Yarn Me!

I was at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival this weekend, I had briefly entertained the idea of asking someone to go with me - briefly. I am not a big crowd person - I've been to a total of 3 large concerts in my life, the last one when I was around 19 and it was so miserable! Smaller ones I can do, but big stuff for me is no fun.Since I've done this venue before  I've found the best time is to get there right before it opens, I can be done by noon, 1pm and then heading home away from traffic. Pittsburgh is fun in the morning but the afternoon - I went to Whole Foods ONCE on a weekend late afternoon, holy crow is all I have to say. SO, I got there about 8:30 which was great, I had enough time to figure out the parking and to make a memo on my phone of where exactly I parked. I do this all the time since we had that rather horrible experience in Newark airport coming back from Florida. We arrived at night and neither of us could remember which parking area we parked in - and it had snowed!. I parked and then paid ahead of time in the little machine that sucks your credit card in and makes you panic a little that it might not give it back. It did and I went to get a day pass. Fortunately I'd brought enough cash to cover the admission - forgot about that. 

I hadn't registered for any classes and was sorry I hadn't - there were a few I passed that looked like fun. This year they added in quilting and sewing booths and demonstrations neither of which I can do, but I admire those that can. The new sewing machines are expensive - almost $4000, but they are computer driven and can happily embroider without you even being there! What's the point! The knitting  booths were amazing, I found my favorite alpaca ladies- handspun laceweight alpaca yarn in the most amazing shades you've ever seen.I just wish I had remember to bring a little of the purple yarn I had bought last year for them to match it. I ended up buying a beautiful forest green skein of about 2500 yards and have a pattern already to go.  I also bought local but not the booth that sells the brown and beige yarn. I actually was given a skein of that years ago and it's the scratchiest stuff ever and very expensive. Yikes! I just use it for decoration in my knitting room. 

I bought a little of everything - even though I have an extensive collection of books, bags, needles, yarn, etc.... there's always something I don't have. I found the 8 inch double points I was sure they don't make and some cute little stitch markers with little lambs of course. They had a nice coffee and bun kiosk outside in the lobby so I got to sit and drink my coffee overlooking the Pittsburgh skyline, then back in for another round. I left around 1pm and wandered my way home, stopping to take a few pictures. I've been doing that more lately since David bought me a camera for Christmas and so far, I haven't been able to break it. Good on me!

Stand On Your Own Two Feet

I've been noticing a lot of these memes lately, directed at young women in which fathers threaten to shoot anyone wanting to date thier daughters - mothers hoping these girls will know how smart, beautiful, worthwhile they are - please stop. Everytime women take one step foward there's a legion wanting to drag us ten steps back. Think of this - would you post this about your sons? I see nothing assuring boys that they are good looking, that they're smart, that they should never let a woman not treat them well - nothing threatenting anyone that might "mess" with their boys -after all I suppose boys are too smart for that.

Everytime you post something like this you're announcing to the world your daughter is too stupid to take care of herself, to know her self worth and that she will hopefully be good looking enough to survive in this world. It's nonsense. I come from a long line of strong, powerful women - they were knocking em dead before it was acceptable. My one grandmother was a riveter during the war, she could brawl with the best of them. My greatgrandmother ran a boarding house, my grandmother ran a lumberyard, my mother was a nurse - my great aunt was an accountant - as is my cousin, I could go on and on. We did not have any namby pampy simpering good wishes from anyone - we KNOW we're strong and what we're worth. We can survive quite easily on our own. It never occured to me at anytime I would not be independent - I've been married for almost 35 years and it's an equal partnership, no one is the boss. 

So the next time you're tempted to post something like this - please read it first. Ask yourself - am I really raising an idiot? 

I wouldn't say I'm a feminist, but I don't like girls pretending to be stupid because it's easier
. Amy Winehouse

Your Opinion......Doesn't Always Count.

 I do like Facebook, don't you? I've said it before if it wasn't for that social media I would not have a quarter of the contact with my family and old friends that I now. I enjoy the postings, the news, pictures. What I do not enjoy is the sheer avalanche of political postings, opinions and other sundry items. I love to debate and actually years ago participated in an online debating forum. It was so much fun - there were moderators so if anyone started getting rude they would be privately asked to rein it in or blocked if they couldn't control themselves. But for some reason on Facebook people seem to turn into bullies, don't they? I have taken some people off my newsfeed as I can not take the constant and voluminous postings. If anyone cannot behave I just unfriend them. I unfriended the born again christian - I could take his obnoxious opinion on women, but could not take his constant sending me to hell everytime I disagreed with him. It was the same with a very prejuidiced african american young man - I loved debating with him, the back and forth really made me think and opened my up to an entirely different viewpoint that my own. However -

 when we were debating some point he had no comeback - so he took the lowroad and called me a stupid, fu**king bitch. Unfriend. Yes he did apologize but you know what? I have enough stress in my universe from REAL people and situations, I do not need pretend stress on top of that. People say a lot of things they would not say if they had to face you - in my job if there is an issue with a client I physically go out and discuss it, I do not do it over the phone. Because when people can't see your face and expression it's way easier for things to esculate out of control. And people online rarely give their opinion, they steam roll it - occasionally I will even announce that I'm voting for Trump just to see the hysteria that ensues. But - who decides on who they are voting or changes their viewpoint because they cyber trampled? And people can get wildly obnoxious about thier focused attacks on you - and here's a newsflash. YOUR opinon does not matter. It matters to you of course, but not to me. I don't mind hearing it and might even consider it but in the long run just because you think you're right doesn't mean you are.

Years ago, my very prejudiced grandmother invited me for lunch right before my wedding, the reason being is she wanted me- and I kid you not - to fire my flower girl and uninvite some people to the wedding because they were not white. Are you horrified? I was - but not surprised of course. That was the way she had been raised and was not willing to bend - I did not argue with her. I just simply told her if she could not accept the way things were I would miss her and would understand why she could not come to my wedding. (hang in there, there is a point to this). Needless to say she was not going to miss the wedding and be talked about, she dressed to the nines and attended, she thought the flower girl was cute and was nice to everyone. And she was like that - she may not have agreed with "those people" attending ANY function she was at("those people were actually a pretty large bunch - black, asian, hispanic, she covered all the bases), but you know what? She was gracious and kept her mouth shut, she did not share her opinion and kept it to herself. Even if she was wrong (and that is my opinion) there are certainly a few people that could take a lesson from her.

Clots Of Fun!

 So, I had my appointment with the hemotologist today - I had the bloodwork drawn two weeks ago as some of the labs were not the garden variety. No plain jane CBCs for me! Nope - lupus coagulant panels, ANA, etc - 11 vials of blood in all. Thank goodness for my amazing veins, I've had plenty of student nurses over the years practicing thier first blood draw on me - and not one has missed. The tech that drew my blood was amused to say the least at how efficiently I filled those tubes. So I was at the Cancer Center today because that's where hemotology hangs thier hat of course.  It's always interesting because as they do my vitals I get asked about my appetite, meds, any unusual bleeding, if I've fallen lately. The last one makes me crack up as I fall at least once a month - between reading/walking and not paying attention it's a frequent thing. Dr. Mag is amazing, she's one of those specialists you wish was your PCP. So. The results. Concerning. I tested positive for the lupus coags again so it is for real, there were a couple of other ones too. What this means is it will not make me form a clot but if I DO it will be a clot of the most epic proportions. It will form with super speed - heck, I'll probably be coughing them up like hairballs. So - well, that was pretty much it.

 I am still on a baby aspirin a day but now I have to REALLY take it. Every day. I did not mention that sometimes, when I can't remember the last time I took one, I will take 3 or 4 of those tasty orange candy flavored suckers. And yes, I do have a degree in nursing - that's why I can somehow weirdly justify such behavior.  If I have any surgery I have to call and will be aggressively be anti-coagulated for a week or two. I am not allowed to sit for hours on end on long trips, any signs of a clot - call and go to the ER. But I am not being put on coumadin, etc.. because once I start that it is for life and the doctor feels since I have had no problems it's not necessary at this point.

So once again I find myself in that familar yet weird grey area. Aside from having to lose weight I'm in excellent shape - no high blood pressure, no diabetes, don't smoke, social drinker, exerciser fairly regularly, I take calcium because I love it, a vitamin, and those orange baby aspirins which I've just about written poetic odes about - that's my entire medication list. I have glaucoma that like the coagulation issue it's there but just followed. A little laser surgery about 4 years ago and that's it. I've had two masses, calcification of the chest wall, a hysterectomy - all benign but I am predispositioned to tumors.But lurking in the background is my genetic demons - high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, macular degeneration, glaucoma. So in a nut shell - I'm a perfectly healthy genetic hot mess.

Stew

I make a mean stew, really. I have few things I'm actually good at - I can knit well, excellent at baking, I can grow zucchini likes nobodies business AND I read like a fiend. This is not really bragging as the list of things I am NOT good at is a rather long and extensive list. If it was actually written down it would most likely cover a few pages. But I digress - I have made stew for years and yesterday was the perfect day. It was the last day of hunting, cold, rainy, damp and uncomfortble. It's not hard to make, just time consuming - stew is one of those dishes you don't want to fool around with too much. I dredge the meat in flour, brown it in oil and on high heat, add broth and seasonings. Once it starts to boil I throw in a full can of beer, turn it down and simmer for two hours. Turn it up, add your pototoes and carrots,cook on medium for half an hour and you're done. Over the years I've learned to streamline it a bit, I use little potatoes that don't need peeling and cubing, baby carrots that you can just dump it. Even though I don't eat it, there is nothing that smells better than a steamy stew on a winter's day. David and his friend Rich had  their last day of hunting so it was a perfect time - and it was finished with pumpkin pie of course. Speaking of pumpkin pie we had a great Thanksgiving of course, as we do every year we did the trek to NJ to see our friend Ray.  He is a creature of habit, but so are we - like a good stew, there is comfort in routine, isn't there? We ate at The Stack of course, a few trips to the book store, we sat and had coffee around Ray's table. We did take a side trip to Wegmans, I did not like the Poconos but that is one of the three things I miss about that area. The other two are The Knitter's Edge one of the biggest knitting stores I've ever seen and of course my old job and co-workers at the pediatric office in East Stroudsburg. But I digress - Ray enjoyed our visit as did we, we also did Home Depot and AC Moore - none of which seemed to be on the Black Friday hit list I might add. On Friday David did a few minor repairs, I picked up the trash in front of the house, we had one last meal together and off we went. It's a bit hard being so far from him - we have been friends with Ray for about 35 years, he used to come visit up quite often. During the warm weather we would see him every other weekend, every home we've bought has had a room for Ray to stay in. Where ever we landed he would be along for the adventure - we drove many a backroad to take pictures, did festivals and exhibits, ate at every restuarant you can think of. Back further on Long Island when Mikio and Setsu were alive we ate dinner out Saturday nights, brunch every Sunday without fail. We had other people come to eat - Alex, Ann, Pam, Pat ,and it would go on for hours. We spent many a meal discussing artists, politics, debating everything under the sun and then some. Both of my boys to this day can hold thier own in any political debate - what good days they were! I wish Ray lived closer, but we'll take what we can get, we are truly the keepers of his past - and ours.

Switch And Bait

 I've had a Kobo Mini ereader for years, I use it almost every day and it's one of my favorite toys. It's really, really tiny so it fits in my purse, pocket, etc... But due to it's constant use I've noticed the battery is starting to tire. Now, Kobo stopped producing the Mini a few years ago (it doesn't hold a lot of books) and I had given up hope. But a week or so ago they were having a 3 day sale ONLY, it was an updated version with a sleep cover, not badly priced either. I ordered it straight off of course and began to wait for the alloted 7 to 10 business days to be over. The other day I got a weird email apologizing for a order error that was caused by their shipping  software, I would not be getting the grey cover but a ruby silicon back. They would discount me $10 back if I took it - I thought about it and emailed back no, I wanted what I ordered. I got another email that they had recieved my "request for assistance" and would contact me when they knew something.

 That was just weird.

I emailed them again that I wanted what I had ordered and got another email stating they got my request for assistance - and they had refunded my money in full - emailed again stating I just wanted what I ordered. I got my Kobo the next day and not only was it the wrong cover, but there was a bunch of stuff blacked out on the back of the box. The Kobo itself was not white, but black and looked nothing like the one on the website. I went back to the internet and found an article about this - apparently EVERYONE got the ruby silicon cover. Because there were never any grey covers. The reason being was these were 3 year old Kobo Mini.... demos. The ones they use as displays I think when you go to the store. Which was what was blacked out on the back of the boxes - Kobo is doing frantic damage control and are still claiming it was some weird sort of error. But really? How do you "accidently" black the word Demo out on  every item you send out? Or accidently send out an entirely different cover and then admit the one you had promoted doesn't even exist? So, am I mad? Nope! Because in a novel effort to avoid lawsuits, reporting and disgruntled book worms (seriously - you're going to piss off an entire legion of science fiction fans - we're not right in the head to start with!) Kobo sent everyone that ordered a mini a letter that a) stated I would be getting a full refund including shipping costs and b) keep the Mini for free! Because you can't sue for a free item, can you? So, I have my money and my Kobo, sort of like having your cake and eating it too, isn't it?

Sunday Girl

 Our Molly is the original Sunday Girl - that's the day we usually take the dogs out walking since there's no hunting. We went to a different part of the game lands today, it's the first time I've been out walking since I had that fall and hurt my hip so badly. It's just been this week I can get up a flight of stairs using both legs instead of one stepping it like a little kid so I haven't even thought about going for any extended walks or hikes - but today was the day! Molly just knows she is going to go for a ride and starts twirling and leaping, she bounces into the van and bounces out, races up  the hill, down the hill, chases Reuben, in other words she gets her money's worth. On the down side she somehow managed to find and roll in a cow patty - yuck! But other than that it was a great walk, I love this time of year around here, it is just right for walking and hiking. Cool enough so you don't get overheated, warm enough for a light coat. Reuben flushed 3 pheasants while we were out, he's still a bit of a runner but is calming down as he gets older. Molly is starting to get the idea so maybe someday she can go too, but she's still so gun shy David is hesitant to take her. But like I've said before, if she goes it's great, otherwise she is my companion - whatever makes her happy.

 In other news, I finished my latest pair of socks and am now on the next project. I will be knitting baby things soon, my youngest son Jackson and wife Brandi are expecting - twins! I am so excited that I'm going to be a grandmother, what a wonderful thing. We don't know if they're boys or girls yet so I am putting off buying some things for now. But we have some time to get ready.

I have had a quiet sort of weekend, I didn't get the job I had wanted, not so much feeling disappointed as I am feeling sad and a little betrayed, but it happens and I will deal with it. I'm just stepping back and breathing deep, too old for knee jerk reactions. And right now we have so much going on, all these things running in the background! David continues to work on the house in Waynesburg, he's made good progress but we've decided no more two story houses! It's fine if you're working with a crew but him working by himself it is not fine. Everything has to be transported up and down stairs and ladders - sheetrock, plumbing, heat vents, all to a second story. The roof has been a nightmare, a 100 year old steep roof two stories up - for the first time he's worn a safety harness and hated it. He told me it was inconvienient but I retorted falling two stories might be a little bit more offputting! He has 2/3 of it done and also has to do the siding . He is just repainting the gutters, he had thought about having new but the ones on the house just need cleaned out and painted. They're original to the house and suit it. He's replaced all of the windows - they were dangerous single pane (old enough to have imperfections in the glass!) sash and weight frames, but don't get upset - he gave them ALL to an artist who does paintings on old windows. So they were not destroyed and will continue on. He's actually let the whole neighborhood pick through and a lot of it has been re-used or turned into art projects.  One of the neighbors made her Halloween decorations out of the old boards he took out. Some things will be offered free, others might be put on Craigslist for a low price - that way people come get it - and we don't have to transport it.