I really hate to say "I told you so"...

But all those people I've been writing to for years who have replied (when they've replied) that off-shore drilling is safe and necessary and that there would probably never be a spill or accident because the oil companies know what they're doing??? I told you so! I told you that yeah, they know what they're doing like the Captain of the Titanic, and it's too dangerous to keep temping fate this way.

Now we've got a gusher going at a rate of at least 200,000 gallons per day with a slick currently covering the approximate area of Puerto Rico (3,500 square miles+). The shrimp and oyster industry in LA and MS is completely ruined for probably the next few years, just as it was finally recovering from Katrina and in this economy. BP is saying it will continue spilling for at least another 8 days before they have any hope of stemming the flow with - get this - a dome that they're going to put over the site of the busted pipe (which, personally, I can't imagine will actually work), and another 3 months before they have a "relief well" drilled to divert the oil to another rig. We're screwed. And God help us if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream. Seriously, God help us because no one else will be able to at that point. Good job, BP.

I also think it's hilarious in a completely not funny way that our governor, who until recently has been a Republican, was against off-shore drilling (because most of the state is against it) until he was elected, then he was for it because it was popular in the Republican party, and now that he's an Independent because that's his only hope of being elected to the Senate, and this has happened, he's against it again.

I'm not particularly pleased with Obama on this issue either because he's been trying the impossible to do task of placating the Republicans to try to get them on his side way too much on these energy issues, saying coal, nuclear and drilling for oil is largely okay. The Republicans will oppose him, whatever he does, unless he becomes one of them and does exactly what the party line is. And even then they might oppose him just on principle. Best to tell them what Bush told the Dems all these years: my way or the highway. Because I do not agree with trying to placate people whose main motivation is money and power for themselves and their backers and the status quo because it preserves the other two. At all. I think it's all disasters just waiting to happen. And since the worst that can happen with a wind mill is a bird can fly into the propellers and get chopped into little birdy bits, I'm thinking that - despite the fuming of traditional energy corporations and the cost to set green methods up - it is the way to go. Seriously.

He's okay...

At about 11:20 this morning, my dad got into a car accident. If he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, he probably would have been killed (everybody, always wear your seatbelt!). Someone who was speeding ran him off the interstate (and they didn't ever stop), he lost control of his car, hit another car (apparently driven by a nice young woman who goes to USF - she wasn't hurt but her car was pretty badly dented on one side and it spun around on the shoulder of the road), went off the road, and then his car flipped over and landed on the driver's side against a barbed wire fence next to a cow field. He climbed out through the passenger side window. He's got a bruise and cut on one elbow, a cut on his forearm, and a cut on the top of his head, where he must have hit something, although he doesn't remember doing that, and his knee that he injured almost two months ago while working in the garden got banged pretty good against the driver's side door and now it's as bad as it ever was again. Poor Daddy... but no concussion and he's okay and glad to be breathing.

We don't know if the car is totaled yet. It's been towed to the Toyota dealership he bought it from back in '01 and we'll hear tomorrow or the next day from the insurance adjuster as to whether or not it will be declared "totaled."

The school secretary tracked my mom and I down in the teachers' lunchroom about halfway through our lunch period to tell us. Scared my mom half to death. Luckily, my dad had called the school and there was a phone in the teachers' lunchroom, so she got to talk to him right away. I was going to leave school and go get him to take him home, but my dad's cell phone died before he could tell her exactly where he was (isn't it awful when that happens? Like, that's what people have cell phones for, but sometimes they just die right when you really need them), and Mom didn't want me to go on a wild goose chase up and down the interstate trying to find him because he had been at the dentist in St. Pete and might be anywhere or might be picked up by the tow truck before I got there. He had said before the phone died that AAA was sending a tow truck to get his car, and that if his phone died, he'd call her again when he got to another phone, either the tow truck driver's or when he got to the Toyota dealership, if he couldn't get a ride home and needed me to come get him. However, (again) luckily, the tow truck driver very kindly offered to drive my dad all the way home even though our house is about 8 miles away from the dealership and he didn't have to do that, so Dad called once he was home, not much more than an hour and a half after the accident happened.

What the...?!?!

Sorry, I've been busy praying in synagogue and working this weekend and week respectively, so I'm just now hearing about all this...


(Feel free to take the above and use it elsewhere against these crazies who either signed the petition supporting Polanski or have publicly stated they support his release from jail.)

Roman Polanski - the creep - finally got arrested and will hopefully be extradited back to the US. But some people, who no doubt believe that art and time should heal all evils, seem to think he should be allowed to continue fleeing justice. What part of "HE DRUGGED AND RAPED A 13-YEAR-OLD-GIRL AND DIDN'T EVEN CONTEST IT! IN FACT, HE ADMITTED IT, PLEAD GUILTY, AND THEN FLED THE COUNTRY SO HE WOULDN'T GO TO PRISON FOREVER!" don't these people understand?!?!?! HE'S A PEDO FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY! I'll repeat that for those who missed it the first time: HE'S A PEDO! FOR THOSE WHO DOUBT IT, I HAVE THIS QUOTE, SPOKEN BY ROMAN POLANSKI HIMSELF:

"If I had killed somebody, it wouldn’t have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But... fucking, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to fuck young girls. Juries want to fuck young girls. Everyone wants to fuck young girls!"

(This was reported by The Telegraph UK, having been found in an interview that Polanski did with Martin Amis, a novelist, in 1979.)

If nothing else, we've all seen enough Law & Order: SVU to know that THAT RIGHT THERE is the way a PEDOPHILE THINKS to justify THE SICK things they do! They think everyone wants to do what they do, but everyone else just won't admit it. WTH?

And for those who might think that Polanski was right to run because the judge, who had accepted his plea deal, which Polanski had agreed to on the basis that the judge would reduce his sentence, reneged on the agreement that the sentence would be reduced and instead had decided to sentence Polanski to 50 years... The judge changed his mind because he was given evidence that Polanski had raped two underage girls in Germany before and had reason to believe that, if given the chance, Polanski would do it again. Sounds like a good reason to levy maximum sentence to me. The fact that Polanski has admitted to having sex with underage girls in the years since he fled the US just makes it that much worse.

So many people that I have to put on the "Dead to Me" list now, the people who have signed the petition asking for Polanski's release from the Swiss jail in which he's currently awaiting extradition... Including Terry Gilliam, who I adored until now, and Martin Scorsese. I notice, however, that most people on the list supporting his release are French or in some way Continental European... I find that rather interesting...

Oh, and I love (read that with sarcasm, k?) that this petition says he's been arrested on a 30 year old warrant in which he's charged "in a case of morals"... Nice euphemism for "child rape"? As if the rape of a child is not a generally abhorrent thing and it's all a matter of Americans being Puritanical prudes. Really, WTH?!? DIAF!

Another awesome article that obviously does not miss the point of all this at all. YAY! for SALON!

And I would like to say to Whoopi Goldberg, who clarified her "but I don't believe it was rape-rape" statement earlier today: You need to get your facts straight before you open your mouth. Polanski plead guilty to the lesser charge of "unlawful sex with a minor" in a plea deal. He would have been charged with and tried for "aggrivated rape" - which certainly is "rape-rape," as you put it - if he hadn't plead out. And if you read the transcripts of the victim's grand jury testimony, it is very obvious that what he did was aggrivated, violent rape of a 13 year old girl. The DA offered the deal to spare the child further anguish by having to go through what would have been a high-profile trial at a time when there were no protections for victims like there are today. There's no mitigation or down-playing of Polanski's crime, no matter to what he formally plead guilty.

Also: See this open letter to the signers of this petition and consider passing it on. This deserves to become viral on the internet and I hope every single one of the signers of the Polanski supporters' petition sees this letter and the comments.

As of 2:30am September 1st, the following people I once respected have signed the petition for Polanski's release:

Darren Aronofsky (husband of Rachel Weisz), Ethan Coen (one half of the Coen Brothers), Penelope Cruz (yeah, you read that right), Alfonso Cuaron (the director of Prisoner of Azkaban), Guillermo del Toro (damn it, and I wanted to see The Hobbit), Terry Gilliam (of Monte Python), David Lynch (who did Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive), Brett Ratner (the shit director who ruined X-Men: the Last Stand), Martin Scorsese (who needs no introduction), Tilda Swinton (The White Witch in Narnia), Sam Mendes (Kate Winslet's husband), and Woody Allen (who I never respected, ever, but who isn't a surprise to the point that it's a freaking joke...)...

OMG, Shoes! ... And Shows...

I love shoes. Even if most of the time I like my feet bare, I still have an uncontrollable, irrational lust for cute, hot, trendy, hot shoes.

I bought some today. Seychelles. "Our Heroine."



That's the best photo I can get with my camera phone.

They're pretty much exactly like shoes that they are selling at Target, except these have brass hardware instead of pewter colored hardware, and these are real leather instead of evil PVC. \o/

In other news: Am currently watching Bones. I gave up on The Vampire Diaries after last week. It's set in a small town in rural Virginia, and yet NO ONE speaks with even a hint of a Southern accent... in fact, everyone speaks as if they're from Los Angeles. That's the tip of the iceberg of the things that are wrong with that show, but that was the thing that pushed me from "fun to mock how bad this is" to "now, they're just being excessively ridiculous."

Supernatural is on next!!! :D Hot shoes and Supernatural! I feel like it's my birthday or something...

I don't like Joe Wilson as much as anyone...

I totally agree that he was censured in the House today. I think he should apologize before the House too. It's not playing politics to censure him. He did an awful, awful thing during the President's speech. I said at the time that it was potentially racially motivated because I don't believe anyone would have done that to any previous president... whether that is because things are just so extreme right now, or because it truly did happen because the President is black and Joe Wilson is a racist, I can't say for sure.

But I do not like what Chris Matthews is doing. Saying that Joe Wilson is "playing Johnny Reb" by purposefully trying to stir things up to distract everyone from the real issue of health care, and trying to steer discussions on his MSNBC show toward what Joe Wilson's politics might be about the Confederacy and the Battle Flag, and suggesting that because Joe Wilson is from South Carolina everyone from South Carolina is racist, when that is very much not the case. Joe Wilson might be a lot of things - and I don't know that Chris is entirely wrong in his suggestions toward Joe Wilson's personal racism, I just wish Chris would be more specific with his evidence instead of just spouting innuendo and including all of South Carolina and all of the South in his slurs. Icwhutudidthar, Chris... and I don't approve. Because, honestly, you're doing exactly what you accused Joe Wilson of trying to do today - distracting from the real issues at hand. Stop being divisive, Chris! It weakens the argument and the Republicans do that enough for everyone... And the same goes for the rest of the Yankee media who seem to be really liking the idea that it's all a matter of people from the South just generally being ignorant, racist hicks. We're not. Thanks. I mean, some are, but I think the matter is being overstated and exaggerated.

I know what President Carter has said about the South. I would like to point out that he's of an older generation (like my grandmother who said last November that she wouldn't vote for Obama, despite the fact that the rest of us were, because "black people aren't as smart as white people"... *headdesk* Yes, we don't listen to what she has to say on such issues, and we realize she's living in 1932...), and might not be seeing the changes in the younger, mainstream Southern culture because he's looking for the way things used to be and finding that in some places (as Lincoln said, "If you look for the bad in people, expecting to find it, you surely will."). Sure, racism in the South still exists - I mean, duh - but is it pervasive and insidious like it once was? I don't see that it is.

Racism also doesn't occur just in the South. It also exists in New York, and Connecticut, and Wisconsin, and Vermont, and Arizona, and California - it occurs everywhere... Anyone who says otherwise obviously isn't paying attention, or purposely ignoring evidence because it doesn't fit in with their preconceived ideas about what racism is and who is guilty of it (and this tendency by some people is something I find pretty freaking disturbing). It isn't limited to just white people being racist toward black people either, it occurs in any and every combination imaginable, and anyone who pays attention knows that. Personally, I don't see greater evidence of racism in the South than I see evidence of it anywhere else in the country, although I think racism in the South gets a lot more press (again because it plays into some people's preconceived notions). If anything, I think many people in the South are hyper-aware of race issues precisely because of the South's history, in ways that people outside of the South are not, and make an effort to not only not be a racist in actual fact, but also to not do anything that might make them appear to be a racist either.

And can we please remember that Barack Obama carried Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia - which are three Southern states (Yes, Florida counts! If we seceded once upon a time, we count.) - and that he lost South Carolina by only 9%! That's a pretty small margin for a state that's supposedly so very racist, while also being so very Republican (which I think had a lot more to do with the loss, rather than pervasive racism). I'd also like to note that North Carolina and Indiana (not a Southern state!) had the same margin in Obama's favor: 50% to 49% with 1% going to other candidates.

At the very same time, I would very much thank the "Right" if they would STOP using phrases that bring up the idea that the South is full of racists to advertise their anti-Obama products, such as the "You Lie!" bumpersticker being peddled at WorldNetDaily with the phrase "Rebel yell" as part of the advertisement (and bona dea, but they are wingnuts over there at that site!). In fact, if you're not Joe Diffy or using it in technical historical context, I really wish you wouldn't use that phrase at all.

*sighs* ... Yeah, getting back to the fight for health care now.

Because I needed another reason to hate Smithfield Foods...

So now they're probably in some part responsible for the swine flu pandemic. Nice one, guys.

I actively boycott Smithfield Foods products and all subsidiaries (and Paula Deen too... She's their celebrity spokesperson)... not that I ever bought all that much pork in any of its various forms, but now I'm quite conscientious about it.

For those who are unaware of Smithfield's dubious reputation,, check out this Rolling Stone article (be aware, there are graphic images) about the atrocious way they operate their facilities inside the US where there's supposed to be regulations to stop this flagrant corporate irresponsibility. God only knows what they do in other countries where health, safety and environmental laws (not to mention, laws for the humane treatment of animals) are not even up to our standards (which are obviously too low if Smithfield gets away with these things).

Smithfield refutes many of the claims made in this article (interestingly not my favorite part with the quotes from the guy who started the company about just how much he laughs at the EPA investigators)... However, it is interesting to note that due to at least one of the health concerns detailed in the Rolling Stone article - water contamination - North Carolina had enacted a moratorium on hog "concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFO's or "factory farms") in 1997, which was extended repeatedly until 2007 when it was allowed to expire... Not that the moratorium was particularly effective. South Carolina, Virginia and Quebec have also passed moratoriums limiting CAFOs and the methods employed at such facilities, and I know that Florida has laws detailing the amount of room a pregnant sow is supposed to be allotted (so they can't be kept in crates barely large enough for them to breath in, forget about moving, as they had been until the referendum was passed). I honestly don't know what's being done about curtailing dirty hog farming in those states right now, but I'd be willing to venture the answer is "not enough."

*cough, cough*

Well, I feel as if I dropped off the face of the earth of late. I can't sit here too long, but I want to write something so I'll be brief.

I have the flu. I missed three days of work this week, but I should be able to go Monday. I'm getting better, but slowly. I also think I might have bursitis and/or tendinitis possibly in several location in my right hip (based on quite a lot of research this week while I've had little else to do). I went to the doctor last weekend about it, but the doctor wasn't in, so I had to see a NP. No offense to those out there who have taken that path in life, but NPs are and always have been utterly useless to me in private practice. They always tell me I have something I don't have and invariably misdiagnose me and then it has to be correctly diagnosed by the doctor at a later date. This time, it was no different. I won't go in to all of it because it makes me far too angry and I really want to scream at the woman what an idiot she is. Just one of the many things she did wrong, was that she gave me a prescription for the same GERD meds I've been taking over the counter that aren't working for me, but she didn't tell me that's what she had done because they have a different name by prescription. The only real difference is that they charge about 10 times as much for it. This after I explained to her what I had been taking and that it didn't work and I needed something else. Can we say, why do you have a job? I think we can. The NPs who work at CVS though, what gems they are. Always very knowledgable, polite and helpful. So as soon as I have a day free from working, I have to make an appointment with an actual doctor and go back to find out what's really wrong with my hip, as well as this stomach pain that my doctor has previously told me is scar tissue in my duodenum... Only problem is that the duodenum is higher up. The location is classic for the start of chronic appendicitis. I think I might have to demand some actual tests rather than just relying on his guesses. An ultrasound. Some blood tests. Something. Or maybe I should find a new doctor. That's a possibility too. *sighs*

As far as the flu goes, I'm mostly just coughing and sniffling now, but I don't want to get sick again so I'm taking it easy this weekend until I'm sure it's well and truly going away...

My hip is why I can't sit here for long. It hurts to sit at the computer. I don't know if it's the height of the desk, the chair or what, but I just can't do it. I also wonder if I originally hurt my hip by spinning too long and too vigorously. I wonder if others have had similar injury. Because the NP didn't believe me and looked at me like I was the stupidiest person ever to come in to her exam room. Hey, just because I don't get my repetitive motion injuries by typing, ballet dancing or running marathons, doesn't mean they aren't real, lady.

In other news, I have only the toe of the first of Jensen's socks to do. I'm waiting on pictures of his feet. ... Yeah, pictures of his feet. I want to know wheather he has particularly broad toes or not. I also got the handcards I ordered. Can't remember if I mentioned that or not. They're nice. I've been blending some of the alpaca Ilana sent me with some lambswool that wasn't carded to my liking and was difficult to spin on its own. It's fluffy and beautiful.

The garden is doing very well. With the flu, I haven't been able to be out in it at all since last Sunday, but it's doing all right. My dad's been watering for me, and that's really all it's needed. There's a lot that should be done, but nothing that absolutely must be done for at least another week, which should give me enough time to finish getting over this flu.

The new issue of MaryJane's Farm came in the mail today. It is beautious and filled with gardening stuff and recipes. *my eyes are all aglitter* Especially interesting to me is the article on people who are turning their front yards into vegetable gardens. What a fantastic idea that is for those who have soil in that location that will work for them. Us... all our good soil is in the back. Oh, sure, we could always amend the soil in the front to get it up to snuff too, and we are for the flower beds that are already established, but our front yard is the size of most people's back yards, so a full-scale effort there is not going to happen any time soon. Still, I had my friend Joe help me out today by putting down new top soil in one of the beds and planting it with the summer and winter squash seedlings that I never found room for out back. Now there are some of all varieties in both locations. :D

*headdesk* Seriously?

This is what some people are worried about right now?



Georgia legistlators who are upset about these Georgia State University classes... You fail. Sorry. You just do.

Updates and New Years...

It's almost New Year's Eve, today being December 30th... Today is my sister Heather's birthday. She is 13. YAY! Happy birthday, Heckie!

I've been spinning my "wine" Ashland Bay merino. Another 98 yards of worsted. It's all yarn now, no more of that roving left. I think a beret/slouch hat for myself... But this seems to be my answer for every bit of yarn I get my hands on nowadays, so who knows what it will end up being. If I'm not careful I'll spin all my stash before NaSpinMoMo on Ravelry... That's a lie... I don't think it's possible with the leaps and bounds my stash has grown by in the last month, and will continue to do so for at least a week longer, most likely (keep reading)...

I brought three knitting projects with me on vacation - I can't remember if I mentioned this before - and when I sat down to start at least one of them last week, I found I have no needles with me for any of them, despite the fact that I've brought all my knitting needles with me. And despite the fact that there is an LYS somewhere near here, I've yet to get over to it when it's open to buy some needles of the correct type and size. Fail, Rachael, fail.

But that's okay because I've found other things to do with my time. Like trolling etsy and ebay for pretty things. I've ordered four rovings, and alchemied another one on etsy (because i just couldn't find what I wanted in the right color/fiber). *facepalm* What was that about not increasing my stash until I had knit it down? That's okay though (*shifty eyes*) because this stuff is for very specific projects. At least that's the intent. I want to make socks for the boys... Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, that is. In their favorite colors. Stripes. Some thick socks to wear on cold days in their trailers or in their house while playing Guitar Hero or whatever it is that they do... Why not. I'm going to aim for a dk or worsted weight and I don't expect that to be too very difficult. I'm also making them matching hats (hats that will match their respective socks, not hats that match each other's). Yes, more hats. Don't judge me. Of course, I have no idea when I'll finish these or when I'll give them to the boys because I don't expect to go to any more conventions any time soon. Susan wants me to come with her to the Vancouver one perhaps, and while Vancouver is beautiful, I have no money for a con that expensive in my hometown, let alone one that will require the addition of round-trip cross-continental, international airfare costs. So maybe I'll give them to Jared at EyeCon again. A day ticket there, I can swing that if I really want to... I just wish they'd up their security and have the damn thing at a time of year when Jensen would maybe want to come too... But I totally understand why he doesn't and if I were him, I don't think I would either. Not that I fault Jared for coming... I guess what I mean to say is, I can see why Jared wants to come to the EyeCon conventions and I can see why Jensen doesn't and I totally support their decisions and think it's perfectly right for them to do what they do... So, yeah... Superwash roving for socks, regular roving for hats. Ordered and on its way here...

Other than that, today I'm just waiting for my parents to get here. They're on their way back from the cabin to where we live in Florida and on their way through SC, they are stopping by the Burough. They should be here any minute...

And that's about it... So if I don't get a chance to say so before then: Happy New Year! May it be a year full or rewards, love, understanding and peace.

SOB!

God damn President Bush and his cronies to Hell for this, if such a place should exist... which I don't really believe it does, but I sincerely mean that for the love of all that's Holy. Something that makes them sorry for what they're doing needs to happen to them, and since Divine Retribution seems more likely than anything else, I must petition for that. Look at what he's doing now!!!! And what the EPA is letting him do!! Stupid useless tool of the Big Polluters that the EPA is... People who work at the EPA, who are in charge of rubber stamping this, you should be extremely ashamed of yourselves for your betrayal of your purpose, the American people, and your children. I'm sure you're not at all ashamed, but karma will remember you, I hope.

Why can't Bush just sit on his hands for his last weeks in office? Surely he knows how much the country and the world hate him and that something like this will not endear him to anyone except the coal companies??? But perhaps I've answered my own question and Bush has fat retirement plans to get to courtesy of some corrupt indulgence from the coal companies themselves, if he just makes sure that this gets through while he's the lamest duck to ever be lame, huh? Idiote! (Because I have to link to something that makes me laugh... This post is otherwise too infuriating.)

More Supernatural Spoilers, Ilana...

I wouldn't say a word, but I just have to.

Dear Eric Kripke:

I, and I'm sure many other fans as well, would very much appreciate it if you would consult the Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test before writing female characters ever again. I'm not kidding. Anna was terrible. I can't remember the last time I saw a more ridiculous female character on screen.

Now, please understand, I loved Jo, Ellen, Missouri, Mary, Jess, Pam, Ava and many of the other female characters who have been written for the show. I grew to see the purpose of Bela, and by the end of the season, I didn't mind her so much. Even Ruby isn't so bad, though I still don't trust her. So it's not that I hate female characters. Far from it. But Anna scored a whopping 58 on this test, which qualifies her to be killed dead. I feel like you've just wasted two episodes here on tripe and I want to know what the hell the point of that was supposed to be. I don't mean that at all in a good way.

Seriously, Kripke, please just let Sera Gamble write the show. This episode was awful, and at least last week had some redeeming moments due to Sera's genius and wit. Fifth Element, yeah, okay, I guess. But other than the resounding amazingness that is Jensen, Jared and Misha, I kind of unequivocally hated "Heaven and Hell."

Also, the Impala? Really? You needed to desecrate it for a re-enactment of Jack and Rose's love scene from Titanic like that? Really?

I do, however, like Ruby a little bit more than I did after these episodes. Just a little. And Genevieve's acting is getting better, week by week.

Signed,
Not Impressed

Le sigh...

So the Shetland might not work out. Even though I inquired ahead of time and was told that the Shetland in question was not from Louet, after I bought it, the seller rechecked their suppliers and indeed the Shetland is from Louet after all... So I might have a reaction to it. He is giving me a refund for that portion of my order and he's sending me samples of the Shetland with the Merino and Falkland so I can test it. But this will delay my package going out until Monday, so I won't get the fiber earlier than Wednesday but Thursday is more likely. If the Shetland falls through, he does have some nice looking alpaca in the right colors from Ashland Bay and Peace of Yarns, so I'll give that a shot. I like alpaca...

Because I'm not tired yet...

(though I hope to be shortly) and I'm trying to distract myself from the fact that the roving I ordered did not work out for me to spin (I am allergic to Louet brand roving... who knew?), but I'm sure Ilana will enjoy it and have better luck... I'm going to ramble a bit about things not very important in the grand scheme, but currently relevant to myself... Jewelry, fashion, colors and the coalescence thereof...

So... I have an awesome blouse I bought a few months ago. I had a coupon for a free $30 at Lane Bryant, I needed several shirts for the High Holy Days, it fit well, the color wasn't vile, I bought it. It was about $11 after discounts were applied. I love shopping wins. Plus it's 100% cotton, no petroleum-based synthetics - FTTW! I didn't think much of it at the time, it was just something I could buy to fill an immediate need and hole in my wardrobe. I have since fallen in love with it. It's a midnight sky blue. It has... not Swiss dots (since those are embroidered in) but something very close to them woven into the fabric and ever so slightly puffed sleeves. It goes with my coral necklace that I asked my sister to make for me because such color combos are IN according to the people who decide these things, as portrayed in the film and novel "The Devil Wears Prada." (Also, they say that bold, "statement" jewelry is the thing. And will continue to be the thing for at least the next year.) I am in love. Honestly, it is my favorite outfit right now and I fully intend to wear it half to death before Spring when it might be out of style. *nods sagely*

The coral necklace came to me one day in July. I was gazing at some coral beads in a bead shop and I thought I usually hate wearing such a bold red, but omg, those would make a pretty necklace! But I wavered on it for a few weeks and didn't buy the beads until almost September because until then I didn't have a vision of what I might want the necklace to look like. But I did buy them and had them sent to my sister and told her I just had to have some fabulous 18" long necklace made with them (and maybe some silver spacers). And she, being the talented, totally genius lapidary artist she is, did just that, as you can see by following the hotlink above. (If anyone reading this feels they must have one just like it, please do contact her through that page and inquire. She is always happy to make additional copies of an item, and I'm fairly certain she still has some of the same beads left.)

And what happens... Bright red is one of the "top" "IT" colors of the Fall '08/Winter '09 fashion season according to Pantone, who are apparently those IT people ultimately responsible for the why fashion colors are significant/cerulean sweater scene in "The Devil Wears Prada." I didn't know that at all going in. I just thought, omg, I love those red coral beads! Must have! Because I don't really pay attention to things like that until clothes are in stores and people are wearing them. I buy what I like because I like it. Or I buy what I don't totally like but find acceptable at the time because I need something for a specific purpose. I don't usually plan ahead. Especially accessories, which are almost always an after thought, if they're thought of at all.

So because I called the red so well for something I just had to have for the Fall/Winter this year... not really caring, except that I sorta do, I'm trying to figure out what I just have to have made for the Spring/Summer in '09... This is what happens now that I fully intend to take advantage of the fact that my sister is a jewelry-making goddess... I found some lovely deep sky blue turquoise 6mm rounds at Michaels (on clearance, the silly people!) the other day. Snatched those up and am now plotting. I have no idea what I want done with them, but they are so very pretty... I may go back and buy more... Maybe a really long, loopy, drapey necklace...? I dunno...

I also want a hamsa necklace SO bad! I don't have one! I find that shocking and wrong! I don't know what color I'll have that put together with when I find a pendant... Maybe many colors? In a trade-bead sort of look, except not because I'm not terribly fond of trade-beads... Although, maybe evil-eye beads? I dunno yet... I still haven't been able to find a hamsa in stores, only online, and they tend to be kinda pricy... like as much as I usually pay for all the beads and/or finished necklace altogether... and I find that shocking and wrong too... Because apparently, "ethnic" inspired jewelry of the Middle Eastern/African/Asian/Indian variety is going to be the thing in fashion jewelry (in addition to the bold stuff) this next year... So where are the hamsas in stores? Because we wants it precious, yeas, we do...

To continue the list of jewelry-wants, I'm coveting my mom's pearl necklace that she got from Lara... If Lara has another 26 pearls left, I might just have to ask her to make yet another one for me... Mom let me wear it because it was required for an outfit I wore to synagogue several weeks ago, and it looked so good and I felt to very chic! So now, I want one myself... Although, I'm sure Mom will let me borrow it anytime because she's awesome like that...

Just to note, colors I'm really feeling good about right now (in no particular order): true red, aqua, robin's egg, Tiffany blue, London topaz, midnight sky blue (although apparently Pantone is calling it "Twilight Blue"), indigo, navy, autumn sky blue, turquoise, aubergine, amethyst, bottle green, slightly-on-the-blue-side grass green, forest green...

Meanwhile, I need to go back to the drawing board for some of my planned Holiday gifts, revise and start the search for appropriate roving again... Ah, well... I'm sure it will work out. I'm thinking now black, white and gray Shetland will serve for my immediate needs and I'll worry about colored rovings once those are squared away.

Well, crap... and yet, yay!

We'll start with the crap: We had a storm at my house a few hours ago. Really terrible thunderstorm... the windows would shake from the thunder and it sounded like it was right on top of us. So, naturally, I shut my computer off and took a nap. What else is there to do when it rains like that? Well, the power went out for a few minutes, and even though I have a surge protector on my computer, the power surge we got just before seems to have fried the monitor. The monitor is completely dead. So no monitor on my computer just now. Am having to use the laptop. Can't watch all the Doctor Who I got earlier this week either. :-( Very sad about that as I've been drowning in the Doctor for the last three days. Got up to the third episode of the second season.

Also, it is now only by the grace of my parents' most supreme generosity that I'm going to get to go to EyeCon on Sunday (not this Sunday - the 28th) to see Jared's Q&A and so I can give him the hats I made for him and Jensen, and get a new monitor so my computer will be usable once again. We very unfortunately don't have any old monitors lying around. We used to, but the last of the old monitors was given to Good Will about 6 months ago. Ah well, lord knows they put it to better use.

But YAY, it looks like I will be able to go to see Jared at EyeCon. Some of my friends from school will be coming too, with luck.

Also, on the job front, looks like I have all my i's dotted and t's crossed and I'm just waiting for USF to send me my transcripts to send in with my application. Once that's done and the application is sent, the rest will hopefully go smoothly and by October I will finally be working. In the meantime, I'm thinking of volunteering for Obama's campaign...

But the best YAY! today has of course been getting the package that Ilana sent me! YAY!!! She sent blueberry jelly (YUM!!), two yummy soaps that smell good enough to eat, and earrings that her mom made. The earrings are very pretty. Little freshwater potato pearls that are "peas" inside silver pea-pods! So cute!!! :D

Also, according to the news, Obama is gaining in the polls in West Virginia (and in Florida too). Still not winning (yet), but not slipping. YAY! Looks like your volunteering is helping, Ilana! :D

New Knitty, New Day!

I slept most of today because my brother was freaking the hell out over the end of the world due to the particle accelerator outside Geneva and that made me freak out too and stay up to watch the sunrise. I hate it when this happens. My sleeping was already messed up, but now it's just really messed up. I think I'm going to try to see if I can take a nap sometime tonight, get up early in the AM and stay up all tomorrow like normal people do, and then I'll sleep normally tomorrow night. I really need a job so I can't do stuff like this anymore... Working on that. I went to see Prof. M yesterday to visit and to ask if she'd be a reference for me, which she was more than happy to do. Now, I just need to get a copy of my transcript, and get ahold of my next door neighbor, who's a neurosurgeon and so very diffiuclt lately to catch at home, to be my other reference, and I can send in the job application. Mission tonight, write an e-mail to my neighbor and order a transcript online if possible.

Anyway, a new Knitty was published today.

There are pretty patterns...

I especially like Versatility... It's like Wisp and Convertible, both of which I also like. Never made Convertible, but I did make Wisp... I just need buttons for it and to block it again because I screwed it up the first time.

Camden is interesting... I like the long fingerless mitts being able to be attached to the short-sleeved sweater. Makes it very versatile. And using KnitPicks yarn makes it much cheaper to make than most of the sweater patterns at Knitty...

Kinetic is fascinating!

Slither? I wants it, precious, yeas... I'm probably more likely to make these than something like Camden because it takes less time (I would hope)... Although I probably won't end up making either simply because I'm lucky if I ever finish anything for myself. LOL! Like many knitters, I make things for other people with much higher frequency than I make things for myself.

Hug is whimsical and delightful, if slightly disturbing... And Tatiana is also whimsical and made of love, but impractical for me since I'd never get any use out of them

Waves of Grain is so beautiful! I love it! I also love Abby. So pretty (and handspun)! I'd love to make either of these for my sister Lara. I think they would suit her so well! I think she'd also love Maple, and it's so on my list for the next time I just have to felt something and am brave enough to try colorwork again...

Garden Gate is gorgeous! But I'm no where near brave enough to attempt them. Baroque, though, looks exciting, and I am seriously tempted to try making those.

I definitely think I can find some handspun in my stash to make Oncleows with! Too cute!! And perhaps I'll be more likely to wear shorter skirts and capris more often to show them off.

OpArt! Is so on my list of things to make for my niece! I know Tim Burton will eventually come into her life, and this is wonderfully Tim Burton-esque without being so scary. LOL!

And cool features...

I think I need this from Knitty's list of Cool Stuff: Bramble. My friend Laura would freak out if she got one of these for her birthday! :D And OMG - look at these cute things at this person's Etsy!

Awesome 1840's knitted nightcap, translated pattern. YAY! :D

And silk reeling... tempting, very interesting, but I think I've got enough fiber related hobbies at the moment.

Tendinitis, terrible thunder storms, road rage, ruined yarn and still mostly a nice day...

Can't remember if i wrote on here or not... I'm afflicted with tendinitis at the moment, due to too much knitting too fast. really, it was only one day of too much too fast, over a week ago, and still, can't tempt it apparently. It was feeling better, so I forgot to wear my brace when i went out today, drove all afternoon and so now it's back again. and the brace is making capitalizations and typing in general rather hit or miss. but it doesn't hurt to type, since typing wasn't what caused the injury, the muscles and tendons don't move in quite the same way. Driving didn't either, but it hurts after doing a lot of it because i guess i hold my wrist at an odd angle while driving.

it's been horribly stormy all day and into the night. the roads are wet and visibility is questionable sometimes. so i was driving home from the citrus park area, turning right onto a road where you can't turn right on red because visibility to the left is obscured by the odd angle of the intersection, even on a good and bright day, let alone a rainy, totally dark night and there are two signs that say so, plain as day, one hanging next to the traffic signal and one right next to where the cars stop in the turn lane. So I'm waiting... waiting... and waiting some more for the green light. A white truck pulls up behind me, starts honking his horn after i don't move (cuz... uh... waiting, like the sign says to), and then some more, and then he just leans on it. Then the cars behind him start up. i don't know, maybe they didn't care it was a no-right-turn-on-red stop either, or they couldn't see the sign from where they were or they were honking at the asshole to stop his whinging. *sighs* Well, i went because i could actually see well enough to tell that the road was clear, because the guy was being so damn insistent and as i was speeding up to the speed limit, the white truck guy sped around and past me, after getting up on my bumper, honking his horn and flipping me the bird, and i could see the profile of his face, he was yelling at me. i know he couldn't see me because of the dark and the angle of the street lights, but i flipped it right back at him and told him to go fuck himself. i was pissed. I don't get pissed often, but when i do, watch the fuck out. i tried to speed up and catch him, but maria, my friend who was in the passenger seat, told me not to and to let him go, so i did. i didn't want to, but i did. i was hoping for a red light ahead of us so i could pull up right behind him and lean on my horn, danger be damned. he needed to feel my wrath. but alas, no. he sped off into the night, at what had to be about 55 or 60 mph (in a 45 zone), judging by how fast he was accelerating compared to me, weaving in and out between other cars, at night, with rain coming down and the roads slick. Him = Not Too Smart! no one needs to go somewhere that much, i don't care what. so, I'm hoping and praying karma kitty catches up with him and he either gets a fat ticket or wraps his truck around a tree for his rude and reckless behavior. something tells me he needs to be told by the universe to slow the fuck down and maybe a nice little accident will knock his head loose from his ass. who knows? the rest of us might get that lucky...

*sighs* so I came home and, in my idle rage, I looked up some hoodoo curses. There's nothing i can possibly do that wouldn't possibly kill him, since I don't have anything personal of his to make him sick... Pretty my only curse option would be to bury an effigy meant to represent him in a graveyard, and if it worked, he'd die in a karmicly appropriate sort of way. and that, now that I've calmed down, seems a bit extreme. No joke...

... But! i did finally remember to link this HooDoo website I've found quite useful for answering questions about Supernatural in the right hand column. Fascinating stuff, that... I think it's very interesting that, unlike other similar belief systems where magic and spellwork is a major part of it, cursing with malicious intent seems to be a recognized and not-at-all-discouraged part of hoodoo... in fact, it seems to be a rather large component. And the negativity doesn't get reflected back onto the person who works such curses... The curses seem to be regarded as fully deserved by those who are cursed. Hoodoo seems rather unique in this respect. Perhaps the system works this way to give individuals that feel they've been wronged activities to perform in order to have their grievances redressed, to channel their rage constructively without resorting to actual violent action, but at the same time acknowedging that they have every right to be angry and want revenge... I don't know... random, spontaneous thoughts...

Also, at the moment I want to get some witch bottles for my windows, just because... I'm curious though if I'm supposed to put anything in them if i just put them in the windows. it only says what to put in them if they are to by buried under a threshold. i guess they're kinda like dream catchers, in that they capture non-corporeal things that might want to do harm, but they're glass and sparkly instead of made of string and pretty woven things...

So when i got home (and part of why by the time i got on the computer i was still pissed enough to look up curses), i found all my good yarn that had been in closed bags on what i thought was (and up til now had proven to be) an inaccessible shelf pulled down and ripped apart and wound all around the living room by the cats. I'm mean, really, this had all been up there for an entire year and none of the cats even attempted to get to the shelf before because it's at a very odd angle from all the places they could jump. But tonight, at least one of them got adventurous. Probably Amaya. :/ Not cool, man! So I had to clean all that up. The good news is that only two balls are now ruined to the point where i can't use them for what they had been intended. unfortunately they were two that i really needed and will be rather costly to replace (well, really any of them would be somewhat costly to replace). so I'm thinking of not replacing them and using/doing something else. i was lucky that the two balls of Kidsilk Haze survived, as well as the one Cotton Wool and one Felted Tweed were mostly undamaged. even so, the Calmer, which was intended for Susan's Christmas present, and the Summer Tweed, which had been intended to finish Zinzi's long over-due Dashing mitts, are broken up with huge sections shredded or the fibers are so weakened by cat teeth that they just can't be used. *sighs* so frustrating. so i don't know what I'll do about the calmer yet, but i came across an interesting pattern last week that i think i might be able to do for zinzi's mitts and they'll work out even better than the previous idea. Maybe with Andean Silk, Main Line, or Shine Worsted. I'm leaning more toward the Shine Worsted because it's a cotton-blend... because I'm afraid of triggering an allergic reactions for her with some of the animal-derived fibers (it's why i picked the summer tweed, which is cotton-silk, in the first place). Just in case. Obviously, I've been thinking about this... So perhaps the incident with the cats was a fortunate accident. So, Miss Zinzi, if you're reading this, what colors would you prefer? Purples still your cup o' tea? If so, then perhaps the Crocus, Wisteria or Bachelor Buttons of the Shine Worsted yarn? If not, then please, what colors are you feeling for your mitts?

Overall, however, today was a good day. Went out with Maria and Laura for pizza, then to the bookstore for studying for GRE/GKT/State Department tests respectively... got some of that done (*shifty eyes*), checked out magazines, and then got more pizza at Mellow Mushroom for dinner... Today was a pizza kind of day. Veggie pizza. *nods sagely*

Crafty things... :D

Since the cabin being finished keeps being delayed, and now we can't leave Tampa until June 30th at the earliest (ARGHH!!!), I've had to keep myself distracted and busy so as not to loose my mind with frustration and idle waiting... So... I've been crafty...

I finished the hat that I'm making for Jared Padalecki...



It's done with the same pattern I used for the hat I made for Jensen, but I changed colors, as you can see... The black is 100% fine natural black merino wool, and the green is Colonial wool that I got from coppermoose on ebay. I had to keep the green off areas that would touch skin because it's kinda itchy, though the color is lovely... so that informed how I arranged the colors. The black is also double-knit above where the brim folds over, so the hat should be pretty warm, in a good way. Overall, it weighs in at a hefty 6 ounces, due to the heavier merino that is double-knit.

I also made pillows...



They are done with cut-out pre-printed pillow shapes. All I had to do was take batting, quilt each side by machine and then put the sides together and stuff them. I used Nature-fil Bamboo fiber... and I wonder if the left over is spinable... *is plotting* It's about $12 - $14 for 12 ounces of the stuff, so if it is spinable, that is really good. :D

Finally, I made onesies for my niece, Sophie. (And by "made," I mean I ironed on t-shirt transfers.) Her birthday is coming up in August, and like the good aunt I am, I plan to spoil her with presents...

These first two don't have designs on the back.



But the rest do have backs...




YAY! :D

Random stuff...

Got nothing particularly interesting to report... We lost power the other day and since then my computer won't turn on. I'm taking it to get looked at by professionals today. Hopefully, they'll figure out what's wrong quickly. I'm sorta getting used to this laptop my parents are letting me use, but I miss my computer and all my files.

We all know that Jared Padalecki's having a hard time right now, so if you haven't already, go give him your love and support over here. He will read it. *nods, nods* We think...

Also, I cannot find the yarn for making Jared's hat! This is not good. I need to find it. I wanted to have it all finished by the time they go back to set so I can send the hats to both of them at the same time. I also need to get my computer back because the patterns are all on there. I might have printed out the one that I was going to use for Jared's hat, and if I did, it's with the yarn. But I've been looking for it all night and I can't find it anywhere. Will continue searching...

When I haven't been searching for the yarn, cleaning or doing dishes, I've been watching videos from the Dallas Convention on YouTube. LOL! Looks like everyone had a real good time, as usual. And I hope being with the fans helped Jared at least a little bit.

I wish I could go to EyeCon in September. We'll see if that works out...

In other news, I think I'm addicted to this yummy organic chai Ilana sent me. And I usually hate chai, but this stuff is really good. It's called Numi "Golden Chai". Really good stuff... and I've used it all up... *sad face* On a happier note, I've been using the soap Ilana also sent, and it is yummy. I love how much it lathers, and it really does work very well as shampoo! I'm ashamed to say it, but I was really surprised at how well, never having used a solid shampoo before... Very cool, Ilana!

Bones - season finale

That was the most not cool thing I have ever seen. I think I hate this show now and will never watch it again. It fails more than LOST. At least LOST's decline was slow and steady and I eventually stopped caring after months of mediocrity and ridiculous plots. Bones just... failed instantly and in one episode. The last episode before a long hiatus, at the end of which I won't give a damn what happens to any of these characters ever again. There is one and only one way to save this and that is if that whole episode was a dream and didn't actually happen. Because there wasn't one thing that was right or good about it.