Woolly Mutts

What then, if not to read?

As you can tell from the photo above, I am a very undiscriminating reader.  I will read just about anything and I get a little twitchy when I don't have anything new to read.  I do have a few rules; if it doesn't grab me in the first 100 pages it's outta here AND there can be no animal cruelty or sadness or death. No animal bad stuff of any kind.  No exceptions.  I have some authors that I'll read whenever they publish a new one (Nora Roberts, Diana Gabaldon, Janet Evanovich), but I generally choose what I'm reading by what topics I'm interested in at the moment.  This doesn't make me a very good candidate for a book discussion group, because I generally have to be in the "mood" to read a book, and well, let's just be honest here, I'm not much of a joiner and groups of any sort scare me a little.  Here are a few of my most recent reads:

The Widow of the South  by Robert Hicks.  I read this right after we returned from Nashville.  It takes place at Carnton Plantation (oh how I wish I had toured it while we were there!) and is a superbly written tale of Carrie McGavock (you see the name McGavock a lot around the Nashville area) and her experiences when her home was commissioned as an army hospital during the Civil War. Based on a true story.  I think we need to be reminded about what war is before we can fully understand the necessity of peace.

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris  Have you fallen under the spell of the Sookie Stackhouse books yet?  Great books, each and every one of them.  I do love me a vampire.  This is the 9th book in the series which was the inspiration for the True Blood HBO series.  Fantasy meets the deep South.  Good stuff!  In this book Sookie finds out more about her parents death and her somewhat fantastical ancestry.

Finger Lickin Fifteen by Janet Evanovich.  I actually listened to the audio book version of this book, which I usually do with Evanovich because they do such a fabulous job with them.  Only read (or listen to) Evanovich when it's ok to laugh out loud, because you will.  This was maybe not my favorite of all her books, but it was worth the read to spend some time in the world of Bob, Grandma Masur, Ranger, Joe, Lula, Rex, and Stephanie.  If you haven't read any of her books begin with One for the Money and prepare to become hooked.

Black Hills by Nora Roberts.  As previously mentioned, I read a lot of books by a lot of authors, but if I want a book that will consistently hold my attention I turn to Nora Roberts.  Her books are not always deep, mysterious, or even very funny, but once I open one I can hardly put it down until I finish.  She has a gift for drawing you right in and keeping you there.  Black Hills is her most recent hardcover and a good, solid read.  She never, ever disappoints. 

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.  This is probably one of my top 20 favorite books of all time.  I read it first years ago and with the film coming out soon I decided to read it again. It is such a lovely, lovely, mind stretching read about Henry who travels through time arriving naked, nauseated and with no idea where or when he is.  His wife, Clare, becomes his northern star, though their life together is complicated and so beautiful.  In general, I am pleased to see a book made into a film.  Ok, The Davinci Code was a real heartbreaker, but if you go into the film knowing that it will not be exactly the same as the book, and perhaps some of your favorites parts may be missing, it is still a positive experience.  Harry Potter, for example managed to make all of their films well worth watching.  I hope that The Time Traveler's Wife will be the same.

I have a stack of about 5 other waiting and a growing list of someday-reads on my blackberry.  Last night my inlaws recommended "The Art of Racing in the Rain" which is a story told by a dog, and that scares me a little cause I generally don't do dog books of any kind, but maybe this one will be the exception.  Anyone else have a suggestions for a "can't be missed" book?

July 28, the back end of summer

I used to be a morning person.  I'd pop out of bed and expend the majority of my energy in the first few hours of the day.  I still take a stab at it.  I get up and dressed, make the bed right away, but after that I have a little trouble getting going.  I wish I liked coffee, cause that seems to work well for Amazing Husband.  Orange juice doesn't have the same kick.  This morning when I realized that I was falling into the morning blahs I decided to take the camera and head out to the labyrinth.

The idea with the labyrinth is that, with very few exceptions, we let grow whatever Mother Nature decides ought to grow there.  It is interesting to watch as some plants come up strong in the Spring and then die back to make room for something else. The grasses grow TALL, some taller than I am, and then get brown and lay down making beds and burrow space for small animals.  When we first began mowing the spiral it's landscape was very different than it is today.

Take, for instance, the Queen Anne's Lace or wild carrot.  You can see it there in the top picture growing tall and white along the entrance to the path.  The first few years we didn't see any of them at all, then last year there were just a few.  This year they are beginning to cover the north edges.  I've had a soft spot for QAL since I was a child and am thrilled that they have decided to join us here.

I hope this is just the beginning of them filling out to the whole spiral.  Their lacey beauty is so lovely to walk among and they have an interesting carrotty fragrance.

A friend of mine, who was pulling together her wedding on the tightest of budgets used nothing but QAL in her bouquet and the table arrangements.  It could not have been more beautiful.  Clever girl, she.

For the first time in all these years I counted the steps in and out of the labyrinth.  660 steps round trip.  Plus 228 from the house to the labyrinth and back.  Nearly 900 steps for each visit.  A nice little trip for both the spirit and the body.

An open letter to our neighborhood late night party people.

Dearest Teenage Cool Crowd,

   Just a quick note to bring to your attention that our field is not a garbage dump.  I realize that in your illegal intoxication it may be somewhat difficult to distinguish between a trash can and whatever is outside your car window when you open it, but I just know if you tried a little harder, you could master this one.  The trash containers are generally located around fast food establishments or gas stations.  Our field is where we run and play and mow and I have to say that it gets on my last nerve to have to get off the mower and throw away your trash.  I have no interest in what you ordered at McDonalds (a perfect example of where a trash can could have been found) or how large the Slurpy was you almost finished.  I especially dislike the large glass bottle of booze that you jettisoned so no evidence would be left on your person.  Not cool, Dudes, not cool at all. So lets try and find some courtesy in that young, reckless soul of yours cause I gotta tell you, karma is real and what goes around comes around (even Justin Timberlake says so).  Start racking up those karma points now for a much happier future.

Peace, Love, and Happiness,

The crazy hippie chic who lives on the corner

And while I'm on the subject of pet peeves and trash,

Dearest Smokers,

     Perhaps it has not been explained clearly to you, but the world is not your ash tray.  I swear if I see one more person open his/her car window and throw out a cigarette butt I'm going to lose all good sense, ram their car and make them eat that disgusting thing. Same thing goes for those that drop it, step on it, and then walk away. I understand that it's a hard habit to kick, but not unlike the teenage party crowd, a little courtesy please.  I'm quite sure that ash trays have not been banned from the planet.  If you have to light up, keep your butts to yourself.

Not so much, peace, love, and happiness,

The asthmatic hippie chic who has no patience for rude behavior.

Have a nice day!

The Amaryllis that refused to die. (And I gave it my best effort.)

Behold the hearty Amaryllis, purchased in November at Target for glorious holiday season blooming.  Except it would not bloom....or die.  We purchased another one for my mother and it did exactly as advertised, though we did take in to account that my mother kept her apartment at a temperature somewhere between a hot house and a sauna.  Our amaryllis came up out of its loam, looked all green and lovely and then that was it.  All kinds of green and no glorious red.  Amazing Husband put it in a sunny window, lay a heating pad beneath (which the cats thought was solely for their benefit) and checked on it frequently.  All winter and spring it kept up the green, continued to refuse to die, and still did not give us the blooms.  Summer came and AH decided to put it outside with the rest of the outdoor plants, in partial sun on the deck.  Yesterday we awoke to the above picture.  Two big, glorious blooms.  A little lower on the plant than we were accustomed to, but no one here is complaining.  We are going to have to do some research as to what we do with it now, since it seems determined to be a regular part of our plantage.  Guess it just goes to show that you should never give up on anything.

 

Sweet Pea sweater is completed and blocking.  I am a new, HUGE fan of the mattress stitch for seaming.  The seams on this thing are perfection.  I am not, however, thrilled with the way the collar lays, which is why I decided to block it.  For one thing I twisted one of the garter stitches right at the front collar edge, so it's right out there in front really easy to see (for me).  I'm going to wait until it dries and then maybe knit another collar.  Or not.  I'm also not happy with the way the whole collar lays around the neck, but it does look exactly like the one in the picture so I'm probably just being picky.  I'll keep you posted.  Now on to the hat! 

Fair Trade

The other day someone who is a loyal blog reader mentioned to me that I don't write much about Just Goods.  I spend every Tuesday and Friday and whenever else they have a need there, so why don't I blog about it?  Good point.  I've thought about blogging more about my time at Just Goods, but before I can just slip it in more frequently, I first have to tackle what Just Goods is and what it stands for.

Just Goods is a fair trade store here in Rockford.  It is a not-for-profit organization that is staffed mostly by volunteers.  To appreciate what JG is, we first have to talk about fair trade.  To get things rolling, let's start with the principles of fair trade:

• Paying a fair wage in the local context
• Offering employees opportunities for advancement
• Engaging in environmentally sustainable practices
• Being open to public accountability
• Building long-term trade relationships
• Providing healthy and safe working conditions within the local context
• Providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible
• Ensuring that there is no abuse of child labor

In a nutshell, fair trade provides an honest, hard working person in a developing country a chance to provide for his/her family and do so in a healthy and safe way.  Although the majority of what our store carries is from developing countries, we also carry domestic goods manufactured by small companies or cooperatives that are in danger of being squeezed out by huge conglomerates.  We get soap products from The Enterprising Kitchen in the Chicago area and beans and soup mixes from The Woman's Bean Project in Colorado to name a couple.  In each case, both domestic and outside the States, the money provided to them from the sales of their products help to provide a better, safer life for the employees.  To learn more about fair trade a simple Google search will keep you busy for a good long time.

Just Goods  is located here in Rockford, IL on the corner of 7th st and 1st ave in the Midtown District.  Street parking is available, but there is great parking in the back.  The building itself is privately owned and features 3 rooms, 2 of which are retail stores and a center room that serves the community by providing a space for groups to hold meetings or for events or concerts.  Charlotte's Web holds its concerts there during the winter months.  We carry organic chocolate and coffee, pottery, textiles, clothing, jewelry, paper goods, olive oil, cranberries, soaps, the list goes on and on......and at extremely reasonable prices.  That is one thing that always surprises people when they first come in the store, the prices are, well, fair and the products are beautiful.  

Spending time at JG is a real treat for me.  It's the first time I've felt like I was truly with like minded people working toward a common good.  I encourage you to check out our website, though it is seriously under construction. Sign up to get our email newsletter (I'll be working on some of those) and look around at the pictures of the shop itself.  I'm generally there Tuesday's and Friday's 2-6. 

I like to think of fair trade stores as the anti-Walmart.  Each and every item that you purchase from a fair trade organization was provided to you by fair and honest means and by making that purchase you have contributed in a positive way to some one's life.  You help the people and the planet.

Random Monday

It never ceases to amaze me how fast Monday rolls around each week.  Even more amazing is that I still can't get that darn "Monday, Monday" song out of my head....but only on Mondays.  A few random things:

*Went with Trina and Linda (who does not let any grass grown under her speedy little feet!) to the Midwest Fiber and Folk Fair in Crystal Lake. I think this may be my favorite fiber show.  It's held at McHenry County College and most of it is held indoors in air conditioned comfort.  Not as big as Stitches, but also not as crazy.  Bought 2 skeins of glorious Briar Rose limited edition (60% Cormo/40% Alpaca) purple wonderfulness from my favorite yarn sellers in the world, Chris and Roger.  Have you seen their new website yet?  Also got a couple of skeins of Solana Superwash from Brooks Farm and a few vintage sari pieces of fabric from Yellow Bird which is owned and operated by Trina's cousin.  Nice little bit of serendipity there.  

*Saw the new Harry Potter film Saturday night and was in no way disappointed.  I read the book when it first came out and did nothing to refresh my memory so while I know there was a great deal left out of the movie (there always is in Potter films) I enjoyed it very much.  Loved that they left in the bit about Dumbledore enjoying knitting patterns.  I thought Snape was rather dashing in this film.  Better hair and his cloak swirled around him at all the right moments.  I adore Alan Rickman.  I think I will re-read the final book before the films come out.  Perhaps now would be a good time.

*We have officially come to the end of the 7th season of 24 leaving Jack in a coma, Bill still dead (so sad), Tony completely messed up, Kim back to save the day, Chloe with a new side kick, and CTU sort of back up and running.  Now we must wait until January for season 8.  In other tv viewing; watched a sweet little movie on Netflix Watch Instantly yesterday, "Marilyn Hotchkiss's Ballroom Dancing & Charm School". Bittersweet little film that I give 4 stars. 

*Yesterday marked 3 months since my mother's death.  I continue to find the grief process rather interesting.  The 2 month anniversary went by without my notice, but yesterday I was very, very aware of what day it was.  While I do miss her, it is not her absence from my life that gives me the most grief, but rather the memory of her last month of life.  Her estate is still open and, regrettably, headed for probate.  It will please me greatly when I am able to shut the door on this whole affair. It is difficult to feel any success at moving forward when each day brings another call from the lawyer or other loose end to tie up. 

Frank has a new haircut.

 

 

 

 

Frank, a.k.a Mr. Frankinsence and Purr, is such a nut.  Most of the time he a big old grouch and really wants nothing whatsoever to do with any of us, except Miss Magnolia who he has a bit of an off-and-on again relationship with.  They are off right now because Frank has his new summer do and Miss Magnolia, being a bit of a flake, does not recognize the new and improved Frank.  This being the case he must lower himself to receive affection from the humans.  Not to worry, he'll get back into Miss Magnolia's good graces any day now.  Until then he is always on my computer desk soaking in the heat from the Ot lamp that hangs there.  He paces the desk and insists that I stop all work and pay attention only to him.  As I type this he is hanging over the keyboard like a vulture.  In a week he won't remember my name, much less stalk me for attention.  I rather like his new do.  His little fuzzy paws and cute little rolls of kitty flesh.  Himmies, while very lovely cats, need constant grooming and occasionally professional hair help to keep them matt free and healthy, and to keep the rolling balls of cat hair to a minimum.

I admit to enjoying these few days of Frank's attention, but dude, I need to get some work done!

Knitting for the wee one.

Just in case anyone was concerned, the knitting is still happening here in Muttville.  I finished a little pair of socks to match the beaded hat and let me tell you that I am DONE with knitting with beads for awhile.  The hat was bad enough with endless (ok, I'm being dramatic here. It is only a baby hat.) stockinette stitch and those gall darn, beautiful, sparkling beads to contend with.  The socks went fast and I just plain gave up on trying to keep all the beads on the outside.  Rav page here. I was considering ordering more yarn and doing a matching sweater, but then I reconsidered and went with more sanity and less beads.

On the needles now is an adorable little layette set using Berocco Comfort DK. Click to embiggen, as always.  The book is "little sweet peas" by SIRDAR and the pattern is design A.  (Catchy title, huh?) This was my first experience with a SIRDAR pattern and I had to do a little research to discover that yfwd is the same thing as yo.  Live and learn.  It is a well written, easy to follow pattern, but I wish the lace pattern was charted.  Does anyone know of a program that allows you to type in the written pattern and then charts it for you?  

 

The body is completed and I'm working on one sleeve now.  The pink is so sweet and delicate, perfect for a newborn.  Every since I used the Berocco Comfort for THE blanket I've been a convert.  I have not been a fan of anything with even a whisper of acrylic in the past, but Comfort has won me over.  The DK is no different, soft, easy to knit with, washes up like a dream.  It is my new go-to baby and child yarn, and I may even make something for myself using it. 

This weekend is the Midwest Fiber and Folk Fair.  Will I see you there?  Trina and I are going on Saturday.  Chris (from Briar Rose), can't wait to see you!!!!!

Can't stop watching 24.

Amazing Husband and I have been watching 24 for months now.  As per our usual MO we came to the 24 party late and have been working our way through all 7 seasons whenever we have some spare time. We lay blurry eyed in bed at 11:30 at night saying "one more", way too many nights. It's taken awhile, but we are 1 disk shy of being caught up to begin season 8 with the rest of the world.  Amazing Husband went to school with the gentleman that plays Tony Almeda so it's kind of fun to have a little personal connection.  (At this time Tony is being a very bad man and I hope he's got a darn good excuse.)  What follows are a few observations on 24:

*None of these people eat, pee, or sleep.  I realize that it is just one 24 hour period, but I'm beginning to wonder if they are all some sort of super race and their origin will be revealed in season 24.

*It is always a bomb, biological weapon, assassination or all of the above.  Usually, all of the above.

*You can make anyone say anything if you hurt them enough.  Watching this show has made be think and rethink my stand on torture.

*Jack will shoot his own mother in the head if it will save the country.  This will be followed by several minutes of close up shots of him being deeply tortured in his soul, and then he will go forth and save the day.  I told this little theory to AH and he said that he didn't think Jack could shot his own mother, but he could certainly shoot mine.  True enough.

*Jack can be mostly dead all day and still solider on to save the day.  More evidence of my super race/alien species theory.  Bullets, electricity and lack of oxygen are no match for the man of steel.

*Chloe is definitely not of this planet.  No one can be that smart and so desperately low on people skills and still be so beloved.  I, for one, am a big Chloe fan.

*And while we are on the topic of fans.... oh, Bill Buchanan, I will miss you.  You rocked and had great hair. You must turn up on another show soon. Seriously.

*All vice presidents are tools.

*Just when you think it's over, it is far from over.

*If you carefully put your arm around someones neck and squeeze while saying the words, "don't fight it" you can put them to sleep with no harm.  Well, Jack Bauer can.  I'm sure I would leave a trail of bodies behind me during training.

*I have now integrated small phrases into my everyday language, "copy that", "10-4", "set a perimeter", "damn it, you have to listen to me"," you have to trust me", and "I can do this", are all handy and useful when you say them with the correct amount of desperation in your voice.

*It it possible to sleep through a majority of several episodes and still catch up during previews.

I could go on like this for much longer, which is a testament to how easily entertained I can be. I hope Jack Bauer has many more fine and exciting seasons left in him. 

Today's blog post is brought to you by the color pink and a short antedote featuring a curious neighbor.

I am not a girly girl.  I admit to enjoying my mani/pedis, but it takes me about 20 minutes to get ready to go almost anywhere.  Make up is fun, though some mascara and a little lip gloss is the extent of my daily routine.  I am also not a fan of the color pink.  Being a redhead with glowing pink cheeks has a little to do with that, but I have honestly never enjoyed pink.  Today when I went out to the gardens with camera in hand it appears that flowers are the exception to that rule.  This mild and partly cloudy Monday offered quite the show of pink.

Impatiens, I love em. Give them some shade and an occasional drink and they will give you a show that lasts all summer.  I have them in pots all over the garden.  This is just one of the bold colors in the Salsa mixture.

Bee Balm, Monarda, or Fountain Flowers as I used to call them as a child.  The entire patch was busy with big 'ol bumble bees enjoying a morning pollen feast.  

The echinacea are huge this year.  Some patches are well over 5 feet tall.  We have had them in other colors, but I like the pink ones the best.  The contrast against the deep green leaves is a lovely sight.

Sweet peas and another tiny bee friend.  

These tiny single carnations are growing in a raised bed in the veggie/weed garden.  They aren't very tall and have these delicate little blooms.

Crown Vetch. I do love me some vetch and yes I am aware that it will take over the entire yard if I let it.  Right now it grows in places where it can spread at will.  You will often see huge patches of this vetch growing along roads and highways.  It looks like a blanket of pink.

There was more pink; foxglove that is done blooming, geraniums being eaten alive by Japanese Beetles and not very picture worthy,spiderwort that is on a little bloom break,but will bloom again soon.  

So Saturday I am out mowing the field around the labyrinth and as I come around the back edge I see a large black truck pulled over to the side of the road and the driver is waving at me.  I pull the mower over, turn it off, pull out myipod earbuds and hop off.  He tells me that he has lived on this street for 20 years (I've got him beat by about 10 years) and every time he and his wife drive by the field they talk about what that big round area in the middle is.  He also tells me that there is great and wide speculation among the neighbors on the what and why of this space.  Some think it has to do with some strange sort of dog training, others an alien message pad.  (There are solar lights around the entire pathway of the labyrinth so we can walk it at night and I imagine that it does look a bit alien to those not in the know.)  What, he asks, in the sam hill is it, and more importantly, why? 

I explain that it is a prairie labyrinth, which in our case, is a simple spiral mowed into the field.  It can be walked for pleasure or as a method of walking prayer.  At the entrance of the labyrinth you begin thinking of what's on your heart and mind and with each step meditate on those things.  At the center you release your thoughts into the sky to lift toward the Divine one.  Works no matter what your religious or spiritual tendency is.  Our curious neighbor thinks about all this for a minute.  What religion am I, he asks.  I reply that I'm from the church of "It's all good" and he laughs.  I lean toward a more Buddhist way of thinking, but my main spiritual focus is peace on all levels between all things.  He tells me that there are so many lost people out there and I get the feeling that he is from a more fundamental way of thinking, but I keep my mind and heart open and tell him that they won't be found with hate or intolerance.  Again, he tells me that he must think on this.  He asks my name, tells me his is Harry and shakes my hand.  He wonders if he and his wife could come down and walk it some day.  I encourage him to do so and thank him for taking the time to stop and ask, rather than continue to speculate.  He is a bit pleased that he now has the "real" scoop. 

It was an interesting little encounter and one that I have thought on often since then. I hope my new acquaintance stops by again.  I think there is much we can learn from each other.  Namaste, Harry.