Wherin I admit defeat...

Ok, been saying that I would get the blogs for fair, and faire up. If I wait until I get those finished, it will be NEXT year's fair. And faire... So, I will just move on, get the others done when I feel like it, and write some other stuff.

So, first off, I have been knitting. I made this pair of Harry Potter Gryffindor socks for a friend. She doesn't read my blog, so I am safe for showing them off, right now. Sort of a thank you/Christmas present. I am also knitting socks for my Mom, who isn't reading the blog right now, (do you see hope springing eternal? She wants to buy a computer and try getting on line. Whoa!) So, my goal is to knit, or finish knitting up, 4 pairs of socks, and present them as the seasons, by color. I have fall (yellow/red/orange socks), and winter (white) almost finished, will work on summer next (blue water color), and trying to figure out spring. I think new leaves would symbolize that well enough, don't you think?

I have been working on the writing things that I had mentioned in this blog, http://egginmypocket.blogspot.com/2008/08/write-something-p.html , and so I have a notebook with MY notes, and I have taken a class (with a nice big note folder) at the local sheriff's office, (sort of a 101 class) where I have learned:

1. It's an office, not a department. They are elected, and not a part of another agency.
2. CSI: whatever, has NOTHING on these guys. You've heard truth is stranger than fiction? So true. AND, it is more interesting, if sad. You know in the back of your head that the CSI: 'dead guys' can get up and go have a beer when the scene is over. Not so the crime photos I got to see. And these were the 'censored' photos. And they don't have some of the same whizz bang junk on TV, but they do have ways of solving crimes from high tech to 'go ask someone who knows'...
3. Deputies are really, really, nice about answering questions. Even if the person asking isn't sure how to phrase it, or goes on a half hour with fluff. ( I was the first, another guy in class was the second.)
4. I had no clue how many different parts make up the sheriff's office, from the jail, traffic, water/boating/dive people, livestock people, search and rescue, emergency management, community relations, the dog people (drug and enforcement type dogs), schools, computers, narcotics, and that doesn't even cover everyone I met!
5. Range 3000, also known as Shoot/Don't shoot is a HECK of a lot of fun, but gave me the shakes by the time I got finished... Even though you are just going against 'video' people and deciding what to do, it's extremely intense!
6. Real range day, where you shoot a pistol, was also fun, even if I did amuse the deputies by jumping when everyone fired. (I still say I was not used to it, when I used to do shooting, I shoot, husband shoots. Bang, bang. It's just a TINY bit different when a dozen or so people shoot simultaneously!)
7. Everyone in the group likes snacks. Even the deputies...

Took a related class about Domestic Violence, some of it was helpful for my writing, some wasn't. But I figure, learning for its own sake can be important, too.

I have been spinning, and did a demonstration at the local mall. I am an odd duck, most spinners are near terrified of letting kids near their wheel. I let 'em try spinning, if they want. Occasionally, I even have kids who have spun before, and have even spun as well or better than I do. I enjoy it, so I figure, why block the kids? Eh.

I am trying to get a program called Airmail up and running for my Amateur Radio 'stuff'. I am, as you well know, dear readers, a computer dork. So, getting a program I am not familiar with up and running is a challenge in and of itself. I am getting help from a kind gent that is faire folk, as well as running the 911 system for a county nearby. 4 hours by car, to be exact. Lots of emailing, and screen shots. (I am so impressed with myself that I even knew what "screen shots" meant!)

I will be taking a class for CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). I hope to get some idea how to help when and if we need to organize in my local area with our local Neighborhood Watch. And I will probably use it in my book, too. (At this rate my book is going to be War and Peace in its length...)

Am enjoying my few hours a week of TV with no political ads. Now wondering if I will soon be sick of Christmas ads...

Getting a big ol' blast of spam again... I really wish I could figure out how to tell the firewalls that I have, one from my Internet provider, one on my computer, that Woman's Day ISN'T spam, but beach condos in Mexico, Male enhancement, Nigerian scams, and some computer software to make money ARE!!! Let's just say, I do a lot of typing in the 'black list' column of my firewall, since I can't get it to figure these differences out.

*sigh*

I also found the Writer's Digest website, where they have writing prompts. I picked out one or two that I might write on, just for myself, for practice, fun, and to get in the habit of writing dialogue and story again! I might or might not even put them on my blog, if I like them well enough.

Prepare for anything, basically...

Ooops, just heard the dryer. Reality beckons...