I Have Thoughts....

I've been on a knitting binge - Melt the Ice hats. I'm on my 7th (and hopefully) last one. I've also made about 6 of the "badge" variety that you can pin on your shirt or jacket. I have to find some Primary Election knitting. I thought for a nano-second of bringing my mom's Sophie Hood to the polls but... that might not be my best idea. It's white and there is always the potential of spillage. I will probably grab a sock - I believe I have one on the needles where I can just do the leg for a while. I also have a shawl in progress, which is knit on the bias, fairly mindless. So that's the other option and frankly, that one is closer to being finished, so...there's that. 

Nerdy Notes: The hat on the left was made with Cascade 220 Superwash Sport, held double, with an I-cord tail. Knitted on size 8 circulars and DPNs as we got to the crown. The colorway is 893. 

Death Knell to SAVE Act...

Well, John Fetterman (D???- PA) finally READ the SAVE Act. Amazing. A legislator READS a bill before it's passed. And he decides that it's Not A Good Idea because it will affect HIS voters. 

You know what? This dude has been a hoodie-wearing disappointment since his health crisis -- and no, I'm not slamming him for that. 

I'm slamming his decisions that seem to fall in line with the Republicans more and more of the time. His constituents voted for him because he promised change and promised progressive values. That's not what they've been getting lately. 

And honestly, I do give him kudos for directly addressing his mental health. That's not my issue. Deal with your stuff, dude, and recognize that you're getting PLATINUM level benefits while a lot of your voters are not. Because of the way YOU have been voting. 

I don't understand Dems who vote for things that obviously don't align with democratic values and which do not benefit their constituents. Call me naive, and yeah, I do realize that most politicians lately are bought-and-paid-for by the billionaires. But I still think they should vote for things on OUR lists at least MOST of the time. 

The Knitting...

Like I said, #7 of the MTI hats. And 6 badges. I'm happy to knit these as long as I have stash. I have to tell you, my hat is FANTASTIC!!! I'm so happy with Wicked Tint Yarns. I was kind of dubious when the yarn was in the hank. I thought it wasn't "red" enough. But it knitted up more beautifully than I could've imagined - turns out it's a soft ruby-red that just feels so nice on my head. 

Nerdy Notes: The hat on the left was knitted with Wicked Tint Worsted, 100% Merino Superwash, colorway Melt ICE Red, on size 8 circulars and DPNs, with the I-cord arrangement for the top. This one has 7" of ribbing, and 1" of stockinette stitch before I started the decreases. One round of knitting in between each decrease round. 

I did the MTI variation with the I-cord and tassle, so it's a bit different from the one I'm currently knitting, which is the traditional one with the braid. I dipped into the acrylic stash and will be finishing this one for one of my students. 

The badges (I'm doing the flat ones) take about half an hour, and that includes the red felt I bought to line them. They do need to be lined, otherwise you have a curly little crescent roll on your hands. It's taken me a minute to figure out the best way to add the pin finding, I think that so far, a North/South alignment has worked for me. 

Nerdy Notes: The badge here was knitted in the same Cascade Superwash, the pattern is available free on Ravelry, and I did the "flat" version. I lined it with red felt on the back, and put a pin-back finding on it. I used size 5 needles. Took me about a half hour, which is light-speed for me. 

I will also admit that I am actually looking forward to NOT knitting the hats. They knit up quickly even though I've made some variations on the ribbing. The last one I did for Kid #2 was 2x2 rib. And mine is a twisted rib. I can see the value of the 6-7" ribbing in how it fits on your head, since these are essentially one-size-fits-all. But that much ribbing is my penance for my sins!

Primary Election Day...

So the primary in our state is this Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day. I'm wearing green. We have ben given strict instructions on what we can and can't wear. As it is, we're already told to not wear name badges: we're Judge A, Judge B, etc. We have to have our party on the badges, because in our state, we need a certain percentage of each party. 

Today and tomorrow I'm reviewing the training. I also have to find my Election Day Reading, and my Election Day Knitting. And get my meals/snacks ready. We have to bring our own, though we do have a precinct committee chair who usually supplies pizza for dinner. 

We have to be there at 5 a.m. to open the building and get set up, and voting starts at 6 a.m. We go till 7 p.m. and hopefully, everything tallies, then we drive it back to the County building (one judge of each party is in the car for "chain of custody" of the documents and tally box), and then we get home, if we're lucky, around 9 p.m. 

It's a long day. And we have to be there the whole time; so they prefer that we vote early.. 

I encourage everyone to get trained as an election judge so you can see the process in your state. Consider it your civic duty to understand. Use your own eyes, ears, and brains. 

Also, check out Vote 411, the system whereby questions are sent to those folks on your ballots, and you can check them out to educate yourself -- don't be a voter who doesn't know what they're doing! 

Vote in your primary election -- I can't stress how important this is. In our state, we do have to declare a party. We don't have what's called an "open primary," but that's different from state to state. Don't let your rights dwindle. They need exercising, and voting is the biggest right you have (for now). 

In my state (and I have to insert that qualifier every time I talk about this, because jurisdictions differ), we can declare a party in the primary but at the general, you can vote however you want. You can even change parties for each primary cycle -- unless you're an election judge. Then, they want you to pick one and stick with it.

Especially as women, we are facing some challenges by the Tangerine Toddler. He's determined, somehow, to get that SAVE Act passed and he always can rely on his "magic Sharpie" if he can't actually do it legislatively. Right now, as I noted, they don't have the votes. And some conservatives, who've actually READ what the act says, are saying, "Wowza, this is really gonna kill MY chances..." because it disenfranchises such a large swath of people. 

I was talking about this the other day with Hubby and ended up explaining why I went through the trouble to update my passport and get the RealID. Which, it turns out, according to SAVE, would NOT be an appropriate form of ID. 

What? 

Nope. The RealID is not acceptable as a form of ID to register to vote. For women, we have to make sure our names match throughout all of our ID, from birth certificate forward. So that means, for many of us, a couple of options. 

A passport is an approved ID. That's about $150-170. Funny thing, what I had to provide for my RealID was the SAME documentation as for a passport. 

And yet the RealID is "not approved." Go figure. 

Birth Certficate, marriage license, divorce decree(s) if appropriate, new marriage licenses... That's what women have to provide. 

Or -- you go to court and change your name on your birth certificate. Which essentially erases your original identity and your family line. 

The name change, depending on the county, in my state, is about $700. So there's a filing fee of $300 - 400. You have to publish your name change so that creditors or the law can find you if in fact you're trying to hide...(not kidding) and that's around $388. And then there's a copying fee for the certified order. It's not "official" unless it's certified, for proof of identity. That's another ten bucks. So, roughly $700...depending on your county. 

Or -- you just don't change your name when you get married. Or hyphenate, like my friend did. 

I mean...it's nuts. And a passport can take 6 weeks, unless you pay an expedited fee - $60 for the fee and another $22-ish bucks for a quick return. 

But hey, since "illegals voting" is the "crisis du jour" for the Demented Dimwit in the Oval, let's all just suck it up and get our documents in order, because it's gonna be "papers please" if he gets his way. 

Oh, and the actual rate of illegal immigrants voting? 0.00000764% over ONE BILLION+ ballots cast over a period of 24 years -- that's FIVE zeroes after the decimal point. That's MICROSCOPIC. 

And that's data from the Heritage Foundation. The idiots who are trying (and succeeding at an alarming rate) to shove Project 2025 down our collective throats. 

But yeah, by all means, stay home because it hurts your feelings to declare a party at your primary election. And then moan that YOUR candidate didn't get on the ballot in the general, so you're also staying home "as a protest."

Thanks. Because YOU put us into this mess. 

Random Picture...

We had Basil recently. Hubby wore her out with lots of long walks. She's now able to fully "dog" and has recovered from her heartworm treatment. She loves destroying stuffies and playing tug with her toys. 

After the third walk of the day, she zonked out so hard that she was snoring up a storm. I could hear it while I was on a Zoom meeting... I used her picture for a restorative yoga class I taught - she's an excellent example of  "resting with intention." 

Now, we have to work on her carsick issues. Twenty minutes into the hour-long ride back home, both my "tire pressure" light went on and her yarking happend simultaneously. It had been a long day, so I just kept going. I figured if a cop pulled me over, they could either deal with the barfing dog or help me use my air compressor to fill my tire. It seemed like a logical idea at the time. 

Got her home, cleaned up and fed, and then tried to tackle cleaning up the dog yark. Luckily, the Kid wasn't too far from home and was able to assist. Good thing she's cute. 

As I sit here typing, I'm watching EVERYTHING in my yard blowing sideways with 60 mph gusts. I'm sitting next to a large picture window and thankful that there aren't any leaves on the trees...otherwise at least one of the trees would be blown over. I've lost one garden flag (I knew I should have pulled it in last night...) and we've lost power about 4 or 5 times so far. Make that 6 times...thank goodness for batteries!

Mother Nature is having a hissy fit. How's it going where you are? 

 

All My Flabbers are Gasted...

He is really desperate to NOT have his name exposed in those Epstein files, isn't he? Now, all of a sudden, Bill and Hillary are his BFFs and he thought Bill "always understood me," and Hillary went from "Lock Her Up!" to "a very capable woman." 

I'm pretty sure Bill DOES understand him. But not in a way that's complimentary. 

That stuff must be worse than godawful. 

For both Bill and Hillary to come out swinging - I'm actually interested in watching that hearing. They're demanding full cameras-and-gallery hearings, not behind closed doors. They're gonna eat Comer's lunch, and they've already put a big dent in the SCOTUS "total immunity" thing. Because him being a former president and her being a former Secretary of State -- that sets the precedent for dragging that entire Junk Drawer Cabinet in front of Congressional hearings. No immunity for you! 

And then there's "the post" about the Obamas. We'll just not give that any oxygen. But it would be nice if mainstream media would -- do its job. This is not "Oh, you know how he is." 

Yes, we do. 

And we're scared witless that a demented, diaper-loading old fart has the nuclear codes when he can't complete a full sentence. Who has more than certainly sold our classified security information. Who stored documents he should not have had in his gilded bordello. In the bathroom. 

This is "Weekend at Bernie's" on steroids. I want to know what they're pumping into him to make him even marginally coherent. And who's pulling the strings behind the scenes? Although I think I already know that. 

I'll leave this here for your enjoyment. When we had someone competent and capable and free of scandal in the Oval Office. 

The Baking...

Do you have "Two Banana Syndrome"? I can't be the only one. There's always -- ALWAYS -- two bananas left. No matter how small a bunch we buy, and it's only the 2 of us - there are always 2 leftovers.

I've made banana bread; with nuts, without nuts, with raisins, with protein powder, with yogurt, with sour cream. 

I've made banana cookies with protein powder - the bigger ones, like for a breakfast cookie. 

I've made banana cake, topped with powdered sugar. 

I'm sick of bananas. 

Today, I made another version of a banana bread with chopped dates. We had the big Medjool dates, which were sticky to cut. I added some hemp hearts and pepitas for extra protein. 

It was a bit of a different recipe, where you literally froth up the eggs first, then add the sugar, vanilla and butter. My butter was softened, but still chunky, which I did not like. And the frothiness? I thought it would overflow my largest loaf pan, so I split it into two pans. 

Bad decision. It didn't rise as much as I expected with all the beating. So now I have two small, flatter loaves. Which is fine for me; I'll eat them for breakfast. But they're not exactly coffee-hour ready, if you know what I mean. 

If you're out there and want to help a gal out -- what do YOU do with those extra bananas? 

I'm not even posting a picture, it's so...not good. 

The Knitting... 

I've been knitting the Melt the ICE hat. I have a list of 4 people who want me to make one - and one of those said, when her hat was just about done, "You can just make me the little badge..." Too late - you're getting a hat. I'll work on those badges AFTER the hats are done. Both patterns are available on Ravelry. Go check them out. 

It takes me about a week to do one. I did frog the first one; I had to tink it back because the decrease instructions didn't make sense and I was decreasing at every marker. You do what I can only describe as a "sock toe" kind of decrease - out of the 4 markers, N, S, E, W, (using compass points for reference) you'd decrease only the North and South ones. You just slip the East and West ones. 

Well. That made a world of difference. But Cascade Superwash Sport is a VERY soft and slippery yarn. As I was tinking back, I dropped a ton of stitches and it was just easier to frog, even the ELEVENTY BILLION rows of 1x1 ribbing, and start over. 

So, the Nerdy Notes on this hat: Cascade Superwash Sport in Colorway 893. There are 136 yards to a hank and this took one hank with some leftover. The pattern calls for 200 yards - mainly because that's about a standard ball or hank of yarn. I used size 6 (16") circulars with the corresponding DPNs at the top. 

I've started on #2 and this one is using Paton's Canadiana in "Cardinal" colorway. This is more of a worsted weight, though it says size 7 needles, I went up to a size 8. The Cardinal is rather a bright red, which is nice. And it's an acrylic, which is what the person requested. I have one more to do in Red Hat Soft, in a worsted weight in a dark wine color, another acrylic request. And then another in the Cascade Sport -- though I'm wondering about maybe doing that and holding it double so that I make it worsted. I have that in my stash, so while I think I have a sweater-quantity, I'm not much of a sweater knitter, so I can take what's left and do a lovely lace shawl or something. So I can afford to hold this double for a hat. 

And then mine... I picked two colors and while one isn't quite as red as I wanted, it's lovely. It's from Wicked Tint Yarns, and it's hand-dyed. It's a superwash merino (which I'll show you next time) and it's called Melt Ice Red - while it's actually kind of a maroon tonal. Very pretty, very definitely worsted. I actually found her on Threads, so social media can do some good! She's dyed up a limited number of this colorway and said she'd do more if folks are interested. Check her out. Support a woman-owned business!

And there's this one from Expression Fiber Arts, one of my favorite dyers. This is their Dewy DK line, which is 70% superwash merino, 20% nylon and 10% silk. This colorway is called Scarlet, and it's not quite as red as the Cardinal - more a pinky-garnet color. The label says needles sized 6-8, so I might actually do a swatch on this one... Be still my heart, right? 

The beauty of Expression is that there's such a wide range of bases and colors. And her patterns are from a variety of designers. And she has really nice tutorials in video form. 

My friend M, who's a basic knitter, has started her own, in a gorgeous Caron wine-colored yarn, and she calls this one an "in your face" color. Which it is. Kind of reminds me of the "victory lipstick" worn during the war. I won't wear lipstick, but I'll wear this! 

And I'll have to look for a nice shawl for the rest of the Cascade. It's a good workhorse yarn, and the one sweater that I actually made was in a Cascade cotton blend. It wore ok, but I found that I just prefer to knit baby sweaters. 

I have to find the second color for another wedding afghan. I have the green in mind but I have to find a complementary color unless the groom tells me what the bride's favorite color is - and then we hope that it works together!

I'm still pending on my mom's second Sophie hood, but at this point, I may still have enough winter left to get it done. And I have a shawl out of some Opal sock yarn, the plain Be Simple version (I already did the lace version) which is a "mindless knit" project. And the various Windy Valley projects: a hat, mitts with beads... And the single socks that need mates. 

Again, I'm thinking 2026 is going to be my "year of knitting stuff," because at this point, knitting is keeping me sane. 

I helped my friend R fix a problem for a pullover she's knitting for her granddaughter. The yarnovers were confusing her. She's an experienced knitter, but she knits Continental (the kind of knitting you see on classic movies) whereas I knit English - I hold the working yarn in my right hand, and she holds hers in her left hand. The Continental folks are "pickers" so they grab the yarn with the needle. The English knitters are "throwers" - we throw the yarn around the needle. It's a thing. 

She always looks like she's about to drop a stitch! But it's said that that style is easier on your hands. I may have to try it again. I took a class. Hated it. But maybe I can play with it. 

Life Goes On...

I had the weird experience of seeing 3 people in the obituaries that I knew. I know a lot of people; I've lived here a long time, and you get to know folks, and who's related to who. But this is the first time that THREE people I knew - as in, knew in some capacity personally - have died. One was my English professor in junior college (she died at 101, God love her), one was an acquaintance from my convent days, and one was the parent of one of my kid's best friends - the kids aren't taking it well, which is a position I understand. 

You know when you first "grow up" and people die and you know them? Like, when my friends had parents who died as we were in our 30s and 40s. That's where the kids are now. And I understand that. 

My thing is, these folks (except for my professor) are MY contemporaries. They're not some "older folks" like my friends' parents. It's a weird dichotomy when those folks who died are closer to my own age. 

Now I kind of know how my mom feels. She just had a friend from high school diagnosed with dementia. Which is a kind of living-death, in my opinion. 

So, one funeral this weekend. The other two had private services. 

Random Picture...

So I lied. I actually have a sweater-worth of yarn and a Nord Drops pattern. I'm hoping that this happens this year. But I've also heard that Drops patterns are a pain in the butt. You'll be knitting along, and turn the page and then see, "while knitting this, simultaneously do that..." So the only advice I have been given is "read the whole pattern before you start."

I guess that's good advice overall. Read the pattern so you understand what's going on before you get in over your head. 

I wonder if I'd have frogged the first ICE hat if I had read the pattern instead of assuming, "I've knitted a dozen-plus hats - how hard can this decrease be?" 

I do love this peacock-blue-green shade. I can't wait to get started on this one. But first... more hats. 

What's on your needles? 

It's the Year of FO...

No, not THAT "FO." (though..... just sayin...)

I mean "Finished Objects." I'm tellin ya - I'm on a ROLL. The Amy's Scarf was the first FO of 2026. Next was the Sophie Shawl, and right behind that was the Cold Snap hat. And I've got my (nearly) year-old Be Simple plain shawl on the needles and I'm chugging away at that. 

I also have an Emotional Support Chicken to repair...though depending on how that looks, I may just re-knit it. Dog got it. Not mine, but someone else's. Note to everyone: Emotional Support Chickens ARE NOT DOG TOYS!!! 

I have another Chicken to do (including one for myself that I never started...), and my mom has "ordered" another Sophie Hood. She loves her red one, but she says, "I need one in a neutral color for church." So I ordered more Friday Harbor (Cascade) in a lovely color called Macadamia, which is a silvery-grey (not sparkly) and I'll see how that looks. I hate ordering online, but my friend Kelly's shop is currently online only so we'll see. 

And then there's all the single socks that need mates. Maybe instead of starting new projects, I grab a project bag, figure out what I was doing and finish that? What a thought! 

The Knitting...

Sophie Shawl -- I'm addicted to the Sophie patterns. They're way more simple than they look and you look like such a boss when you're knitting them. This one is done with Cascade Friday Harbor in color 18, pumpkin. You can't tell from the pictures, but it's really a soft orange, with flecks of cream in it. And it's a Merino + silk blend that's just lovely on the hands. It really pops the stitch definition. 

I think it's bigger yarn - it's Aran-weight, and while the pattern calls for that, it also called for 2 hanks and I used just over 2... So either my gauge was off, or the yarn was bulkier than I thought. Either way, it was cozy this morning with our temps at 1 degree and windchill at -16 degrees.  

Yes, it is somewhat large. And it's not remotely "shawl" -ish. In the traditional sense, this is more a large scarf. You don't drape it round your shoulders like you'd think. You bundle it up much like a large cowl or ... large scarf! It was toasty without being heavy - to look at it you might think, "Good God, that's cumbersome." (or maybe it's just me...) But it's really not, and it was comfortable to wear for most of the morning, till the house warmed up. 

Our heat's fine. But my perch for the Zoom call was by my big picture window, which is old, and it's not the best at keeping out cold bitter enough to freeze a well-digger's belt buckle. 

Nerdy Nuggets: 2 and a bit hanks of Cascade Friday Harbor yarn. Size Large. Size 8 (24") Circular needles. Start date 11/5/25, finished 1/12/26. 

So that's FO #2. I recommend that you try this pattern, or if it's too much for you, start with the Sophie Scarf. It's easier to manage. 

The hat? I had the Bison Blend from Windy Valley Musk Ox to make the hat as a companion of the Amy's Scarf (also known as the Miss Marple Scarf), but it has a bit of a tricky crown configuration and I kinda wanted something simple. 

I did look for "simple cable hats" and seriously, people... What IS simple? I'm thinking one cable up one side and down the other, but I wasn't able to find anything that suited me. 

I did find the Cold Snap on Ravelry, and it was ok. I did try searching Ravelry and then I just did a general Google search. I don't know -maybe it's me. I ended up with this one because it was simple and I kind of wanted something brainless to knit, but with enough detail to keep my attention. 

The world is a scary place. Knitting is one refuge. I didn't want to over-complicate it because most of my stitching time is at night. But I did want something useful, and I have a hard time fitting hats to my head. 

Nerdy Nuggets: Remainder of the 3rd hank of Friday Harbor. Size 2 (there are 3 sizes to this hat), Size 4 (16") circulars for the ribbing and size 7 (16") circulars for the body -- same size DPNs for the crown. Start date 1/14/26, finished 1/18/26. 

The pattern called for DK weight, and Friday Harbor IS an Aran weight. Yes, I am RECLAIMING ORANGE.  I actually look good in it, and I refuse to allow a demented stooge to deny me a color I enjoy. Ahem. As I'm knitting I'm thinking, "What am I doing, this is a BARBIE hat???" But it turned out fine. I even got a little wild and made a small pom-pom for the top. It's a bit slouchy at the top, and I figured I had the yarn. Hubby told me to fold the brim; it's going to take a minute for me to -not- pull it down tight to my head, as I'm used to doing. I need to leave the slouch in there. It's going to be a barn hat. 

The Be Simple is an Opal project. It's got a ways yet, but I started that one on February 9, 2025, and I need to get it finished -- if only to reclaim my size 7 circulars for other projects. Not sure if I'm going to do the picot edge or just a plain one. The colorway is something that will go with most of what I wear, though now that I've lost a bunch of weight, I need to restock my basic t-shirts. 

I had gotten this yarn from my friend Kelly at Le Mouton Rouge and when I looked in my sock tote, I found that I had a bunch of blue-toned socks, so I figured I'd do this non-lace version of the Be Simple. Last year I did the orange version, using yarn that was custom-dyed for me. 

As much as you can, patronize your Local Yarn Shop. Mind you, Kelly is still 2+ hours from my house, but still - this is as good as it gets where I live, so do what you can to help them out! Kelly ships in the US, so go for it! 

Maybe I need a 2025 Retrospective of Knitting, since I didn't blog at all last year. 

Anyway, I really enjoy the asymmetrical shawls for office wear, so I'm not fighting the thing being around my shoulders, and yet it's warm enough. And these in sock yarn are perfect: they wash up like a dream and I have a nice stash of shawl pins to keep them in place, or I can just tie them. 

The Other FO... 

OK, still NOT that one. Found Objects. You know how, when you're decorating for Christmas or whatever holiday you're celebrating, you put things away, you bring things out, you shuffle stuff around? Well, in my house that's how that happens. 

I found a bag with fabric for a quilted table runner that I was going to make (which I didn't). I also found THREE circular needles. I think that I bought this when JoAnn's was closing. I also found in the bag the second of my pom-pom makers. I know I have another set - in a project bag somewhere. 

I had ordered small binders for my circulars. It makes it easier for me to have them handy, when they're not all stuck into unfinished objects (we won't go into that and I'm not feeling guilty). So these are size 8 bamboo needles, which are fine. They're 24" cables and my friend Sonda always said that 24" are all you really need to do anything from a scarf to a sweater. 

I also have become fond of Zings DPNs. They're color-coded which makes it nice. I use them for socks, but also for the tops of hats. The markings on the needles last nicely. That's the one complaint I have about the Karbonz - after a use or two, the numbers wear off the carbon part. Kind of annoying, really. 

I'm also still working on the Long Dog Samplers Pecadillo. I'm on the second quadrant of the one I'm doing, and it's coming along nicely. I do need to get the knitting out of the way first, so it'll be a while. I hope to finish this project in time for Christmas 2026, so that I can get it framed for its recipient. 

I think I need to do another one. We had a surprise at Christmas. Kid #1 eloped. So I also have an afghan to work on once I figure out what colors I need to get. 

THAT FO... 

Good Lord. I'm not really sure where to start. There are folks who are now in the "Find Out" stage and it's starting to get crazy. It was crazy at first, but now? 

So we have the Emperor with No Clothes posting crap at all hours, signing things he can't read, making stuff up and pulling "facts" out of his keister, and calling everything "fake" if it doesn't show him at the center of "The Last Supper" pushing Jesus to the side. (Sorry, God, but really...)

Since I last blogged about this, the Kennedy Center has been desecrated, there's no more East Wing of the historic White House, and the Oval Office is not only named like the wing of a dementia-care ward, but it's tatted up like a bordello the likes of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," just to name a few things. 

And we have the delusion about Greenland, the invasion of Venezuela, the bombing of fishing boats, the caving in of a Nobel Prize winner who - I don't care what she did for her country - debased herself for a fool. 

What am I missing? Oh, election fraud (well in front of the midterms), the ICE goons, the destruction of Tim Walz's political career. SCOTUS is bought and paid for - Mitch McConnell, on his way out, has grown one ball. Thom Tillis too. 

And a pox on Merrick Garland, who could've fixed this. A double pox on Glitchy Mitch, who prevented Garland from being safely ensconced in the Supreme Court and out of the way. 

But the cherry on top is the response of Bill and Hillary Clinton to the subpoena for the Epstein files debacle. I mean, you have Stephen Miller as a deputy Chief of Staff who thinks he's running things, and for all I know, he DOES have his hand up Mango Mussolini's diaper-clad butt, trying to demand that Minneapolis "withdraw" and stand down. And you have JD Maybelline trying to act "presidential." What a waste of an Ivy League education. And for what it's worth, Usha, girl - you need a good lawyer! 

And they think they can pull an end-run around Bill? Really. Notwithstanding the fact that he's a Rhodes Scholar and a lawyer. You have Hillary. Who's brilliant in her own right. Both of them are Yale Law School graduates. Both of them, very kindly, and very specifically and pointedly, said to James Comer, "show me yours before I show you mine." 

They pointed out that they don't HAVE to comply with that subpoena. My contention is, when Gym Jordan complies with the Congressional subpoena he received, then Bill and Hill can respond. 

The situation in Minneapolis is insane. The Black Panthers are coming out. And if the ICE goons think Chicago was rough? Minneapolis is no push-over. And they want to go to Philly? I mean... Philadelphia burned its own city down more than once. Their police chief already said, "We don't play." 

I have no idea what will happen. I do know this is not the world I wanted to age in, nor have my kids grow up in. 

Random Picture...

We have a tradition now. We make a Snow Folk Choir. This year, Hubby went above and beyond and I think we're done adding to the group. He's talking about using wine corks to make "choir risers." I think it's becoming an obsession. 

I must say, I added the rice lights and battery-operated candles. And I did make arms for our "conductor," the only salt-and-pepper shaker who's a singleton. All of these have been part of a collection I've had for years. 

Of all your holiday decorations, which is your tradition? Which is a must-have for the holidays? Share with me! 

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.