Numismatism Part II

1.Delaware
Delaware became the first State of the United State(?) of America on December 7, 1787. The State Quarter features the State moniker, "The First State" and a man riding a horse. The rider was called Caesar Rodney (it says so on the coin), and having read a little about the history of Delaware, I am a little ashamed to say that I had never heard of him before this exercise. Delaware was home to Native Americans such as the Algonquin tribes before being settled by the Dutch in 1631. It changed hands with the Dutch, Swedes and Finns a few times before Sir Robert Carr won the territory in 1664 for Britain (there were actually more power plays by the Dutch and Swedes, but it gets kind of repetitive). The colony was named after Thomas West, 3rd and 12th Baron De La Warr (get it??), because the tactics he learned while fighting against the Irish also proved effective against the Native Americans. Interestingly, these "tactics" were against the natives in Virginia (not Delaware), and earned old Tommy the role of governor for life of Virginia. No reelection bids needing fund-raising, West appointed a deputy governor and toddled off back to England to write a book about Virginia from the comfort of the Empire. In 1618, it turned out his deputy was a bit of a tyrant, so he set sail for Virginia to investigate but died at sea. And then he got an entirely different State named after him. All was well in Delaware Colony under British rule, with the exception of some arbitrary parliamentary rulings until Thomas McKean and Caeser Rodney denounced the Stamp Act, and called for independence from Britain. In order to cast the essential vote needed to declare independence, Caeser Rodney made the first of the nation's historic overnight horseback rides to Philadelphia on July 1, 1776. Google maps doesn't give the option of "Horse" for mode of commute, but estimates the journey to be a seven hour trek by bicycle. Given US-13 wasn't built until 1926, it was a pretty impressive feat. He made it to the vote with no time to change out of his "boots and spurs", and two days later a nation was born. He was thanked by a less than grateful electorate by being ousted from office, but is immortalized on the Delaware quarter. State Capital: Dover.

4.Georgia
The Peach State was the 4th addition to the Union on January 2, 1788. The State Quarter features a Peach, the outline of the State, the words "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation" in a banner, and leaves of the Live Oak from its official State Tree. The last of the original thirteen colonies to be established, Georgia was named after Britain's King George II. Georgia took a leave of absence from the Union starting in 1861 to become the one of the seven original States of the Confederacy. That didn't pan out as a great life choice for Georgia, so it rejoined the Union on July 15, 1870, being the last State to do so. Mailing birthday cards to your relatives in Georgia must have been a nightmare during this period; in addition to all the back and forth as to what actual country Georgia was a part of, the State Capital of Georgia changed twelve times between 1776 and 1868. Today, Georgia's counties have some of the fastest growing populations, second only to Texas. These are presumably the counties with prisons in them. Across the nation, an average of 1 in 31 citizens are under some form of correctional control. But Georgia comes in at number 1 with an impressive(?) 1 in 13 of its denizens in the correctional system. That's probably good news for anyone looking to be gainfully employed by the penal system. However, given men made up 92.3% of the national prison population in 2002, I'd imagine the dating scene might suck in the Peach State, especially for those girls with an eye for the proverbial "bad boy". State Capital: Savannah Augusta Heard's Ford Augusta Savannah Ebeneezer Savannah Augusta Louisville Milledgeville Macon Milledgeville Atlanta

9. New Hampshire
The Granite State was admitted as the 9th of the Union on June 21, 1788. The State Quarter features the Old Man of the Mountain, a granite formation in the White Mountains, with the words "Live Free or Die". Don't go programming Cannon Mountain into your GPS just yet; the old guy sadly succumbed to gravity in 2003. New Hampshire is famed for its somewhat confrontational motto, "Live Free or Die", which it officially adopted in 1945. In 1971 all the vehicle plates were changed from "Scenic" to "Live Free or Die", marking probably the greatest shift in license plate tone in US history. The phrase itself was taken from an in abstentia toast given by General Stark at the 32nd anniversary of the Battle of Bennington. As the revolutionary war was sparked in part by resentment over British taxation, I assume this means that death should be chosen in lieu of taxation. Evidently the New Hampshirites are among the 19% of Americans who fear death more than anything, as New Hampshire has no sale or income tax, and the 49th lowest State tax burden in the nation (I couldn't find out which State is living freer). It's hard to imagine how they fund roads and schools, but paying the nation's highest property tax may go some of the way to balancing the books. New Hampshire can pat itself on the green shoulder for having the lowest energy consumption by state and per capita, especially surprising given its average January high is a single Celsius degree. However, I suspect this environmental record may have been lost upon the arrival of my AC-loving in-laws to the State. State Capital: Concord.

15. Kentucky
Kentucky was the 15th State to join the Union on June 1st, 1792. The State Quarter features the Federal Hill mansion, the home built by Judge James Rowan using slave labour (N.B. read up on things before sticking them on your State quarter); a thoroughbred horse; and the words "My Old Kentucky Home", the title of the official State song. The region comprising the Bluegrass state was known to be inhabited by Native Americans up to 13 millennia ago, but these indigenous people were all but wiped upon by the arrival of sneezing Europeans around the mid 1700s. The region was given top ratings on www.lonelyplanet.com by explorers such as Thomas Walker, John Finley and Daniel Boone, and a permanent settlement was established by James Harrod in 1774. Kentucky is famed for tobacco crops, growing corn used in whiskey and the thorough breeding of racehorses (the only state with its name in a triple crown event). However, before you cancel the bachelor/stag party trip to Vegas, favoring a weekend of debauchery in the first State of the Western Frontier, you should know that of the 130 counties in Kentucky, a whopping 75 are dry, and a further 15 are moist (I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'd guess that mooning the staff at Taco Bell is probably not a good idea). State Capital: Frankfort.

Hmmmm, That's Weird!

I want to put a couple of disclaimers here. First, this post may contain material that is offensive to some. Second, I am not a medical professional, so nothing I say should be construed as medical advice or information, even on the wildest of your poor life decision-making days.

I have had a strange pregnancy in that none of the symptoms I have had thus far hail from the standard schedule of vomiting and pickle-craving. Had I read more of the books in the maternity section, I might have been able to anticipate certain symptoms. But I didn't, so I couldn't. I was a little taken aback by some, and downright worried about others, so I thought I would document them here for any other insane hypochondriacs.

1. So Very Thirsty
Before I found out I was pregnant, I inexplicably developed a voracious appetite for water. This is particularly unusual for me, as I have never been a great water drinker. When thirsty, I usually opted for sodas, juice or coffee.* But all of a sudden, I wanted water and I wanted it by the gallon. It even got to the point that I was getting out of bed at 3 or 4 am to get a large glass of water. Being the ill-informed hypochondriac that I am, I decided this meant I had developed diabetes. We were trying to get pregnant at this point, so before condemning my pancreas, I googled the term "pregnancy thirst" and found that quite a number of people had reported this symptom. The general consensus is that your body increases its blood volume during maternity and needs the extra liquid to do so. The upshot of this new found water consumption is that my skin has never behaved better.

2. Vertigo
In a related note to #1, I had a spate of head rushes in early pregnancy. These tended to happen when I suddenly stood up. They were mild and never made me lose consciousness or fall over. I now reason this to my having diluted my blood volume with the entire municipal water supply. This really isn't a symptom I had never heard of before; I vaguely remember Gwyneth Paltrow's character in Sliding Doors getting dizzy when she was pregnant (sorry if you haven't seen that film).

3. Noses in Need
I have never had hay-fever or allergies in my life, so it came as a bit of a surprise when I started waking up with a runny nose and then sneezing my way through the day. My nose has since been in a constant state of runniness, despite the fact that summer and autumn have now both passed, leading me to believe this is not an allergic reaction to anything like pollen. The skin around my nose is dry from all the tissue abrasion and I worry that I will dehydrate from the amount of liquid I am losing in snot. I looked it up, and while rare, it seems to be a bona fide symptom of pregnancy. It is basically an allergic reaction without the allergic. I was a little upset to read that it may not clear up until a few weeks after the baby comes.

4. Tag, You're It!
I noticed a handful of times that I had a couple of skin tags. These were tiny, skin-coloured pieces of raised skin that I wouldn't normally notice were it not for my neurotic hypochondria. I won't even say what ridiculous life-threatening conditions I attributed them to, but a brief internet search later, I discovered that this is an innocuous and normal symptom of pregnancy. Speaking of changes to one's skin, the "discoloration of the nipples" that I have read about didn't turn out to be the even change in skin tone I had expected! Let's just say you'd be forgiven for thinking my nipples have freckles or have had an unfortunately asymmetric run-in with a curling iron!

5. Reverse Sympathy Pains
My husband hasn't had much by way of Couvade syndrome, but I have begun to sympathize with a uniquely male affiliation. Basically, I think I know what it feels like to be kicked in the family jewels. I talked to my midwife, and she assures me that because of the normal increase in blood-flow to "that area", swelling and discomfort often ensue. As a result, I don't like sitting for long periods and I have also started to waddle a bit.

6. A One-Sided View
Much to my delight, my bump has come in over the last month or so. I was really excited to start showing and now that it is even visible through my winter coat, I am thrilled. I have received a number of complements on how cute it looks right now and I enjoy catching glimpses of it throughout the day. The only thing that disturbed me was the fact that my bump sometimes would shift almost entirely to one side. Basically, the baby takes little day trips over to the left side of my uterus every now and then. I've been told that once she gets bigger this won't happen. Knowing that it is a normal occurrence, I now think it just looks a little funny. More importantly, I'm happy that she's not right-leaning!

7. I Am So Smart... S.M.R.T!
Pregnancy brain is a symptom that I had heard of before I experienced it. However, I had no idea how zany some of the things I would do would be. I found the nutmeg in the freezer; I made a second dinner for myself one evening, having forgotten about the first one; and I have become a complete slave to my iCal (think "guy from Memento"). This is basically and apology to anyone who I promised to do something for, or to whom calls are yet to be returned! There were other funny things that I did, and I remember thinking "That's funny, I should blog about it." But now, thanks to pregnancy brain, I can't remember what it was that I found so amusing.

All oddities aside, I enjoy being pregnant a lot. It's fun to know that a little person is growing inside you, and even more fun when they let you know they are there. I have also been blessed in that none of the symptoms I have had have caused me any real suffering like the nightmare that must be morning sickness. I just like to gripe about things for entertainment's sake and I hope maybe to allay the fears of anyone else going through a less than typical pregnancy!

* Prior to being pregnant, of course. These days, juice is all that remains on the menu.

I'm One Quarter Numismatist.

It's been a long time since I routinely kept paper money about my person. I tend to use either my credit card or cheques. My wallet has what could be best described as vestigial compartments for coins or banknotes, so when I break a note I have no real system in place to deal with the ensuing change. I tend to throw loose coins into my bag, my coat pockets or over my shoulder in the car with little interest in what becomes of them. The only times I ever follow up on my ducats are the rare occasions that I want something out of a vending machine. Then it becomes an all out scavenger hunt through my belongings to put together one dollar and five cents for a bag of crisps (chips). On one of these recent pursuits -I think on this occasion I wanted coffee -I realized that an oddly high proportion of my quarters were State quarters. I had four in all: Texas, Missouri, Montana and Indiana. I have never really paid much attention to the inscriptions on these quarters, but it struck me as a pity to spend so many at once (and, more importantly, I had enough in non-state quarters for my coffee). I took them back to my lab, and on my lunch break, I looked up what each of the inscriptions represents. I found a pretty neat website that has a brief description of each State's quarter. It seemed like a reasonably fun way to learn about each State. As I can get a lot closer to listing the fifty States than I can in listing the 26 counties of Ireland (on a recent attempt, I produced 19, two of which turned out to be towns), and as I will be taking my citizenship exam soon, it seemed like a moderately good idea to try and collect all 50 State quarters and read up on each one as I come across them. On my subsequent coffee trip, I was given 25¢ in change, which turned out to be the South Carolina State quarter. I should have been given 20¢, so I gave the teller 5¢ and checked the Palmetto State off my list.

Here's what I have learnt so far:

8. South Carolina
The Palmetto State, so named because a log cabin was built out of Palmetto trees by colonists in 1776 and used to hold off British soldiers. The coin has the shape of the state, a Palmetto tree, and a Carolina wren holding yellow Jessamine, all of which are state symbols. It is the eighth coin in the State Quarters collection because South Carolina, one of the original 13 colonies, was the 8th State to be admitted to the Union on May 23, 1788. Before gaining statehood, South Carolina was part of the Province of Carolina, named by King Charles II for his father, King Charles I, using the Latin of Charles: Carolus. Evidently, naming it the Province of Daddy-Issues was a little on the nose for Chuck. Not famed for putting chinks in the glass ceiling, South Carolina dragged its heels on ratifying the 1919 19th Amendment until 1969 (and not certifying that ratification until 1973). Only Mississippi joined the Missi-Voters later than South Carolina (1984!). State Capital: Columbia.



19. Indiana
The Hoosier State (#1 in ridiculous origin stories for State monikers) was the 19th State to be admitted to the Union on December 11, 1816. The coin face has a racecar (making it the only State with a palindromic symbol), the outline of the State, and nineteen stars to represent its position on the statehood time-line. The racecar symbolizes the Indy 500, which has been run every year since 1911, with the exception of the World Wars. Indiana has more miles of highway per square mile than any other State, a fact they are so proud of that "The Crossroads of America" is emblazoned across every license plate. So, if you want to stop somewhere to get gas, stretch your legs, and maybe grab a 32oz. Slurpee™ while en route to Grandma's for Thanksgiving, this is the State for you. State Capital: Indianapolis.



24. Missouri
The Show Me State was the 24th to be admitted to the Union on August 10th, 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise. Basically, they could be a State and still sell slaves (Yay?). Accordingly, Maine was admitted as a Free State to keep the balance of Slave and Free States in the Senate. The State quarter has a depiction of Lewis and Clark returning along the Missouri River, with the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial/Gateway Arch in the background. The phrase "Corps of Discovery" on the coin refers to the body commissioned by Thomas Jefferson to explore what they had bought in the Louisiana Purchase (Missouri itself being part of that purchase). It came cheaply because Napoleon had a war to fund and was therefore a "motivated seller". This brought about the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition which was the first overland trip to the Pacific Ocean (and back). Thank goodness for Eisenhower's 1956 Highway act, or it would still take us two years to get out to the West Coast by car. Now, the tedious trip down the freeway just feels about that long. Despite the many references to Thomas Jefferson in Missouri's history, he was from Virginia and never actually lived there. Rather, he set a lot of policies that impacted the history of the State. Nevertheless, it's fun to mention him because he is my favourite of the Founding Fathers (And, yes. I have an answer to that question. Suck it, Palin!). State Capital: Jefferson City.



28. Texas
The Lone Star State became the 28th State on December 29th, 1845. Its coin features an outline of the State with a single, or lone, star surrounded by a lariat (big rope). The lariat symbolizes the role of the Cowboy in Texan history. The pre-colonized Texas was home to many diverse peoples who lived in relative harmony, and the word Texas fittingly comes from the Caddoan word for "Friend". This cultural love-in would have continued, owing to a general disinterest on the part of European colonists in the region were it not for René Robert Cavelier de La Salle, whose miscalculations caused a settlement there, instead of along the Mississippi River, in 1685. His miscalculations were also the basis of the hit show in that era, "I'm a European, Get Me out of Here!", and the settlement was abandoned four years later. European colonization continued concurrently with turf wars between the colonists and Mexico, until the Republic of Texas was born in 1836. The Alamo happened after this, so the R.o.T's woes were far from over just because they called themselves a country. After defeating Mexico, the inevitable in-fighting began. Specifically, to join the Union or not? Mirabeau B. Lamar was a nationalist who wanted to keep the Republic of Texas, whereas Sam Houston was a proponent of the annexation of Texas to the Union. I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but Lamar county has a population of less than 50,000 touting Lamar's grave as its one and only landmark (according to Google Maps), whereas Houston is the largest city in the Texas (4th largest in the country) with a population of over 2 million. I'm loathe to make too many jokes about the Lone Star State, because I like many others have completely misinterpreted the trademarked (seriously, they sue!) anti-littering motto, "Don't Mess with Texas". State Capital: Austin.



41. Montana
The Big Sky Country joined the Union on November 8th, 1889. The coin features a Bison head, important to the indigenous Native American people of Montana, hovering over a representation of the State's landscape. Everything east of the Continental Divide (a diagonal line across the State formed by geological formations) came with the Louisiana purchase. I can't find any information on where the other half came from, so I'll have to assume it was a free gift for test-driving a covered wagon. Montana attracted fur-trappers and then gold-rushers in the 1860's. Evidently, the prospectors didn't bring many female traveling companions with them, because Montana has the third lowest population density of any State. That said, it's the bovine equivalent of Manhattan. Montana is politically a swing state, with a slightly bluish hue. Of current note is the democratic Senator Max Baucus who unveiled the Health Reform bill (meaning the so-called Obamacare would more accurately be referred to as Baucucare Bill). State Capital: Helena.



Phew, that was a long post. Assuming I don't get 75¢ in State Quarters when I next break a dollar, the future entries should be a bit shorter.

10 things #7: Done and (half) Done!

I finished up the Yarn Over Cable socks by Charlene Schurch from Sensational Knitted Socks. I started a project with this pattern back in February, but during a house move, I managed somehow to lose it. I held out hope that it would turn up for quite a while, so moved onto project #8. By about October, I made peace with the fact that it was never coming back, so cast on again, this time with some very soft 100purewool I picked up in a coop many moons ago. I really like the description for short rows in this book, and having made 1.5 socks with the yarn over cable stitch, the rest of the pattern was second nature to me. The pattern definitely works better with solid yarn rather than the heavily variegated yarn I chose to use, but they are so comfy I don't really care!

That's Eight!

Here Come the Midterm Elections

The following quote sums up less eloquently than I ever could, how best to fix the problems in our democracy. It made so much sense to me that I thought it was worth transcribing. Sorry for the strong language.

"Here's a very sad truth. This system that we've created which we argue constantly is better than any government in the world. "We're number 1." This democratic society that we've created. I am more disappointed in this society and in this government that we've created around election time than I ever am. And that's the time you're supposed to be uplifted. That's the time you're supposed to be walking around [proud]. Oh, we should be preening. "Hey rest of the world, look at this democracy we've created!" And it's fucking nauseating right now! I've said it a million times. Here's the deal. You wanna run for something? You get no money. You get no commercial time. There's no anything. There's debate, and if you wanna learn about the person you go to the fucking library. And then people do this, they go, "Oh, well if you do that, then a lot of people aren't going to vote." Good! Fuck 'em! Well, what do we give a fuck? There's 300 million people in this country. So what? A hundred million people vote? That's not enough? 50 million people vote? If 10 million people voted for the presidency, but I thought they were intelligent, well-read folks that, by the way, took the time to get up, go to the library, read about the candidates, educate themselves, watch the debates, so on and so forth. If it was 1 million. And I thought it was 1 million of the best and the brightest, I'd be completely fine with that. It would be under 1% of society; I would still fine with that. I would not be amongst that 1 million. Thank you."
-Adam Carolla

A Love Story, as Told by Ravelry

I got extremely bored at work today, and as none of my friends have any new Ravelry activity, I took to reviewing my old projects. I realized that my relationship with my husband can be told through my knitting endeavours:

Dating













Engagement













and finally,

Marriage











It's a random observation, and likely a waste of your time to have made you read this. But, I am really that bored today. If you want to avoid future pointless musings - update your Ravelry project photos!

Calling All Mamas!

Huzzah, here comes the second trimester! By all accounts, I had a breeze of a first trimester but I still am mostly happy to see it gone! I only felt sick when I was not eating, so I just had to eat all the time (darn!). Other than mild nausea, the only other symptom was that I felt wiped out. I would make it through work, come home to collapse on the couch, where I would remain until a respectable 8.30pm at which point I would retire to my bed. While various aspects of my social life took a hit from this fatigue, the unexpected upshot of this symptom was that I didn't have the energy to stress out about anything. As a lifelong worrier, this was a delightful period of calm for me.

But that's over now. And true to form, a portion of my newly recaptured energy is being dedicated to coming up with things to worry about, and then worrying about them. Recently, my main focus is getting ready for the baby. I have most of the pregnancy/birthing concerns taken care of (with the exception of writing a birth plan and deciding upon the at-birth vaccinations). But what to do with our daughter once we get her home? I've been making a list of things I need to buy, but I am constantly stressed about missing something. So, I need help!

Here are things I have bought, or think I need to buy. Please, please comment or email me if there's anything I missed! Also, feel free to chime in on quantities of things I need, or great places to find things. Other advice and suggestions are welcome too!

Clothes
Diaper/Nappy Inserts (Where do you buy these??)
Diaper/Nappy Covers
Breast Pump
Bottles
Bottle Sterilizer
Baby Bath
Baby Bath Robe/Towels
Baby Hair Brush
Crib
Crib Sheets
Changing Station
Car Seats and Pram
Sleeping Sacks
Diaper Bag
Baby Wipes
Baby Lotion
Small Towels (for Spit-up)
Crib Mobile
Glider and Ottoman
Sling/Carrier
Thermometer
Max/Min Room Thermometer

Thanks for the help!!