Happy 4th of July! It’s unbearably hot and the air is heavy! Seriously – this was taken at 5:15pm. Granted it’s a thermometer that’s on the wall of the Porch/Florida room that was here when we moved in and I have no idea how accurate it is, but it feels that hot, no doubt!

The sky is grey and if my headache is any indication, rain is in the forcast. (ETA 5:40p – it’s POURING now, complete with massive BOOMING thunder!) But my day has been quiet and productive in a knitty kind of way, and I’m not at all sorry we turned down a few BBQ invites, or that we’re not someplace else.

I read an interesting Op/Ed this morning, titled “Celebrate the patriotism of dissent”. It was a good read – and this paragraph has been ringing in my head ever since. (Just sayin’… )

[...] Jefferson instructed us that Independence Day is a day for celebratory reflection. It is a day not for chest-thumping martial ardor and jingoism, but for honoring and giving renewed life to the ideas that made the Declaration of Independence what it is: an “expression of the American mind,” the philosophical foundation for our idealized way of life and a beacon for those everywhere who aspire to govern themselves democratically.

And since I promised a WIP report:

Yup,it’s a Baby Genius from Mason Dixon Knitting. It’s a nice simple repeat, and it knits up pretty quick. I dropped a needle size from recommended, because I like the tighter, yet sqooshier fabric it makes this way. I may need to grab a 2nd ball to make it burp cloth length, but we’ll see how far this one goes first.

Next, a bag I’m making up as I go along for the Knit Sock Kit Swap. I’m using Paton’s Classic, and size 11 needles. The rest is a mystery at this point :winky:

And in the interest of full disclosure, below is this months Dishcloth knit along post-mortem. I comehow missed 2 entire rows when I was knitting, and since I was only 15 rows in, I figured I would just rip it out and start fresh – tomorrow maybe?

And now that I am completely free of Nextel, and my Razr is up and running, I spent a little time yesterday customizing it. I’m not done yet, but for now, I have an EVH wallpaper, (LOVE that t-shirt!! click for bigger) and I added 3 VH ringtones (“5150″ of course, as well as “316″ and “Can’t Get This Stuff No More” )

The neighbors have let us know they have plenty of fireworks, so we won’t be missing out on a show, so I’m going to go knit awhile longer, and wait for it to get dark. Hope everyone had a safe and Happy 4th!

Since I didn’t get to it last night, I made sure I found time earlier this evening to felt the Vintage Bubble Bag I made.

Specs:
Pattern – Vintage Bubble Bag from Pursenalities
Wool – Cascade 220
Needles – Denise size 10’s & 13’s
Modifications – double stranded Cascade instead of using 1 strand Cascade, 1 strand Silk Garden, and altered stitch counts slightly

It’s shown with the same Smart Water bottle as in the prefelt pic… The other VBB I made (wow – almost exactly a year ago! June 5th) was made with Cascade and Silk Garden instead of just Cascade double stranded and it shrunk a lot less… but I think this one came out cute anyway. We won’t discuss the fact I was distracted by a phone call and couldn’t check it obsessively like I usually do when I’m felting, OK? :wink: Besides, I’ve tugged and prodded it a bit since I snapped this picture, so it’s a bit better shaped now.

I’m working on the baby stuff, even though the STR is calling screaming my name. The deal I made with myself is since I have to knit for 2 babies due a day apart, I will finish the set for one baby, make myself some socks, and then knit for the 2nd baby. I know me, if I cast on for anything other than what HAS to get done, I will lose all self control and knit what I WANT to knit. (Sad, isn’t it?)

I’m not gonna get into the Presidential speech from last night except for this one question… did it bother anyone but me that he kept saying “catch and release” like these people were fish? I mean really, wherever you stand on the immigration issue, I think it is fair to say the people involved are PEOPLE, not hunting fodder, right? *sigh*

Since I have a bit more work to finish up (although it is FUN work, a client needs a slideshow and I’m using a Flickr RSS feed and OPML to make it happen – I’m such a dork ) that’s it from me tonight.

No knitting to discuss, I’m way too hopped up in PO’d mode at the moment. Knitting content will return tomorrow, so please feel free to go away and come back then if you don’t wish to read the potentially unpolitically correct rantings of one pissed off woman.

I have read not one but two different articles today that have sent my blood boiling. I had to stop reading because I know one more article like these and my head might explode.

I believe in allowing people to make their own choices. What may or may not be good for me, may or may not be good for you. And while i realize there are religious implications behind some decisions, our government, which is allegedly seperated from the Church (or temple, or mosque or whatever religious entity fits) has ZERO place in telling me or anyone else how to make those personal, moral decisions. Yet in South Dakota (and potentially other states), they think differently.

ETA – read Mark Morford’s take here

South Dakota House has passed a law that will nearly ban all abortions in the state.

Supporters are pushing the measure in hopes of drawing a legal challenge that will cause the US Supreme Court to reverse its 1973 decision legalizing abortion.

The bill banning all abortions in South Dakota was passed 47-to-22 in the House.

Amendments aimed at carving out exemptions for rape, incest and the health of women were rejected.

The bill does contain a loophole that allows abortions if women are in danger of dying. Doctors who do those abortions could not be prosecuted.

I know this is a test of the Supreme Court with all the new players in place, and it is essentally re-opening the Roe v. Wade issue – which scares the hell out of me.

If this wasn’t enough, I then read this.

They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified.

I cannot even begin to comment on this rationally. Maybe I’m still too angry over the South Dakota thing, or maybe it is just a huge feeling of helplessness. I have felt for a really long time that this country was in trouble and every time another piece of evidence exposes how right I may be, I feel sadder. And angrier.

About the only thing I want to do right now is take a long hot shower, put on some clean jammies, crawl into bed, and hide. Instead though I will finish up the dinner dishes, make a cup of hot chocolate, and pick up my knitting. Because in the midst of all this crap that makes no sense and I can’t control, knitting and some hot chocolate seems like the perfect way to spend this cold, icy night.

ETA - so I lied, there is a TINY bit of knitting content – call it a reward for reading this far…
follow this link for a Koigu KPPPM sale – 15% off selected colors to make room for new inventory. I LOVE Kaleidoscope!

No knitting content today except for this – I got 2 great packages in the mail today – pics and details tomorrow though. 1st is a RAOK from Rebecca which was way sweet. Her note claims it ‘isn’t much” but I completely disagree!! (You’ll all have to wait till tomorrow to agree with me) 2nd, I got the 2nd part of my last package from my International Wool Fairy – she had mentioned in her reveal package that she had one more thing for me, handmde no less! It’s GORGEOUS, and again, you will have to wait till tomorrow to agree with me, sorry!

I have a ton of work to do, and to boot, I have to make noodle pudding to take with me to my dad’s for dinner tonight. He specifically asked me to make my great grandmother’s recipe, and he’s my dad, how can I say no?

It’s really easy, and really yummy (and while not exactly low cal/fat, it’s fine once in a while)

Noodle Pudding

Preheat oven to 450

8 oz broad (also called extra wide) noodles
1/4 lb (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream
1 pint cottage cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup crushed cornflakes
1/2 cup lt brown sugar

Cook noodles as directed on package, and drain. Once drained, mix in stick of butter until melted. Pour noodles into a 9 x 13 pyrex baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs, vanilla and milk. When fully blended, pour over noodles. Mix gently to ensure all noodles are covered, then sprinkle the crushed cornflake/brown sugar mixture to cover. Bake for 30 minutes. Viola!

And in other news, THIS article scares the hell outta me. But then again, it’s on the heels of this – I have no idea what we are in store for, and quite frankly, I am afraid. I have found when things I can’t control start to overwhelm me, the best thing to do is take stock, and then mobilize on things I CAN control. So, I am going to finish my work, make my noodle pudding, and have a nice dinner with my family tonight. And then tomorrow, I will find ways, even small ways, to do something that matters.

Isn’t it fun to use words that you have no idea if they are really words or not? I wasn’t sure about multi-topical until I looked it up – and apparently, it is NOT a word – with or without a hyphen. It should be though so I’m leaving it as my title

Just a few quick hits today, in no particular order….

I got the CUTEST ecard from my KRSP today – you know how sometimes a card ust really hits your funny bone? This one did for sure! Big thanks to my wonderful KRSP for the big ol’ smile

Remember back in June when I asked people to go read about the IFC? It looks like Governor Pataki has announced the removal of the International Freedom Center (IFC) from Ground Zero. Again, this topic is very close to home, and I know my opinions are my own. Whether you agree or disagree with the IFC, I thought some of you might want to know.

Any fellow TiVo junkies out there? If you are like me and consider your TiVo an indespensible part of the family :wink: you MUST go check out Galleon. Basically the Galleon software runs on your PC and hosts applications that can be viewed and controlled on your TiVo – go check out the site for screenshots and much more info.

And in knitting news, my sleeve stands at 30 some odd rows till the finish line, and I have decided without question I will be doing the hood before I start the 2nd sleeve. I have no idea why the sleeve is annoying me as much as it is, but I’m just not feeling the love. Could it be that I REALLY just want to finish this sweater already and the sleeves are kind of tedious? And speaking of, I’m off to see if I can get closer to the finish line.

Rachael over at Yarn-A-Go-Go had a pretty terrific idea to support the Human Rights Campaign. Whether you believe in same sex marriages or not, don’t you think other people still should have the right to make their own lifestyle choices? On the surface, this looks like a matter of sexual preferences. If you think about it though, it is a much larger issue (not downplaying the importance, just pointing out it is a symptom of a bigger scarier monster) If we allow the Government to make our partner decisions a matter of legal concern, at what point will religion follow? Or any other lifestyle choices, like profession, attire, etc? I know, that sounds crazy but if you think about it, objectively, it might not be so far fetched after all.

I’ll stop here, as this could become an entire monolog of political of societal commentary. And in exchange for my self-control :wink: will you please go read Rachael’s post?

New post tonight with (hopefully) a finished back, and maybe even a start of the 1st sleeve? I’ll fill you in later on what kept me from finishing the back last night, since I’m running a little late and have to get to PT now.

updated 7:50pm
A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush from Michael Moore