Vote Early!

Dear Swatchy,

You probably know that Election Day here in the U.S. is Tuesday, November 4th. The voter turnout is expected to be high with long lines, and Knittah just can't be wait in a line for very long (especially if it means sitting in her wheelchair outside). Luckily - did you know this? - she can vote by absentee ballot.

I got to check out the ballot before she filled it out. She said you are supposed to fill in the ballot all by yourself with no one around, so I had to go back to my shelf when she got out the pen.

But pretty cool, huh? Knittah says: "No matter who you vote for, make sure you vote in this election!"

Love, Nori

Rhinebeck 2008!

Howdy Knittah!

I've been pretty quiet lately, huh? You can blame Vicki - she keeps having work, and life and stuff get in the way. Ridiculous, I know! She even went to see the Yarn Harlot in Boston, and forgot to bring her camera!

That's not to say that I haven't seen our dear Stephanie recently though..




























(That was the second picture, taken after she said that she had dorked up the first picture, and requested a do over. The first wasn't that bad, but it did look like she was at the tail end of a crazy book tour..)





We went to Rhinebeck again! We weren't such good knitblogger stalkers this year, but in our defense, it was really really crowded!





































There were also a lot of people at the Ravelry party. They were less blurry than this in person.






























I was quite taken with this guy. His name is Thor, and he kept smiling at me. I couldn't tell if it was a happy friendly smile, or a get away before I bite you smile, but still, he was impressive.






























How many more days until Rhinebeck 2009? We can't wait to go back!

Manitoba Military Tattoo

Dear Knittah,

I'm sorry I haven't written much lately! Noricum and I have so many posts to write, but life has been so busy. This post couldn't wait though... because we met Fred Penner, and he said he'd look for our post!!! Do you know who Fred Penner is? He's an *awesome* singer of children's music, and Canadian, and Noricum has an autographed record of his from when he sang at her elementary school. He even had his own TV show!

Anyway, I suppose I should give a wee bit of a back story (before Noricum hares off to that silly desk of hers that she's trying to refinish).

Noricum's dad is in the Winnipeg Male Chorus, which was singing today as part of the Manitoba Military Tattoo. Fred Penner was the Master of Ceremony. After the performance there was a dinner, and Fred Penner (and the recently retired Chief of Defense for NATO) were sitting at the next table! After the speeches were over, Noricum twisted up her courage and asked for a photograph:

(Don't mind Noricum... she's a little star-struck, and didn't think to straighten out her vest.)

While we were taking photos, this one is of Noricum's neighbour, Don McCrae, who is the grand-nephew of the poet, John McCrae, who wrote "In Flander's Fields":


And this photo is of one of the handsome fellows from the 402 Pipes and Drums Band:

Noricum was a big fan of the pipe band performances in the show, and also loved the purple tartans. :)

We also spotted an RCMP officer in full formal dress while we were waiting in the car to figure out what entrance to use before the show, but Noricum was slow to think of me and her camera, and he was already half a block away (on a *cold* and *WINDY* day), so she didn't chase after him. Also, she was delegated with making sure Don made it to his seat, and didn't want to abandon him. Sorry! Next time, Noricum promises to think faster.

Well, I'd upload a few blurry photos of the show, but Noricum is complaining that she needs to do a tiny bit on her desk before dark. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up on some of the backlogged posts soon!

Love,
Swatcy

PS: No, Noricum didn't have the guts to pester the former NATO Chief of Defense for a photograph. Plus he had wandered off, talking to other people while Noricum was busy with Fred Penner.

PPS: We're getting kind of low on postcards... do you have more of them?

Botswana, The Next Round of Knitting

I saw Dr. G this week, and he is recently returned from Botswana. He told me that our gifts were a tremendous hit with the volunteers and children.

There were so many beautiful things, that the staff divided them up. Larger items went to the orphanage near the hospital. As I think I mentioned before, 85% of those children are AIDS orphans (meaning their primary caregiver(s) have succumbed to AIDS), but only 15% of the children are actually HIV positive. All of the baby items went to the pediatric ICU at the hospital. Dr. G said over and over that our gifts were so deeply appreciated, and that the care you put into making them means so much to the recipients – much more than a donation check ever could.

So let’s do it again! Weather is getting warmer in Botswana right now, so I suggest we aim for sending knitted items as our spring approaches. Here’s the essential info:

What to knit: All items are needed, and I’m waiting for an update on any specific requests.

Fibers: Think WARM, so wool is better than cotton. Think DURABLE, as most items will be washed by hand in a tub, and hung to dry on a wire fence or similar.

Colors: Any and all colors, especially bright colors.

Our deadline is March 13th. Email me for information about sending in your donations.