Lily

I was going to leave Lily til this Fall because she is so hot to work on. However the two pieces of Monet's Water Lily are arriving and will be here til August. Now I have that incentive to get working on her and get her done. I want to go see the real Lily and wear my Lily and take my picture. If I could only finish knitting Lily with the real Lily for inspiration. Alas the second sleeve is almost done, then on to the border and weaving in 8 gazillion ends and block her.

Is Spring Finally Here

The Bradford Pear are finally in bloom, they are beautiful but not very wind resistant and many don't get real big here before the high winds take them down. The jonquils are gorgeous and I was gonna pick the bouquet and bring in the house but they last longer and they add that splash of yellow to the yard. The chickadees have been eating a lot lately, wonder if they are leaving soon. They are so cute.

Who Needs a New Rug?

I had purchased quite a few of these washcloth packs at Kohl's. They are regularly $9.99for 12 and come in all colors and some are larger than others. They were sitting in my craft room and as I walked by a pack one day I thought I can make rugs out of these for my front door. That way if they get dirty or happen to become a hairball catcher you can throw them in the washer and dryer and voila your rug is clean. I don't need to spend $500 on a rug that I made and had to search the world over for the perfect color and fabric for something that is gonna have mud and hairballs on. BTW you can wait til these go on sale and you have your discount coupon and pick them up for about $2 for a pack of 12, pretty cheap rug if you ask me and it takes about an hour to sew. Just lay out the squares and sew them up, I use the blanket stitch on my machine. The all green one is for March and St Pat's day and folded over as they come out quite large. The yellow/green/white one is for Easter and April and Spring and will be folder over as well.

Spud

Well the body of Spud is finally done, it is a lot of work. I learned an easy trick to save your twist finger, use a needle instead to twist each of the twist stiches, and then you can slide it back on the needle, goes faster. I can think of lots of things to use this stitch for. Now on to the head.

Spud and Chloe

Can I just say how much I love Susan B Anderson's patterns, I now have all of her books. The latest in great books for kids is Spud and Chloe at the Farm. When I retire I want to knit toys and take them to the Ronald McDonald house for kids who are there for extended periods of time who may not have had the time to pack something to play with. The "farm" book is the perfect book for this. You can check it out at Knitpicks, Amazon, over there, and maybe even your lys.

There is a barn, fence, bales of hay, mice, pigs, cows, dogs, cats, sheep, and of course Chloe who is in charge of them all. They are way too cute.

I wanted to start on them but where to start, well I need to make some Easter things so I started with Spud. I can't find the called for yarn locally so I thought Sugar and cream would work, I got 2 colors and then I found rose that is scented so the lambs will smell good.

I have started on the body and the twist stich is cute but a lot of work. If you like to knit toys get the book and have some fun. Will post pics as Spud gets done.

Sugar and Cream

While I prefer Peaches n creme (I think it is softer and I love their colors more) I can't get it here anymore (thank you WalMart who thinks selling food is more important than yarn-can you imagine). I found these colors at Michaels and it was on sale too, so I see new ballband dishcloths in my future.

Bunker Blue Swap

March 14 was the 2 year anniversary of most of The Bunker being removed from that place over there and so we had to have a swap. Here is my package from New Mexico, I love it all.

Snow Day

Just one more reason I need to retire. I gave myself a snow day today.

Lily

So I finally got to sit down this weekend and work on Lily. I have one sleeve done. I have one sleeve left and the border around the neck and front edges, sew down my steeks and tuck in a gazillion ends, then block her and I can finally wear her. I was hoping to wear her this winter but we shall see.

Sherrif Joe

SHERIFF JOE IS AT IT AGAIN!
Oh, there's MUCH more to know about Sheriff Joe!

Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay.

The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows.

The best part?
His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78.

The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.

I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand.

He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the
Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the Prison.

Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote.
Now he's in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn't doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He's kind of a 'Git-R Dun' kind of Sheriff.

TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO. HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona ) who created the
'Tent City Jail':
He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.
He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights. Cut off all but 'G' movies.
He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.
Then he Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn't Get Sued For Discrimination.
He took away cable TV until he found out there was A Federal Court Order that Required Cable TV For Jails So He Hooked Up The Cable TV Again . Only Let In The Disney Channel And The Weather Channel. When asked why the weather channel he replied, 'So They Will Know How Hot It's Gonna Be While They Are Working ON My Chain Gangs.'

He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value. When the inmates complained, he told them, 'This Isn't The Ritz/Carlton...... If You Don't Like It, Don't Come Back.'

More On The Arizona Sheriff:

With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the Associated Press Reports:
About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts. On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 Degrees Inside The Week Before. Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK SOCKS. 'It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,' Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In The TENTS for 1 year. 'It's Inhumane.'

Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna
sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: 'It's 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear, But They Didn't Commit Any Crimes, So Shut Your Mouths!'

Way To Go, Sheriff!

Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves.

I say put him in charge of Gitmo as well.

Cedar Wrap

I finished my Cedar Wrap over the weekend. (As soon as I can upload the picture I will post it-otherwise you can pop over to facebook and see it). I used Chunky Mochi in colorway 803. I really like this pattern from Spud and Chloe. (I could not find the yarn locally so I used the Chunky Mochi cos I loved the colors). I would add an inch or so to this because my width with my arms included is 44" and when I put this on to set the buttons it was a tad snug, so another inch or so would work for me to make it more comfortable. So if you make these and I suggest you do cos in 2 days you can have this cool wrap, you measure including your arms and lengthen it up a bit. I need to find the buttons and add them and then I can wear it. I will definitely make more and I am thinking some Christmas gifts or prayer shawls would be great with this in any super bulky yarn.

Can I just say I love the patterns from Spud and Chloe, they draw me to them like flies to honey. I love the simplicity and ease but yet they look great and make you want to knit all the patterns. I also love the toys (I love to knit toys) and can't wait to get the new farm book.

http://www.spudandchloe.com/blog/2010/12/cedar-wrap-free-pattern/

Why Did Harry Reid Get Re-Elected, What Were You Thinking in Nevada?

This is from my daily email from The Heritage Foundation:

The Fight for the Filibuster

When does a day last three weeks? When Senate Democrats want to rewrite the rules of the Senate to make it easier for the Majority Leader to end debate and block the amendment process.

This Wednesday, the United States Senate is set to meet for its first “legislative day” of the new Congress, and a group of progressive Senators are expected to introduce changes to the Senate rules designed to limit the use of the filibuster. But the left has not settled on a single rule change plan. To buy time to get his troops in line, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV), rather than simply adjourning until January 24, is expected to recess the chamber, meaning the Senate will technically still be in the same “legislative day” when they reconvene on January 24. Maybe if Reid spent less time manipulating the rules to his narrow partisan advantage, the minority would not need to resort to the filibuster in the first place.

The filibuster is unquestionably constitutional. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution states clearly: “Each house may determine the rule of its proceedings.” And from the founding of the country, the Senate was designed to be a more deliberative body. In his Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, James Madison wrote: “In order to judge the form to be given [the Senate], it will be proper to take a view of the ends to be served by it. These were first to protect the people against their rulers: secondly to protect the people against the transient impressions into which they themselves might be led.” This is why all 435 Members of the House—but only one-third of the Senate—face election every two years.

Contrary to what the Progressives believe, the slow progress of legislation through the Senate is a feature, not a bug, of the Framers’ design. In his 1833 treatise on the Constitution, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story explained that “a good law had better occasionally fail, rather than bad laws be multiplied with a heedless and mischievous frequency. Even reforms, to be safe, must in general, be slow.” The first effort to speed legislation through the Senate came, of course, from Progressive President Woodrow Wilson, who pressed Senate Democrats to create Rule 22, which allowed the Senate to end debate on a measure if two-thirds of the body agreed. That number has since been lowered to today’s 60-vote threshold.

The left and their media allies love to bemoan the fact that the minority in the 111th Congress set a record for filibustering legislation. Left unreported by the media is that Reid manipulated the rules of the Senate to shatter a little record of his own. A tactic commonly referred to as “filling the amendment tree” allows a Majority Leader to offer up a series of non-substantive amendments that take up all the time allotted for debate. This prevents the minority from offering any amendments to a bill. Reid justified this tactic to The Huffington Post in July: “This isn’t a new method that I dreamed up. Anytime there is an election there is not a leader who is dumb enough to put a bill on the floor that is subject to amendments.”

So how many times has Reid used this “filling the tree” tactic that is specifically designed to shut out substantive amendments from the minority? According to the Congressional Research Service, Reid employed the procedure a record 44 times, more than the past six Majority Leaders combined. Senator Olympia Snowe (R–ME) took to the floor to protest its use during debate on a defense authorization bill:

First and foremost, the Senate should have the ability to debate more than the three amendments the Majority Leader is allowing, especially as this bill is the largest discretionary authorization measure that Congress considers, that the bill describes the policies and programs that provide resources and direction to the nearly 2.4 million men and women of the military—active, reserve and civilians, including the courageous Americans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that two of the three amendments don’t even relate to the military. It is therefore imperative that Senate deliberations on the defense bill be conducted without limitations and in a manner that allows for the consideration of all related amendments that Senators may wish to offer.

If the Senate narrows or eliminates the filibuster, Reid will have even less incentive to allow debate and amendments. The Senate will cease to be a deliberative body, and the majority party will have unfettered power to pass legislation and confirm nominees with little or no debate. This is not what the Founders intended.

The fight over the Senate filibuster is one of limited government versus big government. If you believe that ideas should be debated openly and transparently, and meet the test of intellectual opposition before they are voted into law and affect our lives, then you want the filibuster to stay. If you prefer an unchecked activist government that can more easily legislate bad ideas into law through a more rushed process, then you may be open to the left's latest gambit.

Today, at 2 PM, Senator Lamar Alexander (R–TN) will speak at The Heritage Foundation in defense of the filibuster. In his planned remarks, which you can watch live later today here, Alexander says: “Voters who turned out in November are going to be pretty disappointed when they learn the first thing Democrats want to do is cut off the right of the people they elected to make their voices heard on the floor of the U.S. Senate.”

Happy New Year

Well here we are with a new year again, it just seems like it was 2010 yesterday. Where does the time fly? I was going to retire this year but life changes and in 2 years I will be one of the unemployeed or better yet retired. I am ready to quit working, I don't enjoy it anymore and I sure don't like working for the government anymore, it is not the FAA I joined up with 32 years ago.

I wish you a very Happy, propserous and safe 2011. What will the year bring, only God knows.