A View from Sierra County

Updates

I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the wealth of friends... your comments and concerns for my niece (who will be referred to as DN from here out, and whose identity is being guarded by the hospital where she is being cared for) have deeply touched my heart.  Please know that if I haven't thanked you personally yet, it is not because I don't mean to; I reached out because I couldn't handle the fear and anger alone, but I heard from people I didn't even know were out there reading me regularly and haven't gotten all the replies out yet.

Update on DN

She is hospitalized, heavily sedated with morphine, and awaiting surgery, which has been postponed until tomorrow to allow the swelling to diminish.  She has a small bullet wound to her cheek (the only "good" thing in this is that the gun was a small caliber), but her jawbone was shattered and a plate will be used to re-assemble... visualizing this process being successful is one of the hardest parts for me, but also one of the most essential.  Her doctors assure her mom and my other SIL that she will recover quickly and be able to leave the hospital just a few days after surgery.  She lost some teeth, and will probably need more treatment later.  Glenn and one of the sons are going over to see her and the rest of our family on Friday, when he hopes she will be awake.  She has spoken to her mom, who reassured her that she was going to be all right, and she also named the shooter.  He has been arrested.  The other three victims are doing ok, as well.

Update on Me

I was shaky and unfocused all day and my family has been calling each other off and on.  DH and I have offered to take care of DN during her recovery, after all we are experienced (those who weren't with me through oldest son Cody's adventure two years ago can read about it here).  We would all be happier knowing she was away from the town where the assault happened, but won't know how she feels for a few days.

At the same time a major storm has gone through our region, bringing the lowest snow levels we are likely to see this year... down to 1,000 feet in elevation.  This is the view towards the barn early this morning.

Driving home was slower than usual for me last night, but not a problem.  DD, coming up in elevation, had more trouble with people who don't ever drive in snow and aren't equipped for it.  Her Nissan Pathfinder got her safely home to Grass Valley.  Most schools are closed today, and I am only working in the afternoon.

Little dogs and donkeys don't enjoy the beautiful snow as much as I do; the dogs had a collection of "snowballs" attached to their feet after our morning walk.   They wouldn't sit still for me to take a photo for you, but you get the idea... very decorative, but annoying to them!

The donkeys are desert creatures and complain a bit about the snow... even though I give them extra feed when it is very cold or snowing.

 

From left to right in this photo are Rose, April and Assteroid, sharing a bowl of alfalfa cubes... Rita, being older and wiser, stays in the barn in this weather.

I had a hard time concentrating on any projects yesterday, between listening in on phone calls and being exhausted already... I did wind off a lovely little handspun skein.  This was spun from some mystery roving that Margene gave me while I was visiting back in September... the yarn is soft, fluffy, and easy to spin, and I started on more... there is enough roving for probably about two more skeins this size.  Unfortunately, I was too unfocused to count as I wound off onto the niddy noddy, and will have to measure it later.  I think I might use it as a single ply for a hat.  The vest also got some attention last night, and I am now partway through the right front... with the rest of the upper body still to follow.

I promise I will keep all of you updated on DN's progress, and again, can't say enough to thank everyone for the comfort you brought me yesterday.

I A Need Little Help From My Friends

I am feeling pretty shaky, as I just received news that my 18 year old niece was shot last night, along with three other young adults, by someone they knew who walked into her house and started shooting.  She will be undergoing surgery later today or tomorrow, and there is every reason to believe that she will recover well, but whatever spirits you work with in your live, would you mind prevailing upon them?  Thanks from the bottom of my hurting heart.

February's UFO Resurrection

It took me most of the month to finally pick up this project, which has languished since about last May...

This is the to-be-felted vest I have been making since LAST Valentines Day for DH (well, actually that was when I bought the yarn, and started in late February).   I started out great, eager to get this made so he would be able to wear it throughout his work year (he is a seasonal Forest Service archaeologist/trail maintenance worker/ranger/LEO who goes to multiple fire camps in various capacities each year).  It takes a LOT longer to make something when it has to be big enough to shrink and felt, yet still fit a man almost 6 feet tall.... sigh...

It isn't any more interesting, nor is it any more photogenic than it was a year ago, in fact I hardly took any pictures of it then, either.  However, I stayed up late Thursday night to make sure that I got all the way to binding off for the armholes and dividing the fronts from the back... now to slog through knitting up the separate pieces to the shoulders!

Saturday Sky: After the Storm

I had been envying Carmon's wonderful snow pictures the other day, and my wish finally came through, with snow all day Thursday leaving six inches at my house, lots higher in the mountains, and this wonderful, ever-changing, post-storm sky yesterday:

There are more short storms stacked up and moving in from Alaska, so more snow is expected, therefore you can expect to see snow photos soon! After I figure out how to get that tag line from the photo resizing program off.... hmm.

February looks to be a Process Month for knitting rather than a Product one, and the process has been all about socks!

I have been so caught up in making Susan's Mock Crocs that I started the heel flap last night before I was too tired to continue.  Here is a photo taken earlier in the week, that clearly shows the lovely pattern and the terrific STR yarn.   It also shows the pavement of the parking lot at the school:)  This pattern has been flying through my fingers, so much so in fact that I actually developed a small blister where my right ring finger was resting against the WIP as I went along... that has never happened before.  To make sure I didn't end up with a sidelining injury, I attacked my February UFO Resurrection on Thursday night, making encouraging progress, so look for a post soon... have a great weekend, everyone.

A Special Day

Today is my youngest son, Jesse's, 21st birthday!  This is a major milestone for both of us... him, for finally being considered an adult after years of trying to catch up with his siblings in every way, and me for finally, truly, no longer having children... at least not young ones:)

From the photo to the left (Jesse is at the far left), you would think that he is the serious one of the family, and in many ways that is true.  He has a very strong work ethic, doesn't like to own anyone money, and wants to buy a house as soon as he can... He has been in beverage marketing for two years now, and is getting his truck driving license (it warms DH's heart to know that one of his sons drives a beer truck!).

However, that is not the whole story... that oldest brother next to him (Cody, with aunt Robi to his right and cousin Sara) must have been some kind of role model, or maybe its in the family genes to have a goofy sense of humor, because Jesse is also the biggest cut-up of the family.

This photo of me, surrounded by my three "birth" children shows the sunnier side of his disposition... he has learned already to roll with the punches and lighten things up so that people have fun, even when things aren't going so well.  His friends and co-workers appreciate him for his sense of fun, and so does his family.  I hope that playful spirit doesn't get burdened down over time... it has served me well over the years and I hope it will help him through the inevitable darker times of life.

Here's another, when we were shopping together at a local Longs ...

As you can see, almost anything can bring out the humor in Jesse.

One of his favorite pastimes is four-wheeling and camping, a direct result of growing up in the mountains.  Here he is, sitting atop his own Jeep (Cherokee), covered in mud, probably after getting unstuck somewhere:

Happy Birthday, Jesse... love ya!!

Rallying the Troops

Most of you know that I have been a credentialed teacher for over a decade, including a stint of eight school years teaching computer classes in two public high schools.  Therefore, I had already been following the Julie Amero case before I saw Scout's request for help yesterday.  Julie Amero is the seventh grade substitute teacher in Connecticut who is facing 40 years in prison after pornographic popup ads came up on her computer screen during a class in 2004.

I am encouraging you to do the homework and make up your own mind on this one, but to me, Amero is a real-life Ms. Peggy Hill, a substitute teacher at the mercy of the various school computer networks, and security issues at the schools where she worked, and now of the hysterical response of enforcers who do not understand computers, hackers or spyware.  This paragraph from AlterNet's article is one that convinced me:

Herb Horner, the proprietor of the consulting firm Contemporary Computing Consultants, testified as an expert witness for the defense. His exhaustive independent forensic analysis of Amero's hard drive showed that the machine had been infected with multiple pieces of malicious software before she arrived at the school, and that these hidden programs were responsible for the pornographic deluge.

My own personal experiences with school computer systems, and the types of "screening" software sold to school districts to protect young minds taught me that the response was way behind the problem (after all, protective software is often written in response to what real-life hackers have already done, and they seem to have more time on their hands than the rest of us).  Our district had an Internet filtering system in place that would screen out selected content based on a list of words assembled by the tech guru; the maintenance manager could not search for plumbing supplies, or bring up plumbing websites online because the word "toilet" was blocked, while ads would pop up continuously, until we started to use AdAware to scan the system daily.  When I heard of Amero's battle, I was astounded that the case made it that far... but it has.

Scout is helping to raise funds for this poor woman's defense, and I hope you will head over and see if you can make a pledge.

Sunday is For Socks

After a highly productive January, I finally, late in the month, have my first February FO to show!  I kept reminding myself that its about the process, not the product, but I do have to say I am greatly relieved to be done with my Anna socks... though the Knitpicks Gloss is a wonderful, yummy blend of merino and silk, and the pattern is an easy, but eyecatching, eyelet rib that I will undoubtedly use again sometime, it will be a long time (like, never!) before I make another pair of black socks!!  My eyes are tired just looking at them, but they really are pretty fab.  I know I will love wearing them this spring with a gauzy black skirt and hand-knit tank top. 

Black is not easy to photograph, either.  I put the finished socks on my sock blockers, then took them out into the sun in the garden to snap a photo.  They are sitting atop the newly-built and planted asparagus bed, which has a sheet of plexiglas warming up the earth (that DH is really a gem when it comes to building raised beds).

I was so excited to be done with black, that I spent the rest of the afternoon casting on not one, but TWO colorful pairs of socks:

Here at the home workshop, you will see my still life tribute to sock knitters everywhere, and Susan Lawrence in particular.  In the background we find my handy-dandy sock kit bag (which is really a make-up kit that zips completely closed and has a nifty handle and lots of interior pockets) next to my mug of Earl Grey tea and my lucky bamboo (there's a photo of the bamboo below).  The just-finished socks on their sock blockers are also in the background, as well as a tin of beaded stitch markers. 

Lying atop the multitude of sock patterns I downloaded a few weeks ago while too sick to actually knit are DPs and Cascade Superwash 220, at the beginning of becoming Susan's Socks in Seriatum (they will be getting a 'real' name next week, as soon as one of us bloggers guesses it right).  At the left is the beautiful STF "Highway 30" colorway I got as a birthday gift back last fall from Margene, with the first row cast onto my two circs, on its way to becoming Susan's Mock Croc socks, the pattern for which you can download free at Knitpicks (do I sound like an infomercial?  Not really my intention, I swear).

How did this particular combination win out when I have these yarns all clamoring to be made into socks as well?

To the left, we have Trekking in a lovely brown combo, but too close to black to warrant attention anytime soon, and another STR colorway, "Mist", as well as the wonderful and springlike yarn my sock kit pal, Kat, sent me last summer (which really wants to be a pair of Feather and Fan socks, though I might have to make those toe-up to get the right appearance)... along with some Patons Classic Wool that might well become another worsted-weight pair of boot socks.  These yarns have been sitting out, calling to me like sirens for the past few weeks as I tried to hurry up and finish my black socks and let color into my (knitting) life.  Highway 30 won out, because I kept envisioning the subtleties of shading that it would make when made up into the fairly easy-to-knit, yet dramatic crocodile skin appearance of the Mock Crocs... I am hoping that the love of color and the wonderful STR yarn will fly through my fingers a bit faster than black did:).  And of course I was influenced by winding all that red yarn for Valentine's Day in my choice for my worsted weight socks.

Lastly, I wanted to share some of the Valentine love that came into our lives this week... I found this darling lucky bamboo plant, already trained into and entwined heart shape, at a local nursery last Sunday and had to get it for DH!  An auspicious Happy Chinese New Year to everyone.

Nurturing A Love Of Yarn

My handwork students, especially the older ones in second grade, often beg for the little extra bits of balls of yarn to do some finger knitting with, so a logical "Valentine" gift from their teacher was little rolled-up balls of bright red yarn... the older students were delighted and we spent our class period on Wednesday with all kinds of creations coming from these bits.

Some students made circular tubes, using all four fingers, while others made crochet-type chains.  Some of the tubes became collars for stuffed animals waiting at home, others became bracelets for mothers or for the children themselves.  I even was the recipient of a necklace from one student; I will cast about for a suitable few beads to string and wear it back to class soon.  We all had a grand, fun time, and one friend said that I will now be famous around the school for this innovative gift:)

The first graders were confused at first, as their experience is more limited.  However, several of my students in that class are just finishing up their stuffed kitties, with great pride and delight in their workmanship.  Another struggled to finish her flute case in time to show the class.

The cute pink-check lined basket holds some of the red balls of yarn, as well as a tag from a gift from my adult ed supervisor.  She excels at presentation, and had gifted all of her teachers with bags with heart cookies tucked into pink tissue paper with lovely, handmade gift tags.  I aspire to be like her when I grow up.

My knitting students saw me working on one of the two black socks Monday, and hoped that I would finish them and wear them on Wednesday.  Maybe next Wednesday (Monday is a holiday and I only teach them those two days a week).  As you can see, by mid-week one sock was done and the other only a few inches away from starting the toe.  I have since gotten to the decreases and will be done by the weekend!

The next sock will be Susan's as-yet unnamed serial worsted sock, made in bright red Cascade 220 superwash!  Have a wonderful, fibery Presidents' Weekend.  I plan to spend Sunday snowboarding (yipee!!).

Getting It Right

yesterday, I was listening to a discussion on NPR about blogging, My Space, and other online "confessionals", and realized that the non-bloggers just don't get it.  They are either overlooking or ignoring the fact that people like to stay in touch and that electronic formats have fit into our busy lives in a way that correspondence used to fit a slower-paced world.  I am not going to start posting nude photos, regale you with sexual adventures or (hopefully) bore you to tears, all of the bad examples given during the show.  I will share this funny, and right-on-the-money Valentine from Glenn:

He really IS like this, except for the part about fixing things... one of his passions (besides history, the outdoors, and me) is home repair as you have seen from some of my posts.

The best part for me was that he could acknowledge these quirks and laugh at them... and the fact that the cartoon characters reminded us of our new little dogs (who are doing very well, by the way, though they snuffed out some balls of yarn to drag around, which DH rescued from them - I think they miss me when I'm gone).

We are in a peaceful and loving place with each other after 27 years as friends, 17 as sweeties and almost 13 as husband and wife... not without ups and downs, challenges and joys.  The fish pond was the real gift, but there was also a big heart-shaped box of chocolates from him and  a heart truffle from me...

Please keep good thoughts for me this afternoon as I go to the second of two very different interviews this week, as well as a meeting with one of my three employers.  Hard to sleep well last night even with all of this love.  I hope to be able to have a positive update for you, as well as some photos of my yarnie gifts to my students (who had a blast finger knitting with red yarn from their handwork teacher yesterday) and my almost-finished black socks... photos are waiting in the camera for some attention.

How Would I Know?

Many of you hear the news every day, and if you are like me, there is almost an overload of negativity, most of it not affecting your immediate circle of family and friends.  Today's news included lots of information about last night's shootings in Salt Lake City, and Margene's anxiety brought home to me that I now know lots of lovely people all over the world through Blogland, but my ties to them are very tenuous.  I was relieved to learn that none of my friends in Utah were killed or injured, but how will I know if something ever does happen to a blog-buddy?  What if someone simply stops posting?  Has that happened to you?  I have written a few private emails over the months, checking up on someone who hadn't posted lately, and was greatly relieved when an answer appeared in my mailbox... but what could I do if one didn't?  Where would I go for more information?  Maybe to a fellow blogger.  That came up once too, and the two of us compared notes, with unsatisfactory answers.  We had to let go of what we couldn't solve, and were left wondering ...

What if something happened to me?  I have thought a few times that I should give DD or DES access to my passwords so that they could let those friends who wouldn't have access to my family or my local papers, know.  Just so they wouldn't sit and wonder if I didn't like them any more.  Because that would never be the reason you stopped hearing from me.

This can be a difficult topic; nobody wants to focus on their own demise, or that of someone whose company brightens their days.  But, ever the practical one, these thoughts have been gnawing at me today, making me wish I had a better answer... or at least a personal plan.