Major Knitter

Happy 237th Birthday Marines!

Today marks the 237th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.  It's a very special day for Marines everywhere.  Around the globe, Marines past and present are commemorating this day and wishing each other a Happy Birthday.  No other service celebrates their birthday in quite the same manner.  It's a time of reflection.  It's a time of celebration.  It's a time to reconnect.

Here's a picture at the very beginning.  Here I am in 1990 with my roommates at The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia - a young Second Lieutenant.

And here I am 22 years later at my retirement ceremony at 6th Communications Battalion, Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York this August.  My retirement t-shirt says it all "Not as lean, not as mean, but still a Marine!"

 

Finally, here's the official 2012 Birthday Message from the Commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Geneneral James F. Amos and Sergeant Major Micheal P. Barrett, present the 2012 Marine Corps Birthday Message. Footage includes historical b-roll and images from Guadalcanal as well as interviews with WWII veterans, subject matter experts, active duty Marines and Marine spouses. 

To all my Marine Corps buddies around the world - Semper Fidelis and Happy Birthday!

Wise Old Owls

OK - maybe not so old, but definitely wise!  You know I've been on an owl tear.  My friend Donna asked me for an owl hat, so of course, I came up with one.  

It's really quite simple.  I just cast on 72 sts with a US size 8 needle and knit a band for 2 inches, then switched to stockinette in the round until the hat measured nearly 8 inches from the cast on edge.  Then I grafted the ends shut using the kitchener stitch.  I added the tassels and cut them short on each corner for ear tufts.  Finally, I followed Knit-a-Zoo's Cordell the Owl (Ravelry link) instructions for the eyes and the beak - but using Lamb's Pride Bulky and US Size 8 needles.  Very, very simple.

Donna was thrilled with her new hat!

The owl hat was cute and so fun to knit, so I did what I do best... I immediately knit two more hats.

Michelle and I modeled the newest owl hats this week.  What a hoot!

First Sandy, Now Athena!

Seriously, this is getting just a bit old.  First Sandy came through, then Athena  - the first named winter storm - came at us with an unexpected vengeance dumping more snow than rain.  It's ironic and oddly amusing.  It's like someone's playing a big joke on us.

Oddly enough, I think the snow versus rain saved us from having many more trees down.  In Connecticut when it rains and then gets windy - - like it was supposed to last night - - it usually creates the perfect recipe for disaster.  The 70-foot trees only have 3 foot root balls and they literally topply over like dominoes.  I think that having snow instead of rain changed the recipe for us and spared us any additional unecessary damage.  And, there was a two-hour school delay because of the snow.  Not bad!

In knitting news, during all this bad weather, I knit a lot of hats.  My friend donated some yarn for a charity but the need sort of dried up.  I thought I should put that yarn to a good charitable cause and started picking out the soft DK weight yarn to make some baby hats for charity.

There.  That is definitely something more positive and cheery to think about than the crazy weather we've been having.  Don't you agree?

If you're in the northeast - stay safe!  Drive carefully.  And I honestly hope you have power back by now.  

Feeling Very Lucky

Hurricane Sandy has come and gone and I must say we're feeling very, very lucky.  We lost power for five days.  We had a tree down on the wires, branches down everywhere, part of our fence down, and no school for the entire week (which some might see as a good thing) - but other than that, we did just fine.  So many others were not nearly as lucky.  

Thank you all for your notes of concern and well wishes.  Now that we've survived Hurrican Sandy, we're hunkering down once again for a nor'easter.  Unfortunately, this one is tauted to come with lots of rain.  In Connecticut, lots of rain, coupled with high winds is never a good combination for the trees.  Our soil is very rocky and the tall 70 foot trees have root balls that are usually less than three feet deep.  They literally topple over like dominoes in these conditions.  Fortunately, we removed all the trees that could possibly hit the house so I feel safe and sound.  Of course, I have my mad camping skills and an endless supply of personal Marine Corps and Scouting equipment that I feel very prepared.

My heart goes out to them and to all those who are still without power... or who just got it back... and are now likely to lose it once again.