Well, maybe not THAT far back. Let's see. We left off at Happy New Year, and now, we're in the midst of one of the longest - if not THE longest - government shut down because some puling baby-handed twaddle-farted old demented man wants a wall.
Have I got that right? Oh, and the minions who support this pile of steaming, soul-less load of manure? They're doing god-knows-what -- watching and waiting because they've got some as-yet unknown evil that they're going to gleefully spring on us.
Yeah.
Happy 2019, all. If anyone's reading this who voted for that batch of bacteria? I'm sorry, but you're an idiot. Have you smelled the coffee yet?
Is it Winter Yet??
So, I did a little shopping in the town over the bridge, and as I was leaving to come back home, I took this photo. This was January 4th. It was sunny. I had no jacket on. It was a beautiful spring day. Except it's January. In Illinois. In winter.
I, for one, am an incredibly ardent believer, not only in science, but in facts. And in the perils of climate change.
Tonight, we've got a forecast that's slightly more seasonal, but it's likely that we're just going to be in our usual "snow-less" bubble which we've inhabited regularly over the past 8 or 9 years, with only a few exceptions where there was a "real" winter for a few weeks.
This is wrong on so many levels...we need the snow. Not because I'm some sort of nut. But because of the water tables. And the farmers. The farmers prefer a snowfall over drenching rains -- think about it. Snowfall usually melts gradually. Drenching rain pounds the ground, and quite often, we'll get over-saturated and then the water just runs off. Taking topsoil with it.
None of that is good.
We need to right the ship of climate change, now, if we can.
All I need...
Is a few alpacas. Well. That's not going to happen. Though, for my birthday, I would love a trip to an alpaca farm.
These critters are adorable. I've even begun following them on Instagram.
Call me crazy, but a ruminant creature, nestled in a field, chewing cud? Kind of meditative, I think.
Oh, and we get yarn! And -- fertilizer!
There was a school up in Grayslake that got connected with an alpaca farm and their band did a "poop fundraiser" for new instruments. They raised a lot of money. Alpaca manure looks a lot like rabbit pellets and depending on what they've been eating, it's pretty good stuff.
I'd love to meet them up-close. I already love the yarn. I'd like to meet the source, if I can.
Yes, I've dropped the hint to Hubby. We shall see...
Gotcha Birthday Girl...
As long-time readers know, Tippi is my rescue girl. Some days, not sure whether I rescued her or she rescued me! Anyway, January 2 is the day we celebrate her Gotcha/Birthday, since we're really not sure of her actual birthday. This is Her Majesty without the eerie green eyes and with no funny hats. She's beautiful. At age 11, she's showing her years a bit. Her fur is a little patchy in spots. She's got gas that would stop a charging elephant. Her teeth are showing her age.
But she was, nonetheless, eager to snarf down her sardines. Quinn got some as well. Raisa does not partake because within about 10 minutes, they come back up.
And unfortunately, Quinn will have had her last sardines...because within 4 hours, HERS came back up. That was gross.
Yes, there's just a tiny bit of food in that big dish. Tippi gets 1/4 cup at lunch time. I can't believe she's been with us as long as she has been. And I'm hoping for many more years. I'm ignoring the grey muzzle. I'm watching as she gets up and down. And I'm still...hoping for many more years.
Sunshine on my shoulders...
This past weekend, as I've said, was gorgeous. Hubby and I saw an item in the paper saying that eagles were at Isle a la Cache, so we figured, what the heck? We'd take a drive out there and scope it out. We went on the museum side, not the side that runs along the river. That side is usually where we bike. The guide told us that it "hasn't been cold enough for eagles." (Yeah, yet another reason to bemoan climate change -- birds of prey are having trouble with customary migration patterns.) But he said that there wasn't any harm in looking.
I took a batch of pictures with the Big Camera, which I posted on Facebook. This is one from my phone. I just took a gander at my desktop to see if I'd tossed them there, and I realized my laptop's desktop is a bloody mess...I need to clean that off and file some stuff away.
Anyhow. Great time wandering and taking pictures. No eagles.
Not even a sparrow.
The Knitting...
Well. I frogged the Traveling Sock. Look at the picture. Somehow, on the 9" circular needles, I managed to knit it inside-out. Take a gander at the "roll top" - this side is where the leg stitches are all in their proper places, but as you can see, the top roll is inside-out. When I flip it so that the top roll is correct, then the leg stitches are all purlwise.
I suppose I could've gone on and done it like that, but something was making me twitch. So, in spite of the fact that 10" circulars are nice and quick, I frogged this.
I may also go back to the LYS and get NINE-INCH circulars. These socks were on 72 stitches, which is large even for my "Biker Calves." I don't want droopy socks.
Any excuse for a trip to the yarn store, right? Seriously, though - your socks should be snugly comfy. Droopy doesn't cut it. You'll have holey socks because they'll wear funny within your shoes or boots.
Anyway, I finally -- FINALLY - finished the ribbing on the Green Socks, so I've just started the leg on that one. Singleton is getting its mate!! I think that'll be my Traveling Sock, while this yarn is in "time out" to un-kink.
Diamond Smackdown is coming along. I had a little blip...just a minor 
See that stitch two left of the stitch-marker? It's a yarn-over. I have no idea how it got there. Mind you, I had at least one in the Green Shawl and I didn't really mind.
On this? I mind. I frogged it back and fixed it. Praying to the Knitting Gods and Goddesses with thanks because it wasn't on a pattern row, which would've meant un-knitting lace.
I'm to the point where I'm weighing the yarn every pattern repeat, which is every 12 rows. I have to get to 1.76 oz before I start the decrease side.
In this picture, you can see a bit of how the lace will lay out. Once blocked? This is going to be a stunner. The silver glitter in the yarn is impossible to see with the way I have taken the pictures, but I can't help it. Maybe I'll try the Big Camera and see what I can do.
New Pots for Old Orchids...
Hubby has the bug, as I noted. And our new pots came in. So he's virtually taken over the orchids.
I'm ok with that.
No, really. I'm ok with it.
He's been under enormous pressure at work, and he needs a hobby. If this is it, then I'm absolutely fine with it. Take a look. He's potted them all. And I'm woman enough to say that they'll probably survive better now than they were in the vases.
Not that the vases don't have merit. I think it's still a good way to "air out" the roots from a store-bought phal which was packed into a little cup with bark. But our house is dry, even with diffusers running. Especially in winter. And the only place we have for them right now is near a heat vent.
Hubby put one of the lamps over the table so that they get a little more light on these gloomy days. The pots are "ribbed" - not solid. So the moss is in there kind of loosely, and eventually, the roots can expand nicely.
They're eventually going into the 55-gallon octagonal fish tank. He's figuring out how to balance light with the need to keep air circulating.
I told him about an exhibition coming up in Villa Park in March. He's eyeballing it. Hmmmm, maybe I've created a monster?
Random Picture...So Tippi was getting all the loving. Quinn got a little jealous. She wanted up on my lap, which she used to do as a puppy.
Almost 68 pounds later? Urpfh...
She also likes to drape her front paws over my arm and rest her chin on my wrist.
My friend Diana just lost her Sky - her heart dog. Quinn's a load. And when she's ready to get off my lap? Often, I've got a bruise somewhere, because she's not light!
But I'll take it. I'll take all the snuggles she wants to give me. She's worth it. And I know that one day, she will also be gone. I'm going to enjoy it while I have her willing and able to clamber up there.
Hope your January is starting out well, and would love to hear what you've got on the needles or what you're crafting. Let's chat!
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