Thursday, September 28, 2006

Pic of the Day: The Duke

Pic of the Day: The Duke

I haven't had much time lately to put together an actual blog entry. But I did receive this pic in email today from a co-worker, and thought I would share it with you. I know John Wayne really didn't say this, but if he were still alive he probably would, and I'd agree with him whole-heartedly!

Until next blog, Pilgrim...

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Pondering

Park Bench

Today would be a good day to just sit on a park bench someplace and just ponder. The past 16 hours have been somewhat surreal for me. At around 9:00 last night, I had gotten word that a friend of mine has cancer. Not just has cancer, as in "it's a small tumor that we caught early", but cancer as in "it started in one place and has already spread to a number of other organs".

I've known Tony for a little over five years now. He sang bass in Z Street (the quartet that I sang baritone in for three years) during its tenure, and we were both in the Sounds of Concord (he started a couple of years before I did, and he is still with them). He, along with Paul (who sang lead with Z Street) and myself would hang out a lot - we three of us still get together for breakfast on the occasional Saturday morning.

I keep thinking back to when my mother-in-law died of cancer back 2003 (shortly coming on the third anniversary of that) - though "anniversary" is a strange word to use for that.

Speaking of which, today also happens to mine and Patti's fifteenth wedding anniversary. Money's been really tight lately, and I've not even been able to get a card...

Things are just too disjointed and weird for me right now. A lot of mixed emotions that I'm having a hard time making sense of. I'm somewhere between numb and nauseous. Based on past experience with this kind of thing, the inevitable full emotional breakdown will happen at some undetermined point in the future.

Right now all I can do is ponder... and pray (and especially, pray).

Friday, September 15, 2006

Photo Friday: Bright

Purple GlowHere is this week's entry for Photo Friday. The theme for the week is "Bright".

I took this during a walk a couple of weeks ago, and decided I would attempt a macro (really close-up) shot of this one bright pinkish, purplish flower I saw alongside the road. I'm not sure how I managed it, but as you can tell, the center of the photo picked shows a very bright reflection from the flash. So I guess this count twice for bright, yes?

Monday, September 11, 2006

Just for Fun: How Liberal or Conservative Are You?

Just for fun, I thought I'd do a mini-post containing the results of one of those blog 'quiz' things from blogthings.com, with my results. It pretty well lines up with where I stand on things.

Your Political Profile:
Overall: 85% Conservative, 15% Liberal
Social Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal
Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal
Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal
Ethics: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal
Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Monday, September 04, 2006

Reflections on Rest


Reflections on Rest
Originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.
Where, oh where, has the summer gone? Didn't the weather finally get warm, and now it's cooling off again? Didn't I have a big to-do list and didn't get around to half of it?

I know I've been busy - I have the tiredness to prove it! But yet, somehow, it doesn't feel like anything been done. And I'm now back to five-day work weeks. So much for getting stuff done around the house.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a nap.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Are You A Happy Hooker?

No - it's not what you think (shame on you!)

Bethanie's Afghan

This is crochet we're talking about, an age-old craft that uses little more than some yarn, a hook, and a few free evenings.

I first learned to crochet from my mom when I was... oh, boy... that long ago? 9 or 10 I think. Anyhow, mom used to crochet all the time. I would watch in utter fascination as she would do her handiwork (afghans mostly), and asked if she could teach me. She handed me a book on it, which I proceded to read through it (this was when I discoved that I liked being self-taught and that I really enjoyed how-to books), and with some guidance from mom, it wasn't long before I had the chain stich and single crochet down pretty good. Next came double, half-double, and treble crochet.

I stopped doing crochet after a while (don't remember why - maybe part of that whole teen angst business, who knows?), but picked it up again after getting married and while Patti was pregnant with MJ, our oldest. Managed to keep at it long enough to make a baby blanket for MJ, another one for Bethanie when the time came, and completed most of a lapghan (a smaller version of an afghan) for Patti before I got distracted by a bazillion other things. Never did get around to finishing that lapghan, nor did I make a baby blanket for Thomas (I somehow doubt he'd want that baby blanket now that he's almost 10).

Patti's Afghan #2
Patti's Pillows #2

I have only this past spring started up crocheting again, and am still at it. I've made afghans (plus coordinating pillows) for all three kids (a picture of Bethanie's is up at the top of this blog entry), plus 2 afghan/pillow sets for Patti (the most recent set, the one I finished over the summer) is shown, right.

Additionally, I just completed an afghan for mom for her and Bernie's (my stepdad) place down in Florida where they spend their winters. We'll be heading out to New York this afternoon for Labor Day weekend, and I'll be giving her the afghan then - kinda a "thank you" of sorts.

And since we're heading out shortly, I'll just wrap this up for now.

Happy hooking!