We don't have a rat as our mascot

Vacation is the time for little or no blog posting, right? So I'm forgiven, right?

So what have we been doing? The Spouse was interviewed for South Florida Today (PBS). The show will air the first week of September.



I finished my Chutes and Ladders in the nick of time--a quarter to midnight on July 31.



The Middle Teen has been working on her sewing. She made a tote for herself with no pattern at all:



and then made a similar one with a different fabric for her sister.

And we went on a real vacation, just the five of us

Driving down I-95 you see hundreds of signs for Yeehaw Junction. Even they admit it's a bit of overkill:

since when you get there it's this tiny little trailer. Not even South of the Border, as we'd expected.

We went to Epcot

and the Magic Kingdom.

Of course knitting went along:

Sockotta socks

Sockspal2za socks

We love fireworks!



The last day was Universal Studios. Do they have a "we're not Disney" complex or what!

This is a kids' ride? Eew--most of the Moze family got off it sick to our stomachs. When they say blast, they aren't kidding!

Rides so nice we did them twice:
Shrek 4-D

Horror Make-Up Show

The Youngest Teen watching the fireworks:

My friend's 14 year old girl is in jail for being Sharon's political opponent

Got this email from my friend Yochi. She asked that it be made as public as possible, so I'm doing my bit. She also sent a link to an online petition.

Dear friends,

I am writing you in connection with my 14 year old daughter Chaya who has spent the past 4 weeks of her summer vacation in jail. No,no, she hasn't murdered anyone. Nor did she steal anything, assault anyone or sell drugs. All she did was go to a demonstration in " the only democracy in the middle east". Here is how it happened.

On 22 Sivan 5765 {29.06.05} Chaya decided to lend moral support to her friends who went to protest Ariel Sharon's plan to expel Jews. What follows is a direct quote from the official indictment filed against Chaya. She is accused of standing on a sidewalk while her friends proceeded to block traffic. After her friends were arrested a policewoman asked Chaya to leave the area. Chaya refused, saying that she wasn't doing anything illegal, that she had every right to stand on "every inch of the Land of Israel". The policewoman, unimpressed, warned Chaya that if she didn't leave immediately she will be arrested. To which Chaya replied:" So, shut up and arrest me then". That's it. This is the case that the State of Israel has against Chaya. And, because Chaya participated in a similar demonstration once before, the State prosecutor asked the juvenile court to remand Chaya into police custody UNTIL THE END OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST HER - a process that can last for MONTHS!! What is truly unbelievable is than this unprecedented request was granted. Judge Dalya Korn wrote a 10 page dissertation about the danger to society inherent in Chaya's disregard towards the law passed in the Knesset (Sharon's expulsion law). That, combined with the fact that Chaya participated in a similar "unlawful" demonstration before, has made her into a REAL PUBLIC DANGER, thus justifying her imprisonment until the end of the legal process.

To understand the severity of the above decision one must know that, as a rule, an average ADULT criminal - be he a thief, rapist, or a drug dealer - is never kept in jail until the end of proceedings. Even if he is a repeat offender, and even if he repeats the same crime while he's awaiting his trial!! The worst they usually get slapped with is a house arrest. And juvenile offenders are treated even more leniently.

The above holds true for all criminals, except for those whose crimes are "IDEOLOGICALLY BASED". And, according to the State prosecutor's words, herein lies Chaya's true danger to the society. you heard it right. What is even more outrageous is that the judge agreed!!

Shocked and outraged at this clearly political ruling we appealed the decision. Our appeal went all the way to the Supreme Court of Israel. Judge Procaccia, who heard the case, upheld the decision. The only leniency and compassion that comrade Procaccia agreed to show Chaya was that she could be released from jail to a house arrest - BUT NOT TO HER PARENTS' HOME. Ignoring the fact that neither of the parents has any family in Israel ( we are both immigrants ), comrade Procaccia declared that Chaya must be sent "far away from this area of volatile emotions if she wants to get out of jail".

The most outrageous part of her decision was her agreement with the prosecution that Chaya represents a "danger to the society because of her ideological motivation". This is coming from a judge who had absolutely no problems releasing not only common criminals, but even terrorists with blood on their hands!! Over the past few months alone Israeli government released hundreds of these beasts, and even though appeals for filed against this release, Procaccia and co. upheld the decision of the government. She never made the removal of these beasts from the " area of volatile emotions" a condition for their release. They were allowed to go back home. Comrade Procaccia is sure THEY won't be dangerous to our society anymore.

Just in case you think that this may have been some kind of a judicial freak mishap - don't. What is happening in Israel right now is a FULL COOPERATION between the justice system and the ruling clique aimed at breaking any minimal resistance to the proposed expulsion of Jews. There is no other way to explain comrade Procaccia's decision to keep Chaya in jail, because the maximum punishment that Chaya faces on these charges, if convicted, would be some monetary fine. And to await this punishment she must stay in jail!!

What is it like for a 14 year old to be in jail? Well, for the first week - including Shabbat - Chaya was kept in solitary confinement. She was not allowed to shower or call home. We could not send her clean clothes. The food she was given was not on the level of kashrut she could eat. For the first two weeks she was not allowed to have a fan in her cell - that's in the stifling, muggy Ramle summer, with temperatures reaching the high 90's. She is bored to tears and immobilized by the heat. Once a week she has to go through the degrading procedure of her cell being searched, with male jailers rummaging through all her personal belongings. She is not allowed out of her cell in the evenings, which means she has to eat her Friday night meal in the darkness of her cell. As of now we are not allowed to bring her any food from the outside, which means she gets almost no fruits or vegetables. We are only permitted to visit her for a half hour every week.This is how this young girl is being forced to spend her summer vacation - and I could go on and on.

If the above shocks you and you want to help Chaya - here's what you can do.

Since the Supreme court issued its ruling, there isn't much that can be done in terms of an appeal. The way to help Chaya now is by raising a public outcry over this political persecution. This process has two parts: 1. political/informational and 2. financial.

1. a.You, or anyone else you know can forward this information to any news media, especially newspapers, in your area. Try to get them interested enough to interview me via telephone or e-mail.
b. Turn to your politicians and demand they publicly condemn this outrage. Let me know if they do, and I will publicize it here in Israel.
c. If you frequent a synagogue, ask the Rabbi to explain the case to the congregants, hold a prayer vigil, ask the Rabbi to write a letter of condemnation over this blatant political abuse.
d. Organize a protest at the Israeli embassy closest to you.
e. Forward this message to as many friends as you can.

2. There are a number of ways to keep the Chaya's plight in public eye here in Israel.
a. Poster pastings all over Israel with Chaya'a picture, demanding her immediate release. It costs about $400 to print 1,000 large color posters and another $150 to paste them up. Initially, I'd like to paste up the areas around Maasiyahu prison where Chaya is held, and around the courthouses where her case is likely to be heard. Every time she is driven to a hearing, she'll see the posters and know there are people who care about her. Depending on the available budget we will paste up along major highways, shopping malls, etc., asking people to write Knesset members and Supreme Court judges to demand Chaya's release.
b. Newspaper ads. I'd like to have ads running in major newspapers, counting days that Chaya is in prison, and asking people to do the actions described above.

I have estimated that I'll need approximately $8,000 to start this campaign and keep it going for the first month. If you, or anyone you know can help to defer a part of this cost please send your donations to:
Moshe Belogorodsky
House # 310
Shilo, Israel 44830

My telephone numbers in Israel are:
home 972-2-994-7673
cell 972-52-444-3929
My e-mail address is ydf@013.net.il
If you want to make your donation tax deductible please send it to:
Am Yisrael Chai Foundation ( please write "freedom for Chaya" in the memo section of the check )
6 Hazel Place
Woodmere N.Y. 11598

Thru the self sacrifice of Chaya and her friends may we merit a speedy Redemption of our People.

In knitting news:
Gotta get them 6Sox done by midnight. Looked at the blog for all my August Stitch Marker Swap people--they're all easy! Yay--love you all!

Stitch Marker Exchange Questions

For the Stitch Marker Swap:

Do you prefer shorter or more dangling type of markers?
Generally dangling markers, but I can certainly use shorter ones as well.

Is there any kind of markers that you would absolutely NOT want to recieve?
Ones for sz 15 and up needles--I've never used that size yet. Markers with overt religious symbols (aside from Jewish).

Colors you like most?
Bright colors, to contrast with the yarns I generally use.

Colors you like least?
Clear. They'll fade into the yarn.

Would you prefer markers for smaller or larger sized needles?
I generally knit on sz 0-9 needles.

Do you want your sender to reveil themselves when there shipped or at a later date?
When shipped or in the mail with the markers, so I can email a thanks.

OTN: Trying to finish the Six Socks pattern before the end of the month. Knit like the wind!

There's an old joke

which is terribly racist. It goes:

Q: "What do you call 10,000 [insert name of a specific ethnic or racial group] at the bottom of the sea?"

A: "A good start."

I think the Israeli media feels that way about right wing Jews. Saturday night a Jerusalem couple, Dov and Rahel Kol,

were murdered on their way back from a family

weekend in Gush Katif. The Haaretz story I've linked to above really only eulogizes the husband, who had left wing

views, while making it clear that Rahel wasn't his "real" wife (i.e., first wife, biological mother of his granddaughter)

and that it was her fault they were there in the first place, since they were visiting her sister. "It is enraging to think

that a man like Dov, a man of peace and tolerance, was murdered like this," the article quotes one of Dov Kol's

friends as saying. I guess it's not enraging to think that his wife, who had the opposite political viewpoint, was

murdered as well.

Haim Yavin must agree with this. On Mabat, the state-sponsored TV network's news broadcast, he
href=http://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/5553.shtml>said that "the wrong man was murdered." I suppose he

thinks there are Jews whom it would be right to murder. After his TV documentary "Land of the Settlers," it wouldn't

be difficult to guess whom he meant.

And in knitting news: plugging away at Mariah. On the foot of my sock pal's socks, but (a) I'm not sure I have enough yarn and (b) I have too few stitches for a pattern repeat. I may have to frog and start again (yet again). It's a good thing I have 6 or so weeks! 6SocksKAL is stall for lack of needles, as is the pink ribbon tank--Wednesday we go to Miami, and with any luck I'll find needles there. West Palm is a needle desert.

Thank you!

Chrissie held a contest on her blog, and somehow, by Divine providence, I won. Look what she sent!


9 balls of Tweedy Lamb wool in a beautiful blue/purple which perfectly matches the wool I spun for The Middle Teen's sweater. I think MT is claiming this for herself; she fell in love with my Clappy on the plane out here and this yarn is calling to be made into one for her.

Susie sent me her felting mistake, which makes a wonderful kippah. Pictures to come, after The SPouse arrives in Florida to model.

And Alison sent me the greatest birthday gift--pictures of that coming up next time, too. (Gotta empty out the new knitting bag so I can show the cute lining.) Hey, Alison, I'm scheduled to be in Atlanta in March 2007. Keep the light on for me, OK?

Israel news: Israel is preparing beds for up to 2300
prisoners, including 900 beds currently serving Palestinian prisoners (three guess where the Palestinians will go to free up their beds.

Kfar Maimon news: Actress Yael Leventhal, who satirizes (or just mocks) settlers with her Nechama ben Yefuneh character, came to Kfar Maimon to film an episode. Some of the anti-expulsionists didn't take kindly to her mocking and reportedly attacked her. (Hebrew only) In an even stupider move, fellow actor David Malnik cursed out soldiers and was briefly arrested the police found out who he was. If real settlers had said the things he had, they'd be in jail until spring thaw. Guess it pays to have the right
political POV.

Best pictures out of Kfar Maimon:

A prayer group, divided courtesy of Uncle Arik.
And from Reuters:


No words.

Should they stay or should they go?

The news out of Kfar Maimon is confusing. Did Moetzet [Chasrat] Yesha give in, and are people leaving? Are they holding fast? Was it all a cover so a thousand protesters could sneak into Gaza? And what on earth is happening with North Samaria? I hope they're holding fast, but a part of me hopes everyone is going home--I have a sneaking suspicion that the girl I asked to feed my cat while I'm away is stuck there, unable or unwilling to leave. Princess can hunt for her food for a day or two (she's an outdoor cat), but tomorrow The Spouse is going to call another neighbor and ask him to feed Cat-face if her regular meal ticket doesn't show up.

Meanwhile, I've been having more fiber fun here than allowed by law. Last night I drove down to Boca Raton with the girls, to join Jody and her knitting group. At first the girls were reluctant to go. "We won't know anyone. They'll just gossip about a lot of people we don't know. No one will talk to us." By the time we left, they were both begging to go again next week. And we will, if my dad loans me the car again.
But that Debbie Bliss bear Maddy was knitting? Man, what a pain! Way too fiddly for me. I'd take the sweater Jody knit and buy a bear sooner than rip my hair out with postage-stamp segments to sew together.
Jody loaned me her phone to speak to Alison, whom I had to thank for the best birthday gift! (Detail about that later this week, along with a meme and other assorted nonsense.) It was great putting a face (Jody) and a voice (Alison) with the names. But my poor girls--all day today they kept asking, "Jody is Alison's daughter, right? No--Alison is Jody's daughter? Are they sisters?" They didn't think Jody looked old enough to have a daughter living on her own. (Considering how many girls in my social circle get married at 18, this is a high compliment indeed.)

And all day long my father kept asking, "So who stitched and who bitched?" to which the girls replied: "We stitched. You bitched." (Hormone shots for cancerous men are not a pretty thing.)

There's nothing like knitting with other people to motivate a gal. I pulled out my Mariah, stalled over there on my sidebar since February.

It looks way bluer than it really is; in real life it's a royal purple. The brown stitch markers are part of a set sent to me by Leah. The third was hijacked by my son for its light refraction or some other physics mumbo-jumbo. Mariah doesn't look like much, but it's three times as large as it has been for the past 4 months.

I also worked on my Sockotta socks. I finally (a few weeks late) finished the first and started the second.

.

And I worked on book thongs to send along with my Stitch Marker Mania packages. Already made were stitch markers.


They were supposed to go out today, but the post office was closed due to a bomb scare. No, I'm not back home again; this was in West Palm. Maybe that's why the PO was still closed three hours after the scare began; at home it would have been open within a half hour.

A quick and appropriate response

Yesterday a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mall in Netanya, killing 4,

and another tried the same thing in
pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1121135419553&p=1078397702269>Shavei Shomron, but failed when his car bomb exploded

prematurely. In a wildly appropriate step, the IDF has
pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1121221097109>closed Gaza and North Samaria to non-resident Jews. Because we all know it's

the 13 year olds like NN who are the real danger to the lives and

safety of the Israeli people, not some holy martyr. After all, even the Ministry of Education is handing out textbooks
hrefhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=85488>dedicated to the brave shaheedim who advance their people's cause so

successfully, a handful of dead Jews at a time.

Thanks IDF! I feel so much safer now! Those crazy ol' Jews can't interfere with you pulling some 83 year old granny out of her home. I think I'll go

to the mall to celebrate! I'll go buy yarn!

And sometimes knitting gets done, too!

Before the Spouse went off to NY, he requested a new kippah with a specific design. The man is finally getting radicalized:

It says Tzfon HaShomron. No Gush Katif for the man, especially since the new orange bracelets have "I heart Gush Katif," leaving our crew out in the cold.

And I got myself a new T-shirt for travelling. I feel like a fake in it, though, since I'm taking my kids away for the summer partially so they won't be tempted to enroll in Camp Maasiyahu (in RL, one of the prisons where Israeli political prisoners are incarcerated).


I also started my Sockapal2za socks. And frogged them. And started them again. And frogged them again. And started them again. The third time had better be the charm.


Fiona is done. Well, sorta kinda. I finished all the knitting, but still have to sew the ties on, sew down the facing, and weave in ends. For that I'm not shlepping it to Florida. If you're bulky wool, you don't deserve a summer vacation. Bye, FiFi. See you in the fall. (Someone remind me!)

Off to Florida with the girls Saturday night. See you Stateside!

Love live sexism!

I'm blogging remotely today. Though I have 3 phone lines in my house, none work. A poll of my neighbors shows that of the 32 units on my block, three have phone service, two have partial service (some lines have dial tones, others do not), 20 have no service, and no one was home in the rest.

First Bezeq, the national phone company, tried to tell each person who called to complain that it was a problem in his or her own home. I argued that I doubted it was--I have two units and there was service in neither. I had also checked with my next door neighbor and she had no service, either. Bezeq told me that, due to where I live, they could only come next Tuesday to check.

If you know me at all, you know that is so not the thing to say to me. Too bad my horrorscope isn't Taurus--I'm always bullish when a red flag is waved in front of me. I went from door to door, checking with neighbors and urging them to complain (mentioning the statistics on phone outages) if they wanted service within the next 6 days.

The women all got the same answer I did. The two men I caught who called--now that did the trick. I just got a call from Bezeq (on my cellphone). There's a general problem in the area and they are working on it. Well, duh. Too bad it took the men calling to get them to listen.

[added ten minutes later]
Argh! There had been a line in my husband's office, so I went down there to work. Bezeq may be trying to fix the lines, but in the meanwhile, they've managed to intermittently cut off service here, too. 4 lines of mine down. Oh, joy. Why don't I have a cell phone modem?

Quite a bit of progress on the knitting front. Pics tomorrow, Bezeq willing.

Can I have a re-do?

Or: My week in pictures.

Sunday
My birthday. At least I thought it was. Seems my husband and kids had other plans, none of which included even saying "happy birthday." But am I bitter?


You bet your sweet bippy I am!

The only kid with a pass was the Oldest Teen, since he went in for to have his tongue released and a nerve moved. As soon as he came out of surgery he asked for a mirror to see what had been done. Terrible mom that I am, I had no mirror, but good blogger that I am, I did have the camera:

Until Sunday, you would have seen his tongue lapping over his lower front teeth. Freedom!

Monday
I went to renew my gun license. Spouseman, does this message say something to you?


Tuesday
The Youngest Teen graduated 8th grade (including NN). No processionals here, just dinner and a play.

(The Youngest Teen is the blonde in the black skirt with her back to the camera.)

The Youngest Teen's knitting made its stage debut.

You can barely see it (all seats in the sports hall are nosebleeed city), but it's on the ground next to the flowerpot in the lower right hand corner, her Neverending Red Scarf.

Wednesday
Bar Mitzvah party for my cousin's son and The Spouse finished off the Torah scroll my cousin comissioned for the ocassion.

The hills of Jerusalem in the background, a canopy above--what more could a scribe want? Oh, yeah, a little less wind... He's earned his Samurai Scribe designation now.

Thursday
The country's going mad. Something major is going down in the Arab city next door, but there's an injunction against publishing details, so check with your major news outlet later today. The army has also closed off Gush Katif to non-residents and is not allowing free traffic to residence. Locals says it looks like the army is preparing for war. Against Israeli citizens.

All I'm sayin' is that maybe if they fought the enemy instead of citizens, what's going on below me wouldn't be happening, nor would what's going on in Gush Katif.

So, it's the last day of June. How'd I do on that to-do list?
My knitting to-do list for the month of June

1. Finish sleeves of Fiona, block and sew sweater.--Almost done with the sleeves.
2. Finish the Middle Teen's blue Trekking XL socks--DONE!
3. Finish my Magic Stripes socks--DONE!
4. Finish at least 1 Sockotta sock--finished the gusset, steaming around the feet.
5. Finish the Industrial Monkey--DONE!
6. Do at least one pattern repeat of the Mystery Stole
7. Finish spinning roving for the Middle Teen's sweater--DONE!
8. Work 40 hour weeks, plus get in an additional 20 hours--Ha. Don't make me laugh.
   
9. Go to the Youngest Teen's 8th grade graduation--DONE!
10. Go to a Bar Mitzvah party--DONE!
11. Go to The Spouse's Torah dedication weekend--Doing this weekend.
12. The Oldest Teen's surgery--DONE!

School's out for summer

The view from inside Boys Town Jerusalem, site of the Oldest Teen's incarceration for the past 4 years

Joy to the Teens. Terror for the Mom. It's summers that make me think about taking a corporate job again, just so I can get away from the family for a few hours a day. Most of the year working from the house is bliss. Over vacations? Major suckage.

• Israelis, add this number to your speed dials: 050-800-60-60. The anti-expulsion hotline; all the activities, all the protests, all the time.


• For the person who visited after googling for "world's best scribe" -- he's here. Tell him Moze sent you.

I'm knitting as fast as I can

I don't think I have enough yarn to finish this sock.

If I knit fast, though, maybe I can outrun the deficit? Well, I didn't much care for it anyway. If I have enough to finish, I'll gift it to my sister. She wants socks -- no one ever knits for her -- and I want not to have to make her a pair every time I see her, so many this pair (with poorly done gussets and a truly icky colorway) will satisfy (or horrify) her enough.

Say goodbye to the Not-Yarn Along, aka the Industrial Monkey



Hey, Ma, it's tight on this needle!


Is this one of those shape thingies mathematicians knit up for their theses?


But, with a little perseverance, you too can end up with

The Thing that wouldn't stand!

This will probably end up in the trash some day. The ruffle is too heavy for the audio tape and pulls it down. The audio tape itself stinks. Literally. It gives off these noxious fumes that make me glad we've switched most of our music to CDs. Still, now I know that though a small amount of audio tape yarn is a good thing (cf. Fry-Up bag), it is not like chocolate; "too much" is a quickly reached limit.

Back to yesterday's post . American Idol vs. Kochav Nolad.

You get Simon:



We get Svika:



I'm just sayin'...

Ulpanistiyot of the world, unite!

Last night’s Kochav Nolad (the Israeli version of American Idol) was won by religious high school heart throb Ohad Elisha. He got twice the votes the next contestant did, despite having sung something that didn’t flatter his voice.

We are high schoolers. We have cell phones. Fear us.

Even Riki Gal and the Maestro have fallen under the spell of the off-side kippah, the puppy dog eyes.



Riki Gal sounds like a fantastic voice teacher. Her critiques are so simple, but so on the money, that they are breath-taking. But know who needs to hear her critique most? Based on her singing last night, Riki herself. Day-um, woman, I know cocaine can mess up your nose, but this is the first proof I have that it can mess up your throat, too!

You've got to love the secular right. First it was orange condoms distributed in the night clubs, now it's orange-and-white parking spaces in north Tel Aviv. I'm not sure I'd like to live in north Tel Aviv--too crowded and too dirty, but I'm willing to slum for a while.

And now, what you've come here for (except you, Alison. We know you're all about the transitions--hee!)

For those scoffers who think I can't do it, the first FO from yesterday's list:



The Middle Teen's socks, knitted, kitchenered, and handed over. Only 10 more projects to go. (11, actually, since I forgot to list The Oldest Teen's surgery next Sunday, but I can knit through that.)

Check out the bling! Becky sent me these great stitch markers as part of Bead It 2. She took rings from the wedding crafts section of her LCS to make the rings, so they look as fancy as the rest! As you see, I put them to work right away. With all these teens around the place, everything else has to pull its own weight.

Welcome home, NN

The girl who shares the Youngest Teen's school desk is finally home after 36 days in jail for blocking a road during a sit-down protest and for not agreeing to be freed under unfair conditions. According to Haaretz, a Justice Ministry spokesperson said

The prosecution has agreed to be lenient, changing the girls' original conditions, due to concern, given the circumstances in this special case, first and foremost for the best interests of the minors and out of a sensitive and just approach with regards to the girls, who have spent a long time under harsh prison conditions

Well, glad to see they're admitting the prison conditions are harsh. (NN was once quoted in the news as saying she cried into her pillow every night of incarceration. "A lie," she told her classmates by cellphone from the jail. "We didn't cry, and they never gave us any pillows.") But lenient in changing the conditions? Uh, hello--the original conditions were house arrest until the case is settled. Which is how long--2 months? 2 years? 2 decades? In Israel, as anywhere else, the wheel of justice turn very slowly when The Powers That Be have no interest in speeding things up.

I'm proud of the Youngest Teen's class. Though they went to support demonstrations at the jail and the courthouse, they did not go today the demonstration to greet their classmate on her return. They all got together, discussed matters, and decided that since NN wasn't exactly the class queen before her arrest, it would just be hypocracy to make her the star of the show now, simply because she showed her strength two months before their 8th grade graduation. They will make a small party for her tomorrow in the classroom, and though NN will have no part in the graduation play (it's next week, and she hasn't exactly been there for auditions and rehearsals) she'll be one of the stars of the night. I wish a lot of adults could be as level headed as these 13 year olds.

Today's victim of peace:Yvgeny Reider. May G-d avenge his soul and send comfort to his family and loved ones.

My knitting to-do list for the month of June

1. Finish sleeves of Fiona, block and sew sweater.


2. Finish the Middle Teen's blue Trekking XL socks


3. Finish my Magic Stripes socks


4. Finish at least 1 Sockotta sock


5. Finish the Industrial Monkey


6. Do at least one pattern repeat of the Mystery Stole


7. Finish spinning roving for the Middle Teen's sweater


8. Work 40 hour weeks, plus get in an additional 20 hours


9. Go to the Youngest Teen's 8th grade graduation


10. Go to a Bar Mitzvah party


11. Go to The Spouse's Torah dedication weekend

What do you mean, I only have 10 days left????
Pictures tomorrow, if I can find my camera. Or my brain.

Get me, Ms. Big Time International Weapons Dealer

I must be a very dangerous person, because I have shipped quite a few weapons to Europe and to America. Good thing I don't live in Gush Katif, or the army might come in the night to arrest me, too.

If you want momentos of the war to come (including the ribbon weapons--I wonder what gymnasts could do with them), visit the Gush Katif store.
The one thing that bothers me in all the preparations to fight this madness is the nearly total emphasis on Gush Katif. The government's also expelling the residents of North Shomron; rumor had it that they were planning to close that area as early as this week. Yet there has been no public outcry. I admit that Gush Katif is important, buit I think North Shomron is more so, both strategically and historically. But Gush Katif has the publicists, so they get the news stories, they get the people moving down there (ironically, from the Shomron, too, instead of these people moving a little north).

Today a friend of mine called up a woman who lives in one of teh North Shomron communities. "I want to come help," she told the woman.

"Help with what?"

"The new families, the old--whatever you need."

"All I need is help packing. The government doesn't want us here," the woman told her. "The people don't seem to care, either. So why should I risk staying?"

Support the settlements of North Shomron! And oh, yeah, if you have a little energy to spare, Gush Katif, too.

Sometimes you can actually hear G-d laugh

Sometimes it's with you :

• The NSLYS had bamboo needles in 2.0 (for the Sockotta) and 2.5 mm (to replace the Brittany Birch needles. I hate the rounded tips.)


• One of the bead stores I went to yesterday had cool beads for Marker Mania, and on sale, too!


• I found about 2/3 of what I was looking for to send my SP5.


• I've heard from all my various "pals"--SP, sockapal2za, and the woman I sent the Bead It 2 to put a link to me on her blog, so I'm assuming she's figured out that I'm me, though I don't know if she got the markers yet.


• The Oldest Teen graduated high school (more about this next week). His teachers actually let him live long enough to finish--amazing.

Sometimes it's at you:

• All the Teens are out of the house this weekend. Oldest Teen is off to a post-grad party/weekend of study with his friends at the Beit Shean yeshiva, and the Middle and Youngest Teen are in Kiryat Arba. It's just The Spouse and me, but since we're both so crazy busy with work (I'm still trying to make up the time I didn't work when we wet to Houston, and then when I went to Florida, and he's behind because someone else flaked out on a job he subcontracted to them) that we can't go away at all; we'll both be working until the last minute before the Sabbath and start again the minute it ends. Why couldn't the kids have all gone away next week, when the pressure would be off The Spouse, at least, and I could take off and call it a birthday gift to myself?


• I'm so tired that I was halfway through my breakfast of a hard boiled egg sandwich before I realized I'd never boiled an egg. Ever had mayonnaise and gari on a roll? [shudder]


• I've finally come to the conclusion that The Youngest Teen is craftier than I:
  
  
  The Youngest Teen's graduation present to The Oldest Teen. Made of a broken cork board, old ratty comics, all found in Oldest Teen's trash. Add a coat of paint left over from painting Oldest Teen's room 3 years ago, and -- a new wall hanging.

Sunday political roundup

Disengaement is going to make Israel such a better place!

Negev residents are told to prepare for a "better tomorrow" -- by leaving doors and windows locked at all times; residents with licensed weapons are encouraged to carry their gun at all times.

Our peace partners are on the verge of collapse, but they will not collect weapons from their "militants." The Jews' weapons, of course, will be collected, because we all know those Jews just can't be trusted.

Of course, our media isn;t biased. Read all about a settler who attacked a soldier. Of course, what the article -- in all innocence, I'm sure -- leaves out is the reason why the settler attacked. Over a poster? Fugedabodit. Posters like this are all over the concrete barriers already. No, it was just the small matter of the soldier having the barrel of his rifle up against the settler's chest and his finger on the trigger. But what's a potential point-blank-range bullet or two between friends, right? Guess that whole "no human rights for settlers thing" is really catching on.

Maybe Sharon's just playing with us all. Maybe it's time we returned the favor.

In other news: Won a movie ticket doing some searching on Blingo. Perfect timing--it should arrive while I'm in Florida and have the chance to use it. Because I won a ticket, so did Stinkerbelle, who sent me the invitation to sign up. If any wants an invite, let me know. Blingo uses Google's search engine, plus you have the chance to win movie tickets and Amazon gift certificates. Hey, if I could win, anyone could.

Happy Shavuot! Just keep in mind what all those cheese cakes and blintzes do to your diet....

WIP Wednesday

What, it's Thursday already? Sheesh, that's me--always a day late and a dollar short.

Got two different socks trying to fight off SSS.



Is it just me, or does the color scheme in that bottom sock (which is Trekking XL) look an awful lot like Labradorable's Opal sock? What's up with all this colorway duplication? I have a skeing of purple and blue Magic Stripes that I'm going to knit up and gift away; it's so close in colors to my Regia socks that I'd end up wearing one of each instead of the pair.

Fiona's back--and what a set of fronts!


Mystery solved--at least for this week's clue



(Much nicer than what it used to be--a boring garter stitch square.)



Chunky Industrial Monkey is about twice as high as she was, but doesn't look much different yet. I'm thinking of leaving the handles off of her and using her as a basket instead. She's a very upstanding girl.

My baby (she of the depressed horse gift) made me a ceramic tea cup. With an orange inside, of course!)



In other news

From the world of fashion, a new trend, and from people everywhere a sigh of relief. Does this mean we're done with seeing body parts that ought to be reserved for one's bath, SO, or physician? Someone ought to make the case that the gratuitous exposure of too much flesh is a sort of sexual harrassment. Coming home from Florida there was a man who was sort of handsome. Interest quickly waned when he bent down, though. If I can tell how well you wipe without even laundering your underwear, you're showing too much.

In politics: Those of you who disapprove of Bush and his Homeland Security, be glad you don't live here. High Court: Disengagement Legal Despite Human Rights Violations.

Ten of the Justices ruled that the Disengagement Plan violates the human rights of "property, freedom of occupation and proper respect for the evacuees," but is acceptable in order to achieve political and security aims.

Read that again. I'll wait right here while you do.

Back? Good. Did you notice that little sweetmeat in there? It's acceptable to violate human rights for political aims. Once that starts, where does it end? Under this ruling, a politician could justify bombing an entire town which he knows won't vote for him. Getting elected is a political end, isn't it? And if you think I'm reducing things to the absurd extremes--in Israel, we perform 6 absurd extremes before breakfast.

I wonder if this means I'm allowed to violate someone else's human rights if I have a political motive--or is oppression strictly a government's right?

Frustration

Is there anything more irresponsible than a teenaged boy?

Last night I get a call from the Oldest Teen. "Can you look on my desk and find my National ID card?" he asks.

"Sure. Why?"

"Oh, I take my road test tomorrow morning and i forgot it at home."

"Tomorrow?? How am I supposed to get it to you tomorrow?"

He offered to come home, but how could he get back to town by 8 am? (We live an hour away by car, and several hours away by bus. As you might guess, he doesn't have access to our car.) Luckily, our neighbor, who is very nice, very responsible, and most importantly, works in Jerusalem, offered to take the card in to work with him for The Oldest Teen to pick up. Now the kid just has to pass his road test.

Oh, and he casually dropped this little bit of luciousness into the conversation: "By the way, I almost got arrested last week."

Say wha?

"It was all a misunderstanding. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he claimed.

Sure. Right. Whatever. Haven't I heard that line before, on Law and Order?

He "just happened" to "pass by" a demonstration. Got tagged by the police. Starting yelling (in English) that he's an American citizen, that he wants to speak to the Consul before the cops take him anywhere, and do they really want to start dealing with the diplomatic corps for having arrested an innocent American Abroad? (Note how he conveniently forgot to mention that he's also an Israeli citizen.)

So what have we learned today?

• Your national ID card is like your towel--never leave home without it.


• If you're ever on the brink of getting arrested in Israel, claim foreign citizenship.


• No matter what your mother says, there are some things she'd Just Rather Not Know. If it ended up OK, keep it to yourself.

Hey, Oldest Teen, see these three new gray hairs? Thanks a lot, kid.

Then today, I was supposed to meet fellow Israeli knit-blogger Jennifer. We know each other back from the days of the Oasis Israeli Knitting Guild, back before knitting was cool. We hooked up again, on-line, through her Kippalong. We were going to meet today for coffee, but first The Spouse had a business emergency (which means he's going to have to write 1/7th of the work still to be done, instead of just sitting back and brokering the deal, and that instead of us having lots of quality time together betwen trips to the US, we'll both be slaving away long hours, 6 days a week). When we finally got out to the car, it wouldn't start. Someone had turned on our emergency transponder and it drained the battery; we're waiting for the tow guy now. Living in the boonies means a 4+ hour wait. Never-ending fun!

So what does a frustrated knit-blogger do? Join something! Alison re-opened sign up for Sockapal2za. If you hurry, you might still get in. And I signed myself, my father, and The Middle Teen (as a team) up for Cara's Sew What.

Tuesday Travels

Or, what I did on my spring vacation (besides getting a new battery for my parents' car):

Will some one please remind me, before the next time I go flying off to the States (July 10) that I am now in the States 4-5 times a year and don't need to buy like I'm never coming back? That Lush, Webs, Knit Picks, Amazon, and Patternworks will be there the next trip in, too? Thank you.

That said, the damage:

Cotton from Walmart, weaving cotton from Webs (for curtains), hemp (for cocktail monkey? for facecloths?) from Rag Shop, and silk boucle (at $3/lb--can you beat that?) from Webs:



Catherine sent me a RAOK. Back in April I bought some ribbon yarn that had been driving her mad, and when she sent me the yarn she RAOKed me with the pattern she was going to use. It's a very pretty, simple and elegant tank. I can see that the Girl Teens and I will be fighting over it when I'm done.




When Lisa destashed, I picked up all this sock yarn for a song (well, not really--I wouldn't want to deafen Lisa, or you):



And, of course, Knit Picks. Enough Palisades (sob) for The Youngest Teen's Fiora (from Adrienne Vittadini's Fall 2004 book.



My parents gave me this knitting bag. It's really a beach tote, from a hotel that went out of business in April (my folks were among the final customers), but it's honkin' huge. I mean, I've got about 40 skeins of yarn in there for this picture, and the only reason some is peeking out the top is because I photo-styled it that way. I could easily have gotten another 10 or 20 skeins in there.



Of course there were books. And lots of Lush. I don't think there's a thing from Lush I don't like (aside from their new Olive Branch shower gel which I object to on political grounds. WHo do they think they're kidding? If the groves are owned by Israeli Arabs, then they aren't Palestinians, they're Israelis, unless they move to the Palestinian areas. If they are Palestinians, does Lush honestly believe, with all the corruption in the Palestinian Authority, that the olive grove owners are allowed to keep all their profits, that none are paid to their government as protection money? And just where does that protection money end up? Anyone remember the Karin A?

All good shopping must end, though. And so to home. Yesterday was Jerusalem Day. Lots of people in the center of town. Lots of orange.