Domestic Geek

The post election crap has filled up the Internets today and I'm greatly disturbed.

It illustrated one big thing that is wrong with America today and its people. Your patriotism, pride and hope shouldn't hinge on the ONE PERSON in the white house. The great thing about America was its people. The pride they had in themselves, in a job well done, in their resourcefulness and their independence. Personal responsibility is gone, everybody is looking to the government for what it will do FOR them. The person sitting in the White House actually has little to do with how the country is run, people. Now that Obama is President-elect, the world will not be sunshine and roses. I have a feeling some people are about to be sorely disappointed.

You know what will make things better? Get the government out of your lives as much as possible. Learn to be responsible for your own family. Participate in local things and build local communities. The founding fathers would be appalled at what we have allowed the government to get their hands into. Do you know we rebelled against England for less restrictions and intrusion that we have now? Wake up, people!

I'm grateful for one thing: the color barrier has finally been broken. Sure racism will still exist (and always will, I'm afraid, in one form or another), but this was a big step.

(Getting off soap box now - nobody will listen anyway.)

It's bad enough that all the Christmas stuff is in the stores already and my dumb ass neighbor put his decorations up before Halloween again this year, I just saw a freaking holiday commercial for Walmart. A shopping center today had their holiday decorations up and turned on, no less. I am so sick of the Christmas season lasting for two whole months. It takes away the magic and enjoyment of the season. It's just like the freaking election season. You almost don't care who wins just as long as it is over.

Speaking of the election, I wasn't going to vote this year. It wasn't until about 10am this morning that I decided I'd actually go. I haven't missed a presidential election since I've been old enough to vote and I knew I'd regret the decision if I didn't add my two cents.

I'm also not quite sure how I'm going to deal with Thanksgiving this year, either. I'm scheduled to work my full 13 hour shift and so far we've had no word about closing. There is no way I can prepare a full meal after working all day, even if I had Marcus do the turkey like last year. This so sucks. I think we should just close and let us all make up the hours the following Sunday. Somehow, I don't think my management will go for it. I'm definitely putting it in the suggestion box, though. I suppose we had have a late dinner on Wednesday after Marcus gets off work. We'll see.

I'm watching the Bonnie Hunt show right now and her musical guest today is Labelle. Man, those women still have pipes! I can't believe that Patti Labelle is 64 years old. All three of those women look amazing and it's inspirational that they're still doing what they love. Patti sang the National Anthem at one of the World Series games this year. I bet that was cool.

While surfing around, I came across the web site of a store in St. Charles, IL called My Eclectic Mess. This is exactly the kind of place I've dreamed of owning. It doesn't specialize in any particular craft, say scrapbooking or knitting, it encompasses a multitude of different crafts. Her web site is adorable, too. Really fits with the theme of her business. If I ever end up back in that area, I'd definitely like to check it out.

EDIT: The retail shop is closed as of April 2009, but she still does business online.

When I was shopping at a yarn store that was rather far from me, the owner asked where I lived. After telling her Aurora, I lamented that I'm not really close to any yarn stores. The closest one is about 9 miles away and I don't care for that particular store much. The store that is actually in Aurora is 10 miles away and is kind of off my regular beaten path. Anyway, she told me that she had heard a store was going to be opening in either Lowry or Stapleton.

Well, I just read on Ravelry (an online knit/crochet community to which I belong) that the store is open! It's called Modern Ewe and is located at 200 Quebec in Lowry (6 miles from home according to Google maps). As I practically drive past there on my way to work, it is definitely convenient for me. Sadly, the store is not open tomorrow, but I'll be checking it out later in the week. I really hope it's a cool store and some knitting groups form there. As much as I love the group that I currently attend, sometimes I don't go because it's just too freaking far to drive.