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. 

I'm Speechless...

...and anyone who knows me knows that that's nearly impossible. 

This is why:  http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/11/18/2960371/walmart-food-drive/

Yeah, baby - shop Wal-Mart. Shop even on Thanksgiving, but hey - can you go there BEFORE the holiday to drop off some food so that their EMPLOYEES can actually feed their families??

Speechless not so much, as a matter of fact. Look at the facts. "Notoriously low pay." Yeah, poverty-level, actually. The average Wal-Mart "associate" makes $25,000 per year. You want to know what the Federal poverty level is for a family of four? It's $23,550. 

Twenty three thousand five hundred fifty dollars. To feed and house 4 people. It really can't be done. Here is a story on the vast discrepancy between what Wal-Mart management and their workers make... And yeah, it's ok for a CEO to make more than frontline employees. But I can't possibly believe that a man who decides what cheap crap Americans will buy next needs to make more in ONE HOUR than his employees make in ONE YEAR. 

A brain surgeon? A teacher (I wish)? A person discovering the cure to cancer? Yes, THOSE people can - and SHOULD - make tons and tons and tons of money. But not the guy who's screwing his employees out of a living. 

Here's a Daily Beast article on Wal-Mart, too, which you may be interested in. 
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/18/walmart-s-dumb-blame-game.html

I think I'm off my Wal-Mart rant. I don't shop there. I know, I know. I'm an elitist snob. Well, yeah, probably. But also, I am lucky enough to have other options. I know a friend of mine, a die-hard liberal, finds it hard to walk into her local Wal-Mart. But she lives in "Nowhere-ville" and has no other options. So you drive 35 miles with gas at nearly $4/gallon or you swallow your distaste and shop where you're at least staying in town. 

Yoga...

So I submitted my first book report (I have 3 more now). I have set up my one private lesson; I have another to set up, and I'll just coerce my kid into it... He'll go along. I also have a "Karma class" I have to do and I've got that in the works. I'll have to have a sign-up sheet on that, because I want to do it for the staff at Will-Grundy Medical Clinic. I have to limit it to no more than 12; usually, unless you've been teaching forever, or you have assistants, a dozen is all you can handle. Or at least all I want to handle!

I haven't yet started to work on the thesis. I know what I want to do, but haven't started the research yet. Hubby will help me do the video. 

I organized a new sequence today; I'm gradually building up a "library" and I like that. Even though, sometimes, the sequence goes out the window when someone walks in with enough issues to make it not likely to happen. I'm very lucky in that I've been doing yoga long enough so that for the most part, I can wing it. And I'm also lucky that I haven't had a lot of problems I can't handle. I'm sure it'll happen at some point...

Oh, we had an employee meeting this past Sunday. Yep. Right in the middle of the hugely bad storms that swept through Illinois. Lucky for us, we only got the crummy weather and some flooding, along with a few trees down...

November Tornadoes...

...while the folks southwest of us got bashed. Hubby has an appointment to visit with a reporter from the Chicago Tribune because even way up here, he found debris in the park. We got no tornado winds. This stuff came up from the southwest; IRA statements, high school pics, a family tree... It seems that this beats the infamous Plainfield tornado of the '90s. Click here for pictures. Or just Google it. It'll knock your socks off. 

Donate, if you can. Lots of people are doing things locally, and there's a Facebook page around if you have some of the debris that flew up here. 

Knitting...

Start of sock...

The pink sock comes along nicely, thanks. Again, sorry for the crummy pics. It's the phone... I have to wait till March before I get the whiz-bang camera on the phone. 

I need to only add 4 more blocks to my charity afghan -- I should say, only 4 more blocks need to be attached, since they're already produced. Then I do a border, and then we're done!!

Cardigan next. Yep. I think I'm ready for that. Along with socks as fill-ins, and washcloths. You need some instant gratification when you're in a long-term project. 

As I go, I'm happy that I've decided on a plain pattern. I do have some lovely Opal that's "fall-ish" and I have a leaf pattern for the leg. But I kind of like no-frills for now. Very mindless knitting. I did quite a few rows last night watching the Bears win and the Packers lose. 

Still need to work on the Nephew Afghan. It's about 1/3 done. It'll go quickly, just that it's bulky and I have till at least February to finish it. At least for the shower. I think for the wedding, they're getting a Holy Family or something totally useless in crystal. 

Music...

Whew!! Plugging along on "All Bells in Paradise" as well as "It Is Well With My Soul" and "I Will Sing" -- Made it through two songs this past week being the sole alto. Of course, it helped that there were only 4 of us in the choir group! But that was also scary, because I had nobody to back me up. I would love it if we could recruit a few more alto women so that I can either sing tenor with Hubby or go back to soprano. 

Leg of sock

And I'm still practicing BOTH versions of "Silent Night" - last year, I played it in the key of A but this year, Tom said "Key of C" - but then he can't remember whether he wants that or not... We'll figure it out, and I know both versions anyway. 

Food...

Will begin The Baking on Thanksgiving weekend. Kid #2 and I are splitting the list again this year. He loves to bake, and I appreciate the help. Potica (po-teet-za) will be done over the Christmas break so we can have it for Easter. 

Cookies include Snickerdoodles, roskis (family recipe), oatmeal, 7-layer bars, cottage cheese crescents (another family fave) and gingerbread. Anyone with a good recipe to share, please use the comments section!! 

I usually over-bake. Then, I usually eat it. Not doing that again this year. Well, probably will over-bake, but I'm getting rid of as much of it as I can. Giving to others, I mean, not eating it!

Random Picture...

This is an old picture of my sister's first grandchild.  I'm ok to post it because I'm not telling you his name, and his mom has posted stuff on her FB page. Isn't he a cutie?? 

I can't wait to see him and his siblings over Thanksgiving. 

No, I'm not in a hurry for my own grandkids. I just enjoy these kids. I can give them back! 

I did go today, while buying mousetraps for my campus, and get Christmas gifts for my "grandcat" Larry. She (yes, it's a girl) now has 2 little bags of snacks and two toys: one of them is some sort of fluff-ball thing that you can drag along the floor, and the other is a light up ball that she can bat around and play with. 

Hey, I'm happy. She'll be happy. It's all good.