Not So Short and Definitely Not Sweet...

...I had a post nearly ready about 10 days ago. I can't believe how long it has been since I connected with the innernuts. But I deleted it. So I'm just going to summarize. The clue phone is ringing Mr. O. and surprise, IT'S FOR YOU! Keynesian economics is a theory, and apparently, a lousy one. So far, there is not ONE example where it has panned out in the long term....ask the USSR, how about France, maybe Greece, I could go on. I'd have lots more respect if the idiots who are advising this administration, most of whom are faculty with tenure, said, oopsy, not working, let's move on. Sigh.

So a few short hits:

• Tomorrow my age and the speed limit ( the lower one) will match. That's not so bad, except for the above dilemma. Age to retirement is decreasing rapidly. (And I once had a fantasy of retiring at 59.....fantasy is right.)

• About 10 weeks ago I started to run (C25K) and can now ALMOST make it 20 minutes without stopping. For those counting that is week 5 in a nine week program. I just keep rerunning the same weeks until I can do it without falling down dead afterward. That is a real accomplishment for me. And better yet, the owner of Rapid Transit Sports here in town fitted me with running shoes that have mostly mitigated my heel pain. I must stop in and tell him so. (He also told me I shouldn't be running, but walking, but let's split the difference and call it trotting.)

• I was compelled to do something drastic (for me) because I know my age, genetics, and physical condition, are going to catch up with me SOON. I don't have much disease in my family, but I figure err to the side of best advantage. And if you think I'm shedding weight like feathers....think again. I've not lost a pound (bad). But I sleep better (good).

• Santiago Rodriguez, a phenom, which is not nearly descriptive enough, gives me chills every time I hear him play (piano). He looks a little like Count Dracula, but plays like .... sheesh, I don't even have a good description. He specializes in Grieg, and Rachmaninov so he's no shrinking violet. If you are a classical music fan at all, listen to one of his performances. You will NOT be sorry.

• The only thing I feel like knitting is the loony Parcheesi blanket. I don't know why. I need to move on soon, as I have no Christmas knitting in the pipeline. But it was so easy to carry around with me. I have no current photos, but I'll try to get some over the weekend.

• I will not be going anywhere on my birthday. I'm not dumb. It is Arrival Weekend here in HV and we will be lousy with students, parents, and tourists by noon today (Friday). I'm thinking that driving to a state park and hiking to the top of the mountain, might be a good option.

• I am conflicted over Marcellus Shale drilling. But that's another post.

I leave you with a "rain approaching" photo of Pine Creek:

Two Mysteries.

Mystery One:

The photo of the finished Summer Mystery Shawlette (Rav Link)

I used my first shipment from Foxfire Sheep Shares.

This is Flock Sock in Marigold. I used a touch more than a skein and a half. It is about 48 x 29 and I probably could have blocked it more aggressively.

This was lots of fun to knit and I needed (read: was compelled to) to download the second clue while I was in Atlanta because I wanted to knit it on the plane. It was a fun and easy knit. And I'm not usually a KAL kinda gal. (I may even make another!)

I ordered two skeins of this in natural to make another Cable Crossings hat. I'm so glad I did. I really loved working with this yarn.




Mystery Two:

Why would you keep this as the name of your law firm?

Click to enlarge.

I've even seen this firm advertised on bus benches.

Seriously!!

(ETA: I thought the dumpster added to the ambiance.)

What were they thinking?

And what didn't you understand about sending digital photos into the "wilds" of the internet?
And what made you think that someone who used inflammatory rhetoric as part of his schtick wouldn't be a target even for the most benign images?
And are you just a garden variety idiot? Never mind don't answer that ...rhetorical question.

Clearly, some twits shouldn't tweet.




Holy crow!!

With your multi-millions, you had to use campaign funds to hide your chicka?
How did the fact that this is a crime, escape your steel-trap legal mind?
I particularly like the addition of getting your staffer to lie for you.

I have no words.....Yes, I do. One. Slimy.....





And then there's my mom who's equating Christie flying to his son's ballgame with misappropriating campaign funds...ummm, one is stupid, but not a crime. The other is a criminal offense...... Yea, they're equivalent all right.

So I lied,,,

Pictures today.

First things first, trip to Atlanta went well. Between forty and fifty folks attended my session (and there were nine other sessions at the same time) and NO ONE left, even though it was right before lunch.....Also, I didn't get tarred and feathered, which I half expected. In addition, I was given, what I considered a prime slot, the second time session the first morning (Saturday).

When I arrived on Friday evening, it was around....oh...90 degrees and there was a big bright thing in the sky. Looked vaguely familiar, but it had been so long since we'd seen anything like that in the sky in Central PA, I couldn't be sure. As if Atlanta knew I was coming, the aquarium, which usually closes at 5:00 pm (on a Friday! How dumb is that?) was open until 10:00 pm and had jazz in their atrium! It was about 6 blocks or so from the hotel, I was a assured it was a "safe" walk for a lone woman, so I went.




I guess I could have taken a pumpkin coach, but my name is Cindy not Cinderella.









The music was excellent, and I made many new friends:

Meet Ms. Grouper. Holy hell she was enormous!!
I wish this lousy cell phone photo could convey the size of this creature.

They have a window viewing tank, like many aquariums, but I've never seen fish get this close, and be so large. I tried to get a photo of the whale shark (about 60 feet long) and a graceful ray (they had a whole school of them) but I just wasn't lucky.







This "ocean" has a tunnel built right in. This is what I dubbed the "tunnel o'fish". The gentleman you see to the left is an aquarium volunteer, that has all the statistics, facts, and trivia about the animals at his fingertips.....He even knows the NAMES of the larger fish, like Fred and Stacy, (and can identify, male and female). Maybe he needs a life, but I'm glad he was nearby.









This is a freshwater rock eel. I don't know anything about him except that he has a face only a mother can love. Looks like he's having a bad day too.











On Sunday, after the conference wrap up, I found ONE yarn store that was open on Sunday afternoon, and with the help of Andre the concierge, got on a bus, and rode about 5 miles to the Needle Nook. The bus driver was very helpful in giving me a head's up when we were coming to the correct area, and lo and behold there it was in a little shopping center. Needle Nook has wonderful yarns (Malabrigo, Bamboo, Noro, all the Cascades, too many for me to remember), a wide variety of bags, needles, books, notions, jewelry and what not. And you wouldn't know it from the outside. From the outside, it looks like a garden variety shopping center craft store. Another unusual attribute is that the person running the store that day was a middle age gentleman (the owner is Arlene who I corresponded with briefly), and there was another middle age gentleman already there knitting a fair isle (or entrelac, I couldn't tell) chula hat. A lovely chula hat with llamas or alpacas dancing around it. I spent a fine hour deciding what I could fit in my carry on, which was my only concern (I brought a space bag with me - be prepared, and I'm not even a girl scout). The one disconcerting moment came when I was trying to decide on a color of Malabrigo Silky Merino for the Drifting Pleats scarf I've always wanted to knit, and two women joined me at the yarn rack. They smelled...no stank...of cigarette smoke. It was totally off putting and gag inducing. And I've never been known for a weak stomach. In desperation I wandered away but they were there for more than 10 minutes, chatting about the relative merits of lace weight......not Silky Merino (DK). I'm sorry if I'm insulting smokers, but criminy...you should know that you can't keep smoking a secret.

After the smokers left, and I made my decisions and retreated to Starbucks(!) which was a short hop across the parking lot, had a cold frapp (it was 90 degrees again), and knit for about an hour uninterrupted. Is there a better configuration - a yarn store AND a Starbucks? Except for the 90 degrees (which really felt like 90, unlike Denver, Atlanta has no shortage of humidity. Ask my hair!) It was then I caught a bus back from whence I came, meeting another nice bus driver, and getting to the hotel in time to have dinner with excellent sangria.

So here's my haul:


The red, which isn't this red, is Silky Merino for Drifting Pleats, and a light green Sublime Extra Fine Merino for the Victoriana Scarflette (please don't ask why that pattern appeals to me, no idea). And, yes, that is a Laurel Burch bag in the background - a little one. And yes, it fit in my carry on.

I'm kinda glad I had a limit. I could have done some REAL damage.



Soon, some process photos.....sorry nothing finished. I can only wish.

Still here.....

.... barely. I've had the month from hell. With the end of the semester, my workload exploded. Usually this is the time of year, when we slow down; town gets semi-quiet, we stop and catch our respective breaths. Instead:

There were grant proposals to review, I am PRESENTING at a conference in Atlanta this weekend. My title "What does your syllabus say about you?", a workshop I can do in my sleep, however, I've had to crank it up to the next level. So now I'm worried. Probably don't need to be but .... I'm working on a "course" with two other folks and I'm disappointed in the progress. I was tasked with the last session on Tuesday, the day after I get back from Atlanta. So EVERYTHING has to be ready by TOMORROW. Sigh. It's been a forever and a day long month. I may collapse on Wednesday.

Still knitting...one. more. Leyburn. sock. My left sock is languishing. Parcheesi blanket seems to be my favorite knit when I can't sleep, can't read, and am exhausted. I've started Wendy's KAL Mystery Summer Shawlette with my Sheep Shares Cormo Flock Sock in Marigold. I really love it. I'm thinking I'll take the sock and the KAL with me to Atlanta. I'm hoping to go on a yarn crawl on Sunday. Pictures maybe tomorrow.......

Some things I think, I think ....

So, Sunday evening I'm waiting for DH to meander downstairs so we can watch the last installment of Upstairs, Downstairs (as an aside I'm not sure what the fuss is all about...it's OK, but maybe I'm not "highbrow enough), I'm flipping through the channels, and settle on my buddy Geraldo on Fox News. (I have a soft spot for Geraldo, has to do with my late dad, and it started in the 70's.) It's his usual show, but he's waiting for the president to make an announcement...This is about 10:27 pm..

G: We're waiting for a statement from the White House and we're speculating that it has to do with the fact that Quaddafi's house was bombed by NATO today, and he may be dead or injured.

More time killing chatter interrupted by Geraldo clearly listening to something on his earpiece.

G: My producer was just saying that wouldn't it be interesting if this has something to do with Bin Laden...... at this Geraldo brightens VISIBLY and begins to wax poetic about how great that would be. (He was one of the first press people into Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11. And possibly one of the first to be tossed out on his ear....but I digress.)

10:35 pm (5 minutes past press conference time)
G: Another pause where he is clearly listening to his producer even saying..."Can you repeat that?" Then We've just been told, UBL has been killed by US forces in a house in Pakistan. UBL is dead! Can we confirm it? Yes? Now it is confirmed.

I took this time to flip around the channels and NONE of the other channels (I admit, I forgot to check CNN!) were broadcasting this. By sheer dumb luck Geraldo scooped the competition. Funny how that happens. Then we watched the last of Up/Dn.

So why is this important? I'm fine with the op as it unfolded, I'm delighted we won't have to talk about it anymore (soon I hope), I love the ignominy of a sea burial (whoever suggested that should get a raise), kudos to all the covert ops, the presidents, CIAers etc. Do I worry that it will incite more violence? Nope! Why? Because there is nothing we could do, or not, that won't. The jihadists, do not need an excuse. And if they want to they'll find one. Instead of sleeping with the fishes and Big Pussy, they think UBL is communing with a retinue of virgins (with horns, hooves, and big man parts, I hope), and hope they will eventually do the same.

I was, however, a little put off, or more correctly mystified, by the "celebrations" in the streets. Something doesn't sit well with me. Though the context is completely different, it reminded me a little of the dancing in the Gaza streets, when 9/11 happened. There was no celebration when McVeigh was executed, or Ted Bundy, both monsters in their own right. I'm working on this.

Never did find out what happened with Moammar......

Hey...Maybe I should write a posting???

Ya, think?

Lately I've found myself wondering why most of my online "friends" have absconded to Facebook and Twitter. I run through all my blog links (I've never done the RSS thing. Don't know why.) and am bereft when no one is posting. Well, yeah, I kinda get it. You only need two minutes to post a poorly spelled 140 character posting. And if you're a perfectionist (NOT!) then writing a blog posting can be an arduous task. Yeah, I get it. But I live in an academic world, and I've drunk enough of the kool aid to be wordy--to like whole thought through ideas. I even like to read things I may not agree with. S'Ok with me. Then I had a revelation...ummm maybe I should write something. Since I've not posted since...gulp...3/31!

Yeah, it's been a busy spring. And I've got a MAJOR ongoing project that will take me through the summer into September. My hairdresser/colorist is going to have her work cut out for her. Srsly!

Then there are the little "things". Gas prices [today] verging on $4/gal. The University declining to give cost of living increases for the second time in 3 years. You can't blame them really. The governor, who I can't blame either, is trying to balance the balance the state budget and has proposed cutting appropriation to state related institutions by 50%. That's a lot! So even though, as an institution, we are running pretty lean, some offices are still at risk for being collapsed. We won't know for about a month. Then that is only for the next fiscal year. Sigh. Hard to plan around that. And with gas prices, we are curtailing our personal travel, even though we have [elderly] family at either end of the state. The only bright spot is that everything here is less than 10 miles away from anywhere else, and we can get away with one vehicle and travel 10 miles or less on a "normal" day. Even with necessary "errands" we don't have to drive very much. How different it would be if I were living in the burbs and working at Pitt! So thank goodness for small mercies.

I'm still knitting away, though. Not really exciting stuff. I finally finished ONE of my Leyburn Socks, after many tweaks. Now I have to try and understand my notes and make the other one similar.

Here's the Bead Knitted Bracelet. I taught this class recently at my LYS and it was so popular that they turned people away....so wash, rinse, repeat. I'll be teaching the knitted bracelet class in June, and a crocheted bangle in July...... They're fun because when the participants walk out...they have a piece of jewelry. No washing, no blocking, no weaving in ends...how great is that? The crocheted bangle will be tougher to teach. It is a tricky technique, especially getting started. After about row three, though, it gets easier. I have a few tricks that I can share so we'll see how it goes.

I'm scheduled to give a presentation at a national conference in Atlanta next month, and even though I can do a variation of my presentation in my sleep, I'm beginning to panic. I'm in faculty development/programming (i.e., a performance artist) so this SHOULD be a slide on ice. Which we'll probably have tomorrow, since it's 75 and thunderstorming at the moment.

Anyway, anyone know of any good yarn stores near downtown Atlanta?

Finito!

A Little Jazz

Fiesta Baby Boom in Spring Chill
< 1 skein (by choice)

#5 harmony circs.

LOVE. IT.

My ruffle is not as ruffley as it might be, but, oh well. Too bad.

I ...

garter stitch....



I've never been a garter stitch fan, but all of a sudden....

I'm lousy with garter stitch. On the left is the Little Jazz from Spring 2010 Loopy Ewe "sock club".

And on the right is the beginning of a Parcheesi blanket.

Ummmm love me some garter stitch. A gs snob no longer.

I hesitated to post this but...

...that ear worm just keeps on keepin' on. Could NPR alone be responsible for an uptick in unemployment this month, surely this woman should be replaced for dereliction of duty.

Reckless-disregard-for-the-truth-my-incredible-interchange-with-the-npr-ombudsman/

Why do I keep hearing.....

.... Queen's Another One Bites the Dust?

This Monday is brought to you by the number....

....TWO...

Two: the number of hours I spent trying to wind (with a swift and ball winder no less) 400 yards of Fiesta, Baby Boom (fingering weight, merino) into a usable ball. The skein was twisted on the swift, and the end kept working itself out to wrap around the swift post. The resulting yarn cake was kinda messy, so I attempted to "rewind" from the center pull yarn cake. Sweet sassy molassy, it pulled out in yarn barf with no redemption and took me two hours to untangle, and I had to [finally] snip it.

Two: The number of knots I will have in what started out as an unblemished skein of yarn. (Because I was so po'd I simply BROKE it in once place out of frustration.)

Two: The number of yarn cakes I have.

Two: The number of inches too short my Fuzzy Feet felted. Knit Picks Wool of the Andes is a very enthusiastic "felter". (Must purchase MORE black wool.....)

Two: The number of new projects I started, after I finished the Fuzzy Feet. A Little Jazz (with my poor knotty Baby Boom) and the Parcheesi Blanket, with all my worsted odds and ends. I may be crazy. I am still working on my Damask Kauni cardigan and Leyburn socks, which seem to be kicking my butt! The sock was too narrow in the foot, so I made it wider. When I got to the ankle and calf, it was so wide, I couldn't keep it up.....so I pulled it out and adjusted the stitch count. I also keep fussing with the pattern counting. Fer cripes sake...it's a sock!

Two: o'clock. About the time the drenching rain turned into driving snow yesterday.

Two: The number of inches of snow we were expecting....eight (8) less than we actually got (the article says totals were measured at 9:30 am, should have read pm, it was still raining in the am).

Two: The number of hours the university was delayed in opening this morning. And the number of extra hours of sleep we got. (Yeah!)

We're so proud....NOT!

....that in response to Kaye's comment to my previous posting.

The aftermath.

These two excerpts from the article are really telling:

As with previous years’ festivities, many of those getting in trouble are not Penn State students. Fishel reported misdemeanors involving students from the University of Pittsburgh, St. Joseph’s University, Slippery Rock University, Virginia Tech and the University of West Virginia.

And to this horse's ass I ask...do your parents know where you are?

One young man traveled 14 hours from Alabama to celebrate his first State Patty’s Day. After climbing atop a mound of snow in front of Five Guys Burgers and Fries and posing for pictures with a keg of beer, he expressed his excitement for the alcohol-fueled celebration.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” he said. “My best friend is a junior here, and he’s been trying to get me up here forever. He was recruiting a bunch of us for months. I don’t know any other place that has this much fun.”

When asked if he was drunk, he answered, “If you’re asking me if I’m having fun, my answer is yes.”

This is all about drinking....NOTHING else. And the fact that Penn State students aren't being "cited" is nothing to be delighted about. It just means that they've honed their skills during football season. The fact that some are "recruiting friends" is just downright idiotic and probably dangerous.

And to think I was hot because they closed the "state stores" early. I had no intention of going to a state store, mind you, but the fact that the entire town has to endure such measures because we have a temporary segment of our population that can't behave...well, really frosts my nanny. Seems like small potatoes now. I'd be a lunatic if I lived in Arizona....or Hazleton.

Some things I think, I think.

We here in the land of the privileged boneheads, who pay (in state) over $14,000 to attend a Research 1 university (yes, we're at the top of the state related university tuition in the country), are bracing to endure another State Patty's Day. And no I didn't get that incorrect. Have a seat by the fire children, and I'll tell you a story.

In 2007 St (as in saint) Patrick's Day fell during spring break week. Here St Paddy's (not Patty's- idiots) it is [yet another] excuse for our student population to go to bars and binge drink. It was spontaneous the first time, and the local merchants "got into it", opening early, offering specials, green beer etc. The local constabulary, as well as the residents and university officials, were taken by surprise by the total chaos that ensued. Fast forward a year, and St Paddy's day, is as usual on a regular weekday. (I've taught classes on St. Patrick's day when ONE student out of twenty showed for class....seriously.) The students though didn't want to let go of the faux holiday, and it happened again. They simply pick a Saturday. We, townies, began to get disgusted-REAL disgusted. In 2009, the tavern owners, who apparently were beginning to feel a pinch from the LCB in the way of fines, started to downplay this "event". Several tavern owners even closed their establishments on that Saturday. This costs them dearly because they are small business owners with families, but they need their liqueur licenses. Now when the arrest records are released it is becoming clear that 2/3 of the DUIs, drunk and disorderlies are from out of town. They are not residents or students. So we've got drunks from the outside coming to wreck havoc and use our resources. (Does this sound like we're a border town or what?)

Well, here we again, State Patty's Day is this Saturday, and despite the public outcry, the community service groups who will be out "patrolling", the police from a three county area along with the state troopers who will be in town, some greedy business are still promoting an "event" that only celebrates drinking.

A year ago I was feeling pain in my lower ribs, and declined going to the ER BECAUSE I KNEW THE PLACE WOULD BE FILLED WITH DRUNKS. I waited and the pneumonia/pleurisy got a real chance to take hold. (Yes, I'm an idiot.)

I think it's time these fools give it a rest and use the $$ mommy and daddy are investing more wisely.

Ohwell...

.... so things aren't so super here at Casa Black'nGold, n'at. But fair's fair, and three turnovers, well, what can one expect? And just because it helps to have a sense of humor about it:
The Morning (not mourning) File (my personal favorite is the last).

So looking forward to July (fingers crossed) and training camp at St. Vincents.

Worse Sunday news was that Geno Malkin is out for the rest of the year. Kiss the cup good-bye. Then there is Crosby's mystery concussion. (If someone is side-lined with a concussion for 6 weeks.....hummmm?) He hasn't been that fragile, so, it is probably safe to assume that there is something else amiss (or afoot).

But on to better things. Just to confirm...there ARE good peeps in the world.

Saturday was a hellish weather day here...lots of ice, freezing rain, and sleet etc - amidst sunshine. Major roads in and out of town were closed due to black ice and accidents. (There were 11 accidents and one death in about an hour and a half stretch, before the roads were closed, on Saturday.) My 80-year old mother is having issues of her own. She lives in her own home, however, none of us live close by, so when she is iced in, there's nothing much we can do about it. (She won't let us hire someone to help because it will "offend" a neighbor---please don't ask. If you have elderly parents this will make perfect sense.) When a younger friend called to see if she wanted to meet for coffee, my mom told her she couldn't get out of her icy driveway. About an hour later, Carol, and her husband Frank, arrived with tools, and proceeded to spend 3 hours(!) extracting the driveway and sidewalks from ice. Good grief...I'm not sure my siblings and/or I would have spent 3-hours! Anyway, Carol is a knitter, so she has a little thank you care package headed her way...(chocolates for Frank). These kinds of folks restore my faith in humanity. Truly.

But I have something to show for our "global warming" weather....BTW does anyone else find it interesting that if it snows (any amount)--it's global warming;
if it is hot, it's global warming;
rain, global warming;
cold, global warming;
if the cat pees on the carpet, global warming....

Seriously, can it be, maybe that it is just February in the northern hemisphere? And just to add some interest, we are currently 9 inches BELOW our normal snowfall. Oh right, global warming!! I forgot. However, one's nose hair crackles when you walk outside.....Pretty typical for this time of year. I'm old, I can actually remember!!

Anyway, I appear to be on a hat "kick". First a Cable Crossing (Rav link) hat:

It is a Loopy Ewe club pattern. I used Sanguine Gryphon Bugga (it has cashmere!!). You cast on 200 stitches, and a very clever cable pattern draws it in.

The designer is from Central CA, and clearly doesn't need a hat for warmth, because as I started the pattern I realized that it was a "beanie". In other words it doesn't cover one's ears!! If you live here...and you'd like to keep your ears, you do want them covered. So I knit an extra round of cables (and I think I'd knit a second extra round if I did it again.) This should be available in a couple months on the Loopy Ewe web site. The cables are a PIA, but the effect is lovely.



Next up, is a "pillbox". I always liked the way they look, but could never find a good standard pattern. I like this one Winter White Pillbox (Rav link), and I had the yarn in my small stash.


I like this hat because it is not tight to the head, and it takes longer to develop "hat head". And frankly, as I said earlier, if you want to keep your ears, you need a very warm hat when the temperature is in the single digits.

I used Reynolds Blizzard, a chunky alpaca/acrylic blend. It knits up really fast. I needed about a skein and a third, so about 90 yards of chunky.

Mods were that I eliminated a pattern repeat and I added two rows to the brim.

I will probably make this again, but I'd like to make the brim a little tighter. So a smaller needle or a few stitches less...I'll have to see.

So there you have it, that's what I've been up to. The tendinitis is still flaring occasionally, but it is much improved. I think the Kauni sweater kicked it off, so I am very careful how much I work on it.

Hi...

This is serious, please follow along if you can. This is to the folks who are wailing with disbelief that an unconstitutional requirement in the "health care" (I use the descriptor loosely) bill was found unconstitutional, and that we are all now going down the tubes....that we are killing sick children and more blah, blah... Listen up.

The single payer advocates among you, who think it is the holy grail of social justice. Who are adamant that everyone who needs a liver transplant will get one, who don't understand rationing.... Well, listen carefully.... it is happening NOW, TODAY, and if you're a smarty boots, you'll find one of these companies and buy stock. I know for a fact, that there is a booming market for medical businesses that advise hospitals on which medicare/medicaid patients to admit, and which to treat and release. How I know is that I have acquaintances who have begun work with said businesses, and have moved like lightning up through the ranks. You need a job? Find one of these businesses. They are desperate for personnel. I am serious. Medical/technical training is the preferred background.

It is subtle, but here's a simple version of how it works. A medicare/medicaid patient comes into an ED (formerly ER) and is evaluated by a ED doc...he/she does the usual H&P, and begins treatment for the problem. If the hospital has an "account" with said business the ED case manager will call the intake personnel (who do nothing, but answer the phones and take information), and will walk though a list of evaluation questions, developed by the company to discern whether M/M will PAY for an admission. The information is passed to a doctor who is an expert in the rules of M/M and he/she sends his recommendation to the hospital. If it is determined that the admission will not be covered, the patient is treated and released. The ED doc (who really must focus on her/his medical evaluation), does not usually override this decision. You see, even a tiny hospital in podunk can lose over a million dollars a year on denied medicare/medicaid admissions. Most hospitals run on razor sharp margins, and cannot afford this kind of deficit. So they contract with a business whose job it is to keep abreast of medicare rules, and then they are billed per case. As medicare sets the bar higher for admission and treatment, the business responds. Hospitals save millions, even with the contract and case billing. My "informant" tells me that they are now also evaluating for certain diagnostic testing. It makes my blood run cold, really.

So how easy would it be for this to be extended to the rest of the unwashed masses in a single payer system? Our treatment would be based on whether or not the system will pay. And as $$ get tighter, the options will decrease. As someone who can actually see medicare in the future, it makes me sick...but then what?

ETA: So I guess Obama, Pelosi et.al., were right!! It will decrease unemployment!!

I never watch SOTU addresses....

..... as Aurora Greenway in "Terms of Endearment" says, "blahhh, blahhh, blahhh..."

Instead, we attended a fun performance of "Fiddler on the Roof" .... Much, much better choice.

However, I've been hearing some good things about Ryans' rebuttal. Particularly, from an evenly split (between R & D) focus group. They liked that he spoke in facts....a little like Sargent Friday I suppose. But this quote is the tipping point. This vision is just so compelling (why yes, I am a little nuts, why do you ask?), from Jonah Goldberg at the National Review Online.

Ryan never comes across as a bomb-thrower, but tonight he talked like an ER nurse trying to talk down a violent hippy from a bad acid trip, which is pretty impressive given the substance of what he was saying.

The best compliment ...

... a knitter can get is when someone ASKS for MORE of her/his hand knits....don'tcha think?

Well it happened twice to me recently.

Over the holiday my sister-in-law asked if she should wash and dry one of the knit caps I made for my father-in-law. He's 90 and always cold, and wears little knit watchcaps in the house. Well he's been wearing the one I made for him two years ago, and well it's stretched and worn out. (Never mind that I made him a "Turn a Square" last year, and an Israeli soldier watch cap this year. You know old guys...creatures of habit.) On the way home, I mentioned to my husband that I probably had some of that gray yarn around and could make a duplicate. He suggested a black and gold Steeler version. And while we were on the subject he wanted ANOTHER pair of Fuzzy Feet, in Steeler black and gold, only more gold. (I made him a predominantly black pair in 2005.) So I did what any good knitter does. I immediately ordered yarn for these two items.

And yesterday this is what my morning looked like:



A cup of blueberry tea, and my father-in-law's Steeler cap in progress.
















Finished!!! Just in time...



...to wear for the Super Bowl.












Can't do better than that!! Fuzzy Feet will be in progress soon...but husband has black and gold handknit socks to wear on the big day. Not rushing the Fuzzy Feet.

Bad news....

.... I've already broken one of my resolutions.

I was walking back to work through a nearby surface parking lot, after taking some time off for lunch (read: actual knitting time). A woman pulled up next to me and asked if I had any change for the meters. She had none. I had 3 quarters which I handed to her, and as she was looking for a bill to give me , I just told her not to worry..."have a good day", and walked along. OH NO!! Another RAK...albeit small. Well, this one has absolutely no strings.....Whew!

Good news...

Apparently, Virginia (Georgia, Tennessee, etc.) and Central PA have exchanged climates. Well maybe not completely, but while everywhere around us is getting FEET of snow. We have almost none. It very cold though. I went out without my hat today (what knitter does this?) and I'm not sure I still have ears. This seems like good news now, but wait for the drought come July because we have no snow melt.

Maybe now is ...

...the time to explain why I may be swearing off RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) for a long time. This and "eat more bacon" are my resolutions for 2011. I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping them. There were two "events" but I'd like to describe just the last one.

I have "season" tickets to a professional ballet company about 3 hours away from where we live (you can figure out the rest, I 'd like to keep this as potentially "search proof" as possible). We get a "three-pack" and this year the ballets were poorly scheduled (for us). I had to take the Nutcracker as part of our series. Now this is not usually a problem as December weather is usually not too bad and driving is not an issue. (February, on the other hand, is a b&^ch.) When you are a season "patron" you have a few options with your tickets. 1) You can exchange them for another performance day; 2) You can exchange them for another ballet in the series; 3) You can turn them back for a tax write off. They are very liberal in their policies, and very accommodating. I have no complaints.

This year, however, the weather looked like it was going to be a problem and we were trying to decide what to do with our tickets. (I've described our run in with black ice before, and we have been very careful ever since.) As we were thinking about our options, I had what I thought was a brainstorm. Why not offer them to a family member who was struggling with a recurrence of a serious illness? She probably needed a night out, with a friend, daughter or family member, and the tickets would be put to good use. (BTW, they are excellent high end seats.) My DH was delighted with this suggestion, so I got in touch with said relative, who was happy to receive them. I exchanged them (a week in advance) for the date she requested and all was well....for the moment. THE NIGHT BEFORE the performance at 6:30 pm, she called and left a message at our home and said she was too ill to go, and could I exchange them for another night!! (I might add here that I didn't get home until after 8:00 pm that evening, which is when I got the message.) Now, I was sympathetic at this point because this is the nature of her physical condition. I wanted to call her back, but didn't have the number at home. I called my sister in law for the number and she said "Oh yeah, I have it here I RSVP'd for the party." (!!!) What party, I ask? THE PARTY SHE WAS HAVING THE NIGHT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE BALLET!! I was dumbfounded. This means she KNEW she wasn't going to the performance at least a week in advance (she mailed the invitations a week earlier), and instead of calling me ASAP and saying her plans changed and could I make the exchange for another night... She, didn't outright fib, but was disingenuous in the extreme. I called and she gave me the story about her condition, and I listened and asked if she wanted an alternate date, then told her I'd try. Steaming all the while. At this point, I didn't KNOW if I could exchange them, and if I couldn't I'd have to make another choice (see above). And I had about four box office hours the next day to do it. And this is before Christmas, and I had other things I planned to do. Sitting on the phone was not one of them. I vacillated from anger to incredulity to simply ticked.

I exchanged them successfully, and then cut my communication. I didn't trust myself to speak to her again. I find I'm still stunned by this. I was hoping by now I'd have some distance. No such luck.

Can you imagine?

Hai...I'm back

What an odd holiday it has been. While most bloggers were waxing nostalgic and posting pictures of candles, firelight, good food, and family, we have...dental surgery. Very successful dental surgery, but not without complications. Complications that made it impossible to have very many treats (other than adult beverages). Consequently, we both LOST weight over the most indulgent holiday of the year. Out of sheer frustration, I did make an awesome quiche on Christmas. Even DH liked it. Don't tell him that it contained about a pound of very fine cheese. But heck he had to eat something. And this is a man who eats a huge salad EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. and couldn't. So anyway, we had a very low key Christmas day. Culminating in a visit to a very dedicated dentist to have stitches removed the next day which just happened to be a Sunday.... A blistering cold Sunday.

Anyway, the rest of my time looked like this, in no particular order:

Finished three ornaments, that look like this (the first has already been gifted):




















I'm currently working on a fourth that has pinks and grays.

I've hardly knit a stitch. My tendinitis was shifting from nearly unbearable to not too bad. Knitting made it worse. Beading, not so much. Which explains the ornament explosion. However, I have to get back in game shape for this:

http://www.stitchyourartout.com/2401.html

Third class down is me. I finished the sample on December 22nd. Now we wait. I do have until March, however, I have to work up a couple more in different bead sizes, just for fun.

We finally got to another hockey game!



The new Consol Energy Center Arena.












Your [my?] Pittsburgh Penguins!


















We even saw a faux hat trick. It was originally announced that Sidney Crosby had made the goal, and the hats hit the ice. Then Matt Cooke was awarded the goal and Sidney the assist. It was pretty amusing just the same. That's Cooke's picture on the scoreboard. Anybody know what happens to the hats?



My MIL celebrated her 92nd birthday by going to the hospital nearly in diabetic coma. (Not enough cake!) She's fine now. FIL will be reaching the 90th milestone on Sunday.

We're enjoying the last few days without traffic and short lines at grocery stores and post offices.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

...and bite me if Christ-mas offends anyone.

Here's what's going on:

1) Trying to file and make lists for next year, so I remember what I'd supposed to be doing on January 4th. Office closes at EOB today.
2) Dental surgery (yes, you read that right, not me but it might be better if it were)
3) Doing 2 jobs (3 if you count nurse) see above.
4) Beadwork, beadwork, beadwork...I have a Christmas ornament gift that will not be ready for Christmas, and a bead knitted bracelet example that I'll be teaching in a class for the LYS in March not finished, but needed.
5) I just finished ALL the Christmas cards. (This is usually DH's job, but see 2 above, Tylenol and codeine do not make for coherent addressing.)

There's probably more, but I'm too exhausted to think of it. Good thing I have a gift list or I wouldn't remember what I was giving to whom.

Some of my pre-New Year's resolutions:

1. No more RAK (random acts of kindness). I've been bitten twice, recently, very badly last week, but that's a story for another day.
2. Next time I go to the post office on the busiest mailing day of the year (and I always do), I will swat the woman who decides on that day to mail packages to Australia, without the proper customs forms and insurance.She tied up the ONLY two clerks at the counter. And to the lady right in front of me...WRITE DOWN THE ZIP CODES so you have them next time.
   

And I'm still struggling with tendinitis. After a course of NSAIDs and now steroids...I'm just beginning to feel better.

I'm going to chill completely on Christmas. There will not be much cooking see the first #2 above, so it's a good thing there's wine. Hope yours is quiet too.

Am I a good daughter or what?

Thanksgiving was spent with my mom, sis, hubby and boyfriend (sis's not mine). It was great to see everyone, but my mom is a nervous nellie type of person. She can't sit still for 15 consecutive minutes. Think about what meals are like...always. She was whipping the plates right out from under our noses when we were growing up. She is 80 and in good health (mentally and physically) and spends her time trying to figure out how to drive her family crazy. I think it is her life's work.

We love her...for short stretches. My sister arrived on Wednesday night, and spent the evening and the following morning, doing chores to make the house more winter ready. She and BF did a lot of work. DH and I arrived, with the wine, just in time for dinner on Thursday. We had a very nice meal, the four of us chatting and listening to stories about sis's vacation at Lake Mead, In case you're counting, the fifth member of our party was not chatting but doing the dishes (even though DH and I told her we would do the dishes). "I'm just getting them ready..."

Sis and BF (I have a really had time calling him a boyfriend. They've been together over 10 years. Just recently have they begun sharing living space. It is kinda happening organically.) left after dinner.

I made coffee so he could drive, and she could nap because she had to work the next day....she sent me an email the next day to say that the coffee did no good. He was asleep before they got to the turnpike...about 20 minutes from the house.

Here we are wine and all....













The next day, crazy woman that I am, I took my mother shopping....on, yes, "Black Friday". We did not get up at the crack of dawn, we did not try to grab good deals. We simply went so my mother could go to places she is uncomfortable driving to. Like the shopping area that has Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Meanwhile, DH got to stay home in his jammies and watch Pitt get trounced, and the Penguins play. It was a madhouse, made madder by my impatient mother...but I survived. (I only had to threaten to drop her off in the middle of the street, for backseat driving, once.) Only TO GO BACK OUT with DH in the late evening. Fortunately, by that time most of the crazy people had gone home, and we had no trouble getting parking places etc.

The next day we were getting ready to go home, and I got to witness a local event that has been going on for, at least 40 + years. Any minute now, some idiot will be offended and complain, and that will end the tradition. It starts with hearing sirens in the distance.

They keep getting louder until you see this--moving rather slowly.












Then came a parade of classic cars.......














Then came Santa!!! And a lion (????) character. The fire/rescue department and library branch are housed in the same building.












Santa was escorting the Christmas Tree (probably now called a holiday tree) to the town square.










They have been doing this since I was little. You can tell based on the photo above, that it has been a long time.

I hope no one messes with this tradition. Ever!! (And did I mention that the courthouse has a creche on the front lawn....right next to the menorah. Wonder how long that will last?)

And so it goes...

...the services over the weekend were exhausting. Larry always marched to a different drummer than the rest of us, and the gathering of friends and acquaintances and all the "Dead" and "rock and roll" T-shirts in evidence, attested to this fact. I've now been to two services where not only did friends say good things about the deceased, they cried as they did it. People wrote music and played, wrote and read poems, it was quite the gathering. And though Larry requested a closed casket for the viewing (he felt it would be too hard on his beloved wife because of his debilitated condition), the funeral director did such a good job he looked wonderful...Really. Very handsome. So his wife went against his wishes and had an open casket. She felt he would forgive her. Frankly, knowing Larry, he'd have been ticked if he looked this good, and didn't get to be seen. So now his family must pick up the pieces and be gentle with themselves. I hope they are.

Meanwhile remember the Kauni sweater? Well, enroute to the weekend it made a trip to the frog pond. I pulled it out down to the ribbing, and am now reknitting with at #2 (3 mm) needle. I didn't have time to take another photo, but picture it pulled to the ribbing. (I liked the ribbing because it has a purple cast on...very pretty.) I showed it to the LYS owner (read: yarn source), and she thought it looked OK, and that I had three options: 1) forge ahead, and we could make the steek a little larger....2) gradually move down to a smaller needle; or 3) frog and reknit. My decision was made when she said...hummm the fabric seems a little looser that I've seen. So I'm getting a firmer fabric now. It took over an hour all told to pull and rewind the yarn. Longer than I had anticipated. Then again, because I had steamed it some to check my gauge, I was a little worried that I was not going to be able to pull it out at all. But it worked out fine. So I'm back to the beginning again. I only had to pull out between 30 & 40 rows, but it took a long time. Especially since I didn't want the yarn to tangle.

So maybe I'll get something done over the holiday. What I really want to do, though, is finish that damn Cozy.

Everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I'm going to visit my mom...I'm taking the wine. Lots of wine.

Oh Hai...Part 2

The beat goes on...

And so does Larry. We were expecting the end to be imminent....the messenger was wrong. Completely. It is near though. I can't imagine what this is doing to his immediate family. Every blinking light and voicemail notification makes me cringe.

ETA: Ahhh well....much nearer...rest in peace Larry dear. You will most certainly be missed.

Here are a couple of bones since this name of this blog does have the word "knit" in it:

The socks that took all summer.....


These are the Lava Flow pattern from a former (reformed?) blogger called Sockbug. Her's was one of the first blogs I read. She posted lots of cute patterns. She no longer posts, but the patterns are still available. Maybe she is on Rav. I never checked.

I used my regular eye-of-partridge heel and made them taller. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in "bumble bee". I called it the Steelers colorway.

These are a Christmas present for a Steeler fanatic, with chilly toes.









Next up...the Cozy that will never end.


I have had the Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool for this ... for-evah! I finally got around to getting it done. (I badgered my LYS into getting it for me.) When Cozy was first published many posters commented that it was a nice relaxing knit. And that might be true. However, I may just not be in the mood for relaxing. That and I have ALL of two years of Loopy Ewe sock club yarn to get on with. Most of which will be turned into other things rather than socks. I need to go about 5 more inches to make it usable for me. If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you may recall that Isadora Duncan's scarves have nothing on mine. Good thing I don't ride in convertibles.







My only concern is "what to start?" when I'm done with Cozy? I need some easily transportable knitting. (I do have a father-in-law hat for Christmas to knit, but that's pretty easy. I'm hoping I can find suitable yarn in my stash for it.) Isn't there something pathological about worrying about what to knit next?

This is my stay at home knitting......

Kauni sweater in a damask pattern. That's probably about 4 inches there. You can see the color of the yellow beginning to shift to green. I think my gauge is a "tad" off. More like 5.5/inch rather than 6/inch, but meh. It doesn't worry me enough to rip. I think I'm knitting a little loosely so that it doesn't pucker. I should probably try and tighten it up some anyway. It is really hard to tell.

I should probably stop out at my LYS to see what they think. If I need to rip back, now would be the time. This is going to take too much time and effort to be a bust.

Here's a close up.


We shall see....













And you know I just can't keep from putting in my two cents.......I am beginning to find the absolute angst about Palin hysterical. What the hell? I'm beginning to think some of these people really do need therapy.

I'm with Dennis Miller who called Palin a "tough broad" and said it would be fun to see her elected just to watch all the leftists go crazy....To see if those who are threatening to decamp to Switzerland or Italy (yeah....with all the rioting, don't they read the papers?) really do. If they feel they must, I'm going to quote Chris Christie....

Now I must get ready to travel.....again.

Oh Hai!

Taking a break from politics or I'm probably going to blow a gasket. I am now convinced that "the public" is dumber that I ever imagined. And that they'll let anyone have a show on TV....where's Captain Kangaroo when you need him.....

So a few loosening ends.

Happy Veteran's Day to all my friends and family -- and all the veteran students here, who took time out of their lives to serve their country. Hug 'em if you got em....(ask permission first if you don't know them--just sayin').

We are currently on an "end of life watch" for a relative who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer nearly a year ago. He was being aggressively treated, however, the most someone in his situation can hope for is added months. He got those, plus a few. The world is going to be a less colorful place without dear Larry. A good thought, or prayer, whichever is your habit, wouldn't come amiss for him and his family.

I am considering Lasik surgery--complications abound.

I have started the Damask Kauni sweater. I needed a boatload of help from my LYS owner, to figure out how to sweet talk the original pattern into the damask chart. The color knitting is fun though.

Finally finished the "Steeler" socks, and oooo boy...it seemed to take forever. I have no idea what the hell was going on.....

Need about 12 more inches to finish my Cozy. This seems to be the black hole of knitting. The more I knit the shorter it gets. Ever have that happen?

I know I should be posting photos of all this stuff, but I am too freakin' lazy at the moment. Work is really cutting into my knitting time lately. Ever have that happen?

Oh yeah, I LOVE Zappos! I am on the hunt for the best red skimmer....I'm on my fourth, and they just keep sending them OVERNIGHT. What I don't understand is why I'm having such trouble finding good shoes that do not hurt. These are little flats people?

Get on with it!

A message to:

Governor-elect Tom Corbett
Senator-elect Pat Toomey
[2nd Term] Representative Glenn Thompson

Congratulations. Now, time to get on with business gentlemen.

I'm watching and out of patience.

To:

Representative Joe Sestak and
Senator Bob Casey

WATCH YOUR STEP.....you two could be moving on to your life's work next. You boys have already gotten on my last nerve. I'm one of those bitter crackers clinging to my guns and religion....except, I vote independent, I don't own a gun, and I have a masters degree. Oh, yeah, I do go to church. Well one out of three.

One last thing....I was stunned that the old fart from Northeastern PA Kanjorski got booted....and high time. His challenger, the winner, Lou Barletta you may recall is the city of Hazleton mayor that took a hard line against the illegal immigrants sucking the life out of his town. (Lost the court challenge, but they are forging ahead.) You go Lou!

Last, last thing...California doesn't need to legalize marijuana. Apparently, it is already in the water supply. That is the only possible thing that explains the (re)election of Governor Moonbeam..... Way to go....

It was the best ....

..of times...

A League of Women Voter's debate outside Pittsburgh:

Quite an "unruly mob" if you ask me.

It was the worst of times:

Poop. If I wasn't so entertained, I'd tell Joe to get his money back. What the hell made him think this was a good ad.

Also please read how there are blatant false statements in the ad. How stupid do they think we are? We are not all from Altoona!! (Home of the late John Murtha, the master of obfuscation.)

But I shouldn't be surprised. In a recent ad for the governor race, the (D) candidate berated the (R) candidate for RAISING TAXES and hurting the elderly!! The problem being the (R) candidate is the current State's Attorney General, and last time I looked had absolutely nothing to do with passing financial legislation........ !!!?? And in my personal experience, his office was very aggressive in pursuing businesses who preyed on the elderly. I think they too were just hoping that people were too dumb to notice.

Really how stupid do they think people are?

Eeeeewwww

Does this creep anyone else out as much as it does me?

Parker/Spitzer

Srsly...what the hell are they smokin' over at CNN?

My brain never stops...

...but you probably wish it would.

• Last week I was meeting a job candidate (yes, we're filling ONE of our FIVE open positions), and was waiting in the lobby of a local establishment to escort her to dinner. No, I was not having a toddy, but I should have as you will shortly see. I pulled out my cell to make sure the ringer was off. Instead I noticed there was a voicemail. (This is strange, because I had just spoken to my DH, and hardly ANYONE else uses my cell.) Here is a paraphrase of what I heard: Hi, [name unknown], this is Michelle from [salon name unintelligible]. I just wanted to let you know I spoke to our aesthetician and she does not do "Brazilians". She does do regular bikini waxing. I've kept your appointment just in case, so if you do not want to keep it just give me a call. Thanks!!

  What can I say....but OW!! EEWWWWWW also comes to mind.
  

  WHO else could possibly get a stray voicemail about crotch hair!!



• Has everyone else been winning the lottery, finding lost relatives, or being singled out to help cancer victims? Seems to me these things are on the upswing, or maybe I'm just lucky.
  

  Here's a sampling:
  

  Jennifer Wagner tells me "GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER"
  

  As you read this, I don't want you to feel sorry for me, because, I believe everyone will die someday. My name is Mrs. Jennifer Wagner , a merchant in Dubai, in the U.A.E. I have been diagnosed with Esophageal cancer . It has defiled all forms of medical treatment, and right now I have only about a few months to live, according to medical experts.

  Dear Jennifer, GOD WILL SEND YOU TO HELL FOR LYING. FOR $2 MILLION US I'LL TELL YOU HOW I KNOW!

  
  
  

  "Barrister" Martins Williams thinks I'm an entrepreneur, and can't spell worth a lick.
  

  Compliments.
  We've been trying to reach you several times without no sucesss. we are trying if this email can get into your inbox to explain our investment intentions for you.
  
  
  I am contacting you briefly based on the Investment of Two Hunred Million Dollars (US$ 200,000,000:00) in your country, as I presently have a client who is interested in investing in you to invest in your country, but he has never done business in your country before. I find it imperative to solicit for a partnership. Hence upon receipt of this letter, I implore you to kindly respond and let me know how possible it is to work with you in mutual partnership under the below conditions as follows:

  Dear Martins...go to school. Through 8th grade will at least help with your spelling.

  
  

  According to Brenda, there's a SCAM being perpetrated!! Horrors!!

  The SPANISH HIGH COMMISSION in France, Portugal, Sweden and Germany received a report of scam against you and other British/US and Malaysian citizens, Etc. The countries of France, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Britian and United States have recompensated you following the meeting held with the countries' Government and various countries' high commission for the fraudulent activities carried out by the countries' Citizens.
  Your name was among those scammed as listed by the Spain Financial Intelligent Unit (SFIU). Compensation has been issued out in Certified Bank Drafts to all the affected victims and has been already been in distribution to all the bearers. Your draft was among those that were reported undelivered as at on Friday and we wish to advise you to see to the instructions of the Committee to make sure you receive your draft immediately.
  
  
  Brenda wants me to keep this a secret, because apparently there is a hit to be placed on squealers.Dear Brenda, You can reach me at CIA headquarters.
  
  
  Finally the piece of resistance:
  
  
  This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of Five Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds (GBP 500,000.00) for 2010 Prize promotion which is Offered by Coca-Cola Company of England.
  Coca-Cola collects all the e-mail addresses of the people that are active online, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo! and Hotmail and few from other e-mail providers. Six people are selected monthly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the Selected Winners.
  
  PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM
  Winners shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Center. Coca-Cola Prize Award must be claimed no la! ter than 21 days from date of Draw Notification. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited.
  
  
  As a bonus this had Coke logos splashed all over it!
  
  Dear Cherry, Get a job. A real job. Not here. Anywhere but here.
  

So what's the deal? Does ANYONE respond to this crap any more? Are they getting more frequent, or am I just losing it?

On my mind....

Some things I think, I think...

• Why is it that I'm at work in hose with a wool shawl, and see students walking around wearing honest-to-God sundresses or shorts and T-shirts? What am I missing? This is not Gainsville.
• Why is it that these same half-dressed students think that if they walk in front of my moving (albeit slowly) 2000 lb vehicle, and they don't even glance in my direction that I'm really not there? Do they think this is an oasis, and I am a mirage?
• Why is it that people (read: politicians) think if they repeat something (over-and-over) enough, it magically becomes "true"? Trust me, if you can't prove it, it ain't "true".
• Why is it that I find people (this may include presenters, artists, musicians, knitters, etc.), who for no apparent reason, and completely out of context, inject their political opinion/agenda into their work, gauche? I can be perfectly happy reading something, or listening to something, and then they "fall off the wagon with a "comment" sometimes subtly, sometimes not. Why do they think I care what they think any more then they care what I think. (Actually, here's some blow back DO NOT read Sweater Quest: The Year of Knitting Dangerously.)
• Most importantly, Kindle or Nook?

Gotta Love Dennis Miller...

..... he described the Delaware senate election as

"Bewitched vs Bewildered"

Gotta love it.

Which brings me to a curious thing. I saw a DE senate election advertisement this morning on TV. People this is Central PA....not even Southeastern PA, which maybe would make sense. We are closer to Maryland and West Virginia, but even that's a stretch. Hummmmmmmmmmm.

A little of this....n'at.

We've been busy...so busy, I'm exhausted. We have spent the past three out of four weekends out of town...where I'm sure you're wondering (said in a sarcastic tone, I know it isn't important).....

Well, first I have to show you the wine we drank on vacation:


Who doesn't love a cheap wine with a llama on the label? And with a name like Funky Llama. Well.....

It is from Chili. It was all of $3.99 in a PA State Store (so you know it was cheap). We were not crazy about the shiraz, but the pinot grigio wasn't bad. And the entertainment was in the label anyway.










The rest of the time was spent at a music festival then hiking.

This is Pine Creek. It was blistering hot, but much cooler in the woods. We spent most of the time trying to photograph the raptors that were soaring over the "canyon".

Those two specks in the center of the frame are a pair of hawks who were playing.


















We saw many hawks, which I cannot identify, a turkey vulture which was a first, and what we think was a juvenile bald eagle. There are nesting eagle pairs in this area, so it is not unusual to see an eagle...for some people. For us it was another first.

We had a weekend off, then went to visit my mother for a surprise 80th birthday party. She had spent about 6 weeks trying to convince us that she was "too old" and "too decrepit" for a party, so don't bother. We didn't bother to tell her and she had a great time. Does this lady look too old and decrepit to anyone?

I think not! Notice the snazzy purse. Hardly that of a little old lady. Sheesh

We had the party at the Mohegan Sun Casino at Pocono Downs. My sister was having second thoughts during the prior week of inviting elderly people to a casino (for brunch), but trust me...as soon as it was polite, the elderly guests were heading to the slots. So a good time was had by all whether it was for food, drink or to feed the one-armed bandits.....

This was my first trip to the "local casino" and I learned a lot. Like why casinos are a cash cow for the states and local towns. And the number of jobs it creates! And that there is too much noise and too many blinking lights for me. It was a stunning day outside, and we had folks following us to our car to get our parking space so they could go inside in the loud, flashing dark to gamble. No recession here.....

This past weekend was spent outlet shopping. All I can say is that if there is a recession...I didn't see it here either. Our hotel was a madhouse on Sunday morning of families going to Hershey Park (supposedly the "sweetest place on earth".... but more like, "where you can have a nervous breakdown and no one will notice"....but that doesn't look good in advertising... not catchy enough.) And when did it become deriguer for parents to ignore their offspring, or send them to get their own breakfast in a crowd of people in a public place? These are little people, and this is not your kitchen!! Sheesh....parenting people, parenting!!

Anyone remember the Kauni/cardigan (Rav link) craze of 2007? As is the case with so many "knitting fads", it was kicked off by the Yarn Harlot. Folks were purchasing Kauni from Denmark and translating the pattern...etc. For some reason I loved that sweater with the white hot passion that only a knitter can understand, but I thought it was too much of a PIA (and too expensive) to order the yarn from Denmark. I'm also not really a lemming (French Press Slippers aside). Well, last month my LYS got Kauni, and reignited my romance with the cardigan...but now, thanks to Ravelry I have become acquainted with the damask pattern. So I couldn't resist:




I will be making the damask patterned sweater. I will also be joining a sweater knitting group for the steeking and patterning support. As Cynthia from the LYS says..."there's a lot going on in this sweater. "

I may be crazy.

Affordability is in the framing...

You remember the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Yeah, I'm sure you do....we're going to be a healthy and cheap utopia, remember? If you don't you're forgiven. You're probably blocking....

Well it's here...In the runup to the 2014 implementation, health insurance companies are making sure that they can fulfill the outlandish mandates, and stay afloat...all the while without having to compete. Here's what it has gotten me for 2011:

Heath care payroll deduction: up 10% (whew, could have been more)
Deductible: up 250% (yes that is correct-it is a newly instituted deductible, you do the math)
Coinsurance for ALL procedures & tests: up 100% (see above, this can also be called a co-pay)
Co-pay for specialist office visits: up 33% (I should explain here that because we are in a rural area, many specialists also practice as internists, so you pay the higher rate even if it is a routine non-specialty visit.)
ED (ER) treatment: up 100%

This delightful package was announced with great fanfare in a cheery envelope telling me that preventive programs will stay the same.

A more austere letter about a month ago explained that the "users" of health services would shoulder the costs for those services (my words). I think it can be translated as a "gouge the sick" policy. That idiot Grayson may have been prescient. And please don't get me started on the upward spiral of fees that medical institutions will begin to charge to improve the "reasonable and customary" fee table for both insurance companies and Medicare (if they're still accepting MC, that is).

So here we are....in the worst economy in 30 years, with salaries stagnating, I can't even begin to figure out how far behind this will put us.

Thank you, Mr. President, Congress, and all you know-it-alls who wouldn't listen to the will of the people. I will not forget this November.

ETA: HA! Our electronic newsletter just arrived describing our "plan" and it included this statement:

Legislation, such as health care reform, will cost employers and employees more as required changes are implemented now and through the next several years.

Tell me again how it isn't going to cost the middle class more.