Wake Up, Number 37

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For the past few days, my heart has been with the folks in Minnesota as they, like the rest of the country, relive the horror of Wednesday's bridge collapse over and over again as it's aired on CNN.

And everywhere around the country people are wondering about the safety and stability of bridges in our own hometowns.

I think about the Huguenot Bridge, which took me to high school every day for four years, and more recently, seems to be closed for repairs every single weekend. And yet, although the paved surface is a patchwork quilt of pothole fill-ins, it is not cosmetic repaving work that's being performed on Sundays, and that makes me more than a little uneasy.

Huguenot Bridge, Richmond, VA
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Although of a different construction than the steel-trussed I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, the Huguenot Bridge is still at risk. In May 2006, the deck, superstructure and substructure of the 57-year-old bridge were rated as poor, while the August 2006 underwater inspection rated the footings as just "fair". Not comforting. Fortunately the bridge is scheduled for replacement in 2010. Here's hoping it holds up that long.

I've also had the phrase, "Wake up, Number 37" rolling around my head these last few days. If you've seen the movie, The Mothman Prophecies, then you know to what I'm referring. If you haven't, then I won't spoil it for you. But it's a fantastic movie, in my opinion -- spooky, (in a fun, Sixth Sense kind of way), but not gory, and has a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat, heart-stopping ending which makes watching all the spooky stuff worthwhile. And of course, Richard Gere (my sister's hunky "co-star" in the upcoming Nights in Rodanthe flick, heh heh), is in it.

But what happened on Wednesday is not a Hollywood movie. Real people were injured. Real lives were lost. And thank God there are many more survivors than originally expected.

Yesterday I emailed my friend Marci, a Minnesota native currently living in Florida, and asked her if anyone she knew was involved. Her answer was thankfully, no, but she does have a friend who takes that bridge home from work every evening, usually right around the same time as Wednesday's rush hour collapse. Her friend went home by another route that night. And I'm guessing her friend is feeling particularly grateful to be alive these days.

Wake up, Number... ?

Have a safe weekend, everyone.

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400 years ago today...

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...104 male settlers, after arriving at a site they named James Cittie the previous day, established the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

To celebrate, I share with you an old 1939 Richmond Times Dispatch Fred Seibel editorial cartoon I find particularly amusing, especially around Thanksgiving-time when the media focus tends to be on the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock:

(click for big)

I love this: "... North Virginia, (now called Massachusetts)..."

Happy birthday, Jamestown, Virginia.

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Cuzzin Liz Comes to Town

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Have y'all met my Cuzzin Liz?

See any family resemblance?
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It's been never ages since we've talked. But I understand. She's a busy gal, with all the reignin' and crown-wearin' and purse-carryin' and walkabouts she's got on her busy schedule. Bless her pea-pickin' heart. But today she's decided to come visit me in this-here my hometown. How sweet of her. But, sheeooot, I reckon my invitation to the big party got lost in the mail. And I can't seem to find her cell phone number. Dang....

Seriously, though -- where do I get the audacity to be so familiar with Britain's reigning monarch?

It goes back to a couple years ago, when my dad was deep in the throws of family genealogy. We'd about exhausted the available information on my dad's paternal side of the family, and alas, our surname's research only goes back as far as my paternal great-grandfather. Beyond him, that branch of the family tree comes to a frustratingly abrupt halt, mired in the muck and confusion of muddled Danish and German ancestry, with little hope of tracing him further back.

And so, instead, my dad began enthusiastically researching my mom's side of the family. In the process, he stumbled upon another genealogist in her family who had traced the line directly back to one Owen Tudor, who, it turns out, is my 18th great-grandfather. Old Owen was also the great-grandfather of Henry VIII, who, according to the relationship calculator on my genealogy software, is my second cousin, eighteen times removed. (That's a heck of a lot of removin'!)

Cuzzin Hank
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And thanks again to grandpa Owen, (who, poor fella, lost his head in 1461 during the War of the Roses), I'm related to the current Queen of England -- Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II. She's my 17th cousin, twice removed.

That, and $3.62, will buy me a Grande Mocha Frappuccino at Starbucks.

The Queen and I -- we're like >this< - thick as thieves. And yet I'm still awaiting her phone call, inviting me to high tea....

The story gets better. Owen Tudor's grandson, John Grey, married his fifth cousin, Anne Grey, (they're my 16th great-grandparents). Anne is a direct descendent of King Henry II and Princess Eleanor of Aquitaine, (they're her 7th great-grandparents), which makes them my 25th great-grandparents.

Grandma Eleanor was a "handsome" woman
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(Confused yet? Bored yet? Hang with me...).

Grandma Eleanor has a crazy lineage herself. Among her (and my) ancestors are William the Conqueror (my 28th ggf) and the cousin-uncle he ousted in 1066 - King Edward III -- the Confessor, (my 30th great-grand uncle). Uncle Ed was later canonized a saint by the Catholic church. (Coincidentally, I grew up going to St. Edward the Confessor parochial school and Catholic church, where my parents still attend mass.)

Uncle Ed*

Things get crazier still. Eleanor has some Jewish ancestry, most notably King Jeconiah of Judah, her 35th (and my 62nd) great-grandfather. King Jeconiah is listed in the genealogy of Christ, in Matthew 1:11-12. King Jeconiah's son and grandson, Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, both also listed in the Matthew 1 genealogy, are also listed in Luke's genealogy of Christ, which goes all the way back to Adam.

I am, therefore, a direct descendent of Adam....

...JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET!


So, I suppose that's not going to open any doors for me at Buckingham Palace.

Sigh....

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Hokie Hope Hat

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At last, I can show you what I only hinted at on Saturday. It is not a blanket square, as many of you guessed. A few of you saw me cast on for this last Tuesday night, so you had advanced knowledge as to what the final product would be. And anyone who reads this blog regularly should not be surprised that it is, in fact, a hat.

It really doesn't (shouldn't) take me an entire week to knit a hat, but, then, I don't always knit every day, especially when I have things like plant sales and gardening to attend to. Also, on Sunday there was a little scare involving my dad and an emergency room (all is well, now), which sorta messed with that day's knitting mojo.

The hat was actually complete last night, I just needed to make the pom-pom today -- my very first, as a matter of fact, and I think it came out fairly well, if I do say so myself.

Specs:

• Yarn:
• * Main color: Malabrigo worsted 100% merino in "Velvet Grapes" (#204)
  
• * Stripe & pom-pom: Malabrigo worsted 100% merino in "Sealing Wax" (#102)
  
• Gauge: 5 stitches per inch
• Needles: U.S. size 8 (5mm) Denise circulars & Clover bamboo 7" DPNs
  
• Pattern: cast on 100 stitches, join in the round, knit every round for ~6-7", adding contrasting stripe(s) as desired; switch to DPNs, decrease & finish according to Super Simple Hat Calculator; make pom-pom and attach.
• Size: 20" circumference
  
• Recipient: high school friend Judi, who is now on Virginia Tech faculty

* I can't say enough nice things about Malabrigo. It is incredibly soft, a joy to knit with, creates a beautiful fabric, and I just love the mottled effect of those kettle-dyed colors. Granted, it is single-ply 100% merino, so, pilling is inevitable, but, a small price to pay, in my opinion, for such a lovely end-product.


Pom-poms are a risky design choice, and although the hat was nice as-is, I felt it needed another dash of orange. I will send it to Judi with a note telling her that to remove the pom-pom if it's not her style. Or, if hats in general (or this one in particular) are not her style, perhaps she can give it to a student in need of a little Hokie spirit.

The best part is, I have lots of leftover yarn with which I can now start knitting some squares for Mosaic's Hokie Healing blankets:

(click ^ for mailing address)

If you, too, decide to send in knitted or crocheted blanket squares to Mosaic, don't forget to also enter yourself in Phyl's blog contest!

Or, if blanket squares aren't your thing, and you'd rather knit & donate something else, check out Tanya's Project Hokie Hope or the Knitting for Virginia Tech group blog.

Linda in our knitting group has created a VT logo square for the Mosaic blankets -- I think Jane will be posting the pattern on her blog, but if not, I can post it here and/or email it to folks. And a Blacksburg knit-blogger has created a Hokie-bird intarsia chart that can be incorporated into blanket squares. Leave her a comment and she'll email you the chart.

I'm also attempting to commission a professional yarn dyer to create a custom "Hokie Hope" maroon and orange colorway. Nothing is firm yet, but if this would interest you, let me know, and also what your preferred yarn weight might be. If and when I know more, I will announce it here on this blog.

And of course, for those who'd rather donate cash, there's always the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.

God Bless knitters who are always willing to jump in and help during times of crisis.

And God Bless Virginia Tech!

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Day of Mourning

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Actually, it's been a whole week of mourning, but today was the Governor's officially declared Day of Mourning. I debated as to whether to go down to Monroe Park and attend the service there, but opted to watch it on television, instead.

I've wept all week as I watch the news accounts, was angry after NBC's aired that lunatic's rantings, and was then proud of our local NBC station for agreeing not to show his picture anymore. Like everyone else, I'd much rather focus on the 32 victims, the survivors, their families, and the suffering folks at Virginia Tech who have ties and connections all over the Commonwealth.

The Richmond area has lost two shining Tech students, and I know of at least two other Richmonders who were wounded but are recovering, and I'm so grateful for that. One of the survivors is the daughter son of the President of the Christian Children's Fund, based here in town. Another is the daughter of a girl with whom I went to high school.

Another high school friend who now works in Tech's vet school was shown weeping on television Tuesday, during the Convocation. She's since received a flood of emails and phone calls, expressing love and concern. She wrote us back, saying:

...Prior to my position at the Vet College, I was the Director of Undergraduate Recruiting for the College of Engineering. Norris Hall was a fixture in my life. I’ve also taught for VT, so from a faculty perspective, I now think back on what would have been my own reaction to all that happened that morning to protect my students.

...These are just some of the emotions that the last few days have brought to mind. Your thoughts mean more to me than this note can possibly share. Thank you for taking the time to share them. As the week progresses, the reality of everything continues to find new ways to hit home. We have all tried so hard to be strong for one another on campus that our ability to let what happened sink in personally has been the hardest. That’s where your personal thoughts, prayers, and love have meant the most. You’ve given me what I have spent the week trying to give to students, colleagues, and friends who have endured Monday’s tragedies at a variety of levels.

... I speak for all Virginia Tech alumni, students, faculty/staff and friends when I say that your words and thoughts HAVE made a difference....

I find encouragement in her words, and in seeing people of different races, faiths and cultures uniting together to share their grief and comfort. I'm so proud of the students I've seen interviewed, proud of their poise through all of the madness and sadness. I take joy and comfort in learning about the wonderful lives of each of those 32 beautiful people. I dread and loathe the copycat activities, but am thankful that at least everyone's awareness level has been significantly heightened, so that perhaps future tragedies might be averted. I pray for the victims families, and hold out hope that this incident might help change some laws, in this state and this country, to help prevent future tragedies.

God Bless Virginia Tech.

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God Bless

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(story)
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399 years ago today...

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...104 male settlers arrived at a site they named James Cittie and established the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

To celebrate, I share with you an old 1939 RTD Fred Seibel editorial cartoon I find particularly amusing, especially around Thanksgiving-time when the media focus tends to be on the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock:

I love this: "... North Virginia, (now called Massachusetts)..."

Happy birthday, Jamestown, Virginia.

Next year's celebration should be a doozy!

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World of Mirth, City of Sadness

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World of Mirth re-opened today. I don't think I can go into that store anytime soon without starting to cry, and tears are surely something with which its hurting employees and remaining owner have been fully saturated. This is bound to be a tough day week month year for them.

May the joyous spirit of Kathryn Harvey live on in the business she created and the lives she touched.

GOOD NEWS!

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Arrests made in Harvey & Tucker murders!

Many kudos to RPD!

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And in significantly less important, but still very enjoyable news -- Redskins make it to their next playoff game, beating the Bucs 17-10!

Game stats here.

(I so wanted to headline this post as "The Bucs Stop Here", but then I heard about the arrests, so football will play second fiddle to that good news!)

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Rest in Peace, Harvey family

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The Harveys were memorialized and laid to rest today.

I believe in trying to keep the tone of this particular blog positive and upbeat. After all, the purpose here, mainly, is to document for myself my knitting projects and progress. And since knitting is a hobby I love, I do not want to taint that with negativism. No political rants from me here. There are plenty of other blogs who do that so much better than I ever could (or would want to).

But sometimes life creeps in. It's been impossible not to think, (nay, obsess), about much else this week -- news of this tragedy is everywhere, it seems. It's on tv, it's in the paper, it's in my Inbox, it's all over the internet and blogosphere. (Another Richmonder blogged that it felt like "our 9/11"). Theories and rumors abound. I won't be spreading those here because, if they're not true, it can only wreak additional pain on their loved ones, if that's possible. If the rumors are true, they'll come to light eventually. It's hard not to want to search everywhere for some kind of sense to all this, for some kind of answer, when there really can never be a satisfactory one.

Couple that with a sense of insecurity as Richmonders fearfully lock their doors and peak out windows, wondering if there's some kook out there looking for their next... well... you know. This morning's newspaper did nothing to alleviate that fear, and although just as horrific, the police say yesterday's event is unrelated. Small comfort.

May those closest to the Harveys find some peace and comfort through all of this. As a minister said earlier this week, (and I paraphrase badly here), "People have asked, where was God during the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. The answer: He was in the furnaces. You might ask today, where was Christ when the Harveys faced their ordeal? The answer: He was in the basement."

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She did it again!

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I love it when Carol Duvall has a knitting segment on her craft show. You can tell how much she loves to knit -- her enthusiasm is so infectious.

Today's segment was on knitting scarves with novelty yarns - a topic near and dear to my heart. All the example scarves were fun and gorgeous, but I think this one is my favorite:

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I've been in somewhat of a funk this past week, for many reasons, which has led to blog-writers block. I've been knitting; just haven't felt like blogging. In part due to the depressingly rainy or overcast weather we've been having, in part due to a mild family trauma that occurred last week, (I'll blog about it in a future post), in part due to the horrific New Years Day murders that occurred not too far from me, in part due to the mining tragedy in West Virginia. Just a crummy way to start the New Year.

Since I'm self-employed, I also need to work on the accounting and tax situation for my little corporation, for which I've been procrastinating because I'm basically clueless when it comes to that stuff - in part due to a long-held math anxiety, and also to never having taken an accounting class in my life, (see: math anxiety). I've found some good resources, however, and so am forcing myself to learn this stuff. Surprisingly, there's a very good tutorial I found on the IRS website. (Never thought you'd see the words IRS and "very good" in the same sentence, did you?)

So, alas, I must end this post with many topics unblogged, for now, and get back to work. :-(

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Dedicated to the Harvey family

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Bryan, Kathryn, Stella and Ruby Harvey are being memorialized today. This shouldn't be happening. A happy, healthy, popular family of four should not be laid to rest in their prime. Their friends and families are stunned and grief-stricken. The community is shocked and fearful.

Not a mile two miles from where I live, someone violently took their lives on New Year's Day, and as of yet, no one knows who, or why. But no explanation will ever be good enough. No punishment will ever be severe enough.

There has been a literal and figural cloud over our city these past few days.

Bryan Harvey was a talented musician, probably best known for one of his former bands, the "House of Freaks", which made a few albums in the late '80's/early 90's, before they split. Kathryn Harvey co-owned the "World of Mirth" gift shop in CaryTown. Daughters Stella & Ruby were nine and four.

The world seems a little bit colder today. And folks in my neighborhood will be locking their doors all the tighter.

Rest in peace, Harvey family.