Adverse Possession

Today I'm frustrated with the orchid lace swatch, can't find my mohair mobius project, and didn't have a chance to photograph the cotton triangle shawl I finished on the way to Eagle River last week. What I did do is prepare a very short presentation for the networking group my office belongs to, since boss lady is sick and I had to substitute this morning. So you get that instead. (By the way, I'm not an attorney and this is not legal advice and all disclaimers apply and you know the deal.)
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Back in the 1800's when Wisconsin became a state, the surveyors of the time did their best to measure and plot out the land into nice neat townships and parcels. However, this was a time before GPS, and errors were inevitable. Some of those nice even squares overlap onto other nice neat even squares, and there are gaps, and . . . well, you can imagine. Additionally, back in the day it was not uncommon for people to simply pack up and head for the gold rush or whatever, so there needed to be a mechanism in place to assign title to land which was abandoned. And so, we get the principal of adverse possession.
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If you can prove that you have been in open, obvious, and continuous possession of a piece of property for X years (the number changes from state to state, and some even throw in the conditions like "notorious" and "exclusive"), you can start a court action claiming title to the land. Unfortunately, so can your neighbor - so it's important to know where your boundary lines are, and to make sure that anyone using any of your property to park their RV or to store that extra wood pile or whatever acknowledges in writing that it's your land and they're only using it with your permission.
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My favorite case on this topic was in Georgia (I think), where someone tried to claim the land because their family had been picnicking on that spot every Labor Day afternoon for 30 years. But we see cases all the time where the fence row wasn't really on the line, or the neighbor was just helpfully mowing that extra 20 feet between your lots, or the driveway paving was a foot onto the neighbor's property and nobody noticed, or whatever. And even if you win the lawsuit, you'll probably be out the cost of attorneys and surveyors and whoever else gets into the act.
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Anyway, I'm just saying.
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Grrrrr . . .

It's always when you're really feeling good that things slam you the worst. I had a very upsetting meeting at church council last night, and right now I have a headache from grinding my teeth all night. ("We only help people on our side of the county, because we were getting too many requests." "We can't do something nice and harmless and painless on this person's special occasion, because we've never done it before." "Is the constitution clear on how we can strip someone of their membership if we can't get them to shut up?") I can't decide whether to go on a holy war all by myself, quit in disgust, or just play Alan Parsons Project's "In The Lap Of The Gods" really loud, over and over again, like I did when I was angry in college.
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In any case, it's a good thing I had my knitting going, or I might have been tempted to use those needles for something much less appropriate. Here are my swatches of "Spring Arbor" and the beginnings of "Orchid Lace." One thing I've learned is that Orchid Lace is best done when you can actually count consistently. I missed a yarn over somewhere during last night's discussion, and ripped out 10 rows this morning to fix it.
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And a good time was had by all.

It was a wonderful weekend. Not warm, by any means, but wonderful just the same. About 60 women of all ages, including a grandmother, mother and daughter in one group and several sets of sisters in others.

On the way back I asked a few of my fellow carpoolers what their favorite moment had been over the weekend. The vote was unanimous: the blessing of the community prayer shawl. We had started a shawl in a very basic pattern on Friday night, and left it and the supplies in a basket by the hearth so it could be worked on whenever someone felt inclined. Several non-knitters managed to add a stitch or two under guidance, and one champion knitter stayed up until 2 a.m. on Saturday making sure it had some width. Even those with no knitting ability or inclination got into the act by tying the fringe. And when it was done, Rev. Ann blessed it on Sunday after brunch and we surprised Mary by giving it to her. She literally fell to her knees in shock, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

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The attitude bag was a star at the auction, and went for $26. Margaret and Mary, our leaders, were especially interested in the felted figure on the bag, and we're in talks to put together some sort of activity next year based on the same concept. I'm sworn to secrecy concerning the exact nature of next year's logo, but it involves a mirror and we were thinking that one of those big 1.5" sequins would be the perfect way to translate it into a cheap but unique group craft.

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The red hat bath set was my disappointment for the weekend. For quite a while the bid stayed at $2, and the sole bidder wasn't shy about saying she was mainly after the duckie. I think someone saw my disappointment and threw in another bid, so the whole set went for $5 in the end. But I paid $3 for the soap and $1.50 for the duckie, both on clearance, so my soap bag, tribble and washcloth together went for 50 cents. As much as I enjoy making such things, they really just don't do well in an auction.

I also did some outdoor exploration, although in each case the snow was packed hard enough to make snowshoes or skis more of a bother than a necessity. We did the chickadee walk, which was as fun as ever, and I hiked out to Vesper Point after dawn on Sunday with a Bible borrowed from the cabin. (I still think most of the Psalms fall into two categories: (1) "My God is bigger than your god, nya nya nana," and (2) "Oh, God, I've really screwed up again here, please bail me out." Parts of individual chapters resonate with me, in particular the beginning Psalm 25 - but David will always come across to me as a spoiled selfish brat.)

Anyway, all is well.

And we're off!

See you Sunday night!

P.S. The play was very good, and very funny. (It's "Night of the Living Beauty Pagent.") Check it out while I'm gone - 7 p.m. Friday & Saturday, Sunday at 2 p.m., at the Sheboygan Falls High School. The little blonde girl who plays one of the "Mumbles Girls" judges is particularly cute. :)

Red Hat Basket Items Finished!

I didn't re-photograph the red hat cloth for this photo, because (1) I was in a hurry, and (2) I didn't have a decent backdrop that would show the items of different scale well. But here you see the finished tribble, as well as a soap bag (and the lavender soap I found in the K-Mart clearance rack).

This was my first tribble, and I found it a little difficult to cinch up into the proper shape. Maybe that's just because I tend to break my yarn, rather than cutting it, so I'm awfully aware of what happens when you yank hard on cotton yarn. I was afraid my yarn would just snap instead of cinch! I ended up with the gathered sections not quite as tight as shown in the pattern's image, but I just filled it in with a couple of extra stitches and a handle, and I'm content.

The soap bag is designed not for displaying soaps prior to use, but for holding onto them during use. It works especially well if you are as miserly as I am about throwing out anything that could be potentially useful. Those slippery little bits of soap can be popped into this bag and used right up to the end of their natural life. And the open netting and hanging cord make it possible for the bag - and soap - to dry out between uses, rather than dissolving into a gloppy mess like some other designs. My friend calls this "soap on a rope without the commitment."

Scrubby Sacks for Slippery Slivers of Soap
(c) 2007 by Jami Huisjen Scott
All rights reserved unless it's for a good cause, yada yada yada

Materials:

• Double-pointed needles, size 8 (or so)


• Cotton or hemp yarn of your choice (so long as it is durable and dries easily)


• yarn needle

For the sack shown, I used peaches & creme and size 10 needles, because that's what I had handy. Gauge is not important for this pattern.

Instructions:

Cast on 40 stitches, divided evenly on 4 needles.

Work 4 or 5 rounds of the reversible stitch of your choice. For the sack show, I used k2 p2 ribbing, but seed stitch works just as well. It all depends on whether you want the neck of your sack to pull in or flare decoratively.

Round 3: *yarn over, knit 2 together * and repeat steps between * for the rest of the round.
Round 4: knit

Repeat rounds 3 and 4 until the net portion of your work is a tube roughly 3 inches wide.

Decrease round 1: *knit 3, knit 2 together* and repeat for the rest of the round.
Decrease round 2: purl
Decrease round 3: *K2, k2 together* and repeat for the rest of the round
Decrease round 4: purl
Decrease round 5: *K1, k2 together* and repeat for the rest of the round
Decrease round 6: purl
Decrease round 7: *k2 together* and repeat for the rest of the round.

Break yarn and using yarn needle, draw the remaining loops closed and sew tight. I usually run through all the loops twice with the tail of the yarn, then knot it tight a couple of times on the inside of the bag. You are going to be scrubbing with this little bag, so texture is your friend and you will want your ends to be secured firmly.

For the drawstring, single-chain with medium size crochet hook (I use my fingertip) and make a string at least 8" long. Weave drawstring in and out of the holes in the top row of netting and tie together.

That's it. Now all I have to do is finish the sewing on the attitude bag, and pack for tomorrow's trip. Tasha is pouting because I'm going to miss her play (who knew that for the second year in a row it was going to be the same weekend as my retreat!? I broke all kinds of sound barriers and rules of polite behaviour last year trying to get home in time for her Sunday afternoon performance. This year I'm the car pool, and it just doesn't seem possible or appropriate to ask 6 women to cut 5 hours off their weekend for her play.) so I'm going to try to talk my way into the final dress rehearsal tonight. Which means I have less time to do my other getting ready stuff, but I feel like I've made enough progress thus far to chance it. Besides, it means a lot to my baby girl, even if she's too much of a teenager to actually show it.

Politics and a little self-examination

Okay, so Obama's ahead, but not by as much as he'd hoped. What I'm hearing is that Hillary still has a chance. But NPR says that a Democratic contender needs 2025 votes to clinch the nomination, there are a total of 4048, and right now he has 1477 while she has 1391. (Edwards has 26, and 60 are undecided.) It sounds like this might go right down to Oregon on May 20th.

So do we think Hillary could still pull it out? Theoretically, I'm okay with Obama (although I heard him speak in Hartford last year and I'm just not bowled over by the famous charisma. Maybe because it was not a stump speach, just a meet & greet in a religious setting?) For that matter, if it weren't for certain "bright line" issues, I don't hate the Republican option. It's very surreal for me, having multiple presidential choices that for once don't make me break out in hives. But when it was starting to look like Hillary was going to be pushed out, I found myself dissapointed.

Dad is big into Obama. So is Tasha, and my brother Dan - - and according to last night's radio, so are Ben & Jerry the ice cream guys. (I agree with Ben & Jerry on a lot of things. Phish Food, for one.) But in a way I can't properly explain, I'd really prefer Hillary to be our next president. I hate this "wait and see" part.

To Do List

• A "Tribble" from 1870 Perl's pattern to go in the red hat gift basket (http://1870pearl.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/rubadubdub.html) by Friday morning.
• A soap sack for the red hat gift basket. (My own pattern, for once. Didn't I ever share it with you? I'll have to see where I have it typed out, and then post it. They were VERY popular at the soap lady's booth at last summer's farmer's market!)
• Educate Luc on the concept that "cleaning the car" also includes the paper and pens and miscellaneous debris under the seats - and does NOT include removing the atlas, window scraper or owner's manual. (By Wednesday night, when I'm trading my car for Tammy's 7 passenger van for the weekend.)
• Hand-sew the interior lining into the "Attitude" bag for the auction (by Friday morning).
• Pack - which would involve planning what I'm taking, and then washing it. (The pinch-hitting dryer is now in place, and the guys left muddy footprints on the tile & living room carpet to prove it.)

I suppose the list doesn't seem that bad. Each of the knitted things will take me less than an hour, and like any chore I just need to grit my teeth and get going on the sewing thing. And I still have tonight and Thursday night after work to get most of this done, even if Wednesday will be tied up with Weight Watchers, choir practice, lenten services and simple meal. For that matter I can knit in Weight Watchers, and Rev. Bill doesn't mind when I knit in church - it's just that they keep the lights pretty dim during lenten services. I'll have to make sure I sit by one of the pillar candles and wear my reading glasses . . . .