Another Day...

OK. I'd say I was sorry for yesterday's rant, but I'm not. There it is. I'm sad because I was raised to believe America was "the greatest." But lately, I'm not feeling the "great." I'm feeling the "screwed." And I am not liking it... 

November is right around the corner. Educate yourself, get involved, help a candidate. Just do something. Otherwise, you've got nothing to complain about. Like Frank Zappa said (and I absolutely can't believe I'm quoting Zappa - Kid #2 would be so proud!): Modern Americans behave as if intelligence were some sort of hideous deformity.

Intelligence is what will get us through the crap and back to "great" - in my opinion. So, also in my opinion, it's best to find an issue which resonates for you and become an activist. Help others. Do something not for yourself, not because it makes you feel good, or will profit you in any respect. 

But do it because it's the right thing to do. If you don't get involved, you can't expect the next person to get involved. And then we're all sitting around a campfire somewhere, sometime, saying, "God, I don't know what happened." 

Well. It's your call.

Knitting...

Plugging away on the second sock of the KAL. Nothing to show at the moment, because I didn't bring it along. I'm on the gusset. It's a forever-lasting decrease, because I picked up more stitches on either side. I'm trying to eliminate the "holes" and I think I picked up far too many!! I can either do a series of decrease rows one after the other (with no Knit around in between) or just deal with the fact that on this sock, the gusset may be nearly as long as the foot!

For next week, since I have a campus full of cops, and to keep me away from the donuts, I'll be bringing the sock and the Blue Baby Sweater, which is near completion. 

After I get these socks done, it's back to Teal Sock #2. I've gotta get that thing done and over with! And then I'll work on the remainder of the WIPs. 

The Junk Drawer...

So I got on a cleaning binge, which didn't last long... and I cleared out the junk drawer that I have at work. I still need to prop up the leaning Norfolk Island Pine and clean out my in-box, which is right now my "hold your breath" box. But the junk drawer is done. 

I took about a gazillion pens home and threw out a bunch of stuff that managed to accumulate. Not sure how. Desk fairies, I think. 

But it feels better to have it more or less in order. 

Next will be the leaning pine and the desk. Our cleaning crew won't touch our desks, which is fine with me. But that means that every so often, I need to put every item on the floor just to give the top a decent clean-off. It's a "white" laminate desk, which is just boring and a pain in the butt to keep clean. 

Oh well. Complaining about it won't get it done.

Nokia Camera Phone...

So I've been playing with the phone's camera. It's the jazzy whiz-bang one. Here's some of the stuff I've been working with.

Bzzzzzzy guy

We have Prairie Blazing Star in our front bed. Which I didn't remember, but was reminded of by my gardening guru, Sue. I did tag it; we have 2 and they're in the front bed. As I stuck the tag in this one, my fuzzy brain detected a really, REALLY close-up BZZZZZZZZ.

It was this guy. Now, I was a good 3 feet from him after I nearly had a heart attack when I realized my hand was virtually on top of him. 

Lucky for me, he was intent on checking out each flower. And each spire. He wasn't afraid of me. I was more afraid of HIM!

So when I got inside, I played with the "crop" feature and this is what I got - a very clear shot and a really nifty frame, at least I think.

It won't beat the EOS, but for those spur-of-the moment shots, this camera is really nice. And I can carry it much more easily on my bike rides! 

Cemetery at sunset

The next shot is of the cemetery at Stateville Penitentiary. At sunset, after I was done teaching a yoga class. I didn't do much of anything with this one. But I thought the light was unique. 

If you click on it, you'll see the gravestones. And if you're anywhere close and have a thing for old burial grounds, you'll notice that each stone is marked with a "W" or a "C" -- the last grave was, I think, dug in the 1960s. And at that time, you can imagine not many relatives claimed the bodies. So they marked them with a "W" for white and "C" for colored. I'll have to get in there and take some pictures of the stones. It's sad but it's our history. 

Exercise...

Well. It appears that Atkins isn't for me. I lost the initial 5 lbs. or so. Then my weight loss stalled. All still in the Induction phase. So I read in the book, "If your weight loss is less than a pound a week, you may have reached your carb load."

I'm sorry. I'm not eating the same 6 things for the rest of my life. And according to this logic, I would basically never have fruit again. Can't do it. Doesn't make sense.

So I'm just eating "clean" and ramping up the exercise. Over the long weekend, Hubby and I took 2 long bike rides. 

Long for me, that is. He said he'd have been surprised if we did 2 miles the first day. We did 4. The day after that, we did 5. And Tuesday, I took a walk. Needless to say, I walk a lot slower, but I'm easing into this. 

Yoga is still my go-to, but I need the other activity - it's all about being well-rounded in exercise so as to not be "well-rounded" in body!

Anyway, I finally figured out the "fitness" app on the Samsung phone, and I did 1.1 miles. Lest you scoff, our neighborhood is hilly. So I took my time and I know I'll get back to my normal pace at some point.

Live Oak??

Brought the phone, obviously, and lookee what I found!! It looks almost like a Live Oak. I have to see if we even have those in Illinois. 

Obviously, I mean the middle tree, where the branch/trunk juts out toward the center of the lot. Click on it to see what it looks like. 

Very intriguing. 

So if the weather holds out (we're supposed to get t-storms), perhaps Thursday a.m. I walk again. Or hit the basement for the "elliptiKILL" as I call it. Either way, the exercise is making me feel loads better.

I think that we've finally got the heart Rx down and I can function; I'm not afraid of keeling over like I was before we got it figured out. So we shall continue to move forward and remember that "slow and steady" is the right way for me to go. 

Random Picture...

Yeah. It's yarn. Yeah, it's specifically SOCK YARN. And yeah, it'll be something some day. Perhaps lace socks. While I'm whipping through the "plain vanilla" and it's an excellent pattern, I'd like to do something with maybe learning cables or some sort of interest. 


I added it to Ravelry. I have to go through and actually look at what I've "stashed" and see if what's currently in the work bags is actually already logged. I know. It's freaky. But I like records. 

So anyway, at some point, there will be socks. Lots of socks, if The Stash is any indication. I don't even want to disclose... 

Sigh...