I "May" Have Skipped a Month...

My goal was to blog at least once a month. I was doing pretty well, and then -- May happened. I'm not really sure WHAT happened, but it's near the end of June, so I need to get skippy and get back on track. 

Probably lots to cover; I just have to think about it. 

Orange Foolious...

Those who refuse to read (or understand) history are indeed doomed to repeat it. In the War-Not-War-Temper-Tantrum, we're either bombing the crap out of Iran or we're not. All in a 20-minute span of time. After he ripped up the Obama agreement - because, you know, black guy negotiated it and Orange Foolious hates him with a burning passion - he wrote his own. Or someone did. And it gave Iran EVERYthing. All. The. Things. All the things that Obama had withheld for our benefit. But hey, who needs to worry - because The Great Deal Maker has spoken. 

Ha. 

Emanuel Macron deserves a medal. He got that doddering old fart to sign the "agreement," not a treaty or anything actually legally BINDING, but a "memorandum of agreement," at the Palace of Versailles. 

You know, where the Nazis surrendered. 

Foolious was totally impressed by Versailles. Who wouldn't be? But you know him - slap gold on it, and it's all good. He had no inkling of the optics. He was dazzled by the Hall of Mirrors and all the gold. He was unaware of the history that was made there, and oblivious to history HE was making there. And not in a good way. 

This MOU is basically surrender by the US. Iran got all the things they wanted, including, basically, reparations, AND the right to charge tolls thru the Strait of Hormuz. 

Give an idiot a pen and a microphone... 

I hear now that Congress finally passed a War Powers petition. Of course Fetterman objected. Four Repubs, including Susan "Concerned" Collins and Lisa "I need to think about it" Murkowski, crossed over to sign with the Dems. 

Of course, this will likely be taken up with the bought-and-paid-for SCOTUS, so we shall see if it even holds water. 

The Knitting...

It's been a busy bit here. I was making good progress on the white Sophie Hood, but FINALLY heard from Kid #1 about the colors for the wedding afghan. 

Did I tell you that Kid #1 eloped? Yep. So, as per usual, I wanted to do an afghan and it seemedto take forever to get their favorite colors. I set the Sophie aside, and picked a pattern called "Panel Throw" from Plymouth because I'm again using Encore Worsted, my go-to afghan yarn. It's a 5-panel throw, and I decided to add a twist to it. I'm using a dark pewter to outline each knitted panel, and that pewter will be crocheted, so that I can link the panels together. 

First off, my seaming skills suck. Second, I want this used, so I want something stronger than a mattress join. And third, with the colors I'm using, I feel like the pewter will make this look a bit like stained glass, which will be cool. 

The colors are Sunflower and Shamrock Heather. They said "green & yellow," which is, frankly, not MY fave. Because either the colors look like a baby afghan or they look like the Green Bay Packers. These aren't easy colors to work with. But I think the two of them are ok. I ran this by my friend J, and she said, "I don't like them." I said, "Well, that's good, because it's not for you!" 

Mind you, I'm not jazzed myself, but I think in the end, it'll look good. The panelsare elongated diamonds, and the initial pattern had tassels. Nope. I don't do those. The body of each panel is 49" long, so it's going to be a nice sized throw. With the addition of the grey, it will be a tad bigger as well. 

Nerdy Notes: Encore Worsted, Color 9862 (Sunflower) - 2 skeins; Color 389 (pewter for trim) - 3 skeins; Color 6004 (Shamrock Heather) - 3 skeins. Size 8 square circular needles (24" cord). I'm fairly sure I have too much of the pewter, but I also know crochet takes about 3x the yarn that knitting does...so I can always use grey tones anyway. Pattern: Soft Serve Panel Throw (free). 

It's a mindless knit after you get 36 stitches on the needles. Which is nice. At the end, you decrease till you have 3 stitches, so it's a beginner pattern, considering. And -- it's a challenge, because your tension has to be pretty even. My granny used to say that you could do all the "fancy" stuff you wanted, but "it's the plain stuff where your skill shows." And she wasn't wrong. 

I did have a small tragedy. My square circulars -- the cord broke. I dropped like 9 or 10 stitches, and had to frog back a couple rows. I use a 24" cord, which is easy on the hands. I had to switch, temporarily, to a 16" cord while Hubby attempted a repair. The 16" is easy for hats, but for this, it was a bit cumbersome. 

It's fixed now, and I'm plugging along. I've got about 31" done on the Sunflower, so we'll see how this goes. We're planning to go out there in September, but I sincerely doubt that this will be done by then - I'm monogamous with this - not knitting ANYTHING till this is done. So A's chicken will wait. I did have to order yarn for it, so while I was ordering this, I got hers. 

I did finish the Opal socks. They turned out well - the lilac color is quite close to the pink that I made ages ago, so it's hard to tell them apart if you're not paying attention. They fit nicely and I hope to get back to socks, the Sophie and the two chickens soon. I'll dig up a pic of the socks for next month... 

The needlework will wait. I also found BABY EMOTIONAL SUPPORT CHICKENS. Oh. My. I have the pattern and while I'd love to whack out a flock of these for my teachers at the studio, I'm not sure how that will happen. They'll be rainbow chickens if I do get to them, though. They're about the size of a 12" softball, for reference. 

Retreat...

So I went on a retreat for our women's group, and it was up in Adrian, MI. I didn't take a lot of pictures; one of the other gals did, which is nice. Most of the time, I'm taking pictures, but this time, I just wanted to be a participant. 

The retreat center was lovely. I got outside on the last evening, and was able to walk their (very big) labyrinth, and just move around. You know how you need to move once you've been sitting all day? That felt good. 

My room was nice, except for one thing. The AC was broken. I thought it was cold in there, but I don't mind that - I like cold. It didn't really occur to me. So Friday night, I get myself tucked into bed, and things go pear-shaped from there: The AC cycles on every 20-30 minutes. Every. Half. Hour. And BOOM! It starts. The cycle ends, and another BOOM! -- like someone's breaking into my room. Every time I was just drifting off, the thing knocked so loudly, it woke me back up. 

We're in a convent. That's seriously some big security. Doors are locked, people are badged, it's pretty safe. I knew in my head that it was the AC, but in that little "lizard brain" part of my mind, I felt like someone was trying to get in. So needless to say, I slept nary a wink. I was able to get a different room, thankfully they weren't completely full up! 

I took a workshop on iconography, which has always been an interest of mine. Of course, we didn't do a full-blown icon - that takes about a week, if not more! We did a simple one. It's not museum-quality, but you know what? I got some great insight on how the process works. The woman who taught it is a Deacon in the Episcopal Church, and has studied with Russian experts as well as Byzantine and Greek artists. Her work is stunning! 

The one thing I'd do differently would be that I would not "flip" the image. The initial drawing had Our Lady facing to the left, but many of us flipped it to the right, as Marcia (our instructor) had done hers. That made the outlining process a lot harder. Even though I'm ambidexterous, I had a hard time figuring out what was what. I should have just left it like it was. I did add a few things, but I figure nobody's going to toss lightning bolts at me...hopefully!

There's a whole process for this craft, and it's very meditative. I would love to take another of her workshops, and I'm hoping to do so in the autumn. 

We all hated the food...it just wasn't good. On Friday night there was pizza, and we had enough of that left over (it was good) that several of us took a piece to munch on for our ride home. We all left before noon on Sunday. I pulled into a rest stop about an hour into the drive to eat my pizza and a banana. (This matters...)

Got back on the road, and when we hit the Indiana border, the heavens opened. It started out in fits and starts, but about halfway through, we were all going about 40 mph with our flashers on - on I-80, where if you're under 75 mph in normal weather, you're going too slowly. 

After a couple harrowing hours driving among big trucks which were sending up enough spray to really challenge my wipers and the idiot drivers who not only didn't slow down but wouldn't put their headlights on, I ended up pulling off at the Gary exit, reprogrammed my GPS and took back roads the rest of the way home. I didn't realize how much I was gripping the wheel and how tense I was!

Monday morning, I was supposed to meet a friend...and I just felt --- off. Well. Let's just say it was a lot like colonoscopy prep. All day. Hubby finally made me eat something, and that was a big mistake. Tuesday around 2 a.m. THAT came up the OTHER way. 

That's a horrible decision to have to make -- which end lands on the toilet??? 

I stayed home Tuesday, and Wednesday got a doctor's appointment. It seems like I had a case of food poisoning. There was nothing bacterial or viral in my blood or urine tests. And the pizza I grabbed? It was tucked into a bag, not sitting in the sun, and it wasn't out so long that it would've gotten bad. (that's where that timing matters)

I have no idea - nobody else had this happen, because I asked. I lost 7 lbs., which was not good, because with having A-fib in the first place, the drop in electrolytes can be a problem. 

I'm all better now, my weight is back where it was. I had to postpone my weekly shot, but now I'm back on track. 

Health Overall...

So I went shopping for new bras. I'd been putting it off. I'm convinced that this is as traumatic as shopping for a bathing suit. The girls are deflated, 50 lbs. lighter, and I'm older, so gravity is taking its toll. 

On the way out, I saw a t-shirt that I adored. I love "The Starry Night" and I bought the shirt. It's a JUNIOR size. I have NEVER worn a "junior" sized anything! I'm pretty jazzed about that. 

I think I'll be doing maintenance in a few months. I have been hanging at the same weight for a while now, and it's time. 

My BP is in a good place. My energy is great - I'm doing more at the barn and today I took a walk all by myself... (I suck at motivation some days, so this is a big deal...) and the only thing I could wish for is better sleep. 

That, though -- that's kind of a victim of the existential crap floating around in our world today. I do what I can. 

I did a Yoga & Horses class this past weekend, and I've been approached to TEACH one - which will be fun. I got to work with Tater, one of my "boys" whose stalls I clean each weekend. He's such a cutie, and I enjoyed getting to work with him more. 

Random Picture... 

Well. My car turned 100,000 miles on the trip. She's showing her age, but we're going to wait a few years to make sure that we're in a good place for me to get a new one. I'm looking at a Subaru Forester. I've always wanted one, and since I'm now looking at overall safety as I get older, I think this is a good choice. There's enough room to haul Basil if needed, and enough room for my barn stuff. I'm not an off-road person, though I do some short travel. We're looking at a hybrid, so waiting a few years is a good idea, to let the tech settle. 

Hubby has a hybrid, and it's a Toyota, which has had a history for several years with good results in the hybrid arena. While Subaru has a lot of the Toyota tech, I still want to wait a bit to see how things go. 

Any Subaru owners out there? Your opinion is welcome! 

 

So Much for 2025...

Well, there went THAT year. And it was almost as I had predicted: EXHAUSTING. 

The chaos from the Bordello-themed Oval? Oy. DOGE, JD Maybelline's posturing, the No Kings marches, the postcards we wrote, the politicians we called and emailed. The economic slap in the chops? The loss of our rights, the disintegration of the Not-So-Supreme Court? And let's not forget the utter, utter collapse of Congress. And the Junk Drawer Cabinet full of sycophant know-nothings --- seriously, our dead canary can do a better job. 

Yeah. Something had to give last year, and the blog was the thing that gave. Sorry, folks, but choices had to be made. 

Normally, for a new year, I change the theme of the blog, but this year, I think I'll stick with this one. I figure that since I skipped an entire year, I can hang out with the same theme and nobody will complain. Heck, I'd like people to read it... 

The Health Stuff...

So, I read my last entry, and my predictions for the most part did come true. But let's focus on the health stuff. Eventually, my doc and I got the insurance stuff straight and we went with Zepbound for my weight loss. The extra hormone in there was a better choice. So just as we were getting into that groove, my doc retired! Ugh! 

In 2025, I lost my primary care and my cardiologist to retirement. I now have the nurse practitioner in my cardiologist's office; the actual MD that I see is technically the guy who does the "electrical work" on my heart, so I don't need to see him until and unless I need another roto-rooting. I also now have a new primary care person and she's lovely - she replaced my retiring one. 

Anyway. Started Zepbound and thanks to the program I'm on, I have an obesity-specialist and a dietician. The RD has helped immensely. And the doctor, while not from my area, does have family in the area, so she's familiar (and we've had enough conversations to know she really HAS been here for visits!). 

About 6 or 7 months in, Big Pharma got involved - again - and screwed everyone over. Seems that the pharmacies and insurance companies wanted to make deals, but the companies who manufacture these meds did not - particularly Zepbound. So a bunch of us were switched over to Mounjaro. Which is technically the exact same formula, but it still was very weird to fight that fight. 

I am here to tell you that anyone who says, "You're cheating" by taking these meds? Y'all are out of your ever-loving minds. The side effects are nothing to laugh at. Constipation, lack of appetite, dehydration, nausea, hair loss -- and those are just the "normal" ones. For those of us over 60, we really have to watch our protein intake - as in eat MORE protein. And I'm not a big protein eater in the first place. So that's been hard. 

I've figured out how this works for me, and slowly but surely, over 2025, I've lost nearly 45 lbs. I'm near to my goal and this is what we in the dieting world call the "hard lard," where your loss just slows down. I don't want to increase my dosage of the meds, because the loss is still going on, though like molasses in January. And I don't want to deal with the increase in the side effects with the increase in a dose for a loss of about 10-ish pounds. 

The nice thing about slow-and-easy is that I don't have "the face." I will say my arms and tummy look weird; it's a lot of weight to lose, and for now, I'm working on building the muscle back, and haven't really thought about skin-reduction surgery. But my face isn't skeletal. I have been working with resistance bands because to me weights are boring, and yeah, it's a lot harder when you're over 60. Also doing a lot of body-weight resistance stuff for core strength. My yoga students may not always be pleased, but they're benefitting from the new things I am doing. 

If I'm being honest, the worst side effect is the hair loss, to me. My hair is silver anyway, and so it's kind of "invisible" in that when you're just about 100% silver, your hair is kind of transparent. So that, on top of the thinning, is a bit of a jar. I've always had lots of hair; it's always been thick and coarse, but now, it's not as thick, and I'm having a hard time dealing with it. I don't blow dry my hair anymore, and I use a shampoo that's a lot more gentle on the
hair. 

The good news? Well, there's a lot:

1. I'm taking half of my beta blocker.
2. 
   I'm taking the lowest dose of BP meds.
3. I'm walking more, and back at the stable, heaving muck buckets and hauling hay bales. (That's my sweetie Deuce thinking that I have a treat for him!)
4. I'm fitting in the clothes in my closet that haven't seen the light of day in a DECADE. 
5. I'm breathing better. 
6. I'm back on my bike. 

Those are all positive things. I'm really happy about all of it. So I would say to anyone who's thinking about it, check your insurance and talk to your provider. It's not cheating. It's a tool... 

The Knitting...

Well, Crafting, probably. The small Long Dog sampler is coming along, but it wasn't done for Xmas - there was a lot of life happening in this past "lost" year. I'm on the second quarter of the chart, and it's looking really good. I'm excited to see it finished, but it will likely be for Christmas 2026. 

Here is the Sophie Shawl, an extraordinarily addictive pattern. It's got a lovely I-cord edge, which is a new skill for me. I'm enjoying the knit and they're kinda like potato chips. You want to knit more of them. Any gauge, the pattern is very flexible. Petite Knits - good website. The yarn is Cascade Yarns Friday Harbor in an 80/20 blend of merino and silk. I think I'm on a merino kick! 

And I'm still working on that counted cross stitch angel for 2026. I have to figure that out yet. 

As for knitting, I did finish all my chickens, and then I got a last-minute request. That's on my list. 

Here's what I finished:

A baby layette

A "girlfriend scarf" that turned into something else... (stay tuned)

A Quiviut cowl with beads in a beautiful peacock colorway

A triangle shawl in a custom color that matches with our Zonta Says No colorway

A Sophie hood (Xmas gift)

A Sophie scarf (leftover...there's a story...)

Here's the WIP list:

The purple socks (this is my Election Day knitting)

A Sophie Shawl (I'm reclaiming pumpkin as a color in spite of the rotting mango in the Oval)

A Bison "Miss Marple" scarf, which is within INCHES of being done. This one is a blend of Bison, Merino, and Silk. And I have learned a new skill: making a pocket where the one end of the scarf pulls through to make a "tie." The yarn is from Windy Valley Muskox - I got it on their Black Friday sale, which is the only way I can afford that yarn. 

The Delayed Chicken, which I haven't started yet.

I also have the usual "finish the single socks to make pairs" thing going. That's going to be a long-term pick-up-and-knit. 

And I have the pattern for mits to match the Quiviut cowl. And yes, that has beads, too. 

No Kings...

In a total surprise, I had TWO relatives who asked to join me at one of the No Kings marches in our area. They were both newbies. My one relative up north of me was also marching, but since we had such a big gathering locally, it was easier to stay in town. 

They were amazed to see the turn-out and we people-watched, as well as did our thing with our signs. They're looking forward to the ones coming up in 2026. 

I continue to be in touch with our politicians via phone calls, and my reliable postcards. And I'm involved locally, in our League of Women Voters chapter and still doing the election judge thing. 

Other Stuff... 

I did the usual ornaments for Christmas, and then we found that we have another great-nephew -- so he'll get TWO next year. It's a fun tradition and I really enjoy doing them. 

The other tradition was the Eleventy Billion Cookies. We tried to pare down the list, but it just went back to its equilibrium: about a dozen varieties. But this year, we did a number of them as only single batches. Till the Molasses Gingersnaps. Those were a last-minute decision of mine. A bad decision, to be hones. Because I felt like we "didn't have enough cookies." Which is stupid; we had more than normal people have! And I made a double batch. A single batch is FOUR DOZEN. Coffee hour is going to have a LOT of these cookies! 

I took vacation time from the one job, and I've spent most of the time just knitting and relaxing. Work has been stressful, and I really needed this end-of-year time to recharge. 

I'm going to work on doing this blog a lot more regularly. It's something I enjoyed and I don't want to lose in the current climate of "shut up and keep slogging along." That's just not what I want to do going forward. 

One of the new decorations we put up was our "Snow Folk Choir." I think we're done adding to it, since it takes up the entire shelf below the TV. This year, I didn't write out the sections. But we added rice lights and it looks really cute. 

Decorations outside were minimal. We actually had a harsh December, with an early blizzard. I do love the snow; don't love the ice so much! 

Random Picture...

We have a grand-dog! Meet Basil. She was billed as an Elkhound, but she's not. I suspect Northern Inuit. She came to us as heartworm-positive, so the first few months she had to be kept quiet - which was a trick for a 2-year-old! But she can "dog" now, so Kid #2 is having his hands full training her. It's all good, she's charming and she's huge. 

We're currently dogless, which is probably a long-term situation. We are watching Basil when needed and our little friend Flick, the "chonker loaf" who belongs to a friend of mine. To help her out, when she needs a sitter, we take him. For a while, he was passed from house to house, but he doesn't do well that way - no dog usually does. So we're the "permanent aunt and uncle" unless we have Basil. Neither of them wants to share space - fair enough! So far, there haven't been any issues with overlap, thankfully! 

So tell me - what's your vision for 2026? 

Holy Mary, Mother of God - All the Saints & Angels...

 ...what have we done? Well, what have over 50% of us done? I know who I voted for and WHAT I voted for -- and it wasn't Project 2025 or fascism. 

As radio host Dean Obeidallah says in his current email: The revolution starts Monday; now is a time for self-care. 

I'm tired. I'm exhausted, physically and emotionally and psychologically. I'm so, so very tired of fighting stupid. Ignorance, deliberate, by this point, is determined to have its day, and while one part of me does want to delight in the karma, I know (because I'm neither stupid nor ignorant) that the collateral damage is going to be immense. 

All of the stuff that these lunatics used to have fantasy dreams of? They're about to come true, if there are really no guardrails in place. And the carnage will be at every level of society. 

And may I just say: STUFF YOUR TOXIC POSITIVITY. On several sites, including a few which were dedicated to preserving this fragile democratic society we have, there was a lot of, "Ok, let's just move on. Let's all be calm. Let's all be peaceful." No. Pardon me, but screw that. If you're so oblivious about what's about to hit you, I'm just gonna make sure that my righteous anger and frustration are out of your way when you get flattened. 

How dare you - HOW. DARE. YOU. tell me what and how I should feel? And it's WOMEN. Seriously? No, your ovary card is officially revoked, kiddo!

I'm not a doormat. I will not be silent. I will not be silenced. This is not the future I wanted for my kids. And just because half of the population has its head up its kiester? That doesn't mean I'm unwilling to shine a light so they can un-constipate themselves -- if they choose. If they don't? You can lead a horse to water. But sometimes, you can't. 

Even on a church page (my denomination is pretty liberal), someone posted something and another person said, "This isn't very Christian." And the priest (yeah, the PRIEST) who posted it was much more diplomatic than I would have been. But they said, "Um. No. Remember Jesus overturning the tables in the temple?" 

And speaking of church, let me be a total heretic here... I absolutely want to scream when people say, "God will provide." Are you kidding me? God DID provide: God gave you brains. God gave you (hopefully) common sense. God gave you the ability to use both sides of the brain: the logical and the creative. God gave you opposable thumbs, for Heaven's sake. God GAVE you all the tools. God PROVIDED what you need. What do you want? An engraved invitation to USE the gifts you have? Yeesh. God gave you hands to WORK, not to sit on. So get off your hands, start up your rational brain and let's get to work. 

God will not fix this. This one is on us. 

There's some "shenanigating" going on here. If you remember that Combover Cheeto had said at more than one rally, "You don't have to worry about voting." Now, at the time, I thought it was that whole wet dream of dictatorship...but perhaps there was some hacking at a more cellular level - at the machines. Do you remember all the screeching and hollering about machines "switching" votes? 

My friends....I do suspect that's what happened. It just doesn't make sense that so many states which flipped blue in the house and senate races seemed to have voted in the exact opposite direction for president. Too many new Dems have seats in their states and in DC. It's just not logical. I wish that there would be an investigation. But you know that the Diapered Dimwit and his puppet-masters will quash whatever attempts to raise its head. 

I also think that they're gonna 25th Amendment him quicker than snot. Then we get JD Maybelline, who's a child. Worse: a conservative child-man. Yes, I put child first. Because he's a waste of an Ivy League education. How many women would've benefitted from what he was given for schooling?

So many Democratic governors are prepared for whatever's coming. I have to believe they'd been in meetings even prior to Mango Mussolini re-upping as the candidate for the GQP. They are the ones standing for us. Newsome, Pritzker, Hochul, and more. The "originalists" on SCOTUS remind us often that "it's up to the states to determine..." -- sooooooo - the governors will do that. The Demented Doodlebug may not like it. There may be ketchup flying. But too bad, so sad. You wanted "originalists" on the court, and you got 'em. Deal with it. 

I am not normally an alarmist. But for my LGBTQIA friends: get your paperwork in order, and if you have kids, make sure that the proper adoption paperwork is in place. If anyone has a passport, make sure it's current. If you don't have one, get one. If you have student loans and you are a public servant, there are programs to pay off your loan now - get moving on that. My immigrant friends: Make sure you have your documents in order. I don't even know if that will help, honestly - because I am seriously afraid of "goon squads" sweeping up anyone who doesn't "look white." Make sure you have the number of a good immigration attorney, just in case. 

Women? Stock up on Plan B while you can still get your hands on it. The expiration date is usually 4-5 years. Anyone of child-bearing years? Ditch the period-tracker on your devices. Go old-school and use a paper calendar. And when your doctor asks the date of your last period, just tell them, "It's regular." 

As I take a breath, I give you this, which was posted on a social media page that I check in with regularly. The OP (original poster) got a TON of flack, but I appreciate the words. 

You are awakening to the same country you fell asleep to.

The very same country.

Pull yourself together.

 And, when you see me, do not ask me, “What do we do now? How will we get through the next four years?”

 Some of my ancestors dealt with at least 400 years of this under worse conditions.

 Continue to do the good work.

 Continue to build bridges, not walls.

 Continue to lead with compassion.

 Continue the demanding work of liberation for all.

 Continue to dismantle broken systems, large and small.

 Continue to set the best example for the children.

 Continue to be a vessel of nourishing joy.

 Continue right where you are.

 Right where you live into your days.

 Do so in the name of The Creator who expects nothing less from each of us.

 And if you are not “continuing” ALL of the above, in community, partnership, collaboration?

 What is it you have been doing?      What is it you are waiting for?

(author unknown)

We will regroup and we will continue to be activists, writ large and small. And we will not quit. We have kids, grandkids, neighbors -- and we are, at our core, compassionate human beings who believe that each of us was created as a unique human and has a right to be here. 

But for now? We need to breathe, hug our pets and spouses (maybe in that order, just sayin'...) hug our kids and gather ourselves. As has always been, WE are who we've been waiting for. 

The Knitting...

Oh my dear knitters, I am TIRED of chickens!!! I'm on the last one for Christmas. I did start some socks, FINALLY in purple (right???), Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn, that I found in a yarn shop wherein the staff were really incredibly rude, but I loved the yarn, so...it came home with me. 

Yeah, so this store, which shall not be named, is close-ish to me, and I had never been, so off I toddled. And I walked in. It was a bit of a mish-mash of yarns, and the owner(?) and someone else were chatting. Fine, that's cool. But nobody even acknowledged that I walked in. I am not the Queen of England (blessed be Elizabeth's memory), but I did figure that a simple, "Hi, welcome!" would be offered. It was not. Nor was, "Can I help you find something?" uttered. I think the gal at the cash register glanced over, but she was laser-focused on the conversation at hand. 

I wandered about, looked at the pretty diverse number of samples that were knitted up, petted some pretty yarn, and still, the conversation went on. And on. And on. Pretty personal stuff, too. Okey-doke, I found two Cascade yarns that I figured I could use, and to be honest, I thought I'd do a shawl with the two contrasting colors. 

It would've been different if I could sense that this was something urgent, or someone was in crisis. This was gossip, pure and simple, and while I'm no prude, I do run a business. It's a bad look...

I found the bag on the dining room table (our table is really just an extra storage space, now that there's just 2 of us). I ended up taking the really nice purple (with a slight reddish cast to it) and starting a plain sock. At least, so far, it's going to be plain. I could do a traveling rib, but I'm still on the ribbing, which you know takes For. Ever. I might frog it - because I did also do a deep-ish dive into the Doris Donation Yarn (from my friend) and came up with what's probably an Opal purple variegated colorway. Doris is notorious for pulling off ball bands...it's always fun to see if we can figure out what yarn that is...So I might frog the plain one so that I can actually set up for a Roman Rib or some other pattern for the plain yarn; or I may go back to my original idea to just do a shawl in those contrasting colors. A garter-tab triangular shawl would be awesome, if I held the yarns together. Or did stripes. Either way. 

And the purple variegated I just found is either (a) a true variegated yarn; or (b) a self-patterning yarn. Either way, I have no idea how old it is, but it looks good, so onward for purple socks! I can't believe that I haven't done more purple pairs. I mean, it's my favorite color. 

And this is the Curse of the Chickens... I'm having a royal pain seeing the small needles. After having done FIVE of these little (not so little) critters, and working on the 6th, that worsted weight yarn has done a number on my ability to work on the smaller weights. 

I figure it'll come back, but for now, it's a bit frustrating. 

Cross Stitch???

Yeah. I'm back in love. Long Dog Samplers - out of England, thank you very much, is just fantastic! And while I'm not up to doing the HUGE ones, I did find some smaller ones that can be stitched in your choice of color and adornments, so I got myself some fresh floss, linen fabric and I will dust off my cross stitch skills. If I start now, I can make some for NEXT Christmas. 

In concession to me being "older," I did buy some clip-on magnifiers; it's been about 20 years since I did any needlework this small. 

I found her on FB - one of the more accurate "pages you may like" suggestions, and her posts are hysterical. Heaven knows we need that kind of humor. So after looking at her site, I bought three small ones, and they come to you as PDFs. Easy-peasy. Now to stitch them. I did buy beads, because...beads, fer gosh sake. I honestly want to start one right now, but I have The Last Christmas Chicken to finish. 

And....as long as I'm feeling guilty about the long span of time, I really need to finish my mother's angel. I have a lot to go, Hubby figured out that if I did "sixty stitches per night," I could finish that in a year. I guess I'd better get skippy and start. As soon as I'm done with the last chicken, I should dust off that angel and get a jump on Christmas 2025. 

Health Stuff...

I'm usually pretty transparent about my health; I think that maybe what I've experienced can help someone else advocate for themselves (at least as much as we're going to be allowed to advocate, for now  - who knows what the future will hold?). 

So after my hip replacement, and while/after I was released from PT, I gained a lot of weight. Without changing how I ate, and with actually moving a ton better with the new hardware. I mean, seriously, if I got 300 steps pre-hip replacement? That was a good day. I'm regularly exceeding 4000 steps, plus teaching yoga 3x/week and using a hula hoop (don't laugh, it's intense and good for you!). But the weight piled on, more than I'd lost. 

I didn't know what to do. My cardiologist is upset (yeah, me too...) and I went to my doctor. Twice. Finally had the talk about medication. And because of my heart issues, we have to be careful of what we do so we don't mess that up. 

I'm in the midst of a tangle with the doctor and the insurance company, because we decided on Wegovy. It has better cardiovascular benefits. If they ever get their ducks in a row to get me started. 

I do feel squeamish about it. I don't want to go down that road, but I feel like I've tried it all. WW, Adkins, Metabolism B, Whole 30, Intermittent Fasting. All of it. When I've done a plan, I've committed to a year, because I know there's no quick fix. And those years? I've never gotten to a goal weight, and my goal weight is nowhere near what the charts say. My goal weight is a weight I'm comfortable at, that's still within reasonable healthy guidelines for me. I've been vegetarian, and to be honest, I am mostly meatless; I really need to coordinate with the protein needs as I get older. I tried vegan, but I couldn't sustain it. 

I am a foodie. Even though Covid took my sense of smell and taste, I do enjoy cooking and feeding people. I'm not a "live to eat" person per se, but I do like food. And lately, I don't even eat that much; thanks to Covid, I can easily forget to eat. 

So I don't know what's going on. I'm very frustrated, and it's not only embarassing but it's not good for my health. 

I'll let you know. 

Halloween...

Hubby outdid himself this year. I went away for a conference, and came home to skeletons and flying ghosts. It was wonderful! Except for the fact that the purple string lights didn't come in on time, it was really fun. I expect the lights to be in the mail in the next few days, of course. 

Funny enough, you see the skeleton on the left there? We had horrendous winds, like we were chasing stuff across the yard, things were blowing 40-50 mph. This particular skeleton is on the northwest corner, and it got twisted in the wind. Exactly as if it was looking at the skeleton dog JUST below it! It made the display even more funny. 

The neighbors and even the post-lady loved it! He's got to top it next year. So we'll have to see. 

I really enjoy decorating the yard for Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays. I got my flamingos out (the summer ones, the larger ones) and I wired 16" skeletons on them, as if they were horses. I had purchased smaller ones, and initially thought that the skeletons would fit on them - but the birds were too small, so I made the bigger birds the "horses," and the little ones the "herd." As if they're herding the little ones. Everyone loved those, too. 

We need a laugh, so if I can provide it in my yard, I'm happy to do that. 

Random Picture...

At our last church auction, there was a tea basket. Well, I need more tea like I need a hole in the head, but I got it anyway, because it had no bids, and I felt sorry for it. So I brewed up some tea and used one of the "pretty" cups that came with the basket. 

This was a ginger + pu'erh mix, and I will say, it's unique. I wasn't quite sure what I was tasting (thanks again, Long Covid), but I did have a stomach ache and ginger is always my go-to for that. 

I gave a sibling some ginger + turmeric tea, so I have to check to see how that's going. I love to introduce teas to people who may not have tried them, and hopefully, they're open to giving it a sip. 

I love loose tea, though I'm not a huge snob, so I'll use a tea bag, thanks! 

Leave a comment with your favorite tea -- I'd love to discover some new ones. 

Hats, Socks, Politics & Facebook...

Well, there's probably a connection there. We'll see how this goes...

Knitting...

The baby layette - at least my version of a layette - is moving right along. I needed a set of size 5 circulars in the 12" length, and of course I can't find the (3 or 4) pair(s) that I have right now. So Hubby, ever the smart man, says, "You should hit the knitting store if Michael's doesn't have what you want."

Now you see why I married him, right? 

We went to Michael's. Before that, we had (gasp!) a date-ish night. And then we went to get balloons. 

Yes, this all ties in together, just stick with me. 

So Michael's? The knitting department at our local store has gone wayyyyyyyyyy down the flusher. They used to have several aisles. Now they moved it across the store, it's 2 aisles and a part of a wall. 

I found 2 sets of DPNs; one bamboo and one aluminum. I got both. (NOTE TO SELF: When you're in a notions department, pick up tape measures. Whether you need them right that moment, pick up tape measures...Trust us on this.)

There were only 16" sets of circulars. Oh well. It never occurred to me to hit the JoAnn Fabrics right across the street. 

Such is life. Ironically, to pick up the balloons, we had to cross the street anyway. I keep forgetting that JoAnn's is there. 

All of this is for BABY. Mamma came back to teach yoga this morning, and I got her some "Welcome Back" balloons. 

I'm zipping right along on the hat. I think this may be my "favorite hat pattern" if it works out well. I think the rolled brim will be adorable. 

As for the socks, I'm finishing up the Opal Watermelon socks. Remember - the ones I thought I'd lost? 

Lately, my friend Roberta has been posting bird pictures on Facebook. And today, she said, "Wow, every one of these makes me think of how the colors would look in socks! It's like a sickness, isn't it?"

Well, yes it is. 

After I finish the Watermelon socks, I will likely pick up another UFO and see if I can make some headway. I'm kind of done with baby knitting for now, though something is nudging me to whip up another baby sweater. 

As it is, though, I can always do a hat easily. I'm thinking it'll take me longer than the weekend, but hopefully within the week. 

Facebook...

...has become a war zone. I'm serious. I'm posting goofy pictures of my dog, knitting pictures, funny memes.

What I'm avoiding for the most part are the political posts. Too many of my "friends" have gotten really vicious about Hillary. 

One more time: I am not a Hillary fan. But I will not vote Republican, as long as I have ovaries and a uterus. 

I'm frankly stunned at the whole BernieBot phenomena, but I'm somehow not surprised, given the vitriol and anger in the discussion, and the decay of rational dialog in general in society. 

Speaking of goofball pictures of my dog, this is Quinn, who is absolutely embodying the "dignified and elegant" Norwegian Elkhound persona right now. She's sacked out on the couch. 

At least this time, she's left room for any human who wants to go sit with her. 

Milestone...

So my friend G wanted to meet me for a walk. We've touched base on FB, on emails and the like, but we really needed to talk. She's my "owner-mentor" as I work through the fun(?) of owning a studio. 

We decided that today was a great day, which it was. My Jawbone UP had a moment!!

As we walked and talked, I wasn't paying too much attention. We had a grand time. It buzzed when we got close to the end of our loops around the trail. 

When I came home, I checked the phone. Over 11,000 steps! In two hours!! Yipee!

The good news (aside from the fact that I actually MADE it) was that the shoes I wore are going to work out fine for my trip to Oxford, MS. The other news is that I need to make sure I have lighter socks. I'll pick up a second pair of shoes so that I can alternate them. 

Trip...

The trip to Oxford will likely be the last one that Kid #2 and I take for a while. First off, I'll need to visit Kid #1 (more later). Second, Kid #2 will be starting a Master's Degree program and will probably take most of the classes during the summers. 

We're going by way of Cairo, IL so we can get the Mark Twain Connection. You have to travel with an English teacher to get that...

The news about Kid #1 isn't great, but it's ok. 

Over Easter, The Fiancee gave back the ring. We're very sad. They've been together for about 6 years. But of course, the flip side is, if The Fiancee "isn't happy" then I'm glad that was decided BEFORE they married. 

Kid #1 is doing ok. Relocated to Virginia, which is where he'd planned to go for years, but The Fiancee didn't want to leave. I get it. I always wanted to leave, and I left. My siblings didn't leave; though I think mostly they wanted to. 

And now, they won't or can't leave. I wouldn't have trouble starting over somewhere new, and Kid #1 is learning that now. I'm glad. Sad, because it's not exactly a day-trip. But glad that this is what he chose. 

He's found work; he has a plan. Life goes on. Once he's settled, we'll figure out how to get Larry (his cat) out to him. But that's a while yet. 

Garden 2016...

Veggies 2016 are in. Today, we went to Eastside Greenhouse to pick up some tomatoes and herbs. Hubby decided to plant all 4 tomato plants, even though in 2 months, he'll be complaining. 

We got a 4-pack of kale, so we'll see how that goes. He'll eat kale (which I just cooked tonight with leeks and garlic) so I'm hopeful that if it's a bumper crop, it won't go to waste. If nothing else, I'll be a smoothie-bot!

Also got basil, lemon basil, Rosemary and Thyme. No parsley, no sage, for you Simon & Garfunkel fans! We have parsley in the freezer from last year, thanks. 

We've also planted leeks, Brussels sprouts, radishes, lettuce and carrots. Oh, and a few cucumbers, too. 

The herbs will be planted next week. I'm a little worried about the huge herb trug; it was pretty infested with ants. I think what happened was that Hubby covered it - and the ants were nice and cozy through the winter. He's going to empty it all out and refill with clean dirt. Hopefully that will fix it. Also, we'll leave it open year-round. 


The Monster Bleeding Heart has come back for another year. It's a little over 30 years old now. 

And a VERY peeved hummingbird just buzzed Hubby. We saw it while we were eating dinner, so we rushed to make a home-made syrup, which is cooling. He grabbed a feeder off the porch to scrub and the bird, in a fit of pique, buzzed him, as if to say, "Hey, dude!! I'm HERE... Where in the &*^%% is my food???" 

Should be another 10 minutes and we can put food out for him. 

Random Picture...

This is the Monster Bleeding Heart. It's on the northwest corner of the porch. I planted one plant. Over 30 years ago. And it keeps coming back, larger and more beautiful each year. 

This year, the dill came back (surprise, surprise); so did the lavender (it never really died), the Icelandic poppy (rivaling the Monster Bleeding Heart for persistence), one bee balm, one butterfly bush, and the carnations. 

I still have to plant wildflowers. Columbine are back, looks like foxglove may be back, and some oddball wildflowers I planted last year (brown-eyed Susan, and a few others that I swore I marked...). 


It's amazing this thing has lived this long, because the sorry stuff that passes for "dirt" in that spot is impossible. I've got lily of the valley in the north, right behind it on the left side of the porch, which you can barely see. But that stuff will grow anywhere. 

Apparently, so will Bleeding Heart. 

Progress, In Increments...

Someone once said "Progress comes in increments." 

Or if someone DIDN'T say that, someone should have. For most of us, progress usually doesn't come in giant leaps and bounds. It comes along on little cat feet, sometimes sneaking up on us when we least expect it. 

At least it's seemed so for me, lately. 

Knitting...

There's a tiny bit of progress on the Kid #2 Afghan. I'm on the red band now. I'm not sure but I think I might consider a skein of black Caron Simply Soft. Just to break it up. I'm feeling like the grey heather and the garnet are too much of a contrast, and that somehow the black, in a couple of stripes, might work nicely. 

What I'm doing is breaking up the stripes by changing color at the two garter ridges there - you can see them right under the red. But then I thought, "what about a black stripe half-way through the normal ripple pattern? It would have to be the black in the middle of the red, though, because I'm not ripping this back! 

I'll mull on it. I have only half of this first red repeat done, and there are 2 in the rotation - at least that's what I'm planning. This could be one very long afghan if I miscalculated. Which wouldn't be bad, since Kid #2 is kind of a tall one. 

My Year in Socks...

Here's my "sock drawer." Ok, so it's a tote. And a small one. But it's a start. Nope, I haven't added much to it, except for the Neon Beach. I still have The Dreaded Teal to finish and the Roman Rib. 

The February yarn will be Pinstripe. It's got about 1" of rib on it already. 

And yeah, I know - that's 3 pairs of socks in progress. But when my friend Roberta had a Sock Failure of Massive Proportions, I felt like I had to have something to work on while I got her straightened out. As it is, she STILL dropped a needle-full of stitches, but she said she got them back. I can see another knit-date in our near future. 

Otherwise, I'm hoping that somewhere in the bags of yarn that are left to be knit, there might be some Sweet Georgia. I want to knit with something yummy. I love my Opals and I'm wearing the pair at the top of the shot there. 

But I'd like something squishy. 

Health Stuff...

Well, the "kick sugar to the curb" thing isn't going very well. But I do have a slight bit of progress made in another area. I'm working with my doc to wean me off the migraine meds. Since I'm at the grand old age of 57 and STILL not in menopause (go ahead - laugh), we're keeping me on a half-dose for 6 weeks. Then we'll go to a quarter-dose. So instead of 1000 mg 2x/day, I'm now at 500 mg 2x/day for a bit. Then eventually, if there are no problems, I'll go to 500 mg 1x/day till I'm finally in menopause. 

The medicine's price jumped. When I had to refill, the poor pharmacist called and almost fearfully asked if I wanted it filled. Last year, it was about $1,700 for a 3-month supply. 

This year? It's $2,180.10. Yeah, stick the last dime on the end of it, right? There is a generic, and we tried it. I'm one of the weird folks who really do need to be on the real formulation. 

So far, I'm not sure...I feel a little off, but that could be anything. I'll watch and see what happens. 

It's nice to be this age and coming OFF medications, instead of adding them on. 

Oh, and I pitched the doc to use my voice for her patient information videos. She is taking it up with the practice manager. Hey - marketing where you can, when you can. 

And it looks like my run-in with Quinn didn't do me any favors. It was my fault. Quinn yanked me as she tried to grab the neighbor's cat. (Seriously, it's BELOW freezing, stupid neighbors - take your cat INSIDE!) I yanked back on the leash, she came barreling back at me and I didn't move fast enough. She caught me on the right knee, bending it in a direction that knees aren't supposed to go. Ouch. 

So - back from the doctor, reluctantly, because I really dislike going if I don't have to. POSSIBLY a small tear on the interior ligament, but no brace. So Aleve for a week and let him know. Urgh. 

Random Picture...

This was the dessert at the 2015 fundraiser for the Joliet Area Zonta Club. Yummy. I would rather have had 2 of the chocolate ones; the white was a little too cloying. 

We raised lots of money for scholarships and had a nice luncheon. And all I had to do was show up, which is a benefit. 

Next up is the Will-Grundy Medical Clinic's Annual Dinner. I have to speak at that one. Since it's right around the corner, I'd best get my skates on and whip up a speech.