Really, I'm NOT Procrastinating...

...rather, I'm admitting that the calendar is beating me. Time is not a "wibbly-wobbly" thing that can be stretched. Rather, it seems to be gaining on me. 

Soooooooo - the blankie will undoubtedly be done for Christmas. Or I'll mail it as soon as I get it done. This is what I have so far. Almost 9" done - need 28" before I do the ruffle. 

The ruffle is interesting because you pick up and knit, then do that 3 more times; you don't turn corners... you whipstitch the corners together. This could be frustrating... 

I do have a bit of a problem with my square Kollage needles; I'll have to see how this shakes out. The metal part of the needle is about 6" long, and the heel of my hand rests on that bent part of the very soft cable. I'm afraid I'm going to break it. 

I will cry. 

I do like that the cable doesn't kink. I don't like where it sits on my hand, and I can only move my hand up a bit before stitches start being knit off the tips, which I don't like. 

We shall see...

I'm having a mad moment of "frog it, crochet one - you're quicker with crochet" but I'd have to figure out how much yarn it would take - you know crochet takes -- wait. I was almost going to type "you know crochet takes more yarn than knitting" but then I decided to look it up. 

Well - you could blow up the internet by searching "crochet vs. knitting yarn usage" because Yahoo Answers (not experts) claims anything from 30 - 50% more yarn used in crochet. But at least two bloggers who are in the crochet business claim that this is "utter bunkem." 

I mean, I'm a pretty ferociously fast "hooker" - and with the fact that I have almost 750 yards of this yarn, I could potentially frog. I've used just about 3 balls - that's almost 280 yards. I could do a quick half-double crochet or even a double crochet, making a lacy blanket. After all, the kid will live in South Carolina - hardly Minnesota when it comes to winters. 

What am I talking about, and who am I kidding? 

Plugging along on what I'm already doing. But the next one will be a crochet blanket. 

Hot Flashes Are Not Cool...

My thermometer is like Elvis: it has definitely LEFT the building. (I paused here to put in a few more stitches on that blanket.)

I'm at work, the night shift today, and it's been "sweater Hokey Pokey." My fan is running. It's 52* outside. It should be chilly. 

I'm roasting. 

I purchased my usual old-reliable, non-hormonal supplement, Shatavari. I'm hoping against hope that it kicks in quicker. It's herbal; I know - it'll take 6 to 8 weeks. Period. I can't rush it. 

Losing some of this weight and exercising will help. But in the meantime, I'm not sleeping well, and feel like I've been hit by a bus. 

That, and probably the iron infusions will help even out what's going on. 

The Do-Date...

I'm reading a book called "Eat More, Lose More" and it's by a nutritionist who basically cribs off Atkins: larger portions of low-carb veggies, limit the high-carb, eliminate sugar and beef up (ha) the protein. 

But I'm thinking that perhaps I will go back to Atkins. Because as I'm reading the recipes, the person who created them uses xylitol - a sweetener I don't like. I'm actually only happy with True Leaf stevia. There's nothing in this but stevia and it's the only one that's "not" sugar that doesn't remind me of chewing on tinfoil.

She also (the chef is a woman; the author is a man) uses guar gum and xanthan gum. Not sure about those two things. I can almost deal with the whey powder. But I'm not sure of the other things. 

So I have a couple of days to decide. The upside is that there are some recipes that don't use that stuff, and look pretty good. I have also been looking into a program a local chiropractor has, but I'm leery of a "quick fix." I have to get the weight off, and I have to do it sanely. 

The other thing is, I need to work on the exercise. What this book says that I do agree with is that interval training is a good way to exercise. That makes sense, and I can work that with my yoga work as well. It'll be a nice balance. 

So sometimes, books on 'the right way to eat' can be a bust, but sometimes there are hidden gems in among the chaff.

I haven't stepped on a scale in a couple of weeks. I'll take measurements, start over on November 1 and see what happens if I mash up a few different ideas together. As far as the Halloween candy, I've finished buying it for the campus. What's left is left, and it's stuff I don't like, so that shouldn't be a problem. The students will finish that off. 

Halloween...

Ohio Grove Cemetery

I'll be home for Halloween this year, and I have pencils, some plastic whistles and the like; Hubby will dole out the candy and I give the other stuff.

And yes, in case you wonder: the kids love the Halloween-themed pencils. 

Speaking of which, see the lovely graveyard? It's the Ohio Grove Cemetery, right outside Sycamore, IL, and it was established in 1839. 

I'm not the only one with a cemetery fetish. Lots of historians love these places. I met one at lunch today and we shared cemetery pictures. 

Hello, Cello....

Except there wasn't a cello... This was part of our concert series at the church we attend. We have periodic free concerts, and at those concerts, we take up an offering for a variety of charities. 

Hello Cello is a group of guys who mostly do covers. There is a cello player, except that this past Sunday was his wedding day. You've gotta be there, right? So we had 3 of the 4 and it was really interesting to listen to rock music in the sanctuary. 

The acoustics were decent, but the vocalist was a little shy - we kept telling him to bump up the vocals! 

And as usual, our church's hospitality committee outdid themselves with a feast later. I actually managed to contribute (still-warm) pumpkin-chocolate bread - which Lillian the coffee lady says "is to die for!" She stashed a loaf (there were 2) for this coming Sunday's post-service coffee hour... Smart cookie!

Persevere...

So my little petunia is a bit beaten up by the bunnies... As you can see, it's a little nibbled, and just about buried in leaves. 

It's still an inspiration to me. Cropped up out of nowhere, and I didn't plant petunias this year. It's a gift from Mother Nature. 

Speaking of gifts from Mother Nature, this morning was a perfect example of fall in the neighborhood. 

Storms were just leaving the area. When I came home from yoga last night, it was just starting to sprinkle. Overnight, the wind came up and early a.m. storms started us off. The light was really weird and the cloud cover was interesting. 

This is the shot out the front window. The ground is covered in fallen and blown leaves; the marigolds are giving up the last of their color. The tree is "on fire." And the neighbors have jack-o-lanterns on their stoop. The odd coloring of the sky and the bare tree across the way - all of it spells Fall to me. 

Random Picture...

Yes, this is Tippi at her last therapy visit. And yes, those are "lady bug" deely-boppers. Her bandana has 3 little lady bug buttons on it. I have to lower the buttons and tack on the badge a bit better.

We're a little sad. Tippi went with Raisa and Quinn to the eye doctor. Tippi was there about 4 years ago. She has a cataract in one eye (which I had noticed, but I knew would mostly be inevitable at her age), and uveitis - an inflammation of the eye. She has drops and it's fixable, but it's sad. Cataracts are an old-age thing. I hate to hear the inevitable. She's 7, which is still young. 

But she's had a rough life, and I don't know her family tree. All we can do is speculate and overall, she's healthy as a horse. (Ahem - and almost as big as one, but I swear we don't over-feed her.) She doesn't like a lot of exercise; she likes to walk, but the youngsters like to run. Running isn't her style - at least not at long distances. When she comes to my campus, she'll "zoomie" up and down the hall for about 3 minutes and I do mean ZOOM. If you're in her way, she surprises you with her ability to zoom around you with a hair's breadth of distance between you and falling over. Once she does her rounds, she's done. She wants a nap. One of these days, before we close this place, I'll have to bring her in to just take a video. It's amazing that that much dog can move that fast. 

It's Been a Long While...

...so sorry... You have to love technology (no, not really). I had a phone glitch, then a computer glitch, and then just good old fashioned "schedule glitch" where it seemed that "the hurrier I go, the behinder I get."

But I'm back; tons of pictures, some progress, and some stories. 

Take Back the Night...

So in October, while the rest of the US is donning pink everything, I'm wearing purple through the month. Lost in the Breast Cancer Displays is the fact that October is also "Domestic Violence Awareness Month." Tippi and I were at the table with the Will County Children's Advocacy Center, and here's a small display of the portraits of those who are killed in our county by means of domestic violence. 

I wish I could say that it was a small list. Or that it had stopped growing. But neither is true. And I did get upset a few years back, because the organizers included two boys, and there were some women who went bananas. "Take Back the Night is for WOMEN." Really? Those kids were MURDERED. By a PARENT. If that's not "domestic violence," then I don't know what is. Shame on those women. 

Anyway, that was her first appearance; we took pics with people, I didn't have her cards with me, but I did get a lot of questions. We were in a very loud gym, and she handled the chaos like a pro! That's my girl!

Knitting...

May never end... I'm thinking that I will be sending on this part of the layette, and the blankie for Christmas. I just won't get it done by the baby's due date. Between the cotton really driving my hands nuts and my schedule driving me nuts, there's just not enough time in my days anymore. I have it with me today, but haven't knitted a stitch, having my day job to actually, well, I don't know - DO -- so knitting waits till a calm bit. Which doesn't seem to want to happen a lot lately. Sunday, I didn't knit at all, having church and then a trip to see Kid #2 and deliver the remainder of his stuff... Saturday, though, I did knit almost all day. And I paid for it. 

This is where I'm at with the blanket. At about 5.33" it's got a ways to go. I'm actually zipping along doing almost a repeat a night, though we can translate that into "12 rows a night" and I'm measuring at the end of each night's production. I have to knit 28" and then do the ruffle. The ruffle is knitted onto each side, but you then have to seam up the corners. It seems like it could be easier, but at this point, my energy is into just getting it done. I'll work out details later. I swear, I should have remembered I had the Ann Norling (see the sweater) and created that set. It would have been easier. 

Fall is Here...

And not only in the temperatures, but in the flora and fauna. This is a picture of the tree out back at home. The fall color has likely peaked, but it was lovely while it lasted. I've got a lot of shots of the trees. And when I was driving home from visiting Kid #2, I stopped at 3 very old cemeteries. Had lots of fun wandering and photographing. At some point, I should bring the large camera, but my phone didn't do too badly. I love the effects I was able to get with some of the buttons on the phone.  I'll keep experimenting, and will try to do some more PhotoShop, especially on some of the more ancient tombstones and compositions.

This picture is of the coral bells out back of the office. I love how the dew is on them. It's a beautiful plant that has survived last winter and I expect will survive this winter. Which, depending on the weather channel you happen to be listening to? Will either be "colder" or "warmer" than last. But everyone so far is saying that it'll be far less snowy. 

My dentist said he loves Hubbys pics "because he has an eye for composition." And he's right. We can take the same photograph and his will be a "photograph" -- while mine is a "picture." It has to do with his eye for pictures, for sure. Also, he can still use manual focus on the camera. With my bifocals, it's harder. However, the manual focus on the camera phone seems to work much better. Go figure. 

So Kid #2 is 99% settled. He still has a few clothes left behind, but I drove Hubby's Boat (the Explorer) so I could bring him the bike, the desk and a bunch of boxes. I kept a close eye on the bike, because last time we were out, my bike popped off the frame! I didn't want to have to get his bike run over. The drive up was via the back roads, so I had time to scope out the cemeteries. Creepy? Well. I guess. But  the older ones are really fascinating. This is, obviously, the front gate of St. Mary's Cemetery. It was the last one I stopped at. In the original, it's full color, but I used the "antique" button on the phone to get this. 

There was also this crypt... In one of the other ones (the cemetery down the block from The Kid), there was a crypt, but it had its glass boarded over. This one had the lovely brass patina with the metalwork on the door, but I was able to glance in (it was locked). This is what I saw, with a little help from the fancy details on my camera. Sadly, I didn't save this as a copy, but you get the idea. The bit of glare in the upper right is from the afternoon sun. I stuck the phone right up onto the glass. I did darken up the walls of the crypt and tried to get the stained glass to pop. Click on the picture to see the rosary left by someone. 

By the way, I don't know what's up with the pictures today... I'm getting some weird spacing issues. Bear with me. 

Ebola...

For the record, Ebola is not President Obama's fault. Look - it's really simple. Banning travel is an insanely stupid act. What if the person comes on a plane from London? Or Ontario? Or Mexico? Or China? You can take other routes to get here -- and I don't believe there's a "one-stop flight" from Liberia to the US. 

The temperature taking at the airports is only a panacea to comfort us. 

There are what? Almost 319,000 people in the U.S. How many have DIED from Ebola? Well, just one - and there appears to be some doubt as to whether he was a US citizen or not. Regardless. 

ONE PERSON.

It's really not an "epidemic" here, folks. If you're in Liberia, well, then, yeah. Otherwise, unless you're up close and personal with bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen, you're probably going to be ok. The virus is NOT airborne, so not even a sneeze or cough will be a problem. 

Stop listening to the hysteria. Take reasonable precautions just as you would with a virulent flu (Bird flu, anyone???) and just stop the panic. 

By the way, over 20,000 people died of AIDS before Reagan even decided it was a problem in this country. Over 20,000 AMERICANS, folks. 

So wake up, do your research, and turn off Fox News. 

Oh, and we wouldn't need a "czar" if the Republicans would stop piddling their pants every time the NRA wants something. Seems the NRA doesn't like the nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, because he said that "gun deaths are a public health problem."

Well, gosh-darn - can't have that kinda socialistic claptrap. So they've blocked his nomination. And now blame OBAMA because there's no Surgeon General. No. I'm not kidding. 

I wish it was just a joke. Well. It IS a joke. But not a good one. 

Tried...

Kombucha. My friend Kristy is brewing her own. It's full of probiotics and good bacteria, and it is a tasty beverage. But it's too fizzy for me. I know I could probably adjust the rate of fermentation if I had the time to brew my own. But I did end up trying a concoction from the local health food store. 

Didn't like it. 

Because I have such an active social life, the next thing coming up is a colonosocopy and endoscope to finally (a) rule out any possibility of bleeding in regard to the anemia diagnosis; and (b) catch up on diagnostic tests. It's been close to 10 years since I've had either and it's about time to get that over with. At least I'll lose 5 pounds in the prep and have a good nap that day. 

I'm also getting myself prepped for the iron infusions. Seems that the 6-session infusions will work better (less chance of side effects) than the one long 6-hour infusion. And November 1 is my "do-date." 

Yes, "DO" date. I'm getting my diet cleaned up in a more sensible fashion than just eliminating all the food groups and eating 6 crackers with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese for lunch. 

Between the diet clean-up and iron, I'm hoping to be fit as a fiddle soon. 

Job Update...

There isn't one. Seems a high-up muckety-muck told my boss that they didn't want to move me to the new building "because someone from the College will have her ordering their lunches and answering their phones."

What? My boss said it was all she could do to keep a straight face and say, "You don't know her very well, do you??"

So. There's supposed to be a Dean "contemplating" my resume. We shall see. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll likely have to find a new job, but I've already decided to stay here through the close-up of the building. 

At some point, I have to spend some serious time scanning websites and applying for jobs. I've applied here and there, but have had only 1 interview. I need to get the freelance stuff up and prepped, too, but I know that will take longer to get off the ground. 

This gives me some breathing room, at any rate. It just feels like it's coming at me too fast, though. Which is just about normal. 

Random Picture...

She's so not a lady! But this is one of Raisa in mid-nap. Couldn't resist the intertwined front legs. Such a yoga-dog. 

She's coming into her teen period, doing  a bit too much "husky resource guarding" and there have been some power grabs. Usually, we don't let it get too far along. She's tried it with both Tippi and Quinn. I don't think Tippi would get to "blood" stage, but I'm perfectly certain that Quinn would. 

Raisa needs to learn her place, and so far, it's up to us to make sure that it's all figured out. 

See what I mean about the pictures??? What is up with that, Blogspot?? Don't go changing the settings on me. I don't like my pictures all chunked together. 

Almost 100%...

So I'm chipping away at Mt. Washmore... And I have to say that the washing machine is just about 100%. I'm missing one sock, but I think it's in the other batch of towels. So far, so good, and I hope I haven't jinxed it. 

I will now publicly admit that Hubby is a saint. I'm taking over now while he's been at his mom's house. I've done nothing but run back and forth trying to keep the zoo under control. 

He does that. And he works full time from home, plus a part-time gig. 

Thanks Hubby, for doing it all. So I can be an atypical wife; I don't have to do most of what I don't want to. You take care of the inside and the outside of the house. I've been doing that, and getting ready for Dolly's visit - and it's a pain in the rear.

OK, I'm still not in favor of cleaning the bathrooms... But I'm impressed that the rest is not exactly chaos. And good grief; it's like I can't turn around but there's another dish to be washed. How do they do that??? Do they multiply when your back is turned??

So for every chore I've completed, I'm knitting. As soon as I finish this, I'm going to watch "Endeavour" - a young Inspector Morse, and knit more on the Nephew Afghan.

Happy New Year...

Happy 2014 to everyone! I've thought about it and I don't think I need to make "resolutions." I always break them, then I feel bad. What I will try to do is keep an affirmation.

An affirmation is like your own personal mantra. It's something you do for yourself or to help you get through something. For example, when I had a test a couple of years ago, I had a full face mask on, my head was in a brace and my arms were overhead... I am VERY claustrophobic. The tech told me that this test would cause panic attacks, especially if you were prone to claustrophobia. 

It did. 

But my mantra was, "It's going to be over in a minute." I just kept repeating that. And looking at him. That helped. 

So my mantra for 2014 is something I found in the YOGAChicago magazine, and it's from Swami Kripalu:

The highest spiritual practice is self-observation without judgment.

That's my inspiration for now. 

Snow...

Snow 2014

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." Oh, wait. It's January. So I've been enjoying the snow. Seriously. I love snow. 

I have been shoveling, and this is what it looks like. Ten minutes after I shoveled. I ran out to the grocery store and gassed up my truck. The city has been by with salt + plow. We are forecasted to get 5 - 8".... I'm hoping we get closer to 8" but I don't know if that'll happen. 

The birds are enjoying the seeds and I was going to try to get a video of the critters, but the junco birds are really chowing down on the cracked corn I put out for the squirrels! So no cute video today. Maybe tomorrow. 

Food...

Clam chowder (New England, thanks) in the crock pot. I also bought some 9-grain bread. I was thinking of making casserole bread, a no-knead recipe, but I thought about cleaning up the kitchen and decided that we didn't need that much bread, nor did I want that much mess!

This recipe is from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook, copyrighted 1969, and I got it in 1979. I had also given an updated edition of this book to Kid #1 when he first moved out. He lost it. Yeesh. This cookbook is like a totally basic "yes, you can cook" kind of book. I still refer to it, and I've got it post-noted for all kinds of things.

CASSEROLE BREAD from Betty Crocker's Cookbook (c) 1969

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 c. lukewarm water (about 105-115*)
1/2 c. lukewarm milk (don't need to scald...)
2/3 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 t. salt
3 c. all-purpose flour (NOT self-rising - just my preference)
Extra butter

Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add mil, 2/3 c. margarine, eggs, salt and 1 c. of flour. Beat on low speed, scraping bowl constantly, about 30 seconds.

Beat on medium speed, scraping occasionally, for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour till smooth. Scrape sides of bowl. Cover. 

Let this rise (see my rising notes below) till double, about 1/2 hour or so. Batter is ready if indentation remains when touched with a floured finger.

Stir down by beating about 25 strokes. Spread evenly in a greased 2-quart casserole. Cover, let it rise till double, another 40 minutes or so.

Heat oven to 375* and place casserole on the low rack so that the top of the casserole is in the center of the oven. The casserole should not touch the sides of the oven. Bake till brown and sounds hollow when tapped, about 40-45 minutes. Immediately remove the bread from the casserole and place on a rack. Brush with the extra butter if you want. Let it cool. Cut into wedges or slices to serve.

RISING NOTE: Dough is a stinker - or it can be. If it's too hot or too dry or the moon's not in the correct phase, your dough can act weird. First off, you CAN kill the yeast if the water's too hot and the milk's too hot, so be sure to have a decent thermometer handy. 

The way I raise my dough is to put a large-ish stock pot on the stove, with 3 or 4 cups of water in it. Bring that to a boil, and put a cooling rack on top. Turn off the burner, put the bowl of dough on top of that rack, put a towel over it and then put a larger towel over the whole thing. 

Believe me, rises like a treat every time!

OPTIONS: You can add cheese to this bread, onions, your favorite herbs -- it's kind of a blank canvas. Have fun with it. This is a very easy recipe if you're a newbie to yeast breads. Though I prefer the kneading, this no-knead recipe is a good one to bring to a potluck, and it's just a nice, relatively quick bread, as yeast breads go.

Random Picture...

Norway Cemetery, Illinois

This is a picture I took on the way back from a Zonta conference. It's a town called Norway, IL and they have a very old cemetery. Don't ask me why, but old cemeteries kind of fascinate me. 

I took this at the entrance. I have a bunch of other pictures, and I'm sure that if any locals passed by (it's a very small town), they might've thought I was a bit weird.

But then, maybe not. There are several gorgeous pictures of monuments that nearly predate the founding of the cemetery. Some were taller than I am, and some were even quite a bit more modern, and still in that "old style" of decorative memorials. I'll have to dig them up (ba-dum) and post a few. 

It makes you kind of sad; or at least it does me. There used to be a whole art of monuments. Now, for the sake of efficiency, most cemeteries have those flat monuments that they can just mow over. 

Anyone got any plans for the New Year? Any goals? Anything you're looking to change?