G is for...

Growing!
Last post I got all political and opinionated about the Mormons. There were some interesting comments and it made me think, and I hate that. Heh. Anyway, I still feel like there's some persecution going on there. I'm not suggesting those people aren't messed up and that their kids won't be better off away from the brainwashing. (I'm not suggesting they ARE and WOULD, either - I don't know enough except from the "news media", and that is questionable as a source.) I AM suggesting that authorities and the media are holding these people to a standard that "normal" people are not held to. For example - *gasp*, *shudder*, those poor 16 yr old girls who have babies! Oh no, the evil men must be responsible and we must take these children and save them! Unless they're a 16 yr old who got knocked up on prom night. *She* is dirty and should live with the consequences of her actions.
Um, what?
Oooh, look, I got all political again.
Anyway. I am not going to talk any more about that on the blog. I'm sure the FBI have me on some sort of anti-Homeland-Security list as it is. (Incidentally, iffin you wanna read about some dumbass homeland security bullshit, check out this post. And then wonder why I want to move out of Arizona.)

However, I started this post not to talk about political growth, but the more natural kind. I've been reading about how gardening is the super-important green thing to do. I suck at gardening. Don't like growing things, don't like eating vegetables, don't really like doing things that take any energy or exertion at all. For whatever reason, I felt like I needed to do it this year. The Bug loves veggies, and even more, loves watering the one tomato plant I have on the patio. When he walks by the plant, he says, "I helping Mama!" every time, and he really enjoys it. So, a (small) garden it is.



The DH built me a little raised bed this morning, and I dug up the ground underneath. (As much as possible, anyway; the soil we have here is terrible terrible stuff.) We went out and bought a yard of "sandy loam" planting mix. Behold, my box of dirt.



Now to find some plants that will grow here. Tomatoes, bell peppers, serranos, cucumbers, beans?

Also growing... The Bug had his first barbershop haircut yesterday.



He looked so tiny in that seat, but he looks like a big boy now, not a baby. Sob...

This will very likely never happen again.

I am firmly on the side of the FLDS families in El-do-ray-do.
I have been stewing about this issue for several days now. I am the first to admit that the Mormon religion rubs me the wrong way, and I REALLY have issues with the FLDS people and the rumors that float down from the little towns on the border of AZ and Utah. AND, I am so thrilled that Warren Jeffs is going to rot in jail, I can't tell you. Sick freak, he is.
However, this thing in Texas is really really pissing me off. Authorities got ONE call from ONE girl about how SHE was occasionally raped and beaten by her husband. This is a horrible horrible thing and I am thrilled that they went looking for this girl to help her. BUT. They responded, not by removing girls between 15 and 17 looking for the caller, but by removing over FOUR HUNDRED CHILDREN from their families. I have been trying to follow this without actually following it - the media has been all over the salacious details. It disgusts me. The state's "star witness", a pyschologist, has even testified that the children show no signs of abuse and that there's no potential harm to returning the younger children and the boys until the question of underage marriage is sorted out. That they stand to suffer extremely in the foster system (which will be completely swamped by the addition of 400 children at one time). And yet the state proceeds with DNA testing to sort out who's who and figure out how many of the 400+ children the state will "save" from their horrible life running around happily with their parents.
At first I was thrilled that these kids were getting away from the FLDS church. I mean, it's weird. Younger women (question of underage girls notwithstanding) with old geezers? Multiple wives? Euuuww. Wearing pioneer dresses? Being submissive and taking orders? Euuw.
BUT SO WHAT? There are people who think that the fact that I let my kid have candy and watch videos amounts to neglect or abuse. That the fact that I feed him meat is abuse of him and of the animals and planet. Some states (Montana, I'm looking at you) say that blatant drug use in the house is not actually enough to change custody of a child. Homeless children stay in shelters with their parents. Klan members have babies and teach them to hate. Other conservative religions teach their children ideas that I find absolutely abhorrent. 16 yr old Jamie Lynn Spears is running around pregnant and no one has said Boo about her boyfriend. Women are abused by their husbands and boyfriends every. single. day. Children die at the hands of their parents or caregivers and everyone stands around wringing their hands and saying, "Gee, well, we saw all those bruises but we didn't think anything of it."
None of these situations is ideal for the children, and in fact many of them are heinous and awful but response is limited. Apparently, growing up behind a wall wearing pioneer dresses and long underwear is MUCH MUCH WORSE than all of those other things, and we must save those poor little misguided bastards from their own happiness.
Gimme a fucking break. And give those children back to their parents, apologize profusely, and go find someone who's ACTUALLY breaking the law.

I think I spilled some bleach

Cuz everything in my house is pale.

First, there is the cancer-fundraiser wash cloth for Ryan.



Not a terribly flattering photo of my little knit, but it's good enough. Since I took that picture I wove in the ends and washed it.

Next, there is this.



Sock Madness round 4 has a dyeing option at the end, so I needed some dyeable yarn. I *had* to make sure I had enough - two pounds oughta do it, don't you think?
But wait, what's that off to the side? The slightly darker, definitely crappier yarn? Why, it's handspun!



Ungodly overplied, poorly done, but done by me. Aimed for fingering, ended up with worsted.

Then there's this. I am a closet hooker.



Don't ask me why, but I got a wild hair to crochet tiny lace angels. Whatever.

F is for...

a REAL F post!
F is for Family.

F is for...

Slacker.
Yeah, okay, this isn't a real F post. It turns out it won't even be a real "anything" post. I have the spring doldrums. I have been reading, knitting, running around outside, having a grand time, but I gots nada to show for it. I am officially out of sock madness, but I made it one round farther than last year, so at least I'm improving. Last year there were a few socks that weren't to my taste, but this year they are all fantastic so far. I am so happy I signed up again!
On that note, I am going to crawl back into my allergy-induced fog, spare you from the bitching about the heat, and maybe get some energy back. (If the soda and cookies I just had don't do it, I've run out of options.) This weekend I have a whole two days of nowhere-going and laundry-doing, and I can't wait. Seriously. Yes, I do know how pathetic that is, thanks. If only I did as much interesting stuff as VUBOQ. I would also like to be able to call people kittens and say "smooches" without people slapping me, but alas. I am just not that fabulous.

E is for...

Extended absence.
It's not like I planned a blog break. I've been reading, commenting as I feel moved to do so, etc. I just haven't quite gotten back into the habit of a completely wired life after having been offline for so long when the MIL passed away. Plus, as the spring quickly moves to summer here, we have spent every weekend at the lake trying to prepare the old camper for when the stepkids come for Memorial Day, which leaves me weeknight evenings to do all the laundry and tidying that I usually did on the weekends. Yeah, who am I kidding? I didn't tidy and I rarely did laundry. But it's still piling up faster than usual, it seems.
There has been knitting, though. I finished my Zombie socks (Ravelry link) for round 1 of sock madness, and squeaked in under the wire for round 2 with the Reversai pattern (Ravelry link). It was quite a feat of knitting stupidity, too - it took me four days of evening knitting to finish the first one, so I decided to finish the second in one night. I had to give up at 2:30 when my hands stopped responding to what I wanted them to do, and my brain was so tired I screwed up more stitches than I knit correctly. I finished them this morning in the car on th way to the lake, and, all hail modern technology, took a picture, uploaded it, and emailed the judges from the car on the side of the road.

Zombies



Socks That Rock Light in Ruby Slippers (which is much better in person than in my photo) and Reynolds Soft Sea Wool in purple
Addi 2.0mm, 32in Turbos
Started 3/15/08
Finished 3/19/08

Reversai:



Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Tahoe
2.0 mm Addi turbo for magic loop
Started 3/31/08
Finished 4/5/08

A photo essay of almost-summer for Joan

This was our weekend.

Checking in.

Last weekend I had grand plans to knit, sew, relax, and slough off my obligations on the DH for a while. Alas, MIL passed away Monday afternoon after several long years of infirmity, and we sped off to be with FIL and help with the arrangements.
Interestingly, it was the best visit to Montana since I've known DH. Everyone was off work, and the shock had worn off by the time we got there, so we all spent days talking about MIL, laughing about dumb stuff they did as kids, or stuff she did before they were born. FIL doesn't talk much, but during the last week we all heard stories of how they met, where they lived before the kids came along, stories from earlier days. In the 8 years I've known him, I think he talked more this week than in the rest of the time combined. We took the kids to the park, we drove around and looked at the house she grew up in, and took FIL out to breakfast (his favorite) every day, and we had loads of good family time with no obligations. We laughed about the fact that well-wishers all brought chicken. (I think at one point, FIL had three family-size buckets, abut 60 pieces, of KFC at the house. Sympathy chicken, it was.) I knit on my socks while they talked about the crafts MIL did before her injury. The Bug played with Cousin D and the neighbor's puppy and always managed to know when someone, especially Grampa, needed a hug. MIL somehow arranged that the only two sunny times all week long were the afternoon she passed, and the hour of the cemetery gathering.

Punting

I was going to do this big snazzy green post for Joan, but alas, a family emergency has cropped up and we are off to the great snowy north. I will leave you with a couple of pictures of the weekend, and that thing that I stole from Joan today.



Bug and his friend Stick on the deco peacock in front of the zoo.



The only picture in a series of 10 when Bug wasn't running full tilt.



Playing in the water fountain after all the running.

Incredibly inaccurate thing I got from Joan. (After you read each sentence, say, "sha!" with the Wayne's World intonation and you will have my basic reaction.)

You Are Grass Green

Down to earth and a bit of a hippie, you are very into nature and the outdoors. You accept the world and people as they are. You don't try to change things. You are also very comfortable with yourself, flaws and all. Optimistic about the future, you feel like life is always getting better.

What Color Green Are You?

A day at the lake

We spent last weekend at the lake, and it was just what the doctor ordered. The Bug played in the dirt/mud/weeds to his little heart's content, and I sat in the shade and knitted a bit. We even got out on the lake for a couple short rides, but the combination of wind and lots and lots of rain for our area made the lake choppy, and full of debris. It's the highest I've ever seen it, just a foot or two shy of the high water mark, and has been low for so long that there are whole acres of trees underwater. Sunday we went up to the north end of the lake, drove to the marina to get gas, and made our way back to the launch.



The wind came up and kicked the waves up while we were in the marina, so what was a short little cruise there took three times as long to get back, fighting 4-6 foot swells the whole way! (For perspective, our little boat is 14 ft long.) I sat in the back, snuggling the Bug in his ginormous life jacket, and when I wrapped my sweater around his legs to keep him warmer, he decided all was well with the world and took a little nap. I don't know if it was because I was snuggling him or because he thought it was boring, but the level of this kid's fearlessness has me worried for his teenage years.

Here is a little panorama I made on Sunday. (It's a bit more than 180 degree view - the bridge was to the southeast of where I was standing, and the other end of the photo was due west. Click to embiggen, if you like.)



We had such a grand time while we were gone, and we all played so much, we were completely worn out when it was time to go.



And for Joan, who wants pictures of green, I present my lunch. Ahhh, avocado.



Pictures of actual knitting later, when I take the time to photograph some. (A bad blogger, I am.)

Sometimes

...you just need chocolate for lunch.



And if that chocolate is wrapped in pastry, deep-fried, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served with ice cream, so much the better.

Look, Joan! Flowers! (It officially hit 80 here yesterday.)



Baby sweater in the wild, with permission from Baby's papa.



(Bad color on Baby shows better color on sweater. He doesn't look like a tanning-bed accident in real life.)



(More natural coloration. I am not Pioneer Woman with Mad Photoshop Skillz.)

Additional randomness, I would like to tell you: if you are at all a plus-sized woman (which for the store in question means 14 or above, I think, and we will not comment on that at this time) and you have a hard time finding pants that fit, do please go right now to your nearest Lane Bryant and get yourself some Right Fit pants. I have THREE pairs of them, and I actually leave the store smiling, with a spring in my step, instead of either fuming or near tears, which is the usual. They redid their sizings so they are based not only on measurements, but proportion. Therefore, a woman with wide hips and thinner legs isn't trying to squeeze herself into the same size as a woman with a narrower waist and more booty. Refreshing, truly. I lurve them. Go buy them. Go tell your favorite store that everyone should have these options - even skinny stick women. (I would suggest that men have the right to nicely-fitting jeans too, but until they start making as many easy-care, attractive clothes for women as men get, I'm keeping mum.)

I am going to the lake this weekend and only packed four knitting projects. Is that enough?

Sock Madness (Ravelry link) starts soon and I can't wait.

And to complete the random, my wrist hurts.

D is for...

DONE!

My first ever completed adult-sized sweater.









(Note - my hair is wet, not greasy, and yes, I should have been standing up straight but I wasn't.)

Four Seasons Eyelet Cardigan, from Classic Elite City Park
Less than 16 full skeins of Classic Elite Four Seasons, 70% cotton/30% wool, in Blueberry
Knitpicks Options needles, mostly 4mm (US6), though I think I blew it and used a 7 for the back)
Started in September, 07; finished February 08
Buttons from Grandma's Spinning Wheel.

I love this cardigan, and I can't wait until it gets hot so I can wear it (in the office, where the AC is in the control of a horde of menopausal, hot-flashing women). When the Bug saw it yesterday, he said, "Wow, look at THAT!" Kinda made my whole day.

So. Very. Close.

Seams are sewn, buttons are installed.



I LOVE these buttons. (Click to embiggen.) It's a good thing, too, since they are sterling silver and were stupidly expensive (for buttons), but I think they look wonderful on the sweater and I couldn't be happier.

Except for one little thing.



Surgery is scheduled for this afternoon.

And a few Bug and sky pictures, because I have been remiss in my duties to tell you that my kid is the cutest ever.



Honkshu.



Neon frosting on face courtesy of Daddy.



Watching Mama with her sweater? BOR.ING.



Late sunset on eclipse day last week.