My bags are packed...

Well, no they're not. But we are leaving on a jet plane in 5 hours. We're off to San Francisco, then Boston, then Dublin, then Paris, Bologna, Siena, Rome, Nice, and back to Paris, Dublin, Boston, Star Island, San Francisco, and finally, home on July 20.

Needless to say, I will not be blogging while I'm gone.

I will however, be knitting!
Charade, in Tea Roses by Whimzy Pimzy Creations, and some Shibui in Dragonfly (I think - I didn't check the label). The Charades should get me through at least one international flight and overnight train ride. Hopefully the Shibui will get me through the rest of our travelling!

Have a wonderful July- I'll see you on the flip side.

Magic Loop 4-Eva!

My knitting has slowed to the speed of molasses in January since finals time and the move. I don't know what's wrong with me- I don't have anything to do after work, so theoretically, I should just sit in my backyard and knit all evening, but I don't.

Since I'm uninspired by the Boot Socks (and my substitute yarn is too cottony and not wooly / acrylicy enough, so I have to find a different yarn with which to finish off the foot of Sock #2) and I can't bring myself to figure out the sleeve-cap shaping on the Elizabeth Bennett cardigan, I cast on for some more socks last night.

Except I had left my Addi circulars at my office, attached to the Boot Socks, so I cast on with dpns. I used to love dpns. I swore by dpns. I scoffed at magic looping.

No more.

Five needles, ten needle tips. No thank you.

It's all magic loop, all the time for me now.

I may have to skip over to the yarn shop on my lunch break - it's one block away and I haven't gone even once yet! How's that for self control? - and use my gift certificate to stock up on Addis. (The G.C. is from helping out with inventory back in March. $40 for four hours of yarn fondling? Yes, please.)

Me! Me!

I may or may not have posted a rule at the beginning of this blog, stating I would never answer a silly questionnaire just to fill up a blog post. Well, consider that rule amended. I was tagged by lupinbunny for this one. That makes me quite excited, because I love her blog and aspire to her gardening and sewing greatness!

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was a sophomore in high school, 14 years old. School probably hadn't let out yet, so I was probably reading my yearbook, thinking of creative things to write in other people's yearbooks and trying to figure out how to get a cute boy to sign mine. I was also scheming how to meet these guys. Don't judge me.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Figure out the shoulder shaping on Elizabeth Bennett, go to the farmer's market, vacuum the carpets, have some friends over for board games.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Chocolate chips; honey dijon Kettle chips; stove-top popcorn with nutritional yeast, parmesean cheese, oregano, cayenne, and garlic; apples; Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pay off my house, get another bike for cruising around town, travel (Australia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and a return trip to Mali are on my short list), pay for law school without any more loans and pay off my existing loans, donate & invest.

5) Places I have lived:
Ann Arbor, Michigan; small town New Hampshire; small college town Massachusetts; Senegal; Berkeley, California (and some in the north bay); small rural town California; Portland, Oregon.

6) Jobs I have had:
Working at a homemade candy shop, drive-through bagel shop, TJ Maxx, receptionist, payroll assistant, administrative assistant, Pelican (waitress, hostess, garbage hauler / compost expert / landscaper, front desk supervisor at a hotel), baker, and law clerk.

7) Bloggers I am tagging who I will enjoy getting to know better:
Jenne and George, Claudia, Molly, Feministy, Neither Hip Nor Funky

Presenting... my home!

We finally have internet in the new house, so I can share some pictures!

These are just snippets- I haven't gotten the house in a clean enough state for long enough that I can take pictures to share with you! But, we do have furniture in all the rooms and can stop trawling Craig's List constantly.

The view - The mantel (wood burning fireplaces! Two!) - Our bedroom


Banana muffins (new gas stove!) - Reading chair - Flowers on the table


The bathroom and cat - Baker's cart - Dream stove

All in all, we absolutely love this house. We couldn't have asked for a better home. As someone who hasn't lived anywhere for more than six months since my first year of college, I am very excited to nest and be here for many years.

I've also been knitting, although not as much as I imagined. I thought once finals ended, I'd have the Elizabeth Bennett cardigan finished in no time. But you'd be surprised (or probably not surprised!) at how much time moving and starting work takes up!

I had the cardigan out blocking a few days ago (back and two fronts), and took pictures, but apparently I deleted them before uploading. Ooops! Photos soon, I promise.

Now that I have internet, nothing can get in my way!