I'm Tired...

...because it seems like all I've been doing is fighting an uphill battle...even on social media, where I try to be nice to everyone. 

And I feel like I'm a bit "on my own." I've been standing up for myself for a long time, and maybe it's created the notion that I don't "need" anyone. But I do. We all do. 

Someone on social media accused me of "hubris." Hubris, in case you don't know, is defined as "excessive pride or self-confidence." And I find that accusation almost laughable. 

If I could laugh. 

And it's a person who really only tangentially intersects with my posts. Who then proceeded to tell me that my posts were "inane" and "stupid" and a few other things... 

Am I proud of what I've done in life? Yep. I have 2 fantastic kids. I have an education that I worked hard to get - as an adult student, with nobody paying my way, and while working full-time. I have skills and abilities that have taken time to develop. Time and persistence. And hard work. 

That's hubris? Nope. That's celebrating what you've done with your life. That's being a human being. That's nothing to sneeze at. That's what I was being made fun of for, by someone who thought it was "cool" to do that. The person felt like a success because of this exchange.

And it hurts my feelings. And it hurts that nobody else stepped in. 

I'll get over it. I actually blocked the person. The energy I'm expending on this is ridiculous. But still. Words matter. And they're sharper than knives, sometimes. 

The Blue Bowl...

So once upon a time, a long long time ago, I got a gift. It was a blue glass bowl. Circa late 1970s or so. 

For a while, my mother took custody of it. She had the "perfect" place for it and for years - no, decades - it belonged in my mother's house. 

Till my mother got a bug in her rear end that she needed to "massively" de-clutter. She doesn't have clutter. Really. Seriously. 

So she says she's returning "my" blue bowl. Maybe I can give it to the church for our twice-annual Rummage Sale. 

I stuck it on the kitchen table and said, "Self, take this to church sometime soon." And then I came home one day, to this... 

Hubby has adopted The Blue Bowl. It is now his. His staging place. His "spot" for whatever he needs to place in a certain location so that he remembers where it is. 

It's an ugly blue bowl. And apparently, it's ours. Again. 

The Knitting...

As I geared up with the sock knitting, happy to be back at it again, I got a phone call. 

Yep. Another baby on the way, and this time, it's family. Soooooooo - I was all jazzed because I actually have a whole outfit's worth of a beautiful apple green which will be great, because they're not revealing the gender. 

There are so few surprises these days... I think that's cool. Mom (great-grandma) doesn't think so. I have no idea why she's this way - but she'll get over it. 

Then it hit me... It's FAMILY. Family gets an afghan, as a tribute to MY maternal grandma, who did it for all of us for our weddings and our babies. I heaved a sigh and headed off to Betsy's in Lockport. It's a yarn and tea shop, and I'd provide you with a link, except there isn't one. 


It's a decent-enough shop with a fair bit of yarn, though not my favorite place. I just didn't have time to drive 50 miles to where I prefer to go. 

My brain was spinning. I was ripping my house apart for the "8 Hour Afghan" booklet, which I never did find. See - the shower's in MAY even though the baby's coming in JULY (long, LONG story, not worth repeating). So an 8-hour afghan (which in MY knitting timezone is about 2 - 3 weeks) it was going to be. 

I actually made the couple an adult version of the 8-hour baby afghan for their wedding, in a nice basketweave pattern. 

Now... the color... I looked for a nice complement to the apple green and I couldn't find one. Nope. Nada. Nothing. Lime green. Electric green. Dark green. "Baby" green. Blue-green. Emerald green. Dusty green. Nothing was hitting me, and the few things that DID hit me? Then there wasn't enough for what I needed. 

The pattern is extremely simple, and that's a challenge. Your tension has to be spot-on with this much "plain" knitting. This is knit with doubled yarn, so it does go fast-ish. It's 10 rows of straight knit and then you have a stockinette center, with 7 stitches of knitting per row up each side. Knit for about 30" and then do 10 rows of the top border and you're all done. 

As you can see, I ended up with a nice sage-like green, heathered. And I added a cream heather, almost "oatmeal" in appearance. This seems to knit up nicely, and the way the colors lay out is kind of interesting. The yarn is Encore Worsted, and it's 75% acrylic, 25% wool. Washable. Barf-proof. Sturdy. 

Size 10 circular needles. And I'm zipping along, knitting as much as I can each day. This past weekend, it was "knit-a-palooza" on Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening. And tonight, my one night I don't teach, I should be knitting, but I'm visiting with y'all. I did do a few rows before I started. 

Knitting is calming, of course. Which, heaven knows, I need -- a lot of, lately. I figure that if I can get this done by the weekend (which is looking possible, since I'm already past 15" on this and I've started the second set of yarn balls (4 balls total, knitting with 2 at a time), I can start the sweater next, and take about a month there. 

As usual, no fringe, no fussy stuff. It's really nice to do a few rows before bedtime, with the TV off and the computer shut down for the night. 

The hat and booties will take about 3 weeks total. 

What do you think? I don't know what buttons I'll be using for the sweater -- maybe bright yellow? Definitely a washable button, of course, so I'll also look at the wood-like ones, too. We'll see what's in the button-bag. 

Random Picture... 

This is our Yogi-baby! One of our teachers is leaving - she's the one I knitted that wild zebra-print ensemble for... He was 11 weeks early, and look at him now! 

She held her last studio class this past weekend, and he was our "special guest" afterwards. 

He couldn't decide whether crawling was a good idea or not. But he's a good roller. Funny enough, he's a chunky little stinker. And I found that my reflexes for "glasses-grabbing" babies? Well, they're still there. 

No, I don't have baby fever. But if I did? This little guy sure helped! 

249,000 of My New Best Friends...

THE hat...

I marched. Chicago. 250,000 strong. 

It was amazing. Pictures. I took some pictures but like an idiot, I didn't bring the "big camera." My phone died early. But here's what I have... 

On a packed train, a woman was giving out fleece "kat hats" - and no, I will not use that word. So my new friend Dawn and I got one. Our friend Sue had the foresight to crochet her own. I wasn't really sure I was going to wear one, but I thought, "What the heck..."

The train was packed. Men, women of all ages, and even kids and babies. 

So many signs. All kinds. Stuff I would be embarrassed for my mom to see (and frankly, she'd have WRITTEN some of those...), but others witty. Pithy, pointed. happy, sad, pointed. 

The crowds kept coming. And coming, and coming. The initial estimate of 75,000 blossomed and flowered. We took over Grant Park. We stood on every inch. Every. Inch. of the walk route. 

Four news choppers and a drone overhead. Sun. We started with a real pea-soup fog, and I thought, "Wow, this is going to stink - we won't be able to see 3 feet in front of us." 

We found a spot along the fence. We weren't sure what to expect, but the crowd was ... peaceful. Joyful. Purposeful. 

Everyone felt a sense of "we're here for a reason," even though those reasons were as varied as the people who were there. 

My friend Dawn walks with a cane. The people around us didn't crowd her, they even said, "Watch for the bump here," or "There's a curb, do you need a hand?" Everyone was kind. 

I can say that "I sang with the cast of Hamilton" because two of the cast members came out to speak, and we sang, "Let it Be." My friends looked at me and said, "Wow - you CAN sing!" 

As you click on the pictures, you'll be able to see some of the signs. People gradually started opening up their "puffy coats" - hey, it's Chicago. We NEVER expect decent weather in January. Speaking of which, pick out the climate change sign! One of my favorites. I almost didn't grab my sunglasses, but boy, was I glad I did!

The crowd was easily 30 - 40% men. Again - of all ages. Many carrying signs and proudly proclaiming their own feminist creds. 

And yes, men can be feminists. Like the t-shirt says: "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." My boys would agree with that - and state it loudly whenever they can. 

Lots of signs for women's rights. Lots for Planned Parenthood. Lots for LGBTQ rights. As I said - this march was for each of us. Each of us was there for a different reason. And we supported each of us for ourselves and our reasons. 

What I mean is that if you were there marching for women's rights, and I'm there marching for Planned Parenthood, we chatted. We thought about ways to get both of our causes advanced. We brainstormed. We actually socialized!



Speaking of which - we apparently overloaded the grid! We all lost the cell signal for a couple of hours. That's ok. 

There were plenty of people to talk to!

A gay couple was there with their daughters. Dad #1 had a sign that said, "Women's Rights are Human Rights," and I thought, "Jeeze dude - that's awesome, considering that you just got the right to marry your husband!" A woman was handing out hot-pink hats, and one of the little girls asked for one. She was adorable. 

Some of us protested before. Some of us were old hands at this. Some were first-timers. And we all came together for the day. 

My selfie skills stink!

When the organizers announced the shift from "march" to "rally," it was cool. Nobody moaned. Nobody complained. The crowd started to disperse, but as well, people were still coming in - you can see the photos where people ringed the park. 

Oh, and we stayed off the grass. We were told to stay off the grass. So we did. 

As we drifted off, we actually "inadvertently" marched. We had to get back to our train, right? So we figured we'd take over the city as well. 

Which we did. The crowd swelled and moved, and even among all that humanity, my friend found her daughter-in-law and sister. They joined us on our way back. We all laughed and pointed out signs to each other. Pictures were taken. Those who had batteries were able to text by then, so we were able to get updates. 

We were so jazzed to see the numbers! For a while there, the Chicago march was the largest one next to Washington DC. Drat LA -- they beat us, but ours was still the best!

Even the police - super helpful and cheerful. I know there's been a lot of bad press for the Chicago PD, but they were quite pleasant. 

There were no arrests. There were no scuffles. Nationwide, according to various sources, there were only four arrests. Nationwide. There. Were. Only. Four. Arrests. 

Think about that. Four. 

A couple million people marched. There were only four arrests. 

As we marched back toward the train station, a group of kids were on the top of the subway shelter with a bullhorn. "This is what democracy looks like!" was the chant. 

This is "our" fence

A few of us oldsters started singing the Helen Reddy power anthem, "I am Woman, Hear Me Roar." I forgot some of the words, but hey - the chorus was a good one!

We headed toward the Federal Plaza. At one point, marchers branched out toward the river, to continue the rally down toward the NBC plaza. We chose to go on toward the train station. We stopped at the Chicago Board of Trade plaza for a few moments. 

By the way, you can't sit on the statues. Or lean on them. Or sit on the fountain. And there are no benches. Dawn has two torn meniscii in her one knee and she needed a rest.

Did you know that the stop-and-start walking is more tiring? It is. So she tried to sit or lean on the statues or the fountain. A very nice woman with a walkie-talkie suggested she move toward the fire hydrant. 

One should not sit on a fire hydrant. It's not comfy. But it helped her rest for a moment. We cut through the CBOT plaza and rearranged our return plans to take a different train home. To get to our original train would've meant another mile or so, and Dawn had had enough. 

But before that, as we were just passing the Federal Plaza, a man put his hands around his mouth and chanted, "Their bodies, their choice!"

The women around him responded, "Our bodies, our choice!" 

Then 3 other men joined him. We responded. 

My favorite...

Three more men joined him. We responded. 

It grew and grew till about 20 men were chanting and the women were responding. 

I get goose bumps. 

It was a great day, in spite of the fact that I was hungry and there was nothing I could eat with my braces (man, do my teeth hurt!). I know - First World problem, right? But either way, it was a great day. 

To those who say, "it was anti-trump," I say No. It wasn't. Entirely. The table was large and there were chairs enough for all. Yes, there were some anti-trump signs. There were signs about love and peace. There were signs about women's rights. There were cat signs aplenty. 


It wasn't a one-issue march. And if you reduce it to that, then I'm sorry for you because you've missed the point. 

This was a few million people coming together to join forces. Not to divide. We've had enough division. We've just proved that diverse interests can come together and share space without anyone's brain exploding. 

I came home pleasantly tired and buzzed. I mean, I couldn't sleep the night after the march. 

We made history. We were part of it. We did it. 

Now... keep the momentum going. Do something. 

I have plans. Do you?

Knitting...

So - I have to start baby knitting again... (sigh). I'm not saying I don't want to... But I was enjoying my break from baby stuff, and working on a really nice pair of socks. More pics will follow in the next entry, because I'm still working through all the March pictures. 

So I do have to finish the Shape-It, and I'm going to pick out some yarn for a new hat-sweater-booties set. The baby is due in July. 

I'm now the only sibling with no grandkids and none on the horizon. No worries. I'm fine with that. 


I have NO time to knit this!! Yikes. Better get moving!

Till next time then!

Scroll down for the rest of the pictures. 

Look at the people on the other side of the fence

 

Signs. 

 

 

 

They just kept coming...