Busy Day Off...

So I took the day off. Well, it wasn't really a "day off." Tippi was Principal for the Day (well, half a day) at a local early childhood center. We lasted half a day and she'd had enough. It's hard to see that she's getting older, but while she was there, she enjoyed herself, I think. They want us back, but only in smaller groups. 

I have no pictures. I was busy with her and the kids. If the principal sends me some, I'll certainly share. She's got to check to make sure it's ok with the parents. 

And while I was there, I had to drive Hubby's "big old boat." My car was in the shop. Both tie rods were going out, and the tires had to be rotated, and the whole thing realigned. The car - or at least the steering - was "juddering." The steering wheel was shaking badly and the whole front end felt like the wheels were going to come off. Of course, that's what happens when a tie rod goes - the tire attached to it goes all wonky. And BOTH of mine were doing that. No wonder the whole thing felt like it was going to collapse on me. 

So. I had to drive the big old boat. Which I could barely park, by the way. But it does drive nicer than mine... 

And the vet thinks Tippi may have a kidney or bladder stone. X-rays tomorrow. 

So, what does one do with one's car out of commission? One cancels their guitar lesson and gets baking done for the church's Rummage & Bake Sale. It's all freezable, so we're good to go. 

First up is Chocolate Chip Pumpkin mini loaves. Granted, I could've done 8 of them - should have, actually, but these turned out ok. 

Yes. I know. The photo is upside down. I did turn it the other way round, but somehow, my phone's camera ate it. Deal with it, please...

And a teeny tiny little secret about these loaves... They're from a box mix. That's not why they're not up to the top. They're a tad skimpy because there are 10 of them, like I said, but I don't think that will keep people from buying them. I've added chocolate chips; strangely enough, chocolate and pumpkin kind of go together. 

Next, I had 2 pears I needed to do something with. I should've eaten them, but I didn't. So there you had it. And I had 1 apple. Trolling through The Internets, I found this Apple Pear Bread recipe. Which I promptly changed a couple of ways and which I think made it a lot better. This is a really stiff dough, but it turned out to be quite nice. 

I must say, the custard cups were genius on my part. That loaf pan is my biggest one. But I knew this was a bit more. It called for one pan, but I'm not sure how I ended up with more batter. I know that by the time I diced everything up, I had lots more fruit than was called for, which is fine by me. I added two generous teaspoons of my NEW FAVORITE SPICE: Penzey's BAKING SPICE. Wow, is that stuff great! And a couple great big shakes of McCormick's Chai Spice Blend, plus 4 nice slices, diced, of candied ginger. I wanted the "harvest" aspect to come out, and for me, Autumn is Ginger Time! So Hubby and I ate the ones in the custard cups. He ate two of them, for the record. I also sprinkled the tops with Turbinado sugar, but it didn't "pop" the way I like it. I think I could've gone a little heavier on that, but all in all, I'm pleased with the adjustments I made, and this is a keeper. 

One complaint - this took FOREVER to bake. But I kind of knew it would. The cups only took about 1/2 an hour, but the loaf took an additional 50 minutes. 

Next up were CPS Butter Cookies. Reminder to self: CHILL the dough before you bake these!! They flattened out a good bit. It's a great cookie -- basically a super-easy shortbread that you push your fingers into. Supposed to be three fingers, but I think my balls need to be bigger for that. And it would've needed to be chilled - otherwise they don't hold the impression of the fingers. 

These are a Christmas favorite. You can see the ridges - they actually looked like "reindeer hooves" before they were baked. I could go a little bigger on these for Christmas and bake them a little shorter than the 15 minutes called for. That would make them a tad more chewy and less brown on the sides. 

Tomorrow, after working at the local mission serving lunch and going to a Get Out the Vote event, I'll be finishing up with Jewish Honey Cookies  and Molasses Oatmeal Banana Bread. That fulfills my "baking ration" for the church... and gets me in the mood for holiday baking, honestly. 

Last year, Hubby did the majority of the baking, which concurrently made me angry and happy. Happy that he could do it, because my schedule was so crazy, but angry because I honestly love to bake; it's a stress-reliever for me and I'm pretty good at it. I'll admit, I was jealous that everyone was complimenting him on "his cookies."

This year, I hope it's better. Because it's something we both enjoy doing. 

Knitting On...

I'm knitting that Emergency One Day Hat again - in the largest size, for me. I'm using the same pink yarn (stash busting - the rest I'll use for prayer patches). I'll wear it for the 2019 Women's March. I'm also adding color in the ridges, with the leftover purple sparkle yarn. It's coming along. 

A friend asked if I'd knit her some socks. This is always a tricky thing, because if people ask "How much would you charge?" it's a totally loaded question. So, how much would I charge with $19.00-ish yarn, my time, and knitting basically 100,000 stitches - twice - with a plain pattern? See where I'm going here? I know the Yarn Harlot gives hers away, and that's cool. One can do that when one's a Knitting Goddess. But for the rest of us, there's no way we could even "knit for profit" unless we turned into designers. 

The upshot of that request? I gave her the Opal site, told her to order two of her favorite colors, and I'd do 2 pairs for her. I will be doing Plain Vanilla... We shall see if she gets the yarn. I also told her to measure her foot, but I'll have to get pretty specific because I need to know more than "I'm a size 8"... I may have her trace her foot onto cardboard, so at least I know where to start the toes. 

This knitting socks for other people is complex business. How in the world do others do it with ease?? And what DO people charge, if someone asks, to make a pair of regular socks??

While knitting and baking, an old, old movie came on. No surprise, right... But it was Don Knotts... "The Incredible Mr. Limpet." I loved that when I was a kid... 

It was kind of fun to see it again! The mixture of "real movie" and animation was Big Stuff when I was a kid. 

Heck, I didn't know the animation was in color till high school. Seriously, I thought everyone was making a big deal out of it when "The Wizard of Oz" came on once a year. Yes, children, movies didn't repeat in those days. They came on once a year. And no - we didn't have a color TV till I was in high school.

And my parents were in charge of the channels. There was no remote. 

I Did This Thing...

I wrote a note to Dr. Blasey-Ford. Back in the day, women flooded Anita Hill's mailbox with handwritten notes of support. I wasn't aware enough then to realize what it took to do what she did. 

I am now. I wrote her a note and enclosed one of my Prayer Patches for her. I hope her mailbox is flooded with letters and cards. What she did and what she's enduring? 

Seriously, for Melania to whine that "I'm the most bullied person on the planet." Give me a break honey-child. Let's talk Michelle Obama. Hillary Clinton. Dr. Blasey-Ford. 

Clearly, the woman has no clue what "bullied" really is. And her "Be Best" campaign is laughable given Agent Orange's propensity to toilet-tweet in the wee hours. 

Bullied. Darlin' you have no idea. And if you do have an idea, then you knew what you were marrying and you have not one jot of my sympathy. 

Random Picture...

After I got my car back, I took a quick run to the store. It was quick till I hit the deli...where it took FOR. EVER. 

As I waited, I saw this. And thought, "ohhhhhhhhhhhh NO!" 

When I was a kid, Fried Bologna was a thing. On Wonder Bread. 

Go ahead. Gag. I did. And I still do. 

You can pretty that pig up and you know what? It's still a pig. 

Well, actually, that's an insult to adorable porcine critters everywhere. 

You can put cheese and brioche buns on that sausage, but it's still nasty. 

I hated the smell. I hated the taste. There's no "wonderful" about fried bologna.

What's the thing you remember from your childhood that makes you go "ewwwwwwww"? 

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...