Happy Thanksgiving! I don't have any pictures to go with this post, but I wanted to take a moment to say that I am thankful. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, a time to get together with family and friends and to share a good meal and good conversation and just pause and realize all the wonderful gifts life has given. I am always mindful of how lucky I have things, there are folks that have a much harder life than I do and I often think, "There but for the grace of God go I". I am thankful for my DH, he's a wonderful, wonderful man and my best friend. I love sharing my life with a person who makes me laugh everyday. I'm thankful for Winston, who gives me unconditional love and who is always happy to see me. He also makes me laugh everyday. I'm thankful for my parents and my sister who gave me the things I needed to get going in this crazy life and who are there for me still when I need support today. I'm thankful for my beautiful nephews, A-star and K-man who are also a lot of fun. I'm thankful for my extended family in its many different locations on the globe for being a part of my life. And I'm thankful for my friends. I've been so lucky to be blessed with a number of amazing, talented, generous, funny, and kind people. My life has been touched by many people who have taught me so many things. I'm just a lucky girl.
I hope this holiday gives you an opportunity to see all the gifts life has brought to you and the chance to pause a moment and say thanks.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
What the Heck Have I Been Up To Part IV: Work
The final big change that has come this fall is my work. I changed jobs in mid-September, I am now a high school counselor! I'm still at the same school, which is really nice because it made the mid-quarter transition easier. After ten years of teaching this is a BIG change! So far I'm really enjoying it, but still feel very much like I'm swamped and climbing a steep learning curve. My constant refrain is, "I'm not sure, let me check on that and get back to you." I say this many, many times a day. I still have barely unpacked my office. It was over a month before I got anything put up on the walls. It is also a transition from the large space of a classroom to the small space of an office. Not as much wall for posters so I had to be selective.
So, the first photo had me at my desk, courtesy of my colleague Josh. Here's another shot of the desk without me. This is what it looks like if you are standing in my office doorway facing my desk.
This is the view if you are standing in the doorway facing straight. I have one of only two counselor's offices that have windows and mine is the only office with two windows. My office mate (the closest office to mine), Rich, has one big window - but more space. So, there's the trade off I guess. The big windows are wonderful, but they make the office cold. I don't complain to any other counselors though because I'm the new kid and I got the windows.
Here's the view I pretty much have from my desk. I look out into the area of the building known as the Northwest Commons. It is a little hexagonal seating area. Sometimes the teachers use it as teaching space, which is fun to see. It is a corner where two hallways meet.
Behind my desk I inherited this crazy piece of furniture that I have managed to fill with all manner of things. There is little organization, rhyme, or reason to how things are in my office at this time and I don't know when that will change. It may not be until next year. But, I brought some of my favorite toys with me to my office, like my 8 ball collection. And most of my Elvis stuff.
My newest additions are the Wonder Woman stuff. I love Wonder Woman! She's my favorite superhero! When I was a little girl I watched the tv show and then I learned that Lynda Carter and I have the same birthday. So, I have the same birthday as Wonder Woman, that has to mean some of her powers rubbed off on me, right?! Anyway, Sandy learned of my love for WW and gave me the Collector's Edition Wonder Woman Barbie for my birthday. One of the best things is the comic book that is in the box with her is "Wonder Woman for President". Then, in celebration of my new job Sandy & Katie gave me the book, "What would Wonder Woman do?: An Amazon's Guide to the Workplace". Too funny!
When I'm sitting at my desk if I'm not looking out into the commons or out the windows I'm looking at this. I have the force with me, and I have my "Say Anything" poster (I love John Cusack!), and some of my other favorite things to look at. The best part of being a counselor is that almost everyday I feel like I really got to help a kid, or that I really tried. The biggest perk about being a counselor is no grading. A job without homework has taken some getting used to, but I'm managing. I miss parts of the classroom though, it is an adjustment and sometimes a lonely one. I guess it all just takes time.
This is the last of the "What the Heck Have I Been Up To" series, we're pretty much caught up now.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
What the Heck Have I Been Up To Part III: Travel (Including the tale of Winston and the Sea Otter)
There hasn't been a ton of travel this fall, just a couple of quick trips, but there are some fun pictures as a result, so here we go. For Labor Day weekend, Dave, Winston, and I decided to head back to our campground from last year, Ptarmigan Creek - just outside of Seward. We headed down on Saturday, which was a gorgeously sunny day. After setting up camp we headed into Seward to visit our friends, Chad and JuLee at their boat. 
Here are Winston and I on the docks. Now Winston had been on the docks before but for some reason this year the fact that the floor moved got to him and he was a wee bit nervous.
This is JuLee & Chad's boat, the Lean-To. It is a very nice boat! I had heard a lot about it and it was great to finally get to see it. I also got a tour from JuLee of the entire set up and I got to meet their new granddaughter, Mikayla. Little babies are so sweet! She was snoozing so I don't have any photos of her, but she's beautiful, take my word for it.
Here I am making a funny face and I'm engaged in conversation aboard the Lean-To. While JuLee and I visited, Dave and Winston headed further down the docks where Winston had a very exciting adventure!
There was a creature in the water! A Sea Otter - one of the more playful creatures of the sea!
Winston and the mysterious creature make eye contact. Winston asks, "What is that thing Daddy?!"
Then the mysterious creature comes right up close to Winston and had the audacity to splash in his face! Winston is beside himself, he's just not sure what to do!
The mysterious creature seems to have realized that Winston has no food for it, and so it turned and swam away. Winston asks, "Daddy where is it going?!" And then the creature was gone. Winston didn't know what to make of this encounter. Part of him wanted to jump in the water after the creature, because Winston does love to swim, and this would give him a closer look. But, Winston realized that this creature was a stronger swimmer than he, and decided to follow Daddy's advice and just stay on the crazy moving floor!
Back at a sunny and peaceful campsite
Winston poses with a curious look.
Saturday night was lovely, but by the time we awoke on Sunday morning clouds had moved in and the news on the radio was that a storm was headed toward Seward. We went back into town for a walk about, but it started to rain. By the time we got back to camp it was really raining and so we decided to pack up and head home where we would camp on our couch bed (aka The Pillow Palace). So, our trip was a little shorter than originally planned for.
The other trip we had this fall was in October, and it led us here. This is Sandy's new houseboat on the Multnomah Channel outside of Portland. Dave and I headed down the weekend before Halloween for a short visit.
The fall colors were all out and lovely in Oregon. Which was beautiful especially since there was snow at home.
The marina had this warning sign that we thought was pretty funny.
The sunrises on the channel were lovely. I love the mist on the water.
There's our group for the weekend. Dave, Paul, Katie, Sandy, and Kate all soaking in the morning sun on the deck. It was a nice weekend trip, very fast, maybe too fast, but enjoyable all around. Sandy is a fabulous host!
And the house boat comes with its own gaggle of geese.
Here are Winston and I on the docks. Now Winston had been on the docks before but for some reason this year the fact that the floor moved got to him and he was a wee bit nervous.
This is JuLee & Chad's boat, the Lean-To. It is a very nice boat! I had heard a lot about it and it was great to finally get to see it. I also got a tour from JuLee of the entire set up and I got to meet their new granddaughter, Mikayla. Little babies are so sweet! She was snoozing so I don't have any photos of her, but she's beautiful, take my word for it.
Here I am making a funny face and I'm engaged in conversation aboard the Lean-To. While JuLee and I visited, Dave and Winston headed further down the docks where Winston had a very exciting adventure!
There was a creature in the water! A Sea Otter - one of the more playful creatures of the sea!
Winston and the mysterious creature make eye contact. Winston asks, "What is that thing Daddy?!"
Then the mysterious creature comes right up close to Winston and had the audacity to splash in his face! Winston is beside himself, he's just not sure what to do!
The mysterious creature seems to have realized that Winston has no food for it, and so it turned and swam away. Winston asks, "Daddy where is it going?!" And then the creature was gone. Winston didn't know what to make of this encounter. Part of him wanted to jump in the water after the creature, because Winston does love to swim, and this would give him a closer look. But, Winston realized that this creature was a stronger swimmer than he, and decided to follow Daddy's advice and just stay on the crazy moving floor!
Back at a sunny and peaceful campsite
Winston poses with a curious look.
Saturday night was lovely, but by the time we awoke on Sunday morning clouds had moved in and the news on the radio was that a storm was headed toward Seward. We went back into town for a walk about, but it started to rain. By the time we got back to camp it was really raining and so we decided to pack up and head home where we would camp on our couch bed (aka The Pillow Palace). So, our trip was a little shorter than originally planned for.
The other trip we had this fall was in October, and it led us here. This is Sandy's new houseboat on the Multnomah Channel outside of Portland. Dave and I headed down the weekend before Halloween for a short visit.
The fall colors were all out and lovely in Oregon. Which was beautiful especially since there was snow at home.
The marina had this warning sign that we thought was pretty funny.
The sunrises on the channel were lovely. I love the mist on the water.
There's our group for the weekend. Dave, Paul, Katie, Sandy, and Kate all soaking in the morning sun on the deck. It was a nice weekend trip, very fast, maybe too fast, but enjoyable all around. Sandy is a fabulous host!
And the house boat comes with its own gaggle of geese.
Monday, November 24, 2008
What the Heck Have I Been Up to Part II: Knitting
Okay, this is going to be another really LONG post. I actually have been doing a lot of knitting, I just haven't been writing about it so there is a lot to share. So the last time I said anything about knitting was back in August - Yikes! I briefly mentioned that I was entering mom's fair isle sweater in the fair. So this is where we'll begin today's story.
Here is the sweater on display at the State Fair. This photo is courtesy of Arctic Knitter, who was able to do some fancy tech work and put in Winston's Mom on the label instead of my full name. She entered a BEAUTIFUL pair of socks that I have pictures of, but I don't have the technological know-how to take away her name and put Arctic Knitter. So, check out her blog, the socks are there, you won't be disappointed. As far as the fair goes, the sweater did win third place, which is pretty cool. I really didn't like the way they displayed it, it was folded and in a cubby, not easy to see at first. They had other sweaters on display on manikins that were nice, but didn't have the colorwork that my sweater had and so I felt a little disappointed because I didn't feel that the real strength of the sweater - the colors - was on display. And the sweaters on the manikins were monochromatic. I'll have to learn more about how this State Fair stuff works.
Here are Arctic Knitter and myself at the Fair - her socks are in the background behind us, they are honey colored. Trust me, they are lovely. Her socks won second place! Pretty fantastic!
Here's the sweater one more time with its ribbon after I got it back from the fair and returned it to mom.
And here I am with the ribbon. I have to admit, I'm pretty darned proud of the sweater and that the first time I submitted something to the fair it won third place.
After the sweater was done I wanted to do some totally mindless knitting and I had a vision that I needed to fulfill. So, I started some work on socks for my beloved in the colorway of his favorite football team, the Oakland Raiders. I don't have any in progress photos, but I do have these:
Here they are, his Oakland Raiders socks. They are not anything particularly fancy, just K3P1 ribbing on the instep and up the leg. I did a short row toe and heel, because I knit them toe up, but only one at a time because of the size. They are big socks because he's got big feet. They are something like eleven inches long or more, I forget and they are in the neighborhood of fourteen inches high up the leg, my sweet darling likes his socks to go high up his leg.
Here's a side view. The colorway really is perfect for the Raiders. As I said these were part of a vision I had, so immediately upon finishing these I started on the next part of my vision. I have a work in progress photo for these.
These are San Francisco 49er socks, representing my favorite football team. As you can see I knit them two at a time from the toe up. I only used one skein of yarn for mine and I used two for Dave's, so my socks are not as tall, which is fine with me.
Here are the finished socks. I did the same K3P1 pattern on these that I did on Dave's and did the short row toe and heel. They are very cozy and I like them a lot. Now for the vision:
Here is the vision! A family photo of each of us wearing our team's sweatshirt and the homemade socks for our respective teams. No family photo would be complete without Winston in the middle because he's always in the middle of everything. For those of you who receive Christmas cards from us, you can expect to see this photo or a photo very similar coming on a Christmas card to you very soon!
As soon as I completed my vision, Christmas knitting began in earnest and is still going full steam ahead. I started it in September with a couple of distractions along the way. The first, and most demanding by far of my holiday items is this:
This is the very start of a lace scarf for my Aunt Frances. I'm knitting it using a pattern from the book Arctic Lace, so it is an Alaskan native inspired pattern. I'm not knitting it out of quivet, mainly because I don't have that kind of income. I am knitting it out of cashmere, which is not cheap, but isn't as expensive as quivet. It is a complex pattern, it has a 56 row repeat on it, so there is no memorizing this bad chicken and working on it at meetings and things like that. It takes focus, and because I'm not a fast knitter it is going to take some time.
Here's where its at today. I've completed to repeats of the pattern and started the third, I only have to have nine repeats and the scarf is done. Sigh. I need to dedicate some more time to this project.
Aside from the lace scarf I've been on a bit of a hat kick this holiday season and the first hat is actually one of the diversions I spoke about.
This is a little baby hat that I knit for a colleague who had a baby girl on Halloween. I knit this before Halloween. I used some left over sock yarn I had and it is just a really simple hat knit in st stitch and then every fifth row or so I purled it. I did a little i-cord on the top. She loved it, so job well done.
Next is the tale of two hats. The hat on the left I knit first. I told my DH that I was going to knit some hats and I showed him the book Hats On by Charlene Schurch that I intended to use to get my patterns. He flipped through it and said, "I want that hat in blue and white", pointing at the Norwegian Star pattern. He actually also pointed out a couple of other hats he wants, but this is what he gets for now. I measured his head and decided that a medium would work and knitted it up, I even added a few extra rows at the top for height. It was too tight. So after a silly argument about the color blue and available yarn I bought a bunch more of the blue and white yarn and knit the hat on the right. It is a size large and I did two repeats of the extra lice pattern that is recommended so that he could get the height he likes. He loves it. It is an early Christmas present. Both of these hats are knit out of Cascade Dolce yarn. It is very soft and is a little silky too, very nice.
In between the two Norwegian Star hats I knit my second diversion, a hat for me. It was part of my response to the silly argument over the color blue. I don't know if others of you out there ever experience silly arguments with your significant others, but occasionally DH and I do. It's always over something stupid. Why I didn't go on to another Christmas knitting project I don't know, I guess I decided to make something for someone who I knew would appreciate it, me. It is the Turkish Cap pattern. I made the size extra large for my big head but I wish I'd done the height for large because it is a little too long for me. But I don't care, I love it. It is perfect when my hair is in a ponytail, which is often. I also love how the pattern goes to the crown.
Not the greatest photo, but isn't that cool! I knit this out of Cascade 220 Superwash. I love the colors!
Next is a hat for one of my nephews. I have twin nephews who are age 6. They are both getting a Tassled Fez hat, sans tassels. They were pretty clear that they didn't want tassels. K-man's favorite colors are red and blue, so here's his hat. I love the three points at the top.
Isn't that fun?! I think he's going to like it. A-star's favorite colors are orange and green, so I'm working on his now and I'm about half way done.
Looking good so far. A-star's hat is knit out of Cascade 220 Superwash (I'm a huge fan of Cascade yarn in general). K-man's hat is knit out of Plymouth Encore which is a 75% acrylic and 25% wool blend that makes it machine washable and dryable. Important when making hats for little boys. The hats, including mine, have this cool herringbone cuff, but it keeps rolling up and I haven't figured out how to stop that from happening. Oh well.
The last piece of knitting news I have to share is a yarn coup. I went to the Christmas craft fair this past weekend and got this. You are looking at just under 2500 yards of hand dyed laceweight in 100% Superfine Alpaca. I paid $75 for this. What a steal! I find it hard to find laceweight yarn in this town and to get that quantity for that price is pretty amazing. The company I got it from is Far North Fibers, the woman who dyed it is a weaver. That is why she makes such large batches, she needs more for weaving. This yarn is so lovely. I don't know yet what I'm going to do with it, but I just kept coming back and looking at it and decided that I should buy it. I have some lace shawl patterns, maybe I'll do something with that.
I've decided not to renew my membership in the Rockin' Sock Club next year. Mainly because out of six pairs of socks I've managed to knit one. I have so many other projects I want to do and I will knit the other five pairs, I just don't know when, so why continue. I've loved getting the patterns and the yarn though.
Arctic Knitter and I are returning to Madrona in 2009. We are not doing the entire five days though, we're just going for Saturday and Sunday. We weren't planning on it but then we saw the class list and there was a lot that spoke to us. So, there's something to look forward to in February. My apologies for the crazy long post - I have been knitting. Next installment of "What the Heck Have I Been Up to" will be on travel because there's been a bit of that too.
Here is the sweater on display at the State Fair. This photo is courtesy of Arctic Knitter, who was able to do some fancy tech work and put in Winston's Mom on the label instead of my full name. She entered a BEAUTIFUL pair of socks that I have pictures of, but I don't have the technological know-how to take away her name and put Arctic Knitter. So, check out her blog, the socks are there, you won't be disappointed. As far as the fair goes, the sweater did win third place, which is pretty cool. I really didn't like the way they displayed it, it was folded and in a cubby, not easy to see at first. They had other sweaters on display on manikins that were nice, but didn't have the colorwork that my sweater had and so I felt a little disappointed because I didn't feel that the real strength of the sweater - the colors - was on display. And the sweaters on the manikins were monochromatic. I'll have to learn more about how this State Fair stuff works.
Here are Arctic Knitter and myself at the Fair - her socks are in the background behind us, they are honey colored. Trust me, they are lovely. Her socks won second place! Pretty fantastic!
Here's the sweater one more time with its ribbon after I got it back from the fair and returned it to mom.
And here I am with the ribbon. I have to admit, I'm pretty darned proud of the sweater and that the first time I submitted something to the fair it won third place.
After the sweater was done I wanted to do some totally mindless knitting and I had a vision that I needed to fulfill. So, I started some work on socks for my beloved in the colorway of his favorite football team, the Oakland Raiders. I don't have any in progress photos, but I do have these:
Here they are, his Oakland Raiders socks. They are not anything particularly fancy, just K3P1 ribbing on the instep and up the leg. I did a short row toe and heel, because I knit them toe up, but only one at a time because of the size. They are big socks because he's got big feet. They are something like eleven inches long or more, I forget and they are in the neighborhood of fourteen inches high up the leg, my sweet darling likes his socks to go high up his leg.
Here's a side view. The colorway really is perfect for the Raiders. As I said these were part of a vision I had, so immediately upon finishing these I started on the next part of my vision. I have a work in progress photo for these.
These are San Francisco 49er socks, representing my favorite football team. As you can see I knit them two at a time from the toe up. I only used one skein of yarn for mine and I used two for Dave's, so my socks are not as tall, which is fine with me.
Here are the finished socks. I did the same K3P1 pattern on these that I did on Dave's and did the short row toe and heel. They are very cozy and I like them a lot. Now for the vision:
Here is the vision! A family photo of each of us wearing our team's sweatshirt and the homemade socks for our respective teams. No family photo would be complete without Winston in the middle because he's always in the middle of everything. For those of you who receive Christmas cards from us, you can expect to see this photo or a photo very similar coming on a Christmas card to you very soon!
As soon as I completed my vision, Christmas knitting began in earnest and is still going full steam ahead. I started it in September with a couple of distractions along the way. The first, and most demanding by far of my holiday items is this:
This is the very start of a lace scarf for my Aunt Frances. I'm knitting it using a pattern from the book Arctic Lace, so it is an Alaskan native inspired pattern. I'm not knitting it out of quivet, mainly because I don't have that kind of income. I am knitting it out of cashmere, which is not cheap, but isn't as expensive as quivet. It is a complex pattern, it has a 56 row repeat on it, so there is no memorizing this bad chicken and working on it at meetings and things like that. It takes focus, and because I'm not a fast knitter it is going to take some time.
Here's where its at today. I've completed to repeats of the pattern and started the third, I only have to have nine repeats and the scarf is done. Sigh. I need to dedicate some more time to this project.
Aside from the lace scarf I've been on a bit of a hat kick this holiday season and the first hat is actually one of the diversions I spoke about.
This is a little baby hat that I knit for a colleague who had a baby girl on Halloween. I knit this before Halloween. I used some left over sock yarn I had and it is just a really simple hat knit in st stitch and then every fifth row or so I purled it. I did a little i-cord on the top. She loved it, so job well done.
Next is the tale of two hats. The hat on the left I knit first. I told my DH that I was going to knit some hats and I showed him the book Hats On by Charlene Schurch that I intended to use to get my patterns. He flipped through it and said, "I want that hat in blue and white", pointing at the Norwegian Star pattern. He actually also pointed out a couple of other hats he wants, but this is what he gets for now. I measured his head and decided that a medium would work and knitted it up, I even added a few extra rows at the top for height. It was too tight. So after a silly argument about the color blue and available yarn I bought a bunch more of the blue and white yarn and knit the hat on the right. It is a size large and I did two repeats of the extra lice pattern that is recommended so that he could get the height he likes. He loves it. It is an early Christmas present. Both of these hats are knit out of Cascade Dolce yarn. It is very soft and is a little silky too, very nice.
In between the two Norwegian Star hats I knit my second diversion, a hat for me. It was part of my response to the silly argument over the color blue. I don't know if others of you out there ever experience silly arguments with your significant others, but occasionally DH and I do. It's always over something stupid. Why I didn't go on to another Christmas knitting project I don't know, I guess I decided to make something for someone who I knew would appreciate it, me. It is the Turkish Cap pattern. I made the size extra large for my big head but I wish I'd done the height for large because it is a little too long for me. But I don't care, I love it. It is perfect when my hair is in a ponytail, which is often. I also love how the pattern goes to the crown.
Not the greatest photo, but isn't that cool! I knit this out of Cascade 220 Superwash. I love the colors!
Next is a hat for one of my nephews. I have twin nephews who are age 6. They are both getting a Tassled Fez hat, sans tassels. They were pretty clear that they didn't want tassels. K-man's favorite colors are red and blue, so here's his hat. I love the three points at the top.
Isn't that fun?! I think he's going to like it. A-star's favorite colors are orange and green, so I'm working on his now and I'm about half way done.
Looking good so far. A-star's hat is knit out of Cascade 220 Superwash (I'm a huge fan of Cascade yarn in general). K-man's hat is knit out of Plymouth Encore which is a 75% acrylic and 25% wool blend that makes it machine washable and dryable. Important when making hats for little boys. The hats, including mine, have this cool herringbone cuff, but it keeps rolling up and I haven't figured out how to stop that from happening. Oh well.
The last piece of knitting news I have to share is a yarn coup. I went to the Christmas craft fair this past weekend and got this. You are looking at just under 2500 yards of hand dyed laceweight in 100% Superfine Alpaca. I paid $75 for this. What a steal! I find it hard to find laceweight yarn in this town and to get that quantity for that price is pretty amazing. The company I got it from is Far North Fibers, the woman who dyed it is a weaver. That is why she makes such large batches, she needs more for weaving. This yarn is so lovely. I don't know yet what I'm going to do with it, but I just kept coming back and looking at it and decided that I should buy it. I have some lace shawl patterns, maybe I'll do something with that.
I've decided not to renew my membership in the Rockin' Sock Club next year. Mainly because out of six pairs of socks I've managed to knit one. I have so many other projects I want to do and I will knit the other five pairs, I just don't know when, so why continue. I've loved getting the patterns and the yarn though.
Arctic Knitter and I are returning to Madrona in 2009. We are not doing the entire five days though, we're just going for Saturday and Sunday. We weren't planning on it but then we saw the class list and there was a lot that spoke to us. So, there's something to look forward to in February. My apologies for the crazy long post - I have been knitting. Next installment of "What the Heck Have I Been Up to" will be on travel because there's been a bit of that too.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
What Should I Be When I Grow Up?
You Should Be a Doctor |
 You are practical, sharp, and very intuitive. Optimistic and energetic, you are a problem solver who doesn't get discouraged easily. You are also quite compassionate and caring. You make people feel hopeful. You're highly adaptable and capable. You do well with almost any curve ball life throws at you. You do best when you: - Are always learning new subjects - Use your knowledge to solve problems You would also be a good therapist or detective. |
Saturday, November 8, 2008
What the Heck Have I Been Up To Part I: Politics
Okay, so I realize that I haven't been blogging much at all lately. With the occasional exception of uploading a SNL skit. But, its not that I've not been doing things, honestly! Its that I've been really, really busy! This fall has been filled with a lot of exciting adventures and changes for me, not to mention the most exciting election season in my lifetime so far. I'm holding out for the possibility of a more exciting future. In any case, to get this crazy blog of mine up to date on what has been going on I've decided to launch a series of posts that I'm calling, "What the Heck Have I Been Up To". Since politics this fall has been such a HUGE part of my life I decided to start there.
In the interest of full honesty and disclosure let me begin by saying that I am a proud, bleeding heart, left wing, bra burning, liberal fanatic, possibly socialist, definitely tree hugging and dirt worshiping, dyed in the wool Democrat. I am the product of parents who were born in the middle of the Great Depression, who were both active union members, who are both ardent feminists and definitely blue collar and working class. So, with that said, if you can't handle some seriously left of center views, this may not be the post for you.
My political season began two years ago, when people started announcing their candidacy for President of the U.S., I was left with seriously conflicted feelings on Super Tuesday, but I was excited about the optimistic message Obama was offering and the campaign really got going for me when McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Upon that announcement I became mobilized in a way that I had not been before. I had donated to campaigns, written letters to the editor for candidates, and had even volunteered this summer at the State Fair for Planned Parenthood of Alaska where I had a man call me a baby killer and a woman throw a condom at me in disgust, but this was nothing compared to how I felt about the possibility of Palin being in a position of national power.
A group of very smart women decided that the national media needed to see and hear that Gov. Palin does not speak for all Alaskan women, so they decided to organize a rally that they called Alaskan Women Against Palin. This rally was held on September 13th and over 1,000 people came. This is a photo of my friend Julie and I at the rally with Julie's magnificent sign: "W (as in George W.) + lipstick = Palin". The rally got even more press than the organizers thought it would because a conservative radio talk show host upon finding out about the rally decided to give out the organizers home phone numbers and encouraged listeners to call the women and say how they felt about the rally while calling the women "socialist maggot baby killers". He proposed a counter rally on the other side of the street that about 300 people came to. The police was there to manage the crowd. It was a peaceful affair, despite said DJ's attempts to come into the anti-Palin crowd with an entourage to bait and argue with the protesters.
This was my favorite sign from that rally. It says, "Dr. King was a community organizer. George Wallace was a governor."
Two weeks later a new group had formed, Alaskans for Truth. They organized a rally in response to the McCain/Palin campaign's take over of the state of Alaska. This was somewhat in response to the Troopergate investigation. The Governor and First Dude had refused to respond to subpoenas that were issued to them to give testimony in the case citing executive privilege. Many Alaskans felt that Governor Palin was no longer working in the best interest of Alaska. It did not help that when Alaskans called the Governor's office with a question, even on a state issue, their call was forwarded to the McCain/Palin campaign. So, over a thousand angry and frustrated Alaskans protested downtown on the Park Strip. There were similar protest rallies going on in Fairbanks and Juneau.
Here is the poster for the rally.
Here are some of the crowd. One sign says, "Palin, McCain doesn't even have confidence in you to run Alaska".
President Nixon showed up with advice for Governor Palin.
My friend, fellow teacher and fellow Democrat Andrea had her own sign showing how she felt about the situation.
I liked this sign a lot.
This sign has the Alaskans for Truth logo, it also has Governor Palin with "McPalin" on her jumpsuit, Todd Palin with "First Dude" on his jumpsuit, and Attorney General Talis Colberg with his name on his jumpsuit.
This sign is in response to Meghan Stapleton, who works for Governor Palin, during the campaign worked for the McCain/Palin campaign in our state, and was the spokesperson of the Palin Truth Squad. During the investigation and the fights over testifying she led daily press conferences called "Truth Hearings" with the press. It was really irritating! The worst part is that she used to work for our local NBC affiliate where she was a reporter and she was actually really popular. She got national attention when she was run over by a reindeer at Santa's Workshop in North Pole. Now she's just an annoying voice piece for Palin and frankly, a bitch.
This family was great because they brought real, live chickens. The little boy's sign says, "Sarah don't Chicken out" and mom's sign says, "Which came first the Law or the Palins?"
Here is another picture of some of the crowd along I Street. The following week was followed by a rally for Obama downtown on the Park Strip where I worked for Planned Parenthood of Alaska, I already posted about that. Later I went to a fund raiser for PPA to raise awareness about breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October). I did phone banking for PPAA (Planned Parenthood of Alaska Advocates) to get support for Obama, Begich, Berkowitz, and some of the candidates for state legislature seats with my buddy Julie. I did phone banking for the Anchorage Education Association and Labor 2008 to encourage folks to get out and vote. Finally, on November 1st I did one last literature drop for AEA and Labor 2008 to get support for endorsed candidates. This time I actually was teamed with the President of NEA-Alaska, Barbara Angaiak, she is a great person and it was neat to get to work with the leader of my union. Alaska politics is really very small town!
So, that's the politics part of what I've been up to! I haven't gone to so many rallies in a long time and I had never done phone banking. I haven't done a literature drop since I was a kid helping my mom who was working for Mayor Begich's mom, Peggy Begich, who was running for U.S. Congress against Don Young. That man's been in office my entire life! I hope the 80,000 + question/absentee/early voting ballots that are still being counted will result in the end of BOTH Ted Stevens and Don Young!
Even Winston contributed his part to the political debate. He's a staunch Obama supporter. He even got a leash that is blue and says "I 'heart' Obama". The lettering is white and the hearts are pink/red and they sparkle. It goes very nicely with his blue collar and his pretty yellow coat!
For Part II I'll write about something less controversial - knitting. I'm glad the election season is at its end, it has been a long time coming. I need time to recover to gear up for the next one!
In the interest of full honesty and disclosure let me begin by saying that I am a proud, bleeding heart, left wing, bra burning, liberal fanatic, possibly socialist, definitely tree hugging and dirt worshiping, dyed in the wool Democrat. I am the product of parents who were born in the middle of the Great Depression, who were both active union members, who are both ardent feminists and definitely blue collar and working class. So, with that said, if you can't handle some seriously left of center views, this may not be the post for you.
My political season began two years ago, when people started announcing their candidacy for President of the U.S., I was left with seriously conflicted feelings on Super Tuesday, but I was excited about the optimistic message Obama was offering and the campaign really got going for me when McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Upon that announcement I became mobilized in a way that I had not been before. I had donated to campaigns, written letters to the editor for candidates, and had even volunteered this summer at the State Fair for Planned Parenthood of Alaska where I had a man call me a baby killer and a woman throw a condom at me in disgust, but this was nothing compared to how I felt about the possibility of Palin being in a position of national power.
A group of very smart women decided that the national media needed to see and hear that Gov. Palin does not speak for all Alaskan women, so they decided to organize a rally that they called Alaskan Women Against Palin. This rally was held on September 13th and over 1,000 people came. This is a photo of my friend Julie and I at the rally with Julie's magnificent sign: "W (as in George W.) + lipstick = Palin". The rally got even more press than the organizers thought it would because a conservative radio talk show host upon finding out about the rally decided to give out the organizers home phone numbers and encouraged listeners to call the women and say how they felt about the rally while calling the women "socialist maggot baby killers". He proposed a counter rally on the other side of the street that about 300 people came to. The police was there to manage the crowd. It was a peaceful affair, despite said DJ's attempts to come into the anti-Palin crowd with an entourage to bait and argue with the protesters.
This was my favorite sign from that rally. It says, "Dr. King was a community organizer. George Wallace was a governor."
Two weeks later a new group had formed, Alaskans for Truth. They organized a rally in response to the McCain/Palin campaign's take over of the state of Alaska. This was somewhat in response to the Troopergate investigation. The Governor and First Dude had refused to respond to subpoenas that were issued to them to give testimony in the case citing executive privilege. Many Alaskans felt that Governor Palin was no longer working in the best interest of Alaska. It did not help that when Alaskans called the Governor's office with a question, even on a state issue, their call was forwarded to the McCain/Palin campaign. So, over a thousand angry and frustrated Alaskans protested downtown on the Park Strip. There were similar protest rallies going on in Fairbanks and Juneau.
Here is the poster for the rally.
Here are some of the crowd. One sign says, "Palin, McCain doesn't even have confidence in you to run Alaska".
President Nixon showed up with advice for Governor Palin.
My friend, fellow teacher and fellow Democrat Andrea had her own sign showing how she felt about the situation.
I liked this sign a lot.
This sign has the Alaskans for Truth logo, it also has Governor Palin with "McPalin" on her jumpsuit, Todd Palin with "First Dude" on his jumpsuit, and Attorney General Talis Colberg with his name on his jumpsuit.
This sign is in response to Meghan Stapleton, who works for Governor Palin, during the campaign worked for the McCain/Palin campaign in our state, and was the spokesperson of the Palin Truth Squad. During the investigation and the fights over testifying she led daily press conferences called "Truth Hearings" with the press. It was really irritating! The worst part is that she used to work for our local NBC affiliate where she was a reporter and she was actually really popular. She got national attention when she was run over by a reindeer at Santa's Workshop in North Pole. Now she's just an annoying voice piece for Palin and frankly, a bitch.
This family was great because they brought real, live chickens. The little boy's sign says, "Sarah don't Chicken out" and mom's sign says, "Which came first the Law or the Palins?"
Here is another picture of some of the crowd along I Street. The following week was followed by a rally for Obama downtown on the Park Strip where I worked for Planned Parenthood of Alaska, I already posted about that. Later I went to a fund raiser for PPA to raise awareness about breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October). I did phone banking for PPAA (Planned Parenthood of Alaska Advocates) to get support for Obama, Begich, Berkowitz, and some of the candidates for state legislature seats with my buddy Julie. I did phone banking for the Anchorage Education Association and Labor 2008 to encourage folks to get out and vote. Finally, on November 1st I did one last literature drop for AEA and Labor 2008 to get support for endorsed candidates. This time I actually was teamed with the President of NEA-Alaska, Barbara Angaiak, she is a great person and it was neat to get to work with the leader of my union. Alaska politics is really very small town!
So, that's the politics part of what I've been up to! I haven't gone to so many rallies in a long time and I had never done phone banking. I haven't done a literature drop since I was a kid helping my mom who was working for Mayor Begich's mom, Peggy Begich, who was running for U.S. Congress against Don Young. That man's been in office my entire life! I hope the 80,000 + question/absentee/early voting ballots that are still being counted will result in the end of BOTH Ted Stevens and Don Young!
Even Winston contributed his part to the political debate. He's a staunch Obama supporter. He even got a leash that is blue and says "I 'heart' Obama". The lettering is white and the hearts are pink/red and they sparkle. It goes very nicely with his blue collar and his pretty yellow coat!
For Part II I'll write about something less controversial - knitting. I'm glad the election season is at its end, it has been a long time coming. I need time to recover to gear up for the next one!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
My Time With President-Elect Obama!
This is not the greatest photo because it was taken with my camera phone. But, look at who my friend Julie and I ran into at Election Central in downtown Anchorage! President-elect Obama! Well...I guess you could say... a guy who looks a lot like President-elect Obama! He really throws you off when you see his profile, much more like the real deal. The Presidential election was called an hour before the polls closed in Alaska and then Julie came over and we watched the real President-elect Obama give his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago on the TV and then Julie and I decided to head downtown to where all the action was happening. It was pretty exciting to be at Election Central. At first when we arrived it was pretty quiet because the polls had just closed, but then more and more people started to arrive and the results for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and State Legislature seats started coming in. We didn't end up staying too late, I was not feeling fantastic, Julie's getting over a cold, and we both wanted to go to bed. It was my first time going downtown though and it was a lot of fun. I think I'll be putting election central on my political "to-do" list from now on!
I'm so excited about our new President-elect that I haven't found the words to express it yet!
Obama! Obama! Obama! :0)
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