general

A few blocks north of us on 72nd, there's a smallish commercial building on a corner. When I first moved in with Nik--a little over 3 years ago--it was a strip club of some sort. The strip club moved, "For Lease" signs went up and a while later a new business opened. The new place was called "Little Hands Learning Center," which made me think it was an education-related store or a daycare center or something like that. But then they hand-painted some advertising on the door that said "Kids books, toys, and clothing for sale" which really didn't help explain what the place actually WAS. Of course, I never went in to find out. It was just one of those mysteries you think about once in a while when you drive by on the way home from work.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the place eventually closed and the "For Lease" signs went up again.

Recently, we were driving by on our way home from work and I suddenly noticed a new sign: "Pins & Needles"

What?! I did a really fast double-take. Could it be a sewing shop? Or something else crafty? Within a few blocks of my HOUSE?

But...no. "Pins & Needles" is an acupuncture clinic!

Darn.

...I did just discover that there's a new shop down Woodstock from us, though, that looks promising. I think it's more art than craft, but it has prominent signs about classes. Will have to go check it out one of these days. :)

The week was a bit grueling, but it's finally Friday. Yay! And it's a 3-day weekend! YAY!

And even better, I actually get ALL THREE days off!

[For those of you new to my blog...let's just say that there are certain things that really suck about working in payroll. For instance: holidays. Most of the time, holidays force us to either work on the holiday, or work an extra day during the week to make up for having had the holiday off. People have to get paid on time, holiday or no! Memorial Day--this year anyway--does not interfere with our payroll schedule. Yay!]

I made it to Twisted three days in a row this week! The weather has been pretty yucky, so I've been taking the bus even though it's only a little over a mile from my office. I get off the bus about a block and a half from the shop, crossing two small streets. You'd think that'd be a pretty safe way to go, wouldn't you?

I almost got run over today.

The bus lets me off on a two lane, one-way street. I always cross the side street first, to give the bus a chance to get by and because I have to wait for the rest of the traffic to clear anyway before I can cross the one-way street. So, as usual, I waited for all the traffic to clear (there's a traffic signal at the previous intersection) and then crossed the street. I made it halfway across when a woman driving a huge silver SUV turned left onto the one-way street from the other side. She stopped in time, with tires squealing as I jumped sideways away from her car.

I don't think she was any closer to me than, oh, 6 feet, but it was scary!

Now I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend, with lots of time to rest. And lots of knitting, I hope.

Yesterday was the first time I've missed posting something during the whole month of May. Between just being exhausted and then being up late watching American Idol (I had to see if David Cook was going to beat David Archuleta!), I just lost track and went to bed without posting. Oh well, I'm still doing quite well on my self-imposed "post once a day" goal.

This has been another of those crazy work weeks where I work way, way too late one of the days and then struggle to balance it out the rest of the week. And sleep enough to overcome it. I'll be going to bed very shortly in an effort to make Friday feel less awful than Thursday did.

Yesterday after work was nice, though--I left a little bit early and went to Twisted. Tammy and Kim joined me a while later and we chatted and knitted until Nik came to take me home. It was so nice seeing them! It's been ages.

My second Sorta Charade sock is well underway now--the leg is done, and I'm starting on the ankle. I've also been making a little progress on Mom's Follow the Leader shawl. I have a few things coming up that are going to pull my attention away from all these awesome works in progress, though, I think. I may finish the sock this weekend, but then I have things to work on for the HSKS5 swap (even though it's a sock KIT swap, there's still a handmade component to the swap--which, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about! I'm even looking forward to it, but it's yet another thing to add to a queue which is looking a bit daunting right now). And I'm taking a class starting next weekend, so I'll have a project to work on for that, too.

Oh well--I'm sure I'll figure out how to juggle everything. I just don't want Mom's shawl to keep getting shoved to the bottom of the list! Better work on it a bunch this coming week...haha.

It's a good kind of tired today, though. I went out with Nik this morning to do some yardwork. There's still lots more than needs to be done, but I pulled out some of the worst of the weeds and poisoned the ones that are growing in places like seams in the sidewalk while Nik mowed the back and side yards.

Then we moved a bookshelf (which we're using as a clothes shelf in our temporary bedroom) and built one of those little 3x3 cube thingies. The room we're living in right now is pretty tiny--now that we have all the shelving in there with our bed, there's only a rather narrow space in which to walk. However, we finally have somewhere to put all our clothes. It'll be a lot nicer than everything hanging off the bed's footboard, which is pretty much what we've been doing since we moved into the room in March. (The room does have a closet, but it's tiny and we need to put another pole in before it'll really be useful--the current pole is too high for me.)

Next step: actually putting all the clothes away. :)

We've been catching up on our shows tonight, since it's too hot tonight to do anything that requires movement.

We just watched last night's episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Lost. Lost is making it so worth having stuck it out this far! I can't wait for more! Too bad all that's left is the season finale--who knows how long we'll have to wait for the next season.

We also watched Don't Forget the Lyrics, which has been entertaining lately. Nik is convinced that I should go on the show. Haha. I do know the words to lots of songs and I tend to do pretty well playing along from my couch, but I'm actually not quite enough of a Leo--I'm not really comfortable being the center of attention, except in small doses. If I ever did go on the show, though, I definitely would not go for the million dollar song. I've seen it attempted twice now, and both songs were impossible. (Seriously. Who knows every word to Milli Vanilli's Blame it on the Rain?)

I went to Twisted after work today and petted lots of Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn. In addition to all three weights of Socks that Rock, they're also carrying Laci (100% merino laceweight--gorgeous 1750 yard skeins), Silk Thread (100% silk, very fine & beautiful), Luscious Single Silk (50% merino, 50% silk, DK weight, in huge 500 yard skeins!), and Woobu (60% merino, 40% bambu, DK weight, also in huge skeins of 620 yards). It was fascinating seeing how the same colorway can look completely different on a different base yarn. The most striking difference was the Woobu. I picked up a skein of it in what looked like a charcoal gray color and was surprised to see that it was Thraven, the same colorway I'd been drooling over in the Laci (and in the Luscious, for that matter). In the Woobu, Thraven looked like charcoal gray with very subtle greens. Lovely, but not obviously the same as the black with blues and greens I'd been looking at in the Laci.

I LOVE that color--it's so pretty in every yarn I looked at. I may have to get some someday...

This week's assignment is to write a brief biography. Considering that I don't even have an "about me" section on this blog yet, this seems like an opportunity to me!

Before I get to that, though, I just have to say one thing. This is some of the best news I've heard in a long time. Go California! Let's hope the rest of the country also starts to gain some sanity on this issue (including Oregon! I love you, but don't agree with some of your people--like those who voted for Measure 36 four years ago while I was working on the campaign against it).

~~ * ~~

A Short Biography of Me

I'm California born-and-raised--and still miss it sometimes--but I've been in Oregon for almost 7 years now, and Portland for almost 5. I love Portland, but I have to admit that I would move to San Francisco in a heartbeat. If it were economically feasible.

I'll be 42 this summer, which seems a little crazy to me. Where has the time gone? However, I have a new husband who helps keep me feeling young--because he's 12 years younger than me. ;) We've been married for seven months, and I look forward to many, many happy years together.



That's Nik and I on our honeymoon in San Francisco (the shot ought to be familiar to those of you who know me from Ravelry--it's the same one I use there).

I used to be a high school math teacher, but gave that up because it was a thankless job that caused me way more stress than joy. Now I work in payroll at a large education company and I'm much, MUCH happier. I have ambitions toward bigger and better things (perhaps even something that will make those Stanford degrees of mine useful?), but for now I'm content with what I'm doing. I'm patient.

I think my patience and generally cheerful attitude have both served me well in recent years. Early last year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a bilateral mastectomy in February and have had two surgeries since then (the most recent was just two months ago) for breast reconstruction. It may sound strange to say that I consider myself lucky, but I do. My cancer was a rare form that is slow-growing, and it was caught early--on my first-ever mammogram after I turned 40--so I did not have to suffer through radiation or chemotherapy. The surgeries have played enough havoc that I am thankful every day that I didn't have the added stress of radiation or chemo.

Due to the surgeries and to having certain restrictions on my activities for so long, I'm feeling extremely out of shape and just tired these days. I hope this summer to get back into walking and hiking--which I'd been doing a lot of the summer before the cancer showed up--and start feeling more fit again. Losing the 15 pounds I've gained since the first surgery would be nice, too, but really I just want to feel energetic again.

Patience, right? :)

We're home, just finished watching both Lost and Grey's Anatomy from last week, and now it's time for bed. Today kind of flew by, but it was a nice Mother's Day.

Nik made breakfast for both me and Mom, and we enjoyed our ocean view for the morning and early afternoon until we decided it was time to head home. The drive was mostly pretty nice, but there was apparently a big accident outside Dundee which caused us to have to detour. What a backup. We crawled along for miles, but eventually made it to Newberg where we stopped for a quick bite to eat at Burgerville before parting with Mom (she was headed to Wilsonville, while we were headed home to SE PDX). Burgerville was giving out free strawberry shortcake for moms today--it was yummy! (Um. I'm not a mom, but Mom shared hers. :D)

My Sorta Charade sock is done but for the toe, so I expect to finish it tomorrow. Will try to get pictures to post tomorrow. Goodnight!

As I mentioned in my last post, we're at Gleneden Beach for the weekend. It's apparently been sunny (if a bit cold) most of the week, but today? Alternately drizzly, foggy, misty, etc., all day. Gray, gray and more gray.

Oh well. I'd still rather be here looking at the ocean than home looking at the street in the rain. :D

All we did today was go into Newport for breakfast (at more like lunchtime). So I've been knitting most of the afternoon/evening, with a bit of reading thrown in. And visiting with Mom and Nik, of course. All in all, a very nice, relaxing day. Despite the weather.

I've made excellent progress on my Sorta Charade socks. The first one has a heel and I'm now working my way down the foot. I'll post photos tomorrow, probably. I also started the February Baby Sweater last night and am now through about three repeats of the lace pattern. Despite looking over the pattern before I started, I didn't notice that there was no mention of buttonholes until you get to the lace section. So...the garter stitch portion at the top has none. Oops. I've come up with an alternate plan for the buttons already, and I think it'll be fine.

I think it's supposed to rain more tomorrow, so there probably won't be any pretty Gleneden photos from me. Maybe I'll steal some more from Mom...

We're spending the weekend with Mom at Gleneden Beach. (Picture above courtesy Mom.)

Will be back with more...something. Words and pictures, no doubt, but I'm not sure on what subject. Tomorrow. I fully intend to sleep in for a change in the morning, though! :)

How is it that I've suddenly gotten so busy lately? It seems like every day there's something I have to do or somewhere I have to go after work, preventing me from following through on my plan to go hang out at Twisted in the afternoons.

Today, though, I finally managed to get there! And amazingly, who was there when I walked in? Debby! That may not sound amazing, but we've been trying to get together for ages and things kept getting in the way. Not quite what we've been planning, but it was still nice to visit (and shop) with her for a little while before she had to leave.

By the time I settled down to knit, I only got through about a row on my Charade sock before Nik arrived to whisk me off to Wilsonville (to feed Mom's cat--she's at the coast). Where did the time go?

Had a wonderful evening, dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and then we went to see Iron Man. It was great! I highly recommend it.

Now I'm exhausted again and must get to bed, so still no new knitting pictures. I'll leave you with this, though, the first flower this year on our rhododendron bush:



It's fully in bloom now, and glorious. I love that little shrub (it's little because this is only its third summer--it seems to double in size each year, though!).

Tomorrow...aside from a doctor's appointment in the early afternoon (checkup with my plastic surgeon at which I expect him to say something along the lines of, "Come back when you want to see me again") I don't have any plans. So I expect there to be WIP pictures and photos of recent stash enhancement soon.

Goodnight!

So...nothing went wrong at work tonight, exactly. Unfortunately, the whole process just keeps taking longer and longer. I didn't leave work until 9:15 tonight! At this rate, in a couple of months I'll be there until midnight...

Ugh.

Sleep now. Pictures of WIPs tomorrow.

So we took a few pictures yesterday. We were down in Tualatin, meeting Mom for lunch, but we were about half an hour early so we made a little side trip over to the little man-made lake in the center of Tualatin. For the first year and a half that I lived in the Portland area, I lived on this little lake. I miss the view and the geese, although I do like our house and living in SE Portland.

Nik and I ate dinner here on our first date:



That's Hayden's Grill, and those are people dining lakeside while enjoying the sun, as Nik and I did on our first date. It's on the south end of the lake; I lived in an apartment on the north end. (The path around the lake is only about 1/3 of a mile--all the way around--which is why I have a habit of referring to it as "the little lake.")

The purpose of our side trip, though, wasn't so much a trip down memory lane (although that's always nice!), but rather for these:



The Twisted Sky Socks, brilliant in the sunshine! (I love the brightness of those colors--and people's reactions to them.)

And, finally, Flair:



(Is my hair getting too long?)



And a bonus, since I grabbed it on the way out the door, too. My Dream in Color shrug, which I knitted, oh, last summer, I think, but never managed to take pictures of:





This shrug is from the Dream in Color Shrug pattern, and is knit in Dream in Color Classy (the color is Spring Tickle). I absolutely love this pattern, and this yarn. I still want to make another one.

Tomorrow is my loooong day at work. I'm hesitant to get my hopes up, but if today was any indication tomorrow should be one of the better processing Tuesdays. Which means I might be done by 6:30 instead of 8:30--at least so long as the day doesn't begin with a note like this. (That's from two weeks ago--scary start to the day.)

Unless I collapse from exhaustion by the time I get home tomorrow, I expect to be back with pictures of the in-progress Charade sock (pretty, pretty yarn!) and Follow the Leader shawl. Amazingly, I'm making decent progress on both. :)

I think I could eat artichokes every day of my life. This was tonight's dinner--along with some tater tots. :D

Well, the sun never did decide to show itself today so I didn't take any knitting-related pictures (thus the picture of my dinner instead). However, I did finish the Twisted Sky Socks! They're awesome and I love them. I have hope that the sun will shine enough tomorrow to get a decent picture.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, and I have no gift for her because I have been completely uninspired. I do have yarn + pattern for a shawl for her, but haven't started it yet. It would be nice if I could come up with something before we take her out to lunch tomorrow...but I may have to settle for, "I'm working on something awesome for you!" (which means I really need to get it on the needles so I'm not also lying...haha).

The yarn is awesome, Cherry Tree Hill Merino Lace in the color Green Mountain Madness (picture here). I also think the pattern I chose will be an enjoyable knit, so why haven't I started it yet?

I think...I'm intimidated by having to wind that humongous hank of yarn into a ball.

So, maybe that's what I'll spend the rest of the evening doing: winding yarn. I have the lace for Mom's shawl and a hank of sock yarn that also needs winding. (I finished one pair, time to start another, right?)

Do you ever sit down to write a blog post and nothing coherent wants to come out? I have all sorts of topics I could discuss, from knitting to upcoming house projects to Nik's vision problems. But I've started this post about five times already and...meh.

So...I'll save the majority of it until another time. I can summarize my knitting of late, though:

• I've done 5 squares so far for my Lizard Ridge. They're gorgeous and I can't wait to get more Kureyon to make some more.


• My Twisted Sky Socks are quite close to being finished. If I can keep my hands off the Noro enough over the next few days, I'll probably finish them this weekend.


• The Noro has become quite the siren song for me right now. I ran out of skeins for the Lizard Ridge, so I hunted up a project that I'd started and abandoned some time ago--felted potholders for my brother. They're in a pretty riotous colorway (165), to go with his colorful Fiestaware dishes. I did one and wasn't terribly happy with how it felted, so I put the whole project in timeout. Today I almost completed a second one. (I have some ideas on how to improve the felting result, which may be part of my motivation. Also, if I finish the potholders and have a skein of Kureyon leftover, I can make another Lizard Ridge square!...I might be a little obsessed.)

Oh, and I also FINALLY finished sewing up all the ends in my Flair and blocking the darn thing. As soon as it dries I'll sew on the buttons and TAKE PICTURES. You have no idea how long that thing has been sitting around waiting for me to put the finishing touches on it...

It's really cute, though. :D