Drained

I don’t know if I have it in me to knit one more fitted hat and matching fingerless gloves. When I cleaned out the yarn stash, I found a total of 7 skeins of either self-striping or ombre yarn, which is a subtle shading from darkest to lighter. I started with Y, and knit him a black/red striped hat. Didn’t have enough of the yarn to make matching gloves, but that remains in the to-do list as I can easily match either the bright red or the pitch black in a plain yarn hidden in my stash.

Next, I knit for Mindy, bright hot pink that is just for fun. I honestly don’t know why I bought that skein of yarn, but there it was and Mindy has a good sense of humor. Then I knit for Jack, making him primary crayon-color stripes on a black background. Turned out really cute, but I guess I can’t say that about something I made for a college man. Next came Rich, who got the blue ombre set of knit springwear that matches his new blue jacket I didn’t know he has. Then it was John’s turn, with manly brown tones, and, finally, the best of all the colors, the purple ombre yarn, which I finished up today and just have to box and mail to Melissa. Purple is one of my favorite colors, but I don’t wear it as often as I should because I never think to purchase purple.

I really like knitting hats and matching fingerless gloves, but I think I may finally have reached my saturation point: if I never knit another set, it’ll be too soon. However, dammit, I found one more skein of variegated yarn that I had put into the wrong plastic cubby, so when I feel up to it I’ll make that for myself as I’m the only one who doesn’t have a set of hat and fingerless mittens. I think the reason I overlooked this last skein is the color: it’s all bright fluorescent colors that won’t look good on anyone or go with anything! I don’t know how I ended up with it and can’t imagine that I actually bought it, but I’m going to set it out until it shames me into knitting it and getting it out of the reserves.

Yeah, I already know that I’m compulsive/obsessive, but just think of all the nice, warm knit sets that all my favorite family now have. The hats and fingerless gloves are perfect for the transition from winter to spring, so my product will come in handy for a couple more weeks as they all live on the eastern side of the country. Me? I live in the desert and it’s already been into the 90s! Guess there’s no hurry for me to knit up that last obnoxious skein of fluorescent variegated yarn.

Expansion

OK, so what am I going to do? The property next door is an illegal multi-family rental property, with a 3-bedroom house, and, in a two-story property, a one-bedroom unit and a studio apartment, a stand-alone building that is not up to code. This property has been vacant for at least 5 years, but recently a family moved into the “big” house, complete with kids and a dog. Soon thereafter, a family of 3 moved into the studio apartment, but I haven’t seen anyone using the one-bedroom unit upstairs. Yet. It may need some refurbishing as it had quite a history of use while the rest of the property was vacant. I actually called the police and told them that I thought there was some sex slavery/prostitution sort of thing going on as men would arrive with young girls and leave a couple of hours later—and the girls looked like they had been abused.

Anyway, back to the story of the octopus complex…

Last week, I noticed some workers enclosing the garage, installing two regular doors in the space that used to be the 2-car garage door opening. They’ve been doing carpentry inside and out, and had the former garage opening surface covered with spray-on coating that looks like stucco to match the rest of the house.

Today, the workers have been inside the two units, perhaps doing some of the finish work inside. I don’t know how they will bring plumbing to the new “apartments,” but they have to be hooked up to the city sewer, which may alert a sharp-eyed inspector to the fact that a property designed for a single family dwelling has now been “improved” to house 5 renters and their families!

I want to alert the city to this violation, but I’m not sure how to do that without giving away the fact that I am facing the renovated/ repurposed garage when I do dishes at my sink, so I know what’s been done. No one off-property will know that the garage is now two rental units because it sits behind the 3-bedroom house at the front of the property. But, the fact is that there are density requirements associated with property. This residential area is not zoned for the number of people who are going to be occupying it.

How do I get “someone” to come see the problem and, perhaps, offer a remedy? I don’t plan to live here for the rest of my life, but I have no plans to relocate in the near future, so I’ll have to live with the situation whether I want to or not. I’m concerned about retaliation if I sic an inspector on them as I would be the first guess of who ratted them out.

One of those damned if I do, damned if I don’t situations which make life interesting.

I Can Only Imagine

I can only imagine that potential audience members for this excellent film will pooh-pooh it and pick another film to watch because ... dadadadum ... it's a "faith-based" movie, which is a great reason to give it a pass. However, for those viewers who see the film, the story takes over the backdrop wash of religion and the movie is great. It's the story of a young boy who is horribly abused by his father, but he discovers singing in public while in high school, and that talent becomes the driving force of his journey to adulthood. Along the way, there are flashbacks to his abusive childhood, just enough to remind the viewer that this is the story of a journey that many make and some don't survive.

And, the boy's faith becomes stronger as he transitions from the young boy who is abused to the young adult who is on a remarkable journey to adulthood. He keeps searching for answers to the "why" of his childhood, but he doesn't get his answer until he finally returns home and learns that his father is not just dying from cancer, but has also turned his life around. It isn't easy for the young man to trust his father, but together they find a way to reconnect and build a relationship that benefits both of them. After his father's passing, the son returns to performing with his band, Mercy Me, which leads to a pivotal moment that changes his life, as well as his career.

The title of the film and the song it is about is "I Can Only Imagine," and it's worth a visit to the web to hear the song performed by the man who wrote it, Bart Millard, performed it with his band Mercy Me, and changed his life forever with 4 little words.

An Open Note to Oprah

Dear Oprah,

You don’t know me, have never crossed paths with me, but I feel that I know you in a way that I don’t know others. You are at a crossroads in your life, with the public clamboring for you to step up and accept that you should be our next President of the United States of America. We can say, as women, it’s time, and we can say as multi-ethnicity Americans that it is time, and we can say as disillusioned Americans, it’s absolutely time for change.

And not just change for the sake of change, or to finally put a woman into the White House, or to give African Americans the chance to be filled with pride. It’s absolutely time for change because it is your time.

If you doubt it, listen to Josh Groban sing “You Raise Me Up” and you will be filled with the spirit of those of us who want you to be our next president. You raise me up to be more than I can be without you. You raise me up because I will never be in your position of being such a champion of the American people, regardless of race, color, or creed. You are a special person who has been called to a higher plane, one which few ever reach and you should not just honor the calling, but be honored yourself for what is your destiny.

Every moment before this one has led you to where you are now. Listen not just to your inner voice, but to the spirit of those who need you to raise us up.

PORCUPINE PROJECT

I have really dry skin, so when I saw a skein of Red Heart Scrubby yarn, I thought wow, that would feel good in the shower with some creamy lotion soap to exfoliate my dry skin.

I bought two skeins because I always think use one, have a spare waiting its turn. And, I love knitting washcloths because they take about two hours and outlast any store brand I’ve ever tried. I use Lily’s Sugar ‘n Cream all cotton yarn to make most of my washcloths, both for the kitchen and the bathroom, and I’m always satisfied with the end product of that endeavor. However, using Red Heart’s Scrubby yarn is an epic fail.

Yes, I finished the washcloth, and it was painful. Whatever gives the scrubby texture to the yarn is very abrasive on the hands while knitting the yarn. My fingers were chafed from working the yarn, and the shorter pieces of fiber wrapped around the yarn kept getting caught in my knitting stitches, giving the appearance of an extra stitch that I was tempted to work before I caught on to what it was. It was very challenging to monitor the stitches, especially at the beginnings of each row when I had to knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together to make the border.

I would not recommend this yarn to anyone. It’s a much better idea than it is an experience.