Truckin' Through Thursday...

...as in "truckin through the mush." 

Big news: It's snowing again. Now, I don't mean I'm all "Henny Penny" about it. Just saying that our current weather is 19*F with "feels like" at 10* and snow showers. 

Tomorrow, it turns to rain. Saturday it turns to sleet. Welcome, January. We went from -45* at the beginning of the week to Sunday's upcoming high of 40* - ABOVE zero, mind you. Darn nearly spring weather...

So now that 2014 is here, let's get back to the interesting stuff. Not that food, reading and knitting are NOT interesting, but I did take a slight holiday break from "The Insanity." Let's have some discussion, though. It's time.

Women...

From a study done by a Harvard economist which indicated that flexible hours would lessen the gender pay gap to those good ol' boy Republicans who want to legislate women back into servitude. We're head-slappingly going back to fight fights we oughtn't have to fight in this century. 

In the Chicago Tribune the other day, Professor Claudia Goldin (gasp! a WOMAN!) states that gender salary differentials "would be considerably reduced and might vanish altogether if firms did not have an incentive to disproportionately reward individuals who labord long hours and worked particular hours." 

Translation: How come women 25 - 69 years of age, working full time, still make 77% of what men earn? She says that the pay gap in industries with more flexible work schedules (science, technology, health) is smaller than that of other industries with more rigid workdays (those professions include financial and legal professions). 

"Quite simply, the gap exists because hours of work in many occupations are worth more when given at particular moments and when the hours are more continuous," says her study. Here's her solution to closing that gender pay gap: workers must get more autonomy in determining their schedules. Read the entire article here. 

I'm 55. I have worked in office settings where I had to be at a certain place at a certain time. I actually had to pay my kid's Catholic school a fee every month because I was unable to do my monthly "lunch monitor" work. Well, because I had to WORK to pay the tuition. Plus, of course, the fee for not being able to volunteer because I had to work. 

Can you see where this argument goes? Now, I have my MA and my MBA and I work a more flexible schedule. But there are still so many women stuck in "pink collar" jobs - and whether they're stuck by training or inclination, they're still stuck. And I'm not saying that we don't need those kinds of jobs. We do. 

Crap - ANY jobs now are good ones! 

That being said, why must it only be the women who've been able to break the mold of traditional office jobs who can take advantage of that lesser pay gap? Frankly, it's the ones stuck in the cube farm or in other work where the day is fairly regimented who really need the smaller pay gap. 

But of course, we're talking about women. Who, even though they are in large part major contributors to their family's incomes, are still considered "less than" by employers. Men still get more than women, for doing the same job. 

It is 2014, right? 

Of course, with jobs at a premium here in the US anyway, I suppose I shouldn't carp on it, but it bugs me that the fights that were fought in the 70s and 80s are now either being re-fought or aren't won yet. How long will this take?

Sooooooooooo... The Republicans are trying again to legislate birth control and abortion, battles we thought we'd already dealt with. Because, you know, nothing else is going on. 

But there's good news on the ACA front: Breast cancer prevention drugs must be covered. See this link and rejoice! Now, if we can get more research money toward lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer, we'd be golden. 

Yesterday on Make it Plain, I heard Dahlia Lithwick talk about Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor and her rather interesting decision regarding the Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious order with one of many ACA "I don't want your birth control mandate" lawsuits. The issue appears to be a release form. 

Here's how it goes. You object to the ACA mandate. Okey-dokey. Do you fit into one of the categories that qualify? Yes. Okey-dokey. Please sign this form. 

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, says Little Sisters. If WE sign this form then it means SOMEONE ELSE has to give our employees birth control. And we object to THAT. Their ability to give our employees birth control violates OUR religious views. Here's the story. 

Now just hang on a pea-picking moment here, good Sisters. My take on this is thus: It's none of your business what I do. If you object to providing birth control, peachy. Object. Sign the form. Move on. 

But no. You have to force YOUR religion down ANYONE else's throat. That makes no sense. Well, maybe a warped manner of sense. 

So if I object to the war (Doesn't matter which one. Pick one.) and I register that objection, then that's the end of the argument. I don't get to object to anyone else's stand in the issue. Because that slope is more slippery than an Illinois freeway right now. 

That would cause whole segments of commerce and society to collapse. 

Oh, and it would likely cause the ACA to collapse. Regardless of the good the ACA does (see the cancer drug mentioned above), regardless of the countless people it'll help. "Ye Gods and Little Fishes, we WILL NOT HAVE BIRTH CONTROL." (stomp your foot here)

Just because the Little Sisters (or insert your favorite religion here) have that belief does not entitle them to push that on anyone else. Because that, my children, is then called a theocracy. 

And let me remind you of the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli. See the first sentence? This treaty was written under the presidency of George Washington and signed under the presidency of John Adams. 

"As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion..." 

While every one of the Founding Fathers were "religious" - they were most often "deist" - they believed in a God, but nowhere is that God mentioned in the CONSTITUTION, which is our governing document. The Declaration of Independence, a lovely document, is not a governing document. Big difference. 

Fewer Republicans...

I liken this to slavery or indentured servitude. A small percentage of the people decide that they know what religion is best. And the rest of us are forced to go along with it. Remember the old movies? What the master of the house believed, everyone had to conform with. When he prayed, the servants prayed. When the plantation owner prayed, his slaves prayed. What he believed, they believed. 

Because that's what will happen if we keep to the current trend of legislating freedoms. 

Sr. Joan Speaks

How come it's "legislating freedoms" when they do it to those of us with ovaries and a uterus, but when it comes to guns it's all "restricting my rights"? 

How come y'all are "all about the fetus" but, making Sr. Joan Chittister's point, you all could give a lamb's left leg about the baby AFTER it gets here. In fact, not only that, but you slut-shame the mothers of said children as if the fathers had no earthly responsibility toward the child now living in this world surrounded by your condescending hatred of its very existence. Because it's a CHILD now, not a fetus. As if one has more value than the other. 

According to a recent Gallup poll, "record numbers" are registering as Independents. Not Republicans. Actually, the number of registered Republicans seems to be declining. Hey, when you have to have sensitivity training to deal with over 50% of the population (and that's only the gender split, not counting racial lines), then you have problems, kids. 

Now, if the Democrats could get as good of a message-making machine, we'd be golden. As an example, we have the redoubtable Chris Christie...Bridge-gate. But on Fox, nary a whisper. What Christie scandal? 

We Democrats/Progressives should have such a news network. Though we're not really into suspending belief in the face of evidence...that could be a problem. 

Polar Vortex...

Speaking of flying in the face of evidence, there's the "isn't he dead yet?" Pat Robertson claiming that global warming must be a hoax because there are no SUVs on Jupiter.

Ok. And pickles have feathers. 

Because that sentence makes as much sense as Robertson's statement. And for good measure, Hannity, Limpblow, Trump, and the rest of FakesNews chimed right in. 

"There IS NO GLOBAL WARMING because it's cold."

Ok, guys, here's the thing. GLOBAL. That means the ENTIRE world, not just the silly little bubble you seem to inhabit. See, Australia (Remember, that's on the OTHER side of the Earth) is having summer now. That's how it works. The seasons rotate and while WE have winter here in this hemisphere (follow along, it's not hard), the OTHER hemispheres have other seasons, so Australia, in its hemisphere - the SOUTHERN hemisphere - is having SUMMER. 

And they're baking. Record high temps. Heat wave. Massive problems with heat, including wildfires, bats dropping out of the trees and destruction of homes and property. That's why it's called GLOBAL warming. Because the temperatures all across the GLOBE are changing, too rapidly, and because of us stupid humans. 

So while I'm sitting here watching the snow fall in Illinois, Queensland is having a raging fire. Because of the heat wave. 

Because of global warming. 

If you're interested, here's a story on the polar vortex. 

Religion...

As if we weren't already bashing enough, right? Well, look at this video and just let the chills go up and down your arms. Scientology. Religion for profit. Urgh. 

Again, hearkening back to the news lately, it seems like we're on a crusade. Or I should say a Crusade. 

Now I'm the first one to say that, since the dawn of "reality TV" (an oxymoron of massive proportions) society and civility have been going down the flusher. But I don't think a massive swing back to "Puritania" will cure this. 

Common sense will. But as the sage said, "Common sense... isn't."

Knitting...

No pictures. Just a note that my mom likes the Nephew Afghan. I saw the bridal registry. Sorry, but I'm sticking to my own gifts: the afghan, and then I got them a convertible punch bowl/cake topper/dip thingie + a "First Christmas" ornament. Done and done. 

I'm cool with gift registries. But I'm a renegade. I'm the weird aunt who buys the kids books. Obscure books. Reading is cool. 

Oh, and I find I need to knit myself a hat. I've got a cloche pattern for a "fancy church hat" (just for fun, and I have the wool) and a really cute beanie style. I have hats; I just don't have the "right" hat and I have a ton of the grey/black/cream yarn left from the Charity Afghan. I may as well use it. 

I don't particularly care what my hats look like, because like I told Roberta from choir, I have very few (read: NONE) "cute" hats. They're all functional. 

So I've just searched something like 16 pages of "free knitting hat patterns" and I came up with several. Now to just get the time to knit one before spring...

Raisa...

Raisa, f/k/a "Dolly"

We had the home visit. It went fine, for the most part. There were a few stumbles. Like when the volunteer brings Raisa up the front porch and Quinn goes ballistic. Dude... it's HER territory. We should have met down the street. 

Or when, as the dogs were licking faces (and I'm talking Raisa licking the faces of Tippi and Quinn, just like a puppy does) and the volunteer kept sticking his hand between them. Great way to lose a finger or encourage a bite. 

Ok, there's "puppy licking" and the "stare and flick." The "stare and flick" you really want to avoid, because that's the precursor to trouble. With a capital "T" - which we didn't want. But Puppy Licking is submissive behavior. I learned a lot because after we were done, I contacted a friend in England with masses of years of dog experience, and a friend in TN who not only fostered, but bred, and also had years/decades of experience in huskies, elkies, wolf hybrids, you name it. And I talked with our trainer. To a person, each said, "Pfffffffth - he didn't really know what he was talking about." However, our trainer did say that perhaps he had a placement go really wrong, so he was overreacting to what was going on in our house. 

So Tippi responded quite well to Raisa. Then she became oblivious, which is a good sign. Quinn took a while, and it would've been easier if the volunteer hadn't gone all "Cesar" on us and talked about being "the alpha in the room." 

Really? It's MY house. Thanks. Aside from the fact that Kid #2 was there, and Hubby, let's face it; I'm really the alpha female in this household. Either way, the kids grew up with northern breeds and this isn't exactly Hubby's first rodeo either. 

Nonetheless, we are approved!! Raisa comes on the 18th of January. Puppy all over again. As you can see, she not only found the couch, but found the grunting hedgehog. We have the crate ordered; along with a pad for it. I have spare toys, Kong bones and dishes. We're all set except for the first few sleepless nights. 

And realistically, she's our last puppy. I'm in my mid-50s and perhaps at some point, I'll retire. We will have 3 dogs. And when Kid #2 moves out, we more or less lose our in-home dog-watching service. Though he's already said that he's kidnapping -- errrrr - DOGnaping Raisa. "After all, you have THREE and you're only supposed to have TWO." Um, dear child - we will count paws when you leave. 

Anyway, you have to add up the vet costs; the fact that you have to train each of them; the fact that you can't exactly up and take off for a trip. Of course, after everyone's housebroken and trained, we can take them with us, or leave them home longer. But you still have to think about things. Particularly since neither Huskies nor Elkhounds are small dogs. 

Random Picture...

Eskimo Snow

I used to do a lot of counted cross stitch. A lot. Masses. Of course, I still have a cache of WIPs in that media as well. You guessed that, though, didn't you?? Anyway, here's one of the pics in the hallway. I love it. I used a glossy floss on the snowman and I only outlined him. I mean, the fabric is white, so why stitch it over? I don't remember its exact title. But the frame is a lovely denim-dark-blue and it's on the Wall of Fame. One of these days, I have to get a long shot of that. When we repainted, I had hubby gather up all the stuff I'd done and put it all up there. May as well display it, right?

I should put up my Curtis Boehringer snowman for January. I also have one for February, but March is sitting in the cross stitch frame waiting on me. We won't go into the WIPs for counted cross stitch right now. 

It would make me want to retire. Well, a lot of things make me want to retire... 

Oy. I'm Tired...

So today I had to be up at "before-the-chickens" o'clock and at work before dawn. Yawwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnn. I'm tired. I had a group here at work for an early a.m. session and then the HVAC guy came because our heating system is really acting weird.

Turns out that of the 3 units on the roof, Unit #1 has been "locked out" because the heat exchanger has a crack in it. Ok. We knew that, so what happened to the paperwork? It got lost in a Pit of Despair somewhere up at the main campus. The HVAC company will re-quote the job and they'll get it fixed.

I mean, hey. We're only in ILLINOIS. And on the verge of NOVEMBER. Global warming or not, it's cold today and it was snowing again for about 5 minutes. I just talked to one of the Facilities guys and he tells me, "Oh yeah, when we switch over to heat, you're supposed to flip the switch. 

Which switch? Where? I haven't done that in the entire time I've been here, and it's been nearly 10 years... To quote: "What we have here is a failure to communicate."

Cutie-pie!

Gotta love it.

Knitting...

Tomorrow, I go with my knitting gals, and I give up the ghost on the Chandelier Lace scarf. I need help picking it back to a purl row. And then I've gotta give in and use a lifeline. Needless to say, it won't be done for Christmas. At least not Christmas 2013.

I'll happily take a before-and-after set of shots. I'll own up to the hash I made of it...

Working on the next Fluffy Scarf. It's going along ok. Starbella, even though I dislike it, is easier to spread out than Sashay. But my problem with this particular ball is that there are some quality issues. I may end up keeping this scarf for myself if it gets worse. 

When I get home this afternoon, I'll sit for a spell, and if I feel like I can actually think straight, I may get the cuff of Sock #2 done and start on the leg. 

So the picture (a) is NOT knitting; and (b) is old... This is an old pic of my great-nephew (gah!!!) and he's wearing a sweater my friend Sue crocheted for him. He is now an adorable preschooler. I'm not violating any rules; his mom has his pictures all over Facebook, and I didn't even include his name. 

I do have pics of the twins in their sweaters, but I have to retrieve them. For another post...

Eating...

Let's just say this is going to be a bad week. I have good intentions. It's just that the busy-ness of the week and the lack of sleep have combined to make me into a tired, cranky, hungry grump. I know it happens every time. And today, at least - I'm too tired to battle it out. 

I have some home-made potato soup that I'll eat tonight for dinner; no, it's not specifically on my eating plan, but I'm in need of comfort food, and I'll be having an early night, if I'm lucky. 

Politics...

Well, it's not technically politics, but it's just a bombshell news story. OK, yes, it IS politics. Lookee here, boys and girls. Ted (Canadian/Cuban)Cruz gets HIS health insurance from his WIFE'S policy at Goldman Sachs... Yep. Imagine that. Click here to get the story. So of course he doesn't give a rat's rear end if anyone ELSE gets health insurance. In his book, "I got mine." And that's all that counts. 

If you don't realize that the Republicans WANT the healthcare.gov site to fail, and that they WANT voter suppression and that they WANT us to be a "Christian Nation" (which is entirely what the Founders did NOT WANT)... Well, then you're sleeping under the stumps in a forest or something. They market themselves as "for the people." 

For the people to work at subsistence wages so the Corporate Overlords can make big bucks.

For the people to get screwed out of pension benefits so that the Shareholder Overlords can get their dividends.

For the people to vote for them so that they can continue to manipulate the weak-willed and under-informed voter. 

Is that you? Are you a sheep? I didn't think so.

And the Job Creators? Pfffffffthhhhhh. Pardon my raspberry. They "create jobs" alright. Overseas, because it's cheaper. Which is why Detroit and other urban centers are virtual ghost towns. People will spend money when they're making it. We used to be a society that built stuff. 

Now? We outsource it. Crikey, we're even talking about outsourcing our food to China. Really? 

Random Picture...

The Duchess

This is a picture of the grand chandelier in our local theatre. This theatre was within inches of being razed for a parking lot when one of our grand dames in down actually started not only a petition, but a collection - to the point of going around with a coffee can for donations - to revive this theatre. Now, it's the jewel of the town, and acts from all over come out to play and entertain us. 

The theatre was the location of our women's group's anniversary bash: "Spirits With the Spirits" and we had a blast. I love the place. 

I remember my paternal grandma, who didn't drive, and we'd get on the bus for a dime and go see 101 Dalmations at this theatre. It used to be a movie house. 

I'm grateful to preservationists for their work. Some things probably need to be torn down, but on the other hand, rational minds need to come together to retain significant aspects of a town's history. 

This is a significant aspect. This picture, even taken with the "good camera" -- well, it doesn't do The Duchess true justice. She's beautiful. 

 Estate Stuff...

Well, we have a closing in the works. Yay. I'm so done. This has not been the best situation. There's been over-much drama. And we're not normally a high-drama family. 

I want Thanksgiving to be stress-free. I want us to all sit down and eat our lovely organic turkey in peace, without waiting for someone to have a melt-down. To this end, my mother has (wisely) chosen to un-invite both of my deceased brother's kids. They're not speaking to each other, and at this point, it's not worth the stress. I don't care what excuse she gives, but it's just not worth it. My remaining brother and one nephew have expressed to my mother that they don't want to be there if those kids are there. My own kids are "upset" (read: we need to make sure that the one kid doesn't flip out on mom or granny) and are not looking forward to what Kid #2 has christened "FAKES-giving." And I just don't want to have to wait to see if drama will happen or not. It's not why I'm going to all the trouble to cook the blasted dinner...

Christmas...

As I said, the baking list is done. Baking has not commenced yet. Hubby hasn't decided if he's going to spend Christmas with his mom. I will have from mid-December through New Year's Day off, and the kids and I will be making pierogies. 

I've already started the Christmas ordering. I think I'm giving #1 Girlfriend (Kid #1's gal) a lovely set of amber: a pendant and earrings. Amber is a traditional Polish gift to a bride and there are rumors... (yay!)

My mom's getting the Senior Series Yoga class taught by MY teacher. I'm already told what my gift is - Hubby and I are sharing a tablet computer. I'm not sure how that's gonna work, but whatever. I certainly don't need anything. 

Except slippers. I'd like a nice pair of sheepskin slippers...