Kat with a K

A walking cliche

At my brother's football game on Saturday, I realized I was wearing the following:

L.L. Bean shirt, jeans, and boots
Colby College t-shirt, hoodie, and hat
WBUR (NPR affiliate) fleece
Obama '08 fleece transition donor scarf
(And my own handknit mittens)

Hi blog!

I was doing so well with posting there for a while. Ah well. It's summer. Things are busy. I've been visiting family in Connecticut a lot. I saw Harry Potter again last night. (3D/IMAX this time!) I have some exciting stuff going on that I can't quite talk about yet. I'm designing a shawl. I'm reading a really long book. I survived writing and posting new fanfic every single day in July. My job hasn't actually killed me yet. I had a birthday. It's finally starting to feel like summer around here, which of course means I'm totally ready for fall.

So, you know, things are good. Once again, I'm resolving to post more regularly, but, you know, we'll see.

Out in the Woods

Now, I don't live in a particularly rural area. My town used to have lots of farms but at this point it's pretty much a standard suburb. According to Wikipedia, the population is around 25,000, and it's the eighth largest municipality in the state. But the specific spot where my house is located is far more "rural" than most of the town, by which I more or less mean that it's the last house on a dirt road, with a bunch of undeveloped (so far) woods behind it, and no other houses in sight. This has its positives and negatives: I love the quiet, but at night it can sometimes get a bit creepy; and I feel most at home amidst lots and lots of trees, but it's virtually impossible to keep the house completely clear of bugs and mice.

But the best part of living out here is what happened last night: I walked into the bathroom, glanced out the window, and saw two deer munching on grass (or something?) in my back yard. Just out there, hanging out. Now, there were deer where I grew up in Connecticut, but there it was more common to see them by the side of the road late at night (waiting to ambush your car) than just sort of wandering around in broad daylight like they own the place. Wild turkeys are everywhere, too, and I've seen other things out there that I thought were foxes (but I'm not positive). Because I'm me, my first reaction is to want to go read Sara Donati or someone. (Are there other good "frontier" type historical novels set in the Northeast?) It's amazing to get these sudden reminders of history and context.

Mail!

I have a mailbox! And the mail carrier left mail in it! No, really. You have no idea how exciting this is. My mailbox was defeated by a plow back in December, and then the ground was frozen and snow-covered, and anyway I felt that as a renter, things like putting up mailboxes shouldn't really be my problem. So for months now, I've been picking up the mail at the post office about once a week. And of course the post office isn't open at any convenient times, so it was really all unspeakably annoying.

But! It is warmer out and the snow is mostly gone and my landlord had some time last weekend, so now! We! Have! A! Mailbox!

(Yes, I really am that excited about it.)

Confession

No, my confession isn't that I haven't been posting here. You already know that. My confession is that I haven't even been reading any knitting or personal blogs recently. Pretty much at all. And I miss it. So I will be getting back to that. I promise. If anyone is actually reading this, thank you for bearing with me.

What have I been doing? Working, a lot. I'm still getting used to the new job, so even when I'm not working, I have a lot less energy and brainpower for things like blogging. And most of my blogging energy is going to NH Political Info. So that means most of my Internet time is going towards keeping up with political sites and blogs. I've been barely reading, either, but I have been knitting. And taking pictures, even. Now to just post the pictures. While knitting, I also may be semi-systematically watching everything Bradley Whitford's ever been in. (Adventures in Babysitting, anyone? Red Corner? Cloned* is coming next from Netflix. Yes, I need help.) I've also been, um, writing West Wing fan fiction. I KNOW.

But I promise I'll be better about posting and reading blogs. And in the meantime, if anyone is actually interested in reading West Wing fanfic, knock yourself out.

* Yes, it's written by that Perri Klass. Freaky.

Hello out there!

I know, I know, it's been forever. I was ridiculously busy with the election and the new blog, and then I was recovering, and getting into a post-election rhythm for the new blog, and... yeah. The longer it was the worse I felt about not posting here, but I was all "Oh, I have to do a big update post and it will take forever and..." so instead I'm going to just jump back in. So. Hi!

I love the rain.

People tend not to believe me when I say this, but I really hate hot weather, and I'm not always so big on the sun, either. Well, I guess I like the sun when it's cool out. Anyway. During the summer, I really prefer rain much of the time. Sure, it can be annoying to get all wet and such, but summer rain is so pretty and refreshing. And the sound of rain is one of the most wonderful sounds on earth. One of the few great points of my cubicle is that it's near a skylight, and I can hear the rain drumming on it right now. Aaaah.

(Yes, I have already started checking weather.com's 10-Day Forecast just in case it shows "when it will start cooling off." You know, for the fall. Yes, it's July. Even in New Hampshire, it doesn't get cool that early in the year. I'm pathetic.)

Aha!

Remember a while ago when I was trying to figure out where my camera battery charger could have gone? Well, now, unpacking from another weekend trip, I found it in my laptop case! Yay! With it was another power cord that I recognize but can't quite place... hmm. So next time I'm looking for the power cord for something, tell me to look in my laptop case. :)

See you Monday!

My very very very nice friend is picking me up to drive me to the airport in four hours. (Yes, around 4 am.) Due to laundry mishaps and miscalculations, about half of my clothes are still damper than I'd really like to pack them. I moved the drying rack from the basement to upstairs - the warmest part of the house. This should help, right? So I think that I will go sleep for a few hours and hope that when I wake up, two miracles will have occurred: a) the clothes will be dry and b) the cats will not have damaged or hidden them, even though they're hanging there all temptingly. Wish me luck, eh?

Internet access on board the ship is ridiculously expensive, so I won't be posting while gone. See you Monday night!

Oh camera battery charger...

If you were my camera battery charger, in which box would you be hiding? It would be really useful to find that before my trip...

Just go!

Pet peeve of the morning: people who try to be "polite" in ways that really just make everything more difficult for everyone. This is especially applicable to traffic issues. If I am stopped at a STOP SIGN, there is really no reason for you to stop in the middle of the road when you have no stop sign in order to try to get me to go. Also: I won't. Partially because I'm just obnoxious that way, and partially because it's almost impossible to know that you won't actually just start up again and run into me, since, you know, you have no stop sign. I don't necessarily expect everyone to remember the intricacies of right of way law, but when the issue is "stop sign" vs. "no stop sign," isn't it pretty clear-cut? Aaaaaargh.

Seriously! It's June!

I often forget that I'm living with a Southern boy now... except when things like this happen: I got up this morning to discover that the heat was on. The heat! In June! When we've just gotten over an awful heat wave! It had dipped into the fifties outside overnight, and the house was, I don't know, 70? Hah. He must have it set at 75 or something. I think we can assume that I'm going to be a lot warmer next winter than I've been the past few...

I'm such a dork.

So over on Ravelry, Kung Fu Knitting mentioned that her husband seems to think she has "enough" sock yarn, whatever that means. I offered to send him a picture of my sock yarn so he'd know it could be much worse. :) This means that I have an excuse to organize my yarn tonight. I'm very excited. As I mentioned earlier, it is all in bins, and all in one place, so it's finally accessible enough to organize in one go.

And THEN, I was at Target and saw that all the Real Simple office supplies were on sale, so I got a really cute desk organizer and pencil cup. So I get to organize my desk tonight too! I've decided that Gilmore Girls will be the appropriate viewing material for all this organizing - both because Rory is an organizer too, and because I've seen it before so I don't have to pay complete attention. AND I have leftover waffle fries (nacho flavor, sans meat) for dinner, and some Haagen-Dazs Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan ice cream to try for dessert. (Thanks for the tip, Jen!)

Add in unpacking and sorting some more of my books (a looong process), and I'm thinking it's pretty much going to be the perfect evening.

It's May already?

Really? Wow. It seems awfully cold to be May, for one thing. Huh. Although it just occurred to me that that means the Indiana and North Carolina primaries are next week. Wow. After the huge gap before PA, these seem like they're arriving very quickly.

The alarm woke me up out of some very deep stage of sleep this morning, which means that it's the sort of day when curling up on the carpet under my desk sounds like a really good idea and I start counting the hours until I can go home pretty much at the time I get up. (Down to 10.5 now!) I'm looking forward to curling up on the couch with knitting and Grey's Anatomy when I finally get home around 9:30 tonight.

The fact that it's May means I really need to get serious about packing and moving. Ack ack ack ack ack.

What will they think of next?

I just got back from the dentist. When it was time for the tooth-brushing segment of the appointment, the hygienist started reciting the flavor options. I was about to go with the standard mint when she said "Cookie dough." Cookie dough? I pointed out that that sounded sort of counterproductive, and she agreed, but said it was really good, so I gave it a try. And - yeah. Weird. But not bad.

What would Ma Ingalls do?

Sometimes when I find myself getting whiny about my really-pretty-easy life, I ask myself "What would Ma Ingalls do?" ("What would Marilla say?" works pretty well too.) I've found it's a good way to make myself just do the dishes already, or to get out of bed in a timely manner when the house is a bit cold. I've been reading the Little House books over and over for almost twenty years now, and as I get older I become more and more aware of how amazing Ma seemed to be, packing up over and over, following her husband to frontier after frontier, always making ends meet, making a happy life for her family. And the knowledge of how ridiculously easy my life is compared to that generally shames me into just sucking it up and getting on with things. (Yes, I know the historicity of some elements of the Little House books is debatable, but I'm using this as literary inspiration, not historical.)

For example, if Ma were faced with half a bag of apples that weren't as good as expected in the first place and were now getting overripe, would she throw them out? No, she wouldn't, because they're perfectly good food and we do not throw out food. She'd do something like cook them into apples 'n' onions* instead:

The only problem with this method of self-motivation is that it sometimes breaks down when it comes to more newfangled "should do"s. The answer to "What would Ma Ingalls do?" is generally not "do yoga" or "cook tofu" or even "exercise," since Lord knows she got enough of a workout in her everyday life that it would just be silly for her to expend more energy when she didn't have to. Although, now that I think about it, she probably would approve of physical exertion as a way to raise body temperature and cut down on heating fuel consumption...

Man, I've got to pull out my Little House books and reread them all. It's been way too long. By which I mean maybe a year, but... still.
___
* Yes, I know apples 'n' onions were made by Almanzo's mother, not Ma. Still. And I ended up going with Mark Bittman's recipe rather than the one from the Little House Cookbook because I didn't have half a pound of bacon fat lying around.

Warm!

My version of the furnace wars is over for the year. I'd been doing okay, ish, sleeping in several layers, hugging the kitten for warmth, etc., but I was just on the phone with my mom and she made me admit to the temperature in my apartment. And the conversation resolved with something like "I am sending you money for oil and you are turning on the heat right now, young lady." Well, maybe the "young lady" part was implied rather than stated. Still. I don't argue with my mom when she uses that tone of voice. I turned it on while we were talking, and then after we got off the phone did the "oh wait! Did I put anything flammable on the vents over the summer?" mad dash, and now it's a balmy 62 degrees in here, and I might not have to deplete my new car savings fund to get through the winter after all. Thanks Mom!

Happy December!

Warning: The following is pretty long and rambling, and doesn't really have an overarching point or theme. Or pictures. Just to let you know.

First of all, sheesh, you people like kittens! :-) Yesterday's post got more comments than anything else on this blog, with the exception of a few Knitting Olympics posts. Thank you all so much for your advice and support. I really appreciate it, and am taking it all under consideration. Kitten update: kitten has been slightly delayed, because apparently his or her littermates all left at about the same time, and the mommy is sad. So they want to let her keep the last kitten for a few more days. And I figure that a little more time with mom can only be good for kitten. ETA is sometime next week. I'll keep you posted.

So, it's December! REALLY? Already? That seems rather odd. But I love December, so I'm happy. Except that it's still like 70 degrees out. I have a friend in the Dallas area, and her kids had a snow day yesterday. But no, in New Hampshire it feels like May. What's with that? I object.

The next time I will have a whole day free will be, at the earliest, January 7. Well, no. I actually have no plans yet for December 31 or January 1, but my parents always have a party on 1/1, so I have to figure out whether I'll go down there for that, or do something up here, etc... I'm tempted to just say "forget it" and stay home for New Year's, but then I worry that that sounds better in advance than it actually does that night/day when everyone else is out doing fun things. So I'll wait and see what various local friends are doing and then decide.

The lack of time at home is an issue because it seems right now that all I want is to be home. I pretty much just want to read and/or knit and watch TV/DVDs. All the time. I guess this isn't really that unusual. It just feels more severe at the moment, which is probably a product of how busy I've been. So I'm sitting here at my desk pretty much just thinking "I JUST WANT TO KNIT!!!" Pleasant. I'm also in the mood to read, but neither of the books I'm reading are really grabbing me. I'm going to try to finish the Munro book tonight, though. I bought some brain candy at the bookstore last night - new Meg Cabot and new Nora Roberts (her first historical!) - and those will be my reward when I FINISH something. See? I told you I'm all about the self-bribery.

Tonight I actually have the evening mostly free, so the plan is to alternate knitting to episodes of Grey's Anatomy with reading and cleaning the house. And you cannot imagine how much I'm looking forward to this. I'm such a homebody.

Falling back

I've always hated the springing forward part of daylight savings. I mean, losing time? What's with that? Plus, it always makes me feel jet-lagged, even though it's only an hour. The falling back part, though, that I can get behind. I mean, who wouldn't want an extra hour? It always seemed so magical when I was a kid. I would wake up, read for an hour, go downstairs, and find that it was the same time as it had been when I woke up. (Well, at least as far as I was concerned.) And yes, finding extra time to read has been one of my main objectives for at least 20 years.

Since I had no time-sensitive commitments this morning, I decided last night that I would try to recapture that "extra hour" magic. I didn't change my clock before bed last night, and it worked wonderfully. I woke up naturally around 7:20, stayed cuddled up in bed to finish the book I was reading, got up at 9:30, and found that Teddy TiVo told me it was 8:30. Brilliant.

There's also, of course, the literal dark side of the whole "extra time" issue. The sun is setting awfully early. Honestly, though, that doesn't bother me too much. It just seems right. All this week, it's been feeling like it was time. I've decided that there are two parts of autumn in New England. The first has the hints of cooler air, the crispness, the apples and leaves, the gorgeous light. We're mostly past that now. Now we're on to the cool days and bitter nights, the driving rain, the wind, the darkness. It's deeper, more complex, more difficult, but I still love it. For the past several days it's felt like it's time to settle in, to circle the wagons, to get ready for the long winter. Get out the tea and the candles and the Dickens and the wool.

I feel like such a grown-up.

After work today, I went to Home Depot and bought a trash can. An outside trash can, so I don't have to go to the transfer station every time I have a bag of trash. Now, I've made larger - and certainly more expensive - house-type purchases, like a couch and... well, other stuff, I'm sure. But for some reason, buying a trash can seemed incredibly adult.

But really, that's no excuse for the AARP to send me another membership invitation. I mean, come on. Really.

In other house-related news, I seem to have finally convinced my landlord that when I say "The roof is leaking," I mean "No, really. The ROOF is LEAKING. Get up there and look at it. NOW."

Milestone

I am wearing a sweater. In my house. A cotton sweater, sure, but still. And I've been drinking gallons of tea all weekend. I am beyond excited. Maybe there's hope for getting past this "summer" thing after all.

Poor Car

My poor little Car is sick. Today he's getting new exhaust stuff ($310), and new struts today or tomorrow ($570), in order to pass inspection this month. Within the next few months he needs a new timing belt with water pump ($521) and various important maintenance stuff I've been putting off ($569). Eesh. Won't be buying much yarn for a while...

That wasn't quite the plan.

The T seemed to be having another existential crisis tonight. Which meant that it took twice as long as usual to get to class. Which meant no Au Bon Pain for me. But a very sweet classmate insisted I take half her sandwich - from Whole Foods! Exciting! (I guess she usually has half for lunch and half for dinner, but she had a lunch appointment today, so ended up with an extra half.) I'll have to go try their sandwiches myself sometime, because even without its main ingredient (ham, which I don't like, so my classmate put it all on her half), this sandwich was GREAT.

There was... something else I was going to say. But it has entirely left my brain, apparently. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.

Just so you know

I have the best manager ever. She knows my current schedule (partially thanks to the blog, of course) and let me go home early. Of course, "early" is still after ten, but at least I got home at ten-something instead of midnight-something.

Of course, now that I'm home, I'm feeling much less sleepy. Bah. I'm trying to decompress with some Samantha Brown, and then I'll go try to sleep, I guess.

Sleeepy

Wow, it's amazing how tired one gets after working for seven hours, then reading and socializing for two, all on about three hours of sleep. Huh. I guess it's really not that shocking, is it? Last night I went with two friends to a special screening of Serenity, and like most special screenings, it was at midnight. An hour away. So we got home at 3:30. Lovely.

So I'm going to go eat leftover Mexican food and watch Julia Child make croissants and try to update the Summer Reading Program stuff, but let me know if I make any huge mistakes. I'm tired. Also, you'll just have to believe me for the moment that I read another two books (or ask Erica or Tracy or Defulct, actually), because I don't think I could come up with coherent reviews at the moment.

Randoms! On Wednesday!

1. My newest TiVo find: Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown. Favorite quote so far: "Well, hello! You must be an Alp!"

2. I know Rachel warned us, but I was still disappointed by the ending of My Sister's Keeper. Actually, the whole book was sort of annoying, but compelling at the same time. Hmm. I'll try to sort out my thoughts on it in time for the May Reads post.

3. Oh. I was going to say the weather was finally better, but now I hear it raining again.

4. Speaking of which, yes, I was in the flooding area, but yes, I'm fine. My usual route to work was closed for several days, and my kitchen ceiling is precariously close to dripping, but I'm fine. And check out Feminknit for some pictures.

5. I am going through soy milk withdrawal. (I usually put it on my cereal, but we got a free gallon of regular milk, so we're trying to use that before it goes bad, and so there's no soy milk in the house.) It's REALLY not fun.

6. Talking about soy milk suggests that I don't actually have much to say. Or at least don't have the energy necessary to say it.

7. Up next: NH S&W report and photographic evidence that I do still, in fact, knit.

Dreams

Apparently my subconscious was hard at work last night. Many nights I don't remember any of my dreams, but this morning I remembered not one but three, or at least three seemingly disparate elements. I suppose they could have all been part of one dream.

1. This one is the most vivid. I was visiting family in CT, and I went to visit my cousin's new salon. (This part is actually true. I mean, my cousin really has a new salon; I haven't seen it yet.) She had an opening and offered to cut my hair. I was slightly worried because I wanted it back in the now-grown-out style of my last haircut, but since it was so convenient - and the person who had cut my hair until I went to college - I decided to take the risk.

I think this part of the dream is telling me to make a hair appointment, already.

2. Carrots. I don't really remember this, but there was something about eating carrots. There must have been, because this morning I had the distinct memory of having eaten carrots very recently, but the bag of carrots in the fridge was still unopened.

3. This is the scary one. You might want to steel yourself. I guess you're already probably sitting down. But. A sock toe unraveling. Yeah, I know. Nightmare. Yes, I checked the sock I finished last night as well as the ones hanging on the clothes drying rack, and they all seem to be fine.

All the subconscious turmoil notwithstanding, I woke up this morning feeling rested and actually thinking productive thoughts about my paper, so I really shouldn't complain.

Oh, hi!

I'm still here. I promise. It's been a crazy several days. I'll try for a full update, in random form, tomorrow. Just to give you a teaser, it involves Annie Modesitt, Lauren and her FHBF, a car trapped in a parking garage all weekend, and about seven dozen eggs.

So how was your Easter weekend?

Upheaval

Move along. Nothing to see here, other than some nonsensical ramblings. No knitting. No books. No movies. Just talking.

I'm writing this from my new cubicle. We're now in the company's main building rather than a small side building. I think I like it, but it's a big change and it will take some getting used to. I spent quite a while this morning fiddling with my monitor, keyboard, and mouse, trying to find a setup I liked. Nothing seemed right, but what I have now might work. I hope.

Also, I've been spending much of my (scant) free time at home playing with the TiVo, so my routine has been all messed up in that department as well. And I'd better stop doing that so much, because I now have it set to record more than I could possibly watch, just because I was having fun searching in various ways, etc. Ah well. I'm sure I'll figure out the "right" amount of stuff to record eventually.

Weekend Break

I really need some alone time. And I have a good, oh, dozen books that are demanding to be read RIGHT NOW. And a bunch of DVDs to watch, and oh yeah, the knitting. So I think I'm going to take the next 24 hours or so to relax and try to at least make a dent in the pile of books and movies and finish one of the scarves that's "due" next weekend. I'll let you know how it goes either tomorrow night or Monday, depending on how I'm feeling.

Oh, and I think I'm joining the ranks of the TiVoers. Any hints or tips or anything from the TiVo users in the audience?

Yawn

I know it's cliched, but I am so, so glad it's Friday. I was going to post pictures of blocked Branching Out but I just don't have the energy. I'm going to bed with a book. Pictures tomorrow. Good night!

Quick Randoms

Because I was supposed to go to bed on time tonight, darn it! Argh.

1. Operation: Harlot was successful last night. I arrived at the store at 10:30, unpacked boxes for the first 15 minutes, and then realized that I had 15 minutes and about 25 boxes left and I had to go more quickly. So then I started just opening boxes. Blood was drawn. (Boxes are sharp!) But I found it. Wheeeee. It's wonderful. Better review after I finish reading it.

2. Clapotis = fun. And I haven't even started dropping stitches yet.

3. Watched the fourth Harry Potter movie tonight. Some of the exterior shots seemed oddly cartoony, but I thought it was good overall. Hermione is still my favorite, of course. As always, I found myself sort of wishing that they'd hurry up through the dragon/battle/whatever scenes and get back to the academics and interpersonal relationships and lovely boarding-schoolness. Maybe I should just go find some school stories to read.

4. Don't you hate it when something disappears right after you discover it? Last week, I discovered the green tea lattes at the coffee stand on campus. Now, I don't normally like green tea much, but these were all milky and melony and yum. Yesterday? They were gone. Bah.

5. Interested in reading or contributing to a free online knitting lifestyle magazine? Sort of Glamour meets Knitty, with a little Bust thrown in? Let me know.

I'm sure there was more, but I really, really should be asleep. Good night!

Things About Which I Am Happy

It's Monday, so it's time for Participation Positives!

1. Spring! It's finally feeling like spring out. It's going to be in the fifties all week, perhaps even getting up to the sixties on Thursday and Friday. I do know that we are pretty likely to get another snow before it's all over, but I'm enjoying it for now.

2. Comments! Wow, lots of you commented on the socks yesterday. Thanks! Just to clarify, I never thought that that socks themselves were ugly, but the first picture I posted of them was all dark and made them look oddly shaped. I think the pictures yesterday show them off to much better advantage.

3. Branching Out! It's done. I even just about memorized the pattern by, oh, the last two or three repeats. Yeah. It's nice, though. It's currently deciding where it wants to hang out while blocking, and then we'll have a picture for you.

4. Clapotis! It's started. The yarn is behaving a bit better than it was while winding, thank goodness, although it is a bit splitty. But OH so soft. It is also looking less pink than I expected, but not necessarily in a bad way. Pictures soon. I'm on repeat increase 2 or 3 or 4 or something. I'm just looking forward to getting to the straight rows so I can see what it looks like when the stitches start dropping.

5. Dr. Who! Are you all watching this? It's wonderful. I can't recommend it highly enough. Hilarious and snarky and British. And boy, is the doctor cute. Too bad he won't be there next season.

6. Taxes! Well, not taxes themselves. But I finally did my taxes this weekend and it was extremely painless, and I'm getting lots back. Wheee. And yes, I'm already negotiating with myself about how much I get to spend on yarn.

Vacation is tiring.

I know, I know, poor me. But really, I'm starting to question the wisdom of taking a flight that lands approximately twelve hours before I have to be back at work. Ah well. Let's just hope that the flight is on time and all - apparently they close things for a little bit of ice here! For real! I thought they were kidding at first with the whole "If there's really freezing rain, we're not going out" thing, but they mean it! Who knew?

My hair is gone!

Well, not all of it. But... a lot. 15 inches or so. Enough to feel like a big huge change.

(And that's my pretty new dress I got for my grandfather's birthday party.)

Random Wednesday ('cause I can)

Yeah, I know, twice in one day. But I had stuff I felt like saying and liked the idea of posting Random Wednesday on Wednesday for once. (It is Wednesday, right? I think?)

1. First, because Lauren asked for it:

The five scarves-in-progress, albeit a bit blurry. The stray needle and brown yarn coming in from the left belong to another scarf-in-progress, but that one is my roommate's, not mine (thank goodness).

2. Tonight was my last class of the semester. We had pizza and wine and cookies and then left early. Really, all classes should be like that.

3. During class, my professor asked me: "Could you make your life any more difficult?" Hah. He doesn't know the half of it.

4. I also discovered that when I e-mailed my final paper to my professor yesterday, I didn't actually, you know, attach the paper. I am so smart.

5. While walking to the train after class I started calculating my Knitting Hours Per Day for the next ten days or so. Let's just say that it's looking rather appalling. Details, and hopefully a Plan, will be forthcoming. Tomorrow. When I'm bored at work.

6. I have decided that Green Day's "Holiday" is what I wanted Franz Ferdinand's second album to be. Not necessarily politically (because Franz Ferdinand is/are British [Scottish?], for one thing), but musically.

7. Today is the thirteenth anniversary of the fatal shooting incident that occurred at my alma mater. Although I was there long afterward and didn't know anyone involved, the reverberations are still felt throughout the tiny community, and I felt I should mention it and that everyone affected is in my thoughts today.

8. On a happier note, it is also my dad's birthday.

9. New Dunkin' Donuts favorite: Vanilla Spice coffee. Yum.

10. I'm dreaming, not of a white Christmas (well that too), but of all the things I will have time to knit after Christmas: the baby Aran, Birch (which was going along swimmingly until I finally had to admit that I should stop on it until after Christmas), Trekking XXL socks, and some sort of freaking head covering, already. I am in New Hampshire. It is cold. I do not seem to own a hat. What I really want is a hooded scarf, but I'm not letting myself think about it yet.

11. It sounds weird, but I have discovered that sleeping in hoodies (yes, with the hood on) is SO cozy. Another thing for which I can blame my roommate. Caffeine, Auden, alcohol, Michael Nava, Six Feet Under, cilantro, sleeping in hoods... what will be next?

12. Since I am home in time to go to bed on time, I should really do so, huh? 'night.

Me me me me meme

I'm procrastinating, and Kat tagged everyone who read it, so...

10 Things you might not know about me:
1. I have broken my left arm and right leg.
2. I was born with congenital heart disease and have had a few open heart surgeries.
3. I am officially a high school dropout.
4. I like driving in snow, as long as there's not much of it.
5. I didn't try alcohol until I was almost 23. (Yes, that's how old I am now.)
6. I'm a virgin.
7. I started college as a physics major.
8. I used to play D&D and Magic: The Gathering.
9. I have several other blogs/online journals/etc.
10. I have recently become addicted to Tab.

9 Places I've visited:
1. Nicaragua
2. England
3. Italy
4. France
5. Vatican City
6. Malta
7. Monaco
8. Spain
9. Cornwall

8 Ways to win my heart:
1. Cook me dinner.
2. Let me cook for you.
3. Knit for me.
4. Ask me to knit for you.
5. Read me poetry.
6. Talk about literature.
7. Treat me like an intelligent adult.
8. Deal gracefully with my quirky family.

7 Things I want to do before I die:
1. Have a novel published.
2. Own a house.
3. Go to Ireland.
4. Get married.
5. Have children.
6. Finish a sweater.
7. Learn to speak another language fluently.

6 Things I am afraid of:
1. The dark
2. Falling
3. Loneliness
4. That no one really likes me
5. "Grown up" paperwork type stuff
6. People close to me disappearing

5 Things I don't like:
1. Fish (as a food. I like fish if they are swimming) <- I'll stay with Kat on this one.
2. Mean jokes or teasing
3. Bugs
4. Rude customers or coworkers
5. Ice on the roads

4 Ways to Turn me Off:
1. Refuse to take responsibility for your actions
2. Be rude (to me or anyone else)
3. Be totally self-centered
4. Make fun of people

3 Things I do every day:
1. Brush my teeth
2. Read
3. Talk to or e-mail my roommate

2 Things that make me happy:
1. Reading
2. Knitting

1 Thing on my mind right now:
1. My stupid paper

As Kat said, I'll tag whoever reads this, but especially Aisling, Erica, and Cate.

Oh, is this what they call "life"?

I did not turn on my home computer at all yesterday.

I got up, went to work until five, came home, had dinner with my roommate (who had cooked and had very yummy pot roast waiting for me), helped him get started on a knitting project, and then went out with him and a bunch of other friends from the bookstore. And didn't get home until almost three a.m. Weird. But kind of nice, to, for once, not feel like all my friends are in the computer.

First love

You may have noticed that I hesitate to refer to this as a "knitting blog." And really, this isn't just because I write about things other than knitting. The truth is that in the world of knitting blogs, I've always felt like something of an imposter. And it's not because I've never actually finished a sweater. Okay, confession time: knitting really isn't my "thing," my one main hobby, my overriding passion. Now, this isn't to say that I don't love it. I really, really do. But - well, I guess it's as simple as this: by the time knitting came along, I was already taken. My first love came into my life early on, and knitting never really had a chance.

My mother tells me that after she brought me home from the hospital, the first place she took me "out" was the public library. And I was, basically, a goner from that point on. Now, I don't mean to imply that she planned it this way, or that said trip to the library necessarily cast a spell over me or something (although I wouldn't be surprised). No, she took me to the library because the fact that she was a first-time mom with a brand new baby didn't affect the more central issue: she needed to have something to read. The main thing (aside from work, household chores, etc.) that I can remember my parents doing when I was young is reading: my mother reading mysteries while cooking or folding laundry, my father ending the evening with the New Yorker, both of them reading to me constantly, incessantly. Given this environment and my own natural (genetic?) inclinations, is it any wonder that I started reading as soon as I could and haven't stopped since?

I don't remember learning to read; perhaps it is more accurate to say that I barely remember not being able to read. My parents never tried to teach me; they just read to me all the time and answered whenever I asked what a word or letter or sound was. They tell me that my teacher called them at the end of my first week of kindergarten. "Did you know that Katie can read?" Their response was something like "yeah, well, we sort of figured." They started early with their pattern of being laid back about academic stuff. This was probably good, as it soon became clear that I was uptight enough about it for all of us.

I was your classic bookworm as a child. I read when I was supposed to be cleaning my room or doing my homework. "Playing outside" often meant "reading outside." I was generally more interested in my books than my classmates; looking back, I realize that this probably showed and was undoubtedly part of the reason why I never felt I fit in. (Reading at recess is not necessarily the best way to make friends on the playground.) And even with the friends I did have - well, I never really felt I was part of the group, or perhaps even the same world, in a way. Books were generally more real to me than the things and events happening around me. And books were easier to understand than either the "real world" or the pop culture/TV stuff everyone else was talking about. (Still are, actually.) I've been spending way too much time recently trying to figure out whether I was different because I read so much or whether I read so much because I was different. It's probably a little of both.¹

Looking back, it seems odd that, given the above, the idea of majoring in English in college never occurred to me until I was actually in college (and trying to be a physics major). Through middle school and most of high school, I was planning to be a professional musician; I gave up that plan because I realized that all those hours of practicing would cut into my reading time. You'd think that would have told me something, but it didn't. I considered majoring in math, history, philosophy, physics... but never literature. There were probably a few reasons for this. My mother, a doctor, tends to consider much of the humanities and social sciences to be "not real academic subjects." And I didn't tend to like English class that much in middle and high school: we had to read books a chapter at a time and take notes with stupid prescribed methods and try to discuss things with all these people who just didn't get it and, worse, didn't care. And then there was the writing aspect. I love to write, but... handing in papers with rough drafts and pre-writing? Sorry, my brain doesn't work that way.

So anyway. (Do I have a point here, other than the history of my life? I hope so. We'll get there.) My first semester of college, I was taking the classes that good little science majors are supposed to take - physics and calculus and stuff. And I also took an Intro to Poetry class because it sounded interesting and I wanted to round things out a bit. Well. Turns out, me and physics? Not so much. I still found (and find) the concepts fascinating, but Physics 100 was all about plugging numbers into equations, and half the time the professor didn't even really say what the equations were about. So I decided that I liked reading about physics more than actually doing physics. And that poetry class? Loved it. So the next semester I signed up for two literature classes² and no physics classes (although I did take the second semester of calculus, just to hedge my bets). And, of course, I wound up majoring in literature. I probably shouldn't have been as surprised as I was.

By my senior year, though, I was feeling a bit burned out. Writing a thesis can do that, I guess. I started to feel like reading wasn't all that much fun anymore. I didn't stop reading - I don't think I could stop reading - but I didn't like it much either.³ I just did it, because that's what I did. And then, once I graduated, I realized that I could read whatever I wanted and was no longer in the middle of a bunch of precocious, self-absorbed adolescents who would make fun of me for reading Diane Mott Davidson or Nora Roberts. So I did. A lot. I half-consciously decided that I didn't like "hard" stuff and spent a few years reading mostly fluffy mysteries and romances. Not, of course, that there's anything wrong with mysteries or romances or any kind of book. It just wasn't a very good balance for me, personally.

And, really, it was much more about my thinking behind my choice of reading materials than it was about the books themselves. When I graduated from college, I was burned out, overwhelmed, scared, and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.⁴ So I decided I had to be "normal." I started watching more TV and reading more "popular" stuff because I thought that, if I couldn't help but read constantly, I could at least read what normal people read. And, probably, a break after finishing the thesis and all was helpful. But I got stuck in that self-created literary cage and then forgot why I was there and then that it was even a cage in the first place. And this all meant that, basically, I forgot why I liked to read. I did it, I even enjoyed it, but the magic and mystery and meaning was all but forgotten.

(Warning: Here comes my point! I told you I'd get there!)

Now I think I'm starting to remember. Several factors (the break-up, boredom at work, living with someone passionate about books, working at the bookstore again) have combined in the past few months to remind me of why reading is so vitally important to me. And I'm loving it. And wanting to read all the time, which is hard with the two jobs and school and novel thing. Sometimes, honestly, I get a bit overwhelmed by all the wonderful books out there just begging to be read. (Working in a bookstore does not really help this.)

So I guess the reason I'm writing this is because I feel like I've sort of been giving reading short shrift recently, especially given all it's done for me. And I felt the need to correct the impression I'm afraid I give that knitting or whatever else is "more important" to me. Because if I ever had to choose to give up either reading or knitting for the rest of my life, well, I wouldn't really have to think about it. In one of her books⁵, Steph says something like "I knit so much that it has become a personality trait. Other people are kind or patient or friendly. I am knitting." And I am reading.

___
¹ I don't think that all this reading was necessarily better for me, though, at least in terms of making me into a normal, well-adjusted person. I feel like there are lots of things I missed somehow (flirting? Make-up? Huh?), and I still haven't figured out where/when/why I missed them. But that's a post for another day.
² Including "Agony in Stony Places." Yes, I really took a class called that. It never fails to amaze people. (Or at least people unfamiliar with my bizarre college. So all of you except Cate, go ahead and be amazed. And Cate gets a prize if she can guess who taught such a miserable-sounding class. ;-) )
³ This was also the time of the (related, I must think) decision that I hated academia and didn't want to go back ever, except maybe for a library degree, which was more "professional" than "academic," anyway. Um, right. Can I claim temporary insanity? Anyway, that's another post for another day.
⁴ Nota bene: "Move in with your ex-boyfriend" is very rarely a good solution to this sort of issue.
⁵ I promise I'll check the quote when I get home.

Worth every penny

Up here in Red Sox land, I tend to get some weird looks and questions when I buy the New York Times on Sundays. Why am I not buying the local paper¹ or, if I have to be snobbish about it, the Boston Globe²? I am clearly some sort of traitor. I get these questions from people behind me in line and even from the cashiers who are selling me the paper. (Hey, cashiers? Nota bene: saying "What could this paper have to make it worth $4.50?!?" is not necessarily the best way to, you know, sell more papers. Just saying.) I generally mumble something about the Book Review and the crossword puzzle and how yes, I know the other papers have crossword puzzles too, but if Will Shortz isn't involved, they really don't count, don't you see? But no, they invariably don't see, and they give up, and I give up, and they let me buy my paper. But it's sort of exhausting. And my actual reasons for buying it are a bit more varied:

1. The aforementioned Book Review and crossword are, actually, quite important to me. Something just feels wrong if I don't have them.
2. My father has purchased the Times every Sunday since... well, I don't know. Probably before I was born, anyway. Again, it just feels wrong not to have it around. And some sort of emotional connection/stability thing is involved, too.
3. There's always a chance that Amanda Hesser will have something in the food section. She is on the "Can I be her when I grow up?" list along with Sara Norton, Meg Cabot, and Stephanie.
4. Erica expects the Book Review when I'm done with it.
5. I really do like the other sections, at least most of them, even if I don't always get through them. I like having the option. Some weeks I read more of it than others, but, again, it just feels wrong if it's not there.
6. And, okay, I am a snob. I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but part of me likes being the sort of person who buys the Sunday Times. (More on this in the forthcoming post "The New Yorker Divide." I know you're waiting with bated breath.)

But now I have a much simpler way to explain it. As I was reading last week's Book Review this morning (um, yeah, I'm a bit behind), I came across the phrase, in reference to Greg Critser, "arguably the least bubbly reformer since Oliver Cromwell." That alone says it all. That's why it's worth my $4.50.

Also? Every single week the Book Review includes more books that sound interesting than I could possibly read in a month, never mind a week. But I keep writing down the titles, keep thinking I'll try...

___
¹ Because I get the local paper delivered on Sundays, people, although really mostly for the grocery coupons. And I'm considering cancelling it, anyway. But shhh.
² Don't they know the Globe is owned by the Times, anyway?

The heat is on.

No, I'm not talking about needing to finish my novel. Or the ridiculous amount of Christmas knitting I've barely started. Or the semester-long project due in two weeks that I've barely started. Um, yeah. Sensing a theme here?

But anyway. What I meant was the real heat. In my apartment. It came on for the first time this morning. Of course, it was snowing at the time (well, outside), so I suppose that's acceptable. Right?

Random Wednesday

(Yes, we had Random Kat Facts just last night, but that's a different kind of randomness. This is the "Here are twenty things I've been meaning to tell you but didn't have the time/energy/inspiration to write a whole post on" sort of randomness.)

1. If you would like a link to get a coupon for "Friends and Family Weekend" at Borders - 20% off now through Monday, I believe - let me know.

2. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about the election results. Yay New Jersey and Virginia and Maine. Boo Texas.

3. Whoever decided to play "Saturday in the Park" (you know, the "every day's the fourth of July" one) right when the majority of listeners would be headed to work on one of the coldest days yet this autumn really should not be a DJ. (Or computers shouldn't be picking out music. Whatever.) That said, it did make me smile and it's a good one to sing along with. Can you dig it? Yes I can! (Of course, listening to "My Immortal" next didn't exactly do wonders for my mood, but who can resist the line "Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me"? Yeah, I'll be listening to that the rest of the day...)

4. I finally finished the school assignment that had been hanging over my head being impossible for two weeks. Turns out I was making it far harder than it actually should have been. (What, you, Kat? Making something hard for yourself? Really? Shut up.) I'm ridiculously excited about it being done.

5. I'm also ridiculously excited about the fact that I'm wearing my "skinny jeans" that haven't fit in about a year. Whee!

6. Novel? What novel? No, really, it's... coming. I'm a bit behind but not irreparably so. As I said to my roommate this morning, I have nothing planned this weekend other than working all day Saturday (yes, he laughed), so I'm hoping to get a few good sessions in and get ahead.

7. Meg Cabot blogs! I somehow just learned this last night. Happiness ensued. (I know what I'll be doing during my down time at work today...)

8. I took a vacation day yesterday and Erica and I headed out for a day of excitement involving Harrisville, the Woolery, and crazy fundamentalist pizza. I'll let her tell you her big news herself, but let's just say that she picked me up at nine and by noon we'd managed to spend about $500 between us. And that was before the Woolery.

9. At Harrisville, I found a copy of Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves: 40 Great-Looking Designs by Carole Rasmussen Noble. A friend, with whom I had never before discussed porn of any sort (I don't think), recently told me that this was one of his "favorite books of knitting porn." It's out of print, and I didn't want to order an expensive used copy sight unseen, but there it was in the bookcase at Harrisville! And - yes. My friend was absolutely right. (And yes, I have started a glove.)

10. I may have also started the Irish Diamond Shawl from Folk Shawls: 25 Knitting Patterns and Tales from Around the World¹ in Harrisville Shetland in Evergreen². I bought the "weaving" version of the yarn, on the cone, because it was a fraction of the price (and it's what the pattern called for, technically). I'll let you know how it goes.

12. I finally went to an orchard and got local apples, unpasteurized cider, and cider doughnuts yesterday. Yum.

13. Okay, my computer here at work is freaking out, so I think it's time for some quality time with AdAware.

14. But I don't want to jinx my bad mood by leaving off on number 13, so let me just mention how annoyed I am that my online registration for next semester is at 5 pm on Saturday. Because that is clearly the best time for everyone to be at their computers. (I get out of work at five, so I'll be at least a half hour late and probably not get my first choice of classes. Bah.)

__
¹ Am I going crazy, or does my copy have a different cover than the one Amazon shows? Hmm. Check your copy. What's on the cover?
² They have three million about ten shades of green, so I'm not sure if the picture of Wendy's I linked above is in the same color, but it's close.

Random Kat Facts, 6-10

The "my brain is weird" edition...

6. The words for "right" and "left" still do not come naturally to me a lot of the time.¹
7. I see words in my head. Especially when people talk. Sometimes they appear as if they're being typed; sometimes they scroll; sometimes they're like subtitles. Sometimes they just hang in the air. (Hi, Rachel!)
8. I love to sort things. And alphabetize things. If I could make a decent salary shelf-reading full time, I'd be in heaven.
9. The most purely fun class I took in college was Formal Logic. Of course, given that most of my classes had names like "Agony in Stony Places" (no, really), that might not be saying all that much.
10. I love to learn languages, and learn them pretty easily. Latin is my favorite language.

___
¹ This is, of course, when talking about physical directions. I'm pretty clear on the concept when it comes to politics.

What's in your purse?

Bitch Ph.D. asked about the contents of our purses or pockets. I have no pockets in my skirt today (what is WRONG with women's clothing designers?), so, the contents of my purse:

Wallet
Notebook
Sock in progress
Packet of tissues
Small bottle of hand sanitizer
Two pens (blue and purple)
Two Lip Smackers (Cookie Dough and Strawberry Kiwi Comet)
Cell phone
Planner
Hairbrush
Cough drops
Just-in-case pad
Ibuprofen
Asthma inhaler
Antibacterial wipes
Simmons ID
Checkbook
Paycheck to be deposited
Stamps
Knitted pouch holding some cards that don't fit in my wallet (library, insurance cards, etc.)

Hmm, I think that's it. Your turn!

Learn something new every day...

Apparently I am a decent enough person to feel guilty about not sharing my chocolate with anyone but the person in my department with whom I am closest... but not a decent enough person to actually offer any to anyone else.

Pulling myself together

So, um, sorry about yesterday. I'd been thinking about including more personal stuff on this blog, and I guess in my madness yesterday I decided to go for it. Hope no one minded. And a very big thank you to Folkcat, Lauren, Kat, and Kristen for all the support and virtual hugs in the comments. It really did help.

So I wound up leaving class early because I was feeling worse and worse, physically, and was having trouble concentrating as well. At points, I was struggling not to fall asleep, so I was worried about driving home if I had stayed for the whole class. Of course, due to power problems or something, I ended up waiting about an hour for a train to take me back to my car. Waiting outside. In the cold/wind/occasional rain. Yes, I'm sure this did wonders for my cold. Anyway, I finally made it home, only a bit earlier than it would have been if I'd just stayed in class, but still. I put on my jammies, talked to my roommate for a while, went to bed, and actually slept quite well.

Today I'm feeling emotionally better but physically yucky. (Of course, they are related; I need to teach my body that "hey, bronchitis!" is not a good reaction to a little stress. Not that I have bronchitis now, but that's where things have generally headed in the past.) I have a full-fledged cold now, with coughing and intermittant wheezing and chills. Fun. So, the plan for the evening:

1. Put on favorite pajamas
2. Do enough from my to do list to decrease the stress level a bit
3. Eat soup and drink tea
4. Curl up in bed with a Netflix DVD and knitting
5. Take some Dimetapp around nine to knock me out and read myself to sleep

Sound good? I have a pretty full weekend planned, so I need to get better. I am also afraid that this cold is the start of the long-running illness I seem to get almost every winter. It's a combination of stress and the weather, I think: as soon as the cold and finals and the holiday season hit, I'm vaguely ill for months. It comes and goes, of course; most of the time it's more annoying than actually debilitating. But yeah... annoying. I'd like to break the cycle. I think it's a combination of not taking very good care of myself and not having very healthy ways of dealing with stress. So this year, I'm formulating a plan. What I have so far:

1. Get enough sleep. No, really. Yes, with two jobs and class, there are nights when I just can't get to bed early enough to get eight hours, but these nights are not the majority. The problem is that there are way too many nights when I stay up late for no good reason. I think if I can improve this, it will make a huge difference - at this point, I can barely imagine not being tired all the time.

2. Remember to take my vitamins. I'm getting better, but still not remembering every day.

3. Eat better. I don't eat horribly, by any means, but I'm sure I don't get enough protein. (Suggestions on easy protein??) And some more fruits and veggies wouldn't kill me.

4. Stay hydrated. Another obvious one that gives me way too much trouble.

5. Actually wear some of those scarves and hats I'm always knitting. Well, I don't know. You don't get colds from being cold, right? Is there any relation to having your body temperature drop or whatever because of weather, and getting sick? In any case, the cold aggravates my asthma, so I should make some attempt with the scarf thing at least.

6. Find some other way to deal with stress, darn it. This is the hard one. I get stressed, my body acts up, I ignore it until it gets so bad that I have to stop everything and stay in bed for a few days. Which, subconsciously, may contribute to the cycle: the implied "reward" of getting to stay home sick. Argh. This is the one I really need help with, and I'd love to hear any input.

Any thoughts/suggestions on any of it would be much appreciated, actually...

A whole day free?

So I unexpectedly have an entire day free tomorrow. Yes, I knew that I had Labor Day off, but my parents have been up here visiting this weekend. I didn't know what time they were going to leave on Monday, so I didn't make any plans. But it turns out that one of their cars broke down yesterday morning, so they're leaving early to go car shopping and I won't see them at all. Therefore, I have a whole day delightfully free. Because of the aforementioned parental visit, my apartment is even pretty clean, so the day really feels freer than most.

So... what shall I do? Sleep late? Write a story? Finally spend some quality time with the spinning wheel? Take a long walk? Read John Irving all day? Go shopping? (I'll probably do at least some of that, actually, since I have a Borders coupon about to expire.) Catch up on all the blogs I try to read? Knit Birch all day? Or pull out Charlotte or the Baltic Sea Stole or even the Peace Shawl? Spend a few hours on Bible chapter summaries (a la RachelSerenity movie? Finish season one of Avonlea? Or maybe catch up on the Netflix DVDs I've been ignoring for the past few weeks? Oh, the options.

I'm not going to decide now, though. I'm sure I'll have fun with whatever I pick, but for the moment, I think the delight of it really lies in the fact that that whole long stretch of time is free.

It's good to be home.

I caught some sort of evil sore throat thing just in time for the end of my vacation, and it's still lingering. So I'm feeling generally icky and the unpacking/vacation recovery process is going slowly. But at least it's going. Anyway, I'm very happy to be home. More once I can swallow.

Quick hello

Here I am on vacation! I'm writing courtesy of the lovely wireless access at the Wildwood Crest Public Library. We're having a good time... yesterday my dad and I went to Cape May for the afternoon. We saw two historic sites: the Cape May Lighthouse and the Emlen Physick Estate. We also hit the Washington Street Mall, which would have been infinitely more charming if it had not been raining. Nevertheless, I managed to do a bit of damage at Fiber Arts Yarn Shop as well as Stitch by Stitch. Pictures when I get back.

Tomorrow I'm hoping that the rest of the family will want to go to the beach and so I'll be able to take the car to Historic Cold Spring Village. I love living history places anyway, and they're supposed to have a spinning workshop (or in a home? Not sure). And a store that sells what their various craftspeople make. I am, therefore, hoping for yarn. I'm sure you're all shocked.

Vacation time

Well, I am off to Wildwood today. I've been feeling burned out so I hope this week off will help. I'll try to post at least every few days while I'm gone, but Internet access may be spotty, so don't worry if you don't hear from me for a week or so. Byeee!

Happy birthday to me.

Well, I'm 23 today. :-) It's been a great birthday weekend, and I have lots of pictures to show you, but I'm a bit too tired right now. (In addition to being great, the weekend was rather exhausting.) I'll probably get it all set on Tuesday, since I have class tomorrow, but the sock wants to give you a tour of New York, and I have lots of birthday goodies to show you too.

Friday (Hyperactive) News Round-Up

1. Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Between my class ending and my upcoming trips, things have been crazy.
2. I'm about 90% done with my final project for my class (due Monday). Woohooo!
3. This weekend is the aforementioned trip to CT and NYC. I am beyond excited.
4. AND my birthday is Sunday!!!!
5. It seems to be the thing recently for socks to narrate such excursions. At first it was just one sock, but others are doing now too, so I figured I might as well.
6. To facilitate the above, I bought a skein of Reynolds Swizzle in Forest at lunchtime today. Look for the sock's report soon.
7. I've started to think I may be just a wee bit obsessed with knitting. Today I started rather lengthy knitting threads on two non-knit-related e-mail lists.
8. I have also concluded that there should be a 24-hour knitting hotline. I spoke to a long distance friend several times on the phone yesterday trying to help her through her first sock, and do you know how hard phone knitting support is? (Yes, you probably do.) Now, I enjoyed it greatly and am glad she called, but what about all those knitters who don't have a knitting friend sitting at a desk all day and happy to be distracted? An 800 number is in order, clearly.
9. Oh, and I am determined to get to at least one NYC yarn store, probably The Yarn Connection because it's just a few blocks from the hotel.
10. See? I'm doing it already. Whenever we're in New York, my dad (the resident NY expert) tells us that wherever we're headed is "just a couple of blocks that way." (FYI: I have learned from experience that the Metropolitan is not, in fact, just a couple of blocks from Grand Central. In case any other fathers were spreading that particular rumor.) Anyway, I knew I'd start using the same phrasing when describing where we were going to my boyfriend. Oh well.
11. I am now just blathering so I should probably stop torturing you and try to get through my last hour at work.
12. Did I mention that this weekend is my birthday? Just checking.
13. Oh, and did I mention that we're staying at the Library Hotel? So cool.
14. Okay, really going now.

My boyfriend is so cool.

Look! It's a cover story! In addition to his normal weekly column! (This is in a local paper newsweekly, the Hippo. They put some of the stories online as well.)

It's his first cover story. I'm so pround of him. :-)

Halfway done!

No, not with a knitting project. But as of tonight, I am halfway through my summer class. Woohoo!

Nostalgia

I was thinking about this anyway, and then Lauren asked about the Berkshires, so...

What I Miss Most Right Now About My Freaky Little College in the Berkshires:

- The gorgeous campus.

- The Community Garden. I was working on campus the summer it got started, and it was great... they'd put whatever happened to be ready out on a table, and members of the community could take what they wanted and leave what they thought appropriate. And it was organic. I'm planning on making extensive use of farmers' markets and farmstands this summer, but still, it's not the same.

- The library. Great place to work, marvelous group of people.

- The area restaurants... breakfast at Martin's, pizza at Baba Louie's, ice cream at Bev's, burritos at La Choza, cheesecake at Cheesecake Charlie's, etc.

- Fabulous downtowns with nifty independent stores in Great Barrington and Stockbridge. Just drive up Route 7... it's great. Including, of course, Wonderful Things, my then-LYS.

- The faculty. On the whole, a fascinating, fun group of people. I'm so spoiled for any other higher ed places.

- Same with the classes, classmates, and discussions. The few times I've tried to start a Simon's Rock-like discussion in grad school, I've been immediately shot down or just looked at like I'm insane.

- The freedom to do really interesting academic projects and design my own course of study.

- The liberal atmosphere, although I'd like that more now than I did then.

To keep some perspective, some things I do not miss:
- The tourist traffic
- The intellectual elitism
- The dining hall food (although I do miss dining hall conversations)

Back on track

Happy July! July is my birth month, and halfway through the year, so I tend to use it to start things (or start over, as the case may be). My main "things" for this July are keeping track of my reading and knitting (I was really good about this for a few years, at least with the reading, but then just stopped) and resurrecting this blog. So, hopefully, you'll be seeing more from me soon.

A few reasons why I stopped blogging, and how I'm going to fix them:
1. I tend to get very "I'll post such-and-such every so many days.." etc. And when I can't live up to my (too high) expectations, I figure it's just not worth it and stop. Well, no more of that. I'll try to post at least a few times a week, and we'll leave it at that.
2. I feel like every entry needs pictures. And this just isn't practical. It takes much more time, and means I'd never be able to post from work or most other places. So. I will try for pictures at least once a week. Aren't you proud of how un-perfectionisty I'm (trying to) be(ing)?
3. Spam comments. As mentioned below, I'm closing the comments on older entries (anything before May at this point) while I work on a better solution.

All that said... hi! I've missed you! Anyone still out there?

Reasons to Look Forward to Class Tonight

1. Stopping for a fountain Diet Coke with a flavor shot (please let them have chocolate please let them have chocolate) on the way.

2. Listening to the radio and continuing to construct imaginary iPod playlists in my head. (I'm getting an iPod!)

3. Reading and knitting time on the T. (Yes, I brought my knitting today. I do learn from my mistakes occasionally.)

4. Having my allergies be suddenly better when I drive into Boston. (Apparently they prefer pollution to nature. This makes me sad.)

5. Going to a student group meeting before class: more knitting time, and free pizza.

6. Handing in my final written assignment of the semester!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Note that "sitting through class" did not make the list.)

Random Tuesday morning thoughts

It is raining. Which is good, because it means it is not snowing. And I love the sound of rain on our skylight here at work. But I do not love walking or driving in it, and I have to do both today.

I need more candles. I have decided that the great big jars are really not that good, because I get tired of the scents but feel I have to use them up before I can buy more. Right now I have way too many vanilla/buttercream/etc. type scents and not enough springy things.

I did get a hydrangea-scented candle for Easter, but it is in my SO's car along with all of my other Easter presents and candy. As a result, I have not had any Easter candy since Easter. And that just feels wrong.

School is not so much fun this semester. But four weeks from tomorrow, everything will be handed in, and I will have time to breathe again. Just in time to move.

I am greatly looking forward to decorating my new apartment, but I really wish the actual moving part could just happen in my sleep or something. At least I will have lots of time so it will not be so stressful. Theoretically.

I love packages. I am expecting one from Amazon and one from Adagio Teas. In preparation for my exciting new tea, I got this puppy creamer, as well as an infuser ball and a pretty scoop to measure out the tea. I got all these at Kitchenworks in Litchfield, CT, which I think is my new favorite store. Fun.

Spring?!?!

I wore a denim jacket this morning. Yes, I was a little chilly, and yes, I had gloves in the pockets just in case, but still. A denim jacket. Could it be?

There are birds singing. And it's almost pleasant outside. I don't dare say it.

Of course, I'm sure there will be at least one more big snowstorm. I'm enough of a New Englander to expect that. But. Still. Oh, so excited.

Note: This is, in fact, the semester from hell. My schoolwork for the semester will be done by May 1, at which point regular blogging will recommence. I'll do the best I can since then. Quick recent happenings digest:
1. I'm moving. In April. Or May. Something like that. I love the new apartment, and it's not so far away as to be traumatic.
2. I got my wisdom teeth out last Thursday. I'm recovering, but I'd give almost anything for the ability to eat real food.
3. After doing virtually nothing craft-related for a few weeks (I TOLD you this was the semester from hell), I'm knitting again. Socks. If you're good, maybe you'll get a picture for Easter. Yes, they are Easter socks. Unless I don't finish them, in which case they are spring socks.

Oh, my goodness.

(Sorry for the absence. This semester is crazy. I'll try to do better.)

I may be moving. I hadn't planned to move, really, but I just saw the best apartment EVER. I was just going along with my friend Cory, who is actively apartment-hunting, but we both loved it and are now seriously considering trying the roommate thing. So so so so excited.

It always gets me.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend. It was calm and sunny. It was even in the fifties at times. I was so excited. I felt like I was finally getting warm, and perhaps even getting rid of this lingering cold/sore throat thing that has led me to eat practically nothing but milk, soft bread, pudding, yogurt, and soft serve ice cream for the past week or so.

But now . . . now it is, well, the other kind of gorgeous. The kind of gorgeous with wind and big huge snowflakes. Ah, well. Such is life in New England.

Weekends should be longer.

Really. If I had a few more hours in the weekend, I'd show you pictures of what I've been knitting, and I'd give you the two book reviews, one movie review, and the rant about intellectual elitism that I've been wanting to write. Aren't you sorry that's being postponed? Yeah, I knew you were.

I'm trying to get myself organized, because otherwise there's no way I'm going to survive this semester. I'm putting all my assignments in my planner and color coding them with highlighters. It's all very cute, but it's very very scary at the same time. Because I have to do all that stuff. Ack. Ack ack ack.

This is NOT amusing.

I fully understand the need to shovel my car out after a snowstorm. It is not fun, but I live in New Hampshire, so I expect such things. It's generally in the morning, so I have energy, theoretically, and I know to leave extra time for it. Again, annoying, but I'm okay with the concept.

I do NOT appreciate having to shovel for twenty minutes to get my car back INTO my parking space. Apparently my morning shoveling got me out fine but was incompatible with getting back in. This is especially not fun at 10:30 at night after an exhausting day and somewhat frustrating evening.

In brief:
I also do not appreciate the T (that's like the subway for you non-Boston folks) deciding not to go as far as my stop and not TELLING anyone.
My first day of class was good, but this class will be way more work than I anticipated.
It seems like a bad sign that I can't figure out when I'm going to find time to go buy the book I need for homework, nevermind read it.
It also seems like a bad sign that I am exhausted already on the first day of the semester, and half-wishing for a snow day tomorrow so I can catch up on some stuff.

Oh, and there was no post yesterday because I was out sick. And I figure I'm allowed a sick day from here once in a while too. This will not affect the write 1001 blog posts thing, since there are days when I post more than once.

I am so ready for this.

As you may have heard, we're in the midst of a nice big snowstorm here in New Hampshire. And I am so set.

I have flashlights and candles. I have plenty of supplies for tea and cocoa. I have everything I need to bake whole wheat bread and make vegetable soup tomorrow. (And, yes, I have plenty of housework if I'm so inclined.) I have a new computer game. I have several books--well, no, I have several hundred books--but I have several books I'm particularly excited to read. I have plenty of movies to watch and a good dozen knitting projects I really want to finish soon.

And if all that weren't enough... I have five brand new knitting books. Count 'em, five. I joined Crafter's Choice and got my first shipment today. Here's the haul:

I think I'll be able to keep busy for a few days, don't you?

Happy birthday, sweetheart!

You'll have to excuse the short entry. Today is the birthday of the most wonderful, sweetest man in the world so I'm spending as much time as I can with him. I gave him this book and the promise of a day trip a month all year. We're having fun looking at the book and talking about where we want to go.

How about you? Where do you want to go this year?

Blogger's block

I don't know what's with me today, but I'm not finding anything quite interesting enough to blog about. I'm in the middle of two longish books so have no books to review. I didn't really make any great strides on any craft projects today, although I did stitch, knit, and crochet, at least a little of each. I did some housework. My most exciting accomplishment this evening was figuring out a way to keep my yarn cabinet closed by tying the knobs together with a scrap of yarn. (My floor isn't exactly even, and so one of the doors tends to swing open and spill yarn all over the floor.) I cleaned the bathroom and clipped coupons. I really doubt anyone wants to read more about either of those.

So. I'm going to go eat a doughnut and read a book. I'll be back with a more interesting post tomorrow, I promise. And here's a nifty science story to tide you over.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2005! After an exciting (well, by my standards) party in Boston last night, here's how I started the morning:

(That was me at around 9:00. My boyfriend woke up earlier, and didn't want me to be lonely, so he made sure I had a friend. Apparently I took to it quite well.)

Things to expect around here in the next few days:

1. A semi-decent layout, maybe even with some color
2. New Year's goals (I'd rather set goals than make resolutions.)
3. Links and rings and all that happy bloggy stuff
4. Knitting pictures!
5. Kittens!

Now that I've given you that teaser, I'm going to go spend the rest of the evening with my family. Hope you're having a great New Year celebration!

Hello out there!

This is really just a test post, but while I'm at it I might as well say Happy New Year's Eve to anyone who happens by! Watch this space--I have some exciting stuff planned for the new year.