Thank goodness for football

I'm not much of a TV watcher. I like The Newsroom, Season 3 of which HBO began broadcasting last Sunday. (I haven't watched last night's episode yet, but as soon as I get done here – that's the plan.) I also like House of Cards, which drops on Netflix in February, I do believe.

And I watch football. If it weren't for football, NO knitting would be getting done. As it is, darned little is getting done, but I'm on track to get the four toys for one set of grandchildren done.

These are the toys they asked for in August, I think? And they thought I'd be able to sit down and whip them out in an evening, while they slept. HAH!

The second of the four toys is done (except for sewing on button eyes). I used this pattern for Mr. Whale, but blue yarn at my grandson's request.

I'm nearly done knitting the pieces for this teddy bear, but in red and with the addition of a red bow tie. These kids have wonderful imaginations. I hope the finished projects live up to their expectations.

The first project, a turtle, is finished. I'm on the hunt for a pattern for a knitted kitty. But not a Hello Kitty, because I've already given the littlest granddaughter one of those. So a different kitty. Sigh.

At any rate, thank you, Newsroom, NCAA and NFL for giving me something entertaining to watch while I knit my fingers to the bone.

Also, you can't eat and knit at the same time. So there's that.

If a tree falls on a power line

Mother Nature reminded us who's boss yesterday afternoon, lest we get all smug and think we're in charge. We were happily going about our business, which on Sunday afternoons usually means doing not much at all. The air conditioner kicked off, as it does during its cooling cycle, but the ceiling fan slowed down, too. One glance at the blank digital clock confirmed that the electricity was, indeed, off.

We'd had a heavy downpour and wind in the late morning, but it was 2:30 when the refrigerator quit humming. I called the Power Outage Hotline and began waiting.

The view from the porch, 7 p.m.-ish.

Fortunately the rain that had come through earlier brought with it slightly cooler temperatures. It was nice outside, actually. I grilled pork tenderloin chops and sliced tomatoes for dinner as we continued to wait.

As the day wore on into evening, we thought we might have to miss The Newsroom, which begins at 10 p.m. EDT (and is the best hour on television. Period). I'd already gone to bed, resigned to watching the recording. (A DVR programmed to record the entire season of a good show is, well, a beautiful thing.) But what's this? Lights on at 9:54!

I was one happy girl, after spending most of the day and evening not being a happy camper. I can rough it just fine, but I DON'T LIKE TO.

So. The mini-goal I alluded to yesterday? Was to put in a 35-mile week, which would have been the highest weekly mileage this year. I didn't make it. I walked way too late yesterday morning to be comfortable trying to get seven miles in. Ended up doing 31, my third-highest week since Christmas. I am, however, on an eight-day streak. Wonder how long I can keep that going? I walked a mile Saturday (after doing yoga in the morning) to keep the streak alive.

And the weigh-in? I am, officially, finally, HAPPILY overweight! My BMI dipped slightly below the obese level with a three-pound loss for the week.

Making it a total of 38 pounds for the year.

So far.

Hope your weekend was less eventful than mine. But if you weigh in on Monday morning, I hope the news was good!

I can't keep up …

The ticker is whizzing by on Facebook, one outrageous story after another being posted by appalled and astonished friends who are making sure all their friends know about the crazy-scary GOP platform. This article hits the highlights. I'm afraid to dig for more.

It's no secret to my friends and family that I use Facebook almost exclusively for political stuff. I write about it here when it's relevant or when it's what I'm doing (hint: More politics to come between now and Election Day), but Facebook is my main political outlet.

(I'm not sure my older granddaughter realized that when she messaged me, saying, "All right, Grandma. We get it. You're a Democrat.")

Some of the best snippets that have scrolled by today are quotes from the finale of HBO's The Newsroom. Including this comment from the Coffee Party:

"It's a sad commentary on the state of the media when some of the best journalism of 2012 consistently comes from works of fiction."

This is the clip to which they refer.

Okay, I'm done. Hoping to regain some kinda normal tomorrow.