Merry 2013!

How do I recap this year?  I guess it all starts with the Babbity Bowster.

Wha learned ye tae dance, Babbity Bowster, Babbity Bowster?
Wha learned ye tae dance, Babbity Bowster brawly?

Ma mither learned me tae dance, Babbity Bowster, Babbity Bowster,
Ma mither learned me tae dance, Babbity Bowster brawly.

Aunt Beth and I were looking for a place to stay in Glasgow and saw this place in the guidebook, and HAD to stay there.  Who doesn't want to stay in a pub?  So I emailed them right away, and we had our first reservation for our trip.  It was also the scene of the huge gash in the side of the station wagon...narrow alleys.



 
Battlements: one of the highlights of the trip was to Doune Castle, where they filmed monty python & the holy grail.  Unfortunately we couldn't go up on the battlements, but we could wander everywhere else as Terry Jones narrated. 


Auntie Jenn had many fun adventures with Ally & Josh over the year, from riding on all El trains but the yellow line to swimming to finding Josh's favorite book on evolution to making crafts and singing and playing instruments and reading books galore.

Birthday: Mom's birthday was celebrated with cousins and aunts and chosen family, as well as a performance of the book of mormon.

Ballet: I continue to have season tickets to the Joffrey Ballet, and enjoy the three or four times a year I am guaranteed to hang out with my friend Cindy!


Indiana is where the Lindsays have been gathering at Auntie Grandma's house in Culver. We were able to do some swimming, some reading, and we discovered that Ally & Josh love the bungee cord ride!

Trains: I am more in love with trains every day.  I was able to add trips on the Tube as well as the Glasgow subway (third oldest in Europe, btw).  And the first class trip from London to Edinburgh was worth every penny.  It had been a dream to travel first class...

You betcha! I was able to go to Minneapolis for ACUHO-I and see lots of lovely friends like Sara, Michelle, Colin and other housing folk.  As well as take a crazy cab ride to Cafe Latte across town.

By the way, did I mention I went on a trip to England?  London is lovely, and I could go back many many times...the shops, the bookstores, Covet Garden, Westminster Cathedral, National Gallery, Handel's house, the Tower, Churchill's War Rooms...the tea, the chocolate, and the bakery...


Orlando for TPE in March gave me a chance to see Jennifer and Melissa where we had a yummy birthday dinner.  And I was able to see Colin at his new place in Deland and see the east coast of Florida!

Watching Downton Abbey, Games of Thrones, Sherlock, Selfridges, Law & Order: UK, Torchwood, Orange is the New Black, Glee, the Big Bang Theory, and House of Cards as well as reading several books a month has been...

Silly.  You know I am.  As is this one...

Twenty years?  It was so wonderful to see all my Albion friends and reconnect -- I missed you all so!  Jim, Sonia and I relived our I-House days, Rob and I reminisced, and my KD sisters and I remembered the fun times.  Jim and Sonia also were able to spend some quality time at Albion's Kids n Stuff...

Every day I am thankful for the wonderful students, staff, and colleagues at SAIC. 

Relatives: I am thankful that I am so close to family, both blood-related and chosen. My Chicago family: Alli, Teryn, Anne, Sifi, Diane, etc.  And Beth's adventures with census records in Edinburgh and the ability to see family apartment buildings (or former apartment buildings -- I don't think they lived in a Baptist church) in Glasgow.  This is Beth in front of her paternal grandma's parents' address.  We were able to go to tenement museums in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and see what our family's lodgings might have looked like...

 

 And one last picture of the fam...we miss you, daddy!

Happy everything to you and your family!

ok, one more...

all i really need to know...

All I really need to know I learned from kindergartners.

-Auntie Jenn lives in a great neighborhood. There is a library a block away, a park across that street, a bookstore and toy shop, and a gelato shop that has a TRAIN table. (oh, and good coffee around the corner)

-In the next five years, we have to go on every EL train, even the yellow line to Skokie. The Christmas train is awesome! But the bus is exciting too – you can grab the strap.

-Singing and dancing and playing is great. (taking mandolin lessons is even greater)

-We went to Kansas on American Airlines – an airplane for the first time is exciting. Pools are super fun. So are making new friends. And we love Auntie Grandma, so we give her lots of hugs.

-Grandpa Bill lives in a cool place, and we like to do puzzles with him. He’s going to play Santa this Christmas.

-Hippie Grandma (Grandma Donna) puts basil in the eggs, and we cook and bake and play dress-up at her house. We missed her when she went to Hawaii, but she brought back a cool hula outfit!

-The BEST restaurant in the world is Heaven on Seven, which is only a few blocks away from Auntie Jenn’s work (at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago).

-Hats are fun, especially when they are hand knitted. I can wear a fishbowl or a pumpkin or a pink elfin hat.

-We love daddy. He cheers us on at soccer games and reads us books and takes us to cool places, like Chicago. He still teaches other kids (3^rd grade), and is reading this crazy series that Auntie Jenn gave him (Game of Thrones). We got to go to the Brookfield Zoo twice this year!

-Auntie starts with A, like Ally. Jenn starts with J, like Josh.

We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas…and a happy new year.

We won’t go until we get some, we won’t go until we get some…so bring it right here.

mmmm...

wa ha ha ha. I needed to use this lovely M. for Musings. and Music. and much much more.




I wish I could remember on what I wanted to muse earlier tonight. I did see a lovely mustache with turned up edges this evening on the train, and then out of the restaurant as I was walking back from wc.

Now, time for masterpiece.

are I blog again? I am excited by this cool site, which a friend of mine posted on facebook. I guess she is letting people use her cool letters, which are updated daily. It makes for some fun alphabets. I do love fonts, so this is a lot of fun.

And when I look for fonts, the most important letter of all is

of course

gonna try...

I'm going to try posting more often this year...we'll see how that goes. I'm watching a little russell crowe in 3:10 to yuma, and it's not bad for a western. exciting, yes.

I'm hopeful for a bright 2011, and will muse on some knitting and baking and reading and other things as the year goes on. As I looked at some of my pictures from 2010, I realized there were some very bright moments that I will not soon forget. :)this is one...



as well as this...

back in the blog

Holy cow! It's been a year and a half since I last posted, and I thought that would never happen. Too much of letting work take over my life.

Well, that's the end of that.

Bush speaks

Ok, so I can't believe it, but I was impressed by Bush tonight. He actually sounded like he cared about the country and its people. I thought that he was succinct, articulate and caring. I had no idea. Actually, I did know -- I don't think anyone could be president who didn't love the country, even if his ideas are misguided and frustrating. So I was a little teary, almost. There are good people who are doing good things, and I need to remember that.

Where have I been?

Where have I been? I have been busy knitting like a crazy woman and reading, and becoming obsessed with shows such as the British show, "spooks," battlestar galatica, and homicide, my favorite show of all time. I have also been busy with various family things and playing in the orchestra. So, I will pontificate on something in the near future of some use, but for now...

I will sign off.

my sci fi character

I took the sci fi character test...I'm no Jean-Luc Picard, but Galadriel works for me.

WOW

I can't believe it's been an entire month since I've blogged. I must have been crazy busy or something. I've opened some residence halls, started the school year, dealt with situations, attended my 15th college reunion and made it through homecoming. I'm looking forward to the final month of campaigning. It's not so bad with the commercials here, since we're a blue state and all. I am wondering a few things, though, like: what does Dan Seals do when he's not running for congress? who decides which schools get to host? and why would anyone want to spend the money to host a debate? and why is the daily show so bloody funny???

The other wandering thing I have to add is this...is this girl cute or what???

the DNC

I'm trying to be interested in the DNC speeches tonight. I enjoyed Hillary a lot, and do miss her. But I am behind Barack. I am just not behind John Kerry -- he's boring. It's cool to have a former general on our side, though. She isn't the best speaker, but is good to have.

Classes start tomorrow, so I should be getting into a schedule of some kind. I will miss training, since I won't see the staff all the time, but it will be good not to be running from one thing to another. Don't they look fabulous???

ravelympics

I had high hopes for my ravelympics projects, but I did finish the rainbow marley hat (I am waiting for pictures). I started a long stocking cap, but the striping on the hat turned strange when I started decreasing and I didn't like it, so frogging ensued. It's back to a gorgeous ball of rainbow yarn (I must be in a rainbow mood). I have not done any more on the tunic, so that's not probably going to be done either.

At least my staff made the daily click on the lake forest website today...

olympics

So, I LOVED the opening ceremonies of the olympics! Of course I wept as the kids came out and the pictures of children around the world were projected on the scrim. I'm such a schmuck... I was amazed at the choreography and the drumming and the tai chi moves -- I can't believe how many people were involved, and without a mess up. It reminded me of the LA olympics when zillions of piano players did rapsody in blue simultaneously. I was only slightly annoyed by the concentration on the American team -- I could care less about Kobe Bryant -- it is times like these that I wish I had CBC like my parents. It's less blah blah blah and more about the athletes.

I did start my ravelympics projects -- I made the rainbow marley hat (pictures later), and will continue on the ever present tunic. I think I will make a hat or two more from the itty bitty hat book (thanks Michelle for pointing it out to me). If Matt's baby ever comes out, then I can decide whether to send him or her the marley hat. And I will get cracking on some hats for the twins, as well as for various other worthy children (and people).

Meanwhile, here's a picture to spice up the blog.

blueberries

So, mom and I picked over 30 pounds of blueberries over the weekend, and I have 40 cups in the office freezer (I need to make room in my freezer). So I should be baking something, but just haven't been in the mood. The summer is over, so I think I am a little sad about that, and am not in the mood for anything other than mindless tv and working too many hours. :)

So, maybe some crisp will be baking tomorrow night...we are going to the city as a staff, and that should be fun.

my fateful meeting

So, last night was my fateful meeting with one of my high school "boyfriends," Joshua Bell. When we were in high school, he came to MHS and met with the orchestra. We were in love at first sight.

PM and I went to hear him play the Sibelius, one of my favorite concertos ever. The annoying people next to us wouldn't stop TALKING, and in the last minutes, a woman starting talking on her cell phone AT FULL VOLUME. I was not happy. I stalked off the blanket and went to the pavilion, where I shoved through some people and I saw his head and his movement as he completed the final chord. it was transcendent, but I was so annoyed by people that I came back to the blanket and told PM I was ready to leave. I didn't even care about the Beethoven symphony, and had decided to sit down grumpily when I heard an announcement over the loudspeaker, "Joshua Bell will be signing autographs outside the dining pavilion." I yelled, made PM jump up and spill beer all over herself, and we ran to the pavilion. We got in line, and then found out we needed to buy a CD. I grabbed two of the red violin concerto CDs, and ran back. We were giggling and shaking, and felt like two sixteen year olds. PM looked at me and said, "how does my hair look?" In fact, when he got to the table, some 16 year olds screamed! We were telling people in the line that we felt like kids waiting for BSB or NKOTB. So we waited...

PM and I were at the front of the line when some bossy mothers pushed their child prodigies in the way and took pictures. But soon, it was OUR TURN! We walked up together, and I said, "thanks for coming to our high school 20 years ago." He smiled and said, "oh, when I was five." and I replied, "well, I was three." We were flirting!!! It was our special moment. Actually, he signed "Joshua" on our CDs, and we ran away like schoolgirls. We couldn't stop shaking and giggling. Then we called our moms and my mom laughed so hard she couldn't stop coughing!

This morning we found out PM's mom called our orchestra director from high school, and he said he had video of the whole thing from the '80s. I bet all the girls were going crazy...

I know it was love.

p.s. When I posted my status on facebook this morn, excited about JB, one of my friends asked me if he was of "Drake and Josh," some nickelodeon show. whoops, wrong josh.

frustrated

I am excited and frustrated. Excited, for I am happy that our candidate is not another white male. But I am upset that my prediction is coming true...it took 50 more years for women to even be able to vote, so it will be at least that for a woman to be president. It was interesting to hear HRC say that she had met women who were alive when women couldn't vote in all the states.

I am tired. I am tired because I was up watching two and a half overtimes last night, and the red wings were denied, and I am tired of the sexist crap in our country. It's all talk...nothing really will change. I think I will sulk and knit.

lots of random thoughts

So, I have been ruminating on many things this week, probably because my new facebook app on the kiersey temperament sorter reminded me that I am a healer (along with less than 1% of the population). So when I was at the Green Festival yesterday (I'd post a link, but I noticed it wasn't up today...greenfestivals.org), I was thinking about my passion for social justice and fair trade and how I see environmentalism through that lens, rather than through the fear of global warming and the future of the United States. Oxfam America, Heifer Project and of course, Ten Thousand Villages have so much opportunity to end poverty and injustice, and the environment is a piece of that. I think that perhaps through framing environmental causes through the lens of global poverty and injustice may help disbelievers understand the green movement better. I think it can be frustrating for people to be yelled at when not throwing things in the proper container and having others lecture you for driving a less than ideal mpg car.

I know I'm a hippie. I blame my (when growing up) long-haired mom who made me listen to PPM, the new Christy Minstrels, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and some other hippie-esques who I still love today. In fact, right now I am listening to Storyhill, a male folk duo beloved by some of my granola-y friends (the things that happen to you in Minnesota!). But back to my hippie mom, who made baby food from scratch (you can do this at home too). Anyways, now I can't even remember where I was going with this whole thing. My brain has been corrupted by my consumption of a sketchy salad kit that was lurking in my fridge. It seemed to be ok...or was it?

Anywho, I wanted to also mention that I read an interesting thing on the happiness project this afternoon -- 50% of your propensity for happiness is genetic, 10% depends on circumstances, and 40% is through your own devices, such as blogging, reading, eating, drinking coffee, kindness...OOPS, for others it could be exercise, or some such crap (exercise being the crap part). At least yoga will count. We did try to go to a yoga session yesterday at the Green Festival, but it was a demo. So instead we did beer tent yoga, where we got beer and sat cross legged in the corner. But we did meet the owner of Great Lakes Brewing Company, who was super nice and told us about his beer. It was tasty, and now I am a fan (and it comes from Cleveland, which is also faboo!).

So, today's happiness was boosted by not driving to the city, listening to good music, blogging, cleaning my kitchen floor (I know! a miracle!), and now I will read. I have the second sisterhood of the traveling pants book to start. In the last link, I used the book site Better World Books, for whom I worked four hours yesterday to earn my pass for the festival. They are really cool people, and I will try to get some of my reading from them. We scanned all of the books that were donated yesterday, and some of them I really wanted.

Next time I will try to have some pictures to post. So instead of my photos, I will link you to the daily click, the new feature on our college website.

no politics today

I found a lovely tract about knitters here. It was posted on my friend's blog, so I stole it. I do think knitting is definitely a religion sometimes. I spend so much time on it, it must be a spiritual expression. I am in the midst of making a tunic with lovely yarn from River Knits Fine Yarns in Lafayette, IN. If I get a chance, I will post it on ravelry.

I have heard that the Purdue Communications PhD students are enjoying my baby blankets for their various offspring. It's a lot of fun to make the blankets, and I like that people are enjoying them. However, I keep forgetting to put my labels on...oops. I will have a zillion left. Maybe I could start putting them in various sweaters I've bought and pretend I made them.

I will go back to knitting and watching random TV. I have my rugs in the dryer and should put them back where they belong. I did laundry, for EH had mice in her apartment, and wants to stay away until they are gone.

thoughts on Hillary

I watched Hillary give her speech after the Penna primary, and this is why I like her:

1. She said that the moms and dads in the room with their daughters can whisper in their ears, "see, you can be anything you want to be."
2. She said that each generation was able to see change, and that our children will be able to say that that an African-American or a woman can be president.

I really really hope that I can be wrong, and that a woman can win in my lifetime. I still think it might be impossible. But it was a great speech, and I think she connected. It will be an interesting convention. I can see this splitting apart the party...oh, I hope it doesn't.

I am getting a little cranky about the patriarchical society I live in -- I am feeling v. silenced somedays, and it is frustrating, to say the least. I have not really been in this situation before, so it's even more frustrating...

I will post more this weekend I hope, but wanted to get this out (it's been in my head since the night of the primary).

i am the worst blogger ever

I guess I didn't have the laptop for a while, and have been crazy busy, but I have not blogged for a long long time. But in the meantime, I did get a year older, and now am "older" than our Administrative Services Director (who claims she is 32).

But I have knitted...















This is my latest baby blanket. I did finish three blankets as well for the Purdue grad students (as commissioned by P), and am looking at what next. I bought a sock book and another toy book, but I think I have made enough toys for A & J so far.

What else have I been doing? I bought the Martha Stewart cookie book, and have made one yummy creation so far. I will make another kind tomorrow, and bring it to the women in student affairs book club. We read full frontal feminism, and I am excited to discuss. It's interesting to see what younger feminists are writing.

I will stop now, and watch the daily show. Soon I will get better at this whole thing...