April GYGIG Prize Winner Announced!

• "Bike? Check.
• Jersey? Check.
• Shoes? Check.
• Donations? Up to $1853 and still counting!
• Winner of this month's prize drawing? Meg of And So The Days are Filled!!! Now is that my treat I smell, or is it this bike shoe?"

Meg, please send us an email, and let us know from where you would like your $21(U.S.) gift certificate.  Congratulations!

Thank you once again to everyone who has donated to and/or posted on their blog about our charity ride for Get Your Guts in Gear. We are nearly at our goal with a month to spare!! Our next and final drawings will be on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, May 25, for our $30 "three days" gift certificate and the beautiful lace yarn in the color of the winner's choice, generously donated by Katie of Live2Knit. If you haven't already checked out her gorgeous hand-dyed yarns, I hope you will click on the link above. 

If you are wondering what this is all about, please click on the GYGIG button in the left sidebar for more information about the ride to raise funds and awareness for patients with Crohn's Disease and Colitis. If you are still considering a donation and would like to be included in the last prize drawing, please do not wait until the final week. There is a delay in GYGIG's reporting software to us of approx. one week, and I would hate to leave anyone out.

On to the knitting, and other things

Thank you also for your input on the pie wedge shawl instructions. Everyone who commented on that seemed to think that I should only knit to the marker on the new row 1, so I ripped the entire shawl out and started over again. I'm on row 4 now, and promise a photo when there is more to see. I also had a breakthrough last night with the mystery gift, and finally knitted past the wall of the last 2 weeks. Some little things to set in place, and it will be done, photographed, and sent to its recipient.

Our bathroom wallpaper is coming down easily (you never know with plaster!), and that chore should be finished this weekend. The remaining painting and ceiling repairs in other rooms will be done next week and then the house will officially go up for sale. Chris and I feel like the house knows that we are trying to leave, and has declared war: a piece of stair molding fell off for no reason last night while I was vacuuming it, and the furnace has also decided to act up. It could make an unusual movie plot! The fact that my hairdryer burned some of my hair off in little pieces this morning, necessitating an emergency trip to the salon (but thankfully no scary cropped haircuts to cover the damage) doesn't seem to be a related incident. At least I don't think so...

Floyd Landis Update

Some of you may have seen news reports that Floyd Landis, an admitted hero of mine, has received more positive test results for doping last week. What you may not know is that these tests were conducted on samples that had already tested negative last July, and the lab did not follow the accepted protocols (independent observers, blind samples, etc.). They are likely tainted. It's a long complicated story, but if you're familiar with the story of the FBI Whistleblower, it's along those lines. When Floyd and his legal and scientific team questioned the lab practices that had turned up the initial positive result (and found mismatched sample numbers indicating the samples might not even be his!), the anti-doping agencies declared war.

I know this has nothing to do with knitting, but please humor me. An innocent man is being tried by media not reporting all the facts, and is likely to go bankrupt trying to defend himself. I still believe that the initial "positive" tests were a result of the permitted cortisone shot for his hip metabolizing into a different form of steroid -- there is scientific documentation for this occurence -- but the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency doesn't want to be bothered to find out. They want to label him guilty, like they tried to do with Marion Jones and a host of other athletes, to preserve their spotless record of guilty verdicts and maintain their federal funding. You may not care about Floyd Landis, but if you have a son, daughter, friend, or loved one that participates in sports, particularly those that perform drug tests, you may want to follow this case a little more closely. If USADA's power continues to remain unchecked, it could be your loved one's false positive that prevents them from getting into college, on to a pro team, or even being offered a job. You can read more about this here and here.

Thanks for staying with me this far. Have a great weekend and happy knitting!

Comments

[Meg]

Oh my gosh I can't believe I'm a winner! I will email you as soon as I figure out where I want to have a gift certificate from - makes me feel like the world's my oyster!!
The news of the latest Floyd Landis developments did reach my ears, it's really taking on the proportions of an epic saga - which is a big shame. I hope your house starts behaving itself quick-smart!

[Felicia]

My husband is following the case and sort of explained it to me. It does indeed sound like he's getting the shaft. It's such a shame.

[Devorah]

Houses really DO know. It doesn't want you to leave. *g*

[Kristen]

It's always a relief to finally break through a "knitting wall" as with your mystery gift. And I'm hoping your restart on the shawl is working out. Burnt hair?! Time for a new hairdryer!

[Sarah]

I hope your house starts to behave! Nice pic of the bike gear and Charlie...it's great you are so close to your goal now!

[Beth]

Congratulations on being so close to your goal!!!

[Sheepish Annie]

You are so right. The media makes a statement, even a preliminary one, and the public reads the first line. The victim is tried and found guilty before all the facts are made available. And if the facts are being witheld by an agency with unchecked power, then there is no recourse. We seem to love to make villians of people, but lose interest in their vindication.

[Julie]

Congratulations on the fundraising! You'll be at your goal in no time.

I hope you stopped off and got yourself a new hairdryer after the trip to the hairdresser!

The media is always reporting without having all the facts; it makes me nuts!

[Chris]

Ack! Your hairdryer burned off part of your hair?!? Waaaah. I was at the stylist this week, too, but far more mundanely. :) Got 4.5" cut off and no one has noticed. *sigh*

It's maddening about Floyd, isn't it?! Just got my issue of Bicycling but haven't read what they have to say on the subject...

Glad to hear you're doing so well with donations!

[Rachel]

Thanks for the update on Floyd Landis. I heard a (pretty fair) story about this on NPR a while back, but the most recent stuff is new to me. I hope pressure gets applied to the right people and they start doing their jobs correctly.

[Brigitte]

That's very maddening about Floyd Landis...thanks for the update.

Nice bike gear!

[Greeley]

Free Floyd!

[Thinnmann]

kate,
Your recent comment (4/30/07) at TBV has me digging out my '06 TDF tapes to re-watch stage 17! Great comment! Thanks!

[Sydney]

Your hairdryer burnt your hair! Eek! You did get a new hairdryer, right? Houses can be downright ornery sometimes. :)

Unfortunately the media is often looking for customers, not truth. Anything that sensationalizes the news brings in customers because many readers take the news at face value.