Author: tabitha

Alea iacta est

My sock, my kids and I went to the polls and made our contribution to the political process. I cannot tell you how relieved I am that it is finally over. No more debates and political bickering. No more advertisements that end with “I am Joe the Politician and I approve this ad” No more political signs littering the highways or political emails littering my inbox. It is over. Done. The die has been cast.

Someone behind me in line wanted to know why my kids weren’t “in school.” I told him “They are. This is their civics lesson.” Think about it. No matter how many mock elections kids take part in, how many books a kid reads about the voting process or how many worksheets they fill out about the political process, there is really no substitute for seeing the process work first hand. The kids get to watch the registration process, see a real ballot up close(yes, I took the time to let them read part of it),and, when I am feeling really adventurous, place the ballot in the reader. What a field trip!

I don’t guess I will ever forget the trip I made to the polls with my grandfather when I was about 6 or 7. The voting machines were the old kind with the levers. I actually got to go into the voting booth with him. I remember the thrill of closing the curtain behind us. Granddaddy was a straight ticket voter, though I forget which party he supported _{sorry Granddaddy}. He was also a loud man. As Granddaddy was instructing me how to pull the big lever to vote for all the people in his favorite party, my grandmother was shushing him for being too loud. It was a grand adventure.

Our polling places were a mess because the county rearranged voting districts a month before the election. Something to do with a court order. Consequently, a process that normally takes 15 – 20 minutes took a hour. Glad I had some knitting with me. I completed about an inch of my sock while waiting for my turn to vote. The lady who handed me my ballot was fascinated by my sock and expressed an interest in learning how to knit. I gave her my card and told her I would be glad to teach her. I hope she calls.

So now we wait for the results of today’s elections. Who knows what the future holds. But I do know that I will enter into that future with knitting needles in my hands. I have decided that in the next election, I am only supporting candidates who will make fiber related purchases tax deductible.

For anyone who might want to know, the sock that went to the polls with me is Express Lane by Diane Mulholland from The Inside Loop Spring 2008. I did cheat and substitute a different heel for the short row one in the pattern. Even though I did a heel substitution, Express Lane is a great pattern that is fun and easy to knit. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Summer Sock in Dusty Rose. It is lovely wool/cotton blend that is quite nice to knit and has lovely variations in the color that make it interesting.

And for those who are scratching their heads about the post title, here is a brief history lesson. Julius Caesar reportedly said “Alea iacta est” (which translated means “The Die is cast” or, in essence, the decision is made) in 49BC before he took troops across the Rubicon to invade northern Italy against the orders of the Roman Senate. This act started a civil war. This phrase is also quoted by Shakespeare and Dr. Frankenstein. It is one of the handful of historical phrases that I remember from Latin class. See Mrs. Davis, I did pay attention in class.

Ramblings and Rants

This week has been one big, long roller coaster ride. One minute up, the next down.

Up
I finished my Baby Surprise Jacket

It still needs buttons but I consider it complete since I still haven’t found the buttons to use on it. I might make a button shopping run next week. But I don’t have to give this until Christmas so there is time

Down
The ragweed is still causing me migraines. They are not as severe, which is good, but they are more frequent.

Up
The kids have been working especially diligently with the lessons each day. I haven’t had to threaten anyone about finishing their math all week. SmallFry has even completed math without being reminded two days.

Down

TheMutt decided that the back yard was no longer fun and escaped from the yard to roam the neighborhood Wednesday night. I spent an hour chasing her and another two hours repairing the place in the fence where she escaped. Resulting in my missing Wednesday night Bible class and gaining about 4 blisters.

Up
I finally got the print copies of Raindrops on Roses pattern listed on my etsy store. I also have print copies available of the Emerald’s Lace pattern for those who do not like pdf downloads. If you wondering about the difference in price between Ravelry downloads and etsy, the additional fee is to cover the printing costs.

Down

The political spats are starting to take their toll on my patience. I will be so glad when November 5th is here so all this nonsense will be over. I was taught that a person’s political views were something to be kept private. So the outrageous level of bickering over politics is really getting to me. The thing that upsets me the most are the blanket generalizations being tossed around haphazardly. “If you support McBama/Bilen you are unpatriotic” or “If you support Ocain/Paden, you a can’t be a Christian.” Candidates are being smeared and demonized. People are getting blamed for things over which they have little control or bear equal responsibility. The current economic problems, for example, are the result of mistakes made by BOTH parties. Sorry to burst your bubble folks but Bill Clinton is as just responsible as George Bush. Republicans and Democrats have equally dirty hands in this fiasco. If you don’t believe me, do a little research and see who actually loosened the restrictions for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and who supported and was opposed regulation of those agencies. So it is time to quit passing out blame and get busy solving the problem. Finger pointing solves nothing.

I cannot even escape the arguing on my beloved Ravelry. The rudeness and snarkiness are everywhere. People have gone so far as to send hate mail to Casey and Jess, who from everything I can tell are the kindest, most generous and most patient humans on the planet. So my message to all the Republicrats and Demolicans out there is Get A Grip. I admire your passion for your candidate, but realize that there are others in the world who are just as passionate about their candidate. Let them be. You don’t get extra credit for being loudly supportive of any candidate. You have precisely one vote, just like all the rest of us. Use it wisely. Sorry. Rant over.

Up
A friend and I are going to get a booth at a local craft festival later this month. It should be fun and we are both hoping to make a little money. I have been busy knitting quick projects to sell. I have a nice stack of dishcloths/wash cloths. I have completed a number of hats as well as a few knitted bracelets. I am also working on several bath sets. I need to come up with a few more ideas of easy to knit projects that can be sold at reasonable prices. Anyone want to offer me any ideas?

To end on a happier note, I want to share this video with you.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZL6RGkPjws&hl=en&fs=1]
Slinky may not solve the world’s problems but it is good for a giggle. The resolution of the video isn’t great since it is from the 60’s but I think you will get the idea.

Of Spiders, Sweaters and Slinkies

Yesterday, I was feeding the mutt and found three ginormous, hugemongous garden spiders. Their webs were gigantic – the largest easily 4 feet across and probably 6 feet long. Glad I am only a little arachnophobic or I might never go in the back yard again. The one pictured is the smallest of the three but the only one who wasn’t camera shy. He is slightly larger in person – around the size of your thumb.

I have been knitting away but I cannot stay focused on any one project. So I knit a little on one thing and knit a little on the next. This method does add to my projects, I just can’t seem to complete anything. I do have a couple of photos to share.

I am in the home stretch for the Baby Surprise Jacket.

I must admit it is the oddest shaped sweater I have ever encountered. But then EZ did warn me. I am about 6 rows away from casting off and I cannot get motivated to finish it. I think the buttonholes on both sides of the placket thing has me bumfuzzled. So rather than complete it, I add a few rows to every project in my UFO pile.

Here is a long belated photo of the first of my Special Olympics scarves that was finished in mid-September.

Here are a bazillion wash cloths that I have been knitting when I get discouraged or distracted from other projects.

These will either end up at the local craft fair or as gifts. Don’t know which yet.

For my final bit of blathering I would like to get a little nostalgic. I was wandering through the thrift store Friday in search of canning jars when I ran across a display of these.

I haven’t played with a real Slinky since I was a kid. My kids have never seen anything but the cheap plastic kind. I couldn’t resist picking up a couple. There is nothing like a real Slinky. That lovely sproingy sound, the mind-numbing springiness, those wonderful stair descending abilities. Slinky is just plain fun. We have been having Slinky races all weekend. Sure Slinkies serve no real purpose in life. But if you need a little break from reality, they are guaranteed to bring a smile. That seems a pretty good purpose to me.

Of Toilets and Toaster Strudel

This weekend my hubby had to work out of town. The kids and I were left to our own devices for the whole weekend. Since they were distraught that Dad wouldn’t be here for our usual Saturday frolics, I was a little indulgent with them. We had a junk food party. We went early to the grocery store and I let them choose the menu for the day. (probably not the wisest idea I have ever had) We ended up with Toaster Strudel for breakfast, tacos for lunch (at least there were some vegetables in there) and Pizza Rolls for supper. About a billion calories with practically no nutritional value (I am such a good mother!) but I suppose it won’t kill them for one day. Most of the day was spent with games or movies (while knitting). Preteena won Harry Potter Scene It which made her feel much better since she lost Uno. She also made up a game she called Mix, Match and Laugh, where you attempt to match a joke to its proper punchline. Jokes with random punchlines are quite interesting. For example:

Question:Why did the chicken cross the road?
Answer: What did you expect for 50 cents, a beetle? bah-dump bah

Question: Why did the banana go out with the prune?
Answer: The captain was standing on the deck.bah-dump bah

Where the fun really started was bedtime. SmallFry went to the upstairs bathroom to put on pajamas and brush his teeth. He started yelling “Mommy, come quick, it’s a leak.” These are never good words to come from the mouth of a 7 year old. When I got to the bathroom he was telling me that the toilet was “making funny sounds”. So being the idiot that I am, I removed the top from the tank to see what the problem might have been. Water shooting everywhere, kids screaming, general mayhem. Naturally, it took ages to get the water shut off so it wouldn’t spray the entire bathroom. This was followed by wiping and mopping up water, redressing of kids and beating my head against the wall for my stupidity. A smart person, which I am obviously not, would have turned the water off before removing the top from the tank. (Home repair information, even though the bowl refill tube is itty-bitty, it can dispense a huge volume of water in an incredibly, short amount of time.) It turned out to be a simple problem to repair but it sure made a huge mess. My kids were astounded that I repaired a toilet. I didn’t even use a wrench to do it. (told you it was a simple problem So water cleaned up, clothes changed and toilet repaired, we got back on track with putting the kids to bed.

Once the kids were in bed, I decided to play a mindless computer game (Chuzzle is amazingly addictive)to relax myself a bit before I tucked in. Hubby called to check in and we were chatting when I heard crying from SmallFry’s bedroom. He had been stung by a wasp that got into the house somehow. So I pulled out the Sting Stop and spent the next half hour calming the child and trying to find the wasp without waking up Preteena in the next room. No luck finding the wasp, I finally coaxed the little one to go back to bed.

One more time, I tried to unwind enough to go to sleep. Just about the point I got nice and sleepy, SmallFry is back to tell me that he found the wasp. So flash light in one hand, shoe in the other, I went wasp hunting. (always a pleasure at 11:30 at night) Killer wasp destroyed, it was time to coerce the little one to get back into his bed. Not an easy task since he had twice confronted a wasp there. Is it any wonder that I am sleep deprived today?

I did get a little knitting done in my hubby’s absence. I restarted this Express Lane sock.

Yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Summer Sock in Rose.
Note to self, Check Gauge before knitting the entire toe next time.

And I started this Baby Surprise Jacket.

Yes, I am probably the only person on the entire planet who hasn’t knitting one of these already. I haven’t knitted Jaywalker or Clapotis either.

Also worked on my second Special Olympics Scarf

and a few washcloths for the kids.

Finally Fall

The summer heat has finally broken and it is starting to cool off. Air conditioners off, windows open. Here is some more evidence that fall is finally here.

My confederate rose is starting to bloom. It is the last thing that blooms at my house. The spectacular blooms are definitely worth the wait. I think I will root a couple more for other places in my yard.

My friend has tons of these lovely ripe pears on her tree. She let me pick some for canning.

I used part of pears to can 14 pints of yummy pear butter. Found a great recipe that uses the crock pot. I am beginning to wonder how I managed to cook without the crock pot.

The cooler weather has had me in a serious knitting mood. This is a good thing since we are entering the holiday knitting season. So for the next two months I am going to be working on WIPs and holiday knitting.

My latest completed project is another copy of Raindrops on Roses.

With the help of my wonderful test knitters, I have finally gotten the pattern completed.
It is available now as a Ravelry download.
Later this week I will have hard copies available through my Etsy store.

Now to tie up a few loose ends. I forgot to announce the winner for my blog contest for the Ravelympics. Since I am feeling generous today I have chosen two winners with the help of SmallFry. I had him choose my random numbers. The winners are kadezmom and Tabitha (not me but the other Tabitha). If you will send your email address to tabitha AT tabithasheart DOT com (substitute symbols for the uppercase words and delete the spaces), I will email you a copy of the pattern in pdf format. If you prefer a hard copy to a pdf file, send me your snail address instead. I have discovered that the sweater pattern is going to take a while to get it into usable format because it was sized for my oddly shaped body. I will send that one when I have it completed. Thank you all for sharing your recipes.

To get myself in gear for holiday knitting, I joined the fun at the Carefree Holiday-or-not KAL. They are having a number of contest. If you sign up before October 1st, you are eligible for the welcome prize drawing. If you tell them you found out about the KAL from me, we both get our names entered a second time. Information on the welcome prize drawing is here. Did I mention that the prizes are Crystal Palace yarns. So come on and join us for the fun.