I Have Thoughts....

I've been on a knitting binge - Melt the Ice hats. I'm on my 7th (and hopefully) last one. I've also made about 6 of the "badge" variety that you can pin on your shirt or jacket. I have to find some Primary Election knitting. I thought for a nano-second of bringing my mom's Sophie Hood to the polls but... that might not be my best idea. It's white and there is always the potential of spillage. I will probably grab a sock - I believe I have one on the needles where I can just do the leg for a while. I also have a shawl in progress, which is knit on the bias, fairly mindless. So that's the other option and frankly, that one is closer to being finished, so...there's that. 

Nerdy Notes: The hat on the left was made with Cascade 220 Superwash Sport, held double, with an I-cord tail. Knitted on size 8 circulars and DPNs as we got to the crown. The colorway is 893. 

Death Knell to SAVE Act...

Well, John Fetterman (D???- PA) finally READ the SAVE Act. Amazing. A legislator READS a bill before it's passed. And he decides that it's Not A Good Idea because it will affect HIS voters. 

You know what? This dude has been a hoodie-wearing disappointment since his health crisis -- and no, I'm not slamming him for that. 

I'm slamming his decisions that seem to fall in line with the Republicans more and more of the time. His constituents voted for him because he promised change and promised progressive values. That's not what they've been getting lately. 

And honestly, I do give him kudos for directly addressing his mental health. That's not my issue. Deal with your stuff, dude, and recognize that you're getting PLATINUM level benefits while a lot of your voters are not. Because of the way YOU have been voting. 

I don't understand Dems who vote for things that obviously don't align with democratic values and which do not benefit their constituents. Call me naive, and yeah, I do realize that most politicians lately are bought-and-paid-for by the billionaires. But I still think they should vote for things on OUR lists at least MOST of the time. 

The Knitting...

Like I said, #7 of the MTI hats. And 6 badges. I'm happy to knit these as long as I have stash. I have to tell you, my hat is FANTASTIC!!! I'm so happy with Wicked Tint Yarns. I was kind of dubious when the yarn was in the hank. I thought it wasn't "red" enough. But it knitted up more beautifully than I could've imagined - turns out it's a soft ruby-red that just feels so nice on my head. 

Nerdy Notes: The hat on the left was knitted with Wicked Tint Worsted, 100% Merino Superwash, colorway Melt ICE Red, on size 8 circulars and DPNs, with the I-cord arrangement for the top. This one has 7" of ribbing, and 1" of stockinette stitch before I started the decreases. One round of knitting in between each decrease round. 

I did the MTI variation with the I-cord and tassle, so it's a bit different from the one I'm currently knitting, which is the traditional one with the braid. I dipped into the acrylic stash and will be finishing this one for one of my students. 

The badges (I'm doing the flat ones) take about half an hour, and that includes the red felt I bought to line them. They do need to be lined, otherwise you have a curly little crescent roll on your hands. It's taken me a minute to figure out the best way to add the pin finding, I think that so far, a North/South alignment has worked for me. 

Nerdy Notes: The badge here was knitted in the same Cascade Superwash, the pattern is available free on Ravelry, and I did the "flat" version. I lined it with red felt on the back, and put a pin-back finding on it. I used size 5 needles. Took me about a half hour, which is light-speed for me. 

I will also admit that I am actually looking forward to NOT knitting the hats. They knit up quickly even though I've made some variations on the ribbing. The last one I did for Kid #2 was 2x2 rib. And mine is a twisted rib. I can see the value of the 6-7" ribbing in how it fits on your head, since these are essentially one-size-fits-all. But that much ribbing is my penance for my sins!

Primary Election Day...

So the primary in our state is this Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day. I'm wearing green. We have ben given strict instructions on what we can and can't wear. As it is, we're already told to not wear name badges: we're Judge A, Judge B, etc. We have to have our party on the badges, because in our state, we need a certain percentage of each party. 

Today and tomorrow I'm reviewing the training. I also have to find my Election Day Reading, and my Election Day Knitting. And get my meals/snacks ready. We have to bring our own, though we do have a precinct committee chair who usually supplies pizza for dinner. 

We have to be there at 5 a.m. to open the building and get set up, and voting starts at 6 a.m. We go till 7 p.m. and hopefully, everything tallies, then we drive it back to the County building (one judge of each party is in the car for "chain of custody" of the documents and tally box), and then we get home, if we're lucky, around 9 p.m. 

It's a long day. And we have to be there the whole time; so they prefer that we vote early.. 

I encourage everyone to get trained as an election judge so you can see the process in your state. Consider it your civic duty to understand. Use your own eyes, ears, and brains. 

Also, check out Vote 411, the system whereby questions are sent to those folks on your ballots, and you can check them out to educate yourself -- don't be a voter who doesn't know what they're doing! 

Vote in your primary election -- I can't stress how important this is. In our state, we do have to declare a party. We don't have what's called an "open primary," but that's different from state to state. Don't let your rights dwindle. They need exercising, and voting is the biggest right you have (for now). 

In my state (and I have to insert that qualifier every time I talk about this, because jurisdictions differ), we can declare a party in the primary but at the general, you can vote however you want. You can even change parties for each primary cycle -- unless you're an election judge. Then, they want you to pick one and stick with it.

Especially as women, we are facing some challenges by the Tangerine Toddler. He's determined, somehow, to get that SAVE Act passed and he always can rely on his "magic Sharpie" if he can't actually do it legislatively. Right now, as I noted, they don't have the votes. And some conservatives, who've actually READ what the act says, are saying, "Wowza, this is really gonna kill MY chances..." because it disenfranchises such a large swath of people. 

I was talking about this the other day with Hubby and ended up explaining why I went through the trouble to update my passport and get the RealID. Which, it turns out, according to SAVE, would NOT be an appropriate form of ID. 

What? 

Nope. The RealID is not acceptable as a form of ID to register to vote. For women, we have to make sure our names match throughout all of our ID, from birth certificate forward. So that means, for many of us, a couple of options. 

A passport is an approved ID. That's about $150-170. Funny thing, what I had to provide for my RealID was the SAME documentation as for a passport. 

And yet the RealID is "not approved." Go figure. 

Birth Certficate, marriage license, divorce decree(s) if appropriate, new marriage licenses... That's what women have to provide. 

Or -- you go to court and change your name on your birth certificate. Which essentially erases your original identity and your family line. 

The name change, depending on the county, in my state, is about $700. So there's a filing fee of $300 - 400. You have to publish your name change so that creditors or the law can find you if in fact you're trying to hide...(not kidding) and that's around $388. And then there's a copying fee for the certified order. It's not "official" unless it's certified, for proof of identity. That's another ten bucks. So, roughly $700...depending on your county. 

Or -- you just don't change your name when you get married. Or hyphenate, like my friend did. 

I mean...it's nuts. And a passport can take 6 weeks, unless you pay an expedited fee - $60 for the fee and another $22-ish bucks for a quick return. 

But hey, since "illegals voting" is the "crisis du jour" for the Demented Dimwit in the Oval, let's all just suck it up and get our documents in order, because it's gonna be "papers please" if he gets his way. 

Oh, and the actual rate of illegal immigrants voting? 0.00000764% over ONE BILLION+ ballots cast over a period of 24 years -- that's FIVE zeroes after the decimal point. That's MICROSCOPIC. 

And that's data from the Heritage Foundation. The idiots who are trying (and succeeding at an alarming rate) to shove Project 2025 down our collective throats. 

But yeah, by all means, stay home because it hurts your feelings to declare a party at your primary election. And then moan that YOUR candidate didn't get on the ballot in the general, so you're also staying home "as a protest."

Thanks. Because YOU put us into this mess. 

Random Picture...

We had Basil recently. Hubby wore her out with lots of long walks. She's now able to fully "dog" and has recovered from her heartworm treatment. She loves destroying stuffies and playing tug with her toys. 

After the third walk of the day, she zonked out so hard that she was snoring up a storm. I could hear it while I was on a Zoom meeting... I used her picture for a restorative yoga class I taught - she's an excellent example of  "resting with intention." 

Now, we have to work on her carsick issues. Twenty minutes into the hour-long ride back home, both my "tire pressure" light went on and her yarking happend simultaneously. It had been a long day, so I just kept going. I figured if a cop pulled me over, they could either deal with the barfing dog or help me use my air compressor to fill my tire. It seemed like a logical idea at the time. 

Got her home, cleaned up and fed, and then tried to tackle cleaning up the dog yark. Luckily, the Kid wasn't too far from home and was able to assist. Good thing she's cute. 

As I sit here typing, I'm watching EVERYTHING in my yard blowing sideways with 60 mph gusts. I'm sitting next to a large picture window and thankful that there aren't any leaves on the trees...otherwise at least one of the trees would be blown over. I've lost one garden flag (I knew I should have pulled it in last night...) and we've lost power about 4 or 5 times so far. Make that 6 times...thank goodness for batteries!

Mother Nature is having a hissy fit. How's it going where you are? 

 

It's a Rant of Good Proportion...

We were there at 5 a.m.

Where were you? I’m specifically talking to people in Lockport Precinct 23. Yesterday, unless you missed it or were under a stump somewhere, was a Primary Election day.

Our precinct had an absolutely mortifying turnout. We returned to the Clerk’s Office – with FOUR boxes of unopened ballots. Our total vote count? A whole 151.

One. Hundred. Fifty. One.

If you crab about the Chaney-Monge referendum in the next few days, I want to see your voting receipt.

If your candidate for Park Board didn’t get in, I want to see your voting receipt.

If your candidate for Will County Sheriff didn’t get elected, I want to see your voting receipt.

If your candidate for Treasurer, Comptroller, or Governor didn’t get in, I want to see your voting receipt.

Otherwise? I don’t want to hear it. In Will County, we have a fantastic opportunity to vote early. You had weeks to go downtown to the Clerk’s Office to vote if you knew you weren’t going to be able to make it yesterday. We also have long poll hours. Polls opened at 6 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m.

How bad was it? I’m almost done knitting a sock. And I’m not joking. It’s a lovely sock. But we election judges should have been far, far busier. We weren’t and you know what? It’s YOUR fault.

I’ve been an election judge for a long time now, and I’ve seen the dismal returns for primaries. I’ve watched as people complain about the primary elections because they “don’t want to declare a party.” I have one suggestion for you: work to get that changed. Here’s the perfect opportunity for you to learn how to be an activist and get involved in an issue.

Don’t blame the election judges. We have to abide by the law and in Illinois, in a primary election you have to declare if you want to vote for candidates. You know what? It’s not like we’re bellowing out your choice either. We’re actually quite discrete and do everything to protect your right to vote in private – from silently handing the information to the judge handing out ballots to handing you a privacy sleeve to ensure that not one of us sees how you vote – we’re there all day waiting to help you exercise your rights. You can’t exercise ‘em if you don’t show up, though!  As an election judge, I can honestly tell you this: I don’t care HOW you vote. I care THAT you vote.

And Precinct 23 women?? What the heck… We got the right to vote in 1920. Where were you??

If you think that politics in Springfield are corrupt, sure – you don’t have to vote for a candidate. Our system allows you to do that and still cast a ballot. You can still make an effort to vote for your local candidates and issues. If you don’t, you have only yourself to blame. “The system is rigged.” Well – un-rig it. You – the voter – are the only one who can make a difference. 

Shocking...

The Chaney-Monge referendum passed. Oh my, I'm having the vapors! My kids went to that school, and back in its day, it was a great place. But years and years (over 30 of them to be exact) of NOT passing basic referendum issues have taken their toll. Their now-retired superintendent had to resort to putting temporary buildings alongside the main school building. That riled up the folks who had to look at them, but his point was well-taken. You want 'em removed? We NEED to add on. Kids were using the library for classrooms. Two classrooms. The library now relegated to the size of a small bathroom. We needed more handicapped access to bathrooms for the influx of kids with disabilities. And the roof was holding together with spit and prayer. I'm positive that this winter didn't do it any favors. 

It's a $3 million referendum. Much less than the neighboring school district - the one across town that managed a TEN MILLION DOLLAR referendum about 8 or 9 years ago. 

Knitting...

Blue Sweater with sleeves

As I said, there's a good whack done on the Pink Sock. Today is Teal Sock. I also did some yesterday on Blue Baby Jacket. This picture just shows the sleeves barely started. The Alternate Loop Cast On was interesting and I'll use it again. 

The sleeves, with the variegated yarn, look like they'll go to the lightest part right on top the shoulders. Hey, it looks like I'm brilliant, but really, the yarn's doing all the work. 

We shall see how the "schedule" test works out with what I'm working on. Next week's knitting will be shot to smithereens because I'm doing a lot of subbing for the yoga teachers at my home studio and another student just contacted me yesterday about a private lesson. Yes, I love it, but sometimes I'm a bit overwhelmed. 

Easter...

So we sort of have the menu set. The date will actually be Holy Saturday. Hey, we have a lot of in-laws to compete with, along with Hubby's and my obligations with the choir. And you know what? As much as I enjoy my family, since Hubby and I bear the brunt of the cooking (we delegated the clean-up now to the Nephews...), we actually like to just chill on the real holiday's date. 

Technicolor Devils

I have a ham in the freezer, so we'll do that. I'm sorry if the rest of the folks will have ham on Easter Sunday. Deal with it. 

I'm doing deviled eggs, but found this and I thought it was fantastic and fun. So we will have deviled eggs, in technicolor.  My filling won't be as smooth - we like pickle relish in ours. I may dig out my home-made pickle relish for that and leave a few plain. While I had a blast making the relish, it's really got too much onion for me! 

My mom's making Nodif, a Croatian ham-polenta thingie you have to taste. It's incredibly labor-intensive. My dad used to make it in a sausage casing. We now make it in a pan. One day, I may become adventurous and do it again in the casing, hoping that I don't explode it in my kitchen. It involves a pork butt, a car-load of spring onions and corn meal. 

I'm bringing the potica. And I'm making a lamb cake. Just like the ones we had when we were kids. It's time to go old-school, especially since K and the twins are now probably old enough to know what they're looking at -- K in particular, the smart little bugger!! Which reminds me, I should order a lamb cake pan. I can't find mine. 

The Wedding...

Well, M is now married. That's the second of The Nephews to be married. It was great to have the family together and Nephew S - father of the kids - took a formal portrait of us, which was something I was really wanting. Then my mom wanted a pic of "her remaining children" - which disconcerted brother D, but hey - just do it, you know?

Kid #1 and girlfriend K (we really, REALLY have to vet names better in this family!!) had a good time, because K and K (K is kid-K's mom) had a blast - they are good friends. Between the wedding and reception, K and S, being "childless" (as in "free from the kids for a day") got together with Kid #2, Kid #1 and G/F and J (S's brother) - apparently, they all headed out for Thai food. 

I'm so happy to see them all bonding. Though I did tell Kid #2 that when he acquires a G/F she CANNOT have a name beginning with "K" - it's just too weird. 

The wedding was just a ceremony. The reception was nice, but the DJ was not good. And we were fighting the volume of two other parties. Brother D had to go tell the manager of the banquet hall that if she didn't take care of it, "I'd be happy to go in and help them with their sound system." That might've been interesting. 

Kid #1 and K already told me that "if" they get married, expect to know AFTER the fact, when they call to schedule the party. I figured as much. I'm not overly troubled by that. It is what it is, and it's THEIR life. As long as they're happy. 

Raisa...

Graduation!

Actually managed to graduate from Basic Obedience! Yay - no heat so far, though we still think it's close. I have to attend a make-up session with her because I missed one. But that's ok. 

We're going to skip Intermediate right now. She's almost 6 months old; we're really bargaining with time and I don't feel like paying for the Intermediate right now only to pull her out when Heat Happens. After heat comes Spay... so you figure 1 month to get heat over with (21 days of actual heat, but you have to wait for at least 30 days so that things go back to normal) and then spay, which is about 4 to 6 weeks of recuperation. It's a good plan, and while I think she'll bounce back faster than Tippi did, I still want to be careful. 

Raisa + Quinn

She and Quinn are getting along well, too, which is nice. We still don't leave all 3 of them out when we're away. Raisa gets the crate. She's still a little too new in the house. And till after she's spayed, I can't be absolutely sure that Tippi & Quinn will behave either. It seems strange, but they get a weird kind of PMS-thing going on with her emerging hormones. 

Raisa managed a very good sit/stay/wait and she's really good with her long stay - though I've only gone about 6 feet from her. She's still got puppy-brain, though, so we are just thrilled she does what she does. 

I have to work on her walk. She thinks leash = run since Hubby takes them. She needs to learn that with ME, leash = walk. What I usually do is an about-face. That 180* turn kind of pulls her mind and she realizes that she has to wait on me. 

It's all a work in progress. She has the makings of an excellent therapy dog, as far as I can tell. It's early days yet, but she's got a lot of River's personality, and River -- well, River was Practically Perfect, if I may borrow from Mary Poppins. 

The Food Thing...

So it's been a rough couple of weeks. The week of the 10th, I ate out way more than I usually do. Salt. Processed restaurant stuff really kills me. I'm still recovering. 

Then yesterday, at the polls, I took a dangerous tumble off the wagon with a donut(s) -- ok, one whole big donut and a few donut holes. And some pizza around 5 p.m. 

Yes, I did bring my own food. And I knew it. But The Tired came over me and that's probably my worst time, other than The Worry. Breakfast and lunch were ok. Greek yogurt, some nuts, a cheese stick for a snack. Salad of baby kale, chard & spinach with olives and blue cheese. Snack of celery with peanut butter.

And then came 3 p.m......... Polls closed at 7 p.m. Yikes, that's an interminable span of time!! I knitted. I read my Kindle. I knitted some more. I checked my FB. Sent off some e-mails. 

But the siren song of junk food kind of whirled into my brain. I did do some damage control, though, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

And that morning? Mother Nature played a stinky on me - bloat and cramps and some Other Things potentially heralding another visit. Really. Seriously not funny. So that's why I probably feel Dolly-Parton-ish and out of sorts. 

So today: Greek yogurt for breakfast. Kale/spinach/chard salad with radishes and a half of a chicken breast. Celery with peanut butter. Dinner will likely be something light, as I have yoga tonight. I'll try to keep things under control and perhaps with lots of water and some mild activity, I can mitigate some of the future problems. 

The Rant...

Our local newspaper has been bought and sold again. Apparently, now -- it looks to be a real paper again, instead of the ad-rag it'd become under the prior ownership. Most of the reporter staff has of course been long-gone and we don't expect them to come back.

I submitted The Rant above as possibly a guest column or a letter to the editor. We shall see. I wouldn't mind writing a column again. It was great fun and I had a good time doing it. 

Of course, it won't be like this. No pictures and projects graphs! But still some fun, I think.

Random Picture...

Do I smell corned beef??

Yes. Miss Tippi as Miss St. Patrick's Day. And yeah, there was payback. Raisa tried to eat the pompoms and Tippi did get a lovely treat afterwards. 

We missed the visit on Tuesday, since I was at the polls. Next Tuesday, we go to St. Colletta's, our new potential gig. It's a trial visit to see how she (and I) will handle students with mental and physical disabilities.

I confess to a bit of discomfort in dealing with folks in that kind of situation. Tippi will likely be a star. Me? Not so sure. But the social worker there is a gracious young woman and I know she'll try to make sure I'm ok with my own discomforts. 

Though we will likely play it straight... no costumes. Less confusing that way. Oh, and I got her new cards, so now we're officially "TDIA." She's not impressed. 

Our next challenge is TDIAOV - one hundred more visits. 

At least 100 more voters was what I was hoping for last night. By this measure, Tippi will be Queen of Therapy Dogs by the time I see a decent attendance at a primary election. No answer for the problem. Just a Rant of Good Proportion...

Mea Culpa. Mea Culpa. Mea Maxima Culpa...

So for those of you who don't know "Church Latin," that means roughly "My fault, my fault, very much my fault."

Why? Well, there's more weather coming in. Yep, WINTER weather. And today, I washed my truck. I couldn't quite remember what color it was, and since it's a balmy 49* here, I thought I'd scrape off some of the crud.

Lest you get mad at ME -- let me assure you, my MOM also washed hers. But she's older, so we don't want to be bashing the senior citizens...

See? My truck is now back to its lovely color. And by Wednesday, there's going to be more snow. 

I'm sorry. But I couldn't stand it anymore. My day lilies are pushing up in the melting icky snow, and I just had to do it. 

Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I guess that's fitting since it's also Lent. 

Primary Elections...

I don't know if it's national or in my area only, but March 18 is a primary election. Unfortunately, in IL we don't have "open primaries." That means you have to declare a party. If you go with "Independent," then you only get any referendum issues that are up for vote. 

Since I'm an Election Judge again this year, Hubby and I went out Saturday to vote early.

Have you voted?  You know - no matter WHICH party you belong to, our country is being taken over (or they're trying to) by rich, mega-rich, ultra-mega-rich folks. Thanks, Supreme Court, (not) for declaring corporations as "people." The Citizens United decision opened the floodgates for corporations to pour buckets and buckets and TROUGHS full of money into our election process.

The point is - so far, at least locally, YOUR VOTE COUNTS. So if you are having a primary election, get your butt to the polls and VOTE. 

Women in the US have had the right to vote since 1920, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment. 

Exercise that right. Vote. And hey - share the graphic above on your FB page or wherever. It's time to raise a ruckus. 

Knitting...

So I finally got back to Le Mouton Rouge Knittery. And of course I got some yarn. This is from a company in Corvallis, MT. It's hand dyed. It could be socks. It will likely be socks. 

But it could be a one-skein shawl if I wanted.  Anyway, I've added to Sock Stash with this purchase. I don't know - I think I'm bored with the Teal Sock and the Pink Sock. I'm sort of being unfaithful to both of them. I just felt like this colorway called to me. It's been a long winter, I guess. 

But maybe it also means I'm a little sick of knitting with toothpicks and I needed something between the logs I used to knit the afghan, and the teeny tiny size 1.5 needles for the socks. 

Oh, I also downloaded Kelly's "Ewe Love Red" one-skein shawl - it's on Ravelry - go find it. She's got lots of lovely patterns, and that shawl? 

I've seen it up-close and it is wonderful. She used Madelaine Tosh sock yarn, but I expect anything you have in sock-weight that you can't bear to knit "for your feet" will do just nicely with the pattern.

Hey - it's $5.00. Well worth it for a lovely pattern. Now to find the ball-winder. The swift is there. The ball-winder is somewhere. In my office. In a plastic tote. 

Unknown Blue Acrylic

So - I did a little ramble through the stash and I was thinking of my friends D and J - they're doing the baby stuff, remember? Well, D gave me a car-load (about 1,300 yards) of yarn in a blue variegated and a purple variegated. About 1,300 yards of EACH color. I'm grateful that she's passing it on, but she has the notorious habit of removing ball bands. So....... Augggggggggggh... I had to do the burn test to see what it was. First, I did the "spit-felt" test. You take the yarn, cut it, split the fibers, wet them and "felt" between your hands. If they felt together and you can't pull it apart, the fiber at least has a decent wool content. If it doesn't felt, it's not wool. I did the burn test, and to me and Hubby both, it smelled slightly "plastic" and it melted. It's likely acrylic. 

So here's what I started. A stash-busting baby jacket. It's the same one I did for The Twins. Just basically a rectangle with an asymmetrical front, basic buttonholes (no placket) and sleeves that you cast-on for when you reach about 8" of back. It's a pattern I got when I subscribed to a magazine, so I really don't think I can pass it on without angering the Copyright Gods. Anyway, The Google likely has a zillion "simple baby jacket" patterns. And there's always Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket. 

Simple Baby Jacket

I've been on an EZ kick. I now have all her books and I've bookmarked Schoolhouse Press. On my list is the BSJ. Also, the Sally Melville Einstein Jacket - for which I have both the yarn and buttons. I am making that one for myself, but there's a kiddie-version as well. 

At any rate, there's enough of both the blue and purple to do at least 2 jackets each, or a jacket and booties, or in a crazy moment, perhaps a mitered-square afghan. I'm not keen on baby mitts - they don't like 'em anyway. I do love baby hats. And with this yarn, I suppose I could do cuffs and bottom in the alternate color. Or mix it up. The variegation keeps you occupied. Or at least it keeps me occupied. I don't necessarily need a fiddly pattern. Just an interesting yarn. It's very soft, too, which is nice. Very baby-friendly.

Honestly, just about any combination, as long as it's hand knitted with love - it looks great on a baby! I dove into the button-bin and I have some buttons set aside. This pattern calls for 2 buttons (3/4") but I don't see any reason why I can't just put ONE in the thing. The baby won't know the difference. And neither will the parents, actually. The buttons I have picked out are very simple white round ones. They're not exactly "vintage" but they've been in the bin a long while. 

Anyway, I got cracking on it yesterday and I'm just plugging along. I did a bunch while watching "Cosmos" last night. It's a fantastic show, so if you can, watch it. I don't normally watch Fox Television. But this is worth the watch. 

Raisa...

Well, I have found the secret to getting a 5-month-old husky puppy to follow you on a loose leash, instead of trying to "Iditarod" around the store. 

Hold a small piece of buttered wheat toast in your opposite-the-leash hand. Seriously. I thought our trainer Bobbie was going to bust a gut laughing...but it worked. 

That got her through "sit-stay" and them "come" yesterday in training. It also helped her ignore the HUGE brindle Mastiff-mix who came 'round the corner dragging his owner. I'm afraid that Raisa is thisclose to heat. Boscoe the French Bulldog was very excited to see her. 

I'm hoping that she holds off long enough to "graduate" from Basic Obedience next Sunday. But if she's in heat, she ain't goin' out in public!

On Sunday morning Tippi &  Quinn got into a bad fight over her. At least we think it was over her. Tippi was doing some fairly intense sniffing the night before. Tippi & Quinn have had a few bad fights, ever since Quinn was spayed. But the consensus is that Raisa's blooming hormones have made the other 2 very PMS-y. Lovely. 

We did spay Quinn before her first heat. Had I a chance to do it over, I'd have let her have the heat cycle. Here's a link that provides some good information. Basically, most people have had their dogs spayed before they've gone into heat. We've all been told that's "good puppy parenting" and helps keep the number of unintended litters down. And that's great. I'm all for that. But c'mon... If you have a female, you can't just leave her outside unattended. "Good puppy parenting" also means paying attention to your dog.

Anyway, the newer science says let them have one heat (more if you can) and then spay around age 3 or so. Well, we can't do that. Raisa will have her first heat and then she'll be spayed. The consequences for early spaying not only include stunting physical growth. It also seems that there's an emotional growth that doesn't happen, making the dogs skittish, snappy and nervous. Which would be Quinn. 

Shhhhhhhh...

FYI, no question about it - NOBODY is going to be re-homed. Tippi's an adult dog, and I wouldn't do that to her. We are her FOURTH home, and she was 2.5 years old when we got her. We've had Quinn since she was 3 months old...she was intended for my sister, but instead became a "foster failure" -- we were a bit concerned in the beginning because she was Tippi's baby, and Tippi had rejected that litter. But River (RIP) took over the mothering and Quinn bonded tightly with her. There was NEVER a hint of this kind of thing with River.

And I think that if Raisa had been the age she was advertised with the rescue (12 weeks), it would've been a bit easier. As it is, and it's totally our fault for not asking, she was at least 5 months old -- wayyyyyyy too close to going into heat, what with the additional stress of being introduced into a family. 

It'll all work out. If we need to consult a behaviorist, we will. Each of them seems to get along well with Raisa. It's just each other. 

So anyway...after training, Raisa was pooped. So she decided that she needed a nap. And that box wasn't going to get in her way. Yes, it's a goofy picture. But Siberian Huskies can be goof-balls. 

Random Picture...


Yes, spring will be here. In spite of the last blast of winter. When I went to the grocery store this morning, it was breezy (wind out of the west) and just lovely. 

Like I said, the day lilies are coming up. And the lilacs will be budding. 

And spring will return. I haven't seen the robins yet, but I can't help but believe they're there. 

I'm getting that itch to plan the veggie garden. Likely, there'll be no tomatoes this year. After 4 bad years in a row, we're not certain we want to deal with them. But you never know. At least one tomato plant??

And an expanded herb garden. And flowers. I can see it in my head, and I can smell the lilacs now. Can't you?

You DIDN'T Vote? Well...

...then don't gag over your morning coffee to see that our city's tax referendum (increasing sales tax by 1%) passed.

Because YOU didn't vote.

...then don't sigh over your morning newspaper when you read that some politician with ethics charges pending against her actually won in her district.

Because YOU didn't vote.

...then don't scream at your TV at another round of endless presidential candidate bloviation via commercial since there's still no nominee for the opposing party.

Because YOU didn't vote.

...then don't complain to me about the local Park Board (and by the way: REALLY? Are those LIFE appointments???) because "your guy" didn't get in.

Because YOU didn't vote.

We had a primary day yesterday. I was up before the chickens because I chose to be an Election Judge; a job I take very seriously. It's exhausting work because you are stuck at the polling place from 5 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. (polls close at 7 p.m., but it takes about 1/2 hour for you to tear down and properly shut down the voting machines) and then I got to drive the supplies and the voter box back to the Clerk's Office. I got home about 8:30 p.m.

For this, in a few months, I'll get about $100. That's about $6.25 per hour. I certainly don't do this for the money, since I do have a full-time job. I do it because that's my way of getting involved.

And I can tell you, on a local level, involvement means getting in the voting booth.

Involvement STARTS well before that, however. Involvement means educating yourself about the issues. I can't number the people (mostly women - YIKES!) who glanced over at their husband's ballot application form to see what HE was doing before SHE checked off the box.

Let me explain that, lest you think they were voting in the same booth. In my county, you have a pre-signed "ballot application form" that we have at the polling place. That's that little alphabetical book we pull your "ticket" from. You filled out an application to get your voter's card.

In a primary in my state, you have 3 options: You can declare a party (Dem/Repub) or you can declare "non-partisan" but ONLY if there is a referendum issue on the ballot. So there are 3 check boxes: Democratic, Republican, Nonpartisan. If there is no referendum, you MUST declare a party, since Illinois doesn't have (nor will it likely have) an open primary.

So. If there is a referendum issue, educate yourself. Get to know the issue. Think about what you want to have happen. Then go vote.

Women, please use your own brain. If your husband wants to pick one type of ballot, you really do not need to go along with him. So if your vote cancels his out? Well, that's sometimes the way it works. That's the greatness of the process. Sometimes we run neck-and-neck because people are passionate about issues, and will vote on them. And there are winners and losers. So if you want to just vote for the referendum and Hubby wants to vote for political candidates, that's perfectly ok. If he wants to be a Republican this time, you can be a Democrat. The skies won't rain down frogs and locusts upon either of you.

The turnout in Illinois was abysmal. In the toilet. The lowest in years. People, there are other countries in which the population votes, but they are "told" how to vote. Oh, sure, Chavez gets a mandate...at the point of threats! WE get to vote for who and what we want. We get to determine, to a certain extent, what gets on the ballot by participating in your town's council or the like. At my polling place, we had 19% turnout. Sad. But if you don't vote, you don't get to complain about the outcome. It's your own darned fault. You have the right to vote; it's up to you to exercise it.

At any rate, involvement starts by educating yourself. Then it continues when you get your butt to the polls and cast your vote. If you want to get more involved, there are a number of local politicians and issues that would welcome your help. Find an issue about which you are passionate, and get involved.

And go vote.