Oldie but Goodie Photo

I was looking at some old photos the other day and ran across this one. These 2 little guys are my sons back in 1985. I was in the Navy then and getting ready to go away to a school. I was missing them before I left and feeling a little guilty too so I crocheted the vests my little guys are wearing. They were such cute little guys; now, they're really handsome big guys! Hugs to all...

22nd Anniversary Today!

Hard to believe it's been 22 years that dh and I have been married! We were both in the Navy at the time. We had planned to get married a few weeks before we did and I thought dh had stood me up! Actually, we were going to go to Reno and do it but we had issues such as not enough money lol! Anyway, I was working extra hard with decomming my ship--the USS Ajax. When I met dh after getting off duty he said let's go get married now--so we did! If you notice, this picture taken the night we got married shows our casual wedding duds. Gosh, this is almost ancient history now! I love you Sweetheart and here's to another 22 years!

On 14 Jan 1969--Explosion on USS Enterprise

On 14 JANUARY 1969--On the USS Enterprise the exhaust from an aircraft engine starter unit was directed onto a pod containing four ZUNI rockets. Heat caused a warhead to detonate. Fragments ruptured the aircraft's fuel tank and ignited a fire. Three more ZUNI warheads detonated less than a minute after the first explosion. The shaped charges blew holes through the flight deck allowing burning fuel to invade the lower decks. In all, there were 18 munition's explosions and 8 holes were blown through the flight deck. Losses totaled 15 aircraft, 28 dead, and another 344 injured. Below is a film clip of some of the damage from this explosion. If you would like more information about this first nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy you may visit her official online pages.

Hodgepodge--Me Rambling On

Update on Challenger Center--It's closing down February 28th of this year (Finley, Marty "CLC Closing Date Set for Late February." The News Enterprise, 11 Jan 2009, sec. A, p. 1, 14.) I originally posted on this scenario on the 9th of this month. Anyway, that's good since the money that was budgeted to run it can go back into the city's budget and hopefully keep us from going broke once again. I'm sorry to see the employees lose their jobs but you know, one has to wonder at their qualifications--they did not have to be a teacher nor did they have to be a college graduate to work there. Anyway, I'm glad to see it going away--it met the needs of too few of our town's residents at too high of a cost. I'm still waiting for Mr. Chance Fox, Financial Officer for our city, to get back to me with the budgeted figures for the Challenger Learning Center that he promised me on January 9th.

This Day in History--Ever hear the names Amos and Andy and wonder who the heck they are? Originally, they were a two-man comedy series "Sam 'n' Henry"on Chicago's WGN radio station. Their first show was on 12 Jan 1926. Two years later they changed their names to Amos and Andy. Eventually they also made films. Controversy arose because the actors were white and they wore black-face makeup and this became a racial incident with the NAACP involved. Click on the icon below to see a clip of one of their filmed shows.


You can go to this page and download for free some of the older radio shows they made. For more information on "Amos and Andy" you may go to this page.

Crochet Update--I'm finishing up a toddler size blanket. It's mainly made of paton's poochie yarn. I'm not sure if I like it or not. It seems like it will be nice and toasty warm but the care label says to handwash and dry flat. That seems like a lot of work for this size item. Maybe it can be laundered in a mesh bag on delicate/gentle cycle and dried on low. Has anyone laundered this type of yarn? Let me know how you have cared for items made of it and what results you have gotten.

Thought I'd Share Pics of Younger Son

I thought that I would post these silly pictures of my younger son. I had to chase him around the family room with my camera as I tried to snap his picture! He's a great guy and in these pics he's showing off his great sense of humor. He's a wonderful son and he has a fantastic memory too! So, without further ado, here come the pictures... Be brave, post a comment!

Hexagon Afghan Finished for Friend!!!

My dear friend recently found out she was diabetic. She's really feeling pretty down so I thought I would make her this afghan. It's about 5' across. It's a good cuddling size lol! Here are pictures of it for you--the complete afghan and a closeup of the colors and stitches. I hope she likes it. What do you think? Leave me a comment...

Hardin County Challenger Center to Close

This week a decision was made by our city's mayor, Sheila Enyart to close the Challenger Space Center that our city of 23,906 has operated since February of 2000. It is funded until June 2009 by the current budget. It is called the Challenger Learning Center of Hardin County but is in fact operated/owned by the city of Radcliff.
On the Hardin County Challenger page I was trying to research how many students at what ages and a budget amount for this center; I had no luck. I did learn that grades 5-9 are the primary patrons of these facilities from the national page. So lets look at the population of students of the approximate ages who would use this facility. Based on 5th graders being 10 years of age and including students up to the age of 14 for 9th should give us a reasonable estimate of potential visitors from Radcliff, KY. Age break down for Radcliff based on Census 2000 is found at this page.

• 10 yrs old 425
• 11 yrs old 406
• 12 yrs old 420
• 13 yrs old 403
• 14 yrs old 398
• Total 2,052

I spoke with Mr. Chance Fox, Chief Financial Officer, about the budgeted amounts the city contributed for the operation for the Challenger Center. He was rather vague and tried to avoid giving me specific amounts and told me that I could estimate the amount from the city's budget at $350,000 per year includes $190,000 bond money that has to be paid back no matter what. I insisted on knowing exact amounts and he said it would take him quite a while to get the information for me. I gave him my email address and hopefully it won't take too long for that information to get to me. I'm not holding my breath though. Anyway let's do some rough math calculations Estimated $350,000 from the city divided by number of eligible students in Radcliff eligible IAW Census 2000 that is 2,052. This ends up costing the city $170.57 per ELIGIBLE student in Radcliff. This does not mean that all these students visited this facility in one year. This is a big chunk of money for one city to put out for such a small number of residents. OK, I know, students from other towns and districts come there but remember, Radcliff pays for it! I'm going to step out on a limb here and say that a fourth of the students from Radcliff would use this facility in any one year. That means that we are paying out $682.26 for each student from Radcliff who may actually have used the center in one year.

The mission statement for this town can be broadly interpreted to possibly include anything . Let's take a look at it:

CITY OF RADCLIFF MISSION STATEMENT The City of Radcliff is dedicated to being responsive to its citizens, enhancing the quality of life for all residents by providing quality services, and promoting Radcliff as a community of vision.

I think this statement could use a little "tweaking." It is too broadbased and its interpretation can take on a different meaning depending on who is reading it. My quality of life has definitely NOT improved due to this facility and it is doubtful that it has improved the quality of life for most of the town's residents. I will post updates here if/when I get any.

Bush Senior Was Married on 1-6-1945

On this day in 1945 (06 January)
George H.W. Bush married Barbara Pierce in Rye, N.Y. For more information on the Bush family you may want to visit the George Bush Presidential Library online. More photos are located there.

Here is a crochet update. In a few more days I should have the hexagon afghan I am making for a dear friend completed! I hope she likes it. I'll let you know what she thinks and of course I'll post a picture of it when it's finished. Stay tuned for more....

MIL Gets a Tat!!!

My mil called the other day and asked me to go with her when she got her (are you sitting down???) tattoo. Of course I said yes. We went today and she got a really cute one of her Westie that passed a few years ago. Here are the pictures of her visit to our local tattoo parlor.

Crocheted Gift for DIL

My dil's birthday is the first week of January. She mentionned that she liked crocheted dishcloths so I made her a few and coordinating hotpad and potholder. They're all made out of peaches and creme cotton yarn. Hope you like them. Below are the places I found the patterns.

Potholder was made from an afghan square that I used double strands of yarn to make.

Wheelsburst Hot Pad here
Mesh Dishcloth here

What I Finished Crocheting in 2008

I just thought that I'd list all the items I crocheted in 2008. I had them listed in my signature for crochetville.org but now that a new year is almost here I'll be starting off there with a clean slate and I didn't want to lose track of what I did in '08. Here they are:
Completed 2008 demi slippers (1pr), chenille afghan, dog sweater (3), ski hat, half moon shawl, hat and scarf set (2), blue & white rr, Purple Cuddler RR, purple gold offwhite rr, scarf with headband set (2), headband, rr for baby(5), pink baby hoodie, ladies slippers (21), men's slippers (6), child slippers (1)spiderman rr for baby, doll outfit I "winged", doorstop, pink rr, washcloth (1), dishcloth (2) granny squares (29) Pet booties (3)

Currently, I am working on a hexagon afghan in shades of pink. It is for a friend. I'm not saying who until it is finished because it is a surprise for her! You can find the free pattern here. When I am finished with it I will definitely post a picture of it for you to see. The picture I have posted in this entry is the rr afghan I made my gd for Christmas. She really loved it!

Crocheted Scarf Sets

This is a hat and neckwarmer I made for my dil's Christmas present. I just "winged" the neckwarmer based loosely on a few patterns I looked at, but I used the shell-stitch for this one.

This is the pattern I used for the hat. The hat pattern was quick and I will most likely use it again.

This is a headband and scarf I made for my dgd's Christmas present. I did not have a pattern and just made it up as I went along. I made it out of scraps of yarn that I had on hand. I think it came out pretty don't you?

Post Christmas Recovery

Christmas this year was much more relaxing than in previous years. I did pretty good with my shopping this year--did not go overboard well too much that is! DH and I had Christmas dinner at my son's house. My ddil is a very good cook and she outdid herself. Anyway,these pictures are of the decorations I put up in my house. I hope you enjoy.

Christmas Greetings 2008

Best Wishes to all...

Dec. 16th, 1653: Cromwell Becomes Lord Protector

On this date, December 16th, in 1653: Oliver Cromwell, a leader in the English Revolution and ruler of England since 1649, is proclaimed Lord Protector of England. This revolution resulted inthe execution of King Charles I, and many high ranked government officials. Many reasons are given for this war including: social, economic, constitutional, and religious. You can go to this page to read a little more about this time in English history. To learn more about Cromwell you may visit this website dedicated to him.

Crochet Scarf for Son #1's Christmas Present

Son #1 works outside and I worry that someone will run over him or something. For Christmas, I made him a scarf with yellow glow-in-the-dark stripes. Here's a picture of it. Hope you like it. Hugs....

Once Again, Some More Crocheting for Christmas Presents

Here's some more slippers I made. This time I have one pair for a man and one pair for a woman. The woman's slippers I made without a cuff because I was running short of yarn. I actually had to half-way frog the first slipper I made because I was short of yarn for the second one I was making. No biggie, the slippers turned out ok. I've had to do this before--as a matter of fact, I'm wearing a pair now that I did not put a cuff on. If you look at November's posts, you will see some other slippers I made with this pattern. Here's the free online pattern for these.

This is a scarf I made for my mil for Christmas. I used bamboo yarn and the free pattern you can find here . I love this yarn! It is so soft and glides over my fingers and hook very easily when I crochet with it. It is a bit pricey though but I lucked out and found it on sale and a Christmas present for my mil is a special thing anyway.

This is a potholder that I made to go in the giftbasket I'm creating for my aunt's Christmas present. Can't remember where I got the pattern but I do know it is free online somewhere. Basically, it is 2 squares and the edges are crocheted together. When I get the basket put together I'll try to remember and post a pic. I'm kind of forgetful sometimes so I hope you'll be patient with me. :)

Hugs!!!

Publication of "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Tennyson

On this day, December 9th, in 1854 "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was published in England. You can learn more about him by following the links on this page . Here is the text of this poem and you can also see it written in Tennyson's own hand writing.

How Accurate Is History Depicted In Movies?

There is a wonderful webpage where you can learn about how accurate historical events and times are depicted in recent movies. Dr. Cathy Schultz, a history professor from the University of St. Francis, writes a column that has been printed in newspapers. You can read it here where she maintains a page of the columns. She is a wonderful teacher and I was privileged to have had her as my professor for many classes when I was at student at USF. Go ahead and check out her page; you know you want too.... Hugs to all of my readers.

Xmas Present for Son #2 Crocheted

My son told me that all he wanted for Christmas this year was for me to crochet him a red scarf. I made him one with black accents on it. I used this pattern with the fringe added to it. Adding fringe was a way to not have to weave in all those ends. The hat was from this pattern that can be purchased or may be free if you are a member of the the site. Hat's a little large and I hope it fits him ok. It took less than a full skein of the black yarn and less than a full skein of the red yarn to make both of these items. As you can see, my little boy Opi had to be in the middle of things. He's my little sweetie! Hugs to all...