Seven Quick Takes

~~ 1 ~~

I am very sorry that I haven't posted recently. (Maybe I should make that the name of my blog. Somebody help me think of a catchy way to say "Sorry I haven't posted, but I am allergic to everything in the world and have a chronic sinus infection from it! Also I'm busy and lazy!")

~~ 2 ~~

Here's Kurt's family! Go check them out--they seem awesome to me. I am Facebook friends with his mother and he's going to have some adorable siblings. ETA Here's their blog! They need to raise about $20,000! Please consider helping them out.

~~ 3 ~~

Look at these adorable little girls: Nadia and Nancy. I love them! I'm going to help Kurt's family home and then probably start advocating more heavily for these two. FAS and siblings both scare a lot of people, so they'll need a lot of exposure to find a family.

~~ 4 ~~

Want more adorableness? Bert and Ernie. AWWW. Ernie looks like he could have been my fiance's brother. These two will also probably be on my list. Siblings and boys--another hard combination to overcome.

~~ 5 ~~

I realized that so far, everyone I've advocated or fundraised for has gotten a family except for Aisha. (Her country's new rules, which you may have read about in the news, make the chances of her ever finding a family much lower. But I'm still hoping she'll get adopted by a domestic family or a non-US family.) I would like to say that I'm a great advocate, but truthfully I think I just tend to pick adorable kids with mild needs.

~~ 6 ~~

I have figured out my schedule for next semester and it looks like I'll be taking 14 credits. This is unusual for me--a regular courseload is 15, and I have almost always had 16 or 17. I feel, however, that I have been spreading myself too thin, so I'm just going to take four courses plus my thesis and try to do a good job on less rather than a poor job on more. (Of course the danger is a poor job on less. Please pray that that doesn't happen.)

~~ 7 ~~

I'm sure you all (all two of you readers) are dying to know what my thesis topic is, now that I've mentioned I'm writing one. I haven't finalized yet, but the general topic is going to be autism from a Thomistic/Aristotelian perspective. How does autism limit or enhance flourishing? Can we talk about "autism" as a whole in this context or do we have to look at specific deficits and skills that come alongside autism? I'm hoping it will have broader applicability in the theology of disability field, but we'll see.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A productive week

My first announcement, unrelated to the topic of this post: Kurt has a family! Thank you, God! I will post more details as I learn them, if his family permits me.

I'm on spring break this week, so I've been home. A lot of this week has been spent relaxing and hanging out with my family. It's been nice. We've been doing a lot of the early, big-picture stages of wedding planning. (Due to my failure as a blogger, there was no official announcement, but yes, I'm engaged.) We have good leads on reception places, I've talked to a priest a little bit, and I've got a dress! (No, no pictures yet--K reads this blog. Sorry. Check back in June or July 2014.) Sophie and I have got some plans for bridesmaid dresses, which are also not at the publicly revealable stage.

J realized this week that my getting married means that I will be changing my last name and moving into a different house. Tears were narrowly averted. She's not the only one who's had to face some unpleasant news: in the last few days, I've suddenly realized that I have a LOT of stuff to sort out in between now and moving into my own real house. (I'm moving off campus next year, but that totally doesn't count, right? Right?) I have several drawers and shelves full of stuff. And wayyyy too many books I haven't read. (The solution, of course, is to read more, not get rid of books.)

In poking through some of my drawers to see exactly how bad things are, I found an old knitted skirt that I started my senior year of high school and never finished. This skirt had been languishing for years thanks to my mistaken belief that acrylic can't be blocked. I thought the poor thing was forever doomed to look like this:

That's not really a skirt, of course. That's one of the swatches I made to test out a couple different ways of blocking. The skirt, the Luminarie skirt by Annie Modesitt, is made of entrelac blocks of that pattern. You can look at my project page on Ravelry. It doesn't have photos up right now because I don't have any of the actual skirt. But rest assured it looks a lot like that picture, just bigger.

Anyway, so I recently discovered that acrylic can indeed be blocked. It just needs to be steamed, not wet blocked. I also discovered that you can "kill" or melt acrylic. So I knitted two little blocks. I steamed one and killed the other to see which I liked more. The result was clear, although the pictures don't show it very well.

See how the stitches of the one on the top (the killed one) have kind of blurred together? I don't like that as much as the regular steam blocked one (on the bottom), where each stitch retains its individuality and the texture stands out more. So I'll be steaming the actual skirt once I have done the crocheted border. (Side note, I had to buy a crochet hook, and I found six at JoAnn's for three dollars. Why aren't knitting needles that cheap?)

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that these swatches are the first things I've ever blocked. One difficulty I was not aware of is that blocking really does shape your knitting. In those pictures, the knitting is pinned down, but both pieces retained the not-quite-rectangular shapes I had pinned them to even after the pins came out. When I block the real skirt, I'm going to have to be careful of the edges.

So this project is well on its way to completion. I will be home again briefly over Easter break, and before then I hope to have this skirt and Kurt's blanket completely done. That's one border, some finishing, and two blocking jobs in two weeks--eminently reasonable if I can keep myself disciplined. Of course, I also have two papers and a grant proposal due before then. Wish me luck!

My collection is growing (and matching grant update)

Four-year-olds are like potato chips--you can't have just one. I would like to introduce you to Gertie, my second prayer warrior child.

Isn't she beautiful? Gertie has a heart condition (I think, based on someone else's experience translating the translationese on her page, that it's an atrial septal defect with pulmonary hypertension), a gall bladder problem (no idea what), and a kidney infection. All of these, as far as I know, are or can be fairly dangerous if not treated. She needs a family fast! Please share her around, and please join me in praying for her as well.

Gertie's smile spoke to me at once, and I knew I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about her, so I figured why not make it official. Then I noticed that she is in the same country as Kurt and was born in the same month of the same year. Wouldn't they make great adopted almost-twins?

Matching grant update: Kurt met his matching grant because of the generosity of the community. Thank you to everyone who donated! The check with matching funds has been mailed and should be posted within a week or two.

Matching grant for Kurt!

My precious Kurt has a matching grant! With a matching grant, someone has promised to donate a certain amount of money once that amount of money has already been donated. Kurt's is for $50, which is not huge, but every little bit helps! Once $50 has been donated to his fund, another $50 will be added. He needs to hit $111. After matching funds have been added, he will be at $161! When I first started praying for Kurt in early February, his grant fund was EMPTY. Let's not miss this chance for Kurt.

Teamwork Tuesday: Kurt!

Yes, today's Teamwork Tuesday child is my precious Kurt. Those of you who know me know that this child is the Reece's Rainbow child that I love most. If I were eligible to adopt right now, I'd be in process for this child. (Yes, in between classes and homework, and yes, in the knowledge that he would be home before I graduate.)

So, little Kurt. He is almost five years old (his birthday is in September), and he has "very mild" cerebral palsy. CP is a non-progressive condition, and Kurt appears to be in great shape. He can stand up by himself, and he doesn't seem to have problems with his arms. (Maybe his left arm is a little pulled up, but from what I know of CP, this is a problem that physical therapy/stretching can greatly improve or even get rid of.)

Kurt's legs don't seem to be greatly affected either. Here's a photo that shows him either jumping or running, I'm not sure which. He's unlikely to be getting good medical care in his baby house, so with the care that he could get in the US, I wouldn't be surprised if he presented as a physically typical child.

Kurt's Reece's Rainbow profile is here. I've blogged about Kurt before here, and you can find posts from my blog that mention him here. Other people are writing about Kurt for Teamwork Tuesday, and here are their blogs:

Love Leaving Legacy
You Will Go Out With Joy
Tripping Differently
Saving Emmitt and Victoria
Imagery of My Heart
Wyatt's Warriors
One Child One Voice

Leave your link in the comments if I haven't linked to you yet!

Please consider whether you are Kurt's family. Please donate to his fund. Share posts about him on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest board, or social medium of choice. And, most importantly, pray for him. Pray that he finds a family soon. I would love to adopt Kurt, but I pray that I don't get the chance to try. I would hate it if he had to wait 2-4 years for me. Please help me keep him from waiting that long.

7 Quick Takes

Never done this before, but I'm feeling random.

~~ 1 ~~

K, B, R, G, and A are coming to visit for the 4th of July and following weekend. We have planned fun activities like fireworks, swimming, bonfires, and swing dancing. I think I might explode if time doesn't speed up a little!

~~ 2 ~~

I wish someone would adopt Kurt. His special need is so mild. And he's so cute. And I know so many people who want him but can't go get him for some reason. Like me, for instance. Sigh.

~~ 3 ~~

My friend just got a new cousin. I wish I had a baby. Biological clocks are frustrating when you aren't married and are in no condition to get married soon. (The problem with long-distance college relationships. Sigh.)

~~ 4 ~~

I went grocery shopping tonight with J. I haven't been grocery shopping in a while. They reorganized the whole store. All the aisles are in a different order. I was rather confused.

~~ 5 ~~

Am I doing this right? I feel like other people have more interesting randomness. Why did I start a blog? Oh yeah, self centeredness. Well, ok, specimen #45922: this post.

~~ 6 ~~

I'm so hopelessly confused by this SCOTUS ruling. Every time I turn around I hear something different. This was obviously planned from the start. The dissent was clearly written to be the majority and only flipped at the last minute. Conservatives should cry. Conservatives should rejoice. This is good. This is bad. This is neutral and we have to see what happens. And I'm just like....uh so did they make the Cliff's Notes yet?

~~ 7 ~~

I swear I'm not stupid, I just don't follow politics enough. Ignorant, uninformed, and irresponsible, sure. But not stupid.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Knitting update

Here's a photo of my Siesta top. I'm going to wear it in the winter, over a long-sleeved crewneck. Please pardon the unmatching shirt I currently have on underneath. I just didn't feel like changing.
See how the edges are curled? That's why I need more yarn. All the edges are supposed to be finished with applied i-cord to stop that. I was considering skipping this step, and then I tried it on. Boy is it ugly like this. I guess it's off to the craft store for me! Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to go for another week or two. So this project is officially on hold.

Luckily I still have....Kurt's blanket! This is nowhere near done, and I'll be honest, it's getting very slightly boring because the pattern is so very simple. It would be a great pattern to do while watching a movie, but I don't watch movies much. I do have a course-on-tape that I need to listen to, though, so perhaps I'll use Kurt's blanket as the impetus to finish that. This is a photo of the pattern, stretched out. It's much nicer stretched out than the way it lies normally. This may be the first project I block!

On knitting

I think I've mentioned that I knit. I am one of those people who knits in phases--madly completing several projects, then not touching a needle for three months. I haven't knitted in a long time, because I just got busy with school and went through a non-knitting phase. But now I'm home with spare time that I'd like to use on something more productive than Facebook. So I'm back to knitting. (Why do my mad knitting phases tend to line up with summer? It's too hot to knit. Sigh.)

I was knitting this pretty top. Unfortunately, with the body knitted, I have no yarn left to do the applied i-cord edging. Without the edging, the top rolls and curls in a very unattractive way. To the craft store for me, I suppose. I would post in a knitting group to see if someone has some leftovers, but I can't remember the name of the yarn and I no longer have the label. Oh well. Now I'm just hoping it fits.

I am now knitting the Feather and Fan blanket from this book. I like it. It's a very simple four-row repeat, only one row of which is anything other than "knit across" or "purl across," but it makes a ripply lace pattern with scalloped edges. I suspect I will get bored before it's over though. Blankets are big. I'll post a picture of it too. (Right now I'm just too darn lazy to get up and find my camera.) This blanket will be a fundraiser for Kurt. I'll sell it somehow, either as an auction or as a donations-for-entries-to-a-giveaway kind of fundraiser. I have no idea how long it will be till it's done. I'll post again when I have pictures and/or significant progress to report.

Help needed on several fronts

The Hansen family needs your prayers! Their daughter Maia is in intensive care. I don't know enough medical terminology to be able to explain what is wrong, but it involves seizures, neurosurgeons, and fluid buildup in her brain. The link is to the family's blog, where you can read updates from Maia's parents.

Ksenia needs your help. Look at the change in her from the picture on the right to the picture on the left. She was unlisted on Reece's Rainbow recently and we all thought she had died. But she's back. RR doesn't have enough information about her to collect money, unfortunately. She can also only be adopted by Canadians right now due to the rules in her country. Please pray like crazy, and share her with your friends--even if they aren't Canadian, their friends might be.

As always, keep praying for Kurt! Please consider giving him money. I found his guardian angel, and am hoping that we can work together on a fundraiser. (Do I have any ideas? Possibly. Not really. Yet.)

In personal news, I'm home from school. It's good to be with the family. I hope to start posting more regularly (how many times have I said that now?). Maybe I'll weigh in on the bikini argument floating around the blogosphere; I posted a link on my Facebook page and my friends brought up some really interesting points. Or maybe I won't. I'm not sure that I have anything to add.

A little advocacy for Kurt

Don't you need a four-year-old son with a very minor physical disability? Or don't you know someone who does? This little boy is waiting in an orphanage for his family to come and take him home. Look how wistful he is.

Why is Kurt in this orphanage? Because he has cerebral palsy. But his CP is so mild that he can walk on his own, even with the substandard-to-nonexistent medical care that he is likely receiving now. With proper medical care and therapy, just think how slight his impairment would be. I am not a CP expert, but from what I do know it seems like all he would need is some leg braces.

If Kurt doesn't get adopted, he will eventually be transferred to a mental institution for the rest of his life. He will be neglected, mistreated, and probably abused. He will die lying in a crib. And this is a child with the potential for a "normal" life. A minor physical disability will confine this beautiful child to a mental institution, where he will be treated worse than you would treat your goldfish. Someone needs to save Kurt from the system in the country where he lives. I wish it could be me, but I can't adopt for another 4 1/2 years at the minimum, and there is no reason why he shouldn't find a family before then. 

Kurt's region is a quick region to adopt from with relatively low costs and few restrictions. His disabilities are minor. He's adorable. What's the problem? I suspect that it's either that no one knows about him or the fact that his fund is small. Luckily, he now has a guardian angel who is committed to solving both those problems (it's not me and I don't know who it is. If you stumble across this post let me know who you are!). And you can help too.

If you aren't called to be his family, please consider donating money to help finance his adoption when it happens. Please share this post, or write your own. Let other people know about Kurt--maybe one of the people who reads your Facebook post will discern a call to adoption. And most importantly, whether you can help him financially or not, whether or not you help raise awareness, please join me in praying that Kurt's family finds him soon. 

Today has not been a good day

I have been feeling angry and irritable all day for no reason. This has been happening more than I would like recently, and I am thinking it may be a sign of depression coming back. The reason why I hesitate to say this is because the sun has been shining more than usual over the past week, which usually correlates to a better mood for me. I also haven't been having anxiety problems, which is usually a more reliable way for me to track depression than depression symptoms themselves, which (in my opinion) are more subtle. On the other hand, I've had to take a 2.5 week break from running due to a hip injury. So maybe those balance out. Anyway, something to keep an eye on--I really hate feeling this way and would like to nail down and eliminate the cause.

I was going to do homework with friends with the super bowl on in the background, but plans fell through. So I was going to do homework alone (I have a paper due this week on top of my normal workload), but so far I have done nothing since dinner. Go Patriots, I guess, since I have family from New England. Can you tell how much of a football fan I am? (I have never watched a super bowl.)

About my hip: I've been having pain in my right hip joint/groin since about the middle of Christmas break. I was initially diagnosed with a hip strain by university health services, but after two weeks of rest and naproxen (an NSAID) didn't fix it, they are looking for another answer. It appears to be something muscular rather than structural (pressure hurts), so they scheduled an ultrasound for Thursday. The good news is that since running didn't seem to bring on pain, and stopping running didn't help much, I have official doctor go-ahead to run. So I went running this evening, only for 20 minutes, but still. I went a little over two miles, which is a decent pace for me (I know I'm slow). In terms of long-term running goals, I think the half-marathon I was planning to run at the end of March is out of the question at this point. So maybe I'll run the 10k they have at the same event.

Lastly, more good news: I've officially been matched with a child to pray for on Reece's Rainbow! Reece's Rainbow is an organization that helps to facilitate international adoption of children with special needs (with a focus on Down Syndrome). One of the ways to help, if you can't adopt or donate money, is to offer to pray specifically for one child every day. I emailed them, and they gave me Kurt. He's four and a half, and he has mild CP. That's him on the left. Isn't he cute? I kind of want him to be mine, but of course hope that he has a family by the time I'm old enough to have any children of my own.

Well, I need to go take a shower and then work on my philosophy paper. It's about Descartes, whom I happen to dislike very much. :/