Wrapping things up

 I've been working on multiple projects to finish them up.  Some are holiday gifts, so can't share yet, but this sweater was for me.  I've been working on it about a year, with long breaks when I would get tired of it and need to work on something else.  All that's left is buttons and I believe I have a nice set of brown ones that I didn't use on the last sweater I made.  

I was more sure about the gold yarn last year when I bought it.  This year, I was in a different 'fashion mood' and was worried that it would be too bold, but once I had it on and felt how soft it was and saw how well it fit and went with blue, I stopped worrying.  The yarn is a wool/cotton combination.  One or both of those has a short staple and it made the finished product "fuzzy", but blocking the pieces seemed to control some of that.  

I don't care for how the collar was made.  Instead of picking up stitches around the body and adding the collar to the sweater, the collar was made as a separate piece and sewn on.  I made 40-something inches of it and sewed that on so that I only had the bulk of the sweater in my lap while I was making the button holes.  I marked where the buttons should be on the sweater and then knitted and sewed collar to that point, made the button hole and kept going to the next one.  The button holes are totally decorative.  If I ever tried to button it, they'd pull and make that weird scalloped stretched shape across the front, not because the sweater is tight but because of how they're made.  I guess that's okay.  If it's ever cold enough that I need to button it, I probably won't care how it looks.  

The election wraps up tomorrow...or soon after.  Rob shared a meme that said something like If you don't know why your gay friend is afraid right now, then you don't have a gay friend.  You just know someone that's gay.  It's true.  I am afraid.  I'm afraid I'll lose my right to be married.  I'm afraid I'll lose my right to live my life the way I want to and out loud, not hiding it under a bushel to make the false christians comfortable.  My only feedback on that meme is that gay people and trans people are not the only ones afraid.  Women, black people, Latinos, and actual Christians are all afraid.  And, still that's not all the people that are being made to fear by a small, insignificant criminal, so hell bent on staying out of jail that he's willing to bring down our country for it.  

I also saw this.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Stephanie Ruhle asked a young non-binary student "If you were to ask Vice President Harris a question, what would it be?"

The student replied "How soon do you think we can get the Equality Act passed?"

Stephanie then asked "How about Donald Trump?"

The student replied "I would ask him 'Do you see me as a human?'"

'How soon will I be fully equal' compared to 'do I exist to you?'  What a telling contrast to illustrate the difference between the candidates.  

Worthless piece of shit could spend nine billion dollars at beauty spas and he still gonna look like Grandpa Munster in a grizzled old man beard.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Sorry, that one's so funny I had to say it again!

Rob and I had a serious conversation in the car yesterday.  He said he was feeling pretty calm about the outcome, whatever it is.  I said I was so stressed I could barely contain it.  We agreed that we make a good balance.  A lot of mine is personal.  How dare people that say they love me vote in ways that would harm me and my family.  Logically, I know that they have shifted all their focus onto pretending that they are victims and making sure not to look around their lives and count their many (many, many, oh so many) blessings.  They've lost focus on their own families and on God.  The family that raised me would have taken cyanide before they voted for a man that bragged about grabbing women by the genitals, got caught paying off a sex worker, was convicted of digital rape, was credibly accused of treason,  and lies ABOUT EVERYTHING.  Sometimes I wonder what happened to that family.

I can't leave that thought hanging there like that.  I moved away.  I became a person that I am proud of.  I remained the good person I was taught to be.  I took lessons I learned from my Daddy and became a success.  I learned to overcome the prejudices and controlling habits I'd seen and embraced people as equals.  I'm an encourager.  About a million times, my Mom said 'Raise a child in the way that is right and in their old age, they will not depart from it' and then she'd say something like 'I guess you're not old yet."  

I'm old now. 

So, here's a flower.  An out of season Amaryllis blooming outside (not forced).  Mine will not be blooming this month.  They're recovering from summer nicely, but not enough to bloom.

Everybody have a good week!  Try to be calm and relaxed.  Read a book (not the news).  Watch a movie (not the news).  At this point, there's not much we can do, unless you've been waiting to cast your vote.  And if you have, then please be sure to vote.  Don't let that privilege get away from you this year because it is oh, so important.  Maybe more important than it's ever been.  

Stay calm and carry on.  Lane