Heroes pass: Octavia Butler

Octavia Butler has died at the age of 58 of an accident.

Suddenly it seems that all the heroes are going and who will take their place?

What I liked best about Ms Butler was her ability to make you empathize with an alien being; whther it was a person of another sex , another race or from another planet. When I reflect on it, that quality is what draws me to women science fiction writers in general.

As I looked at her list of books I find that I haven't read as many as I thought I had. How did I miss reading "Kindred"? I think part of the problem was that a lot of her books were put out in the more expensive Trade Paper versions. I am stopping at the library tonight to see what they may have that I don't own.

The Vermont Hat

Ok not the best picture - but you get the idea. Also the shape of Vermont got a little screwy becasue of the decreases at the top of the hat. But I am on a tight schedule and the hat needs to go out to Iraq tomorrow. It is very warm and the wool is very soft - I really love it. I think the hat will fit very well under a helmet. I used the same yarn I used for the skull hats I made at Christmas. Knitusa by Lane Borgosesia, a superwash bulky wool.

Overall I am pleased - although next hat I will not carry the pattern so far up. 

Kiri is done! and the hat!

Yea! I am going to wait to post a picture until after I block it. Was going to get right to that but decided that I have nowhere near enough pins and maybe I should get some blocking wires. Also I think I am going to either have to use my bed to block it or push two of the twin beds together – It is big. I did not complete the last 2 rows of the edging because I go nervous about having enough yearn to bind off and I was not going to spend another $9 just to bind off. I think I made the right choice – I may have just made it by completing the last 2 rows but probably not and then I would have been really ticked off.

Now I think I will take a break and have an ice cram soda and then maybe work on the VT hat I should complete for my friend’s son with the VT National Guard in Iraq. By the time I get it done summer will be back in the desert and he won’t be able to wear it.

9:25 pm have finished the hat for my friend's son. Will post a picture when it is done blocking. The shape of VT came out a little screwy because of the decreases at the top. I should have either made it smaller -shorter or compensated for the decreases. Well - it is a very soft wool and the hate is comfortable - so that is the main point.

The Blizzard of Aught-Six

Sounds old-timey, doesn't it?

We're getting a little snow here so far- looks like it started around 6 or 6:30 this morning and we have a bit over an inch at 8:30. It is a very fine snow and falling steadily.

According to the news - they have heavy snow and freezing fog down in the Worcester area- I don't expect to see Ken until tomorrow. And I bet my friends S and B who went to Connecticut for the weekend will be there till at least Monday too.

There is also a chance of thunder snows in the lower NE areas. And the weather service says " AT THIS TIME...A WIDESPREAD SWATH OF 8 TO 14 INCHES APPEARS
LIKELY WITH EMBEDDED HIGHER AMOUNTS WHERE THUNDER ENHANCES SNOWFALL RATES." Hmm - why does thunder enhance snowfall rates? I shall have to look that one up.

Plans for the day #1 not kill the old lady. I don't know if it is the Topamax or what but she is so fixated on things lately and talks about them incessantly. She's worried about the yellow-bellied sap sucker that was in our area last summer. Has convinced herself that he has died in the hurricane down south. Is all crazy about some old books of my father's. First wanted me to go find them and has now over night come to the conclusion that we never had those books - that her failing memory is playing tricks on her. I am taking this as a reverse psychology move on me to make me go find the damned books to prove her wrong. HA! Not going to work, Old lady! I am not poking through that freezing attic. Those are just 2 of her latest obsessions. There are more - but I won't bore you with them. Most involve having me do something - like search for those damned books. ** and I haven't even recorded the hysteria ( yes I don't think hysteria is too strong a word) of Friday night when she couldn't get hold of me on my cell phone for 25 minutes - during which time I was driving home from Springfield.

#2 Try and finish that Kiri Shawl.

#3 Now that I unraveled that old dress I had - I also have a 3/4 finished sweater to unravel. It was from a Perry Ellis design from Vogue Knitting - oh probably 12 years ago. I LOVED that sweater - but heaven knows what I did with the pattern and now that I am not so skinny as I used to be I can see that it will be too short, especially in the front if you know what I mean. So no matter what, I will have to frog it. Perhaps if I find the pattern and it looks up to date enough I might try it again. I was telling someone a while ago about these almost finished projects that wouldn't fit me and whoever it was said - well why you don’t finish them as is and give them away. GIVE THEM AWAY!?! No one would ever understand the effort put into them and there are a few hundred dollars worth of yarn in there and hundreds of dollars worth of labor. I may make little presents for people - but I'm not giving away something big like that. That's right - I am selfish!

#4 Through all of the above - watch the Olympics.

Saturday's almost gone

Well I was supposed to go the Worcester with Ken today. But since the weather is supposed to be so bad down there and because the old lady is totally having melt-downs about me being away I decided to stay home. So Ken is down having fun at the Lucky Dog AM 70's Show tonight and here I am with the old lady. I am definately going with him when he and his trio play in Cambridge in March though. I am hoping that I can find some one to stay with her then. Going to start asking around now to make sure I am covered. Maybe I can find someone through the visiting nurse association.

I decided that there was no way I could join the Knitting Olympics as I KNOW I will not finish something by the closing ceremonies. Howver I am trying to do knitting-type things. Besides working on the Kiri Shawl (almost done - just about ready to start the edging), I also took care of the below - frogged an almost-done DRESS from years ago and am working on getting it ready to be made into something I will actually wear. Here's the yarn dripping over the kitchen sink. It's Coco from Reynolds - 50% wool , 50% rayon, 136 yards and I have (I think) 10 skeins. More than enough for a couple of tops. I might try to start Picovoli with it.

 
 

sky

Take Sky and Ask Yourself Why

Funny enough (or not) I didn't mean to post this picture here - but oh well - Here's the sky this morning thru my phone's eye. At least there is blue sky and I don't have a headache - After more than a week of headaches - let me tell you THAT is a big BIG thing. I am also a little headache shy - if you can call it that. I keep stopping what I am doing to "check" my head - do I feel soemthing? Is it coming back? OK OK - I'll stop.

Irony isn't a big enough word

So that asshole says we're addicted to oil? WE are addicted to oil? My god that's like your pusher telling you you're addicted. No - it's like the fucking Pablo Escobar telling you you're an addict.

I don't have words to express my outrage. I cannot believe that not one person stood up and walked out at that point. Come ON, don't any of you son-of-bitches have any balls? DOn't any of you have any integrity?

whew.

And worst of all - he has worked the old lady up to a frenzy.


*** update 02-02-06 ***

It's OK - thank heavens - He was just lying. Man, I feel so much better now. And rather foolish - I guess everyone sitting there listening to the SOTU knew he was lying when he said it and so that's why they weren't bothered by it. Silly me.

Wendy Wasserstein

Urg - I have a bad headache but had to note that Wendy Wasserstein has died.

When I went to Mt Holyoke she was such a -hmm ,what? a 'looming' name and presence. Everyone spoke of her. And after college as time went on - every time I saw her in an interview - or read something of hers - I realized more and more that she was just the kind of woman I could have been friends with.

I feel bad that she has left her little girl - but she will be a child who is loved. It is too bad that she won't get to be friends with her mother as she grew.

The San Diego Union Tribune has a nice obit.

Getting there - Kiri Shawl

I am making much better progress now for some reason. It took me an entire week to get through the first skein and I managed to do 39 motif repeats. I started the second skein on Sunday and am already at the end with a total of 90 motif repeats. The yardage is obviously greater on the second. I think also that turning at the end of a row takes more time than you think. Or perhaps I tend to take breaks in between and so took more breaks on the shorter rows.

Anyway this is already about 60 inches wide and 28 inches deep. I went to the trouble to buy a fourth skein and now I don't think I will need it. Perhaps I will use it for a hat. I didn't make any progress tonight as it took a while to place all the stitches on waste yarn and then once measured to put them back on the needles. I am very pleased with how it looks. 

"Their finest hour”

Go Librarians, go!

Newton officials are calling their refusal to allow FBI agents access to library computers without a warrant during a terrorist threat last week “their finest hour.”

Law enforcement officials say it’s a “nightmare.”

From the Boston Herald we hear of librarians hold off the FBI for several hours until they came back with a warrent for seizure of a computer they thought had been used to email a terrorist threat to Brandeis University.

Librarians are some of the staunchest defenders of our freedoms and I am proud of the Newton Massachusetts library for standing their ground. Don't ever let them get away without following the law because your freedom is only as secure as the freedoms of the least among us.

Falling into the trap of self doubt

I think that Peter Daou has hit the nail on the head with THE TRIANGLE: Matthews, Moore, Murtha, and the Media.

Even the Dems have swallowed the story of Bush's strength and their own weakness hook line and sinker. This has infuriated me to no end - and why I supported Howard Dean so strongly. He was the only one to stand up and say what needed to be said and yet so few other Dems followed out of fear of seeming out of the mainstream. So although the grass roots were with him we lacked needed the connection to both the party and the media. Think of how much he did though - went from Governor of Vermont ( "Vermont? is that part of Virginia?" ~ our customer service people have actually had that question posed by a caller) to being a serious contender for the Democratic Presidential nominee.

It is maddening and yet we have to keep trying - Howard is is in there with them now. He is building his base and someday, people, the truth will get out there. In the meantime Democrats - in your fear of seeming wishy-washy you are exactly that!

Kiri Shawl

KiriShawl3

Well - I am wickedly grumpy. Had a bad dream last night and woke up and then, of course, could NOT get back to sleep. After that everything pissed me off during the day. I hate that feeling and yet I could not shake it. I got better for a while but then this evening I got all cranky again. Yes I am a crabalocker fishwife. Want to make something of it?

One a good note I am making prgress on the Kiri Shawl. I really like this pattern. Although I read comments from a bunch of people that they found it boring - it certainly isn't anymore boring than a sweater - or even a pair of socks. I think lace may be my thing. No color changes is good for me. I find that tedious.

I still love this yarn although I can tell with its hand-dyed factor the skeins vary a great deal. I don't think I would want to use it in a sweater where those variations would be more obvious.

I am well into the second ball of yarn and have calculated I should be able finish an 11th repeat of the pattern with enough yarn left for finishing. I am just starting the 8th repeat here. Once I finish this second ball I am going to put the stiches on some waste yarn to get an idea of how big it is.

Blog for Choice Day

 
 

Empties

Empties

Last night we had the first night-out in a long time. Ken needed to get a present for his son's birthday and I needed to do some food shopping. So we hit K-mart, BLockbuster, Hannaford's, the "Store That Shall Not Be Named", Taco Bell and then...

We went to the Hullabaloo Martini Bar (located in the Hullabaloo Coffee Co) in Claremont. Very cool little place - they had a couple of groups playing. One folksie duo joining a younger guy playing more modern stuff along with a bongo player. Drinks were reasonable. We stayed till they were all done playing - about 11 pm.

It was good to get out and try a new place. They have Jazz almost every Saturday night and I look forward to seeing that some time.

Bills Bills Bills

Bills1

Know what I did for 3 hours tonight? Yup! Paid bills, organized bills, tried to make heads or tails of medicare/private insurance and long-term insurance. Asked the old lady a couple of questions about a couple of things and she got all worked up.

I am coming to realize that Topamax is part of the problem. In a way I am not sorry that she has flat out refused to up her dosage.

Anyway - after all this effort I have her check book balanced and I think I have every bill paid. Of course I haven't even looked at my own. But I will try and do that tomorrow. Which is Friday, thank heavens.

EEG Waiting room

Waiting room.jpeg

Waiting in the waiting room again.

What I thought was going to be a quick one hour appointment - getting me back to work by say 11:00 a.m. the latest - turned into one of those marathon appointments again. First of all we were late getting going because I decided to be nice to the old lady and let her sleep till 6:30. As usual I was sorry almost immediately as she took her time , having her juice, and her oatmeal and her morning pills. AND she cranked about it the entire time!

So I drove like a maniac up to Dartmouth and made it just 10 minutes late. Then of course they didn't call us in for 20 minutes which allowed her to crank at me some more - "See we could have taken our time. They don't care how long you have to wait." etc. etc.

The doctor is very good though and besides the exam he wanted to get her an EEG. Which he set up but it wasn't until 10 am. And it takes and hour. And after that he talked to us again. And then sent us for some blood work. And the old lady got hungry.

so... we ended up leaving there at a little before noon and I made it in to work FINALLY by 1 p.m. Where I was greeted with a huge number of emergency requests for data and what-not.

Crabby morning

We are up early to head to the Neurologist at Dartmouth. Someone is very cranky. It isn't me, or Ken, or Tulip. So you can guess who it must be. I have heard about the hour, the fact that I made an appointment for this hour, the dog ( who pooped in the house over night) the weather, her health, the hour, the state of the world, the dog, the weather, the way she looks, her hair, the stupidity of 8:30 appointments, etc. I can hardly wait for the ride! SHould be a barrel of fun.

Lurky Lurky

Hey - It is National De-Lurking Week! (from Paper Napkin via Fuzzy Noodle Knits)



So people, make comments! Say hello on the blogs you read. Be bold!

Oh and this will be a floater for a while - just to see what comments I fish out.

New England Weather

Snow2

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday it was 50 degrees and pouring rain. Today it is 10 degrees (and falling), with wind chills of who knows what! Everyone is a bit cranky about it. I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of the sump pump alternating with the snow plows going by.

My Personal Day

Yesterday I took myself off by myself on a "Kari Day". Ken had his son and a friend over; the weather was crappy - raining cats and dogs so the old lady didn't want to take a ride. A while ago I saw an ad on TV for Hodgepodge Handicrafts in Newport, NH. Although I got the impression that the store was just a small corner in a furniture store - they did mention they have Noro yarns so I wanted to check them out.

I wasn't expecting much - but took off up Route 91 in the fog. It did rain hard enough that I thought perhaps I should turn around at one point. And then the rivers in NH are up near flood stage again. But on I went.

I tracked the store down on a side road in Newport that looked mostly residential. The building itself looks like an old slightly dilapidated country store. I walked in the front door and saw the entry room was filled with locally spun and dyed yarns. And lots of it. Perfect stuff for felting and lots of undyed amounts too if you are into dying.

Hodgepodge Handicrafts

I pocked around there a bit still not knowing what was in store. (Get it "in store"?) When I entered the main part of the store I was immediately overwhelmed by color - Noro, Cherry Tree Hill, Elsebeth Lavold, Dale, you name it.

I spent a good hour and a half. I have to admit I don’t like Noro Yarns as much as I thought I would from hearing the hoopla about it. The colors are nice – but the yarn itself didn’t call to me.

Noro Yarns

I ended up buying some Elizabeth Austen Andes wool from Chile. It is a nice hand dyed yarn in color #05 “olive/Dijon” (or “Forest Moss” depending upon where you look) that actually reminded me of VT. It is a worsted weight and lovely and very very soft. I am going to make the Kiri Shawl by Polly Outhwaite for the old lady. I already cast on last night and have gotten 20 or so rows into it. I realize now I should have gotten more that 3 skeins, but I can go back next weekend and get some more.

 
 

So if anyone is in the Newport area – I highly recommend Hodgepodge Handicrafts on Belknap Avenue. It’s worth the trip.