Loving the Lion Dog Sweater

I just LOVE seeing doggies snuggled in a sweater. This adorable pup is Piper, my friend Kynna's fur-kid. And part of Charlie-cat in the background.

The dog pictured on the Lion Yarn pattern page looks so miserable, that's why I don't add as much "mane" or a tight collar.

My "Starry Night" Scarf

Here's the latest off the needles. I took three yarns, "Yarn Bee Boucle Vintage 60s," "Lion Suede in Moonshadow Print," and "Patons Divine in Denim Storm" and knitted them together on US size 35 (19mm) needles. This one will be a gift for Dorothy D. who inspired the knitting bee in me. It turned out soft and thick. It's only 7 stitches wide and I knitted until I ran out of what I had left of the suede from another project. It's a great, funky mix of blues with a bit of browns and tan from the boucle (Chris picked out the boucle for me when I begged him to do a yarn run for me to Hobby Lobby - Yarn Bee is their own brand of yarn. They've got some interesting yarns in the Yarn Bee line).

I named this one "Starry Night" because it reminds me of the Van Gogh painting.

My Knitter's Wish List

I never realized how addictive knitting can be. Once I became a kitter, I became a yarn addict as well.

Here's a link to a list of knitting stuff (helloooo Chris and Alicia) that would make this knitter's day.

Knittin' Nut

I did it!! I taught myself how to do cables and finally made my own scarf!! Check it out.

The pattern was fairly simple but I had to make an excel spreadsheet to keep track as I went.

The scarf was a bit bulky to wear unblocked, so I soaked it in warm water and laid it out on a towel, then rolled it up for a couple of days. After blocking it is softer and stretchier. Here's how it looks after blocking.







Pattern: The pattern is here. I used 2 skeins of Lion Brand "Wool-Ease Thick & Quick" yarn in color Fisherman (099) on size 15 (10mm) knitting needles.

Hits the nail on the head

I LOVE this article by Bonnie Fuller. I've noticed that the love between Barack and Michelle Obama is genuine. They actually touch each other. They hold hands. When they are out and about, one usually puts his or her hand behind the small of the other's back - a sign of support for one another. They hug each other. They whisper in each other's ear. You just have to see them to know that these two are in love today and didn't fall apart under the pressure of the election. May the honeymoon last a long, luscious 8 years.


I can't remember ever seeing W kiss his wife Laura.

What to do with my ashes?

For years I've told my daughter Alicia how I'd like her to "handle" my remains when I die. Generally I plan to leave her an amount of money set aside in a trust to do those things I would like her to do with my ashes when I die.

Why cremation? Well, I feel like I've consumed plenty of earth's resources now and certainly too many resources by the time I die. So the absolute last thing I'd want is to be buried in the earth, taking up space that can never be used to plant a tree or a flower, or build a place of learning, to build a home for a family. I'm not so egotistical or self-important that I'd want some place to rest eternally. Rest is in the act of moving on to the next life, not creating some shrine that no one visits except for a time or two a year (birth birth day or my death day).

Once I am cremated, the ashes will be divided and given to either of my parents to survive me (if at all), Alicia, and Chris. I would let my parents do as they wish with their portion of my remains. Alicia and Chris have a requirement to do a few things for me to honor the relationship I've had with them both. I may also leave a portion of the ashes to my other daughter, born in 1988 when I was 16 and adopted to a family in Ohio when she was 5 days old. That part I am not sure of, as I have not met her and don't know whether she would even care or want anything to do with me. But that's another topic for another post.

Back to Alicia and Chris. I want to leave Alicia a bit of money to take a trip. I want her to travel the world with my ashes, kind of the way Courtney Love traveled and sought guidance from Buddhist monks when she wanted to honor her husband Kurt Cobain's ashes. I'd love suggestions of places from others. As for Chris, I'd want him to decide what to do. He is an independent soul and I'd hate to dictate to him how to remember me or set me free out into the universe. I'd want Chris to travel and seek the spiritual side of himself that I know he has but hasn't found. Maybe he and Alicia will travel some of that road together.

I would like to take her on the trip I'd hope to take with her someday - maybe some of the places will be places she takes her own daughter to someday, when they are at that place that mothers and daughters eventually meet, as two souls that know each other very well through time and love. Maybe some day I will be able to travel with Alicia to some amazing places in the world and she will revisit them with me in a simple little baggie, left there to enjoy the sights.

Here's a few I know I'd want her to do:

* Travel to Spain and ride Andalusian horses
* Travel to Portugal where her father's side of her family is from, riding horses if she wants, but in any case, to leave some of me in the Atlantic Ocean outside of Portugal or the Azores (Portuguese: Açores or ɐˈsoɾʃ)
* Leave some of me at the Atlantic Ocean anywhere along the East Coast of the US. I've always had an issue with living in a land-locked state, Tennessee and Ohio are the only two states I've every lived in which didn't touch an ocean somewhere on its coast
* Leave some of me at the Marin Headlands so I can be overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge
* Leave some of me at the place where the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers meet in India. It's a holy place and the last place I would want her to visit before returning home. Ideally she would coordinate her travels to the Ganges to coincide with the Maha Kumbh Mela, which takes place every 12 years.

I'm sure I'll add to the list over the years, but these are my initial thoughts on where'd I like to go in the afterlife.

2009

It's a new year. We all contemplate the past and the future at the beginning of the year. This year, I'm going to stick to my "New Year resolutions" and revisit them. I'm going to list the five actions I intend to take this year to improve the way I live life.

1. Be Proactive
2. Be Aware
3. Be Sympatheic
4. Be Flexible
5. Be Connected

Proactive - I have been a terrible procrastinator for as long as I can remember. I've missed flights, I've screwed myself out of opportunity, cost myself money, and I've created frantic panic by not being proactive. This year things that require action won't wait and I will resolve to "just do it" when necessary. I will be proactive in terms of how I push myself to do and be better at everything I do. This year being proactive will include getting my will and estate in order so that my own wishes would be carried out if I were to depart this life. This year being proactive will include listing and prioritizing those things I want to achieve in this life and beginning each goal without putting it off.

Aware - I am aware of many things that matter to others. I am aware of the things that are important to my clients. I am aware of the problems in this world. I am aware of consequences, yet make bad decisions. This year I resolve to be aware in a different sense. I will be aware of myself in terms of being aware of my finances and obligations to others. I will be aware of the concerns of my family and do what I can to aid in resolving those concerns.

Sympathetic - This year promises to be great in many ways, however many people are suffering financially, emotionally, and spiritually. This year I resolve to be more sympathetic to the problems of those who are close to me and sympathetic to those in my community. I will do what I can to help others who need my help. If I cannot help, I resolve to put them on the path to find that help for themselves - essentially "teach the man how to fish" and own his or her problems.

Flexible - I've been stubborn in some respects. I've fought for things that weren't worth fighting for without considering alternatives. This year I resolve to look at all alternatives and not forsake the possibility of doing things a different way. I resolve to be flexible in my views and try to understand the views of those who I often disagree with in hopes to be sympathetic to their view of the world.

Connected - I have made my self so busy for busy's sake that it often leads to feeling isolated. This year I will be proactive about being aware of the actions I take to isolate and protect myself from the harm of others. I will be flexible in order to connect with others, not just for the sake of connection, but to be connected so that I can see the merit in those aspects of life that I've not experienced. I will take the effort to be more connected to family by visiting them near and far; by letting them know how much I love them; by calling, writing, and sharing myself with them throughout the year, not just on birthdays. This year I resolve to be connected with myself - the feelings I have, the goals I will set for myself, and generally know at all times where I stand.