Pomp and Circumstance Over, Now the Work Begins and Adventures in Knitting

I admit, straight out, that I did not watch the inauguration yesterday. I was busy spending three hours at the knitting machine trying to figure out what I wanted the cuff of my sleeves to look like. The sweater directions encouraged me to do ribbing, but ribbing on a knitting machine is boring. (I did a type of mock-ribbing for the hem of the sweater, but decided against it for the sleeves.) I could have just knit plain knit for a turned hem, but that's pretty boring too. So I took the opportunity to start playing with cables. 

I love cables in knitwear, and cables are something well 
within my wheelhouse on a knitting machine. I've decided 
to use cables on my sweater cuffs, and I probably will 
also incorporate some serious cables in my next sweater 
(if I don't do intarsia or fair isle instead). 

I love cables in knitting. They are my favorite element, and often have been the selling point of commercial knitwear I've purchased over the years. Cables and fair isle knitting techniques are two of the main reasons I purchased a knitting machine. I've said it before and I'll say it again with emphasis - I'm a HORRIBLE hand knitter - finding the entire process rather boring and too slow. The knitting machine frees me from that, makes it interesting and fast. Getting an entire sweater knitted in a day or two is seriously amazing. So, I worked on designing some cables for my sweater cuffs. 

Although these cables are on a hand-knit sample, I 
could do cables like these too. It just boggles the 
mind - the possibilities. I'm working this sweater to 
get an idea for sizing and decorative techniques, but 
then I can go crazy and make a bunch of different 
styles. 

I then remembered "Oh yeah! Inauguration! I suppose I should turn on the TV." I was just in time to see the new President and First Person exit their fancy cars and walk down the avenue toward their new offices. Listening to news commentators in the other room, apparently Kamala Harris started swearing in newly elected Senators, and Joe Biden started rescinding what he could of past Trump policies. I know Trump left Biden a letter in the desk of the Oval Office, but who knows what it said. Those Presidential "welcome" letters are rarely made public. One thing is certain, though. A snake is a snake through and through, and this nation hasn't seen the last of Donald Trump. 

It was a Secret Service agent's nightmare, when Joe Biden and 
his family left their cars to walk towards the White House. The 
strict security meant minimal crowds, however, which was a 
relief. But I'm sure the agents assigned to the new President 
breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally indoors. 

It is a relief to have kindness back in the White House, though. Joe Biden is a kind man - one who looks after his family and his staff and probably one who stops to pet lost kittens in the rain. He's a kind and a decent man who will do the best he can for a nation divided. I hope by the end of his four years that he's healed some of the wounds we're suffering through. 

Kamala Harris and her family also left their cars and walked 
the final 200 yards or so towards the Executive Building 
where she shed her coat and started working. I'm thrilled 
with her - she's smart and I don't think she'll take a lot of 
guff from people. She's a mom, and we all know moms have 
eyes in the backs of their heads and can see through lies. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I have a lot of work to do at the shop - lots of paperwork to finish up for my PPP Loan Forgiveness Application. I scanned almost everything in last night and am waiting for one piece of paper from DH, then I can send everything off to my banker. I'll be relieved to have it all out of my life and back into the file cabinet where it belongs. Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. As always, please stay safe, be kind, and wear your mask. 

Focus - Sometimes It's a Hard Thing

My eyes are being a bit wonky today, not focusing well. I'm having problems with my progressive lenses as well as with my single-distance computer glasses. I'm hoping it resolves itself quickly, I really don't want to go through the day slightly out of focus. It's annoying and unproductive. Well ... to be honest ... it's REALLY annoying. 

Today my eyes are blurry and reading the computer 
screen is difficult. That could make some of what I 
wanted to do today difficult, so I'll push the annual 
budget over to Friday and hope my eyes settle down 
by then. 

It's Inauguration Day today, and if he can make it through the ceremony, Joseph Biden will be our President by mid-day. I'm looking forward to some sanity in Washington DC for a while, but of course that will only last until Congress is back in session. Then the merry-go-round will start again, but with different music. It's hard to get too excited these days - same game, different players. Fortunately, that streak of insanity that ran through the hallways of Government over the past four years, might be tamped down and contained a bit better. Our political system is NOT perfect, but it's actually not bad, and it's functional in most ways. 

I loved this photo of Joe Biden with his wife and Kamala 
Harris with her husband, gazing toward the Washington 
Monument. This will be an Inauguration Day unlike any 
in the past, yet it will still be celebrated by the people 
of this nation as we continue our democratic tradition 
of a peaceful transition of power. 

So I'll spend today doing my usual errands (grocery store and Target - necessary today because I'm running out of some stuff), and I'll try to get at least one sleeve knitted on the machine for my sweater, but I want and need a bit of a kick-back day. I also need to do a household budget summary of the past 12-months. I might push that out until Friday, though. 

As an aside, today begins ten consecutive Palindrome 
Days. Maybe that's a good sign for the future of 
our nation. At any rate, it's a fun fact to share with others. 

I hope all of you have a lovely Wednesday and that we celebrate the peaceful transfer of power in Washington DC as we should - because it's actually an accomplishment. I plan to be back here tomorrow with another chapter in the saga, and until then ... stay safe, be kind, and please wear your mask. 

His Words Were, "I Have a Dream" - I Also Have a Dream

Happy Martin Luther King Day to all of you in the USA, and Happy Monday to my friends in other nations. It's Monday, we can't escape that, but all in all, it seems to come around every seven days, rain or shine, and we live through thousands of Mondays in an average lifespan. I've lived through more than 3300 Mondays in my lifetime and I plan on experiencing many more before I pass onward to the next adventure. 

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was not well liked in 
the USA while he was alive, but after he was assassinated, 
his words began circulating and his speeches became 
better and better known. He is an example of someone who 
became more famous and more powerful after death than 
before. In many ways, that's a shame. But at least we 
had the chance to discover the greatness of the man 
in the fullness of time. 

Sunday was as close to a perfect day as I've had in a long time. DH was occupied playing "Lord of the Rings Online" in the morning with the hockey game (Pittsburgh Penguins v Washington Capitals - Pittsburgh won in a Shoot Out) on in the background, then he switched the TV over to football. I, on the other hand, took advantage of a few empty hours, set up my knitting machine and knitted the front of my sweater, with a shaped neckline (I was quite proud of myself). I then put the machine away until Wednesday when I will tackle the sleeves. 

DH is delighted that ice hockey is back on TV again. I've 
missed it too. The format is different - less travel, back-to-back 
games, divisional teams only. I've added the Minnesota Wild 
and the Colorado Avalanche schedules to the calendar in 
my phone. It'll be REALLY easy those times when the two 
teams play each other - LOL. 

We both settled down and watched the two football playoff games - not always agreeing on which team to cheer for, but agreeing that both games were good ones. Next week will be the Divisional Playoffs, and then, in early February, the Super Bowl. Despite the Pandemic, we still managed to get a football season in - truncated and with sparse attendance, but a good season all the same. Now, with ice hockey starting up again, life seems to have made small steps back into the sunlight after months cowering in the shadows. 

As we get closer to Wednesday's Inauguration Day, 
Washington DC prepares for the worst and hopes for 
the best. So far, despite serious preparation and defensive 
strategies, protests at my own state capitol have been 
minimal. I really hope the nation can move on from the 
past four years and provide a bright future once again. 

This week will be the inauguration of Joe Biden as President. Turning this country away from hatred and divisiveness and towards kindness and shared goals will be incredibly difficult, but I'm impressed with him so far. He talks well. Now if he walks his talk, we might have a chance. I'm hopeful, at any rate, and I haven't felt hopeful with politics for several years. Maybe the revolving door that has been the rule of law in Washington DC for the past four years might finally stand still - open for viewing by all, and showing a staff committed to the People and determined to right the great wrongs of the carpetbaggers who have been in Washington DC for the past four years. 

On that note, and on this day celebrating a great man whose legacy lives on, I'm signing off. Have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back tomorrow, and please ... be kind, stay safe and wear your mask.