Happy Spring!

Seriously?

I'm going to jail!

Best 419 Nigerian Scam EVER! Notice "James"  is a "Regional Director" but is based in Washington DC, not in my region. Also notice that "Agent Williams" seems to have been absent from his college English classes more than was good for him. And poly sci too, did you know we have a 1991 constitution? I have a feeling James Madison is spinning in his grave.

I'll write you all from jail....

 Federal Bureau of Investigation
                                      Intelligence Field Unit J. Edgar Hoover Building
                                        935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C.


    URGENT ATTENTION BENEFICIARY


    WE SINCERELY APOLOGIZED FOR SENDING YOU THIS SENSITIVE INFORMATION VIA E-MAIL INSTEAD OF A CERTIFIED MAIL, POST-MAIL, PHONE OR FACE TO FACE CONVERSATION, IT IS DUE TO THE URGENCY AND IMPORTANCE OF THE SECURITY INFORMATION OF OUR CITIZENRY, I AM SPECIAL AGENT JAMES WILLIAMS FROM THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) INTELLIGENCE UNIT, WE HAVE JUST INTERCEPTED AND CONFISCATED TWO (2) TRUNK BOX AT JFK AIRPORT IN NEW YORK, AND ARE ON THE VERGE OF MOVING IT TO OUR BUREAU HEAD QUARTERS.

    WE SCANNED THE SAID BOX, AND FOUND IT CONTAINS TOTAL SUM OF $4.1 MILLION AND ALSO BACKUP DOCUMENT WHICH BEARS YOUR NAME AS THE RECEIVER OF THE MONEY CONTAINED IN THE BOX, INVESTIGATIONS CARRIED OUT ON THE DIPLOMAT WHICH ACCOMPANIED THE BOX INTO UNITED STATES SAID HE WAS TO DELIVER THIS FUNDS TO YOUR RESIDENCE AS PAYMENT DUE YOU FROM THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AS UNPAID BENEFICIARY.

    WE CROSS-CHECKED ALL LEGAL DOCUMENTATION IN THE BOX, AND WERE ABOUT TO RELEASE THE CONSIGNMENT TO THE DIPLOMAT WHEN WE FOUND OUT THAT THE BOX WAS LACKING ONE VERY IMPORTANT DOCUMENT WHICH MAKES US CONFISCATE THE BOX.

    ACCORDING TO SECTION 229 SUBSECTION 31 OF THE 1991 CONSTITUTION IN MONEY LAUNDERING, YOUR CONSIGNMENT LACKS PROOF OF OWNERSHIP CERTIFICATE FROM THE JOINT TEAM OF THE IRS AND HOMELAND SECURITY, REPLY FOR DIRECTION ON HOW TO PROCURE THIS CERTIFICATE WHICH WILL ENABLE YOU RELIEVED OF THE CHARGES OF MONEY LAUNDERING WHICH IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENSE UNDER SECTION 12 SUBSECTION 441 OF CONSTITUTION ON MONEY LAUNDERING.

    YOU ARE REQUIRED TO REPLY THIS LETTER WITHIN 72HOURS, OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED, INTERROGATED AND PROSECUTED IN THE COURT OF LAW FOR MONEY LAUNDERING.

    ALSO, YOU MUST NOT CONTACT ANY OTHER BANK OR PERSON IN NIGERIA OR UNITED KINGDOM OR ANY PART OF THE WORLD FOR ANY PAYMENT, BECAUSE YOUR PAYMENT HAVE BEEN CONFISCATED BY THIS BUREAU HERE IN THE UNITED STATES..


    YOURS IN SERVICE
    AGENT JAMES WILLIAMS
    REGIONAL DIRECTOR

What a crazy ride.

So much has happened.

My DH retired at the end of the year with 25+ years of service to the PSU Veteran community. He never had time to get used to a different life and we lost his Dad. Dad was 94, but it was still unexpected. This was the man that I knit a new cap for every Christmas. He wore them constantly and he always had a supply. My sisters in law asked what they should do with the hats and I told them to donate them to a worthy charity. I'd like to know they are keeping someone, somewhere warm. So now the wrap up that accompanies this kind of death is what is occupying my DH. It is a tremendous amount of work.

Not three weeks later we lost my uncle. My Father's last surviving brother. It was really my last connection to my dad's family, and he was a big part of my childhood. It was a very great loss.

Both of these deaths required that we travel hundreds of miles in terrible weather and road conditions. Though we had a choice with my uncle, we, of course, did not with my father-in-law. Naturally, we are having the same horrible weather much of the east is having. Are you tired of hearing about it yet? I am. We're so weather weary, it is hard to describe.  I was looking at a woman in the elevator today, and she and I were both dressed in tired parkas, and boots that have seen too many days of muck and slush. We both looked like we'd been working in a barn. I think she was an attorney. And we're expecting more muck today. And because we live in "weather central" (Accuweather, home of the US National Weather Service, Penn State Meteorology) we know that the precipitation will start at exactly 11:15 am. How lucky are we? Sometimes I wonder if ignorance is truly bliss.

I continue to work to completely recover from my injuries of last year. It has been really slow going. But I CAN knit. I finished another Color Affection (photo pending), this one for me, and I'm now working on finishing a few UFOs, before I start a new project. Here is one of them. I call it Starry Night, but it is actually  Dainty Bess studded with crystal beads. I've hit the "black hole" of knitting. It is about 56 inches long (unblocked), but I'd like it to be about 70 (i.e., six feet). It is lace so it will need pretty aggressive blocking. I'm using one of my favorite yarns Madd Tosh Light in Graphite.

It seems I hit knitting black holes pretty frequently. Probably because I got so used to the fingerless mitts and the hats I knit for Christmas.

So I'm going to try and stay connected, now that, I think, the worst is over. I'd ask what else can happen, but I'm afraid I'll find out.