Like mother, like daughter. If the dark blue isn’t dark enough, I can always redo it, but barring that, I think I’m done with the coronets for now.
I opted not to rip out the seam on the dark blue one. With everybody sick, I just didn’t have the kind of concentrated time it would take to figure it out. So the youger one will get to lord it over the older one a bit. Heh.
Now, some of y’all know that politically, I’m the leftiest left that ever lefted a left. Well, I want to tell you about a great site for supporting our soldiers.
http://www.booksforsoldiers.com is a clearinghouse where men and women who are posted overseas can post their wants and needs through the board’s moderators. It varies widely from soldier to soldier and from posting to posting. Some guys in Afghanistan need shower bags because they have no running water and want to bathe. Some gals post asking for Better Homes and Gardens or “girly stuff” to be sent to them. Most folks just seem to be bored out of their gourds and want books, magazines, CDs or DVDs to help occupy the “wait” part of “hurry up and wait” that is so prevalent in the military.
My dad was in the Air Force in Alaksa in the 50’s, back before it was a state. As near as I can tell from his stories, the main entertainment was, 1) drink beer, 2) listen to music, 3) repeat 1 and 2 as necessary. Now, though, he’s got everything he needs. The one thing he loves to do is to help people, to give special treats to kids or co-workers or a stranger on the street. He’s a genuinely caring, wonderful person, the original cream puff.
So to honor my dad, this year instead of getting something for him for Christmas, I’m getting something for someone else. A guy posted on the Air Force boards saying that he and his crew would surely love to have a copy of Strange Brew. That’s one of Dad’s and my favorite movies. So I posted that I’d fill his request, and I’m sending this care package to the guy. That’s some entertainment, snacks, and a letter, with envelopes and paper so he and his can write to their families. (I’m given to understand that envelopes tend to run out.)
I hope you’ll consider going to books for soldiers and registering, so that you can poke around and see if any requests strike your fancy. Remember, you only have to pay domestic postage to a military post office in the US. Shipping is free from there. I managed to stuff all that crap into a flat rate priority envelope, so it’ll only cost me $3.85 to ship it all to the Middle East.
Even if you don’t send anything, (but really, a Christmas card for someone under the “forgotten soldier” section will only cost you 37 cents), still look around. It’s a good reminder that we’ve got a lot of good folks a long way from home. Regardless of what the folks in Washington may say or do, those individuals deserve our support.
The good news is, I’m on the mend. I’m still kind of sniffly, and I keep having dreams where I’m being chased by a loud propellor plane or something, only to wake up and realize that I’ve been snoring. But I’m definitely getting better.
The bad news is, it’s not just my snoring, it’s my usually non-snoring husband, too. He’s sick now. And even worse, my five-year-old daughter was home sick today, coughing miserably. She decided that she wanted to scrub her rubber ducky, so she’s soaking in a tub now bathing her duck with a toothbrush. Maybe the moisture and heat will help.
Just in time for Thanksgiving. Let’s hope they start feeling better soon.
Yesterday, I thought, “well, at last while I’m lying here on the couch, I can try to get some knitting done.” Trouble is, I really couldn’t. I gave it a go and joined the band on the second coronet hat together. Only I did it BACKWARDS. So instead of having a nice smooth join on the outside and a bumpy ridge on the inside, I have the bumpy part on the outside. Here’s a picture. The top one is done right. The bottom one is not. I have no clue what I’ll do now, but I guess I’ll tackle it when I’m more clear-headed.
Too sick to knit is a sad, sad place to be. The only reason I’m up and writing this is because I kept drifting off and I have to pick my daughter up soon. Thankfully, hubby’s coming home early, having seen that yes, I truly am sick, and yes, I really do need extra help today. I don’t know how single moms do it.
I did the knitting demo thing for the kids this week, and one of them was hacking and sniffling like crazy. Because I was teaching the kids to finger-knit (really finger-crochet, but whatever) I had to hold their little hands a lot and show them how to do it.
Yep, I’m sick now. I hadn’t been feeling well a couple of nights ago, but it really blossomed yesterday. I got no sleep last night, and neither did my husband because I would go five minutes and then try to discreetly clear my throat or cough into my pillow. Yeah, that really kept the noise down.
I ran out of Sudafed and other assorted drugs, so I did venture out to the grocery store today. Also rented Shrek 2. I’m about to go lie down on the couch and smear Vaporub all over my body and watch TV, gape-mouthed and vacant-eyed.
In keeping with the depressing mood, witness the worst use of the internet to date.
I had a friend and her daughter who admired the coronet I knit, and so I am knitting them each one in their choice of color.
The daughter’s is done. The mother’s will be started tonight. I did mine in Galway, but these will actually be done in the recommended yarn, Lamb’s Pride worsted (unless I hear otherwise from the mama half of the hat duo). The Galway is a little bit softer, I think, but the Lamb’s Pride is a blend of wool and mohair with the mohair giving the wool a nice bit of sheen. They’re both good yarns to work with.
The daughter’s hat actually looks *better* than my hat, because I learned from doing the first one. The seam on the band on mine looks fairly obvious, but the daughter’s is much more smooth and unnoticeable.
This hat seems to be pretty popular with folks going, “ooooh, do me one!” right now. The pattern is here, if you’re interested in trying it yourself.
A host reports for extra assistance.
Host: I’m with (player), who thinks his soul is broken.
I love it. I just love it.
…to sticking my head in a fucking oven. Thank God for antidepressants. When I know I would be sobbing without them, I manage to hold it together, which I need to do while my daughter is awake.
In a half hour, I will be talking to a group of kindergarteners, some of whom don’t speak English, about yarn and knitting. We’ll also be learning how to finger knit.
This oughta be interesting. If you hear on the news about a woman in North Carolina being hotgied with green yarn by a kindergarten class, you’ll know what happened. Wish me luck!
