Today I only work half day, and then I have off until Sunday. Ahh, you say... A nice relaxing weekend?
I think not!
This afternoon I'll work on my trigonometry homework and take a quiz, then off to my Mechanisms class by 5.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), I'll study for my trigonometry exam and go up to the college to take it around noon-ish. Then I'll work in the CAD lab until they kick me out to work on my Mechanisms project. I must admit that when I get home, I'll probably drink some rum.
Thursday, we'll get ready to set up the Christmas tree - everything vacuumed and all the boxes down. Then Tim and I are going to the casino for dinner. Either St. James Gate, or the brand new Emeril restaurant, BAM (Burgers and More).
Friday we head to NE Philadelphia to pick Liz up at Erik's house where we'll finally meet his parents, I hope. Then home for steak and setting up the Christmas tree.
Saturday is Hawk Mountain - If anyone is interested in joining us, we'll meet at the visitor's center at 12:30, but let us know if you're coming so we know whether to wait for you or not (x-posted on
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hawkandwillow). Sunday, we'll have a nice leisurely lunch take Liz grocery shopping and get her back to Temple for the last few weeks of the semester.
I'm going to need a weekend from the weekend! Anyway, there may not be an ODJ tomorrow, but I'll see if I can squeeze one in. Hoping to get some inspiration for a new poem up on the mountain. Squeezing in some crocheting since squares for the community afghan are in full swing (1 down, and another one started). I may actually scan them rather than photograph them since my crochet photography is pretty lousy.
And that, as they say, is that.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
I have finally figured out how to incorporate fabric squares, so please let me know if you're interested. for the afghan size I had in mind, we would need 12 fabric squares (or fewer). If we get more, then we'll just make a separate wall hanging or blanket of just fabric squares.
Here are the guidelines for fabric squares:
Finished size - 5 to 5-1/2" with no open or unhemmed edges.
Low loft batting (under 1/4"), preferably cotton or other natural fiber.
The square must be quilted or edged so that the batting does not bunch up during washing. We need 1/4" to 3/8" space around the outside edge to punch holes and crochet a border around. (If you don't know how to do this, the crocheters will take care of it - just leave us the space to do it).
I would prefer to have all the fabric squares no later than June so we have time to lay them out and make the borders around them.
As a reminder - crocheted, knitted, woven squares should be 6" x 6", and preferably made of wool, cotton, angora, bamboo or other natural fiber in any color or pattern, in worsted weight or thicker (chunky, homespun etc). I will wash and block all the squares. Layout will begin in July based on the number of squares I have by midsummer (June 21), but we may be able to add more squares around the outside edges up until and including Friday at ECT if the squares are washed and blocked to exactly 6" square when you bring them. I'm hoping to have an assembly workshop (or a place in the pavilion) where anyone can come and help with final assembly before the auction.
Ideally, we would like to have 154 squares total. That will make a Queen sized afghan (lays over the top of a queen, but not down the sides) and will be 66x84 inches.
Fewer squares will make a smaller sized final project as follows:
140 = long Double 60x84
130 = Double 60x78
117 = 3/4 size bed. 54x78
112 = Long Twin 48x84
104 = Twin 48x78
56 = 42x48 child size blanket
48 = Lapghan/wheelchair size/toddler size 36x48
Smaller than that would be good for a wall hanging, shoulder blanket, etc, but I know we can all come up with more than 48 squares. Don't you?
Looking forward to seeing what we all come up with! Just bought my wool yesterday, and I'll post my squares as I get them done. I invite anyone else to do the same!
sares and sorge and him sylfa hæfþ
blæd and blysse and eac byrga geniht.
Thank you Jesse!
"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world"
(obviously by looking at me, I'm two people, but let's just say I believe this)
and because I am two people, I ate two cookies:
"A kind word will keep someone warm for years."
Not so sure about this one. I am sure there are many cold people who would much rather have a coat.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming.
OK. On to Sunday. Got together with Lewen and her family for lunch and crocheting. Brad's light sabers are to die for. Lewen's Chicken Pasta and Apple Cake were fantabulous. Lewen's children are wonderful. Bonnie reminds me so much of Liz with her artistic ability - I think she'll go far. Amanda was about the most helpful teenager I've ever met. All of that and a smile on her face the whole time. Wow.
So we ate lunch and then Becky, Jesse and their kids came over. All the little kids played so quietly in the back room, we hardly knew they were there. I got to do a crochet lesson for the first time. I'm not sure how I did, but it was fun. Becky, Amanda and Lewen each did a row of chain, a row of single crochet and a row of double crochet. We didn't get to half-double crochet, triple crochet or things like increasing or decreasing, so that just means we'll have to do it again sometime!
Speaking of getting together again, we also talked about getting some people together more often to do general crafting/sewing/knitting/crocheting together just for something to do while we sit and visit. Don't want to call it Stitch 'n' Bitch as other groups call it because that implies gossip and complaining, and I want this to be more positive. But I sure would like to create some sort of group where we can all sit, get to know each other better, be face to face so we are not just relying on this computer thing.
Back before computers, there were "sewing bees" and "quilting bees" where people would get together just this same socialization activity. I think we need to go back to that.
Now for an afternoon of crocheting and chatting with some "newer" friends with whom I see a beautiful relationship budding!
Life is good!
Confirmed the junco sighting this morning, and we had a beautiful visitor that made the habitat completely quiet for quite a time:
A Sharp-Shinned Hawk! Love it when they stop by!
I love this time of year. It's so colorful.
I looked out the bathroom window as the sun came over the rooftop and shone on the youthful birch trees below. There is one leaf left on one of them. It's at the very top. The sun illuminated it beautifully and it sparkled all by itself. What a wonderful way to start my day!
Have a great day everyone!
Are You Sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
Tiny fingers soft and red
Only fuzz upon your head
Who will you be?
How will you grow?
It is not possible to know.
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
Playful morning at an end
When you wake we will pretend
Who will you be?
What are your dreams?
Life is shorter than it seems.
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
Schoolwork finished for the day
Later we’ll have time to play
Who will you be?
What do you see?
Hope you will have time for me.
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
All your time is spent on dance.
Waiting for another chance
Who will you be?
A dancer dear?
Please don’t restrict your choices here.
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
On his shoulder strong and bold
Will he keep you from the cold?
Who will you be?
Will you be friends?
After the excitement ends?
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
You have turned your mind to art
And all is mended in your heart
Who will you be?
Will you be strong?
Oh yes, I knew it all along.
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
Years of High School now are done
Growing up's not always fun
Are you ready?
Adulthood calls
And soon you'll enter Temple's halls.
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
You will soon be leaving home
Your goal to study Art in Rome
How will you fare?
Will you succeed?
Will you have everything you need?
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
Living out and on your own
I can't believe how much you've grown
Who are you now?
In gothy chic.
Independent and unique.
Are you sleeping?
Softly breathing
A mother’s love will never end
And I can also call you friend.
Who will you be?
The question’s deep
And I will ponder while you sleep.
Anyone interested in a community project? If so, please crochet, knit or weave
a 6" x 6" square, any color or pattern, preferably natural fiber (wool, cotton,
bamboo, angora, etc) worsted weight or thicker, and send them to me. I'll
assemble them into a scarf, shawl, blanket or bedspread (depending upon how many
squares we get) or we can all assemble them at ECT next summer.
The final product will be donated to the ECT Auction for the Children.
I would love to have community effort from those who produce, spin, and/or dye
wool as well. Even if you don't crochet or knit, if you want to send the
yarn/fiber, we'll get them crocheted or knitted into squares!
I'll plan on washing and blocking the squares before assembling them, so let me
know if the fiber is colorfast.
If interested, please reply to me privately jingleortj at aol dot com, and I'll
send you my address.
Please let me know in advance if you plan on participating so I'll know what to
start laying out as the squares arrive.
Thanks!
Jill
It has been nearly 2 months since she's been home. Last year she was home more often. The time between visits is getting longer, and that's as it should be. I hope it gets easier for me, though. Especially if she goes to Italy next year. I am so proud of her.
Only 3-1/2 more hours to go!
The late season trade with Cleveland for my favorite pigs (Carrasco, Marson and Donald) has certainly paid off.
And just in case someone thinks I can post anything without getting nostalgic - guess again.
October 17, 1978. Game 6 of the World Series. Dodger Stadium, Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles California. My best friend's dad was an insurance salesman and he had box seats in the Loge. I've never before or since had such amazing seats in any stadium. It was a beautiful day, as I recall, but I think the hills were burning.
My favorite player, Davey Lopes, always the lead-off hitter every time I was in the stadium, hit a lead-off home run to start the game in style.
Unfortunately, Bucky Dent and Brian Doyle had other plans, and Don Sutton couldn't hold them off. Lopes put another RBI in the third, but Mr. October, Reggie Jackson himself, having been the MVP in the 1977 World Series hit a two run homer in the seventh against the relief pitcher and the game (and the series) was all but over at 7-2 Yankees.
And that, my friends, is why I hate the Yankees.
That was the last year I really had time to enjoy baseball. I went to a few games in the summer of 1979 before heading off to college. A few years later I moved to San Francisco, but never could get into the Giants and it was a dangerous thing to be a Dodgers fan in Candlestick Park. Moving to Allentown in 1989 didn't make me a Phillies fan. The stadium is just too far away. But ooh baby, Coca Cola Park is less than two miles away from work and home and I am back! Go Phillies! Go Pigs!
No?
Bummer.
They come at the time of the year just before everything gets old and dies.
Everything. This time of the wheel of the year where autumn translates into middle-to-old-age (me), I am more reflective (in case some of you haven't noticed) about what that means to me. But... There's more in that apple than meets the eye... So here's a little something in Galdarag to keep that youthfulness even in the waning part of the year:
Ageless are the Aesir
At the onset of Autumn
When Iðunn's sweet apples
Are Iðunn's eternal apples.
Crunchy and juicy
Crisp as the air
The yellow fruit of fall
The yellow fruit of youth.
P.S. I didn't friends lock this one - there aren't any deep dark secrets in it :grin: Let me know if you want off the ODJ filter.
So here goes:
Marriage
- The Good: In light of recent events, we have consciously taken a couple of days to spend together to be sure our relationship is still healthy, and it has passed with flying colors. More details than that are not forthcoming.
In spite of my aging digestive system, we celebrated our 26-1/2th anniversary this weekend with a delicious meal and champagne. - The Bad: Tim’s new schedule sucks with the burning suckage of sucky suckness.
That translates into a lot less time to spend together. - The Past: is the past.
It shall stay in the past.
All I have to say is that it hasn’t always been easy, but there have been very few lumps in the last 12 years.
Money
- The Good: Relative to 25 years ago, it’s not bad.
I let Tim make Minestrone for the first time in 24 years. It was tasty. - The Bad: Relative to recent history, it’s bad. I let Tim make Minestrone for the first time in 24 years.
- The Past: Minestrone. Days and weeks on end. Complete devastating moneyless times which led to lots of other problems. We got through it. Somehow.
Health
- The Good: I am going to get out more and get more exercise. Hawk Mountain is a start. I’d love to do the Shades of Death trail when the rhododendrons are blooming. If not this year, next.
- The Bad: I am heavier than ever, my digestive system hates me. My pain level is getting above the tolerance level for the first time in 11 years.
- The Past: My 13th surgery 19 years ago was my happy surgery. I have only had three since then. I am very lucky.
Having Spina Bifida isn’t always easy.
Offspring
- The Good: Liz is learning to become independent. She hardly even needs me anymore.
- The Bad: Liz is learning to become independent. She hardly even needs me anymore.
- The Past: 20 years ago tomorrow, I found out I was pregnant. What an amazing and miraculous thing that was. I will always remember that day, and the weekend before it. And so many years since.
Work
- The Good: I love having Friday afternoons off.
Tim is putting in quite a lot of overtime. - The Bad: The 10% salary cut that comes with Friday afternoons off sucks.
I miss Tim. - The Past: Periods of no work, limited disability payments, Tim finding dead people at work and changing careers. Glad I’m not living in the past.
Spirit
- The Good: I will stand and pray with my fists held to the sky.
- The Bad: I am not ready to lead or hold the Raven Banner high.
- The Past: I am glad I no longer follow…
School
- The Good: I am actually enjoying Trig
- The Bad: Except the tests
- The Past: College Drop-Out - it was the right thing at the time
The Moon sees me
Shining above
The old oak tree
Oh, let the light
That shines on me,
Shine on the one I love.
1968 amidst the political turmoil, civil unrest, the assasinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Apollo program pushed forward with the final unmanned and the first manned missions (6-8) toward landing on the moon. I was 7. The following year, Apollo 9 & 10 built up the excitement for this little girl, culminating in the landing of Apollo 11 in July and Apollo 12 in November. The rest of the world may have been reeling. I was in and out of the hospital several times. It rained a lot in February in Pasadena. But I remember mostly the Apollo program.
The moon kind of faded out of the realm of space exploration after that, but the impact of that program affected who I was to become beyond all expectations. I wanted so badly to work for NASA. It was not clear to an 8 year old that my physical issues would prevent me from living on the moon, or even going there. I built models of the Eagle and visited the Kennedy Space Center on one of our family trips to Florida. Later of course, it became clear that the Air Force wouldn't ever let me in their doors - oh how I would have loved to go to the academy in Colorado Springs - and as I got older many other doors slammed in my face because of my parents' concept of where crippled people could make their way in the world.
Finally forced into a Computer Science major because handicapped people can't be musicians or journalists, I did get a couple of huge benefits. Namely, I got a job at NASA for the summer and ended up working there for a year and a half. Although working for NASA is not my cup of tea since it is far too boring, it gave me a look into my dream.
I still love the moon. I still think there are a lot of things we can learn from it. I still think that it is the best place for handicapped people to live - gravity is not our friend. I would live there in a heartbeat if we could develop a viable and self-sufficient colony. But that is the stuff of science fiction.
Until now. The LCROSS mission was execute in four minutes this morning creating a dust cloud under a permanently shadowed mountain to see if there is water ice on the moon. Water ice means hydrogen and oxygen in the moon's surface. That would be so incredibly awesome. I can't wait to find out what they found.
And there are more moon missions planned.
To me, this is the impossible dream.
I still have the fiber for Ullr, Freyja, and Loki sitting in a bag, and I will get them done at some point, but I promised this pillow to Liz months ago.
In one sense, it's good that I took a break after Mom's shawl. It was not only intense because I needed it to get finished quickly, but there was also a lot of emotion that went into it. Then school started and I quickly became overwhelmed with Trigonometry which, now that the first test is over, I realize I am much better at understanding with a clear and de-stressed mind. So crocheting will actually be useful rather than distracting - though I don't think I'll be calculating my pattern lengths with trig any more than using the pythagorean theorem (as I already do).
Looking forward to Hawk Mountain next weekend, but if no one else is coming, we may go the following weekend instead just to give the leaves another week to change their clothes.
Guess that's it for now. Time to go home and do homework.
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