Welcome back Stonekettle Station and Jim Wright

Jim Wright and Stonekettle Station are again with us. I just want to thank him for allowing us to continue to read a most enlightened and enlightening view point.  No, I am not Republican, though I have been known to vote that way. I am a registered Democrat because (hey, I'm in the swamps of Louisiana, here) when I first registered you had to claim your party. I came from a family of conservative Democrats so I said Democrat. Yet, I have voted Republican when I felt they were the right choice. I try to choose based on the greater good for the state. Sometimes that doesn't work out so well.

Stonekettle Station, while I may not agree with everything he says, gives me another viewpoint. A well researched and based also from personal experience side, which I can actually understand. Just a notice that there is profanity and may be NSFW. I still think everything he writes will give you a different look and a lot of food for thought than any sanitized and/or sensationalized news station. He's also funny and that is a bonus.

Love and Light

"War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"

I grew up during the '50's and came of age during the '60's. I like to think of myself as a flower child - you know, peace and love, and all that. I was against the Viet Nam war--sorry, they called it a police action, but it was a war for my generation. I protested the mandatory draft, the government that instituted it, and the fact that we really had no choice but to go. OK, there were a couple of other choices; stay in college or dodge the draft and leave the country. Earn a degree to avoid it? No problem, good for you. A very few were allowed Conscientious Objector status and that was ok with me, because they went through a lot to earn that status and quite frankly, I cannot kill things myself. Ok, mosquitoes and roaches, yeah, but nothing else, and I can understand that status.

But, leave the United States to dodge the draft? Then you willingly gave up your citizenship and your right to our freedoms that were earned with the blood of those who fought for and believed in them, and the right to return to said freedoms when the fighting was done. I never did agree with the blanket amnesty given to draft dodgers, allowing them to return to freedoms they had refused to defend, with no consequences. I know many will deny, ridicule and hate me for that belief, but that is my choice and their beliefs are not really my problem. I watched my older brother, an Uncle, some cousins and many of my friends go to that war. Some came back to us, some never came home and some did not make it back intact, whether physically or mentally. I may have hated that war but I could never hate the guys who had to go fight it. They went. They fought. They were Americans and patriots, even when they did not understand why they were going or what, exactly, they were fighting for. I now have a nephew and his wife in the Navy defending our freedoms, and I am so very, very proud of them and their willingness to put themselves in the front lines and allow me continued freedom. But I do not like the politicians and warmongers who have put them there, for these people are giving nothing of their lives to send our troops out to fight other countries wars. Yes, I believe we should defend America and American's first. That does make me an Isolationist and I am also aware that is only a small proportion of the public and one not very well liked. But I still have that freedom that so many have fought and died for, to believe that.

Long intro to lead you to a truly awesome writer. There was a song by Edwin Starr and a saying during the Viet Nam war, "War, what is is good for?" The response, of course, is "Absolutely nothing." This concept was explored and explained by Jim Wright in a truly moving post. For the moment http://www.stonekettle.com/ is off-line because of a shameful theft of Jim Wright's work, but the article that is still up should be read. I think he is one hell of a fine writer and the theft needs to be understood from Mr. Wright's point of view. And while you are at it, about a third of the way down the page are legitimate links to the post stolen. It is most definitely worth reading...and from a legitimate site, not a stolen one. I can only hope it touches you as it did me.

love and light,
kathleen

"blinks" really?

I do not look at my Ravelry profile page very often. The last time I looked, I couldn't see my blog (like it has many posts) and somewhere I read that one needs some gadget or other to see it...a feed reader? I resigned myself to never seeing my blog actually in the nice little corner reserved for it. Today? I went to edit something on it (my colour preferences and I just added more to it), and wow! my little blog was up there in its' special corner.

 No, as far as I know, I never added a feed reader but, windows updated the other day and Casey - our Code Monkey and co-founder of the site, and Christine - oharethey, our other coder are always tweaking to make things better. I don't know what caused it to appear, but it is there. My list of posts isn't but, hey, you can click on the piccie of the blog and get here. Good job, however it happened.

I am a Lily     What Flower Are You? "Your artistic expression tends to show up in flamboyant bursts. When you are feeling creative, it consumes your every thought and action. But just as quickly as the muse shows up, it leaves you and you are back to your relatively normal self.

Spacefem will suck you...well, me...in

You were born during a Waxing Crescent moon

This phase occurs right after the New Moon, when we can start to see part of the moon that's illuminated by the sun.

- what it says about you -


You like having a clear vision of the future, and are good at helping people set out plans to accomplish important goals.  Once you're done with a task, you're done with it.  You don't like revisiting or rehashing issues you think are settled.  You're inventive and encourage people around you to be new and different instead of copying from the past.

What phase was the moon at on your birthday?  Find out at Spacefem.com

Oh, good grief

That Rainbow Quiz! I took it one day, and since I am a bit bipolar, I went back another day to try again. Yes, two different results. However, both times it told me I depend on modern technology and might be lost without it. Yeah, right. I kept losing the rainbow when I went to post, never could get it back...numerous times! I had to keep redoing the quiz (hoping I was answering the same way) to get the rainbows back. Modern technology baffles me and that means I might be in real trouble if I am depending on/may be lost without it.

Modern technology has given me a headache.

Another day, another me

Your rainbow is strongly shaded gray and blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a tranquil person. You appreciate tradition and wisdom that comes with age. You share hobbies with friends and like trying to fit into their routines. You depend on modern technology and may feel uncomfortable without it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Original Rainbow

Oh, really? focl

Your rainbow is strongly shaded gray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are an elegant person. You appreciate tradition and wisdom that comes with age. You depend on modern technology and may feel uncomfortable without it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Why, yes, I am a bit ADD at the moment.

I am a Snapdragon     What Flower Are You? Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

iiiiii'mmmmm baaaaaaack

wow! that long ago? ok, my comp was slowly dying, i was out of work and the depression was almost overwhelming. most of that is sort of fixed now. the comp croaked and i now have a shiny new green laptop. i did get a job and i love it, even though it is considered seasonal, but that is ok, and i do have a job. the depression...getting through, getting through.

my hooping still sucketh, but mostly because the depression says when i get home, go to your room and do not leave until it is time to get up for work. i need to work on that.

i am still knitting but not as much as i would like to. that is the ADD because, of course, i hate being stuck in one place and not moving. my answer to that is to have a number of wips going at once and work on one thing for a bit, change to another....yeah, not a lot gets finished with any semblance of timeliness, but things do get finished. since i prefer to think of myself as a process knitter, not a project knitter, this is just fine. and with the comp now, maybe i can run some dvd's while knitting and that might help.

on the knitting note, i was just getting interested in a UK mag called Yarn Forward because the amazing Ysolda had a pattern i liked in it, when everything started slowly unraveling. and then everything hit the fan and good gods, the publisher/owner/whatever of that mag (along with a number of other titles) has the morals of.....nothing, apparently. i cannot link things so if you are interested, try googling KAL Media, ACM, All Craft Media, HipKnits, or Kerrie Allman. there is a lot of stuff out there, and if you belong to Ravelry go to "The Friends of the group known as..."  all i can say is, thank the gods the majority of yarnies are so not like kerrie allman. my major yarn supplier, Sundara of Sundara Yarns, is one classy lady and i thank the fates that she is the indie dyer i first started with.

one good thing i learned about from that debacle is Posh Yarns (ok, my cc does not agree, but ~shrugs~ all i can say is "oooohhh pretty yarn...WANT!"). Posh Yarns is owned and run by another very classy lady Posh Dee, aka Trudie, and her husband Tony. she is like Sundara in the early years, in that they do limited runs and omg, lol it is gonna be like the Sundara Updates...feeding frenzy! she does have specific dates for her updates, and puts up a preview the day before. Tomorrow's update will have cobweb, lace and sock yarns and there are some "me" colours up. i really think i would like to try some cobweb yarn. lol, yeah, tinier yarn than my lace. but all of my lace, except the 100% wool one i got from The Knitterman at Knitivity, is 100% silk lace. the cobweb is a merino wool and silk blend. Posh lace is mulberry silk and baby camel, superwash merino and bamboo, superwash bfl wool and silk, baby alpaca with silk and cashmere, silk and merino, and organic merino. ok, ok, i won't do the sock but, oh, my....i want. oh, Posh Yarns are also UK based so there is the exchange rate, which i think is 1.6 right now, in favor of the pound, but she is still in my balllpark range. ummm, hi, my name is kittiekat and i am a yarn snob. Sundara, some Madtosh, some SG Bugga!, Sundara, some Jaggerspun Zephyr, a bit of Kraemer Sterling Silk and Silver, Sundara, some Dream in Color Smooshy, Cascade Handpainted.... uh, huh. So, lol, now i want another snobby yarn, of course i do.

oh, my, it looks like i have missed my blogging. this is a tad long. for now, then, time to go. all the little voices in my head are starting to get noisy so i need to do something to shut them up. not sure what, but something.

love and light,
kk

drama, drama

my yarn subscription provider, Sundara Yarns, has run into some problems with this last subscription. in spite of all her checking and follow-ups, a problem has occurred at the mill. and her provider only got the notice from the mill recently. yes, this does create problems and causes unhappiness with the subscribers. in order to try to mitigate the problems, Sundara has replaced the yarn originally offered with another of higher quality, but of less yardage. she has also offered a rebate to be used on the next purchase.

and the complaints began. yes, i am disappointed. no, i am not unduly antagonistic about said substitution. one of the complaints was that if she is substituting a "higher quality" yarn, it was felt that we were originally getting "substandard yarn." i don't see that. there is always going to be a "higher quality" yarn somewhere, with a comparative "higher price" and i like the quality of yarns i get from Sundara. I don't want to spend gods-only-know-how-much to get an even higher quality yarn, because what i am getting suits me. it is high quality enough for me. and it is gorgeous yarn. a number are asking for a chance to have full refunds. ~shrugs~ their choice. i can see the problem for those who ordered a specific amount for a specific project. that does bite. i am lucky in that regard, since i had no real plans made for this yarn. these are "surprise" dyeings, and i wait to see just what colours they are before i decide on a project. i would have subscribed to the collection anyway, no matter which dk yarn was being used, as long as the price were the same.

my only complaint with the whole thing was a time limit on using the rebate coupon. we are given until the end of august. with me still on ~sob~ unemployment right now, i cannot save enough money in time to make a purchase by then. i have written Sundara about that, though i may have to wait til monday to hear from her. i am not really worried. she has one of the best customer services i have dealt with, and hopefully she can extend the deadline. best of all would be if she just gave us a third skein to make up the difference in yardage and tossed the rebate out. i know, not very practical from her side, but...dreams, ya know!

Ysolda Red at Eat.Sleep.Knit

Just a quick drive by post to give the knitters and crocheters some exciting news. Lorna's Laces has a new colourway, called "Ysolda Red," named after the fantastic young Scottish designer, Ysolda Teague. You can see and order this delightful colourway at http://www.eatsleepknit.com/cshop/category/yarn_lornaslaces/, either from this link, or click on the ESK button on the right.

I had so been looking forward to being able to order this yarn, but - i no longer have my old job, am desperately looking for a new one, and WH is trying to keep me from drawing any unemployment. SO! In the meantime, all who can, go ahead and order your "Ysolda Red" from Erin, and enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GYPSY GIRL!

you rock!

Back Again

wow! long time, no blogging. blame it on family crises, christmas and the job. speaking of christmas, my newest pressie from Lissa was a skein of Cascade Handpainted fingering yarn in Londonderry colourway. my beloved aurora borealis colours, brighter yet still the deep-toned shades. i THINK i will do Veronique Avery's Lace Ribbon Scarf. saw one in the same yarn, different colours on the Ravelry yarn pages. it, too, was a darker colour and i liked it. AND i can do it, lol. pattern is now scrunchable scarf!

not been hooping too much. i am more of a tropical weather type person and it has been COLD here. and don't tell me it is much colder in other parts of the country, 'cause i think 70 degrees F is rather chilly. but, oh, man, there is a hoop i sooooo want! it is called ~She Works Hard For The Money~ from Hoopnotica.com, of course, and is my fav green colour AND it glows in the dark. 'nuff said! now to hoard the money for it whilst also hoarding money for more Sundara yarn...oh yeah, and paying the bills ~shakes head~ soon, i hope. still stuck between the 43" and 39" sizes but atm i work better with the smaller hoop. thank all the gods that the traveling hoop can be adjusted to either size.

anyway, short post just to let people know i am still alive. finishing laundry so i can dry it and go to bed for work tonight.

k~

hooping?

from my twitter ~HOOOP!!!! shiny and blue Hoopnotica Fitness TravelHoop. uh, i can actually hoop with it, but methinks me gotta grow up to use all 6 sections~ http://www.hoopnotica.com/index.php?cPath=3 ~ copy and paste cause i cannot get it to link!!

yes, i got a hoop. my niece is a bad influence...made me start knitting again and had so much fun and peace with her hoop, i thought i might try that. said hoop arrived, was put together at the 39" size {also comes in 43". being on the short side, i choose the fitness hoop, since it encompassed both sizes ~ damn good thing, too, cause if i only had the 43" hoop i might just make a trip to texas to hit someone over the head with it...in the hoop tote! i would then give it to her but, still.....}

so, trial runs. being somewhat ambidextrous, i had to work out which side was dominate. i still have no clue but spinning to the left works. spinning about 5 rounds or so and then ... i dunno, i just lose it. down to the hips and then i manage to grab it before it lands. so. much practice. at least i am down to a 50 hour work week, so that does give me a bit more time to play.

i wanted to try this to tone up. i am ... older ... and the mirror shows flab! i don't WANT to be old and flabby. old i am gonna be no matter what, but FLABBY? thus, a solution was in order. hooping seems to fit the bill. well, eventually, when i actually learn to hoop.

knitting and hooping.....yeah, that pretty much describes my ocd/add.

~a little pick me up~

i generally try to stay up long enough for the mail to come - which can be anytime from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm - just because, lol. monday was no different, but i had decided to hit the bed early. i had stayed over at work for about 2 hours and i was t i r e d! i knew it was early but i checked anyway. oooooo, a package sitting there staring at me. hmmmm, from lissa, and squooshy. once i finally got INTO the package, i do believe i learned to squee. and that was even before i saw the BIG blocks of hershey's special dark chocolate {my favorite!!} and green & black's organic dark chocolate {my gods, it is dark and delish!} because what first fell into my hands was a skein of Dream In Color Smooshy Sock Yarn. i looked, i squoooshed and then a squee emerged. i didn't think i had that in me! but if i am gonna begin squeeing, this was the perfect item to start with. her card said she thought i would like a little pick me up. it did do that.

i stopped fondling long enough to look at the name of this gorgeous yarn and discovered i was holding a skein of Dusky Aurora. Lissa is an ENABLER! i got back into knitting when lissa turned me on to Sundara Yarns {and told me i could knit my own hogwarts scarf ~sniff~} and that is what i buy, almost exclusively. Lissa tries to broaden my yarn outlook and will send me skeins of some of her favorites. i frequently put up background Webshots of the Aurora Borealis because it is colourful and fascinating and i just like night shots - NASA, northern light night shots, even just starscapes. hell, lol, look at the colours i use here! so imagine the borealis in muted shades and you are close to what i was holding, fondling, even snuggling with a bit. of course, i HAD to start looking for patterns. i don't do socks yet. chicken of me, i know but, there ya have it. sock phobia. i do have two yarns i am saving for when i get enough courage to do socks {another lissa gift, MadTosh Sock in Ink and my Sundara Sock in Candied Violets LE,} but it isn't happening at this moment. i wanted a pattern that would showcase the colours and i also wanted it to fit my impression of the Aurora Borealis. Anne Hanson's Tudor Grace was the first pattern i picked, but it wasn't quite what i was looking for, even though i do plan to eventually make it. then i hit my OceanWind Knits patterns and i saw Waving and that was it. with the staggered yarn overs it flows, rather like the Borealis. i think i have enough yarn that i can increase the repeats to make a 12 inch wide scarf that should still be almost as long as i am tall {ok, we all know that doesn't take much. about the only things shorter than me....besides my sis, hehe... are small children and pets. ~sighs~ lissa started looking down at me when she was 12}.

if i didn't have to work tonight, i would be winding and casting on NOW! i had to make myself bag the yarn and put it close to me so i wouldn't start winding and at least swatching yesterday or i would have had no sleep for work last night. tonight is my friday so ~grins~ i have wednesday and thursday to play with it. my ~weekend~ is spoken for. yarn love, fuck the housework! and if this pattern doesn't do what i want, i think i will try Saccade's Red Skies at Night from Ravelry.

just in case i have not mentioned it, i think i have the bestest niece in the world. and she has the coolest blog, so if ya wanna, check the link on Swampwater Debutante or lissa_angeline on Twitter. {if i weren't so tech illiterate, i would link her here, but, well, i am, so this is the best i can do.}

Theodore Edward Bear

My Teddy Bear

1/17/1999-3/7/2009

One dark and stormy night...well, it was!...Theodore Edward Bear was born and fell right into my hands. After he was cleaned up, i was holding a tiny, fawn-coloured puff of fur with a white cross right in the middle of his face. i really wasn't ready for another dog. It was too soon after YoYo and Knothead. But when I heard he would be going to the pound, I had to take him.

Teddy Bear was, as near as we could tell, a chow-corgi mix. he looked like a one foot tall collie with hair 11 inches long. His dad was a golden chow and Teddy Bear had his colouring and the chow undercoat. Can we say hair mats? His underbelly fur was pure white with translucent hairs mixed in and silky soft. He loved tummy rubs, and I loved giving them to him. Why yes, he did prefer to live outside, in the dirt under the house. Yes, it was almost impossible to bathe him, but he preferred his dirt dry.

Wednesday, he was pulling me down the street during his walk. Thursday, he just went a short way before heading home. Friday, he walked across the street, then came into the yard and lay down. I put his water bowl under the house, closer to him, and worried about him all night at work. This morning, when I came in from work, I checked on him. Hardly any water was gone, and his gooshy food was untouched. We went to the Vet.

After the check-up and a heartworm test, the doctor said the best he could do was make him feel better, sort of, for a couple of weeks. The dog who would chase leaves until he caught 'em and they couldn't run away anymore? The dog who thought he should be able to climb the trees and get the squirrels, or wished he could fly so he could catch the birds? Live a few weeks longer, unable to do those things? He was snuggling in my arms, looking sad, so tired, so lethargic. He looked at me with love and trust in his eyes. His kidneys were failing, he was losing control of his bowels. With tears running down my face, I signed the paper. I held him as he crossed to the summerlands and I am still crying.

I miss my puppy

christmas? next week? ~knitting frenzy~

trying to finish up some christmas knits. looks like our two new mademoiselles shall be the only ones to get their pressies in time for the actual day. well, except for my niece - she has her's cause she is super easy to buy for. just send her some Sundara yarn! and apparently a humongous jar of Bacos? speaking of Sundara yarn, my new *season's sub/winter* just came in the mail today, and i cannot stop the touchy-feely that Sundara's yarns invite. {another reason for late pressies ~guilt-somewhat~ well, that and my totally unrealistic ideas of time management.}

and i have three days to complete the main part of my knitting cause from friday on, i shall be working every night until the day after new year's. at ten hours a shift, and the holiday traffic, i will be pretty much dead and looking for the bed to die in when i get home, and not much but sleep gets accomplished when i find that bed.

~wanders back out to continue the knitting frenzy~

a quick note

things are rather ragged here at the moment, but i wanted to give anyone that checks here a heads up. i have added a button, just under the profile, that will take you to The Seaman's Church Institute blog. if you knit or crochet, this is an excellent charityknit. it is not too late, even now, to contribute for this christmas. as noted on the blog:

Finished garments should be sent throughout the year to Christmas-at-Sea, 241 Water Street, New York, NY 10038. Please be sure to include your name and address within the package so we can acknowledge its receipt.

Gift packing begins not long after Labor Day and continues right up until Christmas. While we receive donations January through December, it is most helpful to us to receive your donations in the fall.

the patterns are available from the website. the helmets have been a special request from the seamen and it was noted that caps are also in demand. if you do not knit, there is a *list of small items that are needed*, and monetary donations are welcome.

edited to add list:
In the presents given to mariners, containing a handknitted scarf and hat, SCI wants to fill the box with other useful items to the mariner. These items include

· Unscented, Hypoallergenic Hand Lotion (2-4oz bottles)

· Unscented, Colorless Lip Balm,

· Sealed Packages of Holiday Sweets,

· Books or Activities like Sudoku, word searches & playing cards,

· Microwave Popcorn, and

· Sugarless Chewing Gum.

These are items that you and I can likely pick up at the local supermarket; but mariners, working long stretches away from shore and their community, find it difficult to obtain these common, practical things. For complete information, including a downloadable brochure on the Gift Drive, go to www.seamenschurch.org/726.asp.
thanks

Yes, I am still here

just in the middle of changing jobs, some housecleaning to find real clothes...well, you know, office clothes. looks like i might actually get a real job again. bad news, daylight times; good news, much more money. enough to make me daylight functional. now to survive the lapse between the two. shouldn't have been, but the delay occurred at the last minute, AFTER my last day at the waffle house. ~sighs~

later