Caturday!

Quote Of The Day

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath--a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed...

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land...

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day.  ~  LtCol Dave Grossman

Grrrsday

Embroidery - A Collar From 1857

From The Boys and Girls Companion for Leisure Hours, available on archive.org.  This the missing paragraph:

"Collar, in Guipure Embroidery.  The Collar being an essential article of dress, we this week supply the design for one, which will be found both rich and elegant when completed, although it does not require any great amount of work.  

There has lately been a great change in the size of collars.  They are now worn very small. The one which we have given is the right size for any lady."

Left-click to enlarge.

Caturday!

Quote of the Day

And, with regard to young women, everlasting book-reading is absolutely a vice.  When they once get into the habit, they neglect all other matters, and, in some cases, even their very dress.  Attending to the affairs of the house; to the washing, the baking, the brewing, the preservation and cooking of victuals, the management of the poultry and the garden; these are their proper occupations.  ~ William Cobbett

It's Been That Kind Of A Week

On the other hand, I did get to spend Monday with my favorite FBI agent.

Crochet - The Letitia Jumper from 1932

Slightly cattywampus and from the Australian Home Budget, September 1st, 1932. Left-click to enlarge and save.

Caturday!

Vintage Knitting - A Demure Yet Flattering Bedtime Jacket

From the Australian Women's Weekly, March 30, 1940. Left-click to enlarge.

Vintage Advertising - Eaton's Writing Paper

Deft use of snob appeal.  And the hats on the two fluttery ladies!

Caturday!

History Repeats Itself

I spent half this week at a volunteer management conference (I keep saying that I want to re-negotiate my employment contract to be paid by the conference).  A man* is lecturing us on the correct way to prepare disaster volunteers to go out on assignment.

He:  And we strongly recommend that you have them complete a "Fit for Duty" checklist before deploying.  This protects both the volunteer, and the sponsoring unit.

Lady Who Has My Job In Another County:  (Somewhat despairingly) Do you happen to have a sample "Fit for Duty" checklist that we can use?

He:  Er...well, we recommend that each jurisdiction develop one.

Peeved stares from 98% of his audience, all of whom wear at least two hats if not three in their respective departments and for whom this is a new paperwork requirement.

Me:  (quietly, to LWHMJIAC)  April, email me when you get back to your office, I'll send you a copy of ours.

After the workshop is over, he approaches me and gives me his card.

He:  Would you be willing to send me your "Fit for Duty" checklist too?

*Not in a suit and tie, but in the uniform of the Public Health Service. As I told my sweet, lovely boss, there has to be a way we can leverage some $$$ out of the Feds for this.

Das teure Vaterland

That nice man from the CDC contacted my sweet, lovely boss last week, to let her know that he had passed on our forms to their radiation response unit for review.

And oh, by the way -- a certain state on the southeastern seaboard is having a full-scale nuclear incident exercise later this year, and he thought it would be a great idea if the two of us flew down there to help out, given that we are SME's (Subject Matter Experts).

My sweet, lovely boss said we'd love to.  And then asked, sweetly and lovelily, "Who will pay for it?"

Ah yes...well.