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| Room 10 at Patchwork Inn |
To market, to market
To buy a fat hog.
Home again, home again
Jiggety jog.
That's actually only one verse of it, but it's all I can remember.
Anyway... This past weekend, when the bowels of Hades opened up and barfed upon us such heat as to curl the sidewalks and make even the birds decry the trees... We went up to Oregon, IL. We were mainly pleased, but also disappointed. The B & B, Patchwork Inn, was lovely. We'd stay there again. Mom was, at first, against a B & B, but I think I've converted her, at least in this format. Each of us had our own bathroom, which is a "must" for her. Me, too, if I'm honest. I digress; the hosts were wonderful and the breakfast was amazing. We only stayed for 1 breakfast, but after the "brunch cruise," I think I should've just taken them up on their breakfast because the cruise one was a definite "meh" with a side of, "jeeze, some of it's not even warm..."
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| Back yard of the Inn |
The Blackhawk statue, whose proper name is "The Eternal Indian," was under repair and he looks to be in that condition for more years to come. Oh well. We saw it. We also went up to Castle Rock Overlook and seriously, you wouldn't think you were in Illinois: flat, boring Illinois didn't exist here. Hopefully, I'll have pictures, because for some reason, my camera/phone hasn't synced in a while.
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| The Eternal (Covered) Indian |
Mom found a '50s diner and her only complaint was, "Needs more neon!" Authentic burger, according to her, and the decor was really cool. Actually, on the drive up to the place, we stopped where Kid #2 lives and while he was out of the area, we were able to hit up a sandwich spot there for a bite before we got too late to have dinner. Her idea of dinner is 4:30. Mine is 6:30...
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| My oils for the trip |
And seriously. Saturday was hot. Hot to the point of the stable cancelling all activities and my phone practically melting with all of the "heat advisory" messages. In my hometown, they were saying it "feels like" 119 degrees. Yeah. Phoenix temps in the Midwest. It wasn't pretty. That was the day that mom decided that hiking was a good idea. Mind you, 'hiking' at this point was not about a 3-mile jaunt through the trails. It was more like, "Let's try this and see how it goes." And it went about a half-mile - which, for an 82-year-old in that heat? I'm thinking that was pretty spectacular.
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| Castle Rock Overlook |
The river cruise was nicer, since the temp dropped about 30 degrees; down to a bearable 75 degrees or so. I saw a couple of eagles! I don't have a super-long lens on my camera, nor does my phone take those kinds of pics. But I saw them; I'm happy with that. The drive home was a relief; not because we were sick of each other, but both of us wanted our own beds. Why do places have spectacular linens and mattresses, but pillows that are flatter than a pancake??
Slept like a log last night!
The Knitting...
Well, the green project I showed you last time is finished. The Traveling Short Sock is FINISHED... I have a pair of socks!!
As you can see, they're fraternal - done in Opal yarn, but I never really try to match them. Hubby asked me to move my feet so they matched - I really don't have oddly sized feet! I have a big whack of this yarn left, so it may be the base for some Crazy Socks. It would probably work well, since I tend toward socks in similar hues as these, though these do have far more white than I'm used to.
I won't know what yarn is in the next phase of the Green Mystery Project till later today; so at this point, with (wait for it...) a FREE DAY... I picked up the Copland Shawl, and got moving on that. I'd forgotten (a) how pretty the yarn is and (b) how ABSOLUTELY
I should review my Gaitri Mantra while I'm knitting, just to keep my mind occupied.
I did find kind of a unique shop in the Conover Piano Factory, which was overall a disappointing venture... It's a yarn shop of sorts, but it's to benefit a sheltered workshop, which is fine by me. They get end runs and discontinued colors to sell to people via donation and the money goes to the workshop. I bought some hand-dyed yarn (Wool-Ease) for a prayer shawl, and a batch of stuff I can't quite figure out. I'll post a picture next time; it's quite the amalgamation of fibers in one worsted-weight yarn. Pretty colors; likely destined for a shawl.
The Politics...
OK, so let's chat about "go back where you came from." Let's talk about how ignorant that is on its face; how it's actually harassment and against the law; and how it's a major distraction by #DonTheCon to keep our attention off the Mueller testimony this week. Among other things, like the Epstein sewer. Let's also talk about the #manbaby whining about "presidential harassment" and how, in my opinion, one (a) can't claim that (see Obama for 8 years); and (b) should be presidential before complaining of presidential harassment... It's not a crime, dude. Get over your nasty self.
"Go back where you came from" is usually reserved for brown people, because bigots always assume that white folk are the only "legal" ones. While small, there's still a significant percentage of "white" illegal immigrants, to use the current un-PC designation, for purposes of our discussion. From Migration Policy Institute, between 2012-16, five percent (5%) of the immigrants who came here illegally were from Europe, Canada, or Oceania (the lands of the Pacific Ocean). That's a little over 570,000 - which is still a sizable chuck of humanity.
But this administration* only wants to talk about the brown ones. This Shyster-in-Chief only wants to talk about the ones who don't look like his "base," though for the life of me, why anyone who's brown or black actually supports this guy is kinda beyond me.
Ilhan Omar is a legal US Citizen.
AOC comes from The Bronx (that's in NY).
Ayanna Pressley was born in Chicago.
Rashida Tlaib was born in Detroit...
Soooooooooo - They're all as legal as I am.
The phrase "Go back where you came from" is also discriminatory. Not because I'm a liberal snowflake. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - founded in 1965) says it is. Here's a nice discussion of that law. Also, from NPR, here's another enlightening piece you might want to look at. It's good to have the history of the phrase in the back of your brain. You're welcome for all the research...
The upshot of all of this is that the Shyster-in-Chief has once again trampled a law to bits because it suited his purpose. And we're waiting, those of us with working brain cells, for the other shoe to drop. Mueller is testifying in Washington. Epstein's smoking, putrid cesspool actually has tapes that could cause problems in 2020 for a LOT of people, up to the royalty in England.
Time will tell; and y'all kind of already know my own leanings. I don't want 4 more years of this. We have to get our country back on an even keel, now more than ever.
The Food I Ate...
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| Breakfast protein |
I've been really, really careful, and I've found something that's driving my stomach nuts. And it's upsetting me. Because I think it's gluten. I'm not diagnosed with celiac (I already had that tested). Back to our trip, I was very careful of what I ate, but at a few points, it was beyond my control, and the commonality behind all of them were wraps. I tried to avoid bread & pasta, and I succeeded for the main part, but on 3 occasions, I had regular wraps and yikes...my stomach was not happy.
I've come to the conclusion that there's probably a gluten sensitivity there somewhere. Nuts. (Well, those I can eat...) I guess it is what it is. I could have worse problems.
Right now, with Kid #2 baking bread like a man possessed, I can't quite come up with what those "worse" problems could be... although y'all know I'm just kidding. With the health issues in our family tree? So I don't eat bread...big deal.
Though I did find a pizza I liked: Caulipower pizza - a cauliflower crust that actually tastes like something. I'll buy it again, but sparingly; it's definitely a "treat" thing.
This weekend, I was ok in my food, except for that little encounter with a bag (large, sorry) of Kettle Chips "Uglies." Yeah, I know. I felt bad afterward, but I figure that (a) I haven't done anything like that in over a year; and (b) it's done, so don't beat yourself up over it. That won't change it, so just roll with it.
Always another day to make better choices. Speaking of which, I have these two Young Living protein powders to add to my morning repertoire. I find that MIXING them -- yes, 1 scoop of the chocolate (yummy in itself) with one scoop of the vanilla spice is really a nice combo. That's mixed with half & half almond milk & coconut water. It works for me.
Random Picture...
We walked, the day we got there, down to the Rock River. It was still blazing hot, but we figured we weren't in a hurry... This was a shot just on the opposite side of the dam there. I thought we'd have a breeze off the water. We did not. At least it didn't stink of fish! We sat under the picnic shelter and just kind of decompressed. It was nice to do that.
The entire Oregon area is really pretty; doesn't look anything like what you might think "Illinois" looks like and I'm glad we went.
Will we spend the weekend in the fall? Likely not. We can drive up there, do the horse thing, and then take a walk (because if she's on a horse and then I stick her in the car for a 2-hour drive back? I won't get her OUT of the car because her hips will lock up!), and maybe stop at "our favorite 50's diner" for lunch, and THEN go back home.
It's a goal.
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