Stylin'

Well, I made it back from Cleveland in one piece and I finally got my pedicure, too. Woohoo!!

Even though I was in a nice, comfy hotel, I slept poorly Friday night. I was quite exhausted when I made it back home, but still had to keep some appointments and commitments. So, it was no surprise when I fell asleep in the chair during my pedicure. I roused briefly to give my approval of a polish color and again when the woman finished up and told me I'd need to give it about 10 more minutes to dry. No problem; I awoke about 15 minutes later and groggily put my socks and shoes on. The ladies at the spa could really tell I needed the rest, apparently.

I knitted on my Jaywalker sock last night for a little while. I haven't been getting a lot done on the sock this weekend, so I'm not posting any more "in progress" photos. More importantly, I've tried it on a few times and I think it will fit just fine this time. I'm nearly ready to work on the heel. I know this may sound a bit weird, but I think I'll run a life line through the stitches just before I start the heel. I plan on using some reinforcing yarn like I did on attempt #1, and I'm a bit concerned that may contribute to making the sock really tight. When I use reinforcing yarn it really makes for a sturdy heel, but some flexibility is sacrificed.

Today Jamie and I went to Loopy Yarns together. It was a fun outing that involved lots of yarn fondling and a stop at a coffee shop for some caffeine and a bit of knitting. While I did get the needles I needed at Loopy (ostensibly the reason for the excursion), I was also happy to pick up this new knitting bag.

Doesn't it look professional and stylish? After my second business trip in as many months and with a third coming up soon, I've realized I have to do something to make it easier to deal with the TSA regulations limiting a person to only two carry on bags, including a purse or briefcase. I usually tote my laptop around in a backpack when I'm traveling to and from the office. However, the backpack doesn't have much extra room, and I'm just not comfortable with carrying my cash, credit cards, and IDs on my back.

I've noticed that many of the women professionals are carrying totes similar to the one above as their purse/laptop bag. It will fit under the seat in front of you on the airplane, you can easily slip the laptop in and out of the bag at security check points, and you can fit your entire purse (if it's a small to medium sized one) or wallet in it, too. In my case, I can also slip in some travel knitting! When I'm not traveling for work, I can fill the entire bag with knitting projects. Yay!

Serious Stuff

Mark and I watched Vera Drake while I knit last night. It was a very powerful and well-acted movie set in 1950's England. Vera "helps girls" who find themselves "in trouble" (in other words: with an unwanted pregnancy.) Today as I sit here catching up on my blog-reading, I find out that it's Blog for Choice Day.

I'm pro-choice and quite disturbed by the slow and steady erosion of a woman's right to choose in so many states. The PBS program Frontline took an indepth, frightening look at the strategy of anti-choice rights groups in a recent documentary. Follow the link and view it online if you haven't seen it yet; it'll open your eyes to the amazing tactics by these groups.

When I was just out of high school, one of my friends had an abortion. She was 18 years old and while she was seriously dating a guy, she wasn't ready to have a child. After she had the abortion, she told me she could understand why some people are against it and that no woman should go through such an experience. I was shocked that this friend would suddenly become anti-choice.

It took some time and much questioning for it to become clear that she hadn't exactly changed her mind, but the experience had affected her so deeply that she came very close to doing so. Only a few months later she intentionally became pregnant. She and her guy married, had two children, and eventually divorced.

While I've never had to make this choice, I'm glad that I can. And I'm glad that other women in my state can, too. We should be able to make a choice about something that affects our bodies and our lives. Enough said.