It's Serious, Folks...

We are seriously in "yarn chicken" here... I have 14-ish rows to go on the Close to You Shawl. And this is all the yarn I have left... 

I'm praying and knitting really fast (fast for me, I mean). Because it's a proven knitting theory that if you knit faster, the yarn will all work out. Plenty of knitting bloggers have said so, and I'm going to believe them. 

See, this pattern takes 400-420 yards of yarn. I have 400. Of course, I didn't bother to check gauge, because the pattern says gauge isn't really an issue. Well, actually, what it says is "gauge isn't crucial but will affect your yardage."

I'm going with "gauge isn't crucial" and knitting fast. That works. 

I hope. 

If I get too stressed out, I'll switch back to the Green Travelling Socks. Socks are always good for regaining your knitting confidence if it's been battered by the Gauge Gorgon... 

I've actually gotten a few more rows on the Green socks. I'd been bringing them everywhere, and dang it all -- I'm knitting on those things. I want that bag empty and I want socks. Still - I have reservations about the colorway. 

I'm not even sure why I bought it. I must have felt SOMETHING when I bought the yarn. Or was it just the compulsion to buy sock yarn? It's a new-ish Opal colorway, and maybe I couldn't find anything better in the collection. 

No. That can't be right...

Opal always has a colorway that I like. At least one. Usually several. Usually, MOST of them. 

I've gotten compliments on these. Whether it's because I'm knitting socks or people really, really like the color - maybe I'm not seeing it. Maybe I'm jaded with the Plain Vanilla pattern; tired of it again. 

But really? What can you do with this colorway? I could have tried Jaywalker, which is a common zig-zag pattern. But those are notoriously tight if you have "biker calves" like I do. So I didn't want to waste my time knitting something that I can't wear. And nobody else in my family would be able to wear them -- unless I knitted them for The Kid, in his size 11 feet... Maybe I should have done that. 

That would've been great: the mile-long socks (and that's just the heel to toe)...

The Garden Giveth...

The salad I had for lunch the other day had our home-grown romaine in it. 

Let me tell you about home-grown romaine...It's very different from even the organic romaine I've been buying. 

Of course, you can't see it for the avocado and radishes. But it's got a definitely different texture. It's chewy, kind of like kale. It's got substance where the organic romaine I've been buying seems to be getting more and more "iceberg," in terms of being somewhat insubstantial and watery tasting. 

I mean, when I first started eating romaine, it was a really nice lettuce. I could definitely tell the difference from iceberg and even the spring mix I used to grow. Romaine kind of "held up" my salad. 

But not lately. It seems like the romaine has transformed and it's not as filling - or nutritious - as it used to be. 

This home-grown stuff reminds me a lot of kale. It reminds me in the way I have to slice it rather than it "cracking" -- like with the regular romaine, I can snap the leaves into fork-able chunks. This stuff, I had to kind of knife through. And I loved it. It was filling. It soaked up the dressing and made the avocado seem even creamier. And it has as much snap as the radishes. 

Win-win and we'll be growing this again!

Speaking of Food...

This is my take on Nigella's "Pancetta Orzotti." So - I was up late one night, and I watch her specials (often over and over because of the way our TV service works) because they're only a half-hour and usually enough to send me off to dreamland. 

This recipe caught my eye because it actually only takes about 15 minutes, and I love risotto. I just don't always have time to make it. Hubby can make it now, since I showed him how. But if he's pressed for time and I'm pressed for time? No risotto. 

The best thing about risotto is leftover risotto for lunch or breakfast. If not, then dinner. 

You can Google the real recipe. Here's what I did:

Bacon & Pea Orzotti

1 (12 oz) pkg. uncured bacon
2 1/2 c. frozen peas
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 box (1 lb) orzo pasta
4 c. + 1/2 c. of boiling water
1/2 stick butter (unsalted)
Ground pepper
Salt (lightly!!)
Penzey's Tuscan Sunset salt-free Italian Spice Blend
1 handful shredded Parm (fresh, not the crap in the green cardboard container!)

Chop the bacon into 1/4" (ish) pieces. Just slice it right across, and it slices better if it's half-frozen. Place it into a dutch oven or large pot. Saute over medium-high heat till crispy. 

Drain off some of the bacon fat; just have about 2-3 tablespoons left. Turn heat down to medium-low. Dump the frozen peas in, right out of the bag. Stir them around to "glaze" them with the bacon fat, and then dump in the box of orzo, stirring to glaze the pasta.

Add the chopped garlic, Penzey's and pepper. Then pour 4 cups of BOILING water over all of this, and clamp a lid on it. Turn the heat to simmer, and set the timer for 10 minutes. 

In 10 minutes, check the pot. You MAY need to add a little more water; stir it around and see if it's getting toward al dente. Clamp the lid back on and let it simmer for another minute or so, to absorb the water. You want a little bit of "juice" in the pot. 

Turn off the heat. Cut the butter into chunks and toss into the pan. Stir around to butter the peas, bacon and orzo. This will be slightly creamy, with the starchy water. Taste it - does it need salt? Add a bit. Remember, the bacon and Parm will add salt, too. 

Add a handful of Parmesan, and stir it up. Serve. Yum. 

I like to add a bit more Parm on top of mine. Yes, that's my thumb. 

So instead of a 50-minute or so journey toward risotto, this took about 15-20 minutes, start to serving. This is definitely a keeper. 

NOTES:

**You can use chopped ham with this. If you use ham, you might want to add 2 T. or so of olive oil as you saute the ham, just so it adds that "glaze" and taste of the hammy oil to the dish. 

**I will experiment with using shrimp. I think it would work with shrimp, but obviously, you don't want to saute the shrimp that long -- you'll be chewing on a rubber tire. Maybe shrimp AND a bit of bacon? Hmmmmmmmmm. 

**Change up the seasonings. You knew I was going with Penzey's, right? Try Sunny Paris or if you want heat, Arizona. 

Young Living New Product...

So I'm working on cleaning out a building because we HAVE A PRIEST!! We announced it this past Sunday, so I can tell you. She's legit and we can't wait! She starts August 1st. 

Anyway, you have no place to shower. And then when I walk at noon, there's no place to shower. 

I've got these: Seedlings (our baby line) baby wipes. I figured that if you could use it on a baby's butt, I could use it as a "freshener" after a walk or after you've cleaned out a whole room to make space for the priest's office. 

There's 72 wipes in a package. Botanicals and essential oils are tender on your skin AND on baby's tushie. The wipes are nice and thick, so if you are changing a baby? No "wipe failure" while you're cleaning up a mucky butt. 

There's no chlorine, alcohol, parabens, phtalates, mineral oil, sulfates, animal-derived ingredients, synthetic fragrances, or synthetic dyes or colorants. 

Lavender, marigold, witch hazel, coriander, aloe vera, bergamot, Ylang Ylang and geranium...smells lovely! 

I wiped my face and arms down after tackling a huge pile of brush outside and moving stuff around inside. I think I'm taking these to the Joliet Prison when I go there next week to clean up and take some photographs to document the reconstruction of the prison into a new museum. 

Interested in cleaning your baby's bum in a natural way? Interested in having another way to freshen yourself conveniently without harsh chemicals? Leave a comment here and we'll chat!

Families Belong Together...

In the midst of the heat wave,  I was out photographing at a local Families Belong Together march. It was held in a more-or-less traditionally conservative area. But we march there because we want to normalize protest and prove that everyone does indeed have a voice. 

As one of the speakers said, "Protest is patriotic." We need to speak up when we see injustice. We need to contact our legislators. We need to be vocal at town meetings and such. 

And we need to vote. In EVERY election. They all count. 

Lest you think that the community was all "white-bread" liberals, aged hippies and entitled folk, there was a bit of diversity in both the crowds and the speakers. We had a Palestinian woman who's been here for FORTY years... And still, today she's told "go back where you came from." Wait. What? She's a citizen of this country. 

Oh, yeah. She's brown. 

That apparently is the thing. The racists are out in full voice. But they're not going to win. This isn't what we aspire to be. 

Unfortunately, this is what we ARE right now. Wait - you think we're not a racist country, right? Well. What's on the news is that we are. No, not the "fake news." Those people would have you believe that everyone that's "not you" is out to get you. That, kids, is called "paranoia." And they feed people this swill. And people suck it up. 

Maybe they're afraid of their place in the world. Maybe things are changing, in their minds, at "warp speed" and they can't keep up. They're uncomfortable with the changes happening so they're lashing out and letting their inner beast loose.

And that - seriously - is what people all over the world see. The idiots in the red hats, white golf shirts, khakis and brandishing tiki torches. 

Welcome to America - version "ick." 

I don't know about you, but my family came here. My great-grandpa came over because the Russians were invading Poland. Again. He figured he didn't stand much of a chance as a farmer who'd be conscripted to fight. So he came here. He wanted a better life. He worked in mills and factories his entire working life. He was a laborer and happy to be here. 

Hubby's family has much the same story. As do a whole bunch of us in this country. Because unless you're descended from the Native Americans, or First Nations or whatever the proper name is? You're NOT a "pure-blooded" American. 

None of us are. We are all immigrants. Some of us are closer to our immigrant roots, but all in all, we are a country made up of immigrants. 

Feeding the hatred of "the other" is the LEAST Christian thing you can do. And that brings me to the next thing: Firstly, we are not now, nor have we ever been, a nation founded on the Christian religion. Check out this link about the Treaty of Tripoli. It was signed in 1796, and so far, the Current Occupant hasn't reneged on this treaty. 

Though I wouldn't be surprised...

Though he's not all that smart, so he probably hasn't had anyone tell him about it yet...


The second President of the United States, John Adams, signed it. Now that's a Founding Father. 

Read your history. Or you're destined to repeat it. As you can see, we are repeating an ugly portion of our history. 

We are shutting our borders; we are denying asylum, a legal process that has to happen in the country you're going to. Not the one you're in. 

I mean, think about it: If I'm seeking asylum in Canada, why would I seek it in Minnesota? I'd want to LEAVE Minnesota to go to Canada and then beg them to take me in, because I'm in fear of my life, or I'm being persecuted. It's a legal procedure. 

This whole thing about the families being ripped apart is so not what we're about. It's so not why this country was created. But it's so where we're at. 

Kids being held ransom for a stupid wall. 

The toddler-in-chief is effectively stomping his foot. 

And Congress has no inclination to stop him. They're busy dismantling everything they can, in terms of the EPA, social safety nets, those regulations which ensure us a modicum of safety and security, and gleefully handing us over to corporatocracies, which, thanks to Citizens United, are now "people." CU and Mitt Romney... 

For many of us, activism doesn't come easily. For some of us, we think, "Wait, haven't we done this before?" 

Yeah. We have. And it looks like we're going to keep doing it. 

Instead of my usual Random Picture at the end, I'm leaving you with a few more shots of the protest. Yes, we were trolled online and a guy in a truck was harassing some of the marchers. But they trouped on and kept their heads (and their signs) high. 

We have the right to protest. You have the right to counter-protest. You don't have the right to be a jerk. 

Truckin' Through Thursday...

...as in "truckin through the mush." 

Big news: It's snowing again. Now, I don't mean I'm all "Henny Penny" about it. Just saying that our current weather is 19*F with "feels like" at 10* and snow showers. 

Tomorrow, it turns to rain. Saturday it turns to sleet. Welcome, January. We went from -45* at the beginning of the week to Sunday's upcoming high of 40* - ABOVE zero, mind you. Darn nearly spring weather...

So now that 2014 is here, let's get back to the interesting stuff. Not that food, reading and knitting are NOT interesting, but I did take a slight holiday break from "The Insanity." Let's have some discussion, though. It's time.

Women...

From a study done by a Harvard economist which indicated that flexible hours would lessen the gender pay gap to those good ol' boy Republicans who want to legislate women back into servitude. We're head-slappingly going back to fight fights we oughtn't have to fight in this century. 

In the Chicago Tribune the other day, Professor Claudia Goldin (gasp! a WOMAN!) states that gender salary differentials "would be considerably reduced and might vanish altogether if firms did not have an incentive to disproportionately reward individuals who labord long hours and worked particular hours." 

Translation: How come women 25 - 69 years of age, working full time, still make 77% of what men earn? She says that the pay gap in industries with more flexible work schedules (science, technology, health) is smaller than that of other industries with more rigid workdays (those professions include financial and legal professions). 

"Quite simply, the gap exists because hours of work in many occupations are worth more when given at particular moments and when the hours are more continuous," says her study. Here's her solution to closing that gender pay gap: workers must get more autonomy in determining their schedules. Read the entire article here. 

I'm 55. I have worked in office settings where I had to be at a certain place at a certain time. I actually had to pay my kid's Catholic school a fee every month because I was unable to do my monthly "lunch monitor" work. Well, because I had to WORK to pay the tuition. Plus, of course, the fee for not being able to volunteer because I had to work. 

Can you see where this argument goes? Now, I have my MA and my MBA and I work a more flexible schedule. But there are still so many women stuck in "pink collar" jobs - and whether they're stuck by training or inclination, they're still stuck. And I'm not saying that we don't need those kinds of jobs. We do. 

Crap - ANY jobs now are good ones! 

That being said, why must it only be the women who've been able to break the mold of traditional office jobs who can take advantage of that lesser pay gap? Frankly, it's the ones stuck in the cube farm or in other work where the day is fairly regimented who really need the smaller pay gap. 

But of course, we're talking about women. Who, even though they are in large part major contributors to their family's incomes, are still considered "less than" by employers. Men still get more than women, for doing the same job. 

It is 2014, right? 

Of course, with jobs at a premium here in the US anyway, I suppose I shouldn't carp on it, but it bugs me that the fights that were fought in the 70s and 80s are now either being re-fought or aren't won yet. How long will this take?

Sooooooooooo... The Republicans are trying again to legislate birth control and abortion, battles we thought we'd already dealt with. Because, you know, nothing else is going on. 

But there's good news on the ACA front: Breast cancer prevention drugs must be covered. See this link and rejoice! Now, if we can get more research money toward lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer, we'd be golden. 

Yesterday on Make it Plain, I heard Dahlia Lithwick talk about Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor and her rather interesting decision regarding the Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious order with one of many ACA "I don't want your birth control mandate" lawsuits. The issue appears to be a release form. 

Here's how it goes. You object to the ACA mandate. Okey-dokey. Do you fit into one of the categories that qualify? Yes. Okey-dokey. Please sign this form. 

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, says Little Sisters. If WE sign this form then it means SOMEONE ELSE has to give our employees birth control. And we object to THAT. Their ability to give our employees birth control violates OUR religious views. Here's the story. 

Now just hang on a pea-picking moment here, good Sisters. My take on this is thus: It's none of your business what I do. If you object to providing birth control, peachy. Object. Sign the form. Move on. 

But no. You have to force YOUR religion down ANYONE else's throat. That makes no sense. Well, maybe a warped manner of sense. 

So if I object to the war (Doesn't matter which one. Pick one.) and I register that objection, then that's the end of the argument. I don't get to object to anyone else's stand in the issue. Because that slope is more slippery than an Illinois freeway right now. 

That would cause whole segments of commerce and society to collapse. 

Oh, and it would likely cause the ACA to collapse. Regardless of the good the ACA does (see the cancer drug mentioned above), regardless of the countless people it'll help. "Ye Gods and Little Fishes, we WILL NOT HAVE BIRTH CONTROL." (stomp your foot here)

Just because the Little Sisters (or insert your favorite religion here) have that belief does not entitle them to push that on anyone else. Because that, my children, is then called a theocracy. 

And let me remind you of the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli. See the first sentence? This treaty was written under the presidency of George Washington and signed under the presidency of John Adams. 

"As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion..." 

While every one of the Founding Fathers were "religious" - they were most often "deist" - they believed in a God, but nowhere is that God mentioned in the CONSTITUTION, which is our governing document. The Declaration of Independence, a lovely document, is not a governing document. Big difference. 

Fewer Republicans...

I liken this to slavery or indentured servitude. A small percentage of the people decide that they know what religion is best. And the rest of us are forced to go along with it. Remember the old movies? What the master of the house believed, everyone had to conform with. When he prayed, the servants prayed. When the plantation owner prayed, his slaves prayed. What he believed, they believed. 

Because that's what will happen if we keep to the current trend of legislating freedoms. 

Sr. Joan Speaks

How come it's "legislating freedoms" when they do it to those of us with ovaries and a uterus, but when it comes to guns it's all "restricting my rights"? 

How come y'all are "all about the fetus" but, making Sr. Joan Chittister's point, you all could give a lamb's left leg about the baby AFTER it gets here. In fact, not only that, but you slut-shame the mothers of said children as if the fathers had no earthly responsibility toward the child now living in this world surrounded by your condescending hatred of its very existence. Because it's a CHILD now, not a fetus. As if one has more value than the other. 

According to a recent Gallup poll, "record numbers" are registering as Independents. Not Republicans. Actually, the number of registered Republicans seems to be declining. Hey, when you have to have sensitivity training to deal with over 50% of the population (and that's only the gender split, not counting racial lines), then you have problems, kids. 

Now, if the Democrats could get as good of a message-making machine, we'd be golden. As an example, we have the redoubtable Chris Christie...Bridge-gate. But on Fox, nary a whisper. What Christie scandal? 

We Democrats/Progressives should have such a news network. Though we're not really into suspending belief in the face of evidence...that could be a problem. 

Polar Vortex...

Speaking of flying in the face of evidence, there's the "isn't he dead yet?" Pat Robertson claiming that global warming must be a hoax because there are no SUVs on Jupiter.

Ok. And pickles have feathers. 

Because that sentence makes as much sense as Robertson's statement. And for good measure, Hannity, Limpblow, Trump, and the rest of FakesNews chimed right in. 

"There IS NO GLOBAL WARMING because it's cold."

Ok, guys, here's the thing. GLOBAL. That means the ENTIRE world, not just the silly little bubble you seem to inhabit. See, Australia (Remember, that's on the OTHER side of the Earth) is having summer now. That's how it works. The seasons rotate and while WE have winter here in this hemisphere (follow along, it's not hard), the OTHER hemispheres have other seasons, so Australia, in its hemisphere - the SOUTHERN hemisphere - is having SUMMER. 

And they're baking. Record high temps. Heat wave. Massive problems with heat, including wildfires, bats dropping out of the trees and destruction of homes and property. That's why it's called GLOBAL warming. Because the temperatures all across the GLOBE are changing, too rapidly, and because of us stupid humans. 

So while I'm sitting here watching the snow fall in Illinois, Queensland is having a raging fire. Because of the heat wave. 

Because of global warming. 

If you're interested, here's a story on the polar vortex. 

Religion...

As if we weren't already bashing enough, right? Well, look at this video and just let the chills go up and down your arms. Scientology. Religion for profit. Urgh. 

Again, hearkening back to the news lately, it seems like we're on a crusade. Or I should say a Crusade. 

Now I'm the first one to say that, since the dawn of "reality TV" (an oxymoron of massive proportions) society and civility have been going down the flusher. But I don't think a massive swing back to "Puritania" will cure this. 

Common sense will. But as the sage said, "Common sense... isn't."

Knitting...

No pictures. Just a note that my mom likes the Nephew Afghan. I saw the bridal registry. Sorry, but I'm sticking to my own gifts: the afghan, and then I got them a convertible punch bowl/cake topper/dip thingie + a "First Christmas" ornament. Done and done. 

I'm cool with gift registries. But I'm a renegade. I'm the weird aunt who buys the kids books. Obscure books. Reading is cool. 

Oh, and I find I need to knit myself a hat. I've got a cloche pattern for a "fancy church hat" (just for fun, and I have the wool) and a really cute beanie style. I have hats; I just don't have the "right" hat and I have a ton of the grey/black/cream yarn left from the Charity Afghan. I may as well use it. 

I don't particularly care what my hats look like, because like I told Roberta from choir, I have very few (read: NONE) "cute" hats. They're all functional. 

So I've just searched something like 16 pages of "free knitting hat patterns" and I came up with several. Now to just get the time to knit one before spring...

Raisa...

Raisa, f/k/a "Dolly"

We had the home visit. It went fine, for the most part. There were a few stumbles. Like when the volunteer brings Raisa up the front porch and Quinn goes ballistic. Dude... it's HER territory. We should have met down the street. 

Or when, as the dogs were licking faces (and I'm talking Raisa licking the faces of Tippi and Quinn, just like a puppy does) and the volunteer kept sticking his hand between them. Great way to lose a finger or encourage a bite. 

Ok, there's "puppy licking" and the "stare and flick." The "stare and flick" you really want to avoid, because that's the precursor to trouble. With a capital "T" - which we didn't want. But Puppy Licking is submissive behavior. I learned a lot because after we were done, I contacted a friend in England with masses of years of dog experience, and a friend in TN who not only fostered, but bred, and also had years/decades of experience in huskies, elkies, wolf hybrids, you name it. And I talked with our trainer. To a person, each said, "Pfffffffth - he didn't really know what he was talking about." However, our trainer did say that perhaps he had a placement go really wrong, so he was overreacting to what was going on in our house. 

So Tippi responded quite well to Raisa. Then she became oblivious, which is a good sign. Quinn took a while, and it would've been easier if the volunteer hadn't gone all "Cesar" on us and talked about being "the alpha in the room." 

Really? It's MY house. Thanks. Aside from the fact that Kid #2 was there, and Hubby, let's face it; I'm really the alpha female in this household. Either way, the kids grew up with northern breeds and this isn't exactly Hubby's first rodeo either. 

Nonetheless, we are approved!! Raisa comes on the 18th of January. Puppy all over again. As you can see, she not only found the couch, but found the grunting hedgehog. We have the crate ordered; along with a pad for it. I have spare toys, Kong bones and dishes. We're all set except for the first few sleepless nights. 

And realistically, she's our last puppy. I'm in my mid-50s and perhaps at some point, I'll retire. We will have 3 dogs. And when Kid #2 moves out, we more or less lose our in-home dog-watching service. Though he's already said that he's kidnapping -- errrrr - DOGnaping Raisa. "After all, you have THREE and you're only supposed to have TWO." Um, dear child - we will count paws when you leave. 

Anyway, you have to add up the vet costs; the fact that you have to train each of them; the fact that you can't exactly up and take off for a trip. Of course, after everyone's housebroken and trained, we can take them with us, or leave them home longer. But you still have to think about things. Particularly since neither Huskies nor Elkhounds are small dogs. 

Random Picture...

Eskimo Snow

I used to do a lot of counted cross stitch. A lot. Masses. Of course, I still have a cache of WIPs in that media as well. You guessed that, though, didn't you?? Anyway, here's one of the pics in the hallway. I love it. I used a glossy floss on the snowman and I only outlined him. I mean, the fabric is white, so why stitch it over? I don't remember its exact title. But the frame is a lovely denim-dark-blue and it's on the Wall of Fame. One of these days, I have to get a long shot of that. When we repainted, I had hubby gather up all the stuff I'd done and put it all up there. May as well display it, right?

I should put up my Curtis Boehringer snowman for January. I also have one for February, but March is sitting in the cross stitch frame waiting on me. We won't go into the WIPs for counted cross stitch right now. 

It would make me want to retire. Well, a lot of things make me want to retire...