Progress and Not Progress

 Where to begin? So much has been happening, but I haven't had the urge to write about it. 

Let's start with the continuing Christmas knitting. I'm moving along on that long cowl. But I think I should have changed the pattern up and had a continuous K3 border. The stockinette is curling like crazy, as it is wont to do. 

This may work out well with the finished project, because if it curls up into an erzatz tube, and you "cowl" it by wrapping a couple times, it might make it even warmer. Who knows? It might work out. I'm getting to the darker grey now. It's miles and miles and miles of stockinette and so far, it feels nice and squishy. And it doesn't look too "dull." I was worried, from the picture, that it would be too neutral and too boring. But the colors "tweed" in areas and they're soft and pretty. 

I'm trying not to get a bad case of "start-itis" because I have a bunch of things to get accomplished and I don't want to get distracted. 

I still haven't gotten a clue about what to do with the other gradient cake. I have a few months, I think. 

Unless someone announces a baby. Then I'm screwed...

AOC & MTG...

I can't believe we have to say this, but one congress-critter shouldn't stalk and scream at another one... But here we are. #TheFormerGuy removed all semblence of courtesy and manners. MTG is a ginormous maskhole and a Q-conspiracy creep. She verbally harassed AOC in the halls of congress. Read the story here, if you haven't heard about this... 

I mean, I'm almost out of words. This blonde bimbo has been stripped of all her committees. Why is she still in congress? Who's pulling strings? 

With the ouster of Liz Cheney, the party is in deep water. What will they become? And why did they let loose the mastiff? I don't mean to be pejorative toward mastiffs. They're an ancient breed, and used to be ferocious dogs of war. 

Now that Liz is out, she doesn't give two farts about what the Q-conspiracy creeps want to say about her, and three farts less about what #TheFormerGuy has to say. So we have some theories. 

First, she's setting up a splinter party. This may or may not be good, but odds are, it means the Q-creeps will likely not win a national election unless they totally toss voting out the window...which they're pretty much working on right now. 

Second, she's setting up to be the 2024 "common sense candidate." After all the Q-creeps? She looks like the beacon of reason even though she's as conservative as they get. 

Third, she's Darth's daughter. There's no way there's no "long game" here. I'm not sure what it is, but there is one. 

And then on the Twitter, #TheFormerGuy has been quoted as saying that the "entire" Maricopa County database has been deleted. So that stupid 'fraudit' that's being conducted needs to be stopped. Dude needs to be arrested for multiple crimes, including inciting a riot. 

Now would be good. Sooner rather than later. 

The Maternity Ward...

In our bell tower and walkway area at church, there's a maternity ward going on. Two robin's nests and a morning dove, though it seems the dove babies have fledged already. 

The other day, my boss said, "Hey, one of the babies has been flapping his wings; they may be ready to fly." I didn't pay too much attention - I mean, yes, I was happy the birds were growing nicely. There were 2 more little ones in the other nest. 

The next day, we were walking into the church and she said, "Look, I can see them!" and something made me step back quickly as the biggest one flapped his wings, took off and let loose a barrage of bird crap, narrowly missing me - like seriously an inch or two from my shoes. Had I not moved quickly (I call them cat-like reflexes), I'd have been splooted with baby bird crap! BossLady thought this was hysterical. I was not amused. 

We did what we had to do, and then left. She wanted to check to see if The Pooper was back in the nest, and I noticed Mama with a MOUTHFUL of worms, glaring at us. 

She's been good (Mama, I mean); she hasn't dive-bombed us or appeared angry or anything. She's let us walk past the nest without freaking out. But she wanted to just feed the critters! 

I pointed out the very big lunch she had planned and we managed to leave her in relative peace; but I did get this picture. And BossLady is still worried about The Pooper, who didn't appear to be back in the nest. 

The Garden Progresses...

So we survived a snap freeze, and only lost a little bit of basil. One tomato plant looks slightly sketchy, but maybe it'll pull through. We've decided to yank the excess milkweed. I'm hoping that by keeping it to a reasonable amount, we don't get reinfested with those nasty red beetles. 

And I have sweet potatoes in the bag!! The little nub that I cut off the garnet sweet potato has finally poked through the ground. Hubby made the one spud that I had left into "fries" (oven fries, of course) and honestly - I ate the whole thing. They were delicious! (that little pink nubbin is the sweet potato plant - I'm soooooooooo excited!!!)

I'm going to be splitting the lilies of the valley this year; they're absolutely taking over, and I think I lost my white bleeding heart. Maybe I'll find it once I thin the lilies out. I also seem to have lost some hostas. 

For such an innocent-looking flower, those lilies are greedy buggers; they want ALL the flower bed. 

Random Picture...

A classic picot edging on a shawl. I don't know if I'm going to ever do that again.

It takes up a LOT of yarn! But I love the shawl; it's the Close to You shawl, and I do wear it often. 

I see this edge on sock cuffs; I figure it's a waste there. Why have it where you can't see it? 

For what it's worth, I also don't like lace on a sock instep. It's just me - I don't feel like it's comfortable on my feet. 

But I love it on a shawl, a scarf, a sweater, a sock leg...and on a baby blanket in moderation. 

What's your take on lace? 

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Christmas Knitting

 Yes, you read that right. 

Christmas knitting. We'll get to that. 

COVID-19 Recap...

Well, I got my 2 shots (Team Pfizer) and had, aside from a sore arm, NO side effects. I'm not sure what that means, if anything. Everyone who'd had COVID was telling me that if you had it, then your first shot acted like the "second" one -- which is where most got side-effects. 

Me? Bupkus. Well, a sore arm. But other than a couple hours after Shot #1 of feeling "meh," I really didn't have anything go wrong. It could also be that I built myself into that "meh" as well...anticipation of feeling like crap generally makes you feel like crap. 

So it's been time enough: I'm immune-ish. As immune as one gets with a vaccine. I'm still wearing a mask and washing hands. I don't trust other people; maybe that's the casualty of this whole thing. We've lost the ability to trust humans because they're either crazy conspiracy theorists or they just ignore the over 500,000 dead people because it hasn't directly affected them. 

Political Recap...

I was a judge at our municipal elections. Municipal elections are where it starts, people. Get involved nationally, too -- by all means, VOTE. But don't forget the place you live. Elections really count at a local level: your school board, library board, city council...all those offices are where the Tea Party (remember them?) started. That's where they got in and where they began to move up the ranks. 

I wanted to talk about the Chauvin verdict, the censure of Liz Cheney and the continued killing of black and brown people. But I can't. 

It's not that I'm not informed. I just don't want to have the conversation while I have some other things on my mind. 

Christmas & Regular Knitting Recap...

Well, not actually a recap but an organizational post plus an update on a "mostly" finished object. I finally -- FINALLY -- got down to see my friend Kelly at Le Mouton Rouge Knittery. It's a solid 2 hour drive one way. But it's worth it. I've gotten a few things at a closer shop, but for the stuff I was planning, I needed to get down there and poke around. 

I got more yarn than I planned -- but I have 3, no 4 - yes, 4 projects for Xmas. And I need to get skippy and get them done. 

At the top, you see purple (looks blue) and grey hanks. The colors are much more rich; the grey is speckled with purple and lime green, surprisingly. This will be my next Breathe and Hope shawl, for a special person. 

Well, not to brag, but you're special if I knit for you. I'm picky about who's "knitworthy" or not. 

In the middle are the round "cakes" of Mandala yarn; it's something I picked up on clearance. My friend got me a Caron cake, and I did that purple sawtooth shawl. Well, these are going to be for friends; not sure who's getting what. The pastel one will be either a sawtooth shawl or a "bamboo" pattern cowl - a long one that can be wrapped a couple times for maximum warmth. 

The darker one (on the right) is described below...and it needs discussing. 

The bottom is a deep blue with a grey and COPPER SPARKLES!! That is, technically, for me. I'm sending my first Breathe & Hope to a friend (they don't know it yet) -- the bright blue + flamingo pink one. This one is for me, so it's kind of last on my list, but still, I'm anxious for my friend to get the first one, and for me to make this one for myself. 

Breathe & Hope moves along quickly, so I'm not too worried about getting the one at the top done... 

Here's my plan: I'm making some stuff for Christmas. Seriously, my first project is the Baxter Street Cowl. Now, it's a "beginner" pattern, but it uses 590 yards of that Mandala yarn, and it's mind-numbing stockinette stitch (K on right side, P on wrong side). For miles. Miles. 

The thing is, even though it's "basic," in my opinion, this is where your skill as a knitter shows. I'm actually pretty good with tension, and eleventy-billion yards of stockinette stitch is a kicker. It's not only TV knitting but it's also a screaming advertisement for your ability to keep your tension even. 

This is a long cowl as well - it can be worn by a tall person as one big loop or by us shorties as a double (maybe triple?) loop. It's almost 5 feet long. Maybe this is as close as I get to a Time Traveler scarf? 

Anyway, you knit for the length of a trip from the earth to the moon, then you sew the short ends together. I can't make a moebius because there's a "wrong" side. But that's ok. 

I was hoping to find something specific on Ravelry with regard to cowls, but nothing fit the Mandala yarn and I'm not even sure the "bamboo" one will. I may end up doing something similar with the pastel one. Who knows? 

Oh, I finished a sock! So I did the Strong Heel, and I remembered why I liked it. It really fits better than the heel flap. I should tink the one blue sock, which I won't, because the heel flap is too short (this is the OTHER blue sock...not pictured). 

I realized that I have wayyyyyyyyy too much Opal in blue colorways. Nothing in purple. Which is weird. I love purple. Why can't I find purple Opal? 

This is that leg design that's super-simple -- it doesn't show a lot in the picture, but I do think it looks pretty good. I have to cast on the 2nd one. I was going to do it right off, but I made the trip to Bloomington....and there you go: started on Christmas stuff. 

Yoga Training Recap...

So I finished the modules for the 500-hour teacher training. I have to do some ancillary workshops and start on my thesis project, but I'm essentially done. Which means that, aside from the workshops, I'm actually in a period of relative slack. Which relates to the knitting above. I feel like I'm going to have time this year to do this stuff. 

That, coupled with the reduced work schedule, and my own commitment to not think about guilt when I'm sitting on my butt knitting...I've got a crap-ton of projects that I want to do, and I'm going to do them. Or at least make a dent in the pile. 

Random Picture...

I've found a new place to meditate. Or at least to catch my breath. Yes, it's a car wash. For about 3 minutes, I can just sit and detach. 

There's no cell reception. The radio won't pick up. The car is getting clean. Nobody can contact me. I have nothing to do but breathe for the length of the car wash. 

I try to wash my car at least every 2 weeks. More in the winter, if it's not freezing, because we still use salt on our roads. 

I used to wash by hand, but with the SUV, I can't reach the top easily, so it's cheaper and more eco-friendly, honestly, to use a car wash. 

Sometimes, you've got to grab the calm when and where you can. All in all, I could use less of the "strobe" light effects, but I can just close my eyes and turn my head. 

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