Can We Just Agree...

...that Dick Cheney is a soul-less moron with no actual experience in ANY war, and thus should not ever - EVER - be quoted as an "expert" in anything to do with the Middle East?

Unless, of course, you want to talk about the faulty equipment that Haliburton sent over, the bad facilities and the general killing and maiming of an entire generation so that he and his ilk could make billions?

Ok. There. That's the end of THAT discussion. Hey, newspapers and news outlets: STOP QUOTING THIS IDIOT! He's shot his credibility just like he shot his lawyer friend in the face. 

So. Enough. It's just as bad that Terry Bradshaw, late of the NFL, is now a Fox News(?) commentator spouting off about Benghazi. Really. I couldn't make that up even if I tried...

Knitting...

This is WORLDWIDE KNIT-IN-PUBLIC WEEK!! Go out and knit something in front of people!!

Ok, so to celebrate this great holiday, I bit the bullet and bought Fluormania sock yarn. And of course, the Teal Sock #2 is sitting again... I'm on the foot of Teal, though, so there's hope that it'll be finished sooner rather than later.

I told you it's coming along...

I'm sad (well, not really) to say that on my first day off in a couple of weeks, I went to Le Mouton Rouge and spent a bit of money on yarn. This IS my favorite yarn shop. Kelly is great to deal with, the yarns are quite nice, and the "stuff" that we knitters need? It's plentiful!

I went by myself, and I probably should have thought about that for a bit. I haven't been feeling well, and Morris is a ways from my house. 

Neon Flower

Sure enough, I started feeling a little "off" about half-way home. Took a reading and according to my sister, I'm now also throwing PVC (premature ventricular contractions). Lovely.

Back to knitting... So here's the Fluromania colorway I have. It's "Neon Flower." It's going to be wild. Seriously, the picture doesn't do it justice with the way it pops in real life. Kelly is holding 2 more for me: Ocean and Berry, I believe. 

It's a little different. I'm doing these in a plain pattern, with a K2, P2 ribbing instead of K1, P1. I also chose US size 1 DPNs and I cast on 72 stitches. Usually, I'm a 64-stitches gal, but also I'm using 2.5-ish or so...

Bright start...

I think that the 72-cast on will be fine. It's a much smaller needle; truly, the smallest I've knitted on since I knitted 3 rows of a "baby afghan" on two size-00 needles.

Which I gave away. And now that I know - I wish I'd have had sense enough to keep them... Oy. Live and learn.

So I did the usual 6-row knit-around for the cuff, and it's looking interesting at any rate.

All Hubby said was, "Well, those are gonna be bright!"

The other stuff I bought is pictured below. 

Do I need it? Of course....(maybe not). 

I bought more sock yarn. I'm on a roll. I think it's because I've finally got socks "in my hand" and they're becoming a great take-along project. It's summer. I know that I owe Kid #2 his afghan, but really - even though the house is air-conditioned, I don't really feel like working on an afghan.

He knows it's in progress. He's seen it. 

Trekking

So. We have more Trekking. Now that I have the Karbonz size 1 DPNs, I think this will be nicer than the Teal Socks. I am toying with the idea of perhaps a cable down the cuff of these? I have to look for a pattern for simple cabled socks. 

I love the colors. And I don't think that the cable would be "too much" with the colorway. I could also do the Twisted Rib like I did with the Madelaine Tosh "Franken-sock." 

Yes. This time I'll write down what I did with the heel. Thanks for reminding me...

And there's more Opal. This is still the Little Prince colorway, but it's a different color - I can't remember which number it is; it's in the bag in my office at home. It's brighter, and has blue in it, which my last Little Prince socks didn't have. 

Opal

This reminds me of a beach towel. Don't know why. But the other Opal Little Prince reminds me of autumn. 

Since this one is very definitely a self-patterning yarn, I will again do a plain vanilla sock. 

By the time I finish this, I should be able to do a Plain Vanilla Sock in my sleep. Which is nice, I think. 

At least memorizing a pattern will be good for my brain. I think I can do everything to the heel in my head. At least till the heel turn, since I have mostly memorized The Doris Heel.

I also purchased the Fish Lips Kiss heel pattern from Ravelry. That may end up on the next pair of Opal socks. Not sure yet. 

Shawl-to-be

This is Cascade Ultra Pima. A while back, I used their stunningly gorgeous garnet color for my friend Janet's prayer shawl. This is Jade. And this is the pattern I am doing: The Miami Beach Shawl. It's a free download and also, (yay!) not charted. 

Check out the awesome shawl pin I got from the shop. I figure that if I get the whole thing, it'll be the next thing on my needles.

Go ahead. Laugh if you want. At the rate I'm going, I could potentially use this as the project I knit while recuperating from the atrial ablation. 

Lord knows I'll need something to keep my mind busy. 

My Friday...

So here's a lovely look at my lovely Friday (yes, tomorrow). 

At 7:30 a.m. I have a board meeting/annual meeting at which I'll be named president of the organization's board of directors. It's a one-year term. I have to run out of there, speed drive home and change for a... 

10:30 a.m. interview with a committee of colleagues who are in charge of hiring for the academic advisor position I've applied for. Then, at... 

11:30 a.m., I spend an hour with the Dean of the adult accelerated program. Who also happens to be Special Assistant to the Provost. And buddies with the person who decided to flip my life head-over-heels.

Then, just for fun... at 2:30 p.m. I meet with the cardiologist to talk about the upcoming surgery. Hubby will be there with a notebook in hand. Because I'm telling you: my brain will shut down right about when the doc says, "It's a 5-hour procedure..."

Then, at 6:30 p.m. I have a guitar lesson. Which is likely to be the highlight of my day...

Luckily, I don't have to work on Saturday. 

But I do have a wake on Saturday. It's also the day I'd planned to whip down to Le Mouton Rouge to pick up those 2 extra Fluro skeins. I'll see how that goes. It'll be another trip down there by myself, because if I go with "The Girls" it'll take too long. It may be that I can go Tuesday, with "The Girls" since we haven't seen each other in a long while. 

If the call doesn't come for Tippi from Children's Advocacy Center. 

The wake is for the FIL of my friend Nat. It's a short one, with a private burial, and I really want to make sure I get there. 

Susan B. Anthony...

This is my new Facebook picture. I love this quote. Especially these days, when we're having a lot of trouble (in my opinion) with folks shoving their religion in our faces. 

It reads:  I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.

You tell it, sister.

See, I'm a religious person. I have no problem with other religious people. I just do not believe that the United States of America has a "state religion." 

Those Founders that the ultra-right-tea-baggieez are always beating us with? They clearly said that there was to be separation of church and state. 

I'm also not really fond of politicians saying, "God Bless America" after speeches. I think that's disrespectful to atheists and agnostics. For cryin' out loud: Even Pope FRANCIS says that they should be respected.

And I love that a woman said this. Particularly since women are usually on the receiving end of men's  proclivity to regulate and "religious-ulate" our reproductive rights and even our working and personal rights. Hey - I'd like to make the same wage a man makes. It would be cool.

And please. If you don't have my plumbing, you aren't allowed to legislate against it. 

The Storms...

Clouds from the southwest

So this happened. I went to the back of the campus to put a note on the board yesterday morning... And in 5 minutes, the outside looked like this. 

More clouds

The weather alarm didn't go off, but it was totally dark, and the wind whipped up something fierce. 

It started with a couple of plops of rain, a clap or two of thunder and then some pretty nasty lightning. 

The lights flickered briefly but we didn't lose power. 

Then it started bucketing. It didn't last long, but it was fierce. We apparently just got skimmed with that system that spawned a couple of twisters up north of us. 

There's more in the forecast for today, and I'm hoping it holds off till I get home, and settled in with my knitting. 

The rest of the clouds

What's fascinating is the cloud formations. They're pretty cool. It was another adventure in "How fast nature changes" and it was awesome to witness. I was particularly concerned about that batch from the southwest, since that's usually where tornado activity initiates.

And last night's yoga class was punctuated by yet another storm. Of course, I was by the window. Try holding Adho Mukha Svanasana (down dog to the civilians) while thunder and lightning are popping all over... It's a study in concentration, for sure. 

As I start to clear out 8 years of "stuff" from the campus, I'm feeling melancholy, and the clouds kind of reflect what I'm feeling. 

I don't know if I'll get the job I'm interviewing for. I told my boss the other day that I wished with all my heart that she or someone else would call and say, "You all are moving to the new location" -- but I think that she and I are the only ones who think that that's a good idea. 

She's pitching something for my assistant, for which I'm really grateful. But one thing is for sure. 

I'm really tired of having to reinvent myself. 

I thought I'd have a home in this job for a long, long time. And maybe for some folks, 8 years IS a long, long time. But not for me. 

Bad Karma...

So this other thing happened. A student bounced a check for a private yoga lesson. Then, my bank (which happens to be the student's bank) ran it again and it bounced AGAIN. So. No fee for the lesson and TWO bounce-fees. I've asked the student (strongly) to pay me in cash, ASAP. According to the last communication, this should be accomplished by next week. I gave the student 5 days, which I'm told is "much too nice."

My studio owner - well, this is her hot-button issue. There's a sign in the studio with the student's name and "cash only" on it. I don't know that I'd have done that, but it's her studio. She really doesn't want to have to chase people for fees. And I get that. We shall see.

If the student doesn't come forward with what's owed, I will (sadly) be reporting this to the police. It sounds harsh, but it is, after all, a business. 

If the student had called and said, "I need to change the lesson date and time" it would have been fine and I would never have thought that it was perhaps that money was tight. It's more honorable in that instance to do that -- rather than write a check you can't cover. 

You want to trust people. And it stinks when you find out that you can't trust them as often as you would like to. 

Blowing coat

Random Picture...

This is Tippi. Or what's coming OFF Tippi. She's blowing coat. So is Quinn, but to a much lesser extent. 

Raisa is, too, a bit. But not near this amount... However, NEXT year, she'll be on par with Tippi, if not more.

And no. I'm not saving it this time. I haven't even started anything with the Five-Dog-Yarn that I have.

But I've found a lovely lace shawl that will fit that yarn nicely.

It's on my list. 

I was going to go put another box of stuff into the car. But then I realized I had 2 cans of upholstery cleaner in there.

I don't think I need to have them explode. It's a cloudy day, but the car interior heats up nevertheless.

I guess it's time to save this, post it and take a toddle around the office. 

Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine - and More

Hopefully, Blogger will behave itself with the fonts. I write in "Georgia" and it posts in "Arial" - or at least it did yesterday. Like a dart in my little editor's heart!!

Good Vibes...

Fluffy Corgi

Please spare a few good vibes for my boss and hubby. They're having "the talk" about their ailing Corgi - it's a situation so many of us have been in and it's one of the hardest things you do. 

Laddie is a typical Corgi, but he's a "fluffy." And HE thinks he's a cross between a Great Pyr and an Irish Wolfhound. Lots of dog in a little package, you know? Anyway, she's all torn up, just as you'd expect. 

This is not Laddie, but it's a picture in case you wanted to know what a "fluffy" Corgi is. Apparently, it's an anomaly of the coat, where it's a little more puffy than normal.

Hollywood Greats...

Not confusing humans or dogs, but we old movie (or "classic" movie, if you want) fans are mourning the deaths of both Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine. My favorite Peter O'Toole moments? Well, there's the scene in Lawrence of Arabia where he's totally immersed in how he looks and his reflection in the knife. And the classic --- CLASSIC --- scene between him and The Great Kate in The Lion in Winter where ... well, heck. The ENTIRE movie. The chemistry between O'Toole and Hepburn just blows your hair back. I can't pick a favorite scene in that movie. 

I wish I could either remember or find the quote about the cleaners. He was being interviewed and he said he'd like his epitaph to be something along the lines of a note he found in a jacket from his cleaners, when they couldn't get a spot out. I believe the note said something like, "We always hope our work is satisfactory." 

Joan Fontaine -- Honestly, the only 2 movies that stand out for me are Rebecca and Suspicion. Apparently, her director in Rebecca kept her so frazzled that a good portion of the nervousness and anxiety that she so clearly displayed was real. Cruel of the director, though. Of course, that director was Alfred Hitchcock. A right stinker he was! Come to think of it, he probably used the same technique in the other movie, but she was much less "Nervous Nellie" in that movie. 

I always wonder what the script said in Rebecca, since even in the book, you never know the character's name! It's always a nickname, as in "Dear" or "Darling" or in the case of Mrs. Van Hopper, "You" or "My girl." So did the script indicate Fontaine's lines by putting "Second Mrs. DeWinter"?? 

Does this make three, if you're counting Paul Walker? Who - by the way - I'd never heard of. But I prefer older movies to the new stuff, and I wouldn't watch any of the current action films now anyway.

I prefer my movies to have plot and characters. Not special effects, gratuitous sex and violence, and noise. 

The Pope...

So of course, you all know that Rushbag has castigated Pope Francis and has loudly proclaimed that Francis' Evangelii Gaudium is "pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope" and that parts of the document were "dramatically, embarassingly, puzzlingly wrong." 

Because Rush knows a Marxist when he sees one, right? And Rush has  --oh, oh, wait for it -- NEVER graduated from college. Check this out... OK, I know - a college degree isn't the be-all and end-all, but let's get a clue here, folks.

Pope Francis is educated. He holds a master's degree in chemistry as well as degrees in philosophy and theology. Jesuits aren't dummies. And you know what else? They're trained to question. And to argue. Till the cows come home!! 

According to today's Trib, Francis has a pithy answer to his critics: He says he was not speaking "as a technician but according to the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and this does not mean being a Marxist." So besides Rush, he's got the conservative Catholic bloc spewing split pea soup (Exorcist reference, folks). They think he's too "progressive."

He's not. He's still anti-women-priests, anti-birth-control, and against adoption by gay couples. That's still pretty conservative. 

Still. He seems to be making some strides, even if those strides include starting the conversations. I'd still pay to see him take Rush apart, but I know he wouldn't. He is the bigger man here. 

Knitting...

Swatch #2

Swatch #2 is drying. We'll see. I will start back on #2 Pink Sock. I probably should have waited till the yarn un-kinked, because you can see a couple of wonky spots. Hopefully, with a long soak in Eucalan and being pinned to the board, it'll kind of remedy that. 

I think (fingers crossed) that the size 7 needles might do the trick. By the way, I was wrong. They're not Addi bamboo. They're Takumi. I should have known because Addi cables are a pale blue. These have a clear cable. 

So in a day or so, I should be able to cast on. I've read the first part of the pattern. Well, actually, I've read the whole thing. Some of it freaks me out, but that's half the fun of knitting. I have knitting buddies who can help me when I get stuck. 

Speaking of those knitting buddies, I got them some Indigo Wild goat's milk soap - the 3-bar variety. I hope they like them. It's great soap and I think the scents I picked out were nice and fragrant, but won't knock you over. 

Rand Paul...

...is a liar. And stupid. Don't chastise me about calling names. The man doesn't have the sense God gave my canary. 

He's spouting off about "99 weeks of unemployment" and first off, telling everyone who gives him a platform that being on that much unemployment they somehow transform into leeches of the system. 

Really? When my kid was laid off for almost 2 years, he brought home just about $250-$275 per week. And he lived in my basement because he couldn't afford anything else. Oh yeah, he was just rolling in the dough, Rand. 

And second, once again --- let's talk about "research." According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, only THREE states allow people to be on unemployment over 70 weeks. Illinois, Rhode Island and Nevada. And that's because their unemployment rates are somewhere around 9% as opposed to anything lower in the other states. 

And those other states? The number of weeks you're allowed to be on unemployment varies. But nowhere in the entire United States are you going to be on unemployment 99 weeks. 

Sooooooooo - Rand. If you just let your fingers do the Google, you would find this nifty little chart here. That chart outlines those FACTS that I pointed out above. You know facts. Those things you like to either ignore or just plain lie about. 

Like the fact that, for every ONE job opening, there are roughly 3 unemployed people applying for it. In Big Numbers, it looks like this: in early December, there were about 10.9 MILLION people unemployed. At the end of October, there were only 3.9 million job openings. Math, people. There's a gap of about 7 million people, assuming that each of those 3.9 million jobs gets filled by a qualified person. 

So, according to Rand, those 10.9 million people aren't going to climb walls or cross croc-infested waters to get a shot at those jobs. Which, by the way, they would. If they had a snowball's chance in an Illinois August. And according to Rand, even if those 3.9 million jobs were filled, in his view those extra 7 million people would just sit and collect those big fat unemployment checks. 

Heck, according to Rand, he probably thinks that those of us who are working are just DYING to go on unemployment and slurp from the government trough. 

Like I said. An idiot. And lazy, to boot... Didn't bother doing any research. Just got the talking points memo and went with it. 

The End of the Baking...

Before...

Here's the before and after of my Granny's rugelach-like cookie. Yes, I ate some. And yes, I probably would've eaten more, but I'm trying to be good. 

I'm the only one who makes these. My kids know how to do it, but they haven't yet. 

Kid #2 has done about 50% of the baking. Technically, I could do a set of Snow on the Mountain cookies, but I'm not sure we need them. I have a couple of "tossed-in" recipes I made that I didn't have on The List. Those include cream cheese mints and a pan of Cranberry Biscotti. 

We should have enough. I always say that, and then I bake twice as much as we need...

This is a rolled sweet dough with a dab of pineapple preserve in it. I've had rugelach, and they've had apple filling. These are yummy. And delicious.

After

And a major pain in the butt to make. You have to make the dough and let it sit overnight. Then roll it out on sugar, cinnamon and ground nuts. And then cut it, dab it, roll it and bake it.

And the fun doesn't stop there!! It's so sugary that the stuff often melts, creating a hotter-than-boiling caramel which will trash the cookies if you don't get them off the pan immediately. I use parchment paper. And parchment also on the cooling rack so that they don't stick to the rack. 

And I look forward to them every Christmas.

Tomorrow is The Day of Potica with Kid #1. The kitchen table is cleaned off (I don't have enough counter space to roll on the counter, and I'm too short to do that well anyway!). My recipe is at hand, and I've looked at the inventory. I have everything I need (except, perhaps, enough freezer space...) and I think we're ready to go. 

I've washed my hands about a dozen times this morning. Time to go find some high-powered hand lotion. That may put the skids on the knitting for now, but I have to do something with these hands before I pick up my guitar again - otherwise my fingers will split. 

My mom is making Rosettes this year. This is totally off the wall. The rosettes are something we did a lot as kids. Well, of course, that was in the days before fried food was a "no-no." Here's a recipe, and to say this is out of our cultural comfort zone is to put it mildly. I don't have irons anymore. Mom's got her original set. Which means that in a few years, I'll have them. We take a dab of strawberry preserves and dot it in the center of the flower or snowflake. Oh, first comes the powdered sugar. 

Nobody should wear black on Christmas, I guess! 

Random Picture...

Mixed Greens Wreath

This is what the wreath looks like at 5 a.m. It snowed again last night, and I was outside cleaning up. It wasn't a ton of snow, but I didn't feel like hauling the garbage cans through snow...

The wreath is real - mixed, about 4 different kinds of greens, which I like. I had the bow. And Hubby bought the small LED lights. It's very pretty. 

So far, no more snow, but I'm hopeful. There's a Special Weather Statement that says we could be in for a "quick burst" of snow this afternoon and early evening. "Moderate to briefly heavy" snow! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! Sorry. Ahem. Anyway, it may start in the next hour or so, and should still only be about 1/2" or so.

But it'll occur right about at rush hour. Which makes me wonder whether or not I'll have any students tonight for yoga. I didn't last week, but we had a pretty nasty cold snap. If this keeps up, I'm going to be bummed. 

Is it stalking if I e-mail my students  and ask them what's up? Problem is, lots of times, yoga goes away over the holidays and possibly will come back after the New Year for all those folks setting resolutions. But the studio's rent doesn't stop. And that worries me. I love teaching 5 minutes from my house. 

Well, if they don't show up, I guess I have extra time to start working on that thesis for my teacher training. I'm trying to pace myself. 

Always Keep Your Receipt...

...particularly when dealing with a small business. Even though I'm a "frequent flyer" with our local health food store, I tried to return something and even though it had their sticker on it and was unopened, I was unable to do so.

Dulcimer Society

I guess the owner means it when she says, "No refunds or exchanges without receipt." On the other hand, I got a good bit of advice on vegan meal replacements. No, I'm not a vegan. But I do use meal replacements regularly. And I like being able to figure out the ingredients without a chemistry degree. 

Oh well. I'll still shop there. Only I'll definitely put my receipts in my wallet. 

Blogger...

I had a good 1/3 of a post and Blogger ate it. What's up with that??? I'm not happy. Maybe I need to blog in Word and then paste it here? I don't want to do that particularly, but I will if it eats it again.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Fluffy Scarf Project...
 

Seven Scarves a-Fluffing...

 Drum roll, please.  They. Are. Done. In time for Advent, though we'll use them for Christmas. The picture shows what seven (yes, SEVEN) fluffy scarves look like, piled up on Arlo's table. Arlo is the canary, if you recall... They go nicely with our Cubbie blue choir robes. 

Now, I can concentrate on the socks. The Nephew Afghan. Kid #2 Ripple - which I'm doing as a housewarming present. It was supposed to be high school graduation. Then college. Now, it's when he moves out. It'll get done, never fear. I've started it. 

And that cardigan I want to cast on over Christmas. And any other random WIP that falls out of the closet. I am now on a yarn diet. Go ahead, laugh. And please remind me of that when I post a picture of a yarn I "had to have." I've got enough sock yarn stashed, and since that doesn't count in the "tally of calories" of stash, I'm still good. 

Politics...

Where, oh where can I start?? How about with our local folk hero, Pope Francis? (I'm hoping that by occasionally hitting the "save" button, I won't lose this one!) In the 11/27/13 Chicago Tribune, the headline above the fold was "Pope decries unequal wealth." Pope Francis wrote a 50,000-word papal statement that condemns the "idolatry of money" and specifically states that "trickle-down economics" doesn't work. The man's a Jesuit. He's smart. And he's the only Pope so far that has exactly enunciated the error of the Republican mantra of trickling. The only thing that trickles down, folks, is the crap. And it's not even GOOD crap. It's just crap. Here's his quote below; I tried to get the link, but it's in the "digital plus" section for subscribers, and I'm not sure it would come through. 

"Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting." 

This is why uber-conservative Catholic heads are exploding. And there's more...


Pope Francis is apparently sending out his "troops" to get off their rear ends and go help the poor. Click here to see what he's up to. The Swiss Guard is being asked to go out into the night and help the homeless and the hungry. And rumor has it that Francis is out there, too. He did it back in Argentina and now, even though nobody's saying, he might be doing it in Rome, too. Go Pope. 

Editorial Cartoon

Please breathe fresh air into a badly struggling Roman Catholic Church. My very conservative BIL would argue this fact, but it's undeniable. Simply by anecdote, so many of our friends have done what we have: they've left. For more reasons than the pedophile scandal, and they're sad. Catholics carry lots of guilt...well, those pew jockey folks do. Apparently the Cardinals don't. But that's between them and God. 

This move of Francis' is very "Shoes of the Fisherman" and I hope he keeps it up. I desperately hope it's more than window dressing. The Church needs him. By the way, that's one of my favorite movies. If you haven't seen it, please do. It's a little dated, but it's still a cool story. 

And on to my favorite thing. Another article on Congress and its perks. In the 11/30/13 issue of the Trib, there's this story: "VIP dose of health service in Congress." Click on the headline there and read it. I'll hand you a tissue when you're ready. The distillation of this stuff is this: When those congress members do sign up with the District of Columbia health exchange (the one designated for them), their experience has been "better than those of average consumers." Yeah, I know - you saw that one coming. They get more generous benefit packages, VIP customer service and the same government-subsidized (that means you and I pay for that...) premiums that they've always had. And they get 112 gold-plated packages to pick from. 

One Hundred Twelve. Gold-Plated. You and I get to choose from about 34. 

Some of them don't need the insurance; some are veterans, many are old enough for Medicare and some have it from their spouses. Fine. But don't go crying that it's "sticker shock" that your premiums are higher. You make more. The average is $174,000 per year. 

The subsidies are for poor people. People who make less than the Federal Poverty Guideline. A LOT less. Like, a family of four (FOUR), making about $23,000. Per year. Do the math. 

And Bonehead? Quit whining about how you couldn't get on the system. You've enrolled. And you got really lucky with your premiums since you're an old white guy who smokes. Of course, they've dinked with the rules. Members and staff can STILL get subsidies to help pay for their premiums. Those subsidies you and I pay for help pay as much as 75% of their premiums. 

Ready for that tissue yet? 

On the upside, Kentucky is doing just fine, thanks. Old Mitchy will have to eat his already unintelligible words. Click here to see the Washington Post article. They're signing up like crazy. Out of the estimated 640,000 uninsured in the state, over 56,400 have gotten signed up "lickety-spit" as Hubby would say, either by being qualified for Medicaid, Medicare, or getting a subsidy for premiums. For some of them, it's the first time in their lives they've had insurance. Kudos to their governor for having brains and not quailing. 

Dulcimers...

Let's eat!

So this past Sunday I attended a concert at our church which was put on by the local Dulcimer Society. I love dulcimers. I mostly like the hammer dulcimer; these were picked, but it was nice. We had a soup-and-sandwich reception afterwards. I took a few pictures, and it was nice to see everyone outside of Mass. Check out the picture of the group at the top of my post. All of their dulcimers are hand-made.

I love this church. We're small but mighty. We're partnering with the Methodist Church next door for their Toys for Tots program. Toys for Tots goes up to about age 12. Our church has taken on the 13-17 year old kids, since they're too old for the program. The parents get to shop in the Methodist Church basement and we have carols and cookies for them. 

I love this. I mean, this church DOES things. The dulcimer concert had a free-will offering which went to Adopt-A-Platoon. We have adopted a soldier. We donate weekly to the local food pantry. I was a Catholic my whole life, up till almost 2 years ago. I'm so glad I have found a home and that it feeds my desire for service as well as providing a spiritual life. 

First Amendment...

As long as we're talking about church, here's what Clarence Page has to say about the spate of lawsuits by religious organizations and corporations run by people who profess a religious faith (which are two different things, in my opinion) in regard to having to implement the Affordable Care Act. Thomas Jefferson himself - one of those Founders that the Tea Party repeatedly tries to bash us over the head with - said that because belief "lies solely between man and his god, the legislative powers of the government reach actions only, and not opinions." Page says that government "should not intrude on religious FAITH, but for the sake of the common good, it occasionally must intervene in acts that are motivated by religious BELIEF." (my emphasis) 

This is where Citizens United gets into the act. If corporations are people, according to that misbegotten piece of garbage law, then they should have the rights of a person, right? Well, the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals says no. They said, "Corporations do not pray, worship, observe sacraments or take other religiously motivated actions separate and apart from the intention and direction of their individual actors." 

In English, corporations don't sit in pews. Read Page's editorial. It's a good, clear explanation. I thought I saw that SCOTUS refused to hear a case, which is here. Apparently, Hobby Lobby is still in the wings.

The 2013 Ornaments...

Those are also done. Yep, I'm on a roll. Just have to get the baking cracking - and I will as soon as I have freezer space. Hubby is supposed to defrost the small freezer for me, and I'm hoping that gives me some room. 

2013 Ornaments

Remember, I posted them "in progress" -- well, I finished them up and Kid #1 took his (the pale blue ball in the upper left). In a weird bit of coincidence, Kid #1's ornament I made this year matches his Hallmark ornament - which is a blue and white 1957 Chevy coupe. 

And in yet another bit of holiday weirdness, so does Kid #2's... a red angel and his ornament is that red one next to the blue one. 

Normally, of course, I make them till the respective nephew or niece hits age 18. But the fact that my kids are asking? Well, how do you refuse that? 

Kid #1 is putting up his first Christmas tree. Let's see if Larry-the-Cat will let the tree alone. She's my grand-cat. Yes, I know. Larry was Larry when The Kid adopted her, and we knew nothing about cats. Larry proceeded to have 5 kittens on The Kid's bed, so now we know. And Larry is fixed. But we're not sure what her experiences with Christmas trees may have been. This ought to be interesting. 

Yes, I'm also listening to Sirius Holly channel. Sorry - I like Christmas music. Just not in October! 

Does Anyone Know...

Why my office ficus would drop its leaves? It was donated to me by a friend; it was "trimmed" by her hubby and I re-potted it almost a month ago, so transplant shock should be gone by now. It's in a south-facing window; she was helping me decide where to put it. 

I was going to put some small lights on it for Christmas, but now I'm not sure it's a good idea since it appears to drop leaves pretty frequently. I do water it; it's been fertilized with fish fertilizer and it's in a nice-sized pot. 

Any help appreciated!! 

Random Picture...

This is the centerpiece from the dulcimer concert food table. It's pretty and I love that it's Christmas but not the typical colors. While I've decorated our office with traditional colors, I'm not against using those that are non-traditional - although what's 'traditional' lately is perhaps up for grabs. 

 I was actually going to change my profile picture, but I'm still in the midst of the 16 Days of Activism campaign and I don't want to change from that just yet. 

We haven't done any decorating yet. We're likely to do something relatively modest at home because Hubby hasn't been feeling well. 

We'll put the tree on the table again, and probably the ceramic tree in my office (stored on a top shelf) will make it to the TV set, but I'm not sure what I want to do for the rest of it. A nativity set will be somewhere. Not sure where, though. I hope I can find the one Kid #1 painted for me when I was in the hospital delivering Kid #2 (a Christmas baby...).  I'd like to have Kid #1 make a stable for me - the set needs one. 

Well, thankfully, Blogger didn't eat THIS post, so I'm going to publish while I have the chance. 

Where's The Ribbon for THIS Cancer?

Sorry I'm a day behind, but for a day where I had "nothing planned" it was awfully busy. More on that later.

So yesterday's Chicago Tribune had a front page article entitled, "Stigma adds to burden of lung cancer patients" and it described a woman who is 31 years old and has lung cancer.

And before you sniff, no, she was NOT a smoker. And that's the biggest reason you won't see anyone sporting ribbons (there's even controversy about the color of the "lung cancer" ribbon) during November.

Which is, by the way, Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Who'da thought? While October is awash in pink, there's not a peep about lung cancer in November. Of course, we're all having "The War on Christmas" (snort) - and the true "war on Thanksgiving." But not a peep about lung cancer.  

Statistics are pretty grim. According to the American Lung Association, lung cancer is the SECOND most diagnosed cancer. Yet it's the MOST COMMON cause of cancer death. 

And the stigma around the disease is much like the nicotine-covered stench of cigarette smoke. Just today, I read an obit in the Trib about Carol Cooling-Kopp, who was the special events chief at WMAQ, a local channel. She died, at age 56, of lung cancer, and here's a paragraph from her obit:

"Mrs. Cooling-Kopp, 56, died of lung cancer Wednesday, October 30, at her Arlington Heights home, said her brother Jim Cooling, who noted she was a nonsmoker."

And the gal in the article yesterday, Meghan O'Brien, the 31-year-old who was diagnosed with Stage Four lung cancer (there IS no "stage 5" by the way), notes that while her cancer is the result of a rare genetic mutation, she is often asked, "Are you sure you didn't smoke?" -- as if you'd forget something like that. 

There's no funding equal to that of breast cancer, and there's that stigma that lung cancer people "brought this on themselves."

Why am I so het up about this? Well, for a couple of reasons. The first was a friend, by the name of Reverend Barb Donica, who died in her 40s of lung cancer. She never smoked. 

The second is my mother. She never smoked either, and she's very much alive. With emphysema. Thanks to my dad, who DID smoke. And who died of pancreatic and liver cancer. 

People often ask my mother if she smoked. And they don't always believe her when she says no. Much like my friend Barb..."Are you SURE you've never smoked?" 

Unfortunately for Ms. O'Brien, her cancer has already invaded other organs. I am sad for a young woman who hasn't even begun to live her life. I'm sad for my friend who died, leaving small children. And I'm sad for my mother because, even though I don't know of any correlation between emphysema and lung cancer, the fact that she lived with my father for over 35 years, God alone knows whether she may eventually contract lung cancer thanks to second-hand smoke.

The symptoms of lung cancer can be vague -- just like our good buddy "Ovarian Cancer." You can have the typical constant cough, be breathless and have lots of bronchitis.

Or you can have headaches, lose your appetite or have blood clots. Ms. O'Brien, a physical education teacher, by the way, had a backache. 

Cancer sucks, to use the vernacular. Why on earth would we penalize cancer patients even more by looking at them cross-eyed as if to say, 'You deserve this, buddy'? Support the American Lung Association and do your research. And if you can figure out what the ribbon is supposed to look like, please wear it. Do it for someone you love, because according to the latest statistics, lung cancer is projected to kill nearly 160,000 people this year in the US - more than colon, breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancers COMBINED. Combined. In 2012, the National Cancer Institute spent almost twice as much on breast cancer research as on lung cancer. 

Yet, lung cancer is the one you will likely die from. 

Knitting...

So yesterday, I awoke (at 4 a.m., thanks. Urgh) to a day in which I had no meetings, no appointments, no errands... a very rare free day. And I was busier than a one-armed paperhanger (one of my dad's favorite sayings). 

I decided to do some things, and actually did them. Knitting was not among those things. 

But I did finish the charity afghan!! Hubby will be taking the picture today. It looks lovely, actually.

Didn't pick up the needles otherwise. So today, being the day before Thanksgiving, I have my knitting at work. Let's face it - they're letting everyone out early, no traditional classes are being held, and the only reason I'm here, frankly, is that I had to let the HVAC guys in. And I may not stay anyway... I have more comp time than I can use, so I may as well take advantage of it.

Baking...

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 The Baking has begun. Yesterday, it was double batches of carrot cookies and Aunt Mary's Oatmeal Cookies. My real, really truly Great-Aunt Mary's recipe. See the card??? 

The Carrot Cookies are a random addition, and that's because we had a lot of carrots leftover from the garden. I can't really taste the carrots in them; but they are a nice quick cookie. They also freeze well. 

I made a plate for the elder guy next door and we'll bring it over. I will also make some carrot pineapple bread for later. 

There's also a good chance that I'll make some Kolachy too. They're a cream-cheese-based dough with a thumbprint where you put fruit filling. Yummy. 

I think Kid #2 might be doing his baking today, but if he's not, then I'm going to press on. I think I'm going to knock one cookie off my list. I've been teaching the kids the "Family Traditionals" because you really have to be shown. Those recipes are often ingrained in a granny's memory, and you have to watch what's done because nobody wrote them down. I want to write them down, and show the kids. They can even video it if they want!

Since we're doing potica this year, I will knock off the Roski. Heck, ONE recipe of that makes 100 of them!!! So we don't need to do those this year. We can do them next year. 

For Aunt Mary's recipe, all I changed was that I added golden raisins and I added some cardamom to the recipe. They're kind of Plain Jane oatmeal cookies, and my usual style is "garbage cookies" which everyone loves. But I thought I'd try these again. I like adding the golden raisins. Otherwise, it's her recipe. 

The secret (which isn't so secret, actually) is that you simmer the raisins till they plump up and use the raisin-water in the batter. I stuck a cinnamon stick in the water. 

Aunt Mary's Recipe

The Pope...

Ok, I could like this guy. Seriously. Not enough to re-join the Roman Catholic Church, but enough to be thankful that he seems to be just as much - if not more - fresh air as John XXIII.... Remember, John was also an outlier and he ushered in Vatican II. Which, of course, many traditionalists would like to abolish. 

Here's his latest, and I love it. Everyone knows what actually "trickles down" with trickle-down theories of economics. And he puts it ever-so-elegantly. And makes a point, thank you very much, Your Holiness. This paper has been reported on in just about every major news outlet, as it should be. 

And of course, the uber-right-wing has heads exploding all over the place. Because (sputter, sputter, sputter) he's NOT RIGHT. Trickle down HAS TO work, because St. Ronnie said it would. But it doesn't and it's been debunked by actual professors and people with lots of education. 

2013 Ornaments in progress

This Pope is more "Jesus-oriented" in terms of who Jesus really was and what He did. Pope Francis is also very "Francis-like" because to my mind, St. Francis was an embodiment of Jesus in his writings and his actions. 

Good for him. The Catholic Church needs him. 

Ornaments...

The ornaments progress. They're all painted. But they're not finished, so I will take another shot after they're all nice and pretty. 

There are fewer, yet I am having trouble finding them! Michael's doesn't carry the selection they have advertised and I suppose I'll have to go to the Internets... I like to try to have a theme for each kid, but this year, Maya gets a plain one (the blue one with stars). If I can find some jewels, I'll glue those onto the middle of the stars for her. She had been "angels" but I couldn't find any. 

Yes, I probably should have counted up and bought them when I had the chance. I've been doing this for nearly 30 years, though, so please...when I needed to buy them up, I didn't have the money. Now that I have the money, they're hard to find. 

Random Picture...

Knit Knitche

This is a really crummy picture of my "knitting knitche" (and yeah, I know it's spelled wrong). This is where I spend my knitting time, and I really need to clean it off today. Perhaps when I get home, that will be done, since it's on my Big Honkin' To Do List. 

Along with finding time to wrap Hubby's birthday gift and fish out a card for him... I can distract him by having him wrap presents. That's it. That's a plan! 

I will also get at least one Fluffy Scarf going. I only have two of them left. 

And because I've managed to pack on some turkey pounds I will Step Away From The Fridge today. Knitting will help. 

Baking will not, unfortunately...