Happy Halloween!

Drunk Pumpkin

It's Official - I'm Homeless!

You see this house - it is no longer mine! So if you know my story, I had bought a house in Ann Arbor while at grad school with the intention of selling it when I left. Simple enough. Fast forward a year and thousands of dollars later and I still owned the house. Apparently I bought high and was trying to sell low. Kept lowering the price, but it's been a buyers market and completely flooded with houses.



But I don't have to worry about that anymore. I was able to sell the house (granted not even close to what I was originally asking - we won't go there). It's a done deal and I don't have to worry anymore. Yeah!

Knitting Projects

I finally got around to downloading my digital pictures and than proceeded to crop them (hard to do without my trusty photoshop). I always hate when people crop their heads off of their sweater pics, but after taking a dozen plus timer shots, I can now fully comiserate. So without further ado, here are my finished projects (details to be added later):

Rowan Red Cardigan:

I love this sweater, and is my new favorite. It is a bit on the short side, if I were to do over I would add a bit more length in the body and arms, but I think that is more me (I have a long torso and arms and always seem to forget when making things). The yarn is wonderful and I've been holding off using it for several years until I found just the right project to use it for - I just love the color - a wonderful shade of red - which of course pictures can't capture (especially mine). The pattern was not a simple, stop thinking and just knit pattern, but simple enough that after awhile I had it memorized and could knit on the bus/subway to and from work. It did make for slower going but isn't the point to enjoy the journey and not just the destination - although I do love the end product. Details are:


Pattern: [ ] from Rowan Magazine (borrowed from Cece)

Yarn: [ ]

Needle Size: [ ]

Pattern Size: xs (which was by accident, hadn't realized it went down that small and thought I was knitting just a normal Small).

Simply Marilyn:
This was a fast sweater to knit up, gotta love chunker yarn. I think it took me just under a week of knitting and than I was pretty good at just finishing it on the go - did some of it at work, which suprisingly a lot of people were impressed with- I think it was the coming together of the random pieces into a final product. I did almost loose my favorite darning needle, but it reappeared so all is good. Again, I wish the torso and arms were a bit longer, but wearing a camisole underneath is a good pairing (which I just happen to have one that matches perfectly - it must be providence). At one point I was thinking of adding ribbing on the bottom (similar to the arms) to make the torso longer, but have decided not to. I have one coworker who I think loves it so much that she would steal it if it was a bit bigger. Details are:


Pattern: Simply Marilyn from Interweave Knits, Spring 2004, free pattern found here.

Yarn: [ ]

Needle Size: [ ]

Pattern Size: Small

Baby Sweater:

I was knitting this for Ann Desorbo (old family friend) who was pregnant when I started but has since given birth and I'm starting to worry that by the time I send it off, Sam, her new son, will be too big for it. I think I knit it in a matter of days (it was so long ago, I can't remember). The delay was in finishing it and sewing the buttons on, well and of course taking a picture before it gets sent off. The yarn is wonderful! I have no clue what yarn it is as I got it years ago from Straw into Gold, a great yarn store in Berkeley that had been liquadating their inventory before they moved. It's a soft purple, and a nice wool for a baby - not too scratchy (hopefully). I think I will be making another one again soon for a coworker's son.

Pattern: Peapod (or something like that) from Interweave Knits

Yarn: unknown - Crystal Palace perhaps, purchased at Straw into Gold, 2001

Needle Size: [ ]

Pattern Size: 3 months

Not Quite Right Sweater:

So, this one didn't really work out. I really liked knitting it - nothing complicated but I was using this great cotton yarn. I never really have knit with cottom before, this being my second time, and was pleasently suprised how nice the motions were. The fitting of this sweater is something out of the late '80s - short and boxy. I took a bunch of pictures and they make the sweater seem like it is ok - which it isn't. I'm going to pull it apart at some point, but figured I'd let it live a bit longer. Plus, I had gotten a cone of this yarn and you can't tell I even used any yarn (i.e. there is enough yarn to knit 20 of these sweaters it seems). I don't think the yarn really lays nicely for this pattern and the shaping was completely off. As you can see in the picture - again it was too short (mental note, add more rows when knitting sweater for me). In the end, I fell out of love with the little twist at the top so won't reattempt making the necessary adjustments.


Pattern: [ ] from Interweave Knits

Yarn: unknown, purchased at Webs warehouse on cone, 2005

Needle Size: [ ]

Pattern Size: small

Change for the better

So just wanted to report that this weekend felt like a model weekend. One of those where I really got a lot done but kept it balanced with recouping from the previous week (side note here - usually it's one or the other, but not both - i.e. sleep and lounge and not get anything done, or just work, work, work, but than end up exhausted for Monday). Saturday I woke up at my regular time (6 am), went to the bathroom, than went back to bed and slept for some more. Read in bed a bit, got up and tidied the house, put a load of laundry in, did the dishes and made breakfast. Than headed off to run errands on foot - gorgeous brisk autumn day. Went to the bank (deposit, money order and notorized docs), the post office, and the library. Got back home and had a bite to eat for lunch and watched War of the Worlds and Must Like Dogs - my double feature, while knitting on my knew cardigan pattern from Jo Sharp and dealing with financials. Two comments, I got a lot of boring stockinette knitting done during War of the Worlds - addrenlin rushing in some parts, and felt like the Must Like Dogs gave me a preview (although with a hollywood twist) of the whole online dating stuff.



Than cooked and baked - made Mary's Apple tort and Roasted butternut squash - while keeping the kitchen clean. Took a good two plus hours prepping everything, but was good food in the house finally. Than early to bed (by accident - i.e. couch).



Today got up and had a good breakfast and headed off to work to catch up on my humongus project that I have no time for. I've been working on it all day and feeling like it's in a better place (think of infinity and that is the scope of this project). Plus I think I garnered bonus points with the boss man as he ended up coming in this afternoon and we have been working side by side - commradery is a good thing. So finally feeling like I truely am taking back control of my life - and it ain't all talk. Tons more, but a bit more work and than home to a relaxing evening before the week begins all over again.

I'm Back!

I can't believe how much time has slipped by. I ended up taking last week off from work... kind of. I realized I would loose the vacation time AND was feeling burnt out and at a point in time where I needed to take evaluation of things and try to play catch up.



Needless to say, I feel even further behind and the tangled mess of my life is nowhere closer to being untangled. However, the break did give me a chance to realize that even though tangled, a mess can still be beautiful in its own right. That sounds corny, but basically, being in chaos while I love order has unsettled me and I had lost my grounding, so am starting to readjust.



What in God's name has happened to her you ask. Well, that's just it, everything and not much. Basically I realized work has been taking a lot more out me than I realized and always will, so am working on boundaries there. Also the whole financial side of things have not been going well for me - working for a non-profit while paying off student loans and having a bloody *&^%^ house that won't sell and is costing me a fortune. And then of course there is the issue of unfinished business in my life as well as the eternal ticking clock - wanting to find a mate and settle down to start a family.



So, the good news is, I've arranged a meeting to discuss work with my boss and try to figure out a healthier work environment (and not just for me), I have a name of a doctor (ironically recommended by my boss) that I want to see about managing my stress and personal issues, my house is about to be sold (fingers crossed) so will at least have a concrete amount of debt to start paying off instead of an endless black hole sucking my meager earnings, and I've decided to (I think) take the plunge into online dating and just started the survey for eharmony.com at lunch today.



Who knows how things well work out, but at least I have the apperance of being back in control of my life. So although not completely fixed the week was not a complete loss- which I at first thought it was as I didnn't feel like I was getting anything accomplished.



The only concrete things that I got accomplished last week was knitting! I even took pictures but still have to download them to the computer. I now have my favorite sweater which is becoming my super favorite sweater as I get more and more compliments. So hopefully I'll get my act together and load some knitting pics finally - I have quite a few sweaters and... well it's just sweaters I have been working on - three successes and one failure, not such a bad ratio. So on that note I will leave you while thanking all of you who have supported me through this rough patch in my life - got to love being in ones 30s!

I'm Up!

So this really happened yesterday morning - which is more fitting being that it was a classic Monday story.



I've been trying to pace myself a bit better, starting in small ways. So in the morning, instead of waking up and jumping out of bed and out the door, I've been reading in bed a little each morning and gradually starting my day. Mainly low-key stuff, thumbing through magazines, etc. Well yesterday morning, I was doing just that. That cats had joined me and we were all splayed out in bed, me propped up with the pillows when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I usually notice things, but they tend to be reflections caught in my glasses, so don't give them much notice. Something made me look and I was stunned. Speeding along, aiming straight at me (and not my toes, mind you, but my upper torso/head area), was a big old spider.



As I mentioned to my coworkers later that day, I have no problems with spiders - they are our friends by keeping the other bug populations (i.e. fruit flies) down. I even have two in the apartment that I know of that have made their home with me. But they are small and brown and plain looking (like the ones I grew up with). The biggest spider I am familiar with is the Daddy Long Legs, and even so he gives me pause when our paths cross.



This guy though was big and black and had stripes (I think). Ok, he wasn't anything compared to a furry tarantula but my animal instincts kicked in (the flight side, not the fight) and I literally jumped out of bed. My cats were suprised at my strange actions. I felt silly considering the size difference and all. But it was in my bed - in the safe haven where I escape to each night - and was uninvited. I went and got a container and was able to easily scoop him up and bring him outside. He was suprisingly submissive and didn't make me chase him.



As I was getting ready I started thinking about what happens in my bed while I'm asleep. I remember a friend in college telling me that we eat something like 10,000 bugs in our sleep over our lifetime (don't quote me on that). Generally I think it's my little spider friends, but imagine if it was this guy - he wasn't shy and had no problem with the idea of crawling over my head. The spider was at least an inch big (again, I know it ain't no tarantula). I think he was big enough that I would have had to chew him first to swallow him. Well, luckily our destinies together was intended to be something else. I just wonder where he came from (do I need to remind you he was big) and if he has any brothers or sisters lurking in the corner.



On another note, I'm curious about tonight. I got Garden State from the library and am hoping to watch it this evening. The funny thing is that I've been listening to the soundtrack for almost a year - one of my favorites so am super familiar with it. I wonder if it will effect the movie for me (usually the music is just in the background for me - I don't focus on it). Well, here is to a hopeful early evening home with relaxing plans.

The more I try, the worse it gets

Do you ever have one of those days/weeks/months/... where you work so hard to get on top of things, feel like you are, only to realize you are further down than you were before? I think I need a break. I don't think I have properly transitioned into the work force, at least not yet, and miss not having the summer vacation. I discovered a while back that most of my vacation days I negotiated for when I started haven't been used, and factoring in those that will be used at the holidays and those that can be carried over, I still have a week that will be lost if I don't take it in the next couple of months. The catch is that I haven't taken days yet because it is very busy here as we transition into our new space and expand our business - in other words, there is no time for vacation, I'm lucky if I can get away with a 40 hour week (but I do love what I do).



Timing. I oversee about 20 projects - quite a lot but doable, except for the timing. There are 6 projects that are at the most critical stage and require the most handholding, keeping track of numerous items as well as the usual research, calculations, and teaching. I would think 2 would be doable, but three times that amount has me taxed. By the end of the day more issues have come up despite me being on the phone/in meetings all day. It will never end!



Car. Wonderful trip to Syracuse in which I drove - thought I could keep track of time. We were able to get back at a decent time on Sunday and my car did wonderfully - 37 mpg! Hybrid-shmybrid. You ask yourself, what is wrong with this picture. The car did wonderful except... I couldn't shift most of the way back! That's right, we would pull in to a rest stop and I go to downshift and there is nothing - I can't get it into any gear - they were all closed for business. Not sure what is wrong, (not sure if I want to know), but for now, I am leaving the car in the driveway and thanking my lucky stars I use public tranportation for 90% of my transportation needs.



Fighting. Granted it is fighting the good fight, but it gets exhausting. One project I am working on has a green roof in the design and now I am facing the architect taking it out for the most ridiculous reasons. I am a patient person, but this is starting to wear me down. I can argue the tough argument, but arguing the silly fight is draining. (This is from a tour I gave last fall, it was on my camera).



The list could go on, but one can only complain so much. At least I feel like I am accomplishing something (even if I'm not keeping up). Maybe I need to start a new knitting project (even though I need to finish three projects - sew the pieces together).