All My Flabbers are Gasted...

He is really desperate to NOT have his name exposed in those Epstein files, isn't he? Now, all of a sudden, Bill and Hillary are his BFFs and he thought Bill "always understood me," and Hillary went from "Lock Her Up!" to "a very capable woman." 

I'm pretty sure Bill DOES understand him. But not in a way that's complimentary. 

That stuff must be worse than godawful. 

For both Bill and Hillary to come out swinging - I'm actually interested in watching that hearing. They're demanding full cameras-and-gallery hearings, not behind closed doors. They're gonna eat Comer's lunch, and they've already put a big dent in the SCOTUS "total immunity" thing. Because him being a former president and her being a former Secretary of State -- that sets the precedent for dragging that entire Junk Drawer Cabinet in front of Congressional hearings. No immunity for you! 

And then there's "the post" about the Obamas. We'll just not give that any oxygen. But it would be nice if mainstream media would -- do its job. This is not "Oh, you know how he is." 

Yes, we do. 

And we're scared witless that a demented, diaper-loading old fart has the nuclear codes when he can't complete a full sentence. Who has more than certainly sold our classified security information. Who stored documents he should not have had in his gilded bordello. In the bathroom. 

This is "Weekend at Bernie's" on steroids. I want to know what they're pumping into him to make him even marginally coherent. And who's pulling the strings behind the scenes? Although I think I already know that. 

I'll leave this here for your enjoyment. When we had someone competent and capable and free of scandal in the Oval Office. 

The Baking...

Do you have "Two Banana Syndrome"? I can't be the only one. There's always -- ALWAYS -- two bananas left. No matter how small a bunch we buy, and it's only the 2 of us - there are always 2 leftovers.

I've made banana bread; with nuts, without nuts, with raisins, with protein powder, with yogurt, with sour cream. 

I've made banana cookies with protein powder - the bigger ones, like for a breakfast cookie. 

I've made banana cake, topped with powdered sugar. 

I'm sick of bananas. 

Today, I made another version of a banana bread with chopped dates. We had the big Medjool dates, which were sticky to cut. I added some hemp hearts and pepitas for extra protein. 

It was a bit of a different recipe, where you literally froth up the eggs first, then add the sugar, vanilla and butter. My butter was softened, but still chunky, which I did not like. And the frothiness? I thought it would overflow my largest loaf pan, so I split it into two pans. 

Bad decision. It didn't rise as much as I expected with all the beating. So now I have two small, flatter loaves. Which is fine for me; I'll eat them for breakfast. But they're not exactly coffee-hour ready, if you know what I mean. 

If you're out there and want to help a gal out -- what do YOU do with those extra bananas? 

I'm not even posting a picture, it's so...not good. 

The Knitting... 

I've been knitting the Melt the ICE hat. I have a list of 4 people who want me to make one - and one of those said, when her hat was just about done, "You can just make me the little badge..." Too late - you're getting a hat. I'll work on those badges AFTER the hats are done. Both patterns are available on Ravelry. Go check them out. 

It takes me about a week to do one. I did frog the first one; I had to tink it back because the decrease instructions didn't make sense and I was decreasing at every marker. You do what I can only describe as a "sock toe" kind of decrease - out of the 4 markers, N, S, E, W, (using compass points for reference) you'd decrease only the North and South ones. You just slip the East and West ones. 

Well. That made a world of difference. But Cascade Superwash Sport is a VERY soft and slippery yarn. As I was tinking back, I dropped a ton of stitches and it was just easier to frog, even the ELEVENTY BILLION rows of 1x1 ribbing, and start over. 

So, the Nerdy Notes on this hat: Cascade Superwash Sport in Colorway 893. There are 136 yards to a hank and this took one hank with some leftover. The pattern calls for 200 yards - mainly because that's about a standard ball or hank of yarn. I used size 6 (16") circulars with the corresponding DPNs at the top. 

I've started on #2 and this one is using Paton's Canadiana in "Cardinal" colorway. This is more of a worsted weight, though it says size 7 needles, I went up to a size 8. The Cardinal is rather a bright red, which is nice. And it's an acrylic, which is what the person requested. I have one more to do in Red Hat Soft, in a worsted weight in a dark wine color, another acrylic request. And then another in the Cascade Sport -- though I'm wondering about maybe doing that and holding it double so that I make it worsted. I have that in my stash, so while I think I have a sweater-quantity, I'm not much of a sweater knitter, so I can take what's left and do a lovely lace shawl or something. So I can afford to hold this double for a hat. 

And then mine... I picked two colors and while one isn't quite as red as I wanted, it's lovely. It's from Wicked Tint Yarns, and it's hand-dyed. It's a superwash merino (which I'll show you next time) and it's called Melt Ice Red - while it's actually kind of a maroon tonal. Very pretty, very definitely worsted. I actually found her on Threads, so social media can do some good! She's dyed up a limited number of this colorway and said she'd do more if folks are interested. Check her out. Support a woman-owned business!

And there's this one from Expression Fiber Arts, one of my favorite dyers. This is their Dewy DK line, which is 70% superwash merino, 20% nylon and 10% silk. This colorway is called Scarlet, and it's not quite as red as the Cardinal - more a pinky-garnet color. The label says needles sized 6-8, so I might actually do a swatch on this one... Be still my heart, right? 

The beauty of Expression is that there's such a wide range of bases and colors. And her patterns are from a variety of designers. And she has really nice tutorials in video form. 

My friend M, who's a basic knitter, has started her own, in a gorgeous Caron wine-colored yarn, and she calls this one an "in your face" color. Which it is. Kind of reminds me of the "victory lipstick" worn during the war. I won't wear lipstick, but I'll wear this! 

And I'll have to look for a nice shawl for the rest of the Cascade. It's a good workhorse yarn, and the one sweater that I actually made was in a Cascade cotton blend. It wore ok, but I found that I just prefer to knit baby sweaters. 

I have to find the second color for another wedding afghan. I have the green in mind but I have to find a complementary color unless the groom tells me what the bride's favorite color is - and then we hope that it works together!

I'm still pending on my mom's second Sophie hood, but at this point, I may still have enough winter left to get it done. And I have a shawl out of some Opal sock yarn, the plain Be Simple version (I already did the lace version) which is a "mindless knit" project. And the various Windy Valley projects: a hat, mitts with beads... And the single socks that need mates. 

Again, I'm thinking 2026 is going to be my "year of knitting stuff," because at this point, knitting is keeping me sane. 

I helped my friend R fix a problem for a pullover she's knitting for her granddaughter. The yarnovers were confusing her. She's an experienced knitter, but she knits Continental (the kind of knitting you see on classic movies) whereas I knit English - I hold the working yarn in my right hand, and she holds hers in her left hand. The Continental folks are "pickers" so they grab the yarn with the needle. The English knitters are "throwers" - we throw the yarn around the needle. It's a thing. 

She always looks like she's about to drop a stitch! But it's said that that style is easier on your hands. I may have to try it again. I took a class. Hated it. But maybe I can play with it. 

Life Goes On...

I had the weird experience of seeing 3 people in the obituaries that I knew. I know a lot of people; I've lived here a long time, and you get to know folks, and who's related to who. But this is the first time that THREE people I knew - as in, knew in some capacity personally - have died. One was my English professor in junior college (she died at 101, God love her), one was an acquaintance from my convent days, and one was the parent of one of my kid's best friends - the kids aren't taking it well, which is a position I understand. 

You know when you first "grow up" and people die and you know them? Like, when my friends had parents who died as we were in our 30s and 40s. That's where the kids are now. And I understand that. 

My thing is, these folks (except for my professor) are MY contemporaries. They're not some "older folks" like my friends' parents. It's a weird dichotomy when those folks who died are closer to my own age. 

Now I kind of know how my mom feels. She just had a friend from high school diagnosed with dementia. Which is a kind of living-death, in my opinion. 

So, one funeral this weekend. The other two had private services. 

Random Picture...

So I lied. I actually have a sweater-worth of yarn and a Nord Drops pattern. I'm hoping that this happens this year. But I've also heard that Drops patterns are a pain in the butt. You'll be knitting along, and turn the page and then see, "while knitting this, simultaneously do that..." So the only advice I have been given is "read the whole pattern before you start."

I guess that's good advice overall. Read the pattern so you understand what's going on before you get in over your head. 

I wonder if I'd have frogged the first ICE hat if I had read the pattern instead of assuming, "I've knitted a dozen-plus hats - how hard can this decrease be?" 

I do love this peacock-blue-green shade. I can't wait to get started on this one. But first... more hats. 

What's on your needles?