Knitting Zeal

Vote for me

Yesterday was the primaries in Pennsylvania, where I live.  It was all over the news for the past six weeks and it turned out to be a bit of an ugly fight by the end.  I thought it was rather unusual that Obama left the state before the results were even in.  Guess he really didn't believe he had a chance here.  Hillary won with a surprising (to me) ten point lead.  Andrew and I went to vote yesterday morning at our local HS.  He enjoyed participating in his civic duty.  Somehow we lucked out and did not receive a single campaign call.  Others I know received multiple calls daily.  I guess that do not call list really works!

I have not been knitting much lately.  Instead I have finished two novels in the past week. Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline was a fun to read book, as it is set in Philadelphia and used many local references.  The Philly Inquirer--the newspaper--was plugged a few times in the book.  Funny, the author is also a columnist there.  I once had the opportunity to go to a book reading by Scottoline, but it interfered with my knitting group, so I skipped it.  :-)

I also read James Patterson's 7th Heaven.  It was one of those quick read mysteries.  Both books would be great beach reads.  Lately all I can handle are fast paced, quick reads.  I have been reading while waiting for Andrew to cry it out at night.  He goes through phases where he will go to sleep easily at night for about a week, then fight and cry for up to two hours.  Now he is in a phase where he discovered that he can flip himself over to sleep, but wakes up at 2:30 am to play.  Guess who doesn't feel like playing then??

We found a new park nearby and have been enjoying the fantastic weather of late and going for walks daily.  While my allergies are bothersome, this hasn't been too bad of a year so far. 

Yesterday was Earth Day.  I picked up a few more cloth shopping bags at Whole Foods.  They have the best sized ones there that also have a long enough handle that I can throw the bag over my shoulder.  For a buck, they can't be beat!  I was at another super market the other day buying some groceries and had brought my two cloth bags with me.  I really needed one more bag, so the bagger and cashier used plastic for the remainder of my order.  For a pack of chicken (sealed in plastic, not leaking), two cards, and a box of crackers, they used three plastic bags!  I didn't realize it until I got out of the store. No wonder I have so many plastic bags floating around my house.

Happy Earth Day from Andrew!

nothing exciting here

Really, nothing going on.  Andrew has been having some sleep issues lately, although last night was a good one.  I went to a consignment sale over the weekend to see if I could fetch him a jumperoo for cheap--as I pulled up in the parking lot, the last one jumped out the door with it's new owner.  Rats!  I refuse to pay $70 for a toy he will use for exactly three months, plus, why fill the landfills more?  I keep checking craigslist for one, but nothing so far. 

Due to sleeping issues, lack of that is, not much knitting has occurred in this house.  I have all the elephante parts done but the ears, which are supposed to be crocheted.  I tried it, and it looks too wonky.  I may use someone's suggestion on Ravelry to use the elephant ears from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  We'll see...

My first crocus appeared today--I was without camera.  It was pretty and I am eager for spring to arrive!

Oh, I got a new kitchen faucet installed today.  It has a sprayer too.  I am excited.  I am a boring housewife!  It's the little things that make life a bit easier that I value now!!

Happy Tuesday, night!

PS:  Cara had her baby today--a girl!  Congrats to the new mommy!! I can't wait to see what she'll knit for the baby!!

September 11th.

This Monday marks the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America.  Almost 3,000 people perished as a result of the acts that occurred on that devastating day.  I will never forget September 11, 2001;  how I felt that morning driving to work before the first plane crash; how I felt immediately after; or how I feel now.

As I drove to work that morning--a clear blue sky, sun shining brightly--the U2 song Beautiful Day was playing on the radio as I pulled into my parking spot.  I recall thinking that it was an appropriate song for the day.  Less than 15 minutes later one of the secretaries in my office came in and remarked that she heard on the radio that one of the Twin Towers had been hit by a plane.  Another secretary pulled out a little television set and we watched one of the morning news shows.  As we watched, what we thought was news footage of the original crash was actually the second plane crashing into the other tower--we saw it on live TV.  A wave of disbelief passed through the office as it became evident that this was not an accident, as previously reported.

As the events of the day unfolded the sense of fear and confusion filled me. The visual images of people jumping or falling to their death is permanently burned into my visual memory.  I cannot imagine what it must have felt to be in any of the disasters that occurred that day. 

For as much pain as I still feel today regarding the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001, I know that they do not match the feelings of those who lost their loved ones.  As part of 2,996:  A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11, I have the privilege of writing this blog entry honoring Rajesh A. Mirpuri, an intelligent, successful, young man who perished that day in the World Trade Center.

 

Rajesh Mirpuri was born on September 18, 1970 in Hong Kong and raised in New Jersey.  The only son of Arjan and Indra Mirpuri, he was raised in the Hindu faith and very devoted to his family.  Educated at the University of Vermont and New York University, at the young age of 30, Rajesh was the vice president of sales for the financial software firm, Data Synapse, based in midtown Manhattan.  On the morning of September 11, 2001, Rajesh was attending a financial technology conference at the World Trade Center, Tower One, 106th floor.  Shortly after the crash of the plane into his building, Rajesh contacted his boss, Peter Lee, telling him of the thick smoke and inability of being able to see more than three meters.  He left behind his grieving parents and many friends.

A devoted son is one way of describing Rajesh.  His father was quoted in interviews after the tragic day of telling a beautiful story of just how good a son Rajesh was to his parents.  In the summer of 1996 Rajesh was working in Tokyo and had told his parents of his plans to vacation in Hawaii.  It was the day of his parents' 30th anniversary and Rajesh called his father, who was in New Jersey, to tell him he had arrived in Honolulu.  Within an half hour, Mr. Mirpuri's doorbell rang.  He found his son standing at the door as an anniversary surprise. 

Rajesh was fond of the New York nightlife and fine dining, as well as traveling the world, watching and participating in sports.  He did volunteer work to benefit the homeless and the elderly.  He was a good friend, intelligent, hard working, and has a strong sense of family values.  He was the type of son that made his parents proud as he showed that all of the hard work that goes into raising a child has it's pay offs. 

To honor their son, the Mirpuris built a temple inside their home where they burn incense and have numerous photographs of Rajesh.  They also held 12 days of puja ceremonies, in their home, as well as a larger memorial service at the Sadhu Vaswani Center, a temple in Closter, NJ.  It was reported that Rajesh's parents received an urn of ash from the city of New York.  Following the Hindu tradition, they planned to sink the urn in the Ganges River in India and pray for their son's spirit and those of all the other victims.

From all of the articles I could find about Rajesh it became clear to me that he was an amazing person, touching everyone who knew him.  At his tribute page on Legacy.com, there are memorial entries from friends and family members, showing how truly missed he is by many.  His parents' lives will never be the same.  They have their memories of a remarkable son who demonstrated the important values they taught him as he grew into an adult.  I hope that as time passes that their pain eases at least slightly and that if they read this, they feel I have appropriately memorialized their son.  I wish them peace as this difficult anniversary passes. 

I used the following resources in compiling this entry:

Newsday

Legacy.com

CNN

The Age

United in Memory

Wand Partners

Please read some of the other memorials written by bloggers by clicking here.

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Breast Cancer Awareness

Hey, it's October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the US. I fully support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, which is a wonderful organization that raises money to support research to help find a cure to this horrible disease. Check out their website to find out more info of what you can do to help out.

In regards to knitting, one thing you could do is knit these pink ribbon socks! They are beautiful and would make a great gift. Lisa Loyd is offering this free pattern that she designed. Kudos to her for such a fantastic pattern.