Garden Bounty, Frogging and Re-doing

Seems like an abrupt change of subject from the Godawful pictures I posted last time. But it does have a certain rhythm to it, if you think about it.

So recently, we were able to get our first harvest from the backyard garden. In my hand is a bowl of lettuce: 4 varieties, with more sprouting during this very wet spring. And in my hand is a bunch of radishes. These juicy red globes of goodness have a very mild flavor until after you swallow. Then, there's this slow-starting afterburn. Yum!!

The lettuce includes butter, red oak, red sail and romaine. We try to mix it with iceberg and spinach. It's spicy, sweet and tender. We think we'll get a second (and maybe a third) planting if the season holds out on us.

We have carrots coming up. Our beans are about 1-2" long. The peas are flowering. And the tomatoes are coming along nicely.

All of this life in our yard makes us sad when we see the news. We feel impotent and unable to do anything regarding the Gulf. Our oldest kid, unemployed for the moment in this absolutely stinky environment, has applied for clean-up jobs. He'd like to volunteer, but he'd rather get paid at this point. I worry about the things a mom worries about: the lack of oversight (in my opinion) of the clean-up people; the lack of HazMat equipment; the long-term health effects he may encounter; the fact that people seem to ignore the toxicologists who say that this stuff brings with it a host of health issues that are both short- and long-term. But as he says, "I feel like a schmuck just sitting here, since I'm not working anyway." He's one of those "I want to fix this" kind of people; whether it's people, a sick animal or a dying Gulf. He has a more-than-healthy dose of scorn and disdain for Corporate America, since he's in the generation of those young folks who are "Boomerang Babies" - out on their own and then suddenly caught in the worst recession in modern history, living in Mom's basement with no foreseeable move-out date.

I don't know what the future holds for him or the Gulf. But he seems to think that their futures are entwined somehow.

"Frogging" has a long history as a knitting term. What sound does a frog make? "Ribbit, ribbit," right? Well, what does a knitter do when he or she screws up big-time on a project? "Rip-it, rip-it." Thus, frogging. And I just did that.

Remember the burgundy prayer shawl? My first lace project? Well, there were some mistakes in the first part. Apparently, Sl1 kw (slip 1 stitch, knit-wise) was something my head understood, but my hands didn't. And then there was a nice long stretch of pattern on the knit side where I just wasn't paying attention.

I looked at it. It was not good. So... rip-it, rip-it, rip-it. I'm re-doing it and in the process I changed the foundation rows, too. It's a better project. And I'm a better knitter because of the fearless (well, ok, not fearless but necessary) ripping of a good 6+ inches of work!

Re-doing is sometimes necessary in knitting and in life. In knitting as well as in life, a re-do gives you the opportunity to rectify mistakes, fix a concept that "sounded good" but wasn't practical in execution, and generally make yourself a more skilled technician. You get to learn to read your knitting. You can literally 'feel' where you went wrong. And there's no penalty from the knitting scorekeepers for re-doing something. Knitting mulligans go on and on, till you are satisified with your project.

As should be the case with the oil industry and the fiasco in the Gulf. Re-do the standards that allowed the Oil Barons to get away with not only screwing up our environment but screwing up our own heads and our own government. Our heads got screwed with because we began to believe that oil was the be-all and end-all for our energy needs.

It's not. And you know what? It's a very finite resource, considering the world's population, its needs, and the actual amount of oil available.

Our government got screwed with because they were seduced by the money that Oil Barons had to spread around. Look at MMS and what happened when the foxes were in charge of the henhouse. Oil people would "pencil in" the inspection reports for MMS personnel to re-do in ink. This is a case of a re-do that should have been a re-don't.

Our environment is screwed with because oil and water truly do not mix. The dispersant that BP has used has a MSD sheet (Material Safety Data sheet) that's as long as your arm. The MSDS as it's known is a sheet (or several) of information on a product that tells you what's in it, how it will react in certain situation (environmental, etc.) and what happens when the particular product encounters a living organism. And what to do about that when the thing that happens is really, really bad.

I used to work with a product that, in its parts, was fairly innocent. But together, they were exothermic. They cast off heat. Enough to give you second-degree burns. And then, if you mixed one part with water, it exploded. Those are not nice things to have happen when you're near the product.

The dispersant causes health problems to the people using it. It's allowing BP to "fudge the numbers" because it's causing the oil to change character - be less easily accounted for, basically. And it's causing the oil to sink down to the lower depths where the "dark creatures" do the work of creating life.

Think about it. There are bottom-dwelling creatures that eat the detritus of life: the carcasses of dead animals and plant castoffs. They eat these, essentially recycle them, and recreate that life in fertilizer, allowing others to benefit from their work.

They don't eat oil. They'll die. And when the bottom-feeders die, the Gulf will die. It may well never recover. All of the Earth's water will be affected.

And as the water goes, humanity goes. This is one re-do that should have been re-done 5 or 6 Administrations ago. We all know that politicians often don't see past the next election. And their acceptance of this money from BP and other Oil Barons is a measure of their own greed.

Our acceptance of the "fact" that Oil is the one resource is a measure of our own reluctance to be the brave Americans we once were. We need to step outside of our petroleum-based lifestyle and look at solar, wind and water power. Each has its own drawbacks, true.

But we've already seen the drawback of Big Oil. And our childrens' children will continue to see what we let happen on our watch.

How''s that "drill-y-spill-y" thing workin' for ya?

Drill, baby, drill? Look.

And remember.

This is what our Gulf, our gift from our Creator, our treasure, our priceless wildlife refuge, and our unspoiled bit of nature has become.

Remember this and think of your kids, your grandkids, and your family to come. They're going to miss what you knew.

And we have ourselves to blame. We have had a Cosmic Thump On The Head. We'd better heed the message and start getting serious about alternative energy. We are hogs. And we're paying the price.

Apparently On a Roll...

I must be on a roll, in a good way. I've finished a second baby project. And both were done before shower or due dates! Wow. I may faint.

This is the crocheted afghan for a friend's grandbaby-to-be. She's been madly knitting and crocheting her own heart out, and I thought that she'd like to have this for the little one.

This also has a story... My niece wanted to learn to crochet. My grandma taught me when I was in the single-digit ages and nobody else in the family was eager to learn. They all thought I was a suck-up, apparently. But I enjoyed knitting and crocheting, even though I never got very far with crochet - only doing afghans, wash cloths, scarves.

So when my niece said she wanted to learn, I was more than happy to teach her. I went out to buy this yarn, figuring that I'd start her with something out of my stash; start her on simple squares before she got to the point of having to change colors, etc.

She is struggling, needless to say. Her busy schedule prevented further lessons, though I expect she'll get back to it soon. I told her she could have THIS yarn when she learned the 12 squares I gave her.

This is a Caron yarn, in "brights" - 100% acrylic and done in 10 strips, all sewn together with a mattress stitch, and then a half-double crochet around the edge. I think the lucky baby will enjoy it and the lucky mommy will find it really easy to care for.

And I can always get my niece more yarn. When she does her squares.

One Down, One to Go...

OK, so my oldest friend's daughter is having a baby. The shower is in June. I figured, since there are no grandmas to knit or crochet, and my friend can't sew worth a lick, I'd do a quilt and afghan for the baby. Here's the quilt. I appealed to a friend of mine, a Quilt Queen, for "the most idiot-proof" quilt pattern she knew. This is as simple as it gets, and STILL - it took me all day.

It's basically a rectangle with 4 patterns of fabric. We know she's having a boy (and if the ultrasound is wrong, I hope she likes blue!), so I chose a pattern in the center that's comprised of red and blue bandanas scattered across it. The middle shade of blue is covered in small white dots - kind of like the sky with stars in it. And the end piece is a pale blue, cloud-themed fabric with actual white stars on it. The back piece is a dark blue paisley that folds up around the top. We mitered the corners and those were hand-sewn. There are two rows of straight stitching around the binding, and a fancy zig-zag on the straight parts of each of the stripes.

Well, part of the trouble is this reason: I wasn't using my own sewing machine. The last project I did on the sewing machine was a dozen "chapbooks" for Son #2 for his Creative Writing class. Chapbooks are collections of writings in a hand-made book format. Son #2 decided on the layout and all that, and I offered to sew up the binding. The sewing machine is an ancient Brother heavy-duty that has been my "old reliable" for over 30 years. I've had it repaired exactly 2 times, and each time the guy tries to talk me into some fancy-schmancy machine that I'll never use - much less learn to operate! I need forward, backward, zig-zag and zippers. That's it. Nothing more.

Anyway, I messed up the tension. As I was trying to get the bobbin to behave, the thread kept winding AROUND the bobbin compartment, instead of picking up and coming through. I have to work on that. And I was determined to get this quilt done this weekend.

So I used Hubby's machine. He has a Singer portable that he uses to sew leashes for our canine rescue stuff. It was fine for the top assembly. We were on the floor of my office pinning it together - which was another issue: no room (at least no dog-free room) to lay the thing out to put it together. As it was, our foster puppy kept coming by wondering what Mom and Dad were doing in there!

I used a natural cotton batting, so it'll be nice now as a floor quilt and then in the fall and winter in the crib. It's basically crib-sized, though we had to trim off quite a bit to get it to fit. I couldn't find 60" fabric, so it's about 48 x 36.

I go to assemble. While watching a marathon of "Deadliest Catch" - a show that's strangely addicting... And sewing on the dining room table, which was a good place, since I had room enough to turn the quilt without dragging it on the floor or over dogs. And the fold-over binding goes well. Then I try to do a fancy zig-zag down the strips. Well, all heck breaks loose. The tension gets all balled up and I have to rip. And rip. And rip.  I was not happy. Finally, Hubby figured it out and we got the tension fixed.

I'm finishing up the crocheted afghan this week. Picture will follow.

Not to sound mean, but I hope my friend and her daughter appreciate this!

I want to thank my friend Mary Lynn for her advice. I also want to tell her that I truly admire her quilts; I don't know that I'll ever really be a quilter. This one about kicked my butt. I can't imagine a Log Cabin or a Wedding Ring! I think I'll stick to knitting and leave the quilting to the experts.

Plug the d*&^ hole!

OK, so that's allegedly (at least according to Katie Couric) what President Obama said in regard to horrific-beyond-words total destruction of the Gulf coast along Louisiana.

There are so many things wrong with this scenario, and I will be the first to say I'm no expert. But even the experts can't seem to figure out how to "plug the d--- hole."

And is it only me, or is it a bit like the fox watching the henhouse to have BP in charge of this screw-up, since they're basically the ones who caused it?

If I ruled the world, here's what I'd do. I'd get every oil expert from every oil company in a room and tell them, "You don't get out of here till we get this figured out and stopped."

And as for BP? Well, no stock dividends, no executive pay till this is done; and all that excess cash (because BP's profits are obscene anyway) will go to pay the people whose lives you've ruined.

I have no idea how to shut the blasted thing off. All I know is that both BP and the previous administration screwed up. Nobody was watching as MMS cavorted with oil executives - or worse, they did watch and nobody gave a rat's rear end. Off-shore wells were being built willy-nilly and nobody bothered to ask, "Hey, what if this blows up?"

I mean really. I'm no scientist, but I do know that oil and water don't mix. And I do realize how flammable oil and gas are. That would be enough for even my limited experience; it'd give me cause to pause. But nope, not those brave (?) souls at BP. Profit, baby, profit.

Who cares what it may do to the land? We think the damage will be "minimal." Yep. There ya go. As long as BP and its investors get theirs, they don't care what the rest of us end up with.

And by the way, is it me or is everyone else astounded at the rush of countries who've come to our aid? Yeah, I thought so. Because of the position we've put ourselves in - or let me correct that: the position we've allowed our politicians to put us in - it's no wonder we've got nobody running to help us. They're all sitting back and watching.

As we implode.

For the sake of corprate greed.

I feel nauseated. And powerless. And I don't like it. I hope I'm not alone in this feeling. Because maybe if I'm not alone, those of us at the bottom of the power-pile just might be able to do something. No, I don't know what. But something. I'm open to suggestions, as long as this remains at the forefront of your thoughts: This was not a "natural" disaster and it didn't have to be inevitable. Someone - some corporation or corporations, since we know there are more of them involved - needs to not only pay for this but be prosecuted.

For blatant disregard of the planet. At least.

Diaper Rash Doggie...

Yeah, diaper rash. Well, not actually, but close enough. Our middle elkhound has been spayed and she was not leaving her shaved area alone - but she was leaving the stitches alone. She ended up with abraded lips and some sores. We put the "inner tube" back on her neck, got a stink-eye that you'll recognize, and then used Dr. Boudreaux's Butt Paste on the open sores.

Yes, that's the name of the stuff. It's like A & D Ointment, but it's creamy and less greasy. Since she now thinks that the couch is her personal space (who's idea was that??), even though we put a cloth on it (the couch, not the dog), we figured that going with a less-greasy ointment would be better.

Today, the rash looks much better. We were concerned, because we were afraid she might have been allergic to the sutures. She has about a week left till she gets them clipped. And also, since the vet felt that there were signs of another infection, she's on yet another round of antibiotics. We think that part of the issue is some clipper burn. I think the vet tech got a little over-zealous.

You can see she's got a little bit of a belly. Poor girl has had 2 litters in quick succession (not our idea - we adopted her AFTER that, and are fostering one of her pups, too) and we joke that she "needs a tummy tuck." She's within her correct weight range, and as soon as she's better, she'll be out running in the dog park again, which will help her fitness level and certainly will help her mood. Which has been pretty crappy lately!!

So we're also using something she just loves: plain yogurt. The active cultures will help her poor little tummy get all its good bugs back. She loves it - to the point of "I like this more than canned dog food."

Luckily, this is the last one in this Pack who needs to be spayed. We're all fixed now, and her next task is obedience school, on her way to getting her Canine Good Citizen, and then certification as a therapy dog. It'll be a long road, but I know she's got it in her.

Another WIP...

I finally got my hands around the "thin-to-thick" yarn, Tokyo. Like an idiot, I bought the yarn (well, THAT isn't idiotic) and though, Ok, this is a simple project to get my knitting fingers back.

Ha. Hint: after hand surgery, just do something simple like an afghan square or a wash cloth. Do not - repeat, not use specialty yarn for anything till you have a reasonable grasp on the needles and the coordination. I ripped the sucker back three times. Almost tossed 'em but for 3 balls of the yarn, and for the fact that I really, really like the way it looks when it's done, and for the fact that, for cryin' out loud - it's straight knitting - I'm just going forward. The Tokyo was an impulse buy. (Go ahead, snicker here) I had come back to the LYS and was sitting around while my friend/owner was whipping this wrap up. So how hard can it be?

Well, now I finally put it back on bamboo needles. I'd started it on bamboo circulars, which was one of my more idiotic ideas. Got it onto aluminum needles till I got my fingers back in action, and now it's back on bamboo, but straights, not circs. As you can see, the yarn makes an almost lace-like pattern in itself. You kind of have to tug it a bit, because it scrunches up till the fabric gets a little weight on it. But completed, it's got a lovely look and a nice drape. It's great with a little black dress or anywhere you'll need just a little "something" to either dress up an outfit or outwit a sneaky A/C vent.

I'm told it comes in a silver and a white - I think either would look lovely, but all they had was black, so I went for it. You can see the texture here, where I've fluffed it out a bit. You have to be careful - it's really too easy to pick up too many stitches, because you don't always see the bottom leg of the stitch. I've k2tog a couple of times!! It looks a little sloppy, and I think that till I get more on the wrap itself, it'll look like I don't know what I'm doing. Wait; I don't claim to know what I'm doing, but I do like to think my tension is usually good, even if I do say so myself. This will be pretty once it's blocked a bit and with maybe a nice shawl pin or stick. I haven't decided which, but either would dress it up and keep it on my shoulders. This is an outstanding "tv project" or "waiting room project" because it's plain knitting, but also, when you KIP (knit in public) with this kind of project, it gets people to asking questions. It looks more complex than it is, and the self-patterning is lovely. And seriously, this kind of project in the doctor's office is virtually guaranteed to give you a good blood pressure reading - it's just so relaxing to knit while you're waiting for the doc to come into the exam room and you don't have to worry about setting it down mid-row. What kind of KIP projects do you like to do? What's been the most successful KIP experience you've had? I love it when the older ladies come up and cheer on the fact that I'm knitting, though it makes me sad that they say, "I used to do that but I gave it up." And it's great to see the teen girls sneaking a look. Maybe they'll get inspired, or maybe they think I'm a crazy silver-haired woman with sticks. Which I may be.

Coming Along...

Well, the shawl is coming along. I've got about 5" done (and what? 5 FEET more to go yet??) and I can't say I'm disappointed in the yarn.

Actually, I really LOVE the yarn. The pattern is at least even. Maybe it'll take another 5" before I'm comfortable with how it looks, because it doesn't look that way in the Knit-a-Day page. But then, this is a different yarn and probably bigger needles than what that swatch was completed with.

I can say that at least it's consistent. And it's draping beautifully. If I can get the picot edge to straighten out the ends, I'll be a happy camper. The top shot is just the shawl on the needles; not stretched or blocked or anything; I weighted down parts with coasters and a glass egg... Hey - I'm using what I've got here!!

This picture is up close. You can "kind of" see the arrowhead design; and the holes are regular, which gives the piece a general lace-ish look. And at this point, consistent is where I want to be. I'll block it when I'm done and we'll go from there. Either way, my friend will love it and I'm not going to freak out because it "doesn't look like the picture."

This project is one of those leaps of faith that every knitter takes at least once. In my mom's case, her first leap was her last! She told me that she knitted a pair of argyle socks for my grandpa. And that "everyone in my high school class" was doing it, so she went along with it. And hated every stitch! She's an outstanding seamstress, but can't and won't pick up another pair of knitting needles in spite of my grandma's being a very talented needlewoman. I kept telling my mom that at our LYS, there are women her age who "got past the socks" but she's not budging.

Mind you, I've never knitted socks. So I may hate them. However, at least with this project, I will have conquered rudimentary lace. And YO. And PSSO. And a good hearty mix of LOL with it!!

I See Nothing Wrong...

...in requiring illegal immigrants to pay fines, back taxes, perform community service and become proficient in English in order to earn citizenship. I may have my "liberal" card revoked, but here are my thoughts on the whole "immigration reform" thing. First off, in full disclosure, my great-grandparents came here via Ellis Island. At least I'm certain of my mom's side. Still working on finding out about my dad's side, since there aren't any oldsters alive. So. Arizona passes what I call a "Walking While Brown" bill - nothing much will convince me that it's going to lead to profiling. But I can sort of see their side. When CA enacted their crackdown, illegals just moved over a bit. And from what I understand, the crime rate in AZ is rather high, and the "mafia" and drug stuff going on in Mexico makes it pretty scary. There's much talk about "what to do" and "people's rights" - folks hollering about how the people come across the border "because there's no work" or because they're trying to provide for the families they left behind. Fine. But they're STILL illegal. No matter if they come from Mexico or Poland. Illegal is illegal. And amnesty is not a good tool. It's a whack in the chops for those who did go through the process. The law proposed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is just in its infancy. Part of it includes: biometric identification cards for worker verification - would stop illegal hiring at its source; stronger enforcement of the laws; and a pathway for the illegals already here. And that's where the first paragraph here comes in. According to an article in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek, "Some aspects seem overly discouraging to illegal immigrants, such as requiring them to pay fines and back taxes, perform community service, and become proficient in English in order to earn citizenship." Would you rather spend the time being deported or jailed??? Come on. Get a grip. You are here illegally. In English, that's called "a crime" and you can be fined, jailed or deported. Here's what I call my "Grandma Rant" --- when my great-grandparents came over, there was no bilingual anything. No "Press One for Polish." They learned English. They paid taxes. They worked. They were sponsored by relatives or friends. My great-grandparents were treated as "ignorant immigrants" but all of them knew at least 3 languages. Not too shabby for "uneducated" folks. One thing that doesn't seem to be making much of a wave is the whole sub-standard wage thing. The rallying cry is that illegals "will do jobs most Americans won't." Well, tell that to my unemployed kid who had to move back home. It's not that he won't do just about any job he can find. It's that he can't even afford gas at $6.50/hour - which is what a recent job in our town was paying. How about this? We make EVERYONE get paid a decent wage. That will be a double-win for everyone. Those who've been unemployed will have a shot at a job that actually pays a wage they can live with (i.e. pay for gas, rent, etc.) and those who are hiring people specifically to under-pay them (i.e. "exploit" them) will be forced to hire people at a regular wage; and will be fined for not doing so. Politics will likely intrude, as it always does. But if the Feds don't do something quickly, other border states will continue these types of ploys. Eventually, we'll either become a country known for its inhospitable treatment or we'll be known as a country that can't get anything done.

"America's Chernobyl"

...and no, I can't take credit for the title. It was from some caller on a talk show. And he's right. The BP "It's not OUR fault" spill is going to be a huge disaster. Built on a pile of lies. BP says they leased the rig out to one company. Halliburton (remember, Cheney's "retirement plan" company with all the no-bid Iraq contracts??) made the concrete thingies that failed, and BP says it "only owns the land upon which the rig was built." Not their rig, not their crew, not their baby. This makes the Valdez screw-up look like a sneeze. This is gonna ripple all the way up the East Coast and it's going to cost the Gulf states in terms of tourism and industry for decades. Let's see. The Supreme Court says that a corporation now has the same rights as a person. So they have the same responsibilities. At least there are littering laws. And at most, there are charges of murder that can be filed. Somewhere in between there, there's gotta be some "assault and battery" that can be said to have happened to the people who rely on the Gulf for their livelihoods. I know - it seems far-fetched. And BP is already up with the conciliatory statements of "we're willing to do everything we can to help." Well, you could've bought the shut-off valve they use in Norway and other European areas. Oh, hang on. That cost a few thousand bucks more. The object of a corporation is to increase shareholder wealth. Don't bother with that couple thou' - nobody'll notice if we use a cheaper shut-off valve. This rig was designed to withstand a hurricane. Well. Apparently BP never heard of the idea of a fire on an oil rig. There's no contingency plan, folks. This wasn't even on the radar for the corporation in a "worst case scenario" play book. Another caller said he wondered if "Someone was trying to tell us something." Let's see: Financial crisis; housing crisis; off-shore drilling approved. BOOM!! Off-shore rig catches fire. Corporation takes no overt responsibility, and people say the government (of which some want less) "didn't do enough" in the first days. What? The Coast Guard "isn't enough??" People can't have it both ways. This is a mega-watt spotlight on how we can't allow corporations to duck their responsibilities. The Administration needs to submit a bil to BP. And BP must - absolutely must - "man-up" and pay for this. If it's their oil, it's their problem. Period.

Wearing a Rain Stick...

Here's my Tippi. We figure this is a great name for her, since when you go to pet her, she "tips" so that she gets a belly scratch, too!

Anyway, as most of you know, we rescued her this January. She's 3 years old, and we don't know a lot about her history, but we know enough to realize that she really needed a stable home with a Pack she could love and be adored by, and where she'd always have good vet care, good food, and no fear.

Now comes the Rain Stick. For those of you who don't know, a Rain Stick is essentially a cactus branch that's about 3" across, and it's dried out; sometimes painted with "aboriginal" art, and it's got seeds in it. When you tip it one way or the other, the seeds cascade, and it does sound like a soft spring rain on your roof. We use it in church sometimes, when there are sprinkling rites, because it makes a nice addition to the music.

So Hubby and I are getting ready to go to Mass, and he brings the rain stick down the hall. Tippi and I were in the dining room, where she was getting her ears scratched. All of a sudden, she catches sight of Hubby and FREEZES. Her eyes get big, and she looks as if she wants to say, "Oh, noooooooooooooo!" She stood stock still, and Hubby commented that she must be skittish of the sound of the stick.

Nope. I saw the look on her face. Man + Stick + coming toward me = maybe I can disappear and he won't hit me. I took the stick from Hubby and set it on the floor. I called Tippi toward me and put my hand gently on her back, and asked her to sniff the stick. She did. She looked at me as if to say, "Only because you're standing here." And then she walked over to the dining room table and crawled beneath it till we left.

I know she's had trauma in her life. As a re-cap: her first owner bred her to a pit bull (and I have NO bias toward the breed; just against idiot breeders) and the puppies were apparently vicious. Her second owner kept her in a fenced yard with 3 or 4 Rottweilers and she had to fight for her food; this guy's idea of discipline was to throw the dogs. Her THIRD owner "accidentally" bred her with the male Norwegian Elkhound she had. Imagine that?? And again - remember, Tippi's three years old. She rejected that litter and then we became aware that she needed a new home.

See, this is the hard part about adopting and rescuing a dog. You don't know a lot of the history, and sometimes, you really don't WANT to know.

I want to go find her prior owners (except for the last one; she was just stupid and in over her head, not deliberately cruel that we can see). And I want to plant the rain stick. Somewhere where they'll be needing a doctor's care to remove it. Just far enough so that they can't walk or sit comfortably - or even bend. That would make me feel better.

Baby Gifts...

...can be such fun to do! Even quick ones like these are both decorative and practical. Babies burp, after all, and while the infant-sized bib isn't necessarily what you'd use for feeding, for an adorable photo-op (and tell me what new parent doesn't have his or her camera glued in-hand) - this little bib will suffice for that, and even some drool.

I whipped these together for my friend's first grandson. They're all walking on air, and Heaven knows we could all use some good news for once.

The cloth on each is 14-ct. aida. I used DMC floss, and I got the cute caterpillar out of a "motifs" book - there must be over 1,000 in this book, and of course you could combine them into samplers by groups (baby, holiday, toy, profession, etc.) and the alphabet was also in there. Of course, I used the same colors for both things; they're bright colors and I thought it made it more of a "set."

With the burp cloth, it's also 100% terry and just the right size to fling over your shoulder or lap. It's a decent weight, too - not a flimsy little piece of fabric. The saying? Well, it's pretty much what you do with babies - the only thing missing was "change me" and that can go on a diaper bag!

I hope they like the gifts and I hope they get a lot of use out of them.

I Beg to Differ...

So today, on my "Knit-A-Day" calendar, the Yarn Harlot says: "I think knitting is just about perfect. In fact, I would change only one thing: It'd be great if it counted as a cardio workout." Obviously, Stephanie hasn't seen me when I've screwed something up for the FIFTIETH time, or I can't get my project done by a deadline (like a birthday or wedding - pretty much set in stone)... Or I'm trying to find the yarn or needles or pattern or bag or buttons or stitch holders or markers or....whatever it is that I absolutely urgently need to start or finish or work on a project. So I go buy the thing. Just to find it afterwards. Right where I put it. And I put it there so I'd remember where I put it when I needed it. Feel free to join in here, if you've sung this song before! If' you've read her books, you know she has a super sense of herself as a knitter, and is ready to recognize all the quirky we Yarn-a-holics have (How and Where to Stash, or The Attack of the WIPs, anyone???). And I've read stories where she's worked herself into a frenzy. To me, that IS a cardio workout!

Finally Done!!

Well, let me qualify that. Remember the February snowman that I posted a while back? Well, finally, he's done. See the picture? With extreme respect to my quilting friends: Wowza. I can't imagine doing some of the more intricate quilts I've seen. This makes exactly twice that I have "quilted" and I think this is the least "quilty" of anything you gals can do!

Anyway, I also couldn't find his buttons. Yeah, the heart-themed buttons that I spent a good 45 minutes selecting. Aggggggggggghhhhhh!! No doubt in the wormhole that is my craft closet. I'll find them. Just about the time June's snowman is done.

And also, for my knitting friends, a little story. It's sad, too. My friend's son is in the midst of a bad struggle with a traumatic brain injury. Due to a miscommunication of doctors, it was at first thought that he had digestive issues. Turns out, not so much. It was a brain tumor. They thought it was one of the "over 90%" that were benign, but not so. He's 40. Anyone who wishes to send good thoughts to this man and his family, please do so!

I thought my friend might like a prayer shawl. I spent a little while discussing it with my LYS (local yarn shop) owner, a friend of mine and an absolute knitting maven. We finally picked out the yarn shown here: a beautiful Cascade brand - their ultra pima line, a fantastic, rich garnet color; 100% pima cotton. You can see the sheen in hank and in the wound ball. I thought that with cotton, and with the pattern I chose, it would be warm enough but not too warm. If she's sitting in the hospital or even just at home, it's got enough body to keep her warm without feeling stifling hot. And I wasn't sure how she felt about wool. There are folks out there who don't like it, and also - when you have a sick person at home, the last thing you need is to worry about caring for a garment. Cotton is king in that regard because she can just toss it in the wash and either hang it to dry or put it on "cool" in the dryer. Either way, much more user-friendly for someone who's likely to be distracted.

Take a look here, at the shawl I've started. It's about 1,000 yards of yarn, so we're talking 5 hanks, which is actually 1,100 yards total. This is stitched using size 6 needles, and is color number 3701. I did a variation on a "little arrowhead" pattern, and as it goes, I'll post a new photo. It's a little hard to see, but the arrowheads are going to all be going ^^^^ as the rows build, and at the beginning, I did a 6-row stockinette - which is annoying me so I may end up doing a single-crochet "picot" type edge on both ends, just to tack it down. In a way, I'm kind of proud of myself. Essentially, I'm knitting lace! No, it's not a spider web shawl or any of the absolutely phenomenal qiviut patterns. But in its own way, it's lace. And pretty simple, too.

Look at the stitch definition with this yarn! I'm really pleased with it, and I think it's on my list for a shell or tank top in the future. The colors that I saw ran from gorgeous whites and creams to pastels and the more jewel tones. I was sort of thinking of a spring-ish green, but when I saw this garnet color, I was hooked. You can find out more information at http://www.cascadeyarns.com/ - and I also encourage you to shop your LYS. Particularly, get to know the folks at your local store - not the big-box Hobby Lobby or Michael's - but your small local yarn shop where you can get great lessons, find knitting circles and make friends. Your LYS owner is there to help you and only by your support and that of other local knitters will he or she still be there!

Let me know what you think of February - I've got 3 months down, and March is on the scroll frame. I don't know if I'll quilt him or if I can find a good frame. Green is always a difficult color to match. I've only framed December, in a lovely folksy red frame. After that - of course - Michael's discontinued the style!! If nothing else, I can get dear hubby to break out the router and do a frame for me. I can pickle one and make it match better than I might be able to match with shamrock fabrics. I'd also love some new ideas for framing these little guys. I had an itch once to do a bunch of them in a row - but quickly discarded that because I don't have wall space to put a "bell-pull" type of picture anywhere.

Rule # 1...

...Federal Air Marshals have no sense of humor. Rule #2: Jokes about shoe bombs? Not a good idea, particularly if you're on a flight from Washington DC and you're a "diplomat." Rule #3: Diplomatic immunity apparently does NOT cover "stupid." Apparently, a minor "diplomat" from the country of Qatar has a raging case of nicotine addiction and couldn't manage the relatively short flight from DC to Denver, since he tried to smoke in one of the bathrooms. And then decided that joking about "setting his shoe onfire" was a cute idea. Really? A half hour before the jet landed, a flight attendant smelled smoke, this boob comes out of the loo and thinks that making jokes, which caused a huge uproar, including fighter jets scrambling outside of Denver, was a good idea. Maybe he needs to go back to Diplomat School. Maybe, since he's all of 27 or 28, he needs to grow up and not hide behind the "immunity" thing. Be a man and say you did something stupid. And apologize. The crew and authorities handled this quite properly. According to the story posted on MSN's website, the US will have to decide whether to ask Qatar to waive this idiot's immunity. Qatar could decline, and then the man would likely be expelled from the US. It's certainly good that this was handled swiftly and safely, but it sure is stupid. Qatar owes us the costs for dealing with someone who apparently likes sophomoric stunts.

I'm Not Sure What to Do With This...

So the scandals continue to mount for the Catholic Church - at least the Catholic Church outside the US. And I fired off an e-mail to one of the guys at work who's "in the biz"- i.e. a religious. He said he'd call me and he did. We talked for about 45 minutes. When he gets questions about why he's "still a Catholic after all this stuff," he says his response is this: My faith is in God, not in the man-made rules of the Church. What I believe comes from God, and not from some hierarchy. I thought that was pretty radical, and I know I need to chew on it a bit. My problem is that it's the CHURCH that has disappointed me. The specific set of Catholic rules is one thing I've always had problems with. (Birth control, anyone???) And I find some statistics to say that I'm not alone. Why are Italy's and Poland's birthrates so low? They're REALLY Catholic countries, but someone, somewhere, isn't buying the Papal Encyclical on birth control. Which is fine. I don't buy it either. I need to chew on his theory of why he still believes. I know it's a good one; I just have to get past my anger at what I see is the Church's unwillingness to (a) change; and (b) acknowledge that there IS a significant problem. Benedict's letter to Ireland seemed to indicate that he was demanding answers. But it also seems to me he should have demanded the answers years ago and he now needs to streamline the process and make it transparent to those of us warming the pews. My friend also said that he reads a wide variety of media and gave me some info on things I might want to look at. And he reminded me that there ARE good religious out there. And I do get the whole "if it bleeds, it leads" thing. It certainly sells more papers!! The US Conference of Catholic Bishops met in 2002 or so and had at that time instituted a "zero-tolerance" rule. And it has helped in the US. There have been only 6 cases of abuse recently. And yes, six is STILL TOO MANY, but it's proof that the zero tolerance rule is working. I was under the mistaken belief that what the USCCB said was meant for ALL the bishops everywhere, and my friend told me that wasn't so. And he told me that the US bishops have been giving the other bishops a lot of grief, and telling them, "You HAVE to follow our protocol - because it's working." And I hope other countries take that protocol and go further with it. The only way we're going to come together as a Church and a Body is to make sure that everyone plays by the same rules. I mentioned that I had a hard time with some of the clerical chess games. My friend said that he knew of two cases. In one case, the guy has died, so he didn't know what happened to him. In the other, the priest was sent to a high-intensity treatment facility, and upon his completion of the treatment, an extensive report was issued to his superiors. The report stated categorically that the man should never be put into contact with children ever again. The man is now answering phones in an office in the Order, totally out of the sphere in which he can ever be around kids. And I applaud that. I really do. Because I think some bishops "pish-toshed" the advice of doctors and figured, "Ok, I'll put Fr. A in a GIRL'S school since he's got problems with BOYS." No, Bishop.... NO CONTACT WITH KIDS means NO CONTACT WITH KIDS. With that thinking, we had more instances of Fr. A doing what he did but now only with girls. Also, the priest and bishop who spoke out on the altar at Easter services at the Vatican??? Bad, bad, BAD.... During Holy Week, we mourn and we celebrate. We mourn the death of Jesus and we celebrate His resurrection. The altar during that week is not the place for diatribes against the press and hollering about how "mean" everyone is - and Benedict tacitly endorsed this because he could have - and should have - shushed those men. But now? Now is Benedict's time to speak. Quickly, and truthfully. Too bad if he feels it's past history. Only by discussing the history and openly acknowledging what went wrong will we ever hope to fix it. And I also think that there should be stories about the treatment programs: warts and all. Show the priests who have successfully come through, and show that the superiors followed instructions. Show what happens if they don't succeed, and show what's done next. The Church MUST do this - the story is in the news anyway, so it's not like we're invading privacy. The matter has been sensationalized (which is the new normal for journalism), and if it hasn't been, then at least it's public record. Also show the good guys - the guys who do the hard work of having a vocation and do it with their hearts in the right place and who have done nothing deviant - they don't deserve to be lumped in with those who haven't been able to keep their vows. They certainly deserve our prayers and our praise. But not our sweeping generalizations. My other radical thought: It is so far past time to ordain women. Now is the time. This is the season. I'm whistling in the wind because Benedict is a throw-back. But he'll find himself heading a church that is incredibly smaller if he keeps on this path. He may like that. I don't think that's what Jesus wanted, though.

One Intelligent Comment...

In full disclosure, I like Bob Schieffer. I find him to be honest, and straightforward in his delivery, with professionalism and no hint of sensationalization. Therefore, I offer you this video... due to copyright issues, I can't post a link here, but go to www.huffingtonpost.com and search for Bob Schieffer and watch his commentary entitled, "Catholic Church Has More Than PR Issue" which just aired on Easter Sunday. Finally - someone who's got some sense and is MAKING sense of the issue. It's not the abuse (well, it IS, but take a moment and let me make a point) - it's the COVER-UP that has Catholics steamed. And yes, it IS the abuse, too. We see our Church playing the ultimate game, lying to us, all the while preaching the Gospel and the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have it done unto you." So you want me to donate to your Annual Appeal? You want me to help you with many charitable endeavors. I'd love to. Unfortunately, I don't believe for one minute that my money isn't going to a big bucket and being parceled out as legal fees for various areas wherein the priests have finally come to trial. All the while, Pope Benedict washes feet on Holy Thursday with a gold bowl. Somehow, I think Jesus didn't have a gold bowl. The lavish externals of the Vatican are covering up something as vile as the hidden picture in Dorian Gray - the vestments, crosses and gold are hiding something worse than leprosy. Worse than the most vile thing you can imagine. The gold bowls are hiding abuse. The vestments are covering the sins of the Fathers. And the Pope is maintaining a stony silence that does him no good. I realize church processes are not quick. And sometimes there's a reason - for example, when you're discerning a vocation, you want to take time to make sure you're being "called" for the right reasons. And the congregation that accepts you wants to make sure you fit. But there are times that call for swift action. And whenever children are involved, "swift" beats "slow" any time. I can't recall any abuse victim who's finally seen justice ever saying, "I'm glad they took their time and it was 12 (or 15 or 20) years till they finally got around to my case." This will cause an exodus from the pews. And Rome has only itself to blame. You take time when you're praying. You take time in meditation. You don't take time when there are issues of child safety. Ever. No matter who you are.

Beyond Vile...

I'm nearly beyond words. Seriously, you know how bad it is when even I can't figure out what to say. I saw this in Yahoo News: "Westboro Baptist Church, which is based in Kansas, plans to protest in Florida on Wednesday, outside a funeral for a Marine killed in Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan on March 22. "Military funerals have become pagan orgies of idolatrous blasphemy, where they pray to the dunghill gods of Sodom and play taps to a fallen fool," states a press release posted on the church's website, announcing the rally at a memorial service for Lance Cpl. Justin Wilson. At the bottom of the press release are printed the words "Thank God for IEDs," referring to the roadside bombs that have killed thousands of troops in both wars." http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100331/ts_csm/291560 We don't have "hate speech" laws on the Federal books yet. We have the First Amendment. But along with that Amendment, we have a duty to keep the peace and behave like civilized people, particularly in light of a mourning family - and more particularly in light of those who died serving our country. So.........these fools at Freaky Freddie's Church of the Whackos are completely within their rights to protest. They're completely within their rights to hold up signs that say "God Hates Fags and Kills Soldiers." And they're completely within their rights to occupy space at a public place - say a cemetery. Which brings me to be thankful that my dad, a USMC member from the Korean War, is no longer alive. Because we'd have to bail him out, though I'm sure we could and would raise the money to do so. In Freaky Freddie's world, there is apparently no respect for the dead. There's no respect for the God I know... and I'm thinking She's pretty furious with him for taking Her name in vain and using Her as a shield for his reprehensible and utterly amoral, dishonorable, unscrupulous, revolting, repulsive, sordid, nauseating and repellant protests at funerals. Don't get me wrong. I'm thinking that we are not in these wars for the right purpose. But - the fact that we have military members dying over there is alongside the fact of the unjust wars. The military dead have done their duty. They have given their lives. Their families mourn their unfulfilled potential; the fact that they will no longer make their mark in the world; the fact that they leave a hole in the hearts of their loved ones. And nobody -- I mean NOBODY -- has the right to disrupt a funeral. Legally, Freaky Freddie and his sideshow grotesques masquerading as Christians may well have the right to protest; cemeteries are public places. But morally? There I draw a huge line; no, I draw a moat. A moat filled with the most voracious eaters of rotten flesh and corrupted souls, for those are the beasts most likely to enjoy chewing on those horrors who are portraying some version of "human" in its most malformed, distorted and perverted form. What worries me is that someone, someday, will be hurt. I mean shot, or beaten, or otherwise physically harmed. Freaky Freddie will then claim that this is God's justice and claim the victory for his own and that of his bunch of aberrant congregants. And some poor soul who was just aiming to mourn his or her dead in peace will suffer the slings and arrows of a justice system that allows Freddie and his ilk to do this as a sport. My wish is simple. I want Freaky Freddie and his brigade of deviants to dwell for all eternity in Dante's Eight Circle. That's the circle for the fraudulent. It includes Bolge VI, for hypocrites - which fits this bunch perfectly. They thump their Bibles, chant their phrases, hold up their signs and beat their breasts as "perfect Christians," thus making a mockery of the whole concept of Christianity - not to mention totally skewing the Golden Rule. In Bolge VI, the hypocrites' "...outward appearance shines brightly and passes for holiness, but under that show lies the terrible weight of [his] deceit which the soul must bear through all eternity." If the sinner stops walking on the narrow track he is condemned to travel, his "cloak becomes hotter and hotter." According to the notes I referenced, the sinners include televangelists - which is what they've become, the more they get news coverage. Works for me. As far as I'm concerned, they can all turn on the eternal rotisserie. And I'll be happy to cheer them on as they roast.

The First Post-Op Knitting Project is Here!

Well, I've actually completed my first post-op knitting project. It's a simple one, brought to you courtesy of Lily Cotton Yarn:

A sweeper cover. I can't mention the patented name of the product, but for those of you who cringe at filling up landfills with disposable covers, this might be what you're looking for. It's reversible and you can knit it in any color you want.

It would be neat in a basket for a shower with some knitted or crocheted cotton wash cloths, some organic or more "green" cleaners and some knitted, knotted or crocheted scrubbies. If you knew your intended person's kitchen colors, you could coordinate the perfect little package for giving.

I know - silly to be so excited? But I'm happy I've completed it. My fingers are coming back and I think I can get back to work on the Learning Sweater in the next few weeks.

Hopefully, This is True...

In my last entry, I blasted Pope Benedict XVI on his "shelter everyone and protect the collar" stance regarding the pedophile crisis in the Catholic Church. As a follow-up, I need to say that if the article I have just read in Slate (www.slate.com) is correct, then I also stand corrected. Writer Michael Sean Winters posted that Pope B has made some quantum leaps forward in making sure that the priests who did these evil things to children are truly punished under both Canon Law and civil law. In the article, Winters states that the Church in Ireland has been mired in scandal since November 2009. Between 1975 and 2004, there were 46 priests who abused children in the archdiocese of Dublin. Benedict called Ireland's bishops onto the Vatican carpet, so to speak, and last month basically told them that he was going to send a special letter to the Church in Ireland. That letter was released Saturday, March 20, 2010. In it, Benedict began to make amends. I won't quote the whole thing here; look the article up. Suffice to say that he did acknowledge that bad stuff has been going on, he called for an "apostolic visitation" (church-speak for "investigation") and told the bishops that they had to cooperate wtih civil authorities in prosecuting wrongdoing. Finally. He's already accepted resignations from several bishops. The word is now out that if you really want to be in the Church and be a bishop, you'd better not be ignorning claims of abuse. That's a heck of a career-ending move under this Pope. And in - for me at least - a stunning move, in his letter, he directed the following to the victims: "You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry." I may faint. Sorry if I sound snarky, but you have to understand that I live in one diocese with a now-retired bishop who was implicated massively in this scandal and all he said to his parishioners was, "I'm sorry if I didn't take this seriously enough." "IF"??? Really?? Bishop Imesch played chess with priests like a master, moving them to remote parishes nation-wide. I figure he's just about as implicated as Cardinal Law. And while Imesch may not answer to civil authorities for shielding these creeps, he'll eventually answer to God, and I hope She shows him no mercy. God's mercy should be directed toward the victims, and in a small way to those in the pews who've been deceived by our spiritual leaders. I'm willing to own that I may have misjudged on the basis of one article. I sincerely hope Benedict has his act together. If he does, there's hope for the Church. And I'll be happy about being a Catholic once again.

Sad to be Catholic...

It's Lent. It's the season of anticipating Christ's resurrection. But something else - something ugly, evil and perverted - has resurrected itself in the Catholic Church and I'm very sad about it. And I'm also angry. Seems that Pope Benedict has his hands dirty in the pedophile scandal. But his reps are saying he knew "nothing" about reassigning predatory priests. I normally don't paint with a broad brush, but I'm going to do a little bit of that, since I've just learned something in my MBA classes about Hofstede's matrix. Seems that a scientist created a matrix in which he categorized cultural leanings and tendencies, and applied them in a business sense. You have several categories, and one of the most prominent was the amount of control a business has, and how it's organized in regard to a loose or tightly wound hierarchy. Germans, understandably, score VERY high on control. In order to do business in Germany, one needs to be prompt, respect deadlines and know the details of your project or proposal. Down to how many words are IN the proposal. The society is very technically-oriented and business is -- well, business. No wriggle room and no excuses for not doing something well. Sooooooooooo. Pope Benedict was praised by the prior Pontiff as a man who knew his stuff. The question now comes: What did he know about whom and what on earth (or in Heaven) prompted his belief that this would remain hidden? And most importantly: How could he sleep? How could he look himself in the mirror? How could he pray - and expect to be heard by a God we are taught to love, and Whose Son said, "Suffer the little children to come to me." I am disappointed beyond belief. Once again, the boys' club is in full swing. Only the lone voice of an Irish cleric calling for "transparency" in this mess - that's all we've got. Once again, normal pew-jockies like my family will be asked by countless friends, "How do you deal with that in the Church?" And the obvious answer is: "Apparently, we don't." We went through this with our own bishop, and I gave no quarter. I called for his sincere apology in an editorial in the local paper. He issued a "well, if I've offended anyone, I ask forgiveness, but I was working with what I have" kind of apology. To which I respond: Did God not give you a brain? Did God not give you common sense, eyes, ears, and oh - I don't know, some COMPASSION for children? Did you not have brains enough to see that reassignment of predatory priests was wrong on at least 5 levels? Didn't your gut scream at you, "This just isn't right" at least a dozen times? Or were you too worried about your own position? And if you were worried, tossing the blame on the victims was certainly not the Catholic thing to do, buster. Don't be saving your own butt. Get out there, Benedict, and be what you are supposed to be: God's representative on Earth. Because if you ARE doing that, and "The Pope didn't know" is the best your handlers can come up with, then God - and the rest of the faithful - will have been terribly disappointed. The Pope has effectively destroyed a generation of young people. And he's affecting those of us who were coming of age in the 70s because not only did our generation have some victims, but those of us lucky enough to escape the abuse are now in a position where we have to confront our faith and see it for what it is: a faith based on man's rules, and man's proclivities to protect his own. And that doesn't include us. It's a sad picture, and enough to drive many of us from our places in the pews. And the Church has nobody to blame but itself and its hierarchy.

So, go already!

Why is it that the people with a megaphone and billion-dollar contracts are always squealing about supposed "infringements" of their "rights" and threatening to go elsewhere? And why don't they just go, already?? In his latest screech-fest, Rush Limbaugh (go ahead, insert snarky nickname of choice) declared that if the proposed health care reforms passed, he was "going to go live in Costa Rica." So go already. I'll help you pack. Say, Rushie, did you know that Costa Rica has a form of socialized medicine? Yep, they make sure that their citizens have health care available no matter what their economic status. But hey, who's stopping you? Go already. He also says that the Congressional Budget Office, that non-partisan group of bean-counters in Washington, "lie" when they say that the health care reform now proposed is going to decrease our bloated federal deficit. Let's look at that one, too. According to www.cbo.gov, the offical website, the CBO was formed in 1974. And (insert drumroll here) guess who was president then? Gerald Ford. A Republican allowed this blight upon our beloved government. Who in the world would want a non-partisan group of number-crunchers to try to score bills to see how they would affect the Congressional budgetary process? I scoff at such a thing. According to the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov), in a National Health Interview Study published in 2006, here's how it breaks down: 43.6 MILLION Americans are without health care. 36.5 MILLION of them are adults. 6.8 MILLION of them are children. Are we the "Greatest Nation" still? I'm wondering. Because if we, the "Greatest Nation," see no problem in the figures above, what does that say about us? One of the keystones of the plan proposed is that there will be a pool into which people can tap, which basically provides them with the same health care the Congress receives. Yes, there's a poverty waiver. But for people like my brother, who owns his own company, and my friend Sue, who owns her own company, this will provide them a way to tap into insurance for themselves and their employees at a far more economical rate than they can get as "small business owners" now. How is that "socialist" or "communist" or any "-ist" you can think of, other than humanist? We owe it to our grandchidren and our great-grandchildren to reduce the obscenely high deficit. And by doing this one thing, we'll have a two-fer: we'll be insuring that a great percentage of those in the figures cited above will have health care, and will be able to be productive, wage-earning members of society. And we'll reduce the deficit. I'm thinking that's a good thing. Along with Rush leaving. Oh, and take Beck with you, will you?

Three Cups of Tea...

...can change the way you see things with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Greg Mortenson wrote this book with David Oliver Relin - mainly because Mortenson is publicity-shy and doesn't like to talk about himself. Visit www.ikat.org - the Central Asia Institute's website. You need to read this book. He failed to climb K2, but he succeeded beyond anyone's imagination in his ability to educate children in the poorest regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan - yep, right in Taliban-Land. We don't realize how much we take an education for granted. And we don't know how much one person can do (either globally or locally) until we see someone doing it. Mortenson started his school-building initiative on his part-time wages as an ER nurse, and lived on a literal shoestring till he was funded by another climber who was impressed by what he saw Mortenson doing. Educating children. Think about that. Babies are not born KNOWING how to hate or fear. They are TAUGHT that. If you educate the girls, which was forbidden by the Taliban, though the Koran said that women need to be educated - if you educate the girls, the villages will prosper and the next generation will know that peace can only be achieved by educating yourself and your children. Peace can't be achieved at gunpoint. It takes $1 to educate a girl and ONE PENNY to buy a pencil. One penny. That copper coin we're thinking of getting rid of because it's 'bothersome' and 'useless.' Get your schools involved. Get your church involved. Buy the book. Read it. Pass it on. Or donate it to your library, since there are waiting lists to read this. And get yourself involved. Donate to the Central Asia Institute or start a community drive to raise funds. Nobody wants war forever, except the corporations who benefit from the dollars pouring into their coffers. We can teach peace. One school at a time. This book - this man - has proved that.

Regrets...

...like the Frank Sinatra hit, "regrets, I've had a few..." - I'm here to share a major regret. We've all had 'em. Things un-done, un-said, left to either fix themselves or remain broken. I don't think anyone over 40 has had any occasion to say that he or she has lived "exactly" the life that was dreamed of. I know I haven't, and I'm a decade+ over 40. My father-in-law died on Saturday. He had fought a long battle with Parkinson's disease and when we were there to see him in the summer, Hubby was very concerned about him. At that point, we could see deterioration, and frankly - during one lunch, I thought he died. After being rushed to the hospital, we found that he hadn't been able to ingest enough food or liquid, and the difficult decision to put him into a facility where he could receive 24-hour care was made. His wishes weren't in that direction, but I can't see him wanting his lovely wife to have to struggle to take care of him. The kids are far-flung and not always able to be home for long periods of time. We staggered our trips during the summer and all of us did what we could. I'm no good with sick people, so I cooked and cleaned. Not that I'm any great shakes with cleaning, either, but I can weed the garden, cook meals, clean up a kitchen and vacuum. My in-laws are lovely people. They're patient, kind, they accepted me into the family without a single qualm. I've heard so many horror stories about in-laws that I was hesitant. They were far away and didn't meet me till just about the week of the wedding! What would they think? My father-in-law opened his arms to the boys and said, "Come here and hug your Grandpa." Still brings tears to my eyes. He was a mechanic. Worked hard all his life. Provided for a large family on a small income and every one of the kids got a great education and has made something of himself or herself. My regret is simply this. We never spent a lot of time with them. Being 3,000 miles away is one excuse. Money is always another - it costs a lot of money to fly 4 people out west and we only had the kind of jobs where you got 2 weeks vacation if you were lucky. I never spent much time on the phone with them. Heck - I never felt comfortable calling them any particular names! But they accepted me and didn't bat an eye. Regrets are hard. Now, I am going to a funeral for a man who, by all accounts, was a simple guy - the kind of guy my grandpa would have loved. A guy who did what he needed to do to provide for his family and who showed the family that hard work is what you do. He taught more by example than anything else. And I missed it. Because of my own ambivalence, because of distance, because of I-don't-know-what. There will be stories told at the wake and funeral. There's an extensive family history, and there are pictures galore. But I will be sad to know that I barely remember the sound of his voice, and have only a faint knowledge of a guy with a wicked sense of humor and a peace and serenity about him that you don't see all the time. I wish now that I had been less of an idiot. And more of a daughter-in-law. Rest in peace, dear father-in-law.

Kudos for ThinkPads...

You can watch the YouTube video of the "official" drop test for the IBM ThinkPad (now owned by China and called Lenovo) - or you can take my word that the thing DOES work after being dropped. By Quinn. We're sitting in the living room the other night, and all of a sudden, during the Olympics, I hear a holler. I figured it was something I missed on TV. Nope. It was a reaction to Quinn, who'd gotten spooked by something and had dashed out from under the dining room table - across the power cord I had on the floor - and in her dash, she snagged her foot on the power cord and WHAM!! Down came my laptop off the dining room table and right onto the laminate floor. Apparently, the grace of the dash was interrupted by the fact that she couldn't get any traction on the floor. Quinn took off and hid under my chair. I grabbed the computer and Hubby looked at it to see what was going to happen next. Of COURSE, it was booting up at the time she decided to take off. I have a ding in the floor. The battery on the laptop has a little dent in it. And last night, Hubby snapped the keyboard back into place. But it runs. Whew!! Now we know - it's puppy-proof.

Meet Quinn...

...the daughter of the little one we rescued in January. Suffice to say that she's adjusting nicely. She still needs a LOT of socialization. She loves to either sit under my chair or under my desk in the office.

She barks at the hubby and boys. But she's been out for walks and is good on a leash and knows where her crate is. The test will be tonight: will we get any sleep!!

The bottom picture is her under my desk. The other one is her under my chair. It'll be interesting to see if this continues as she grows - because she won't fit under my chair in a month!! Her other favorite spot is alongside and under my legs as I sit in my office chair. I almost feel as if I have to stay in the office more - she's so comfortable I hate to disturb her!