Marriage Petition

Show your support for marriage equality in New Hampshire!

Sign our petition, and join hundreds of other NH citizens in saying “yes!” to marriage equality. Stand up for equal rights with your family, friends and neighbors, and let YOUR voice be heard!

Full Petition Text:

I urge the state of New Hampshire to allow gay and lesbian couples to share fully in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of civil marriage.

Signed by:

[Your name]

[Your address]

via Take Action: Marriage Petition.

Maine Governor John Baldacci signed Wednesday into law a bill legalizing gay marriage in the state. The move makes Maine the fifth state to allow gay marriage.

The press release:

Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.

“I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully,” Governor Baldacci said. “I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste.”

“I appreciate the tone brought to this debate by both sides of the issue,” Governor Baldacci said. “This is an emotional issue that touches deeply many of our most important ideals and traditions. There are good, earnest and honest people on both sides of the question.”

“In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” Governor Baldacci said. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.”

“Article I in the Maine Constitution states that ‘no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person’s civil rights or be discriminated against.’”

“This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs. It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of Church and State,” Governor Baldacci said.

“It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government.”

“Even as I sign this important legislation into law, I recognize that this may not be the final word,” Governor Baldacci said. “Just as the Maine Constitution demands that all people are treated equally under the law, it also guarantees that the ultimate political power in the State belongs to the people.”

“While the good and just people of Maine may determine this issue, my responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and do, as best as possible, what is right. I believe that signing this legislation is the right thing to do,” Governor Baldacci said.

via Maine Gay Marriage Legalized.

Is it Friday yet?  Didn’t think so.

I picked up my second sock last night to knit a little bit along it.  It’s messy.  Somehow I can manage 2×2 ribbing but 1×1 ribbing turns out like dogs vomit in my hands.  More practice needed I suppose.  I want to get the second sock finished!  I have a half inch of ribbing on the leg cuff done.  I did maybe a row last night.

I finished up some amigurumi last night though:

They are presents for Katie, supposed to have been Christmas, but they’re a little late as you can see.  She put on the final touches like the collars and ties.

You can see a few other amis that I’ve made lately at my flickr

This past month I’ve been doing a lot of writing and a lot of geocaching and not much knitting or crocheting. I do have supplies and plans for making a couple of fabric belts though. I just need to locate my freakin’ straight pins! I seems to have misplaced them.

Geocaching has been a TON of fun lately.  We started out trying to use our Tom Tom, but it just cannot get more precise than a quarter of a mile.  So I managed to sneak a GREAT deal on a GPS (a Garmin eTrex) on eBay.  It’s been working fantastically and Katie and I have now found 16 caches and a couple of benchmarks together.

Me and Katie’s mum, geocaching in Freeport, ME where I found my first travel bug!

My classes are winding down and I’ve got almost no motivation to do anything (how is this different from normal I hear you say- shhh you!).

The Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup is starting up a new term Thursday!  I hope to garner inspiration from there *grins*.  The HPKCHC is a group on Ravelry if you’re interested in learning more about it.  It’s wickedly fun and last ‘term’ was fantastically motivating for me.  I got a lot of projects done.

I’m still working on ideas for the handmade meme that I’m doing for friends.

I’ve definitely been bitten by the knitting bug, and strongly! I see knitted and crocheted things EVERYWHERE now! And I find myself craning my neck around corners trying to see how things are made.

It’s amusing. I’m pleased that my fiber obsession has lasted a while though. My fancies can sometimes be powerfully strong but short lived. This one has lasted right on through six months! Crazy!

Now I just need to learn more cast-on techniques and cabling is my next big task to tackle.

Someday I’ll even get smart and start making gauge swatches!

Probably. Maybe.

Today I was bummed that I had to spend lunch time doing a french review instead of working on the tiny sweater that I’m making.

Here’s to a bus ride this afternoon to work on my sweater!

Miniature Sweater, originally uploaded by Rachel Gogan.

I knit my first miniature sweater today.

Did I mention that I’ve relearned how to knit lately? I’ve made a few pairs of mittens, one sock, and now a tiny sweater. I’m spending all my time on the knit/crochet social networking site: http://www.ravelry.com

It’s truly an AWESOME site.

I’ve been home sick with a rotten cold most of this week, I was very glad of a snow day on Monday.

Oh. And. P.S. – I GRADUATED :) *brandishes shiny MLIS degree* Now if I could just find an awesome job.

Ice Storm, originally uploaded by Rachel Gogan.

Pictures from the Ice Storm From Hell. Now up on flickr.

Pretty ice. HATE IT SO HARD!

We’ve been without power since Thursday night. Le Sigh. So much not fun. We’ve been staying with Katie’s parents (they have a generator, so thankful!). We brought our kitties over there too so they can stay warm as well.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll have power back on soon!

Oh and side note: I graduated!

Baby Mitten Pattern

Materials:
size G hook
small amount of worsted weight yarn

This pattern is worked in rounds.  Do not turn or join.  Use a stitch marker to mark the start of each round.

Directions
Ch 2

Round 1: 6 sc in second chain from the hook
Round 2: 2sc in each sc around (12 sc)
Round 3: 2sc in first sc, sc in next sc around (18 sc)
Round 4: 2sc in first sc, sc in next 2 sc around (24 sc)
Round 5-11: sc in each sc around.
Round 12: *sc2tog 2 sc in next two sc* repeat all the way around.

Round 13: chain 3 (serves as hdc and one chain), skip one sc.  *(hdc in next sc and chain one)*  Repeat around from * join to top of chain 3.  Finish off and weave in ends.

Ch 50 to serve as the tie.  Weave the chain through the chain 1 spaces in Round 12, tie in a nice bow.

Fridge Pictures, originally uploaded by Rachel Gogan.

Pictures of my family on the fridge :} And one of our wedding pictures in the center.

Book Review: The Messenger

Lowry, Lois. The Messenger. Houghton. 2004.

Published Review:

Like Lowry’s hugely popular Newbery winner, The Giver (1993), this story dramatizes ideas of utopia gone wrong and focuses on a young person who must save his world. Teenage Matty lives with his caregiver in the Village, a place of refuge, where those fleeing poverty and persecution are welcomed with kindness and find a home. But the Village people are changing, and many have voted to build a wall to keep the newcomers out. The metaphor of the wall and the rage against immigrants (“They can’t even speak right”) will certainly reach out to today’s news images for many readers. But Lowry moves far beyond message, writing with a beautiful simplicity rooted in political fable, in warm domestic detail, and in a wild natural world, just on the edge of realism. Matty lives with his blind caregiver, Seer. Both of them were driven from home and nearly perished. The drama is in their affection; in the small details of how they cook, care for their puppy, and tease one another. Matty teases Seer about his blindness, even though they both know Seer sees more than most. In contrast is the terror of Matty’s secret powers and the perilous journey he must undertake to save the Village. The physical immediacy of his quest through a dark forest turned hostile brings the myth very close and builds suspense to the last heart-wrenching page.
- Hazel Rochman