Update

Man 2 weeks and no post. Lots has happened but the biggest news is I got a job offer! I am just waiting for the background check to come through. As long as that checks out ( and I see no reason it shouldn't) I will be back to working full time by the end of October! I can not even tell you how happy I am about it. I have been looking for full time work for 3 months. The kids are happy for me. This means that the family budget will open up a bit with more money for movies and fun things. I think over the last 2 years the kids and I have done just about every free thing there is to do in town. I hope to take them to pick apples next weekend. I love to go pick my own apples and have taken the kids every fall, they love it too.

As for Knitting: My Gytha sweater body has to be frogged and reknit as it is too big and the gauge is off. My problem is I knit my swatch flat and the body is knit in the round. Opps. I'll pick it up again in 2010. I have been in gift knitting mode for the last few weeks. Hubby's birthday socks are almost done. Also done is 1 of 2 teacher gifts, Fil and GS both have new scarves coming and Mil&LtCol's blanket just need i cord edging.

I am working on a shawl for the kids school Holiday Auction. I will also be doing a Christmas stocking for the auction. GAH has made the family Christmas stockings since before I was born so I have never knit one before. Should be fun. If you would like to donate an item for the auction leave me a comment. All money from this event will go to buy another mobile computer lab for the school. Our gaol is a computer on every student desk so we need to raise a lot. The school has 2 portable labs and the computer lab so only 3 classes can use them at any one time. the more portable labs (class size group of laptops) the better. The auction will be all handmade items.

The rest of the holiday 09 knit list is not too bad. I have a few hats to do and a cowl for someone Hubby works with. Not too bad at all.

This new job means I will need a new wardrobe. I have not had to wear anything but jeans and t shirts for the last 10 years so I need to go out and buy a few things. So all shop items are still on sale!

City update and socks!

pay no mind to my lilly white legs. Yarn here is my new BoboSocks base (not in shop yet) colorway: Punk. Love them. These are mine all mine!

So after I called the city about the letter and got no help I talked to the inspector who sent the letter and he could not tell me what we needed to fix. He said he would have to come back out and check again because he does not keep notes he just writes down the address and send out a letter. So he cam back out and checked. He called us back to say we took care of it already. I have not touched a thing in the yard this whole week. Who knows maybe he had the wrong address. What really has me mad is they wanted me to file an appeal and pay a fee to do so. No way I am going to pay anybody anything for their screw up. If you get one of these letters from the city please make sure they have the right house before you pay anything. This feels very scammy to me. I wonder how many people pay for an appeal they don't need?

In other news: MB and I went on a field trip with Bunky's class yesterday. MB was great all day and most of the 2nd graders were nice kids. I did hear one kid tell her teacher to F you. I could not believe it. I have met this kids Mom before when Bunky had her birthday party 2 years. I told the Mom this child is not welcome in my house. She mouthed off to me and tried to stick her gum in Winston's tail. She also hit MB while at the party. The Mom tells me that she just can't control the kid. All I know is if I had done something like that my folks would have killed me.

AI: So I thought Adam should have won, Kris is good just not as good imo. I have read alot about how people did not want him to win because he may be gay. Is it really ok to be a bigot if you only hate gay people? Come on people this is the USA remember? All men are equal. Not all straight people. It seems to me that it has become fashionable to hate gays now. Seems dumb to me. What really has me pissed is the Don't ask Don't tell thing. Have you heard about LT Dan Choi? served 2 tours in Iraq and wants to go back an expert in middle eastern languages, kicked out because he is gay. The men he serves with want him to stay. Obama better fix this. He made that promise and it is one of the reasons I got on the Obama Band Wagon. If we really believe in equal rights for all this needs to be done soon. and no separate is not equal. Lt Choi is just one case out of many, I have a friend who was dismissed this way and it almost killed him.

One more thing before I jump off the soap box: people in the public eye need to remember this thing we have now called video tape. See it records what you say and plays it back for the world to see. We can tell when you are lying and when you flip on something. We can review the tape. It would be wise to remember this fact.

Wow! What a World

the Iowa Supreme Court today struck down the state ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional! This opens the door for gay marriage here in the Midwest! I still don't understand how some people can be against equal rights for all. This is the USA we treat everyone the same. Or at least we should. How can people say that letting same sex couples marry devalues my marriage? It has no effect on my marriage at all. Or any ones marriage for that matter. We can not be a country of equal rights for some and not for others. I don't want to explain to my kids why some people are treated differently, and I should not have to. "...that all men are created equal" and ..."liberty and justice for all" are not just nice words, they are the very backbone of our country. The reason so many want to come live here. Today Iowa took a small step in reaching this ideal. Let all hope the rest of the country catches up soon.

Next: What is the big deal if the Queen of England wants to give our first lady a half hug in public? Come on people...20 world leaders in one room and this is what we are talking about?
Did you see Mrs Obama with the school girls? I thought for a minute it was the Jonas Brothers or something. What a great example for young girls today. Here is a woman who came from nothing and is now a role model for girls and Women all over the world. I bet her kids are proud. I am sure Mr Obama is smart enough to know how lucky he is.

1%

Will someone please explain to me why we are all moaning over 1% of the money the government has given AiG? I get that the bonus thing was a boneheaded move on their part but come on people! it is less than 1% of what we gave them! I would like to see what they have done with the other 180 billion dollars!

Yesterday the First Lady broke ground on a new garden for the White House. This garden will feed the Obama's and everyone else at the White House. How cool is that? I have to tell you I really do like her. I think in the end she will turn out to be as loved as Jackie O or Eleanor Roosevelt. She makes a great role model. It is interesting how we as a country love our First Ladies. No matter what their Husbands do. I wonder what will happen when we have a First... what First Man? First Husband? Just as long as we don't call him the First Dude.

In a Rut

I was knitting along on blanket squares the other day and found myself bored to death with everything I am knitting. Just blah about the whole thing but knitting on anyway. I think I will do a little stash diving today and see if I can find something to keep me interested.

We have had 2 afternoons in a row of 50 degree weather. MB and I have been playing outside and now I have a cold. Not too bad just enough to have to blow my nose a million times a day and make me feel again blah.

I have been paying attention to Congress and the rescue/bailout/spend crazy amounts of money thing is really driving me nuts. We all remember the election. We know who won and who lost. I hate this party line fighting that seem to be going on right now. The GOP with help from my own party messed things up pretty bad and Congress seem more interested in bickering. Do they know that they are making things worse every day?

In brighter news: There is a chance that Hubby and I will get to do a show together. It won't be until summer 2010 but it is a show we haw been wanting to do for a while now. I can't saw what show just yet but trust me it will be killer! We are waiting for approval from the board of the theatre. I will say there will be lots of really fun stuff with this one. I can not wait. I love to figure out how to stage things or build a really strange prop and I will have a lot of that kind of thing with this one.

Just can't keep my mouth shut

I just wouldn't be me if I didn't comment on whats going on in the world lately.

The governor of my home state, the great state of Illinois is a schmuck and needs to go. Selling the Senate seat aside the schmuck withheld funds from a children hospital until he get campaign money from members of its board. What an ass. he needs to go.

I really hope the press is done following the Obama kids around. Poor things, it has got to be hard enough for them without 800 cameras in their face everywhere they go. Leave them alone!

Larry Flint wants a government bailout for the pron industry. Em really? I think the Internet has hurt porn more than the bad economy. Why pay for something you can get for free?

The congress needs to work together and get the country moving and spending again. I don't understand why some folks there don't want to spend money on building new roads and such. Don't we need those?

Sarah Palin needs to shut up! It is not Katie Courics fault she looked like an ass in her interviews. Maybe if she were smarter (or came across as smarter) I would feel sorry for her. And it is not wrong for the media to report things that are true. Your daughter is a high school dropout and so is her boyfriend. I don't mean this as an insult, its the truth.

Dick Chenny is a creep and I will be happy to see him as far from the seat of power as he can get. You helped get us into a war we have no business fighting Mr VP. I for one think you should pay for that. Oh and just because you say everything you did as VP was legal does not make it so.

This new war in Gaza is a mess. We westerners need to understand that this has been going on for hundreds of years. I just don't think I will ever see peace there. Both sides have a very good point but religion is the problem here. If we all just believed what the druids believed. Namely that all Gods are one God the world would be a better place.

11 days from now GWB will be out of office. I for one hope he fades from public life and I never have to see him again. I am afraid if I ever did meet him face to face all I would be able to do is spit in his eye.

Felt good to get all that off my chest. I promise my next post will be all about the knitting.

Updates

I have been in a bit of a funk since the new year started. I am still knitting away on my Gansey socks and working on squares for a blanket. The blanket is made from my sock yarn leftovers so that is a long term project. i figure socks will wear out at some point so the blanket will serve as a reminder of beautiful yarns long since gone. I just have not really felt like knitting anything but socks lately. I'm sure I will snap out of it soon enough.
Bunky went back to school today. She was not really happy about getting up early this morning. I am sure she will be happy to see her friends again. No one called her over the Holidays and her calls went unanswered. Now that break is over I am sure things will pick up again. Monkey Boy is happy to have Mom to himself again.

In other news: Future, a wonderful Yellow Lab who was my Mom first Guide dog passed away yesterday. She had been GAL's dog since she retired from guide work a few years ago. It was her time. She was over 100 (in dog years of course) and had a very full life. She was much loved by all of us and will be missed. Mom got Future right after I got married and I will be forever greatful. She was a good friend to Mom and GAL. I remember when Bunky was a baby Future would sit at the top of the stairs so the little one could not tumble down them. She seemed to understand Bunky was a baby and made it her mission to check out every person who came to the house before letting them near the baby. She was also fond of licking Bunky's toes. Bunky loved this. I will miss her. I am sure Moms current guide Jan will miss her buddy. We all love Jan just as much as Future, But Future will always be special as she was Moms first guide. Just knowing Mom has Jan with her all the time makes me feel better. In honor of Future here are a few tidbits to remember if you ever encounter a guide dog.
It is important not to pet a guide when they are working. Most of the time they will not really respond to you because they are working. If you would like to pet always ask the person first. Remember the guide has a job to do and can't do it if they are distracted.
Most guide dog owners are happy to answer questions about their guide. Mom loves to tell people about Jan.
Never offer a guide dog a treat or people food. They are on a strict diet.
A guide dog can go anywhere you can go, on a plane, in a store anywhere. The Americans with Disabilities Act allows for this.
One more thing. If you go out to eat with a guide dog in tow you will likely receive wonderful service. Nothing like a big friendly dog to make the wait staff extra attentive.

Goodbye Future, you will be missed by many. We love you.

A Very Merry

Bunky got her Easy bake Oven. She is very happy.
Monkey Boy got his Gorilla Island. It took Mommy 45 minuets to get it out to the box.

A little alpaca for my tree. I love him.

Before the unwrapping.

It is turning into a very Merry Christmas here indeed. I wish all of you and all of yours a Very Merry Christmas!

Baby its cold outside!

Man its cold here. -5f when I got up this morning. I don't even want to see the heating bill! Bunky is on winter break for the next two weeks. I hope this does not mean 2 weeks of fighting with her brother. Monkey boy keeps talking about "when I go to school" I am glad he is looking forward to it.

An old friend asked for some fingerless mitts for her 2 girls. I have one pair done. The other will have to wait for after christmas. Half way through the foot of Ribbon Candy #2. I adore them.

I was looking back at the knitting goals from last year. I did not knit myself a sweater. I did knit 10 pairs of socks, 6 scarves, 6 cowls, 2 blankets, and I don't remember how many hats this year I think I did ok.

What do I want to knit in 2009? Well more socks for sure. I love knitting socks. I take them everywhere.

At least one blanket. A cozy knit blanket would be perfect for MIL and the LtCol. It would be for the condo so I would get to enjoy it too. I have a few ideas.

A 2nd blanket for my folks. It gets darn cold in Chicago this time of year. These would both be Christmas gifts next year. I like to plan ahead.

Fair Isle hats. I love these. Everyone who sees Hubbys pirate hat wants one. I have been collecting wool for these all year. I have lots of patterns picked out for these. I like to get a bunch done.

Not a huge list and lots of room for add ons. Just the way I like it.

Update

I got Hubby's 2 hats done on Friday. They were a big hit. I had told him 12 was out of the question but 2 I could do. I forgot to get a photo before wrapping them up for him. I am working the heel of the 2nd Ribbon candy sock now. Should be done in time for Christmas morning.

We are getting more snow today. That is on top of the 2" of ice and snow from the night before. Yeah for a White Christmas! I like to have a little snow for Christmas. After that I want it to go away! For some reason Nebraska sucks at snow removal. You would think we would be better at it but no, the plows don't go out till it is done coming down. It takes them forever to get the side streets done. Come on people! It's not like this is our first time. We get snow every year! Did we not learn anything from last year?

I was done...

So last night Hubby asked me if I had any knit hats he could give to his co workers. "no" says I
"Well can't you just whip some up?" Says he.
"I guess I could if I have the right yarn what color do you want?" I ask
"I don't know whatever I guess"
"What type of hat are we talking about here?
" I don't know"
"How many do you need?"
" Well at least two, maybe a dozen if you can do that..."
At this point I am wondering if He thinks I can just pull hand knits out of my butt.
"But I was done!" I lament "ok but next time could I have a little more warning?"
" Well scarves would be nice for next year..."
Smart Ass
Guess what I am doing today?

World Aids Day

Today is World Aids day. Have you been tested? I lost a dear friend in college to Aids. This was in the early 90's. The next year the Aids quilt came to my school. I was lucky enough to get to be a part of the unfolding ceremony. I remember being very moved by the quilt. Each piece made to remember a life lost too soon. Each with a story to tell. I remember crying my eyes out for people I had never met and some I had know well. I remember seeing the square for Ryan White, the young boy from Indiana who got Aids from tainted blood given to him in a hospital, I wept openly along with everyone else. I saw a square for Freddie Mercury of Queen, I cried some more. I remember just sitting there on the floor trying to take it all in, thinking this was one of the moments that would shape my life. My friend and I were tested the next day. We had to wait weeks for the results in those days. For some of us the wait was easy, we knew we were not at risk, for others it was a very long wait. For myself and most of the rest of us it was good news, for others the quilt would grow.
Please if you are not sure, get tested. It is easy and the wait is not so long now.

What does the sun look like again?

Still no sun here. I can handle the cold but a little sunshine would be nice.
Yesterday Hubby came home early and told me I had a flat tire. No way I had just been driving and it was fine. Well sure enough I hit a screw in the driveway and the tire was flat as could be. The nice dude at Wal-mart said He thought it could be fixed but the screw was too close to the side wall and store policy won't allow him to fix it. Then he says he does not have the right tire in stock and I will need to buy 4 new tires. Yeah right buddy. I told him to forget it and left. I am sure he thought he could get me to buy new tires I don't need. Oh yeah Good times! Hubby says he will take is somewhere to get it fixed.

In knitting news: I had to rip back my February lady sweater. I found a mistake that I just couldn't live with so I will start again after the holiday.

In shop news: there is not much, The merino worsted is soaking. I have not had any sales in a while. I blame this on the bad news about the economy we see every night. No one is buying anything right now. and everyone is hurting. I hope the Government people stop messing around and fix something so people stop losing jobs. GWB seems to be an empty suit now. Counting the days until he can go back to Texas. It can't happen soon enough for me, Maybe Obama can get something done.

Silly Season Poltics

I just feel the need to comment on the latest political news. $150,000.00 for clothes for the Sarah Palin? At a time when 95% of American families are hurting? Bad move RNC. And Obama is the elitist? Yeah right.
I can not wait for this election to be over. I sure hope my team wins. I worry about what will happen if they don't.

updates

The cops are now driving past my house every hour or so. I am glad they are watching, those people make me nervous.

The babysitting scammer had the balls to send me another e-mail asking me to hurry and send my info. I have reported them to everyone I could find including Craig's list and g-mail. I am tempted to write back and ask them just how dumb they think I am.

Knitting: Dad's 2nd sock was almost done until I realized I had made the leg 10 rows longer than the 1st sock. Duh Sandy maybe you should learn how to count. Lucky for me the yarn holds up to frogging well. I will re knit the heel tonight. I finished another of the gift hats too. I put the Red Lady sweater on hold till I get the gift knitting done. I will not fall into the late night Christmas eve knitting like last year.

Bad Boys Bad Boys

There has been drama at the park behind the house latley. 2 Drug busts. I have suspected for a while that the people 2 houses down were selling hard drugs. There are always (and I do mean all the time) cars parked in front of the house with people waiting in them. Someone comes out of the house, talkes to whoever is in the car and goes back inside. Then someelse comes out leans in the car and the car leaves. After watching The Wire. I know this is done to keep the $$ and the product apart. The gal who lives next door to us said Vice visited her and asked her to write down plate numbers and such so I know the cops know something is still going on. Last night someone was honking their horn at 4:00 am. I looked out my window and am pretty sure I saw a deal going down. I am not at all happy about this going on so close to my house and my kids. I have not seen the cops raid the house but I feel that must be coming. I have also seen the cops digging through trash cans at the park. Needless to say I do not let the kids go to the park by them selves. they have to walk right by the house in question to get there. I am also pretty sure they know we all know what is up but I have not said anything. I really don't want any trouble. There are lots of little kids around here so I hope the cops get this delt with sooner rather than later.

September, 11

As a kid I remember grown ups telling me they remember where they were and what they were doing when they found out JFK had been killed. I have had my share of these moments in my life. September,11,2001 is one of those days. I left work early that day, worried that buildings in my hometown of Chicago would be next. I also remember thinking we would get Bin Laden for sure this time. I remember thinking that the day was a game changer, never would life in America be the same.but I had no idea the cost to our society would be so high. I had no idea that civil liberties and basic human rights would be thrown out. I had no idea people would use the memory of that day to try to make us live in fear.
I hope today we all remember the fallen, and the brave Men and Women who answered the call. Let it be a day of remembrance not a day of fear. Let us remember that we all came together that day as one people, united to say we will not live in fear, we will not change the things we believe in, We will not change who we are. We are all Americans. We are all citizens of the world.

Me time

With the MK's and Hubby gone most of the weekend I have had a bit of me time on my hands. I managed to finish a sock and start the 2nd, make 50 pots of lip balm and watch 3 movies. The family is due back this afternoon. I enjoy the Me time but after a day or so I start to wonder what to do with myself. Winston seems to be out of sorts with the kids gone. He spent most of yesterday on MG's bed wondering where she was. Poor guy.

I feel the need to say something about John McCain's choice of VP. You will remember I was/am a Hillary person. I wanted to vote for her because of her policy not her gender. I find it insulting that the GOP pundits think that HRC voters will vote for them because of this woman. Palins policy views could not be further from HRC's. She is pro life,pro gun, pro drilling, and thinks we should teach creationism in schools rather than science. I can not see how any of these facts would draw HRC voters. Come on GOP. Do you think I am that dumb? Do you think I will vote for one of my own gender just because we are both women? Yes I want to see a woman in the white house but not just any woman. The right woman.

I want my little girl to grow up knowing that she can be anything she wants and will be treated the same as any man. I feel that we have a chance to make a better America for our children. Obama and Biden will fight for us. For health care, for education, for green energy, for American jobs and for Peace. I really feel Obama has a chance to restore Americas place in the world. I want to live in the America Obama talked about last week in Denver. I want to run screaming from the America McCain offers. He won't even promise to take care of the Veterans who serve our country bravely and without question. If McCain won't even take care of his own comrades in arms who will he fight for? Big oil and the rich? Sorry Mr McCain, not good enough. Not even close.

Sometimes thats how it is

Hubby's Grandma passed away yesterday. I had only met her a few times but she was a kind and sweet lady. We are not sure Hubby will make it to Indiana for the services. We just have too many bills to pay right now to spend $200.00 extra on gas.
I would not be able to go anyway because I had my first daycare client start this morning. Before and after school 2-3 days a week. The kids are great. 3rd grade girl and a boy in kindergarten. We will see how this evening goes but so far so good. Now I just need 1 or 2 full time kids and we might just get our bills paid after all. I am hoping getting the first will get the ball rolling.

I am also putting in time at Miss Violets trying to get the yarn skeined so we can dye this weekend. It is a huge order. Should be fun. I am also working on a new column for the chum. Should be up soon.

I hope to have my own line ready for the end of September, very excited about it.

Thats is for today. Maybe knitting tommrow...

Stuff

Here is a shot from the shores of Lake Granby from our last trip to the Rockies. I just love this picture.

Anyway, I am mostly gift knitting right now and can not post pictures of most of what is otn. I am knitting a new poncho for MG for school. She has gotten a bit taller this year. I have seen a lot of knit ponchos in the kid ads this year. Funny how some things just keep coming back. Pictures of that soon. I hope to finish it during the women's gymnastic team event tonight.

Speaking of the Olympics. Have you been watching? Did you see the opening? Lighting design has come a loooong way. That 500' LED floor screen was unreal. I know a bit about how that stuff is made and how it is controlled. The lighting on the whole was fantastic. What drew me to theatrical lighting was the fact that I can paint with light. I can create a time and place from nothing. I have been playing with this idea in my yarns lately.

Which brings me to the shop. I am going to put all the Hitchhikers Guide colorways on sale for 15% off starting tomorrow morning. I am going to edit all the prices today to make it easy on myself. I will post a link when the sale starts. Also new any order of $50.00 gets free shipping.

And now my time is up. I need to get the kids out for a bit.