Yep. 5 inches. I was soooooooooo excited last night. The "watermelon" (and that's how I shall forever refer to it, because it looks as much like a "watermelon" as I do a super-model) sock was coming along although it's been a rough 10 days or so. And I thought, "wheeeeeeeeee - I'm at 5" so I can start the heel flap."
My Better Angel whispered in my ear, "You'd better look at the notes you made." And it's a good thing I did. Because "watermelon" sock #1 is actually SEVEN inches on the leg. I heaved a sigh, put the sock aside and went to bed.
Today, I shall knit 2 more inches.
That's how knitting works sometimes. Those next 2 inches will take forever. Or at least it'll seem like that, until the last quarter inch or so, when it comes down to one or two rows before I can set it up for the flap.
I sort of have a small case of "start-itis" - but I don't know what I want to start. So I will knit on.
I'm being tempted by Jean's Knitting because she's been writing about hap shawls. So I purchased one from Ravelry, the Hansel half-sized pattern. Graciously, the designer includes the full-sized pattern as well, so it's in my queue.
While I'm typing, I think I'll toss my socks in the wash. It's also time for me to update my Ravelry page some...
This Makes Me Smile...
Yep. Bought a Bernie mug. Nope, not taking it to work.
I think I've probably lost friends on this one, but I do not like Hillary. And I am incredibly dismayed that the AP -- the one "news" source that was supposed to be reputable -- is claiming a Hillary victory. If indeed the remaining ballots are not yet counted in California, and if indeed there remain votes, then count them. And no - you can't count the "super delegates" because -- let's go over this once again, kids -- they don't vote till late July. Calling the game now is premature. It's also bad journalism. If "good journalism" exists anymore; and I'm not sure about that anymore. Anything can happen between now and then. A veteran like Hillary would know better, don't you think?
Or has she bribed her way in?
Do we need a female president? Yes. It should have happened a long while ago.
But not her. Not now.
Perhaps the saying is true: Familiarity breeds contempt. She's been around the scene for a long, long time. We're "familiar" with her. And I don't like her.
Don't get me wrong. I don't want my politicians hide-bound. I don't want them so mired in their own dogma that they can't see past it.
But I don't want my head to spin with the flip-flops... She's changed her mind not out of any sense of "this is the right thing to do for the larger good" - but for "this makes me look better in the polls now."
I want someone, not unlike Bernie, who will stand the establishment on its head. I'd love it if it was a female. But either way - we need change. Now.
I was talking to my "almost conservative" brother and he said something that I was rather proud of: "Even if Bernie gets this-much (fingers about 1" apart) done, it would be more than what has been done recently and it would be progress."
Hillary isn't a progressive. She's so establishment that she bleeds the Republican red of her origins. And that scares me. I'm afraid expediency will triumph over progress. But it will be wrapped in "progress" for those who're swayed by the gloss of a "successful female president."
As I told my mom, she'll have to prove she's tough. That typically means EXTENDING wars. Not finishing them. We need them to finish. We've been at war most of our years as a country.
But we bill ourselves as a peace-loving "christian" nation. Facts speak otherwise.
And I think she'd likely want to distance herself from Bill, so as not to give him a "third term." So she'll do it her way - and I'm not certain of what that way is. Because it seems to change. A lot.
Speaking of Policy Change...
There's this. This is 3 months of my seizure/migraine medicine. This is after we have met our deductible. Our "improved" insurance policy says that, because I need the brand name and am unable to take the generic, even though we've met our deductible, I have to pay a premium for the brand name prescription. And I've tried the generic. If you're not aware, there is a difference on a molecular level between generics and brand names. I asked a couple of doctors a while ago, because I noticed that there was an issue, and I thought perhaps I was imagining it. There has to be a slight difference for the sake of a copyright. Sometimes, the person taking the drug responds differently to that one- or two-molecule change. Sometimes, you can't tell - actually, MOST times, you don't know the difference.
I actually take 2 other prescriptions that are generic, and they work fine. But in the case of a person who DOES react differently, that can be a big deal. This is a medication I take for seizures, and it has the "happy" side effect of helping prevent migraines, too. So yeah, it's a big deal that I was having breakthroughs with the generic and my doctor, who's a neurologist and has - you know - gone to school to know this stuff, actually knows what to prescribe.
Better than the bean-counters who run the insurance company.
But this is what's worrisome: if I did not have insurance, this would be over $3,000 every 3 months. Think about that. Think about having to wonder whether or if you can afford your very necessary medication.
That "rough ten days" I referred to at the beginning of today's entry? Well - it was because our pharmacy let me run out of this prescription. "It's hard to get." No - it's not. You didn't want to order it because it's expensive.
I can't help that the price rose TWENTY PERCENT from 2015 to 2016. I didn't do that.
I can't help that this is the only prescription that works for me.
I can't help that you didn't order it promptly.
I was FIVE DAYS without this medication. And during that time, I was under a good deal of stress (just imagine...). I made two BIG errors at work. Errors that perhaps would've cost me my job in other circumstances.
I have good (or so I thought) insurance. I shouldn't HAVE to worry about this. There's been a lot of talk about changing the system and the way Big Pharma works. The way they price drugs without regard to people who actually have to BUY them to treat medical conditions. This is troublesome.
So if Hillary is in the pockets of Big Pharma like she's in cahoots with Wall Street and the REAL "Welfare Queens," she's not likely to change this scenario. She's going to benefit by their continued donations. She's feathering her own nest.
I don't care if she's wearing a $12,000 Armani jacket. Notice how nobody says how much money the MEN spend on their suits??
What I really DO care about is that she really has no idea of what it really costs to live a "middle class" lifestyle.
And worse? She doesn't care.
Look, she's made hers. That's fine. But if you stand at the bully pulpit and you holler about equality and shattering glass ceilings, you have to bring the rest of us up with you. You can't step on us on the way up. And then forget that WE remember that on YOUR way down...
And So the Garden Grows...
We have radishes. And kale. And lettuce. Those radishes are deceptive. They're beautiful: both the globe and the French (the long ones). They're juicy, they have TASTE, and they're spicy. And then there's the after-burn. WOWZA! You think "wow, radishes that actually have flavor, and not just crunch?" That's the home-grown difference. The round ones have a fresh flavor and the "spark" hits you when you swallow. The long ones are sweet at the root end and get more spicy toward the "greens" end.
I understand you can actually use the radish greens; I have to research that a little better. There are a number of articles out there, but I do have a problem with a leaf that's describe as "hairy." Ummmmmmm. No. Thanks, but no.
So I'll wander out to the garden and see what our radish tops look like and go from there.
Yoga @ The Fields...
Not that I need to teach another class (I'm now teaching 4 classes a week, which isn't much, except for that full-time job thing...), but I couldn't resist the offer of the manager of The Fields, a premier nursery and garden center about 3 blocks from my yoga studio. "Bring your yoga classes out here as often as you want - and I'm not charging you any rent!"
Heck yeah! The downside is that, of course, it's June and hot... But I took our first class out at 10:15 a.m. and it was fine. This was our practice area. The breeze was there, the grass was cool, and it worked well. Teaching without props was different. I didn't realize how much I relied on blocks! But it was nice to stretch my brain and give my students a unique experience. we have use of the space till the weather gets too cool for outside yoga. A win-win for all of us: my students and I get to practice outdoors (and I make a little $$$) and The Fields gets foot traffic because we have to walk through it to get to the practice space.
New Theme...
So how do you like the new theme? I'm not jazzed about the way it handles pictures (with the frame around, and it tends to kick paragraphs in an odd way), but I think I like the new theme overall.
Comments? Input welcome.
Random Picture...
My watercolors need work. This is the first one I've done in a while that was a real "picture" - though the concept came from my head. I need to work on my perspective and getting it to look like there's depth there. To me, it looks flat. But I haven't picked up watercolors since high school, so I think I can be forgiven for being a little rusty.
My friend Alice has taken watercolor classes; she's a real honest-to-goodness artist. I'd love to do that. When I have time. Sometime. Maybe.
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