If I Had More Time*

Last summer, I attended the wedding of a CPaAGer.  Some time in June, I think.  Shortly after the wedding, I put a sock-in-progress in a Very Safe Place, as the kitten had been finding it in the various hiding spots.  Hiding spots such as on top of the fridge (he's not supposed to be up there..) and behind the microwave (he's not supposed to be on the kitchen counters.)

Evidently, it truly was a Very Safe Place, as I have since looked in places such as the bread machine, the freezer, all kitchen cabinets, all closets, the oven, etc.  No dice.



Wednesday, I was cleaning and dusting and vacuuming and filing and other boring, adult like things that I should probably do a bit more often, and found the sock-in-progress.  In a lunch box.

Incidentally, that lunch box was borrowed from a friend and used to transport some freshly fallen snow to TheUrmily during THON our senior year when she danced and was upset that she couldn't see the fresh snow.  I have no idea who lent me the lunch box, no one has claimed it, and uh... that was three years ago.  I guess they don't need it back any time soon.

Anyway, that sock was supposed to be a finished ahead of time giftmoose gift for my sister.  (She got wristwarmers instead.  She was very happy with them.)  Wednesday was her birthday.  Odd, that.



I started an eye of partridge heel and ... yeah, I hate heel flaps.  I really do.  I ought to spend more time with Cat Bordhi's books and memorize the various different ways to knit heels on cuff-down socks.  Or just continue to be happy with my short-row heels.

In other knitting news:  Finished dad's first sock.  Had enough yarn AND it fits him.  (he did ask if I could make the leg longer.  I flat-out refused.)  Happily for me, the sock ALSO fits HWIA, so that will make it a bit easier to knit socks for him, as I'll have some idea of the insane number of stitches needed.



The kitten is lucky I love him because I ended up spending more than 2.5 hours on Wednesday evening untangling the yarn of my sister's sock.  I ended up cutting the yarn and just winding little balls from each end of the original ball of yarn.  I put them on Sharpies and would work a bit on one end and then slip the yarn under the clip of the cap when I went to work on the other end.  Worked very well.

*Tarkio

Don't Rain On My Parade

Dear horses, Why do you all seem to drink more water when it is raining out? Does the sound of rain makes you thirsty? in wonderment, the bringer of noms, wrangler of hoses, and shoveler of poop. Dear CCLS, Requiring my full name, library card number, AND a PIN just pisses me off. Mostly because the odds of me actually remembering the entirety of my library card number are slim-to-none and since you require three fields, my web browser doesn't recognize the info as a password and thus, won't save it. Also, renting out DVDs disc by disc and NOT specifying VERY CLEARLY in the online catalog which disc is which is just cruel. And I used to wonder why I never make time to go to the library... a MLS graduate who greatly dislikes your system. Dear body, Get with the program. These random aches and pains? I'm going to ignore them until I can't, and then I just throw ibuprofen at them anyway. Don't you like your daily vitamin? And all the water I've been managing to drink? Oh, you just want warm weather again. I'll see what I can do about that. the person who has no say in this matter, evidently. Dear cats, When you jump up on the bathroom sink and yell at me, I assume you want a drink. If you want something else, such as attention or love, don't demand it on the bathroom sink. You and I speak different languages and I'm doing my best here. Oh, and kitten? Stop sneaking into my purse to fish out the ball of yarn. the person who knows full well that she's not actually in charge. Dear weather, I'm tired of having to change my underwear and pants multiple times a day. Please to be stopping with the multiple-day rain storms, mkay? Also, isn't it spring? Shouldn't there be a few awesome days of great weather? the person who is tired of wearing a load of laundry a day. 

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

really cool plants in the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens

On Thursday, my father and I drove to Virgina to help my mother clear 15' of 'road' in the middle of her 12 wooded acres.

We left at 9:30pm for a five hour drive.

I did, however, discover that I have very good aim with an ax. And that it is very weird to look in your review mirror and see a severed tree trunk floating in midair ... and that it is chained to the back of your pick-up truck.

for some reason, the shadows from the other side of this window caught my eye

I also learned how to change the alternator in a 1999 F-350 Diesel truck, should anyone ever need any assistance in that way. And that if your headlights slowly dim while driving, odds are good that your alternator is going and that you won't make it very far before the vehicle will shut down all on its own. And that such an event can cause your departure time to shift from 8pm on Saturday to 2pm on Sunday.

star lights that looked a little less cool in person.

Also, they make me think of Ikea.

All in all, I would call it a successful weekend as we got a lot of work done with the trees and no one was killed. In this family, spending 48+ hours with each other and no fighting is a major accomplishment.

The Christmas knitting continues - I will need to write another FO post for the pair of fingerless mitts, and I also need to finish up the second pair of socks. I'm on the toe of the first sock, so there is hope. Something won't be finished in time, but I think that shall be my father's hat and he'll just have to deal.

Magically lit berries.  It was beautiful out that night, if cold.

A few random observations:
1. Cats always Know when you are making the bed, and appear out of no where. I swear that I had checked the room for kitties and shut the door, certain that there were none present. Somehow, they made it through the closed door to jump up on the bed and "help."

2. It doesn't feel like Christmas without finals and papers and school. Nothing to really look forward to, other than Christmas in and of itself. And while I like the holiday, it isn't my favorite.

3. Winter sucks. Somehow, I forget every year that I get the Blahs around this time, thanks to the whole day-light savings, shorter days and longer nights, wet winter weather, and the stress of the holidays. Having remembered that this is actually normal for me, I'm finally starting to shake it off, but you'd think I could figure that part out as it happens every year.

4. The smell of a kitteh who has been outside for a while is wonderful when you're curled up and drifting off to sleep.

5. The kitten's paws still smell like popcorn.

Random picture whatever hell day it is

 I am evil kitten, see me glare.

Longwood Gardens, at dusk.  I love playing with the settings on my camera.

I am currently in love with silhouettes. 

Hello, Mr. Grasshopper.  How are you?

I just bought a new-to-me camera - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170.  I'm still figuring it out, but so far, I really like it.  The options are pretty awesome, even if the menu is set up in such a way that I can never remember where, exactly, something was.  And the beep is very annoying, so the first order of business was to turn that off.

Maybe we'll actually get some pictures from Thanksgiving this year.  Or maybe I'll be too busy trying to finish Christmas knitting to have a chance.

Maybe It's Time*

As it is the weekend, I put clean sheets on the bed today. (Ok, fine. I also am avoiding a paper. Whatever.) I'm not sure how it works, but no matter how dead to the world both cats are when I go get the clean sheets out of the closet....they are both awake and want to help make the bed seconds later. Kit, per usual, ended up under the sheet and blanket, and was willing to play. Schrodie sat and watched the lump under the blanket move around, but never thought to play with it. When he finally would have been able to actually play with Kit.. he didn't even think to do so. Kit is currently curled up right in front of me, using my left arm as a pillow. Schrodie, feeling left out, has moved from the floor by my feet, to the top of the printer, to the stand for my iMac. He doesn't quite fit as well as he used to, so he keeps stretch and shifting to get comfy. And then the tail twitches. Silly kitty.

and people wonder why I wanted three comfy seats just for me? there always seems to be a kitty occupying at least one of them, meaning I would have to sit on the floor if I didn't have three.

I am nearly done the Urban Aran. HURRAH! (that's what Kit is sleeping on, above.) I need to finish seaming the sleeves, sew them in, and find and sew in a zipper. I might also need to make the sleeve cap a bit longer, as I am certain that my row gague is off and things don't look like they will work out well. I am certain that truely Spring Weather will arrive the second the thing is complete, so I am trying very hard to finish NOW.

I knelt on the sidewalk in front of a random house to get this shot.. had to use the macro function, meaning I was only a few inches from the flower. I got a number of funny looks. I giggled.

In other news, I have finished all homework for this week, minus a 40 minute play-with-online-games-and-such-for-museums assignment and above paper. I have also made brownies and baked yummy bread. (Note to self: hide bread AND brownies from kitten.) And cleaned. And wasted time online. What fun! I also read God Bless you, Dr. Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut. I had forgotten how much I love Vonnegut's humor and outlook on life. 

Things recently learned (or relearned)

If you ever have to choose between having a cat hair in your eye or an eyelash, go for the eyelash.  Even if you are not allergic to cats.  Considering the size difference between the two, you might think the eyelash would be more painful, but that is a dirty filthy lie.

While Kit is a person in cat clothing, Schroedie is a puppy in kitten clothing.  Evidence:

• he plays fetch
• he has destroyed a flip flop (which, sadly, is no longer available.) and regularly attacks shoes
• he sits up and does other tricks to get treats
• he walks on a leash
• he greets me at the door when I come home, all excited to see me and, presumably, tell me about his day

The internets are full of weird and crazy and mean people.  Thankfully, there are also amazingly kind, sweet, and thoughtful people that will knit you socks just because you asked.  Often, those groups of people exist in the same places on the internet.  They just tend to gravitate towards sides of the room, if you will.

The biggest problem with life is a lack of time.  There isn't enough time to work 8 hours, work out for 1, cook and eat a yummy dinner, do homework, knit, take pictures, practice the clarinet, learn piano, ride horses, etc. etc. etc.  And there never will be, so when you have a chance: take it.

Pictures of babies can make everything better, even if just for a few minutes.

Friends will often pop up out of unexpected places.

A coworker's life goal is to purchase a trailer and then die in a tornado in said trailer.  S/he thinks that will be a fast way to go, and relatively painless.

Coloured Plastics*

I am sick, and while still able to breathe, am regularly attempting to cough up a lung or two.  And cold meds?  They tend to make me kinda loopy.  Honestly, I'd rather be drunk - then I'd at least have had the chance to enjoy a few good beers or whiskeys or what-have-yous.  (Is there a drink called "what have you"?  If not, I should create it and lo, it shall be awesome.)

So, I'm home, sick from work, losing my voice just in time for a presentation that I have to give in class on Monday morning.  Should be fun.

Look, knitting (and a kitten...)

Urban Aran, with kitten for scale.  Fronts, back, and most of the sleeves are complete.  I still need to order more yarn to finish the sleeves and collar... Something tells me that I won't be wearing this til the fall.  Which is really no surprise.

Print O the Wave:

Basically, it is a large lump on the floor, as I am sloooooooowly working my way around, attaching the boarder.  Had a few complete brain meltdowns in my attempts to figure out what, exactly, I was supposed to be doing.  Not sure that I'm completely correct, but so far, I like what I see.  (well, minus the endless repeats of this over and over and over again, for the rest of all time.)

OpArt: 

I have started this like, seven times. Not even kidding.  And ... first, I am NOT going to be knitting garter stitch in the round on a blanket that has at least 700+ stitches on the last couple of rows.  Nope, not happening.  Secondly, it puckers and no matter what I did, I could never find a way to join the new color that I liked.  And when I went back and wove the ends in, no matter what I did, it looked bad and felt worse.  I love the concept though, and I think I've figured out a way to translate it into crochet.  

Oh, yes.  I've gone over to the dark side.  I have become a hooker.  But only for this one baby blanket.

Yarn:

I came home one day to find a skein of Lorna's Laces forming a yarn puddle on the carpet.  The kitten had gotten bored and basically, gutted the skein.  I'm still finding bits and pieces of the label here and there, but managed to untangle the whole thing and wind it into a ball.

The yarn basket now lives on top of the fridge.  I'm hoping he doesn't figure out how to climb up there. 

And of course, continuing my habit of coming home and checking under the bed to see what, exactly, is not supposed to be under there.  Current list includes the following:

-one tomato

-one plum

-one tupperware container that had held lunch and had been sitting in the sink, waiting for me to empty the dishwasher so I could reload it.  He managed to pry the lid off and eat all the left-over rice from that particular lunch.

-four or five different skeins or balls of yarn, stolen from my stash.

-various articles of clothing, dug out of the dirty laundry pile

-my glasses - luckily for him, they never seem to land lens-side down

Of course, he is currently curled up on the desk in front of me, using my left arm as a pillow.  Good thing he's so cute.

*Doug Randle

An Open Letter (or several)

Dear Wind:

Please stop.  The power flickering on and off keeps resetting the modem and wireless router, which means I keep getting kicked off line.  In case you didn't know, about 90% of my homework has to be done online.  YOU ARE NOT HELPING.

No love,
me

Dear Schrodie:

When I try to play with you, it is because I know you get bored and need something to do.  Do not sit there and stare blindly at the lazer dot on the floor - chase the damn thing.  You are more than willing to run around like an idiot when I'm trying to sleep, so when I'm playing with you would be a great time to run around as well.  Also?  GET OFF and STAY OFF the kitchen counters.  And I will be happy to keep throwing the toy so long as you bring it back.  If you want to play fetch, then follow the rules.

Frustrated, but also somewhat amused,
the person who feeds you

Dear laundry:

If you could some how find your own way to the washer and dryer and return clean and at least mostly dry, I will be more than happy to fold you and put you away safely.

Thanks
the person who is considering going shopping rather than doing laundry

Dear professors:

Yes, we all love stories.  But if you are going to require us to travel to campus (some of my classmates traveled from places such as South Carolina or Rhode Island), then maybe you could try TEACHING  us something at 8am on a Saturday morning?  If I wanted story time, I could go to the local library.

Also?  We are library students.  I really hope that we do not need to be shown how to search a database.  And if we do?  That should not take up 45 minutes of class time.  If you really feel that we will need those sorts of skills for this class - and I admit that we do - require students to complete 504 - Intro to Reference before taking your class.

with no thanks for wasting an entire Saturday,
a student

Dear vacuum cleaner:

I am very happy that you are feeling better again, in time for our weekly session.  But, do you think you can manage to make it through the entire session?  If not, please let me know so I can make sure to prioritize.

thanks in advance,
the clean freak

Dear Spring Break:

Please hurry up and get here.  Not only will I then be about half way through the semester, I will have completed a number of assignments and, in theory, my work load will be reduced but for three final projects.  I can handle three final projects.  (oh, and a few papers, but whatever.  3-5 page papers on romance novels and mystery novels will be easy.)

Also, I am greatly looking forward to you, Spring Break, and mentally need the time off.  There are also certain plans that I am REALLY excited about, and they all seem to involve Philly.  And a certain person.

waiting not-so-very-politely,
me

I'm a Cuckoo*

I am well on my way towards becoming what is considered a Crazy Cat Lady.  And I am ok with this.

I figure as long as I can avoid becoming this scene from Death Becomes Her:

I'll be ok.

That said, I don't get it.  If a friend mentions that they are apartment or house hunting and they are trying to find a place with a yard, or close to the park, it seems to be a logical reaction.  They are just being a good pet owner!

However, if you mention that you think your next apartment ought to have stairs - you know, so the cats can run up and down like crazy - people look at you sideways and back away slowly.  Kitties seem to love stairs.  Kit likes to take half of a plastic Easter egg, sit at the top of the stairs and then drop it down the stairs.  Ideally, it bounces once on each step and she beats it to the bottom.  Since we do not live in an ideal world, she ends up trying again and again to perfect her self-assigned task.  Steps nearly blew Schroedie's mind when he first encountered them and it was quite entertaining to watch him figure out how they worked and then to bound up or down with his little kitten stride.

He's not quite so little anymore, though - still much smaller than Kit and probably about 6, maybe 7 pounds now.  He is rather long and lean though, and still seems to have big ears and a long tail.  And his energy levels are STILL through the roof.

He needs a bigger place and/or a buddy to play with all day.  Since I'm not moving any time soon (well, not for at least six months) and can't get another kitten... I try to play with him when I'm at home but he tends to just sit and stare at the laser pointer and chirp.  Not so much with the wild chasing on a regular basis.

So I've decided to try to leash train him.  While I should have started much sooner - about 8-9 weeks, actually - I'm hoping he's still young enough to adapt pretty quickly.  And then I can take him for walks and to the park.

He's taken to the harness surprisingly well.  He attempted to chew and groom it off, realized that wasn't going to work, and allowed himself to be distracted by a toy and a treat.  As I type, he's asleep across BOTH of my arms, his head bouncing a little as I type, still wearing his harness.  I figure a week or so of the harness when I'm at home to make sure he doesn't get stuck on something, then we'll try the leash.

And hey, if the leash training fails, the harness seems to have a slightly calming effect on him.

*Belle & Sebastian

rambling, rather than reading for class

Today's high was something around 60F, and it was sunny.  I'd be completely ok with spring starting in early February.  Well, until I realized what, exactly, that might mean for the environment....

In other news, I finished Sheldon today - at work (baby shower at work today, for pregnant coworker/classmate).  I remembered to take crochet hook, needle, legs, black yarn to embroider his eyes, etc.  And COMPLETELY forgot to take anything with which to stuff his legs.  Quick thinking had me taking care of his eyes first and then using the left-over yarn from the leg tails and his eyes to stuff the legs.  However, he turned out uber cute.  As soon as I can figure out how to get pictures from the cell phone to the computer withOUT using up a picture message, I shall post pictures.  Or just knit another one, cause I require a Sheldon in order to live.

I will say this for the midwest:  it has some amazing sunsets.  UofI's Hartley Gardens is right near the office, and during nice weather, it is a great place to sit and eat lunch.  Far enough away from campus, the gardens tend to be fairly quiet.  And, they provide a nice open space over which to watch the sun set.  Lately, I've been getting out of work just as the sun is setting so I hang out for a few minutes and watch the sun set.  It is almost enough to make me forget about the cold for a few minutes.  You know, until I can't feel my fingers anymore.

I got a sony Cybershot DSC-S750 for Christmas.  I wanted a little pocket camera to take everywhere with me.  With 7.2 mega pixels, this one takes somewhat sharper shots than the Canon, but I love the manual ability of the Canon.  It is kinda hard to "trick" the sony into the aperture/shutter speed that I want AND have my subject still be in focus.  The start up speed is also kinda slow, but it is nice to always have a camera on me without carting around the big one.

This one, however, was taken by my cell phone.  I had forgotten the little camera at home and made due with what I had.  I'm actually fairly impressed and forced to think back to the first digital camera my dad bought, which only had 2 mega pixels.. same as my cell phone.  Weird. 

In other news, I have a kitten curled up between my arms on the computer desk.  I'm gonna need a bigger desk if this keeps up, as I am eventually going to run out of room for the random assorted crap I keep on the desk, the mouse, the keyboard, the pretty pretty iMac and a kitten.  Plus, he keeps sitting on the keyboard while staring at the mouse cursor.   I really ought to download one of those pet games and get a kitten and watch as his mind is blown by the noise as well as the sight.

And just because I can, one of my favorite shots from this summer:  A fairly cool early morning, right before bring the horses in, alone on the farm.  I miss those early mornings, just me and the horses, before it is hot and ugly out.  I didn't even notice the bird til I had uploaded the shots to my computer.

Time to play catch up. Again.

Evidently, I am blogging again.  I think it has to do with the serious lack of free time.  What better way to actually fix everything in time other than to blog?

Wet kitty. Sad kitty. Cute kitty.

So, quick catch up:

• I moved to Illinois and started grad school.
• School is awesome, I love my classes, library studies was totally the right choice for me.
• My landlord everything that my classes are not.  In short, had serious electrical problems for the first month+ that I was here.  Despite calls every couple of days, they dragged their feet in solving my problems and attempted to make me feel like a jerk for being upset about the fact that out of an entire one bedroom apartment, three electrical outlets worked, along with four lamps.  Those four lamps were only located in two of four rooms, and same with the outlets.  Their solution was to run an extension cord from an outside outlet.  For a month.  And I'm going to stop writing about this cause my blood pressure will soon skyrocket. 

His favorite place to sleep, still.  I'm gonna laugh when he doesn't fit anymore.

• TheBoy and I broke up.  Maybe one day we'll figure out how to be friends, but not right now.  Long distance is tough and it amplified all of our problems and eventually, we got tired of fighting the same fights, dealing with the same problems and never seeming to get anywhere.  So, that's sad and stuff, but it is what it is and then you move on.
• Because I can't do anything the "easy" or "simple" way, my expected graduation date has moved up.  To August 2009.  Which means I will graduate with a masters degree at the age of 23.  Which also means that I'm taking 18 credits this semester.
• Classes include:  Adult Popular Literature; Higher Education and Learning Professionals; Libraries, Information, and Society; Museum Informatics; Medevial and Modern Manuscripts; and Rare Books and Manuscripts.  So far, I love all of them

Second favorite place.  Mostly so he can mess up the computer with those cute little feet.

• I got a kitten.  He's currently about 5-6 months old and very cute.  He also also very much trouble.  His (full) name is Indiana Schrodinger III, or Schrodie for short.  Or Little Man.  Or The Little Shit.  Or Trouble.  He responds quite well to "HEY!" by this point in time.
• Kit hates the kitten.  He doesn't get the whole personal space concept, but they're doing quite well.  They even occasionally curl up near each other.
• Over all?  I am happy.
• I hate winter in Illinois.  Hence the graduation date change.