she thought she was being kind

i recently got my hair cut. i had thought that i might let it grow really long as i had long long hair at one time in my past and it looked pretty good. i didn't take into account the fact that 1) i'm older now 2) i really don't like messing with my hair 3) and it looked just like a mess hanging down around my face.

so, i did what any reasonable person would do and went to see my hair stylist. this woman is a genius. she is the mother of a friend of my daughter; this is how i got to know her. she works out of her home and she is one of those rare stylists that i could give her basic instruction on what i was wanting and close my eyes , go to sleep and it would be just perfect when i woke up. of course, i don't go to sleep. we have things to catch up on after all.

anyhoo, she does her usual brilliant job. i just told her to cut it as short as possible without making me look goofy. i have the perfect haircut. it suits my head and face and is beyond easy to take care of.

now, here's something you need to know about me. i have wanted green hair for ages. i'm 52 years old and i finally figured "why not?" i asked my daughter if she would give me some green highlights (what? i'm not crazy; no way could i carry off all green!) and she was just thrilled. she gave me a green swatch that could go subtle or more obvious depending on how much i covered it with other layers.

i love it. i think it looks great.

now to the title of this post.

there is a security guard at my place of work when you come in the front door. she and i have had conversations about various things for some time. the day after i got it cut i came in and (it was a rainy day) showed her. she said "oh! well, don't worry, on a day like this it will do that. once it starts growing out it will look really good"

i hadn't yet had the green put in.

she saw me for the first time with the green. she said, before noticing the green, "see! its starting to grow out! it's looking better!"

then she noticed the green.

her: (eyes grow bigger) oh...
me: (smiling) yeah, my daughter did it
her: well, i figured it had to be a teenager. you can't really stop 'em can you?
me: well, i asked her to
her:

heh.

time funs when you're having flies

good lord. where did the time go? it's 2008 already!

you know, there's late, there's fashionably late, there's embarrassingly late and then there's no excuse late. guess which one this post falls under?

so, swaps. as of last year swaps. as of before thanksgiving of last year swaps.

this is all from the spindle and wheel fiber frenzy swap from mumblety-mumble of last year. this first batch of photos is from the eepster to me. this is just fantastic. want to know just how fantastic?



well, take a gander at this. do you see that beautiful soft fluffy blue fiber? that is an angora and alpaca blend that she blended herself. it is unbelievably soft. it is also incredibly fine. thank goodness then that i can spin it up with my new...





lightweight drop spindle! yes folks, she did this as well. don't you just love that gold color? i know i do :)




and just LOOK at that beautiful design. she MADE this!







then there's the romney. this is a sunset in fiber form. i have already spun this up and set the twist and actually knitted one mitten with it. pictures will have to come later on this one. believe me when i tell you this spun like a dream, knits beautifully and is gorgeous to boot.

you'll have to click on the first picture to really see the other wonderful things she included. she made those lovely little stitch markers which will be perfect for lace knitting. there's some scissors and a darning needle on ribbon, a matching gold needle holder and a plastic bag to hold it all. unseen is the chocolate (seriously, there's no way i'd let chocolate sit this long!) and some wonderful crackers.

eepster? you are beyond awesome. thank you from the bottom of my heart.

so, today i was going to post about swaps

but instead i'm going to post about something else entirely.

this is something i have been concerned about for some time. this post was my first public attempt at getting across my concern.

that was 3 years ago and things have only gotten worse. i wonder why people aren't screaming from the rooftops about this. there is a great quote at the beginning of the book "the R document" which says basically that if there is ever fascism in this country it will be voted in.

well, ladies and gentlemen, the first time it wasn't exactly voted in by the american people but it was voted in by the supreme court in 2000 and then, through more chicanery, by the american people in 2004. why? there was a saying going around to the effect that if you weren't furious you weren't paying attention. well, no one was paying attention.

a friend sent me a link to a somewhat new article in the guardian. here it is. what is really distressing is the fact that this was written in april of this year. why was this not spread across the front page of every newspaper (above the fold)? oh, that's right. step 8: control the press.

thank god for stephen colbert who was able to tell it like it is at the washington correspondent's press dinner. part one, part two, part three

i'm kind of livid right now. the american people have got to wake up, start paying attention, start caring. we've turned into a victim society that wants all the goodies right now without having to either work or pay for it all. i'm sick of it. our country is going down the toilet and people are so concerned about being all PC about things that the real problems are. not. getting. addressed.

well, they need to be.

as any good hand-wash sweater instructions will tell you

you teach them to think for themselves and this is the thanks you get

conversation with my daughter.

me: i know you're of a generation that thinks you're all savvy about the internet, but you need to be really careful about putting personal information out there.

daughter: (sigh) i know. no phone numbers, address, full name, anything about me, pictures

me: 'cause once it's out there...

daughter: ...it's always out there. i know this. i've had it drilled into me at school, from you. so, i have a question...

me: yes?

daughter: how is that any different from you giving out your information to perfect strangers in these swaps you do?

me:

daughter: i mean, you send our address to people you don't know. you're just assuming they are who they say they are

me: (sputter) but ... but that's different! it's all very controlled!

daughter: like you've always told me; people can be anyone they want to be online. just because they say they are who they are doesn't mean they are who they say they are.

me: (sputter some more) but ... but ...

daughter:

me: well. if you're going to use logic!

ah, there's good news tonite!

my mother is home. everything turned out well. now that she's home she can get some rest!

'N' the other update

i just talked to my mother. i needed to hear her voice and her voice i heard.

she will be fine and, now, so will i.

oh how i love my mother. she is the bestest mother in the whole wide world.