Zonked

Tuesday. Eleventh grade English, eighth period. 

(I was kind of loath to reuse this title. But when I went looking for the last time I used it, I found that I had used "Zilch" twice and "Zizi Rho Designs" three times. And Z. So, I'm going to go with it.) 

We got back from spring break on Monday. Tuesday we started state testing. While most of the high school doesn't have to participate, the eleventh graders do. 

They set up a special schedule for testing. Testing started at the usual start of the school day. Those not testing (the ninth, tenth, and twelfth graders) didn't have to even come to school until after the testing block. The testing block was two hours. 

The lesson plan for the day? We finally got to start reading The Great Gatsby. (For the two weeks before spring break we did lots of anticipatory activities.)

Have you ever read The Great Gatsby? Do me a favor and read the first page. Real quick. I'll wait...

Um, yeah. It's a little dense, especially for eleventh graders. 

So, I took my time, stopping a lot and explaining what was going on. (We would have easily finished chapter one if I didn't stop as much as I did.) 

And the class? Eighth period? Yeah, they were zonked. 

I saw heads on desks. I wasn't getting much in the way of feedback when I invited comments. 

Not shocked. And okay with it, really. Considering everything. The book takes a couple chapters to really get going, and they'll be more into it then. 

I hope. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter 

Yelling into the Void

With the way I write and schedule my blog posts for the week, lately Tuesdays have been the last post I write. So, this is actually my last blog post for the A to Z Challenge. (I wrote tomorrow's Z post last Tuesday.) 

And... I've got nothing, really. 

I have found that one thing I like doing now is to flip off reminders of this authoritarian regime. Bumper stickers. Flags on houses. When they appear on TV. It's calming, somehow. It does nothing, but it kind of makes me feel better. 

A few articles I ran across that you might find interesting: 

• Anarchist Compass: 29 Ways of Navigating Christofascism 
• Taxpayers will pay at least $475 billion so Elon Musk can have fun giving babies HIV
• Trump signs order targeting Democrats’ fundraising platform, sparking authoritarian fears
• American Panopticon: The Trump administration is pooling data on Americans. Experts fear what comes next.
• They Caught the Flu, and Never Came Home

I just wish people in power would do something to get this idiot out of office. He's done enough that in any rational time, he would have been gone already (or he wouldn't have even gotten this far). But no. 

It's like we've been conditioned to believe "that can't possibly happen here", so even though it has happened, we can't see it. We won't believe that what's happening could possibly happen. 

So, the people in power continue to behave as if we're living in normal times. And when they're confronted with their angry constituents in their town halls, they choose to believe that these are paid actors, or something. 

I guess we just have to keep pushing until they finally get it. Or until we have empty shelves from the tariffs, and then things will go badly in ways they don't expect. 

Sigh. I don't want to live through this. I want to be on the other side, smug in the knowledge that we overcame it. Don't make me live through the hard part. I don't wanna. 

And for one last time, today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter 

Xing Error

Welcome to X day on the A to Z where we all cheat. Somewhat. (Although, I don't always cheat: "X Marks the Scarf" and "Ximena's Help".) 

Today's post title is "Crossing Error". See, if you mail something (through the USPS), the standard abbreviation for crossing is xing. (I can prove it. This is their webpage with all the standard abbreviations.) So, it's a cheat, but it's a mild one. 

I did manage to spend a little more time on the dragon swatch. 

The blue is the one I did a couple years ago. the neon yellow is my work in progress. 

The dragon is made via cabling. Each row is different, and I have to be very careful reading the pattern. It's not like the usual cable patterns where you can kind of read where things are and know if you're making a mistake. I didn't catch my mistakes (the last time, before I ripped this whole thing out) until I sat back and really looked at what I had done. 

Last week, while knitting along, I thought, "Wait." I couldn't remember if I had done the cable crossing correctly. But, with the way the thing is knit, going back at that point was going to be more trouble than it was worth, so I finished off the row. Then I looked...

Enlarge the image to see in the circles. The bottom circle has the cable crossing over the vertical line. The top circle (the correct one) has the cable going under. Oops. 

But, luckily, I was looking at this at the row after I did it. So, once I knit back, it was just a matter of recrossing the cable before knitting the next row on top of it. 

The cables in both circles are now the same. 

It was a good thing I had a funny feeling after I knit past this. I might not have stopped to look after that row if not. 

Of course, at this point I knew it was time to stop knitting for the night. When I make errors like that, it's best if I rest and come back to the knitting when I'm fresh. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter 

Wind Chime

I was out walking Buttercup the other day, as I do, and pondering blog posts. It was time to contemplate W and what I'd post for today. 

This is Buttercup

Buttercup and I have a little disagreement. I believe we should make a full circuit of the path. Buttercup looks for a shortcut. 

I had not let Buttercup take her usual shortcut. She wasn't pleased. So, she went in search of another shortcut. Only, it wasn't a shortcut unless I let her turn back the way we came. So, she's only making her walk longer. 

Anyway, while on our little Buttercup detour, I spied a wind chime someone had hung under the staircase. 

And that's good enough for today. 

I'm so glad the neighbors are decorating enough to fill my Saturday A to Z posts. They've been very helpful. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter 

Simple Sabotage Field Manual

I can't keep up. 

I write my blog posts ahead of time. I am writing this on Thursday the 17th. And what I'm mad about right now (the human trafficking to an El Salvador prison) probably won't be what I'm mad about when this post goes live. 

So, in the spirit of "what to do", I'm finally going to share some things I found that I kept meaning to share, but before I did I got distracted by the outrage of the day. 

First is the Simple Sabotage Field Manual. It's on Project Gutenberg, which is a website of ebooks that are all in the public domain. (Do a little look-see around there if you're looking for a classic book and you have an ereader.) A description of the book: 

Office of Strategic Services is a historical publication written during the early 1940s, amid World War II. This manual acts as a guide for ordinary civilians to conduct simple acts of sabotage against enemy operations without the need for specialized training or equipment. Its main topic revolves around promoting small, accessible forms of resistance that could collectively disrupt the enemy's war effort.

 You know, in case you might have use for information like this. 

The other thing I wanted to share was stickers. (I almost titled the post "Stickers" today.) It's a small way to protest things, especially if you have a printer. You can print various messages on stickers or flyers or post-it notes and leave them around town for others to see. If you wanted to do that sort of thing.

I found this idea on BlueSky, and I searched for a good summary of it. But alas, the person who was talking about it started a thread of various stickers that one could use, but it's not in any organized format. Let me know if you are unable to see the thread. (I might figure out a way to list some of these at some point, but it won't be today.) 

I found a couple articles that I think I've already linked to previously (as they are from February), but just in case I haven't: 

• Thirty lonely but beautiful actions you can take right now which probably won't magically catalyze a mass movement against Trump but that are still wildly important
• Soon, there will be a spark

And finally, I'm hearing rumblings of another national day of protest on May 1st. May Day. If you're a protesting kind of person. 

Stay safe. And remember we're all in this together. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter 

Rawr: Or Redoing the Dragon

Okay, so I was going through my old posts to give the review of this particular project when I stumbled across a previous title. Rawr. And I just couldn't not. It's R day, after all. (I mean, "Redoing the Dragon" is not a bad title, but Rawr? Come on!)

Right, so this is a project that I've been working on for a couple years now. And all it is is a swatch. 

Originally, I had bought the pattern (because how could I not?) and tried it out. So, since then I've had this knitted piece just sitting around with no thing to be. I decided to make another, and then I'll put the two pieces together. Only, the third try hasn't gone as smoothly as the first two. 

Last week I finally pulled it out again. And I made some progress: 

The last time I worked on this, I got to here: 

Progress. 

We'll see if I get any further this week. It could happen. (But I'm back at work this week, so less time.) 

In review, I pulled this out a while ago, got it almost completed, and then I had to rip it almost all the way out and start over. There were some glaring errors that I could not fix any other way. (I tried, but I made more of a mess.) But before I could really get to it, I got distracted by other projects. 

It's been sitting around, just waiting for me to give it some attention again. Fingers crossed. Maybe I'll get it done this time. Maybe. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Quotes from '80s Movies Quiz

Normally during A to Z on Saturdays I'll post a random picture. But Q. 

While working on yesterday's post, I found a website called Quizly, and then it just seemed obvious. Not a Friday, but why not another random quiz? Very Q. 

So, I searched a bit and found:

Popular '80s Movie Quotes

Because of course I did. 

As with yesterday's, just skip the sign up and click on "take me to my results" under the other boxes. This one does require some knowledge, but if you're of an age where you went to the movies in the 1980s, then you've got this one. 

I managed 23 out of 24 questions, a 95%. 

The one I missed? Yeah, I never saw that movie. But most of the others were pretty obvious. Good luck. And let me know how you did in the comments. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Planet Personality Quiz

It's Friday of spring break week, so that means it's random quiz day. (My subbing stories will return next week.) I went on an internet search, and I found...

What Planet Am I?

There are a bunch of questions, but they're choose what you prefer questions, so not hard. And then I got: 

Mercury

You have a lot to say, so friends think of you as a chatty, but a wise friend. Your ability to carry conversations make you a great person to make a connection with. Your curiosity may be annoying to some but you enjoy asking questions, so you don't care what people think.

Yup, not me at all. Completely off. No one who knows me would call me "chatty". The opposite of that, actually. 

Ah well. 

So, try it out and let me know what planet you got in the comments. (You don't have to sign up for the site. Just skip to your results.) And let me know if they pegged you correctly or they were as off as they were with me. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Old O Posts

It is spring break. And as per my usual "rules", I'm saving my subbing stories from last week for next week (when I'm back to work), and today I'm on my "summer schedule". Which means Thursday 13. 

Plus, it's April. And the A to Z Challenge. So, what to post that incorporates today's letter, O? Last year I had the genius idea of finding some old D posts (spring break Thursday fell on D day last year), so why not? 

As I found out last year, it won't take me all that long to find enough posts. So, where to start looking? I went to a random number generator, put in the years possible for my blog (2007-2024) and got back 2014. Okay, then. Let's see what I can find...

1. Only One, April 17, 2014

Ah, a prior A to Z post, back when I did my "what if?" day on Thursday. Back when I was doing "what if?" posts. This doesn't bode well that I didn't get an O post until A to Z. This may take more years than I thought. 

2. Old School Horror, May 13, 2014

Spoiler: the horror is the teacher had a chalkboard. Mr. T is still teaching in that same classroom with that same chalkboard. (His room is a time capsule of '80s artefacts. It feels so weird typing that as many of the things in his classroom are things I remember using in the '80s.) Although, I heard through the grapevine that he might be retiring the end of this year. 

3. Out of Focus?, June 3, 2014

A technical difficulties post. Where I attempted to project something to the kiddos and couldn't get it in focus. As I write this post, the co-teacher is using a document camera (like in this old post) to go over notes with the kiddos. Although, using the document camera is falling out of favor because one can do a digital whiteboard that gets projected to the in class big screen TV. Things change, but slowly. 

4. Ongoing, July 7, 2014

A roundup post of some crocheted (and one knitted) projects. I reference my niece's 13th birthday party. She's now 23. Wow, how time flies.

5. Outburst, July 8, 2014

Two O posts in a row! And I was worried about getting enough O posts for my list. This was a repost from March 3, 2008, back when I did reposts on Tuesdays. Some kiddos decided to test me and got a referral. Because 8th graders never change. 

6. Occupational Hazard, September 4, 2014

Oh, I'm so glad this one popped up. It's one of my favorites. It's a repost from May 29, 2009, where I whine about having to watch the first 50 minutes of The Outsiders five times. Because sub. And teachers (used to) always leave videos for the sub. 

7. Oblivious, December 26, 2014

Where I sent a student out of class for blatantly being on his phone in class. Cell phone use has only gotten worse since this.

8. Out of the Box, February 10, 2015

Well, I couldn't get all the O posts out of one year, so I'll keep going from here. This is a "what if?" post. 

9. Optical Illusions, April 17, 2015

Another A to Z post (does O day always fall on April 17th?), this one a Friday. The quiz (it was a Friday, so I posted a random online quiz) is now gone.😞

10. Oblivious, August 26, 2015

This is a different post than #7, but "oblivious" is such a great word to describe the students at the continuation high school sometimes. This oblivious student was playing a game rather than doing his math, and he did not notice me when I approached. 

11. One Song, September 22, 2015

Another "what if?". 

12. One World, October 13, 2015

And another "what if?". 

13. Other Uses, November 30, 2015

And I end this list with a knitting post. The knitted letters that I've been ending my A to Z posts with were made as gift card holders, and this post talks about the time a customer at the farmer's market I used to do asked for me to make one as a car fob holder. 

Wow, this has been an interesting trip down memory lane via the blog. How things have changed (and not changed). 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Nerd Librarian

It's spring break, so I am holding my subbing posts for the week I return to school. That means today is video day (by my self-imposed schedule), or rather What to Watch Wednesday.  

I was at a loss as to what to post about today until I saw an email from one of the librarians in the school district. He has a little YouTube channel. When I noticed that his channel is called "The Nerd Librarian", I realized I had my N. His latest episode is "The AI Episode". 

Yes, that is the librarian at one of the schools I sub at. He's even made the blog before. The English/journalism teacher appearing with him I have yet to sub for, although I have subbed in his classroom (for the teacher that had the room prior to him) and I have subbed for his neighbors. It's just a matter of time. 

The video is about twenty minutes long. I hope you enjoy it. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Malicious and Stupid

I should probably stop writing these. The authoritarian regime is disappearing people. They're kidnapping legal residents (after revoking their legal status) and trafficking them to notorious prisons out of the country. Sure, they haven't come after citizens. Yet. It's just a matter of time. 

Here's Trump saying to Bukele that "homegrown criminals are next" and talking about how El Salvador will need to build "about five more places."

[image or embed]

— Philip Bump (@pbump.com) April 14, 2025 at 9:31 AM

They're taking away legally acquired social security numbers, stating the immigrants are "deceased" and taking away their access to their money. They're telling immigrants to register with the government. They're working on a bill to require people to prove their citizenship to vote, only there is no way for a married woman to prove her name change (marriage certificates are not allowed documents for proof). 

We have a measles outbreak that the regime is downplaying. 

And, of course, the tariffs. That are tanking the stock market. 

It just keeps coming. Fast. And everywhere. 

There is no sense to this. Well, there is. The regime is lashing out because they're malicious. They're doing it all very badly because they are stupid. 

And the press is complicit. Did you hear about all the protests last weekend (April 5th)? No? Yeah, because the mainstream press barely mentioned it. They're not doing their duty. 

Also, Congress. Senator Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours on the Senate floor. And then they all voted for the regime's newest cabinet member. Sigh. 

The federal government is lost. We are in an authoritarian state. 

So, what do we do? I haven't a clue. I found some online articles that I wanted to link to (more for me, really, but you might find them useful).  

• A Threat Model for Opposing Authoritarianism
• All of US: A Directory To Connect, Care, & Build
• Some Actions That Are Not Protesting or Voting

And I will resist as I can where I can. Although, I'm not brave, so if the fascists challenge me, I'm not terribly convinced that I'll stand up to them. We can hope. 

Stay safe. Help others where you can. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Kitty Cat Complete

I normally would post my yarn-y post on Monday, but this worked too well for the letter of the day today, so...

If you were here Monday, you saw my fail. The hole for the tail for the crocheted cat pillow was in the entirely wrong place. It took me a surprisingly short amount of time to fix that (as in, one afternoon). I ripped it all out to the tail hole and then restitched everything. 

The tail is now placed correctly. And I rather like how it turned out.

Hopefully it now looks like a cat.

I'm debating embroidering on a face. I'm terrible at embroidery, and I'm not even sure where to start. (The pattern doesn't offer embroidery ideas, only the concept that a face could be added if desired.) But I rather like it like this. 

Even the change in yarn at the rear looks okay. At least, I think so.

Now, what to do with the thing? I have no use for it. Any ideas? 

Kitty Cat previous posts: 

• Yarn Under my Fingers
• Not Quite a Cat
• Leaving the Mistakes
• Feline Fail

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Gullible

Last week, while trying to come up with some things we can do in the face of our current fascist regime, I advocated talking to people with opposing viewpoints as a way to maybe change some minds. Since writing that post, I have changed my mind. I don't believe that will help. 

Those who are in the cult won't have their minds changed by us. I don't think they will ever realize how skewed their views are. 

After I wrote last week's post, I got into a conversation with a MAGAt. I was lamenting the kidnapping of legal residents for having dissenting viewpoints. The response? How dare they speak out against the country. They are guests here, and they have no right. Would someone go to China and speak out about that regime? 

I rather thought that last argument made my point, but nope. And my argument that they were sending innocent people to concentration camps was met with, "they must deserve it". 

The whole conversation began with a news report about the Signal messaging thing. The comment? This couldn't possibly be true. It had to be fake news. Why? Because messaging war plans is illegal. They're only supposed to discuss these things in a secure setting. They're not even allowed to take their phones into secure locations. 

So, therefore, the reports were false. Instead of realizing how incompetent these people are. 

My argument about the people in charge being incompetent was met with the response that I only watched the fake news. Therefore I was getting it all wrong. 

I give up. 

Maybe if there's someone you can reach, great. But life is too short for me to try to convince the gullible.

Then, while I was mulling this over on my own, I ran across this comic called "Believe". It's about why people continue to believe things that are not true. It's something that I'll need to sit with as well. It has a good lesson for all of us. 

So, in my Tuesday scream into the void, I again don't have much we can actually do right now. I mean, continue to throw sand into the fascist gears whenever possible. And continue to call your reps for either praise or complaint. And stay safe. They're coming for us.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Feline Fail

Last week... Ah, last week. I had such plans... 

I was sure I was just about done with the cat. I was even willing to overlook a mistake that I caught. I even said, "I can't see the difference, so I'm not going to worry about it." 

Very, very stupid. 

You see, what I had done was to join the rounds wrong. Now, in knitting this isn't a problem. But in crochet, beginnings of rounds drift. The way the pattern said to join the rounds compensated for that drift. But, alas, this was in the notes of the pattern, not in the round by round instructions. 

I started this in October. I worked on it one day. Then I set it down again until March. 

When I picked it up again, I continued where I left off in the round by round instructions. I had forgotten the note in the beginning about how the rounds were supposed to be joined. And I didn't bother to look. 

I didn't see the mistake last week. However, once I attached the tail...

The tail is right of center in the above image. It just looks wrong. (It also has too much stuffing in it, but that's an easy fix.) Here's the back view...

The tail is wrong. Very wrong.

So, I've got to rip it out and fix it. Deep sigh.

Hopefully I'll get to that this week. Now, to figure out how to make that post fit L-day... 

The cat posts so far: 

• Yarn Under my Fingers
• Not Quite a Cat
• Leaving the Mistakes

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Easter Eggs

Well, not real ones...

A neighbor has her Easter decor up. She decorates for every holiday. I thought it was cute (and I needed something for E). 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Bigger

Wednesday. Second period sophomore math (again). 

Why is it always second period? Anyway...

Mr. Y had an IEP meeting, so it was just me and them. But no worries, as the topic was geometry, and I felt quite comfortable teaching it. 

Just after 9 AM, Alonzo left class. He had cleared it with me ahead of time as the band had a performance. I had seen the email, so I knew it was legit. But the boys were offended that he had gotten up and gone. (Before Alonzo left, he caught my eye and reminded me he was going. I nodded to indicate that was fine.) It was as if they were in charge, or something. 

I explained that Alonzo had left with permission, and it wasn't anything that the boys needed to be concerned with. Alonzo would be performing for the assembly for the sixth graders.

Sixth graders? 

Okay, so all the sixth graders from the local feeder elementary schools were going to be on campus for a kind of preview day. (The middle school is kind of attached to the high school. Long story.) They've only been doing this for a couple years, so it's a relatively new thing. Anyway, the high school band, color guard, cheerleaders, and choir were performing along with their middle school counterparts. 

The boys seemed to think that meant an assembly for the high schoolers. Yeah, no. Class was as normal for those not involved in specific activities. 

I continued on discussing how two adjacent angles could be added together. 

And then, the sixth graders appeared. 

This classroom is on the bottom floor of the STEAM building, and it has great big windows. 

We can see everyone who passes by. Mr. Y is fond of the view as he can see his students, especially those who arrive late. (I kind of feel like we're in a fishbowl, but I'm only there for a couple weeks.) 

So, of course we could also see the classes of sixth graders arriving and making their way through campus. 

I pointed this out to the class. They looked over. 

Some of the sixth graders waved. A few of the students waved back. 

(I had more time than material to cover, and I thought it was fun.) 

The students' main comment: "Why are they so small?"

Funnily enough, this is not the first time I've heard this comment. I assured the students that the sixth graders were normal sized for their age. They were just bigger now.

They weren't quite sure I was right. It just seems wrong to them, somehow. I'm not sure why. 

The sixth graders had passed us, so I went back to reminding them that all the angles in a triangle add up to 180°. 

And just like that, it's April. The only thing that changes around here is my titling. My personal game is to make my usual posts fit the letter of the day. Sometimes they just fall into place, like today. Other days I have to work a bit harder at it. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Angry

A long time ago, I was taught that there are really only two emotions: love and fear. All other emotions are built on the foundation of one or both of those. 

I don't know if that's completely true, but it is a useful construct. It sometimes helps me get to the root of what I'm feeling. 

I am angry. Very, very angry. But anger is just fear aimed outward. And I am very, very afraid. 

What has happened to us here in the U.S.? A lot of fear that hucksters looking to enrich themselves have fed upon. 

And too many people who have not realized the horrors we now live with. They are disappearing people. We have concentration camps. And the ghouls in charge are feeding off of the pain. 

I created the above banner so I'd have an image for my Tuesday posts, and the idea was to write about things that I could do, but I'm feeling rather hopeless at the moment. So, let me see if I can find some things to do that are proactive. 

If you are outside of the U.S., the one thing you can do is to not come here. For any reason. Perhaps losing tourist dollars might wake some people up. Besides, it's not actually safe. Many countries have issued travel warnings (for good reason), and innocent people have been detained for reasons that wouldn't have been a problem just a few short months ago. 

And boycotting U.S. made goods is already having an impact. 

There's a bunch of events planned for April 5th. (If you're over 60, check out this website.) I mentioned this last week. 

Calling your reps is still something I advocate. Especially if you have reps that support the regime. They're already avoiding doing town halls (because they're afraid of being yelled at). So much so that some Dem reps are going to neighboring districts to hear those concerns. (My rep has been doing this.) The more of their constituents register complaints, the more they may fear their jobs are in jeopardy. Perhaps they might be influenced to vote for not terrible things. Maybe. 

I found a couple interesting articles that some might find useful. The first one is ten things you can do to resist neofascism. The other is 198 methods of non-violent action. Check them out. Perhaps they might give you some ideas. 

Finally, are you talking to your friends and neighbors? Some have gone full cult, and are unreachable, but some might be woken if enough of their circle keep after them. We need to change minds. If enough of us resist, it makes it harder for the regime to destroy us. 

Today is April 1st, and yes, I am doing the A to Z Challenge. Don't worry, my theme isn't political. Only my Tuesday posts are political. 

I don't have a theme. I play a game. I post as normal. My challenge is to make what I'd normally post fit the letter of the day. And Tuesday is my "do something" day. (At least it is now. I haven't been able to do my "what if?" posts since the election. They feel wrong, somehow.) 

Tomorrow I go back to the substitute teaching of it all. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Zealous Advocate

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

What if that person that your friend is so zealously defending is dangerous? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Yarn Bag

My condo complex has a laundry/mail room. In it, there's a table where people can leave things they wish to get rid of. I once left some candy that I did not like, and the person who came in right behind me took a look at it and took it with her. 

Last week I went to retrieve my mail when I saw this on the table:

Well, of course I poked around. Stuck in the various balls and skeins of yarn were knitting needles and crochet hooks. And there was more yarn crammed inside.

I resisted. 

I don't really need any more yarn. I still have skeins and balls that are sitting, waiting for me to get some idea of what to do with them. I still have a couple skeins of that blanket yarn...

I finally figured out what to do with my leftover blanket yarn. I spied some kiddos at school toting around big, squishy amigurumi critters. Made out of blanket yarn! My mind is whirling. 

Now it's just a matter of finding the right pattern/critter that will work with the colors I have. I am not going to go out and buy more blanket yarn. I do not need any more yarn!

I need projects. And since nothing is really calling to me, I can figure out projects based on the yarn I have on hand.

Like amigurumi critters. And Christmas string lights. (I made another one this week.) 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

X Marks the Side

In my continuing quest to have a Saturday with just an image, I present:

This is what I've been doing with the math classes. 

For the record, that X is the hypotenuse of this right triangle, and the trigonometric function needed to solve it is cosine. (I've been working these problems step-by-step with the kiddos. Some of them have been struggling with this, although that's to be expected as the concept is new to them.)

So: cos 43° = 36/x

Then: x = 36/cos 43°

This they can punch into their calculators to solve. (It's 49.2.)

Dangnabit! I didn't get away with no story for today, did I? Ah well...

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter