It's Been a Long While...

...so sorry... You have to love technology (no, not really). I had a phone glitch, then a computer glitch, and then just good old fashioned "schedule glitch" where it seemed that "the hurrier I go, the behinder I get."

But I'm back; tons of pictures, some progress, and some stories. 

Take Back the Night...

So in October, while the rest of the US is donning pink everything, I'm wearing purple through the month. Lost in the Breast Cancer Displays is the fact that October is also "Domestic Violence Awareness Month." Tippi and I were at the table with the Will County Children's Advocacy Center, and here's a small display of the portraits of those who are killed in our county by means of domestic violence. 

I wish I could say that it was a small list. Or that it had stopped growing. But neither is true. And I did get upset a few years back, because the organizers included two boys, and there were some women who went bananas. "Take Back the Night is for WOMEN." Really? Those kids were MURDERED. By a PARENT. If that's not "domestic violence," then I don't know what is. Shame on those women. 

Anyway, that was her first appearance; we took pics with people, I didn't have her cards with me, but I did get a lot of questions. We were in a very loud gym, and she handled the chaos like a pro! That's my girl!

Knitting...

May never end... I'm thinking that I will be sending on this part of the layette, and the blankie for Christmas. I just won't get it done by the baby's due date. Between the cotton really driving my hands nuts and my schedule driving me nuts, there's just not enough time in my days anymore. I have it with me today, but haven't knitted a stitch, having my day job to actually, well, I don't know - DO -- so knitting waits till a calm bit. Which doesn't seem to want to happen a lot lately. Sunday, I didn't knit at all, having church and then a trip to see Kid #2 and deliver the remainder of his stuff... Saturday, though, I did knit almost all day. And I paid for it. 

This is where I'm at with the blanket. At about 5.33" it's got a ways to go. I'm actually zipping along doing almost a repeat a night, though we can translate that into "12 rows a night" and I'm measuring at the end of each night's production. I have to knit 28" and then do the ruffle. The ruffle is knitted onto each side, but you then have to seam up the corners. It seems like it could be easier, but at this point, my energy is into just getting it done. I'll work out details later. I swear, I should have remembered I had the Ann Norling (see the sweater) and created that set. It would have been easier. 

Fall is Here...

And not only in the temperatures, but in the flora and fauna. This is a picture of the tree out back at home. The fall color has likely peaked, but it was lovely while it lasted. I've got a lot of shots of the trees. And when I was driving home from visiting Kid #2, I stopped at 3 very old cemeteries. Had lots of fun wandering and photographing. At some point, I should bring the large camera, but my phone didn't do too badly. I love the effects I was able to get with some of the buttons on the phone.  I'll keep experimenting, and will try to do some more PhotoShop, especially on some of the more ancient tombstones and compositions.

This picture is of the coral bells out back of the office. I love how the dew is on them. It's a beautiful plant that has survived last winter and I expect will survive this winter. Which, depending on the weather channel you happen to be listening to? Will either be "colder" or "warmer" than last. But everyone so far is saying that it'll be far less snowy. 

My dentist said he loves Hubbys pics "because he has an eye for composition." And he's right. We can take the same photograph and his will be a "photograph" -- while mine is a "picture." It has to do with his eye for pictures, for sure. Also, he can still use manual focus on the camera. With my bifocals, it's harder. However, the manual focus on the camera phone seems to work much better. Go figure. 

So Kid #2 is 99% settled. He still has a few clothes left behind, but I drove Hubby's Boat (the Explorer) so I could bring him the bike, the desk and a bunch of boxes. I kept a close eye on the bike, because last time we were out, my bike popped off the frame! I didn't want to have to get his bike run over. The drive up was via the back roads, so I had time to scope out the cemeteries. Creepy? Well. I guess. But  the older ones are really fascinating. This is, obviously, the front gate of St. Mary's Cemetery. It was the last one I stopped at. In the original, it's full color, but I used the "antique" button on the phone to get this. 

There was also this crypt... In one of the other ones (the cemetery down the block from The Kid), there was a crypt, but it had its glass boarded over. This one had the lovely brass patina with the metalwork on the door, but I was able to glance in (it was locked). This is what I saw, with a little help from the fancy details on my camera. Sadly, I didn't save this as a copy, but you get the idea. The bit of glare in the upper right is from the afternoon sun. I stuck the phone right up onto the glass. I did darken up the walls of the crypt and tried to get the stained glass to pop. Click on the picture to see the rosary left by someone. 

By the way, I don't know what's up with the pictures today... I'm getting some weird spacing issues. Bear with me. 

Ebola...

For the record, Ebola is not President Obama's fault. Look - it's really simple. Banning travel is an insanely stupid act. What if the person comes on a plane from London? Or Ontario? Or Mexico? Or China? You can take other routes to get here -- and I don't believe there's a "one-stop flight" from Liberia to the US. 

The temperature taking at the airports is only a panacea to comfort us. 

There are what? Almost 319,000 people in the U.S. How many have DIED from Ebola? Well, just one - and there appears to be some doubt as to whether he was a US citizen or not. Regardless. 

ONE PERSON.

It's really not an "epidemic" here, folks. If you're in Liberia, well, then, yeah. Otherwise, unless you're up close and personal with bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen, you're probably going to be ok. The virus is NOT airborne, so not even a sneeze or cough will be a problem. 

Stop listening to the hysteria. Take reasonable precautions just as you would with a virulent flu (Bird flu, anyone???) and just stop the panic. 

By the way, over 20,000 people died of AIDS before Reagan even decided it was a problem in this country. Over 20,000 AMERICANS, folks. 

So wake up, do your research, and turn off Fox News. 

Oh, and we wouldn't need a "czar" if the Republicans would stop piddling their pants every time the NRA wants something. Seems the NRA doesn't like the nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, because he said that "gun deaths are a public health problem."

Well, gosh-darn - can't have that kinda socialistic claptrap. So they've blocked his nomination. And now blame OBAMA because there's no Surgeon General. No. I'm not kidding. 

I wish it was just a joke. Well. It IS a joke. But not a good one. 

Tried...

Kombucha. My friend Kristy is brewing her own. It's full of probiotics and good bacteria, and it is a tasty beverage. But it's too fizzy for me. I know I could probably adjust the rate of fermentation if I had the time to brew my own. But I did end up trying a concoction from the local health food store. 

Didn't like it. 

Because I have such an active social life, the next thing coming up is a colonosocopy and endoscope to finally (a) rule out any possibility of bleeding in regard to the anemia diagnosis; and (b) catch up on diagnostic tests. It's been close to 10 years since I've had either and it's about time to get that over with. At least I'll lose 5 pounds in the prep and have a good nap that day. 

I'm also getting myself prepped for the iron infusions. Seems that the 6-session infusions will work better (less chance of side effects) than the one long 6-hour infusion. And November 1 is my "do-date." 

Yes, "DO" date. I'm getting my diet cleaned up in a more sensible fashion than just eliminating all the food groups and eating 6 crackers with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese for lunch. 

Between the diet clean-up and iron, I'm hoping to be fit as a fiddle soon. 

Job Update...

There isn't one. Seems a high-up muckety-muck told my boss that they didn't want to move me to the new building "because someone from the College will have her ordering their lunches and answering their phones."

What? My boss said it was all she could do to keep a straight face and say, "You don't know her very well, do you??"

So. There's supposed to be a Dean "contemplating" my resume. We shall see. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll likely have to find a new job, but I've already decided to stay here through the close-up of the building. 

At some point, I have to spend some serious time scanning websites and applying for jobs. I've applied here and there, but have had only 1 interview. I need to get the freelance stuff up and prepped, too, but I know that will take longer to get off the ground. 

This gives me some breathing room, at any rate. It just feels like it's coming at me too fast, though. Which is just about normal. 

Random Picture...

She's so not a lady! But this is one of Raisa in mid-nap. Couldn't resist the intertwined front legs. Such a yoga-dog. 

She's coming into her teen period, doing  a bit too much "husky resource guarding" and there have been some power grabs. Usually, we don't let it get too far along. She's tried it with both Tippi and Quinn. I don't think Tippi would get to "blood" stage, but I'm perfectly certain that Quinn would. 

Raisa needs to learn her place, and so far, it's up to us to make sure that it's all figured out. 

See what I mean about the pictures??? What is up with that, Blogspot?? Don't go changing the settings on me. I don't like my pictures all chunked together. 

Did You Ever Just Know...

...that something wasn't a particularly bright idea? Well, that's how it happened this morning. 

After I had forgotten my office keys and had to go back home. 

Anyway, I bring chocolate almond milk to work, to use as a base for a protein shake. I made my shake, had my breakfast and then thought about a cup of tea. The cup was in the kitchen area, so I figured I'd take the mixer bottle and the milk bottle to the back to wash them. I did that. 

I set the milk bottle on the drain pad, and as I did so, I thought, "Hmmmmm. Not very stable." And by the time "stable" came into my head, the glass crashed to the floor. 

This is after I'd dropped a stoneware saucer on the floor in the kitchen last night, but at least that didn't break. 

Shattered glass. Flew all over the place. 

Mind you, I'm on a really strong blood-thinner and I'm by myself in the mornings. I wasn't quite sure how to pick this all up without cutting myself. And I found that our building doesn't have a dustpan. Hmmmm. 

Anyway, this is how you spend a little over 1/2 hour picking up glass when you're scared witless of cutting yourself: get the broom, grab a snow shovel (hey - use what you have, right?) and then a couple of fairly large wads of wet paper towels. I swept up everything, even the carpeted area. Then I got the snow shovel to use as a dustpan. For the remaining little teeny bits of glass, I wadded up paper towels and wet them slightly. That enabled them to grip the nearly invisible shards. All of it went into the snow shovel. All of that went into a garbage bag. Which went into another garbage bag. 

Which all went into the dumpster. 

I liked that bottle. It was the perfect size for me to bring to work. 

Yep. Full moon on the 8th. It's about time...

Knitting...

Baby layette

The baby layette is DONE. Well, the clothing part, at least. I finished the sweater and decided that I didn't need to embroider snowflakes on it. First, it's garter stitch, which has enough texture for anyone. Second, because I had the lovely snowflake buttons. 

Now to get cracking on the blanket. I figure if nothing else, I ship the clothing items to Mommy and I can get the blanket done for Christmas. But it's still early days; I can do it, I think. I'll still alternate with socks, because the cotton can be hard on the hands. 

Note the adorable buttons!

If you click on the picture here, you can see the detail in the snowflake buttons. Hubby said, "Move them down a bit." I had to explain that the buttonholes were already done! And anyway, I moved them from where the pattern had them. 

Remember, this is a newborn size - I think the neck is a bit small, so that's why I moved the buttons down anyway. 

Regardless, this is part of an Ann Norling set that I bought when Sonda closed the shop, and I would easily do again. But not in cotton. The entire set encompasses a hat, blanket, booties and sweater, much like the one I originally started with, but the hat is a "helmet" type, with ties for under the chin. Definitely a go in a superwash wool or wool/acrylic blend. The hat and blanket are in a large basketweave pattern and I think it's a tad clunky - at least for the hat. But it's a baby. Not Vogue. 

The link takes you to Jimmy Beans Wool. I thought that there was an individual site, but apparently not. The patterns are really nice. I'm using her ripple pattern for Kid #2's afghan.

Eye of Partridge heel in progress

The St. Charles sock comes along. I'm on the heel flap. It's Eye of Partridge heel and I must say I'm questioning the durability of this as opposed to my usual "Doris Heel" which is more or less a double-knitted slip-stitch heel with K3 at either end. I wanted to try this one, and so I will. But that doesn't mean I have to use it again. 

Still really digging the Lorna's Laces yarn. I'm now questioning, however, whether casting on 72 is a good idea. I mean, my cuff's going to hold up no matter what I do. It's two different ribbing patterns and it's nice and snug. But the leg looks a bit big. Now, this is wool with about 10% nylon, so perhaps it'll shrink a tad, but it will be a good test sock for this yarn. 

Overview of St. Charles colorway

Seems like the purple and the green swirls are predominating. It's definitely a "fall sock" and I believe it will definitely NOT be done for the KAL in the Addicted to Socks group I'm in. Oh well. Can't stop the baby knitting. Even for socks. 

So what will I do for my next pair? Someone asked how you pick your socks. I have my yarn in totes, and I think I'll just reach in and grab one. Then I can decide about the pattern. My goal is to try to get 7 pairs done this year, so that I can theoretically have a pair a day. 

I'm up to 5 pair, so we're going along well. Note, though, that only 2 of those 5 were done this year. The Robin's Nest MadTosh were done last year. I have 2 Opals that were done this year. 

Yesterday, at the Will-Grundy Medical Clinic 5K Blood Run, I was on the registration table. It was FREEZING. 

Hiking socks

So of course, I wore stuff I'd made. My knitted hiking socks; my crocheted ruffle scarf (I could have used the heavier one) and Sonda's hand-dyed hat (could've used the heavier one here, too). One of the gals took the hat and examined it, declaring it "almost machine-made" -- not sure if that's a compliment or not, right? 

I guess to a non-knitter, if your tension is good, it's "like machine made" - so I'll take it as the compliment I think she was aiming for. 

I got home and was still bone-cold. And stiff as a board. I did not, for the record, wear the Birks you see in the picture. I had on thicker shoes! It was a few hours of multiple cups of tea before I felt like I could move without feeling like I was hit by a 2x4. Between the cold temps, the harsh wind, and standing on concrete, it was almost inevitable. The runners, by the way, were fine. 

Maybe my next pair SHOULD be the companions to the hiking socks above. I have enough of that purple Cascade 220 (100% Peruvian wool) to add to the lovely sky blue I bought with a plan in mind - making contrasting heels & toes. It's knitted on size 3 DPNs, so it makes a nice sturdy sock. As long as your Hubby doesn't try to felt them in the wash! 

On The Way...

We live next to a town which is essentially bisected by a river. That river splits the west side of town from the east side. And crossing over is generally an adventure because the river has a high number of barges shuffling cargo here and there. It's great; the barges carrying goods all over and the tug boats doing their thing. Fascinating to watch. 

Till you get caught by a bridge. We call it "Bridge Roulette" and some days you can beat the barge. Some days, not so much. 

Yesterday at 7 a.m. was a "not so much" day. The bridges are drawbridges. Modern feats of engineering, and of course, when one is out for repair, it screws up the entire traffic flow. As you can see by this dashboard picture, the counterweight is a massive block of concrete. 

We're very strict about our bridges, and you'd be insane to try to beat the bridge if the light at the crossbars is already yellow. Which it was yesterday. I had already seen that the Ruby Street bridge was up, so I scooted (in plenty of time, I thought) to Bridge Street. Just as I got to where I thought "Whew," the light turned yellow. 

Nope. Not gonna risk it. Luckily, the tug was shoving 2 big barges, and it was moving along at a good clip. It was about 10 or 12 minutes from raising to lowering, which is a good thing. 

What bugs me is when they raise it for a sail boat or larger boat where the mast of the boat comes no where NEAR the bottom of the bridge deck!! That's annoying, but that's living in a river town, I guess. 

The Garden is Done...

The carrots are in. There were a lot of them. And no, I did not take a picture of what Hubby called "the anatomically correct male carrot." We thought about what to do and came up with freezing most of them. I have a bag of them in the fridge to scrape over salads or add to a soup, but the majority are in the vac-bags for later use. 

Kid #2 already requested at least 1 bag. He's a big soup-maker and he says "your garden carrots ROCK!" So how can I resist that, right?

We took out everything, and all the paraphernalia is stashed in the shed for next year. Not sure what we'll plant. Tomatoes didn't do much this year, though they were better than last. 

You know the pickles went gangbusters. The carrots went well, I think. And so did the lettuce, though it seemed to come all at once. Perhaps next year we plant a couple of rows, wait till that's done then do another 2 rows. That might make it easier to deal with. 

We will definitely NOT plant pickle cukes next year. But maybe 2 plants of salad cukes would be good. 

We got 10 bags of carrots for the freezer. I will definitely use this in soup and of course glazed carrots. 

The whole ones will be used as roasting carrots. I usually make a roasted medley for Thanksgiving, so these will be perfect with the parsnips, Brussels sprouts and other stuff I usually toss in there. 

I have to put a plug in -- if you have never grown your own carrots, you really need to do so. The flavor is amazing. 

Actually, it's amazing because they HAVE flavor. Once you grow your own, you'll notice that the bagged ones in the stores taste like... well, nothing. Really. 

And for juicing? Apple + carrot juice with a bit of fresh ginger and lemon? Wowza. A treat for the tastebuds. 

Mini-Rant...

Hubby saw a post from a high school friend which blamed President Obama for the Ebola virus coming to Texas. I reminded him that it's likely some of those friends are rather close-minded and stupid. He didn't even answer the post, because how do you counter that deeply-rooted idiocy? 

Anyway, on the way in to the office today, I briefly listened to the Stephanie Miller show. I love her, but I'm on a "no progressive radio" thing lately. 

I'm so appalled at the negative and obviously misleading (and slanderous) commercials by conservatives. They are completely re-writing history and their followers are swallowing this crap hook, line, and sinker. 

For example, in Louisiana, Mary Landrieu is running again. She's a pro-gun Democrat. Yet the conservatives there say, "Mary voted for MORE GUN REGULATION." No. She didn't. It's in the Congressional Record, people. Use your internet for more than stalking celebrities. Try using your brain and doing some research before swallowing wholly-made up "facts" shoved at you by politicians who've been bought by special-interest groups.

She actually voted merely for expanded background checks in the wake of the Newtown shooting. But yeppers - the Conservatives are calling her an "anti-gun" politician who's right there with Obama to "come get your guns." (Which, by the way, hasn't actually happened, but who's gonna let a good lie get away?)

And yesterday I was waiting for a movie, so I thought I'd watch Bill Moyers. Check out the full show on his website and listen to how President Obama and Mr. Holder actually did screw us over by not going after the bankers. Just the banks, who can then write off the "fines" as a "cost of doing business." 

Made my blood boil. While President Obama has done a lot of good (in spite of what you'll hear on FixedNews(?) Network), he's disappointed a lot of us who consider ourselves liberal progressives. 

But he's still better than "Bomb, bomb, bomb" McClain and Poopsie "Moosewoman" Palin. 

Random Picture...

This is Tippi yesterday afternoon. I tried to get her first pose, which was with her head flattened between her paws. She can sense when I'm moving, I swear. This was her reaction to my putting the camera on the floor. 

"Really?" She briefly opened her eyes and then figured that if she shut them, the flash wouldn't disrupt her nap.

She and I attended the Take Back the Night event as visitors to the Will County Children's Advocacy Center where she does some part-time therapy work. 

Of course, her personality and furry grey presence captivated people. It always does. Many people asked what she was there for, and how they get involved. 

And many more just wanted to pet her. She was charming and she found the one air conditioning vent on "full blast" so she could lay on the floor in comfort. 

As long as I know I'm just her driver... all's right in her world.