Monday: Some Very VERY dangerous Words from a sitting president....

From the news wire:

 "“We’re going to take care of our warriors and I will always stick up for our great fighters,” Mr. Trump told a rally in Florida as he depicted the military hierarchy as part of  the "deep state" he vowed to dismantle. “People can sit there in air-conditioned offices and complain, but you know what? It doesn’t matter to me whatsoever.

Link to the Entire Article. 

These rules are in place so that when, and if, a combatant is captured alive, they are treated as prisoners and not as animals to be slaughtered.  Every officer knows this.  Every serviceman knows this.  It's a Code so that prisoners are not summarily executed.  Which is what happened to this prisoner.
Its very simple; you want your own soldiers who are taken into custody to have certain protections.

You, as an officer, have to adhere to these rules.  The Code of Conduct.  It's that simple.

Women of Science.... Rejoice.....And God Yes, I am A Feminist!

DH sent me THIS link to me about Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell's story from the Live Science Site,

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell wins a Three Million Dollar Breakthrough Prize after having the been passed over for the Nobel Prize for her discovery of Pulsars.  THIS link is to her story on WIKIpedia..

And, I would like to bring to mind the story of another woman scientist, an X-Ray Crystallography expert who did X-Ray Diffraction studies, and actually discovered the structure of the DNA Helix.  She was passed over for a Noble prize in Chemistry related to her instrumental work on the structure of the DNA molecule.  Her name is Rosalind Franklin, and HERE is her story on WIKI.

This sign

has been on my (then) Sewing Room door since the 1970's when I first read about Rosalind Franklin.  I put it up in her honor.  It served as a daily reminder that Women get thrown under the bus even in America.

We have a crap system of dominance in place in this  world and it's been running things into the ground most likely since the dawn of time.  It has served us Ill.

There is one bright spot:  The Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago is named for her.   Go Chicago!

Ladies, Start Your Engines!

I suppose we should rejoice that we don't live anywhere near this event! Though, ''Tis Long ago and Far away it happened all the time... Bon Appetit!

C/o Hubble 

And as if that above isn't enough to worry about, look HERE for an article on Antarctica, which should get your adrenal glands hopping.  I'm expecting the whole continent to start rebounding, and guess what that does to the rest of the mantle.  Every hear a four masted sailing vessel groan and creak?  Well, Antarctica rebounding is not going to be quiet, nor will it be Pretty.

What a wonderful world it would be....

I give you something to Ponder...This Monday is for Musing...  

“Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of things.  That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that world….  It was this vision that gave him his great power, for when he went into a fight, he had only to think of that world to be in it again, so that he could go through anything and not be hurt.”  - Black Elk

How much this was like other holy people who could walk through chaos without being touched by it.....

Europeans are not the only ones with magical stories to tell of this world of dreams.  We, as a people,  need to listen to all the Human Stories because they link us all.  We, the whole Earth, are one people, one Nation, and exist within that One Eternal, Holy Mind....

Want to know more about this heroic and charismatic man?  Go HERE 

Saturday Nine is The Cookies, song is "Chains"

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other partici-pants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme! 

Friends, if you want to join into the Saturday 9 fun, go here. 

Saturday 9: "Chains"

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here

1) The song is about a woman who is in love with her boyfriend, but still attracted to someone else. Do you believe a woman can be in love with more than one person at a time?  
No.  I don't believe it's possible.  Attraction is not Love.  Love is a deep commitment.

2) What about the male of the species? Do you believe a man can be in love with more than one person at a time?  
See answer 1.  Equal rights an all, ya know?

3) This lyrics were by Gerry Goffin and the music by Carole King. Carole was a favorite guest of David Letterman's. When she appeared on his show, he often commented on how impressed he was by her firm handshake. She credited her memorable grip to time spent milking goats on her Idaho farm. Have you poured goat milk on your cereal? Eaten goat milk yogurt or cheese?

Yes.  Grandma kept cows, and we drank their milk (and the home cheeses that were made from it )throughout WWII, though she kept no goats.  

And, the only animals my mother kept on her little farm were small ones which she raised for eggs and meat.  But a nearby farmer kept goats and, later on, another kept cows.  Mother traded for those products.  So, yes, thanks to the "Farm Barter Network", I've consumed both goat's milk and goat cheese.  

And you expected a simple "yes", or "no".  Buhahahahaha!

4) When it first came out, "Chains" was a favorite of 18-year-old George Harrison. It was at his recommendation that the Beatles added it to their early stage shows and even recorded it on their first album. When you were in high school, what was one of your favorite songs?

"Earth Angel" was the first one that lept to mind.  That's when we all were collecting recordings on little 45's.  I tell you, it was so much fun to go into a record store and buy these little things.



But then there was "Rock around the Clock"!  I have this record though, sadly, it's cracked.



5) In 1962, when this song was released, epic movies were popular on the big screen. The Longest Day was three hours long, and Lawrence of Arabia ran more than three hours and a half hours. Today's most popular movies are nowhere near that long. Do you think the average American has a shorter attention span today than he did in 1962? 

Sadly, I believe this is true.  I blame all the poisons in the air and water.  This is no joke.

6) In 1962, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy went on a two-week goodwill tour of India and Pakistan. She received a ceremonial "welcome necklace" in India. Made without jewels or precious metals -- just beads, sequins and paper -- it was valued by the First Lady for its delicate appearance and craftsmanship, and today it's on display at the John F. Kennedy Library. Tell us about a piece of jewelry that means a great deal to you, and why.
I have my Grandmother's Locket.  She died when I was ten, and my Grandpa sent it to mother, who gave it to me.

7) In Pakistan, Mrs. Kennedy made headlines by riding a camel. Have you ever ridden a horse, donkey, camel or elephant?

I've only ridden horses.  Well, maybe there was a donkey in there somewhere.. can't recall.  I was going to ride a camel one year, at a circus, but the line was "a mile long" and I felt sorry for the camel.  

8) Also in 1962, the New York Newspaper Guild went on strike, so the nation's largest city went 114 days without a single daily paper. In 2018, how do you get your news?

I get it on the internet.  The local Paper is a rag.  I'd like to live in an enlightened city because here, the whole place seems teeming with and being run by Big Moneymen.  
My favorite newspaper  person retired and went on to write for the Reader.  That's something I DO read from time to time.

9) Random question -- Complete this sentence: Before I go to sleep, 
I always brush my teeth, take a couple of meds, and start to listen to the "...wind of my soul".

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. 

As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. 

But it is not a rule. 

We haven’t any rules here. 

Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, 

"Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" 

Enjoy your weekend!

For Tomorrow, The Friday Whatever: The Irish Questions...

First off.  And a Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all my cousins out there! (In two days)

I'm probably only 1/8th Irish - or for the ease of adding up things like fractions, let's go to 32nds...  so I am 4/32nds.  I have an Irish great grandmother from Cumberland Gap.  The real McCoy, so to speak.  And we all know how inbred those guys were.  Sorry cousins,  I just have to confess.  It surely didn't look good for awhile.

Mr.Z is a quarter (8/32nds) Irish, and so the daughters got half of mine and of his... which is  6/32ths! In percentage that is 5.33333333333333333333333%

Gah, that's crazy making! Anyway, they are more Irish than I am, and less  than their daddy.  I do have red headed cousins, lots of them. So....

Pinterest, of course
So, Kiss me, I'm Irish!

And.....If you want to see a fun article about what it means to be Irish, try THIS one... "24 things you only know if you come from an Irish family"

The cousins thing got me and just made me laugh and laugh.  So true!

God I'm tired of the Bread and Circus's in Washington.  I also know who to blame.  It's that Doctor. Strangelove Crew,  hands down..... I think it's time for a little bit of this... *points down*
  ↓ 
 

 

    
FROM HERE

Wednesday Music??: "Sita Sings the Blues"

As suggested by Rusty Ring....

This work is Long, but Lovely, Touching, and Eternally relevant.  It's actually a "feature length" piece.  I especially love the dialog of the shadow puppets.  Enjoy!

Friday5: But first, an article by Stephen Hawking.

Stephen Hawking is a brilliant man and very analytical about every topic he decides to expound upon.  For this reason I have complete respect for his insights and wish to share them.  This is not politics anymore.  It's about human rights or the fix we are in.........

HERE is the link to the Article, This is The Most Dangerous Time for Our Planet", at The Guardian. These dangers he sees in the latest political trends.  It's got nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with the survival of the the planet, more specifically, the biosphere, where everything is living.

New on to friday5.

Friday 5 for December 2: Celluloid Heroes

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5!  Please copy these questions to your webspace.  Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below, so we’ll all know where to check out your responses.  Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

1. What movie most recently impressed you with its score or soundtrack?
I haven't watched a new movie in months.  Sorry, I can't remember the soundtrack of "The Revenant", which was the last newish movie I watched.  Thinkingggg.....  "Chicago"!  I think it's the best thing I've ever seen in recent memory for soundtrack and just oodles of things.



2. What movie most recently impressed you with its costumes or makeup?
"The Revenant"  It was fantastic.  It took you right back to the horror days of the western expansion.  It's not pretty at all.  

3. What movie most recently impressed you with its scenic backdrops?
The only scenic backdrops that impress me are the ones at the Opera.

4. What movie most recently impressed you with its originality?
"The Revenant".  Yes, but it was totally engrossing.  Deadly for nightmares but engrossing.

5. What movie most recently impressed you with its dialogue?
Well, there wasn't much of it in "Revenant", so I'd have to say it was "Much Ado About Nothing" with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.  I try to watch that at least once every five years.  I love it.  It really is fun.

Thanks for participating, and have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday Tails....UpDated with different Hope for Paws. plus... a Knitting update?

The YouTube subscriber, that video from Hope for Paws, must have run into some sort of trouble and it's not available anymore.  So, a very territorial.. stay away from my body... type doggie gets rescued.

I'm not ready to declare my knitting gene dead or mutated yet.  However, I now know that simply putting  your knitting project in a nifty basket/ extra lovely Dear to your  heart Designer bag from the Gucci knock off store, or even a brown paper sack will not make you actually take it up and fondly knit.

I suggest taking it into your hands and holding it to keep those hands warm.  This also serves to let you know in your heart that this is halfway to it's purpose and just might work.  I'll do that tomorrow.

That web page had Google on the ropes for awhile, I think.  I'm still picking code out of my teeth but nailed it all.

Thankful Thursday-sort of a rambler: Poetry and Poets, and those who "mock" them...

I'm grateful for poetry...it lightens the burdens, or sometimes not.  From the Psalms to E.E. Cummings, and on to Sylvia Plath and the more modern, I love it all.

An Aside:  It is said  that Life is what's happening while we are busy making plans.  Well, I don't think I'll ever lose my temper for any reason ever again.  It's gone and frankly, it took a genetic sharpshooter to get rid of it.  There is an Ethereal calm that has taken over my mind, and it's here to stay.

So many things I thought were of top priority have fallen straight into oblivion.  But, this is not true for poetry, or beautiful art, whether in the form of song, rhyme, drawing, photography, or Mother Nature.

Ah, yes, back to Poetry:
While cleaning some dusty spaces,  I came across a little book of poetry from 11 grade English Lit class.  I thought the book lost, but it was just tucked up under some others from a hasty clearing out of a set of shelves several years ago.  In that long ago time, I'd circled a few lines from "Merlin and Vivien", and since they were one of my favorites in the book, I'm sharing them.  Of course, Tennyson put some very pretty words into the mouth of his villain, but enjoy them just the same.....

Alfred Lord Tennyson:  from "Merlin and Vivien"

Idylls of the Kings and Other Poems 

"In Love, if Love be Love, if Love be ours,
Faith and unfaith can ne'er be equal powers:
Unfaith in aught is want of faith at all.

It is the little rift within the lute,
That by and by will make the music mute,
And ever Widening slowly silence all.

The little rift within the lover's lute,
Or little pitted speck in garner'd fruit,
That rotting inward slowly moulder all.

It is not worth the keeping: let it go:
But shall it? Answer,  darling answer, no.
And trust me not at all or all in all"

Sadly, the speaker was lying....

Want to watch a campy, somewhat loopy little version of the whole thing?

This you tube was done by  a group (3) of female drama students, who actually did a pretty good job with next to nothing for props and staging.

I give you the The Powerpuff Girls.... they use mostly plain speech, all the more charming and funny.



I've watched this often, even though it's rather long.... 15 mins +

Advice, wanted or not:  Don't waste a minute of your life brooding. If nothing else, write a blistering, non-violent letter to someone in office whom you believe to be "Naughty", or an encouraging letter to someone you deem to be "Nice".  Be sure to then mail it, feel good about your public service .  Then take a little walk about to go look at flowers if there are any about, or check out web gardens, or birds, or maybe flickriver.

May you walk with Beauty all you.

Keep loving.  Remember, "Love is the closest thing we have to magic."  This quote is from the movie, "Aquamarine".  It's a kid's movie but really cheers a person up on a rainy day.

Wordless Wednesday:

Amazingly Brave.....

See More Tanker Runs here

This Photo is from the Corona Fire Department's team. C/o SuzieQz

Newton

It is said that you should never use wiki as the end all and be all, but then, it takes forever to get a scholarly book published.

The Wiki Article


"GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689" by Sir Godfrey Kneller - http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/art/portrait.html. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Isaac Newton, I've found your most interesting side....  I now feel so free and so loved.  Like Geruda, free from hope or fear; this is an epiphany.  Where ever you may now be I want to say," Thank you for living and leaving so much behind, like bread crumbs, as a path."

Thank you Lao Tsu so very much for all the information you left behind as well.  My world is making more sense all the time.  Thank you Jesus for being You.

Saturday9 It's late! It's a Yakfest I tell ya! PLus Saturday Komeekz and Saturday Matinee

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Lucky Star (1983)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.


1. Have you ever wished upon a star?
Yes, and with all my heart I wished for my brother to not have to go to Viet Nam.  I think the prayers and fasting is what did it - though the star, Arcturus, couldn't have hurt the odds.

2. In the 1980s, Madonna considered her wrist bangles one of her fashion trademarks. What's one of your fashion trademarks?
I once wore a lot of funky earrings and great rings.  But not for long.  It was serious that war in Viet Nam, I had to pay attention to it lots sooner than I wanted to.  I blame Howard Hunt.

3. Though she got good grades, Madonna could be disruptive at school, known for turning cartwheels in the halls between classes. Can you do a cartwheel?
I used to be able to do that, and do back flips.  That stuff is FUN!

4. Her high grade point average earned her a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, home of the Wolverines. Do you follow college football?
Not any more.  We used to be big fans of the Aztecs and even went and sat out the games at the old stadium.  DH was going to college there at the time.

5. Madonna co-starred in the movie version of Dick Tracy. Do you enjoy comics?
Oh Lord,  do I EVER enjoy comics.  Saturday Komeekz is something I love to plan for.

6. She played Argentinian First Lady Eva Peron in the biopic, Evita and directed a movie about Wallis Simpson. What famous 20th century woman do you wish you could meet/could have met?
Just one?  I would have wanted to meet Sylvia Plath, Shirley Chisholm, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Meade, or Rachel Carson and Pat Nixon.  I think Pat Nixon was an amazing woman.

7. Madonna authored a children's book called The English Roses. Tell us about a book that had a big impact on you when you were a kid.
Oh,  I reckon I've answered this, variously, before.   But, I did find my first book (yes, a Dick and Jane) in mother's hope chest a few years back. It was read to bits.  My grandmother gave it to me the year we spent Christmas at the farm.  I was probably 3 and a half.  All I remember about the trip back to Ohio that year was that I threw up the greasiest scrambled eggs that could be imagined all over my pretty little dress.

8. One of Madonna's "vocal idols" is Ella Fitzgerald. Who is your all-time favorite female singer? 
Like question 6, there is not just one all time favorite for me.  Ella is certainly one of my idols.  Aretha Franklin and Beverly Sills are two others that come to mind.

9. Madonna once did a Pepsi commercial. What beverages are in your refrigerator right now?
There are a few beers, both alcoholic and non, four different kinds of fruit juice, some red wine, and a bottle of water.  I think there might be some of my favorite root beer and maybe a Jamaican ginger beer.  It comes in a green bottle and it's very good.

Saturday Komeekz

Saturday Matinee, Two Dog Shows that have nothing to do with the AKC.

"Animal House"... a TV show about a the largest and oldest No Kill Shelter in the United States...Great Stories about saving Rescues!

"Dogs with Jobs"..  Another show that will put some smiles on your faces.

These are a Wonderful Christmas sort of entertainment because they are such good uplifting ones.

Thankful Thursday- Brigands and Angels

Today, with the sudden realization that - for physical, emotional and spiritual reasons - I can no longer read or watch things that PISS ME OFF, I'm free to be an undercover agent of change while outwardly appearing to be a Pollyanna. For all this I'm thankful.

One of the bloggers who writes Sunday Stealing posts, said that if She were Emperor of the world, one rule would be, "Everybody eats!"  What a wonderful world that would be!  Since arms traders are responsible for a lot of crop disruption... just check the records, they need to go.

And, since the estimate for yearly death toll from starvation Worldwide is 30,000,000 humans - mostly little kids, this would be a very good rule (see first paragraph) indeed.  Also, I feel this horrid toll is reason enough to say grace daily.  It is a privilege to to eat everyday.

I'm thankful that my kids get to eat everyday, and that they have a roof over their heads.  It's a very big deal.

I can't overtly engage the enemy but I can covertly oppose them.  Oxfam Hurrah!  Doctor's without Borders!  Women for Women!

I plan to be UP all day!

Come Fly with me?

Wordless Wednesday- Kent State Iconic flower photo

The times they never change fast enough. Thank you Mother Russia!

Day 10 August Challenge, Saturday Komeekz, and goodbye to an old friend ( my Fujika 35mm)

Today, there is this AMAZING THING!   Since the Priest didn't appear in any of the dozens of photos taken of the scene, it makes it truly inexplicable.


Aside:  Oh, and the new Fall Interweave Knits came.  Hurrah!  There's a story about our Clara in it!  Yay!


Speaking of Photos:

Saturday Komeekz..  One to go with my goodbye to the Fujika.  We had it thoroughly conditioned a few years ago, because I thought I'd use it again, but times have changed.

Film is scarce and expensive.  If you want to do your own developing, fine, you can get all the special effects; but really, I think that era's over for most of us.  Onward to an era of photo shopping out stray hairs, red eyes and gray teeth...

Today I am resting, and knitting. 

There's no good news today, I regret to say, but plenty of controversy!

Are we all just running around a Holodeck?

I spent the last half of Saturday watching "Breaking the Maya Code", a wonderful documentary based on the book of the same name, and which naturally led me to watch "Afterlife", where a couple of doctors who wanted to ride some sort of ego wave congratulated themselves in being "scientific" and "pioneers" of research into near death experiences, so called NDE.

Of course they were not, as that honor belongs to Elisabeth Kupler-Ross, and she's dead and can't defend herself.  So she garnered no a single word of praise from the duo, though they really should have at least given her a nod while plugging all their books.  And, what about Edgar Cayce, who also studied Near Death Experiences clear back in the late 30's?  But, then, Kubler-Ross was a psychiatrist and Cayce a lowly Psychic.  Additionally, if the NDE really does help you get over the lust for fame and money, the makers of the film should have shown that they actually Got it!  What I've learned in a life time of study is that such an experience truly does change you.

I now believe, more than every before, that it's best to forgive it all..  All of it.  We've been paying each other back for hundreds of thousands of years, and it doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon.  And, as we all well know, Payback is a Bitch.

So, What's the Good News for Sunday?  Let's try that thing, "Pay it forward"!  Let's be nice to strangers because in this way some have "entertained Angels unawares". 

PS.  About Guatemala, where most of the Mayans in the above film live.  Howard Hunt - see the Rolling Stone Article HERE - was once quoted as saying, "We wanted to terrorize the country", when describing what was done.  That's when Father Bill Wood's plane was blown up in mid- air, I imagine.  I remember when that happened.

And no, I'm not showing off, I am a little p*ssed off.  I want to find that software for the Mayan Glyphs and can't find a site that isn't connected with astrology.  Who cares about that?

Let's see, Good News... Well, the testimonials in the movie are good and honest ones.  It's still worth watching.  I'm still not sure it isn't something from the Christian Right, so be warned.

Don't forgot to look up if you hear something coming your way from Space!  They are coming for us, maybe.  I mean I hope they are...

This cloud vaguely resembles a Heart shape, yes?

I should get some sleep!  Good night!

Knitting socks, Adoption, "Beat The Drum", the movie

Kim and Ellen both responded to a post HERE , and I had some thoughts about the importance of forever homes and foster parenting in the the great scheme of things for the other earthlings and sentient beings on this planet.

 Both Kim and Ellen have rescue dogs, as do I.  That started me to thinking how lucky and wonderful our fur babies are, and how hard it is to think about how close they must have all come to extinction before we found them.  This put them into the  lucky 50% of abandoned dogs, or cats, who find a home.

I hope you are reading here Governor Brown!

Activists oppose Brown's attempt to repeal longer holding periods for shelter animals - LA Daily News

When  I was younger and more spry, I wanted to rescue a dozen little dogs to train for the sort of act that goes to the fair every year and performs.  The incredible human being who takes them out of shelters and trains them for this show is an absolute Angel though he may not think he is, and that was something that I thought was a "right occupation"  for others, like clueless me, to emulate.

We feel like our dogs rescued us.  It was pretty bleak and lonely around here til Jazzie and Wolfie came and filled up a very big hole left in the empty nest.

Here's a link to Maddie's Fund, and information on how far we've come in no kill sheltering for animals.  Awesome way to have an impact on this, Dave and Cheryl Duffield!

Oh, knitting..I almost forgot?  I love this pattern - Jane's Hedgerows - and will knit them across the insteps in pattern this time. Usually I stop at the base of the leg, and knit the toe plain.   The sock pair is 25% finished.  That's the leg, so only two feet and another leg to go.   As soon as the rest of the progress bar pictures are located, I'll upload it.bars are located in their hiding place on another drive, the 25% bar can be inserted.

Cinema...

"Beat The Drum", have you seen it?  It is a beautifully told story of an orphaned nine year old boy called Musa, his journey into adulthood and into the city to find his uncle who has gone away to find work in Johannesburg. It's filmed, in part, in spectacular KwaZulu Natal, the homelands of the Zulu people.  The story begins in Zulu lands with the death of Musa's father, and moves to  Johannesburg and Soweto.  It is also the story of an orphanage made up of children survivors of families decimated by AIDS.  It is about a terrible disease but leaves you with a message of hope for the future, as people in township village and city face a new an powerful enemy of Life itself.   

 "Beat the Drum"




BEAT THE DRUM VILLAGE

A quote from the Official Page:

"Learn how Beat the Drum inspired its producers to build a village that provides family-style housing, food, clothing, education and medical care for children orphaned by and living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya."

Out and About, a little mundane knee maintenances

My sister was feeling a little below par, so we went to see her for a couple of hours of chat, Carol listening, and cuppas. Over the years she has gathered many pretty paper elements of Victorianna and used them for her Christmas decorations. Some of them are in the new header, so you can all enjoy them, too.

I'm starting to worry about my sister, as her windows of feeling good are diminishing, but she's a feisty lady. She did manage to re-paint her kitchen cabinets this past summer, one door at a time. She is amazing at pacing herself to get things done when she has a brief window of energy during any given day. Her hubby would take down and help her set up the doors on saw horses in the garage. He's good for the heavy lifting parts. She's got our mother's touch at home repairs, gardening and making do.

When I see what my sister can accomplish with only being able to work for short periods, over time, I think of Fran's Ten Minute Rule. Fran was such an Angel in life, I think she is definitely an Angel who watches over this entire Planet Earth.

The new white tree to replace the old stick tree (the one that turned up it's toes last year )arrived on Wednesday but we haven't had the time to unpack it. I'm so excited about this new tree but we have had to wait. It's not a stick tree but a Spruce so we'll see how that plays out in the world of Fake Trees. I'm not that good at waiting for anything that has to do with Christmas. I want it up so I can start to decorated now!

It's been a busy week so far, with two luncheons - back to back - for our two clubs. After being under almost house arrest for so many weeks it was terrific to get out and see old friends, and to share a meal with them. The Rockhound club met at Marie Callendar's and I like that a lot. It was all decorated for the Holidays and is such a pretty place anyway. I ordered cob salad and my favorite holiday pie, pecan pie. Also, one of the members makes table decorations, two of which I was lucky enough to receive to take home. Pictures coming up..

Rough and tumble snow man from a paint roller

Tree Ornament or candy dish. Your wish is it's command

Flower pot Angel from a few years ago

The ceramics club met for Chinese buffet at one of our favorite haunts, I had some delicious sweet bean balls rolled in sesame seeds as well as the usual egg rolls and other tasty favorites, and we all talked a lot about everything but ceramics. Along with me there were four other people using canes, but the Rockhounds have bragging rights to the Cane Club title, with at least seven hopping around on canes. Mine, I hope, is temporary.

The balky knee, being a bad boy since Thanksgiving, has not given over yet. But it better toughen up because there are cookies to be baked! I plan on making Cranberry Pecan, Jam Thump prints, and I hope there is time for some Kiss Kookies. I'm just doing the simple stuff this year but it still will require some standing, which the bratty knee doesn't seem to like any better than anything else besides bed rest. I'll just have to whip it into shape over the next few weeks, eh?

Baktus is gathering steam and is with in a hair's width of being half way done.  The yarn weight was actually a whopping  124 grams, and the scale is fine, there was just something else going on that day of the first weigh in.  So, I've been able to make the shawl just a little longer before the decreases.  I'm really pleased at how it's come out; simple though the pattern is, the lovely yarn was the right thing to use.  I may end up giving this little beauty to one of my green eyed DDs.  :-)

Have yourselves a Merry Little Christmas.  And if you celebrate something else, like Kwanza or Chanukah, I wish you Peace and Blessings upon your lives and homes and families as well.

I'll post some pictures of the new tree when it's up and decorated.  We are going to put the green tree up, too.  Why not I say!  What can it hurt?   :+)

Take care, drive carefully, and enjoy the beauty of the Season and all the beauties of Nature when and where they cross your paths.

Something from the Mutt and Me for the Man of the House

This was fun to do, especially the Spiky Bow that Marla showed on Facebook a few days ago.

There is a tutorial for this bow at this site called ArtMind. It's very fun to make, and easy as pie.

Have some fun with it.

Hope you have a lovely St. Valentine's Day, and don't forget to treat yourself to something nice if no one else is inclined. There is no harm in a little self indulgent spoiling every once in awhile. Buy some Flowers for yourself or something.

St. Valentine was real as far as I can recall, and in prison. Probably because he wouldn't shut up! You know how that goes. Anyway, he sent these little messages, the myth goes, to ask people to not forget him, and to tell them that he always prayed for them.

Such a sweet man that I would give chocolates to him if I'd been around at the time, or if chocolates had! Hugs!