the day the music died

A lot of people ridiculed Dan Fogelberg, but I adored his music. In an era between the death of disco and the Amazing Hair Bands! he was a breath of fresh air. He will be missed.

Serendipity

ok, for all you firefly fanatics, move on. there's nothing to see here.

Christmas shopping sucks. Big rocks. Nasty, grime covered, slimy rocks. I hate it. I delayed this year though, so I'm in trouble.

I stopped at Game Stop to find a couple games for my sons. They had one, but the other one was at Oak View Mall. Oak View Mall is 144th & Center (like 3000 South block). i live around 8000 north block, and much further east than that. it's a huge trek. but they couldn't send it to a closer Game Stop, so i sacrificed. The really bad part? Neither guy at this store knew where the other one was in the mall. So i was gonna have to hunt.

Have I told y'all how much i hate malls? (and after last Wednesday, i'm particularly creeped out). I hate trying to park at them, i hate walking around in them, i hate the noise, and they're usually situated in inconvenient places for me. blech. But i went, cuz i love my sons, and this is what they wanted for Christmas. I parked by Dillards, walked through, and found a directory. I gotta go down stairs. Oy!

so i find an escalator, and as i'm going down, i realize it ends directly in front of a Bath & Body Works, which is my SIL's favorite store of all times (she loves malls!). I had planned on getting a GC for her for her birthday, which comes shortly after christmas (doesn't htat suck?), so i figured, hey, this is fortuitous! I go in, and buy the GC, and discover that they're giving away sample bottles of a new scent of lotion! too cool! my mom is travelling by air next week, and needs to carry lotion with her, so this is a good thing! i'll just give it to her to use.

I walk out of the store, look directly in front of me, and there's Game Stop, directly across the hall.

Is that good, or what?

struck

i've been renting the earlier seasons of Grey's Anatomy, just so i know some of the back stories a little better.

inevitably, every single episode makes me think, and possibly tear up a bit.

tonight, it made me sob.

a woman was accidentally put on life support, due to missing paperwork. the daughter showed up, and signed the paperwork to have her taken off. just before they shut off the machines, the daughter kissed her on the cheek and said, "good-bye mommy." i immediately lost it.

when my dad died 6 1/2 years ago, i never got to say good-bye. i hadn't even been to the hospital that day. i've regretted it ever since. i should have been there. i should have said i love you more.

God, i miss him.

rock & roll died tonight

the man who was credited with the first rock & roll song, Ike Turner, passed away in his sleep this morning.

you can think of his personal life what you wish, but the man could play a lick.

i cannot BELIEVE this!

The Westboro Baptist Church is famous around here because one of the members was recently charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor because she allowed her 10-year old son to violate nebraska law, while stomping on an American flag which had been taken from the parade route for another soldier's funeral, in Bellevue. This caused enough of a disturbance, that the city council of Bellevue has actually denied them permission to do so at another funeral

There is a purpose to this.

As many of you know, a tragedy occured on Wednesday at Westroads Mall. I'm not going to go into all the details, because i don't want to give this kid any more press than necessary, but i gotta tell you guys this.

They picketed Westroads tonight, because they believe that this happened as God's retribution against Nebraska for allowing the charges to be filed against this woman. Obviously, according to them, this means that Nebraska, and Omaha in particular are supporting gays, and lesbians, and is using our own, "A brat you raised for the devil himself*" to kill a few of us idolators, and punish us all. It's our fault that this kid did this, because we don't believe in GAWD (the way i think these assmonkeys say it), and that this is just the beginning of GAWD raining destruction down on us, and this is just an appetizer.

all i can say is this:

WHAT THE FUCK?

There are 9 families mourning, and 5 more with family members that are injured, some perilously so. And these amazingly ignorant dirtwads are telling us this crap? and PROTESTING? it's only common sense, but i so desperately wanted to go down there and counter-picket. I don't talk religion very often, but my god is not a vengeful god. My god is a loving god, who is weeping tears over this whole mess.

I couldn't be more upset.


*this was a direct quote from their website/blog. however, i'm not going to dignify or give them ANYTHING by posting their web address. It's entirely too offensive to me. It even makes me feel dirty to read such vitriolic diatribes. ugh.

to let you know

since it's widely known i live in omaha, ne, i just wanted to let everyone know that me and mine are ok.

while we are all horrified by what happened, what it does say is that reforms are needed in several different sectors. gun control. mental health. juvenile "delinquency" for a better word.

a sad, sad day, today.



p.s. if you don't know what happened (and if you don't, what rock did you crawl out from under?) leave me a comment, and i'll fill ya in.

ok, here we go

this post is gonna be picture heavy.

This is THE hat. this hat was made with 2 skeins of lamb's pride worsted, in regal, and creme. Liam wore this hat to the Central football championship game. He claims to love the hat. he chose the pattern, and he chose the colors. it's lost. needless to say, i'm a wee bit upset. he claims to have checked the lost & found, but i'm seriously tempted to call the school myself.

These are the ships' support socks that i sent off last month. They're a wee bit too big for liam, but that's ok. liam wear's a men's size 10 1/2 wide, so they should fit up to a size 12 if they don't have duck feet.

and for Michelle, the Pineapple Circular Blanket. This is adapted from the Pineapple Circular Shawl that i saw on her blog. I got the pattern from http://www.crochetaustrailia.au/. wheeeee! amazingly enough, i ordered this on a monday, and had it the next monday! this is up to round 35. i'm doing this from stash, hence the darker middle, lol. it's still going to be very pretty, if i can ever finish the freaking thing! it ends up doing 2 rows, then frogging one. i forgot to measure it before i picked it up off the floor, but i think it's about 4 feet across. good thing my mom has a queen sized bed!

i gotta scoot, but i'll give ya another real post later!

a meme

thanks to Natalie for posting this on her blog, and offering to come read mine. iknow, i know, i owe y'all a real post, and you'll get one, but not just right now.

Four things about me that you may or may not have known in no particular order. The directions are at the end.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Customer Service Agent
2. Short Order Cook
3. Cashier in a Nuclear Plant kitchen
4. Salad & Dessert Chef in a Steak House (that job was tasty!)

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Princess Bride
2. The Matrix
3. Highlander, Director's Cut
4. Any of the LOTR series

Four places I have lived:
1. Omaha, NE
2. Blair, NE
3. Tekamah, NE
4. Ord, NE

4. Four Shows that I watch:
1. Pushing Daisies
2. Private Practice
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Dancing with the Stars (shhhh, don't tell anybody)

Four places I have visited:
1. Atlantic Beach, NC
2. Depoe Bay, Oregon
3. Rochester, NY
4. Loveland Pass, CO (i climbed the mountain there, it was so cool!)

People who e-mail me (regularly)
1. Eliza
2. Lori
3. Aunt Ruthie
4. My sons' teachers

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Lemon Shrimp @ Imperial Palace
2. Cafe Breve @ Starbucks (hey, you still ingest it!)
3. Bacon
4. Chocolate

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At S&B ( i always end up leaving just when it's getting good!)
2. Borders, with a good magazine
3. in the tub with a good book
4. in bed with my honey & a good book (which is why i'm wondering why i'm still up?)

Things I am looking forward to this year (2008 I assume??):
1. selling my house (it's become an albatross)
2. Having a venture i'm in come to fruition
3. christmas knitting being done!
4. watching my boys become men (sniff, where's the tissues?)

If you decide to do this meme yourself, please leave me a comment so I can go check out your answers!

bow your heads

the riot, indeed, has been quieted.

Pay it Forward

I'm a dork. I'm an idiot. I'm also hugely forgetful. There's this thing going around on the innernets. It's called Pay it Forward. Here's the deal.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.
So, if you'd like to Pay It Forward, just be one of the first 3 commenters on today's post.

I'll be needing snail mail addys, too, lol! And i don't care if you're here in the states, or in timbuctoo! i love international mailings (always confuses the post office ladies, lol!)

Thanks to Noricum for showing me the way, and thanks to anne for reminding me that i'd forgotten this!

p.s. with the holiday season fast approaching, i have to put the caveat in that you prolly won't get your thingie until afterwards!

well, here goes

my mom is in congestive heart failure. which isn't as bad as it sounds. she has to go on a low sodium diet (which she was predominantly on anyway), exercise regularly (which she already did), and watch her weight. apparently, they want her to weigh herself every day, and if she gains more than 2# ina day or 4# over a week, then she goes to the doctor.

her heart valve is in relatively good shape. both the leaflets are moving like they are supposed to, consdiering the dang thing is 21 years old. they've got her on diuretics, which is making her pee like a racehorse.

they did say she's in atrial fibrilation off and on. however, there are two schools of treatment for this. the doctor thinks that it may have been happening for years. according to her records, when she had the valve replaced in '86, she was in a-fib. it didn't s how up when she got her pacemaker in '05, but it could have just been behaving, as she was only in the hospital for 4 days over that.

anyway, there is one theory that they medicate the piss out of her to control the fibrilation at any cost. however, the medications they use can be toxic over the long haul, and she comes from a long-lived family (grandma was 3 weeks shy of her 97th birthday when she gave up). also, while her kidney function isn't bad, it's not the absolute best it could be, which is typical for a woman of her age, and those types of meds make that worse.

the other school? leave her be. deal with the heart failure, and let the a-fib slide, but watch it. apparently, they did a study a few years ago, and discovered that the people they didn't medicate lived as long as the ones they did, with little ill effect, and none of the side effects from the meds. the doctor who checked her pacemaker is of the second mind. why give her drugs that could cause scar tissue in her lungs, especially when they have to watch her lungs because of the heart failure.

sooooooooooooooooooooooooo

i don't know. lol. we're supposed to talk to the cardiologist tomorrow morning. but the prognosis is very good, considering her age, and that damned valve.

as for the rest of us? mark is maintaining the homefires while i'm doing all this hospital/doctor stuff.

thanksgiving? dunno, but i don't expect her to be home by then.

the christmas trip? still dunno, but i have higher hopes for it than i did before. wheeeeeeee!

and thanks to everyone for the tea & sympathy. it is hard, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and between you guys and the folks over at the L&V message board, plus the local yokels doing what they can for me, i'm feeling a lot less hopeless, and a lot more hopeful.

it's tough

this time of year is not easy for me. the joy of halloween has passed. sunset comes before 5 pm. thanksgiving, to most people, is a time of family gathering and happiness. for me? lots and lots of work. i've worked a lot of thanksgivings, and all i can think of is how much work it is. i hate thanksgiving.

add in a # of factors, to include huge amounts of stress over the boys' grades, my mother's ongoing medical issues culminating in her admittance to the hospital, and money has been tight, and i feel like i'm in a pressure cooker.

i was watching private practice earlier tonight, where a woman, whose police husband has died, has rigidly scheduled everything involving the birth of her child, whom she was pregnant with when her husband died. in the middle of labor, she started screaming about being alone, and that her husband was dead. i bawled like a baby. it struck me that i felt alone.

mark stayed home with the boys today while i dealt with my mother's stuff. i called my brothers to let them know what was going on. my one brother lives here in nebraska, but has little to do with me, because of differing religious choices. little, as in, he didn't come to my wedding. he came as soon as he found out what was up. to say the least, it was awkward. he was polite, we did talk, but the white elephant in the room was definitely there.

i felt alone all day. i've felt alone in this whole thing. this has been going on since the end of august. the doctor's visits have been weekly, if not more often. from november 1st to november 9th i took her to immanuel hospital for doctor's vists 5 times.

here's the thing. she doesn't drive. my brother, who only lives an hour away, never volunteers to take her to anything, except the occasional dinner out. my other brother lives in georgia, but everytime he comes, they take her to the store. they take her shopping.

the people who could help me, can't. mark knows no sign language. he's tried, but he has no talent for it. liam and sean, who do, can't transport her, and frankly, are too young. stephanie, who can, works full time.

i'm it. i've always been the family interpreter. i'm the oldest child. according to my mother, i started signing when i was 2, when my brother was born. both my brothers do little more than fingerspelling, which means you spell out each word. exhausting, to say the least. i've been interpreting for my family for a very long time.

when my grandmother in wyoming passed away on a wednesday, i was unable to leave until sunday. my parents drove out there on thursday, as well as my brother (yes, THAT one) and his family. no one in his family signs. when i showed up on sunday, he told me he was so glad i was there, because the signing for the last 3 days was wearing him out. he had no idea. my father was also hard of hearing, and actually met my mother at the Nebraska School for the Deaf, although they didn't marry until 20 years later, and was as comfortable with signing as he was in listening. in fact, as he had aged, his hearing was failing rather rapidly (he was 75). i immediately took over.

you know, being needed is nice. i'm a firm believer, though, of too much of a good thing. I'm being "needed" to death. My mom needs me. Mark needs me. Liam needs me. Sean most definitely needs me. The cats need me. Even steph & her roommate and their dog &cat need me.

i sit here, and watch sean, and wonder if he will ever grow up enough to take care of himself.

I know i do alot of this to myself. My sense of duty and obligation outweighs any objections or denials. I'm a caregiver.

But who's going to care for me?

/end whiney post

mixed feelings

My son went with the pep band to the state finals for football, as his high school was playing. They won, which is fantastic.

I'm sure Liam will be incredibly hoarse, and unable to sleep when he gets home (lincoln is an hour a way, and i just watched them taking the drums out of the stadium 10 minutes ago). I'm thrilled to death for him.

I got to watch the game on the nebraska PBS station (they run all the championship games on tv, which i think is great). However, i saw something that was, to me, a bit disquieting.

They do a medal/trophy awards ceremony. For both teams. The opposing team, Millard North, were not playing with their regular quarterback. He hurt his knee in the last game, and was unable to finish. The quarterback they brought in? A 15 year old sophomore, who had never started a game. It's a hell of a thing to have your first starting game be the state finals. He played with heart, and fortitude, and considering the circumstances, did well.

The disquieting part was that they made all the boys on the Millard North team, as the runners up, go across a stage and receive a medal from their coaches. I sat here in tears watching boys who had literally played their hearts out, with stolid looks, or tears, on their faces, wishing they could be anywhere but there with the TV cameras in their faces. Frankly, i think they would have been happier to go to the locker room, and ride their busses home. The truly heartbreaking part? watching that sophomore quarterback cry on the regular quarterback's shoulder. you could just hear him saying "man, i blew it!" i will say t his for the older boy. he patted him on the shoulder, and gave him a hug.

this is why i find it disquieting. the tv cameras. this is probably one of the most traumatic things that ever happened to them. let them grieve in peace.

it's why i hate state funerals. the one that comes most to mind is when ronald reagan passed away. at the very end, when they placed the coffin in front of the library, and nancy finally laid her head down on the coffin and cried. i will watch all that goes on before, and as public figures, i expect to see some of the family, but i did not need to see that. let her grieve in peace. the cameras should have been turned off, or turned away, or something.

same with these boys. this was not dignifying. i can remember the heartbreak of watching my team lose a big game in high school. the tears on the boys' faces, as well as the fans. leave them alone, dammit.

ok, i'm off my soapbox now.

i'm off to fetch my raving maniac, lol!

why

i just watched the movie "nell," with jodi foster, liam neeson, and natasha richards.

why can't life be that simple?

tick tick tick

it's coming

Thank You

Yesterday and today, we celebrate Veteran's Day (and the Marine birthday was yesterday as well!)

Xerox is running a program where they are printing up postcards to send to the troops in Iraq, saying thank you. It's free to us, and will give them a boost. Go. Whether you agree with the war or not, these folks deserve our support.

paging doctor mom OR knitting needles aren't just for knitting

just a caveat. this is not for the squeamish.

liam has had an ingrown toenail for a while. he's been verging on it getting infected for a while. well, for about 2 weeks now, his toe has been puffy, and painful, and purple. he's been trying to deal with it on his own, and i've been letting him, because he's 15, and he needs to learn.

however, tonight, he came down and asked if it was normal for his toe to turn brown. so i looked at it. it's not brown, but it is pretty tender & puffy. enter doctor mom.

i happened to have a metal sock needle near by, so i made him fetch rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and a couple of cotton balls, and a bandaid. i rubbed the tip of the needle with rubbing alcohol to disinfect it. the goober went & got a rag to bite, because he was afraid of waking anyone up, lol. i made him sit on the floor, and was actually able to get the toenail worked out. then i took a tiny bit of cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide, and tucked it under there. the doctor had told him to do that when he'd gone for his physical , and had mentioned his toe. he hadn't been doing it. then i took him in the bathroom, poured some more hydrogen peroxide on it, then put some neosporin & a bandaid on it, because it had bled a little bit. i'll make him soak it tomorrow in epsom salts, and d o it again. and chewed him out for not cutting his toenails square. some days.

oh, by the way? he didn't scream. liam is a drama queen, lol!

the red pill, or the blue pill?

if you like the muppets, and the matrix, check this out. too cool.

i suppose

it's time for a real post, lol.

i did take halloween pics.

wanna see?

I gotta ask. does that look like a harry potter costume to you? his grandmother, upon seeing the picture, said "ok, i give. is he a professor?" sigh. note the wand in his right hand, and that smudge in the middle of his forehead? a scar. we had a wee bit of trouble (he touched it before it was dry, the stinker) getting that right, but everybody who saw him wednesday night knew who he was. sigh.

The pumpkin to the rear is my evil looking one. the one with the chunk out of it's face? Sean's. totall his design. waht you can't see? there's a skeletal hand crawling out of its mouth.

The guys with the yard decorations. mark had all this stuff in the basement behind the furnace, so we put it all up, and the boys had fun with the glow in the dark sidewalk chalk. they traced mark's boots on the stoop, and wrote "home of bigfoot," and liam wrote "yard is mined" at the end of the drive, right next to "come and play." gotta love my kids' warped sense of fun on halloween, lol.

i have pictures of the ships' socks, but apparently i haven't downloaded them yet. hmmmm. i have been knitting, too! honest! and spinning! and crocheting! i've started my mother's christmas present (i'm not showing it because i don't want to give myself away to my secret pal, lol, i got the pattern recommendation from her), and my MIL's. i'm also going to make liam a pair of socks.

why? i fell down and went boom at personal threads. joe (the pusher) had a special bag of sale koigu, and it has the same yardage as the claudia hand paint fingering, and i got a pair of socks that fit him out of 2 skeins, and it's a color he'll like, so i'm going to knit him socks for christmas. am i mad? maybe. but his feet have definitely slowed down in their growth, and he may have hit his max (i hope so, he's already a 10 1/2 wide, and may have to move up to an 11, soon. if so, he's got the biggest feet my family has had, barring his cousin who is a monster, anyway, lol) i also bought a skein of WAH purple lamb's pride, and a skein of white, because Central's school colors are purple and white, and liam wants a school hat. he actually wants 2, but i'm making him pick, lol. he wants the rasta hat from Men who Knit, and hewants an earflap hat. i may look up the jayne hat and see if he likes that, lol. i'm also going to make an earflap hat for sean from it, cuz sean will be attending high school there as well (at least we hope so!)

and i got some good news when i took sean for his med check last week. i had been told by the special ed supervisor that if sean had an actualy diagnosis for asbergers, he would get a different type of IEP which might help him more. both his regular teacher and i have done some research on it, and we both agree that he shows several of the symptoms. so, when i told the psychiatrist that the teacher thinks he has it, and i think so too, he said he could see some of the signs himself, and filled out the form for authorization to get him tested for it. whoopee! now let's hope they get it done before the end of the year, cuz i've got that damned deductible hovering over my head, and too damned many medical bills as it is!

what i'm reading:

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (book tape in the car)

Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (book tape in thehouse)

Nicolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett (book in the bathroom. this book is actually speeding up, and getting interesting)

City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin.

i will say this. i need a break from the wheel of time series. the next book is not available in book tape form, and i think i'm gonna listen to something else, and finish these two books up first before i even attempt to take the path of daggers on. sigh.

ttfn, cuz i gotta haul teen butt to school!

New Survivor Series

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of "pretend" bills with not enough money.In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care (weekend, evening, on a holiday or right when they 're about to leave for vacation).

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

Each father will be required to know all of the words to every stupid song that comes on TV and the name of each and every character on cartoons.Each man will have to make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla and one marker; and get a 4 year old to eat a serving of peas.

Each man must adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep their nails polished and eyebrows groomed. The men must try to get through each day without snot, spit-up or barf on their clothing. During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties. They must try to explain what a tampon is for when the 6-yr old boy finds it in the purse.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.He will need to read a book to the children each night without falling asleep, and then feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair each morning by 7:00. They must leave the home with no food on their face or clothes.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

They must clean up after their sick children at 2:00 a.m. And then spend the remainder of the day tending to that child and waiting on them hand and foot until they are better.

They must have a loving, age appropriate reply to, "You're not the boss of me". The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.

this is rated pg 13, at least!

Sick of angel emails? Ok BE HONEST...how many of you REALLY ENJOY getting little angel love notes from every person in your address book? You know the ones *I love you so here's a too cutesy angel and some mushy poem to prove it...*

~~ BLEH!! Like the cute wasn't bad enough, THEN they FORCE you by threatening bad luck if you don't send it on to others and back to them to prove you read the email! A vicious circle! Here's my version:

YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED BY THE GOOD LUCK ANGEL! HE'S GOOD LUCK BECAUSE HE PROBABLY MADE YOU SMILE. I KNOW I SMILED. WHEN YOU'RE FINISHED TRYING TO SEE UP HIS LOINCLOTH......AND YOU JUST LOOKED AGAIN, DIDN'T YOU? WHY NOT SEND THIS ON TO SOME OF YOUR GIRLFRIENDS TO MAKE THEM SMILE, TOO? DON'T SEND IT BACK TO ME. I JUST GOT ALL THE DROOL OUT OF MY KEYBOARD

(p.s. i love my aunt-in-law!)

lol!

Three men - a Canadian farmer, Osama bin Laden and a Texan are all working together one day. They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it. "I will give each on you one wish, which is three wishes in total", says the Genie. The Canadian says, "I am a farmer and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada " POOF! With the blink of the Genie's eye, the land in Canada was forever fertile for farming.

Osama was amazed, so he said, "I want a wall around Afghanistan , Palestine , Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Americans or Canadians can come in to our precious land." POOF! Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye, there was a huge wall around those countries.

The Texan says, "I am very curious. Please tell me more about this wall." The Genie explains, "Well, it's about 5,000 feet high, 5oo feet thick and completely surrounds the country. Nothing can get in or out; it's virtually impenetrable." The Texan sits down, cracks a beer, smiles, and says, "Fill it with water."

I pretty much vote this my favorite email of the year....

happy halloween!

unless you're in iowa.

now THAT'S a trick.

thank you, US government

NOT!

we've been planning to go to visit my brother and his wife in southern Georgia, since the wedding last year. so i called my SIL to find out where they wanted my mom to fly in to, because i'm not going to force her to ride for 2400 miles (we're driving). She told me that, as an army retiree, they just ACTIVATED HER.

she's 49, overweight by 70#, has to have neck surgery, and wrist surgery, not to mention the fact that she has a bad heart valve, which also needs to be replaced. They won't ship her out of the country because of all of this, but they still insist that they are going to activate her. the town they live in has an army base. where are they sending her? laredo, texas. for 18 months.

when does she go? DECEMBER 18. my mom is flying in december 19. she MIGHT be back the day before we leave to come home. she might not.

she's contacted her local congressman, and i may just contact mine as well!

needless to say, i'm not happy.

Whoda Thunk

Bob Dylan/ Elvis Costello Tickets: $119.90

Parking: $6

Obligatory Concert T-shirt: $35

Food & Beer: $39.50

Cracking up every time the guy in front of us accidentally grabs mark's knee instead of his girlfriend's shoulder, prompting the remark "my knee does not have a nipple" :

PRICELESS!

oh dear

liam is developing an interesting sense of humor (imagine that!)

we were just watching the traffic report on the news, and they said there was a 3rd deer accident this morning.

liam's response?

"what is this world coming to? deer driving? i can just see it! some deer driving a pick up with a gun rack, giving everybody the hoof!"

gotta love it.

quote for the day

oveheard phone conversation in the cafe at borders:

"Sure! I can do you in a chair! Not a problem."

ahem. i turned red trying not to laugh very hard. later parts of the overheard conversation revealed that she's a massage therapist. she has a table in the back of her car.

sometimes i wonder if having cellphones in this day and age have made us less sensitive to those around us? conversations like this make me wonder.

the big redeemer in t his situation? she was wearing a handmade scarf. her mom made it for her.

tears

spoiler alert for grey's anatomy:

Tonight's episode made me think on a number of levels. when george said what he did to that man whose daughter was brain dead, i cried. because i feel the same way. even after 6 1/2 years, i cry because i miss my dad. i wish my dad could see how much liam is like he was. i wish my dad could see how smart sean is, and how strong, and how he got himself through such tough times, just like my dad did. i wish he could see how his granddaughters have grown up to be beautiful young women. (ok, that was weird. i talk about steph, and she calls!)

and the little boy trick or treating for ears. i think meredith is finally growing up. i'm sure having such an emotionally sterile mother had to be emotionally draining. never trick or treating? i know there are some religious sects that don't allow it, as well, but still. doing SOMETHING for halloween was always a childhood rite here in the states. and she didn't push her sister away when they talked. that's huge.

but the best part? washing her mother's ashes down the drain of the scrub sink for OR. perfect.

as for karev, and ava, and george and izzy? god, people, get a room and get a life.

ok, spoiler over!

now, for some knitwear.

these are 3 of the 5 marine scarves i made for liam's bandmate's brother's marine battalion. (enough possessives for ya?) all were made with bernat camoflauge desert sand doublestranded with another yarn. these 3 were double stranded with caron one pound, colorway lace, knit in seed stitch. one other were the same yarns, crocheted with double crochets. the fifth was desert sand double stranded with lion brand homespun, colorway rococo. these are all thick and cushy, and should hopefully keep 5 marines warm this winter.

i tried to get into the army twice, in my life. the first time was when i was 17. they turned me down because my eyes were too bad. the second time? i was 29. now, remember, i had 4 kids. and, in those days, you had to get a waiver for more than 2 kids. i got that waiver. however, they still wouldn't waiver my eyes. sooooooooo, i serve where i can.

i've also finished the ships' socks. i have a pic on the camera, but i need to get it downloaded before i can show you. they fit liam a l ittle loosely, so i'm thinking they're actually more like a men's size 11. however, one thing i didn't notice until i had them together. they don't match at all. same dyelot. 2 different skeins. one is lighter than the other, sigh. oh well, they're still pretty dark. the colorway was inky.

this hat was originally going to go to A4a, but it took too long, so its going for caps for kids, which is the charity for this month at Ac4c. it's made from my own handspun, from the spunky eclectic fiber club, july's selection being celebration, in shetland wool. it's navajo plied, and i thought it was pretty badly overspun, but it knitted up quite nicely. this was done top down, with an icord tied in a knot. hence my name of top knot hat, lol.

ok, i have been a bad girl. when the doctor took me off the pill, i stopped taking all my vitamins, and i'm feeling the lack. i take glucosamine/chondroitin for my arthritis, and my hands hurt.

so i'll end this post with what i'm reading.

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman (book tape in the house)

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan (book tape in the car)

Three Bags Full : A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann (this was due tuesday, and i can't renew it, so i'm trying to get through it as fast as i can before i end up with a fine)

Nicolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett (i think i've figured out the Claes situation!)

The Lamp of the Wicked by Philip Rickman (this book was going amazingly fast before it got derailed by 3 bags full).

oh, btw, since i started typing this, i've already finished the Golden Compass, and started The Subtle Knife. same author. it was due last tuesday, too, so i'm trying to finish it before saturday, hence why i listened to the golden compass first, lol (i hate reading books out of order)

A$$HATTERY

what is it with people?

i'm not going into all of it, but one incident yesterday in the knitting world really pisses me off. i'm taking steps. we'll see what happens.

the other thing this morning? i live on a relatively busy street, and, as such, has clearly marked no passing zone lines. my son rides the bus, which does not pull into my driveway, but does stop directly in front of my house. this bus is owned by the school district. the majority of the busses that transport school kids, however, is contracted out to another firm. as i was watching my son run out to the bus (which has been showing up earlier and earlier, after being later for 3 days last week, which is frustrating because now i NEVER know when she's gonna show up!), i saw one of the contracted bus pass the bus waiting for my son. at speed. the speed limit is 30 mph. which means that driver never had any intentions of stopping for sean's bus. ASSHATS! i called the transportation department, and they gave me the phone # for the contractor. i have that other bus's #. literally.

GIRL TALK ALERT

a few weeks ago i said something about some medical stuff that was vaguely unsettling, but i wasn't ready to talk. here's the skinny. my period has been hit or miss since the wedding last year. last "real" period i'd had this year had been july. august was spotting, and september was non-existent. and when the doctor was poking around in the usual fashion on my s tomach, it hurt. so he decided i needed to go for a pelvic ultrasound, to rule out fibroids. lemme tell ya, i've never had an ultrasound before (the kids were all born before that was a normality for treating pregnancy). my bladder still cringes at the thought!

long and short? benign cysts on the ovaries (which is why it hurt when he poked my tummy), and nothing else. they wanted me to watch for the next two months, off the pill (i've been off for 4 weeks now), and monitor my periods. 3 days after they told me that? guess who showed up. in spades. i haven't been that miserable in a long time. damn. there goes my idea of early menopause.

and the really frustrating part? i'm allergic to latex. take that as you wish. i gotta talk to the doctor about other alternatives (other than surgical, if anybody goes under the knife, it's gonna be him!). sigh.

i'll post knitting stuff later, liam JUST informed me he wants to go to school early.

well, looky here!

it's finished!

remember the squares i was making for the flag afghan that was supposed to be on display at the Balboa Naval hospital in San Diego (if it hasn't burned down!)?

linda finished it. you can even see the nebraska square i did in one pic!

i am truly in awe.

smugness stinks

I'm sorry, but it's beyond irritating when something like this happens:


I had checked on lights out for the boys at 9:15. The lights were out. Liam just came down for a drink, at 9:45. Right after that, Mark got up to go to the bathroom, and asked me to check to see if the lights were out. Normally, Liam goes back upstairs, leaving the lights out (how he does it without killing himself on all the stuff on the floor, i don't know (as far as that goes, i don't know how i did it at his age, either, lol)), and goes back to sleep. Tonight, the little shit had turned the light on, when i went to check. Here's the part that pissed me off. Mark heard me chewing on Liam for having the light on (this is a TINY house), and when he went back to bed he said "I love it when they prove my point." GROWL. i just might stay up late to prove MY point.


But you're not here to hear me bitch (unless you like that, lol).


how about a few pics?



A4A hat #1. this was done with noro kureyon #102. After this hat, i will NEVER work with kureyon again. well, i won't say never, but it's gonna have to be really good. this hat took less than 1 ball, and i found SIX breaks, FOUR thin spots that i let pass (this is supposed to be aran weight yarn), and THREE spots so thick that i literally drafted them to make them thin enough to knit at the same gauge. this hat took one day.


this is A4a hat #2. also of kureyon. this ball was better (only 2 breaks, 3 thin spots, and 3 thick spots), but i'm still dead set against kureyon. my handspun looks better, and feels better, too. this hat was cast on immediately after hat #1. also done in one day.




this was with the remains of the kureyon, and was done top down because i wanted the bright on top, and wanted to use up all of this demon yarn (i had 2 balls) and get it the hell out of my house. (gee, for those of you who believe that part of your thinking goes into everything you make, i'm sorry. at least this hat will keep a child warm in afghanistan, ya know?) the black is the same warps i used for the soaker, only double stranded to be the same gauge (approximately, it's a wee bit thicker) as the kureyon. this hat, too was done in one day. in fact, the black bit was done completely at a parent-teacher meeting (it was almost 2 freaking hours!). the funny part was watching the lady sitting next to me. i had two balls wound, and while one was completely spliced, the other wasn't. the first time i put the ends of yarn in my mouth for a spit splice, i thought she was going to puke in her gucci bag (i think i was one of 3 women who were wearing comfy clothes and flip flops). she calmed down after that, lol. now, the reason why i was knitting like a madwoman, inviting carpal tunnel? the deadline for 80 containers was october 12, and i finished hat #3 on october 8. they went out on oct 9 priority mail. apparently, these containers were donated by some christian organization, and at the beginning of the month, they only had 50 filled. while there were no human models for these hats, i guarantee that they all fit me, which means they would work for older teens.


just doin' my part.


now my part is marine scarves. one of liam's bandmates has a brother in the marine corps whose battalion deployed to iraq today. his mother decided it would be cool to send each kid in the battalion a scarf for this winter. after some consultation with the marines, she got approved yarns and patterns, and started handing stuff out. she gave me 1 skein of caron one pound, one skein of homespun rococo, and 4 skeins of bernat desert sand. last tuesday. they're supposed to be 6-8" wide, and 42" long. i just finished #3. the first was the rococo double stranded with the desert sand, and knit in seed stitch. the second was caron & desert sand double stranded, knit in seed stitch. #3 was caron & desert sand double stranded, crocheted in double crochet. i think i may have enough yarn for 2 more scarves. they need to be done before the end of the month.

this on top of my other charity knitting, lol! this month is caps for kids, and i've gotten 2 hats done, so far. no pics, but i'll get them soon. one thing about ravelry, i'm more willing to take pics and get them up, lol! i'm thinking about casting on mittens, but we'll see.


What I'm reading:
The Living Blood by Tananarive Due (book tape in the house). this book is wild. it's about the Life Brothers, who are immortal. they get their immortality from Jesus Christ. Their blood is healing to mortals. And one of them has given birth to a goddess.


Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan (book tape in the car). i tried to read this series years ago, and puttered out about book 3. this is book 6 or 7, but i've been using book tapes where i can. that helps, because when i listen int he car, i'm kind of a captive audience.


Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett. This is about the Medici era in italy. this is my bathroom book, which is just as well, because it's a bit ponderous, and it's easier to take it in small bites (one page at a time). I do like the descriptiveness, though.


The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God by Timothy Schaffert. this was recommended to me by the librarian, as it is written by a local author, and is based here in nebraska (i get the impression it's out by grand island). not a holy roller book at all. the main protagonists have a son who has run away to play guitar for this band, who plays punk-christian music. it's a roller coaster ride of a book, but very interesting. i likee lots!


now, how's that for diversity?


i'm off to cast on scarf #4! (pray my fingers hold out!)

ETA: why is it blogger puts spaces in where i don't want them, and takes out the ones i want?

they all grow up

liam has always been a little boy. he still plays with legos. his favorite video games are cartoon characters. he watches spongebob squarepants, and still laughs every time, no matter how many times he's watched it.

tonight? i saw my little boy become a young man.

He is out on his first date tonight. Admittedly, it's chaperoned to a fair-thee-well, but still. Homecoming.

I am acknowledging the fact that that fuzzy upper lip is a good way towards shouting young man, but he still doesn't shave, lol.

i actually haven't seen him or his date yet. i was a good band mommy and volunteered to work at the Omaha Marching Invitational. Liam's school's volunteer time was 3:50 to 6:30, and the coronation was at 7:30. so mark got to play chauffer to him, his date, and his date's friend, and a friend of all of them. god, can you imagine the raging hormones in that van? three teenage girls and one teenage boy. OY!

and i get to go pick them up and take them all home.

THUD

stop it

i know many of you follow the news. i'm sure you've seen stories about buddhist monks who are being beaten and killed while they peacefully demonstrate for a democratic government in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

what can we do to help?

sign this petition:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/w.php?cl=27553129

it's easy to do. let the world know how you feel about this.

well

I'm feeling odd today. Needy. I got some news from the doctor yesterday when i went in for my annual exam, and i'm not sure how to take it. NO I'M NOT PREGNANT. I'm not ready to talk about it right now. Only mark knows what's going on.

I watched the season premier for Grey's Anatomy today, and i'm sure that's part of it. That show always makes me feel odd. The ending? OH MY GOD! George, George, George. All i'm saying, so i don't spoil it for anyone else who hasn't watched yet.

I did get my package from my spoiler last week, and i love everything with it! It was a definite spoiling package. Hard peach candy. Needle felting stuff. Bath Confetti! (i'd never heard of it before, but it comes in a really cool test-tube thingie that someone told me is an embryonic 2-liter bottle, lol!) a manicure set with lotion, hand scrub, and gloves in a tasty vanilla-rose scent. I can't remember what else right off hand, but i will give y'all a pic as soon as i get off my ass and take a pic.

i've been spinning, and knitting like mad. I am presently knitting socks for ships' support. Men's socks. With fingering yarn. I'm doing pretty well with them, too! I knit on them everytime i sit down at the puter, so that's 3-4 hours of knitting anight! They're a men's size 10 1/2 (iknow, cuz they fit liam).

I think they're turning out pretty well, considering i started these on sept 22, and i'm on the foot of sock #2.

Other knitting? Well, i did finally finish a pair of mittens for the cheyenne river reservation that i'd commited to anne to make. of course, i'd actually promised to make 7, but remind me next time i want to do a 2-color project like this, to NOT make it my car knitting. oy!

These were made with yarn given to me from the estate of a lady who was a member of the local Spinner's & Weaver's Guild. I know for sure that the red is lamb's pride superwash, and i THOUGHT the brown was as well, but when i started getting to the middle of the ball (i ran out JUST as i was finishing off the binding for the second mitten. oy, talk about close!), it was sticking together like it was almost felting. i'm just going to mark these as wool. They're done top down, with a provisional cast on, and the cap worked short rows, then pick up the stitches from the cast on and worked down. the thumbs are only red because i ran out of the brown, lol. they're big on me, but that's ok because i have hands smaller than most 10-year-olds. seriously. i measured against ALL my kids for years, and every single one of them had hands bigger than mine by the time they were 10. even the daughter who is only 5'1" and weighs about 115.

ok, i gotta do something, even if it's wrong, so i'm gonna scoot for now.

What I'm Reading:

Yes! Your Teen IS Crazy by Michael Bradley(and i'm happy to report that most of what i'm doing is right! yippee!)

Rose Daughter by Robyn McKinley (a revisitation to the beauty and the beast tale, for the second time. i like this version too, although it's much more adult sounding than the first one she did)

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan (book tape in the car, i had to turn it back inbefore it was done last time, and it took a month for it to come back in!)

amazingly enough, that's all i've got on the books at this time. i've got a whole stack waiting for me, and even 2 book tapes, but i just haven't tapped into them yet. the idiot box has my attention, if only cuz i'm trying to get all my DVRed shows watched, so i can keep up with silly things like Dancing with the Stars.

Speaking of which, how many of you were absolutely shocked that Albert got booted off? I wanted to see more gyrating, pulsating, stripper style dancing! I mean, i like that Wayne Newton is on there, but he got a FIFTEEN! oh well, there's a reason why billy ray ended up on there for over half the season. FANBASE!

now i'm really going, i need lunch

a reply to a comment

June, yes i did get a package, on wednesday! i will blog about it later, i gotta scoot. thanks for asking (and if you're my secret pal, you're a stinker! not activating your profile, lol)

Edit: um, yeah, june, you did goof up, lol. I'm not Char. But thanks for asking! (just the giggle i needed this morning!)

*sniff*

my babies are growing up. liam is a freshman in high school, and 15. And about to go to his first school dance with a girl. He asked one of his friends to go with him to homecoming. And she said yes. i know her mom (she's a band parent as well), and we are actually coordinating so that liam and her daughter look good together, lol. i don't think liam expected us to do that, lol! i promise i will post pictures.

i told steph that he had a date, and s he said "that's so cute!" she forgets that she didn't even get to go to her freshman homecoming. she was a hellion that year.

just one bad part. that day is a freaking insane day! there's a marching invitational that afternoon, steph's best friend from high school is getting married that day (and we're invited!), and then there's homecoming. oy!

One question for ya. Since Liam isn't old enough to drive and pick her up on his own, do we chauffeur them? More like, do I chauffeur them, cuz you KNOW mark is going to be sound asleep by the time homecoming is over. I'll have to order a corsage. I'm trying to decide if i'm going to be a nice mommy and pay for it, or make him do it, lol. I may just give him a bye this first t ime around, lol.

This is part of a super secret project that I knit for an upcoming book. You'll have to wait to see what it is, lol. Wanna see a little more?

Here's another part of it.

part 2 to my babies are growing up. we've been letting sean stay home for small amounts of time. he's been handling it well. this is a lead-up to next summer. he'll be almost 14. wow. tara had given me a pair of jeans that her hubbie wouldn't wear, and they fit liam like a glove. and i thought they'd be too big. sean is growing out of all his size 14 jeans. those had fit for a very long time, but i looked at him one day, and his jeans were high enough i could see his socks when he walked. growing up too fast.

bad blogger

I've been so busy, I've forgotten to post here! Miss V has me running my tush off. Wait, scratch that. It's still there, darnit. Anyway, I've been having fun posting over here.

I've also been knitting like a maniac. Many of you already know about the squirrel. I have to admit, i've been giggling ever since we hatched this plan. I finished it Friday and delivered it to Miss V, and she concocted the note and gave him all his other little goodies.

I've always thought unfelted, unstuffed critters look like road kill.

I finally got a good pic of Liam in his band uniform. He looks so cool! I was gonna say grown up, but . . . well, he's 15. And he looks it, lol.

We're going to adjust his hat this coming Friday. He kept complaining that it was down on his glasses, and trying to use the excuse that he needed contacts because of it. In fact, several of his (girl)friends told me i needed to buy him contacts so everyone could see his beautiful eyes. All the more reason not to, in my book! I'm going to have enough troubles with this kid when he finally decides that girls are girls, and not just buddies.

This is the evidence of Liam's first (and at this point, ONLY) driving lesson. Mark has decided to teach him in his pick up truck, which is a manual. I sat here and LAUGHED the entire time.

This little soaker was made from wool warps wound by a lady at the SWG here in Omaha, who passed away last year. Her husband gave them all her yarns and equipment, and between Tara and Miss V, i got all kinds of charity wool. Whee! Ok, now i gotta scoot, cuz i gotta get these LOVELY children ready for school.

While you're at it, we'd appreciate some good thoughts for the kitty joplin. She's been ill, and I finally convinced mark it might be a good idea to take her to the vet. She's going thursday. She's 12. sigh.

PICTURES!

and some will even be of knitting/crocheting!

these are some squares that i mailed out yesterday. the pink & the camo are for an A4A project (balboa military hospital, to be exact), as is the gold knitted square. the smaller, crocheted gold square is for a baby blanket for a friend.

well, apparently, i'm only going to get to upload one stinking picture.

i swear, there are days where it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.

anyway. i've been knitting like mad. yeah. uhuh. well, at least i've been TRYING to. i'm working on my red scarf, in handspun from roving dyed just for me by Lisa Souza. It's soft, and kushy, and ooooooooooooh, my. some college kid is just gonna LOVE me. and it's in mistake rib, so i can even do it while skeining mondo skeins for E.

I've also got several secret projects going. I'm designing a sock to submit for sockmadness II. the question is, at that point, if it gets accepted, do i want to join, and knit these socks twice? cuz this first pair is going to be for my MIL for christmas. i especially asked tara to dye a semisolid for me in a dark red. it's purdy.

secret project #1 is done. it's blocked. i just need to trim ends and send it off! you'll get REALLY close ups but that's it, lol.

i'm also working on a project for E, to go with carin on a trip. it's going well.

life?

meh.

i'm tired. it's hard getting up at 530 so i can get the kids up for school. sean has been having so much trouble getting up at 545, and being ready when the bus gets here that mark has been getting him up at 515, so he can wake up and get his meds in him. he actually had 2 bowls of cereal this morning before the bus got here (at 635, sigh). he's doing well in school, though. he's been mainstreamed in a number of his classes (he is in the resource room for behavioral issues, for those who are unaware of what his deal is), and, if he keeps up the good work, is slated to be mainstreamed into all his classes in 2 weeks. woot!

in not so good news, sean went out for football. the first practice was on august 27th, which ended up being a really hot day. he came home saying he was going to quit. we talked to him, and got him to give it a week. by friday, he'd decided he liked it, and wanted to keep going. we've been encouraging him to keep at it, because this will teach him to work with a team, as he is such a solitary individual. well, he came home from practice yesterday, and said he'd quit. first he said he wasn't doing well. then, he said that the kids were laughing at him. when we asked which kid, he admitted that he didn't actually hear anyone laugh, but he was sure they were anyway. then, he decided that he wanted more family time. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT. he wanted more video game time. so, mark told him that even though he would be home, he would not be allowed to play video games until the time he would have gotten home after practice. sean decided to go back and ask the coach if he could play.

just to be safe, i emailed the coach, and found out sean had walked out of practice yesterday. soooooooooo, he's out. he is still not going to be allowed video games until 5, and any consequences will be tacked on AFTER that. i know, we're hard asses. we were pushing him because it was obvious, after the first day, that he was enjoying playing. and again, that whole learning to work with others thing. sean has a very small comfort zone, a low tolerance for his own inabilities, and not a ton of self-esteem, and we were hoping this would help that. it seems like those exact things were what got in the way of him playing. he knows he was wrong to walk out of practice yesterday, and he also knows that he's going to have to be on his most excellent behavior before we're going to let him go out for anything else. he wants to play soccer next spring, but i don't think it will work. he was having a hard enough time with the whole getting-in-shape thing of football, and soccer is 10x as grueling on a physical activity level. you never see a soccer player with a gut.

liam is having a ball with marching band. they marched in a game for the first time last friday, and while i didn't get to see much (i was helping with the band parent bake sale), i heard he did very well. i've watched them practice, and i'll say this: have you ever tried to hold an instrument as awkward as a trombone so that you are walking in one direction, while facing at an angle that is 90 degrees to where you're walking (yes, torso twisting going on there) and PLAY THE DAMNED THING? i've been watching, and the only instruments that make you move your arms as much is percussion. and most of them have straps, handles, etc t o assist in holding them. not a trombone. no wonder there's only 6 trombonists in a band of 130 kids. but he's keeping up!

up until tonight, he'd been keeping up with his homework, too! however, i got an email from his biology teacher saying he'd gotten behind. sigh. the hard part with that class is he is in band first period, which is in the basement clear over on the northeast corner of the ADDITION of the school. biology is on the third floor in the main building. oy. in addition, he fell asleep in class today. i'm sure that has to do with band practice running late last night, and he didn't eat dinner til he got home. he didn't get to bed until 1030, and still got up at 545. it's hard enough for me to do that (as i look at the clock and realize it's 1055, and i'm getting up at 530), but he's only 15. what do y'all think? i have been letting him have a substantial snack before band, but not full dinner because it's still been pretty warm, then letting him eat dinner afterward, w hich means he may not eat til 9 or later. with cooler weather coming, do you think it would be ok to give him a full dinner before practice (he'd be eating at 5), then a snack when he gets home? or keep doing what i'm doing? practice starts at 6, and is SUPPOSED to be done at 830. i can't eliminate eating after practice. he's 15, let's get real. he is my walking talking eating machine. he seriously can eat a full meal and ask for a snack an hour later (we had brats & kraut with mashed potatoes, and he wanted chips an hour later).

ok, i need to get to bed, but one more thing before i go.

What I'm Reading:

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast by Robyn McKinley.

The Girls by Lori Lansens (this is about conjoined twins that are 29. told from the perspective of the ambulatory twin (she carries the other one around))

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan (booktape in car)

The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais (booktape in the house)

the girls is thoroughly fascinating. amazing how two identical conjoined twins could be so different!

i am sick

Today, while a blow for freedom of speech has been struck, a deeper, more heartfelt blow has been struck for prejudice, and inequality.

This happened today. Go read. I'll wait.

Back so quick? I don't blame you. While I do defend these people their right to speak as they wish, and the fact that they followed all the proper channels to demonstrate as they wished, the whole idea behind the gathering makes me ill. These people have said they want a "white america" as our forefathers wished. how do they know what our forefathers wished? Correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't George WAshington (scroll down a bit) have all his slaves freed at his death? And, as most of these slaves were born on american soil, according to our laws today, that would have made them citizens (even though life was much different then).

These people are so quick to disenfranchise anyone who does not look like them, act like them, or think like them. Their claim that this rally was strictly about illegal immigration is shallow at best, and put paid to as a lie with comments like the above about our forefathers.

And something else i'm sure they'd like to hide and stuff down? Who was here first? Anglo-saxon europeans? or native americans? if they really wanted to keep this country for those who "belong" here, then i think about 200 million people better start packing their crap.

What got me the worst, though? I was watching the video for this news article, and literally shuddered when i watched them do the nazi salute, and shout "seig heil." (forgive my spelling, i don't do german very well). they want america for white folk, and americans, and yet they give a german salute. what gives?

excuse me, i need to go wash my hands now. i feel filthy just typing about them, but i had to voice my outrage and disgust.

i'm pissed

mark & i were given a visa gift card as a wedding present last year, and we got it about 2 weeks before the wedding. however, we didn't get around to using it until now. when i tried to use it? it got denied, even though the amount was less than what i'd been told the gift card amount was for. apparently, in the small, tiny print on the back of the card, if you don't use it within six months of purchase, they take a $3 fee monthly. there's nothing left on the card! jackasses. so i've got a piece of plastic that i can't use. i know the giftor (is that even right?) had no awareness that these assmonkeys were going to pull this kind of shit, or they'd have given us something else. GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

happy birthday, liam

happy birthday bud! (i was going to load a video of him in marching band, but it was taking 20 minutes with no end in sight, so i gave up. i'm going to have to investigate this stuff further).

I know this picture isn't the greatest, but it's better than it was. that lovely child who is about 1/2 pace in front of everyone else? liam. he was back in line by the time they got past us.

and they sounded GOOD.

the big problem? parade was slated to start at 1030. it was a 6 block march. however, this pic was taken around 1140. wanna know why? someone dropped the ball. the police were supposed to show up to block the street, and escort the beginning of the parade. i haven't heard all the pertinent details, but either the parade organizers forgot, the police forgot, or the people who issued the permit so they could have the parade forgot. either way, liam was looking a wee bit droopy by the time this picture was taken. thank god they were wearing light grey t-shirts! (although many of the kids were wearing their other t-shirts underneath, poor sots). just when parents (particularly band parents) were getting upset enough to take matters into their own hands (i saw several SUV's pulling up to block side streets, and mark was about to go fetch the van to help), the police showed up. i even saw one mother pull her daughter out of the line up (not the band, this was some sort of dance troupe; the poor kid looked like she was going to cry), because she had somewhere else she had to be. apparently, from overheard conversation (she was getting pretty loud, lol) she was promised t his would be done by 11, and that the noon appointment she had with whatever would be just fine.

the funny part? where we were standing there were NO CHILDREN on our side of the street except sean. he got PELTED with candy (and one ingenious church who wrapped crayons in big-bubble bubble wrap!). he loved it.

Liam had a ball. when i picked him up from the school, though, he was soaked through (two t-shirts on the sweat machine? not good), thirsty, hot, tired, and dirty. i would like to know how a kid who sat nowhere but my car (and i can vouch for my seats) and the bus got dirt on his backside. oy.

He enjoyed his presents that he got today, which included 3 bionicle toys and 2 star wars transformers (slave one transforms into boba fett and advanced tie fighter transforms into darth vadar. how cool is t hat!). what he doesn't know is that i actually FOUND a copy of Star Wars Bounty Hunter for PS2, but because we were under a time crunch to meet his grandparents for dinner, i couldn't go get it. he knows i'm looking, but doens't know i've found it. i'll pick it up monday, and surprise him with it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIAM!

(someday i'll scan in a pic of my dad, and you'll see how much Liam is like him)

TTFN!

sp 11 contest

my hostess with the mostess, Robyn, is having a contest. we have to answer some questions, and who knows, maybe it will help my SP out!

1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?

my tape measure. i can figure everything else out, but it's hard to measure without it!

2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If so, how much and what type of project?

That's like asking if I take clothes. It's not a matter of do i take it, but more like, how much can i cram in my suitcase, and still have enough to suit every mood, to include startitis, and still have enough clothes (i've been known to use the kids' suitcases when they were smaller!). i guess that just answered the how much question, eh? as to what type? depends on what i'm working on! i usually don't take highly complicated things with, like shawls, but baby clothes, socks, hats, scarves, ponchos, the rest is all game, as long as i can fit the yarn and the pattern in. i also take yarn and patterns, and necessary needles to start new projects. (i have a bad, chronic case of startitis)

3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?

Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. I went 14 years ago, and am dying to go back. 2nd place would be depoe bay, oregon. i'm addicted to the ocean. (funny for a midwestern born-and-raised gal, eh?)

4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?

Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook. Yes, i do own it. I love it because it also combines another love of mine, spinning.

5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)? Yes, I do! However, I only listen to 2. I'd like to listen to more, but i'm an avid book tape listener, and there's only so many hours of the day i can be plugged in! My favorite is Lime & Violet (i am adminnie, actually, lol), but i do enjoy Cast On by Brenda Dayne (angels singing!)


6. If you could only knit with 1 color for the rest of your life, what color would that be?
A dusky royal blue. Not the eye searing type, but not navy, either. that has too much black in it. a true blue with a slight grey haze (like plum, only blue)

7. If you were far into a project and then noticed a mistake near the beginning what would you do?
It would depend on the error. If it was a huge, glaring thing that i just absolutely could not pass off as a design element, t hen i'd frog. however, if it wasn't, i just might pass it off as s uch. also depends on my frustration level with the project. if this is the first time? i might frog it. if not? the number of times i've already frogged is directly proportionate to the likelyhood of a refrogging.


8. Where is the most unsual spot you've ever knit?

In the dentist chair waiting to get numb (i've actually visualized myself knitting to get through some pretty stressful work on my back teeth (i have a small mouth (hush up, i heard that!))

Also, outside my car waiting for the tank to fill at the gas station. just run the yarn out the drivers' window and click away.


How's them apples?

i guess this is required

i'm supposed to post 4 time a month for the SP11.

i need to post more often anyway, lol.

What's on my needles.

whew! i'm still working on my sockpalooooza socks. it's a test knit, so i can't really show you a pic, but they're coming out lovely. I have 2 problems. 1- my pal's feet are much bigger than mine. my duck feet are saving me as far as the width, but i'm having to get assistance on the length. the other problem? i'm making these out of trekking xxl, which is 100 grams. i have one sock finished, and it weighs 50 grams. yikes! the good thing is i've been working on these exclusively for a week, and i'm into the gussets on the second sock. i ought to have them done soon. A funny story: I was skeining yarn @ miss V's, and while i waited for skeins to finish (once i finished my other work), i would knit on my sock. i'd set my bag on the sofa next to the table the skeiner was on, and my sock on the table. her older dog, shunka, jumped off the sofa when she heard the other dogs bark, got the sock wrapped around her neck, and strung the yarn all the way from the studio to the stairs! we both yelled at her to stop, which she did (thank god!). i have now been dubbed Adminnie of the Iron Knitting. not a stitch dropped! and the yarn was ok, too. that part scared me!

I'm working on a test knit for shannon okey, that is very interesting. working things out as i go, but it's coming along.

how embarassing is this? i'm having to check my ravelry account to see what i've got on the needles! (btw, my name is dragonknitter (imagine that!))

i'm making a black newborn wool soaker to send to Father's House. it's actually quite interesting, and i may make a few for some pregnant people i know.

MS3 is not progressing (see above about the sockpaloooooza sock). However, i did finally get past chart A, and am now into Chart B. (yes, that's still clue #1! hush! as long as it's done by christmas, i'll be fine!)

the spring socks are technically on the needles, except i broke one of my sock needles, and it gave one up for the sockpalooooza socks. i just bought some aluminum size 1's and 0's last weekend, so if i so feel it, i'll cast them back on all the way (it's a short row toe to start, and i only use 2 needles for that). however, i found another pattern that uses the panda cotton i am using, and i just may drop this one, and change patterns. we'll see.

the bereavement booties have been on hold for months. i need to find the needles and the yarn, and finish the last one, and send them off (they were only due in May!)

the baby surplice jacket went into time out when i lost the magazine. i recently found it, but i need the green yarn for a project miss v wants me to take on (i volunteered, lol!), so it will sleep on a bit longer.

i have a pair of mittens in my bag, that have sat idle for quite a while (since the Ratdog concert on July 20!). i've got too many irons in the fire.

there's another project i'm doing for miss v, but hopefully she doesn't mind while i finish up a few things, lol.

SEVEN DAYS LEFT TIL SCHOOL STARTS! gee, think i'm ready for them to go back?

Liam will be a freshman this year, and while i'm looking forward to it, it is a bit frightening. i've been able to put off letting him take the learner's permit test by telling him i want to see his first quarter grades before i'll let him, but that will only work for so long. Gah! that lunatic, driving? Lord help me. I did tell mark he could teach the boys, as i had taught both girls. he's cool with that. we've agreed that liam needs to learn in mark's truck, first, since it's a stick. he's going to take liam down to work and let him drive around in the parking lot (when we get that far).

liam is in marching band as well. those 2 a day practices were wearing me out! (yeah, i know, it was hard for him, too, but he's young!). he still has practice every tuesday night, and when school starts, he will have zero hour marching band, which means he will need to be at school by 705, which means we're getting up at 545. ugh. however, he's enjoying it as much as i am (i never got to play in band. in my day, you had to purchase your own instrument, and my folks were farmers. now the school will provide one if you don't have one. i bought liam's trombone, cuz i have the money. that way, someone else could play). and i'm a band mom! we had fittings last weekend, and the pants they gave him were too short. because the uniforms are $700, they don't allow them to leave the school, so i was nice, and helped out the hemming moms by doing liam's pants myself. i would have stayed and done more, but sean was s upposed to be mowing, and i had to get back.

i'll get a pic of him in his uniform (and his XL head! he said he wanted to get his hair cut to help that, but it won't, lol)

sean is going to be in the 8th grade, and is actually looking forward to going back to school. he is in resource (because of his adhd and ODD), and misses his teacher. Unless she's gone to another school, or left the system, she will have him again this year (he loves that!). it doesn't hurt that she's pretty (she's also my age, and "gets" sean, which is more than what i can say for his 6th grade teacher).

i intend on helping with knitting club again (if they have it at the middle school. sean was the only 7th grader last year, and he'd rather play video games in the library), and i intend on finding out who the sponsor is for knitting club at the high school, and seeing if he/she wants help, or just let me come and schmoooze, lol.


What I'm Reading
Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier (book tape in the house)
Sorcery & Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede (this book is wonderful! it's england in edwardian times, only with a magical twist, with letters being written back & forth between two cousins who have come of age. priceless!)
The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan (booktape in the car, maybe i'll finish it this time!)
Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky. technically, this is a book about a woman trying to find her roots after she bears a child with african american traits, even though she and her husband are both white. however, there's quite a bit of knitting in it (i didn't know this when i requested it, oh so long ago). i'm not very far into it, but it's definitely interesting!

and now, i must hie me to a bed. i gotta start going to bed earlier if we're going to be getting up that freaking early!

attention omaha knitters

for those of you who use the omaha public library system, i have apparently made a palace coup. I had been wanting to read several of EZ's books, but can't aways afford to purchase them myself, and the library didn't have any. NONE. so, the last time i went to the library, i asked how i could request the library purchase certain books. she showed me how, and i did so.

THEY HAVE THE BOOKS ON ORDER!

The Opinionated Knitter

The Knitter's Almanac

Knitting Without Tears (ok, i own this one, but no library should be without a basic book on knitting like this!)

i'm thrilled to death! the funny part? on the request form, they say if a book's copyright is more than 2 years old, to look into interlibrary loan. i put all 3 in anyway ( the almanac is copyrighted 1995 for its latest edition), and they got FIVE copies of the almanac! oh happy day!

baaaaaaaaaaaaad joke

Two Old-timers, Larry and Dean, met in the park every day to feed the pigeons, watch the squirrels and discuss world problems. One day Larry didn't show up.Dean didn't think much about it and figured maybe he had a cold orsomething.But after Larry hadn't shown up for a week or so, Dean really got worried.

However, since the only time they ever got together was at the park Dean didn't know where Larry lived, so he was unable to find out what had happened to him.A month had passed, and Dean figured he had seen the last of Larry.But one day, Dean approached the park and -- lo and behold there satLarry!Dean was very excited and happy to see him and told him so.

Then he said, 'For crying out loud Larry, what in the world happened to you?'

Larry replied, 'I have been in jail.

''Jail?' cried Dean. 'What in the world for?'

'Well,' Larry said, 'you know Judy, that cute little waitress at the coffee shop where we sometimes go?'

'Yeah,' said Dean, 'I remember her. What about her?'

'Well, one day she filed rape charges against me and, at 63 years old, I was so proud that when I got into court, I pleaded guilty.And ...the Judge gave me 30 days for perjury.'

sp 11 questionairre

i know, i know, i'm a slacker. but here it is!

SP11 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

i really don't have a preference. i do have one request, though. no acrylic. i don't mind blends, but i do a TON of charity knitting, and i have enough to float the titanic. i'm serious. i have reached SABLE with acrylic.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Well, it's kind of weird. I have a 3-drawer cart at my house that i keep needles in. however, we're living in my husband's house, and my storage there is vases and a sewing box my MIL gave me for christmas a few years ago.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting since i was 10, and i turned (mumbledy) one this spring, so that's 31 years. I've been crocheting for 36! i'm kind of an advanced intermediate, i suppose. i haven't steeked yet, although after reading the anniversary edition of vogue, i might try a v-neck. anything else is because i have chosen not to, not because i can't.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

yup! right here (you can skip the lego books, lol, those are for me to remember to get them for christmas for my legomaniacs)

5. What's your favorite scent?

i like sandalwood, vanilla, and anything sweetly floral, like jasmine. i do not like spice scents, as they make me sneeze ( i had bronchitis 10 years ago, and haven't been the same ever since)

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Duh! I like chocolate, and toffee, and butterscotch. anything rich & creamy. Dark chocolate is my fav, though. (and i'm a good girl and only eat 2 squares a night!)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I spin & crochet regularly. I can also embroider, quilt, and sew, but these are not my drugs crafts of choice.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

i have an entirely eclectic collection. my computer/stereo can play mp3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

my favorite colors are rainbow colors. i veer towards blue & deep/dusky purples, but i love bright, vibrant colors. (i just ordered 2 skeins of lorna's laces daffodil, if that's any indication, lol)

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

i have 3 boys (ages 13, 15, and 43) and 2 cats. i also have 2 older daughters, one who lives in my house with her roommate and her dog (jack russel terror terrier) .

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

hats, scarves & mittens. however, i need an extra large hat, as i have VERY long hair, and have to stuff it in a hat to keep my ears warm. i'm actually contemplating making myself a caliometry from knitty, to help that situation (my hair gets matted up if the hat is too tight)

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

baby clothes. again with the charity knitting, lol. anything small. i do like socks, but i don't wear them much (i'm a hippy that was born 20 years too late). anything that is a "challenge." i'm doing MS3 right now (very slowly, mind you!), and enjoying it.

13. What are you knitting right now?

my sockpalooooza socks in a pattern i can't name as it's a test knit.
another test knit for shannon okey.
MS3
a baby sweater
bereavement baby booties.
a wool soaker (for charity)
charity mittens
panda cotton socks for my SIL (she's allergic to wool, so this yarn is perfect!)

that's it, make me accountable! (i had to check ravelry, lol)

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

i like to receive handmade gifts, as so little i knit i keep for myself.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

i actually like straights. i'm odd t hat way. someone just gave me a whole boatload of old style aluminum needles, and i adore them (i apparently type the way i speak. i can't say aluminum, and i had to retype it twice!) i do like wooden needles, as well (most of my sock needles are wood of some sort). i'm not a big fan of plastic needles, though.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

i do own a swift, but not a yarn winder. i'm an odd duck. i like hand-winding yarn. i may even get myself a nostepinne (if you don't, lol!)

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

one that i'll go back to? my husband's sweater. he's 6'8" so it was a slog, but it's almost done. i just need to finish one sleeve, and sew it up. however, i was also making his mother a lapghan for her birthday, and he made me stop working on his sweater to finish it, and that was 3 years ago, sigh. (we weren't married yet at that point, either, lol. maybe that's why the curse didn't work, lol!)

one that i probably WON'T go back to? i crocheted an afghan for my younger daughter, and had to put it aside for a while. i started it 8 years ago. however, when i went back to work on it, it was full of holes. what the hell eats acrylic? i may just toss the whole shooting match out at this point, and get her to pick a different one.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween, by far. There's no pressure for gift giving, you get to be who ever you want, and you get to buy creepy stuff to scare people. (i'll have to take a pic of what i do this fall!)

19. Is there anything that you collect?

i collect dragons (imagine that!) and fairies. but not the cutesy type. real fairies and real dragons (yes, they are real, why do you ask?)

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

i have IK and Knit Simple (i'm going to let that one lapse, it's been lame since they changed it). I'd like Vogue Knitting, and InKnitters. It's hard to find InKnitters around here, but i love the technicality of it. i would love to have some Addi lace needles. i bought a set for the MS3, but they were too big (size 3), and since i coudln't afford to spend another $17 on needles, i had to take them back. i t hink i would just about adore any of Cookie's sock patterns, although twisted flowers turns my crank the most. (hush, E)

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

after knitting for 30+ years, there's not much i'd be interested in trying. there's so much info onthe internet, nowadays.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

yes, i am. i love getting socks, even if i dont' wear them much. i'm in sockpalooooza, lol. i wear a women's size 7 wide. my foot is 9" from heel to toe, and the ball of my foot measures 8". i like shorter socks, but not anklets ( i have fat calves, and taller socks just fall down, unless they're knee socks (and i'm not expecting anybody to knit me knee socks if i wont' knit them for myself!)

23. When is your birthday?

April 1 (hush)

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
yup! dragonknitter (duh!)

and an additional thing for y'all; i'm allergic to banana and watermelon, and really don't care for mint anything.

there! done did my duty!