Gloria Steinem is soooooo cool!

My DD#2 sent me a link to an editorial by Gloria Steinem on the topic of Sarah Palin. Two things she said that stick out in my [sick] mind:

* "Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie."

* "To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

and that which I will always LOVE LOVE LOVE:

* "And [if there is a McCain/Palin defeat and the Reeps take back the centrist approach] American women... finally have support on a national stage from male leaders who know that women can't be equal outside the home until men are equal in it. "

YES!

A voice crying out in the wilderness, Gloria Steinem has quietly, rationally and intelligently made the case for women's equality, stifling the rage that must boil inside of her as it does with many of us. As the mother of five daughters and one son, I am so in her debt and grateful that she continues the fight today that she started in the sixties.

Knitting? Oh yeah, that:)

I finished Ruby's Little Sister Dress by Tora Froseth (sorry, can't do that o with the slash in it - Ms. F is Swedish I think). I was up until about 4 a.m. finishing it; and had to be up by 7:00 a.m. DUH! Big DUH! But I like the way it turned out. It needed literally no blocking and the yarn is soft. It has sort of a tie-dyed denim look to it and I know for a fact that the Rubester is indeed a rockin' 3-yr-old, so this is reeelly kewl:)

I also finished the hat, but it's a bit large - needs a weeee bit of felting maybe? We'll see. This week has been crazy and of course it doesn't help that my Wednesday was so screwed up in terms of sleep. Client visits have caused me to be late to my first choir and second bell choir practice - neither of which felt very good. But it has been wonderful getting back into the swim of things.

I was hoping to do EfM again this year, having missed a year, but it looks like it's going to be another year before I start that up again. Instead, I signed up for the Stephen Ministry at my church. It's a more active ministry, involved in being there for people in crisis. And there's a training, boy is there a training - every Monday for two hours (save the holidays) and a few Saturdays for 4 or 5 hours. They mean business and I'm glad. I will need all the help I can get! I'm a little nervous about it, but happy to be taking on another challenge. It's good for the soul to learn new things.

Today I finished court around noontime and came home to find that John was not yet back from a dr's appointment. It turns out all was well, but it was a little scary there for a while. He's sleeping now as I type this, having missed his usual morning bedtime after a long overnight shift at the hotel. I am - for a little while - alone downstairs in a quiet house. I'm listening to Brenda Dayne's Cast On podcast and a few others. If all goes as planned, I'm going to work on the Mystery Shawl 4 and the Chinese Lace Pullover sleeves. It's a damp, rainy night. It's just turned dark. I am inside, getting ready to have some cozy time with yarn, the remains of a tuna sub with everything on it and, a glass or two of red wine. Hopefully all kept carefully apart:)

Tomorrow the choir is practicing the Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen. I will probably bring my knitting - there are any number of projects I can bring - except the Chinese Lace, LOL:) Oh - I almost forgot - a choir friend asked me to fix a new sweater she must have caught on something. I will do that tonight to bring to her at practice if she's there - or drop off to her.

It's funny about autumn. I love this time of year as I've said many times on this blog. Unfortunately, it's not a fun time for everyone I care about. I think John is doing better with it because he's getting more sleep and not working two jobs at least for now. It used to be a tougher time of year for him. Other friends of mine get overwhelmed in the autumn with all the stuff that gets thrown their way. It makes things kind of weird for me because I want to help, but don't quite know how to be there for them. And I must annoy the crap out of them because I am not in the same state. Aarrgghh. But that doesn't mean I don't worry or lose sleep. Dammit I do. Maybe that's why I'm knitting like such an addict!

B is moving this weekend to share an apartment with J. Now four of our kids will be out of the nest. The signals are there that the time is right for her to go out on her own; she spends more time out of the house than home, she's got a good, if tiring job, and she's 27. I'm hoping she and J will come for sunday dinner with the rest of her sibs most sundays. I'm betting she will, if only for the occasional poker game. But still I will miss her as I do her out-on-their-own sibs. Thankfully, they're all fairly close but not so close that I'm in their business every day, LOL!

Well, that's all I have for today.

Peace+