The prayer shawl isn't necessarily going as fast as I'd like it, but it's my fault. Well, it's the big needles and hand pain, so I need to figure out how to move along faster.
On the plus side, I'm already over half-way through the 3rd ball of four. So it's gotta come together soon. I haven't touched a sock. I'm wondering if I'll even know how to knit with "toothpicks" after I'm done with this shawl. Maybe I need to gradually "taper down," and work on the Precious Metals scarf for a bit...
Anyway, the thing is a monster. The recipient will have a lush, huge shawl to cozy up in when needed. The yarn is still quite delicious on the hands; soft and cushy. And I can't complain about the tension; it's knitting up nice and even. I still have an issue with joining the yarn; can't find a good way where my weaving doesn't show, but then, when using super-bulky yarn and size 17 (US) needles? How in the world DO you hide that??
Thankfully, I'm not fringing this puppy. Nope. Nopety nope. I don't like fringe anyway, and with this yarn? It'd be poodle-fuzz by the time the recipient wears it a few times.
If all goes well, I will get this done over Labor Day and have Pocket Priest bless both shawls so they're ready to go off to the place they're destined to go.
Did I show you the Close to You Shawl? It's finished. Here it is. A couple things: 400 yards almost exactly in this hank - so if you're using Expression Fiber Arts, buy 2 hanks. You'll be grateful, and if you buy a limited edition color (which almost all of them are anyway), you won't be weeping in a puddle when you're on the bind off and you come up short in Yarn Chicken.
Just talking about a friend in that situation, you understand... Learn from
Next, it's a nice firm yarn and the stitches pop, but I'm not sure it's drapey enough for this style of shawl. I mean, God knows I have enough of this yarn, and I should have frogged the existing bind off and done about 3 more repeats at least. It's short-ish. This is sock yarn, but honestly, it doesn't feel like it would be comfy on the feet, so I did this shawl. But I'm not the happiest of campers, and I think I could have done better.
Next, the picots don't show. You can see them in the picture, but note that I had it on the blocking board for a MONTH. Yes, I was telling that yarn what I wanted it to do. And I'm sure it listened for now, but I don't think it'll last. In which case, I could've saved myself a ton of trouble and skipped the picots.
Finally, if I use this pattern with this yarn company again, I'll make sure it's more of a silky blend.
Young Living Essential Oils...
Wowza. I mean really - WOWZA!! This was just announced yesterday and it's fan-freaking-tastic news! Now, for a yearly fee (much like Amazon does), you can get free, fast shipping. So when I order my cases of Ninxgia Red, which can be really heavy, I'll pay nothing in shipping - zippo. Nada. Nic. Nista. Nichego... Because I've already paid my annual fee, I can get any of my Essential Rewards orders for no shipping, no matter the weight. Everything ships in 4 days...That's super-quick! It's like "flying oils" or something. It's a giant leap for those of us who are on Essential Rewards, and it's such a great benefit. As long as you're ordering, why not get it for free shipping - saving yourself hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. I can't wait to tell my oily folks this great news.
We Have a Piano...
Well, "we" don't. It was in a closet in the church office, and I moved it out to test it. In the process, I slightly scraped up the hardwood floors with one of the bookcases, but I can empty it and put felt pads on the bottom. I'll take a green scrubby to the floor to buff it out a tiny bit. I'm also still waiting for the Oriental rug to come back. I asked the folks at Stanley Steemer, and I have to hear back from them. It's a nice piano and you'd think that it might be weird in an office reception area, but it'll be good when the Youth Group uses the space, and if Pocket Priest meets with our organist, they can go over music right there.
Do you love the blues? I do. It's (as Pocket Priest says) "fun" and also very crisp. And amazingly, it warms up the floor. Can't wait to get the ceiling fan installed and the new drapes up.
GoFundMe for Medical Help...
So - who'd have thought that an app would now be the most popular way to get medical bills paid? Well, it is. According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, "recent reports show that more than a third of all global GoFundMe campaigns sought to raise money to pay for medical expenses." I want to be clear: I'm not asking for any money... I'm pointing out that, now-a-days, because healthcare costs are skyrocketing, people have to resort to having a fundraiser to pay for medical care.
I think it's shameful. I think that it's great, on the one hand, that people will donate, and that they apparently trust GoFundMe to do this sort of thing. But -- and this is a big "but."
Why? Why is healthcare only affordable for the 1%? I mean, one of my friends told us of her nephew, a micro-preemie. That baby's bills were approximately $1.7 million.
How can the average family face bills like that? And why is our system so broken that we can't assure health care for every person in this country? And what will happen to this little one, because you know that somewhere along the line, he may have medical issues that can be traced back to his birth.
GoFundMe isn't a social safety net. But people are sure using it like one. Heaven forbid we should need to do this - how many people do you know that would contribute to your hospital bills? And then what do you do about continuing care, if it's something that requires that kind of thing? I mean, let's be logical. If you're fortunate enough to have savings and investments, most likely they're modest. We don't have a money tree in the backyard. Honestly, even with decent insurance, one severe health problem can wipe out the insurance, the savings and the investments.
This isn't an issue of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps." It's an issue of conscience and morality. Every single one of us is one health crisis away from disaster, even if we have insurance.
Frankly, the Republicans are now trying on the "oh, we're ok with your pre-existing condition" thing in the recent bill they're pushing and even CBS is reporting that.
Problem is, it's wrong. The bill they're pushing says that people with pre-existing conditions can BUY insurance. But -- (big, huge, honkin' eye-roll BUT) insurance companies can deny coverage for the condition they have. Read more here...
Well. That ain't nice.
Let's set aside the fact that a major news outlet got it wrong. Let's set aside anything other than this: if you have a pre-existing condition, if this bill passes, your insurance company can deny you coverage.
Then what?
You go to GoFundMe because that's your last resort.
Welcome to an America I don't really recognize anymore.
Random Picture...
This is the front of my church. I took it the other day when I needed a picture for the church bulletin. Our doors are fantastic, aren't they? They're not the original doors. Those burned when the church burned in 1910-ish. Recently, we had the doors redone. We had them refinished and coated with a lacquer that was more weather-resistant than what we had on them. And the metalwork was redone to be cleaned up.
We love our doors and we love our stained glass. We love our building, actually. You can feel the history in the place and you can sometimes sense the ones who've gone before us. There are rumors that the place is haunted.
When I go in, I always say hello "to God and the ghosts." I figure it's not a bad idea... I don't know either way, but why not keep everyone happy.
When I'm next in church, perhaps I'll send up prayers for the politicians to see reason and not stick their heads up their backsides. Maybe pray that they do the job they were once elected to do: represent us, and not the special interest groups who're buying politicians left and right.
We've got some powerful spirits in our church. Maybe they need to get into this fight with us...
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