The second day of the rest of our lives, and so far I’d say that things may carry on being interesting, after all. I’m greatly looking forward to finding out what Michelle makes of First Lady’ing. I’m sure it won’t be a two-for-one offer like Bill and Hillary, also sure that she will in fact, behind the bedroom door, be an important sounding-board and advisor on national and international affairs. She is a strong woman, and it looks like a strong marriage.
But then what? Someone has to run the White House. But then what? Mrs Howard Dean, I think it was, was a family doctor in Vermont. She said that if her husband were elected president, she’d carry on being a family doctor. I’d love to see Michelle with at least a part-time job of her own. I used to try to admire Cherie Blair for carrying on her own career under her own name from 10 Downing St. But she proved so silly on so many fronts that I had to abandon the idea.
And the other thing I look forward keenly to finding out is, what will happen on their state visit to Britain? Heads of State traditionally ride down the Mall to the Palace in a horse-drawn thingy. They offered Bush a bullet-proof one (and of course the Mall would have been lined with armed policemen) but he was too scared-y. He had a very bullet-proof limo flown in from Washington, and came sidling around the corner in it straight into the Palace forecourt.
My guess is that President and Mrs Obama will choose the horse-drawn carriage.
Knitting
I made a bit of progress on the circular swatch, and found myself sunk in gloom. The pattern is hard to see (and is also so easy that mistakes are inevitable). The result is really rather nice, like a print in gentle spring colours. But I’m not going to enjoy doing it. Like knititch (Nov. 3) and a lot of other people, I suffer from November. Knitting needs to be a comfort, not an additional struggle with inadequate light.
My current thought, therefore, is to switch to stripes, and knit Ketki essentially the sweater I am knitting for myself in Kirkmichael. With the Calcutta Cup motif around the bottom just above the ribbing. That’s essential, but Fair Isle and the Prince-of-Wales joke aren’t. That pattern is a self-generated Sweater Wizard one, which ought to be on the computer here. And the yarn, Araucania Ranco, is the same.
So I’ll push that idea around today. I’ve got Alexander’s socks and a long-neglected scarf for actual knitting. The Princess is frozen solid.
oh she seems so well spoken and lovely and clever that michelle. and obama says she is a great dancer too. not bad. she will have to dance with a lot of tired middle aged men on state visits. and the marriage does indeed seem very strong.
ReplyDeletei love the inadequate light thing you wrote. that is so annoying. i am learning to use readers and have many of them in order for this mole to be able to find them. happily knitting alice starmore patterns is almost like reading braille. you can almost feel if you are on right track.
I agree about Michelle Obama. And it will be fun to see children in the White House ala Teddy Roosevelt. My sister played Obama's speech the next day for her 8 year old. He sat thinking and then asked, so what kind of dog do you think they'll get?
ReplyDeleteI met someone from the US State Dept who told me that BushCo travels with 2 huge cargo planes loaded with big black SUV's, big black highway buses (busses?), and their own telephone system for installation on site.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that so charms me about the Obamas is how clearly loving and equal they are. The girls are well spoken and fun. And I too wonder about the First Dog.
Have you considered getting a small Ott Light? The full-spectrum light is wonderful for color work. I have two of the small table-top lights, for use in different areas.
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