Seven things, and then some more things

Sorry for the long delay in posting. School started and then things got a little crazy. I've got four classes, and four sets of reading, plus I'm working on the grad student symposium committee, and I'm also trying to set up a part-time job (which is a whole set of frustrations in itself). Also, I had friends come and visit, and lots of other stuff. In the few moments I've had where there wasn't any work to be done, I've been knitting instead of blogging, and I can't say I've really felt bad about that choice :) But here I am, on Sunday night, trying to get my mind and my work organized for next week, and I thought, hey, why do that when I could procrastinate on my blog?

A while ago, I got tagged by Costumechick, to list seven things about myself, so here they are, in no particular order.

1. I hate cucumbers, but I love pickles. Even the scent of cucumbers makes me blanch, although oddly, I don't mind things like cucumber-scented bath products.
2. All the guys I have ever dated have been Eagle Scouts. I don't seek them out or anything, it just happens that way. I wonder what that says about my taste in guys?
3. I don't have a fear of heights so much as a fear of falling off of high spaces. Going up in a skyscraper? No problem. Standing at the edge of a 2nd story balcony? No thank you.
4. I have never been ice skating. I don't blame my parents for much (they did a great job overall), but I do blame them for never taking me, especially since I was obsessed by figure skating as a kid. What gives? Now I'm too old and scared (of falling and breaking things) to go.
5. I love Dolly Parton.
6. I taught myself to read as a kid, and polished off Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol when I was four. According to my mom, I then went around asking people if they liked to read novels, too.
7. The first time I saw something that I wrote in print I almost cried. Now I get a secret thrill from looking up my name in our school's library catalog.

So what else?
Well, I knit two Calorimetry (Calorimetries?), sewed their buttons on, and managed to get pictures before I gave one of them away to a friend.
Here they are:


The blue one was for my friend, the noro version was for me, to match my mitts. Details on both are on my ravelry page.

The monkeys are coming along nicely. I've gotten to the foot of sock 2, so it's only a matter of time now. Normally these are my travelling project, but I've been working on them at home too, trying to hurry them along. Also, more progress on the granny square afghan - 4 squares done, 92 to go. Sigh.

I need to get moving on my WIPs. I want to finish the socks and get a handle on my Tomato sweater, then I can think about my 2 lace projects that are currently on hold. I have all the yarn I need for a clapotis, so I'm going to use that as a lure to finish up some of the things I have lying around. I also found the lost button for my plaid bag, so I might try to knock that one off the list soon, too. Ah, the bravado of youth!*

* One of my very favorite college professors said that once after listening to one of my classmates make a series of very grand pronouncements about life. I think of it now and then whenever my mouth (or in this case, my fingers) starts writing checks that I can't cash (I love that saying too).

Well, I should get back to my preparations for Monday. I don't have class, but need to spend a good chunk of time in the library reading. I also need to mail some packages, drop off a bunch of papers to get copied for a meeting, and hit the grocery store. And it would be nice to get some laundry done. My to-do list is too long already, and I haven't even started the week yet. Boo.

Oh well, at least there's another weekend coming up.

Good times!

I have had such a good week! I cleaned my apartment, I bought some yarn (Patons SWS in Natural Denim and Sheep Shop Yarn Co. Sheep 3 in the most amazing pink purple green and white colorway). I bought some really good chocolate (Ritter Rum and Raisin with Milk Chocolate). I went on a great hike on Saturday. I have friends coming to visit this week. And best of all, I got to go to Stitch n' Bitch again! It was so great to see everyone. I didn't get to chat with everybody as much as I would have liked, but it was so good to get to catch up with everyone. I can't tell you how much I've missed hanging out with all my friends. Knitting with pals is so much better than knitting alone. I really need to find a group to knit with here. It won't be the same, but it might be fun.

Also, Knelly, I got my buttons sewn on. Pictures after they're done blocking.

Works in Progress

Well, I already went to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, and it's only January 8. I reufse to feel too bad about it, though. They're just dishes. :)

In keeping with one of my other resolutions, I'm going to list all my works in progress. There are several here that I could knock off pretty quickly if I just sat down and worked on them, but there are also some that will require a good amount of work to finish.

1. Monkey socks -- no problem here, they travel around with me and get taken out pretty frequently
2. Tomato sweater -- I'm on the colorwork band. This stalled out because I didn't take it home with me for the holidays, but I'm working on it again now.
3. Mystery Stole 3 -- This needs dedicated knitting time and space. I need to get everything set up for the charts and beading before I work on it, so it tends to stay in hiding. But I was inspired by my progress over Christmas, so hopefully I can keep plugging along
4. Icarus shawl -- on hiatus. I want to finish the MS3 first, so this one might be a while. But I finally got through with all the tedious repeats on chart 1, so at least I'm on to something different now.
5. The afghan of doom -- due to my ignorance about crochet hook size and gauge when I made this, I'm rapidly approaching the size I want, even though I'm apparently only about 1/2 way there according to the pattern. I just need to finish one more repeat and then I'm calling it a day and putting on the border. I've only been working on this one for 6-7 years.
6. That 70s afghan -- It came from the basement!! (Cue horror movie music) This is a granny square afghan kit that I got from my aunt.

I thought this would be a fun and mindless project for watching tv and such. It would be, too, if I ever got it out. I need 96 squares, and I currently have 2 1/2. I should get a counter for this. (Edited to add: I did it! I used the instructions here and it couldn't have been easier!!)
7. The world's tiniest sweater vest -- this was done on 00 and 000 needles for one of my dolls. I struggled through knitting the pieces, but stalled out on sewing them together and doing the neckbands and arm bands. Have you ever tried to pick up stitches at that scale? Crazy-making.
****I think I might have a finishing problem****
8. Chinese Charm Bag (from Stitch n' Bitch book). It is knit. The lining is sewn. The handles are purchased. I even found a cute little charm-y thing to go on it. I just need to put it all together.
9. Plaid felted bag. Needs a button. Has needed a button for over a year and a half. I had a button for it, but now have no idea where it is. Oops.
10. Crocheted market bag. Needs the ends woven in. Why I didn't do this as I made it I'll never know.
11. Calorimetry -- needs a button. Just whipped this up this weekend for a birthday gift. Need to finish by Sunday.
***Not started, but need to do soonish***
12. Socks for my mom -- these will be up next after the monkeys are done.
13. Birthday knitting for 2 more friends. I'm thinking another Calorimetry, and maybe a fetching or some other kind of mitt.

The round-up. Projects 8-11 will take mere minutes, if I can make myself do them. Projects 1-3 will get done soonish, with 12 and 13 in there somewhere, and projects 4-7 will hopefully follow one day, but I wouldn't advise anyone to hold their breath or anything. It doesn't seem like much written down, but some of these are pretty intimidating, like finishing the two lace projects. Plus, now that I've written them down, I have incentive to finish them and show y'all the pictures. :)

P.S. If all goes well, I'll see you at S&B on Thursday! Yay!!!!!

Resolutions!

Happy (belated) New Year! I hope 2008 is getting off to a good start for everybody.

I had a wonderful vacation in Texas. It was so nice to be home again. My dad is doing really well, and is in good spirits as he starts what we're hoping will be his last round of chemo. It was weird to go home without Wilma. I kept looking for her everytime I came in the door, or at night, when she used to sneak into my room and hide under the desk. Often I wouldn't know she was there until the snoring started.
Christmas was great, and Santa was very good to me. He didn't bring me any yarn, but I did get a book on crochet techniques, which is great since I want to start doing more of that this year. I did buy myself some yarn though, and I'm justifiying it because it's for my mom and I'm going to make her a pair of socks with it. It's Colinette Jitterbug in Marble, and while it's a little more subdued than what I'd choose for myself, I think my mom will really like it.



One of the nicest things about being home was that I had lots of time on my hands and no school work to do. So I knit. And I crafted. And there was glitter glue.
A few months ago, I came across this book in Barnes and Noble (on the left, seen here with my new crochet book). It's The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo, a Japanese company.


I fell for the cute little mascots, and last month I finally got the chance to make a few. Here's a selection (I also made a super cute panda, but gave it away before I got a picture):


I especially like the monkey. He reminds me a little of our current president, but I love him anyways.


I also finished my first monkey sock, and got a good start on number two.


Oh, and best of all, I finally got back to work on my mystery stole. I hadn't picked it up since August, and thought that this vacation would be a good chance to get going again. I set up all my stuff in the corner of my parents' living room and knit like a mad woman. I'm mostly done with clue 4 now (I was stuck in clue 3 before), and think I am going to do the repeat that will make it longer. I hate the thought of doing this section again, but I hate the thought of having a stole that isn't long enough even more. I know it will stretch a lot in blocking, but I'm a broad broad, and I want there to be plenty of stole to go around.


I've been reading all the blogs of my fellow SnB'ers, and I want to put my New Year's Resolutions out there too. If other people know about them, I'm more likely to stick to them, right.
First, the non-knitting stuff:
1. I want to get organized. My apartment, my life, myself. I'm tired of living in chaos and I want to be more relaxed and have more fun in 2008. That will be easier if I have a serene and organized home to come back to each day. I'm actually pretty good at cleaning, but not so good at staying clean. I have a real problem putting things back when I'm done with them.
2. I'd like to blog more. Sort of knitting related, I guess, since that's what I mostly blog about.
3. I want to go to bed each night with no dirty dishes in my sink. Very Flylady of me, I know, but she has a point. It makes the whole kitchen seem cleaner.

Now for the knitting. I think Yankee Lagninappe started this:
My knitting accomplishments for 2007 included lace with laceweight yarn (even if I haven't finished a project with it, I'm still counting it), a baby sweater, starting a sweater for myself, colorwork, lace socks, toe up socks, and sharing my blog with my friends (this was a big one for me).

Here's what I'd like to tackle for 2008:
1. Knit every day, even if it's just a few stitches. It's a good way to relax, and I've always been a big believer that "slow and steady wins the race."
2. Speaking of slow and steady, I resolve to finish my UF0s and WIPs before I start any new projects, excepting socks. I've already sort of broken this one, since I've got emergency birthday knitting coming up, but I still think it's pretty doable. Socks don't count because they're my portable project and I like to always have a pair going. I'll list all of my projects in my next post since this one is already long.
3. Fix up my ravelry page so it's got more projects and more photos. Pretty self-explanatory, I think.

If you've made it all the way to the end, thanks for your perseverance. And once again, happy new year!

Hello, I Must be Going

School is finally finished for the semester. I handed in my last papers on Friday evening, and couldn't be happier to see the end of them. All told, I wrote 4 papers, for a total of 77 pages, plus illustrations. Starting on Thursday, I worked pretty much nonstop, and had been up for almost 36 hours by the time I finished. So of course, I went out to a party afterwards.

My friend Vicki was in town for the birthday party of a friend of hers, and dragged me along with. It was at a bar down in the Village, and there was Wii bowling. It was so much fun. Turns out I'm much better at virtual bowling than the real thing. I even won a trophy in the bowling contest, which is something that would never happen in real life. I had a great time, but by the time I made it home it was after 1 a.m. and I was dead on my feet. I fell into bed and didn't wake up until noon on Saturday. Usually I'm a really light sleeper, and wake up several times in the night, but not that night. I think I'm still making up a sleep deficit from finals week, because I'm still sleeping like a log.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I hung around the apartment, cleaning (boy, did I let that go while I was studying), watching movies on t.v., and knitting (finally!). Sunday was not much fun with the storm and everything, but it was nice to be snug at home with a cat, some hot cocoa, and my yarn.

Today I dropped Minnie off at the vets, which was interesting because I had the smart idea to take her on the subway. It was only a short ride, but she hated it. I feel bad for subjecting her to it, but I didn't know what else to do. There really aren't tons of cabs in the Bronx, and I didn't see any of the unmarked cabs (which I hate to take but would have), so we hopped on the 2. Poor baby, she hated the noise of the trains. She was very quiet, but kept nudging my hands with her nose through the bars of her carrier.

AFter I dropped her off, feeling like the worst pet owner ever, I did a little shopping. It was really the first Christmas shopping I've done, and I really enjoyed it. I got some great gifts for my friends, but I'm leaving my family for when I get home, so I don't have to pack their presents. I did buy some bagels to take home, though.

This time tomorrow I'll be home in Texas, full of Mexican food. We're stopping on the way home from the airport. It will be weird to be home without Wilma there.

Before I go, I wanted to show a few of the pictures from the sugar sculpting workshop I took recently. In conjunction with an exhibit at school, there was a lecture by a noted food historian who recreates period dinners. The day after, he taught a workshop where we learned how to make basic sugar paste flowers like one might have seen at an eighteenth-century table. It was really fun, although I don't think I'll be taking this up as a hobby.

The paste was made of powdered sugar, gum tragacanth, and a bit of water. It was like clay, but dried out very quickly. It was also sticky, and we had to moisten our hands with butter to keep from sticking to our flowers. We took a small ball of paste, rolled it into a cone, pused a pointed tool into the cone to sort of hollow it out, and then cut and formed the sides of the cone into petals. At the end, you stuck a wire with a few thread "stamens" into the center of the flower.



Here are the flowers I made. Some are much nicer than others. I still have to decide what to do with them. They're supposed to last for quite a while if you keep them dry.



I'll do my best to blog over vacation, though I don't know if I'll get any pictures up since my parents are still on dial-up. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

In which there is actual knitting

Hi again. I have four papers to write. Two are due on Monday, two more on next Friday. Two are half-done, but unfortunately those are the two that are due last. I estimate I have around 40 pages to go total, plus time to edit. So what am I doing? Working busily at my computer, thinking brilliant thoughts and committing them to the screen? Reading ancient tomes, picking out facts to support my brilliant arguments? Noooo! I'm blogging.

That's right, with the deadlines looming ever closer, it's procrastination time chez Erin. No half-assed attempts at avoiding work. We use our whole ass 'round these parts! I may feel too guilty about not working on my papers to knit, but at least I can show you pictures of what I was knitting back when I had the time to knit. Also, a cat photo.



My half-done purple Tomato! I decided to put the colorwork under the bust for an empire waist effect. One more row and I'm ready for the pattern.



Why yes, that is half a Monkey! Out of Lorna's Laces, no less. The color is Tuscany, so I call them my Tuscan Monkeys. Love the little blue stripe!



I can has nap? Not right now, but at least the cat's getting some sleep.



Random. But while I had the camera out, I thought I'd take the picture. These are my favorite non-hand knitted socks. My friend Holly got them for me in London back in college. I think Johnny Rotten would be proud.

Hmmm. I seem to be a little punchy. Maybe I should lay off the caffeine. I do have to get up tomorrow, after all. Speaking of which, I bet I am doing something tomorrow morning that none of you are (unless my classmates are still reading. Hi guys!). I'm going to a workshop on sugar sculpting. We're going to make little sugar flowers. Best of all, it's school-related, as we are learning about eighteenth-century European court dining practices. I'll try to get photos to show, though who knows when I'll get them posted.

Well, the papers are calling again, so I'm signing off. Until next time, whenever that is.....

Thanksgiving, Turkey, and Term papers

Sorry to drop off the face of the blogosphere like that. It's been a busy few weeks at school, and I've had to let many non-essentials (like this blog, laundry, and actually cooking) slide while I try to get ready for the end of the semester.
My dad is doing great, which I'm really pleased about, of course. He's home and very restless -- it's hard for him to accept that he needs time to heal -- but seems to have come through the surgery with flying colors. I'm really looking forward to seeing him and the whole family at Christmas.
Thanksgiving sort of marks the end of the regular semester at school. Now it's all presentations and final papers. I have four big ones due in the next three weeks. There's a presentation due tomorrow that I'm procrastinating on right now in fact. I feel like I'm in pretty good shape for the papers, especially since I'm usually a last-minute procrastinator.
This Thanksgiving was nice. I relaxed on Thursday and Friday, and spent Thanksgiving with some friends. YEsterday I did lots of sleeping, and also hit the libraries for a while. More library work today, and hopefully I won't have to stay up too late tonight to finish.
There has also been knitting. I'll try and get some photos up tomorrow or at least this week. Can't wait to show off my partly-done monkey. :)
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

What sleepless nights are good for

Socks! Yes the Roza's socks are finished at last. Plymouth Sockotta, color 367, knit on size 1 dpns. They're a grumperina pattern from the Spring 07 IK. Technically, I made three socks, but the first sock was so tight I had to frog it and start again. I went up a size and made the heel flap slightly longer, and voila! I really like this pattern. The brioche stitch is pretty and very easy to memorize. These were great socks for mobile knitting, and were knitted in Connecticut, Texas, the Bronx, and Manhattan. They've really gotten around, and I haven't even worn them yet.

I've been on the verge of finishing them for ages, and finally, I stayed up late to finish them off. I was on edge, and the knitting was just what I needed. I haven't talked about it much, but my father has not been well this past several months. He was diagnosed with liver cancer, and has been undergoing chemo since the spring. Thankfully, the tumor was isolated to the liver and shrunk a lot with the chemotherapy. Yesterday he underwent surgery to remove it. I talked with my parents about possibly going home to be with everyone, but we decided it was better for me to stay in school. I know it was the practical thing to do, but yesterday I was not feeling good about that decision. I really wanted to be with my family. I went to class, but I'm not sure I learned a thing. I was just waiting for the phone to ring. I finally got the call that he was out of surgery and stable around 7 last night, and I just felt all this stress leaving me when I heard he was out and safe. I still couldn't sleep though, and these finished objects are the result.
He's resting now, and finally, so am I.

Thank you

Thanks for your kind comments on my last post. I'm still sad, but am coping. It still doesn't seem real, and I can't imagine going home at Christmas and not seeing Wilma there. It's been really hard on my parents, too, who are now petless for the first time in their 31-year marriage. I know my mom is taking it especially hard.

This has been a long week, for numerous reasons, and I am so glad it's over. Midterms are done, and I can finally relax for a little while. I've found my stride at school, and my assignments aren't seeming so overwhelming. I've even found some time to knit. Today is chilly, rainy, and damp -- perfect for spending the day in a cozy chair, with knitting and a cat and a cup of tea. Which is how I'm planning on passing the afternoon. I started my Tomato sweater last weekend, and am knitting away. My first adult-sized garment!!! And I've only been knitting for what, 3 or 4 years??

p.s. I started the sweater last weekend because I was too sick to go to Rhinebeck. Boo! All the late nights reading and working on papers caught up with me, and I was in no shape to go. I really enjoyed all the posts I've read about how fabulous it was. I'm trying not to be jealous that so many of my S&B friends stalked the Yarn Harlot. :) Oh well, there's always next year. Or maybe there's a trip to Flying Fingers in my future. Is anybody up for a ride on the yarn bus?

Good dog

Everybody thinks their dog is the world's best dog, and through some bizzare kind of physics, it's true. All dogs are the world's best.
Our dog Wilma was one of the really good ones. It's killing me to use the past tense, but I have to, because she passed away today. She was old, and had been getting slower and more tired all the time. Late last week she stopped barking, and this week she stopped eating. My mom called me this evening to tell me that she had been put to sleep.
Wilma was a goofy dog, looks-wise and personality-wise. She was crooked-backed, and ran with a funny sideways gait. Her tongue almost always stuck out of her mouth. She had big brown eyes and a surprisingly loud bark for such a tiny dog. She was abused and neglected by her first owners, but that didn't turn her into a mean dog. She was kind and loving and always willing to come up and lick your hands and face every chance she got. She loved to steal my dirty laundry, and had a knack for grabbing my clean clothes out of the laundry basket and running off with them. Oddly enough she never stole anyone elses. She hid her treats all over the house, and I'd come home on visits and find little doggie biscuits tucked into all the corners of my room. She was terrified of thunder and rain, and would head straight under my brother's bed at the first sign of a storm. She hated baths, and for most of her life it was an olympic event to catch her on bath day. She seemed to know when we were getting a bath ready, and would hide under a bed where we couldn't reach her. We used to ring the doorbell and she'd charge out barking, forgetting she was supposed to be hiding. She'd give us a reproachful look when we caught her, but forgave us almost immediately.
Wilma was a runt. She came from a line of champion Shih Tzus, but wasn't "show quality". She was a champion in our eyes. She was with us for almost 16 years, which I know is longer than many dogs get, but it wasn't long enough for us.
Wilma, you were a good dog. A very good dog, and I miss you.
I don't have many good pictures of Wilma on my computer, and no way to scan in the others. So here's a picture of Wilma asleep in one of her favorite spots. For scale, it's a regular bed-sized pillow.

I can has free time?

So I love lolcats. I just find them wildly hilarious and I don't know why.


My favorite site is I can has cheezburger?


I also recently discovered lolsecretz, which combines cat macros and post secret, which is one of my other guilty pleasure websites.


So when I saw this on ravelry, I had to take the quiz.

Your Score: Sad Cookie Cat

57% Affectionate, 46% Excitable, 53% Hungry

You are the classic Shakespearian tragedy of the lolcat universe. The sad story of a baking a cookie, succumbing to gluttony, and in turn consuming the very cookie that was to be offered. Bad grammar ensues.

To see all possible results, checka dis.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Ravelery revelry

I'm in!!!!! I haven't had a chance to do more than set up a user name, but I'm on Ravelry and hope to start playing soon. My user name is erinelise. Please friend me! (bats eyes coquettishly)



Also, it's midterm time, and I'm actually on the schedule I've set for myself. I have a presentation on Friday, a paper and a book discussion to lead on Monday, and a bibliography for one of my final papers due next Thursday.



Plus I'm going to Rhinebeck this weekend, so it's not like I don't have anything fun to do. I debated for a long time about going to Rhinebeck. One of the many knitters in my program saw me with my sock, struck up a conversation, and offered to give me a ride (knitters rock!), but I wasn't sure I could spare the time to go. I ultimately decided that the mental health benefits outweighed the lost study time, and I (and my wallet) can't wait! If any of you guys from New Haven will be there on Saturday, drop me a line and maybe we can meet up. I miss you and would love to see you in person again!



Also, hi to Spice who commented on my last post! She's one of my fellow sufferers, I mean graduate students, and is also a knitter. I hope she'll stop by again.



Knitting wise, I'm still plugging away on the second sock. At least I'm on the foot now, and the end is in sight. Pictures soon, I hope.



And since it isn't a knitting blog without an occasional cat photo, here's my official yarn inspector:

Do you think she can smell the chitin?

Higher Education is Kicking my Butt

Was graduate school this hard the first time around? I really can't remember. Maybe I blocked it out. Or maybe it is harder, or maybe I'm just dumber. Who knows?
Regardless, although I'm really enjoying all my classes, there's just so much work to do, and no matter how fast I read, no matter how much time I spend in the library, I can't seem to do more than just barely keep up.
I mean, I know all about skimming for important points and that you don't have to read every word of every page, but I just feel such a compulsion to do well, to make sure that every moment of this whole Ph.D. process really counts. So for the moment, I'm doing my best impression of an overachiever. We'll see how long it lasts.
What all this reading and studying means is that I've had little time to do anything else lately. No exploring the city, no reading fun books, and most (and worst) of all, no knitting. It makes Erin a bit of a dull girl.
It turns out that tons of my classmates knit, which is very cool, but none of us have much time to do it. I've been bringing a sock to school, and I try to get in a few rounds where I can, but progress is slow. And my lace projects? Forget it. I don't have the time or the spare brain power.
I'm hoping that I'll get the hang of the time management necessary to both get my work done and have a little fun. I'm sure it will happen eventually. Right now I'm blogging during a brief break from reading about the Dutch East India Company, woven textiles, and furniture. I'd like to get some sleep in before I have to head back to school tomorrow, so I guess I'd better get back to the grind.
I hope everyone out there is having more fun than I am. Somebody ought to. :)

Sorry to drop off the face of the Earth like that

I can't believe I went so long without posting. It isn't that I didn't have anything to say, it's just that I'm lazy. In the spirit of laziness, here's a list of what's happened to me since I last logged in:
1. I sold my car
2. I finished one of my Roza's socks and am about halfway through the other
3. I continued plodding along on the Mystery shawl
4. I started school
5. I got a terrible head cold
6. I still am not quite finished unpacking the new apartment

What to say about all of that?
Well, selling the car was very stressful. I could probably have gotten more money selling it on Craigslist or something, but I didn't want the hassle so took it straight to Carmax, where they'll buy anything. It went really smoothly, but it was hard to let the car go. It was the only car I've ever owned, and I've had it since my senior year of college. I know that plenty of people in NYC do not have cars and I'll be just fine without one, and I certainly don't miss having to move it around for streetsweeping all the time, but it just feels weird. Before I sold it, I made one last IKEA run, since I needed another bookcase. I went to the one in Long Island, which was an adventure. I got my bookcase and an amazing deal on a big ol' ottoman with a leather(!) cover, upon which I am resting my little feet right this very minute. I'll miss Ikea. When the New HAven one opened, my friend Vicki and I used to go there all the time on Friday nights. We'd hit happy hour, and then go to the store and see what we could buy for $10 or less. That is one reason why I have so many candleholders.
Knitting has been progressing slowly. I just wasn't feeling it there for a while. I did manage to crank out one sock, but Mystery stole progress has been negligable. I need to speed it up a little as I'd like to wear it somewhere at the end of next week. It's possible, I think, if I really get moving.
School has been good. I think I'm going to like my classes, although there's going to be tons of work. The people all seem nice enough, and hopefully my brain can start matching up names and faces (I'm terrible with that).
Finally, I caught this cold on Friday night, and have been feeling worse ever since. Sunday was the worst night, hopefully I'm on the tail end of it now. I hate being sick. I don't have any classes on Tuesday, so I could stay home today and baby myself. It's times like this I wish I had t.v., but given today's date, I'm not sure I could have stood to watch it.
I was going to end with bonus cat pictures, but Blogger isn't cooperating. Maybe next time then, and hopefully next time won't be too long in the future.

I do not approve

That just gives all us Erins out there a bad name. Now I know how the Katrinas and Ritas of the world must have felt. My parents live in Houston and were actually teasing me about this yesterday. They're getting lots of rain and asked me to cut it out. All you Texans out there stay dry!

Free time is overrated (plus Socks!)

So I passed my exam, which is great, and now I have nothing to do for the rest of the month. I'm properly grateful -- I wouldn't have wanted to have to take those language review classes every night, but I'm running out of ways to entertain myself. There are still several boxes to unpack, and I'm still feeling my way around the neighborhood. Today I even bought one of those little rolling carts to help me tote my groceries around! The problem is most of the things I can think of to do cost money, and I'm trying to live on a budget, so I'm reluctant to get too spendy. I'm also impatient and excited for school to start. I think I've been in such a rush for the last few weeks that I don't know what to do with myself now that the pressure's off.
With all this free time, you'd think I'd be gettting a lot of knitting done, and you'd be sort of right. I've been working on my Mystery Stole -- I can't wait to get further along to the interesting part (I'm almost done with clue 3 and clue 7 comes out soon!!).
Sock-wise, I restarted my Roza's socks (Grumperina pattern from IK Spring 07) on larger needles. I was going to add some stitches to make them bigger, but just changing the needle size seems to have done the trick. I hope they'll fit this time. I'm using Plymouth Sockotta and I really love the color. You can't tell yet, but it goes in wide stripes in shades of pink, blue, and purple. I also never posted a picture of my first (and to date only) completed socks for Summer of Socks. They're Baudelaire by Cookie A from Knitty. I love her sock patterns. This is in Mountain Colors Barefoot yarn in some sort of berry colorway (it's either Elderberry or Huckleberry, I can't remembmer.



I also started a granny square afghan kit that my aunt gave me. It's from the late sixties -- I think it's been hanging around in her basement ever since she bought it. The yarn is acrylic, but a nice sort of acrylic, and it's a fun, mindless thing to crochet while watching t.v. I don't have a photo of my completed squares yet, so here's a bonus photo of Miss Minnie in her cat tent from Ikea.



I think that's about it for now. Oh, last week Phoebe named me a Rockin' Girl Blogger. I'll get that button up on my site as soon as I can (I always have to work up the nerve to mess with my template). Thanks Phoebe -- you rock!! (edited to add: Look, I added the button and it showed up exactly where I wanted it. I rock too!)

Hooray!

Reasons I'm happy today:

1. I passed the French test! This means I'm essentially done with orientation and have most of the rest of the month to play, I mean unpack.

2. I found my knitting needles! I had packed everything but my current projects for the move, and didn't know where I'd put them. Now that I've found them, I can re-start the Roza's socks I was working on that ended up being too small. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I also found my boxes of yarn, so I'm all set now.

3. I have reliable internet access! Thanks to a little black box furiously blinking away in the corner of my apartment I am wired up (or more accurately, wireless-ed up) and ready to go. I was even able to watch clips from the Daily Show last night. This will go a long way towards making up for the lack of Cable I was experiencing earlier.

4. It's less hot than it was yesterday. Yeah, not by much, but I'll take it.

And finally,

5. I'm going back to Stitch n' Bitch tonight! (This is just about the biggest "yay" of all!) With no more orientation, the late night drive back won't be a problem. See you soon Ladies!

The first day of school

Well. Today was the first day of our orientation for grad school. I woke up with butterflies in my stomach and headed off to the subway station very reluctantly. I'm always nervous meeting new people and going to new places. When I got there, people were just starting to arrive, and everyone seemed really friendly. We chatted over the coffee and pastries the school had set out and waited for the introduction to begin. We got lots of practical information -- it's a good thing it was also included in a folder for us because I don't think I could remember it all.
In the afternoon, we had a session with the grad school's therapist, which was really interesting. Before I got my master's degree, I would have thought the idea of having a grad school therapist was pretty ridiculous, but now I'd never question it. It's a very competitive, highly stressful time, and I remember reading once that the suicide rate among graduate students is insanely high. I believe it. I had a terrible time my first semester last time, and while I feel much better prepared to deal with the stresses this time, it's nice to know that the school has somebody there for us if we need it.
We finished off the day with a review session for our foreign language exams, which are tomorrow. I did okay, but am pretty nervous about it. Everybody think positive thoughts for me tomorrow -- I want to pass this the first time around.
I'd love to relax with a little knitting, and the mystery stole is totally calling my name right now, but I think I should study instead. Sometimes being responsible is no fun at all.
Internet access is still sporadic, but will hopefully be fixed by Wednesday night. I can't wait -- it's so hard to be disconnected from everything.

Unpacking and adjusting

So, I've now spent 5 nights in New York, the cat has finally deigned to come out from under the bed, and I have unpacked enough to do some light cooking in the kitchen. Unfortunately, while I've found the coffee and coffeemaker, I have yet to uncover the filters or the coffee cups. This is a major tragedy and should be rectified as soon as possible.
It is very hot, and the cat and I are doing our best to stay cool, but unfortunately unpacking is sweaty work.

In other news, last week I finished my first pair of socks for the Summer of Socks '07. Better late than never, I guess. They're Baudelaire from Knitty, by Cookie A (I love her socks). I did them in Mountain Colors Barefoot yarn. I'd show you a picture, but the camera is one of the things I haven't found yet.

I'm writing this from a coffee shop, since I won't have email access at the new place until next week :( How am I supposed to last that long? I forsee lots of coffee in my future. Plus it's airconditioned here.

Tonight is a Thursday, and if I was still in New Haven I'd be at Stitch n' Bitch. It will be strange and a little sad not to go there tonight. I'll be thinking of you guys, and furiously knitting on my MS3.

New York! New York!

Hi there internets! I'm still alive and have moved into my beautiful New York apartment. No internet access yet at the new place, (I've hopped on while in CT to clean my apartment), but at least I've found the yarn. I'm busy unpacking but hope to come visit you all as soon as I can.