Planetary matters are on my mind today not least because last Friday hometown hero Buzz Aldrin, resplendent in a Destination: Mars T-shirt, was in town. He was third in his class at West Point, was a fighter pilot, holds a PhD from MIT, and is one of the first humans to walk on the moon and is among the first humans to successfully complete a space walk.
In his honor the middle school he attended was rededicated as Buzz Aldrin Middle School. Appropriately, it's a STEM school.
There were many speeches and reminiscences, Buzz led a rousing (?) cheer, and the local bakeshop made astronaut cookies.
Foolishly, I forgot to wear something suitably geeky-patriotic to the ceremony (I have a NASA T-shirt somewhere) and to bring a hat, a bottle of water, and a U.S. flag and so paid the consequences. I may have been unprepared, but others came ready. I saw one well-equipped couple using wire cutters to help themselves to the event posters fastened to the school fence! Aiya.
Woe and alas, that fun Friday segued into a nervous weekend in the NY/NJ region. The current story is a single suspect is responsible for homemade bombs that exploded Saturday morning in Seaside Park and Saturday evening in Chelsea and for a pressure cooker bomb found in Chelsea and five pipe bombs found in Elizabeth later that evening. The manhunt included an ill-advised cell phone alert and, after a shoot out and chase, the capture alive of the suspect. Most people reacted calmly and responsibly, a few not so much. The NJ beaches re-opened, life goes on – albeit a bit more nervously.
At the beginning of this month I signed up for the Fall Sweater Challenge. I assiduously read about the sponsors and how to get points,
joined the FSC Ravelry group, selected a pattern, and ordered yarn. And then waited... patiently....Sigh. Some participants started their projects in August.
It may be crystal clear to others, but I don't quite comprehend the pash of have and have-not hashtags for #FallSweaterChallenge. The hashtags are worth points and the points are worth prizes, although some things worth points don't seem to have a hashtag, and other things that have hashtags don't seem to be worth points. There were supposed to be participant numbers but somewhere along the way the participant numbers got dropped. Same thing with deadlines. Ah well, here goes.
I selected a designated designer pattern, Morning Walk vest by Becky Herrick, and joined the #MorningWalkKAL.
#ipickedyarn: My yarn arrived smelling strongly of vinegar, which made me worry the dye was not fully stable, often a problem with shades of red. So I gave it a bath to rinse out any excess dye. The yarn is #BMFA Targhee Worsted in colorway Vine Ripened Red, shown with some Jersey tomatoes for comparison.
One of the early stated goals of FSC was to flood Rhinebeck with FOs. Oh all right, despite my feeble launch I'll give it a go. Next steps, swatching and beyond to Destination: Vest!
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