Nothing Cohesive About This Post

So you are fairly warned.

The visit went so very well, and I miss our guests already. Particularly my husband's grandmother, if for no other reason than the very real possibility that this was a last chance to visit with her. I didn't think about it at the time (Thank goodness! What a morbid caste that would lend to a weekend). However, as she is in her early nineties and is somewhat frail, we were lucky to get this visit at all. We didn't run around or show off the sights ... hopefully we made her comfortable and acquainted her with two of her great-grandchildren. I could go on and on about her finer qualities, but it might not make an exciting read for those who don't know her, and I do want to be wary of her privacy. Suffice it to say that I am so happy life brought her my way and that I have had the privilege of knowing her for even this short while. It also helps that we have very similar tastes in books. (Go and find yourself some Eva Ibbotson. I'll wait.)

I've also been trying to come up with a suitable post about the Democratic Primary, but I can't. Mostly I don't have time, and then I also have a hard time finding the right words for my impressions and emotions, which change daily. Less flexible are my allegiances, which have reluctantly and out of necessity, swung from Hillary Clinton to Barak Obama. Sen. Obama seems to be a fine man, an excellent candidate, in possession of a brilliant mind, and all of the raw materials to make an outstanding next President. Truth-be-told, though, he has not moved me. Well, the speech on race in America did, but you'd have to be a stone to not be moved by that. There are so many things I have admired about Hillary, and I still do, but I cannot follow her where she is going now. Not for appealing to rural, white & working class voters. That I can understand. Not for "splitting the party", which I think was already split but can come together for a successful bid for the White House. What I can't stomach is being disingenuous about the racial component alone of her current bid and campaign strategy. There is an undercurrent of ugliness there that I think discredits rural voters, their values and Hillary's strongest points. But I can't put a finger on it exactly, and some of the misunderstanding being slung by pundits in both camps about rural America make me very, very sad. And yes, the whole "bitter" thing plays into this, but I don't think poorly of Senator Obama. It's so many of the supporters and analysts I can't stand. The smugness just makes me froth at the mouth. But I won't hold it against him, and I can't let my dislike of some Obama supporters blind me to the current faults in Hillary's campaign. So there you go ... not lucid ... not cogent, but evolving.

On a lighter note. I am in love with Ravelry. The functionality is very intuitive, and I love browsing patterns and yarns. As if I needed any more encouragement for my addiction to fiber! Is it wrong to plan out new projects by how you can share them on Ravelry? I sincerely hope not.

On a related "cataloging and keeping up" note, I am also very impressed with LibraryThing. What a neat idea! I will be using it for the 1% Well-Read Challenge (up to 86 now), and to share some of my favorite authors. Any new parents out there? Get thee a copy of Alethea Solter's "Tears and Tantrums"!

A final note: my "new to me" iPod is so wonderful for podcasts. My new favorite: Geek.Farm.Life. And there's a new podcast! Sweet.