Back from the blur known as Disneyland. Whew. It was busy, but it sure was fun to hear Kidlet giggle on the roller coasters.

41 for 41

For this year, I thought I'd follow in the esteemed Hula's footsteps and make a birthday list, a list of things to do in my 41st year. Believe me, it's a good thing I started this list a while ago. It's hard thinking of 41 things! However, it appeals greatly to my inner list-maker.

1. Enter something in the state fair competitions
2. Feel the ocean’s mist on my face.
3. Have at least one evening alone with the Hubs
4. Camp! Preferably at least half a dozen times.
5. Make a pair of Latvian mittens (my heritage!)
6. Figure out how to fit exercise into my life
7. Find a film camera with which I can get along
8. Write a poem
9. Take care of at least one outstanding house project
10. Plant as many seeds in the yard as I can
11. Do a month long project (self portrait a day, drawing a day, knitting a swatch a day…)
12. Make and send at least one postcard
13. Visit my Grandmother regularly
14. Get a massage
15. Make ice cream (without an ice cream maker)
16. Play a video game. It's been so long... :)
17. Knit at least two sweaters (does it count that I have one cast on already?)
18. Always try the library first when there is a book I want to read
19. Figure out my plan for the rest of my school career
20. Ride a Ferris Wheel
21. Skate (ice, roller, or both)
22. Finally become a public radio station member
23. Find the perfect cake recipe
24. Learn to take care of myself.
25. Make butter with Kidlet
26. (Re)learn how to do yo-yo tricks
27. Braid my hair
28. Eat an oyster pan roast
29. Drink a gin and tonic
30. Watch New Orleans win the Superbowl (heh heh)
31. Pull out my clarinet and toot a few notes
32. Go back to visit the ichthyosaur
33. Have ice cream for dinner
34. See the Nutcracker
35. Embroider Moomins on something (a bag? a shirt? a pillowcase?)
36. Go to the drive-in
37. Dance more.
38. Make cheese
39. Do a little guerilla knitting project
40. See the Gees Bend exhibit when it comes
41. Build the biggest fort I have ever made with Kidlet

Whew! If you made it this far, you deserve a prize; 41 is a lot. Happy holly-days, friends.

Just Some Weekend Babble

This weekend was a study in contrasts. Saturday found us running from morning to night getting food for the holiday and getting provisions for next weekend's road trip (it's a surprise for a certain Kidlet). A Christmas/Bon Voyage party for dear friends topped off Saturday night. Saturday was a lot so Sunday found us mostly at home, making Piparkukas, knitting, and playing. Kidlet and I decided since we hadn't been able to drive up the big hills in the neighborhood due to all the snow to do our annual 'looking at the lights', we walked it. Sadly, there were far fewer lights this year (or maybe they just seem much closer together when one is driving). We climbed across snow banks and we had a deep talk (religion is a big subject, as of late). It was a lovely walk with just a sliver of moon and a strong breeze to accompany us.


Back in a couple days with a mighty large list.

Slaying Me with Sweetness

Translation: Four angels in their igloo. The igloo is warm. Hot cocoa is warm.

Kidlet has been making the nicest seasonal stories at school.

I can't believe it's already snowing again. I don't want to drive on the fresh layer of snow. I saw a jack rabbit loping down the street. I'm cold. I just finished my final. I'm going to knit, knit, knit and organize, organize, organize this weekend. I'm free.

The Last Days of Disco

The last days of the semester are here and I am typing away furiously on gendered violence. I can't believe I am so close to mornings where I get up, have a couple of coffee and knit before I go to work.

Back to social interactionism of a different kind...

It was her bedtime but I still let her bundle up in her snow clothes so she could go out to play.

About Last Night...

Pizza number one: carmelized onions (cooked 'em for two hours), goat cheese and rosemary
Pizza number two: pesto with mozzarella

Brownies: triple chocolate

I might be under the weather but as you can see, I'm taking care of myself. :)

It's hard to write on my critique of gender roles in 30 Rock, when every single part of my body is aching. Yup. I've succumbed to the ick. Oh well, today waits for no one. Onward to the school-work-child taxi circuit...

Sigh.

I'll go for the obvious here...blur.

Thanks for stopping by. That thing called the "end of year blur" has arrived. I haven't been much of a correspondent lately because another project and a final exam are calling my name. One more week of school and then it's a month of freedom (freedom from school, anyway).

Bad photo taken while driving alone in my car on a Saturday night, singing songs from Frank's Wild Years, bringing home groceries.

Today

The fire is on, coffee at my side. Kidlet doesn't have a concussion (an accident on the monkey bars yesterday). Hubby has the creeping crud (coff, coff). We are in for the day. And I am grateful. Grateful for my family and the love and support they gave me during this crazy year. Grateful for our generous and kind friends. The old, old dog who is able to jump on the couch for a nap. The cozy house. The aspen tree in the yard that finally got yellow leaves for fall. A job that pays the bills. Good yarn. An education that keeps expanding my world view. Food, glorious food (there will be plenty of that today).

Our farmer brought us tiny Tom and we have porcini mushroom stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, cranberry orange sauce, spinach salad with maple walnuts and and goat cheese, pumpkin pie as well as a couple bottles of wine.

I actually feel ready to dive headlong into this holiday season. My heart and mind are in the right place and (I think) I'm ready to brave any topsy turveyness that may come my way. I wish you a happy full day, friends. Enjoy!

The Pleasures of Being Not Entirely Well

Kidlet came down with a minor flu bug Saturday and by Sunday afternoon, I became afflicted as well. When Kidlet had it on Saturday, we spent most of the day lounging about: Kidlet watched cartoons, I read for school. Once I finished my reading, I started knitting like mad. This cupcake and acorn are the results.


I purchased the patterns on etsy (Amy Gaines). The patterns are well-written and are fast and fun to knit. Highly recommended.

When I felt the ick continuing on Monday morning, I emailed work to tell them that I would only be coming in for a while and then I'd go home. They said "stay home!" I said "ok...if you say so" (but on the inside I was saying "Hurrah!") I felt achy and tired with no appetite, but that was about the extent of it. I took advantage of the time to wrap all the Christmas presents I had in the house, organize a bunch of papers, and watch a couple of shows (I have to immerse myself in the media for my gender and society class). I started watching 30 Rock. Sigh, I love Tina Fey. For being under the weather, it was a good day. I even took a nap. Amazing.

And now it's back to work and school, but it's satisfying to know that I'm organized and actually got some rest. I'll need the rest for the feast-making that is in my near future. More on that later. Have a good day, all.

Red Skies at Morning, Sailors Take Warning

They say a storm is a'brewin' today. It feels positively balmy outside. The 'warm before the storm', I suppose. It's beautiful.

Just one more project, a bucket of reading, and a final exam left to go before I say good bye to this semester. It's good to know I only have to do this for two more years (ha ha) and that's just my undergrad work! Actually, just knowing there's only four classes left on this degree is satisfying. It was far more daunting five years ago when I started this journey. It also gives me time to figure out what I want to do when I grown up (ha ha again).

I was thinking about doing a knitting project for this scholarship (I know! How awesome is my local yarn shop!). However, I'm not a huge Vogue Knitting fan and with the zillions of wonderful patterns that people are putting out right now, it's hard for me to force myself to knit something I'm just 'eh' about. There is an EZ hat (search 'Ganomy' on Ravelry) in one of the issues that I've wanted to knit forever, but I'm not quite sure that would count. I also feel like whatever I choose should show that I have at least minimal skills and anything that I've kind of liked is in the 'very easy' category. I've still got a little time to think it over...and if you are in school (or have a child or grandmother who is going to school), give it a go! I'm up for a little friendly competition. ;)

Speaking of knitting, I'm going to go now and try to get a couple rows done on hubby's sock. Poor hubs. If he had to wait for me to knit all of his socks, he'd have cold paws. I started a variation of this sock a year and a half ago, ripped it, started it again over a year ago and there it sat in my basket. I almost ripped it out to knit this for me (selfish, I know), but the sock looked awfully nice so we're getting reacquainted.



And this is what happens when you forget to turn off the flash before you take your sunrise photo. Look at all the particulates in the air! Yipes!

Treed

When I worked in the restaurant industry, they used to say you were "in the weeds" when you were totally bogged down by the 400 tasks you had to perform instantaneously. I remember chanting to myself what I had to juggle so it all wouldn't fall apart. "4 Peristyle Salads, 1 Pear Tart, 1 Choco Tart, 2 Crab Sal, 2 Sorbets, 4 Carpaccio..." When I had to run to the back of the kitchen to the small freezer that held the sorbets, I would look longingly at the back door that was so tantalizingly close to the freezer. I'd think about how it would feel to walk out that door into the night, letting those 400 tasks drift away. When you were really deep "in the weeds" you were "treed." The weeds had grown into trees. I'm feeling a bit like that right now. Holidays rapidly approaching, a secret trip post-holidays (well, secret only to Kidlet), school ramping up to the end of semester madness...whew. I'll write when I'm out of the trees.

Snuggle Weekend, 2009

I declare this weekend, "Snuggle Weekend." Snuggle Weekend demands you do no yard work and you do not clean your house after Snuggle Weekend begins. You are allowed to go get provisions for Snuggle Weekend (don't forget a bottle of wine to share in front of the fire!). Baking is an appropriate activity on Snuggle Weekend, as is soup making. Going for a walk and collecting leaves is acceptable as well. Snuggle Weekend is about slowing down and spending time with your loved ones. Forget the rush-rush-rush of the past (several) week(s). It's Snuggle Weekend.

Hey, Punkin'

Today is a ride on the crazy train: dropped off the car for fixing, stopped at the craft store to buy supplies to make a replacement kitty cat tail for tonight's tricks or treats, groceries, errands followed by more errands. Now, I'm trying to come to a stop so I can concentrate my attention on my exam prep for a couple of hours (good luck, Ani). Tonight, muffulettas and candy with friends.

Happy Halloween! Enjoy creeping about with the little ghosties...

Mornings smell damp and evenings smell of woodsmoke; it must be fall.

Fall is good (but ridiculously busy).

--My post-concussive syndrome is officially gone (except for the blasted ear ringing and my poor memory)

--Dear dog, Kiko, is doing well. She has more energy than she's had in months (and is back to jumping up on the couch...yay!).

--We carved pumpkins last night (photos soon?)

--I finished Ishbel. Now with even more errors than ever! (photos soon)

--Trick or treating downtown tonight, followed by dinner with friends

--Much studying needs to get done this weekend for an exam on Tuesday. Biological, psychological, social theories of gendering, anyone? Woo.

--Love The Moth podcast. If you get a chance, listen to Simon Doonan's "Fear of Squat". If you lived through the 80's, it's hi-larious.

A Flurry

It's a flurry over here. Not snow, but of activity.

--The group project for school was not as bad I thought but there was still some funkiness that I had to deal with at the end

--Spent part of the evening at work, vacuuming gray water from drains that are...in the computer room? Who's bright idea was it to put drains by electrical equipment?

--Reading for school, avoiding reading for school

--Needing to make my plan for the next semester or two as it's almost time to make my new schedule

--Wishin' I was knittin'. I had to pull about 5 rows out of my Ishbel (ouch!) but I knew the 4 spots where I had dragged the yarn over into the next repeat, then thinking I had too many stitches I'd "fix it" by K2 together and then "fix" the next repeat by making 1...well, it was going to bother me in the finished product.

--Loving the fall weather, but not getting any time to get out and enjoy it

--Eyeing the basket of apples in the kitchen and thinking that it needs to turn itself into pie. If it could do that by the time I got home from work today, that'd be great.

Anyone know what those flowers are in my photo? They were at the arboretum (but unmarked). I'd love to have some for my yard.

Fantine &c.

Here she be! Fantine. I sewed a button on it (a big, black, sparkly button) but it just didn't seem quite big enough for all that chunky yarn. I'm going to hunt for some olde timey sweater clips. I love this pattern, so easy and quick. I'd like to make a longer sleeve, longer body version sometime soon.

&c. ...

I am wondering if our dog has cancer or is just merely old, finicky and rickety.

I have a group project due on Tuesday that we have not even started.

I am wearing argyle knee socks with my skirt today.

I'm slightly stuck on my knitting.

The air is cool and fresh.

We take a lot of photos of pumpkins 'round these parts.

Yesterday, we had my dream fall weather: gentle rain all day, the smell of forest in the cool air, the trees glowing like jewels in the gray.

This morning, I'm going to knit, have coffee, and wish I had the day off.

Tonight, it's pancakes for dinner.

How is it looking for you today?

An Epitaph and a Recipe

Gourmet magazine is going out of business. It's been news for a few days and I've been letting it sink in. I've been reading Gourmet my whole life. My earliest Gourmet memory occurs when I was in 4th grade. I was sick at home and I had a report due for class. I picked up an issue of Gourmet and poured over an article about traveling the English countryside, eating amazing delights. I wrote my report based on that reading. It was a seriously wonky report and it got a raised eyebrow from the teacher, but it started my love affair for this magazine. When I was a cooking professional, it was required reading. Now that I'm home cook, looking for quick but delicious recipes, Gourmet is still my companion. Over the past few years, they successfully transformed themselves from a more fussy (but beloved) read to a more user friendly (and still loved) magazine. My Grandmother and Mom read Gourmet back in the early days. My Mom, as a lovely sixteen year old, made the most amazing cream puffs she ever had after she came home from school, courtesy of Gourmet. Damn it! Don't go!

Sigh.

Well, I will post the curried pumpkin soup recipe that I spoke of the other day. I have to admit, it's not a Gourmet recipe; it is something I got in my email ages ago from my other object of cooking worship, Ms. Lynn Rosetto Kasper. She got it from Good Food for Good Times: Simple recipes for Sensational Celebrations by Jamie Gwen and Lana Sills. I have done a few minor, minor modifications (adding more pumpkin and curry)...

2 cans pureed pumpkin (14.5 cans, or one large can if you can find one). Not the pumpkin pie filling, but pumpkin puree. You will be using about 3 cups (a can and a half)

1 T olive oil

2 T butter

2 small pears, peeled, cored and diced

1 yellow onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 T curry powder (I often go up to 2 T, since I love the curry)

1/2 cup apple juice

6 cups of veggie/chicky broth (if you buy the 28 oz cartons, just use one carton and 2 cups of water)

1/3 c whipping cream or plain yogurt (depending if you are feeling virtuous or not)

salt and pepper.

Saute the onions in the olive oil and butter until transparent (over medium heat, about 10 minutes) in a big stock/soup pot. Add pears, garlic and curry powder and cook two minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Add the juice, picking up any little yummy brown bits that may have shown up in your pot. Add the 3 cups of pumpkin (a can and a half). Reserve the rest to make some pumpkin muffins. Add the broth as well. Reduce heat and simmer until the pears are soft (about a 1/2 hour). Puree soup in batches in a processor or blender, or with an immersion blender. Be careful when blending hot liquids! You can tuck it in the fridge at this point and finish it off with the cream or yogurt before reheating and serving. When reheating, do not boil. It also is quite tasty cold. Garnish with some green onion tops, sour cream or plain yogurt.

Off to the pumpkin patch this weekend! Enjoy your weekend, friends...

What's Hot & What's Not

I'm playing along with Loobylu today...

HOT

--Starting a fire in the pellet stove the past two nights. It wasn't really necessary, but it was pleasant nevertheless

--Rereading Betsy-Tacy for the first time since I was a child. These were among my first favorite books as a small one. I always longed for Tacy's ringlets. And I still love the little Lois Lenski illustrations.

--Curried pumpkin soup!

--Planning the annual trip to the pumpkin patch

--Wearing stripes almost daily


NOT HOT

--The garage. I need to purge it desperately but there's just no time. Soon the clutter will start creeping its way up the stairs and into the living room ala the Blob.

--Group project at school that requires us to meet outside of class. Don't they know I work full time and have a family as well as doctors, vets, and errands to deal with?

--Photography. Can't take a photo to save my life as of late.

--Sleep. Last night was better but the full moon has tossed and turned me and given me the strangest dreams (ten gallon bowl of clams anyone?).

Blue (knitting) Monday

Ishbel. How I love knitting you. Only about 10 more rows to go but considering it takes anywhere from 20 minutes (for the purl row) to 40 minutes (for the pattern row), it'll be a while. (The photo is terrible. I couldn't get a nice steady photo yesterday. Too much coffee, too little sleep).

Hoot! Fifteen minutes of knitting fun, one hour of making french knots that fall apart. The smallest buttons I had for eyes looked nutty, so I had to improvise with a skill that I lack.


The long awaited(?) February Lady. I finished this in June, I think. Now that the weather is finally acting like autumn (well, winter yesterday), I've worn it 4 times and I love it. The fit is slightly wonky due to my 'creative tailoring' but I think I'll get a lot of wear out of this. And no, I'm not pregnant although that tunic top sure is making me look like it is so. Perhaps I'm getting ready for hibernation?

5 misc.

--Kidlet's cloud observations this morning. "It's a dog! Cheetah! Bear! Dragon!"

--There has been no precipitation or wind for so long that when the powerhouse winds blow today, it picks up all the dust and carries it across the valley up the other side, making it look like there's a rampaging smoky fire on the foothills.

--Took an exam today. Now I'm free to release all those facts to the ether.

--I'm wearing a striped shirt, skirt, knee socks and clogs today. I even got to wear my February Lady sweater (photo to come later today). Yippee! Loving the cool.

--Thinking about making pear crisp tonight. I'll be the only one to eat it.

Day Two

It must be Autumn.

I have my first exam next week.
I can't stop my desire to knit knit knit.
I want to bake apple pie.
The colors aren't lying.

Sometimes, I can even wear a light sweater in the morning. However, I'm still awaiting the day that knee socks appear with my skirt, as well as the debut of my sweaters that I knit in the Spring. I'm not very patient. Maybe next week the high desert heat will relent? Just for a day? One can hope.

(Has anyone else noticed that blogger flattens the color of their photos? Or is a conspiracy to get me to move to another blogging platform?)

The Ups and Downs aka the Randomness that is My Life

I cut the last set of flowers from the garden; the rest are starting to look past their prime. The patch of yellow on the mountaintop grows daily (and has been for two weeks) and the fall colors are starting to make their presence known in the valley. I'm feeling the need to prepare for hibernation. :)

It was quite a weekend. Our old timer, Kiko, presented us with a mysterious mouth/jaw/nasal cavity/ear canal/eye mystery and after spending buckets of money at the vet, we are no closer to solving the case. She's on some antibiotics and it seems like she is getting better but she still won't yawn (although she's doing some tentative mouth opening, as if to test. Oh, if only you could talk, Kiko!).

Kidlet has been in a mood and a half. She's cranky one minute, manic the next and she's eating lighter than a bird. My mom said "perhaps, it's a growing spurt?" Something is going on and I hope it goes on its merry way soon (ha ha).

Last night, I dreamed of people who were floating up near the ceiling while they were in a meditative trance. I dreamed of a psychopath at a dentist. I dreamed of being sneaky. I'm tired. Is it the weekend yet?

Singin' in the...

We recently watched "Singin' in the Rain" with Kidlet. She adores it. The music, the dancing, the funny lady (Jean Hagen) who says "I cain't stand'em"...this movie speaks to Kidlet. We downloaded the soundtrack and we were singing along on the way to school today.

Wish it would rain here. A few drops fell last Saturday but I'm ready for a break in the summer weather. On Sunday there's a break in the heat and I'm going to make french onion soup (even though 82 degrees does not really constitute soup weather).

I need to spend some quality time with my schoolwork this weekend. We are having a test in just over a week and I feel I have a jumble of random information floating around. Sociology just isn't sitting well in my history brain. And while I must toil at teaching myself how sociology ties into the different feminisms, my post-concussiveness is telling me it's time to slow down. When someone finds the magical response to the age old question of "how do I balance what I must do with relaxation?", please let me know.

In my attempts to eek in a little relaxation, I been sneaking a watch of 8 1/2 the past two days. Anouk Aimee is simply gorgeous. Makes me want to cut my hair and wear a pair of very hip glasses. Actually, she looks a lot like my mama did at that age.

Figgy

I bought some gorgeous figs last week at the farmer's market. They were at their prime, gently sweet and ready to pop right into my mouth (and that's exactly what I did).

This week, I didn't make the farmer's market but ended up buying more figs at the grocery with sweet memories of last week's iteration dancing through my head. Well, as you can guess, they weren't as perfect as the farmer's market version. Some were borderline smooshy and others were still hard. And of course, some were just right (but still not as sweet as last week's gems). I decided to try and do something different with them and make some jam. I've got extremely limited experience with canning so I looked up "refrigerator fig jam". I found a recipe, whipped it up within a half hour and ta da! The mediocre has turned into rosy ruby deliciousness.

Recipe found here.

Last of the Balloon Posts for 2009

We stumbled down the hill. It was a warmer than in past years.


But it got chillier just before dawn. The sunrise was amazing.

The girls played they were bunnies and waited for their favorite balloons to be inflated (the buzzy bees and the big bunny).


I rather liked Tony the tiger.

We watched Sunday's balloons from the house after awaking at a 'normal' hour. It was lovely. And now it's officially Autumn in my book. I'm so ready.

Cookies, anyone?

I've got about three dozen left. A woman can eat only so many cookies. Really.

So grateful for the hubby who is cooking dinner for me since I'm ridiculously tired. I'm not good on four point five hours sleep. More photos from "Balloonacy 2009" soon.

Just another Friday morning commute...

Yes, it's true. It's sneaking in...

during the night, changing the colors.


The plants are losing their "juiciness" and starting to set seed.


I know the hints have been here for a week now but...


it's still 90 degrees daily! Ugh! Can't the weather change too?

But the balloons are here so it's final, autumn is on its way.

Tomorrow morning, we will be up at the crack of dawn (who am I kidding? It'll still be thoroughly dark.) to stumble down the hill with many parents and kidlets to have coffee and chocolate chip butterscotch cookies under the glow of the balloons. The usual photos will follow.

***

The rest of my weekend will be all about fitting in time to write a "mini research paper" on sex and gender. This is something I found out about a week later than one would hope due to my professor's unusual tactic of not announcing assignments in class, only on our internet campus. A bit of a surprise to me, to say the least. It doesn't matter. I'm happy I spent last weekend knitting instead of writing. One of these days I'll actually take photos of all these knitting projects that I've been working on since the beginning of summer(!).

Enjoy your weekend, all! I will (except for the writing part...heh heh).

Change?

Noted this morning...

Geese flying overhead, honking, honking.
Yellow leaves appeared overnight on the morning glories.
A few leaves on the creeper have turned red.

Could it be? Could these 90 degree temperatures being lying? Autumn, I'm ready.

Glad

Three day weekend almost here. Glad.

This just found...

This blog, ephemera assemblyman, is going to keep me filled with inspiration for quite a while. Wow. If you like olde timey illustrations, you'll fall in love too.

I have this photo as my wallpaper on my work computer. I know if I could be there and turn around, the ocean would be somewhat obscured by light fog, but you'd definitely hear it swooshing the shore. It's a quiet beach with no other people around due to the couple mile hike it takes to get there. I'd really like to be there today. Anyone else for Oysterville, Washington? I know of an excellent fish market where we could buy dinner.

Minus One

The tooth leaped out during the morning toothbrushing, much to our surprise.
I sewed like mad yesterday to finish the tooth pouch.

The tooth pocket side:


And the treat side:


I am about 90% satisfied with it. There are couple spots with wonky sewing but all-in-all, I'm thinking it will hold together until all the teeth fall out of Kidlet's head.

A post in which I discuss a whole lot of nothing. Oh! In other words, the usual.

Now that school has started, all I want to do is craft. I started sewing up a tooth fairy pillow since Kidlet surprised us all with a loose tooth last week. A really loose tooth. I decided I'd better get sewing right away.

Kidlet picked out the fabric (a cute ginghamy fabric with fruits that I thrifted a couple of years ago) and she helped design it. So far I have the treat pocket 80% sewn. I still need to embroider and attach the tooth pocket and then sew the little pillow together. I am surprised at how cute it looks, despite my lack of sewing skills. My sewing machine still languishes at my Mama's place so it's all by hand. For her tooth treat, I'm giving her a coin and a little tiny ceramic animal I picked up at the antique store for a couple of bucks. Kidlet is a collector (wonder where she got that from?) and these tiny animals are her newest collection.

I whipped out the above mouse last week. The pattern is from Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits I. I knit it out of a worsted weight yarn so he's more giga-mouse than sweet mousette, but I think he came out remarkably well.

Still working on the endless legwarmers but I'm almost done with number 3. Then it's just one more to go! Woo!

I'm also knitting Ishbel from the aforementioned Whimiscal Little Knits I. I'm about to hit the lace section and I'm a little nervous since I've heard there's a discrepancy in the written instructions and I'm not a chart person. I guess I'll have to try and ferret out the problem or just teach myself how to read a chart (which is what I really should do anyway).

I'm already daydreaming of what project is next. I've got 3 sweaters in my head (Lisel, Audrey in Unst and Novak) and I'm already deciding what yarn to use for Damson. But first, I need to decide if I'm knitting anything for anyone for Christmas. Not so sure about that since I think I'm the one that enjoys the finished results of my knitting more than anyone else.

And then there's that sewing thing. I'm kind of digging it. Two free patterns came out this past week, from Claire of Loobylu and Alicia of Posie, and I'm thinking of taking a stab at them (stab at the projects, not at me with an embroidery needle...heh).

***

The dreams have not stopped. Last night (when I actually was able to sleep), I dreamed of a deluge that ruined a couple of walls of the house. Ummm, that dream was way too easy for me to decipher. Kinda spooky, really.

***

School is killing my post-concussive head. I've had headaches for a few days now. The class looks fairly straightforward and not particularly challenging, which is good for the aforementioned head. However, since it's a women's studies/sociology course, the readings are not quite the sort of thing with which I am familiar. It takes me far longer to wade through them than it does a history text. Sigh.

***

I am reading the most charming book I have ever read. Should you need a heavy does of charm, Autonauts of the Cosmoroute is for you. Pablo Neruda says of the author, "Anyone who doesn’t read Cortázar is doomed. Not to read him is a serious invisible disease, which in time can have terrible consequences. Something similar to a man who has never tasted peaches. He would quietly become sadder . . . and, probably, little by little, he would lose his hair."

***

Ok, that really wraps it up. I just put on The Jam, which was my Friday morning listening for a year when I was 14. This song in particular. Enjoy your weekend, all.

Dreams

I've been dreaming, dreaming so much, every night. Last night, I was back in Nebraska with my Mom and Dad. I did lots of driving in an extremely icy parking lot. Due to the snow storm, we speculated whether we'd make it to Colorado. We ended up at an antique mall and my Dad was saying funny stuff. I sure do miss him.

Kidlet says she dreams of flying nightly.

First Day

Yesterday was Kidlet's first day of school but it was nothing new for her since she's been doing this for two years already. Today is my first day of school but again, nothing new as I've been doing this for well over twenty years (not consecutively, thank goodness).

Farewell to morning knitting and going to bed early! Farewell to watching House of Elliot! Farewell to every scrap of free time I had! O, how I will miss thee...

Crystal Blue Sparkle Day

The swimming was like diving into a tall glass of ice water. Perfect.

Vanilla malt and fries. Yes, yes, yes.