Meanwhile, in August

I'm going to be traveling for a few days and probably will not have much internet access. So, to tide you over, here are some more pictures from last month's Nebraska vacation.

When you are lucky, you get twenty minutes of lovely sunset:



But before that happens, you have hours of this:



I challenge anyone who was educated in an American elementary school to look at that picture and not think of Woody Guthrie's words:

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway.
I saw below me that golden valley.
This land was made for you and me.

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, I bought this:



The Beer-Bottle Scope. Basically, it is an 18x50 monocular. 18x is pretty aggressive for a handheld instrument, but it also has a thread so you can mount it on a camera tripod. The quality is so-so, but then my viewing eye is also of so-so quality, making me a terrible judge of optics.

Here, our handsome spokesmodel demonstrates its use.

A penny for your thoughts

I was sifting through my change the other day when I saw this:



One doesn't see wheat-back pennies much these days. I think it's been about 50 years since they were minted. But something about this one was different. That's a color picture above. Where is the distinctive copper color we see on pennies?

I turned it over:



It is a 1943-S steel cent, made during World War II in an effort to conserve copper for the war effort. It's not especially rare (millions were produced) or valuable, but people hoarded them because they were different, and one does not see that many in circulation. This is the first one I have ever seen. And yes, I did stick a magnet to it, just to make sure it was really steel.

Self portrait with grasshopper

Monday, this little fellow rode on my car windshield as I drove to the office. I admired his resolve, and fretted that he would not last long if he disembarked in a downtown metropolitan parking garage. There's not too much foliage around there, other than discarded cigarette butts.

Amazingly, when I left work three hours later, he was still waiting patiently on the car. I fretted again as we drove home, careful not to make any sudden moves that might cause him to blow off. Not to worry. He survived the trip, and even stayed put while I dashed inside to get the camera so I could take a picture of us together.



Here is a closer look at him, without the distraction of spotty windows and my reflection.



Even closer up, you can see his red eyes and the feet that can grip glass at 35 mph.

At the office

Who is that bag of hot air in the boss's office?

(I'm kidding, boss. You usually dress better than this guy.)

Speechless

I saw part of this interview on Meet the Press this morning. It left me speechless and in tears, and I'm a crusty old bird who doesn't well up that easily. (Thanks to Marilyn for ferreting out the link so I could see the whole thing.)

Somebody's got some 'splainin' to do.

Modern times

It still amazes me that I can sit on the bed in a hotel room in Great Bend, Kansas, and post information to the internet from a laptop that is not plugged into anything at all.

It amazes me even more because I am here for my high school reunion. So many things have changed since 1975 - computers being one of the most obvious. Terry always reminds me that I have more computing power in the PDA in my purse than my school's huge punch-card computer had in 1974. Even PDA has changed in meaning. Back in the day, that stood for Public Display of Affection.

Tonight, we gathered at a local bar to get reacquainted. Some people I remember. Some names I recognize. Some people I do not remember at all. It's even worse for me, since we moved away before I graduated, and I missed the last year and a half with these kids. But it was still fun, and I look forward to tomorrow's activities - a tour of the school, and dinner at the former country club.

Here's a tip for anyone who is going to a reunion beyond the fifth. Tonight, I heard two different people say, "Everyone is easy to recognize. Their eyes don't change." I don't know if I agree, but it is worth trying.

K.I.P.

KIP = Knitting In Progress

On the off chance that someone has come here looking for knitting content, here is what I have in my knitting bag these days.

1. A pullover sweater that I started last year. I hope to finish it in time to wear this winter. The color didn't photograph well. It is a heathery sage green.



2. The first soldier sock. I need to get cracking on these, because I need them done before Christmas.



3. A sock for me. I pinched the pattern from my friend Nancy. It looks like fish scales to me, so I call it the Fish Scales Sock. The Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn is beautiful to look at and to work with. The needles are size 1. (For the benefit of non-knitters: a size 1 needle is the same diameter as your standard toothpick, but longer. These are 5 inches long.)



4. A scarf from Belisa Cashmere laceweight yarn from Australia. I purchased the yarn and pattern at Stitches Midwest from Stan, the owner of the outfit. I never could resist an Aussie accent. Lucky for me, Stan was busy when we went by his booth on Saturday, or I would have had another skein in pink.

The needles are Lantern Moon needles from Vietnam. Pricey, but so pretty.



Here is a close up of the lace pattern.



It's a simple pattern, once I figured out, with Nancy's help, that "S11" was actually "Sl1", or Slip 1 stitch. Nonetheless, I have still managed to make a small mistake, and -- Nancy to the rescue again. She was able to find and repair the bad stitch, saving me two rows of tinking. (Tink = knit backwards, or unknit stitch by stitch to get back to the stitch that needs repair.) Thanks, Nancy!

We would like to thank our spokescat Katie for her assistance with this photo shoot.

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Low
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Very Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Piker Jeff has us all checking out where we will land in Dante's Inferno. I bounce back and forth between Level 3 and Purgatory. Today, Purgatory won - maybe because I skipped dinner last night.

Purgatory: You have escaped damnation and made it to Purgatory, a place where the dew of repentance washes off the stain of sin and girds the spirit with humility. Through contrition, confession, and satisfaction by works of righteousness, you must make your way up the mountain. As the sins are cleansed from your soul, you will be illuminated by the Sun of Divine Grace, and you will join other souls, smiling and happy, upon the summit of this mountain. Before long you will know the joys of Paradise as you ascend to the ethereal realm of Heaven.

Level 3: In the third circle, you find yourself amidst eternal rain, maledict, cold, and heavy. The gluttons are punished here, lying in the filthy mixture of shadows and of putrid water. Because you consumed in excess, you meet your fate beneath the cold, dirty rain, amidst the other souls that there lay unhappily in the stinking mud. Cerebus, a canine monster cruel and uncouth with his three heads and red eyes, dwells in this level. He growls and tears at the damned with his teeth and claws.

An eternity of putrid water? That should inspire me to a better lifestyle right there.

The Linguistic me

Your Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English

10% Dixie

10% Midwestern

5% Yankee

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I'm curious where the 5% Yankee came from, and also curious why I have not picked up any Upper Midwesternisms despite having lived here for decades. I think they must have been looking for some of those peculiar Michigan words. I'm proud to have hung onto some of my parent's Southernisms. Now let's go get a pop, y'all.

In the bag

I finally *felted the Hold It All Handbag. I finished the knitting several weeks ago, but had not felted it, because I thought the handle might be too short.

Here it is after knitting, and before felting. The cd is there as a size reference.



For some reason, my bag ended up a lot longer than the one in the pattern picture. The handle looked too short, but I was resisting cutting, lengthening, and grafting it to make it longer.

Two Old Bags had a bag on display at Stitches, and the proportions were definitely different from my bag. I quietly decided to lenghten the strap as soon as I came home. I pulled the bag out this weekend, though, and it must have relaxed, because the handle looked perfect. So I took a deep breath and threw it into the washer.

*Felting (or more accurately, fulling) for non-knitters: Did you ever ruin a wool sweater by throwing it in the washer with too-hot water and agitating it for a while? It shrunk and got thick and matted. You can also do that intentionally, by knitting something at a loose gauge, and washing it to make a thicker, more durable fabric.

Here is the bag after about 15 minutes in the washer.



The Cascade 220 felted beautifully, and quickly, and the bag ended up being a perfect size. I bought a brooch from one of the vendors at the star party, and am using that as an accent on the bag. If I had it to do over, I might make the handle a couple of stitches wider, but all in all, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

I'm also happy to have one big project out of my knitting bag. Next up: finish the soldier socks before Christmas, and finish the sweater so I can wear it this winter.

Yarn Ho!

I went to Chicago this weekend with Margie and Amy for Stitches Midwest. I've been sitting on some fun money for six months now, just waiting for a shopping extravaganza. And shop I did:



Sad to say, this is not even all of it. There is a book you can't see, and a couple of patterns and some double point needles that did not make it onto the display.

It's a good thing I needed a swift (the big wooden thing at the top) and a ball winder (in the box at the bottom). We all got yarn in hanks the first day, so had a winding and swatching party at the hotel after dinner. The turquoise yarn on the box is sock yarn I wound that night. The bag to the left has a skein of Australian cashmere for a scarf. It is already on the needles, but I need to make sure I understand the pattern abbreviations before I go any further. ("S11", anyone?)

Back at home, I had a different project today. While we were in Nebraska, my friend and former cubicle neighbor Shelby sent me a picture frame so I could put Katie's picture on my desk at work. I finally got a decent picture of the little miss that could be cut down to fit the frame.



Katie, of course, is totally unimpressed. But thanks, Shelby, for your thoughtful gift.

Another good thing about this weekend - it rained, and then it cooled down. I had the windows open all day, and I will be sleeping with them open tonight. It doesn't get any better.

August 11

Happy Birthday, Terry!

Here he is attending to the linens while we were camping. And here is our camper nestled in the woods:

This one is for Tejon

The Badger mascot of Valentine High School (Valentine, Nebraska).

Let the vacation photos begin!

Self-portrait with gym sock - looking down the tube of a telescope into a 20-inch mirror. First Light Optics telescope courtesy of Jim Holloway and Kevin Fox.

The sock, by the way, is protecting the secondary mirror (the small mirror at the front of the telescope.)



Here is one of the two First Light Optics telescopes at the star party - the 18 inch, I believe. I don't have any pictures that demonstrate the size of these telescopes. I'm 5'4", and I could just barely peer in the eyepiece or the front end of the telescope at this angle. If it were pointing any higher, I would need to use a step ladder.

These are beautiful, hand-built, scopes, and pretty affordable as big Dobs go. (But no, Terry, you aren't getting one for your birthday.)



Edited to add: I lied. I found a really blurry pda pic of Kevin and Jim being interviewed for local television. One of the scopes is in the background, upright, so that gives you an idea of how big it is.

This is vacation??

It's been hot here during the day (102 F yesterday), which is far too hot when you can't even plug in a fan. We have been spending every afternoon drinking lemonade in the bar at the resort where the daytime events are held, which is not really a bad way to spend a vacation.

Evening viewing has been so-so, better if you enjoy watching storms build on the the horizon. The last two nights have been partly cloudy and partly stormy, and we have bailed out about midnight.

They are promising storms this afternoon and a cool down (into the 80s) for Thursday. We are hoping the cool front gets here soon, because T and I both need naps in the worst way.

Heart City

I'm posting from the lovely and accomodating public library in Valentine, Nebraska, which is the nearest town to where we are camping. Nearest town, in western Nebraska terms, means 35 miles away from where we are camping.

We were not able to get a campsite with electricity the first night we were there. By the next day, we we so settled in that we did not want to pull up stakes and move to an electric site. So today, while we are in town, we are going to price generators and see if there is one that fits our needs.

Last night was our first night observing at NSP. Terry bagged two Messier objects. He only has 10 left to clear the list.

Current temperature in Valentine at 11:00 AM - 82 °F / 28 °C. It is supposed to get into the 90s again today - and every day. (Kris, you will have to do the conversion on that one yourself. My laptop battery is running low.)

More later.

Mail call!

Today's mail brought my long-awaited shipment of Piker books from Lulu.

I've already read five of the six books online or in manuscript, and I love them, and the authors, enough to purchase print copies. I'm old school, and holding a paper book with a shiny cover in my hands still gives me a thrill that staring at a pc cannot match. And when it is a book that a friend wrote - I was probably almost as thrilled as they were to see these books on my doorstep.

Sweet relief

A front came through Monday night and busted up our hot, sticky weather. Tuesday evening, the temperature was 68 °F / 20 °C during the Piker staff meeting, and this morning it is 57 °F / 14 °C. I opened all of the windows and slept with a blanket pulled up past my knees. I only wish I could sleep that way for a couple more hours, but alas, duty calls, in the form of some people who give me money if I do stuff for them.

The Pikers, incidentally, rip on Tom Cruise this week. Whether you are unimpressed with him from way back, or a newcomer to the "Tom is skeevy" bandwagon, check it out.

Too darned hot

It is 11:00 PM. The temperature is 88 °F / 31 °C. Let me just say, Thank God for air conditioning and iced tea.

Terry had the day off, and we went shopping for summer clothes on sale, since we are going camping in another week. He found some shorts and shirts, but all I found was shoes and underwear. Hmmph.

After shopping, we went to Cafe Beaudelaire, a Brazilian restaurant/bar in Ames. I love their food, quirky atmosphere, and varied clientale.

I didn't realize until I looked up the link for it just now that they have a webcam, and at this moment it is pointed directly toward our table. If you'd been looking at 3:00 PM, you could have seen us eating our bowls of Iron Vegetarian (with added meat and chicken, for enhanced culinary irony.)

The Ring

Terry recently got a new camera especially designed for astrophotography, and he has just taken his first pictures. He still has quite a learning curve - for one thing, he was using the wrong file format - but he is already beaming because "This is the best picture I've ever taken of M57!"

M57 is also known as the Ring Nebula, and it is Terry's favorite deep sky object. The ring is made of heated gasses ejected from a dying star. You can see a nicer picture of it here.

I already knew this

English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 80% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 52% on Beginner You scored higher than 51% on Intermediate You scored higher than 58% on Advanced You scored higher than 49% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid

Katie at rest

Katie knows just what to do when it gets hot outside - stay inside in the air conditioning and rest. She woke up briefly when she heard the camera click on, but she quickly resumed her nap.

Dedication

I just ordered Aser's book Time Traveler from Lulu Press. (And her other books, and her family's books, but this was this one that I had been waiting for before I placed my order.) It's the book she was writing when I first met her on the Geezer and DTAUC forums at NaNoWriMo.

She sent me the manuscript way back when, so I am already familiar with the story, although I have not seen the final revisions. Just the same, I am glad to see it finally in print. Like many writers, I like the tactile experience of holding an actual book. Stacks of copier paper, or worse yet, digits on a computer screen, just don't hold up to the heft of a book in your hands.

I also had not seen how she ended up formatting the book for print, so I looked at the preview on the Lulu site, and then I saw it - my name, on the dedication page! I've been beaming all morning to think that she thought my little contribution was worth noting. Thanks, my friend, and now I really hope you sell a million copies.

What Soul am I?

Kris asked, nicely, if the quizzes are just a way of killing time, or if they are supposed to reveal something about me. The answer is Yes. I feel vaguely guilty if I don't post something new every few days, but if time and inspiration are not on my side, you get a quiz. On the other hand, I'm not likely to take a quiz on a subject about which I have no interest, and I'm not likely to publish it if it is far off the mark. Thus, even the quizzes are sort of actual content by default - or so I tell myself.

So without further ado, one that I found on Kris's blog...

You Are a Newborn Soul

You are tolerant, accepting, and willing to give anyone a chance. On the flip side, you're easy to read and easily influenced by others. You have a fresh perspective on life, and you can be very creative. Noconformist and nontraditional, you've never met anyone who's like you. Inventive and artistic, you like to be a trendsetter. You have an upbeat spirit and you like almost everything. You make friends easily and often have long standing friendships. Implusive and trusting, you fall in love a little too easily. Souls you are most compatible with: Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

(I don't exactly understand how you can be a nonconformist trendsetter and also easily influenced. I am fairly traditional, but I don't put much stock in tradition for tradition's sake. And I can be influenced, but I also have a healthy dose of skepticism, and will use it if you try to take advantage of my trust.)

What Coffee am I?

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

(As a rule, I don't drink that much coffee, and I rarely drink it black unless it is iced. If I drink caffeine after about 3:00 PM, I don't sleep at night. At lunch, iced tea is much more satisfying to me than coffee.)

KnitWits Road Trip to Omaha

Kim is between school terms, so the KnitWits all took Friday off and hit the road. Destination - Omaha and the yarn shops. We met at Barnes & Noble, where Kim supplied us all with tasty beverages before we set off.


Paula (knitting on Amy's beautiful Koigu sock) and Margie. The mighty Zire 72 and my index finger are on the left. I'm multitasking - driving and shooting photos. That's probably not so smart.


None of us were brave enough to try this. This is at a rest area on I680. Every woman who walked in asked if they were in the wrong room.


Note to Paula's boss: She really was at a yarn shop.


Sue and Kim look at magazines.

I only bought one skein of yarn, but it was Helen's Lace. One skein is enough to make a shawl. Photos upcoming.

Granny's Flowers

Phlox

My phlox started blooming this week. It's a bit earlier than usual, but they love the hot weather we have had recently.

My aunt in Texas sent me the plants a few years ago. She got her phlox before I was even born, from her mother, my maternal grandmother. Myrtle had them around her house in southern Oklahoma, where my dad and his sister grew up. These plants in my yard have an unbroken genealogy of probably 60 or 70 years.

It was touch and go earlier this year, when T accidentally got some weed killer on some of the leaves. The plants rallied, though, and despite a few brown leaves, they seem to be growing well.

This morning, it rained, and I was able to get a picture of the raindrops on the sweet-smelling blossoms.

Everything I Know About American Independence, I Learned From Watching "1776"

I had never seen the musical "1776" until I met Terry. He thought it was the Best Show Ever, because it was about history and stuff. I was not totally taken with it, and still am not. In my opinion, it has its good moments... and its long half hours. (I'm not exagerating. There is a 45 minute stretch with no music.) Martha Jefferson's song, "He Plays the Violin," is one of the most banal lyrics ever perpetrated on the Broadway stage, made even worse because it is the only female solo in the show. With only two female characters, one of whom only appears in daydreams, this is the distant opposite of a chick flick.

And yet - in spite of my resistance to it on a theatrical level, I kept picking up tidbits of information from it. For example, can you name all of the members of the Declaration committee? I can, and even tell you which colonies they represented. I know who proposed the resolution for independence, and why, and where he lived. When Terry and I saw the first quarter in the 50 States series, we both said, "Hey, look! It's Cesar Rodney!" Cesar Rodney of Delaware would have been just another dead guy to me if not for "1776".

So here's to you, "1776". We will be cranking up the CD and singing along with John, Ben, and the rest of the boys today, and remembering that even when we don't agree, we can still keep an eye on the goal and find a way to work together to achieve it.

Girl's Night Out

That Stupid Weather that Aser is talking about must be a large trough, because I was pretty much worthless all day at work. In fact, the whole week has been like trudging uphill though Crisco.

What pulled me through was knowing the girls were going to have a chick flick night.

Even that didn't work out - the movie closed last night. We are flexible. We decided to go out for dinner instead, and what a serendipitous decision that was. We told stories, dreamed, encouraged each other, and laughed, laughed, laughed. No movie in the world is as good as sharing laughter with your friends.

From there, we went to Half Price Books, and stayed until they ran us out. Then we moved on to Borders for coffee and knitting, and stayed until they ran us out. We asked for, and offered, advice. We teased each other. We commiserated about the bad things that had happened during the week, and congratulated the good things. We made plans for our next three get-togethers.

The amazing thing is, there is no real reason why these amazing women are together. We didn't all meet at school or work or church or in the neighborhood. Our backgrounds are different. We just sort of took up with each other one by one. In fact, I have no recollection of how one of the members got with us. I just remember she was there, and now we can't imagine her not being there.

I love us. I don't know what I ever did without us.

We are planning a road trip next Friday. You might want to steer clear of Omaha until we are finished with it.