Wednesday, November 02, 2016

The promised knitting pictures follow, but here’s something better to start with:

That’s my nephew Theo, my sister’s son, with his sons Ted (just turned three) and Emmett. And someone else.




Here’s another:


Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis. Sorry about that. And it’s a pity we never got that picture of the Dalai Lama wearing the scarf I knit for him.

Here’s another, equally or even more interesting in its way. My sister and her husband voted yesterday:


As well as the Big One, and a Senator, and their Representative, they had to vote for five judges (judges?) and three Board of Education members and four Amendments of one sort or another. It takes time. I think maybe more polling stations are required, or some other adjustment. I can easily see, with queues like that, and polling stations not open in the evening, why many people simply can’t manage. And why others might not bother.

And here’s the WIP pic. I’ve started the heel flap of the Kaffe Fassett sock. There won’t be enough yarn, in a 50 gram ball, to finish off the foot. I’ll end it with Whiskey Barrel. I think we’ll be safely inside the shoe, by then.



I did only 75 rounds in the leg this time, instead of the 90 I did for the recent Whiskey Barrel socks. They looked awfully big, when finished. This one looks a bit small.

Cardinal O’Brien


Chloe (comment yesterday): real, practical forgiveness from the Church would allow the Cardinal to exercise his priesthood again, perhaps helping in a parish, as he had hoped to do for quite a while after his disgrace, until the authorities said no. And perhaps – goodness me – even allowing him back into Scotland. 

11 comments:

  1. Lovely pictures! That's a very fancy Halowe'en party! I love the colours on the socks.

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  2. I wish these these times were not changing. I saw an adorable video of Trick or Treat at the White House. (A friend's student was Air Force One.) I'll have to go back and look again to see if I can spot the lion. I do love the color in that sweater.

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  3. I think my state (Washington) has gone almost entirely mail-in ballot. You get the ballot several weeks ahead of election day, do your research and fill it out at home, and then either mail it in or drop it in a ballot drop-off box located at convenient locations all over town. No long lines, no fuss.

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  4. Ditto - I really like the system here in Washington.....but i do miss the buzz of voting at a polling station. A feeling of community.

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    1. I agree. It was fun to go to the polling place and wait to go into the little cubicle and vote and get your I voted sticker after. I also remember a time more than 30 years ago when Election Day was a state holiday and you got it off to go vote.

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  5. I still can't get over the lack of "I voted" stickers at my polling place. We have a new location (several more precincts consolidated) as of this election, so I am HOPING that there will be stickers. Haven't received one for over a decade (but have never missed a vote). No early voting here in NY State. Fortunately, I have a reasonably flexible work schedule that I largely control, myself, and no childcare concerns.

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  6. Anonymous8:03 PM

    I'm sorry to say that we didn't manage to spot Archie at Lancaster today but we did have a good look around and had a chance to drop into the English & Linguistics Department where we met a very nice Dutch man.

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  7. Our polling places are open until 8pm, so I would say that covers evening hours fairly well. They open at 7AM.

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    1. British polling stations are open from 7 in the morning to 10 at night.

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  8. Anonymous11:20 AM

    I see what you mean, Jean about forgiveness. I was raised and educated as a Catholic, but at a time when this particular issue - with all its complications - was not discussed in religion classes. Allowing priests to say Mass I do remember as being a legitimate form of forgiveness (once a priest...etc.) but putting them in contact with temptation and with young innocent people at risk seems very tricky and hard to assess. It's the predatoriness of proven guilty priests that I have trouble with. but I've been away from the Church for many years and although I try to keep up I may have missed some of the nuances of what constitutes forgiveness: because a wife forgives her egregiously abusive husband does she have to take him back after his "rehabilitation"? It's difficult because of the practicalities of habitual and addictive behavior. As for those long lines, I live in a big city and have been in them myself. And maybe an extended voting period is the only answer. But I still find it troubling. It seems to me the more extended the voting period the more it can be tampered with both psychologically and procedurally. But again, those practicalities. God didn't make it easy for us. :-). And I appreciate how gently and kindly you put forth your response to my comments. That counts a lot. Chloe

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  9. Anonymous11:43 AM

    P.S. I started my long-winded comment before the comments on Washington's voting system showed up. Also tricky but maybe as an interim measure it might be perfect for that jurisdiction. Chloe

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