have first been originally written down by the Grimm brothers, but where did the original versions come from? They were probably all stories that mothers told their children, who told their children, who told their children, and so on and so forth, with each generation altering the story ever-so-slightly, until Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm came along and wrote down what they believed to be the "purest" form.

Which brings about the next question. If fairy tales are supposedly anonymous, with no clear-cut orginal author, why is The Little Mermaid considered one? That story has an author. Not just a transcriber who happened to be the first person to write it down. It has an original author. Moreover, it doesn't even follow the traditional, happy ending, girl-marries-boy-moves-to-palace-and-lives-happily-ever-after format. So why is it considered a fairy tale?

I think I'm going to keep my compilation of Andersen's works in the 830's from now on.

Let's Check Our Facts

2011-02-25T11:32:00.002-05:00

So last night, on the news, the weather guy said that today, it was to be rainy all day, with high winds gusting up to 40 mph.

My immediate reaction was, "Bummer. And on my day off too." And then I woke up this morning.

Currently, there is sun shining into my bedroom. There is a breeze, but I don't think it's anywhere near 40 mph.

Rainy. All day. Riiiiight.

I'm off for pancakes.

Bizarre

2011-01-31T13:26:00.002-05:00

So, I was doing laundry the other day, and I decided to check the laundry instructions for my bathing suit (I'm trying to get back into the habit of swimming three times a week). And I noticed that on the tag, it stated,

"Use non-chlorine bleach."

Ummm....yeah.... Somehow that makes sense if you don't think about it.

Thoughts

2011-01-20T18:12:00.002-05:00

Really fascinating discussion on the ALSC listserve right now about whether or not popularity should come into play when awarding the Newbery. The conversation is getting pretty heated -- I guess some people have some really strong opinions regarding this.

So for good measure, I went to ALA's website and looked up the criteria considered for the Newbery. And found the following:

Interpretation of the theme or concept
Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization
Development of a plot
Delineation of characters
Delineation of a setting
Appropriateness of style...
[E]xcellence of presentation for a child audience...
The award is not for didactic content or popularity.

And yet, it begs the questions. Should it consider popularity?

If the JNM were awarded solely on popularity, The Adventures of Captain Underpants would have won. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid would have as well. But they didn't. They didn't win, because while they are fabulous in getting a child to read, I have yet to meet a single person who thinks that they are REALLY WELL WRITTEN. Are they popular? Yes. Do they get children to read? Absolutely. But are they well written enough to stand the test of time to become some of the great classics in children's literature? I doubt it.

But then again, there are several Newbery winners that don't measure up to that either. A couple of years ago, I put the book Smoky the Cowhorse (it won in 1927) on display on the end of a bookcase. Where it sat for over a month. Several months later, I put The Wheel on the School (winner in 1955) out on display. A month later, I could make fingerprints in the dust that had gathered on the top.

There are plenty of winners out there that have stood the test of time and are still quite popular, ten, twenty, thirty plus years after they won (A Wrinkle in Time and Bridge to Terabithia are two really great examples). But as the previous paragraph illustrates, there have been some real flops as well.

For the record, my definition of a good book is one that I will recommend to children, and that is still being read and checked out five years after it's published. Does popularity, whether fleeting or enduring, make a book good? No. But should we consider, in addition to all the other criteria, the potential for enduring popularity when handing out awards?

This year's Newbery winner, btw, is Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool.

Twelfth Night

2011-01-05T12:34:00.003-05:00

Generally speaking, I've lost some of my love for Christmas over the years.

Don't get me wrong. It's still a wonderful holiday, and I enjoy it very much. It's just that, as I have grown older, I've become disillusioned with all of the secularism, over-indulgence, and greed that has come to mark the holiday. Christmas is, after all, first and foremost a religious holiday, and it should be a time for people to remember family, love, and faith, rather than a time for shopping like hysterical maniacs and driving oneself crazy with gifts and food and whatever else.

My family is big on tradition. We always go to church on Christmas Day, we always give gifts for each of the twelve days of Christmas (and the ones received on January 1 are always a calendar and a puzzle), we always decorate the tree and give out stockings on Christmas Eve, and we always have a big family dinner. Always. I can't remember a year when we didn't do all of this. It's always been a part of what makes Christmas so special.

But this year, some of the traditions have changed a little. The dinner was at the nursing home where my grandmother lives, instead of at my aunt's house; and instead of giving gifts out each day for the twelve days, we gave them all on two; and some of the gifts we ordered for each other didn't arrive on time (one of them still hasn't).

But does any of that make it any less Christmas? Does the fact that your holiday season didn't go quite as you expected make the day any less special, or holy?

On this, the twelfth and final day of Christmas, I hope you have a merry one. And as Charles Dickens once said, may we all truly know how to keep it well.

You Can Blame Irene

2010-12-18T15:26:00.001-05:00

Things I Don't Get

2010-12-15T14:05:00.002-05:00

Braille on drive-through ATM's.

Decaf espresso.

Lo-carb peanut butter.

Kosher salt on pork barbecue.

Why, if global warming is such an issue, incandescent bulbs are not made illegal, all automobiles aren't required to be hybrids, and all newly constructed buildings aren't required to use alternative energy.

How it can be this !@#$%^& blasted cold when it isn't even winter yet.

Sneg!

2010-12-10T15:45:00.002-05:00

Neige!
Khioni!
Nix!

Mainly just flurries, and it didn't do much besides dust the walkways, but still -- it was snow!

To Celebrate

2010-11-30T20:06:00.003-05:00

Yes, my friends. I have successfully written a 50,000 word novel in the past 30 days. I thought it would be extremely nervewracking and involve blood, sweat, and tears, but I found that as long as I made my 1700 words a day, it wasn't too bad. All that is left now is to write a little introduction. Maybe this is something that could actually get published someday...

Happy Saint Andrew's Day!

2010-11-26T20:27:00.001-05:00

I feel like I should go traveling some more.

visited 23 states (46%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

visited 10 states (4.44%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Happy Thanksgiving.

Hickory Dickory Dock

2010-11-18T15:27:00.002-05:00

Pros about this month:
I have finished the Noro sock and have started another one out of Cascade Heritage.

I have approximately 29,000 words in my Nano at the moment.

I believe I am exactly where I need to be plot-wise in my Nano at this point in the month.

The first part of the last Harry Potter movie has hit the theaters.

It is exactly seven days until Thanksgiving.

Cons about this month:It is a typical cold, dreary November day.

The sun is not shining, and the wind is blowing.

I am behind on Mr. Greenjeans.

I may be coming down with another cold.

It is a month before Christmas.

My Christmas knitting is nowhere near completed.

Right now, the mouse is partway up the clock. Where's yours?

Don't Let It Hit You on Your Way Out

2010-11-05T10:56:00.004-04:00

The universe, I have decreed, is out to get me.

I can tell that you don't believe me, but it's true. This week has been such a stressful doozy that if I could go back in time and just skip these past five days, I would. Really. I've spent the said past five days struggling with a MAMMOTH head cold -- one so horrific that I've seriously been tempted to call in sick every day this week (and didn't only because I would have felt unjustifiably guilty doing so for just a cold), and all I've wanted to do when I get home is crawl into bed with a cup of tea and some Motrin and SLEEP. And to cap it all off, it happened to coincide with a certain time of the month when my hormones are all out of whack.

I've been participating in NaNoWriMo this year, and really I've been so wiped out that the only thing I've been able to get done this week is make my daily word count. And when I say the only thing? I mean the ONLY THING. There has been no housework done. There has been no cooking done (other than the brewing of water for the tea). There wasn't even any KNITTING done until last night (See? I told you this cold was a doozy).

The upside to this whole week is that I have 6800 words written and the toe of a sock.

The downside to this whole week is that I have 6800 words written, the toe of a sock, and a house that has officially reached its capacity for disorganized filth.

This weekend is going to be busy. First on the list? The dishes.

Interesting

2010-11-01T16:39:00.001-04:00

Apparently, this is who I am most like in the HP books...

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

To Do List

2010-10-28T17:46:00.002-04:00

1. Start packing for MM

2. Do laundry. Presumably so I can pack for MM.

3. Try to determine whether or not the pile of dishes in my sink is large enough to warrant washing them.

4. Attempt to get over my frustration that two championship teams, who are supposedly the best in their respective leagues, would commit SIX ERRORS (including two in one inning), hit two batters, and throw a wild pitch all in the same game.

5. Continue working on the Ravensong sweater.

6. Vacuum.

Somehow, I'm not seeing all of these things happening tonight.

Never Mind

2010-10-21T17:35:00.002-04:00

Recently, coworker of mine got married, and a bunch of us brought in goodies in celebration. One person (who is allergic to wheat), brought in gluten-free pumpkin blondies.

I asked her for the recipe, and she said that it was just a mix that she added pumpkin to -- because it was too much of a hassle to make gluten-free flour herself. When I asked why, she said it was because there needed to be a whole bunch of different flours that needed to be mixed together. Otherwise it wouldn't taste like wheat.

Which got me thinking: Why does it need to taste like wheat? Granted, wheat has certain properties that provide a finished baked good with a certain flavor and texture, but so do other grains. And those other grains might create a totally different flavor or texture that is favorable to that of wheat. Corn has one flavor and texture. Rye has another. Wheat has a third. None of them are "better" than the other -- they're just different. They taste differently, they feel different in your mouth, and they provide different nutrients.

I have an angora sweater in my closet. It is one of the softest, warmest sweaters I have ever owned. I absolutely loved making it, I love the way it feels against my skin, and it has an unbelievable halo of fluff that adds to its beauty. But angora has other properties besides being soft and warm and fluffy. It sheds like there's no tomorrow, it's not very elastic, and even though I've always hand washed it, there are areas of the sweater that have begun to self-felt -- just from the friction of everyday where. I knew this would end up happening when I knit the sweater, because THAT'S THE NATURE OF ANGORA. My wool sweaters do not do that. But wool is not nearly as soft or as warm as angora. And it usually doesn't create a halo when it's knit up either.

My angora sweater does not have the same properties as my wool ones. That's because angora is a completely different fiber, and therefore creates a completely different fabric than wool. But I knew when I began knitting the sweater that it would turn out different from my other sweaters -- that it would shed, that it would self-felt, and that it would not be very elastic. That's just the way angora is, and when I knit with it, I accept those properties and try to find the right pattern that will accomodate them. And it doesn't mean that I have to go around combining it with a whole slew of other fibers, just so it will feel, act, and look just like wool.

Grain is like that. So corn doesn't have gluten, and tends to create a totally different meal than wheat. That doesn't mean that it doesn't taste good, or that it is unacceptable to bake with, or that it can't be used by itself. When I bake with cornmeal, I understand that it is different than flour -- that it has different properties, and will therefore create a baked good that tastes different than if I use wheat. Which is why, when I use cornmeal, I look for recipes that will take advantage of those properties.

In the beginning of her book No Sheep for You, Amy Singer says, "Though these fibers are novel, there's nothing novelty about them. They're seriously yummy and worth getting to know and knit. No fiber will ever duplicate everything wool does naturally. Scientists have spent more than a hundred years trying, and the best they've done so far is...acrylic? Never mind. I've got a book full of gorgeous fiber to share with you, and none of it squeaks. NSFY is not about us against them. It's about having great stuff for everyone to knit with."

So why can't we do the same with grains?

A Contribution

2010-09-30T15:44:00.008-04:00

Helen

Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino Angel (58% Merino, 30% Mohair, 12% Nylon, 366 yards), 1 skein
Needles: 5 mm, US 8
Gauge: Flexible (it's a scarf, not a bikini), but try for 15 stitches to 4 inches in stockinette
Suggested measurements: 11" by 85"

Techniques required: Provisional cast-on, yarnovers, decreases, chart reading

Notes: Only Right Side rows are included in Charts A and B. Do not forget to work the wrong sides.
Chart A is repeated twice across the row; Chart B is repeated 5 times across the row.
The charts are included at the end of the instructions. Click to enlarge.

Merino Angel is limited edition, so it may be difficult to procure. Any heavy fingering or sportweight mohair or mohair blend will work.

Instructions
Using a provisional cast-on, Cast-On 50 stitches. Knit one row.
Row 1 (RS): K2, work Row 1 of Chart A across, K2
Row 2 (and all other WS rows unless otherwise noted): K2, p to the last two stitches, K2
Work Chart A a total of 21 times, ending with a Right Side row.
Transitional Row (WS): Knit all stitches, increasing once across, 51 stitches.
Work Chart B once, ending with a Wrong Side row.
Bind off all stitches Purlwise.

Pick up the 50 stitches from the original Cast-On edge, and make certain you are ready to start a Wrong Side row. Knit one row, increasing once across, 51 stitches.
Work Chart B once, ending with a Wrong Side row.
Bind off all stitches Purlwise.

Wet block to desired measurements. Toss one end over a shoulder and parade through the streets of town like the diva you are.

Chart A

Chart B

Chart Legend
o yarnover
/ k2tog
\ ssk
^ sk2p

.........................................................................................................................
(c)2010, Bethany Hait. This pattern is provided free of charge. As such, please feel free to make a copy for personal use, or make this scarf as a gift or a charitable donation. Please do not make copies of this pattern for others, sell the scarf or pattern for profit, or redistribute or reproduce it for any other reason.

Worms

2010-09-28T18:46:00.003-04:00

I just read this article on Yahoo! News.

OK. BEGIN RANT

First off, there's a difference between deciding that Book X does not support the mission or policy of the parent institution and therefore should not be included on the library shelves, and banning it. Lauren Myracle probably wouldn't end up on the shelves of the local college library, or in the library of the local law school, but that doesn't mean that the book is BANNED from either of them, just that it doesn't support either institution's curriculum. Peter Spier, Norman Bridwell, or Margaret Wise Brown probably wouldn't end up there either.

Secondly (and more importantly), NO ONE, not even parents, has the right to ban a book for someone else. If this parent truly feels that strongly about this book, then she can make the decision about it for HER CHILD (and she should be strongly encouraged to do so). If her child brings it home, it is her right (and responsibility) to say, "Honey, I don't want you reading that book right now, because I think it deals with issues that are more appropriate for older children. Let's take it back to the library so you can pick out something else, and in two or three years, you can check it out again."

But to say that she doesn't want ANY child who is the same age as her child to be exposed to the book is NOT within her rights. She does NOT have the right to say, "I don't believe that this book is appropriate for any child under the age of 10, and therefore, I do not want any child who is under the age of ten ever to have to come into contact with it." And it isn't her decision to say whether or not the book supports her school's curriculum, either -- and that would be the only reason why the school librarian would decide not to put it on the shelf.

Not every book in every library is all sugar and roses. There are some really racy or violent or disturbing tomes out there. There are books in my library that (if I had children) I would not want them reading. Mein Kampf comes to mind most readily. There are also books that, if I had young children, I wouldn't want them to read until they were older. Like Twilight. But if someone else were to pick up either Mein Kampf or Twilight and decide they wanted to read it, that's their right to do so, regardless of their age. And regardless of what I, or ANYONE ELSE, thinks.

So lady? Learn to do your own darn job and review the books your child picks out. And let other parents do the same for their kids.

END RANT

Tuesday Musings

2010-09-21T20:01:00.002-04:00

1. Do people in Greece ever wear winter scarves?

2. Today is the first day of fall. So why is the weather forecast for tomorrow slated to be in the 90's?

3. What in the world is "gator gumbo"?

4. NaNoWriMo's coming up!!

5. This weekend is the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival. I'd go...except I have to work. Bummer. Maybe I can bribe someone to shop for me.

6. I cannot believe the sheer number of books that urchins can pull off library shelves in the space of a couple of hours. How fast do kids read?

Celebratory Randomness

2010-09-07T20:28:00.002-04:00

1. Today is the first day of school, which makes me want to go running out in the streets tossing pennies to anyone who comes by in celebration. (And I totally would, except for the fact that yesterday, I celebrated by going with M to a Nationals game (they won), and, despite the fact that I used sun block, came back with some significant redness on my chest and face, which I'm pretty sure has contributed to the headache that I've had all day today.)

2. I'm looking for a good way to make boucle yarn (that's just an example). I'm not finding the article in Spin-Off very helpful.

3. Note to all you parents: The public library does not have a section specifically dedicated to "AR books." ANY book is an AR book. It may not be on your child's school list, but it will probably have a value assigned to it all the same. And we probably don't have the most up-to-date list from your school, and no, it isn't connected to our catalog even if we did.

4. I'm seriously sick of all the Chef Boyarde commercials about people getting in trouble by mentioning vegetables. For pity sakes, what is wrong with kids knowing that there are vegetables in their food??? Isn't it better that kids learn to enjoy their vegetables and know that not all veggies taste bad than to LIE to your children?

5. Four children came up to me tonight to ask about school reading lists. Ah, the joy of working with children who start their work early.

6. Why is the batter who is right behind the dude on deck referred to as being "in the hole?"

7. I really need to get back to work on the cabinet.

Funny

2010-08-21T12:25:00.003-04:00

This is just about the funniest think I've seen in a while. Beats even the hamsters. I've been trying to embed the link to the video itself, but somehow, I'm missing something. So here's the link anyway.

Brigham Young University / BYU - New Spice | Study like a scholar, scholar

Summer Reading

2010-08-16T16:30:00.001-04:00

Is now OVER.

Now, if we could just do something about the school year starting earlier....

It All Goes Back to a Lack of Woods

2010-07-23T16:06:00.003-04:00

So we're getting into the time of summer when kids are coming in Mongal hords to come and check out the stack of books that they have been assigned to read over the summer. Most of them are checked out, and of course, it all will lead, in the end, to someone (usually either me or the mother) saying, "Shouldn't you have started this two months ago?"

But it's gotten me thinking. What's the point of school summer reading assignments? To stimulate thought and mental activity when school is not in session?
To get children to read when they're not being forced to do so? To keep them out of trouble? To start the school year with some of the work done?

I think educators will say that it's a combination of all those answers, but really when it comes down to it, I think the reason for summer assignments is thus: A: to make the job easier on the English teacher in the fall, and B: to ensure that the children are not bored.

But what's the big deal about being bored? BORED children climb trees. They build treehouses. They explore the great unknowns of their backyards. They rig booby traps for their neighborhood rivals. They write dark and vampant poetry. They take bike rides and go for walks. They draw and paint. They build mud pies and make flower jelly. They sort rocks and collect flowers and steal from beehives. And they read books of THEIR OWN CHOOSING.

I could go on here, but...well...My friend M would say that it all goes back to the fact that kids are no longer playing in trees anymore.

And because they aren't bored.

Fifty-seven

2010-07-12T17:10:00.001-04:00

Is the number of days until school starts up again.

I think I can do it.

I think.

First Impressions

2010-06-29T18:15:00.003-04:00

How do you determine what goes into the very first line of a short story or poem or novel? How you decide what you want the first impression to be? And how do some lines become famous almost to the point of cliche, while others, even on popular books or famous classics, remain comfortably in obscurity?

There are, of course, the cliches:
"It was a dark and stormy night."
"There was once upon a time..."

Then there opening lines which don't become cliche, but do end up so well-known that pretty much everyone knows where they came from:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
"Call me, 'Ishmael'."
"Marley was dead, to begin with."

And then there are works which have no real punch to their opening lines at all, yet the greater work still retains enough punch to render the book a classic:
"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents."
"Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head."
"The first place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it."
"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
"Unemployed, at last!"

So what goes into the thinking up of the very first line?

Thoughts?

Vocab Lesson

2010-06-16T14:10:00.002-04:00

Because I was really ticked off when I saw the Haines commercial last night about their new "Lays flat collar." Uhhh, People? The stranger dude was correct. It really is LIES flat, not lays.

So let's go over the definition of the two words again, shall we?

To lay: a transitive verb, requiring a direct object. It means to put, to place, or to set. It is conjugated thusly: I lay the book down today, I laid the book down yesterday, I have laid the book down in the past.

To lie: an intransitive verb, requiring no direct object. It means to recline, to repose, or to be situated. It is conjugated thusly: I lie down today, I lay down yesterday, I have lain down in the past.

Not to be confused with the completely different word meaning "to tell an untruth."

So just to be VERY CLEAR about this (because really, it isn't all that difficult), if something or someone is reclining or is situated in a certain way, the word to use it LIE. I lie down in my bed. The collar lies flat. The word LAY is used only when one wishes to say that something is BEING placed or set onto something. I lay the book on the desk. She lay the silverware down on the table.

So Haines? I realize you think you were being funny, really? You weren't. Please use your words correctly.

Lest We Forget

2010-05-31T00:06:00.003-04:00

It's interesting how sometimes the most profound statements can be found in mundane places. The following is from a song by Lee Greenwood:

at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

Memorial Day has been celebrated here in the US regularly since 1866. It wasn't called anything then. It was just a day when people would go to the graves of all the men and boys they knew who had died in the Civil War. After a few years, it was called Decoration Day and established to be on May 30. It wasn't until later that it was called Memorial Day, and later still when it moved from May 30 to the last Monday in May .

(This would be a good time to point out the fact to all my Canadian friends that, while November 11 is indeed an important date, and that we would never try to downplay the sacrifices that Canadians or anyone else made during WWI or any other war, it's important to note that the reason November 11 is not as big of a holiday here in the US is because by the time WWI ended, we Americans had been celebrating Memorial Day for almost fifty years.)

But regardless of how it came to be called what and when, it's still the day that we Americans take the time to remember all the heroes, fallen and standing, of all of the wars in which we've fought. Because there's precious little in this world that's more important than remembering. Because the men who fought for freedom and liberty deserve to be remembered -- even if we don't remember their names, we at least remember what they did. Because without them, none of us would be where we are today.

So...in the words of Abraham Lincoln: "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

Or in the words of Billy Ray Cyrus: "Love your country and live with pride
And don't forget those who died"

Either way? Never forget.

Why Are We Afraid to Disturb the Universe?

2010-05-30T14:34:00.003-04:00

So the Harlot has a debate going right now over the definition of lace. She is offering her readers four choices:

A) Elizabeth Zimmerman's definition, which is "a series of yarn-overs with accompanying decreases used to make holes" (or something like that).

B) Holes are holes, regardless of how they're made, so even if they aren't stable and are simply a result of knitting at a loose gauge, the result could be defined as lace.

C) As long as the holes are stable, intentional, and create some sort of design, the resulting fabric can be called lace.

D) Some other definition.

It's amusing to read through all the different comments -- to read about how "real lace" has to have patterning on both sides and how it must be accompanied by tears, angst, and language unbecoming a knitter, or how maybe we are really too rigid in a lot of our definitions.

The comment that really struck me though, was that a lot of people chose the first definition because, well, that's Elizabeth Zimmerman's definition, and who are we mere mortals to go against the great Knitting Goddess of Elizabeth Zimmerman?

Personally, I'd go with the third definition (because I don't think that yarn overs are the only way to make stable holes, or that knitting is the only way to create lace), but all those comments left me wondering...and marveling at the irony of it all (is it actually irony? I'm never certain). EZ was, truly, a knitting goddess. She made knitting cool before it was cool, and she authored many books throughout her lifetime that provide great, helpful information for many a knitter.

But most importantly (and here's where the irony(?) comes in), she disturbed the universe. And she dared other knitters to disturb the universe. Her definition of the perfect length of a border is "until the knitter is sick of knitting it." She constantly told knitters not to be afraid of doing something new or different (her motto was "knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises"). The first paragraph in one of her books talks about her "unventing something." She believed that there was no such thing as a mistake in knitting, only new things or deviations from a pattern, and that the correct way to create a long-tail cast-on was just to pull out a bunch of yarn until it looked long enough and go from there.

Now, I don't have any problem with any of those people who chose the first definition of lace if that's truly what they believed the definition to be. But to choose it just because it's Elizabeth Zimmerman's definition?

In the movie Mona Lisa Smile, Julia Roberts' character pulls out a Van Gogh paint-by-number and says to her students, "Ironic, isn't it? Look at what we have done to the man who refused to conform his ideals to popular taste. Who refused to compromise his integrity. We have put him in a tiny box and asked you to copy him."

I couldn't say it better.

For Thoughts

2010-05-21T15:28:00.002-04:00

You ever notice how some patterns take forever to do, and then others you can get done really quickly? And not for any particular reason, either. I wonder why that is...

I'm working on the Francis Revisted sweater. Now, granted, it's knit on big needles, and there's virtually NO FINISHING. But still, I started it seven days ago, and I'm almost done with it. Normally, it takes me about 2-3 weeks to do a sweater, and this one will be done in about eight days. Weird.

And that's not the only one. Monkey socks are lickety split, too. Why is that, especially when other patterns out there are slow as molasses? It can't be the actual pattern: Francis is done in plain stockinette, and Monkeys in fish-scale lace. And it's not necessarily the needle size either, because I have another sweater on the same size needles as Francis that I just frogged because it's been on the needles , so what is it about certain patterns?

What other patterns out there are uber fast?

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

2010-05-17T13:47:00.002-04:00

You ever wonder who the old man is in that rhyme?

So, in April, it got up to 90 degrees in the first week. Now, it's May, and it's back down to the low 60's. Huh. Maybe the temperature can't decide which month it is.

I'm trying to decide whether I can swing Summer's End with my Lion Cotton.

I'm going to go with the Boys vs. Girls series. Hopefully that will generate interest on both sides of the fence. But if any child comes home with ideas, I'm denying all knowledge.

Today is Gary Paulsen's birthday. Read Hatchet if you get a chance.

Ideas

2010-05-07T11:37:00.002-04:00

I'm looking for a series to do in the fall. It needs to be appealing to both genders, and for kids in the age range of 9-12. Anyone have any ideas? Here are the ones I've been thinking about so far:

1. Oz, by L. Frank Baum. It's fantasy adventure, which would appeal to boys, and it has plenty of strong female characters, which appeals to...well...girls. But would the fact that the protagonists are mainly female put the boys off? Also, how would I get around the fact that the program wouldn't be about the movie?

2. The Last Apprentice, by Joseph Delaney. Again, lots of fantasy adventure and great character development, but we're talking DARK here. And SCARY. Some kids might be put off by that. And then there's the fact that most of the girl characters aren't exactly the ones we want to root for.

3. Boys v. Girls, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. A different take here with present day, good-natured humor that's equally divided between girls and boys. A definite appeal to both genders...but is it old enough? The older kids might not be so into the younger siblings.

4. The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley. Horses with a male protagonist -- you can't not appeal to boys and girls here. And there's loads of adventure, with each book just a little different. But would some of the kids be put off by some of the datedness of the books?

So that's what I have so far. Anyone have any other ideas?? Comments?? Questions??

The Monkeys are done!

Random on a Friday

2010-04-23T17:56:00.003-04:00

1. The people at Home Depot grossly overstimated the aount of dirt I needed to garden. Either that, or I need more plants.

2. Gardening is hard exercise.

3. I hate wasps and carpenter bees.

4. One Monkey sock -- DONE! I need to start the other one though, probably tonight, soas not fall victim to Second Sock Syndrome.

5. Here's hoping that Purplicious will be dompleted by MDSW a week from tomorrow. (Is it a week from tomorrow. Wow, time flies.) That, and the ugly bumblebee socks.

6. I saw a tiger swallowtail today!!

Could We At Least Pretend?

2010-04-08T12:25:00.004-04:00

You probably all have your favorite sports team. When I was in University, the team that everyone cared about was the Toronto Maple Leafs. In grad school, it was the Steelers. Back home, it's Penn State and the Phillies.

But even though those were The Teams to support, the news stations at least pretended that a) there are other teams and other sports out there, and b) that there are other things happening in the world that don't concern them. Like, oh I don't know...maybe an extreme weather situation, or a local crime, or some big festival going on, or a natural disaster.

The day the Eagles traded DM to the Skins, there was an earthquake in California, a local police officer was killed in the line of duty, and we were in the middle of a record-breaking heatwave. Moreover, the trade took place the day before OPENING DAY in the baseball season. But were ANY of those stories the ones the news broadcasters cared about at the top of the news hour? NO. All anyone cared about was this (apparently) shocking trade.

Mind you, this is also the same network (whom I shall not identify) who claimed that Abraham Lincoln was born in Illinois, but still. Come on, people. There is a time for sports stories in the newscast, and unless this story is so huge that it affects other parts of the news (Shawn Johnson's murder, for example), the very top of the news hour, overshadowing everything else going on in the world, is not it. And while I will admit that this was a big story, when there are other things going on in the world of other major league sports, like one sport's Opening Day, or the start of another sport's playoffs, it should not take up the whole amount of the time devoted to sports.

In addition to the Skins, there are five other professional major league sports teams in our area (at least. There may be more, but those are the ones I'm aware of). And for those of you who are not aware, of those five, guess how many made the playoffs for the 2009 or 2009-2010 season?

One.

That's right. One. Three others finished dead last, and the fifth finished somewhere in the middle. The Skins? I would say their performance was mediocre. They didn't make the playoffs either.

Now, any NFL team is certainly entitled to make whatever trade they wish, as long as it is within NFL guidelines. But you know, maybe if the local news stations pretended to care a little more about the other professional teams in our area, do you think those teams might, JUST MIGHT, perform a little better?

Just a thought.

Random on a Wednesday

2010-03-24T13:57:00.002-04:00

Spring has sprung. Although, the weather these past two days has been much cooler than the weather over the weekend. The library has cooled down considerably.

I have 12 rounds left on my Cap Shawl (that's a Ravelry link). Then I get to the border. It is going slowly.

There are three cherry trees in bloom outside the library. It makes me happy to look at them.

I am trying very hard to get my other pair of socks done before the weekend.

I am not going to discuss the new health care bill. Unless you have actually been in need of medical care in a foreign country where the hospital was willing to treat you, no questions asked and regardless of insurance, OR unless you have been on the other end and have been somewhere and denied treatment because of a lack of insurance, really, I do not wish to discuss it.

I need to get ready for storytime.

An Idea

2010-03-02T18:15:00.005-05:00

Firstly: in light of what happened recently in Chile, I'd thought I'd reiterate my previous post about how lucky we are. Since some of the links point to Haiti, here are the links for the Chilean Embassy in D.C. and in Ottawa.

On Sunday, the Olympics came to a close, and we all went back to our normal everyday routine. It looked like quite a party, but it got me thinking, particularly in light of the hockey game Sunday afternoon.

I didn't watch the hockey game, just the brief moments that were retold later that night during the nightly news (congrats to all my Canadian friends, btw), but then I saw an interview with an American player afterward. The player was saying how disappointed he was for being forced to settle for the silver medal. He wouldn't even accept the reporter's congratulations.

Did you know that more silver medalists are depressed than anyone else who compete in the Olympics? Gold medalists are always happy. Bronze medalists are just happy to be on the podium, and everybody else who doesn't medal just feels sad that they didn't medal. But silver medalists, time and again, are depressed. If they only flew higher, jumped farther, ran faster, stopped one more goal, landed one more jump. Their lives are full of "if only's" and "what if's."

Which is a shame really. Because silver medal? That's pretty good! It means that out of everybody else in the world competing in your sport, you are better than all of them except for one. I don't see why people who win the silver medal are treated as though they had to settle for something.

Do you think that Meryl Davis and Charlie White are disappointed with the silver medal they won in ice dancing in one of their first international competitions ever? That Jaret Peterson is disappointed with the silver he won in men's freestyle aerials (he was quoted as saying that it tasted pretty sweet)? That Julia Mancuso is disappointed with the two silvers she won in women's downhill and the super-combined (she danced on the podium with a grin as big as B.C. on her face)? Or that Johnny Spillane is disappointed with the three silvers he won in men's Nordic combined (the first medals ever for any American in the event)?

And that's one of the reasons I didn't watch the hockey game (another reason is that I'm still quite bitter over the way I was treated by certain Canadians after the 2002 gold medal game, but that's a post for another time). I am not a fan of any sport, be it hockey, basketball, curling, volleyball, whatever, where the gold and silver medals come down to playing a game. Where in order to win the silver medal, you have to lose. Where athletes don't win silver medals but lose gold ones. No wonder the hockey player was down in the dumps about the game.

I feel like the awards for gold, silver, and bronze in these types of sports should be determined using some other method. In 1980 (that's the last time the US won a gold medal in men's hockey, and to all you Canadians out there? Regardless of how many medals we may or may not go on to win in future Olympics, none of them will ever top that one), the last game the US played wasn't against the Soviets, the team that ended up with the silver medal. It was against Finland, who finished fourth. So maybe we should go back to whatever method was used back then. Maybe then, the athletes can return home and feel like they've actually accomplished something, instead of feeling like they had to settle.

Ok, rant over, peace out. I'm going back to rooting for Alex Ovechkin.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

2010-02-24T17:24:00.003-05:00

First off, the question of the day: Did anyone ever notice that during medal cermonies, the flag for the silver medalist is raised opposite the bronze medalist and vice versa?

Now on to the interesting stuff.

Just saw this quote on CNN. It's apparently from the Russian newspaper Pravda and is offering its opinion about the Olympics so far:

"The utter incapacity of this country to host a major international event, due to its inferiority complex, [is] born of a trauma being the skinny and weakling bro to a beefy United States and a colonial outpost to the United Kingdom."

Huh. I guess the 29 medals the Soviet Union won in 1988 and the 125 they won in 1976 were all won by Belarusians, Ukranians, and Georgians.

For the record, here is a picture of a Cossack glove...

And the above quote was the sound of it hitting the floor. I've always wondered what that sounded like.

I'd love to see Evgeny Plushenko on Dancing with the Stars. And I cannot wait for Sochi.

What's online smut good for?

2010-02-23T18:45:00.004-05:00

Scotty Lago won a bronze medal in men's halfpipe on Wednesday. A few days later, a couple of pictures show up on a tabloid website that cause a bit of a stir. One of them shows an unidentified fan kissing Lago's medal as it hangs just below his (fully clothed) waist. The other shows the same fan biting the medal as Lago holds it in his hand.

Apparently neither the USOC nor the USSA were amused. Lago formally apologized and left Vancouver shortly after the pictures were made public. But the tabloid that published the photos is crying foul. They're saying that Lago should have been cut some slack. More exactly, "He's a snowboarder for cryin' out loud. They should have cut him a break."

They should have cut him a break because what he did wasn't all that horrible....or because he's a snowboarder?

Does that mean that if a ski jumper or a figure skater did the same thing, they shouldn't be given any slack?

And does that mean that if the photos had been originally published elsewhere, the tabloid would still be indignant?

I don't understand how being a snowboarder excuses someone from inappropriate behavior. And I don't see why the tabloid is up in arms about it. First of all, no one is denying their right to post the photos. Nor is anyone denouncing the photographs, just the actions portrayed in them. Secondly, I might suggest to this tabloid that they check out the USSA's code of conduct, which, by the way, does not differentiate between skiers and snowboarders. And if the USSA has decided that the actions in the photos are in violation of said code, then they should have the authority to act accordingly.

*sigh.* If this were a print tabloid, I'd say my normal rule about tabloids being good for only one thing applies. As this is online, I'll have to come up with something else. Any ideas?

I Take it Back

2010-02-19T11:37:00.003-05:00

Global Warming IS a myth. Because clearly, the four and a half feet of snow we've received this month would not have happened if it weren't. We have now received a total of about 6 feet of snow so far this winter, breaking all previous records. And there's still a month of winter left.

On to other things:

Bella is progressing rapidly. Although the pattern is not written out as clearly as I would like. Evidently, the solution to this is to take notes. But it will get done on schedule. (Probably ahead of schedule, actually.)

In my humble opinion, EP is being a sore loser. I wish I could tell him, "Dude. You just won a silver medal. So it isn't gold. Get over it. The fact is, you didn't skate as cleanly as EL. Even a muggle like me could recognize that. Be a man and accept it graciously."

I love watching sporting events on tv. It equates to great knitting time.

Channeling Dr. Seuss

2010-01-14T00:02:00.004-05:00

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? I realized as I was driving home tonight that after putting up my rather sparkling and witty post about the upcoming Newbery awards that there is another topic out there that is much more important.

Here in the US and Canada, we are incredibly, incredibly blessed. We live in one of the richest, healthiest countries in the world, and our quality of life is incredibly high (doesn't matter if it's the US or Canada). And I can gripe all I want about some of the problems in my life, about what I can't afford to buy or where I can afford to go, or what I am able to do, but when it comes right down to it, I have it easy. Regardless of how poor I feel sometimes (and believe me, there are days), I have never truly lacked for anything. I have always had food in my cupboard, clothes on my body, and a roof over my head. Even with the economy falling apart like it has, I have never truly worried about how I was going to pay for groceries, or where I was going to sleep at night. And I know that a lot of you can say the same. We are blessed -- truly, incredibly blessed.

Since Tuesday's horrible news, I've been thinking about ways to make a difference. The situation in Port-au-Prince is NOT GOOD. Orphanages and hospitals are among the buildings that have been destroyed. Doctors and emergency personel are among the dead. Officials estimate that casualties are possibly in the tens of thousands. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in North America to begin with, and the people there need our aid desperately.

So I'm putting out a call for help. I know that a lot of us put aside some money each month for little luxuries -- whatever they are. The next time you find yourself pulling out your wallet, ask yourself, Do I really need this? Is this an actual necessity that I absolutely MUST HAVE in order to survive? Starbucks/Tim Hortons is not a necessity (I'm not saying coffee -- I'm saying expensive or fancy coffee). Yarn is not a necessity. Books (sob) are not necessities. That dinner out? A fifth pair of shoes? That fancy haircut and dye job? Seeing Sherlock Holmes, It's Complicated, Leap Year, or whatever other new flick that just hit the theatres? NOT NECESSITIES. And at the end of the next week or two, whatever money you save, could you send it on to someone whose home just got destroyed? Here are some places where you can share some of the love:

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontiers in the U.S. and international (a word about this? if you give to this one, could you please e-mail Stephanie and let her know how much you gave? She's keeping a running total.)
The Red Cross in the U.S. and abroad
CARE
UNICEF
World Vision
Haitian Health Foundation
Haitian consulate in Washington and in Montreal

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I know we have it in ourselves to do so much good in the world. We are so incredibly fortunate. Let us give to those who are not.

Announcement on Monday

2010-01-13T13:44:00.002-05:00

The Newbery and Caldecott awards (along with all the other ALA children's lit awards) are going to be announced on Monday. As such, many libraries around the country have been holding mock elections to choose there own winners.

When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.
Interesting. I had trouble following the plot a little, but I think it was one where you just have to suspend your imagination, particularly where the physics are concerned. Good character development. I wonder if it will tesser well.

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
If it wins, it will be the second Newbery for KDC. The writing style is similar to Despereaux, which may or may not be a good thing. I liked it in Winn-Dixie better, but perhaps others will like it. Lilies indeed.

All the Broken Pieces by Anne E. Burg
I'm not fond of novels written in verse, but hey, it worked for Out of the Dust, so it could work here too. It seemed sad to me, and I couldn't help wondering if Matt ever did find out what happened to his biological father.

Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino
The plot was easy to follow, and the characters were believable and well-developed. But I couldn't stand Tamara, and the 1960's/1970's historical fiction was a little much coming on the heels of When You Reach Me and All the Broken Pieces.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
So far so good. It was a little fantastical, and kind of reminded me of The Underneath or The Eight with all the different plots and stories. But I haven't finished reading it, so I shall have to see.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly.
I haven't read this one yet (it's on my request list, but it hasn't come in yet), but from its reviews, it kind of reminds me of Caddie Woodlawn. But I shall refrain from passing judgement on it until I actually do finish reading it.

Did I miss anything?

Global Warming Is a Myth

2010-01-04T17:56:00.002-05:00

Actually, it's not, but don't tell the people in the southeast US that right now. They won't believe you.

Average temperatures for Atlanta in January are in the 40's. Average high is 52F, and average low is 33F. January is the city's coldest month, so that means that if the temperature ever dips below freezing there, it's pretty darn cold.

Last night, the base temperature in Atlanta was 23F, with wind chill of 14F. Tuesday morning, it's to get down to 19F. And that's without wind chill.

19F (-7C) in January is moderately normal in New Brunswick. It's an average low in Pennsylvania, and on the chilly side in Virginia. But in places where it's not supposed to get down below freezing EVER?

Dudes. That's cold.

For unto you this day...

2009-12-25T01:06:00.002-05:00

My coworker S recently told me this story: A woman is shopping with her two children. It's the last weekend before Christmas, the malls are crowded, it's getting late, the kids are hungry and whining and fussing, and she's getting more and more frustrated with the whole experience. She's almost done, and she's struggling to get to the elevator with both kids and all her bags and her sanity. It is not going well.

The elevator is late, and when it finally comes, it's almost full, so there's barely enough room for the three of them and their bags, but they squeeze in. But by this time, the woman has had it, and all her frustration comes spewing forth, and she vents to the crowded elevator, "I don't know whose idea this whole holiday thing was, but whoever they are, they ought to be crucified!"

Behind her in the back of the elevator, a person pipes up: "He was."

Sometimes in the rush of the whole Christmas season, it's easy to lose sight of what's really important. We're so busy running around trying to get everything done -- all the baking, the shopping, the decorating -- that we forget why we're actually celebrating in the first place. That this day -- December 25 -- is, first and foremost, a birthday celebration. And that in a time when we are all supposed to be thinking about giving to others, we should all stop to think about the ultimate gift that was given to us -- Jesus.

Merry Christmas

Well

2009-12-22T09:29:00.002-05:00

That was interesting.

The Goose Is Getting Fat

2009-12-15T18:49:00.002-05:00

Actually, we never ate goose in our family on Christmas. We usually ate turkey. Does that mean that the goose is still getting fat, or can it stay thin?

I have finished the three out of four scarves I was planning on knitting for Christmas. I don't know if the fourth one will in fact be done in time. We shall have to see.

I have come across this website. For those nonknitters among you who are looking for gift ideas for your knitting loved ones? You might want to check it out.

Ten days until Christmas.

Random on a Saturday

2009-12-05T11:55:00.002-05:00

I have entered the second wave of the Black Hole of Calcutta. The first was on the leg. The second is now on the foot. Remind me never again to knit another pair of kilt hose.

I am not entirely certain I like the sleeves on Espresso (Ravelry link), but so far, I have yet to encounter the major issue that other people have complained about. We shall have to see.

It is going to be interesting to see how much of the sweater I will be able to get down before Christmas.

Tomorrow is the feast day of St. Nicholas, for those of you with Dutch or Russian heritage. I have no wooden shoes, so I think I will pass, even though I actually do happen to have some Dutch in me. (Besides, I celebrated my heritage on Monday when I wore my Bruce sash to commemorate St. Andrew's Day.)

It's snowing outside! Yay!

White

2009-11-24T18:32:00.004-05:00

According to my middle school science teacher (and corroborated by my high school science teachers), white is defined by the absence of all color. (Confuse it not with light, which is the presence of all color.) Therefore, no matter what anyone tells you, whether they be from the fashion world, or the makeup world, or the home decorating world, there is only ever one shade of white. The absence of all color. There can be many different shades of blue, or green, or purple, or red, or brown, or even offwhite (consider eggshell, nacre, ecru, beige, taupe, bone, pearl, smoke,

whatever color used to be on my bedroom ceiling

the list goes on. That picture was snapped while H and Earthling and I were painting my bedroom. And prior to it, I would have sworn the ceiling was white. Apparently not). With lots of colors, there is a whole spectrum of shades and timbres, and it's this range that provides us with such beauty in the world. And, let's face it, it's fun sometimes to confuse a man who can't see the difference between the three blues, when clearly obvious that one is navy, one is royal, and one is denim.

But not white. No matter what anyone tells you, there is only ever one white.

Pretty

2009-11-15T12:28:00.002-05:00

This is the tree outside my front door.

The picture is a week old. Thanks to Ida, it is no longer in its magnificence, because about two thirds of its leaves have since fallen off. But I'm thinking of sending it into TWC for its Capture the Fall thingy. Anyone have an opinion on that? It costs $10 to send in a photo. Is it worth it?

Rhinebeck!

2009-10-22T17:44:00.023-04:00

The Duchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, New York is home to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival on the third weekend of October, every year. This is always fun to attend -- Earthling and I went last year and had loads of fun, so we were looking forward to it this year. It's similar to Maryland's, but it's much more oriented towards families -- similar to a fall carnival. But regardless of how you look at it, it's still a lot of fun.

But really, the most important thing about Rhinebeck was that It. Was. COLD. Thursday afternoon, I left Virginia thinking, "It's October. How cold can it be, even if it is New York? I'll take my Rhinebeck cardigan (Ravelry link) and jacket, and I should be fine."

Little did I know. See this?

That's me INSIDE a barn. Yes, those are knitting needles I am holding. Yes, they really are about four feet tall. Note that I am wearing not just my sweater and jacket, but mittens and a hat as well (I'm also wearing wool socks, but you can't see those). The hat is one that I knit a couple of years ago and gave to Earthling for Christmas. The mittens, I cast on Thursday night and finished in the hotel room Friday evening, after Earthling commented that there was a chance of snow(!) for Rhinebeck on Saturday. (I don't normally knit that fast, even a pair a mittens, but this was on a deadline.)

There was no snow that day (although we did pass some on the ground on our way north), though, so we lucked out in that respect. Especially since the next day (which was the day we left, so we didn't go to the booths again), it rained, and was probably much more miserable for the attendees.

I went to Rhinebeck with a certain set of rules in my head. These rules were to help keep me from not spending too much.

Rule #1: I would use only cash. I would not pull out any of my cards or my checkbook, and I would not use the ATM at the fairgrounds.

Result: Bang on on this one. This has been my rule for pretty much every wool festival I've attended, and it's worked pretty well. When my cash is done, so am I. Earthling does the same.

Rule #2: I would not buy anything that I already owned, or that I could procure at any of my local yarn stores back home.

Result: Right. Well, I did pretty well on this one, too, except that I do know that I already own a couple of silk bells

(but not in that color. There's a difference.), and I'm pretty sure I can get one of these at With Yarn in Front:

Other than that, everything else was new. Honest.

Rule #3. I would not play with any of my new stuff until I made a sizeable dent in my current stash.

Result:

It was worth it though -- to entrance the Beasts.

There were bunnies:

There were goats:

I'm pretty sure this alpaca liked me:

Not so certain about the llama, though:

The sheep clearly couldn't care less:

Sheep Incognito was there:

We looked at the items that had been entered for judging and saw things that were beautiful:

Some things that were cute:

Some things that showed what I could aspire to:

And things that showed me that clearly, it is not my opinion that counts in anything:

I finished my Kindness Socks (in the hotel room):

It was a great time. I can't wait until next year.

Update

2009-10-20T13:40:00.003-04:00

Lest ye think that I have been ignoring you and the house....

That, my friends, is a picture of one of my air ducts. You can't really tell, because I didn't take the vent off, but that vent right there has just been cleaned. I took no before picture, partly because I didn't think of it at the time, and partly also because I didn't want to frighten anyone with the image of my dirty air vent and thoughts of life forms living amidst my ducts (which, by the way, they were totally dirty enough to house. I kid you not).

However, last week, right before I went away to Rhinebeck, the Cardinal people came and cleaned my furnace, and the Steamatic people came and cleaned my air ducts. So now, there is no longer the possibilty of strange life forms living in my ducts, and (once I go out and procure the air filter), I can actually turn on the heat as well.

Also:

Paint. Evidence of it, although there is still considerable more to do. (Anyone who comes over to help will be fed. Please?)

Next post: Rhinebeck!

The Little Things

2009-10-06T16:23:00.002-04:00

The other day, H and I were shopping in a bath and beauty type store, and H came across a container of hand cream that she thought smelled really nice. And she was thinking about buying some, until she looked at the price tag: $24. At which point, she turned to me and muttered that hand cream really isn't worth that much, even if it is really nicely scented.

This sparked a conversation with the clerks, because we wondered how popular the hand cream was (we didn't mention that we didn't think the cream worth the price). It turned out that the clerks sort of agreed with us: They didn't think it was worth the $24 either, but that enough of their patrons considered it their little luxuries, enough so to pay that much for the cream. One of them suggested to H that if she really liked it that much, perhaps it would become her little luxury -- the one thing she would be willing to splurge on.

That got me thinking as I drove into work the next day. I had stopped at a Starbucks for a venti caramel macchiato -- which, with taxes, cost around $4.30. I also had to wait in line for it for about ten minutes, which almost made me late for work.

I had stopped there, because Starbucks is on my way into work. But so is McDonalds, which sells caramel lattes for a lot less, and the line is much shorter. I could have stopped there instead of at Starbucks, spent $1.50 less, and waited 5 fewer minutes in line. But a caramel latte is not the same as a caramel macchiato.

I still don't know about the hand cream - to me $24 still seems like a lot to shell out. But I guess we all have our little things we feel the need to splurge on, whether it be a caramel macchiato, a jar of hand cream, a cute pair of shoes, or a tube of lipstick.

What's yours?

Before

2009-09-21T09:28:00.017-04:00

So, as promised, here is "Before." We will start with the outside.

I spent Saturday afternoon pruning that blasted hedge. In the spring, I'm totally hiring a landscaper to come and get rid of it. I'm foreseeing it as more trouble than it's worth, and I want flowers there instead.

Here is the back of the house.

No deck, but both of my neighbors have one, so at least I know one is kosher. Maybe in a couple more years with a couple more dollars in my bank account, it will be something to think about.

The back yard.

There is foliage back here that I want gone too -- I spent considerable time back here on Saturday also.

The street out front:

Now, on to inside. Here is the foyer on the main level:

(That's my purse sitting on the floor there.)

The living room:

That's V's air mattress that she kindly lent me so that I could spend my first night as a homeowner there.

The other end of the living room. I think it was supposed to be the formal eating area, but I'm going to turn it into my office area.

The kitchen.

That box I was using as a temporary trash can. The unlit candle on the counter is acting as an air freshener.

The other end of the kitchen, which is where I have since put the dining room table:

The upstairs hallway:

The master bedroom. This is one of the few rooms in the house that is actually close to being fully done (now). The only thing missing for an "after" picture are the drapes.

The room that will end up being my guest room:

The really tiny bedroom upstairs that is going to be my craft room. I did not pick that color blue, and am thinking it might be a little much for it (it's darker in real life).

The hall bathroom upstairs. There are three full bathrooms in this place, but this is the one I've been abluting in.

The really weird room off of the garage. The previous owners stuck a wall halfway through the garage and made it into an abbreviated garage (big enough for my bike, the soon-to-be lawn mower and gardening supplies, the trash cans, and not much else) and an office. There is no window in this room, so the color is a little off. The walls are really more of a light mustard shade. I think I will use it as a large closet for now.

The family room downstairs. The bathroom there has a shower in it that is filthy almost beyond belief. I will spare you the details. Use your imagination and know that it is worse than that.

And the other half of the family room, complete with back door. This is where the futon is going to be for the time being.

It's mostly cosmetic -- what needs to be done. I've moved in and (mostly) unpacked. There is now a refrigerator in the kitchen, and new locks on all the doors. Mostly, what needs to be done is cleaning -- I had the good sense to hire someone to come and steam clean the carpet -- and painting. Pretty much every room needs to be touched up, if not completely repainted, in some way. I'm almost done with the living room and my bedroom, but I'll wait until everything is done before presenting the "after" pictures.

(The green fluffiness is all spun up now, and is in the process of being knit. Pattern: Oblique. It's not as lofty as I would like, but it seems to be knitting up well.)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-09-08T15:17:00.002-04:00

Today's post was going to be about the house. I was going to post all my "before" pictures and explain what all I was planning on doing with it (and it's a lot, but mostly cosmetic), and then provide an update on all that I had done so far. That's what I had meant to do today. But this morning, when I woke up and heard a certain noise outside, I realized that there was something more important to write about.

What was that noise, you ask, that would be more important than my new house? A noise that makes me want to dance outside in the street, throwing pennies to anyone who walks by?

The noise outside was a bus shifting its gears. Which means that today, my friends, today is a most auspicous day. Today is....

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!!

Well

2009-08-31T14:58:00.002-04:00

I stayed awake all Friday night, tossing and turning on the air mattress that V lent me -- partly because every time I shifted position, the mattress would shift with me, partly because there were no drapes in the windows, and the neighbor across the street had the outside light on, and partly because I was worrying about what I had just done.

Did they really fix the furnace? What if, come November, I go to turn it on, and it doesn't work?

What if something happens and I lose my job?

What if I can't afford to make the mortgage payments (please bear in mind that the fact that I have just plopped down a substantial downpayment on this sucker kind of mutes the worry about not affording the mortgage)?

What if I can't get the stove clean?

Did I pick the right paint colors?

When will I be able to go to a locksmith? What if something happens between now and then?

And then it hit me:

Good or bad, that house is mine now.

This Is not Going Well

2009-08-24T14:34:00.003-04:00

Or maybe it is, depending on how you look at it. But either way, when someone e-mails you about something that is clearly time sensitive, it might behoove both of you to respond with a reasonable sense of alacrity, and not until FIVE DAYS have passed, when it might be too late for either one of you to do anything about it.

Moving on...

I have finished spinning up all the green fluffiness! Now for a pattern.

Packing, packing, I fear there is no end to the packing....

I am in desperate need of bleach. And moving boxes. And a decently working vacuum.

I finished the front of the Fireside Sweater (that's a Ravelry link) and have started on the back. This is my second go-round on it, and this one, unlike the first one, will have sleeves and will be in a different yarn.

Celtic Festival coming up!

Random

2009-08-18T20:49:00.001-04:00

Summer Reading is over.

I've finished spinning up the singles on the green fluffiness. Now for plying.

Never play with scissors. Doing so will result in injury that impairs one's knitting and typing ability.

Peach cobbler is very good but never quite as good as when Mother makes it.

Random Musings

2009-08-04T20:03:00.001-04:00

There are six volunteers at the library currently shelving the books. It doesn't seem to have made much of a difference, but if I tell myself that it has, then it won't counteract my running back and forth to the back room for more carts.

I have started on the second bobbin of the green fluffiness.

I finished my blue socks and am almost done with the green ones!

Apparently bananas are a "complete" food that one can live almost exclusively on. Along with honey and wild salmon. Who knew?

It is exactly this long before school starts.

Frogs, Flies, and Fun

2009-07-29T14:06:00.002-04:00

They say that time flies when you're having fun, or (as a frog would say), time's fun when you're having flies. But sometimes time flies when you're so incredibly busing because you don't have the time to notice the fact that time is actually passing. In the words of Marina Sirtis, We haven't the time to worry about time.

On the up side...

I have finished my personal programs for SRP, which means that the only things I need to worry about right now are the Foundation programs and the volunteers.

I am over halfway done spinning up the green roving. I have one pound completely spun and plied, and almost a bobbin and a half spun up of the second pound. I'm going for a heavy worsted/chunky weight, and I think I have about 550 yards in one pound.

I can't believe there are people out there who didn't like The Little Engine that Could....

I Think I Can, I Think I Can

2009-07-14T19:25:00.003-04:00

Six more weeks until school starts.

Three more weeks until the end of summer reading.

Watty Piper never said it so well.

I can too do it

2009-06-25T10:30:00.008-04:00

Very busy month going on right now. Summer Reading has begun (Oh Joy), which means teen voluneers, school visits (now finished, thankfully), programs, and screaming hords inundating the library every day. Three more months....

The new library opens in about two weeks.

The house hunt continues apace. I have come to the realization that, while I am quite capable of painting walls, cleaning counters, and calling Sears and Empire for a new refrigerator and carpet, the idea of dealing with an HVAC system as old as I am is well beyond my level of expertise. So that house is crossed off the list. I'm going out again tonight. Wish me luck.

But let it not be said that I cannot cope with the stress. I cope just fine. See?

These are the Ancient Oak socks, which I swore WOULD NOT GET THE BETTER OF ME (and they haven't). And you will be happy to know that in the light of finishing up the Purple People Eaters and the Ancient Oak, I have also worked on the next appropriate item in my queue:

Darn tootin. That there is a garter stitch Syrian Shawl (that's a Ravelry link) -- the best thing in the world to work on when the universe is plotting to drive you crazier than you already are. Even the edging was relatively simple.

I am happy to see that my blocking has come out much better on this one than it did with my previous shawls.

See? No problem coping.

This is the way you knit a sock

2009-06-10T16:49:00.003-04:00

Or rather, this is the way one should knit a sock:

1) Choose pattern
2) Choose yarn (this may or may not be done prior to the completion of step 1)
3) Knit swatch to see if pattern and yarn are comparable to each other (or go wild and skip this step)
4) Knit sock 1. Try sock on recipient to ensure fit.
5) Knit sock 2. Give to recipient.

See? Not that hard. At all. Which is why I have been ready to tear my eyeballs out in seething rage in response to this last pair I've been working on. Because this is how I have been knitting a sock.

1) Choose yarn (Yummy, in colorway Truffle, which apparently isn't being made anymore)
2) Choose pattern (Ancient Oak -- that's a Ravelry link)
3) Knit swatch.
4) Realize that the pattern calls for a slightly thicker yarn and a bigger gauge than the yarn will knit up at. Employ language unbecoming a knitter.
5) Decide to work the pattern anway, changing the stitch count from 54 to 72.
6) Knit ribbing and first pattern repeat.
7) Realize that even after having increased by 18 stitches, the sock is still to small.
8) Rip out sock and cast on again, this time with 84 stitches.
9) Realize that the colorway changed when the stitch count increased and no longer looks as nice. Employ more language unbecoming a knitter, but decide to continue knitting.
10) Celebrate when, after ribbing and first pattern repeat, that this size will work. Continue onto heel.
11) Realize halfway through heel flap that the pattern called for standard stockinette rather than slipped stitch. Rip back again.
12) Reknit heel and celebrate after a successful turning that has included copious amounts of weird math in order to get the stitch count to come out right.
13) Realize after about five rounds of gussett decreases that the color is just turning out way too weird to continue knitting.
14) Call V and complain bitterly about sock
15) Rip back, using language unbecoming a knitter and sobbing knitterly sobs.
16) Go up a needle size and cast on the original 72 stitches.
17) Use more language unbecoming a knitter when the realization dawns that this is now working.
18) Realize that the copious weird math done the first time is not going to work the second time. Use more language unbecoming a knitter.
19) Rework weird math. Celebrate when the heel turns successfully.
20) Complete sock 1
21) Begin sock 2 and ask recipient to try on sock 1
22) Dance jig when sock fits recipient
23) Progress to heel of sock 2
24) Realize that you again forgot to write down the exact numbers of the complicated weird math when turning the heel. Refrain from using language unbecoming a knitter as in the presence of parents.
25) Begin working on garter stitch shawl in an effort to preserve sanity.

Finishing Up

2009-06-01T14:14:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it's June already. Seriously? What happened to April and May? Time flies so quickly sometimes.

On the up side (speaking of which, I really want to see that movie)...

I HAVE FINISHED THE FLYING PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS!!!

Yes. It is true. Remember the shawl?

It is now this.

A closer look?

A thousand curses on the lighting in my bedroom. The first picture shows the color most accurately. V took pictures of it on me, but she has yet to send them to me, so you'll have to make do with the crappy ones I took. I'm very proud of this. It took forever, but it was so worth it.

I also finished spinning up the tussah:

There's about 750 yards of that gorgeousness right there (and the color is pretty accurate in this picture). I want to make a nice wrap or shawl with it. Unfortunatley, it's not spun evenly enough to make anything particularly lacy, but we shall see. Perhaps another Wool Peddlers.

Lest We Forget

2009-05-24T22:56:00.002-04:00

"Love your country and live with pride
And don't forget those who died." -- Billy Ray Cyrus

That's a line from the song "Some Gave All" -- which I've never heard played on the radio, but I think is most appropriate today. And it made me realize that whatever profound, moving thoughts I was going to put down here would pale in comparison to what the collective mind of American humanity has already said. It also drove home the point that it doesn't really matter what I say here, because the important thing is, to quote Abraham Lincoln, "The world...can never forget."

So instead of me spouting off something trite and patt about the importance of this Monday, I think I'll just close with something that was said tonight during the Memorial Day concert by one of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

"Let us make their hope our own, and let us never, ever forget."

The Long Weekend

2009-05-22T12:53:00.002-04:00

I'm so glad we're coming up on a long weekend, because I really need to get a lot done. I'm desperate to finish the Flying Purple People Eaters (which is bothersome, because the more rows I do on it, the longer they become, and the longer it is taking to finish it), but I'm hoping only two more pattern repeats, and it will be done except for the blocking. And now that my wheel has dried, and the little plastic dodad has been replaced, I can work on some spinning this weekend too (yeah!).

Green Valley Book Fair this weekend!

Sigh

2009-05-15T14:54:00.003-04:00

Right outside the building from my desk, there are a bunch of construction workers (since I can hear and see them actually doing things, I won't qualify it anymore than that). They are (at least I think and hope that this is what they're doing) rebuilding the gazebo which burned down last summer. (I think it had help.)

Let me see. It is now the middle of May. The gazebo burned down in early August. That is over nine months in which there has been a barren space of land outside. Children have been conceived, carried, and delivered.

Now that the Monkey socks are done, there is room in the queue for the Ancient Oak ones. Except that these spent almost two days in time out, thinking about what they did after I totally arsed up the gauge on them. Grumble.

Thank God it's Friday.

Well

2009-05-02T12:38:00.006-04:00

I feel like I really want to rant right now. There are certain things that are really starting to TICK ME OFF ROYALLY -- like computers, and cleaning staff, and staff at stores that don't seem to know anything about what they're selling, and...

Never mind. Here, look at knitting:

That's the October Frost cardigan, finally done. Although I have no idea what is up with the color. Here's a much better image:

Pattern from A Fine Fleece, made with the rest of the Cascade Eco that I had leftover from making the Holiday Vest.

And here are the water lilly socks, which were finished on Thursday and promptly pressed into service on Friday:

(My own standard sock pattern, made with yarn from one of the vendors at Pittsburgh whose name escapes me at the moment.)

There. I feel so much better now. Don't you?

Update

2009-04-20T15:47:00.002-04:00

Just a quicky, because I have no time.

The candle flame socks are done -- except for weaving in the ends, but really ends, schmends.

The OF cardigan is blocking. On my bed. Hopefully by the time I get home this evening, it will have finished drying, and I will be able to use my bed. When I move into my my own digs, I really need to get a blocking table.

The lily pond socks are almost half way done.

There has been no further progress on the flying purple people eaters.

This past week has given new meaning to the phrase "April Showers."

Stitches in Your Home -- what a great idea! Heather is a genius.

On behalf of Mason-Dixon Knitting, please consider donating to Afghans for Afghans if you have a chance.

Random on a Tuesday

2009-04-14T12:33:00.004-04:00

It's raining right now. We need the rain, but it makes for some dreary scenery outside. The sky is gray, and from my desk at work I cannot see any of the pear or magnolia trees that are in bloom nearby. Blah.

I really, really need to finish up a whole bunch of projects before I start working on any more. Like the candle flame socks I've been working on (they're almost done. I should have them done by tomorrow.), and the OF cardigan (needs sleeves. Should be done by the end of the week).

Also on the needles that needs to be finished is this shawl.

I have more done than the picture actually shows -- I'm about halfway done with the repeats (note that I did not say that I am halfway done with the shawl -- just the number of pattern repeats). It's done with Jojoland Harmony, which is cobweb weight, and so fine that every time I pick it up to work on it, I get all bleary eyed. It's going a lot better now that it is on straight needles rather than circulars, but I don't know how long that's going to last, since by the time I'm done, I'm going to be working with twice the number of stitches than I am now.

Yesterday was the birthday of Marguerite Henry. I have no idea how old she was, but it makes me want to go out to the beach, even though I know it's way too cold right now.

Since it is no longer Lent, I'm thinking about some sort of berry pie. I wonder what good ones my new book has...

That reminds me -- I need to go grocery shopping.

Whatever happened to Ordinary?

2009-04-07T17:00:00.003-04:00

First, some prompts:

1.One blue Nissan sedan, a plot of daffodils, two wild rabbits, and a three year old.
2. Robert Sean Leonard has knocked on your door, carrying a jar of tomato sauce and a violin bow. What happens next?

Whatever happened to the day when you could go into a place of business and perform a simple transaction? The other day, I was at the post office, mailing off a book. I pick up the envelope, address it, and walk up to the teller, at which point, I open the envelope, stick the book in, and seal it. I then hand the envelope to the teller, who says,

"Do you have anything liquid, fragile, or perishable in here?"

I stared at her. I mean, she just saw me put the book (and only the book) into the envelope. What on earth did she think could be liquid, fragile, or perishable about it? The only possible way to ruin it would be if someone along the way spilled something liquid on it, and if that were the case, I don't think mine would be the only thing ruined. I realize she's required to ask that, but I'm a little baffled at how policy flies in the face of common sense sometimes.

Then she asks, "Do you want it insured or certified in case anything were to happen to it?"

Hadn't I just said it wasn't fragile or perishable? What on earth could happen to it? "No," I say. "It's just a book. I don't need it insured. And I don't need to know when the recipient receives it."

"Would you like it to go priority or express so that it will arrive within a certain time, like before tomorrow at 3?"

A vague headache begins behind my eyes, and I stare at her (because really the only reason I was at the Post Office at all was because I didn't know how much postage it would need -- I really didn't foresee it being this big of an issue for her). "NO. It doesn't need to get there before a certain time. There's nothing special about it. IT'S JUST A BOOK. Send it in regular mail."

At which point, she stares at me, like I cannot possibly understand the importance of the decision I am making -- the decision which clearly signifies life or death for myriads of innocents, and (most importantly) denies the USPS a chance to make more money and says, "There is no regular mail. You have to pick which way you want it sent." A pause. "Would you like me to send it First Class?"

No regular mail. This is complete news to me. A complete and utter surprise. I have always considered First Class to be synonymous with "regular mail." Ummm, ok. Whatever. I nod, and she rings me up. "That will be $2.75, please." (I had to buy the envelope too.)

As long as it gets to Florida. But seriously, whatever happened to regular and ordinary?

Once a Classic, Always a Classic

2009-03-31T14:07:00.003-04:00

"people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to other animals as well as humans, it is all a sham."

This past Monday was the anniversary of the birthday of Anna Sewell, the author of the above quote. In light of that auspicious day, I suggest you check out this place.

Anna Sewell wrote Black Beauty in an effort to educate the public regarding cruelty to animals, and it is still today refered to as a novel that helped ignite the animal rights and welfare movements. It was also used by some people as a manual for the care of horses. In fact, the book has been so influential, one SPCA founder was known to give out free copies to cab drivers.

Since its publication in 1877, the book has sold more than 30 million copies and has never been out of print. It is, according to some sources, the sixth bestselling novel written in English. If you've never read this book (and if that's true, I am profoundly sorry for the shallow husk of the empty and depraved life you have obviously led), or if it's been a while since you've read it, I highly encourage you to pick it up. It is, regardless of what you think of Victorian writing (I find it incredibly wordy sometimes), still a wonderful story, for children and adults alike.

A good thing to do tomorrow, as there is a 70% chance of rain.