Blogging and the Social Network

I know that lots of you out there are on facebook. I don't really care for it. I thought when I got on it, that it would be a way to connect with my children and people I've met on the internet a long time ago. It seems though that it is all about how many friends you can have on your page and all that. I've never been competetive about that sort of thing. I just want a few not a lot of people that I don't know. I guess that's why I've started blogging again. I just don't like the everybody in everybody's bussiness crap. I don't want to be friends with everyone. My children hardly ever post on it and then it's usually for someone else, so I see no point on staying on it. I am using up my free luv chum on fishwrangler, I did like that game until it became to addictive. I don't like things that take time away from my life, like staying on the internet all day to play some game. I am going to be redoing my blog and posting more pictures of things I am doing and making. but I'm going to drop facebook soon. I'll have more time for my hobbies and the house cleaning and sewing. My cat will apreciate it I am sure. I am changing around my blog roll and removing some and adding others, not all will be hobbiest and there will be some politics on it too. Right now I think that I will start dinner. Ta Ta Yall'

Little Annoyances

Some things annoy me, one is when wiki or the news doesn't bother to do any real investigating of so called facts, Todays incorrect fact, at least I believe it is so, Is that T.P Mkenna is the actor who played John Steed in the Avengers that was what Msn said anyway. That was Thomas Patrick Mcnee born in London. Thomas Patrick MaKenna was born in Ireland, I don't think they could be the same person, born in two places at that, and their ages are different. Yesterday's peeve was that they confused the two Paul Smiths on Wiki, yes there were two, one is the actor who portrayed Beast Raban on Dune(the movie) and the other portrayed a corporal in The 1954 movie The Deadly Mantis. Since these sites are run by mostly the young, they wouldn't notice the mistake, and it would never occur to them that there might be two.

I am more annoyed with the fact that Saturday after a rough day shopping and trying to get through the melting sludge and crap on our gravel road, I spilled an entire glass of iced tea on my laptop. It died instantly and I thought that would be it, I cleaned it off,even to removing the hard drive and drying it out and leaving it sitting on paper towels on its side so it would drain. I didn't think for a minute that it would ever work again, but it is. It dried out and the next day it booted up sticky keys and all. I had to break the keys loosed somewhat, it just a darn good thing that I don't put a lot of sugar in my iced tea, or it wouldn't be working at all. Since it started working after it dried out, I bought an external drive and backed up everything on Sunday.

I had to move my computer out of the living room, because I also got a new printer and there just isn't room for two printers in the living room. It was a splurge i know, but we needed a better printer, the old one just messes up and uses a lot of ink just trying to clean the heads, so it was becomming more expensive. The hard drive was important, because after spilling a glass of iced tea on my lap top, who knows how long it will work! I also backed up the Hubby's computer so now we have all that data on one drive. Anyway that's my story and I sticking to it.

As for crafting, I'm still at it, knitting myself a new sweater that I hopefully won't need till next year and crocheting a shawl that is from a picture i saw on the internet. I do like the freedom of working from a photo and not a pattern, I am sure that the one who makes these shawls for sale wouldn't appreciate it but since I don't have her pattern and don't want to pay someone in Turkey for something that I can do for myself. After all their is no way that it can be identical, is there? Most of the shawls I see on the internet are taken from someone else work. Many young women that are just starting out with crochet seem to think they invented it! I've been doing it for over 35 years and trust me, you don't have anything new, just new colors or labels or names. A granny shawl is still a granny shawl even if you use a large hook or thread to make it and it is made pretty much the same way. A shrug made from a rectangle is still a rectangle no matter what fancy name you call it by and you can't really copyright it because it's made from a stitch you found in what ever stitch guide you use, because someone else has probably already made it before you and putting it out there for all to see does not make you first or a designer. I make tons of stuff without a pattern by simply using the stitch guides and counting, that doesn't make me a designer either, that just means I can make what I want when I want without buying someone elses patterns. Okay end of rant. I guess I am just so tired of people copyrighting things that someone else has already done and calling it theirs. You might get away with it, but it is wrong. Sorry but this weekend while surfing I found several Granny square shawls some new and some old and I have printed patterns for one or two and they are all identical, just made with differnent yarns or threads and I found it a bit annoying, because each person had put a copyright notice on it. They were already copyrighted back in the 60's and 70's. Okay now that's the end of rant.

On a much brighter note, the snow is melting and I hope we don't see any more till 2012 and then not so much. My yard is a mud hole and I don't want to go outside. Hopefully in the next post I'll have some finished objects to show instead of objections.

A little more

Here is a little more of what is going on for now, two weeks ago, I sprained my ankle, that was better than the broken hip I could have had though. It hurt a lot, It's better now and I am being more careful, guess my bones are still solid or it could have been worse. Of course that slowed down the excercise program I was starting. It still hurts when it gets cold here, though right now its 60 outside. My, my crazy weather were having. I guess I'll wind up doing the walking thing this spring, summer and fall, though I'll be carrying a cane, my balance is way off, hence the fall and the cane helps. It also come in handy for wacking dogs on the head, every one out here in this area seems to have a large or small dog, unleashed that attacks anyone who walks by.I think I'll get a small squirt gun to so I can squirt them when they snap at me.

Why I have been there

My last post so long ago was about where I have been, This one is why I have been there. It's also about why I no longer post anything. It's not that I have nothing to say, it just that maybe it's better not to say it. You never know who is reading what you are writing and how they will react to it. What happened in Tucson the other day, was partly because of what was said and how it was said. If you tell someone, something enough times they will believe it. A person with a weak or sick mind will overreact to what they hear and that is almost always bad. People post all kinds of stuff on the Internet, with the idea that since no one can see them, no one can hurt them and they will get away with it. I believe that if you post something on the net, and someone reads it and hurts someone because of it, even if you never meet that person or persons, you are still partly responsible for what is done. I also believe in karma, and you might think you get away with it, but sooner or later you pay.

I've been listening to the political and religious leaders talk and talk and never say anything worth listening too. I guess I've gotten to the point where i don't even listen. The religious right is worried about abortions, but they don't seem to mind sending the young men and women off to fight and die for our country, or oil depending on how you see it. It's the same thing to me, dead is dead at any age. None of them seem to want people to have health care, so people are going to die of disease, they are still dead, however it happens. They say they don't want the elderly to die or suffer, but they want to get rid of Social security, thus making it impossible for those of us who have paid it in to survive. Perhaps instead of privatizing it they should start a weaning away process from it. They can send me mine now if they want, I think I can manage it as well as the ones in the SS administration have. Though i probably won't boost the economy by spending it on junk.

My opinion is that congress and the president shouldn't have health care either, If as Lincoln said all men are created equal, then what we don't have, they shouldn't have. Neither should they or other government employees have guaranteed pensions if we don't, it is after all a government of people by the people and for the people. That should make the people more important than the government. For some reason though, we are expendable and unimportant,because there are so many of us. These are my opinions though even that seems to be illegal in some ways now just to have opinions that don't agree with whoever is in power. How many bloggers are harassed for what they post now?

I used to think this was a craft blog, but can no longer call it that, I still make things and love crocheting, but am also knitting, spinning and soon to be sewing again. To be focused on crafts and making money is a very narrow view to me. I am also writing, have five books on this computer now, don't know if they will be books or a couple of books of short stories. My view is still to narrow to write more meaty stories, so I'll keep writing them and hope that they will turn into books. One never knows, i may never publish them, but then again maybe I will when i am sure I have done all I can with them. I've also been painting, miniature's of course. I still can't face a large piece of paper and fill it up. I can put an entire landscape on a tiny canvas though. I do a little woodcarving too and anything else that needs doing. Maybe I'll learn to paint on rocks.

Perhaps next post I'll have finished the sweater I am knitting and the socks and the skein of wool I'm spinning. And maybe I'll have started sewing by then. Lots of maybes there. I have to tell myself that i am earning something, when I make something without having to buy it i am saving money, by using what I have on hand, and a penny saved is a penny earned, though it should be a dollar or two with inflation by now.

Where I've been

Where I have been, just really busy. I got so addicted to the internet that I have been trying to actually do something. I am on facebook playing fishwrangler though I am planning on quitting that too in January. I am just tired of reading about what other people are doing. I have started sewing and spinning again. I am working on several things at once. A crocheted scarf, a modular pullover, I'm knitting a pair of socks. I will post once in a while but I've started doing more and being on the internet less. A vicarious life through the internet is just not enough.

I got out my Louet S51 I had to fix the drive band it was old and replace it, right now I am spinning with a drive band made of Stretch Magic jewelry elastic, It works pretty well.
I still need a real one, but will get that later. I've had this wheel for 15 years and used it very little. Now I have dug out all the stuff I had to spin, It should keep me busy for a while, at least. Among these spinnables is one pound of honey tussah silk. I am hoping by the time I spin my way through the wool and the mohair that I will be able to spin the silk into a laceweight two ply yarn to make a shawl from. I've been spinning with spindles occasionally, but it is so slow for me that I have hung them from a garland in my sewing room and hardly use them now.

I've modified a doily pattern and am working on a shawl, it should be beautiful, I am making it in a nice but fairly cheap acrylic, so I can rip back easily and make modifications, once its done in acrylic, I am hoping by then to have something nice to make it in. I've got two skeins of cashwool I could use, and one really beautiful skein of a handpainted merino. I think this will look best in the white color. I really like the idea of making it from the silk.

I have also bought 40 skeins of Aunt Lydia's bamboo thread. I saved a long time for that stuff. several months it took me. Now I am not allowing myself to buy any more yarn or thread except
for specific projects. I have a number of sewing projects in the que. I hope to get some of it done. I did actually get a pair of curtains made, it's a start. I have 4 large and three small storage boxes of yarn to get through and two or more storage boxes of fabric. I really want to use some of it up so we'll have a little bit of room in our dinky house.

I am also learning to play the guitar again. It's slow and my fingers get sore. Anyway that's not all that is going on, but it's all I have time for now.

No want to anymore.

I just don't seem to want to post anymore. I crochet all the time, and I play fish wrangler all the time. Love that game on face book, I don't even post there anymore. Nothing to say, nothing much to read either since everyone is on Ravelry now. I am just not a ravelry sort of person, much as I like crochet, there are other things that also occupy me.

I have started a small garden, will probably have to fight to keep the deer out of this year, got an early start, the wind blew my tomato plant out of the topsy turvy planter, but the big one in the bucket is still there. So will get another one and put it in a big bucket too. I am setting up a compost bin too. Have the bin, just need to pick a place in the yard, I want it close to the garden so I don't have to drag the compost all over to get it there.

I spent most of the last two months sick, with a lung infection that almost became pneumonia. I got bad enough that I thought I would go to the hospital, but didn't. I spent 4 weeks in bed, literally. I was glad not to go to the hospital though, I hate hospitals. I will try to post a little more often, I am moderating comments now, too many spam comments,so if you post one I will have to see it.

Through the winter, I just didn't do much reading or posting anywhere. I spent a lot of that time just trying to stay well, its harder to do as I get older. May take some pictures of my finished objects and post them here, I've made several scarves, shawls, bags and a sweater and some other things. I am working on another sweater and some socks for next year. Knit owl, I haven't forgotten you, or Esme. I read the blog, I just don't post. That's all for now.

Still busy

Yes, I am still busy. Have been cleaning out a lot of junk. Anything that looked like it might sell for a little bit, goes to one of the local charity's. I am getting ready to close my little flea market booth. I have sold some stuff, but they charge so much rental and commission that I might as well give the stuff away. Lets put it this way after five months, the flea market has $75 and I have $0. so I might as well give the stuff away or let the DH sell it at work. I would save the rental fee at least.

The house gets emptier all the time, and we have more room all the time, though I still haven't started the outside yet, its all those wasp and bees, I don't want to start until they are thinned out. I did finish mowing the lawn the other day with the help of the DH, I had two thirds of it done when he got home. He was really glad to see so much done. You see the lawn tractor is down, until we get a new shaft for one side of the deck. That's a ways off yet, too much else to be done.

Today I am trying to make pita bread,never done it before and the recipe is one I haven't tried and it doesn't seem to do what i wanted, no puffy pockets or anything. Tomorrow my DH has requested a cake, so I'll probably do that then. The cake always turns out, but this is a bread machine recipe for pita bread and seems like something is missing, maybe it needs to be kneaded more. I am not going to worry about it right now, I want to start knitting on the crochet organizer thingy I am making anyway. It's one of those round cushion things that you stick needles in, only this one is for all those hooks. I don't take my crochet with me much anymore, I keep loosing tools and that irks me just a bit.

Anyway that's it for now, will post pictures when and if I get the camera out and the dial-up speeds up a bit.