7 Quick Takes (Vol 171)

All I have to say is a big fat thank you to the person who invented air conditioning. So, you all know the rules. After you have slowly and carefully read the scorching hot blather that I have produced you need to click on the picture above. When you do that you will be whisked, at the speed of the invectives being rained down on Chief Justice Roberts head, over to Conversion Diary to see what everyone else is up to.

Blather slowly today folks. It is HOT!

1.
My baby is coming home for the 4th of July!!

Hurrah!

2.
OK, I have to make a decision on whether to stick my nose into something at the Community Garden and get all rule Nazi on someone. And if we were having a year where we got even a decent amount of rain this wouldn’t tick me off. But this year rain is pretty much non-existent. And that means that all of us are spending loads of time out at the garden watering. We stand there and lovingly water plants. And stand, and weed, and stand, and water and weed at the same time. It takes time.

I was out early this morning watering. One of the other plot owners comes in, pulls one of the hoses (of which there are four) down to his plot, sets up his sprinkler (the most inefficient way to water by the way) and then gets back in his car and leaves. As I watched him get back in his car and pull out of the parking area my brain is thinking, “He isn’t really leaving is he? He isn’t supposed to do that!”

Ummmm, SIR!!! I might direct your eyes to the “Rules of the Garden” that we all try to follow. Rule 4b states that you must be present in the garden during the time that you are watering.

I stood there for a moment caught on the horns of a thorny garden dilemma and tamping down my inner garden police officer. If it had been Saturday morning, when it is very busy in the garden, I would have disconnected his hose so that others could use it. I am sorry to say that I might have enjoyed doing that much more than I should.  I left it this time because there was one other hose available. But I think I am going to have to leave him a note. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he doesn’t know the rule since he usually parks at the garden gate that doesn’t have a copy of the rules posted.

But I think I have to leave a note. A nice one mind you.

But a note.

3.
Can I just say that you can learn to do ANYTHING via YouTube.

Last week I decided that I needed to learn how to “throw” my pizza dough.

But where to learn??

YouTube of course. There is something for everyone on there. Even multitudinous numbers of videos on various ways to throw your dough.

It was a great deal of flour filled fun. I will be practicing again today. And I have to say that the dough was much better for the multiple trips into the air.

And I didn’t even drop it on the floor!

4.
HHBL update: the calf is getting better day by day. He is no longer using the walking boot and doesn’t even limp all that much. There is still a bit of swelling but there was no bruising to speak of.

But there still won’t be any baseball for a bit. Nor any biking for at least another week. Not that I am all that excited about getting on Hi Ho Silver on a day when it was 75F at 6:30a.

Thanks for all the emails and prays!!

5.
Did you notice my new header???

I am thinking that I will do a new one monthly, just as a change of bloggy pace. I am bored with the blog look at the moment but I am not sure what I want to do with it. Still thinking about it. This was a good stop gap measure.

And just as an aside, my daily page views are up but the number of comments is down. Why is that?

Do you all not like me?

6.
Continuing obsession with the humming birds

Look at his little birdie feet!! The light limiting screens on the windows gives a sort of fuzzy and dreamy quality to the photo that I am learning to like.

They must have fledged their babies because all of a sudden there are more of them zooming around an tweeting at each other.

And speaking of baby (sort of) birds.

Momma and Daddy Rose Breasted Grosbeak are still feeding the kids. The baby sits on the top of the feeder, vibrates it’s wings and makes the little sound in it’s throat while waiting for breakfast. Not sure how much longer this is going to go on. In fact, I haven’t ever observed this feeding ritual before. But I am enjoying it while it lasts.

7.
I just finished up a two and a half week stint as LaurenLeap’s “cat and flower” care giver. The cats are still living and so are most of the flowers.

The first couple of days were a bit dicey as far as the cats were concerned. They always just need to get used to me. But after about Day 5 it was all, “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEEEEEEEEEEEN! WE ARE HUUUUUUUNNNNNNNGGGGGGRRRRRRYYYYYYY! FEEEEEEEEEED US! SCRAAAAAAAAAAAATCH US! NOW!”

It was nice to be able to get a regular kitty fix for a bit.

Sorry about those purple flowers Lauren. They just refused to live despite all my tender loving care.

Strawberry Fluff

It is HOT today.

I hate hot weather.

I need something cool to soothe the sizzling. I need Strawberry Fluff. And you need it too. You need to know how to make this frightening simple and totally addicting bit of yumminess.

It is the perfect end to a hot and sizzling summer day.

And it is oh so simple. I love simple.

I will admit that the following pictures are not up to my usual. Blame the heat. Blame my overexcitement. Blame the fact that my brain had been fried from two hours in the back garden on a day when the temp was in the 90s. Blame whatever you want.

I will try to do better next time.

This is all that you will need. Not too many ingredients and there is BUTTER and SUGAR! What more can anyone ask.

You will also need some pretty containers to serve the fluff in. I lovelovelove these very cool canning jars. I found them at Wally Mart. They spoke to me from way back on a top shelf. They called to me and said that I had to take them home. I was powerless to resist.

Mix 1/4 cup sugar to the graham cracker crumbs. Mix them all around.

Melt the butter and then add it to the crumb mixture. Use a fork to incorporate the butter until all the crumbs are lovingly coated with beautiful butter.

I am really hungry at the moment for some reason.

Evenly divide the crumbs between 8 containers or pretty dishes. Keep back about 1/4 cup of the crumbs to sprinkle on the top of the fluff. Set the containers aside.

Next put all the cut up strawberries into a bowl and crush them a bit, to release the strawberry juice. Let them sit for a bit and then strain the strawberries and the juice, saving the juice. Measure out the juice. You will need 1/3 cup of liquid. If you don’t have enough strawberry juice then just add enough water until you have 1/3 cup.

Put the last 3/4 cup of sugar into a heavy bottom pan. Add an envelope of unflavored gelatin. Mix them together.

Add the 1/3 cup of strawberry juice to the sugar/gelatin mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until…….

The mixture boils. Do not walk away while you are completing this stage. Believe me when I tell you that it will go from hot to boiling over in a very quick amount of time.

Not that I would know anything about that.

Moving on.

Add the gelatin mixture to the crushed strawberries. Put the whole bowl into the freezer and chill until the gelatin, you know, gels. It shouldn’t take long. Just give it a stir every once in awhile.

Once things are cooled enough take the bowl out of the freezer and add the Cool Whip. Fold the Cool Whip into the strawberries until it is all lovingly mixed together.

Evenly divide the fluff between the containers. Sprinkle with the remaining graham cracker crumbs and refrigerate until time to serve.

Or just stand by the sink and spoon it right into your mouth. It is so delicious that you…….

Never mind.

Is it time for dessert yet?

Oh heck, I will just have dessert for dinner.

>>>> Strawberry Fluff <<<<

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

I will twy not to thqueethe the kitty too much.

Gastrocwhateous?

I tell you it is never a dull moment being married to HHBL.

Never dull.

Not even your average Sunday afternoon baseball game where all the players are 48 years old or above.

Sunday was a lovely day. We had spent early part of the afternoon going to the baptism of this lovely little lady…

Lovely Miss Molly Adeline, the newest member of the clan.

We had lunch with aunts and uncles and cousins. I ingested an enormous piece of chocolate cake. And I might also have had a cookie or five. Fabulous.

And then it was in the car and off to HHBL’s afternoon baseball game. The temp wasn’t too hot. There were lovely, fluffy clouds to stud the sky. The smell of pine tar was in the air.

A perfect day for baseball.

HHBL bats 4th in the line up. The clean up spot. The power hitter spot.

First at bat…..Ray (the opposing pitcher) hits him with a pitch. Laughter and kidding goes on because HHBL used to play for the opposing team. Ray wouldn’t intentionally hit HHBL but lots of ribbing went on as he took 1st base.

2nd at bat, late in the top of the 2nd inning. HHBL hits a nice single and is again on first. I wander back to my comfy directors chair and continue to score the game…..

Next batter up is Pat. HHBL takes his usual stance, several paces off the bag so that he can get a good start towards second. Pat connects, HHBL is off and running to second….

Except he isn’t running to second. He takes one step and goes down like a sack of potatoes. And at this point I think to myself,

Oh man he tripped!! He is going to be so made because they are going to tag him out after he gets up and tries to get to second.

Except……he isn’t getting up. He is still on the ground. And he is clutching at his right leg. And players from both teams are gathering around. And Doc Neuman, the third baseman from the opposing team (and yes he really is a doctor) is going over to assess the situation.

Oh he so didn’t break his ankle again did he? Or is it his knee? Tell me that it isn’t his knee. Please no knee.

And I just have to stand there and watch because it REALLY isn’t good form to have your wife run out onto the field to see what is happening.

I have always been so very very glad that I was NOT at the game where he took a one bounce line drive to the head, right on the right ear, almost detaching his ear and requiring a trip to the hospital in an ambulance and many stitches. Our neighbor happened to be at that game. Scott’s comment was, “Boy there was A LOT of blood!”. But hey, he came back and played in the end of the game. Tough guy.

After a few minutes HHBL is helped up and off the field, not able to put weight on his right leg. Why must it always be the right leg? The game continues and after their side is out Doc Neuman comes over to examine.

Doc: Did you hear a POP! before you went down?

HHBL: YES!

Doc: Did it feel like someone shot you in the leg?

HHBL: Yeah! I thought someone had nailed me in the leg with a ball.

Doc: Classic sports injury. I believe it is a partial tear of the Gastrocnemius muscle. A 3-4 week injury if you treat it right. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate. Crutches and no weight bearing for a few days. No baseball for at least three weeks.

Me: The Gastrocwhatius?

Doc: The Gastrocnemius muscle, better known as the calf muscle.

For some reason I did not remember from my nursing days that the calf muscle was also known as the gastrocnemius muscle. Did we even learn that at BUNS? You learn something new every day. I would have been fine NOT learning this on Sunday but what can you do.

So HHBL got to spend the rest of the game parked on the bench with ice on his calf. And he gets to put ice on his calf every few hours until the end of today. And he gets to take a lot of ibuprophen. And he does not get to play baseball or bike for at least three weeks. And just for fashion’s sake he also gets to wear his really cool CAM Walker boot that we saved after the whole breaking the ankle and almost dying of a blood clot fun back in 2008.

I just KNEW that thing was going to come in handy again someday.

And when he is walking around downstairs late at night I sort of envision myself in a low budget horror movie.

Step, THUMP!, step, THUMP!, step THUMP!

RUN!!!!!!!!!!!

Like I said, never a dull moment.

7 Quick Takes (Vol 170)

It’s Summer! Now if I could just chuck all responsibility and release my inner child. Not going to happen I am afraid, I have been trying.

You know the drill. When you are done rolling around in my blather be sure to click on the picture above to be whisked, at the speed of knitters with a beef firing up social media, over to Conversion Diary to see what’s what.

Remember to Blather responsibly.

1.
The Parental Units were visiting last weekend. We took them to the West Side Market.

I am still detoxing.

The Steve’s Gyros meatapalooza hangover lasted until about Tuesday. And I reeked of garlic for days. No need to worry about an encounter with a vampire. They would have run screaming into the night!

And because Mimi and Papa are such wonderful in-laws they sat through HHBL’s entire baseball game on Sunday afternoon, despite the sputterings of rain. And the game loss.

2.
On Tuesday I was using the leaf blower to clear out the dust and dirt and leaves that seem to be determined to live in the corners of my garage. And I noticed a pile of leaves etc that was, strangely, sitting on top of the large step ladder.

So I took the leaf blower to it to clean everything away and then went on my merry way. I was almost done with the clean up job when I noticed that Max was intently studying something on the ground. He would not be swayed. From a distance it looked like he was contemplating an ovoid acorn without it’s little acorn hat.

But that isn’t what it was.

I strolled over to Max and discovered that what he was so intently looking at was an egg. A bird egg.

OH MY GOSH HAD THAT BEEN A NEST THAT I BLEW AWAY??????

And then I looked even closer and discovered not one egg, not two eggs…but FIVE EGGS. All on the ground and all destroyed in some way.

I was heart sick!

I hadn’t seen any birds flying in and out of the garage and there had never been any indication that the errant pile of leaves and sticks was a nest. It didn’t even occur to me to climb up on another ladder to check.

At first I thought they were eggs from a Tufted Titmouse. But after further searching I think it was a nest of Rose Breasted Grosbeaks.

It just broke my heart and blew my whole day.

3.
We had someone look at the house this week. From the feedback they liked it but there was one thing that they didn’t like and it was something that we cannot change.

The drop off down to the stream.

They have small children. If I had little children our 30 foot drop off to the stream bed below might be a deal breaker as well.

The right person will show up for the house. Until then I will enjoy being here.

4.
My obsession love of hummingbirds continues. They are picky eaters I can tell you. If the food in the feeders is even the slightest bit old they won’t feed.

Not quite in focus but I was at the limit of my telephoto lens and didn’t really have time to steady myself very well.

5.
Remember yesterday’s little rant about the USOC and their insulting C&D letter?

They apologized.

We are all happy.

Now lets get back to working on plans for what we are going to knit during the Olympics and cheering on the athletes.

And if I wasn’t absolutely clear yesterday, the uproar, at least on my part, was NEVER about trademark issues. The USOC has trademark for the “Olympic” brand (crazy as that seems to me). It was the fact that the integrity of knitters and our motives were impugned.

I just wanted to use the word impugned.

And just remember. Do not prod that innocent pile of fiber unless you are sure you know what you are going to get. We are not your grandmothers knitters. And we know how to use Social Media very, very well.

6.
I am trying to live “in the present moment” right now, at least as far as Chez Knit is concerned. There are still work schedules and social schedules and stuff that needs to be planned far ahead. But I am trying to have that NOT be my total focus. I am trying to slow my pace down.

As you know we are trying to sell Chez Knit, she is just too big for us. But I am trying to just spend time sitting in my garden and enjoying it. It is peaceful and happy producing and is finally what I envisioned when I started on it eleven years ago.

 The Lord is giving me another summer to enjoy it and I am trying to take full advantage.

7.
Rejoicing, I can turn the A/C off this morning. HURRAH!!!!!!

HHBL loves hot weather. Me…..not so much. For me the perfect temps would be 72-75F during the day and 55F at night. But neither of us likes air conditioning all that much. We much prefer to have the windows open and the fresh air in.

However this week it has been in the mid 90s during the day and mid 70s at night. There is no way to cool the house down enough to be even half way comfortable at night.

And we all know how much I value a good nights sleep.

But today the high will be only around 80F after a cool front came through.

Ahhhhhh, open windows make me very happy.

The US Olympic Committee Steps In It

A post in which I am about to express my supreme disappointment with the US Olympic Committee.

Be prepared. I have been wordy. I couldn’t help myself.

If knitting and/or the Olympics are not your thing feel free to leave and come back another day.

First a bit of back story. I am a member, along with 1,999,999 other fiberists, on the all things fiber site Ravelry. I cannot express how much I love Ravelry and all the people over there. I would not have found my Knit Sibs if it were not for Ravelry. Knitters are an incredibly giving community. We have to be if we are willing to spend A LOT of hours knitting socks or sweaters for someone we love, and sometimes for someone we don’t even know.

Since 2008 many of us have participated in “Ravelympics” which has been our way of supporting the US Olympic teams and also setting large knitting goals for ourselves in the process. Goals that often stretch our knitting abilities and knowledge. We have always felt that it was a fabulous way to enjoy the Olympics with others (the Opening Ceremonies party is scheduled to be held at Chez Knit this year) and to cheer on the athletes that give such a large part of their lives to be the best that they can be.

So imagine the absolute boiling, expanding, seething pot of anger and astonishment that has hit the knitting/crocheting/fiber arts community with the delivery of a Cease and Desist letter from the US Olympic Committee to Ravelry. I have printed the entire letter below. Read it, especially the highlighted portions (my highlights). Then I will tell you what I think…..

****************************************************************************

Dear Mr. Forbes,

In March 14, 2011, my colleague, Carol Gross, corresponded with your attorney, Craig Selmach [sic], in regard to a pin listed as the “2010 Ravelympic Badge of Glory.” At that time, she explained that the use of RAVELYMPIC infringed upon the USOC’s intellectual property rights, and you kindly removed the pin from the website. I was hoping to close our file on this matter, but upon further review of your website, I found more infringing content.

By way of review, the USOC is a non-profit corporation chartered by Congress to coordinate, promote and govern all international amateur athletic activities in the United States. The USOC therefore is responsible for training, entering and underwriting U.S. Teams in the Olympic Games. Unlike the National Olympic Committees of many other countries, the USOC does not rely on federal funding to support all of its efforts. Therefore, in order to fulfill our responsibilities without the need for federal funding, Congress granted the USOC the exclusive right to use and control the commercial use of the word OLYMPIC a and any simulation or combination thereof in the United States, as well as the OLYMPIC SYMBOL. See the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, 36 U.S.C. §220501 et seq. (the “Act”). (A copy of the relevant portion of the Act is enclosed for your convenience.) The Act prohibits the unauthorized use of the Olympic Symbol or the mark OLYMPIC and derivations thereof for any commercial purpose or for any competition, such as the one organized through your website. See 36 U.S.C. §220506(c). The USOC primarily relies on legitimate sponsorship fees and licensing revenues to support U.S. Olympic athletes and finance this country’s participation in the Olympic Games. Other companies, like Nike and Ralph Lauren, have paid substantial sums for the right to use Olympic-related marks, and through their sponsorships support the U.S. Olympic Team. Therefore, it is important that we restrict the use of Olympic marks and protect the rights of companies who financially support Team USA.

In addition to the protections of the Act discussed above, the USOC also owns numerous trademark registration that include the mark OLYMPIC. These marks therefore are protected under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq. Thus, Ravelry.com’s unauthorized use of the mark OLYMPIC or derivations thereof, such as RAVELYMPICS, may constitute trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution of our famous trademarks.

The USOC would like to settle this matter on an amicable basis. However, we must request the following actions be taken.

1. Changing the name of the event, the “Ravelympics.”; The athletes of Team USA have usually spent the better part of their entire lives training for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them. For many, the Olympics represent the pinnacle of their sporting career. Over more than a century, the Olympic Games have brought athletes around the world together to compete in an event that has come to mean much more than just a competition between the world’s best athletes. The Olympic Games represent ideals that go beyond sport to encompass culture and education, tolerance and respect, world peace and harmony.

The USOC is responsible for preserving the Olympic Movement and its ideals within the United States. Part of that responsibility is to ensure that Olympic trademarks, imagery and terminology are protected and given the appropriate respect. We believe using the name “Ravelympics” for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.

It looks as if this is the third time that the Ravelympics have been organized, each coinciding with an Olympic year (2008, 2010, and 2012). The name Ravelympics is clearly derived from the terms “Ravelry” (the name of your website) and OLYMPICS, making RAVELYMPICS a simulation of the mark OLYMPIC tending to falsely suggest a connection to the Olympic Movement. Thus, the use of RAVELYMPICS is prohibited by the Act. Knowing this, we are sure that you can appreciate the need for you to re-name the event, to something like the Ravelry Games.

1. Removal of Olympic Symbols in patterns, projects, etc. As stated before, the USOC receives no funding from the government to support this country’s Olympic athletes. The USOC relies upon official licensing and sponsorship fees to raise the funds necessary to fulfill its mission. Therefore, the USOC reserves use of Olympic terminology and trademarks to our official sponsors, suppliers and licensees. The patterns and projects featuring the Olympic Symbol on Ravelry.com’s website are not licensed and therefore unauthorized. The USOC respectfully asks that all such patterns and projects be removed from your site.

For your convenience, we have listed some of the patterns featuring Olympic trademarks. However, this list should be viewed as illustrative rather than exhaustive. The USOC requests that all patterns involving Olympic trademarks be removed from the website. We further request that you rename various patterns that may not feature Olympic trademarks in the design but improperly use Olympic in the pattern name.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr…s-rings-af…\

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr…couver-2010-ol…

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr…0-olympics-inu…

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr…mpic-swimmer-d…

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr…8-olympic-ring…

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr…mpic-rings-nec…

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr…e-miller-hat-2…

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/usa-olympic-hat

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/belg…leknit/usa-oly…

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. We would appreciate a written reply to this letter by no later than June 19, 2012. If you would like to discuss this matter directly, please feel free to contact me at the number above, or you may reach my colleague, Carol Gross.

Kindest Regards,

Brett Hirsch

Law Clerk

Office of the General Counsel

United States Olympic Committee

1 Olympic Plaza

Colorado Springs, CO 80909

****************************************************************************

I am just going to take a minute here to do some deep and calming breathing.

In, Out, In, Out, In, Out…..

It isn’t helping all that much but I will go on.

By and large the discussion over on Ravelry (and the knitting community in general) seems to be that it isn’t all that hard to change a name. Casey et al didn’t have to designate our competition as “Ravelympics”. In fact there is a lively discussion going on to come up with some alternative names. I cannot reprint some of them because this is, after all, a family friendly blog. Just know that knitters are a VERY creative bunch whether with fiber or with words.

What all of us across the Knitterverse are boiling mad about is the implication that we have in some way denigrated and disrespected the athletes participating in the Olympics.

ARE. YOU. FREAKIN’. SERIOUS!!!

Sorry, my frustration with the idiocy of the USOC got the better of me. And I have to assume that no one who is in charge over at that “august” group has ever taught themselves to knit a sock, or a sweater, or a Estonian lace shawl of epic proportions with NUPPS AND BEADING (that was for you Larissa). Most of us here in the Knitterverse will never be a Barbara Walker or Elizabeth Zimmerman or Stephanie Pearl-MacPhee but we put great time and effort into all that we do. We work hard on our fiber. We frog back and try again when we have made a mistake. We study our mistakes to learn what NOT to do and learn what to do better. We search the internet to learn a technique that we do not know and we ask our Knit Sibs to help us hone our skills. We stay up late at night to finish projects for ourselves and others. We take classes to learn a new skill or sharpen an old one. We knit for others. Oh do we knit for others.

I wonder how many moms (and dads too) have brought their knitting along as they waited for their child to finish practice. Hmmmmmmmm.

The US Olympic Committee has stepped in it. We in the Knitterverse play with sharp and pointy sticks and hooks. We take our fiber arts seriously. To say that we have disrespected the US athletes is just down right insulting. If they had nicely asked that Casey et al over at Ravelry change the Ravelympics name there wouldn’t have been any uproar. We would have understood the possible copyright infringement issue. But that wasn’t what they did. They came in with their lawerly canon and fired away.

If you are a knitter and you feel even mildly upset, let the US Olympic Committee know how you feel.

US Olympics facebook page
US Olympics Twitter feed

In prodding the innocent pile of fiber the US Olympic Committee has unleashed the Knitting Kraken!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

When I worked in the garden last Friday these were not there. Then we finally had rain on Sunday and again on Monday and VOILA!.

No matter how much I water I still cannot do as good a job at it as Mother Nature can.

BUNS!

No, this is not the BUNS that you think I am talking about!

Not buns and in pig buns.

Do pigs have buns? Hmmmmmm.

But I digress.

No, I mean Baylor University Nursing School. Get it. Baylor University Nursing School.

OK, it is really Baylor University School of Nursing but we always liked it the other way. I am a graduate of that august institution. Why do I mention this?

Why do I mention anything I mention around here. Because I can that’s why. And because this weekend the Parental Units were visiting for Father’s Day. And Mimi brought me a little present. A blast from the past as it were. Something that I thought (hoped) was long gone from my life.

My old nursing school uniform!!!

Lord have mercy upon me. I thought I had escaped forever that green, polyester, pinstriped monstrosity. It zipped up the front, had an amazingly unflattering wing collar and hit you right about the knee thereby making my legs look less than lovely. Add white hose and nursing shoes to the ensemble and you could strike terror into the hearts of any patient that you chose. Believe me when I tell you that there was nothing, absolutely NOTHING that could be done to it that would make you look even half way good in it.

Thinking about catching the eye of a young intern or resident?

Not in that outfit you wouldn’t.

And to make it even MORE special. I know, you can hardly believe that is possible. But……

It came with a matching LAB coat. Oh be still my beating heart and my suddenly nauseous stomach.

And lest you wonder, when I was finally done with nursing school I got an official nurses cap. Only I don’t have that anymore. Mimi and I were discussing caps this weekend. She is also a nurse and she always wore her cap at work because it was a badge of honor. I have seen a picture of her in her cap and it was lovely.

My cap on the other had made me, and any other nurse for that matter, look like a demented Dutch boy.

If my nursing school roomie, Katherine, knew I was going to put up this next picture she would come all the way up from Texas to murder me on the spot. If you don’t hear from me again you will know what happened.

OK, Katherine really does have some clothes on. But this is a family blog and she didn’t have APPROPRIATE clothes on. However, this is the only picture I have of the cap. And I should probably tell you that she has it on backwards, which actually made it look better. If you had it on correctly you sometimes resembled Sally Field in “The Flying Nun”. Heavens!

I must admit that my particular class at good old BUNS were, ummmmm, how shall I say it….

Rabble Rousers.

Are you surprised by this. There were some in the administration that weren’t unhappy to see us graduate. They had good reason to be afraid. We quite often sometimes didn’t like to follow the rules as well as they thought we should.

We threw ourselves a bit of a graduation party….off campus….because if we had done it in the dorm we might not have graduated. Not that there was too much alcohol, there wasn’t. Although there was some. No it was more the fact that some of us took the time to “doctor” our uniforms to more specifically reflect how we felt about particular instructors.

I am not going to mention which instructor is being portrayed here. Just know that it was a spot on match.

Trust me when I tell you that I fit RIGHT in with this group of women. Oh yes I did. This isn’t me by the way.

But it very well could have been.

Hey does anyone need a rather stylish green pinstriped polyester dress with a front zipper. I have one I can sell you.

Cheap!

7 Quick Takes (Vol 169)

The days just fly by here at Chez Knit. Obsessively on and on. Remember, when you have read and cataloged all the blather that that has leaked oozily from my brain, click on the picture above to be whisked, at the speed of the impending EU break up, over to Conversion Diary.

Keep Calm and Blather On!

1.
My second/garage refrigerator gave up the ghost this week.

I am in mourning.

You might not think that is a big deal. People function with one refrigerator all the time all over the world. Quit whining about it Deb. Put on your big girl panties and move everything into the frig in the kitchen.

Bite Me!

I have had two refrigerators for twenty years. I use them both. Where am I going to store the cases and cases of beer and wine.

Where am I going to store all the jars of yogurt and the refrigerator pickles and preserved peppers.

Where am I going to store Jimmy Hoffa’s body?

It has been a slow, lingering and painful death. And she isn’t totally dead yet. But she is almost there and you can’t really store much of anything in her without worrying about spoilage. And of course all this came to a head on the day when I really needed to store a boat load of strawberries in her.

Sigh.

2.
The Day Lilies are just about to bloom. They are sending up their flower spikes. I go out there every day to check on them and talk sweetly to them and encourage them in their endeavor.

Bloom lovely plants. Bloom.

But you know what this means.

My flower beds are now regularly smelling like a frat house after a Friday night beerfest.

Eau de Vomitorium.

It is the price I pay for having the lack of brain cells to think that it would be easy to cultivate a boat load of different lilies in an area where the deer sometimes outnumber the people. Or at least it seems that way.

But if it keeps the deer at bay then I will spray every single day.

You know, I have been thinking about expanding my diet. I am so tired of Hosta.

3.
I think the months of May, June, July and August should be months where I don’t have to do any housework and I can just read all day.

Just like I used to do when school was out.

Whose with me!?!

Anyone?

When the dog days of summer arrive my DNA just says that it should be the time to sit around with a big glass of ice cold orange pop and a book and read and read and read.

Darn adulthood.

4.
The garden weeds are consuming me. Overwhelming me.

Why must gardens have weeds?

5.
The Frozen Northeast Ohio has been officially declared to be in “drought conditions”

I do not like drought conditions. But then who does really. Well maybe people who voluntarily live in the desert. I spelled that “dessert” at first. I think I need some chocolate.

But I digress.

Drought means that I need to go out to the garden about every other day and water for an hour. And I have to time the visit just right because there are four hoses available to water and there are a lot more that four garden plots.

And for some reason drought conditions do not seem to make the weeds grow any less vigorously.

My heart and soul really needs a regular dose of “rainy day” and when that doesn’t happen I get all fussy and fidgety and unhappy.

Yes, I know I am oddly put together. It has been pointed out to me before. 

6.
The Parental Units are coming to visit for the weekend.

YIPEE!!!!!!

I think we will be taking them to The Westside Market tomorrow. Everyone should experience TWM at least once.

I am hoping to stop at Fritter Mountain for sustenance.

And perhaps some gyros for lunch.

I had better stop eating now!!

7.
Can I just say that I love my job. I get to see some fantastically designed kitchens and meet some great people. And I just love seeing how everyone’s view of design and function and decorating in a kitchen, and other rooms of the house as well, is so very different. I haven’t seen a duplicate yet.

You just never know what is going to happen. I encountered a dog this week who followed me around and insisted on obsessively licking my legs.

Evidently he is very fond of lotion.

And I tasted particularly good to him.

I washed my legs when I got home.

I WON! I WON!

Generally I never win anything. It is a sore trial in my life. I feel deprived and neglected.

I faithfully enter to win things over at The Pioneer Woman.

Nada.

I enter other contests.

Nada.

You know, now that I think about it this isn’t strictly true. I did win a fabulous pair of earrings from my old friend, Kathy, over at Twist and Shout. We have known each other…..well for a while. No need to say how long. I have a picture of the earrings somewhere on the hard drive but it is hiding from me.

But I digress. So, at the end of last month I was noodling around reading some of the bazillion blogs that I follow (I might need to have an intervention) and I got to Knitting Knoobie and saw…….

A YARN GIVEAWAY!

A silent hush fell over my office.

Yarn, I love yarn. I might have mentioned that.

And this was Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, something that I have never had the pleasure to own or knit with. But have wanted to very badly.

And it was a luscious brown tweedy sort of color. It looked like yummy hot chocolate.

It all comes back to chocolate in the end you know.

And so all you had to do was comment. That seemed easy enough. I can do that. And so I did. But I knew I wouldn’t win because, you see, I never win anything (except the lovely earrings) and even worse…….I was the first person to comment. The first comment never wins anything. I think it is a rule somewhere. It means that you are too eager and cannot be rewarded with fiber. I commented and then I put it from my mind because….

I never win anything.

Can you imagine my surprise and delight when I found an email from Susie telling me that her wonderful husband had picked my number for the giveaway.

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!

This is what arrived in the mail today.

2 skeins of worsted weight loveliness. See, it DOES look like hot cocoa.

Now I am going to be consumed with deciding what project to make with the 280 yards of tweediness.

Decision, decisions.

THANK YOU SUSIE!!!

Wordless Wednesday

I am taking a page from my friend, Debbie, over at Whispers From The Woods.

OK, I cannot be totally wordless this first time. I love Debbie’s Wordless Wednesday photos. They inspire me. And since it is summer around here (and we could use a bit of rain thankyouverymuch) and I have a boat load of stuff to do.

You are getting Wordless Wednesdays.

Or perhaps we should call them Semi-Wordless Wednesday. Because I cannot seem to shut off the flow of letters.

Strawberry Love

This Spring has been so, so busy with this and that and the other thing.

You know how that goes. So it was with a jolt and a feeling of panic that I realized I hadn’t been out to Monroe Orchard to pick strawberries. And I had looked in the freezer and only saw one more bag of frozen strawberries from last year!!!

Egads!!!

I depend on frozen strawberries to go into my smoothies.

I drink a lot of smoothies.

So I was on the phone at 7a to ascertain whether they were picking strawberries still or if the season had finished. It has been a very odd strawberry season according to the fine people at Monroe. They started picking in MAY! But then on the other side of that coin they are most likely going to be done with picking by the end of this week.

So you can probably guess what I was doing this morning. I didn’t take my camera with me because I was by myself and I wanted to concentrate on picking. The strawberries were on the small side but oh are they tasty. And they are very pretty as well, many of them coming away with part of their stem attached.

Surprisingly I was the only one in the strawberry patch. Of course it was also 8a on a Tuesday but still. You can’t see but these are really big containers…..and in the space of 90 minutes I picked A LOT of strawberries.

To quote Dr. Phil: Debbie WHAT were you thinkin’!

I got going and I just couldn’t seem to stop. I just kept picking and picking and picking.

And then, after plunking down my moola and driving home with my car full of the smell of ripe, warm strawberries, it was time to get down to the business of washing, hulling and freezing.

Seriously who wouldn’t love to just sit around all day and eat strawberries. Maybe the house elves will do the laundry and put on the sheets and I can just lay back and eat strawberries.

These may not be beautiful but let me tell you that doesn’t matter. They taste delicious. I am having a hard time saving any for HHBL. But I will don’t worry……one or two.

Look Mommy, a strawberry butt!

Look away son. I thought this was a family blog not some place where I am going to be subjected to porn of the fruit variety!

Sorry, I said the word butt.

Oh, and I looked in the very back of the freezer….and found 3 bags of frozen strawberries from last year. That just means that I will need to make more smoothies….and maybe a frozen strawberry pie….and possibly strawberry ice cream.

World Wide Knit In Public Day

Yes there really is a World Wide Knit in Public Day Virginia. And it happened to be last Saturday. And a good time was had by all.

Some of my Knit Sibs and I met up at one of the local yarn shops in the area. We try as hard as we can to support our LYS.

It’s not like we don’t also meet twice a month for our “Knit Nights”. But we just like to knit together. So sue us.

Cathy, the wonderful owner over at The Artful Yarn put on a fabulous WWKIP day. Who wouldn’t want to sit out under the shade of the trees with a nice glass of lemonade and indulge in a bit of fiber.

And check out what others are knitting or crocheting.

There were experienced knitters.

There were “newbies”.

There might even have been an alpaca to pet and love.

There was a spinning demonstration. This only cemented my resolve to adding spinning to my list of “fiber arts talents”. I seriously wanted the fluorescent green yarn that she was spinning. It called, absolutely CALLED to be socks.

I have no idea who this was but she was having a good time. AND she was just finishing up a version of the very same baby sweater that I just finished. It is a favorite.

And…….

Shhhhhhh……..

Don’t tell anyone……

But I might have purchased some yarn.

It was just a little bit!!!! Only two skeins of lovely Madeline Tosh. Oh so wonderful.

What do you mean I might want to think about not buying any more yarn. This is only a small cabinet. Small I tell you. And there really isn’t THAT much sock yarn in there.

Can we have WWKIP day once a month?

Please oh please oh please????