Half the Sky — A Must Read Book – Lindy's Knits & Laces

Half the Sky — A Must Read Book

November 4, 2009| Lindy| 0 Comment | 3:25 pm

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I just finished reading Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This is a must read book for anyone who is concerned about the lack of equality for women worldwide, as well as lack of decent health care and education for women and children throughout the developing countries of our world.

The book is very factual, yet filled with actual stories about real people and how they have been able to overcome extreme hardship with some small amount of help — in the form of microloans or sponsorships for education. There are stories that will make you weep and stories that will make you smile — but they all show a better way for those of us who have much more to help those who don’t.

The authors will challenge your thinking about large government funded aid programs and the role our government(s) should play in the developing countries of the world — especially Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They make a very strong case for approaching problems on a more personal and direct way.

Check out the book and check out the website:
www.halftheskymovement.org — it’s worth a look.

Happy New Year! Ending 2009 and Beginning 2010Happy New Year! Ending 2009 and Beginning 2010

Happy New Year, Everyone! It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? Many changes, many happenings. As always, some good, some okay, and some not so good. I am fortunate that most things that happened for me in 2009 were good. And I look forward to new beginnings in 2010.

2009 ended with the Christmas Blizzard of 2009 – where we received somewhere between 12 and 14 inches of snow along with high winds and drifting. This caused a number of changes to our traditional Christmas plans and meant going to plan B & C when it came to celebrating with family members. I’m sure it will be a Christmas we all remember – because, in spite of the weather, we managed to celebrate and share the holiday with family.

On December 28, my daughter and I embarked upon a cross-country road trip from Omaha to Boston. (That’s approximately 1500 miles, give or take a few.) We did this so she could take her new car back to Boston. We started out at 6:30 AM – and after being momentarily stuck in the snow just past our driveway, had clear roads all the way into Ohio – where we spent the night. We pushed to make it a distance of 846 miles (14 hours of driving with just a few short stops). I thought I’d get a lot of knitting done on this trip, but it didn’t happen.

The next morning, we hit the road at 6:30 AM. It was snowing lightly when we left, but we soon drove out of it and headed for Pennsylvania. Daughter was driving and about 30 minutes into Pennsylvania we came around curve and drove straight into white-out, blizzard conditions, with traffic moving cautiously at less than 40 mph. Luckily, conditions improved rapidly and by the time we reached the next exit, road was improved enough for us to continue our journey. After a coffee-break/potty break in Clearfield, PA, I took over driving and drove all the way to Danbury, CT, where we stopped to eat and change drivers. We made into Boston around 6:00 PM.

That’s an exhausting 2-day drive, to say the least. But we had each other’s company, saw some beautiful country and arrived safely at our destination. Plus, I had another day to enjoy with my daughter in Boston.

I flew home yesterday, dealing with a delay out of Boston that left me only 10 minutes to catch my connecting flight to Omaha. Fortunately, the airline held the flight so that all of us on the flight going to Omaha could make it. (Thank-you, Midwest Airlines). After arriving back in Omaha, DH and I went to see “Sherlock Holmes” at the local movie theater, then went home and I fixed a late supper, then crashed around 10:00 PM. We ended 2009 by sleeping through all the hoopla… 🙂

So we are now at the beginning of 2010. Today, I plan to finalize my 10 in 2010 list (Ravelry Group), relax and just enjoy a quiet day at home. Now where did I leave my knitting? ….

Aftermath of the SnowstormAftermath of the Snowstorm

I thought I’d post some pictures of all the snow we received over Tuesday and Wednesday. We really did not get completely dug out until Thursday — after the snowplow finally made its way into our subdivision.

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This drift was on our front step — interestingly shaped by the high winds — it was about 24 inches deep. The shot is looking down the steps.

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Here is DH snowblowing the driveway — yes, the drift covers our knockout rose bushes — and is a good 30 to 36 inches deep. (Those lights are 12 inches high) The drift went all the way across our driveway.

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We had to dig out our blow up Santa Claus figure. He actually looks great with all the snow around him when inflated.

Snow in OctoberSnow in October

It’s October 10th! And it’s snowing — yes, I said snowing. It’s not unusual for Nebraska to get weird weather from time to time — but SNOW in October? Really? Here’s a couple of shots taken from my deck on the back of my house:

10-10-2009 Snow

10-10-2009 Snow 2

Weather report is for freezing temps all weekend and possibly more snow on Monday. Then, typically, we’ll be back to more autumn-like temps and weather. Let’s see — which knitting project to work on first?