Better than chocolate

Two more *finished* projects (my mom made most of the scarf):


The hat fits perfectly (the second time around), and I just cast on some matching gloves. (If I lose my courage or my marbles trying to deal with all those fingers, they'll become mittens.)

I'm trying hard to take care of my UFOs (unfinished objects) before starting new projects, and in that vein I'm halfway up the second front panel of the jacket I started for Laz a few months ago:


The gloves/mittens will slow me down a bit, but I PROMISE not to cast on anything new until this jacket is finished. Oh, and I still have to finish that goofy legless sheep, and a friend is patiently awaiting her teal mohair scarf, and... yeah, no more new projects, and certainly no new yarn. I'd better finish quickly because yarn will certainly be going on sale soon, what with spring just around the corner. What am I saying -- winter never came, and I just don't think we'll get any cold or stormy weather here this year. ...I'm tempting fate on purpose here... bring it on, baby!! Mama's got enough wool for at least three more months of knitting!

My sewing UFOs are a different story entirely. Needless to say, I won't be buying any fabric for the next year, at least. Maybe for the rest of the decade.

Presidential Succession

Breaking news:
-For God's sake, Pat, just shut the hell up. If God consistently smote Bad Guys, you'd have been dust long, long ago.
-"I have no specific recollection of that organization." Oh, Sam. You've made Uncle Ronny so proud. And we're still stupid (or numbed) enough to just nod and say Okay, thanks, onto the next question.

And now onto our main feature. Tuesday's post got me thinking about the whole "impeach George and Dick, then what?" thing, so I did a bit of research and found out that... well, we won't be much better off impeaching George no matter how far down the list we go. This site made that much clear (to me, at least -- a completely impartial observer -- heh):

1. The Vice President: Richard Cheney
2. Speaker of the House: John Dennis Hastert (Ed. note: Roy Blunt currently leads the vote to take this spot permanently.)
3. President pro tempore of the Senate(1): Ted Stevens
4. Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice
5. Secretary of the Treasury: John Snow
6. Secretary of Defense: Donald H. Rumsfeld
7. Attorney General: Alberto Gonzales
8. Secretary of the Interior: Gale A. Norton
9. Secretary of Agriculture: Mike Johanns
10. Secretary of Commerce: Carlos Gutierrez(2)
11. Secretary of Labor: Elaine Chao(3)
12. Secretary of Health and Human Services: Mike Leavitt
13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Alphonso Jackson
14. Secretary of Transportation: Norman Yoshio Mineta
15. Secretary of Energy: Samuel Bodman
16. Secretary of Education: Margaret Spellings
17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Jim Nicholson
18. Secretary of Homeland Security(4): Michael Chertoff

NOTE: An official cannot succeed to the Presidency unless that person meets the Constitutional requirements (born in the US, of appropriate age, etc. -- Ed.).
1. The president pro tempore presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent. By tradition the position is held by the senior member of the majority party.
2. Carlos Gutierrez was born in Cuba and is ineligible.
3. Elaine Chao was born in Taiwan and is ineligible.
4. In late July 2005, the Senate passed a bill moving the Homeland Security secretary to number 8 on the list. The bill is awaiting House approval.

Oh yes, let's move Michael Chertoff up ten notches -- he proved SO competent at handling Hurricane Katrina. And Condi and Donald, right up there in the top ten, would define compassionate conservatism for all time, don't you think?

Don't get me wrong -- if we as a nation actually have the courage and conviction to move forward on impeachment, I'll be shouting hosannas from my rooftop. But I won't be holding my breath for much, if any, actual deviation from the Right-Wing Master Plan of Domination and Silencing All Opposition.

UNLESS...

... impeachment of King George and Big Dick doesn't happen till after the Dems take back the House in the November elections.

So there is hope. I feel much better now -- I think I'll go practice some hosannas...

More knitting

... or an excuse (like I need one) to post a cute kid picture. Maggie turns away from the camera most of the time, unlike her unabashedly photogenic big brother, so I usually have to jump out from behind chairs or trees or cars to get a decent shot of her (I shoulda been a papparazza). I made the little scarf for her with of yarn that I'd reluctantly passed over at Wal*Mart for the past six months (just $1 for the ball because it was solo), plus the rest of the fun fur from Johnnie's pink scarf:



Yes, it really is THAT pink. And the little hoodie -- isn't that elegant? I love how it hides the spaghetti/milk/salad dressing melange that Maggie seems to prefer over more traditional hair treatments.

That sheep from the previous post now has a full body and face and just needs legs, a tail, and ears. It's... chunky. But Maggie loves it already, so I won't fret the aesthetics. I managed to almost completely subvert the original pattern (albeit with a few trials and errors), which unfortunately just emboldens me to continue flouting established conventions.... Oh well. I'm being "creative."

Speaking of creative, here's a term that's new to me: unitary executive. I can't think of a better term to describe the tyranny of King George. But. If we impeach Dubya, that leaves us with Big Dick, who... would probably just come out and declare that he's the King now. So we gotta nail him, too, but how likely or possible is that? Last week, Daily KOS' attytood asked, "Could Congress impeach and remove Bush and Cheney at the same time? Doubtful, and if they tried, it would surely be viewed by the vast political middle as major overkill, regardless of the 'justice' involved.

"What's more, that would put House Speaker Dennis Hastert -- a man who seems to have little interest in the important job he holds now -- in the White House. Does anyone -- Hastert included -- want that?"

Sheesh. At least Tom DeLay is out of that picture. And that's enough of this nonsense for today -- it's back to knitting and child-tending for me.

Knitting update

Finally, here are pictures of my recent (past two months) knitting projects. First, my masterpiece, a cashmere lace scarf I made for my mom for Christmas:



Many thanks to Gail for all the help, and for the pattern (from her classic Stahman's shawls and scarves book). I had to start the dang thing three times, but once I figured out how to read the lace chart (from the bottom up, where the line starts at #1 -- duh), it went smoothly and was a nice challenge. The cashmere (from elann.com) was luscious to work with. If it hadn't sold out within a day of being offered, I'd have bought more to work with....

Next, three fun-fur projects -- the green and pink scarves were for Johnnie, and I made the blue one for myself yesterday:



The pink one uses fun fur and wool; the other two use fun fur and homespun, and I knit all three using two rows of one yarn, two rows of the other, repeated about 450 times (not really, but it's a lot of rows). I like the pseudo-lacy effect, and alternating the yarns rather than knitting them together makes the scarf less chunky and, well, furry.

Finally, I'm starting to branch out from wearables to playables, and am currently working on a little sheep from World of Knitted Toys:



Now, what's wrong with this picture? I spot at least five mistakes:
1. The wool isn't anywhere near the recommended DK weight -- it's chunky, to say the least.
2. Therefore, I'm using US size 10.5 rather than size 3 needles.
3. And they're double-pointed, not straight needles.
4. Because I decided I wanted to knit in the round rather than sew up all those dang seams.
5. So why am I even bothering to follow a pattern? Well, I like to pretend that I am. Actually, I'm adapting this pattern. Which could explain why I'm on my third attempt (the first time I didn't understand the pattern's terminology; the second time was my first try at adapting the gauge, and this time I switched to the DPNs).

I must comment on the DPNs: I HATED using double-pointed needles until I found these birch ones. They're very lightweight and easy to work with, unlike the metal ones that would clank awkwardly and slip right out of the stitches and just infuriate me. If you hate DPNs, try these -- they're mah-velous.

I also made (but forgot to photograph) a funny little frog for Maggie from Family Circle Easy Toys. It came out very cute, and even though I managed to follow the pattern perfectly, I've already come up with a few changes (make I-cords for arms and legs instead of sewing them up, and try knitting body in the round... yeah, I hate seams!). I'll probably make more animals before getting back to wearables... it's hard to think about making warm clothes when every day here has been about 60 degrees and sunny.

**ducks flying objects from soggy and frigid regions of the nation**

What is this "should"?

Happy new year to everyone! We're in the second or third week of dry, mild weather here (it's 64 degrees out now), which is lovely but I'm actually ready to trade it in with all of you getting hammered with one storm after another. All that wet weather coming off the Pacific just goes up and over New Mexico lately, and although I love being able to take the kids outside to play, I can't help but get nervous when I glance at my dry-to-the-bone garden beds and at the mountains and plains thick with dry brush. So send us your rain, and I'll send you our sunshine.

What I should be doing:
-editing (that would be work, which I can hardly face after a few weeks off, not that I'm ever terribly enthused to drop my projects and puttering for mundane work...)
-cleaning the loft
-cleaning the rest of the house, too
-finishing the post-xmas taking down of lights, etc., and hauling all the holiday stuff out to the shed
-dragging the denuded tree out to the garden to mulch the kale and chard
-cleaning up the yard and remulching the garden beds that the chickens keep digging up
-folding laundry
-washing and hanging the remaining three loads of laundry
-sorting through two weeks' mail and paying the bills
-gathering clutter to give away or toss (and actually following through for a change)
-organizing the kitchen shelves, which have slipped into chaos

Given such a daunting list, of course, I am avoiding all of it. I could say that I'm honoring my new year's resolution to stop chastising myself for not being neater, more organized, more efficient and productive... but no. I'm just slacking off and messing around, reading blogs and catching up on news...

The bad news: I just heard that all but one of the 13 miners in did die in the West Virginia mine explosion. What sorrow for their families and friends. I remember the Depression-era coal-mining ballads my dad used to sing us when we were kids, songs he no doubt learned from the miners in his extended family, and there are no happy lyrics there because it was and is and will always be a dirty, tough, perilous occupation. One theme in many of these songs was the exploitation of poor men by the wealthy mine owners who all too often sacrificed safety to increase their profits. Sadly, the story remains unchanged after all these decades: The mine where these men died had been cited 21 times last year for unsafe conditions, specifically the build-up of dangerous and combustible gasses -- the exact conditions that killed a dozen men in these first days of 2006.

The good news (depends on your perspective, of course -- I'm dancing on my dining room table over this): Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff has not only been nabbed at last but is turning states' evidence and could bring down a LOT of other scumbags, too. Among his more egregious acts: bilking Native American tribes out of tens of millions of dollars. Typical Republican reverse-Robin-Hoodism at its very worst -- if you've ever set foot on a typical reservation, you have no trouble imagining the magnitude of this particular sin. "I hope I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty," Abramoff moaned during his court appearance yesterday. Yeah, good luck with that, Jack.