Aunties In Stitches

The role of aunt is one of those that varies from family to family. Some aunts are aloof; some are strait-laced; some are out of control; some are wild and fun. Some are a constant presence. Some are never heard from but for an occasional phone call and a Christmas card. Aunts don't have to be blood relatives. It's not unusual for a good family friend to be an aunt to a child.

At the office I have a group called Aunties In Stitches who knit and crochet caps for preemies at one of the local hospitals. We've also done burial gowns and clothing drives for the siblings of newborns. The philosophy behind the group is that every child should have an aunt, because an aunt can be a great source of comfort, share secrets, and provide guidance. This week a project came up that focuses on gathering baby basics for families in need. The Oregon Department of Human Services in conjunction with Soroptimist Clubs are hosting baby showers located in some Oregon cities where folks can drop off goods for babies. I'm organizing folks to knit or crochet up squares for making baby blankets. Folks can create solid fabric squares 9" square out of soft washable yarn, then I'll put them together to make blankets. Twelve squares make a nice sized car or stroller blanket. There are many washcloth patterns out there that would make fabulous squares. If you're interested in participating, please contact me at fiberqat AT gmail DOT com for details on where to drop off completed squares and answer questions.

Update: Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks has agreed to be a drop off point for finished squares. Choose bright or pastel colors for the squares. While you're at Abundant, treat yourself to a coffee or Italian soda or yarn. Thanks!

Happy spring!

The evil plum trees have put on their alluring frills. I have a love/hate relationship with them stemming from childhood. For those of you not familiar with these, they are ornamental plum trees that most of the year are covered with nice red leaves. In the spring they bloom with pretty pink flowers. But those blossoms are merely a ruse for they turn into nasty tasting plums that drop and sprout into trees. A number of them are in my lawn, rooted there so firmly it will take a rototiller to rip them out. I have found that if I don't fertilize the lawn and am careful with pruning I keep the plum production down to a dozen a year. If it weren't for the expense of going through a city permit system to cut them down then replace them with other trees, I would have taken them out years ago. But we have come to a truce. They don't bear plums; I let them live.

Why this animosity toward a tree? If you have lived with a tree that bore fruit, edible or non-edible, you would understand. But for those of you who have not I highly recommend that unless you train them on a trellis you not get one at all. Fruit trees attract bugs and birds and leave an awful mess that attract even more bugs like yellow jackets and hornets. Where I grew up, my grandmother gave my mom and dad an ornamental plum tree that under my mom's TLC became a giant 30 footer. All of us kids had the job of cleaning up the plums that fell during the summer off the patio and driveway so that they wouldn't sprout in the yard. By the time it was my turn, the production was increasing to the point of a deluge. It was one year that we had a bumper crop of plums (Mom had had the tree pruned the previous year) that I lodged a protest to management. I would clear off the patio and wash the juice down, then work on the driveway. By the time the driveway was done, the patio looked like it hadn't been touched. I was never so happy as the day I watched that tree be taken out of the back yard.

Some day I'll be rid of those damn trees.

Knitting

The Sirdal is complete!

I'll have to rework the bottom hem because it keeps curling up. That's an easy fix compared to reknitting a section. A little judicious gathering while retacking the edge will undo that curl. Of course it's over 60 degrees F today. Barf.

Another one done for the Knitting from Stash pile!

First week back to work

I returned to work this week, working half days in the morning then returning home to take it easy. The first few days I napped, but yesterday and today I made myself stay up. My body's going to be whacked out enough what with daylight saving time starting this weekend to also have to stay awake in the afternoon. The site was tender Wednesday, but I think it was having to do more with a waistband that didn't give than my being bent over a desk. It was good getting back into the weekday routine and seeing familiar faces. I was missed there in the land of the accounts.

I'm not putting up a picture of the sweater today because it's so close to being finished it's pointless. I'm working on the neckband and just need to finish off the buttonholes, stitch on the sleeves, and affix the buttons on the cuffs before blocking the whole thing. So you'll have to just resign yourself to a pretty kitty picture of one of our neighborhood cats, Domino.

Domino resides outside because he developed the nasty habit of spraying. It's no trick of the light; he does have white fur lining his upper lip. He's a sweetie who endures the other cats picking on him.

The neighbors and I keep an eye on him so that he doesn't get neglected. Love me; feed me; pay my vet bills.

I ain't skeered of no steenkin' steeks

It's not frightening to put in a basting stitch to mark the cutting line and machine sew in holding stitches.

And it's not frightening to cut the stitches either. The machine stitching keeps them from coming undone and the direction of the steek is counter to the natural direction of the stitches' desire to zip down.

It makes what was once a tube a flat piece that can now be assembled into a cardigan.

There are tutorials on steeks on the Net, including this one from Lucy Neatby. Work a few in wools (other fibers aren't quite stickery enough to work well for steeks) to get familiar with the technique. You don't need a glass of wine. You don't need your hand held. All you need are two colors of wool, some scrap wool, a tapestry needle, a good sharp pair of scissors, and if the wool isn't Shetland or other fluffy wool, a sewing machine.

Gird your loins

The election is more than a year away and already I'm annoyed. This isn't a good sign. I'm a fiscal conservative social liberal, which means I want the government to have the programs we need to maintain a semblance of a good life for everyone but not waste money doing the job. I could swing either Democrat or Republican, so I'm one of those voters the presidential candidates need to convince of their worthiness.

So far, I'm not impressed.

The Democrat machine is spinning out Hillary Clinton as the candidate of choice. Next to her is Barack Obama, the young upstart who is winning voters with his ideas. Behind both of them is John Edwards, who ran as the vice presidential candidate with John Kerry. The media is making the Clinton/Obama competition the headline of the Democratic offering for the presidency. Today I heard about their attending the civil rights commemoration events in Selma, scheduling their speeches so that they conflict with each other, then walking together over the Edmund Pettus bridge with other officials. Obama had come at the invitation of Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) to Selma, then Clinton announced she was going, attending a ceremony that inducted her husband, Bill Clinton, into the Civil Rights Hall of Fame. This jockeying for media exposure didn't win my respect for either candidate. But then, neither candidate was really pulling my heartstrings. Obama doesn't have enough political experience to be president. Clinton has too much baggage. Edwards, who is speaking at the University of California , Berkeley, wisely stayed out of the fray.

On the Republican side, John McCain announced his jump into the fray, but I don't see him winning the nomination what with his stand on some issues that the Republicans traditionally support and remarks he has made. Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani will most likely be duking it out.

I'll be watching these guys.

Coming to a porch near you

This morning I heard a thump and thought it was a cat jumping from the high perch in the other room. Then I saw one of the cats, who had been sunning herself on the back of the futon chair, down on the floor and looking furtively over her shoulder to the outside. Inspection of the front porch turned up another phone book, this time from Verizon. This makes three. Now, tell me in this age of Internet phone directories why I need three phone books? I understand there are folks who don't have computers or use their computers for looking up phone numbers, and it's good to have one phone book in case of emergency. But there is no need for three phone books from three different companies (in my case, Qwest, Verizon, and Yellow Book). The books appear to be cast upon us by squads of cheaply paid temps who go through the neighborhoods and drop off their bundles regardless of need, like advertisement slips. It seems like such a waste of paper. Though for a cheap amusement, get one wet and see it bloom like a flower as the pages crinkle.

Knitting

The second sleeve on the Sirdal is coming along. I'm working on the upper motif now and should have the sweater completed in a week or two. I'm starting work tomorrow part time, taking on the bonfires that flared up in my absence then coming home to nap. We'll see how much of a button band and collar I knit up this week.

Friday, I took my sister Pam to Woodland Woolworks. It was a going to be a challenge to my sticking to the Knit From Your Stash and I failed. I had a list and got all the items in it: buttons for the Sirdal and yarn for knitting a Fair Isle practice hat that will go in the gift basket. Then I went in the Stash Room and found enough Dale Heilo in their darkest blue (it looks like black) to knit another Dale sweater. Opportunities like this don't come often so I seized it. Good thing my tax refund was already in my account.

Pam and I had a lovely day together. She's my eldest sister and surrogate mom. She knows that an outing with me is guaranteed to be interesting and tinged with the thrill of adventure. She took knitting back up a few years ago, so I knew a trip to Woodland Woolworks would be enjoyable. Since it's located in the heart of wine country, the trip itself is beautiful, even when it's pouring down rain. The trip gave us a chance to talk over things and have a few laughs. She's going through a stressful period right now so anything that can help her laugh is always welcome.

Are they made from real Girl Scouts?

I can never get Girl Scout cookies without thinking of Wednesday's response to the snotty girl in the first Addams Family movie. And look, they have sugar free Brownies this year. Must be staking out the parking lots of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

The body is complete

It took 4 weeks this time

Recovery from surgery is not always a piece of cake, but I must say this round has been. Planning ahead and having a good surgical team helped immensely, but I have to say that since the advent of the Internet and my obsession love of knitting this recovery has been the best I've encountered. The first major surgery I had, knee surgery that released one side of my knee cap to allow it to lie correctly in the joint, was not this amusing after the second week. It gives me hope that when the time comes for me to move on from working full time to retiring that I'll be able to manage it well. For now, though, I'm feeling the urge to get back out into the world into a daily routine that involves social interaction and activity. I'm hearing things from work that make me want to be there for a couple hours at least to put out fires and check my email. Then I sit up and talk and laugh and my body says, "Hold up there, cowboy, you're not ready yet." Besides, I don't want to deal with month end quite yet and I have a sweater to finish.

It's going to be a good day

I knew when I brushed my hair this morning and the naturally curly locks just fell into place instead of tweaking hither and yon that it was going to be a good day.

A fellow lister sent this link and it got me thinking. There's the myth of the boyfriend sweater (you know, where you never knit your boyfriend a sweater because after you do he'll break up with you), but I wonder if this would apply to guys knitting a sweater for their girlfriend. I don't think it's reciprocal because women love getting gifts from their lovers (at least this has been my experience). If my boyfriend/girlfriend knitted me a sweater, I would love it all the more because of the time spent on knitting the thing. But then, what if the sweater was a color I didn't like? What if it itched? What if it fit poorly? Tell me what you think.

Unlike plain stockinette sweaters or ones with one design element in them, the Sirdal has several so you can see progress clearly and revel in it. It's kind of like a huge self-striping sock, only you put in the colors. I was very pleased to reach this point last night, measure it, and find that it is right on in its measurement.

A new addition to the flock

The construction guys are busy on streets around me, so I'll be hearing the windows rattling and the sounds of backing up equipment while working on the Dale. I made more progress on it yesterday, getting up to halfway point of the main chest motif . Lorraine asked if I was going to put the braid on the Sirdal. I've decided I'm not going to, as the colorway I've chosen doesn't go well with the braid kit available. I've looked for other braid but none come in the two sizes required for the sweater, so I've bagged that.

Yesterday I went out with Ruth to the Pendleton outlet to pick up yarn for her daughter. It's the same yarn I used for the Rogue. Three pounds is enough for a couple of sweaters and other projects so Penny is all set. After the excursion I was all fired up to hunt for the Dale Nagano pattern, which is out of print and hard to find. I found other Olympic patterns to lust after and like a spoiled child I decided I HAD to have them. So off I went again, this time to Yarn Garden, came back with a haul of OOP Dale patterns. No Nagano but I did find ones I coveted and an additional one that was just too nummy to pass up. I hurt afterword, but I was satisfied and dutifully laid in my recliner and knitted in the evening.

This is the new addition to the flock of sheep that currently reside at my desk at the office. For now he'll be keeping me company at home.

Controversy

I heard about this and while I don't have the facts of the case in hand I find it hard to believe that a teacher would use a school computer to access porn sites, especially if there were students around. Scout is raising a defense fund for Julie Amero, so please visit to find out more details. I can see someone getting frustrated by a chain popup and have no idea what to do about it (I see it in my office all the time; we use computers but many aren't savvy enough to know what to do in a situation like that). Especially if the computer is using an eight-year old operating system and old software.

In a knitting update, yesterday I didn't get much done on the Sirdal as I spent most of the day with doctors' appointments and related errands. But I'll satisfy your yen for yarn p*rn with an updated photo of the sweater. I did take the table runner with me since it was lightweight and elicited a number of comments.

In Stitches

I finally warded off Penelope from my Sirdal and reached the upper body patterning. No more lice! I was more active this week so didn't make as much progress as the previous week, but I'm glad to get to this point in the pattern. Today will be a day of knitting, sipping tea, and listening to Cast-On episodes.

Update: The Sirdal has passed a milestone. It's large enough for a cat to sneak a nap on.

Happy Birthday Oregon

On this day in 1859, the Oregon territory became the state of Oregon. By then some of my relatives had been settled in Oregon for almost 15 years. Oregon City was the destination of many settlers before heading up the Willamette to settle in the valley or down the Willamette toward Fort Vancouver. My siblings were school age during the centennial; it will be interesting to see what we do for the sesquicentennial in 2009. I better get my spinning skills up to snuff in case I want to reenact a pioneer woman like my great-great grandmother.

I'm so close to starting the Sirdal chest pattern. I'm at that point in the sweater where I think I'm making great progress but the tape measure says it's still only 12 1/2" long. What, is Penelope lurking in the closet and undoing my rows while I sleep? At least I know I'm not allergic to wool. Monday I woke to my hands so puffy I could hardly use them. I narrowed the culprit to a dusty copy of "The Book Of Lists" and after a thorough cleaning and cortisone ointment applications my hands returned slowly to normal. I lost a day to knitting but at least it wasn't so severe that I needed to visit the ER.

This and this arrived in the mail, courtesy of a gift card from a promotion. Some anime films are either extraordinarily violent or cutesy. "Akira" is intelligent and well-executed. And I simply fell in love with the adventure of "Master & Commander" enough to want a copy of my own. Heave to, me hearties!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. Now the jewelry commercials (especially those extraordinarily annoying Jared ones) can cease and we can return to our regularly scheduled dreck.

Knitting progress

I don't have many spoons to use today so I'm posting knitting pix to give you an idea of how far I am on current projects. I'm halfway through the lice portion of the Sirdal and less than halfway done with the table runner. I'm also doing this through Picasa and am not liking how it hiccups while trying to write the post. It could be Blogger. It could be my computer. Whatever it is, it's irritating. I'll be working on a workaround for this.

10 days done

There's not much knitting going on besides the Sirdal (a little over six inches to go before I start on the upper pattern section of the body). I got the measurements for the socks I'm going to make so I'll dig in Charlene Schurch's "Sensational Knitted Socks" for a good pattern for a man's pair. I may go in my Barbara Walker to find a nice rib. There are other sites on the Web I could browse, like MenKnit.net and MenWhoKnit, who can give me ideas of what would be appropriate for men's socks. I don't want them to be dull but I don't want them too foofy looking either.

One thing I've had to resort to with the Addi Naturas I'm using is wearing a leather quilter's thimble. I didn't realize how sharp the points were going to be with all the knitting I'm doing until I started feeling a sharp pain where the point was hitting on my right index finger. Further inspection turned up a hole growing through the callus. Fortunately one of the things from my quilting days is the perfect solution for the problem. I throw with my right hand, so the yarn travels over my index finger between the leather and the blue elastic band.

I had intended to stay home tonight but ventured out after six to go to Stitch n Bitch at Mon Ami for an hour's gab with my fellow local knitters. I had a good time but didn't linger too long as I had driven myself there. The gals were glad to see me and shared their doings, and I had one of the crepes, a ham, brie, and pear concoction in a buckwheat crepe as a dinner treat.

When I settled back in my recliner to ease my aching belly, Maisie decided she wanted my affection. She settled on the right arm of my recliner and my right leg and insisted I give her attention.

Of course the others had to get in on the attention. Buster climbed up atop the recliner where he was safe from Maisie's smacks. Sammy was not so sensible and got away before I could get a picture in.

Variety

I've reached the lice portion of the body on the Dale and decided to take a break from working at such tight gauge. I dug out some laceweight merino (Baruffa FaRe) and cast on for a table runner, utilizing the lessons I learned in Joan Schrouder's class. I won't do borders on the sides, keeping the edgings for just the ends. The center portion is a simple YO, k2tog on alternating rows, shifting the eyelets over one stitch. The edging is from the class. I had thought about putting beads on it, but decided against it, wanting something simple to work on while watching the idiot box.

I went out this morning to get in a little exercise and wandered down to the corner where the city is busy putting in street improvements. The corner of Sandy and 45th has no street controls for cars or pedestrians other than stop signs at 45th. Crossing there on foot is precarious except during the wee hours of the morning. I used to do it when I worked earlier in the day but at the hours I work now it's too hazardous. The island they will put in the center of the street will at least give pedestrians a fighting chance to getting halfway across.

It's not often one gets to observe construction without obstruction or time limitations. The fellow operating an excavator with a bucket thumb was very skilled in my eye, using the teeth of the bucket to nudge these hunks of asphalt-covered concrete out of place, lift them, then dump them into a waiting truck. Some pieces would be too large to lift or intractable, so he'd use the bucket to crack them into more manageable pieces. Other times he'd have a piece just a little off balance and he'd flip the bucket to move it further into it. No matter that this piece of machinery was thousands of pounds and the material just as heavy; he chopped, shifted, lifted, and threw over sidewalk hunks as if he was chopping up a tree by hand.

Tomorrow I'll venture out to Unraveled for an hour or two. It will be good to get some fresh air and conversation.

A beautiful Sunday morning

Usually during the winter around here, the skies are overcast and gray. It's one of the reasons some folks don't like staying here in western Oregon. Not the rain, the gray. It dulls the colors and gives everything a depressing drabness. I'm a native Oregonian so I'm used to the gray days and counter it with color around me. When I bought my house, it was blue gray that turned drab in the winter. First opportunity I got to paint it I made it white with dark green trim. But others don't fare so well and turn into sullen, sour grouches or horribly depressed shadows (think Kurt Cobain--he grew up in Aberdeen WA, which is grayer than here). So our recent days of sunshine have been a real treat for us in the Rose City. One thing that it has brought however is unseasonable warmth. I have daffodils coming up already and word is that there are crocuses coming up too.

Friends came over yesterday and cleaned my kitchen. I was told they would do it, but I didn't expect such thoroughness. It was embarrassing. I'm not the greatest housekeeper; I'm lazy. So the results gave me pause. They didn't have to do what they did. So I'm thinking of what I can do for them for the time and effort they spent on my kitchen. And what I can do to improve myself so that this doesn't happen again.

Yesterday was not a good day. I had overdone it on Friday and paid for it yesterday. But I did get knitting done. I'm on the body of the Sirdal (313 #$@! stitches around on size 2.25 mm) and finished the first section around the bottom. When you're reclining back so your belly doesn't hurt and you're trying to ignore the noises in your kitchen and not interfere, all one can do is knit. And knit. And knit. (For you math freaks out there, calculate 317 (that includes the 4 steek stitches) by 19 rows. That's how much I got done yesterday. Ooohhh doctor!)

Home

I'm back home from my surgery and doing very well. I won't know until my post op visit how much my fibroid laden uterus weighed, but my surgeon said it was the same size as a woman who has been pregnant for 20 weeks. I looked it up. It's the size of a canteloupe. Good gravy!! No wonder I was miserable. Hopefully that will help shed a few pounds and give me the energy I need to resume regular exercise.

For now it's do nothing but walk. Don't bend, twist, jerk, lift, wash, dry, turn, boogie, or do the hokey pokey. I can walk. That's it. As long as I can tolerate. The more the better. It will help my insides resume regularity. Damn, I was looking to doing the shimmy shimmy shake once I was out of the hospital, because I feel good in a James Brown kind of way.

I will be able to drive after a week, though. Which means I can get out of the house as long as I can tolerate and visit my LYS's and work on the Sirdal. I finished one sleeve and cast on the body while on Oxycodone. Thank heavens for markers because after 50 stitches I was losing count and the puppy is 313 stitches of cast on. This morning I worked a row while not on narcotics and found I was off one stitch. HAhahahahaaaa!

I learned this morning that Molly Ivins died from breast cancer. I love her acerbic wit and descriptions of the Texas "Lege". I figure she's up in a corner of the Great Beyond sharing good ol' boy stories with Ann Richards, Mickey Leland, and John Henry Faulk. She'll be missed by us liberals. If you haven't experienced her writing, start with her first book, Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? Here's a Lone Star raised to you, Molly. Give 'em hell.

It's not perfect

I changed my mind about what was in the center after the first two passes of pattern stitch, then I mucked up an edge and in the process of ripping back started back in pattern going in the wrong direction. But I learned the technique and that's what important.

This is the result from the Orenburg class I took yesterday. Joan was a very patient teacher with a great sense of humor. She gave us some good tips for various issues, like splicing slick yarns or working in the tails of yarn. Joan's also very approachable; we had a great conversation at lunch about the internet's impact on knitting. She will be teaching at Stitches West next month, so if you're going, look her up.

I really enjoyed the technique and foresee using it in future patterns. There are several characteristics of the Orenburg style that I like.

--The lace pattern is done on one row and the return row is knit across.

--The edge on the sides is done at the same time as the center.

--It's seamless. No knitting the edge separately from the center.

I promise the next one I do won't have as mucked up a center as that one. Just a note as why my descriptions of the method are sketchy: the method I learned is described in sources that are under copyright. I recommend that if you're interested in learning more about Orenburg shawls that you either take a class (ask your LYS) or find a book that teaches the method.

A UFO rises

Last year I started a love affair with the Vine Lace pattern and cast on a scarf in Suri Alpaca. I was able to finish one ball of the yarn but after I had started the second, it languished and ended up in the UFO basket. After working the Orenburg lace, I was in a lace mood and dug it out to do a few rows. I've fallen in love with the pattern all over again and now it's my end up a gift later on.

Girly ick

Guys, be warned. If you don't want to read about girl stuff, best move on to the next blog on your list. No knitting content worth writing about here today.

If you think back to only thirty years ago to what modern medicine had to offer for women for dealing with the side effects of estrogen, it's amazing what is being offered now. The one thing that has always been a standby, however, for problems that couldn't be fixed with a pill or minor surgery has been the abdominal hysterectomy. During my life all I heard was that many hysterectomies were unnecessary, that the operation was a moneymaker for the surgeon and the hospital, and that the woman was put through unnecessary agony for a problem that could have been fixed with less invasive methods, such as hormone therapy or minor surgery.

I'm not an expert, so I can't say whether it was true or not that many unnecessary surgeries were performed. But I can say that for every woman I've spoken to who has had a hysterectomy I have not had one say they wish they had not had it. "Miss it? Heck no!" "I'd do it over again!" "I felt so much better after I had mine!" "Sure they split me halfway open to do it, but it was worth it!"

Laparoscopic hysterectomy is not as common as the abdominal method for the surgeon has to be more deft in technique to perform it well, but the recovery time is reduced because the abdominal muscles aren't sliced open and the incisions are much smaller. It's the method I'm getting, barring their finding abnormalities on my ovaries or in the pathologic sample taken from the endometrium. It means I am able to go in the morning, have it done, and go home that evening. This for a procedure that not that long ago required that the patient stay in the hospital several days and require a six to eight week recovery. I may be out for no more than a month.

Do I feel like it's going to be unnecessary surgery? Do I feel like I'm going to be butchered for my "female troubles"? Let me put it to you this way. I started my period Wednesday. Thursday I passed a clot nearly the size of a playing card and had the cramps from hell while Niagara Falls poured.

The sooner it's done, the happier I will be. And thanks to the miracle of modern medicine, I won't be sliced open like a watermelon to have it.

Gearing up for the next few days

As I look over the next week and think of the things I need to do before I'm laid up, one joyful day of play shines over the hours of necessities. Saturday I'll be taking a class on Orenburg lace from Joan Schrouder. While I don't expect as thrilling an experience as Franklin's at Stitches Midwest in 2005 where he learned the process from Galina Khmeleva, I've had it from word of mouth that Joan's a very good teacher and expect to learn a lot from her. Besides, we're having class at a brewpub. What more could you ask for? It will take my mind from making sure I have all my supplies in, that I'll have a ride to the hospital at five in the omigod morning, and that my boss won't implode when something minor happens at the office and there isn't a procedure for it.

Friday's the meeting with the surgeons. I was excited in the beginning but now I'm starting to get a little anxious. What if I catch someone's cold in the interim? What if it ends up being a full blown hyst? Do I have everything covered for my absence? Are there bills I've forgotten only to rise up when I don't have the money?

As long as the cats don't use me for a trampoline, I'll be fine.

Mudnay

Yesterday I delivered the hat to Don S at choir and he was tickled to death. He said that when I emailed him the teaser picture he couldn't wait to get it. It looks quite good on him, though you'd have to take my word on it as dingerdong me forgot to bring the camera to rehearsal. But it was so warming to see such pleasure on the face of a recipient.

Dale KAL

A fellow knitter on the GLBT knit list mentioned in a post a week ago that she was going to be working on a Dale of Norway sweater as part of a knit-a-long. The idea of being part of a knit-a-long for Dale sweaters appealed to me and as I had yarn stashed away for such a project I was able to jump in with both feet. I didn't realize when I signed up that the word had been out since late November of this and that it would start on January 20th, so I felt like a latecomer to a tour with questions that I'm sure the guide had already answered.

If you're not familiar with Dale of Norway, they're best known as the source of the sweaters for the US and Norwegian Winter Olympic teams. Some knitters are diehard Dale fans and collect the patterns. There are sources for the authentic patches and accessories on the Web to add to your Dale sweater to make it a truly Dale sweater. Of course if you add up the yarn, the buttons, the braid, the patches, and the pattern, you have one expensive sweater. But with judicious shopping you can find the materials and not have to hock your first born child. I was fortunate to score the yarn in the discontinued/overstock room at Woodland Woolworks a couple of years ago. The pattern was up in the air at the time, but I opted for Sirdal as my choice. It has a nice balance of patterns all over it and only requires two colors.

Friday I didn't have my long needles for casting on the body of the sweater so I started with the right sleeve. It starts with a split cuff. With color work. Whoever devised this must have been a troll from the depths of a northern fjord. And is named Hrgundebjarndisigmir. And hasn't had trollish delights for donkey's years. Knit the hem section. Knit the turn row. Now knit from this chart using two yarns back and forth, maintaining gauge and keeping the stitches for both colors even. Oh yeah, and don't forget to put in the buttonholes. They're in the pattern somewhere.

Oh yeah, there they go. Right in the middle of the pattern. Hm. Okay, knit on knit on knit on.

Okay time to knit in the round but not here. You have to do it over here. So you have a flappy thingy for your buttons. Isn't that clever!

Okay so far so good now what do I knit?

Now are you going to use braiding or not?

Um, what do I have to do if I do?

You have to do this.

Oh. But the picture doesn't look like that. It has this chart starting from the braid, not that one. So what do I do if I don't want braid?

You have to do this.

Um, but that's the same only ten rows sooner. And it still doesn't look like the picture.

Bugger it, I'll do it my way

.

The result so far is above. If I want braiding, I have room for it. If not, it still looks fine.

FO!

A hat for Don S. who worked hard to obtain lodging for Reid and I at choir retreat last fall. Yarn is from stash so this is FO #1 for the Knit from Stash 2007.

Whee!

Snow events are not common during winter in Portland. When they occur, they start off pretty then turn into ice. It doesn't get cold enough to keep the snow fluffy, so it melts during the day and solidifies at night, making the next day horrid for commuters. This morning we got hit with some snow in quantities that shut down the commuter train MAX and had folks either calling in or crowding onto the buses to get to work. A few foolhardy folks went out in their SUVs with thoughts that their all-wheel drive will beat the snow. They ended up spinning out or wrecking on the side of the road. Others who were more cautious made it in. I'm walking distance to work so I hoofed it in, watching the flakes fall and enjoying wearing the woolies I've made to keep out the cold.

Don't tell me all cats don't like snow. Buster experienced snow for the first time when he was four months old and loved it. This morning, he was tentative, but when he realized what it was, he skittered about the porch like he was on speed, then catapulted off into the snow. Imagine an 8 year old who has been told that school's closed and it's okay to go play outside as long as they want. Later this afternoon after I had returned home, he went out again, digging his paws into the soft snow as if attacking invisible mice.

Knitting content

I'm currently working on a stash hat in Dale yarns in preparation to knit this as part of a Dale sweater knit a long. I had found the yarn at Woodland Woolworks in their overstocks room a couple of years ago and was thrilled to find all of it in one dyelot. This was before I embarked on the Peace Blanket or other large projects, so it has sat for some time. My upcoming convalescence will give me the uninterrupted time I need for the pattern. Dale patterns appear intricate but with care you can execute them. The key is maintaining even tension throughout the colorwork so you don't have puckering or loose stitches.

FO!

The Rogue is done. I won't bore you with waxing poetic about the pattern, but I highly recommend it. I found it easy to follow and came together beautifully.

Goofy sh*t

There's a lot of it out there. This is what some of them came up with.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Countess Duffy the Ebullient of Bartonhurst in the River Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

How evil are you?

Your Band Name is:

The Badass Hussies

Band Name Generator

I thought I was such a kind gentle person. Guess the inner me isn't.

Knitting Content

While I'm cruising along on the second sleeve of the Rogue, I'm thinking of what I can do to get some of this stash made up. I've been thinking of a vest of many colors that could go with some of my wardrobe with the remnants making up a Dulaan item. My stash has single skeins of colors, so a number of things will end up being color work.

For those folks who are interested in the Shelter Shawl pattern, I'm in the process of getting it proofed. I hope to see it available in the spring. Cross your fingers!

A return to normalcy

It's a nice quiet Sunday morning after a hectic week. Anyone who says accountants are wusses has never had to deal with a fiscal year end. Most year ends at the office have been pretty mellow but this one was fraught with computer glitches and people running about like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get all the information put together for closing the books. All in my group were involved with the process in one way or another and I put in overtime. I'm just glad it's over and we can start moving on to the next brouhaha: preparing for when I go on medical leave.

The Rogue hood is grafted! If I had a choice between grafting and cutting a steek, I'd be reaching for the scissors. I don't know what it is about grafting that my brain can't wrap itself around. I can see how the stitches weave their way in and out but when I try to do it, the graft ends up looking like the dog's breakfast. So when a fellow knit lister suggested this site, I was so so grateful! It has you do a chimney of waste yarn after you reach the last row of the place you want to graft. Instead of doing a chimney in the round on the edges, I did extended edges with waste yarn, following the pattern on the first row, then stockinetting the remainder. Having a good contrast yarn is very helpful in this process because all you do then is follow the yarn as it winds through your pattern stitches and snug it up. I didn't take out the waste yarn until I inspected the work. Sigh of relief when it came out beautifully. Now off to making the second sleeve. Joy joy joy!!!

On the political side, it's gratifying to see Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Not so much that she is a Democrat but that she's female. Other countries have had women as the leaders; the US is lagging behind. If the Speaker had been a female Republican I would have celebrated that. In the end it's how good a job she does in running the House and getting legislation through. It requires people skills, organization skills, and a mind that can switch from one subject to another at a moment's notice. Kind of like a mom, don't you think?

Happy New Year

Hope you didn't wake with a nasty feeling that you did something really really stupid the night before. Like announce your resolution to lose 40 pounds in front of a crowd of your friends and family. Or find yourself in the county jail for DUI. My New Year's Eve was spent quietly, watching the idiot box and working on the first sleeve of the Rogue. The fireworks got the cats a little jittery but otherwise it was a mellow night.

I can truly say in looking back at 2006 that I did not break any of my resolutions that I made last year. Of course they were all done tongue in cheek. You don't think I'd put my REAL resolutions up here do you? Silly.

I do have a couple though for 2007.

I will try my best to stick to my Stash Bust 2007 promise. I need to be more frugal in my spending habits and this will help in that area.

I will refrain from posting slurs on my family on this blog. I had put in an entry that was construed as offensive. While some feedback I got from readers indicated they agreed with me on my feelings, the reaction from one of the members of my family was more a point of "if you want us to accept you for what you are, you need to accept us for what we are, even if you don't agree with us." The offensive portion of the entry was removed and apologies made. This is a public space and some things don't belong here.

I have a date

January 31st. It means I have all of February to do nothing but knit, read, watch Perry Mason and movies, and snuggle with the cats. And sleep. And have funky hormones. It's a good thing I have the knitting and am confined to my house. I'm scary enough when my hormones are whacked now.

I can't wait.

The Passing of a Moderate

I was in grade school when the Watergate scandal broke. Mom had the hearings going so I saw people like Haldeman and Ehrlichman and Dean speaking before the Congress panel led by Sam Ervin. When Nixon resigned and Ford took over, the country was like a child who had been told that Santa Claus was really Dad. We really hurt. Sure we knew politicians were lying sleazy crooks but we didn't want to believe it. Heck, Johnson didn't trust Nixon with a ten foot pole.

Then this affable man came in with the job of moving the country on. He seemed to be such a lightweight. Almost insubstantial. Yet in the short time he was in office he did his job. We hated what he did when he pardoned Nixon, but we moved on.

Goodbye Jerry.

Hey Cast-On Lady!

Brenda Dayne of Cast-On fame has been fighting a nasty infection and hasn't said much since the 17th. Send her good wishes, will ya? She may be getting in a lot of knitting time, but spending Christmas feeling icky doesn't sound like fun.

Blog update

I moved to the updated Blogger and lost my links in my sidebar. They'll be updated later, most likely Thursday night. Let me know if there are other things missing.

Rogue hood detail

.....getting closer to the grafting point.

The day after

Hope your weekend was stressless or if it was you had a place to retreat to. If you're not a surly teen or a decrepit great-grandma, retreating to the kitchen to help work on feast items is a good strategy. That way if an irritating relative comes by, you can say, "Sorry, can't talk. Gotta get this done." And there are knives near by.

This weekend was spent doing my best to imitate a figgy pudding. I was inert this weekend. Other than doing laundry, which for one person is a piece of cake. And knitting on the Rogue. I'm on the second chart for the hood and working on the hood decreases for those of you taking score. And I must say the cabling on it is certainly rewarding for the work. I did myself proud when I found I had crossed a cable wrong and was able to tink all the way down and redo it correctly without leaving any telltale signs of the tinking. Smug.

But you will never find her in a pair of plaid pants

Jeanne tagged me (a hit! A most palpable hit!) with the Six Weird Things About Me meme that's making the rounds. And since she put in such a nice comment I'll play. However, I will leave my gentle readers the option of being tagged, since not everyone likes to play. So here goes.

First, the requirements: "Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog post of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.” Like I said, if you want to play, let me know and I'll tag ya. Or you can swipe this on your own, comment that you swiped it, and everyone will be happy.

Let me preface this that I got the notice that I was tagged this morning and while I was at work I spent my dead time thinking of what weird things I have. If you were looking for something kinky, I gotta tell you you're gonna be disappointed. After that weaselbutt comment for just encouraging people to give to those less needy, I don't want to attract the anti-sex coalition. Those of you who want more details can leave me your phone number and your fruit preference.

1. I have a beard. Not a few whiskers that stick out of Aunt Ethel's mole, but a beard. It runs from the corners of my mouth down to under my chin. I'd let it grow, but people think I'm crazy enough as it is. During my time off recovering from my surgery, I might just let it grow to see what it looks like.

2. I think circus clowns are disturbing. There's something about a man or a woman who puts on garish facepaint and tries to make you laugh by doing bizarre things in front of you. I prefer rodeo clowns. They're doing what I want circus clowns to do: stand in front of a half ton of angry pot roast.

3. I never liked baby dolls or stuffed animals when I was a child. I never wanted to have a baby and these creatures that just stare at you trying to be cute are just disturbing. I had Barbies, but the baby dolls gathered dust in the bottom of my toy chest.

4. I collect stuffed sheep. I have 19 of them, including one received for Christmas that doubles as a pillow. It's going with me to the hospital so I have something to hug when I need to cough up the crap left behind from the anesthetic. And I have kits for Sam the Ram and Sue the Ewe. They may get done during my convalescence.

5. I'm a neatnik at work but a slob at home. I live in an old house with no storage space. I need fifty million cabinets. I've even done preliminary plans to turn one of my bedrooms into a giant closet with a bunch of cabinets for my stuff. In the meantime, stuff just gets dumped on the floor wherever.

6. I find some words visually repulsive and some words fascinating to look at. When I write, I see the words as patterns, not an ordered blend of letters. For me, some words like crotch and son and secret and slacks look weird. Then there are some words that for some reason at a particular moment will strike me and I'll stare at them for a minute or two. Like cake or shoe or pastrami or plaid pants. This visualizing words as patterns helps me spell words correctly, but there are times when I look at a word and think, "Is that spelled right?" only to realize that it's the pattern that's attracting me.

I won't go into other things that are simply my opinion, like I think ice skating is overrated, that every driver should take the driver's test at age 40, and that we should bring back the word contrary as an adjective to describe someone who is slightly stubborn.

Anyone want to be tagged?

And now: your letters

First, I want to thank everyone who has left a comment and wish all my readers good tidings during this time of year. It's nice to know that not only have I been read but I've written something that is worth commenting on. Thanks too for the wellwishing. I appreciate it.

The Stash Busting 2007 has a number of folks that are jumping onto Wendy's wagon. Even if you don't do much stash busting this coming year, give yourself an E for effort. It's not easy to resist the call of new fiber. But to think I have more stash than Knitterguy Ted--eep.

Anonymous paid a call and left a message: "I made another contribution to George Bush in your honor... can you be any more self-righteous...or self pitying?" Am I really that self-righteous about my opinions? Somehow when I think "self-righteous" I think of Bill O'Reilly or some of the radical Christian right or radical feminists or environmentalists. I'm willing to listen to other opinions expressed in a mature, reasonable fashion as long as facts back them up. But I don't think I should censor my own opinion on my own blog. As for self-pitying, well I welcome you to take a hammer to your back tooth, your knees, and your feet, followed by spending a week of having blood pour out of your ass. When you're done, write back. And don't forget your name this time. Because I care.

Back to our regularly scheduled program

I'm back to working on the Rogue. The front is nearly done and I'll be starting on the hood tomorrow. In retrospect, I could have worked on this without the class. It wasn't that hard. But I did get some tips that I would not have picked up from the pattern and it was fun knitting with others on the same item. I should have it done by the end of January at this rate.

Ho ho ho and a bottle of eggnog

I haven't put up a tree (no room), I have no decorations up (too lazy), the Christmas letters are waiting to be stuffed in envelopes and flung to the four winds, and I have no plans for the weekend. It's a good weekend to just sit back and enjoy the quiet, read a good book (I have a few P D James mysteries waiting for me from the library), and sip hot tea. No traffic, no screaming children, no hollering in-laws, and no commercial hype.

May you find that quiet spot in your life this weekend and have a merry Christmas.

Stuff

It's that time of year when strains of cynical Christmas songs go wafting through my fevered brain as I juggle chorus commitments, holiday tasks, and year end brouhaha at work. Who was the wise guy who decided to have the fiscal year of thousands of companies end a few days after a major holiday?

This year I went very very simple: Heifer International donations. The gift that gives to others. All of my relatives are at the point where they don't want more stuff. So I don't give them stuff. I like some stuff, but I appreciate donations to charity at this time of year even more. While the time for giving occurs all year long, many folks use this time of the year to give. So give money if you can, and if you can't, give of your heart, attention, and time.

Off to work. Heigh ho, heigh ho.

Blow, blow thou winter wind

It's not unusual for us to get windy rainstorms during the winter, but the one that passed through Thursday and Friday was apparently the biggest one since 1993. We don't get named hurricanes through here, but we get hurricane force winds on the coast and tropical storm strength winds inland. It blew a lot of trees down, broke tree limbs, tossed trash cans and recycling bin contents, and taxed the electrical grid by taking down power lines and blowing transformers. Thursday night I went home at 5 and watched from the parking structure flashes of electric blue as transformers arced and blew. Some places are still without power even today. My sister and brother on the coast are fine fortunately. Pam said that the winds were so fierce it was blowing the fir trees on their property about like they were just bushes. She and my brother Larry lost power but it's back on and all is well.

Stash Challenge 2007

Wendy of Wendy Knits! is challenging herself to work her projects completely from stash. She's put up some guidelines of the challenge, which runs from January 2007 to September 2007. I think that's a great idea for me, since I'll be trying this coming year to spend my money reducing debt instead of yarn. This is just the natural fiber portion:

The acrylic chunk, sad to say, is just about as big, but most of it was of donations for the preemie cap project. The rules say nothing about acquiring tools though. Maybe I need a knitting machine....

I'm here

Hey ho.

I know it's been a while since my last posting. I wish I could say my time's been occupied by a girlfriend or boyfriend, but nothing so sordid as that has been keeping me busy. Part of it is learning how to live with diabetes: taking classes, making changes, gathering info. Part of it has been chorus. It was our holiday concert last weekend, so I was very busy with rehearsals and performances. Part of it was other medical stuff, which I'll get to in a minute. And part of it was knitting. Really!

Sing of joy!

I live in Portland but sing in a chorus based in Salem. It's Confluence, the only GLBTS* mixed voice chorus in Oregon registered with GALA Choruses. We sing three concerts a year, one in December, one in March, and one in June. Each concert consists of two performances, one of which is in Salem, the other in Corvallis or Portland. The December concerts were held in Corvallis and Salem with the tech rehearsal in Corvallis. Last week, I went to Corvallis on Wednesday for the tech rehearsal then back home, then returned to Corvallis on Friday, stayed the night with friends, sang in Salem on Saturday, then returned home Saturday night. Tuesday this week the chorus sang in Portland for PFLAG's Christmas party. Not much room for other things. The concerts were a lot of fun, though, done jointly with the choruses of the Unitarian Universalist Congregations of Salem and Corvallis (all but the Portland one). They held a special place for me because I was surrounded by my chorus family when I needed them.

Lordy Lordy do I feel forty

It seems I've had a litany of ailments this year. It used to be that the worst thing I would get was bronchitis in the winter and achy knees from too many stairs. Who said that it was my turn to get old? It bites, let me tell you, to be told your cholesterol's jumped because you're getting older, your blood sugar's jumped because you're getting older, and you're wheezy because you're getting older (well, not really but it sure as hell feels that way). Then that old fart Perry Menopause comes around and decides that not only should my body feel hotter than it already feels but I should experience the Johnstown flood 3 days every month. The Kotex and Tampax people love my buying their products by the case. Well, not anymore, kids. This end of January I'll be going under the knife and having a hysterectomy. The fibroids that have recurred have given me the ticket to have my womb removed. I'll never use it and gawd knows I don't need another place for the big C to be tempted to try to rear its ugly head. I don't know which it will be: laparo or abdominal; my surgeon's consulting with another in the clinic to see if I qualify for the laparo. That will shorten the recovery time significantly. Remember the hernia back in September a year ago? (If not, go to the archives if you so desire.) The recovery time will be a little longer than that. It doesn't matter to me which as long as it gets done and done well. And I'm just loving telling people that I got a hysterectomy for Christmas.

Click and click

So the WIP basket has been sort of overflowing. The Rogue sweater went on hiatus while I worked feverishly on a pair of mittens and a pair of gloves for a couple of kids who are patients at the Providence Child Center. Our office is gathering gifts for them this year as part of our mission projects for the holiday. We love them dearly, those kids. Today I turned them in, so now I can go to another project. I want to make a felted hat for my friend Linda, so I'll be working on that this weekend. It will go quickly. After that, I can return to the Rogue. And if I time my surgery right, I'll be able to take my class in Orenburg shawls from Joan Schrouder January 27th. Whee!

My LYS got copies of XRX's latest Knitter's compendium, Victorian Lace Today, which I've been waiting to see. What with the latest issues of Knitter's offering patterns ranging from dull to OMG, I was skeptical about what would be offered. But I was pleased to find that there were items in it I would make. I consider myself to be sort of an intermediate lace knitter, beyond the simple stuff but not ready yet for Shetland shawls and certainly not up to Knitterguy Ted's league. I felt comfortable with the patterns in the book. I wasn't crazy about the photography of some of the items, though. When I look at lace, I want to see the pattern. I don't give a rat's ass about the model. So I have a copy to peruse, and if I'm up to it, to play with on the needles.

*I want to spell it GBLTS, but then I want to pronounce it giblets. I don't think the community would appreciate being compared to turkey guts.

Cribbage and knitting on the coast

Last weekend I went to my sister Pam's on the coast for Thanksgiving. She and I had a lot to talk about, and while we're of different faiths (she Independent Baptist, me deist), she's in a way my surrogate mom. We had a good weekend together. My brother-in-law enjoyed playing cards and I made progress on the Rogue Sweater. While I was there, Pam and I visited my brother Larry who has property adjoining a canal that runs into the ocean. He gets quite a bit of wildlife there and regular visitors, mostly Canada geese and a local goose named Gus. Larry has been feeding them regularly so they came up for a handout while we were there. He's not the only one with wildlife. The deer like to come up to my sister's door and get apples or other treats. Most of the birds are gone so there are no handouts for them except for seed in the feeders. Just a nice little place in the country, perfect for spending Thanksgiving.

Change

It's been a while since I last posted. It started off with my hands being cranky from working the Pendleton wool, but it was other medical issues that have come up that I now have to deal with.

I'm glad I have choir this afternoon. I need hugs today. Physical hugs. The presence of friends. Knowing that I'm not alone. Sure there's the cyber community but the real physical presence of people who make a point of letting you know that they really care about you is so important to have. Most of the time I prefer to be left alone. I'm used to doing things without having to bring in another person into the picture. But when you're given news that changes how you handle your life's activities, it's very comforting to have the support of friends.

Fortunately, it's not the Big C. And it's not like I haven't been aware of this condition potentially arising. It's the fact that it has and that I have to be more aware of what I do and don't do. I have been diagnosed with diabetes. I don't require medication or insulin, but if I continue down the path I'm going I will. I have to monitor my glucose. I have to exercise. I have to change. And that's what is making me so angry and depressed. I don't want to change. But if I don't change, I will die sooner than I would if I reduced my weight and maintained my blood alcohol levels.

I am blessed with great friends. One is diabetic and was very encouraging when I talked with him Friday. I have a sister who is diabetic. She is very encouraging and supportive (I'm visiting her for Thanksgiving). I work at a health based company with many resources available. So I have support. It's getting past the depression that I've fallen in and preparing for making changes. I've started evaluating what I eat during the day and when. I'm working on my mindset on what food is. And I'm talking. I'm hoping that when I start taking my diabetic classes that there will be information on a support group to get me through this initial stage. They say that for habits to be formed you have to work at it for 3 to 4 months minimum. I have my work cut out for me.

Knitting

This weekend I returned to the Rogue sweater and knit up a felted hat for my friend Ruth. It took me three washings to felt it down (I have a 30-year old washer) but it finally got down to normal human head size. For a while I thought I had made a hat for a troll.

Last weekend I got to ride in NeedleGirl's London taxi. I promise there will be pictures. Not enough time to post them now. It was great fun running around Portland though a little disconcerting to have the driver on the right hand side of the car. I'm glad I wasn't riding up front.

It's time for healing

The Democrats have regained control of the House where much of the rancor in politics has been occurring since 1994. The partisan politics and downright nastiness started with Newt Gingrich and his Contract With America. After being branded as tax-and-spend, terrorist-loving, illegal immigrant housing liberals, the Democrats are now back in power in one of the houses of Congress. We have a woman as Speaker of the House, a first, which will be interesting to see how she handles the more contentious of the representatives. The Senate is usually more reasonable in working out compromises so I'm hoping that the business that comes out of Congress will help offset some of the crap that's been coming out since Dubya was elected.

It's a time where the politicians have an opportunity to undo some of the damage they've done with their shrill bickering. The American voters have said their piece. They're tired of it. Make reasonable decisions and move on.

Soggy election day

The Pineapple Express, a flow of tropical moist air that brings heavy rains to the west coast of the US, paid an early visit to us. We usually don't see it until later in the year, but this one is particularly heavy. With all the leaves down, the gutters and grates are clogged and ponds of water are everywhere on the city streets. I have water in my basement due to a small leak in my old foundation. But I'm not on a flood plain like some folks. I imagine the folks along Johnson Creek are digging out the sandbags again and those along the rivers are watching.

This is Election Day in the US. I checked the Multnomah County Elections website to see the number of ballots turned in and we're already showing 45% turned in. For a non-presidential year, that's pretty good. Multnomah County's a strong Democratic county in a state that for the most part is pretty Republican (there's a high number of folks registered Independent) so it will be interesting to see how the numbers pan out. Ted Kulongoski, our current governor, is in a close race with Ron Saxton, the Republican contender. There are some nasty measures on the ballot, including a measure requiring parental notification if a teen girl has an abortion and a spending limits bill.

On the needles

I'm still plugging away at the Rogue Sweater and NeedleGirl's socks. The Pendleton wool is a little stiff to work with, making my hands protest. But I have the pocket ready to be attached and I'm done with the first chart of cable work along the sides and the bottom hem. I have class this week. It'll be interesting to see how the other knitters are faring.

Vote! Vote!! Vote!!!

Only 4 days left to vote, kids. Have you voted?

"My vote doesn't count." Barf. You may not make much of an impact on the national scene, but you do on the local, which in turn affects the national. Even if you hate everyone on the ballot, you should still file a ballot.

"I'm not registered." So you're not registered to be able to vote in this election. Register to vote in the next election.

"I don't like either party." That's what voting Independent is for. And just because you're registered Democrat or Republican doesn't mean you have to vote for the doofus the party people put in to run.

"I don't have time." Gawd this makes my teeth grind. You make time to do things you want to do. Make this a priority in your life. Especially if you're female. Women have had the right to vote for less than 100 years. And those 18 to 12 got it since just the 1970's. It's your right dammit. Exercise it.

"I don't know where to vote." Call up your friendly county elections office. They'll be happy to tell you what precinct you're in. Or if you have vote-by-mail (which we do in Oregon), where you can drop off your ballot.

If you're mad as hell about the shenanigans going on in Washington and you didn't vote in the last election, I don't have ANY sympathy for you. Not voting won't make them go away. Voting will. So do it!

A blustery day

Today was one of those days where I dream of cuddling up in a blanket on the couch with a hot drink and a good book. A full view of the wind casting the year's leaves about on the street and rain streaking the window is necessary to give that feeling of coziness. This is my favorite time of year where the colors are vibrant and ever changing each day. It's a time of change. The weather changes. The sky changes. The trees and shrubs change. People are changing as they absorb new knowledge in school and donning warm clothes. They speak of experiences ahead that will never be repeated. This tree will not be the same orange next year. This child will know more about her world. The rain will stop for an hour before the next squall line comes through.

Halloween with a black cat

One thing that I've done each year around Halloween is keep a close eye on my cats. Since Buster graced us with his presence 4 years ago, I've been extra vigilant in keeping him indoors for several days until Halloween is past. Nothing says temptation to an animal abuser than a friendly black cat on Halloween. Buster was not at all happy about spending the day and night in the house but we got through it and today he was able to go out. But he was one testy cat that nearly spent the night in the cold basement last night, the monster.

Retreat

Twice a year the chorus goes on a weekend retreat to work on the upcoming concert's music and bond with each other. Past years we've gone to Beverly Beach State Park and the 4-H Center outside Salem. The Center was nice and close, but we didn't have the bonding time we would have at the beach, so this year we went to Beverly Beach.

Oregon weather in October is always tricky. October starts off with warm days and cool nights, then the weather patterns shift and the rains start coming in. Beach weather is especially tricky. You never know if you're going to have a glorious sunny day, clouds and fog, or constant rain. We had a little of everything this weekend. The drive to the beach was dry and beautiful with all the fall foliage starting to fade from its glory. Saturday was foggy but cleared up a little. Sunday started with rain but ended with sunshine, making the drive back a pleasure. But it was guaranteed to have damp cold nights.

The yurts at Beverly Beach have heaters, so if you had a yurt you had warmth. However, there were more people than yurt accommodations and some of us, including myself, needed housing. I was willing to tent it but not looking forward to those cold nights in a tent, even with an air mattress between me and the ground. And don't forget the frozen trek in the middle of the night to the restroom. At the last minute, a friend of a friend came through with accommodations for me and my carpool buddy. They turned out warmer and drier than the park accommodations, so in thanks for the hosting at the last minute I made up a Tychus hat for our host. The retreat coordinator saw the hat and liked it so much that I have another hat on the back burner for him. Retreats are hard to organize well, so for having done his first one Don is getting one himself.

The Rogue is coming along well. I'm on the pocket now, working my way up gradually. The cables on the sides gave me a bit of a headache but I got past the crankiness.

Halloween is tomorrow. I won't be giving out candy, taking refuge in my house with the cats. We'll dress up at the office though and make all sorts of mischief.