Step 2

Step 1 of getting out of my nasty apartment as much as possible - especially when activities involve the touching or ingesting of things - was begun on Monday with the stocking of my new gym locker with shampoo, conditioner and the like. I even worked out yesterday before showering! If I actually get into shape because my shared bathroom is too gross for nekkedness, then I should write in my 'success' story to Shape or Fitness or Self.

Step 2 starts tonight. I'm in the process of rescuing my food from its cramped and dank home and moving it to the newold 'fridge in my office (used! yay!):



Like that 6-pack of V-8 in there?

I don't. But I'm trying to be grown-up like Concateknit and a gal's gotta start somewhere.

Nick Lied

I went to Pittsburgh this weekend for my brother's finacee's wedding shower. It's in the same state, but a long drive nonetheless. I'm happy to report that I finished my slippers last night when I returned and will post a photo tomorrow. AND, I just had a quick coffee with Dani, whose visit to Bethlehem I ALMOST MISSED (::sob:: PS-Dani, move to Chicago!).

My brother's soon-to-be nieces wrote a book about his upcoming marriage to their aunt. He apparently said he had no embarrassing moments when he was a child, but when I read the first draft, I said, 'this isn't true, Mr. Nick has had LOTS of embarrassing moments.' I was then interrogated for a half hour by a sofa full of six little girls. Here's the result of some copious note-taking:



I tried to explain the importance of protecting the source (that's all the crossed-out writing on the bottom), but they exposed me in the next book. At least I got my own chapter.

Catch-up

It's been way too long since I've written and there are lots of stories to tell. In the interest of brevity and to remind myself later, here are some highlights:

* I started teaching for the first time in 5 years.
* I got another draft of a chapter to my advisor (not two as I'd hoped. ::sigh::).
* I sold about a million things on craigslist in an attempt to successfully move from a 1400-sq-ft house to an 11x11 room and met some nice people and some freaks in the process.
* I moved out of my house and have lots of emotions about that - the most overwhelming right now is RELIEF. I had lots of help from my friends (THANK YOU) and some crazy bird people and some really great people at the bank who helped me straighten out some things that (I think) the title company screwed up.
* On the day of closing I woke up at 4am to shove everything in the back of my truck. Only half of it is out now. Rock Star suggests I should just drive it over a cliff. Fortunately, there are no obvious cliffs here.
* I moved to a craptastic apartment whose bathroom has made me decide that regular gym workouts (followed by a shower) will be the way to go this semester. Maybe even early in the morning so I can poop there, too.
* My housemates ARE nice, though.
* Is there such a thing as a 'Pine-sol Bomb'?! If so, I want one to set off in my new apartment.
* I ate a lot of cheese.
* I met some cops whose beat is in my new neighborhood.
* To celebrate my closing, I had a really lovely IM date with Rock Star Friday night.
* I didn't get to knit through this whole ordeal, which made it even worse. Last night I cast on some Fiber Trends slippers in these colors of Mauch Chunky and am feeling much more normal today.



This week? I'll be back to discussing minutiae. Thanks for all your support and good thoughts - they were highly appreciated if not readily acknowledged.

Damn

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Waiting to Exhale

We're all holding our breath over here. The closing on my PA place is the 20th. thisdayissofreakingnice that I had to go out and divide some plants and take some cuttings of my favorites, including the bleeding hearts.

THANK YOU for all your fantastic and enthusiastic good wishes on our news. We are SO EXCITED but, I have to admit, a little sad. See, there's something I haven't told most of you...

The diss isn't finished. A few weeks ago, I was offered a teaching position (TA) for the spring and after many heart-wrenching talks, Rock Star and I decided that it was best if I stayed here one more semester and really, truly wrapped things up. Then we can move forward with our lives without this crap hanging around and clouding up the future.

So I'm settling the sale of my house at the end of this month, then moving into a truly craptastic apartment for the semester. Not being comfortable in my home environment should help speed the writing phase.

I hadn't written about it here yet, I guess because it's more final when one puts it in writing. And it's final now that I've returned to my big, empty home with no cat, no dog, and no boy.

At least I have my cuttings.

C'mon baby, light my fire

Ever since Christmas morning, I've been planning this entry. The first photo was going to be of a vintage emerald solitaire, marking the occasion of Rock Star's proposal of marriage to me (!).

Long story short, the engagement photo is instead of the fireplace of the home for which our bid was accepted today. To us, the hearth is a better representation of the life we're going to build together than a gem that comes from a land far away.

Roller Derby Convertible Mittens

Finally, I finished Dancing Fish's birthday gift. I call them 'Roller Derby Convertible Mittens'.



Here are the vids:
Yarn: Wool sock yarn, hand-dyed by Dani in her 'Watermelon' colorway
Pattern: Mostly made up, based on a ton of glove/mitten patterns
Needles: Vintage US1 plastics. They worked really well with the wool.
Recipient: Dancing Fish
Thoughts: Super fun to knit and warmer than they look.



Strangely, roller derbys came up in conversation on NYE at my dear friend Amy's house. Over some delicious pomegranate martinis (thanks!), she said that she is probably going to join a roller derby team this spring. Of course I expressed extreme interest in joining her, but Rock Star thinks that I may be too sensitive to do it - that I hate confrontation. I think it would be a good way to let off some random rage.

We're obviously still in negotiation about this (but he's probably right). Maybe I'll just stick to these:

Branching Out, Gifted

For Kristy, here's my grandma with the completed Branching Out:



I'm glad for once that she doesn't have internet 'cos she might be a little irritated that I posted her photo without any lipstick! I sort of surprised her that morning...