Working On Stuff...

Without too many boring details...

A scarf kit given to me by the lovely Kelly:

Cigar gloves that look crappy on my small hand but fit Russ (hooray!), so now I can comfortably finish the other one...

A little something for my mom that has been sitting around for a while...

Socks for Joe - again, they've been in the "don't wanna think about it now" pile for a while...

Finished my first pair of socks for 2009 - with a few days to spare (finished 2/22 while watching the Oscars).

Now, back to work. This knitta's got some work to do!

A Farewell to Jack

I think we need to spend some time apart.

I really appreciate the warmth and the fun that you and your Kentucky cousin have given me time and time again. But lately...?

Lately, I've come very close to depending on you. And I don't want that. Over the years - as I've known more and more of you - I've given away a little part of myself. And I'm starting to not recognize the face in the mirror. I'm beginning to feel like a shell of something I would never become.

And even though I haven't seen your Mexican friend Jose' by himself in a while (he's usually mixed in with others), I have to stop seeing him too. And your absolutly crazy friends.

Don't get me wrong - I do enjoy your company. And we'll meet again one day. But it certainly won't be as frequently. We have different goals, you and I - I'm trying to take care of myself, and you make me not want to.

But I feel like I'm losing me. And I really liked being me.

Finished

Some years ago, possibly before we left GA for NY, and when our good friends Brent and Joanne lived in Charleston, they got us hooked on a series of books. They mentioned the first book as a must-read - they read a chapter aloud to each other before bed, it was so entertaining. We hadn't heard of these books before - and it was about a year before the Big Buzz surrounding them really exploded. Joe and I purchased the first two and flew through them, in love with the characters from page one.

The third book was a bit bulkier, and Joe dove into it first. I lost a little momentum. With a new environment, new jobs, new hobbies - any excuse I could find, really - I didn't read for pleasure that much anymore. I continued to read the books, but very slowly.

The fourth and fifth installments were pure chores. Not because of the story, but because of so many other things I found to do instead. They were rather large books, so it's not as though I could lug them just anywhere - my knitting was much more portable and enjoyable to me. But I kept on - making sure I at least finished them before their movie versions hit the local screens.

One of my goals for this new year has been to finish the series, and I devoured the final two volumes during lunch and weekends of the last several months. I'm not a quick reader (for an English major and literature lover, I have remarkably average-ish reading comprehension...I can dissect a poem, but don't ask me details about a chapter I just read), and for me to set my knitting aside and just read was somewhat of an accomplishment.

As of 10:55pm last night, I finally finished the Harry Potter books.

And in doing so, I finally realized that I can carve out time for reading again. I look forward to my next adventure. Any recommendations?

Getting There...

So I've been furiously knitting (okay, half-assed knitting) on the projects I need to finish. Here's what I've finished so far in 2009:

An Amelia hat from Fleece Artist (a wonderful gift kit from Soph):

Another hedgie for a friend/coworker of Joe's in Nevada (he's a new daddy):

Now I just have 3 more WIPs (works-in-progress) to go before I can start something new! Getting close to being done with Russ's Cigar Gloves and Kelly's gift of Qiviet for a scarf...

Just a brief note - I might not be all that blog-talkative in future months...as you've probably noticed lately (all 2 of you), I've been pretty bad at the blogging. Well, my job is changing, and I'm still in a bit of a whirlwind from it all. So let me just say I might be silent for a while when it comes to blog comments and blog posts.

It's all good, but it's all very busy. Peace out, yo...

Introducing the Gingerslut

Remember when we adopted sweet Willow last July? She's been a wonderful addition to our family. She and Dobby play a good bit (although they can still get hissy with each other), and she fits in very well.

I recall her Rescue Mom mentioning that Willow showed some aggression that is common with females in heat - that it's possible they didn't get all her "parts" during her spay (which, I've found, is quite common), and that some hormones might still be raging inside her.

We had some issues to begin with, but nothing that you wouldn't expect from a new quasi-adult cat being introduced to others. Nothing at all to indicate any weird hormones going on.

And then there was Sunday.

She talks. And she sings. She rolls around. And shouts. And rubs anything she can find. And she sticks her nether-regions up in the faces of the boys. Otis is all "get out of my grill, bitch," and Dobby is all "don't look at me - I don't know what to do," and it's a very, VERY noisy household. I'd get a picture or video of the chaos, but she shuts up when I pull out the camera.

I'm tracking how long the insanity goes on. The fact that we didn't see any signs for six months worries me - like maybe something's wrong. But she's undoubtedly looking for action - and not in pain.

I just wish I could get a decent night's sleep. So do Otis and Dobby, I'm sure.