Two Sticks And Some String !

Lace Knitting Classes at "Let's Knit"

2011-12-29T20:27:00.000-08:00

2011-11-14T22:04:00.001-08:00

The following passage sprung from a Remembrance Day conversation on a local forum. The conversation went from honouring those who sacrificied their lives or health for us, to demeaning "political correctness". One of the forum participants wrote this and I felt it was worthy of putting on my blog.

"Yeah, I know. "Some of my best friends are . . . " fill in the blank.

A hate crime involves POWER. In our society, certain individuals hold more power than others. Men hold more power than women. Caucasians hold more power than any other race. White men hold more power than white women, but white women hold more power than black men.

Gays and lesbians don't have the same power as straights. Straights are considered the 'norm' and those other folk are the 'other' folk.

Nobody in a position of lesser power -- by definition -- is capable of committing a "hate crime."

A hate crime isn't about saying hateful things. It's about using speech (or writings) to belittle, denigrate, or incite hatred and/or violence against someone solely on the basis of how much they differ from your standard white male.

People without power don't have the power to do that kind of harm. Period.

Hence, when gays act out at pride parades they are deliberately getting in your face, because for once, they can -- safely. More power to 'em, I say.

The stupidity of race/gender/religious/whatever prejudice will end when the people jealously clinging to their perceived "power" come to realize that it's not a finite commodity. If a woman actually becomes a man's equal, her power isn't syphoned off his. You don't lose power just because a gay man can openly celebrate who he is without fear of violence against him.

When the powerful realize that empowerment of all humans strengthens all of humanity then we won't need legislation to prevent hate crimes.

Of course, that will only happen when mankind comes to understand that peace is not the absence of war, but the guarantee of freedom and full human rights for all. Something many surviving world war veterans fervently long to see come about."

Blogging Sacrificed because of Facebook

2011-01-02T23:11:00.000-08:00

It's true. Spending way too much time on FB means less time being spent keeping my blog up to date. I upload tons of pics to FB and then immediately forget that I really need to be keeping my blog readers informed, entertained, amused, delighted, enchanted (oh stop it already, Rosemarie).

Ok, so you see a four-door GMC Jimmy on the left. Yes, yes, last year I dumped that POS Toyota Matrix and traded it straight across for the two-door Jimmy featured in an earlier story (scroll down to previous entry). The man and I made a trip to eastern BC and Alberta in early May, and that's when I realized I couldn't live with a two-door anything.

In early September, the man was perusing the local daily rag, and saw a picture of this four-door Jimmy, which was at the same dealership where I had purchased my faithful steed, the 1991 Chev Blazer, which transported me and my stuff for 17 years. Anyway, the man read the ad out loud to me (while I was on Facebook ... gaaa), and then I sort of forgot about it.

The next day was my bi-monthly blood donation to the Canadian Blood Services. I happily share my good health and good fortune every second month, keeping my fingers crossed that I'll never need it (paying it forward, as the saying goes).

After my donation, the mother of an old friend and I were refuelling at the cookie and juice table. It was a lovely visit, and I was happy to see her. We said our goodbyes and as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I remembered the four-door Jimmy up at the Chev dealership, and scooted right up there. There she was, same colour as the two-door, five years older and with lower mileage! Immaculate interior, not so much as a chip in the windshield, she had been purchased at that dealership ten years earlier and driven by the same couple for those ten years.

I found my friend Shawn, a salesperson at the dealership. I told him I wanted to do a straight-across trade (knowing full well they'd be getting the better deal). He talked to the person who approves the deal, and, the deal was approved. I took her out for a drive, after picking up the man, and that sealed it.

So after owning one vehicle for 17 years, I ended up with three different vehicles in one year. I am thrilled with my four-door Jimmy, and will be keeping this one until it's undriveable. The man installed GE Nighthawk headlights, and now I can see Sarah Palin's nose hairs when I'm driving home from work in the darkness.

Here are some garden shots: Grapes, oh my lord, we had GRAPES this year. Hundreds of pounds of grapes. Ate lots, and took about 150 lbs. to a friend who made wine for us. I'm not a drinker (at all), but the Man finds it palatable, served up in style out of a quart sealer. :-)
Here is some of the squash which grew from undecayed seeds in our compost. It was a lovely surprise. We really love squash, making the appearance of several plants in our garden even more delightful than if we had actually planted it on purpose.

Tomatoes. The Man only buys heritage tomatoes, including Brandywine. These pictures were taken in September, after he had built a cover over the tommytoes to prevent the rain from causing some kind of mouldy crap which would kill our plants.

See the pretty blue flowers? I think that may have been lettuce, at one time. The flowers were gorgeous. And then are those lovely kiwis. We had about six dozen on the vine. They don't get picked until late December or early January, barring any frost. Well, we got a killer frost and snowfall, and the kiwis, even after defrosting, were just too bitter to eat. Very disappointing, indeed, particularly because we rarely have freezing weather here.

See the lovely window? We picked up some gorgeous windows on Freecycle about three or four years ago, and this year, The Man pulled the old windows out and installed these beauties. They are triple-glazed, open and close and look so much better than those sad old single-pane windows that used to be in the basement.

This little flowerbed is the beginning of what will be my dahlia bed. Before I owned the house (which I bought nearly 23 years ago), this space was a greenhouse. Someone had disassembled it before the house was mine, and in 2009, The Man and I dug it out, sifted out the rocks, etc., introduced lots of organic material and planted some "black" tulips, dahlias, etc. It's a work in progress, but I'm hoping we can build up the bed to make it about 4 inches deeper and get some more perennials in it.

Updates, Schmupdates ....

2010-04-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

So, remember that Toyota Matrix I bought last year? Turns out that after a few months I hated it. HATED it. It was made for a 98 lb. person with short legs. I am neither.

Late January this year, a salesperson called me from the Toyota dealership, "So you've had your Matrix for a year now, HOW do you like it?".

My response was "What you really meant to ask me is "DO you like it?" and to that, my answer would be NO".

He asked why (considering there are a zillion of them on the road). I gave him my list: no elbow rests (I have bunged up rotator cuffs and must have elbow rests), three wiper settings and NO variable speed, adjustable wiper speed; seat back too curved to fit my back properly; low profile tires that cost the EARTH to replace; etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

And then he asked what he could do to make it right for me, and I said if he could find a small SUV and do a straight-across trade with me, then I might be happy with it, but I'd have to "try on" the potential trade and make sure I was comfortable with it. He said he might have a Honda CRV coming in, and that he'd give me a call. I waited and waited, and finally called him, and he said the deal with the owner of the CRV fell through.

This got me thinking ... hmmm ... I wonder if another dealership/car lot would be willing to do a similar trade with me?

So I started locally. I went to the same Chev dealership that sold me the 1991 Blazer I drove for 17 years, and still missed terribly. I talked to one of the sales staff whose wife happens to be a co-worker of mine.

He was more than willing to try to arrange a trade for me, even though it meant pretty much no money for him. I told him that I did feel a certain amount of loyalty to the dealership, because of my Blazer, and how very pleased I was with it. I said that what he didn't make in cash, he would certainly make in very positive PR, and he seemed pretty happy with that.

In the meantime, I went looking for myself. I checked out a 2005 Chev Blazer at a well-known used car lot in Parksville. Even though I really liked the truck, the owner was such a jerk that I decided I wasn't going to do business with him. He wanted my car and a thousand dollars in exchange for the Blazer. Nope, not going to happen. I know the value of the Matrix, and the truck needed some work done on it (first off, the previous owner was a smoker and the inside of the Blazer smelled absolutely gross), and he would not play ball with me.

So on my way home about a week and a half ago, I drove past another car lot and saw a 2005 GMC Jimmy. The Jimmy and Blazer are identical. I stopped and looked through the windows; didn't really want an automatic transmission or electric windows, and this Jimmy had both. Anyway, I went home, talked to Dorne about it, went away for a couple of days, stopped and we both looked at it. I called the number and made an appointment to see it and take it for a test drive.

It was pretty much love at first sight. The following day, I drove away with a 2005 fully-loaded, GMC Jimmy, complete with power windows, A/C, cruise control, towing package with wiring, Sony stereo, one previous owner and only 90,000 km on it!

And here it is! Of course, the downside is that it
does not get nearly the great mileage the Toyota did, but comfort???? Priceless!! So now we want to know if anyone has a small holiday trailer they want to sell for not much money .... :-))

An Honourable Mention

2009-11-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

Seems my blog has become a bit of a sensation in the knitting world. It didn't make the top 100 most visited blogs of the knitting variety, but it did get an honourable mention. How cool is THAT?

(That's Pluck, aka Parking Lot Kitty, who's been with us for more than a year now ... isn't she just too sweet?)

The title of this post contains the link to the knitting stats blog. Scroll down and you'll find your way to my blog under the "Up and Coming" title. A few of my blogging knit friends actually made the top 100. Kenny Chua's blog was #63 in the top 100; Chris French's was in the Up and Coming list.

I think the success has been partially because of my belly button start for circular projects, and partly because of the wedding garters I knit, and partly because of my Nieblings.

Although I haven't blogged since April, I am still spending a lot of time knitting. Here are some of the results:

This is a sweater I knit for a friend's daughter. The longhaired little girl is on the front of the Mary Maxim pattern, and the little girl standing in front of the white cupboard is wearing the sweater I knit. As a side note, I dislike Mary Maxim patterns (poorly written) and really hate knittiing with acrylic yarn, but couldn't resist knitting for this little girl.

This picture is of the PhoenixPalme tablecloth, which I knit as a Christmas gift for my dad and his wife in 2007. This was taken on their antique oak dining room table, in their home in Lethbridge. I was there in May, 2009. The PP is a Herbert Niebling design, and I spent six months knitting it.

While I was in Lethbridge, I found some old pictures. Here is one of me and my son. He'll be 30 years old next month (Dec. '09), so this photo certainly qualifies as vintage!

On the right is the Lautrec Bolera, designed by Jean Moss. I am knitting this for my sister Christine, who lives in Toronto. What can I say about knitting this? I love my sister. 'Nuff said.

And here are several more projects I've completed this year:

First on the hit parade is my adaptation of the Icelandic Shawl; I'll call it the Nordic Shawl, just so no one's copyright gets bent out of shape.

My sweetie is modelling it. He's 6'4", so you can see it's a big shawl. I made it so the top centre would fold back into a (wait for it) shawl collar.

This is a detail shot on a cotton scarf I knit for my mother. This cotton is so fabulous that unless you really know your fibres, you'd swear it was silk. This was a birthday gift for my mother this year.

The white stole is a piece I knit in early 2009. It is white kid mohair with a bit of nylon. I picked up a cone of this stuff at a thrift store for ninety-nine cents!!!

The grey shawl below was knit with a wool/acrylic blend. I haven't "killed" it yet, so it doesn't hold the blocking very well. I'll get to it eventually!

This is a little shawl I knit out of vintage baby wool. I call it "Diamonds and Lace", and it's an extremely simple little shawl. Because of it's simplicity, it was a lovely little knit, just the tonic my knitting-weary brain needed at the time!

More pics to come. Next week, my mother and I are flying to Ottawa, and will spend Remembrance Day at the National Cenotaph, and then attend my nephew's award ceremony at Rideau Hall, where the Governor General will be presenting him with a medal for Meritorious Service in Afganistan. That will be followed up with a weekend in Montreal, another couple of days in Ottawa, and then home. Thankfully, knitting is now allowed on planes, so I'll have about 10 hours of knitting time, which will take me a long way towards finishing my sister's Lautrec Bolero.

Geez, Buchanan, It's About Time!

2009-04-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

So five months after my last post (counting on fingers) I figure it's about time I said a word or two about a thing or two.

I was elected to our local school board last November. I am now in my 13th non-consecutive year as a school trustee, having served 3 years in the early 80s (when I was still a child ;-), and 9 years in the 90s (as a teen ;-). I've been back on the board since being officially sworn in (or at) for five months, and it's certainly nothing like past boards to which I've been elected. Transparency is paid lip-service (if that), and the board has killed off two vital committees which insured some level of accountability to our electors.

I am trying to change that, and will continue to be a festering thorn until the board does the right thing. I promised that I would be the voice for those who are not heard, and I intend to keep that promise.

The week of the civic election last November, an old friend showed up, unannounced, on our doorstep, and offered me a job. Now I had been mostly-retired, semi-underemployed and really trying to stay that way. Then BOOM, within a few days, not only did I have full time work, but also the seat on the school board.

Life has gone from one extreme to the other in our house. Gone are the wonderful hours and hours spent outside, tending the garden, maintaining the pond, sitting on the deck knitting, and they've been replaced by full time work and a lot of meetings! However, I must admit, I am enjoying the improvement in our household income.

Out With The Old

I said goodbye to my faithful steed of 17 years. My 1991 Chev Blazer S10 had 410,000 km on it, and was still running very well, but the last couple of months I simply wasn't feeling as good about driving it as I had for the previous 17 years. BC has a "Scrap-It" program (check out the website, it's pretty cool!). They bought my old truck from me for $2500, much more than I would have received on a trade-in or selling it privately.

In With The New

And the old girl has been replaced with a 2005 Toyota Matrix. I like it for all the politically correct reasons, but I miss my Blazer terribly. It sat on the Toyota dealership's lot for nearly a month before the Scrap-It program came and picked it up, and many times I was tempted to run in and say "no, I made a mistake, I want my truck back!". Of course, that didn't happen, and now I'm sure my old friend is a compressed block of metal that will be turned into something else. As much as I am happy we had the money for the new car, I just can't seem to shake the feeling that I shouldn't have gotten rid of the truck (yet).

However, I'm thrilled with the mileage of the Matrix, and the sound system (boom boom boom ... heheh) and with the fact that I am driving a vehicle that is safe for my 45 minute commutes to and from work, and to get me to school board functions, in and out of town, with a degree of certainty that it won't break down on me.

On the knitting front: I have completed two shawls, a stole and two scarves to sell. Originally I was going to sell them in my Etsy store (don't bother trying to find it because it's got nothing for sale!) but I have enough interest locally that I can actually sell them for a good price and know the recipients.

I am currently knitting a slightly altered version of the Icelandic Lace Shawl, shown here on the right. Mine will be of mohair blended yarns, and quite a bit bigger, and different colours, but following the same general pattern. Once it's finished, it'll be for sale, too.

By selling my knitting, I can justify my obsessive need to shop for new yarns. I buy, as many of you know, mainly from thrift stores, and have been incredibly lucky in that way. I literally have thousands of dollars worth of yarn in my stash, and have only paid pennies on the dollar for them. I'm glad to be using some of my stash, and that people are happy to buy my knitted garments!

And, I just finished knitting a b!tch of a pattern from Mary Maxim. It's a very cute sweater for a little girl (I'll get pics up later), but the pattern was poorly written. This is only my second MM pattern, and the first one was as poorly written as this. However, I was knitting for a friend's daughter, and am getting fresh prawns in trade. An excellent deal all around!

So off to bed. I am in Kelowna, BC, as I write, attending the 105th Annual General Meeting of the BC School Trustees Association. I'll be here until Sunday, when I will then drive east again to Wasa Lake, where I'm meeting my dad and his wife, then on to Lethbridge, Alberta, to visit with family and friends, and to attend the Annual General Meeting of Blankets for Canada, of which I am National Vice President.

And yes, I'm loving my laptop, a post-election gift from my wonderful guy, who is at home for two weeks, being papa to our five cats and the dog, and all the fish in the pond!

Adios for now!

I Have Your Cat

2008-11-20T16:44:00.000-08:00

And I don't even know who you are.

I was in Esquimalt in late September, caddying at a bridge tournament being held at the Rec Centre. A filthy, flea-bitten and emaciated cat with runny eyes and nose was trying to warm herself under cars or in any bit of sunshine she could find. The perimeter of the parking lot revealed evidence of other people's attempts to feed her.

I talked to her and she came right over, rubbed up against my ankle and meowed. Ran my hand down her back and every vertebrae poked itself through her skin. Every rib stuck out, and even her little face was skinny.

So I ran to the nearest grocery store and bought a bag of cat food, found a couple of containers for food and water, and returned to the parking lot. She was still there, and almost ran up to me when she heard me opening the bag of dry cat food. I put food and water down for her in a corner, and stood back to see her practically inhale what was in front of her.

I fed her for the next couple of days, and then decided she needed to come home with me. I felt that if her owner did live nearby, that person didn't have the right to have her and not take proper care of her.

My son and daughter-in-law were co-conspirators. They loaned me their kitty-carrier. The day I left town, I scooped up Pluck (PLK, for Parking Lot Kitty) and she settled right down in the carrier, surrounded by soft towels.

We took her to our vet, who found a tattoo in her ear. She had indeed been spayed (yay!), but the tattoo was so faded that we could not identify the vet clinic who had done her spaying, or the year of her birth. So, she's either from Comox or Mill Bay, and is either 8 or 15 years old.

She has had treatment for worms, fleas, earmites, as well as both sets of shots, which we were happy to pay for (even though we couldn't afford it).

Pluck, our little girl kitty, has blossomed living in a strictly-indoor environment. Her coat is soft and glossy, her eyes and nose still drip a bit, but nothing like before, she is bug- and parasite-free, she always has lots of the BEST cat food available (Orijen which is made in Canada of all Canadian ingredients), fresh water, clean litter and all the love and cuddles she can handle.

If Pluck sounds like your cat, please leave me your address so we can send you the bill for the veterinary care we have paid for. If you have any notion of seeing her again, forget it. You didn't take care of her when you should have, which has done you out of the option of ever seeing her again.

How Time Slips By

2008-10-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's been much too long.

Diana Cooper was my 20,000th visitor (wooo hooo!) and won the prize package. Here is the silk bookmark I knit for her:

She also won the magazines, a linen tea towel with Canadian West Coast First Nations art, and a matching ceramic coaster, plus a 2 lb. cone of slightly-heavier than lace weight wool.

I had lots of fun doing this contest, and think MAYBE I'll run another one when my blog is approaching its 50,000th visitor.

I also knit a bookmark for an exchange partner in Washington State. She and I both belong to a monthly bookmark knit-along group. She sent me some beautiful things, including a bookmark she knit from silk she had spun herself, and a tiny tatted bookmark, along with some other cool things. On the left is the bookmark I knit for her.

And, of course, the wedding of the century distracted me for some time! Here is my daughter-in-law's wedding garter:

(The Richardson /Buchanan wedding garter)

We took our Freecycle motorhome to Victoria for the wedding, and parked it in my sister's and brother-in-law's driveway. This was waiting for us when we got there:

The motorhome is a 1976 Brougham, on a Ford chassis, and yes, it was FREE on Freecycle. We spent some time cleaning and painting, etc., as well as repairing the brakes and some other mechanical checks and repairs, and took it on our very first road trip for my son's wedding. I can't begin to express the gratitude Dorne and I feel for the Nanaimo freecycler who offered it, and eventually chose us to receive it. It's still a little beat up on the outside, but by next year's camping season, she'll be glistening and gleaming. Here she is!

Twenty-three feet of lovely old motorhome. Yes, that is duct tape on the door. Red Green would be proud of us! (I think 3-M should give us a duct tape subsidy). (This picture was taken in our own yard in Port Alberni.)

The wedding was fabulous. I will do a separate post, with pictures. The day was perfect, the bride and groom were perfect, the guests were perfect, everything was ... PERFECT! To me, the icing on the (wedding) cake was the fact that Eric's father and his wife came all the way from Halifax. My family welcomed them with open arms, making an already incredible family occasion that much more monumental.

The summer was long and hot, and we spent time cooling ourselves in the pool. The pond was a very busy place this year, with breeding goldfish increasing the population! I was absolutely amazed one day when I was doing some cleaning in the pond and saw a teeny fish scoot away from me! Careful observation revealed many babies, of varying ages (from a few days to about a month old) hanging around, under the lily pad leaves, all eating voraciously. Here are the adults (lusty bunch that they are!):

The fruit trees were extremely productive this year, too, yielding Gravenstein apples that were more than ten ounces each (yes, EACH!), copious quantities of pears, green seedless grapes, concord grapes, a few nectarines, plus rhubarb, strawberries, and a rose bush which gave us bags and bags of hips. We have been making apple sauce, apple butter, apple leather, and our own invention .. apple jerky! Who could just compost all those great apple peelings? Not us! We pureed them and spread out the puree on a cookie sheet, and let it sit in a very slow oven for a day or two. Voila! Apple jerky with fabulous taste and more fibre than a whole box of All Bran!

The concord grapes were shared with my daughter-in-law's parents. They made jelly and when I dropped by yesterday, they gave us four perfect jars of grape jelly! Look at those gorgeous grapes:

The kiwi vines were productive, and gave us a few fruit this year. Next year, after a good pruning and some vine refinement, we should have a bumper crop.

The pond (which was simply a hole in the ground last year, which Dorne and Eric redug and expanded to about quadruple the original size!) and the deck Dorne built (with decking from a fellow Freecycler!) are the jewels in the crown of our yard. What used to be a useless corner of the yard is now a beautiful spot where we relax, gaze and ponder. Well, ok, I knit and Dorne does crosswords ;-)

Last week, we took the motorhome out to MacKenzie Beach, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Here is my favourite prairie chicken, viewing the Pacific Ocean from the couch at the back of the motorhome, and a few other great shots from our four days out there:

And just to make our lives a little crazier, I filed nomination papers for the local school board. Civic Elections are on November 15th, and I'm hoping that I'll be one of the twelve candidates elected to one of the six seats available. I was a school trustee on this board for 12 years, and really look forward to getting back on the board. Keep your fingers crossed!

Ok, that's it for now. Stay tuned for more updates!

We Have A Winner!

2008-06-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Sitemeter recorded Visitor # 20,000 just a few moments ago.

Stay tuned for the details!

Will YOU be Visitor Number 20,000?

2008-05-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

As my sitemeter speeds towards Visitor # 20,000, I am preparing a prize package for that lucky person.

The prizes will be as follows:
* A handknit, silk lace bookmark with the winner's initials knit into it, along with a very fetching lace pattern (I will need your initials to knit it).
* A gift of yarn, laceweight or finer, enough to knit a shawl/wrap or whatever you like. I will offer several choices.
* A vintage Circlon circular needle.
* An original August 1956 "Workbasket" magazine with a Niebling-esque doily pattern.
* An original McCall's September 1988 Needlework and Crafts, 75th Anniversary edition, with two beautiful knit doily patterns, including one that's shown as a doily and a square shawl.
* A Canadian souvenir that is actually MADE in Canada, and not imported (yeah, go figure).

If YOU are that person then you must get in touch with me. When you visit my blog, please scroll down to the sitemeter (just to the right of this post, in the sidebar), and check the number. If you are Number 20,000, you need to email me with the following information:

1. Real name and snail-mail address.
2. Internet Service provider (so I can verify that it really was you).
3. Date and time of your visit. (ditto to above)

Here is my email addy:
rosemarie dot buchanan at gmail dot com

Of course, change the "dot" to a real ".", and the "at" to a real "@" ;-)

I check my sitemeter every day. If Visitor #20,000 does not email me within two days (48 hours) of her/his visit, I will offer the prizes to the next visitor. Visitor # 20,001 will have to check my blog three full days later (I'll post it) to see if they are eligible for the prizes.

If the winner wishes to be anonymous, I will respect that, although I would like to publish the country/province/state of the winner. If you'd like your name announced, I'll be happy to do that, too!

If you are not a knitter, I will offer you the bookmark, the Canadian souvenir, and another hand-knit prize, still to be determined.

Ex-spouses are not eligible ;-)

These details may change, so please check back for updates!

Perspective, man

2008-05-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, all you need is a little perspective.

And when that fails, there are other options.

Carmageddon

Evolution vs. Creationism

Skein Sadists

2008-04-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Fifty-three grams of handspun silk have converted me to a die-hard skein-hater.

I, in my infinite wisdom and experience, have decided that anyone who sells yarn and thread in skeins really hates the knitters who will be using the stuff.

Oh, by the way, the correct pronunciation of skein is "sk - ay - n". I've attended a Friday-night knitting group where it's called "skeen", and folks, that simply isn't correct!

I am currently doing a stash inventory, and have spent WAY too much time untangling skeins of matted silk and wool. Substantial amounts of expletives have helped relieve the stress and tension of the exercise.

Now there are the purists who may claim that there is actually a good reason for selling thread/yarn in skeins, and if any of you think you have one of those good reasons, please leave a comment so I can trash those reasons publicly.

;-)

Addendum: Ahhh ... the skeins make it "nice for selling". Skeins suck for knitting. No matter how wonderful the stuff looks when skeined, ya can't knit from the buggers, so give me a centre-pull ball! Sellers who INSIST on selling their wares in skeins can advertise it skeined, but SELL it in centre-pull balls!

Heck, I'd even pay a buck a ball more to have it already wound!

The customer is always right. ;-)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Non-Knitting Content ;-)

Why do I have a picture of Robert Picardo here? Last month, while in Vancouver, I was making a right-hand turn off West Georgia onto Howe Street, and who was walking down the sidewalk but the (nameless) doctor from Star Trek Voyager. If you go to his website, you'll see that he is a person of conscience, and involved in many good things, including Habitat for Humanity.

And this handsome young man is my son. This picture was taken on the Caribbean Island of St. Thomas. My mother and her partner were vacationing on St. .Thomas, and the Princess Cruiselines ship on which my son was working, stopped at St. Thomas every Thursday. So Eric found his way to my mother's villa, they were overjoyed to see each other (Eric having a touch of homesickness, as he was posted on the Caribbean Princess for six months, and seeing my mother was about the fourth month into his stint), and she made him "just about the best sandwich I've ever had". Apparently, the food prepared for the crew on the cruiselines leaves much to be desired, so the sandwich was a big hit with Eric.

And this is the same handsome young man who will be marrying his high school sweetheart this summer. The entire family is very happy, and, as my future daughter-in-law's mother toasted on Christmas Day, "Here's to new family traditions".

This is their engagement picture. What a beautiful couple they make!

Ok, back to untangling those skeins (SKAYNS) of thread.

China Prepares for the Beijing Olympics

2008-03-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

"Our great trading partner" is preparing for this summer's Olympics.

The IOC is flogging the illusion that the Olympics will help bring civility and democracy to China.

They are idiots.

If Cuba's government is considered so awful that the US continues its economic sanctions against that country, then can someone explain to me why the world isn't boycotting EVERYTHING Chinese?

As much as I want to cheer for all Canadian athletes, and particularly for Port Alberni wrestler Travis Cross, I think the toll taken on the Chinese population, at the hands of its own military and police, is too high to justify supporting anything less than total economic sanctions, and boycotts of, anything Chinese-made.

Before anyone accuses me of wanting less for the people of China than I'd want for anyone else, let's be realistic. The Chinese government and a handful of factory owners are the real winners in the Chinese economic boom. Wal*Mart (which I actively boycott) compounds the issues of poverty and worker rights, and anyone who buys from that store supports the stockholders of that store, and NOT the people who make the goods.

The ecology and workers are the losers. Yes, I believe everyone has the right to a standard of living that affords dignity, education and health care. If anyone really believes that's what the workers in China are getting, they're only fooling themselves.

I know many hundreds of athletes have been working hard for this Olympics. It may not be too late to relocate many of the events to countries which do not censor and abuse its citizens.

If you don't openly object, then you passively accept. Condonation, it's called. No one will get that from me.

The inherent problem with religion ...

2008-03-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

... is that divine entities have to rely on humans to make it work.

Quite a conundrum.

Look Out, Nanaimo, It's Cyndi and Rosemarie on the Loose!

2008-03-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

There needs to be some kind of celebration when two people connected by lace knitting actually get to meet, face-to-face.

Cyndi emailed me a while back, saying she was going to be on Vancouver Island for a weekend conference, and would it be possible to get together for a while?

I jumped at the chance, having frequently emailed Cyndi, and being on Facebook and finding out that we have much more in common than just lace knitting!

I met Cyndi and her man at the Coast Bastion hotel, close to the waterfront and within walking distance of Mad About Ewe, (I'd post the link, if they had a website!), a Nanaimo LYS. Of course we knew who each other was right away, as Cyndi and I both own a unique set of wheels; hers immediately under her, much newer and worth way more, and mine, well, my Chev Blazer is 17 years old now and has 400,000 km on her original motor (and she was new when I first brought her home!). I figure if I'm ever needing a tow, I'll call Cyndi!!

We did a little show and tell, too. If you check out her blog, you'll see these wonderful socks on the sticks. Well, I'm one up on all of you, because I saw them in real life, and being modelled by the knitter herself!

We did visit Mad About Ewe, and discovered that it's not just the yarn of the ewe they have. I have never seen, ergo, never touched Kidsilk Haze until last Monday. This is an experience not soon to be forgotten, and if the stuff weren't so expensive, I might have come home with some. Whew ... I'd have to get a second job in order to afford to knit one item with Kidsilk Haze!

Cyndi and I both were groping the copious quantities of wools and yarns, we stopped by the button wall and she picked out a seashell button for her toque, to remind her of her trip to the Island, and of course, we both spent money there (it is clearly very important to support the local economy!!). We lingered for nearly an hour, chatting with the store owners and (ahem), I shared my belly button start for circular projects with a woman who had stopped in for some help with her circular start. Modesty does not become me one bit!

One of the owners even agreed to take our picture with, I know this is hard to believe, but there is an entire wall of wool behind us. Imagine!!

Thanks to Mad About Ewe for indulging us. I did overhear one of the owners saying they are developing a website, and as soon as I see that, I'll post a link!

Cyndi and I also found out that sock knitting legend Nancy Bush had been to Nanaimo a few months earlier. Now if Mad About Ewe had a website, or even a monthly newsletter, I'd have known about that!!

(I will get over it!). (maybe)

One of the many things about which Cyndi and I agreed was that we need to go to a knitting retreat on one of the Gulf Islands. Apparently Quadra Island has a place that does just such a thing, so we'll have to dig more deeply and find out.

We had a great lunch together, talked up a storm, and then it was time to say goodbye. Cyndi and John were facing a many-hour bus trip back to northern BC, where they live.

I had a blast, and it was wonderful to meet a laceknitting comrade. I'm glad Cyndi survived the day with me (I can be somewhat challenging, you know!).

Meeting Cyndi

2008-03-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have been remiss in not blogging for two months. My humblest apologies.

As if!

Tomorrow I drive to Nanaimo to meet a laceknitting comrade, Cyndi. Don't tell her, but I'm bringing her a few little gifts of thread and wool ... silk, linen, cotton and laceweight wool. Shhhhh!!!

Nanaimo's just over an hour away, a nice drive through Cathedral Grove and around Cameron Lake, past Coombs and the Old Country Market with the goats on the roof (really!). The pictures were taken July 2007.

We will be visiting a couple of LYS (Local Yarn Stores, for the uninitiated) and having lunch somewhere. Nanaimo has some fabulous restaurants ... hmmm ... Thai? Mexican? Organic? Hmmmm ....

On the sticks: PhoenixPalme, or Phonixpalme, as it's otherwise known. This is the shawl I'm knitting for my son's wedding in August. I'm using high-twist silk thread in "natural" colour, and am doing a 3/4 circular shawl.

This means knitting back and forth and doing a little fudging with a bit of the pattern, especially along the front edges. I started on Round (or in this case, Row) 49. None of this makes sense unless you've converted a circular knitting project into a shawl, and in a couple of weeks I'll have pictures!

We're loving the springtime here on the West Coast. The fish in the pond are coming out of dormancy, and are eagerly awaiting the first mosquito eggs to be deposited into the pond. Today I tossed an earthworm into the pond, and there was a feeding frenzy. The fish mortality rate over the winter wasn't too bad ... I think we lost about 1/2 dozen, out of more than 40. Remember, the pond was rebuilt last summer, so the mere fact that we have any surviving fish is wonderful! That's Eric, tweaking the lining of the pond last July, as it was being filled (this is the young man who will be a groom this summer!).

Now tell me, what self-respecting Malamute wouldn't lounge on the new pond liner and drink the water as the pond is being filled? Malamutes don't like water, remember? (ya, right!).

And this is a view of the rebuilt pond, taken from the kitchen roof. This year we will be covering any exposed liner with more HUGE rocks around the edge of the pond, and small, round rocks in the shallow ends of the pond.

Life is racing towards the Aug. 23 wedding date for my son and his fiancee. We have so much to do here at home, as we are having family visit for a few days after the wedding. Our Freecycle motorhome will be completely redecorated and refurbished inside; the house will (fingers crossed) be completely repainted, exterior; two bedrooms inside painted and tiddled up; attic cleaned out and organized; a deck will be built beside the pond; the pool needs to be drained and cleaned and filled; flower boxes need to be built and put up and filled with plants; lawn needs to be replanted where the bobcat skimmed it off while removing the old shingles off the property last summer, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (to quote the King of Siam). Almost makes a person tired just thinking of it all!

My belly button start for circular projects has had a phenomenal number of hits in the last few months. Many bloggers have posted links to it, and it's a hit on Ravelry, too. So glad to see so much positive feedback!!

Keep your eyes peeled for the PP Shawl updates, as well as pictures and a story or two of the time Cyndi and I have together tomorrow!

Goodnight, Mother!

Well, It's My Birthday Month, Too!

2008-01-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

Knit Witch is sponsoring a contest this month, because it is her birthday, so she gives the presents!

Well, it's my birthday month, too. Saturday, January 19th will be seeing out the end of my 52nd year on this planet, and the ushering in of Birthday Number Fifty-F*cking-Three (that ongoing family joke, which I should really explain at some time, it's not nearly as obscene as one might think!).

So Knit Witch has asked contestants to send her the story of their most embarassing moment in life. I have several which could qualify. Oy.

Like the time I was at the Brimfield, Massachusetts antique fair, and found TWO Bill Reid prints priced at $30.00 each. What a deal! I whipped out my wallet when asked how I was going to pay for them. "Why, cash, of course." I mean, what's $60 for a pair of Bill Reid prints?

(If you ever hang out at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and need a place to avoid being tasered, then check out his huge sculpture there. Bill Reid was an amazing human being, and an incredible artist.)

Just then my companion walked in. It was about the same time the seller of the prints informed me they were $3000 each, NOT $30.00 each. (Although if he wanted that much for them, he should have had them up off the damp ground, and at least cleaned off the glass so a person could SEE the decimal point between the zeroes!)

Ok, so I should have had reading glasses on. Or maybe the dude selling them should have had the price tags more clearly printed. Regardless, I was embarassed and this story continues to be one that my family loves to hear (jerks, eh? ;-).

I have since developed a passion for First Nations art, and have several originals and prints hanging in my living room. They help remind me that a good humiliation can last a lifetime.

And then there's the time I smeared chapstick all over my mouth, only to be told about half an hour later that I had mistakenly grabbed my frosted blackberry lipstick instead of the chapstick. The half hour in between putting it on and being told included a walk around a very crowded fair grounds, and being on the local school board, at the time, meant that I was meeting and greeting lots of folks that I knew.

If YOU ever have lipstick where it shouldn't be, or your sweater is mis-buttoned, or you have spinach in your teeth, I will always tell you ... gently and discreetly, but I will always tell you!

Anyway, now I'm going to send Knit Witch an email and let her know to check for my entries into her contest.

I think us January babies should stick .... or in this case, stitch ... together, right?

Another Trip to Vancouver, and Snowy Rainforest Pictures!

2008-01-05T00:44:00.001-08:00

January 17th, a friend and I will catch the 8:30 ferry and head over to the Big City, and while she's tied up with her commitments, I'll be wandering back down to that magazine store to see if there are any new Anna magazines! I'll keep you posted on that.

The following day, my sweetie and I are heading down to Victoria for my birthday. It's the birthday after 52 and before 54. Egad ... I almost said it. The upside is that I still have no need to colour my great dark brown hair (genetics can be a good thing!), the downside is that all those great genes haven't kept the years from marching on.

This is a west coast rain forest, temporarily disguised as a snow forest. Needless to say (but I will anyway!), Doggie of the North absolutely loved it! Innu romped and played as much as he could, grabbing mouthfuls of snow and tossing them in the air, running nose first into the snow, throwing himself into piles of snow like a kid landing on freshly-raked leaves. Now does that look like a happy Malamute, or what?

And what a handsome boy he is! Oh, and the dog is cute, too. ;-)

These pictures were taken along a well-used walkway here in Port Alberni, known as Kitsuksis Creek walkway. Innu and Dorne take the 45 minute full circle walk nearly every day. I walk as often as my foot will permit (still recovering from plantar's fasciitis, which somewhat limits the thrashing it can take every day).

A couple more pictures of my beautiful part of the world, rarely seen with snow, and then I'm off to bed!

Ok, so instead of rain forest, here's a picture of my youngest great-nephew, his mum, and her mum (my sister).

I love watching my niece with her two sons, partly because it reminds me of how great it is to raise a boy, and partly because she's such a great mother! (and the boys' dada is a pretty cool guy, too!). And, I must admit, I love those two little guys as if they were my own grandchildren. Can't wait to see them again!

Family loving each other and enjoying each other's company is worth more than just about anything I can think of.

A house without love is just a building. A home is filled with love.

I'm so glad to be home.

It's True!

2007-12-20T18:52:00.001-08:00

PhoenixPalme Completion

2007-12-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

At last, the pictures of blocking the PhoenixPalme. The PhoenixPalme is knitted, and is the design of Herbert Niebling. Blocking this was definitely a two-person job, and I couldn't have done it without the help of the wonderful man in my life.

I cast-off, rather than crocheted-off, the edging, much to the delight of my hands, which cramp terribly when I try to crochet.

My prescription for avoiding crochet cramps when finishing the edging?
Rx: don't crochet!
I admit, I'm a knitting snob, and crocheting makes my hands hurt. My solution works well, and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

I used stainless steel welding rods, and a few pins, to block it. The rods were inserted along the last row of hexagonal mesh. I lightly starched the entire cloth, and once the edging was damp from the spray starch, I simply finger-blocked it and let it dry.

Vitals: Size 30, six cord, 100% cotton thread, highly mercerized, 11 x 20gr balls. Belly button start was on 2.25mm dp bamboo needles for about 20 rounds, then a 2.75mm circular needle for about 30 rounds, then a 3.5mm circular (Circlon) for the balance, up to, but not including the edging, which I did on a 3.75mm circular needle. It is about 2 metres across, or just a bit more than 6 feet.

This beautiful piece of furniture was built by my grandfather approximately 1920, when he was 20 years old. It was in his parents' house until 1955 (the year I was born). When my great-grandfather passed away, my grandfather disassembled it, bundled it up with binder twine, and stored it in his basement.

In the early 60s, my parents bought a beautiful old house. My grandfather thought the entrance needed a mirror, and brought a long mirror with him the next time he visited (he was Inspector of Jails for the province of Alberta, after retiring from the RCMP in the 50s, and visited the city where I was raised once a month, as there was a provincial jail there).

After my grandparents passed away in the late 90s (both nearly 100 years old), my dad asked me if I would like the cupboard. Of course I would! He offered to piece it back together for me, nearly 50 years after it had been disassembled. He spent several months doing this, having to replace and/or refinish several pieces. He did a fabulous job!

The clock was rescued from the Lethbridge RCMP station just before the old station was torn down. My grandfather had great foresight! And why did I mention the mirror? Because it was the mirror that Grampa had made to go with the buffet, before my dad was even a twinkle in his eye. All those years of coming and going while I was growing up, I had no idea that the mirror was part of this piece of family heritage.

And I am so very lucky to be the recipient of these two beautiful heirloom pieces.

What better way to display the PhoenixPalme! This is my dining room, in my house which will be 100 years old next year.

The glassware is Fenton milk glass, covered hobnail candy dish and salt and pepper shakers. The double-swan dish is a piece of Vaseline glass from the 30s. And the very pink piece on the buffet is my Kometenstern, a Niebling piece I had knit earlier this year.

Tonight I very carefully folded the PhoenixPalme, wrapped it in acid-free paper, and prepared it for its new life in Lethbridge, on the antique oak table in my dad's dining room.

My dad and his wife have waited a long time for this. They have no idea it'll be under their tree for Christmas. Fortunately, they are not online so won't be able to cruise my blog and spoil the surprise!

PhoenixPalme, Tout Finis!

2007-12-05T19:56:00.000-08:00

Whew ... I need a cigarette .... hahahahaha ....

Ok, so I have asthma and would rather ban cigarettes than smoke 'em, so please take the above comment as a reflection on six months of knitting the monster in the pictures below, and the incredible relief/pleasure/ecstacy of casting it off.

The PhoenixPalme is not washed or pressed, but due to intense pressure, (you people are such nags ... ;-), I'm caving in and publishing these pictures:

Above is the mostly cast-off PhoenixPalme, carefully guarded by Bitsy (the grey) Kitty (#2 of 5), and Quattro (#4 of 5).

Prior to casting off, I had put it on a stainless steel needle after knitting the piece with a nylon "Circlon" needle. Big mistake; steel needles are slick and want to either fall out of the work or drop stitches, so I put it back on a Circlon needle and cast off from there. As you can see, even Quattro knew the stainless steel needle had to go! And to the right, is an example of the palm fronds as designed by Herbert Niebling and knit by me!

PhoenixPalme, and Anna Magazines

2007-11-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

A quick update; Round 275 completed tonight. I'm getting VERY impatient to get this monster finished!

No pics till then ...

I went over to the mainland yesterday, and spent the day in Vancouver. Was wandering down Granville Street and found a magazine shop which specializes in foreign-language magazines. Hmmm ... do they have Anna magazines?

The short answer is "yes"!

In front of me, as I type, is the November 2007 issue of Anna. Some lace knitting, no Niebling, but it's an Anna magazine! I paid $6 CAD for it. To subscribe (if you live in Europe) is about 42 euros per year. Buying it in Canadian dollars from a news stand is a very good deal!

I will be posting contact info on the laceknitters' yahoo group tomorrow, as well as the Niebling group. I have no idea whether Burda will be publishing Niebling patterns in upcoming Anna magazines, but at least we'll all have the contact info.

Back to the sticks ... one more hour, one more round!

PhoenixPalme, Part Trois? Quatre?

2007-11-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the French I took in Grade 9 (lo those many years ago) has faded into a distant memory.

No pictures, just an update. Last night I completed Round 255 of the PhoenixPalme. There are nearly 1400 stitches to a round, and it's taking about an hour and 15 minutes to knit one round. That's some mighty fast knitting!

There are 300 rounds, so I'm in the home stretch, although if you do the math, I have roughly 50 hours of knitting ahead of me, and this thing needs to be finished in time to mail to Alberta for Christmas.

Wish me luck!

Mmmmm .... silk ........ mmmmmmmm

2007-11-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

You just never know what you'll find when you're out for a drive in the country.
Last Saturday, I turned left off the highway rather sharply, after seeing a sandwich board which I had passed many times. "Wool" was the word that grabbed my attention, so like any true addict, I followed my craving (previous rants about addicts notwithstanding ;-).
Not just wool, but baby alpaca wool, skeins and skeins of it. Baby alpaca wool spun with silk, skeins and skeins of it. Silk yarn, skeins and skeins of it ... mmmmm .... knitter's porn!!
And what a disappointment ... it was all HALF PRICE !! So I forced myself to get some Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, seven 50 gr. skeins (approx. 125 metres to a skein). The Addi needles were half price, too ... man, it was awful. Dorne had to drag me out of the shop, kicking and screaming, grasping at the door frame, me shamelessly begging the shop owner to lock me in for the night, or forever!
Dorne convinced me of the error of my ways, so we came home. Above is the silk thread and needles, situated on top of my PheonixPalme (round 228!). Mowzer Kitty is giving the needles his squint of approval.

The baby alpaca wool (and the baby alpacas who supplied it were right outside the door of the shop!) is incredible ... soft and drapey, much moreso than any other wool I've touched. I think if a person were going to start knitting with that, they'd have a hard time going back to any other kind, even merino.

And for your viewing entertainment, pics of our haunted-looking house with our carved pumpkins. We distressed the paint to give the genuinely-haunted look (I have some land in Florida for sale, too). Note the doggie-pumpkin, a portrait of Mr. Innu.

The aluminum siding was removed (by Dorne) and revealed some great woodwork beneath. Our neighbours are awaiting the upcoming paint job on the house!

PhoenixPalme, Part Deux

2007-10-25T22:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Two Sticks. Here I have my PhoenixPalme at Round 212 (out of 300 ... oy!).

Kitty #1 (of five) is giving it a close inspection. I think it met with his approval, because he stretched out on it shortly after this picture was taken.

Next two pics shows the development of the palm trees. Thanks to my wonderful guy for stretching it out (I had four repeats each on a steel welding rod) and holding it while I took the pic. Those are the hands that rebuilt our kitchen earlier this year, and reroofed our house this summer!

When completed, this tablecloth will be given as a Christmas gift to my dad and his wife. They watched me finish my Lily of the Valley in early 2004, and both became quite enchanted with lace knitting. My dad will be 82 next month, and I think it's about time he and his wife have a piece of gorgeous knitting for their oak table!

Speaking of 82 year old men, there he is! He and his wife were visiting Victoria recently, and he got to meet his youngest (and second) great-grandchild for the first time, my great-nephew Garnet. It was pretty much love at first sight (how could it NOT be??!!).

Then my dad and my oldest great-nephew, Benjamin, read a book together (Pirates Don't Change Diapers!). This little boy is the first baby born to our family since my son was born in 1979 (otherwise known as responsible reproduction ... ;-)

I probably won't have another report on the PhoenixPalme until it's finished, as it is simply toooooo much work putting it on the rods and then back on the circular needle.

Hi Peggy! Former tenant and NEW lace knitter who lurks around peaking into my blog from time to time ... we gotta get you a blog so you can show off your knitting masterpieces! When you come over for those iris roots, you'll have to bring your doily along with you. I'd love to see it!

Another Niebling?

2007-09-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to present Herbert Niebling's PhoenixPalme, at round 165 out of 300. I am knitting the entire cloth as a practice-run for knitting a 3/4 circle shawl for my son's wedding next summer.

I started out on 2.25mm bamboo needles, and worked my way up to a 3.5mm circular needle. The original pattern calls for 50 grams of Size 80 thread on 1.25mm needles. I am on my fourth 20 gram ball of Coats Anchor 6-cord, Size 30 thread, ecru, and it is almost identical to the silk thread I may choose for my shawl.

First is the perfect little belly-button as seen here:

It is a little rough looking, as it's only laid out on a velvet pillow, and not properly blocked, but you get the idea!

Next is this sideways view of a palm frond. This pattern consists almost entirely of hexagonal mesh, twisted knit stitches, and purl stitches. Unlike many knitted lace/lace knitting pieces, there really are no "resting" rows, as the twisted knits and purls must be knit in the "resting" rows, as well as the P1, K1 into the double YOs.

Next is a close-up of the expanding palm branches. There are several features of this cloth which I don't like, particularly the thick "spoke"-like appearance of those stems coming out of the centre of the cloth. I may do some kind of adaptation for the shawl. Of course, I won't be starting the shawl in dead centre, because I'll have to make allowances for the neck area.

These pictures were taken outside, under the apple tree, and the light areas on the cloth is the sun shining through the leaves!

And this apparition would be the old man of the apple tree (do you see his face?). He guards and protects the garden, the pond, and everyone who enters our yard ... well, except for a certain neighbour (who shall remain unnamed!), on whom he casts a spell (it's a very high-fibre spell, in the hope that this neighbour's head will be fired out of his .... just a minute, this is a family show and we'll have none of that language!).

I will have more pictures as the cloth progresses. Next week I'm off to Victoria for a couple of weeks, housesitting, cat-sitting, painting, pressure-washing, and hairdressing (gonna be a jam-packed couple of weeks!).

Tonight, here on Vancouver Island, we are enjoying a cool breeze, fresh off the Pacific Ocean. We have apples, sliced and frozen, from our Gravenstein tree, plums, washed and frozen and waiting to be turned into jam (mmmm), had green tomatoes from the garden, lightly coated with whole wheat flour, ground flax seed, salt, fresh ground black pepper, and cumin, then fried in olive oil, as well as oven-roasted zucchini, also out of our garden. Oh how I love Vancouver Island!

TTFN!

Yes, Jim, It's Really Me!

2007-09-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

Nosracmij ... hahah ... there's only one!

But when you signed my guestbook, you were supposed to leave me your email address!

Silly boy.

Still in Kansas, Dorothy?

Write me! rosemarie dot buchanan at gmail dot com

Or leave me your email addy and I'll write you.

Now, back to my knitting!

The Niebling Quartet

2007-06-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

Feast your eyes, folks. It's Niebling time on Two Sticks and Some String !!

These were all dampened and then finger-pressed on my bed. None have been properly blocked (am looking for volunteers!). (kidding ;-)

From top left, they are:

The Ranuncula (aka Carbunkle, as it became known on the Niebling Lace Knitters list). Size 60 white cotton thread on 2.25mm needles, approx 30 cm. tip to tip. Annoying little doily to knit, and am not terribly pleased with how it turned out.

Top right is the Frosted Ferns, knit with approx. Size 60 deep salmon-coloured linen thread on 2.75mm needles. I didn't like the dorky edging and made my own. It's a little too full for the doily, but it'll hang nicely on a round table. It's approx. 80 cm. across. I enjoyed knitting this one, and love the finished item.

Bottom right is the Kometenstern, knit with Size 30 pink cotton thread on 3mm needles. Somewhat tedious to knit, simply because it's a simple doily, but a nice little distraction that didn't take too long.

Bottom left is the legendary Lyra. This was my first Niebling, but I'd knit lots of other challenging pieces before this (including Chatelaine Magazine's Lily of the Valley tablecloth, which I suspect is either an unattributed Niebling, or a knock-off). It's knit in 100% Shetland wool, equivalent to approx. Size 30 thread, on (guessing here) 4mm needles? It is approximately 1.5 metres from side to side. The wool filled out nicely after the piece was finished.

Frosted Ferns, detail.

I loved knitting this piece. It is stunning to look at. Ahhh, belly-button, belly-button, how do I love thee? A closer look at that perfect little belly-button start in the centre. (Don't mind the loose thread underneath ... I didn't tuck in the threads before I took the pics!).

Kometenstern. Lovely symmetry. Perfect little belly-button. Absolutely no humility on my part! And Lyra's perfect little start ... no lumpy centres for my circular projects!

All four pieces on our king-size bed (in the yet-to-be painted and wallpapered bedroom!).

I knit the square version of the Lyra.

After the big family reunion we're having here (yes, here!) on the weekend of July 14/15, I'll (maybe) get serious about properly blocking these and then really showing them off!

Ok, it's movie time in our house! Enjoy the pics, and please, leave comments, questions, and compliments (the gloat continues!).

HELLO LETHBRIDGE!

2007-06-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Vancouver Island! Yes, I see I have two or three regular visitors from Lethbridge, and I'd love to know who you are! Drop me a line at my email below, ok? Thanks!

Email me: rosemarie dot buchanan at gmail dot com

West coast life has taken over computer time. The kitchen renovations are done, and now we're spending as much time outside as possible.

Preparations for the July 14th friends/family/colleagues/co-workers reunion (and someone's ... ahem ... 65th birthday party!) are underway. It's going to be a party and a half, we're rebuilding the pond and putting up the pool, we had new concrete poured in the potting shed and outside the potting shed, so we now have a patio; Dorne just finished re-roofing the kitchen/potting shed roof; we have veggies growing in the garden and kiwi, grapes, plums, rhubarb, peaches, nectarines and cherries to pick when they're ready.

I am able to spend a few hours each day with knitting needles firmly in hand, and am completing my fourth Niebling. My son and his fiancee have booked a facility for their wedding in August 2008, and I will be knitting my future daughter-in-law's wedding garter, as well as making the ring-bearer pillow (silk pillow with knitted lace topper, most likely another Niebling!).

Sooooo ... all those posts I promised with pictures will just have to wait. I'm not having migraines, so you can't even be treated to one of my migraine-induced rants. I'll bet that breaks you right up!

Happy Summer!!!!

I'm Going to be a Mother-In-Law !!

2007-03-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been two months since my last post. Well, actually, I can believe it. We started kitchen renovations on January 21, and the two week job is now in its eighth or ninth week. Oy.

I've taken lots of pictures, and will do a story on that separately.

Two weeks ago, my son returned from his 6-month stint with Princess Cruises. We met him at the airport (he was last through customs, as he was assisting an older woman with her bags). His long-time sweetie Jen was at the airport, too. We were all excited to see him.

He finally burst through the doors and headed straight for ... guess and you'll get the silver star ... JEN! He nearly lifted her off the floor! I was standing there waiting for a little recognition from my ONLY child (who is now 27 years old!). A couple of guys were seated a little ways off, watching the scene. I looked at them and said "I'm only the mother". We all smiled.

Then he saw me, gave me a big hug and kiss, and then back to Jen. It was another minute or two before he realized Dorne was also there, and ran over to give him a hug.

Life has unfolded in an interesting way in the last two weeks. Eric proposed to Jen, and she said yes. The story is great, and I'll tell it in another post.

The bottom line is this: Jen said yes, they're getting married in August of '08 (give or take a week or two on either side of August), and both families are thrilled.

Ahhhhh ... the "welcome home" kiss!

Dude, you need a shave! Oy.

I'm so happy he's home. I picked him up from the train station in Parksville last Monday, and he spent four days with us. I drove him back to Victoria on Thursday, spent some time with my Mother and the NEW baby in the family; my niece's second child "Garnet", born March 4. This picture is my son holding the less-than-48-hour-old baby. Both of them are cute ;-)

Knitting news: I'm almost finished Niebling's Frosted Flowers, a large doily I'm knitting in a very soft linen thread. It should be finished this week, and then I'll be working on a runner for my mother, another Neibling design, charted (ugh) of course, which means I'll be translating all those silly grunts and groans into understandable abbreviations using letters and numbers I already know how to read!!

That's all the news that's fit to print at this time. Check back in a week or two for the "Engagement Story".

TTFN!

On Being 52 Years Old

2007-01-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

Today I'm 50(f*cking)2 (it's a family joke, kinda like you had to be there). So far rather uneventful, other than a phone call from one of my very favourite people in the whole wide world (Adonus!), who called from Lethbridge, and a call from my mother, who's vacationing in the US Virgin Islands, on the island of St. Thomas, where she managed to spend yesterday afternoon with my son.

Last night my dad called, and sometime this weekend both of my sisters will call, as well as my great big burly Aunty Jean.

Tonight we're having a President's Choice 3-mushroom, 5 cheese lasagna, and tomorrow we're spending the day cleaning house and preparing food for about a dozen friends who will be dropping by tomorrow night.

A house without love is just a building. Our house is a home.

A West Coast Between-Storms Report

2006-12-20T19:59:00.000-08:00

I am finally finished that @#$@#@ "Alexander Beetle" vest (the beetles look more like woodticks ... take a look for yourself!). I played with the pattern a bit, pinched in the intarsia beetles around the waistline of the vest (front and back), used some textured yarns not called for in the pattern, etc. The front, bottom and arm borders all have facing knit on (I adapted Sasha Kagan's instructions there, too, as she had no clear way of folding over the facing; the entire thing was to be done in stockinette stitch. My adaptation was to purl a row on the outside, which gave a great edge to fold over, and made for a much neater finished product!).
These pictures were taken as soon as the last pesky end was woven in; the vest had not yet been blocked. Saturday afternoon it will be delivered, wrapped, to Carol who owns the Bug Zoo in Victoria, and then I NEVER WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN!! Sheesh. Intarsia makes Niebling look like a walk in the park. At least I can WRITE out the pesky charts of Niebling's designs instead of being made nauseous by those stupid coloured charts for the beetles. Bleh.

So today, between batches of butter tarts and chocolate haystacks (the shortbread will be made tomorrow), I was wandering around with NO knitting project on the needles. EEK!
So I picked up the needles and knit an Izzy Doll (see the ICross Canada link on the sidebar). Whew, that sure felt better! I am hoping to get at least one doll knit every week, and now that I live on the same Island where Billy Willbond lives, I can get them right to the guy who will be taking the dolls to children in Malawi. The doll takes about 45 minutes to knit, and about the same amount of time to sew together and stuff and make it look like a doll. I'll put a pic on my blog later.

Two days ago my only child turned 27. Egad. Where the hell has more than 1/4 century gone? He called from Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, where he is halfway through his six month contract with Princess Cruises. I'll miss him at Christmas, but will love his company in April, when he comes up to Port Alberni to visit, AND to be the invited guest speaker at the annual Alberni Wrestling Club's awards banquet.

Don't those stupid beetles look like ticks?
;-)
Today we are between storms here on the West Coast. The last storm took out many of the first-growth trees in Stanley Park in Vancouver, to say nothing of the horrific damages to many parts of Vancouver Island. Tomorrow there is supposed to be another storm, with the chance of hurricane-force winds. We may be without power for a while, which is relatively minor other than the sump pump keeping the pool in the basement constantly refreshed !! (there is no pool, but the water likes to think it's a pool).

I am constantly amazed at the number of people who are checking out my belly-button start for circular projects. I'm pleased that I have been able to provide a relatively easy solution for starting a circular knitting project. I know some other directions involve using something other than knitting needles ... blasphemy, I say!

Below is a picture of the moving van in front of our house in Lethbridge (ya ya, already). It was a bitter, nasty cold day (Oct. 30) when they loaded up. October 31 we left Lethbridge, and pointed my '91 Chevy Blazer west. We spent that night in Osoyoos, BC, and landed in North Vancouver about 15 minutes too late to catch the 12:30 p.m. ferry, so we had to wait for the 3:00 p.m. ferry.

We were sitting in the Blazer, with only 4 km. to go before the odometer turned over 380,000 kilometres, when what appeared but our moving van! They had taken a different route to get to the west coast, had encountered more nasty weather than we had, and yet ended up being on the same ferry. Now how WEIRD is that? Anyway, I had to take a another picture. (This is what "albertan" gets for asking about pictures ... heheh).

As we were crossing from the Mainland to Vancouver Island, we were met and accompanied by a pod of at least 20 dolphins! They swam right along side the ferry, passing us and going almost into the Nanaimo Harbour, and then they turned around and headed back out into the Strait. It was an absolutely wonderous sight. Once we got off the ferry, we took a little pleasure ride around the waterfront area of Nanaimo, waiting for the odometer to turn over, and here's a picture of that totally cool event. Ohhhh yaaaa. I'm hoping us two old girls can make it to half a million kilometers (that's alllll on Dorne's shoulders ... heheh).

And on that note, I'll sign off for tonight. If you're out on the Caribbean Princess and you see a tall, handsome, 27-ish-looking guy who is a crew member, give him a hug for me and tell him his mum wishes him a very happy Birthday.

If I don't get back before Dec. 25, I hope everyone has a most wonderful, peaceful and ethical Christmas/Holiday (to be somewhat politically correct ;-).

Ya Gotta Check Out These Websites!

2006-12-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

While I'm busy finishing this @#$@#$@# crawling-with-woodticks vest, YOU should check out these links (and hopefully I can make them work for you ...).

Ok, so I tried and partially because we've just had a 3-hour power outage and I need to be knitting instead of typing, I'll just refer you to my sidebar, the list of links labeled "My Favourite Personal and Political Links".

Check out these: "You Knit What?" -- a hilarious blog about "fugly" (and you KNOW what that stands for!) knitting. I've strolled through it a few times, and although it hasn't been updated in several months, both the pictures and commentary are riotous. I mean REALLY, where do some of those folks get their inspiration???? Maybe they're looking at the compost, or watching the toilet swirl as it flushes? Anyway, check it out and laugh out loud.

And one day on my way to something else, I found an alternate-use-for-tampons website. That's also listed on the sidebar. Make a toupe for your favourite guy using tampons ... make a tampon-shooting weapon out of PVC pipe, let your imagination run wild! Heck, you can even make Christmas and Hallowe'en decorations from tampons! (and even if you don't, you can laugh like heck at this website!).

If this doesn't make you angry .....

nothing will. Iams tests its pet foods on cruelly-confined cats and dogs. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also linked on my sidebar) have researched this carefully, and cannot get an iron-clad guarantee from Iams that they have stopped this cruel and bizarre practice. Check out that link on my sidebar, too. This is one of the many reasons we are now carefully researching the sources of our pets' food.

Another one on the sidebar I've labeled "You'll never eat KFC again". Check out this website. While it's a little "tabloidish" in its presentation, it confirms what I have suspected for years (and is backed up by PETA, which is a reputable organization).

We pride ourselves in being "ethical shoppers". We do NOT shop at (ugh) Wal-Mart, and tend to try to buy Canadian, where possible. We buy organic as much as possible, and attempt (it's difficult) to purchase meat from farmers who have raised and treated our food animals ethically. Cattle standing belly-deep in their own excrement are inhaling (therefore affecting the quality of meat, to say nothing of the health and wellbeing of the animal) copious quantities of ammonia (from their urine) and methane (from their gas). Add to that the fact that some "agribusiness" genius decided that feeding vegetarian ruminants the ground-up remains of their cousins, introducing all kinds of toxins and bad biology into our food, was a good idea, and it's not hard to figure out that we're all better off eating ethically and organically raised foods.

Maybe check out the last two websites first, and then go to the funny ones. You may need a laugh after seeing the other two websites.

Ok, back to that damned @#$$@##$@#$ vest with the @#$$#@ beetles all frickin' over the place (ohhhhhhh god I'll be glad when this is done!).

WHAT?? NO PICTURES???

2006-12-09T21:07:00.004-08:00

A reader from southern Alberta (who called him/herself "albertan") asked where my pictures are.

Answer is simple (like me ;-0) ... still in the camera. Too busy getting settled and finishing this @#$@#$ crawling-with-woodticks vest.

I had already thought of writing my posts into a word document and then doing a copy-and-paste thing; then Blogger can lose anything it wants but I'll have a copy of my post and will repost until Blogger cooperates.

Possibly (maybe), sometime between Christmas and the New Year, I might get pictures posted.

Right now, baby, there's just no damn time!

Which is why the blogger-aborted post of Nov. 21, which I was going to rewrite the next night, has now evolved (or not, as the case may be) into Dec. 9, still with nothing substantial written.

Oh well. Bigger fish to fry. After Christmas, I'll be able to catch my breath.

As if!

Anyway, in the meantime, here's a picture of the south beach of Savary Island, located between Vancouver Island and the west coast of BC. I happen to own a little piece of this Canadian paradise, and I think maybe next month we'll sneak away for a day to check out this very beach!

Argh!

2006-11-21T23:11:00.001-08:00

I just spent 45 minutes writing a new blog entry and Blogger lost it for me. I'll try again tomorrow night because right now, I'm too pissed off and too tired to rewrite it!

Argh!

One more coat of paint on the bathroom wall, then beddy-bye!

Completing the Journey: Returning to Vancouver Island

2006-11-11T18:07:00.000-08:00

It only took eighty-nine months to come full circle, but here we are. Tonight there are Yukon Gold potatoes frying in the oven, a little olive oil and lots of garlic; they'll be eaten with fresh West Coast prawns we bought yesterday at a seafood store called "The Codfather", here in Port Alberni. Chaos rules in the house we've inhabited now for eleven days; everything that was supposed to be clean wasn't, and scrubbing and painting have been the prerequisite to unpacking. I'll flame the "registered property manager" in another post that I'm sure will make interesting reading.

The five kitty-dudes have adapted remarkably well, finding a two-storey, four-bedroom house much more fun than the little two-bedroom house we shared in Lethbridge. Innu, the ferocious Malamute, sticks to Dorne like glue, not wanting to let him out of his sight, other than when it suits Mr. Doggie to hang out in the yard that's probably about six times the size of what he left behind in Lethbridge.

Wanda, the Siamese Fighting Fish, made the journey in a margarine container, spending the two days of driving on the dash of my Chev Blazer, and the night with us in a trashy but doggie-friendly motel in Osoyoos. She's been living in a small fish bowl since we arrived here, but tomorrow that'll change as I found the 2-gallon aquarium a few minutes ago. Once it's cleaned and certified water-tight, I'll be setting it up and putting a cat-proof top on it (they can look but not touch!).

And the Blazer. What a vehicle! Cudos to the GM workers who, in 1991, built me a vehicle that turned over 380,000 km just as we came off the ferry in Nanaimo, after crossing from the mainland to the Island. She's still purring, and hopefully I'll be able to get those 1/2 million km out of her.

Our frequent trips to Canadian Tire (so far, NO looping TV ads blaring in our faces!) and a couple of other hardware stores, as well as grocery stores, have netted bumping into several familiar faces. Alex, the wife of our former MLA and Leader of the BC New Democrats gave me a hug when she saw me, and then informed me of her husband's Parkinson's disease. We had tea with my longtime friend Patrick, and then bumped into my son's girlfriend's parents, and then my friend Pam, former school board chair and all-around Great Person, appeared in front of us.

Ok, now I have to remember how to cook prawns (we had Fanny Bay Oysters last night ... I thought about Linda, back in Lethbridge, who had mentioned the Fanny Bay Inn to me ... we'll get to the east side of the Island later this month, and we'll be sure to stop at the FBI and pass along your greetings!).

Time to toss the potatoes and get serious about those prawns.

Love to all!

A New Canadian Needle Art Magazine; Moving Preparedness Update.

2006-10-28T13:50:00.009-07:00

THERE IS A NEW CANADIAN NEEDLE ART MAGAZINE !!!

Dorne and I were in Save-On Foods today, and found this: Needle Pulling Thread. Just above the title on the magazine are these words: "The Magazine Promoting Canadian Needle Arts". Ohhhh, music to my eyes! They've been publishing quarterly for one year now (I MUST get the first three issues!). I've collected Piecework Magazine since it first published (lo those many years ago!), but it's become a shadow of what it was originally, plus, it's so NOT Canadian!

I think I need to write an article about lace knitting and maybe provide some EYE CANDY for them. Hmmm ... that'll be on my plate in December.

I can KNIT under any circumstance. A (sort of) co-worker has been pestering me for a toque (otherwise known as a "winter hat" pronounced "two" with a "k" on the end), and I happened to have about a 2 lb. cone of pale mauve (pronounce MOH-V, for those who want to say "mahv") chenille yarn. So I banged off a quick toque with a tassle-thingy, and finished it last night. I may have to start another toque, just for therapeutic purposes. It's pretty darn brainless knitting (and I don't have much of a brain these days, I think I packed the little thing in one of the boxes and forgot to label it ... ha ha), provides me with the necessary stress-reduction, and amuses the kitties. I'll try to remember to post little pic of it later.

We're almost ready for the movers. Tomorrow will be the final day of packing, Monday morning I'll wash the bedding and pack it up, and Monday afternoon the movers arrive. I look around and actually believe we'll be ready.

My bestest friend Adonus has been my chief packer-upper. She was here at 7:30 (ugh) this morning, and will be here tomorrow morning, same time. For someone who doesn't want us to move, she's sure doing a lot of packing (ahem ;-) ...

Tomorrow morning I'm giving away several bags of fabric. I belong to Freecycle, and all I had to do was submit a post about the fabric. That was my first mistake. Actually, if I had known the response was going to be so phenomenal, I would have published the ground rules with the original post. What a feeding frenzy. Sheesh. So, 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, I'll be in the garage with a big stick in my hand, watching people go nutty over fabric. Hopefully it'll be over in a few minutes so we can resume packing quickly.

Tonight is Christmas at my Dad's house. Oh, and his birthday, too. We're going to be on the Island for both, and so we're having a little pahhhhtay tonight. Happy Hour is at 4:30, and my big burly Aunty Jean will be joining us (and I'm her "itty bitty niece ... hehe).

And right now, I'm going to take my poor aching foot and go stretch out for a few minutes. My son should be docked in Ft. Lauderdale today, and I'm sorta hoping he'll give us a quick call before we head out for today's Christmas pahhhhhtay at his grandfather's house.

Onwards and upwards!

Preparing to Move; Another Update and NO KNITTING!

2006-10-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Today I visited an iridologist. He didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, other than I may be taking too much Vit. E, which contributes to my already-overheated state. I need to eat nothing with wheat and other gluten-containing foods, increase my protein intake and reduce my fluid intake. Go figure. He says I don't really have asthma, but that I'm so mucousy that I have asthma-like symptoms. He also said that one of the side-effects of pain killers is pain (they temporarily relieve pain, but can cause some rebound effects), and that my achy joints have nothing to do with aging, but are directly connected to the toxins in my system. So I'm doing the first of three cleanses, starting tomorrow.

I have a torn ligament in my left foot. The cure is 3 - 4 weeks OFF my feet. Like that's going to happen. I could go on crutches for a few weeks, but that would be really annoying while trying to hump heavy bins and boxes around, getting organized and packed.

My son phoned me today. The cruise ship on which he's working, The Caribbean Princess, had just pulled out of Ft. Lauderdale, and he was on deck all day, greeting passengers. Apparently there's quite a hierarchy in the staff/crew. Non-English speaking crew whose work is anything but dealing with passengers are not allowed anywhere near where passengers might be. The personable English-speaking crew (Eric being in that population), while not allowed 100% free rein on the passenger decks, certainly have much more access to most parts of the ship. Rules are very clear; no fraternizing with the passengers, no booze, no drugs.

Eric is working some very long hours, but they also get days when they can go ashore and veg on a tropical beach, have a marguerita and relax.

One of my all-time favourite movies is on, The American President. Not that I'm intoxicated with US politics, but the final speech given by Michael Douglas is fabulous, and my favourite part of the movie. It's on late, but I'm staying up to watch it.

Packed a ton more stuff today, sorted out shit and have about 7 or 8 bags of fabric to donate to one of the local thrift stores. This has freed up several bins, and now the kitchen is almost completely packed up. We have till noon on Oct. 30th, and then the movers will be here. My last day of work is Oct. 27.

My dad and his wife are having Christmas for us on Oct. 28. I've had a couple of weepy moments today (and NO, Adonus, it's NOT hormomes ;-), thinking of how much fun it's been to be so close to my dad, to have had the chance to get to know him all over again, and how much I'd love to continue to live a 5-minute drive away from him, if only he lived on the Island!

Tomorrow night we're out for dinner with my dad and his wife, and I have a ton more packing to do.

AND ... my niece is expecting my SECOND great-nephew! Ohhhhh yaaaaaa !!! He'll be arriving sometime in March next year.

Things to look forward to; my niece's birthday bash at Pagliacci's in Victoria, the weekend of Nov. 18 (we'll be sure Jen's with us!), Christmas in Victoria; seeing Mae and Roberta and Pam and Marlene and Patrick and so many more of my Port Alberni friends; living in my own house again; planting Rick's dahlia tubers in my garden; watching the apple tree bloom next spring; rejuvenating the pond in the backyard; going to Savary Island, and waiting for Eric to come home from his 6 months in the Caribbean. I can't wait to see him walk into the house in which he grew up, smelling my roast beef and yorkshire pudding, and bask in the feeling of "normal" which I have missed so much over the last seven plus years.

I'm heading back to the couch to watch the movie, and wish I had some lace knitting on which to work, but that won't happen until that @#$@#$ vest covered in wood ticks is finished and in the gift box. Instead, I'll gaze longingly at a couple of my lace knitting magazines which haven't yet been packed.

The Count-Down

2006-10-14T21:07:00.002-07:00

Apparently clocklink.com is having indigestion, and my "cool clock thingy" isn't even appearing on my blog. As soon as clocklink has regained consciousness, I'll reinstall the clock.

Update: Sunday, Oct. 21/06; it's my Zone Alarm that's not allowing me to see my own clock, and there's nothing wrong with clocklink! I also checked the count-down clocks, and found one suitable.

They also offer cool "count-down" thingies (gotta love someone who uses "thingie" to describe almost anything, eh? ;-) ....... sooooooooooooooo .... I'm going to install THAT to count down the time until we leave Lethbridge and start our trek back to Vancouver Island. Well, "back to" for me, as I lived there for 20 years. For Dorne, other than a holiday or two long before we met, it's the beginning of a whole new adventure.

And for both of us, the event is worthy of counting down.

Today Adonus, my best friend/soul sister/soul daughter (she's young enough to be my daughter ... egads !!) came over and we packed up the kitchen, other than a handful of implements and instruments which we'll need over the next couple of weeks.

Dorne got my Blazer into the freshly-cleaned garage, pulled out the old (and third) windshield, with all it's cracks and splits, and sanded out all the rust, bondo-ed it, re-sanded, and has applied the paint. Tomorrow, the new (to us, picked it up at a wrecker's for a fraction of the cost of a new one, with only one little pit which will be easy to fix) windshield goes in, and probably the replacement driver's door, too (although we'll be keeping the window out of the original door, "just in case"). Then he'll give the replacement tailgate a quick sanding, a coat of paint to match the paint on the Blazer, and pop that baby in place, too. I'll be glad to see that rusted out tailgate go.

Tomorrow, my friend Shannon and her husband are coming over to pick up a large dresser, and sometime this week we'll be selling the sofa and loveseat. Law and Order just won't be the same without that sofa!

This place is really starting to look like we're leaving (ohhhh yaaaaa!!). The movers will be here on Oct. 30 to load up, and they'll be in Port Alberni on Nov. 2 to unload. We'll be travelling with the pets, leaving on Oct. 31 and arriving the following day in Port Alberni, taking a small suitcase with a couple of changes of clothes, a bin with the coffee maker and assorted cups, coffee (fair trade and organic, of course!), organic raw sugar, and a few other things we'll need to survive our first night, bedless in Port Alberni, with six four-legged companions. We're thinking of getting a motel, and there's one just a few blocks from the house. Doggie-dude would have to spend the night in the back of the Blazer, and we'd get the Kitty-dudes set up in the house with food, water and fresh litter before heading to the motel for the night.

The bread-burning beerhead who lives downstairs just showed up, slid down the stairs and now I can smell something cooking ... probably bread on the red-hot element on his stove (it's way more important to buy beer than have a toaster that works). Oh well, soon, he'll be nothing more than a memory. My feelings of animosity towards him have slowly dissipated and have been replaced by pity. Go figure. Must be menopause or the phase of the moon, or something like that.

And on that note, I'll sign off. Many MORE miles to go before I sleep (sorry, Bob Frost), more packing tomorrow, help Dorne install the windshield, a couple of haircuts to give, dinner with my dad and his wife, and then back to work on Monday. I'm already exhausted ... good night!

The World is Much Too Loud

2006-10-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Not so much because today I have another five-alarm migraine. Well, not a migraine, if you go by the official definition, because this one goes up the back of my neck and spreads across both temples, feeling as though my head will implode (and some people might wish it would, but not before I have my say!).

Last night we went to Canadian Tire to pick up a few things for my '91 Chev Blazer. She's sporting a new (to her) set of rims, a set of new Toyo tires, new clutch and parking brake assembly, and will soon be getting a new right front fender, driver's door, and tailgate. At 377,500+ kilometres (226,500 miles, for the unconverted), she's still running beautifully and is easy on gas. Dorne needed a few things so we headed out.

I always figured that if I'm in a store, I'm there because I already know they sell stuff and that if I have the money, I can buy stuff. I don't need to be further brainwashed by in-store propaganda, in the form of small TVs with looping advertisements.

I get great joy from simply walking down the aisles and hitting the "power" button. "Power" isn't only powerful when it's on; switching it off is powerful, too! One by one, every annoying, blaring TV telling me I needed this kind of motor oil, or that kind of seat cover, was silenced by the simple touch of a finger.

Very empowering.

Very calming.

I'm sure someone has done a study or two about the effects of the constant barrage of noise to which our culture is subjected. I know how it makes me feel, and I've seen how it affects the behaviour of people who already face challenges in their lives.

While I was in Massachusetts, the occupational therapist who worked for the same agency was determined to have all clients on a pureed diet, because he believed they all had dysphagia, a nasty word meaning "difficulty swallowing". He would order the mobile dysphagia-testing unit to come to the day programs, haul clients out, put them in this modified truck filled with strangers and bizarre-looking equipment, put a spoonful of something barely edible into the client's mouth, and then take x-rays of that individual's swallowing process.

And do you think that under those circumstances, anyone wouldn't gag???

The reports would come back to the residences with the "strong" recommendation that the individual have all food pureed.

Well, THAT certainly contributes to quality of life, doesn't it? I've always believed that it was the responsibility of the agencies to support the best quality of life possible. Hmm, maybe in more than 20 years in Human Services, I've been wrong? (it's been known to happen, once or twice).

Many of the folks served by the day programs had been stored in an ungodly institution know as "Belchertown Institution", in Belchertown, Massachusetts (the institutions where retarded people were warehoused didn't provide any kind of "life"). This place was no different from hundreds of other human storage facilities in Canada, the USA, and other parts of the world. It was survival of the fittest; a feeding frenzy at mealtimes, being literally hosed down instead of bathed, and living with sexual, physical and emotional abuse virtually every single day.

Could any one of us live like that and come out unscathed?

Many of the ex-inmates of Belchertown had only been released from that hell within the last decade or two, going from unimaginable terror to small group homes, sharing a regular house with (usually) three other individuals, having staff around the clock, accessing all the things in the communities in which they lived just like the rest of us.

Mealtimes went from stuffing anything that vaguely resembled food into their gullets and swallowing as quickly as possible, to sharing the meal-making duties, setting their own table, choosing the food themselves, and being able to slow down in a quiet environment and actually enjoy a meal.

Soooo ... Mr. Tim The OT decided to "test" individuals by putting them in a situation which was strongly reminiscent of those Belchertown Days, to say nothing of the fact that lunch time at the day programs was crowded and noisy, another reminder of a time better left in the past.

When nearly all the test results came back with recommendations to provide pureed food, Mr. Tim The OT became extremely agitated if the residential managers didn't go running to the doctors to get an order for a modified texture diet. He even went so far as to contact parents and alarm them about the safety of their adult offspring's food texture, talking about choking to death and other such scenarios.

Conversations with him bore no fruit. I explained to him repeatedly that the quiet environment of the individuals' homes provided the atmosphere they needed to slow down and enjoy a meal, and that we saw none of what he was seeing in the day program lunch rooms. He didn't get it. I said, please, try making the lunch time environment quieter and I'm sure you'll see a decrease in swallowing difficulties.

He just didn't get it.

I refused to send the residential managers running to doctors for an order which I felt was unnecessary in the residential setting in which people lived. He tried to pull rank on me and wasn't successful.

And he still didn't get it.

A peaceful environment has little stress. Gentle and pleasant mealtime conversation provides just the perfect setting for fullest possible enjoyment of one's food.

I hope Mr. Tim The OT has decided to stop battling ghosts, and has made the right choice for those individuals who depend on staffs' abilities to make their lives everything they can be.

There's a reason for the Belchertown story. (see, I can tell a long story filled with minutia, too, but my stories actually have some context .... ;-)

The constant barrage of noise impairs the quality of life for us all. Commercial radio and television numbs the mind and impedes our ability to make good decisions. How many people do you know have the TV on from the moment they wake up till they go to bed (and sometimes even then, they don't shut it off)? How many conversations are hollared over some kind of blaring electronic noise? Computer games, car stereos, the gattling-gun rattatatat of every day life is part of what's making us grumpy and miserable.

And that includes me. Across the street is a family with several children, most of whom have Fetal Alcohol Sydrome (don't even get me started on that). One of the services provided by my tax dollars is that the youngest child has a "worker" who comes three times a week to pick him up after school. She pulls up and honks the horn until the kid comes out.

Last week I was washing my truck and she did this. It's loud enough when I'm in the house, but right there beside me, it was obnoxious. The first time she honked, I nearly jumped out of my skin. The second time, I bellered at her "stop that @#$#@ honking" (the kid wasn't around). She looked at me in total surprise and STOPPED HONKING. Gosh, and that was all it took after more than two years of putting up with it?

Right now, here in the house, all I hear is the play of our (now five ...ahem, another long story!) kitties, the birds chirping outside, and a Tracy Chapman CD playing very softly on the stereo. It is calm and peaceful. Part of the peace is from the quiet, the other part is from watching our feline companions celebrate their protected lives here in our house.

I will always shut off blaring looping advertising in Canadian Tire, or Zellers, or wherever I am. I will always ask people to turn down the radio (or turn it off, even better), lower the volume on the TV, not honk their horns (well, next time I'll ask ... I wasn't exactly polite last week to that woman, and I wish I had been ... well, hmmm ... never mind ... hehe). I will always mute television ads, when it is in my power to do so.

I will always enjoy my personal quiet times, and the quiet life Dorne and I have together. I will always be grateful that our precious Innu (the Malamute) is a very quiet canine companion who rarely barks. I will always revel in human interaction and conversation that takes place in a setting which enhances, not impedes, communication.

I don't need to be constantly entertained. I don't need to go into a place where I intend to spend money and be pummelled with noise noise noise (maybe the retail places have decided that sensory overstimulation is cheaper than actually hiring trained staff???). I don't want to listen to country (ugh) music when I'm buying a new bra, or to have the "in-store" station broadcast bad music on poor speakers with advertising that's insulting and unnecessary.

Ok, another pain-induced diatribe is over. You can all crank up the volume and go about your business again.

;-)

The Wedding Garter Pattern

2006-10-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

Nurhanne and I "met" through the Knitted Lace List, in 1999. I joined the (then) monthly bookmark exchange, and she was given my name by the coordinator. I had just moved to Massachusetts, from the West Coast of Canada, was homesick beyond belief, and she knit me a bookmark with pine trees (a Shetland lace design) and pine cones. I received this wonderful gift from her, along with a lovely note explaining that she had chosen those patterns to remind me of my home in Canada. That was to be the first of many bookmarks I received in the bookmark exchange (an off-shoot of the Knitted Lace List).

(Nurhanne's bookmark is the green one, second from the top.)

Then I started knitting the wedding garters, using a pattern someone had sent me, I couldn't remember who, and had no idea where it came from. Fortunately, Nurhanne had been surfing and checked out my blog, and voila! The pattern is from Nurhanne's website.

I'm so glad Nurhanne dropped by and solved the mystery!

(This is the first test-knit of what was to become the garter pattern. Canadian penny is the same size as a US penny.)

I have made some adaptations to the pattern, as I discovered a few secrets along the way. I'll post those at a later time, probably after we're (somewhat) unpacked and (somewhat) set up in Port Alberni.

(The Mougin Wedding Garter, cotton, with blue ribbon)

(The Manson-Pierson Wedding Garter, silk with pink ribbon and freshwater pearls.)

What??? Did someone say Port Alberni?? Ya mean after nearly seven and a half years you're finally going HOME???

Thanks for visiting, Nurhanne! Drop by again soon!

Update: September 16, 2007
With all the interest shown in my knitted wedding garters, I am offering to knit them for anyone who wishes to order one. I will, of course, be charging a fee, which will vary depending on thread (silk, cotton, linen) and embellishments (pearls, ribbon, etc.)
Please contact me: rosemarie dot buchanan at gmail dot com for details!
Thanks!

Azalea Doily - to - Shawl

2006-09-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

I had purchased some wonderful silk thread from Eve Kriss at The Silk Tree, on Granville Island, in Vancouver, in March of this year. I knew I wanted to knit something for ME (for a change!), but wasn't sure what it would be.

About three weeks before the Lethbridge Fair (called Whoop-Up Days!), I was leafing through my substantial (gloat) lace knitting library, and saw the Azalea doily. Hmmm ... fodder for my silk and sticks, methinks!

(Marianne Kinzel's Azalea Doily, from the First Book of Modern Lace Knitting.)

So I did some (very) rough calculations, and figured that I needed to start on the ninth round, except rather than making it circular, I would knit five of the six repeats, using the "pairs" of leaves on each side of what would be the front of the shawl, as the border. So I cast on the appropriate number of stitches, and sorta/kinda followed the chart (ugh) for the first couple of sets of leaves, and then put the book away and flew by the seat of my pants.

I had four skeins of silk (and I'm SO thankful for my winding swift, and the great guy who held the skeins while I wound them up with the swift .. thanks, sweetie!). They were close in weight, but not exact, so I wasn't sure how much of a shawl I was going to get, preferring to guesstimate rather than calculate. I knit until the fourth skein of silk had what appeared to be less than one repeat of an entire leaf pattern, and then decided that I wanted to cast off and preserve the look of the leaves along the edge, rather than have to knit an edging on, or have a straight edge.

So I did a weird cast-off which kept the leaves intact along the edge. Then I poured about
three inches of nearly-boiling water into an old Tupperware chicken-keeper (remember the good old days when Tupperware was about food storage, and NOT about being trendy??). Into the hot water I dumped three packages of Cherry Kool Aid (the unsweetened kind, sorta like me ;-) ... swished it around a few times, and the tossed the shawl into the container. I swished it around a couple of times, and left it in the container over night. By the time I got up in the morning, the mixture had not only cooled off completely, but the shawl had absorbed ALL the colour from the cherry Kool Aid! I rinsed several times, and not even the tiniest bit of dye came out of the shawl.

Sooooo ... I squeezed the shawl out in an old white towel (and still no colour bled out!), tossed the shawl over the shower rod curtain, and went to work.

That was the morning of the last day of entering items into Hobby World .

And the deadline was 6:00 p.m.

And I got off work at 4:00 p.m.

Oy.

So after work, I rushed home, took the shawl off the shower curtain rod, and eek! It was still damp!

Into the dryer it went, for about three minutes.

While it was there, I took a length of blue satin ribbon (under the heading of "any port in a storm"), ran it under a black permanent marker, took the shawl out of the dryer, fed the ribbon through the seed stitch around the neckline on the shawl, wove in the ends of the silk thread (where I'd joined the skeins), tossed the whole thing into a bag, and drove like a mad woman to the Fair Grounds (it's about 5:15 by now).

(You can see the blue ribbon along the left side of this picture, woven into the seed stitch border.)

I managed to get it to the fair grounds on time, along with the remainder of the total of 10 items I entered.

The next day (Thursday, August 17), I went back and saw my First Place Ribbon on it.

If only the judges knew just how little planning went into that shawl, and particularly compared to my Lily of the Valley tablecloth entered, which didn't even get a Third Place ribbon!

I'm not complaining. Honest (those people hadn't even SEEN lace knitting before).

I was very pleased with the way the cherry Kool Aid had coloured the silk. It's visible in the last picture, a very gentle easing in and out of the cherry and the original blue, to an almost black. And there was a bonus to the Kool Aid dye job ... the shawl does not smell like Cherry Kool Aid, nor does it have that funky silk smell.

And this is the shawl, on display at the Fair. There happened to be a mannequin-type form hanging around, so I grabbed it, draped about 6 metres of the gold fabric around it and across the table, and proceeded to set up my display. Pretty cool, eh?

It's Not Lace!!!
This is my current project ... a Sasha Kagan designed vest crawling with beetles (although Dorne says they look like wood ticks .. heheh ... and I tend to agree) for my stepmother's youngest daughter who owns The Bug Zoo, in Victoria, BC. Anything bug-themed is good, and when I happened to show Gerry (my stepmother) the pattern, she fell in love with it, and then wondered aloud if there was anyone who might knit it so she could give it to Carol for Christmas.

Bingle Jells, Carol (not that you'll read this). I'm hating (HATING!) the knitting, but I'm happy (ya, right) to be doing it for Gerry, my stepmother, who I really (REALLY!) like a lot.

Yes, I know the picture is upside down. The ticks ..... errrr ... beetles are actually easier to see that way.

;-)

Princess Cruise Lines Finally Gets it Right!

2006-09-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Took 'em long enough. They've hired my son to work on the Caribbean Princess. On September 30th, he flies from Vancouver to Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and begins a six month stay on board.

He'll be sharing a cabin with one other crew member. The boat has several gyms, including one just for crew, as well as pools and very large decks, perfect for those morning jogs!

The down side (strictly from a mother's very selfish point of view) is that as of November 1, I'll be back in my own home, in Port Alberni, on Vancouver Island. For the first time in 7 years, Eric and I will be within a short drive of each other. Well, we SHOULD be within a short drive of each other, as he's now living in Victoria. Unfortunately, his six months onboard does not include going home for Christmas. Sigh.

He was bitten by the travel bug last year, after spending four months in Nice, France, on the Meditteranean coast. The soles of his feet have been itchy ever since. While working for Princess, he'll be able to touch solid ground whenever the ship goes into a port, so he'll be seeing lots of the Caribbean Islands.

I'm expecting some pretty fabulous Christmas and Birthday gifts (ahem, dear son ... and ON TIME, too).

Aw, what the heck. An email occasionally would be nice.

The ships are equipped with webcams, so perhaps I'll even be able to see him strutting around in his Princess Cruise Lines uniform from time to time!

And for me, back to work tomorrow, after two weeks off to recuperate from varicose vein surgery. It's been rather pleasant, actually, other than the minor discomfort of the incisions. Spinal anaesthesia is the only way to go ... no anaesthetic hangover! I was awake through the surgery, into the recovery room shortly after 8 a.m., and went home before 1 p.m. I was relaxing on the couch with the remote control beside me and my knitting in my hands. What a tough day! Oh, and the days since? More of the same, except I'm NOT knitting lace (imagine!). I'll post some pics of that, too.

I have some more pictures to post, too. Dorne with "his" son (the malamute who thinks he's a cat), some cutesy cat pics (when you share a house with FOUR kitties, there are lots of really cute moments), and the Silk Cascading Leaves shawl that won a first prize at our local fair, spread out on the bed for a better view.

Finally, a cool day. It looks and feels and smells like fall out there. Maybe time to start thinking about a birthday cruise ;-) I wonder if there are family discounts for cruise line staff??

Happy Sailing, Eric. I love you, honey.

Fair Winnings !!

2006-08-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures !!

Anyone who knows me also knows that the last thing I want to do is be humble about my knitting. Most of it is on my blog and I'm quite proud of it (as we all should be of our beautiful lace knitting!).
Soooooo .... on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, I took ten (TEN) pieces of my lace knitting to our local fair. Now, the fair isn't actually on until this week, but all the arts/crafts/hobbies had to be by Wednesday, and were judged last Thursday.
I entered the following pieces:
1. Balmoral Thistle Table Centre
2. Silk Wedding Garter
3. Bridal Veil Table Centre
4. Small white doily (Coats and Clark pattern)
5. Oval Runner from Muestros y Motivos
6. Lily of the Valley Tablecloth
7. 102" Lace Edging
8. Shawl (rectangular, in alternating Madeira Cascade)
9. Linen Bookmark
10. Blue Silk Cascading Leaves Shoulder Drape (sort of a shawl)

Soooooo .... Thursday after work I shot down to the pavillion on the fair grounds and found that I had won THREE first place (red) ribbons and SIX second place (blue) ribbons.

AND ... I was talking to the chair of the committee which runs the "Hobby World" during the fair, and mentioned that I'd like to set up my own lace (they have a team of volunteers who set up the displays who are not necessarily knitters or ______, and so don't necessarily know how to show off the pieces as they should be) ... and with the help of Nancy Panting (she's the founder of Blankets for Canada, and a volunteer at the Fair) I got permission to set up my own knitted lace display.

AND (this just keeps on getting better!), a friend of a Knitted Lace List member has moved to Lethbridge and on Monday (Aug. 21), she and I met at the fair grounds. She helped me with my display. I'm very excited about meeting her. She is American, newly moved to Canada and a new knitter, and I'm sure it'll be interesting sharing stories of our lives away from our own countries, in addition to getting to know each other!

AND (gloat gloat) I will also be doing lace knitting demonstrations (no placards, please ) during the fair, taking needles and thread and a few books with me (NOT my Susanna Lewis book, or any of the others that have been going for outrageous amounts of money on eBay lately!). I'll be at the fair so much that they've given me a pin which gives me free admission and parking at any time during the fair.

AND, seeing as how we just got a fabulous new digital camera, I can actually get pictures of my lace at the fair, and get those pics on my blog without having to wait weeks for the film to be printed and then find the time to scan them.

So, with no apologies for my unashamed bragging, I'm going to go back to TINKING (a slightly humbling experience) the doily I'm knitting (again out of the Muestros y Motivos book) the six rounds so I can correct an error I made in every repeat, so that it will be ready for me to use to demonstrate lace knitting this week at the fair!

Alright, I'll settle down (maybe). Back to the tinking!

P.S. Later this week I'll post the rest of the pictures; I just tossed these onto my blog tonight because SOMEONE (ahem) whose name I won't mention (MAX) has been flailing me mercilessly (ohhhh yessssss !!!) to get at least SOME of my pics posted! (Gotta love a guy who nags, eh?) So, babeeee, here you are. Sheesh ;-)
P.P.S. Speaking of guys and love, my sweetie is going to be sitting with me at the Blankets for Canada booth, which I'm staffing tomorrow (Wednesday) and Saturday nights from 5 p.m. till 10 p.m. Not only is he cute, he's smart!
P.P.P.S. The Golden Child (aka My Beautiful, Perfect Son) is going to be cruising the Caribbean for the next six months, with Princess Cruise Lines, living and working on board! I've already asked him to look into family discounts (naturally). I wonder if there's a market for knitted lace on the cruise lines?? hmmm .....

A Few Small Changes

2006-07-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

Today I added more links to my list of favourites, including The Hunger Site, The Breast Cancer Site, and others. If you click on any of the "helping" sites, you'll get all the others on tabs, making it easy to click on all of them, once a day.

And yes, Virginia, it's free for the clicker (that's you).

I also added a copyright statement, more for those who wish to use my knitting information, but also for my own pictures which are on the blog. Pictures etc. can be shared, but only with my permission, giving me credit, and not for profit!

Upcoming will be pictures of my meeting, in Victoria, BC, with Billy Willbond of ICross Canada, receiving the 65 Izzy Dolls knit by my Rehab Society group here in Lethbridge. My dad and my son were with me, and we were all treated to a tour of the next batch of medical and educational supplies Billy's collected and will be shipping to Malawi later this year. Even the shipping containers are part of the "supplies", as they will, once emptied, be turned into additions to a hospital in Malawi.

We also recently celebrated the 50th birthday of my ahem YOUNGER ahem cough cough sister, also in Victoria over the Canada Day weekend. The entire family was there, including both our parents, both the grandchildren, and the only great grandchild, along with many friends. My sweetie stayed home in Lethbridge, and I missed him TONS, but the doggie and kitties were happy he was here!

I have collected nearly all the lace knitting I've done for my mother and my sister, and wil be entering it in this year's Lethbridge Fair, called (another long story!) Whoop Up Days. I'm hoping to finish the silk evening wrap I'm working on now (somewhat following Marianne Kinzel's Azalea pattern), and get another silk wedding garter knit, in time for the Fair. Needless to say, I'll be taking photographs while this stuff is in my possession, and will post those on my blog at some point. Hopefully, I'll also be posting pics of all my blue ribbons after the fair!

And .... just to add a little spice, there will be some pre-move angst, I'm sure, as we prepare for our move back to Vancouver Island, to a big old (1908) house there which has been calling my name for over 7 years now, since I was last there. I am so excited about being back in my OWN house, digging in my OWN garden, and playing in my OWN pond, that I can hardly contain myself!

Ok, it's late and I'm going to bed! Saturday tomorrow ... organic, fair trade coffee, Stewart MacLean on CBC radio, the house is already clean (thanks, Kim!) and my knitting will be waiting for me when I wake up. I LOVE LOVE weekends!

Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman Rock Lethbridge!

2006-06-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

Last night at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings rocked like it was 1970 again. I hadn't been to a concert in years, and we bought seats on the floor; fifth row from the front. At seventy-six bucks each, I was hoping we'd get our money's worth. Did we??????

A resounding YES!

In two hours they played most of the favourites, and they started out with "American Woman". Lenny Kravitz should have been there. No one, absolutely NO ONE, does "American Woman" like Bachman and Cummings. Their band made everything sound just like the original music, which is rare.

The audience, ranging in ages from pre-teen to old geezers, had a hard time staying in their seats, and the two encores were absolutely raucous. Even this old girl was boogying like there was no tomorrow. This isn't exactly Dorne's kind of music, although he said he enjoyed himself. It was great to be there with someone who didn't mind if I rocked and rolled, sitting or standing. I sang with Bachman and Cummings, knowing almost all the words (and that's going back some .. umm ... 30 years or more?).

When they started singing "These eyes", mine started leaking little trickles of salty water.

I managed to take some pictures, but without a digital camera, you'll have to wait until I get them back, and scanned. Sigh.

Not a big deal. The big deal is that we were THERE, we had a BLAST, and most definately got our money's worth!

Top 10 Signs of the Impending U.S. Police State

2006-05-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Allan Uthman for writing this, and for my friend Mark in Ottawa for sending it out. Perfect for my blog.

And today I was welcomed into the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy webring. I thought this article would be an excellent way to celebrate! Anything in bold or italics is mine.

By Allan Uthman.

From secret detention centers to warrantless wiretapping, Bush and Co. give free rein to their totalitarian impulses.

Is the U.S. becoming a police state? Here are the top 10 signs that may well be the case.

1. The Internet Clampdown

One saving graces for alternative media in this age of unfettered corporate conglomeration has been the internet. While the masses are spoon-fed predigested news on TV (CNN and FOX being the worst)and in mainstream print publications, the truth-seeking individual still has access to a broad array of investigative reporting and political opinion via the world-wide web. Of course, it was only a matter of time before the government moved to patch up this crack in the sky.

Attempts to regulate and filter internet content are intensifying lately, coming both from telecommunications corporations (who are gearing up to pass legislation transferring ownership and regulation of the internet to themselves), and the Pentagon (which issued an "Information Operations Roadmap" in 2003, signed by Donald Rumsfeld, which outlines tactics such as network attacks and acknowledges, without suggesting a remedy, that US propaganda planted in other countries has easily found its way to Americans via the internet). One obvious tactic clearing the way for stifling regulation of internet content is the growing media frenzy over child pornography and "internet predators," which will surely lead to legislation that by far exceeds in its purview what is needed to fight such threats.

2. "The Long War"

This little piece of clumsy marketing died off quickly, but it gave away what many already suspected: the War on Terror will never end, nor is it meant to end. It is designed to be perpetual. As with the War on Drugs, it outlines a goal that can never be fully attained -- as long as there are pissed off people and explosives. The Long War will eternally justify what are ostensibly temporary measures: suspension of civil liberties, military expansion, domestic spying, massive deficit spending and the like. This short-lived moniker told us all, "get used to it. Things aren't going to change any time soon."

3. The USA PATRIOT Act

Did anyone really think this was going to be temporary? Yes, this disgusting power grab gives the government the right to sneak into your house, look through all your stuff and not tell you about it for weeks on a rubber stamp warrant. Yes, they can look at your medical records and library selections. Yes, they can pass along any information they find without probable cause for purposes of prosecution. No, they're not going to take it back, ever.

4. Prison Camps

This last January the Army Corps of Engineers gave Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root nearly $400 million to build detention centers in the United States, for the purpose of unspecified "new programs." Of course, the obvious first guess would be that these new programs might involve rounding up Muslims or political dissenters -- I mean, obviously detention facilities are there to hold somebody. I wish I had more to tell you about this, but it's, you know... secret.

5. Touchscreen Voting Machines

Despite clear, copious evidence that these nefarious contraptions are built to be tampered with, they continue to spread and dominate the voting landscape, thanks to Bush's "Help America Vote Act," the exploitation of corrupt elections officials, and the general public's enduring cluelessness.

In Utah, Emery County Elections Director Bruce Funk witnessed security testing by an outside firm on Diebold voting machines which showed them to be a security risk. But his warnings fell on deaf ears. Instead Diebold attorneys were flown to Emery County on the governor's airplane to squelch the story. Funk was fired. In Florida, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho discovered an alarming security flaw in their Diebold system at the end of last year. Rather than fix the flaw, Diebold refused to fulfill its contract. Both of the other two touchscreen voting machine vendors, Sequoia and ES&S, now refuse to do business with Sancho, who is required by HAVA to implement a touchscreen system and will be sued by his own state if he doesn't. Diebold is said to be pressuring for Sancho's ouster before it will resume servicing the county.

Stories like these and much worse abound, and yet TV news outlets have done less coverage of the new era of elections fraud than even 9/11 conspiracy theories. This is possibly the most important story of this century, but nobody seems to give a damn. As long as this issue is ignored, real American democracy will remain an illusion. The midterm elections will be an interesting test of the public's continuing gullibility about voting integrity, especially if the Democrats don't win substantial gains, as they almost surely will if everything is kosher.

Bush just suggested that his brother Jeb would make a good president. We really need to fix this problem soon.

6. Signing Statements

Bush has famously never vetoed a bill. This is because he prefers to simply nullify laws he doesn't like with "signing statements." Bush has issued over 700 such statements, twice as many as all previous presidents combined. A few examples of recently passed laws and their corresponding dismissals, courtesy of the Boston Globe:

--Dec. 30, 2005: US interrogators cannot torture prisoners or otherwise subject them to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

Bush's signing statement: The president, as commander in chief, can waive the torture ban if he decides that harsh interrogation techniques will assist in preventing terrorist attacks.

--Dec. 30, 2005: When requested, scientific information ''prepared by government researchers and scientists shall be transmitted [to Congress] uncensored and without delay."

Bush's signing statement: The president can tell researchers to withhold any information from Congress if he decides its disclosure could impair foreign relations, national security, or the workings of the executive branch.

--Dec. 23, 2004: Forbids US troops in Colombia from participating in any combat against rebels, except in cases of self-defense. Caps the number of US troops allowed in Colombia at 800.

Bush's signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can place restrictions on the use of US armed forces, so the executive branch will construe the law ''as advisory in nature."

Essentially, this administration is bypassing the judiciary and deciding for itself whether laws are constitutional or not. Somehow, I don't see the new Supreme Court lineup having much of a problem with that, though. So no matter what laws congress passes, Bush will simply choose to ignore the ones he doesn't care for. It's much quieter than a veto, and can't be overridden by a two-thirds majority. It's also totally absurd.

7. Warrantless Wiretapping

Amazingly, the GOP sees this issue as a plus for them. How can this be? What are you, stupid? You find out the government is listening to the phone calls of US citizens, without even the weakest of judicial oversight and you think that's okay? Come on -- if you know anything about history, you know that no government can be trusted to handle something like this responsibly. One day they're listening for Osama, and the next they're listening in on Howard Dean.

Think about it: this administration hates unauthorized leaks. With no judicial oversight, why on earth wouldn't they eavesdrop on, say, Seymour Hersh, to figure out who's spilling the beans? It's a no-brainer. Speaking of which, it bears repeating: terrorists already knew we would try to spy on them. They don't care if we have a warrant or not. But you should.

8. Free Speech Zones

I know it's old news, but... come on, are they ****ing serious?

9. High-ranking Whistleblowers

Army Generals. Top-level CIA officials. NSA operatives. White House cabinet members. These are the kind of people that Republicans fantasize about being, and whose judgment they usually respect. But for some reason, when these people resign in protest and criticize the Bush administration en masse, they are cast as traitorous, anti-American publicity hounds. Ridiculous. The fact is, when people who kill, spy and deceive for a living tell you that the White House has gone too far, you had damn well better pay attention. We all know most of these people are staunch Republicans. If the entire military except for the two guys the Pentagon put in front of the press wants Rumsfeld out, why on earth wouldn't you listen?

10. The CIA Shakeup

Was Porter Goss fired because he was resisting the efforts of Rumsfeld or Negroponte? No. These appointments all come from the same guys, and they wouldn't be nominated if they weren't on board all the way. Goss was probably canned so abruptly due to a scandal involving a crooked defense contractor, his hand-picked third-in-command, the Watergate hotel and some hookers.

If Bush's nominee for CIA chief, Air Force General Michael Hayden, is confirmed, that will put every spy program in Washington under military control. Hayden, who oversaw the NSA warrantless wiretapping program and is clearly down with the program. That program? To weaken and dismantle or at least neuter the CIA. Despite its best efforts to blame the CIA for "intelligence errors" leading to the Iraq war, the picture has clearly emerged -- through extensive CIA leaks -- that the White House's analysis of Saddam's destructive capacity was not shared by the Agency. This has proved to be a real pain in the ass for Bush and the gang.

Who'd have thought that career spooks would have moral qualms about deceiving the American people? And what is a president to do about it? Simple: make the critical agents leave, and fill their slots with Bush/Cheney loyalists. Then again, why not simply replace the entire organization? That is essentially what both Rumsfeld at the DoD and newly minted Director of National Intelligence John are doing -- they want to move intelligence analysis into the hands of people that they can control, so the next time they lie about an "imminent threat" nobody's going to tell. And the press is applauding the move as a "necessary reform."

Remember the good old days, when the CIA were the bad guys?

Why are Americans not enraged about this? Has the pillaging of their precious rights and freedoms become so commonplace that, in the name of "fighting terrorism", they're willing to accept thinly-veiled terrorism by their own government? Bin Laden wins, over and over again. Every time anyone loses a "right" or "freedom", in the name of fighting Bush's hallucinations, Bin Laden wins. That is the worst form of terrorism; performed right in front of the American public, WITH their consent. Remember that lack of dissent is passive consent.

Of course, Bin Laden isn't literally winning. What, or who, is winning is up to you to decide, but I think it's pretty clear that the "rights and freedoms" upon which so many Americans hang their hats is the loser. The "if yer not for us, yer agin us" mentality is winning whenever Bush values your rights below the cry for "national security".

When everyone is seen as suspect, no one's rights are being respected. Do you think this is the price to pay for protection? How long till Bush's fanatacism turns the USA into a police state, and its citizens into prisoners? Does anyone honestly believe that they'll have rights and freedoms left if Bush and Co. get their way?

Americans need to protest to the point of bringing the country grinding to a halt. The Bush regime needs to be brought down; Americans need to actually enjoy those rights and freedoms instead of just talking about them. If you need some help, ask the Canadian Federation of Labour, who organized a day of protest across Canada some 30 years ago. Union and non-union labour marched arm in arm in protest of bad government. If us Canucks can do it, so can the Americans.

And just in case Canadians think they can sit back and be smug, let me remind you that Stephen Harper is a bum-boy to Dubyuh. There will be many examples before Harper's turn in office is over, and I'll happily keep you informed. The only thing I can be smug about is that I didn't vote for either of those two bastards.

A Father's Day Card for Mother's Day

2006-05-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

My beautiful, perfect son (she said, with tongue affixed firmly to cheek) will be 27 years old on his next birthday. He had the misfortune to be raised without one significant male in his life (again, tongue stuck to inside of cheek). The benefits of this are many; for starters, he's one of the few men I know who doesn't piss all over the damned toilet (and one of the many reasons why I love him so much!); he can COOK (and is a darned fine cook, too ... adventurous and creative!); he knows how to sort laundry correctly and actually folds his clothes before he puts them away; he is a very adept comparison shopper, and he has an ability to relate to women of any age.

He believes that being in a relationship doesn't mean dumping his domestic responsibilities on his partner, (I'd have to hurt him, and he's bigger than me), and isn't afraid to show his emotions. More reasons to love this guy.

Oh, did I mention he's straight, too? This is for those folks out there who swear that boys raised without a "father figure" turn out to be gay. Someone (a male) was totally convinced that I was raising a little fag, and that he needed someone to wrestle with and teach him how to swear (yup, those are the things I look for in a man, fer sure).

In fact, I wouldn't care if he'd turned out to be purple and multi-sexual, or bi-sexual, or asexual. He's exactly who he's supposed to be, and I love him. Period. I would have loved him anyway. Couldn't help it. Matter of fact, when someone asks me about my love life, I almost always say that the two longest loves of my life have been my son, and Vancouver Island.

I know parents think their own children are the cutest kids in the world. I happen to KNOW Eric was the cutest baby EVER. End of discussion.

So this year, Mr. Perfect Son admitted that he hadn't sent my mother's day card in time for me to receive it. Hmmmmmmm. Oh well, I can forgive him for that (this time).

When I came in the door after work, Dorne said there was mail for me. Ahhh, a nicely padded Canada Post envelope, with his return address on it. Cool.

Have you ever tried opening one of those things???? It reminds me of the time I tried to tear open placenta in order to rescue a new-born puppy who was suffocating. Can't be done with bare hands (especially when the hands and the placenta are very slippery!). These Canada Post envelopes are hard to open even with a knife. Anyway, calling on my superhuman strength (knitter's hands truly are strong), I put a gash in the envelope and pulled out the card and a really (really!) cool Herbie Hancock CD (listening to it as I type, matter of fact).

Outside of the card is a picture of a "father" handing a pink slip to his son. Son says "but you can't fire me, I'm your son!", and "father" says, "don't make this harder than it already is".

So, ok Eric, you missed out buying a Mother's Day card and had to buy a Father's Day card instead. That's ok, too (big grin here).

Inside reads: Happy Father's Day, Ma. (his writing)

Thanks for keeping me around (like I wouldn't???)

(his writing again): You've been both a dad and a mom. Maybe just once you should get a card recognizing you on this day. Thus, I'm late for mother's day and really early for father's day, which makes me not late.

Lots of Love,
Eric
(your son)
just in case of senility

I'll have you know senility is NOT the problem; it's simply that by the time a brain with an IQ of 140 reaches 50+ years of age, it has absorbed so much information that some of it has to fall out from time to time. That you are my son I will never, NEVER forget. That I love you so very much and am always so very proud of you, I will also never forget.

Here he is, a man comfortable with himself. Yes, he's applying make-up. Read on!

And how could anyone not love a guy who stays home (in an apartment he shared platonically with a woman) for his roommate's Mary Kay (or whatever) make-up party? His reasoning was simple; what self-respecting guy wouldn't want to be surrounded by a roomful of women?

I raised you up right, errrr ... correct(ly) (gad, how I hate bad grammar!). Thanks for the great card, honey, and for the gift of the music. I love you!

The Belly Button Start for Circular Knitting Projects

2006-05-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am now offering the Belly Button Start in SIX languages, English, French, Russian, Finnish, Italian and German! Please scroll down for instructions in your preferred language!

Bonjour, France! "[Tuto] Démarrer un ouvrage circulaire" (http://www.midian.ch/forum/)
Recently, members of a European forum have been coming to see my circular start, and I wanted to say "hello and welcome!". I wish I were bilingual, because I could greet my French visitors properly!

I am thrilled to announce that I finally have a French translation for this circular start. Please scroll down until you see it.

Welcome Ravelry visitors! I am RosemarieB on Ravelry. Thank you so much for dropping in and checking out the Belly Button start. You are most welcome to peruse my blog and check out my knitting, including last year's big project, the PhoenixPalme. Stay a while, enjoy, and send feedback if you choose to use my start. I'm always looking for ways to make it better! Thanks so much.

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Je vous présent le petit nombril en SEPT langues, anglais, russe, finnois, italien, et allemand ! En déroulant ce page vous les trouverez tous !

Bonjour la France !

Bienvenue aux amis de Ravelry où je m’appel RosemarieB. Je suis ravi de vous accueillir ici chez moi, home de le « bellybutton start ». Je vous invite à découvrir mon blog, mes tricots, et surtout mon grand projet de l’année dernière, le PhoenixPalme.

Faites comme chez vous, et surtout si jamais vous essayez mon début de tricot en ronde n’hésitez pas à m’envoyer votre feedback. Je suis toujours à la recherche des améliorations - vos conseils me seront d’un aide précieuse (surtout en ce qui concerne cette traduction fait par un américain très bien intentionnée mais bon, pas toujours au top niveau en ce qui concerne le français…)

Bien cordialement,

Rosemarie
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The Belly Button Start for Circular Projects

This method trumps almost any other circular cast-on I've ever seen. I've tried many, including the insane multiple-needle/toothpick method, using pillows and pins and whatever else you can think of.

The belly button cast-on for circular projects makes starting any circular knitting project a real joy.

Pictured here is the belly button for Niebling's Lyra, which I knit in 2005. I used heavy "crafter's" cotton for the belly-button, and a very fine laceweight, cobalt-blue, 100% wool for the Lyra itself.

And here are the directions!

Rosemarie's Belly Button Start for Circular Knitting Projects

1. Start out with two of the dp needles you'll be using to knit your chosen pattern. (You can switch to your circular needles at the usual time, when your project is big enough.)

2. Using (I prefer cotton) a Size 5 or thicker thread (heavier, contrasting colour acrylic yarn works, too), cast onto ONE needle, the number of stitches called for in your circular pattern. The contrasting thread/yarn colour is important, as this will help you when it comes time to remove the belly button.
For example: If your circ. pattern calls for 12 stitches divided between four needles, then simply cast 12 stitches onto one dp needle.
I will be using the "12 stitches" as my example, but adapt the beginning stitch numbers to whatever your patterns says.

3. Now ... simply knit back and forth until you have a piece about an inch long. Tension is important, please, knit tightly! You need this piece to be very firm, as this will make supporting the multiple needles much easier!

4. Then: divide those 12 stitches onto the four double pointed needles (or whatever the pattern calls for).

5. Knit two or three times around, using the same heavy cotton thread (or acrylic yarn). Essentially, you are now knitting a glorified "I-cord". Be sure to pull the thread tightly between needles, to avoid "ladders".
This is an important step for beginning the actual pattern. If you don't pull the heavy thread tightly, you will have gaps in the belly-button that will likely translate into gaps in your pattern knitting. The "belly-button" you're knitting should be very firm, if you're using large enough heavy thread and have lots of tension.

6. Drop the heavy thread. Now, using the thread you have chosen for your project, knit one or two times around, (do not start knitting your pattern yet!),keeping the tension firm, knitting the project thread right into the last round of the heavy thread.. Be sure you leave a "tail" on your project thread long enough to thread through a needle with an eye (I usually leave about 60 cm or 2 feet).

7. Now start knitting your pattern.

Finishing the centre:

You may choose to do Steps 8 - 12 at any time.

8. Thread your project thread through a sharp-pointed sewing needle. Very carefully thread it through the first round of stitches of the PROJECT THREAD, the ones which are knitted into the last round of the heavy thread.

9. Pull the tail thread slowly and carefully, making sure you have picked up all 12 stitches on that first round of the project thread. I use a lighted magnifying lamp, although a good light and reading glasses will work, too. You may pull the tail thread tightly, or leave it in a more open "o" style, whatever suits you.

(This is the belly button on my Lyra, one of Herbert Niebling's legendary patterns.)

10. Take the tail thread one more time through all 12 stitches, and then fasten or tie it off in whatever style you usually use.

11. With a pair of very sharp, very small scissors, cut off the belly-button (being the heavy thread), being very careful to not cut any of the thread of your project.

12. You can throw away the belly-button, or put it in your portfolio, with date and time of delivery (kidding ).

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Bonjour!

Le nombril du tricot en ronde

Ce méthode dépasse de loin tous les autres que j’ai pu expérimenter. Et je peux vous dire que j’ai essayé de tonnes, y compris le truc kir dents/nombreuses aiguilles avec des coussins et des oreillers et tout le reste…

Le nombril fait en sort que vos projets en ronde se démarre en beauté :
Voici le nombril pour Niebling’s Lyra, que j’ai tricoté en 2005. J’ai utilisé du « heavy “crafter’s” cotton » pour le nombril et une laine à tricoter dentelle très fin 100 % coton en bleu cobalte pour le Lyra.
Et voici les instructions…à vos aiguilles !

Rosemarie’s Nombril pour le tricot en ronde

TOUT D’ABORD VOUS DEVEZ

Choisir le projet tricoté en ronde que vous souhaitez réaliser
Vérifier la taille des aiguilles nécessaires ainsi que la quantité de laine requis pour le projet
Procurer les aiguilles de deux points (vendus habituellement en jeu de cinq) et des aiguilles circulaires nécessaires pour l’aboutissement de votre projet en commençant avec la plus petite circulaire de 40 cm allant jusqu’à le taille requise pour finir votre projet
Choisir la laine pour votre projet ainsi que du coton ou autre fil contrasté pour le nombril qu’on appellera le « fil du nombril » (il est très important que ceci soit d’un couleur et/ou texture autre que le fil de votre projet final - je vous conseil un fil assez épaisse du type _______________________)
Pour commencer, prendre deux des aiguilles de deux points de la taille recommandé pour votre projet (normalement il y a cinq dans le paquet – ne vous inquiétez pas les autres seront utilisés plus tard). Commencez avec deux aiguilles deux points.
Avec le « fil du nombril » et votre méthode de montage préféré montez sur une seule aiguille à deux points le nombre de mailles indiqué dans le patron circulaire que vous avez choisi, (Et je ne peux qu’insister encore une fois, pour ce début il est très important de choisir un couleur/texture qui contraste avec le couleur de votre projet final car le moment venu d’enlever le nombril et de libérer votre projet il est très important de pouvoir distinguer entre les fils….)

Par exemple, si votre patron demande 12 mailles divisées entre 4 aiguilles, alors vous montez 12 mailles sur une seule aiguille à deux points.

Bien évidement, 12 mailles n’est qu’un exemple – le patron que vous avez choisi demandera peut être 8 ou 10 mailles et dans ce cas vous montez 8 ou 10 selon les instructions mais toujours sur une seule aiguille à deux points.

Maintenant….c’est facile, tricotez, à l’endroit de rangé en rangé sur deux aiguilles jusqu’à ce que ça mesure 2.54 centimètres plat. Il est important que ce petit début soit assez ferme, d’où l’intérêt de choisir un fil plus épais. Je vous conseil de tricotez bien serré, comme ça, une fois que vous introduisez les quatre aiguilles pour votre tricot en ronde tout sera beaucoup plus facile !
Ensuite répartissez ce 12 mailles entres les quatres aiguilles à deux points (ou les 8 ou 10 mailles selon le patron, en faisant attention à ce qu’il y un nombre quasi-égal sur chaque aiguille – eg, pour 12, 3 mailles sur chacun des 4 aiguilles, pour 8, 2 mailles sur chacun des quatre aiguilles, 10 c’est plus difficile mais vous pouvez faire 3 sur 2 aguilles et puis 2 sur les 2 autres…etc.).
Puis, commencez à tricoter en ronde sur les 4 aiguilles - faire deux out trois tours utilisant le fil du nombril. Vous êtes en train de faire un sort de « I-cord ». Il est très important de bien serrer votre tricot pour éviter des trous. Si vous ne serrez pas, il se peut qu’il y aura des trous dans le nombril et par conséquent des trous dans votre projet final. Le nombril devait être ferme et pour cela il faut utiliser un fil épais et tricoter serré.
Après deux ou trois tours en rond vous allez cessez de tricoter avec le fil du nombril et commencer avec le fil de votre projet. Laissez tombé le fil du nombril et prendre le fil du projet – tricotez deux ou trois ronds (mais ne commencez pas encore à tricoter selon les instructions du patron du projet – faites simplement les ronds en tricot endroit). Pour le premier rond avec le fil du projet assurez-vous que la tension reste serré et tricotez avec le fil du projet jusqu’au le dernier maille du fil du nombril. Il faut que la queue de votre fil du projet soit assez longue (je suggère 60 cm ou 2 feet).
Maintenant vous allez enfin pouvoir commencer votre patron !

Pour finir le centre:

Les étapes 8-12 sont à faire à votre convenance

Mettre le fil de queue de votre projet dans une aiguille à coudre. En faisant très attention coudez le fil a travers les premiers mailles du fil projet, ce qui sont tricotés dans le dernier rangé du fil épaisse du nombril
Avec l’aiguille de couture, tirez la queue lentement et doucement en faisant très attention que les 12 (8, 10, etc ;) mailles sont prise dans le fil. Personnellement, j’utilise une lampe agrandisseur, mais une bonne paire de lunettes peut aussi faire l’affaire. Vous pouvez tirez la queue très serré ou la laissez en « o », comme vous voulez.

(Voici le nombril de mon Lyra, une création légendaire de Herbert Niebling’s)

Coudre encore le fil de queue à travers les 12 mailles d’origine, et puis coupez le ou faites ce que vous fassiez d’habitude pour finir vos projets.
Avec un paire de ciseaux bien aiguisé, coupé le fil du nombril (le fil épaisse), en faisant très attention à ne pas couper le fil du projet.
vous pouvez ensuite jeter le nombril ou le garder précieusement dans votre livret de famille (je plaisante).

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Belly Button Start in RUSSIAN! Yes, this is truly an internationally recognized start for circular projects.

Thank you to Linda B. and her affiliation with the Russian knitting forum: http://www.club.osinka.ru/viewtopic.php?t=15294&start=1080
Linda has recently tweaked her translation of the Belly Button Start, and here is the revised version:

“Пуповинное начало”, перевoд

1. Начинать на 2-х прямых спицах.
2. Используя нитки потолще чем для самой салфетки контрастного цвета, набрать необходимое для работы кол-во петель на одну спицу. Очень важно чтобы нитки были контрастного цвета.

3. На прямых спицах провязать вперед-назад кусочек длиной 2,5 см. Важно вязать туго.
4. Расположить петли на 4 спицы.
5. 2-3 ряда провязать лицевыми по кругу туго теми же контрасными нитками. Все время вязать туго. Это "пуповина".
6. Перейти на основные нитки для салфетки и сделать еще 1-2 круга лицевыми. Вязать туго. Предварительно оставить "хвост" из основной нитки дл. 60 см чтобы ее можно было заправить в иголку с ушком.
7. Теперь можно перейти на вязание узора.

Окончание центра. Шаги 8-12 можно cделать в любой момент.
8. Вдеть оставленый "хвост" в ушко острой швейной иглы. Очень осторожно продеть ее в петли первого ряда, связаного основной ниткой.
9. Медленно протянуть нитку через все петли 1-го ряда. Убедиться что нет пропущенных петель. Я пользуюсь лупой с подсветкой.
10. Провести иглу с ниткой еще раз, затянуть, завязать.
11. Очень острыми маленькими ножничками отрезать пуповину из контрастных ниток. Делать это надо с большой осторожностью чтобы не задеть основную нить.
12. Пуповину можно выкинуть, а можно сохранить с датой родов (шутка).

Thanks again, Linda, for providing me with the translation!
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Finnish

This translation was provided by Jaana Fogl, who lives in Finland and is a lace-knitting colleague.

Rosemarien Belly Button- eli Napa-aloitus pyöreille neuleille

1. Aloita kahdella suoralla puikolla, jotka ovat samankokoisia kuin puikot, joita aiot käyttää työssä. (Pyöröpuikoille voit vaihtaa normaaliin tapaan, kun työ on siihen riittävän iso.)

2. Käytä paksuhkoa lankaa, mielellään puuvillaa. Paksu, erivärinen akryylilankakin käy, pääasia on, että lanka on paksuhkoa ja napakkaa. Luo YHDELLE puikolle aloitukseen tarvittava silmukkamäärä. On tärkeää, että aloituksessa käytettävä lanka on selkeästi eriväristä kuin itse työssä käytettävä lanka, sillä värierosta on apua siinä vaiheessa, kun aloituspala poistetaan.

Esimerkki: Jos työ on tarkoitus aloittaa 12 silmukalla, jotka jaetaan neljälle puikolle, luot tässä vaiheessa 12 silmukkaa yhdelle suoralle puikolle. 12 silmukkaa on siis vain tässä esimerkissä käytetty aloitussilmukkamäärä, omaa työtäsi aloittaessasi luot puikolle käyttämäsi neuleohjeen edellyttämän määrän silmukoita.

3. Aloita neulomalla edestakaista neuletta noin 2,5 cm. On tärkeää, että neulot mahdollisimman tiiviisti! Aloituspalan on oltava napakka, sillä silloin se tukee useita puikkoja parhaiten.

4. Jaa sitten puikolla olevat silmukat neljälle suoralle puikolle.

5. Jatka samalla langalla ja neulo pari kolme kerrosta suljettua neuletta työn ympäri. Muista vetää lanka tiukalle puikolta toiselle siirtyessä, jotta työhön ei tule aukkoja. Tämä on tärkeää, kun aloitat varsinaisen ohjeen neulomisen. Jos lanka ei ole riittävän tiukalla, aloituspalaan tulee aukkoja, jotka todennäköisesti siirtyvät myös itse työhön. Aloituspalasta tulee mahdollisimman napakka, kun neulot tiukasti riittävän paksulla langalla.

6. Vaihda seuraavaksi lanka. Jatka neulomista varsinaiseen työhön käyttämälläsi langalla, ja neulo kaksi kerrosta suljettua neuletta (älä siis vielä aloita varsinaista neuleohjetta). Yritä neuloa mahdollisimman tiiviisti. Jätä työn aloituslankaan niin pitkä "häntä", että voit myöhemmin helposti pujottaa sen neulaan ja vetää aloitussilmukoiden läpi (noin 60 cm on sopiva pituus).

7. Aloita sitten neulominen valitsemasi ohjeen mukaan.

Aloituksen viimeistely:

Voit siirtyä kohtiin 8 – 12 milloin haluat.

8. Pujota lankaan jättämäsi "häntä" teräväkärkiseen ompeluneulaan. Pujota lanka huolellisesti kaikkien TYÖSSÄ KÄYTTÄMÄLLÄSI LANGALLA neulottujen, ensimmäisen kerroksen silmukoiden läpi.

9. Vedä häntää hitaasti ja varovasti ja varmista, että olet pujottanut langan kaikkien ensimmäisen kerroksen silmukoiden läpi. Valaisevan suurennuslasin käytöstä on apua, mutta hyvä valaistus ja lukulasitkin käyvät. Voit valintasi mukaan vetää "hännän" tiukalle tai jättää aloituskohtaan selvemmin erottuvan aukon.

(Kuvassa on Rosemarien neuloma aloitus Herbert Nieblingin legendaariseen Lyra-malliin).

10. Vedä "häntä" vielä kerran kaikkien aloitussilmukoiden läpi ja päättele se sitten haluamallasi tavalla.

11. Leikkaa lopuksi aloituspala irti pienillä terävillä saksilla. Varo leikkaamasta varsinaiseen työhön käyttämääsi lankaa.

12. Aloituspalan, "navan", voit joko heittää pois tai arkistoida sen muistoksi syntymäpäivästä. :-)

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German

I would like to thank Mara C. for her translation of the Belly Button Start. Thanks so much, Mara!

"Bauchnabel"-Anfang fuer rundgestrickte Decken

1) Man beginnt mit zwei Nadeln aus einem Nadelspiel das dieselbe Staerke hat wie das gewuenschte Projekt (man kann spaeter jederzeit auf eine Rundstricknadel wechseln).

2) Mit einem Garn in einer Kontrastfarbe (z. Bsp. 5er Baumwolle) schlaegt man die in der Anleitung vorgegebene Maschenanzahl an

3) In Hin- und Herreihen ca 2-3 cm hochstricken, dabei so fest wie moeglich stricken!

4) Nun verteilt man die Maschen auf das komplette Nadelspiel und schliesst zur Runde

5) Man strickt in Runden noch 2-3 Reihen weiter, dabei zwischen den Nadeln den Faden immer so fest wie moeglich anziehen, was den Uebergang spaeter sehr erleichtert

6) Nun den Kontrastfaden liegen lassen und mit dem Projektgarn 2-3 Runden glatt rechts stricken, dabei am Fadenanfang 50-60 cm haengen lassen, dabei noch nicht mit der Anleitung beginnen!

7) Jetzt im Anleitungsmuster beginnen und ganz normal weiterstricken.

Schritte 8-11 koennen ab jetzt jederzeit durchgefuehrt werden:

8) Den langen Anfangsfaden des Projektgarnes auf eine spitze Naehnadel auffaedeln und durch die Maschen der ersten Runde (da, wo in den Kontrastfaden gestrickt wurde) durchziehen. Am besten sorgfaeltig oder mit Lupe arbeiten, damit keine Masche vergessen wird.

9) den Faden vorsichtig festziehen, bis der gewuenschte Durchmesser erreicht ist - ganz geschlossen oder kreisfoermig offen.

10) Nochmals den Faden durch alle Maschen durchziehen und dann wie gewohnt verknoten oder vernaehen.

11) Mit einer spitzen Schere vorsichtig die Maschen des kontrastfarbenen Behelfsanschlages in der letzten Runde durchtrennen und den 'Bauchnabel" entfernen. Fertig!

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Italian

Thanks to Tiziana from Italy for providing this translation!

Il metodo chiamato "The Belly Button" per iniziare lavori in tondo.

Questo metodo vince su quasi ogni altro metodo che io abbia mia visto per avviare le maglie in tondo. Io ne ho provati molti, compreso il "folle" metodo che prevede l'uso di vari ferri a due punte, cuscini, spilli e quant' altro vi venga in mente per appoggiare e tener fermo il lavoro.

Il metodo "Belly Button" rende davvero piacevole l' avvio di qualunque lavoro in tondo.

La fotografia mostra il "Belly Button" usato per il copritavolo "Lyra" , un disegno di Herbert Niebling, che ho fatto nel 2005. Ho adoperato un cotone da uncinetto piuttosto spesso per il "Belly Button", ed un filato molto sottile ( laceweight) in 100% lana colore blu cobalto per il copritavolo.

Ed ora le istruzioni !

Il metodo "Rosemarie's Belly Button" per l'avvio dei lavori in tondo

1. Si comincia usando 2 dei ferri a due punte che verranno impiegati per lavorare il modello scelto. Quando il lavoro sarà sufficientemente largo potrete passare ai ferri circolari.
2. Usando del filato numero 5 o più spesso ( io preferisco il cotone, ma può andare bene anche del filato in acrilico, spesso ed in colore contrastante), avviare su un ferro il numero di maglie indicato nelle istruzioni del modello che volete lavorare. E' importante che il filato sia in un colore contrastante con il filato che userete per il lavoro, perché questo sarà di aiuto quando dovrete rimuovere il "belly button".
Per esempio: se le istruzioni dicono di avviare 12 maglie e dividerle su 4 ferri, dovete semplicemente avviare 12 maglie su un ferro a due punte. Io mi riferirò a 12 maglie nel mio esempio, voi dovrete sostituire quel numero con il numero di maglie indicato nelle vostre istruzioni.

3. Ora... lavorate semplicemente a maglia rasata in ferri di andata e ritorno fino ad avere un pezzo che misura circa 2.5 cm. La tensione del lavoro è importante, per favore, lavorate "stretto". Bisogna che questo pezzo sia molto rigido perché in questo modo sosterrà meglio i ferri a due punte che verranno usati per lavorare in tondo.

4. E poi : dividete le 12 maglie su 4 ferri a due punte ( o sul numero di ferri richiesto dal modello).

5. Lavorate 2 o 3 giri a diritto con il cotone ( o l' acrilico) usato per il "belly button". Essenzialmente, ora state lavorando una famosa "i-cord". Fate attenzione a tirare bene il filo tra un ferro e l' altro per evitare buchi ( o fili allentati).
Questo è un punto importante per l' inizio del modello da lavorare. Se non tirate MOLTO il filo di cotone avrete fili allentati (buchi) fra le maglie del "belly button" e questi, quasi certamente, diventeranno fili allentati (buchi) nel modello che state per cominciare. Il "belly button" deve essere molto rigido, dato che state usando, con ferri sottili, un filato spesso lavorato ad una forte tensione.

6. Abbandonate il filato spesso. Ora, con il filato scelto per il progetto proseguite la lavorazione in tondo facendo 1 o 2 giri a diritto (semplicemente a diritto, senza seguire lo schema !), a tensione forte. Abbiate cura di lasciare all' inizio, un capo di filato lungo circa 60 cm (del filato scelto per il modello) , servirà per chiudere le maglie con l'ago alla fine del lavoro.

7. Ora cominciate a lavorare seguendo lo schema ( o le istruzioni scritte)

Come chiudere il centro :

Potete eseguire questa operazione seguendo le istruzioni nei punti 8- 12 in qualunque fase del lavoro

8. Infilate il capo iniziale del filato sottile in un ago da cucito. Con molta attenzione infilate l' ago nelle maglie del primo giro a diritto (sono le maglie che avete lavorato nell' ultimo giro in cotone (o acrilico) del "belly button".

9. Tirate il capo di filo lentamente e con cura, facendo attenzione ad aver preso tutte le 12 maglie del primo giro fatto con il filato sottile. Io uso una lente d'ingradimento con luce, anche se una buona luce ed un paio d'occhiali serviranno comunque allo scopo.
Potete tirare il cappio con un po' di forza per chiudere il buco centrale o lasciare il foro un po' più aperto ( il lavoro apparirà con una "O" centrale) . La scelta è lasciata al vostro gusto personale.

(Questo è il "belly button" nel mio coprtitavolo Lyra, uno dei leggendari disegni di Hrbert Niebling )

10. Passate l'ago con il capo di filo ancora una volta nelle 12 maglie e quindi fermate il filo o annodatelo secondo il metodo che abitualmente usate.

11. Con un paio di piccolissime, affilatissime forbici, tagliate il "belly button" facendo MOLTA attenzione a non tagliare il filo sottile usato per il lavoro.

12. Ora potete buttar via il "belly button", oppure metterlo nel vostro portfolio con la data e l'ora del "parto" (Scherzo !)
* il termine "belly button" significa ombelico e, l' azione di chiudere il centro del lavoro, all' ideatrice di questo metodo fa venire in mente una nascita.

________________________________________________

I'm sure that once you've tried this, you'll never go back to another method. This looks much better than the lumpy crochet start, and is much easier to handle than any other method I've used. Not only that, it's FAST, and if you're a cat (kid, dog, etc.) lover and one of the little darlings bumps into you while you're working on your circular start, it won't be total disaster!

If you have kitties in your house, they'll have hours of amusement playing with the belly button, once you remove it. Leave a little "tail" on the belly button, and watch the kitties play!

You are welcome to copy and paste these directions for your own use, or to share with friends. All I ask is that you give me credit!

That's it. Good luck, and if anyone has questions, feel free to ask!

Rosemarie

The Mougin Wedding Garter

2006-04-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Stephen Mougin emailed me in early January, telling of his upcoming February wedding to his beautiful Slovakian bride. It was to be a small affair; a few friends and family in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, an intimate ceremony followed by a celebration.

I met Stephen when I was living in Massachusetts. He was the chorus teacher at Ralph C. Mahar Secondary School in Orange, MA, my stepdaughter being one of his students. I first met him when he was producing and directing The Sound of Music at the school. I volunteered to assist with the hair and makeup, and that was the beginning of many wonderful friendships, and the first of four musicals at that school in which I was involved.
Since leaving MA in December, 2003, we have stayed in touch. I have followed his musical career (he left teaching just before I left MA) with Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike, and now with the Sam Bush Band. He toured in Europe for some time, and that's where he met his love.

Jana

I offered to knit a lace wedding garter, and his response was a very quick "yes"! I chose the cotton thread (after trying to find some silk thread here in Lethbridge). Time was of the essence, and getting a garter knit and mailed was more important than doing it in silk.

The garter was knit on 1.5mm needles, with approximately Size 30 cotton thread. I chose a slightly fuzzy (not highly mercerized) thread, because I liked the softness, and the slight fuzziness added to the romantic appearance of this lace.

And here it is:

I mailed it in plenty of time; paid extra for expedited mailing and tracking. It left Canada the day after I mailed it, with a guaranteed 5-day delivery time.

Stephen received my email saying the garter was on its way. He waited. I waited. Jana waited. He emailed me, asking if I had tracked it. I sent him the Canada Post website as well as the tracking number; I checked it out and the message stayed the same. It left Canada the day after I mailed it, and after that, it disappeared.

Somewhere in the bowels of either the US Postal system, or The Department of Homeland Insecurity, a uniform containing a human being (presumably) decided to prevent that little package from reaching its destination on time.

Score one more for Bin Laden, and one less for Life and Liberty in The Land Of The Free and The Home Of The Brave.

So on Stephen's and Jana's wedding day, the garter which I had so lovingly knit was not worn by the bride.

The US Postal Service delivered it the following Monday, nearly three weeks after it was mailed.

Ok, so in the whole scheme of things, it's just a wedding garter. Stephen and Jana still got married, it was a wonderful wedding, and the world continues to spin.

Stephen sent me a beautiful email after they opened the envelope. They decided that the garter is too beautiful to store in a drawer, and they're going to have it framed. I am honoured.

One day I'm going to make Alfredo sauce (from scratch) and linguine, and Stephen and Jana are going to sit at our Dining Room table in my big house on Vancouver Island, and we're going to enjoy the meal as the sun streams through the holly trees just outside the dining room window.

And if they're there at the right time of the year, they may even get some fresh Kiwi fruit, grown right in my own yard.

Ok, you two newlyweds, Dorne and I are moving back to the Island Labour Day weekend this year. Plan accordingly!

Update: September 16, 2007
Offer: You, too, can have your own hand-knit lace wedding garter. Fees will vary depending on materials (silk, linen, or cotton thread, embellishments, etc.) . Please contact me a minimum of 6 weeks before the wedding date. Email me at: rosemarie dot buchanan at gmail dot com.

Enough Love to Share with One More

2006-04-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

There is another little heart beating in our house. Wednesday morning, Dorne managed to trap one of the feral cats in the industrial section of Lethbridge. This colony lives primarily in old sleeper units of tractor-trailers. Across the street is a self-storage place, and Elaine, the woman who runs the place, feeds and waters the cats.

Sadly, until the No Kill Alliance (of which I am a proud founding member and board member) recently started a trap/spay/neuter/vaccinate/release programme with these creatures, the cats reproduced until the colony swelled to about 30. NOKA received $29,000/year for three years, from the City of Lethbridge (we were very surprised when this happened!), for subsidized spay/neuters of cats and dogs who are already pets, and Feral cat sterilization.

If all pet owners were actually responsible, Lethbridge (and most other places) wouldn't have an overwhelming problem with unwanted companion animals. NOKA is also trying to get the City of Lethbridge Animal Shelter (or The Slaughterhouse, as Dorne calls it) to become a no-kill shelter. Many cities have gone to this model. The City "shelter" is a contracted service; for nearly 1/2 million dollars a year, they'll kill all the pets they can get their hands on, and NOT enforce a mandatory spay/neuter programme. Hell, they won't even bother trying to find a pet's owner when the pet is chipped or tattooed!

I digress.

Mowzer, our first cat, now nearly two years old, was one of the ferals from that colony. There is a picture of him on my blog, go to the early archives to see it. We brought him home when he was about 5 months old. He is the most incredibly affectionate kitty I've ever had. The transition from wild to mild took about two weeks.

Bitsy, kitty number two, was part of a small semi-feral colony that found its way to the backyard of a co-worker, late last summer. She knew of my involvement with NOKA, and called. There appeared to be three generations of cats in that colony. One of the kittens ended up at our house to be fostered and socialized, and then a new home was to be found for him.

Ahem.

One evening I came home from a meeting, and Dorne was reclining on the love seat with Mr. Bitsy lounging on his chest. I was surprised, because up to this point, Bitsy would only be held for a few moments, and only under protest. Dorne stated that he thought Mowzer needed a playmate. Who was I to argue? So we became a two-cat house.

Then Wednesday morning, I was paged and when I went to the front, Dorne was standing there. He'd trapped one of the ferals and wanted to know if I thought we should adopt this one.

Oy.

One very frightened kitty was inside that trap. I said yes, so Dorne took the kitty home, set it up with food, water and litter in the spare bedroom, and left.

That night, after supper, Dorne figured he could go into the spare room and start to socialize the new kitty. Bzzzt ... wrong. Kitty went crazy and bit right through a pair of deerskin gloves, produced copious quantities of blood (Dorne's, not the kitty's!), and triggered a weird hysteria between our dog (Innu) and Mowzer. Bizarre.

So once Dorne stopped bleeding, we decided that New Kitty needed to be left alone for a while.

He hadn't eaten or drank any water for nearly 48 hours. I was getting worried.

So last night we went and picked up some canned cat food. I put half a can on a small plate and put it in New Kitty's room. This morning I checked, and New Kitty had eaten both dry and wet food, as well as had a substantial amount of water.

Whew.

Step one successful.

Kitty is now hiding under the bed, instead of completely out of sight. All three cats have used the litter box we provided, and have never gone anywhere else in the house. New Kitty will spend a few more days in the spare room, and then we'll open the door and see if s/he ventures out into the rest of the house.

Anyway, I have to get dressed and head out to the Yates Memorial Centre to pick up tickets to Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman! They'll be in town next month. The Guess Who was one of my favourite Canadian bands, waaayyyyyy back when (ahem) I was in my teens (a faint memory now ).

New Kitty is listening to the sounds of our house. Innu and Dorne wrestling on the floor .. oops, Innu chasing two cats, oops ... Innu playing with his stuffy ... oops, Innu schmoozing with one cat (flossing his teeth). I think the dog has ADHD. This is more or less a typical Saturday morning in our house. One great huge guy, three (now four) furry creatures, organic fair-trade coffee in the pot, and me. Soon CBC radio and Stewart MacLean's Vinyl Cafe. This is a very good life.

It's Like Driving to Massachusetts ...

2006-04-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

Knitting a sweater, building a blog; one stitch at a time, one step at a time. At least I don't have to drive through Troy, NY. Today I added the link for the Knitting Bloggers. I will have to wait for approval by the person who owns the web ring, so until then, it's probably not active. I see there are many more web rings to which I could belong; I'll have to check them out and add 'em as I go!

Today's knitting content: I am about 2/3 finished my third wedding garter. This one is actually staying in Canada! The first two I knit went to friends in Massachusetts; Raenette and her husband John got married last September, and my friend Stephen Mougin married in February this year. I'll be adding a special post for Stephen's wedding, as soon as he sends me pictures. The current garter is going to be worn this August, on my stepmother's granddaughter's wedding day. I won't be going to the wedding, but I'm sure my dad will get some great pics. Ivory silk thread (purchased at The Silk Tree on Granville Island, Vancouver), and decorated with fresh water pearls. It will be gorgeous!

Stephen Mougin is currently playing with the Sam Bush Band, and is going to Alaska in November (brrrrrrr). I was hoping he and his new wife could make a slight detour to BC, because Dorne and I will be moved there by that time. Maybe if they're flying from Seattle to Alaska ... hmmmm ... perhaps I can bribe Stephen with some of my Alfredo sauce and a great feed of linguine! I'd love to see them both, and being back in my four bedroom house, there will be plenty of room.

So stay tuned for updates and additions to my blog. After the wedding garter, I'll be delving into the world of ordinary, non-lace knitting ... IMAGINE THAT! A vest crawling with beetles for my stepmom's youngest daughter in Victoria. She owns The Bug Zoo (I'll get a link in here as soon as I figure out how to do it!) and loves to wear buggy things. This vest will do the trick!

TTFN !!

Migraine - 1, Rosemarie - 0

2006-04-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

Two twenty-eight a.m. I roll over and realize I have intense pain in the right front quadrant of my head. Another migraine. Every movement is agony, but I force myself to get up and take an Imitrex, or rather, it's generic (and significantly cheaper) version. Sumatriptan. An oasis in a desert of extreme pain. Thank god for quality Canadian medications.

So I take the triangular tablet, go sit on the couch (sitting is less painful than lying down), pull my grandmother's lap quilt over me, and drift in and out of sleep. The cats are confused and the older one takes advantage of the unexpected human company by climbing up on my chest. This is a good thing for him, not for me. I gently push him away, and now he's really confused. He is used to being cuddled and kissed even when I'm knitting. Now I feel guilty, so I put a hand on his back and he purrs.

About 6:30 Dorne gets up. He knows I've been out of bed for a while, and after two years of living with me, knows why I'm not there. He's ever so quiet, and creeps over to me, kisses two of his fingers and tenderly puts those two fingers on my right temple. The epicentre of my migraines is there. That doesn't make my migraine feel any better, but it certainly warms my heart. I know I look like hell, I can barely open one eye, and he can still show his love.

It's been more than four hours since I took the sumatriptan, and still no significant relief. That was my last one, too. I can go to my drugstore and get a refill, but am in no shape to drive. I go back to bed, thinking that maybe if I can lie down, sleep will overcome me and push the rage out of my head. Not so. I call in to work, talk to my supervisor (Dianne, she's great) and let her know that if the migraine lifts, I'll be to work by noon. Another wasted hour follows, trying to sleep, and then I smell cigarette smoke.

It's coming from downstairs. Gerry, the tenant down there, is smoking, because he believes both Dorne and I have left the house and are at work. Just to make sure I'm not being paranoid, I go outside and see if he's moved his smoking chair to the patio just under our bedroom window. Nope, not there. I go back in, hear pots clanging in his kitchen, and slam our back door hard enough to wake the dead.

A few minutes later, he leaves the house, gets in his boss' truck, and leaves.

I am pissed right off. Here we go back to the "No Smoking" thing again.

My head hurts too much to call our landlord and leave a message on his voicemail. I'll deal with it later.

As a result of my little tantrum, Innu (that beautiful furry four-legged boy of ours!), purebred Malamute husky, knows that he's not alone, and starts vocalizing, almost inaudibly. He's very good at that. So, back outside I go, full blown migraine into the very bright sun. Innu's happy to see me, so I take him off his tether and he rushes around the yard a few times, with WAY too much energy and exuberance. We both come in the house, and he finds the older cat. They play (in other words, Mowzer the cat, who's a long-haired cat, teases Innu and then runs under the furniture, but allows Innu to get a hold of him long enough to get Mowzer's fur matted up with saliva, or as I say, Innu flosses his teeth on the cat) for about 1/2 hour, then the big guy takes a nap on the mat inside the front door.

Jehovah Witnesses are headed up the street. I take out my laminated "ABSOLUTELY NO RELIGIOUS SOLICITING" sign and pin it inside the screen door. Religion is the opiate of the feeble-minded, a crutch and an excuse for not taking responsibility for one's actions. (hmm, sounds like the definition of an addict, yes?) Anyway, that's as much as I'm going to think about that subject for one day.

The pain seems to be lifting. I've had two cups of killer strong coffee, and maybe that's the medicine I needed. I'm going to make use of my time at home alone, do some cleaning (we're having Easter dinner here on Saturday, with my dad and his wife, my best friend Adonus and her 11 year old daughter) and maybe listen to some music and knit for a while. My head is still too damaged to go to work and be able to withstand the constant pounding of a machine that is used (long story), but at least at home, I can control the lights and the noise level, and get something done.

New score. Rosemarie - 1, Migraine - 0.

DISCLAIMER!

2006-03-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

Read at your own risk! While my blog is primarily a knitting blog, I do express my own thoughts and opinions, some of which may offend the reader. If you are here to look at my knitting, please go to the "Archives" and click on "May 2005".

Anyone is welcome, of course, to leave a comment. The world would be flat if it weren't for people who dissent. (oh, what, you mean the world is ROUND???)

Actually, it's a sphere. This means we're all entitled equally (after all, the earth is not egg-shaped) to our opinions. I've had 51 years experience on this planet, and tell it like I see it, or feel it, or believe it.

So you can love the knitting and hate the writing, if you want. Or you can love the writing and not care about the knitting (but be careful, you're really treading on thin ice !!). Either way, you're welcome to gaze to your heart's content.

Of Addicts and Assholes

2006-03-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

What part of "No Smoking In The House" doesn't he get? Someone rents the basement suite of the house we're renting here in Lethbridge. Because I have asthma (to say nothing of the fact that expecting someone to be happy sharing the heating system in a house with a smoker is simply stupid) the deal with the landlord is that there is no smoking. Period. Doesn't matter what the outside temperature is, there is NO SMOKING IN THE HOUSE.

So Mr. Asshole (see, my mother taught me to have good manners) comes home from the neighbourhood watering hole, so drunk he can barely navigate down the back stairs into his suite, and doesn't understand the panic I feel when I smell his cigarette smoke. Not so much because of my asthma, but because he's so drunk that he likely has very little concept of into how much danger his nicotine addiction is putting the other four mammals who live in this house. I've been woken up in the middle of the night, smelling his cigarette smoke. I know FULL WELL that he's in BED, drunk and smoking.

I have so little regard for this pathetic excuse for a human being that I must admit, if he dropped a lit butt into his mattress and cremated himself, I'd say the world was slightly better off. However, in his self-induced stupor, he'd be taking my sweet man, two beautiful cats, an Alaskan Malamute and me on a trip to the pearly gates.

I do not (repeat, do NOT) "buy into" the notion that addiction is a disease. Sure, maybe the addictive substance creates a physical craving for the substance, but it is no disease. As soon as it's labelled "disease", then all those addicted idiots out there say "I can't help myself, I'm an addict and it's a disease". They have been liberated from responsibility for their actions, because, after all, poor jerks, they're sick.

CRAP. Addicted or not, every time the drunk puts booze in his mouth, he's making a choice. Every time someone drops a quarter into the VLT, he's making a choice. Every time the loser lights a cigarette, he's making a choice. Every time an abuser strikes another human being, every time a person's judgement is compromised because of an "addiction", every single time that one of us is caught in the line of fire, it is because the "addict" makes a choice.

I'm tired of addicts whining about their "disease". I'm tired of being victimized by a theory (of addiction being illness) and by those who subscribe to it. I'm tired of listening to addicts blame everyone but themselves for their pathetic behaviour.

He's sitting downstairs right now. I can almost hear his TV. Last year, he fell down those stairs and injured himself so badly that he suffered partial hearing loss for several months, and was unable to work because of his injuries. He told us he'd been mugged in the alley on the way home from the pub. What idiot walks home at 2 in the morning, in a "not great" neighbourhood, down the ALLEY and then claims he was mugged when clearly the stair-tread bruises all over his scrawny, smelly body were collected when he took that header down to his place? Twice now he has started to cook while intoxicated and has burned the food so badly that it filled the entire house with a horrid stench. The last time he pulled this stunt was in early December 2005. If it happens again, I'm calling the fire department, and then the police, and then the landlord.

Of course, his sorry lot in life is the same as all alcoholics. His ex-wife is a bitch. His daughter ignores him. His boss is unfair (yeah, he expects the drunk to come to work sober and put in a full day's work ... aww gee). He gave up everything to live closer to his daughter, and she doesn't even give him a gift at Christmas.

I've heard this song before. Carter Brent MacKay (in case you're so arrogant as to google your name and find it here). I was his third wife. The litany of complaints against Wife Number One (and bearer of his three children) was long and detailed. The Wife Number Two was just a rebound marriage. Wife Number Three (that would be me) was inadequate. He'd been "dry" for five years, but had to start drinking again because I wasn't a "better wife" to him. His description of "better wife" meant having meals on the table by 5 p.m. and allowing him to force me to have sex with him, even if it meant grabbing me by the hair and covering my mouth with his hand while he ... well, let's say it wasn't "lovemaking" by any stretch of the imagination. He loved to go on and on about how "everyone" saw him as such a hero, "taking on me and my son". Funny how I was the one who supported him as he went from one flaky job to another, how I supported him when he threw himself into bed claiming he was too depressed to do anything else, and how it was the women in his life who supported him while he wasted his life taking no responsibility for the path of destruction he left behind him. And then, like a true addict, when our marriage was over, he accused me of hiding copious quantities of money from him. This was totally untrue, as I paid off his overdraft to the tune of $9,000 with proceeds from the sale of a house that I had bought a few years previously. But he had no honour, therefore no one else did, either. Brent was so untrustworthy that he could give no one else credit for being what he could never conceive of.

Ah, the drunk just made it up the stairs and back down again. I'm sure glad I won't be waking up with his hangover. Oops, my mistake. I guess if you're always drunk, you can't possibly be hungover.

The hour is late. Responsible working folks need their sleep. (umm, that would be me). With any luck, the drunk downstairs will fall asleep for the night, and I won't be woken up at 3 a.m. in full asthma attact because of his stupidity.

The Post-Stephen Lewis Post

2006-03-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

This is Friday night. It's been 48 hours since I sat mere metres away from Stephen Lewis, and the impact of his words hasn't diminished with the passing of those hours. In that time, more women and children in Africa have died of this terrible disease than the loved ones who enter and leave our lives.

We grumble about the price of a litre of gas, whine because the weather's miserable, discuss which wine to have with dinner, and then jockey for the remote, insulated from the horrors and the truths of living in poverty, in Africa, with AIDS. We are insulated from the cries of the children whose only parent has wasted away, and from the desperation of the surviving grandparents, already tired and old, now faced with raising grandchildren with even fewer resources than they had when raising their own children.

Stephen Lewis can't enter a room and leave it without casting a broad net, even if he only speaks a few words. In one breath he is hopeful, even joyful, over small strides made to improve the lives of a handful of children, and in the next, his audience is weeping as he shares the last few words of a woman dying of AIDS. I would be ashamed of myself if I admitted to sitting there without emotion. I wept, I laughed, I ached, I smiled. Stephen Lewis held us all in the palms of his hands, enchanted with his words but devastated by his message.

There are many things to be done. I need to contribute. We all need to contribute.

I have always wanted to be part of something that would make me think beyond my own life. I believe this may be that thing.

Stephen Lewis in Nanaimo Today

2006-03-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

Today my mother and I travel "up Island" to Nanaimo. We will be picking up my son, going out for Thai or Vietnamese food, and then going to the Port Theatre to hear Stephen Lewis.

For the uninitiated, Stephen Lewis is the son of David Lewis, longtime leader of the federal New Democratic Party of Canada. I met the senior Lewis several times in my teens. Stephen was appointed Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, and then became the UN ambassador to Africa for AIDS (and I'm sure there's some great website I could insert here, if I only knew how!).

These days it's hard to find someone worthy of the label "hero". Stephen Lewis is one of those people. I've heard him speak many times, in electronic media, and this will be my second time hearing him in person. If DaVinci's paintings could be put into words, Stephen Lewis would be the orator. His phenomenal use of the English language is inspiring. If you ever (EVER) have a chance to see him, do it.

Tonight's message will likely be depressing. I've seen the TV shows of his trips into Africa. It is the shame of the world that keeps this situation from improving. But I'd rather walk away depressed than pass up the chance to hear Stephen Lewis speak.

Someday one African life will be worth one North American life, or one European life, and the eradication of AIDS will begin in earnest. But, until oil and wealth cease to be seen as having more value than the life of a poverty-stricken black woman dying of AIDS in Africa, those women, their children, and the men who infect them, will continue to die.

I don't have time today to proof read this. I'm going to his the "publish" button and then get ready to leave Victoria for Nanaimo. I'll try to get something on my blog in the next couple of days, while Stephen Lewis' message is fresh in my mind.

That Child of Mine ...

2006-02-10T23:40:00.000-08:00

He loves to pester me about updating my blog. So ok, here it is. I actually have some new material for my blog; pictures of people getting married and the lace wedding garter I've knit, a linen bookmark for a departing supervisor, rants about my struggle to complete the Lyra ... and all that mixed in with observations on the complete stupidity of Canadians at federal (and here in Alberta, provincial) election time.

However, the new material will have to wait until I have the time to upload the pics and do the writing.

Since my last entry, Christmas and my 51st birthday have come and gone, and here we're staring Valentine's Day in the face. I continue to be haunted with ghosts of living in the US for nearly 5 years, and ongoing bitterness towards the dysfunctional, self-absorbed idiot I married (which also makes me an idiot). We (the wonderful man in my life and I) are preparing for the long-overdue move back to Vancouver Island, and I must admit that as much as I'm not crazy about living in Lethbridge, leaving my dad (now 80) and his wife behind are going to be real heartbreakers. Same with leaving my best friend Adonus behind. She and I are the mother/daughter team that never was. Start and/or finish each other's sentences, we can almost have a conversation without words. The last friendship like this I experienced with a co-worker in Massachusetts by the name of Cathy Powers. How I have missed her!

I've said for years that the only constant in my life is change. The older I get, the truer it seems to be. Most folks my age are staring a secure retirement in the face; I've lived moment to moment and will likely have to be peddling my knit lace when I'm 75 just to put food on the table. 50 arrived and slapped me hard across the face. I have no idea where all those years went, but I didn't plan to get this old and this poor so quickly. Some of the residual bitterness I have towards the Massachusetts ex is that I let him keep all of his share of the assets of his first marriage (after all, I had made a promise), and gosh, Bruce, I was only "number two", as you so kindly put it at Sharon's birthday party that night. If I had allowed the judge to do what he wanted, I would have walked away from that divorce with 1/2 of Bruce's share of a beautiful house on 7 acres, and that would likely have set me up just fine for a long and somewhat comfortable retirement.

I do, however, own two pieces of property. Prime, WEST COAST property. Oh, did I mention the number of times Bruce counseled me to sell? Thankfully, I ignored his harsh and stupid words and kept the properties. This means I have a home to go back to (on Vancouver Island) and if I ever decide to sell my Savary Island property, I'll have fattened my wallet with a substantial amount of money, which will also provide a comfortable contribution towards my doddering years (ya, right).

However, in direct contrast to whatever monetary wealth Bruce Francis Baldwin has, I have love in my life. Two parents, both very much alive, who love the heck outta me. A wonderful son, the light of my life, now 26 years old and what a privilege it is to be such an important part of his life. And a man named Dorne, a true partner in my life (take a lesson here, Brucey) who loves me and shows his support and loyalty in ways that most men can't even imagine. This amazing man is going to be 64 years old this year, and he is fit and strong and healthy and so very smart, although every time he calls me "gorgeous", I have to wonder about his vision (kidding!).

So cash poor and love rich is my situation. I look back at my life in Massachusetts (it was better after Bruce decided that "Missy B, we have to think about what we're going to do with the rest of our lives, because we're not as happy as we were three years ago ... when in fact, it was he who was never happy, and never will be, as long as he bears the hatred towards his mother the way he does. A man who hates his mother can never really love any woman, including his own daughter), and even though after I became single and had a relationship with a great guy (Hi Jeff), I was still not where I should have been. Sometimes you can go home, and it's better than you ever thought it could be.

I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this time of my life.

I can't wait to feel the Pacific Ocean on my toes again. I can't wait for a warm day on the south beach of Savary Island (tears welling up in my eyes just thinking about it). I can't wait to make breakfast on the woodstove in that shack on Savary Island, and hear Dorne and my son talking together, and maybe even that special woman in my son's life.

As much as I learned and experienced during my time in the US, essentially, my life was on hold during those years. Mid-life hasn't brought me a crisis at all, but peace of mind that I love well, that I am loved well, and that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this time in my life.

So, my beautiful perfect son who pesters me to update my blog; there, it's done, for now. You need to (YOU NEED TO ... haha) update YOUR blog, my darling son!

2005-11-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

Ahhh yes ... the World's Cutest Baby Boy (that would be the big guy in the red shirt) reading to the World's Second Cutest Baby Boy (that would be the little guy in the yellow and blue shirt). My son Eric, and my great-nephew Ben, have some kind of mysterious and wonderful bond. This picture was taken in October of this year (2005), at my sister's (the grandmother) house in Victoria, BC. My son is in his third year of Political Science at university, and in this picture, had recently returned from four months on the French Riviera (Nice), lean and tanned and gorgeous (I'm completely objective, of course). Last weekend (the weekend of Nov. 19), my son was here with us and the rest of my family, celebrating my dad's 80th birthday (check out the picture of my dad on my blog). I'll have pics of the weekend posted as soon as they're available! Eric and I were able to spend an entire day together (click on the link to read his blog), which was a sweet and wonderful day. I can't wait to get moved back to Vancouver Island, then we can spend more time together, and he'll have a place to store his belongings while he's off travelling the world every summer (big grin here!).

2005-11-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

A diamond is ... well, whoever came up with that had never met my wonderful guy. This diamond could never be my best friend, but he sure is! Santa came early to our house this year, in the form of a 1.06 Carat Canadian Diamond. We designed the setting (I didn't want a "girlie" engagement ring setting) after we picked out this fabulous Princess-cut stone. My sweetie and I had decided that if we were going to buy a diamond, it would have to be Canadian, no blood diamonds for us (i.e., mined in Russia or South Africa). At the end of the day, we still have to live with our conscience; De Beers and the Russian diamond mines have absolutely repugnant labour relations, and force labourers to work in sub-human conditions. Canadian Diamond miners have legislated protection, many are unionized, earn excellent salaries as well as benefits. So far, the oppressive Canada/US so-called "free trade" agreement, (all part of the "manifest destiny" philosophy of the US), hasn't put Canadian diamond miners out of work, the way the US-imposed (and FTA-illegal) Softwood Tariffs have condemned Canadian softwood workers to unemployment and poverty. So with clear consciences, we chose this beautiful Canadian Diamond, and it's on my finger as I type! The setting is 14k gold, and the diamond is held in place by a "tension" setting, eliminating claws which wear out much more quickly, and as many of us know, snag our knitting! (ulterior motive for getting a tension setting !!). This is the diamond ring of my dreams, given to me by the man of my dreams!

2005-11-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

Bird's eye view of the ring. One day we'll have a dig cam and be able to post a pic of this beautiful ring that's clearer, but for now, this is just fine! Charm Diamond Centres are 100% Canadian owned and operated. The first store was opened in Nova Scotia several years ago, and run by a young couple. Charm now has many stores from Nova Scotia to Alberta, and are planning to open stores in BC and on the West Coast in the near future. No affiliation, but we are certainly satisfied customers!

2005-10-30T16:10:00.000-08:00

Max Pauley, Lace Knitter Extraordinaire, Best Friend and Healer of Wounded Hearts, made this beautiful signature tag for me a couple of weeks ago. Max was my support and comfort when I found myself suddenly single in Massachusetts, thousands of kilometres away from all the other important people in my life. We'd spend hours on the phone, laughing (and sometimes not) about the twists and turns our lives have taken. Even though we've never met in person, we have always found a kindred spirit in each other. One of these days he'll come to Canada and be a guest in our home (RIGHT, MAX?? ) and then we'll have that gallon (err, 4 litres) of ice cream and watch Sleepless In Seattle (or Vancouver ;-). Thank you so much for everything you've done for me, darling Max! I love you!!

Talk to me!

2005-08-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

Many people have viewed my profile, and I'd love to know who is viewing it and why. Please click on the "email me" and send me a line or two, whether you are a lace knitter, a friend who's Googled my name, or a total stranger just browsing and happened to stop in (or none of the above!). Thanks!
P.S. Addendum: To email, please click on "View my Complete Profile", then click on "email" once you get to the profile page. To leave a comment, click on "Comment" which accompanies every entry, at the bottom. You do NOT have to be a blogger (on this blog service) to leave a comment, but you do need to click on either "blogger" or "other" or "anonymous", then follow the directions below the comment space to have your comment published. I have been spammed several times, and the letters at the bottom of the comment window are there to prevent spammers from plying their dirty trades.
And thanks to those who have already written! It's a great treat to hear from you!
Rosemarie

2005-08-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

These are the bookmarks I knit for my two exchange partners, both knit out of two (non-plied) strands of pure silk thread. Margaret Heathman, of Monroe, GA, is receiving the Rose Trellis bookmark on the left. Witt Pratt, of Washington, DC, will be receiving the alternating Madeira Cascade on the right. Knitting info: I always do a single-needle cast-on (although I use both needles parallel, for a softer and non-binding cast-on), slip the first stitch of every row for a beautiful edge (I'm so modest ;-), three rows of seed stitch across the bottom and three seed stitches up each side, for a firm but pretty frame for the bookmarks. I used 1.5 mm stainless steel needles. I've been a member of the bookmark exchange on the Knitted Lace List for about 7 years, and, as all exchange participants, I have a marvellous collection of bookmarks sent to me from around the world.

2005-08-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is the bookmark I received from Margaret Heathman, in Monroe, Georgia, USA. I had received the summer issue of Piecework and was admiring the pretty bookmark in it, and then voila! It appears on my doorstep, handknit by Margaret! Beautiful work, and I love the colour. Thank you so much, Margaret!

2005-08-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

The Knitted Lace Silk Wedding Garter, all done. The Canadian quarter on the right is the same size as a US quarter, and it gives a pretty good idea of how big the garter is. I used ivory satin ribbon across the top; in hindsight (isn't it always 20/20??), I should have placed the eyelets for the ribbon at the points and exactly in between the points. Of course, we all know that only another lace knitter would think of this! My friend Raenette, in Athol, Massachusetts, will be wearing this on her wedding day next month, September 2005! Look to the west, Rae; see that hand waving? That's me! I miss you and wish you and John the best of everything!

2005-08-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is the completed Silk Wedding Garter. The colour is actually slightly more a "slate" blue, but when I was fiddling with the colours, this shade brought out the lace more. The silk thread is incredibly glossy, very similar to rayon embroidery thread, however, there is only one thing that feels like real silk. Bless the silk worms that gave the world this fabulous fibre!

2005-07-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

The runner I knit for my mother's 70th birthday, damp and spread out, partially dressed, on my dining room table. The table had all the leaves in it, and the runner stretched from end to end, and side to side. There is a wrist pin-cushion in the lower right corner, again for size comparison. The left corner shows the edging "mostly" blocked out. The rest of the runner is damp and awaiting my "smooshing out" !

2005-07-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

Silk Wedding Garter!!

2005-07-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

Above, the on the Silk Wedding Garter circular needle (dpns were TOO short!) , below, cast onto 1.75mm dpns. Silk thread was purchased at Saftler's Fabric and Sewing supply store in Whitman, Massachusetts; this thread was intended for Japanese embroidery. The green thread is a strand of DMC Cebelia Size 30, included in the picture for size comparison. The cast-on is done on the two needles together, but as a single-needle cast-on, which makes a beautiful, smooth and even cast-on.

2005-07-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is my Beautiful, Perfect Father. Can you tell he's nearly 80?? The oak cabinet on which he is leaning was built by his father, sometime between 1915 and 1920 (my grandfather was born in 1900). This buffet was an instrumental part of the kitchen and dining room for my great-grandparents for over 35 year. In 1955, the year I was born, my great-grandfather passed away, and my grandfather disassembled the buffet, storing it in his basement. After both my grandparents passed away (they'd been married 76 1/2 years!), my dad asked me if I would like the buffet. Who could say no??? So last year he started to reconstruct the buffet. In the 50 years since it had been disassembled, some pieces had been lost. Reconstruction wasn't simply a matter of putting all the pieces together, but figuring out which pieces were missing and replacing them! Pops spent many, many hours on it, and early this year, we moved it from his house to mine. It has a matching mirror, not yet attached. This buffet is a beautiful piece of Buchanan family history; I'm very thankful to my dad for rebuilding it and very grateful to own this prize! Thanks, Daddy ... I love you!

2005-07-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of turning 50 last January was this beautiful bouquet of flowers, sent to me at work. My Beautiful Perfect Son did this. Of course, when the admin assistant brought them to me, I promptly burst into tears. Although we're in the same country (nice after living in the states for nearly 5 years), it's still a long hike from Alberta to Vancouver Island. He's been in France for three months now, and will be returning to the Island at the end of August, after completing four months of going to a private French Immersion school (no, most Canadians do NOT speak French, but have to learn it as a second language!), working and living in Nice, on the Meditteranean coast. His blog is: www.niceeric.blogspot.com. If you're easily offended, then don't go there ... he has opinions and expresses them! (hmm, wonder where he got THAT from??? )