Please Tell Me It's the Full Moon...

...but I doubt it. This story just sets my teeth on edge, and I see it's time for a little history lesson, just to refresh people's memories.

It appears that some Republican wants to pass a law in Idaho that would allow doctors and cops to refuse to help LGBT folks. 

Yes, I'm serious. No, it's not The Onion. 

A spokesperson from the ACLU says it is "a law in search of a problem." 

I think it's totally idiotic. 

Let's review, kids.... Doctors first. They take an oath. It's called the Hippocratic Oath and while it's not mandatory, a vast majority of medical students, upon being granted the title "Doctor" do take a form of this oath. 

Here are two sentences from one translation of the Oath:

I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.

And...

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, ...

Soooooo.... Taking this to its logical conclusion, we can say that "do no harm" is the "Prime Directive" - to use a Star Trek term. The physician vows to do no harm and prescribe for the good of the patient. The physician also vows that he or she "come(s) for the benefit of the sick, remaining free from all INTENTIONAL injustice..." (there's also the last phrase of this sentence which deals with sexual relations with patients, but that's not particularly relevant here). 

Hippocrates was an ancient Greek physician - often seen as the father of Western medicine. He lived from 460 BC to 370 BC. While it's not confirmed that he wrote the oath (perhaps it was one of his students), it is popularly regarded that this is the basic tenet of all medical professionals. 

Let's look at the "remaining free from all intentional injustice" thingie: You, Idaho, are telling us that refusing to treat LGBT patients is not  unjust... Really? 

The proposed law does have a caveat for emergency rooms, but what I want to know is, what is wrong with Idaho??

Now, the cops:  This is the oath of honor suggested by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Please look at the highlighted sentence after the oath.

On my honor,
I will never betray my badge,
my integrity, my character, 
or the public trust.
I will always have
the courage to hold myself
and others accountable for our actions.
I will always uphold the constitution 
and community I serve.

Before any officer takes the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor, it is important that he understands what it means. An oath is a solemn pledge someone makes when he sincerely intends to do what he says.

I rather like the last line of that oath: "I will always uphold the constitution and community I serve."

So again: WHAT is wrong with Idaho? Last I read, the Constitution doesn't say anything about LGBT citizens being classed as "less than" - though I'm sure that the Tea Party would certainly like to put that somewhere.

I suggest that the Tea Party certainly put that somewhere. Perhaps where one of "Transvaginal Bob's" probes might go. 

See the highlighted area? "...sincerely intends to do what he says." While I'm certain that Representative Luker is not a cop, I'm pretty sure he "sincerely intends to do what he says." 

No matter that it's stupid. Does the State of Idaho have nothing else to legislate on, that it has to find laws to pass for problems that don't exist? All the states should be so lucky.

Valentine's Day...

Nothing special going on here. Hubby asked me if I was getting him a card. I confessed (and he should remember this) that I always have a stash of cards. So he says, 'I guess I'd better get you one, too.' --No lack of sentiment, just that sometimes we don't celebrate on "mandated" holidays. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

However, TIPPI is ready... TDI asked us to post Valentine's Day pictures of our dogs. Well, last year, I did dress her up, and this year, this was the picture I had on my phone. It was actually an old Halloween costume, but hey - it's pink. It fits. She's anxious for her Valentine's Day date. Or sardines. She's easy to please. 

I've started to drink Yogi Tea - mostly, "re-started" since it's a box I bought quite some time ago. It's a Detox blend, which is kind of pungent, to say the least. 

The teabag tags have sayings on them, and today's was this one:

"Live for each other."

Nice sentiment, and perfectly seasonal. Now, what are the odds that I'd pick that one out of the box?

Come to think of it, I haven't done anything for Valentine's Day for ages. Aside from, one year, buying my assistant and student workers a card and a chocolate bar. Heck, it snuck up on me this year anyway. My yoga teacher and I were talking about a "Valentine's Special" thing she wanted to do and I suggested something... she said, "You do realize Valentine's Day is this Friday?"

Ummmm... Obviously not. 

Knitting...

Teal Sock

The second Teal Sock is on the needles!!! I've got the first K rows done - I do that to create ease when I wear them. If you see the first sock there, there's a tiny bit of roll at the tip. That's 3 rows of knit. I read that trick and then I talked to an experienced sock knitter who said that those rows help particularly on DPNs because you tend to knit tighter at the beginning, and then you've got "strangled calves" when you actually wear the socks. 

There's an interesting project that my friend Doris said something about. Which I'm telling you now I wouldn't do. It's a mitered-square afghan made from leftover sock yarn. So I'm going to see if I can dig up some of my leftovers. I'm kind of done with the Easter eggs! 

But it's an interesting concept...However, I wonder how long it would take you to knit, square by square, an afghan on somewhere around size 3 needles?? 

I did Google it and some of the images are gorgeous. But again - it's kind of like pushing a cooked spaghetti noodle up a mountain with your nose. 

I should try to learn mitered squares. The applications are quite numerous and while I doubt I'd do something large, a purse would be kind of cool. And it wouldn't have to be sock yarn. I saw a lovely felted purse made out of DK-weight or the like; it used a color scheme of tones of grey-to-black. 

Here's what an afghan looks like. If I ever was to do something like this, I do like this version where the squares are two different sizes. I think it adds a nice texture to the piece and I also like the fact that all of these colors are mixed. 

It's a crazy-quilt effect, which is totally cool. If I quilted, I would love to do crazy quilts. 

But this is kind of overboard. Well...maybe not if it's a baby-sized fabric, or a car-seat-cover sized one. But still -- that's a lot of sock yarn leftovers. 

The Biggest Loser...

...is a loser not in a good way. Click here, if you haven't seen the story. I'll tell you: I have always, ALWAYS had trouble with my own weight. It's a demon. 

But this show scares me. I have seen trailers and read stories, but I have never watched it. If that makes me lose any credibility for commenting, so be it. 

This woman, Rachel Frederickson, lost 60% of her body weight. She lost as much as I would like to weigh!! 

Even the trainers were shocked. She said that during the last phase of the competition, she worked out "3 hours a day and consumed 1,600 calories per day." Ummmmmmm. Not normal. She says she's "very healthy" and profiles have shown that she was athletic and not a couch-potato. 

But this loss is just over-the-top. Comments have ranged from, "Hey, she won $250,000" to "Can you say eating disorder?"

I am wondering when the show will have their first death. I'm serious. The people they have on the show are, in my mind, past the "morbidly obese" stage and I get this: It's a contest. But I also get that people tend to get crazy and I wonder if there will come a day when a candidate actually just drops dead. 

Heartbeats

I've always had that concern about the show. And in a way, that's why I've never watched. I don't feel comfortable "endorsing" or "supporting" this way of losing weight. I'd rather it be more sensible. 

Random Picture...

A cardiac nurse friend of mine sent this to me. I think it's adorable and if I had time, and was inclined, and Valentine's Day wasn't Friday??? This could happen. 

My mom tells me that she has now been diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. Welcome, mom, to the Sucky Gene Pool - come on in, the water's fine.

By the way, the Detox Tea is much better with a little agave syrup in it. It's more mellow than at first. 

Have a great Valentine's Day! 

Annoying Password Changes...

Look, I'm all about the safety issues on the 'Net. But this is kind of ridiculous. In December of last year (two months ago, to be exact) I changed a couple of passwords.

And now, I try to get into those accounts, and I get "wrong password" or the equivalent. So I have to reset them again.

After resetting the password to get HERE, which I did about 10:30 a.m. today, I was ready to type today's entry. Just now, at 1:13 p.m., I get "wrong password." Really?

You mean the wrong password that I just changed this morning? So it says "type the last password you remember" -- easy enough even for me, since it was 3 hours ago! 

Finally, I think I have it done correctly - at least this time. We'll see about next time. But jeepers...

Rescues...

This is a hanky alert... Read here about Taysia Blue Siberian Husky Rescue. So - this is why we do what we do. And Hubby and I don't really do all that much, considering what some folks do. We do what we can, but as with every cause, there are superstars. These folks are. 

When you see these things on Facebook or if you get solicitations, consider donating to a local rescue or no-kill shelter. Volunteer if you can; either by helping to foster, or walking the dogs or transporting - which is what we did for a long time. Hubby still does it when he can, but that "working Saturday" thing has rather hobbled my ability to do so. 

And of course, for now, with our recent rescue Raisa, we're in the midst of integrating everyone and taking her to puppy training. 

By the way, speaking of that - today we had everyone off the leash and all was good for quite some time. She's still a little "lickey-face" with Tippi, which is typical puppy behavior. And we're watching it to make sure Tippi is ok with it. For now, she's tolerating it, but I'm certain Tippi will certainly let her (and me) know when it's enough. 

Goofy Quinn

Also speaking of rescues, today is Quinn's "gotcha day." She's come a long way from that scared scrawny puppy hiding under Kari's chair as Hubby tries to coax her out. She's still a little too easily freaked out, but she's smart, healthy, and strikingly pretty. And also a loon. See the picture... 

This would be the 5th in a quick series of pictures of her dive-bombing Kid #2 headfirst into his side, her butt in the air, swiveling around, sliding down his leg, wriggling her rear end in his face before sliding that part down his ribs, and then smooshing herself onto the couch so that he could rub her belly.

I didn't print the whole series here because Kid #2 has asked me not to print his pic in my blog. It's not like I'm going to print something humiliating, but he's asked and I respect his privacy.

Yep. So, this is a clip from the AKC page on the Norwegian Elkhound:

Right Breed for You?

The Norwegian Elkhound is bold and energetic, an effective guardian yet normally friendly, and does well with children, especially when introduced to them at a young age. The Elkhound is a very people-oriented breed and does not like to be shut away from its family. The breed does requires regular exercise, but does not require elaborate grooming procedures.

They are also often described as friendly and DIGNIFIED. I guess 50% is good... I don't know what we'd do without our scrappy watchdog. She's the noise, Tippi's the muscle. 

Snow buddies

I think what's freaking her out is that, at 5 1/2 months, Raisa is bigger than she is. Huskies are always bigger than elkhounds, but I believe she would've taken to Raisa better if she wasn't as huge. All Raisa wants to do is make friends, and when they're on a leash, they're amazing, as this shot shows. Hubby took this on the trail yesterday. 

Tippi, embodying the "dignified" thing, is alongside and behind. She's not about to exert herself if someone else does. 

Did I mention that Norwegian Elkhounds are also very smart?? 

Oh, and so are Siberian Huskies. 

We'll be lucky that they don't change our locks and fix our computer passwords... 


Knitting...

The afghan is more than coming along. I think I'll be done next week. I pulled the yarn (unwinding it from its hanks in the super-special steel bowl yarn holder device) and did about 25 pulls... I can see the hanks shrinking nicely and I think I'm getting excited to see it finally finished. Right now, when I'm knitting on it, I can drape it over my feet, as shown, and it's nice and toasty.

And, luckily for us, Raisa shows no interest in the super-special steel bowl yarn holder device. She's come close with tossing her toys, but she stops solidly before the afghan and yarn. She tried to mouth the afghan ever-so-slightly, but a good "AAAACK!" did the trick and she hasn't bothered me at all when it's in my lap. 

Almost done!

This will be about 42" x 46" - and my nephew is kind of a big guy. But I never committed to an exact SIZE of the afghans I'm knitting them all! This will be enough for a nice throw on the back of the couch, and I hope he likes it. 

I have the sock with me, but I have a doctor's appointment, so I haven't even brought it out. I'll work on it tonight, I think, just to shake up my fingers and since I'm feeling confident of the afghan.

And I hope I haven't just jinxed myself, with that comment!! Never mess with the knitting fairies. They'll get you every time. 

I saw the Yarn Harlot's new socks, in my favorite sock yarn, Trekking XXL - like neon Easter eggs. I may have to have that colorway to work on some more socks. I think maybe there's a sock binge coming on, and it can't be too soon for me. 

The hat binge is over for now, though I do want to knit one more, for which I've already gotten the yarn. It's a cloche and I can't wait to start on it. Oh, and there's the silver-grey beret...

So maybe the hat binge isn't over yet. Oh well. 

Irony overload...

Yes, this is a picture from a catalog I got yesterday. Look at the 2 entries at the bottom. God and Guns... 

I get it. Concealed carry is now legal in Illinois and I have to get over it. But I don't have to like it. 

And I can't help chuckling - "carry your concealed weapon, and as a side, carry your electronic Bible just so you're prepared for whatever happens."

Well, that's probably not what they thought. But that's what I interpret it as. 

Hey, at least both items are on sale. You can get 'em while they're in stock and you are then fully prepared for anything life hands you.

Or that you do. 

Like the guy in Florida who felt "disrespected" when a 17-year-old didn't turn down the music in his car. 

So he shot him. And of course, claimed that he "thought" he saw a gun. And felt "threatened." 

Apparently, in Florida, "Stand Your Ground" means "shoot 17-year-old black kids"... The closing arguments are today and I wonder what the verdict will be this time.

You'd think you could assume the verdict, right? Not so much. Google "Trayvon" if you're still confused as to why this isn't an open-and-shut case...

Random Picture...

Raisa & Tippi

See? They're getting a little better. I admit, this one had me flashing back to River and Tippi - they really got along well. 

I'm always positive - at least I hope I am. I'm positive that we'll be fine and everyone will get along. Eventually. I don't expect perfection immediately. The reason River was our "robo-dog" was because she got along with EVERYONE. There will never be another River. 

Just like there'll never be another Tippi. Or another of any other dog I've ever had. 

Each one has been an addition to our lives, and of course, when they died, they left a hole. 

Another dog can't fill that hole. In fact, sometimes I think I'm making holes by continuing to have dogs in our lives. But they're the kind of holes that I would like to believe make me a better person. 

Like the saying goes: "I want to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am." 

Hug your dogs. It's just that kind of day. 

Ecce - EEEK!

For those of you not conversant with liturgical music OR "Church Latin" - this is in reference to our newest piece, which our lovely choirmaster said we could "just do one day."

Winter vista

He gave it to us one weekend and alluded to how we could do it the NEXT weekend, except for now, I'm the only alto that shows up with any consistency. I wasn't going to be at church yesterday (more on that later) and so he said he'd wait a bit.

In the meantime, Hubby got the piece in Sibelius, since I can't play piano and I needed to learn this thing PRONTO.

Oy. Oh. My. God. Good. Grief. Yiiiiiiiiiiiiikes!!

First, there's no apparent YouTube version of this particular arrangement of that venerable motet Ecce Panis Angelorum (translation: Bread of the Holy Spirit). We have Gregorian Chant and another version (God knows whose) but nothing by James H. Rogers. This piece is so old that Tom was able to get it free from the Library of Congress. Yes, THE Library of Congress will provide you with music out of copyright and, appparently, ancient. 

Around about measure 14, the alto part starts, fairly innocent and, I admit, kinda boring. We hang out on the G for a while. Then it gets interesting because we follow the baritones. The first hint of "issue" is around measure 23. I have to hit a B. A LOW, low B. Mind you, I'm still mostly soprano and my lowest audible note is usually middle-C. This is the note below middle-C. So we start "in the basement" with this particular phrase, and round about measure 28, we go from a G (above middle-C) to a quick rest, to an E... the E above middle-C. Almost a one-octave jump UP the scale. And there's no sliding - you've gotta nail the G, breathe and then crank on that batch of Es - there are 6 of 'em right in a row, then after #6, in the same measure, you go to the low E (still above middle-C). 

Whew. I've run it through a couple of times, both "cold" and "warmed-up" after a couple of rounds of Lacrimosa - which, believe me, is quite the warm-up. I squeaked like a 4th grader with his first clarinet when I tried to grab that E note. 

The only thing I can think of is to try to, at that point, switch to my lower register and see if that works. But I still have that mid-measure switcheroo to the higher register from the higher E to the lower E. 

Oh, and here's fun. This is the verse: In figuris praesignatur, praesignatur. Cum Isaac immolatur.  In "praesignatur" imagine the a and e tied together; I can't figure it out in Blogger and my brain is tired trying to wrap itself around this piece of music. 

Is this penance? I'd be less freaked out if there was another alto. And I feel for Hubby. Tom is the "other tenor" but if it's a difficult piece, he's playing and letting Hubby carry the tenor load. And the tenor part is up in the rafters a bit, too. 

Come to think of it, I could probably "fake" it since at that point, the soprano line is the same as the alto line. And the sopranos are a loud bunch. They vastly outnumber me, even when Roberta joins me (she's an opera singer, so her "alto" is a bit more florid than mine). There are 4 of them to 1 of me. Four LOUD women. Sweethearts, but loud nonetheless. 

It'll all happen. It always does. But sometimes not before scaring the crap out of me.

Did I mention that I haven't even STARTED on the Exultet for Easter? Well, I've at least got till mid-April on that. 

Snow...

Knee-high to a short person

So this weekend, it got up to my knees. I helped shovel the front sidewalk, and I knocked some snow off the various feeders. I have to take the big camera outside to get decent shots. My neighbor has some interesting icicles on the house. At least with the big camera, I can get in tight without violating his privacy. 

We have at this moment, beautiful sunshine. The snow sparkles like diamonds in its piles. It's gorgeous. And 8*F with a "feels like" of -4*F. It should be clear over the next week or so, and might actually "warm up" to the 30s if we're lucky.

Break out the wool socks and Birkenstock sandals!! 

I'm still cool with winter (did ya see that pun there???) but I dug out a picture and put it on my desk. It's one Hubby took of a Swallowtail butterfly (I think) on a lupine. It's very beautiful, as are 99.9999% of his pictures, and it's just sitting on my desk reminding me that, yes, spring will be here, and you'll see me crabbing about the heat and humidity.

Speaking of which, I have to check the guitars. The Seagulls are in cases, but the Sigma isn't. There's probably enough humidity in the house, though I wish it was a tad bit more. Gotta fill the in-case humidifiers and figure out how to keep the Sigma from any damage,though I doubt it'll be harmed. It's not on top of a heat vent, and it's old. I mean, close to 40 years old if it's a day, and often, older guitars weather this lack of humidity better just because the wood is already more dried out than the newer ones.

That's on my list for Tuesday. Along with dropping "pee-pads" off to my friend Deb in Lab Rescue, remembering to grab Dead Brother's old cell phones for the domestic violence program, and grabbing the bag of archive materials to deliver to my Zonta meeting. Oh, and the check for the fundraiser. 

So much for an "easy" day off... 

The Shower...

Cupcakes for shower

Pardon the upcoming rant, but I just can't hold it in any longer. First, I did end up doing the cupcakes for the shower, which was totally NBD (no big deal) because I can do 36 cupcakes standing on my head. In a blizzard. 

I got the couple a cake plate that "does tricks." It's Gorham crystal, and no, it's not fussy; check out the link. It turns from a cake plate to a punch bowl, and then if you just use the bottom portion, it's a chip and dip set-up.

At the last minute, the shower location was switched. The original restaurant had a sewer blow-out. Urgh.... So everyone was contacted and we all went off to the other location. We had to park street-side, and clamber over drifts, but that was ok, I guess. My niece helped haul in stuff, and she and my sister rode with me. Our plan had always been to ride together because the parking at the original restaurant was miniscule. 

We got in, said hi to my SIL, her sister, and various guests that we knew. Made excuses for my mom -- by the way, it turns out she's got a sinus infection and upper respiratory infection. Which I told  her she probably had about 3 days ago, but who listens to me??

And we sat. And sat. And sat. My cousin texted the bride, and comes back to report "she's partying with her bridesmaids." What????????????

Finally, she strolls in with nary a word of apology and waltzes up to the head table as if it's perfectly normal to be ONE HOUR LATE for your own shower. Chattering away with her buds as if they were out on a girl's excursion. 

My niece tried, prior to the bride's appearance to make excuses, but after she saw how she came in, the conclusion was, "Yeah, that's just ignorant..."

I don't know how it's done in your family, but in ours, the bride would, when opening gifts, say, "Ok, this is from Aunt Nancy; oh, what a nice... [insert name of present here]" as she opened the gifts. She did that, but sotto voce -- nobody heard her except her 2 bridesmaids on either side. She did pose with each gift. 

And then the gift-opening was done. My nephew made the "thanks for coming, here's the wedding info" speech. And the bride never moved off her chair to come around to the 30 people who had waited patiently for her arrival in the first place to say hello, or anything. 

I don't care what year it is. Manners are manners. And she has none. 

My aunt (mom's sister) has early Alzheimer's and it's always dicey when she goes out. Yesterday was one of her good days. She said to my sister and me: "Wow - it's a good thing your mom WASN'T here - she'd have blown a gasket." 

Yep. 

Knitting...

Worked a few more repeats of the Nephew Afghan. Didn't do anything on the Teal Sock #2 or even look at another project. 

I just want the afghan over. I figure if I can do at least 2 repeats a night (4 rows per repeat, so 8 rows a night), I should have it done in about a week. At the latest, I want it done by the end of February and I should make that deadline. 

Male Cardinal

Random Picture...

So I put a "winter vista" up at the top of the post; that's outside my office. I am anxious for the warm-up later this week - I don't work on Saturday, though I have a yoga seminar that afternoon. Maybe I can drag Hubby out with the snow shoes if it doesn't all melt to mud. 

This is out in my front yard. It's my FB picture, and one of my friends described this little guy as a "bright red Hershey's Kiss with a tail." He was sitting and sunning in the -30* temps, eating his seeds. He was a cutie - I have a whole series of him on the platform feeder and on the ground --- er, snow. 

Cardinals are gorgeous - male or female. They're very fun to watch and their chirp is distinctive and melodic. 

Note to Self...

ALWAYS carry a crochet hook. It almost doesn't matter what size. You never know when you might have to rig one up with a paperclip and while that's very "Girl Scout," it's not always ideal.

Knitting...

I finally got on Ravelry and entered the hats. I got a nice compliment on the Kauri hat. That always feels good!

I feel like all I've been doing is double-stranded knitting. 

Oh wait. I have. Between the Nephew Afghan, the Basic Hat, and my (gasp! FINISHED!) cup cozy, I've done that for -- like -- EVER now. Though Friday I did cast on Teal Sock #2 and I have about 4 rows of the cuff ribbing done. I can't wait to finish that. I am going to try to make a pair of socks every quarter. That's about all I can do.

The Yarn Harlot says she's doing a pair a month, but we all know she rocks and is a super-knitter. I don't think I could commit to that, what with the WIPs I have in my mind to clear out. 

So - yeah - finished something. It's a cup cozy. No, it's not horribly big, but I like this reusable Starbucks cup and I was annoyed at myself for using the corrugated cup cozies. This is again the Patons Classic Wool. It seems like I'm drowning in this Wedgewood colorway, but I do have 4 hanks of it. I think that the last thing I'm going to do with this is another pair of hiking socks. It's about what? Somewhere near 425 yards for 2 socks, and I have enough full hanks and 2 partial hanks. If nothing else, they'll be warm. I'll do the same as I did on the purple hiking socks: worsted weight yarn on size 3 DPNs. 

Cup Cozy

If I have more of the Wedgewood left over (sigh), I will either do wristers or, since I have a LOT of grey Patons, I will do the hiking socks using the variegated at cuff, heel and toe. Or I hit up Joann's and buy a couple of hanks of beige Patons - there's beige, blue, brown - lots of ways I can go, and I think that either way, it'll work. 

Here's the cup cozy: I think I posted a partial pic earlier, but either way. It's only 3" long, so it's not like a monumental project.

But what with the monumental projects I've been knitting lately? I needed a down-and-dirty easy and small one to just talk me off the ledge here. 

I suppose some of my Etsy friends might say, "Hey, you could sell those." Well, yeah, I probably could. But knitting endless cup cozies is not my idea of fun. Ever. This is stupid-simple: just cast on your desired stitches (in this case, about 42) and knit in a K1, P1 rib for 3" and bind off. So the bind off is where I used my paper-clip-crochet-hook device. Not ideal, and I do have an end to weave in, but I can do that at home. And remember to stick a spare hook in my bag. 

You can use any stretchy stitch: K2, P1 or any of those variations, or a moss stitch, maybe? Grab your stitch dictionary and go for it. I guess if I screw up and wash the cup with this on, it'll felt. But it won't kill me. 

Olympics...

I'm not watching. Putin is a dictator. Plain and simple. There are too many stories of Russian dysfunction and his ruthlessness - from shooting stray dogs to displacing people because they're "in the way." This dude has really reignited the Cold War. And for what?

Gotta love the whole speech about "inclusion" in the Olympics. Check out Russia's human rights record. You probably won't sleep at night, if you have a conscience. 

I'm going to be exposed to it, of course, because you can't get on the Internet without seeing it and I have 2 sports nuts at home, so it'll be on. 

I'll be knitting or reading. Or maybe THIS is my Olympic moment: to finish cleaning out my office at home!! Yep, there's a thought. 

Yoga...

I'm in a rut. My own personal practice is kind of in the toilet (which happens to teachers) and I've got a couple other things going on. So the reason I'm bringing this up is because I went to a therapeutic workshop last night.

I almost didn't go. But I'm glad I did. Workshops tend to reinvigorate you, especially if they're not particularly long. This was a one-hour thing dealing with ankles, knees, hips, low back. I felt jazzed in the lower body, but sore this a.m. I hope to be able to use some of this in my own sequences. 

And I'm really hoping that this makes me roll out my mat. Which, actually, could be done if (see paragraph above) I make room on my office floor on which to roll the mat!


Really...

OK, so I wonder sometimes what people think when naming their kids. My kids have conventional names because they have an unconventional last name. Neither name can be mangled into a cutesy nickname, and both are, in my opinion, classic names.

My friends, for the most part, have named their kids along the same lines. But there are some folks who do choose to go "unique." Kid #2, the teacher, says that he sees a lot of "odd" names, and Sis (a nurse) often has to have people spell what you'd think was a simple name because they want to be "different." 

Now seriously. Take "Christopher." Very common in the early 80s. So I once saw it spelled thusly: Khristopfer.

Yep. So you say "Christopher" but you make your kid forevermore have to spell it out. 

Nice. 

So the reason for this segment is this story. A couple named their child Messiah. A judge in TN - the home of the Bible Belt, apparently, changed the name over the objections of the parents, and she stated in court that "Messiah is a title and only to be used by one person, Jesus Christ."

Nice. Well, not so much. She's been fired. Apparently, she's let her bias slip more than once and this set the judicial commission in her area over the edge.

Do I agree with the parents? Well, not so much. And it's not because of some overwhelming religious fervor. I just think that sometimes in their desire to see their child as unique, parents saddle their kids with names which are quite burdensome. 

The judge should have been fired, if indeed she was bringing her Bible to the bench. There's no place for that, because so far, we're not a theocracy. Though there are plenty of Republicans and Tea Party folks trying to make us so. 

Anyway, you really can't tell a parent what to name a kid - at least within reason. Of course there are naming conventions, and your local clerk's office will outline those. But please - recall that at some point, your kid may not thank you for that "different" name. 

Random Picture...

Peace is slowly coming to the house. Hubby still feels (and is) "tied" to Raisa while they all work out who's where. But it's coming along. 

Everyone napping

Our biggest hurdle is the relationship between Tippi & Quinn. We've had 3 females before and after one or two "dominance displays" everyone calms down. I really feel that the mother-daughter thing is overwhelming sometimes. If Tippi and Quinn were not related, I think Raisa's integration would be easier. I've talked to folks who've had mother-daughter combos and they all seemed to think it was really easy. Well, maybe for them. But it has certainly proved to be a challenge with us. It doesn't help that there are 3 adults in the house with three DISTINCTLY different styles of interaction with the dogs. 

This week is Raisa's first training, but since I have a wedding shower where my attendance is required (and for which I'm baking the cupcakes), Kid #2 will be Raisa's handler. He's also got to sub for me one more time. After that, I'm clearing my calendar to get her trained. 

This morning, Raisa said "hello" and I have a scratch on my face very much in line with Boris Karloff. We're working on "off" pretty regularly! She took a chunk out of Hubby while going after a treat, so that's another thing: "EASY!" 

But overall, things are mostly positive and we understand that this will be an interesting group of dogs. Raisa will be our last puppy. And we're hoping it all smooths out sooner rather than later.

By the way, in case you're curious, that rectangular patch on Quinn's flank is the hair growing back after the removal of a pretty nasty cyst. She's got the undercoat just fine; now we're waiting for the guard hairs to come back. It takes a while. 

Paying It Forward...

We all talk about "paying it forward." At least I hope we do. And we all like to think we're doing our bit to make our society a better place. 

At least I hope we do. 

But here's a guy who's put his wallet where his mouth is:  he paid up some kids' lunches in a local school after hearing about that school in Utah that tossed lunches for kids who had outstanding lunch ticket debt.

I love the comment he made: "These kids need to worry about the grade they get in spelling."

I wonder how many of us will take his lead and do something like this? It doesn't have to be a forever thing. It doesn't have to be EVERY kid... When we help one person, we create a ripple effect. So help one kid and pass this on to a friend. 

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/02/06/houston-man-pays-school-lunch-debts/

I don't normally post entire links, but I found the headline compelling, as I hope you do. If you are fortunate, you should feel easy enough to share your good with others. 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pass this link on. The good that man did is really beyond compare. No, it's not finding the cure for cancer.

But maybe he helped a kid get lunch and THAT KID might be the one who finds that cure. 

I think I'm going to call our local grade school... we have a school that's pretty poor, and my kids went there - and got an excellent education, by the way! So maybe I can help another kid out...

Knitting...

Cup Cozy

Was going to go with the super-easy-instant-gratification cup cozy today at lunch, but it's been a busy day at work. Suffice to say that I've got about 1" more on it. And about 40 more rows on the Nephew Afghan. I'll be working on that one tonight. 

Sad news at Le Mouton Rouge Knittery... She was robbed! The good news is that they did catch the young man. The bad news is that it happened at all. I hope that the young man wakes up -- he's headed down a very wrong path.

The afghan pic is my "super-lovely yarn bowl." Also known as one of my steel mixing bowls. You can get cutesy, but when you're working with what's essentially "bulky" yarn, you go with efficiency, right? This is the last 2 hanks and honestly, all kidding aside: I want this thing DONE. Where are the Yarn Fairies when you need them???

It's now too big to haul to my knitting group. I think I'll have to suss out one of the Second Socks to finish instead of taking this beast out. I believe I can lay my hands on them. Will look tonight. 

Free Yarn Bowl!

I have set aside the February Lady Sweater. I could bring that to knitting. It would probably help because I believe I'm at the juncture where I might need some expert help. But for right now, maybe a mindless sock is just about all I need. 

Angel...

I will often tell people, "I'll light a candle for you" when they need prayer or good thoughts. In the church we now attend, I can't figure out whether they actually USE the candle section!! And anyway, it's a small spot just inside the door, which to my mind isn't ideal. Heaven knows I don't want to burn the place down! I have never seen it lit, so I don't want to commit a churchy faux pas. 

So I have this angel. I usually will light this up. It's a lovely bit of stained glass I purchased - oh gosh - about 25 years ago?? Maybe more?? I can't remember. But she sits on my bookshelf. I don't use her as a night light. But I do use her as my "prayer light."

It's a little hard to see from this angle, but she has a pearly white body, her wings are all rainbow-y when she's lit or in the light, and her head is a faceted crystal. 

So if you ever need prayers, let me know - and I'll turn on the angel for you. 

Honestly, some folks feel all quibby about "prayers" - because perhaps they are private about their own beliefs; they have no specific church; they're atheists - no matter what. It's just a thing. 

Myself, I've found lately that "you have my prayers" makes me uncomfortable. I feel better telling someone that I'm holding them in my thoughts. 

This little angel is a good way to hold someone in those thoughts. Every time I see her in my home office, I pause and think about someone. 

I have a Himalayan salt candle in my work office. Not only is it good for the air (removing impurities) but it also takes a little tea light, which takes about 4 hours to burn through - I don't have to worry about inadvertently leaving a candle burning when I leave. I light that every day I'm in the office. It serves as a reminder to stop and think of people or even stop and breathe. 

Whatever works - that's the way I feel about it. What are your devices to remember people and acknowledge them? I would be interested to hear about them. 

Weather...

Baby, it's COLD outside!

Yes, it's cold. Yes, this is a cheesy dash-temp shot at 8:44 a.m. today. And yes, we're in for more on Saturday. And of course I work. I worked LAST Saturday and the instructor called the class off. After I got there. But it was actually a good thing I was there, because one of the HVAC units on the roof had fizzled and the back of the campus was about 50*. Great for August. Not so great when it's 1* outside!! 

So this weekend, Saturday will again be the big snow. Well, "will be ANOTHER BIG SNOW" is probably the better way to put it. 

This time, I will check my work e-mail -- last week, I was thinking that our school would cancel classes. Silly me... I also gave the instructor my cell phone number. Hopefully, (a) the class won't be cancelled; or (b) I'll know about it before I drive out there!

I am waiting for the temps to be a tad more... well, temperate! I loaned my cross-country skis to my friend G - she wants to get back into it and I can't ski for crap. I love to snow shoe, and if it gets a little less chilly - i.e. you can breathe without freezing your lungs - perhaps Hubby and I can get out onto one of the easier trails. 

I would do it, by the way, WITHOUT the dogs. I'm still building back my endurance, which may seem strange to you what with all that yoga training. But these heart meds - they're making it harder for me to get my heart rate up (a good thing for arrhythmia but a bad thing when you get chilled outside; it's harder to warm up) and they've sucked my endurance out the window. At least this way, we won't have the Three Beasts dragging us in search of deer. 

In point of exercise, by the way, I have pulled the weighted hula hoop from behind my door. I can only do the thing for about 2 or 3 minutes. But it's also got knobs on the inside, so my ribs feel a bit "pummeled" when I get done. I'm trying to move more and perhaps this will help in the long run. 

And speaking of that, I've renewed my commitment to a "cleaner" diet way of eating. If I use better language, it helps me stay on track!! The reason this is appropriate here is because the "clean-up" involves lots of salads! And it's cold outside. 

I'm craving mac & cheese and butternut squash soup. Not kale salad. But - I went into a comfort-food tailspin this summer and I need to drag myself, kicking and screaming, out of it. 

The worst part is the first part because it's just dumping the sugar. You don't realize how much sugar you really eat! But I'm hanging in there and I know it'll pay off in more energy, better "numbers" during my check-ups and frankly, yeah: I'll weigh a lot less. When I weigh less, I hurt less. Believe me, it's only partly vanity. The other part is just being fed up with hurting. Arthritis - at least at this stage - is a "hidden" ailment. I just hurt. A lot. And it's no fun. 

I mean, I know people have it a lot worse than I do. I can still shovel snow. I can still do a lot of yoga. I can still knit, play guitar, walk without assistance - crikey, I'm VERY lucky. I have all of my original joints. But I want to be better. I want to get back to being able to do stuff with Hubby without him worrying that I'm going to keel over. 

And I'd like to take a Level 2 yoga class - of course I still can't invert, but a nice flow yoga sequence would be good. 

Autherine Lucy...

Autherine Lucy

I found this as part of a FB page I manage. I try to put something up there every day or so on Women's History and today we have a two-fer - Ms. Lucy was the first black student admitted to the University of Alabama. She was expelled because she accused administrators of conspiring in riots. Hers was a court-ordered admittance. She did not go back right away, but later did earn a Master's Degree.

The point of this is that there are "rights" and these rights should not be viewed through the lens of race, the lens of gender, or the lens of anything else you can see. 

Women's rights are essentially HUMAN rights. The recent "anniversary" and sturm-und-drang about Roe v. Wade is OLD NEWS, folks. As Kid #2 asked, "Didn't you fight that fight?" - and he can't see why there's such a determination to overturn a lawful decision of SCOTUS. To be honest, no, I didn't fight that fight. I was in high school. A Catholic high school, to boot. But I have taught the boys to use their brains and to see that really, each person should be able to make his or her own health decisions. When you're part of a couple, it's reasonable to expect that you would certainly discuss this with your partner.

But really - I don't want anyone else in my uterus. 

My personal feeling? (I know y'all are waiting for it...) If you want to overturn a decision of SCOTUS, how'z about that Citizens United ruling? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm??? We get all that Koch Kash out of our elections??? 

There's a thought. 

Random Picture...

This is a card that I bought for a fundraiser for John Nelsen Moosedog Rescue Fund. It's made by Mandy Smithers - Google her, she makes fantastic cards!!

Anway, this is what I plan to do tonight. In between rows of the Nephew Afghan!

I bought a couple of these and used one for a thank-you note for a gift Tippi got from one of our therapy partners. 

Mandy's cards are suitable for any occasion and they're works of art in and of themselves. I'm going to frame the extra one I bought. Pink is Tippi's color. Each dog has her color. Quinn's is red and Raisa's is purple. 

The cards are blank inside for your own sentiment. Help out a woman-owned enterprise if you're interested in some special cards!