Pregnancy Begins With a Penis...

 ...so perhaps THAT should be regulated by the "party of small government." (See what I did there??) My postcard campaign continues, and honestly, I don't know whether to smack Lindsey Graham upside his entirely EMPTY head, or... THANK him for galvanizing women young and old. Because he's such a chuckle-headed nitwit. Great move, dude...national abortion ban? Great strategy. 

Pink Tsunami, here we come. Duck & cover, Lindsey. You own this one. 

The party of small government wants to get into my uterus (even though my child-bearing ship has sailed a while ago), but perhaps they ought to look at the teeny-tiny penises. They're all so busy bloviating and thinking that they've got the biggest one in the room. 

Got news for you, boys. (And girls, where IS your common sense?) The uterus brought you into this world. Women voters will take you out. 

And while I'm at it, let's talk about student loans. I have a disclosure to make: I have never had a student loan. I had a grant. Hubby had loans, but the interest rate was 1-2% - whereas now, they're the equivalent of a mortgage. My kid doesn't have student loans, but friends do. People I know have declared bankruptcy because the loans are basically usurious... Seriously, do some math and understand DAILY COMPOUNDING OF INTEREST. 

Have you ever seen a closing statement for a mortgage? Or a car loan? I have. You buy a car for $30,000 and after you tack on interest, your loan paper says you're paying upwards of $60,000 for that car over the life of the loan. And that's calculated on SIMPLE interest. The interest is figured in with your payment, and is amortized through the life of the loan. 

But with student loans, interest is compounded DAILY. Daily compounded interest means interest is accumulated daily and is calculated by charging interest on principal plus interest earned daily; therefore, it is higher than interest compounded on a monthly/quarterly basis due to the high frequency of compounding. So think about this, because the math looks "small" but if you consider that the rate is DAILY, you can see how this is just...insane. 

You first take the annual interest rate on your loan and divide it by 365 to determine the amount of interest that accrues on a daily basis. Say you owe $10,000 on a loan with 5% annual interest. You'd divide that rate by 365 (i.e., 0.05 ÷ 365) to arrive at a daily interest rate of 0.000137. That daily interest rate looks pretty tiny, doesn't it? Well, it's different from your car loan, which is calculated MONTHLY - every 30 days. This student loan interest is calculated DAILY, so you can see how that would add up. 

Anyway... Look at the postcard above. Good old Marge Greene got $180,000 in PPP loans FORGIVEN. And she's screeching like a stuck pig about $10,000 in student loan forgiveness. A bunch of  'em got HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars in PPP loans FORGIVEN. But hey, why would you want to give someone a hand up, when you can kick 'em while they're down? Is that the new "christian way"? Seems so. 

I've gotta sit with DeathSentence and The Texas Idiot for awhile before I talk about the racist, abhorrent, disgusting, dangerous thing they've done. All I can say is that I hope that the backlash from this is like a herd of elephants, butt sides facing an industrial fan on high speed, with said elephants having the runs. Simultaneously. 

Hip, hip hooray...

So my mom's total hip replacement has occurred. She's home, after an overnight in the hospital. I'm very glad she stayed. 

We got her to the hospital at 6 a.m. and the surgery was scheduled for 7:30. I stayed, with my hospital knitting (see the sock). And I had a fully-charged Kindle, and they had HGTV playing in the waiting room. And I could people-watch - which was weird. 

Because about 60% of the people IN THE HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM couldn't quite figure out, nearly 3 years into this, that a MASK GOES OVER THE NOSE, TOO. Seriously, people. The signs (with pictures) are all over the place. 

Anyhow, as I was waiting. And waiting. And waiting, I noticed that there were a lot of codes being called, but I was ok because none of them were "code blue," so I wasn't too concerned. But the time came and went for her to have been done, and I was still sitting there. Then, the manager was coming around asking for various families...turns out that somehow, the hospital was full. As in "no room in the inn" full - no rooms available. So if you lived close, they suggested that you go home. Anyway - I got to see her for a few minutes in the recovery room. She cracked an eye open, said, "I've been hit by a bus," and fell back asleep. That was my cue to go home. 

I got home and took a nap; then they called me around 4:30 p.m. and she'd finally gotten a room. I'm so glad I wasn't stuck there all day. I wasn't doing any good; just taking up space. 

Her neighbor is helping her out, we have the food lined up, and all systems are go. She hates the compression socks. "If they come up any higher, I might actually have a perky bustline." Yep, no filter... 

Now it's time to focus on fixing MY hip. Doctor's appointment on Monday to figure it out. 

The Garden...

I was poking around the back pot of parsley and found...caterpillars! I usually do flat-leaf parsley in the front yard for them, but somehow, they made their way to the back (curly-leaf) and have taken up residence. Started out with 5 of them, and I'm down to 2...so I hope that 3 of them have gone on to be chrysalis-to-butterfly, and not bird food. It should be safer back there, because the birdfeeders are all up front. 

These are Swallowtail butterflies in the making. My milkweed never even bloomed. So Hubby tells me he prefers the taste of the flat-leaf parsley, but I warned him to still be careful about the caterpillars. They blend in so well that they take you by surprise!

The birds have been enjoying the seeds from the coneflowers and the Brown-eyed Susans, and the hummingbird feeders were reorganized. I pitched the ones that weren't working or were ignored. Usually, it was because hornets and bees could get to them, or -- my favorite one finally broke down beyond repair and I couldn't find a replacement. So I have three that they seem to like and we're sticking with them. 

And at work, my wild flowers in pots have done well, considering that they're somewhat neglected. I bought a bubbler. We have a "flower pot drain bowl" that we've been using as a bird bath, and I added a bubbler to it so as to cut down on mosquito eggs. The birds seem to enjoy it.

When the office door is open, the sound of the bubbler is quite soothing. And of course, Flat St. John had to pose to show himself off in this "water feature." 

We have nasturtium, salvia, begonia and windflowers, so it's a nice assortment, as I said - considering that I've virtually ignored the whole thing all year. It's been busy...

We're planning The Great Tomato Sauce Canning for the first weekend in October. I'm considering something that I've seen another friend do: roasting the veggies and then puree them in my Vita Mix. Or I'll do it the way I always do: in a huge stock pot, simmering for hours. We'll see. I think it's about the same amount of time, maybe less doing it via the roasting method. It might be worth it to do 2 batches, one in each method, to see how it goes. 

Welcome...

To the new Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, Paula Clark... The first woman, and woman of color, to be a bishop in this diocese. She's had a long, hard road since her election and we waited for nearly 2 years to have her consecration ceremony. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was heading the service. 

Her vestments, hand-made, honored her membership in the International Order of the Daughters of the King, and the ceremony was planned specifically by her.  

Hubby and I were going to join the choir, but after looking at Covid numbers, looking at my own risk factors, and the fact that my mom just got out of the hospital and we're her primary humans...we decided, reluctantly, to withdraw. Which is a shame, because the music was pretty awesome. 

You may recognize Bishop Curry from his preaching at Harry & Megan's wedding. He's pretty dynamic, to say the least. 

Bishop Paula wore some awesome red kicks! And some purists objected to the tennis shoes. OK, let's break this down... About 18 months ago, she had a traumatic brain injury, brain surgery, a long and difficult recovery, and then her husband died. She's got some lingering mobility issues. She's lucky to be alive, through much prayer and dint of hard work on her part...What did you expect? Manolo Blahniks??? Get real. Comfort and ability to walk and stand -- that's important. She's not here to make a fashion statement and those folks who object to this? They can kiss the north end of a south-bound horse. Or my pasty white rear end. Whichever...

Random Picture...

This is Quinn, getting a Saturday Skritch. She turns into "oozy dog" and just melts. she loves her belly rubs, for sure. She's healing up very nicely from the nasty cysts she's had lately. 

She turns 12 soon. She's really getting older, and I can see subtle signs, such as a little less spring in her legs when she gets up on the couch, and sometimes a bit of deeper sleep where she startles. And her tail is not curling - that's kind of a classic Norwegian Elkhound "old dog" phase, when their tail stops curling over their rump. 

Shyness has never been her problem. When she's in "flathound" mode, she's totally relaxed. 

Looking for yoga and there's no studio nearby? We have Zoom classes!

In the area? We have THREE new classes, including Prenatal on Saturday afternoon, an additional chair class on Saturday morning, and Yoga with Gratitude & Grace on Wednesday nights. 

Check our website at www.just-breatheyoga.com or 

text/call us at (815) 546-2770 if you have questions about which class is the best one for you. We are a safe, inclusive space - and welcome you as you are. 

I've Lost...

...a pair of socks. 

In the normal scheme of things, you'd think, "So???"

But this was a pair of my hand-knit socks. I don't have a ton of knit socks, though I'm working on it. 

And (the knitting gods will bite me for this one), it wasn't my particularly favorite pair. 

But. 

They're hand-knit. And they're lost. Crap.

I had them before my Florida trip. I even checked my suitcases. Crap. 

They're the plain vanilla socks knit with Opal's version of the "watermelon" colorway. I'm not overly fond of the large amount of yellow in this melon, but all in all, they're hand-knit and they're Opal - a great sock yarn that I use a lot. 

They'll turn up. They'll turn up. They'll turn up. I just keep repeating that till I hope it comes true. 

Knitting Otherwise...

I'm plugging along on the chai spice Vanilla Latte variation. Sock #2 is coming along. It's the last weekend of TMC's Oscar Month, and "Goodbye Mr. Chips" (the Robert Donat/Greer Garson version - the best one) is on now. I'm on the foot of the sock. My goal this weekend is to get to the toe. 

I'll be bringing The Baby Jacket to the primary election. Unless I start another pair of socks, but they'd have to be straight up vanilla. No patterns in a primary election...as a judge, you do get downtime, but I don't want anything complex to have to fiddle with. 

I have to download the Drachenfels shawl pattern... I have the yarn for two colorways. I also have a hat pattern to download, but the way this winter is going, it looks like I won't need it. 

Yeah. That just jinxed March...I'm sorry. 

Politics...

I'm a Bernie fan. I'm also a realist. The entire GOP field is a non-starter, even if I was inclined to vote against my femaleness. 

And yes, it IS against being a woman. I've said a couple of times that the GOP wants small government and they're mostly interested in fitting the government into a woman's vagina. 

Bernie may not get a lot done, but he knows how to work with the Senate. 

For those who wonder why I'm not a fan of Hillary, it's really simple. Just because I'm female doesn't mean I'm automatically going to vote for her. I'm not a fan. I think she's far too corporate-owned, just like most of the rest of Washington. 

Do we need a woman president? Yes. It's time. Do we need gender parity in our House and Senate? Yes. It's PAST time. Do we need gender parity on the Supreme Court? Oh yeah...

But just because we need more women in places of power, we still need quality candidates. Just a set of ovaries doesn't do it. 

So that all being said, I'll vote for the Democratic nominee. Because I still feel that the Democrats, if they can work as a "herd," can get things done. We just don't "herd" as well as the GOP. But the GOP is herding itself off a cliff if they're starting to think that they can work with Trump. Let them shoot themselves in the foot... 

Cooking...

So my mom's laid up after shoulder surgery. Remember, I'm NOT the kid who's a nurse. I'm the cook. 

Today's plans (including the above-mentioned knitting) will be to cook her a few meals she can eat. She's been eating Lean Cuisines...and I'm sorry, they're processed muck. You can't survive on those; they're really not any good for you. 

She eats like a bird, so I have to ratchet it down a bit. So far, I've got "Two-fer Tuna" - a couple of small tuna casseroles. Next up is meatloaf with some potato wedges. 

I'm on a "chicken salad" kick...It's really simple: just cooked chicken, celery, horseradish, mayo and mustard. And a bit of some sort of savory - this time, dill. It's chilling in the fridge now. Of course, like anything I cook, you can "up" or "down" this dish: I start simple and then fiddle. 

The tuna casserole isn't anywhere near what I've grown up with. My mother's used wide egg noodles and cream-of-something soup. And canned green beans.

I used whole-wheat pasta shells (tiny ones), made a roux and used leeks and green peppers (she loves green peppers). I used some "sharp American" cheese instead of cheddar, added some peas, and then did a panko, parmesan and paprika topping. It's in a couple of small dishes; she can easily remove the cover with one hand,and they're sized just right for one. 

Of course, Raisa had her nose practically in the dish. "Leave it" is a great command. Even for a pig-headed Husky. 

Any other ideas for one-handed dishes would be great...I'm thinking of a pasta with a shape that she can eat with a spoon. She's had surgery on her right arm, and she's absolutely NOT good with her left hand. 

Come to think of it, taking away the green peppers, the Two-fer Tuna will be good for me and Hubby. Even in my smallest casserole dish, it's too much for the two of us. I like to make soups that we can freeze and I can take to lunch. I try to not take fish-type dishes to work - they get smelly. 

But this would be good for Lent. For us, I can add spinach and mushrooms. 

Random Picture...

Speaking of said pig-headed Husky... This was the scene by my chair. She's cat-like in that I'm certain she's determined to kill me. She winds her way beneath my chair, curls around the legs, and one day, I'm convinced, she'll stand straight up, propelling me through the front door. 

Of course, there's Tippi, who's prone to whomping into my chair after they get back from a walk - this morning, she moved it 2" toward the front window. Quinn has also decided to do the same...

My dogs are out to get me!