this is interesting!

 to the new graduates, youngsters just getting out school.

I'll go knit now and try to turn off my thinker.   Always gets me in trouble.

it's not "insurance" we're talking about

Sorry, but this is just too much to pass by:

http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/06/and-lets-drop-the-word-insuran.html

Mother's Day

My favorite flowers for Mothers' Day

Small Knit

I thought I'd try something small to get my knitting mojo back and make a cowl (ravelry link) and whip up a nice, useable FO.  It's portable and so easy to get done.  And, I can use some yummy yarns or use up some yarns!

Here is a look at how it might end up.

ttfn

Well, THAT was Fun (not).

So we Moved. Again. In December.
We must be in some sort of a vortex--move in the month of December once, and you end up repeating the mistake again, and again. And again. The first "recent" move was in December and was a major relocation from Hot-Lanta to Metro DC (McLean, VA). That was NO fun. You know this was no fun for me if you have already read through the rest of this blog. You can get all my complaining. Well, some of it. (There's lots more where that came from.) When you move in December, you have to juggle all the stress of moving, and all the holiday issues and then also all your things are in a STATE (chaos) while you are supposed to be gathering all your well-organized files and receipts for filing with the crooks, er IRS. Our intention was to move to a more "urban" and smaller (smaller--as in easier-to-maintain, as in MORE TIME TO KNIT!!!!) place. We put our house on the market before the whole financial world fell apart and just before the vultures started picking clean the bones of anyone selling a house. Fair Market Value: Fair market value of a home is the price that both a buyer would be willing to pay and a seller would be willing to accept WITHOUT UNDUE OUTSIDE PRESSURE. We no longer live in the same America I grew up in. And Fair Market Value does not exist anymore. Mortgage: did you know that the word means "Death Pledge"? The "American Dream" has turned into the American Nightmare.

This is one of the things that keeps me sane:

Just as we (myself and two daughters) were really getting some knitting momentum all h*@% broke loose. I haven't knit much (or paid attention to this blog) much since. We thought, "instead of 3 & 1/2 baths and miles kitchen space to keep clean, let's look for a smaller place;   hows' 'bout  One Bath and One half bath."   (We're all compact and efficient with our stuff--what we want is more time.) Well.  We ended up in a gorgeous townhouse, which is really the thing to do in metro DC. It is like PULLING TEETH to get work done on a house here. In a townhouse, if you play your cards right, you can get low- , almost no-maintenance situation. The outside is all landscaped and maintained and ours is so nice to come home to.   But.  Five and a half baths!  Opps, we did it again.  (I'm calling Maid Brigade.)

This also keeps me sane and happy:



Make it a great day. You are the only one who can.

Busy Fall and Christmas

We've had quite a whirlwind Fall and Christmas! Daughter #2 is in training for Russian Vaganova Ballet. Quite serious she is, and classes and rehearsals nearly every day (off Thursdays, and Sunday!) Every December they perform a new version of The Nutcracker Ballet. SO, this makes for a busy Fall right off the bat. Then, there were kitties, and knitting of course! and visiting family, and truckloads of leaves (beautiful this year) and more.
































I'll leave a little photo tour for now, and come back with more comments when time allows.

ARE YOU NICE?

Well, I can only read this stuff in small snippets.

ReadThisArticle!!!


If you are not eating anything right now, and you have a strong heart, go read the article about sheep.

I thought that surely Knitters would know about this, and DO something. I've seen what can happen when Knitters set their minds to it and take action. Well, I was horrified to read about Merino Wool (mostly from Australia, New Zealand, and some other places--read labels, check sources) ABUSE. I'm more surprised to find that many Knitters I've written to don't even respond. What's UP with THAT? Either people don't know, or they don't care. I HAVE to believe that they care, and they just don't know. We'll see. This shows the real story: photos of innocent sheep . And, sorry I had to be the one to inform you, but it's "got" to stop! If you agree, here is info on how everyone can help: What We Can Do.

Just a little over a year ago, there were no knitters in our house. Now, there are two Knitters (DD and me), and one little knitter (youngest DD). When we found out the real story about Merino, it made us SICK.
Our stash is shamefully (wonderfully) LARGE, with three of us always finding more wool. You can imagine! BUT. We check what we are buying before we buy. (You should, too.)



If you are brave, and if you really care, read up and let me know what you think! Help spread the word.