Yes, it IS important...

I've been listening to and reading the news for a while and I've come to a couple of conclusions.

(1)  Democrats are incapable of fighting dirty; even when they try, it turns against them. I'm not sure if this is a fundamental part of their DNA or if people who naturally may be disinclined to fight are more naturally drawn to be Democrats.

(2) Republicans know how to organize and get their members all on the same (albeit crazy) page and script.

And (3) If Democrats sit on their collective rumps this November, we will have deserved what we have gotten.

You need to get involved. Not necessarily in a national way. Not necessarily being a "big donor"... but get off your rear end, quit complaining about how "nothing is getting done" and GO DO SOMETHING.  You have to be part of the change. Change doesn't happen when everyone is waiting for "someone else" to do it. Change happens when EVERY single person gets up and does ONE thing to change his or her world. Whether globally or locally - one person CAN and WILL make a difference.

Work on a campaign for something that is important to you. Work on a charity or for a cause that means something to you. Contribute, if you can, time OR money to a worthy cause.

Write letters. Make phone calls. TALK to people about why your issue is important.

Go vote.

Please, I beg you. Do not be one of those "my vote doesn't matter so why bother?" people. If everyone waited for "the other guy" to do something, what would happen? Not much.

There's been talk in the punditsphere that people are apathetic. The economy sucks (to put it mildly), corporations are acting in their own best interests by giving their CEOs huge bonuses and not hiring anyone to "cut costs." And they don't quite see that if nobody's working, nobody's spending... There's also talk that people who are poor and who vote Republican are acting against their own rational self interest. And they may be. You have Republicans in Washington who want to cut benefits for kids, the poor and the unemployed.

Kids? Who needs to worry about them? The poor? They're just not making enough money. Let them eat cake. The unemployed? Lazy buggers who don't deserve any jobless benefits.

Hey, guys??? Didja hear about the corporations who were NOT hiring and who gave their CEOs big bonuses for cutting costs? And didja notice that when people DON'T work, they DON'T spend??

My purpose is to persuade each of you to act in your own rational self-interest. If we lose a majority of seats this November, and if in 2012 the Republicans are back in power, it's going to be dark days for our country. Remember back, if you will, to the past 8 years. Bush created fewer jobs in eight years and he had a surplus to work with. We're mired in 1.5 unjust wars; we're spending our great-great-great-grandkids' money. People in this country go to bed hungry. Seniors worry about whether or not to pay the bills or get their medicines. Husbands and wives worry that the next round of job cuts will include their jobs. There's talk of another "Great Depression."

But Republicans in DC can say that Medicare is a giant "milk cow" and that Viet Nam vets get "too much" health care. And that there's "no money" to pay for additional unemployment benefits. Well, let me think...how about taxing your corporate buddies (you know, the corporations who are now considered "persons" by the Supreme Court) when they ship jobs overseas? Those jobs are essentially "free" for the corporations. For tax purposes, overseas headcount "doesn't count."

Or how about we stop trying to fight wars everywhere and pay attention to the mess that is our own back yard. Wars cost a lot but somehow, there's always money for that, even if the war itself is an unjust act.

How can we change this? Maybe we can't make a sweeping change. Like pregnancy, it takes a while to get into this shape and it will take a while to get out of it. But that is no reason to weep, wail and sit on your backside bemoaning the state of things.

You need, now more than ever, to become involved. You protect your own self-interest by helping another person.

Go out and vote when elections come around. Go out into your community and see what you can do to help. First off, it'll make you feel good. Second, it's a great example for your kids.

Third -- it's the right thing to do.

Grandma's Pearls...

As I've said before, my grandma was a talented needlewoman. My mom sews up a storm and can do lots of other things, but needlework (the fancy kind: knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, embroidery)? Nope. Not her.

None of the females in the family except me - I'm the only one who picked up a pair of needles or a hook and went to town. I guess I've always like things that you do while sitting!

Anyway, I have a bunch of Grandma's needles and hooks, and I was lucky enough to have some of her swatches, which I am going to frame in a shadow-box arrangement. There are bits of stitch patterns, one baby bootie, some edging - just things you could tell she was trying out.

(top) white pearl lariat; (bottom) pearl rope with multicolor thread

And her pearls. Grandma did these ropes -- oh, I don't know how long ago. But I am lucky enough to have them. And I wear them. And everywhere I wear them, I am asked about them.

And reminded again - whether in my own mind or in the comments of others - of how lucky I am to have them. And to have had her to teach me.

The top ones are probably my most favorite. It's basically an I-cord strung with tiny little seed pearls and it's a lariat: I can tie it wherever I want and wear it however long I want. It's beautiful with a sweater set, a suit or my black velvet dress.

The bottom ones I actually snagged from my mom; I told her that since I was still working, I could wear them (and I do) with lots of outfits. This one is a rope that Grandma did with the variegated crochet thread. This is something I usually wear doubled, but the other day, I tied two knots in the rope and it was quite pretty. I wore it with a white tank top and a tailored oxford shirt (in blue) that I wore open as a jacket, with black chinos. The blue of the shirt really picked up the blue parts of the thread.

I have no idea where she got the pattern or if she made it  up herself, which is entirely possible. She was surprised when I showed her the "front post-back post" pattern in crochet because she had been doing that for several years, and calling it a "waffle" stitch.

I have so many of her items: baby afghans for the two boys. An afghan I've been using for 30 years on my bed. Stashes of her favorite yarns. A bone crochet hook, a wooden crochet hook, and many of the aluminum and plastic ones. These teeny-tiny steel crochet hooks she used to use -- at least on the pearl ropes for sure -- but also on the dishtowel hangers you put on your kitchen drawers. She crocheted the tops for hers. She taught me that. She taught me to knit.

She taught me that with patience, you work one stitch at a time, and then you have a finished object that's beautiful and useful. For years and years, if you're lucky.

Akin to the poem about "I Had a Mother Who Read to Me" I am thinking "I Had a Grandma Who Taught Me Needlework." The skills she taught me got me through lonely times, depressed times, sick times...sad times.

While neither boy has decided to pick up needles of any sort (though they do mend - I managed to tell them it's a very "manly" thing to mend your own clothes!), they appreciate what I do and they've benefitted from it. Countless scarves, each one getting a hat this Christmas. One afghan done, another one a WIP. Hacky-sacks, if I can figure out the *^&% crochet for making a ball!! Juggling balls that they use to amaze their friends.

I think my grandma would love the fact that I am carrying on her tradition. I have the afghan for my nephew's baby on the needles already, and while Grandma preferred crochet over all the other forms, I'm knitting the baby stuff. And I think she'd approve. She'd have loved the car seat blanket I've already got done. And she'd love this afghan, the hat and the booties. It's amazing. She's been gone a year already, and I'm not sure where the time went. Truth be told, she'd have been over-the-moon with the announcement of the new baby. That would've made her a great-great-grandma. I hope she knows and I hope she's smiling.

If you're a grandma who does this, teach it to your kids or grandkids. If you're a kid or grandkid, learn. Not because celebrities do it.

But because your Grandma can teach you. You'll love it. I promise.

It's D-O-N-E!!!

The baby car-seat blanket, I mean.  After several "frogs" -- including frogging to the entire end of the project and starting over once, this is finished.

As you can see, the blanket is done in a non-gender-specific color that I equate to a "Dreamsicle" and it's in the pima cotton that I just love. 


I'm actually violating my "no computer on Sundays" habit to get this out - I was that excited! I washed it in Woolite and then blocked it on Friday, and let it sit till this morning.

It's lighter than I thought it would be - but then I've never knitted a baby afghan in cotton before, so I wasn't sure what it would look like. Nonetheless, I'm pleased with it. It's just the right size for a car seat and it's just the right weight for a "too-cold" seat in a restaurant, at a friend's house - whatever the situation warrants; and while it won't keep the little one toasty in winter, at least it'll do for the other 3 seasons. And it'll make a nice additional layer in the winter.

The lace was a very simple pattern, and I'm really jazzed at how nicely this worked up. I was able to join the second ball at the beginning of a purl row, which worked out nicely. I have most of that second ball left, so I may take a fly at a bonnet or some booties or mitts. I don't want to do anything more than that, because I don't want to buy another hank of this color and have leftovers! Maybe I'll just do a few baby-sized wash cloths. This is much softer than the Sugar 'N Cream that I use for dishcloths and my own face. I can imagine this on a baby's bottom would feel really nice.

Stitch definition pops!

As you can see, the stitch definition of this yarn is really extraordinary. And I used Addi Turbo circular needles (not lace needles, just a plain size 6).

This is my gift to knitters everywhere who are intimidated by "lace knitting." This isn't a fine mohair shawl. It's not one of those gorgeous old Russian patterns.

But this is lace. So if you haven't tried it, please add it to your skill set. It's simple yarnovers, SSK, and K2tog.

I have to say that the weirdest thing is the decrease when you finish the border row and start the chevron panels and then the subsequent increase at the end. I think this was the designer's way of being able to fit the whole bottom and top bands into the design. A little clunky, in my opinion, but it does give you the chance to practice your increases and decreases.

The yarn is Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima, and you can find all kinds of information at http://www.cascadeyarns.com/ along with all the yummy colors. It's a 100 gram (3.5 oz) hank, about 220 yards, and this is color number 3749.


Again, give this type of pattern a try. "Lace" isn't a scary word after all. I can remember telling my Knitsters that I "wouldn't have the guts to try lace." Well. I was wrong. Here's the proof.

Expand your horizons. All you need to do if you really don't like it is rip it out!

Maybe "Thinking" Is In Order...Instead of "Hysteria."

OK, so everyone's shorts are in a knot about the community center and mosque being built in Lower Manhattan. And everyone's shorts are in a knot about President Obama's comments that (gasp!) even MUSLIMS have the right, in this country, to worship freely.

Let's dissect this for a second, before we all act like lemmings going headlong over a cliff.

Remember OK City? Remember the Murrah Federal Building? How many Christian churches are in the vicinity of that site? Because, if there ARE churches there, they need to be torn down. Because Timothy McVeigh was a CHRISTIAN terrorist who blew up a building, killing innocent Americans, including so many children! So tear down that evil, anti-American CHRISTIAN church near the hallowed ground of the Murrah Federal Building. Because a TERRORIST took innocent lives there. A TERRORIST killed Americans.

Oops. I guess it makes a difference if the "terrorist" looks like us.

Do you see how foolish that is?

Do you see how we are one nation that allows particular religious freedom, and that's one of our inherent rights as citizens?

Do you see how, if these screeching harpies get their way, we will have taken a hatchet to one of our most cherished beliefs and rights?

This nation was not founded on Christianity. This nation was founded on the idea of religious freedom. That means, in essence, the freedom to worship in your own religion. In peace. Without the threat of persecution from zealots from another religion who would prefer to kill off ANY other religion than their own.

So we stop the Muslims. Look at the math, people. The Muslim religion is a major religion which is just as old as, if not older than, the Jewish faith and Buddhism. Christianity is the "new kid on the block." When did Christianity become a bully religion?

We really need to regain our humanity. And our ability to think instead of react in a knee-jerk, sound-byte fashion.

Bad Influence...

Quinn in total bliss!

So Quinn, our puppy, is notorious for sleeping in the most contorted poses ever! I swear she has no spine. Here's a picture of her in one of her favorite poses: what we in yoga might call "Twisted Root" but without the extreme hip-swivel.

She used to try to get under my chair as a puppy, but now she's so big, she's likely to overturn the chair onto me!

Our elder dog, River, is pretty staid. She's a very dignified Husky, former show dog and champion. We adopted her when her kennel owner was downsizing, and so she was a rescue of sorts. She's the Grand Dame of the household and gets certain privileges.

She gets greeted first. She gets the first treat (though she has to sit for it, at least). She gets the first belly-rub. She's got glaucoma, so she's half-blind; the one eye is totally gone, but the other is really sharp, particularly if you're carrying an apple, a piece of cheese or anything remotely consumable. She also has Cushing's Disease, an ailment common to humans, which means her adrenal glands are out of whack. Extreme thirst is one of the indicators, so she gets to drink out of any of the 3 dog water bowls. She gets a shot of V-8 juice in her dinner (her pre-dinner drink, we say) for the potassium.

And she likes to lay in the traffic. I mean, if you have to walk over her, she's pretty much where she thinks she ought to be: in the middle of it all. We say that she'd make a horrible watch dog - she doesn't bark (she will woo-woo, but only in extreme provocation), and she'd likely help you out with the stuff you're stealing. On the other hand, she makes a great tripping hazard.

We figured River would teach Quinn her puppy manners, since Tippi, Quinn's mother, rejected the litter and when we brought Quinn home, Tippi ignored her. River used the "Husky Paw of Pain" on her a couple of times. Not really "pain" but a big old hairy husky paw on top of the head of a misbehaving puppy has quite a startling effect. And a well-placed snarl or lip-lifting does wonders; as does a glare from the one eye that still works. That ice-blue stare puts Quinn right in her place.

River upside down!

However...it seems that River has learned something from Quinn, as evidenced from the following picture. I'll set the scene for you. River is napping next to my chair. Quinn is touching her (which she likes to do - she's got to touch one of us if she can). I see a movement out of the corner of my eye, and I glance over to see about 65 lbs. of husky R-O-L-L-I-N-G to a dead-center stop. She does a stretch, curls up her toes, and then lets loose with a big, long S-I-G-H-H-H-H as she naps in this position for about 10 minutes. I thought I'd never get the picture because I was laughing so hard.

I guess that this is proof that old dogs can learn new tricks! 

Cry Me a River...

So Tony "I Want My Life Back" Hayward has left the position of CEO of BP. Don't bother shedding any tears for the man. He leaves, after totally screwing up one of our most precious resources, with a platinum parachute: he'll get a year's salary of about $1.6 million (yes, one-point-six million dollars) as part of his severance package. And he gets his pension, and retains his rights to stock options.

Nice work for messing up the Gulf of Mexico and being a walking gaffe in action every time he opened his mouth.

He's being reassigned to Russia working on a joint venture. I think with his severance, he can afford a pretty nice place over there.

Just a reminder of what he's leaving: 

Oil-covered pelican

Blown well polluting the Gulf

Clean-up crew (notice no haz-mat gear?)

Well on fire

I'm thinking this is a pretty good day's work for Tony. He has nothing to regret for his tour as BP's CEO.  Quoting a former president, "Heckuva job, Tony!"

I hope he can sleep at night.

Two Down...

Yay for me!! The hats for the kids are D-O-N-E!  But there's a funny thing. Look at the picture.

Christmas Hats in Superwash Wool

You may think "wow, the blue one is bigger." And it is, a little. But look at the blue stripes - there are 2 stripes per color on each hat. For some reason - and maybe it's me, but I think it's the yarn - the brown stripes are "thicker" than the blue ones. The blue hat took a whole extra pattern round to get to the 6.25" from the cast-on edge. Same pattern; same brand of yarn; same needles.

Anyway, they're done. I'm chugging along on the Learning Sweater; taking my time finishing it. And frankly, I need to. I'm kind of sick of looking at it right now, and I need to work on some other projects.

Speaking of work --- I really need to get Dear Hubby to look at this laptop's keyboard. It hasn't been the same since the Puppy Drop Test... it works much better when I have an external keyboard attached; otherwise, it feels like I'm banging away on it. Yeesh; just like the shoemaker's kid; it'll take me several rounds of "strongly suggesting" that he look at it!! LOL -- poor guy; he really doesn't need me to nag.

He just needs to fix my keyboard.

Back to knitting - I'm on a roll with a baby car-seat-sized blanket!

The Smell of Irony...

So the Republican'ts can't seem to force themselves to vote to extend unemployment benefits because it only "encourages laziness" among the worker-bees.

This is the group (along with any Democrazies who vote against it) who have LIFETIME health and retirement benefits, and pretty much life-time jobs as long as they don't screw up too badly.

They've just appointed a temporary seat-warmer for Robert Byrd's seat (the recently deceased Senator who became the longest-serving US Senator in the history of the US in 2009) - and they'll have to hold a special election to fill the seat permanently.

Now, you have to realize, this temporary seat-warmer will be a senator for about 6 months. Lucky for him, he won't serve long enough to receive either a pension or health benefits. According to http://usgovinfo.about.com/ members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans as other federal employees. They are not eligible for a pension till they reach age 50, but only with 20+ years of service. Without doing a crap-load of digging, I can't tell you if the temp-guy gets health benefits, but somehow, I don't think so.

Thank goodness.

However, my kid - an unemployed welder - could be denied further unemployment benefits because some rich fat white guys/gals (and that's not racist: look up the percentage of minorities in Congress) decide that he (my kid) will "become lazy." I snort in the general direction of those people. Those people who have lifetime pensions larger than I'm likely to receive; who have lifetime health care likely better than I will receive. They want to deny people with and without families who are suffering in this nasty economy a basic right to which they have contributed. There's something both ironic and mean-spirited about that. Don't even give me any bunk about "contributing to the deficit." Particularly if you subscribe to the new Republican't mantra of "It's the Democrats spending like crazy."

Are the Republican'ts that tone-deaf? They're getting as bad as the Democrazies who are unable to get a  coalition of the willing together, even WITH an instruction booklet. Hey, Dems - the Repubs are NOT interested in bipartisanship.

Here's more in the smell of irony category. Apparently, Newt Gingrich, who wants to run for Prez in 2012,  says on the Today Show that the bank bailout is Obama's fault. So is the war in Iraq. Newtie, Newtie, NEWTIE... Can you count, dude?? The bailout was a last-ditch effort of Shrub's to leave Obama with a steaming pile of manure. And that "drunken sailor" remark in regard to Democrat spending??? I do believe Shrub was spending all that money on a preemptive war of dubious worth in Iraq.

Let's look at those pesky facts. Shrub invaded Iraq in 2003. Obama got elected in 2008. Simple math: 2008 - 2003 = FIVE. FIVE YEARS of Shrub's War. Not Obama's.

Right now, I'm not a total fan of Obama's - he needs to play rough, and he can't. Adding the abortion clause to the health care legislation is playing along with (R)s who wouldn't pee on him if he was on fire. Sorry - it's the bald truth.

On October 3, 2008, the Senate passed the $700 BILLION bank bailout bill. Obama got elected on NOVEMBER 2, 2008.  That bailout was done under Shrub's watch TWENTY-NINE days prior to the 2008 election. And even after the election, Obama wasn't sworn in till January, 2009. Again - Shrub's Bailout. Not Obama's.

I realize how when the smoke of the burning irony gets into the eyes, it's hard to see the facts. But they're there. And we can easily find them. Finding those facts, from reputable non-partisan websites, took me all of 5 minutes using Bing.

Before you wholeheartedly put your vote or support behind a political party, please do some basic research. Before you listen to a talking head, no matter what TV or radio station, please help yourself by researching the topics.

The political talk is going to get uglier, if you can believe that. And I truly AM a cranky piece of work when it comes to my kids and what will happen to them. I'm all for them not being pampered, but trust me - unemployment is not pampering my kid. He's lost his home; he's lost his vehicle (an old Ford F150 pickup); he has bills which we are NOT paying for him. He's living in our basement. I'm telling you - he's feeling awfully ashamed of himself, and there is nothing he did wrong. He's a victim of an economy that went into the crapper and he has a lot of company.

Finding a way out of this mess will cost money that Obama has to spend. It's not entirely his fault. Afghanistan IS his baby. The economy and Iraq are not. In order for us to make and keep our nation great, we can't sit back and be spoon-fed. We need to wake up and smell the irony.

Of hats, booties and news...

Good news: The Learning Sweater is done! Not assembled, but done. I will put it together next week with the help of my knitting teacher. I won't be able to wear it till fall. Since the joke at the shop is that it was a "Two-year sweater project," it's probably better that I have a season to let the sweater sit.

So, on the Project List, we can cross off TWO items! Well, one actually done: the hat pictured here. This is for Kid One; Kid Two's hat is on the needles now. It looks small, but it's a beanie hat, from Knitting for Him by Martin Storey & Wendy Baker. I did it in 3 colors of SandesGarn "smart" super-wash wool. Since the kids do their own laundry, it's bound to happen that a hat will end up in the wash. And if it's in regular wool, it'll be a Barbie-hat!!

I didn't want my hard work to go through the rinse cycle, and I wanted the hats to be warm and durable. Acrylic wasn't an option. My LYS owner suggested this superwash, which is kind of a unique feel to me, since I've lately been knitting with either a cotton/merino blend or a pima cotton. What a "scratchy" yarn, I thought. Till I washed it. It softened up really nicely.

Kid One wanted "browns and greens." Kid Two wanted something to sort of match his winter coat. His will be navy as the base color, tan to match his coat and gold. So far, I think I honestly like the first version better, but maybe that'll change as the second hat moves along. Remarkably, it's knit flat, and seamed. All in all, it's a super-quick hat - a faster knitter would've had it done in a weekend. I carried the colors up the side, since you change every 2 rows. No sense spending time and effort weaving in a gazillion ends. I thought about ripping Kid Two's hat out and starting with tan as the base color, but I really like the idea of a darker base color.

And the leftover yarn will be used for (insert drum roll here): my new great-neice or nephew! My sister is beating me to the Grandma-Train, which is certainly fine by me. She couldn't contain herself, and told me. The kids are happy with the news and will wait a bit to announce to the family at-large. So, after the announcement, my Inner Granny (which I thought was somewhat dormant, but I guess after the afghan and quilt I did for friends' kids, and the bib/burp cloth combo, that Inner Granny does stir once in a while) --- well, my Inner Granny went nuts.

I have a list of things which will be knitted for the wee one: I'm using the leftover hat yarn for some simple booties; the colors are kind of non-gender-specific, and even if I only use the gold and tan, they'll be nice additions for the youngster. I'm also doing a car-seat-sized afghan in a really pretty (but not girly, just in case) lace pattern - which will probably be done in the pima cotton for ease of care. And I'll do a bonnet and mitts. Those are also non-gender-specific, because they'll be a simple basket-weave, if I can find the flyer I'm looking for!!

The flyer was a hand-over from a nun friend of mine. When her mom died, she left an abundance of crochet hooks and knitting needles, a selection of old (I'm talking 40+ years old) patterns and some stash. I used the stash as pet afghans, which were appreciated by the dogs that got them. I have been using the needles and hooks, and the baby patterns will now come in handy - but I have to find them!!

If I get really ambitious and ahead of schedule, the little one will also have a simple quilt.

My kids have already announced that I shouldn't wait for grandkids. Kid One announced it first, and said to Kid Two: "It's all you, buddy." Was my world rocked? Not really. I like to think that I raised my kids to live their own lives. I'm not pining for grandkids. I can be the crazy great-aunt who knits for the rest of the family.

Kid One already said he knows he's not "father material." And yeah - that can change if he meets the right girl and the circumstances are right. The only thing I told him was to keep an open mind and make sure that there were no instances where he was "surprised."

Kid Two has a while yet. :)  He may or may not follow that path, and I'm ok with whatever they decide. My wish is that they have a job they love, income enough to be comfortable, and with any luck: someone to make them happy.

I like to think that my Inner Granny is channeling my own Grandma. This August will be a year since she died. It was at least 6 years prior to her death that she laid down her needles and hooks, and gave in to the blindness that caused her so much pain. I'm the only grandkid who picked up the implements and I feel like I'm carrying on her legacy.

Grandma, you'd have loved to have been a great-great-grandma! I'll keep you in mind as I knit these things for the little one to come.

The Phone Call, Great Grey Dogs, and Rescues

So my sister calls me today, rather sheepishly.

Seems she's rescued a dog; problem is - we took in Quinn the puppy because she (Sis) was going to adopt her. Oh well... she was really afraid I was going to be upset, and kept emphasizing, "but it's a rescue and if I hadn't taken her in, she'd have been killed!"

Which is, unfortunately, true. I told her that I'd come see the dog in a few weeks (give the dog time to adjust, give her other dog enough time to settle in, etc.) and I'd take a look at her (the new one) to see what I thought. Of course, I did tell her that I was glad she took in a rescue rather than purchasing from a pet store or back yard breeder.

Not to give ALL backyard breeders a bad name, but they've got more "bad apples" than good, and some folks who selectively breed are tarred with that brush, which is unfortunate.

So it looks like we're a household of "Great Grey Dogs" - Norwegian Elkhounds. Or, if you prefer, "elghund" - which is Norwegian for "moose dog." Elkhounds are a compact dog with a talent for flushing moose, occasionally bear and sometimes elk. They go out in packs of two or 3 dogs - sometimes one dog will go by itself. The dogs track and corner the moose and bark like crazy, alerting the hunter(s) to come get it. They're fast, agile dogs who can think for themselves.

Thus, they are not a dog for everyone! In Norway, they're considered a "farm dog" but here in the US, they're most often seen in dog shows or specialty breed shows. They're excellent therapy dogs, good at obedience trials (they love to solve puzzles) and great at agility and rally, because of their energy and eagerness to complete a task. They're happiest when they're kept busy, and are not good for people who don't want to spend time around their dog.

Who in the world would get a dog and then not want to spend time with it? What a silly person!

Quinn actually went to my sister's house to play with her one mixed breed (I'm thinking greyhound mix). That dog was fast, but Quinn was quicker. She took corners at lightning-fast speeds, and confounded the bigger dog, who stood there a couple of times, whipping her head around looking for her. And then Quinn wanted water. So she jumped onto my sister's deck. A deck that's about 4 1/2 feet off the ground. And she cleared it, without touching a step. Good thing she never figured out she could leap over my sister's 4' fence surrounding her yard!  Here's a quick picture of the two of them playing: (hint: Quinn is the furry one)...

There are very few Elkhound people in our area, and in a way that's good for the breed. Those who know the dog, love the dog. And while we'd love our Great Grey Dogs to be in the spotlight, we also have seen the downside of that. Think 101 Dalmations... Overbreeding and puppymill people coming out of the woodwork have tanked the Dalmation breed for the casual owner. The folks who know what they're doing will continue to breed great Dalmations.

Idiots will breed without regard to pedigree - unknowingly, or uncaringly breeding dogs with bad temperaments, congenital defects (like the deafness that's common in Dalmations) and other issues - and then sell them to unsuspecting and ill-educated owners who "want the cuted spotted puppies" and don't realize what they're getting into. The idiots will breed "to make lots of money."

Those dogs are the ones we see in rescue transports every week. And they're not only one breed. I can rattle off about a dozen breeds we've seen, both large and small, where the dogs were kept in crates their entire lives, and females were literally worn to a nub from breeding, breeding, breeding.

Talk to a responsible breeder. See how much "money" there is, and be prepared for the responsible breeder to laugh his or her head off. Talk to my one friend who had stayed up literally 3 or 4 nights in a row because her mommy-dog had mastitis and had brand-new puppies who couldn't nurse. Talk to her about how, when one little boy was born, she had to do doggy-CPR on him to get him breathing. Talk to her about the vet bills. And what happens when she doesn't sell her dogs - or if someone buys one and finds out that it's not a good fit for any reason. Responsible breeders make a contract with you - if for any reason, the dog doesn't fit anymore, they take it back.

I could go on. And I frequently do, particularly when people find out that we foster and are involved in rescue. And then they mention getting a dog from "Furry Friends" or a "guy in the neighborhood who breeds dogs as a hobby" or any of the chain stores that sell them.

The point is, my sister did put a kink in our plans, but it was a good kink. I'm glad - and proud of her for taking on the responsibility. She's in for a challenge, but she's also in for the good stuff: the dog who realizes that he or she is "home forever" and turns into the most loyal companion you will know. No matter the breed or the heritage - that look in their eyes (see my profile picture) says it all.

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.