Dear John....

As you aspire to be President of the United Sates and the de facto leader of the free world, I just wanted to tell you that as President, you would be required to provide leadership on the following issues

World Peace
Nuclear deterrence
Global economy
War
Health Care
Middle East peace
Job growth
Taxes
Education
Energy
Housing
Transportation
The Supreme Court
Guantanamo
Environment
Social Security

ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

Why should I have pay for their greed and avarice? Why should American taxpayers bail those guys out?

I'm not a happy camper. Why does the American taxpayer have to foot the bill for their underhanded and capricious actions? We aren't the ones who blew it! They are, punish them! Dock their salaries, make them pay for their mistakes, fire them! Help the people who have been caught in the middle of the scam, who were hoodwinked by these sleazeballs. Ok, they can't keep the home, but they shouldn't have to pay for a mortgage that was coerced and underhanded!

I'm so fed up with the Bush Administration always helping out his rich cronies! I'm so disgusted that the average citizen is yet again paying for their dishonesty and greed! It's not my job to fix that. Send 'em all to prison for cripes sake!

I hope Congress pays attention!

More of McSame

Did McCain get illegal oil money?

So how sketchy is this?

Right after John McCain switched his position on oil drilling, a bunch of top Hess Oil Company execs gave $28,500 each to help elect him.

But so did a Hess office manager and her husband who's an Amtrak track foreman. They probably didn't have that kind of money lying around, and if oil executives funneled money through them to help elect McCain, that's very illegal.

Turns out, another oil industry exec gave McCain multi-thousand dollar checks allegedly from a Taco Bell manager, an auto mechanic, and a discount studio store owner.

McCain returned $50,000, but over $450,000 in suspect money is still out there.

I signed a petition urging the U.S. Justice Department to investigate John McCain's potentially illegal contributions from the oil industry.

Can you join me in signing at the link below?http://pol.moveon.org/mccain_oil_donors/?r_by=13439-4344308-N_TJ4Wx&rc=comment_paste

Check this out

NRDC: The True and False of Oil Drilling

NRDC: The True and False of Oil Drilling

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for murder

Vacations should never start like this!

So last week, the DH and I went on a vacation. Let me just say that I don't need vacations to start the way this one did. The first Sunday, we took the bikes down to Dover, DE for his mom's family reunion. We've been several times, it's always a fun time, and a chance to renew acquaintances with people we seldom see. It was a scorcher of a day, so we waited til late to leave, preferring to ride home after dark when it's cooler, but as we're headed north, we're seeing lightning off to the west and just know we're about to get drenched. Actually we made it most of the way home, but the last 40 miles we had to travel due west, right into the storm and baby did it ever. I couldn't see the road in front of me. We're on Rte 78, moving from the express to local lanes so we can ride slow in the far right lane. Mike is in front of me, and then suddenly, he's not... and then I see sparks and I'm screaming because he's gone down, and I can't see him, can't stop fast on the wet highway in this downpour, and I'm terrified! After what seems like an eternity, I finally get safely stopped, run back to see him up, (thankyou God thankyou), and trying dodge speeding traffic to get his bike off the roadway, but of course NO ONE WILL SLOW DOWN OR STOP!!!! Finally he flags down a car who stops traffic--whoever you are thank you so very very much for your kindness and care! He's safe, the bike is safe, and he can take inventory. He's hurt, but the 2" of water on the road has really been a blessing. Even though he slid 250', he's got minor roadrash, the bike is ride-able. We need to get off the travel lanes of the highway, so we get on the bikes, get over to the far right and flashers running, head home, going even slower than before. When we finally get home, I took him to ER to be sure he was ok, broken pinky, pulled chest muscles and a few abrasions!!! I'm so grateful!!

When we went back the scene the next day in the sunshine, we could both see how lucky he was. He was thrown into the local travel lanes when he ran over either a truck mudflap or a truck tread (Truckers, do you even realize how dangerous it is to other travellers letting those treads flap off all over the road ???? Do you even care??) - we found both along the side of the road where he fell, and we found a gouge in the curb where his forward controls slammed the cement.

I never want to see that again!

So, Tuesday, we leave for the real vacation, this time in the car, because it's supposed to be a rainy week up in Maine. It is, but not while we're out and around too much, though if we'd been on bikes, we wouldn't have seen or done as much. We went first to my sister's home in Freeport, greeted by Gus & Lily, their new 4 month old yellow lab pups...full of energy and as cute as can be! A short visit this time, we head out on Wednesday to the WatchTide B & B - Pat and Frank are wonderful Innkeepers, and the place is right out of the old days. We spent the next 3 days exploring towns like Castine, Searsport, Belfast, Mt Desert Island, enjoying the scenery, visiting lighthouses, eating in the local diners, and just enjoying ourselves and Maine. I was born and raised there and know some of the terrain, but these were places I'd never had a chance to visit, so Mike & I both had a chance to see something new. And we shared the B&B with 2 wonderful couples from the Atlanta area, the men had entered the National BoatBuilding Challenge.

On Friday, we ambled our way back to Freeport, enjoyed the ride, stopped to see some soggy lighthouses, and then met my sisters and their husbands and my dad & his partner for dinner. Good food, good company!

Saturday was the family get together, my sisters, our neice, and her 1yo son, and her fiance, our nephew, family friends, our step sister and her soon to be 1 yo daughter, and Morgan, the 9yo black lab, and Gus & Emily. It was an awesome day - full of laughter and conversation and too much food. I don't get a chance to visit like this very often, and I'm glad we were there.

I have pictures, I'll post them tonight!

Oh yea, knitting! I made hats for Rog and Brian, and socks for sister Gail, and started hats for Sarah & Madyson. And I have pictures of the FOs

And now I'm back to the ol' grindstone!

Hope!

Greenwash of the Week: Flex Fuel Vehicles - you have it all wrong Bill O'Reilly

Whose gonna get the big bucks?

So guess who's going to make BIG bucks when American Anheuser Busch is purchased by a foreign company...

Washington Wire - WSJ.com : McCains to Profit on Anheuser, InBev Deal

... AND who's not going to pay much into the economy for that huge profit? None other than the war mongering McCain family!

And how come no one is talking about it? Why isn't the media asking McCain about it? Oh, I get it, because it's corporate America controlling his purse strings?

Wednesday is Ride to Work Day!

Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm: A story with a raffle at the end

Sandy sent me to a link on Friday. I was so touched by Sue's aunt's & uncle's generosity and compassion and willingness to do the extra, no matter what the cost, and by her's as well. I know we all can't save the world, we can only do the best that we individually can, but I believe that each time we step outside our comfort zone and do that one thing extra to help, we are making an enormous contribution to making this a better place to live. So I'm pssing this along. I hope you'll take a minute to see what I mean.

Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm: A story with a raffle at the end


I donated stash to the raffle.

Knitters for Obama

If you're voting for a real change this year, if you're a knitter on Ravelry, if you want to support Barack Obama with a chance to get some really cool stuff, you really need to join Knitters for Barack Obama!! There's some really cool stuff and every $5 you donate at Knitters for Obama gives you a chance at one of 43 different yummy, crafty prizes!!

BAD Blogger! BAD, BAD Blogger!!

...but it's summer!! My bike wants to GO GO GO and you know I'm there!!

And I have 10 knitting projects in progress, including 2 pairs of socks, some test socks, 2 state squares for the "Knitter's for Obama" Fund Raiser Afghan, a baby blanket, 3 charity hats, and a pinafore!!

Last weekend, DH, Ralph & I rode up to Laconia, NH and hooked up with my brother-in-law for the last weekend of the 85th Annual Laconia Bike Week & Rally. Great ride, lots of fun, a huge # of bikes, and a pretty standard amount of rain for this time of year. We dodged it going up, rode maybe 50 total miles in it on the way home, but intermittently, so we could dry out in between. Only one storm was bad, and we'd already stopped at a rest stop to gear up so we watched it high & dry from inside.

Next month, we head to ME for a weeklong visit with 2 of 4 sisters and the father unit whose doing his annual or semi-annual? trek to the native land. We're in the planning a 4 day excursion up into Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island, maybe riding the Cat over to Yarmouth, NS and riding north from there. Not definite yet.

I have a new kitty who I rescued from the Randolph Animal Pound and who has decided to live in the basement. She and L'il Bit are not communicating well. She's a timid little 1-2 yo tortoise shell who is quite loving but who is quite content being isolated from the other cat althought she is very friendly and loving when us humans go down there for a visit. I'm trying to ease her into upstairs living, but not very successfully yet. I haven't really taken any good pictures of her yet. A weekend project perhaps!

Oh yea! I do have a whole bunch of pictures from DH's 50th birthday party which I will have to post soon. And we have 10 point & shoot cameras that need developing so there will be even more! It was a nice party at the Legacy by Arthur Hills (this is a GREAT place to have cater your event - the staff is totally awesome!). It was preceded by a nice ride out to the Hudson Leather sale - the dude was happy, he had a chance to visit with many old friends and family members some of whom we've not seen in many years!

Just got my yarn from the current Scout's sock club. Love it! I'll have to do something with it right away!!!

That's it! Or as my pal Nobody says

LATE!

WWKIP

Tomorrow is World-Wide-Knit-in-Public Day! Where will you be knitting? If you are in the U.S. and in New Jersey and near Morristown, come to the Green!

United States, New Jersey, Morristown

Hosted by: Knot Just Knitting Meetup

Location: The Green, Morristown, New Jersey

Time: 2-4 PM

Date: June 14, 2008
How to get there: Link for directions and parking:

http://morristown-nj.org/directions.html

Please bring:Chair, Knitting or crocheting and sunscreen.

This KIP is not knitting exclusive

If there is heavy rain we won't be there.

There are restaurants and a coffee shop around the green

that have bathrooms for patrons to use.

There are pay-to-use bathrooms available nearby

KNIT IN PUBLIC

McCain, just like Bush and that's too scary!!

Today is the 27th Anniversary of my 29th Birthday

Ok, so how the heck did that happen? Not that it's a problem, but years have gone by and I don't know where they went. I really don't feel this old! Guess that's a good thing!

Riding, not knitting!

How in the world does time get away from me like this! I can't believe it's been 2 wks since my last post.

No knitting this weekend!

My bud Jenn who lives in Wildwood Crest was supposed to come visit for the weekend. She and I chatted, she'd been doing too much for too many weekends and needed to be home, something I fully understand. At around the same time she talked to me about this, another couple of friends decided they were taking a ride down to Wildwood for the day on Friday. I tagged along, and since Jenn & I hadn't had much of a chance to visit, when they left, I stayed with Jenn. We had our visit and she had a chance to be in her home. It was good to hang out with my friend again!

The ride down was spectacular! Not much traffic, gorgeous blue skies and bright sunshine, not too hot, not too cold, and lots of clear open road. I had a great ride down, and had a great visit with my friend. Mike rode down on Saturday morning, he Jenn & I had lunch at Tucker's. Good food, lots of bikers and bikes. Then we rode back up to Denville.

It was a great ride, but I was tired!

Ocean Toes finished finally!

So I've been working on "Ocean Toes" by Cat Bordhi, from her New Pathways for Socknitters, Book One. Chock full of new ways to knit socks, this particular one using the Cedar Architecture. No gusset, no flap in the traditional manner, just a series of increases and decreases. This pattern did the increases in an orderly manner, but in theory one could increase anywhere at anytime in the heel process. Interesting ideas! She's remarkable. How in the world does that woman's mind work that she would come up with all these different ways to knit socks!

Anyway, here are some pictures: