Pond Hockey

So, two weekends ago, on a balmy (seriously) 23 degree day in January, MEL and I walked across the lake and wandered around the Pond Hockey Championships for a couple of hours. It was highly entertaining, and we had the best brats I have ever eaten.

We started off by treking across the frozen lake:



Checked out some of the sights outside:





For those of you from warmer climes, a reminder that everything that you have seen so far has been actually on the frozen lake:


(See--the little boy is wearing skates.)

I will note that little boys and men have many things in common:


(The boys also had hockey jerseys on, but under their coats.)

There were some *extremely* high-tech ways to hold shin guards in place:


Many children--and some adults--were using sleds to get around:


As always; the planes from MSP joined us:


The warming hut was on the beach, rather than on the lake itself, and there were stairs:


Here is the view from the beach behind the warming hut--the hut is on the left in this picture. Note the lifeguard stand:




The warming hut looked about like you would expect on the inside. Beer, brats, coats, flatscreen TVs showing other winter sporting events:


We watched a few games, warmed up, had some brats, and then walked across the lake and went home. One the way home, we saw this man out on the lake:


Because, um, sure. It's 23 degrees out. Why *not* go for a bike ride on the frozen lake?

We did go to the Pond Hockey Championships--

--and I will post those pictures soon, but I have been swamped. For now, I present this Knit-a-thon. People who know me well know that I have so, so little use for football. Mater-Eater-Lad and I always go to a non-sports-bar restaurant while the game is on.

I wish I could have seen this.

A fitting tribute:

It was a sight you don't see every day, a funeral procession filled with tow trucks. About 40 tow trucks drove in a funeral procession from Pinellas to Pasco County.

I live in such an odd place.

I am still, after several years, getting used to living in an area where all of the lakes and ponds freeze pretty solid for most of the winter. Now this* is taking place on the lake four blocks from my house. How odd.


It's pretty cool, though.


*"The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships: Hockey. The way nature intended. Outdoors in the crisp winter air, skate blades gliding on the fresh ice below, with the sounds of clacking sticks and the smell of grilling bratwurst filling the air. The 2007 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships will be held January 19-21, 2007 on Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, MN."

(Please note the obligatory bratwurst. Warm out? Beer and brats. Cold out? Beer and brats. Welcome to Minnesota.)


Edited to add:

Of course, I am totally there this weekend. All this people-watching for only a five-minute stroll? I wouldn't miss it.

An Open Letter to unnamed persons

Dear persons,

Discussing how an ultra-orthdox Jewish community might change the character of your community does not immediately make you a bigot. It is human and timeless to be apprehensive of how large numbers of people unlike oneself might change one's community. You cross over into bigoted when you selectively quote this article (for example: “There is no piece of land, if they have their eye on, they aren’t going to get. There is very little if they wanted, they could not get. They have literally taken over the town.” Information *not* quoted by you: "Marc Shapiro, Ph.D. a University of Scranton theology professor who concentrates in Judaic studies, thinks the Nadvorna sect’s impact on Scranton will not be nearly as far-reaching. “Basically they just want a place where they can practice their religion,” he said. “They’re not going to be getting involved in the Rotary Club or running for political office.' ”) and start talking about how "those people" have taken over a New Jersey town and will have a go at your town next. A couple of generations ago, other people who were already in your town were saying the same thing about your ancestors, who were right off the boat at that time. It is this sort of racism that is the most insidious, because I am sure that if I asked you would say that you are not a racist and *certainly* not an anti-semite. Please do not act surprised when I speak up about the fact that I am uncomfortable with such a conversation. I know that you truly do not mean to be racist, but in this case, you are.

I really *meant* to take the tree down on the Epiphany.

Sigh.

So, I didn't take down my Christmas tree last weekend. I was planning to do it this weekend. It didn't seem all that urgent--it is an artificial tree, after all.

I need to stress that we do not have any pets. Nor do we have any children.

On Wednesday night Matter-Eater Lad and I arrived home to find the tree on its side. I didn't get any pictures of it in that state, because I was far more worried about our ornaments, particularly the ornaments that my parents gave us as a wedding present. Amazingly, very few of the ornaments broke, and almost none of the wedding-present ornaments were affected.

Here is what the floor looked like after we lifted the tree up:


We took off all of the remaining ornaments right away, which meant that they got piled on the table where I had been winding yarn:



We got a set of bride's ornaments from someone other than my parents, and a few of those broke. Also, the bride and groom my aunt gave us for Christmas that year were on the bottom of the fallen tree, and they didn't survive:



The church my parents gave us just needs a tiny bit of roof work:



The egg my mom painted for me when I was little smashed a bit, but on the plain bottom, so that can probably be salvaged:




That was really the extent of the damage.
Amazingly, quite a few glass ornaments from the bottom of the tree survived:


The garlic survived--now I know what Superman was protecting it from:



Superman was the only ornament that went flying--he was across the room on the opposite side of the tree.

I have learned a few things:

1) Always anchor your tree to the wall;
2) Mercury-glass type ornaments are much more fragile than other types of glasses ornaments;
3) Always take your tree down by the Epiphany.

Happy New Year, Just a Few Days Late

More pictures, since my brain is totally fried. It snowed on New Year's Eve, so I went out on the 1st and took some lovely pictures right before sunset. You see them as I took them as I walked.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and all that.

Some pictures from my tree to hold you over until I recover from all that holiday travel:



(OK. Not just from the tree. These were from my friend the first Christmas she was married.)


This *is* from the tree. Some more below:





(I'm not really sure what Superman is rescuing the garlic from.)

And some pictures of the lake from a couple of weeks ago:





In another few weeks, I'll have pictures of people ice fishing. In the city.

Oh, and my Thanksgiving turkey, which I never got around to posting:


(Please ignore the wrinkled tablecloth.)

A sign that I am working at the right place.

I am *scrambling* to get everything finished today before I leave for Christmas, especially since I will not be back in the office until next year. One of my bosses was going to lunch and saw how busy I am and *brought me back a sandwich* because he knew that I would not have time to eat otherwise.

**Edited to Add**

And a brownie.

The answer is not 42.

The question is: how many women in a family are too many? The answer is: 5. Too many women. I am not sure which I would give back, though. Still, too many women. Too many crossed signals, too many opinions, too many women. To be fair, if some of them were men, I am not sure that would make it better.

That is all.

In which I encourage charitable giving

There are many ways to knit for charity, and I really can't do enough to encourage them all. Hats, scarves and blankets and shawls for those who are freezing or lost or in need of comfort are always something that will make a small difference in someone else's life. There is another way for knitters in particular to make a difference, though. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (a/k/a the Yarn Harlot) organizes Knitters without Borders, a way in which knitters get together to support Doctors without Borders. She has put out a new challenge to the knitters who read her blog.

If you don't knit, you can still give to Doctors without Borders.

(My other favorite charity is the Heifer Project, in case you were wondering.)

An Open Letter to a Certain Elderly Relative

People have lived in the Upper Midwest and dealt with extremely cold weather for years without freezing to death. It is, in fact, possible to warm one's house to a livable temperature even when it is below zero degrees fahrenheit outside. Really. Truly. I realize that you feel that you have a hard time warming your house when it is below forty degrees out, but it is, in fact, possible. Yes, it is very cold. All winter. In the north. No, we do not get lake effect snows, since Minneapolis is hundreds of miles from any of the great lakes. I do not live anywhere near Buffalo or Chicago, so even if those two cities have gotten tons of snow, I may not have gotten any. Every time you talk to me in the winter, it will be colder where I live than where you live. Really. With all due respect, can we get back to discussing the details of your current medication regimen?

Not to pull your attention away from the tits or anything . . .

. . . but I must have one of these.

It's not what you think.

Hee. "Great tits"

Because sometimes I am a twelve-year-old boy.

For your time-wasting pleasure

I haven't updated in a while, and I do have a few blog posts running around in my head. However, I don't have time to actually write them up right now, so here is something brief to keep you entertained.

And now for something completely different

Enough politics for now. I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so a quick update.

I have been busy with many knitting projects, most of which can't be posted here until after Christmas. I did finish the shawl for my sister's wedding, though:

(My coworker models--I am not sure if my sister wants pictures of herself on my blog)

Here is the shawl with the main section blocked but before I blocked the edging--an amazing difference, eh?:



Here it is blocking on my favorite blocking device, kid's alphabet mats:



Here is a closer look:

And even closer:


The yarn is Alchemy Silken Straw in Winkie's Blue, which is actually a ribbon yarn. The yarn was chosen more for color and sheen than gauge or type, and I designed the shawl to fit the yarn. My sister had a celtic-knot sort of theme going on at the wedding, so I modified celtic knots and celtic keys for the pattern, with a transition from the central motif (which is almost all knots) to the edging (which is all keys). Sis also asked for a rectangular shawl, since she felt that would be easier to wear both at the wedding and at other times. Her wedding colors were deep blue and purple, but you just try to find those colors in early summer (which is when we had to shop for the yarn) not in cotton or mohair (mohair is not a good idea when one is wearing a white dress). We ended up with Winkie's Blue because it is a lovely color that looks like purple or blue depended upon the light. Of course, now the same yarn comes in Dream, which is deep purple. Ah, well.

Blah, blah, blah, stupid metaphor about a tree's leaves in a strong wind and deep roots.

George Allen just conceded.

The Democrats officially control both houses of Congress.

Addendum: Put the !@#$ football away, George. This is a PRESS CONFERENCE at which you are conceding in a race for US SENATE. Have a little dignity.

Further addenda:

1) From an email from Mater-Eater Lad: "To which I say, Welcome to the real American and the real Virginia, you racist sack of shit.'"

2) From further emails between the two of us:

SWMBO: "God, I hate football. Can you imagine any other sport (soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, hunting, bowling) where a former player would think that it was OK to have a catch at a major news conference?"

MEL: "It'd be pretty funny if a candidate started throwing a bowling ball into the crowd.

Or if he was an archer, and just started winging arrows at people."

A good day.

This is a good day.

A very good day.

It is not, however, a great day.

There is still much work to be done.

Don't screw it up with stupid mistakes.

My favorite moment from last night.

I was so, so glad to be watching CNN (rather than MSNBC, which I had on in the PIP) sometime after 12 AM Central last night. If I hadn't been, I would have missed the best moment of the night: Jim Webb came out to make what everyone expected to be a I-am-going-to-bed-this-isn't-going-to-be-decided-tonight-speech (just like George Allen had done about an hour previously), and he DECLARED VICTORY.

From Salon at 12:08 AM CST:

With an 1,800-vote lead over Republican Sen. George Allen, Jim Webb just told his
supporters that it's important to respect the Democratic process. But just when it
sounded like he was about to concede that there's still a lot of counting -- and maybe
recounting -- to be done, Webb said: "The votes are in, and we won."

(I am still looking for a video--the reaction of the people in the CNN and MSNBC newrooms was half the fun.)

[Edited it add a clip of the CNN coverage, albeit without the anchor reaction]



Payback's a bitch.

What about a recount, you say?

Last year Virginia had a recount for the State Attorney General race, and the vote totals only changed by 37.

THIRTY-SEVEN.

Let's all hope that the election results are as clean this time.

Seriously, though: VOTE.

Via TPM Cafe:

"Just like in 2004, your vote today will affect the lives of every man and woman serving on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan. Your choices will determine how long we fight in Iraq, what kind of equipment we have on the ground, and what treatment we receive when we get home.

This week, you can make your voice heard.

Our country is at war. A 60% voter turnout isn't good enough. Please vote today, and remind your friends and family to make it to the polls."

There are other issues. There are other people (like the people of Iraq) who will be affected by the outcome of this election. It is not OK to stay home today.

I saw a 20-foot blow-up bulldog in the back of a truck on the way to work this morning

I am many posts behind regarding knitting and gardens and things that I find amusing, but today I just have time for this:

Please vote today.

Here is a handy voting guide.

(The bulldog was a political ad for state auditor)

The funniest thing I have heard all week.

One of the attorneys with whom I work likes his hairdresser so much that when she left the salon that he normally goes to two months ago, he did a skip trace on her to try to find out what salon she is working at now.

Ways to get odd looks in the supermarket (the first in a series)

1. Shop at 10 PM on Sunday, and only buy an apple pie and rat poison.

Hmmmm.

Hmmmmm.