Yeah, I know. What???
It's just kind of the order in which I think things will go in today's entry.
Tea...
So on a normal day, I usually drink about 4 cups of tea. Two are "real" and the others are decaf or herbal.
Today, I'm going with one extra "leaded" cup, but I'm using a tea that Hubby brought home from a recent trip to MT. Apparently, Montana having more elk than people, he actually KNOWS the gal who has the shop that creates this tea. He also bought some coffee from her.
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| Tea |
Normally, I like my green tea "straight" - maybe iced, but usually just hot is fine. However, I'm craving sweets today, and this tea has hit the spot.
It's loose leaf, and I did a double brewing. So the first cup actually was full-caf, and the second was way less.
This is truly a "dessert" kinda tea. I mean, it tastes like an Almond Joy bar, minus the chocolate. I'm enjoying it. I don't think I'd do this iced - too cloying. But hot is nice.
Especially since today is grey and damp; nothing iced today. Except my salad this noon.
Speaking of salad, NOTE TO SELF: When you go to dismember an avocado, don't use the cheap-o knife!! I went to the grocery store a while back and needed a sharper knife than the one I had. And I should've just spent the extra few bucks.
I have a sliced thumb, but it's nothing serious. Annoying, yes. Stupid, yep. But really - I'll live.
Good knives save lives!!
Death...
I subscribe to The Sun magazine. It's lovely, a compilation of essays, articles, poetry and photographs. Kind of an expanded Atlantic without the snootiness.
Katy Butler was interviewed, and she's got a new book out: "Knocking on Heaven's Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death." It's not at all morbid. It's about "That Conversation" that everyone should have. In several versions, actually -- because it truly does matter where you are on the age spectrum, and illness spectrum.
My family is pretty much "shoot me now" -- we don't want a lot of intervention. I've seen death, and I remember the line in the Irene Dunn movie, "I Remember Mamma" where she tells Kristina, "I want you should look on death so you are not afraid."
Well, I'm not jazzed. Slightly scared, but hey - by this time in my life, I've lost a parent, 2 friends, more than several acquaintances, all the grandparents, the great-grandparents, my father-in-law, and a sibling. That doesn't count a rash of great-aunts and a few cousins. Believe me, wakes were social events when I was a kid. I was lucky enough to have great-grandparents till I was in my teens, as did our boys.
That doesn't mean I'm happy with my own mortality. Frankly, many days, it scares the crap out of me.
But we've all had "The Conversation." My own kids have even had their own versions of that talk with us.
Butler's book and interview in the magazine center around our country's cultural aversion to death and she specifically talks about her father's death, then her mothers, which was vastly different, mostly due to what happened with her dad.
It's a romantic, Hollywood idea to have a "peaceful death at home." It's not like it is in the movies. It's scary, overwhelming and sometimes harsh.
But it's worse if you don't have The Conversation with your family. My sister, a former ICU nurse, has seen that side of it. She's encouraged all of us to talk about it, because she's seen the way most families are confronted by death, and it's not good.
Yes, I have my funeral planned. Don't have a plot yet, but it's likely I'll go with cremation anyway and have the kids scatter my ashes. They're boys - they're not gonna want to haul around an urn. And I'm claustrophobic - don't necessarily want to be stuck in a cranny on a wall... (work with me here...). Though the columbarium of our church is a nice alternative. Either way, none of us is much on "grave visiting" so it won't matter whether I'm in a church or scattered along the banks of Lake MacDonald in Glacier National Park. Nobody's gonna leave flowers somewhere for me.
Plant a tree. Have a party. I'll appreciate it more.
Knitting...
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| Pottery |
I'm not sure if I posted a decent picture. Yarn bowls are all the rage. Many are truly works of art and they're just lovely, handy items. When my mom's friends moved, they had a bowl I coveted. It's this one. It's hand-thrown and glazed. My mom's friend said she used it for watermelon in the summer.
All I could think of was "yarn bowl!!" Kid #2 had made me one, but it was quite small - it's still handy enough, but this one holds a bit more. Normally, it's tucked under this table, because the canary is still alive and kicking, if not necessarily tweeting much.
He does tweet, but only under duress. Anyway, once he goes, this table will go away, too. This window is where our Christmas tree usually sits; we've had it on the dining room table forever because (a) there's no room; and (b) then we had puppies...
Anyway, back to the bowl. I did put "footies" under the bottom rim, so as to not scratch anything. But otherwise, I'm enjoying using this in an unusual way. It's a thing I look at every day and it's fulfilling its purpose as a vessel. Just holding yarn, not food!
Speaking of Food...
I saw this on Facebook. It's a really cute idea. I'm a total cookie-baker and so is Kid #2. This is a diagram on folding a plate to make a container.
I do have lovely "holiday box" thingies to put cookies in, but they're all red/green and candy striped. This is something nifty for a birthday or other occasion.
If one was really creative, one could make them for centerpieces on the holiday table or as a shower theme.
Come to think of it, this might make a good way to take home cake when we're at a birthday party, instead of trying to balance the slices on an open-faced plate, covered with foil or plastic wrap that only clings to itself.
May have to try that the next time we have a birthday.
But it won't work for pie, I think. And it'll only hold 2 regular-sized cupcakes, and perhaps 4 - 6 small ones.
However - it looks like it'll hold about 6 decent-sized fudge brownies.
Ok. I need to stop now...
Weddings...
So in last Sunday's Chicago Trib was the story of a "Wedding That Won't Be." Sadly, this couple, Ann and Holly Cook-Graver, asked their pastor if they could be married, since we can now do that in Illinois. The wedding was set for June 28, 2014 at Faith United Methodist Church in Orland Park, IL...
Everything was on track until late April, when the pastor emailed Ann. Nothing good can come of an email with the subject line: "It's about your wedding in June."
Apparently, they can't be married at Faith United Methodist Church. While they've been members of the congregation for quite some time, and while the pastor initially said yes, and the church's wedding planner walked them through the whole thing... it's all for naught.
Because the pastor had talked with "several key members" of the church's leadership and realized that the United Methodist clergy are prohibited from presiding at same-sex civil unions or marriages.
In reality, while Illinois has passed Senate Bill 10, legalizing same-sex marriage, the fact is that many denominations still won't honor this. And I don't mind that part so much.
I appreciate the separation of church and state.
I just think it's rotten that the pastor said he would, and then said he wouldn't. I don't think that the Methodists' Book of Discipline changed in that time.
Think about the recent story in the news about a Methodist pastor who was told that he basically had to denounce his own son because the son is gay and wants to marry his partner. The father, I believe, said, "I can't do this to my kid" and he's left the church. So yes, religion is fine, but how "fine" is it when the intolerance starts to tear families apart?
Ann and Holly, the Episcopal Church welcomes you. I'll even bake the cake.
Random Picture...
This is a shot of Raisa and Tippi. Tippi's face had just been washed by Raisa. They're getting along fine, and we are just about at the end of Raisa's heat. Thank goodness!!
My intent is to "finish" Raisa - at least get her to Advanced Obedience this summer. We have a lot to catch up on with "Intermediate" and we still have her spay to go yet. Eventually, we get her to CGC and TDI.
How long will "puppy brain" last???
Sorry - couldn't resist. I have a new pair of shoes, and the receipt says "shootie" but I think in the current climate, I want to stay away from "shoot" in any form.
So I'm calling them "Shoobooties." Kind of a play on the song from The Music Man entitled "Shapoopie." Just go with me here...
They're ABEO shoes; so far, so comfy. I was hesitant at first because they're enclosed. I have arthritis in the feet and high insteps. Wasn't sure how that was going to work, but lookee...Even with wool socks, they've been comfortable so far. I got them from The Walking Company, which is my favorite shoe store. I will tell you that you need to go there. Especially if you're ordering shoes that come in European sizes.
Did you know that your feet continue to grow? Or I should say, expand... I used to wear a size 8 shoe. Now, 2 kids, constantly barefoot, overweight then losing weight... I'm about a size 9 for the most part. These Shoobooties are 8.5, but most of my Dansko shoes are size 9.
I have to go on a "shoe purge" and clear out the last of the pumps. I'm not able to wear them because (a) I don't wear high heels anymore; and (b) most of them are size 8 and don't fit anymore. I can deliver them to the local women's shelter and they'll have a use for them. I need to add that to The Big To-Do List, I guess.
Today, it's rainy and the campus is a bit cool. We have the HVAC people coming out tomorrow, so hopefully, that'll get resolved. Also, the electricians are coming out to (finally) fix the lights.
I have a candle burning to "home-y" up the place. Our cleaners use non-toxic cleaners, but they're vinegar-based. It gets a little much sometimes! The candle is "Red McIntosh Orchard" or some such name. A mild apple-scent, not too overwhelming.
I have to figure out whether I want to change the water bottle (it's a big one) or see if I can snag a male student to do it. I probably should do it myself. I just get a little wimpy thinking about losing my grip.
I guess the best way to NOT lose your grip is to just strengthen your grip, right?
The To-Do List...
I've made a honkin' big "Things I Have to Do" list - kind of all-encompassing because I keep thinking about stuff, and it rarely makes it to my day-to-day list. It runs the gamut from "take the suit to Golden Needle to get hemmed" to "clear out the corner of your bedroom." Plus Christmas cards, learning music, wiring the guitar for Christmas Eve... It just makes me feel better about seeing it all in one place.
Will be working on the "learning music" thing shortly - I'm at work for the night shift, and before students get here, I can sing without anyone wanting to cart me away!
Politics...
It's about time, Harry!! Finally. Filibuster reform. Click here to read the full story. There is no logical reason why a MINORITY should hold up nominations. Look at what we have here, aside from the aptly-named "Obama Derangement Syndrome." There have been 82 nominees blocked during this man's tenure. There have only been slightly over 85 nominees blocked for ANY OTHER PRESIDENT - all of them included in that math. So for every OTHER president, nobody's blocked what they wanted to do. But not so for the black guy.
But we're "post-racial" right? I don't think so.
And in other news, CONGRATULATIONS, Illinois! Last night, Governor Quinn signed into law the gay marriage bill. Click here to read about it. Catholic Bishop Thomas Paprocki held an "exorcism" at the local church. I am dead serious. It's in the article.
This is, obviously, the only thing the Catholic Church has to worry about, right? I hate to tell them, but my straight marriage is in no way threatened by anyone else's marriage, straight or gay. If you feel that your marriage is threatened by ANY other marriage, then you probably have more problems that go deeper. You'd need counseling at least. Pronto.
Knitting...
The afghan. Almost done. Well, almost assembled. I worked on it today and I just have one more square to attach. Then I weave in about 6 million ends, and then I can do the border of the silvery-grey. I'll probably start on that border on Friday night.
Thanksgiving...
So I messaged the kids with Lola's picture. BOTH of them said, "So when is she going to be in OUR freezer?" Ha. Poor Lola.
The turkey is still hard as a rock. It's been in the fridge since Tuesday. I'm thinking that the cold water bath will be the way to go...
I don't think we'll need the ham. The kids will make the spuds on Friday. I wish they'd wait till Saturday, but I have to work with their schedules, too. My mom is - thankfully - making the lighter version of stuffing.
We do have a family recipe of giblet stuffing that's phenomenal. For grout. I mean, it's tasty. But nobody eats like that anymore. You can eat that stuffing and not feel hungry for a day. To say it's "heavy" is putting it mildly.
Personally, I'd try a wild rice stuffing. But I'm getting there. We just gradually introduce new stuff, and nobody really gripes too much. They get volunteered to cook if they kick up a fuss.
Random Picture...
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| River |
The random picture today is an old one. It's of my lovely River, who went over the Bridge a couple of years ago. She was a sweetheart, and I still miss her every day. Yes, I love my elkhounds, but I'm a "Husky girl" for the most part. I love their independence, their tails, their blue eyes, their big fuzzy heads and the way that no matter what, they're the fastest kissers in the land!
Beware of the Husky kiss. It's slobbery, quick and all over your face before you can duck. Sneaky little buggers, they are.
I belong to the "Husky Tales" Facebook group, and it's feeding my addiction... I know that at some point, we'll have another dog and it'll be a Husky. I want to be able to have this one be a therapy dog, too. It gives them something to do, and I enjoy working with Tippi like that, so it's a good thing all the way around.
Off I go - gotta sing before we have company!
I had a nearly-hour-long conversation with my friend "N" yesterday.
I hadn't spoken to her in almost a year (I mean in person or on the phone). She had this job. It was a soul-sucking, time-consuming, all-encompassing job. Such that just about every month, she traveled 50% of the time. And when she was in town, she worked 14-hour days.
Which isn't remarkable as such, since so many people do that today - just to keep employed.
But what she did was remarkable. She quit. She resigned after dealing with an entirely toxic department, a supervisor who shoveled crap on top of her and then chastised her repeatedly for "not performing to expectations" under conditions which can be considered "hostile" to say the least. After giving directions to an assistant who wouldn't do her job, and then being told that she was being given a "job improvement notice" because she couldn't manage. After writing up the assistant and the assistant complaining to HR about her. I just shake my head at that kind of garbage.
And she did it the right way. She submitted a resignation note, cleaned out her office without fanfare and left.
It takes guts to do that. She told me about it while I was in the midst of a therapy visit with Tippi, so I had to wait to call her back. And then during our conversation, she said something which made me stop. "You were the first one I thought about. And I knew that, unlike so many people, you wouldn't have tried to talk me out of walking out."
She's right. I have left soul-sucking jobs. I have done the "travel every month" thing, while trying to raise 2 kids. I would have helped her draft her resignation note.
We discussed what she wanted to do, what her immediate goals were, and yes, we made plans to get together soon.
I had missed her. We e-mailed; I tried to network to find her a new place; but she was always on a plane. She was unable to sustain friendships, was having trouble with stress, and was missing out on so much of her family life.
Was quitting the best response? She's lucky enough to be able to do it. And yes, for her, it was the absolute right thing to do. Yes, the economy is still recovering. And yes, she's at the top of her field and will likely not find another job like that. Which may be a good thing. She's being tagged by the corporate world as "too expensive" -- they can hire 25-year-olds for about 1/3 of her salary.
And she's ok with that. I have been in her shoes and I have been lucky enough to be able to shed a job that wasn't doing me any good. I look forward to seeing N accomplish her goals: to be a present parent; to concentrate on HERSELF; to learn to knit. Those are things that will matter. Not the job.
The Turkey...
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| Lola |
So I wrote a check for the turkey yesterday. And about had a heart attack -- this bird had better be good!! Three Maples Farm is a lovely spot; we got to pet the horses and cows. This is Lola. She likes peppermint candies and is shy.
Hubby about had a fit, too, with the price of Mr. Turkey. But we agreed (sort of) to try something more organic. So we shall see. Right now, Mr. Turkey is in the fridge at work. It'll take him 5 days to thaw, so while I'm at work Saturday (we're having our Thanksgiving early, remember), Hubby will come by and get him. If needed, he'll be getting a cool-water thaw.
Lola will eventually be hamburger. The woman who runs the farm was telling us that she's been involving her kids in the farm. They understand about "raising what you eat" and the concept of attachment. All her animals have names, and all of them, for the most part, end up on a table somewhere. So the next time we go there, it may very well be that Lola's in the freezer. But if you want to make sure your food is not injected with garbage or fed GMO grain, you go to a local farmer. And you ask.
The dogs, of course, had a sniff-fest when I came home. They recognized "horse" since I have come home smelling like that. But "cow" was entirely different. They loved it. It's a shame I didn't get to pet the goats or the pig... Three Maples also sells hand-made goat's milk soap. That's on my agenda for gifts. Support the local farmer.
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| Various papers |
The Storms...
The Shorewood Police Department is acting as a collection spot for storm debris blown up north-east by the horrible storms. Here are some pics of what Hubby collected. He and the dogs were written up in the Chicago Tribune. The Facebook pages coordinating the storm damage "let's return their stuff" efforts are very busy, and I'm so glad social media is working for something good instead of "this is what I ate for dinner" trivialities.
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| Some storm debris |
Imagine, if you will, losing everything. And then potentially having your identity stolen. Seriously - Hubby found checks, bank statements, a car title, school transcripts, an adoption order. This is tremendously sensitive stuff. If you're in the area of the tornado damage and you have found stuff, please pick it up and bring it to the local police department -- you could be saving someone a lot of heartache. Along with the good folks who pitch in to help - there are also scummy people who'd steal an identity in a heartbeat.
Sorry about the sideways shots. You get the idea...
Knittting...
The sock comes along. I did nothing on the afghan yesterday. It seems like between the turkey and the Tuesdays with Tippi, I was running all day.
Migraine News...
Well, I'm having a few more migraines. I'm sure it's because "things are changing." My mom said it gets worse just before you stop having them.
On a good note, though, I just read about a "home remedy" for migraines: the self-induced brain-freeze. In the Chicago Trib's "Health" section, there's a column about various medicines/medical issues. This doctor wrote in, saying that he (or she) suffered from migraines and was caught short without the prescription meds.
So his (or her) friend had him sip ice water and then "gobble down" a bowl of chocolate ice cream. The resulting "brain-freeze" stopped the migraine in its tracks.
Wow... and I bet there was no Rx hangover!! Hubby said, "Well, I guess I go get some chocolate ice cream!" I can get behind that. My health insurance recently switched me to the generic of my migraine Rx. And it works, but the "hangover" is more significant than with the brand-name. But I won't be able to appeal it on that basis. The basic fact is -- the generic works in this instance, so I'm stuck with it. And the day-long "fuzz" I have afterwards. But at least it stops the migraine.
However, that "chocolate ice cream" thing...it's tempting!
Dr. Who...
Yay!!! I found a YouTube channel that will simulcast the premier of the Dr. Who 50th Anniversary episode. I have to work. I want to see it. In case you're interested, it's going to be simulcast at www.youtube.com/bbcamerica -- I can't wait.
I'm a come-lately Whovian. A novice, if you will. My first Doctor was Christopher Eccleston. I've been on a Dr. Who gorge ever since BBC has had their "takeover week" this week.
I seriously want to knit a Dr. Who scarf. In all the specials, that Doctor said that the director at that time gave "a batch of wool" to a lady and said he wanted a scarf. The woman (I can't remember her name) was given no further direction, so she knit all the wool. That's how that 12-foot scarf came to be. I know - I'm what? 5' 4" if that... a 12-foot scarf knit entirely in garter is crazy-talk. But I want one. What can I say??
Christmas...
I'm done shopping. Sorry - I do a lot online and I am usually early. Well, I have one more thing to get: a chain for Kid #1's girlfriend. I'm giving her an amber charm, and I want to have a chain for it.
We still have no idea of when we'll actually do the Christmas Eve dinner. It's too early to figure that out yet. I know I'll be doing Midnight Mass and we still have to figure out how to wire my guitar.
Just about all the online stuff has come in. Hubby teased that he'd "already wrapped" my presents. I will be doing that this weekend; just because once I finish the afghan, I can reclaim my dining room table and we can put up our small tree.
We will probably use the big tree again once our canary goes to Canary Heaven. Right now, his table is in front of the picture window, and our room is small. I have no place to put a big tree - that the dogs won't knock over! I haven't gotten presents for the dogs. I did get Larry the grand-cat a couple of gifts. I figure since I'm baking, it's easy to just bake them some treats, and I wouldn't put those under the tree anyway.
Politics...
What's wrong with this picture? First, the Bishop in Springfield, IL holds an "exorcism" for Governor Pat Quinn because Quinn's signing a gay marriage bill. Now, this: a Methodist pastor has 30 days to renounce his own gay children. Renounce. His. Own. Children. Classy, right? Just click on the word "renounce" here and see what he says. I admire his stance.
Gay marriage is not a threat to society. Just like interracial marriage didn't collapse the whole universe. If you don't like gay marriage, don't marry someone of your own sex. Is that a "simple" answer? Well yeah. Because nobody's forcing you to do that. So don't.
We need to solve unemployment. We need to solve the poverty gap in our country. We are simultaneously the richest and poorest country in the industrialized world. Shame on us. Education needs help (not reform necessarily and certainly not reform by CORPORATIONS because kids aren't widgets). We need to dismantle the "too big to fail" banks back to their original sizes.
And all you want to carp about is gay marriage? Get a grip.
Also, happy birthday to Vice President Joe Biden!!
Random Picture...
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| Shades of Blue by Sonda |
Digging back in the picture archives. This is a hank of my friend Sonda's hand-dyed yarn. I made a hat out of this. I still have some left. I will probably do something with it, but I'm not sure what. I did also use some to make a bag for my mala beads, but I have at least 100 yards left.
Sonda started dying her own yarns and then she got sick. I'm not saying that the two are connected. It was just horrible circumstance that she had a malignant melanoma. And they didn't find it till it reached her brain and her lungs; she died at age 55 and I still have trouble believing she's gone. She was a talented knitter and designer, having patterns in several "One Skein" books published. My knitting friend D and I had purchased this yarn, and we gave full hanks back to Sonda's mom. She's using it to knit shawls for Sonda's nieces for Christmas. I had that yellow - it was a tangled mess, and I took it home and spent a weekend unwinding it. I gave it back to her - and it's where it should be.
I don't have enough of the blue to make an impact so I'm keeping that.
Time to dive back into the real world. I need a stretch break.
The older I get, the faster time seems to fly. I swear it was just Monday. Yesterday.
Chicago is in shock because Charlie Trotter died unexpectedly.
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| Photo from Google |
Well, too soon, at least. He was 54. His son said that he had a brain aneurysm and was aware of it. He was warned not to fly anywhere and he flew to Jackson Hole to speak at a conference. His son came home, Charlie was on the couch, and when his son awoke the next morning, Charlie was still on the couch, unresponsive.
So sad. No, I couldn't afford to eat at his place. And you'll see all kinds of memorials, I'm sure. Some will excoriate his temperament. Some will mourn because they had good experiences with him and they will feel his loss. Some will mourn simply because Charlie lifted Chicago from the "beer and pizza" town everyone thought they knew, to become somewhat of a foodie mecca.
I mourn the early loss of genius, and I wonder if, when he unexpectedly closed his restaurant, he had a premonition. The picture is from Google. You'll see a lot of them in his somewhat iconic pose, but I kind of like this one where he's actually doing what made him famous, and what - I hope - made him happy.
Politics...
This has been going around Facebook for a while, and it's still worth a look-see. Bill Maher stops a panelist in his tracks, after the panelist insists that the Affordable Care Act is a ginormous "one size fits all" thing that can't possibly - cannot POSSIBLY work. Check it out here.
And in more ACA news, Reuters reports that people are warming up to the website and sign-up despite the glitches. I have to wonder what Social Security would've looked like had it been web-based... I can tell you that Kid #2 got his explanation of benefits from his employer, and he said, "Oh wow -- I can have a pre-existing condition!" Which, being 25 and healthy as a horse, he doesn't...but his employer clearly spelled out what was coming, and it's good. He's in that coveted segment of young healthy folks. It's all good from here, I think.
And in Chicago politics, the city is issuing bonds for buildings that have no hope in heck of ever being habitable. Somehow, this one generates a big "yawwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnn" -- someone knows someone.
In Illinois, good news for the gay community. We trot into the 21st century by passing the gay marriage bill. Click here for a CBS report. Of course, the Council of Catholic Bishops is really upset. So are a boat-load of conservatives.
And there was the typical article in today's Trib saying, "Well, what if a vendor doesn't want to serve the gay couple? The law ONLY protects the clergy."
Okey-dokey. Here's where we need a huge scoop of common sense. Really, in this economy, you'd turn down business? Well, that's certainly your right. But you know what? You don't have to rub your religious objections in anyone's nose. If I came to you and asked you to provide a cake, a video, a dress, flowers - whatever it was, and told you it was for a gay wedding, all you have to say, truly -- just being polite and civil maybe -- would be, "I'm sorry, I can't provide that for you." And I don't mean I have to be blatant about the telling... It'd come up in the normal course of placing an order. "Bride's name: Jennifer; Groom's name: Susan." Well, there ya go....
You don't have to whack me on the head with your Bible. And I have the perfect right to go somewhere else. To someone who wants to take my money... Truly the most simple solution.
Illinois needs the business. Aside from the human rights issue, we need the money. It's a whole new marketplace for us. Good for the government for finally getting something right.
Knitting...
Finished one more Fluffy Scarf and cast on the next one. The yarn, Starbella, is not exactly as nice as it used to be. Perhaps they're going the "Homespun" route. Homespun, by Lion Brand Yarn, used to be the go-to yarn. It was good quality, had gorgeous colors, and hey - even Martha Stewart used it to make her "prison poncho."
Then, there started to be quality issues. The nylon filament would untwist; the colors weren't consistent from hank to hank. And you'd be midway through a project and get this huge whack of "blank" -- as if about a yard or so would've missed the dye pot entirely.
This last hank of Starbella had some real issues in terms of the gold braid at the bottom; one chunk was missing. The hank came apart on me mid-stream (it looked as if they ran out of one segment and just lumped another beginning string onto it) so I had to double up for a row or two to hook it back together. Not happy. I've marked that scarf and I'll use that one for myself. I don't want to have another choir member use it and think "Oh, I got the crappy one."
I'm working this weekend, but I still hope to finish that charity afghan. I want my dining room table back, and Hubby wants to move the Ott light back where it belongs!
Food...
I've got a lovely smoothie for lunch today. The weight loss stuff is back on track. Funny - it works really well when you're not mindlessly munching all day long. Hmmmmmmm.
I'm going to begin working with my small hula hoops - you put them on your arms and do arm circles. It's quite a workout actually. I think that starting out slowly will help re-build my upper body strength. Yoga helps, of course, but anything you can do as well...it won't hurt.
Music...
Working on the Silent Night for Christmas. I have to figure out how to hook the guitar up to the sound system. If Hubby does go visit his mom for the holiday, I'm on my own. The church is really old. I mean, so old that they don't even have plumbing in the sacristy. We will look at it this weekend and hope to figure out something I can do on my own. It's not usually a big deal; at our other church, we had a sound board and I knew which buttons to push. Here, though - not so easy.
I rather wish they'd let me play another one, but I'm biding my time. It'll come. Or it won't and that's fine. I play because I enjoy it, and if I can do it publicly, fine. If not, ok. Recently, at our university, they've started using guitarists, so maybe I can do it there. That might be better anyway, because I'd be one of several and not just by myself.
Random Picture...
This is a picture of one of my knitting notebooks. It may seem silly, but what I like to do is write everything down, regardless of the written pattern I may have.
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| Knitting Knotebook |
It's this way: You may have a printed pattern, and unless you're built exactly to the specification of a pattern, you will have alterations. Or you may be hit with a brilliant idea which you think that the designer might've thought about (or not) and you want to incorporate it. Well, obviously, in a sweater, you want to document that so that, say, both sleeves are alike. I know there's this whole genre of "asymmetrical knitting" but honestly - I'd just look like I was wearing something I screwed up.
This one happens to be of a prayer shawl I knitted for a friend of mine, who happens to be an organist (hence the "Organ Pipes" pattern). I knitted it for her because her son died, and because we have been friends for so long.
So I have them all over; I try to use each one till full, but sometimes (who am I kidding --- ALWAYS) I have multiple WIPs (works in progress) and I need notebooks for most of them. I like to even keep track of how many rows of a scarf or something like that.
This way, you can re-use your printed pattern (the shawl pattern actually came from one of those "stitch-a-day" calendars, so it wasn't even a shawl till I did that). You don't have notes all over, and if you happen to knit something for two people, like when I did the hats for my kids, I was able to note the colors and the order in which I used them for each hat.
Heck, even the Yarn Harlot loves it when people bring her their knitting notebooks to sign. It's a piece of history and maybe one day, a future knitter in my family will dig through my notebooks and be inspired to try something of his or her own, using my notes.
Well, with the recent Chick-Fil-A crap going on, I figured I'd just mention something obvious, that I learned in church last week...
The conservatives ramble on and on and on about marriage being "sacred" and "between one man and one woman." We'll leave the majority of the biblical citations alone - those showing that a man can have more than one wife (simultaneously) and is entitled to lie with his concubines, his slaves, prisoners of war, etc. Those are just "piffle" compared to the conservatives' strong moral assertion that marriage is SACRED, BY GOD, AND WE ARE THE STANDARD-BEARERS.
This inspite of so many Republican politicians being "caught with their toes tapping in the bathroom" among other things. And they don't resign. They keep going - which amazes me, because it serves that old adage, I guess. "If you repeat a lie long enough it becomes the truth." So conversely, if you ignore the willful disregard for the "sanctity" of their own marriages, then I suppose their constituents can as well. Remember, Newtie Patootie said he was compelled to have multiple affairs because of his "patriotism." And now as a converted Catholic, he and Calista (wife and former mistress while prior wife was dying of cancer) are paragons. I guess.
Anyway, on to church. We have recently been attending St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church and have truly enjoyed the switch from Catholic to Episcopal. It was a little strange at first, but we have rarely felt so welcomed and so embraced.
So we went last Sunday and the first lesson (First Reading in Catholic) was 2 Samuel 11:1-15... which I am telling you now that I absolutely do not remember in all my zillion years as a Catholic. At least not in this fashion.
This reading tells about David and Bathsheba. The following part caught my eye: "...he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, "This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite." So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house..."
Wowza. Period and extramarital sex all in a few sentences. And then, farther along in the reading, David gets Uriah drunk so he and Bathsheba can play footsie together, Bathsheba becoming pregnant after the first round of sex. Then, David --- who, if you remember, is the David who slew Goliath, the poet, the writer of psalms.... David sends a letter, delivered to the battle commander by Uriah, who was apparently illiterate. The letter said "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die."
Add "murderer" to that glowing description of David.
My point is this. Well, two points. First, I've never quite heard this version, though I've seen the Hollywood movie. Second, let's add this to the pantheon of verses that really rather bash traditional marriage. I'm pretty sure Uriah wasn't keen on just letting Bathsheba go. Cultural differences of which I may be ignorant may play in here --- David was the Big Cheese. Perhaps whatever (or whoever) he wanted, he got and Uriah didn't have a choice.
But let's just suppose for the sake of argument that Bathsheba and Uriah were for the most part, contentedly married. Then, some Big Cheese summons her out of her purifying bath (sorry, the period thing still kind of blows my mind) and has sex with her. She's married. He knows that. And he goes ahead with his own selfish wants and desires.
This hardly sounds like a good biblical argument for 'traditional marriage.' It sounds like those folks were pretty randy and surely not as straight-laced and conservative as today's conservatives would like to portray them - or themselves, for that matter.
Either way, the Bible is open to interpretation. And without doing too much scholarly thinking, I'm thinking David didn't exactly respect the "traditional" marriage. He didn't have any qualms about seeking out a woman he wanted. And getting her. And then killing off her husband, if not by his own hand, by his own command.
This section alone kind of blows the conservatives' argument out of the water. And it's not the only one.
Gay marriage will happen in some form or another. There's so much science out there proving that it's not a "lifestyle" but a biological trait. It seems that with our economy in a snail's-pace recovery, a huge budget battle looming, wars on 2 fronts... with all that going on, Congress and the conservatives have this stuff to argue about?
How about, just for fun, you folks get the jobs done that we need you to get done? Oh, maybe they really ARE, since Mitch McConnell said that his job was to make President Obama a one-term president. But I think that with the "do-nothing congress" we're now seeing, Mitch may be sweeping out some of his buddies with that same broom. People are fed up with the wrangling and lack of action.
I think - and I hope - that we're past looking at the shiny objects distracting us, and we're paying attention to what matters: getting our country going again. Moving forward instead of staying in limbo arguing about stuff that in the end won't change anything.
