Where have I been?

Pam asked me that on Facebook. Where have I been all this time?

Let's see: starting back in February, I picked up rugby and that ate up Tuesdays and Thursdays, but then the time changed and classes got heavy, so I dropped down to one day per week, usually Thursday since I had a class Tuesday night and I worked at BW.

Following that, around April, I had to start looking for extra work because BW cuts me back so badly in the summer. Unlike the past two years, I decided against working in Marietta, and instead opted to get work locally. I picked up a job at Erie Island Coffee Company in Rocky River and that covered my weekends from Friday-Sunday every week. BW was solid Monday-Tuesday schedule, 6 hours each day. I also landed a good internship with a library organization in Columbus (Ohionet) and they kept me on even after my internship ended, so I'll be with them until at least 12/31/11.

So during the week, M-T at BW, W-Th in Columbus, and the Fr-Sun at the coffee shop.

With only one day off, every other week, and sometimes not even that, I got so stressed out and anxious that my doctor recommended I go back on high-dose antidepressants. I think it was wise because I was having really violent mood swings and panic attacks.

I lost about two weeks of my time to adjusting to the higher dosage. Even though the chemical reaction between the doses is supposed to be mild at best and have no real side effects during transition, I must be the exception to the rule because a week into it and I was such a wreck that Jason had to call me off work. I went to leave one day and sort of collapsed and sobbed hysterically for about two hours. That was kind of scary, but it leveled out as the day went on.

So off and on during all of this, I've kept up with knitting. Rugby has fallen by the wayside for now, until I can figure out how I want to manage my time. I love the health benefits of rigorous training, but I have a full course load again, with classes actually IN KENT instead of online, so I'll be working hard during the week already.

I managed to make two scarves as gifts and have yet to finish two shawls and a pair of socks. I just cast on a lovely scarf for myself, and have a Stephen West scarf in the works (it's half-way done!), as well as a pending baby blanket for our niece. If I plan on finishing it by her birthday in October, I need to get cracking. I already have the yarn set aside, but I want to be sure it's ready. If I find myself short on time, I'll make it a Christmas present instead.

So that's the nutshell of my time for the past four months. I hate losing touch, I don't enjoy lacking a social life and...I get really irritated with digital environs because I work on them all day. That said, I look forward to catching up with my knit ladies and trying to stay on top of all this stuff more!

Almost a month without an update?!

I found my camera. It's charged and ready to unload...except that I can't find the cord. So, when I do, I will have picture updates.

I have missed the ladies of knit night again. October was a really wonky month. I think I need a life-reset button.

In exciting news, I got home from work last night to discover 31 skeins of afghan yarn. Where did it come from? I don't rightly know. Who sent it? Even less of a clue here. No name, nothing. Nothing on the invoice but my shipping address, and I certainly didn't order it. It's all really nice, too. I guess this means I have to make an afghan!

Wanted: new life

Well, not so much a NEW life, per se, rather a life that involves much less drama, fewer family crises, fewer friends with dire circumstances (not to say fewer friends, rather BETTER circumstances for all friends involved), and a job that always ends by 5pm, M-F, that gives me a REAL salary, rather than pitiful wages, and allows me to do leisure activities in my free time.

Okay, so grousing aside, I'm just peeved because I keep making plans and I can never keep them anymore. I get in and by the time I get home, I want to get dinner ready. Wait. Backtrack. I get off work at 5, usually, then I am home between 5:15 and 5:40 (depending on Berea traffic. I swear, the most braindead of drivers exist in the handful of blocks that it takes me to drive out of this little city), and then I am famished and cranky and want food. By the time I finish deciding what to make, prepping, cooking, and eating, it is at LEAST 6:30. and that's assuming I have most of what I need on-hand.

That usually leaves enough time to do a thing or two, but then I want to unwind from the day of being out and not think about driving or moving or interacting with anybody.

So I missed knit night again last week based on chaos in life. Not fun, kids. I don't like drama and crappy situations. =_( I miss my knit ladies!

Random

Yesterday, we were out running errands and near Rocky River, so Jason decided we'd have an impromptu picnic in the sun since the weather was so gorgeous and because we were close to Heinen's. He was happy that he had his Kindle with him so he could sit and read...but what would I get to do?! Having no projects with my, no needles, no resources, what could I do?!

I was quick to make a plan.

Asking politely for a pit stop, I dashed to River Colors and picked up two gorgeous skeins of Malabrigo in Hummingbird as well as a pair of needles. I am now knitting a wide scarf using the Scrunchable scarf pattern on ravelry. It's really simple, but looks really nice when finished and these colors are WILD!

Check out some pictures here http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/wordpress/?tag=malabrigo

Raining

It's raining hard here in Berea and I'd love to be knitting. Instead, I am being a bad librarian and updating my blog during my work hours. It's okay, though,because I'm ahead on my projects with very little in my queue, so I don't feel hard pressed to be sitting here doing nothing by getting absolutely everything done. I'd be an overachiever then.

In the knit world, my shawls were a huge hit with my mom and sister. They agreed to trade, since mom liked the purple and orange Boneyard once it was finished. Originally, when she saw that I was contrasting the two colors in such a bold way, she was reluctant and thought they wouldn't match up well. Actually, she wasn't the only one. I found that during my process of that shawl, only other knitters agreed it was a good pairing. Everybody else gave at cocked-head stare and questioned my rationale for being so bold.

I've got one sock going. The cables are fun. In fact, this is not only my first success sock, but also my first successful cabled ANYTHING, so that I have the first section finished (from the toe up), I'm really excited. I've got loads more sock yarn at home from a recent yarn splurge, so I can keep crafting these things.

Last night, in treating myself for my good gym habits and my (2lb) weight loss, I bought the Amigurumi knits book! I will be knitting SOOOOO MANY THINGS!

That's all for now. I could really use a nap. I feel sore and tired and it's gray and raining. Husband is home on the couch with a sick tummy. I got him ginger ale (REAL ginger ale) before I left for work. I hope he feels better. Also had a bit of a scare with my brother's health over the weekend. He spent two days in the ICU unit, but they released him home today, saying there wasn't much they could do. This makes me very frustrated and further reminds me of how poor medical care is in the hospital in Marietta, but what can I do? Just hope for the best and keep moving!

Time to get back to work, I promise I'll get to posting pics soon!

Dw'in trio wybodaeth ddiweddaraf ond fi byth yn cael amser. I'm sure I botched a great deal of that last sentence, but that's what I get for not taking more time to learn more Welsh. 


At any rate, shawl done for my sister's birthday, and in a few more rows, the striped shawl "daybreak" will be finished. It's taken me since April to do it, because I am so short with my attention, so in a way, I'm sad to see it go. On the other hand, I've got socks to keep me busy and two skeins of Malabrigo sock yarn waiting for Daybreak round 2! 


That's the update for now. Sorry for being so absentminded.

Finally, an update!

Okay, so after over a week of looking for it, I FINALLY found my cable for my camera and uploaded pictures. They're not the best, but they're something. The shawls are underway. I started the Daybreak almost six months ago and it would have been done faster except that I am a lazy knitter and those tiny stitches take hours. In about an hour and a half of knitting, I only got two rows done.

Then there's the second round of Boneyard that I'm working on. The purple and orange were the first take, and this new one is striped. I've used the wool/flax yarn I was bitching about on CKW group, and it's coming out BEAUTIFULLY! I LOVE IT!

I contrasted it with Malabrigo Solymar, which adds quite a bit of nice, rich, dark color to this gray yarn and the texture between the two is great. I put it on hold, however, so I can finish the Daybreak shawl, which I will gift to my mother for her upcoming birthday (September 30). I've got two more skeins of Malabrigo sock yarn to knit up another one, which will also take me like...a year to knit, but the new Boneyard (the gray and striped one), I think I'll keep!