NotScarlett

Zoinks!

Remember how Friday was supposed to be my last "official" day at the office? Yeahhhh...that was a nice dream while it lasted. Things got a bit insane. More than a bit, actually.

Anxiety, panic and frustration have been my constant companions for the past two weeks....adding on two more days had me on the verge of a total breakdown....however....

Today the excitement, relief and outright elation that have been waiting in the wings have finally emerged. 

Here's to new beginnings.

Oh, and really bright socks.

Mystery Machine Socks

Ravelled here

Yarn: Vesper Sock Yarn in Sweet Water

Pattern: Toe up, stockinette, with afterthought heels

Up next: a four day weekend with much lounging by my pool, sipping mojitos, knitting, reading, and full on relaxing.

Moving On

It was so strange to realize as I drove to the office this morning that today is my last "real" day here. It's kind of the end of an era for me. It's a little bittersweet. Mostly sweet, but a little sad. I'll be heading in to the office to do a bit of training as a courtesy on Tuesday and Wednesday, but for the most part I'm done here, and this experience will be ending at about 5pm this afternoon.

I'm looking forward to a jam-packed long weekend. B and I will be doing some painting and some planting, there will be grilling, swimming, reading, knitting, movie watching, berry picking, and of course, lots of playing with the puppies.

Speaking of puppies, it has been a while since I've given y'all a Cricket update. The good news is that she is back to her rowdy, feisty, snout-butting self. The less good news is that she will have to have surgery on one of her hips since it will still not sit in the socket properly. It's a fairly simple procedure and our vet says she'll only need a few weeks of recovery time from the surgery. In the mean time, she's been busy wrestling with her brother and employing her selective listening skills when she's doing something she's not supposed to be doing. Ah, Cricky. How we love you.

I have two finished pairs of socks, five finished hats, and a Tomten in progress to show you guys; I'll get some pictures as soon as the weather cooperates.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Blurry

I am currently:

writing two very basic, very thorough tech manuals for my soon-to-be old job and trying not to die of boredom....

thinking of my dear, sweet, grandfather, one of the most influential people in my life, who starts chemo today...I love you papa, and miss you terribly....

listening to this album over and over and over....that and lots of Cuban music.....earlier today I was full on singing along to Guantanamera. Somehow I know all the words. IN SPANISH.

researching what kind of bicycles B and I should get......

churning out items for my LYS' Afghans for Afghans drive....

becoming more and more addicted to Tumblr...find me here....

wishing there were more hours in the day....

Rocky Road*

As much as I'd like to be at work, finishing things up and making sure everything is good to go before my last day, it is just not in the cards. I've been climbing the walls here at home for two days, hanging out with my good buddy, Mr. Kidney Stone. This is the first time I've ever missed work while passing a stone; it's pretty bad.

Because I am unable to sit and do nothing, or you know, REST, I've been keeping myself busy.

I've been knitting....

reading....

making jam with the wild mulberries we picked last weekend....

spending time with some very important loved ones....

And the mailman has brought me some fun stuff the past few days....

Rav Swag

(of COURSE it's a Disagree shirt...you'd expect me a sarcastic thing like me to get an Agree shirt??!)

A ring I had made to celebrate my new job/closing a chapter of my life/making big changes...custom made by the insanely talented Kathryn Riechert

If it weren't for the excruciating pain I'm having intermittently, this would be just as good as a vacation.

*I'm soooo punny.

Gestreift

I think I started these socks well over a year ago. Maybe close to two years ago. Toe up, plain vanilla, self-striping stockinette lost interest when more exciting projects came along, and I only managed to finish sock number one. Time passed, stuff happened, and sock number one remained lonely and buried at the bottom of a WIP basket until just recently, when I vowed to either finish or frog all works in progress.

Specs

Ravelled here

Yarn: Regia Nation 5397

Needles: KnitPicks US size 2 circular, magic looped

Pattern: Cast on w/Judy's Magic Cast On, increase up to 64 stitches, knit in plain stockinette, do a 2x2 rib for cuff, finish with sewn bind off. Add an afterthought heel. Repeat for second sock.

Verdict: I call these the Heritage Socks in honor of my German heritage on my father's side of the family. After washing, I can tell these puppies will be much like some of my relatives...they will age well, keep me very warm, and always make me feel comfortable.

Hooray for striped socks!

Thanks so much for all the congratulations and the outpouring of happiness for me and my changing work situation. You guys rock. Love to you all!

BREAKING NEWS

You guys know I've been kind of a mess since the beginning of this year. I posted about the horrors of my job and how it was sucking out my soul, and things have not gotten any better.  In fact, they seems to get worse on a daily, if not hourly, basis.  There have been days where after getting off work I've been a hysterical sobbing wreck, and days where I've been near catatonic. I've had days that felt like perfectly normal days, but they have been few and far between.

In the midst of my emotional roller coaster, I've had several other things going on, things I have not posted about because I don't even know how to begin to talk about them. Needless to say, it has been a rough time, and without my wonderful B and the love & support of my friends/family, I think I would have lost my mind.

I've been asking you guys periodically to send me good vibes, and haven't been able to tell you why. For the past three, almost four, months, I've been going through a pretty intensive recruitment process for a job. It's a job that would give me significant economic and educational benefits, not to mention the actual benefits package....anyway, the point is, it's a really great opportunity and I have been fighting for this for quite some time.

You'll be pleased to know that your good thoughts, positive vibes, etc. WORKED. About an hour ago, with trembling hands, feeling like I was going to puke, I gave notice to my current employer. I start my new job at the beginning of June. I feel like dancing.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support and positivity. I love you guys! 

FAIL

What's wrong with this sock?

That's what I kept asking myself this morning when I slipped it on because "something" just didn't look right to me, but I couldn't figure out what.

Do you see it?

Yeah. No more heel flap knitting during BSG for me....apparently, I was so into it last night I skipped the whole TURN THE HEEL thing.

Fail.

Without you, I wouldn't know my prison name

On this date, an unspecified number of years ago, someone very important to me came into this world.

She's responsible for introducing me to Wilco, hard cider, and Taco Loco.

Without her influence and guidance, I wouldn't be a knitter.

She's told me some of the most horrific (but dude, SO EFFING FUNNY) jokes I've ever heard.

We've laughed hysterically while repeatedly falling on our asses while attempting to snowboard. We've had way too many fruity drinks together on the patio at various TGI Fridays in the Orange County area.  We've survived a devastating separation during my defection to the I.E., and have managed to stay super close through a cross-continental move.

She loves me in spite of my wanderlust, encourages my sarcasm, and has never, ever given up on me no matter what crazy things were happening in my life.

Stacey, I love you dearly. You are the kind of friend people write sappy books about, the kind of friend you make and keep forever, the kind of friend people WISH they had.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and that the coming year brings you an overwhelming amount of happiness.

Tampa Recap

B and I had a lovely mini-vacay down Tampa way. It was so nice to get away and explore somewhere new for a few days. Lemme recap it for you:

1. Went to Busch Gardens, where my macho man honey promptly declared his fear of mechanical malfunctions on roller coasters upon viewing Sheikra. On the other hand, I adore roller coasters and had planned a long day of gut twisting rail riding. In a wonderful example of compromise, B agreed to ride the Gwazi with me. Yay B!


The weather was great, I got to see animals and birds galore, and the park was not crowded at all...until early afternoon, when we noticed an influx of middle schoolers on their end of year field trip. After several hours of being surrounded by screaming pre-teens with a penchant for cutting in lines, throwing things at animals/people, and general disorderly behavior, we left. It was a fun day, but further reinforced our current decision to hold off on becoming parents for several more years.

2. Went to St. Pete and the Dali museum. Amazing. Amaaaaaazing. The current exhibit about Dali and film was super cool, and even included a scene and several original pieces of artwork/preliminary sketches from one of my favorite (and seriously underrated) Hitchcock films which Dali worked on. I also got to see some pieces that clearly inspired one of my favorite contemporary artists. I loved visiting this museum, and will definitely go back any time I am in the area.

3. Went to a restaurant that had been recommended to us by several people, and that B had actually been to some years past. We were so looking forward to a pitcher of sangria and an assortment of tapas, but after being seating, we waited 25 minutes with NO service...during this time, three different servers walked past us and refused to even look at us. We said screw it and headed to Columbia in Ybor City, which we were afraid would be the biggest tourist trap of all time. We were pleasantly surprised to find delicious food, excellent service, and a big ass pitcher of freshly made Mojitos, as well as a live Flamenco show, when we arrived. I cannot say enough good things about our experience at Columbia. Bonus: cafe con leche made with coffee roasted right there in Ybor City, and super yummy tostones. Mmmmm. Tostones. 

4. I did NOT set foot in a yarn store the entire time we were on vacation. I KNOW! Are you amazed? I am.

5. We WILL be heading back to Tampa/St.Pete (most likely in the Fall) armed with the knowledge that Tampa traffic, most hours of the day,  is more horrendous than the 405 during rush hour. We'll also be staying in a more centrally located establishment next time, eating at a highly recommend Ethiopian restaurant, and will be hitting MOSI and the Lowry Park Zoo. Oh, and we will never take the long way home again...scenic as it was, it was a very long ride.

Hey, Tampa/St. Pete locals, can you answer one big question the boy and I have? What is with all the bowling alleys? Never have I seen so many bowling alleys in one place!

We made t back to Tally in time for B to rock out on Saturday night; his band played their first show over at their practice space. It was a lot of fun, if you're remotely interested, you can check them out here.  Viva SB 82!

I've got tons of stuff I'm planning to knit, but have promised myself I have to finish or frog all my WIP's before I can start anything new. So far, my plan is working, I've completed both Vesper toe-up stripey socks and will be adding their afterthought heels this evening.

I've also been in a bit of a cowl craze thanks to a certain someone, and have a few FO's that are more neckwarmer than cowl awaiting buttons and end-weaving.

Once the socks and the neckwarmers are done, the only WIP left are my Heritage Socks that I started, what was it, last summer? Socktoberfest the year before? Something like that. Anyway, I have to cast on and knit sock #2, and then add the heels for that pair as well. Then? Then I'm free to cast on for this....or maybe these.....decisions, decisions.

One more thing to make this post just as long as I possibly can today: last time I asked y'all for good vibes regarding a certain situation I'm dealing with, good things happened. I'm still workin' on this particular situation and should have a definitive answer by the end of this week/beginning of next week. Please cross those fingers, wouldja? I need the positive vibes on this one!