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FO’s of 2009

It’s been a LONG time since I posted here—I’ve been focusing on other projects, including getting my life back on track after a nightmarishly long divorce (still not entirely resolved. . .sigh)—but I’m going to blog today. Feels good.

Here’s a record of the knitting I accomplished in 2009:
JANUARY

Shrugigan – I finished the knitting in October of 2008, but waited for the buttons well into 2009. ravelry


Exploring Waves – I knit this for the S’nB Anniversary One-Skein Swap. ravelry


Rib & Cable Socks – I should write up this pattern; I really love these socks. ravelry

FEBRUARY

Shibuiknits Scarf – The colors of this yarn work so beautifully together. ravelry


Portland Tote – I love the colors of this bag. ravelry


Weaver’s Wool Mini Shawl – A treasure from the stash. ravelry

MARCH

Hemlock Ring – The second Hemlock Ring I’ve knitted–I like this one even better because I finished with the knitted-on border, which is gorgeous. ravelry


Spring Forward – Susan’s beautiful Branching Out Scarf. ravelry

MAY

Portland Tote 2 – I knit this as a shop sample and taught the class. ravelry


Kureyon Scarf – Knit this using a feather-and-fan stitch pattern. ravelry

JULY

Neapolitan Socks – I LOVE this yarn. I adore these socks. ravelry

AUGUST

Elemente Socks – Knit these while teaching a summer school class–kept the students hypnotized! ravelry

OCTOBER

Red Scarf – Knit for the Orphan Foundation of America’s Red Scarf Project. ravelry


Slouch Hat – Made this as a favor for one of my son’s friends. ravelry

NOVEMBER

Garter Ruffle Shawl – Got the idea from mustaavillaa’s Ravelry page. ravelry

Posted 24 January 2010 † Alarming Female § Not Otherwise Specified ‡ Comments (6) °

At KFC, its not only the chicken that’ll get you

img_2777

Honey “Sauce”?

Honey Sauce is apparently a cousin to “cheese food*.” Except cheese food has to have at least 51% cheese. Check out the ingredients:
img_2778

Bummer. Just when KFC is debuting it’s “Kentucky Grilled Chicken” option. Which, by the way, isn’t exactly grilled; it’s actually roasted.

    * Pasteurized process cheese food is a variation of process cheese that may have dry milk, whey solids, or anhydrous milkfat added, which reduces the amount of cheese in the finished product. It must contain at least 51% of the cheese ingredient by weight, have a moisture content less than 44%, and have at least 23% milkfat.
    from Chemical & Engineering News.

    Let’s not even talk about “Buttery Spread.” They don’t even list the ingredients, except to say it’s “artificially flavored.”

Posted 09 May 2009 † Alarming Female § Not Otherwise Specified ‡ Comments (8) °

“Boner of the Day” has a long reach*

rfh

This morning I woke up to local radio station X96 and the “Radio From Hell” program (this is how some of us in SLC survive the cruel joke which living in Utah sometimes is). As is the case every weekday morning, dj Bill Allred read the candidates for Boner of the Day:

1. I Can Screw You Over
2. Pee Money
3. Your Child’s School Attendance Record is Unacceptable

The BOTD candidates are meant to be examples of “bad, stupid, or funny human behavior.” While Candidate #2 was never a contender, Candidate #3, the story of parents who received a letter from their daughter’s school criticizing her attendance patterns, though the girl had been found dead in her home two months earlier, was a major faux pas (that’s French for “fuck up”).

However, today’s winner was Candidate #1, the story of Ryan Moats, who, when rushing to the hospital with his wife and family to be with his mother-in-law in the last moments of her losing battle with breast cancer, made a decision to run a red light. He made sure there was no oncoming cross traffic before he entered the intersection to continue the race against time to his mother-in-law’s bedside.

Dallas police officer Robert Powell pursued Mr. Moats and his family to the hospital parking lot and drew his gun on Mrs. Moats when she got out of the car to hurry into the hospital. Even after hospital staff came outside to inform the officer that yes, indeed, Mr. Moats’ mother-in-law was near death, Officer Powell refused to allow Mr. Moats to join his wife. By the time the Officer Powell was finished issuing a ticket to Mr. Moats and bade him free to go, it was too late. Mr. Moats’ MIL had passed away. The video of the stop, as recorded by the police cruiser, is available here.

Officer Powell surely abused his power; everyone agrees on that. Mr. and Mrs. Moats are African American. Over zealous abuse of power by a cop against a Black suspect–not a rare combination, sadly.

Here’s the “long reach” part: I have a friend in NYC who co-hosts a sports radio show called LA Batchelor, which looks at college and professional sports and how they intersect with issues of race and racism. I emailed the link about the story to him wanting to get his take on it. He was planning to cover it on today’s show. I told him about the BOTD situation on Radio From Hell, and he ended up mentioning X96 as part of the intro to the story.

I love the Internets for exactly this reason–it’s a means for real people to pass real news to other people. Because you know, sure as hell, that The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.



*hey, this was the cleanest title I could come up with. There were just so many possibilities!

Posted 27 March 2009 † Alarming Female § Current Events § Racism § WTF ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged:

A lot can happen in five years

blogbuttonFive years ago I started blogging as Green-Eyed Grrl (www.grnydgrl.com). I got started in blogging thanks to Margene and Susan whom I met through the Stitch ‘n Bitch group I started that January. They were both knit bloggers and I was intrigued by their online personas. When I first learned about Margene’s blog one night at S’nB, I went right home and started reading. I sent her an email that night that said, “How do you DO this?” and she knew I was hooked.

Green-Eyed Grrl came into being via TypePad and contributed greatly to my growth as a person in that writing and creating it really made me take a good look at who I was and what I believed in at the time. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience for the first couple of years, and then, sadly, became a tool to use against me in my divorce. Knowing that I was being watched through my blog for nefarious purposes put a real damper on my ability to write openly and, most importantly, take risks in my writing, so Green-Eyed Girl was eventually euthanized. RIP.

I made a couple other attempts at blogging, but the one that stuck was this blog, Alarming Female. I invite you to read the section in the sidebar under About Me entitled Who Is The Alarming Female? to get some background on where the blog name and persona came from. Choosing an on-line identity is a momentous thing–at least for me–and in the beginning I wanted anonymity so that I could write without stricture. I remember poring over the dictionary and Barbara Walker’s two reference books The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets and The Women’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects for ideas and inspiration.

I’ve not been a very regular blogger lately for many reasons but it’s not over yet. It feels quite amazing to be five years past that first blog post where I started with “this feels like jumping off the high dive” but here I am, older, wiser and more experienced in life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. Thanks to all of you who have read my words and understood what I was trying to say.

And thanks, Margene, for getting me started.

Posted 21 March 2009 † Alarming Female § Blessings § Blogging ‡ Comments (16) °