weekend round up

First, I thought in honor of the beginning of the year that will see the end of the Bush presidency, I would include here one of my favorite Bush quotes ever. And, as you probably know, that's saying a lot:

"I understand not everybody agrees with the decisions I've made, but that's not unique to Central or South America. Truth of the matter is, there's people who disagree with the decisions I've made all over the world. But that's what happens when you make decisions."
(2005 interview)

Which brings me, in its convoluted, twisted way, to my second point. I finally got around to watching Obama's Iowa victory speech last night, at Andrew's insistence, and it's hard not to feel that this really is a momentous occasion in American history. Especially compared to Huckabee's speech. It's been awhile since anything political gave me goosebumps, at least in a good way instead of a cringe-inducing way. Take a look.

Third, I was whining and moaning to Erik the other day, dear Erik who's been patiently putting up with my moaning and whining since we were, oh, fourteen years old, and he sent me this link. I think it's pretty self-explanatory.

Also, I'm up to my eyeballs in yarn these days, with not one but two Knitty City gift certificates, the first from my dear mama and the second from bookstore Patti, burning a hole in my pocket. This after spending way too much money at Ana-Cross Stitch's post-Christmas store-wide sale last week. Thank you, Mumsie & Patti! You know this girl too well. I'm hoping that Knitty City is carrying yarn from Wool Peddler. I saw some of their stuff in Anacortes and was completely intrigued, both with the fiber itself and the vibrant, saturated colours, but already had a basket overflowing and managed to demonstrate a trace amount of self restraint. I'm just constantly amazed at the possibilities for fibers these days. Banana leaves. Soybean protein (this Rowan stuff, 70% wool, 30% soy, is lovely to work with). Possum (I have a pair of wool/possum socks, very warm and soft, but have yet to work with possum yarn). Chitin (yes, Paul, there is yarn made partly of shrimp & crab shells!). Bamboo. Pets (okay, that's a little bit disturbing even for me). Tencel (gorgeous stuff, haven't worked with it yet). But enough yarn.

Lastly, I ordered for myself three CDs recently. They arrived yesterday and I am ever so pleased. As some might recall, it was a certain former boyfriend who somehow bought the vast majority of our music over the years. And I realized, while I was home visiting Mom over Christmas, that I haven't bought a single CD for myself since well before Chris left, which is just about a year ago now. So, Brandi Carlile's The Story, Springsteen's Magic, and the Shins' Wincing the Night Away are now in heavy rotation in this apartment. This is actually the second time I've purchased Wincing the Night Away, believe it or not. The first was for Chris for Valentine's Day last year, ordered before we broke up. And he took it with him when he came back to pick up some stuff at the end of January! I figured it's about time I got to hear it myself. It's not so great, at least compared to their earlier stuff. But even as I type this, Bruce is crooning sexily away about a long walk home. I know I'm biased, but he's still got it.