Oregon beach

This coming Saturday is the 25th annual Oregon spring beach cleanup, organized by
SOLV (Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism).

The very first beach cleanup in the nation was held in Oregon in 1984. Since then, beach cleanups have spread to all of the US States and Territories, and to countries around the world. (Oregon is like that. We had the first bottle bill, too.) Visitors often comment on how clean our beaches are.

There are two beach cleanups every year: spring and fall. Last spring, the 362 miles of Oregon beaches were cleaned of some 111,000 lbs of trash. That’s a lot of garbage, gentle reader. There’s usually more in the spring because the winter storms bring icky stuff to the shore.

This Saturday’s cleanup starts at 10:00 AM and goes to 1:00 PM. The SOLV site has a list of the 44 different locations you can report to, spread from the Washington border all the way down to California. It’s a great family or group outing. SOV asks you to give the Zone Captain a heads-up if you are bringing a large group. Otherwise, just show up at one of the check-in points to receive a collection bag and instructions. The out-of-the-way location typically have fewer volunteers than the ones in town, so consider going to one of the lonelier spots if you can.

Dress warmly in layers with a waterproof outer layer because the forecast says rain, wind, cold, March. And be sure to wear gloves! And have fun!

fossil tree

This flu thing… it really got me down, gentle reader. But I am finally on the mend, and heartily glad! Hopefully I will have energy now for little things like, well… blog posting. I was even too sick to go to my 40th 8th grade graduation, which bummed me out to no end.

And it’s been hard, you see, to talk about knitting. This project — can’t talk about it because it’s secret. And I can’t tell you about that project either because — it’s secret. And there’s a third project I can’t tell you about because (do I sound like a broken record?) — it’s secret. So I am having to wait until secret projects get finished and to their intended recipients before I can show them to you. And that makes for boring blogging.

I did go to the annual auction with my MIL a while back. But, alas, the economy held me back. I bid on only a few items in the silent auction this year, and I didn’t bid at all during the out-loud auction. Of all of the things I bid on, this little tree is the only one that I was high bidder. It was my favorite thing I bid on, so I’m glad it came home with me. All of the little leaves are pieces of petrified wood, and the base is a fossil ammonite. It makes my inner geek feel all warm and fuzzy.

blue Spirogyra

There is one secret project that I am able to show you. These mitts went to my friend L last Friday. She’s modeling them. She wears several rings, so gloves are out. But fingerless mitts just fit the bill. And she loves glittery, shiny things. I wish that the Glam Sock sparkles photographed better.

Yes, it really is that blue!

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Stitchjones Glam Sock (63% superwash merino, 20% silk, 14% nylon, 2% silver), 420 yds per 3.5 oz/100 g skein, in colorway Marine — I used a fraction of the total and have tons left.
• Needles: a pair of Addi Turbo 24″ circulars, US#3 (3.25 mm) and a pair of Addi Lace 24″ circulars, US#2 (3.00 mm)
• Pattern: Spirogyra by Lynne Vogel
• Modifications: none. Really.

For the month of February, a number of bloggers are participating in a campaign to raise $5,000 for Oregon Food Bank. Please consider donating by clicking on the picture — please include the words Blog for Food in the tribute section so that the effectiveness of this campaign can be tracked.

Oregon’s unemployment rate has risen above 9% – nearly 2% above the national average – after remaining stable at 5.5% through the first half of 2008. In December alone, 10,000 jobs were lost in Oregon, leading to the highest one-month jump in unemployment ever recorded here. The state is facing job cuts from companies such as Boeing, Intel, Xerox, Daimler Trucks, Harry & David, Precision Castparts and Oregon Health Sciences Univeristy, among others. This list does not include small employers who have laid off workers or gone out of business due to the downturn. Construction, for example, has lost 4,500 jobs in the last year – nearly double what was expected.

The rise in unemployment means a corresponding rise in the need for assistance such as food stamps. In October, requests to the Oregon Department of Human Services for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families increased by 16 percent over the previous October, while food stamp applications rose by 13 percent. But the rise in unemployment also means a corresponding decrease in the tax revenue collected by the state. A severe budget shortage may soon begin to affect core services.

I know all of the statistics can be dry and dull. But this is becoming very serious and scary.

The Oregon Food Bank is the hub of a network of food banks that service all of Oregon and Clark County in Washington. OFB collect the food from farmers, retailers, individuals and government sources and redistributes it to 20 regional food banks, who in turn distribute the food to local food banks, soup kitchens, etc. For every dollar that is donated, OFB can collect and distribute 5 lbs of food. Even a tiny donation makes a huge difference.

Please consider helping out with a donation of any size if you are able. Or drop a can of food or two by your local food bank. If you are not able to do either, please consider donating your time as a volunteer to OFB (if you are in Portland) or to a local food bank, soup kitchen or shelter where ever you are located. With knitters in on this campaign, I know that $5,000 will be reached!

This post will remain sticky at the top for the month of February.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for helping.

C’mon, y’all! Go hit Jack!

He still needs about 1500 hits to get the largest match for charity. And how can you beat this? You click, and you give. Couldn’t be simpler.

a present for you

His blog, silly!

Every year, local blogger Jack Bogdanski hosts Buck-a-Hit Day on his blog. Jack’s sixth annual Buck-A-Hit Day is today.

So how does this work? Visit Jack’s blog, that’s all. Visit and he will donate $1 to charity – up to $1,000. Plus another benefactor has pledged $1 to the Oregon Food Bank for every hit – up to $5000. And there a way for you to throw in a little extra if you are able, but that is certainly not required. If you do, your contribution will be matched, up to $2,100. Jack’s also running a comment contest. Leave the best comment about the season and you can steer part of the contributions to a charity of your choice.

Last year, $4,851.05 was raised on Buck-a-Hit Day. Let’s show him what a few knitters can do! Head over there to Jack Bog’s Blog, and separate him from some of is hard-earned (or otherwise) cash.

Remember that it’s unique visits. More than one won’t count.