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!

Music Monday: "Strange Magic" ELO and a film from Industrial Light and Magic, and George Lucas.

This is in a feature length cartoon fairy-tale film that is so beautiful visually it will cast a spell on you. "I Garrantee!" (As the Cajon Chef on PBS used to say....)

The film is called "Strange Magic".  Amazing film!  It got a pan from Variety but Pffft!  Don't pay any attention to them...  meh...



Be sure to watch the extra bits afterward.  They are worth it.  This is a family movie for kids probably 7 or older.   The adults will love it, too.

Have a happy week everyone!  See you soon!

LIttle Wren Drawing; Basket of Pens; organizing chit chat; Saturday Komeekz; Maeve's "last book", and the movie "Clue"

I know, two posts in a day... *sighs*  But I hope you will forgive me my little brain fart in not doing these two Saturdays together.

Sketch for today:

House Wren: Isn't she sweet?

I did the quick sketch from a photo by Brian L. Sullivan, who is just amazing!  His photo is on the Cornell Site from my phone.  You can see that after I drew the outline I wanted to fill in with these pens:

Next to try are the colored pencils

They are nice pens, the black is really a thick felt tip that gives amazing control for it's size, almost like the tip of a Sumi-e Brush.  But they're just not the same as a water wash.  Since I've just started this enterprise, I realize it's best to have your own photos so that you have a multi sense memory as well.  There is something about drawing from life that can't be duplicated as the eye sees so much more when watching something that is alive and hopping around doing it's "thing".  If you don't believe me, just try to draw a Passenger Pigeon from the last photograph.

Organizing:

I'm keeping the bins but the yarn is going to the Craft Co-op in Santa Cruz, along with all the cone yarns (except for the big gray one that is a blend for socks).  This activity will free up some space in my sewing/card making/catchall of a studio in the front of the house.  The one in the back remains semi organized but is for another time and story.......whatwasithinking?

Source

Saturday Komeekz:

Dear little kitty, you won't like camping.  The only cats I've seen "camping" were in motorhomes, which they did NOT have to drive, and in which they had their own pull out food trays and beds!

The movie "Clue"



This thing is a literal scream!  I laughed myself sick and will most likely watch it again on Halloween!

I am reading a book that is a compilation of Maeve Binchy's  writings, her hubbie's and her publisher's.  You can tell the difference, but the book is still interesting and well written.  Parts have already been published elsewhere, and those are hers, as well as things she was compiling for a book she wanted to write about Chestnut Street.  I'm enjoying it, though it's sad to think she is already gone so long.   Chestnut Street


I have a migraine and plantar fasciitis at the moment so I'm just going to go rest awhile.  LOL!  Woohoo!  Trouble from Top to Bottom, er, the Foot Bottom that is.  Have a great Sunday!

Saturday Horror Flick.. "Humans Need Not Apply", Saturday Komeekz.. it's been quite a week.

Thanks to Bee.  *does a little dance!*  This is fun!  This is where the Robot who made this lives.
Just kidding!  Honest!  Please don't hunt me down and unbolt my head, please?

Ok, Snowflakes, er, Fellow Humans, you are in for a surprise.....

We have more and more people every year, and someone wants us unemployed.  We costs too much to hire us, even at minimum wage!  By the way, if you think the voice sounds a little like a Bot, it just might be! lol This is long (15 minutes) but very interesting.

A personal aside: I have already been operated on by a surgeon using a robot.  GAH!

Here we go!  Meet Baxter, Watson, and Emily Howell:



I think it's something to think about, but there are still many other jobs that will be left to the Meat Puppets!  I don't think war correspondents will be left out in the cold.  Maybe the bot soldiers in the robotic armies will find themselves being dismantled by something as simple as a hand grenade or barb wire entangling loops throw out from dozens of barn roofs.  Little things like that might save the Meat Puppets, right?  Or how about old fashioned trip wires?  After all, we little humans have seen StarWars.... Does this qualify this as a Saturday Matinee post?

Saturday Komeekz... see the sign about paying for or taking prescriptions?  hehehe

Tuesday Tails... Dolphin Tale... Wolfie tails, and a cat raising a baby squirrel.

DH found this movie at Netflix.  If you haven't seen it already, it is a very inspirational film about a community that came to together over a little tailless dolphin called Winter.  It's called Dolphin Tale.  Kids of all ages will love this film.  And, another film, a sequel called, "Dolphin Tale2"  will be arriving in the middle of September.

Wolfie tails:  He's doing better but a lot of gunk is still coming out of his eye in the morning.  But we think he has turned the corner on this- and he should with three kinds of medicines two of which he does not like, "thank you very much" and will squirm like a little otter to get away from them. The fire engine red tissues around his eye are down, too.  They are just a little red but mostly pink.

 Here's a picture of is foot as he slept on the bed this morning.

Wolfie's back feet are bigger than his front feet, and though it may be normal for dogs to have things this way (and I'm not sure that it's not), it still seems odd for a little peg-legged dog to have such big back feet.  This sort of reminds me of the Audi commercial about the Doberhuahua mix, though admittedly, THAT dog was bigger on the front half!.   That thing was hilarious.



The knitting report:  Having sewn the sweater parts to each other across the shoulder seams.  I had a scare.  I feel like I'm wrestling an octopus so ended up getting the side of the sleeve against the side seam.  Mon Dieu!  They didn't match and finally, after swallowing my heart, I realized the mistake, and pinned things together properly.  I will NEVER AGAIN make a sweater that isn't done in the round as much as possible.  With the Noro being space dyed, I hope that's the right term, it would have come out with even thinner stripes; I just had to knit it in pieces.

Slightly Fish Eyed Photo: Sweater inside out

Tomorrow, with my hands having had one day rest, I will be sewing up those long seams.  Also, this is not knitting related but sewing,  is that I've found a whole box of mending that is about ten years old.  If we haven't had any urgent use for that stuff in all those years, they are going out of this house to be recycled as rags.

Now for the Baby Squirrel raised by a cat:  It's lovely!



Thanks Pina!

Tuesday Tails - a cattail - Laplander film, Resolutions, yes/no?

 Just in time for the holiday, Yule that is, from Pina: The Legend of the Yule Cat   Iceland!  And, there are other links to follow more Yule stories.  Thank you, Pina. I love legends, especially when reading them for the first time.

For the last two years we have been watching a Lapland (Finnish) Santa legend called,  "A Christmas Story", on netflix.  It's really for kids but we love it ,too.  The fact that it was filmed in Lapland, and they used real reindeer, adds to it's charm.   We watched the extra bits, too, and those were fascinating.  This film starts out a little differently, but ends up making you feel good about how everything turns out.

Read about it HERE

I've also found another movie that I like to see at Christmas time.  It's a feel good chick flick.  I watch it with DH. Watch is what I do; what he gets to do is sleep through most of it which is OK with me because it's a cozy time, DH me and Wolfie dozing with DH.  I'm happy; he's Happy.

It's called, "The 12 Dates of Christmas", and though it seems to be a ripoff of the classic live-forever-stuck-in-one-day movie, "Groundhog Day", it's really not.  "12 Dates of Christmas" is a sweet, warm and upbeat rendition of that theme- meaning no Caustic Bill Murray character who has to learn to  grow UP already and be HUMAN for Jiminy Crimeny's sake!

Resolution making:

A quote from Musings of a Bookmammal's blog .... “When was the last thing time you did something for the first time?”  


I thought this year I wouldn't make any New Year's Resolutions.  This decision was based on the knowledge that  I've had a hard time keeping any resolutions I've made in past 8 years or so.   But maybe I'll do a few, especially if they challenge me to grow a little, like that quoted question does.

So, I will be posting a few closer to Year's end, but putting more thought into them.  Anything I plan to do, I must respect my arms and hands.  They cannot be ignored anymore.   They are the most important tools with which I make things, and making things is my perfect path to happiness and joy.  I mean I can't do anything like get my children  the respect they deserved from certain elders of the tribe.  There are so many of these "I can nots" that it gets thick around me, sort of  like fast setting cement while I'm sinking into a quagmire of grief and regret, or wishes that I'd been some sort of killer who really could kill with a look, like the woman in the song.  Pant Pant!

So, I'm making resolutions.  But after Christmas.  Tra La! 

Merry Christmas, Godfrey, and to all a good night!

Friday bits and pieces + Environmental Action takes on Smuckers and their GMO jammies. First White Crowned Sparrow

That would have sounded more Modern Media-like if I could have said, "IN" their GMO jammies, but alas, the formatting bits to do cross outs don't go as far up as the titles.

Read About it HERE

Environmental Action organized the first Earth Day.  That is Long term activism, eh?  I intend to put some bucks in their pockets.

Today we went to the Gym, I did pliés in all foot positions, three sets with ball rolling and, lord help me, some flies or something for the abs.  Everything is screaming but I got an A**kicking work out when all was done.  I think I'm keeping my trainer because she has shown me how to regain some of my grace in motion.  Don't get me wrong, I loved being a Marine, but now I want to be a Ballerina again!

We dug out some more Christmas doodads and hopefully will get things up and running tomorrow and the next day.  We watched two movies tonight.  "Into the White".  It's a Norwegian movie about when England and Germany were fighting over the resources in Norway.  If you watch this, remember it is a guy film but don't let that stop you.  I can't tell you very much about it or I'd give it away.  But if you feel dread it's justified, not from the five people who find themselves together in a hunter's cabin out in the middle of nowhere but from another source.  It is based on real events.  Bittersweet.

We also watched a Christmas movie that (now at the top of my "A" list) is sort of a thriller.  It is called "The Perfect Day".   It is the story about a man who writes a very personal first novel that shoots up from the floor to the top of the best seller lists and what happens to himself and his sweet family.   I love a good story with a little bit of seemingly magical things that happen as the days go on.  It's a bit scary for kids, or old ladies with heart conditions who nod their heads sagely at the dialog.

Bird report:  We now have a juvenile white crown in the Cape Honeysuckle tree.  I was thrilled!  The rest of the flock can't be very far behind.

Well, that's the day!  I've got some coupons lined up for the weekend!  You betcha!  Have a good weekend!  

Knitting update, and "Sunday Matinee, one day early -"The Life of Pi"

I was too excited about finishing the mitts to notice that one was a half inch shorter than the other one.  So I'm picking out the bottom stitches and adding that half inch- going the other way.  Oddly, it works.  I just have to be sure not to add too much. lol  Snip snip!

We watched "The Life of Pi" last night.  I don't think I blinked once through the second half.  I've never seen a movie like it. Not even "Avatar" had the same affect.   When I took the CD out of the player, I cupped it in my hands, and was instantly overcome with a strange rush of emotion.  Big tears started running down my cheeks.

I told DH that I felt like I was holding a true work of art in my hands..  It was a very spiritual feeling.  And no, it has nothing to do with Estrogen because he understood it, too -  complete Awe in the face of the Beautiful.

Little Happinesses, Sunday Matinee, Healing the Heart.

We recently watched, "Winter in Wartime",  a Dutch movie about World War II in Holland.   Holland suffered much at the hands of the Nazis.  The Dutch underwent starvation, summary executions, every thing that Nazis did everywhere else.   Through the eyes of a teenage boy, we see the affect on his family, and his town.  His father, the Mayor, tirelessly tries to save the community. All the while seeming like a collaborator, he was harboring people, here and there, protecting them in a very subtle way.  This is an excellent view of what happened in one small town in Holland during World War II.

This movie deserves it's R rating.  Obviously it would be better for me if I stopped watching such films.  But how can a human being turn their back on the history of those who gave their lives to defeat one of the worst aberrations of humankind that has ever occurred in history?

Something for the Heart:
There is no better medicine for a person than making joy for themselves or others.

Use whatever you have. Do whatever it takes.

Daylight, and More Bling!

You are your own, best, Happiness Generator.

May you walk with Beauty all around you.

Sunday Matinee : "Hatchi, A Dog's Tale"

We cannot separate the joy of living  from the sadness of loss.  In a half a million years of living as humans in connected groups, we have never been able to do it.  Being a loving, loyal friend means we risk loss.

So, yes, as many say in this trailer, this is a sad story.  The film is an adaptation of a true story about the bond between a man and his dog.  If you've had this sort of love, I guarantee you will cry.   We watched the movie twice to get it into ourselves so it would stay there and inform our hearts.



We also watched the feature about the making of "Hatchi, A Dog's Tale", afterward.   It is an unusually well made short feature about the movie.

The magical nature of this film is only one of it's great beauties.  Lead actor, Richard Gere, is superb, as is the entire cast.   A lot of the comments on the film, in YouTube, said it was sad.  I agree, though I cried a lot, which is sort of normal for me, I heard a few manly sniffles from the Hubster.

This adaptation of the true story of Hachiko, the dog Hachi, from early 1900's Japan, is of an instant in Infinity, one that includes all the elements of Unconditional, perfect love, devotion and loyalty between two fellow beings.

G rated, and with some comedic scenes,  I am recommending that you watch this film if you haven't seen it already.  I'm really mixed about whether small children can handle it.

Knitting Report:
Because every inch of knitting is a small victory for me in these strange days, I'm showing you this.  I find myself getting irritated with Wolfie, so you know I'm on my last nerve.

Bee's Mitt.  It will be done by in a couple of days then I'll cast on the second one.
It gets a thumb so maybe longer than two days.
You know how those thumbs can be!

Three ferns, left to right: Leather fern, and 2 Dallas Ferns, My Grrrrls gone wild.
The Dallas Gals are extremely crowded.
Make the pik big!  It will do you some good if you need green to rest the eyes!

Tomorrow I plan to look for one more thing at JoAnn's.  Retail Therapy on a small scale for organizing all my card making stuff.   Do you cover shoe boxes?  I'm going to do that with the sturdiest of the ones that are left from clearing out.

Happy Knitting!  The Pink Stardust sweaterlette will be cast on soon.  I thought I'd never get that on the needles.

Sweet dreams.  Good night!

Sunday Matinee - "I am David"

I watch a lot of movies, because I think of them as an Art Form.  So, I'll tell you about one I scraped up from the indies, or maybe something brand new, but mostly they will be ones that had the musical score, the story telling, and the cinematological (let's make up some new words here) magic to sparkle the apple of one's eye.

Today, well actually yesterday, we watched "I am David".  Since I seldom read the paper and never watch TV,  I have no idea if this was a big hit missed by such a hermit as myself but I will tell you this magical film will stay firmly inside my heart forever.  It's scary for young children so be aware.  It's about a journey taken from post WWll Bulgaria and weaves through the lives of others as David makes his way to his final destination, given to him by his protector in Bulgaria, in Denmark.  He carries a sealed letter with him that he guards constantly.

Beware! Don't read the wiki spoilers so that you can feel this story with it's full impact.  It's beautiful.

The movie is based on the 1963 novel by Ann Holm which was once called North to Freedom but is now being published as, I Am David .   I think it's time for me to read the book.

Boy of boy do I need to get knitting!   That's why this blog was started back in the day.   I blame Color Vision and, of course, the biggest boogeyman of all, Flowers!  Politicians?  Meh!   More like Merde!  Oh dear, I feel good for some reason.  Swearing in another language is too much fun!  I have to stop it!

Catching up here...new book, knitting etc. LONG!

I'm turning this back into an Arts, Books, Cinema, Beauty, Flowers, and Knitting blog. Except, that is, for Health care, Environmental issues, and Economics - my hobby. Well, let's say Animal Rights, too.  I get pretty pissed off about negative impacts by  Human on the other Earthlings, rooted, or the ones with  eyeballs.

I've been reading  First Draft and some of the blogs on her side bar.  They are Masters of the Art of Word Wars.  If you like fine writing about just about anything political, let me introduce you to her blog.  Prepare to die.

The day I went to my sister's house, we went shopping for findings and beads.   We couldn't find Blue Moon Beads at Michaels, and so if they have disappeared at JoAnns, we are going to be sad.  The product that has replaced Blue moon at the former establishment is, simply, inferior.  The findings are not smooth surfaced, and there are other problems.  So, we will go to the net from now on, with respected suppliers, and share costs.

At the gym yesterday, I wrenched my shoulder and neck.  Several years ago I fell off a deck and slammed into the house wall, bruising the whole side of my face and jamming my neck and shoulder.  This required a trip to Rheumatology for a cortisone shot, a temporary fix but one that has lasted a couple of decades, or so.   I'm trying to make this shoulder stronger now, Kung Fu strong.  It is resisting this attempt with all it has at it's disposal, meaning the ability to make me very sorry indeed for having such pretensions at my age!  The battle is taking shape, and the shoulder cannot be allowed to win!

Special for my trainer:

Thank you Isabella Bannerman of  Six Chix

 I wore most inappropriate foot ware on Friday, so we couldn't go to my favorite machine where guys, mostly, are always dropping weights!  Naughty muscle men.  The funny part of this cartoon is that it is from a paper used in Ceramics to cover my table last Tuesday.  I grabbed the section because it was about science, and had a couple of articles about a book in it I wanted to read.  But it also had the Comics where the shoe thing by Isabella Bannerman was.  Serendipity strikes again!   I'm grinning from ear to ear about this happenstance.

About those papers:  since we don't get a newspaper save for three days of the week, I miss much that is good in the UT.  So, I forgive it for being a rag most of the time.  There are good writers doing work for it.  I just wish they didn't have to follow a Fox News format when reporting on anything subjective.

Book report:  The Spiral Road by Jan de Hartog, is a Wordsmith's paradise.  The spiral road is an analogy of the journey of a soul to enlightenment, or not.  Black humor seems to be the Genre but it's not all that black.  The writing is more of a non - science fictional, hilarious (though sometimes serious) romp in the jungles of Malaysia at the time of Dutch "pacification", almost antique and very charming, too.

The plot is intricate and involving.  The characters develop mostly through the eyes of other characters, or through their musings. Yes, this is probably a better description of character development.  The Spiral Road is not exactly easy reading but so funny that it will have you spitting tea on the pages, if you aren't careful, as it's also cleverly satirical.

My copy was purchased in February 1962 and may well have spent most of it's time in storage.  What a pity because this author is a hell of a lot easier to read than James Joyce, and all of Hartog's books are extremely well written.  Jan de Hartog is one of my favorite authors, living or dead, which, sadly, he now is -dead that is.

My next book is this one:

Coral Reefs of the Microbial Seas by Forest Rohwer, and written down/organized/spiced up mostly by Merry Youle.  The paper that I brought home from Ceramics had two pieces about this young scientist and included the reasons why he decided to write a book that was for, as he puts it, "everyone to read."

Here's a funny bit about the Captain and his ship:

"Captain Bracken, like all ship's captains, secretly wished that he did not have to share his ship with outsiders.  His love of the White Holly was sullied by the necessity of having to hire her out in order to support her expensive habits. The Holly's lines were not beautiful.  Still Captain Bracken loved her.  In particular he loved her engines, twin 353 Cats.  They were immaculately maintained, and even the most impractical of scientists was aware that a ship's engines are sacred.  In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they must always work."

More fun:
The Landlubber's Glossary of Nautical Terms


Also, may I present a YouTube - made about some adventures in the book:




Knitting report:  sock number one is almost to the Fo'c's'le (the toe).  I'm so happy that, between reading and laundry today (or perhaps tomorrow, slug that I have become), I'm knitting my sock though I have got to make marmalade on Monday before the lemons shrivel! 

Cinema:  I watched a foreign film about illegal immigrants in Belgium.   An humane people should never EVER follow Belgium's example.   The film won a director's award at Cannes last year.  "Illegal"  We can't let what has started in our detention centers get as bad.  We are, after all, all the same species and highly intelligent creatures.  Further more, we have been nomadic animals for far, far, longer than we have been stuck inside "national" borders.   There is a good reason for this being true.

I leave you with something treacley cute:

I'm making this for Wolfie as practice for a full sized sweater for Bee!

Can't you just see that feathery little tail wagging away on this darling little white version of Wolfie Dog?

Linen Yarn, One Rock, Many Rocks.

The Beautiful Linen yarn from Little Knits came today.  And I think it's going to be a short cardi rather than a scarf.  The Hanami stole really needs to be made in a wool or at least a silk, something with a better chance at splicing properly.  I went to Knitting Paradise with a "splicing linen" question in mind and found THIS .  There are going to be LOTS and LOTS of Russian joins in my future, I suppose.  There IS always fabric glue. hehe

My sister made the decorations on the top of the basket.  I'm afraid the camera is going south.  I hope it can be fixed because I love this little mid-sized Canon.

The color was almost perfectly, still too Blue,  reproduced once we got outside on the patio

Today, while outside for the yarn's photo op, I looked down an Lo, there were two rock pile elements that caught my eye, both things for jewelry making

Agate inclusion weathered free from matrix

There was a long, beautiful agate to slice into wire wrapping bits, or just to admire on a shelf in some sort of stand after a really good scrubbing.  This piece was collected in the desert in Southern Arizona - way out there by Locomotive Mountain on the Lazy B Ranch.  It's a fun four wheel drive sort of place.

 These are very small pieces of Peridot.  The dark piece at the base of the fingers is a large, dark crystal of Peridot.   I have a smallish hand, so these are pretty small.  When cleaned up and polished a little, they will make bright elements for an ornament to hang in a winter window.  I've been looking for these for awhile.  They were a Quartzsite find.

Today was a quiet day but cold outside; to Californians, used to 75° March weather, it was cold. Brrrr!  But it was sunny.  A very nice day as long as you had a sweater handy.

I excavated the sock heel pattern, and will work on that  until I'm past the gussets.  I love gussets but don't really like turning the heel.  I'm always sure something will slip off the needles ( though nothing ever has), and I won't see it until all the gusset part is done.  Rho loves to knit heels but she knits toe up,which is an art I can't bring myself to try.  It's a prejudice, I know. Knitting may be the new Zen, but heel cups have to be watched with the eye of an eagle!

Last night we watched an amazing movie!  It's called "Snow Falling on Cedars".  It was the most beautiful American film I have seen in years.  The cinematography is evocative and stunning!  The acting is superb, the score is beautiful, and the story is emotionally complex and completely believable.   I'm still under it's spell a day later.  I just can't say how much it affected my mind and heart.  "Snow Falling on Cedars", from the book.

Sweet Dreams!

Something cute to look at

 B sent this link, and her comment was, "What's not to love?"  I'm just going to have to get that little owl if she sells them.

Major Cuteness to take home and SMOOSH! 

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have, and thank you, B!

Today was a gym day.  I got on the step machine for the first time and if I'm very, very careful I can use it on the lowest speed.  I'm THOROUGHLY jazzed about this though not really ready to build on it, yet!  One thing that I've learned  about steps is that going down them is something that most knee replacement patients have trouble with.  I can see why, too.  Though the leg is strong, some the elements are not as strong as they once were, like the quadriceps.  Until that muscle can do all that it used to be able to do, it will have to be embarrassing weak and reedy when it really wants to be "ready!".  The PT says that I have to give all my muscles a job so that they can have a reason to live.  Well, he didn't say that exactly, but it's close to what he said.

Today I bought a used book, one that Clara mentioned in Knitter's Review newsletter, Gail Callahan's book, Hand Dyeing Wool and Fleece.   I'm so happy to have it that you can probably see me dancing in the kitchen.  I hope by this summer to have enough cleared out of the big room to set up a yarn dyeing operation on the big craft table.

And, the linen yarn has shipped from Little Knits.  It's for a Hanami scarf , or a sweater, for L.  I included the link for the pattern so you could see it.  Ahem, correction: I bought this scarf three-at least - years ago.   So, my knitting plans now are starting to exceed my expected life time, and though that's a little scary, I'll just soldier on.

Good night.  I bid you Peace and Love back.  Love back is a good thing to get, too.  If you give Love it doesn't always mean it will come back to you, but hopefully if we all wish this for each other, more of it will come back.  We all need more of it.

Fingers crossed for you Kara.  Big Hugs for this day!  See you Sunday, maybe.

Oh oh!  Wait!  Here's a blurry picture of my little Buddha statuette on a shelf.  The Dalai Lama is in town but I cannot go see him.  But I'll be there is spirit.  A friend gave me this when she'd made two, and mine went missing, and my sister made the strand of hearts. My statuette has such a happy face that he cheers me up.

We just watched "Seven Years in Tibet" which is based on the life (and friendship) of the young Dalai Lama and his life long friend Heinrich Harrer.  Very interesting movie, though I still like "Kundun" best.

If you want to see another uplifting documentary type film, there's one called "My Dog".  It very fun and endearing and in really fresh ways.  It's different!  Try it.  You could fall in love with a few celebs for very different reasons than their popularity on the stage.

Good night for real!

Accidental Art # 23 and more....

Sunlight was shining through a red glass vase onto the wall.

I was at my sister's house on Thursday, and the late afternoon sun made this beautiful scene on the wall behind her orchids.

Today was a gym day.  The rest of the day is "Struggle with the Knitting Pattern" day.  Maybe I'll watch   this:



My PT suggested it.  I really like my trainer.  LIke DH, he's totally cool. 

Since watching a Dracaena trembling with fear after a scientist decided to go into the next room for a box of matches to burn it's leaf, I'm really wanting to find out more about proof of a Universal Consciousness.  How about you?  

Knit on m'friends!

To Kim in Oregon:  Thank you for your comment on my post.  Yes, agreed, it's very sad when a person thinks about what that new proposal by the Governor of California could mean.   More humans have to start thinking they are part of the Web of Life, and the newer concept of the Web of Universal Consciousness as well.  Well, it's new to most Westerners.  We are not "the end all and be all" of Superior Beings. We are another Earthling in the Web of Life

Bunch of Random Stuff.... How to make a Header, Catch of the day sort of thing

Having PT yesterday with weight, I'm resting up.  Let me tell you about PT.  I went three times a week but it's coming to an end.  I will miss my therapists but I won't miss being sore the next day.

Level Tangerine Rant Alert!:

Yesterday, I did bring home a magazine, a big mistake,  the latest editon of Time, which added to the post PT pain because in it was an article about how letting inflation rise would help settle the economy by letting it grow.
 
This was so obviously stupid that I took note of the author's picture, something of a kid really.  I surmised that she had not lived through the hyper-inflation of the 70's, of which she spoke so glibly.  It is beyond me how something as unsettling as inflation, which we are already experiencing without benefit of pay raises, AGAIN, could help our faltering economy.

All these theoretical "fixes" being proposed are just more experimentation that will hurt everyone below the hyper insulated upper earners. To support these experiments, because they should just be described as, "Let's try this and see if it works",  are worker bees just supposed to run up 70K $$$'s  on credit cards to float the economist's boat which is currently in favor?   I mean, really, all the happy crowing about the populous going on a buying binge at this time is maudelin.
 
Back to reality: Wage earners were not the cause of the original inflationary bubble because real wages never rose after 1973 ( this is sometimes forgotten) during a time when prices were rapidly accelerating.  I know, because I was buying groceries, and paying for everything else essential to life, and that bill went up with every other one, including utilities, housing, clothing, fuel, etc.   That last mini depression was also blamed on the Oil Producing nations, which had gotten thoroughly sick of being forced to take payment in devalued U.S  dollars.

{end Rant-Return to Apple Green Alert Level}

Something nicer.... We watched A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott last night, but two nights ago we watched this one:

We've been watching Christmas fliks for me to calm down.  A new one popped up in Netflix and it's a beautiful film.   "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey".  So I grabbed one at Amazon from whom I grabbed the piccy, too. This calming, well acted, visually beautiful, and perfectly paced film about the healing power of human love will be a favorite for those nights after a hectic day when you want some relief from the "Santa Claus Syndrome".  I really want to read the book now, too.

The knee ...I must tell you, if you are getting this done, the recovery curve varies for each person, and it fluctuates, sort of like an ailing economy.  One day you are elated; the next day you can start to think, " God, why didn't you stop me from doing this!!?"

Moving around helps.  If you aren't allowed into the garden (like I'm not), go look at it anyway and enjoy the exuberance of the young weeds which you know will draw a ton of small birds this winter. O, if it's snowy, just gaze out at anything beautiful that is available, and tell yourself that you are getting better every day, because -in truth- you are.  The body is healing and at a pace that is unbelievable considering what it as been through.  Something else that helps is to remember the horrible pain that brought you to the decision to have the surgery.  I have no trouble with my now minimally cranky knee and twitchy scar.

Header Ways:

Paula has asked about how I did this new header.  So, here we go...

Firstly,  I have a program called Picasa, which is free, stable and great.  That's what I use, mainly, for a photo wrangling program.  It has a feature called "Create a Collage".   The header was created from photos that I ran through Picasa first to clean up so that they looked fabulous on a monitor.  And after doing that, the next thing is to SAVE each element (photo) with the save feature under the file tab at the top of the browser window while you are still in Picasa.

With the photos I wanted, I used "Create a Collage" and saved it with white space around it.   After reselecting the  collage just made, I wrote in the title using Picasa's handy dandy little ABC tab. Using white space lets the collage float on my white blog background.  You don't have to use white.

Then I chose SAVE again and made sure all my hard work showed up when I uploaded the thing!  This is lots easier than it sounds.

In Blogger, you just go to your Design tab, choose "Layout", then edit your Title Bar.  Viola!

Any photo handling program you have that makes collages and let's you write on the pictures will work.

That's all folks except that I continue to read the half dozen non fiction books with increasing dread that anyone responsible for making this mess will ever be called out.  That is,  unless they commit suicide after sending a detailed note of their sins, and they make sure it's been printed in the Daily Mirror before they "86" themselves.

Oh, dear God, go look at some beauty now to recover from reading this.  I have too much time on my hands.  I have been banned from killing Frost dragons, too!  Mon Dieu!

Amazing Archive of 20th century Scottish Crofter's Arts.

At beebonnet report, I found a link to this treasure called In Sheep's Clothing at the Scottish Screen Archive.

This is an absolutely fascinating film of crofter's herding, and plucking the sheep, carding and spinning the wool.  Take note of Mrs. Jamieson's little black cat.

Hope you enjoy it, too.

I could have happily spent a whole life doing this but now I'm a spoiled Southern Californian who gets chilly if the temperature is less than 68 degrees.

Various things about daily life and only a little whining.

Beauty wrapped in sadness. I thought this would show the beautiful photo of footprints past a curb in Japan, but it didn't. It's still worth seeing even if you must click through.

Photography - Desktop Wallpaper - National Geographic Magazine
I've gotten behind in reading my favorite blogs, sadly. But I will catch up very soon!

Knee report: As luck would have it, I have been hit with a session of Gout, or maybe CPPD in The %#@*& Knee. This is not unheard of but it's not common. So here I sit, completely stalled out and spinning my wheels, with a knee elevated that is not as bad as it ought to be but there is NO truth whatsoever that knee replacement puts an end to gout - or CPP - for that matter. I didn't really believe it when told that by my PT, because it's a soft tissue problem. We got the bill though, yikes! I'm glad our portion is small.

So, many days of trying to entertain the brain have ensued. I've been watching Christmas movies (Muppet's Christmas Carol today), Netflix junk TV like "Whose Wedding is This" (so many of them about spoiled brides with first-world wedding angst!) and "Cake BOSS" - I love cakes, hate the bossy Boss. When I can fit it in, The knitting of the Baktus as reconnected me to the knitting world, and I'm reading the small backlog of "The Reader", plus also drinking copious cups of tea.

Weather report: For once, the Major (!!!!) Stuff that hit L.A. did not hit us. I'm sorry for L.A. County and all points East, but so glad that Central Coast wasn't hit as hard, nor were we. What a mess but it could have been much worse.

Back to the Muppets. Big hugs to any of you who got caught in that terrible wind storm!

Horoscope for today

"There is much spinning in your head.  Empty it onto a list.  This will help you focus on the pleasure in each activity instead of on remembering what else you must accomplish in order to call this day a success."

Well, I should have read THAT one earlier.  I see about three a week, and evidently saw THIS one way too late to take advantage of it.

Roll on, Saturday!  There's always tomorrow! 

My hair is now presentable.  Even I am happy with it.  The sock has two more rows and we watched a beautiful Film (cartoon) called,  "The Book of Kells".   Magical, and visually stunning.  Loved it!  It's for kids, to be honest.  And then we started watching,"In the Name of the Rose", with Shawn Connery.   Now, that one is definitely NOT for kids!

Good night, and good luck East Coast people.  What a terrible storm.  HUGS, M'Friends!  

Ceramics, Flowers, knitting, Earthquake theory, and a lot of complaining.

First, my theory of the Peru, Washington DC connection- Earthquake connections. I think Peru, if you draw a straight line from it to Washington DC, is coming to get DC. Peru is doing this because of all the dastardly things DC has done to it.

Think about it.Peru has only to connect up to the Atlantic plate, but it's determined to do that, and come right up the Atlantic coast to DC. I'm thinking that the scientists there are already preparing the placards saying, "In your face, United States!"

Lacy Poppy

Unknown Flower

Another unknown

Ditto-maybe a poppy?

A Sign of the Times

Sago Palm with "Friend"

San Francisco Botanical Garden is a place of wonder for all who go there. The Garden has free days, and a family can take a picnic in with them to feast upon anywhere on the huge,sunny lawns. These pictures were taken in June two years ago, and the weather was mild and so wonderful. It is a favorite spot for our family to wander through.

Yesterday I went to ceramics club, and had a great time. We joked and laughed and had a good time. We also got the small puff deer ready for the glaze fire.

Ceramic Deer, just out of the Green ware fire

But, having said that it's only a matter of time for me to stay there.  I'm not as happy there anymore, but that's where the kilns are.  If this gathering were anywhere else, I could be happy.  But sometimes it makes me physically ill to be there because I really do hate conflict.   I think we just lost a new, good member because of the aggressive way they were treated by someone who should know better.  We also have a sneaky, underhanded weasel.  We'll see.  

I have my own kilns.  My sister says to use them once a year or so.  But since Enron calculated to screw California and Gray Davis, (please read all about it in, The Smartest Guys in The Room,  ( a review) or watch the documentary talked about HERE, ) we have had high rates.

They are too high to run a kiln through two firings very often.  In San Diego, some pretty big ceramic businesses when under water during that time because the rates went so high that  they couldn't fire for customers, and that was their death knell.  This actually happened all over California.  And we got an impeachment of our governor who was blamed.  The evil party machine of an unmentionable place (but the seventh level of you know what) was responsible for this indignity and they all laughed all the way to their respective organized crime organizations.

Our seniors ceramics club has survived by the grace of the city, though our hours and days had to be cut because the recreation centers have had the same thing happen to them.

Rho suggested that I find a big old project to knit on while recovering from my bionic knee insertion, so I picked the Large Travel Tote from Pursenalities

I've gathered the yarns for it for about two years, ones that have a proven FELTING history, and hopefully I also have needles big enough for this thing.  It's rather large.

Thanks everyone for reading, and thanks especially to those who comment from time to time.    I'm trying to divest myself from politics, except we have to get everyone to vote again, we just HAVE to do this.  Otherwise we can get another taste of voting fraud while half the nation looks the other way.

I'm going to go knit a second sock.  It's hurt, and I think it's even whining-and who better than I to recognize that?- about the fact  that I've ignored it so long.  But, at least it's in the bag with it's mate, snuggled up and safely with it's yarn ball.