Opinion

Oct. 25, 2011 — I have been frantically knitting and crocheting every night and free moment I have because I have two months to get the gifts I planned on making done.

When it comes to fiber work, I take on more than I can reasonably handle, and that is after starting in June.

I have two afghans in process and a scarf almost done. I have one scarf finished. I will keep stitching away until the last moment.

Oct. 18, 2011 — There’s been a cold snap and my vegetable garden is done for the year.

This means one thing to me: it is officially harvest season.

The leaves are turning colors, the nights are oh, so cool and mindsets change from outdoor summer fun to inside winter warmth.

I tell them, “That voice is on the tip of your tongue. It’s perched on your lips. Let it fly.” And they tell me, “I can’t. My boss … my customers … my board members … my investors … my father-in-law.”

Oct. 18, 2011 — A house divided against itself cannot stand, referenced Abraham Lincoln during the famed Lincoln-Douglas debates when the 16th president was trying to become an Illinois senator.

The idea is that in the best interest of citizens, elected officials need to reach compromise through nonpartisan efforts.

The state of California at the local level — school board, city councils and supervisors — did away with electing officials along party lines for those very reasons; to make sure the community as a whole is served.