Be a Smart Voter

I know most of you are probably sick to death to hearing the candidates spewing their lines and name-calling their opponents. Forget about what they are saying now. Check out their voting records and see what they really support. You can find records on most politicians at Project Smart Vote at --> http://www.votesmart.org/index.htm. We need to not only vote but to vote smartly regardless of our gender, race, or party affiliation.

More Slippers Crocheted

I've been a bit busy making slippers for Christmas presents. The people I gift them to don't go on the Internet so it is safe to show them in case you're wondering. Here they are; hope you like them. Two are for men and the other three are for women. I tied each pair together with a piece of yarn in case you noticed the "string" at the back of each pair. I am currently working on a rr afghan with double strands of ww yarn. I'll post it after it's finished and the recipient receives it because that is one person who surfs the Net :).

Confusion over i.e. and e.g. resolved

I often have problems figuring out when to use e.g. and i.e. when writing. Here is a quick explanation that helped me out.

e.g.
e.g. stands for the Latin phrase “exempli gratia,” which means “for the sake of example.” You should use it when presenting examples or more possibilities for the term in question. An easy way to remember this is to associate e.g. with “example given.” "The student was causing problems e.g throwing paper wads and talking in class."

i.e.
i.e. Stands for the Latin phrase “id est,” which means “that is.” You should use it when explaining or rephrasing a sentence. Usually it has the same meaning as “in other words.” "The student was causing problems i.e. not obeying class rules."

10-22-2008 Crochet Christmas "Fix-ins"

I've been making a few things for Christmas the last couple of days. Here is a picture of some slippers I've made for a couple ladies and a washcloth that I will put in a gift basket. I really like the color design on the washcloth. I made a pair of slippers for a guy too but I can't find them! Must be the old-timers syndrome catching up with me! Anyway here is the link to the slippers pattern --> http://www.knitting-crochet.com/crochet/slisoc.html . I have used this pattern for many years and am very happy with it. These slippers I modified somewhat by not putting a cuff on them. I hope you enjoy. The washcloth is just made out of sc. I actually bought a pattern only to find out it was chain 31 and then every row was sc 30!

10-20-2008 Another Round Ripple Afghan

I had the time, and I had the yarn so I went ahead and made a round ripple afghan in shades of pink. If you had read a previous post about a purple one that I made for my dgd you will remember that after I made the purple one she just happened to mention that her favorite color was pink and not purple anymore! Her mom just happens to love purple so both girls will be getting one of these afghans for Christmas. Drop me a line and tell me what you think of these afghans. Hugs...

10-19-2008 Crocheted Slippers

I thought that I would put a quick picture here of the slippers I finished last night. I'm not too sure if I like these so I will be keeping them for myself and not giving as Christmas gift. Let me know what you think.

10-17-2008 On this day 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

On this day 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake strikes near San Francisco. Go here to see an amateur video of some of the destruction -->
http://www.archive.org/details/1989.Loma.Prieta.Earthquake.Marina.District. To learn some facts and figures concerning this disaster, please go to http://seismo.berkeley.edu/faq/1989_0.html.

10-15-2008 This day 1914 Clayton Antitrust Act Passes in Congress

President Woodrow Wilson

1913-21

15 October 1914: The U.S. House of Representatives approves the Clayton Antitrust Act. Here is a link to the text of the act http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=488. This act ammended and clarified the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.The act prohibited exclusive sales contracts, local price cutting to freeze out competitors, rebates, interlocking directorates in corporations capitalized at $1 million or more in the same field of business, and intercorporate stock holdings. Labor unions and agricultural cooperatives were exempted from provisions of this act. It also legalized peaceful strikes, picketing, and boycotts. It declared that "the labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce."

p.s. President Woodrow Wilson was in office then.

10-14-2008 Round Afghan Free Patterns--Links

Note: After today (11-04-2010), I will no longer be editting this page. You may access the list of these patterns and newer ones from this blog's homepage up by the header. So, if you have this page bookmarked you might want to change it. Hugs...

• For those of you who like to crochet here are some links for round afghan patterns that are free. The posted pictures are examples of some of the ones that I made. The 2 purple ones are full-sized and the others are for babies. I used a pattern by Aggie May of crochetville.org. To get this pattern you need to become a member and send her a pm requesting it. She is very generous offering this pattern for free.
  
• http://www.tamemymind.com/blog/2007/05/16/6point_to_24point_round_ripple_blanket_greens_blues_multi.php
• http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showpost.php?p=517890&postcount=4
• http://mikknits.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-8-point-wavy-ripple-pattern.html
• http://stormdracscrochet.blogspot.com/2008/04/9-pointed-round-ripple-with-solid.html
• http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-NWrFT_Eyc7TeuqtfnrpJ4GC1qwA-?cq=1&p=56
• http://thekidneybean.wordpress.com/crochet-patterns/chromium-star-blanket/
• http://woven-stars.tripod.com/rippletutorial/
• http://mikknits.blogspot.com/2007/03/gentle-waves-round-ripple-afghan-pdf.html
• http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977275501
• http://woodhilldesignpatternpage.blogspot.com/2005/10/around-rosy-baby-blanket.html
• http://project-angel-kisses.150m.com/roundripple.html
• http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977270508
• http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/angelcrafts/patterns/patriotic7pointroundripplebabyafghan.html
• http://www.sewonfire.com/round_ripple_afghan.htm
• http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/angelcrafts/patterns/sixpointroundripplebabyafghan.html
• http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/angelcrafts/patterns/spidermanroundrippleafghan.html
• http://innerchildcrochet.com/patterns/starry_starry_night.html
• http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976910272
• http://yarn-diva.blogspot.com/2006/03/free-star-shaped-afghan-pattern.html
• http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/knitting/msg0517262029167.html?9 scroll down the page and you will see it.
• http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/round-jacobs-ladder.html
• http://web.archive.org/web/20070125045535/http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lffunt/skipstone.htm Updated link for archived copy (11/03/2009)
  
• http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/70629AD.html this is a membership site so I think you'll have to become a member.
• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/55678/rose_ripple_crochet_baby_blanket_in.html?cat=24
• http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/sabraellen/roundblanket.html
• http://yarn-diva.blogspot.com/2006/03/free-star-shaped-afghan-pattern.html

Added on 01 Dec 2008:

• http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80436AD.html

Added on 19 Feb 2009:

• http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/Jeanaries/RoundRippleBedspread.html
• http://www.meibythepug.com/2009/01/6-point-star-afghan-pattern.html

Added on 16 Apr 2009:

• http://crochetme.com/patterns/9-point-round-ripple-solid-center

Added on 22 May 2009:

• http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977688297&grpId=3659174697252379

Added on 25 May 2009:

• http://inspiredcrochetdesign.blogspot.com/2009/05/rosereds-12-point-round-ripple-free.html

Added on 30 May 2009:

• Caitlin's Circle Afghan

Added on 16 August 2009

• Merry-Go-Round

Added on 04 September 2009

• Circle Afghan

Added on 28 September 2009

• Stratford Circle Afghan

Added on 21 December 2009

• Kew Gardens Afghan

Added on 03 January 2010

• Circle Lapghan  

Added on 23 January 2010

• Circle Afghan  You will need to scroll half way down the page to click on the pdf link 
  

Added on 16 May 2010

• 7-Point Star Throw
• Woodland Circle Afghan

Added on 11 July 2010

• Washed Ashore Afghan

Added on 28 July 2010

• Spiral Baby Blanket

Added on 13 September 2010

• Valis’ Circular Shawl Pattern
• 
  

  9-Pointed Star Round Ripple

Added on 25 September 2010

• 8 Point Granny Round Ripple  You need to be a member of Ravelry to access this pattern.  It's free so give it a try :)

Added on 13 October 2010

• Simple Round Ripple with No Gaps

Added on 25 October 2010

• Lilly Pond 8 Point Round Ripple for infant/child

Added on 04 November 2010

• Round Ripple Bedspread

10-10-2008 This day in history 1845 U.S. Naval Academy Opens

On 10 October 1845 the U.S. Naval Academy, known then as Naval School, opened at Annapolis. You may visit the academy online at http://www.usna.edu/PAO/welcome.htm. They offer a short history of the school at http://www.usna.edu/VirtualTour/150years/.

10-09-2008 Crochet Projects Completed

Here are some crochet projects I recently completed.

One is a doorstop. You are supposed to put the crocheted part over an old milk bottle filled with something to make it heavy like sand. I "lost" the pattern for this and had to "wing" the turbin.


The other project is a round ripple afghan for dgd's Christmas present. She asked for one and I had enough stashed yarn to make it in what I thought was her favorite color. She recently informed me that her favorite color was now PINK! Oh, well...I think she'll like it anyway since her bedroom is done with a lot of purple in it.

10-08-2008 Sgt. York Behaves Heroically in 1918

On this day in history 1918 Sgt. Alvin C. York almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 in the Argonne Forest in France during WWI. Sgt. York became one of the most highly decorated members of the US military. Go to his foundation's web site to read more about him http://www.sgtyork.org/index.html. Another good page to visit is at http://www.worldwar1.com/heritage/sgtayork.htm

Crochet update--I finished the rr afghan that I was making for dgd's Christmas present. It is a gloomy day today so when I have better lighting I will take and post a picture of it for you to see. It's time to start crocheting slippers and maybe some hats and scarves for this years Christmas presents. Hugs!

10-06-2008 A Crochet Site I Just Found & Crochet Update

Here's a really nice site with free crochet patterns. There are only a few but they are very nice and not "cheesy" like so many sites offer. Hope you like it. http://www.mylifetime.com/lifetime-topics-search/article/385

Currently, I am working on a round ripple afghan for my granddaughter's Christmas present. She told me she wanted one when she saw my purple one--purple is what she always claimed was her favorite color. Now, she tells me that her favorite color is PINK! Oh well, she should like it anyway. I'll have it finished in a couple days and I'll post a picture for you.