Delusions of Domesticity

Feels like home...

2009-11-15T21:45:00.000-08:00

I was home just over a week this time when I got a call on Monday informing me I'd be booked on a flight on Tuesday to... Oregon! Finally! Since Seattle last winter, I've been waiting and hoping to be put on a project back in the Pacific Northwest. I wish I'd had more warning, but wow, how could I be too annoyed when I get to come to such a beautiful place?Gorgeous. My friend Kim and I took a little road trip today and stumbled across this great old school house. Then, further down the road, we came across Emigrant Spring State Park. I fell in love with this great little cabin. Nice park with some great camping spots and of course, the cabins for rent by the night.
As always, the rest of the pics can be found here.
We also checked out the Wildhorse Casino on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. I've never had the urge to go to a casino and now... I still don't get the attraction. I can think of much better ways to blow my money than that. heh I'd love to head back to the reservation to check out the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. No more casino though...

Headed to the frog pond...

2009-11-07T18:16:00.000-08:00

*sigh* Sometimes you just have to take a step back, take a good look with less-biased eyes and realize... this just isn't working!and isn't going to get finished. =( I want to love it! I really, really do! It's my first sweater ever and I love the yarn but... this isn't working. heh Not sure what I was thinking when I chose this pattern other than I knew it would be simple for my first sweater. I'm not a huge fan of crew necks in general (great choice of patterns, huh?) and I'm not so sure the raglan style was a good choice for my body type either. The second being a bad sign for my capelet I began a couple weeks ago, also in a raglan style though it does have a different collar style. Anyhoo, I tried this on again tonight after I've been dragging it around for months, never getting the motivation to knit the button bands (all that's left to finish this other than weaving in ends). Standing in front of a mirror tonight, it is completely obvious... the sleeves are too big and an odd length, the back too wide, the fronts, well, not wide enough to contain the girls... It's also an odd length... not cropped, but too short to be normal length. What the heck was I thinking?! I think with some tweaking (involving completely ripping this out and starting over), it might be okay but really?! Is it worth it??? I say, nope! I've been wishing for awhile I'd picked a more involved pattern for my first sweater. This was just so... basic. Not that basic's bad, but, well, if I'm going to put all this time and effort into a sweater, shouldn't I LOVE it in the end and be proud to say I made it? This, I do not love. At all. Sadly. So, I'm giving up and it's being banished to the frog pond. Might leave it as is until I decide what to knit it up into later and then knit straight from this sweater, frogging as I go, save a few steps. Or maybe I'll just frog and wind it so I don't have to look at this disappointment anymore... heh I did learn a few things in the process at least. Maybe I should stick with hats, gloves and socks for now...

On a happier note, I made an awesome vegetarian lasagna today! Just look at all those veggies...YUM!

Back home again... in Indiana.

2009-11-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

And Autumn is firmly upon us...

It was a beautiful, frosty morning today. Chilly enough to pull out Reilly's cold weather wear.

Perfect weather for knitting! I finished the fingerless gloves for my friend last weekand started the matching scarf at the airport while waiting for my flight home from NY Friday evening.Wasn't so sure about this pattern after the first couple of repeats, but now that I have 8" or so, I'm quite pleased with the results. Switching between US4 and US7 makes this scarf progress rather quickly, esp for one made of fingering weight yarn! This set should be nicely cozy yet lightweight, perfect for a cool Seattle day without being overkill. =) One Christmas present (almost) down!

And let the shopping commence...

2009-10-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, it's nearly November and I'm just starting to Christmas shop. Okay, in all honesty, I did start last month... a little. I've picked up a couple of small items but today was my first non-stocking-stuffer-like purchase. My mom mentioned wanting a set of interchangeable circular needles so I offered to get them for her for Christmas (no surprise for her - didn't want her to go buy them!). Whew! I'd much rather buy someone something they want and might actually use (yes, I like things to be used not just collect dust on a shelf if I can help it) than try to figure out something they'd like (and don't already have). I looked at costlier sets, but my mother doesn't knit much so this should work well for her limited needs as well as take up very little storage space (if you'd ever seen the house, you've understand that concern!).And I'll be able to afford a few other small items to go in the package too with the deal I got. Jo Ann's doesn't have these sets on sale right now, so I was able to use one of their online coupons (woo! 50% off!) and get these at a great deal. I do love finding good deals. =) Early this year, I found awesome deals on a ball winder and swift and saved my mom a ton since she got them for me for my birthday. I love everyone to get good deals. =) So... this officially begins my Christmas shopping ventures... and it was even knitting-related!

Undercover in Indiana

2009-10-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend (hey, we're almost current!), I was home... missing the New York Sheep and Wool Festival at Rhinebeck (*sigh*). I got so excited when I saw the signs up for the festival... until I realized it would coincide with my weekend home. Darn it. At least my weekend home also coincided with the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival in Indiana. I had a late flight back on Sunday so I took my mother down with me to the Mansfield festival. It was mostly just a big flea market with a ton of horrible (brick of fries, anyone?) food booths, but there's an old roller mill there that was a ton of fun to shoot. The light was perfect and warm, nicely showing off the antique machinery and wood. Here are just a few of the shots I got: Even caught one of the DNR guys grinding corn into meal. There really is more than corn in Indiana... but I bought a bag for a buck. =)As always, more pics in my flickr stream. It always cheers me up to get a great opportunity to play with my camera. =)
One of the booths did have some great leatherwork. I'm not a big fan of leather, but some of this stuff was pretty impressive.So, that was my morning. Then, back to New York for another two weeks...

A whole lotta water...

2009-10-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's Niagara Falls! Two weeks ago (told ya I was behind), I headed out on a 5-hr trip across the state (in the rain the whole way, of course), ending up in Buffalo where a friend is working right now. We'd been planning this since we found out we were both headed to NY. =) We hit Niagara Falls on Saturday. Neither of us had ever been and I'd never really had a huge urge to go... but I gotta tell ya, it's incredible! Completely worth 10-hr car ride there and back It's like the Grand Canyon. You see pictures and think, yeah, that's pretty (and pretty huge), but you just don't realize how incredible it is... until you see it in person.That one (above) will take you to a video I shot of the Falls. I'm betting felting would be really quick there... if the water was warmer. =)

If you haven't been, go! Put it on the list. Amazing.

If you do go... get the Discovery Pass. You buy a booklet for $33 (for adults, not sure on the kid's price) and it covers admission to the observation deck, Maid of the Mist (boat), Cave of the Winds (the decks below the American Falls), the discovery center, the adventure theatre and the Aquarium of Niagara. Oh, and a one-day pass for the trolley that takes you to each spot. FYI - Park at the aquarium (free!) and take the trolley from there to avoid the $10 parking fee. They were letting people on without trolley passes and letting them purchase the passes at the stops next to the stands. Wish we'd known that! heh Also wish I had a passport (yeah, yeah, I know, I should have one by now... but I don't... yet).
We did the Cave of the Winds (awesome)

and the Maid of the Mist (awesome!) and went back on Sunday to see the aquarium (meh, the animals look bored out of their minds and are in too-small enclosures, I think). They do seem to take in some special needs animals though. All of the seals and some of the sea lions are vision-impaired either due to injury or cataracts so that's good. A lot of the fish were pets that outgrew either their tanks or their ownerss interest. I'm hoping the penguins are being rehabilitated too since so many of them looked pretty peaked. They just stood around staring at the rocks. =(

There were a few interesting characters in the mix. The camo crabs:Yeah, there is a crab under there!

I'm a turtle fan and this guy did not disappoint:Don't you just love that face? And he posed nicely for me too. =)

And always a favorite, the sea anemones:

Gotta love that!

Hand cozies... a couple new WIPs

2009-10-23T03:20:00.000-07:00

So.far.behind. heh Yeah, I need to post more often... but I've been busy. =) Knitting, having fun, traveling (yeah, big shock there). So the knitting's first...

I finished my fingerless gloves. LOVE them! I made a couple alterations to the pattern (Ravelry link). I moved the cables down to the wrist so I'd have the stretch where it was needed and I left 6 (12 really) live stitches: so I could go back and add a real thumb:

And absolutely LOVE the results!

These have even come in handy already! I worked an office Monday that was super cold and ended up wearing my jacket and these gloves in the office! SO cozy...

I also started a couple new projects this week. There's my new capelet:

Wasn't completely sure I'd love the boucle, but I actually really like how this is knitting up. Love the color. Nice and cushy feel and seems like it'll be really toasty. Knitting on US sz10s, this should be a fairly quick knit... ya know, if I hadn't gotten distracted by these:

A friend has been hinting (well, more than hinting heh) that she'd like a pair of fingerless gloves too... and loves purple. haha What else could I do?! Found this great self-striping sock yarn in shades of purple and grey and off I went. I'm halfway through the second after an office cancellation in the middle of my day yesterday. Whew! Thank goodness I had these in my handbag or I'd have been really annoyed at the forced 2-hr lunch. Beautiful day to sit and knit for a couple hours. =) And I stumbled across a really nice little yarn shop just down the street from my next office. Anne's Yarn Shop. Nice surprise after the last place I checked out in the area. Friendly owner and a good selection on mid-priced yarns along with some free classes and a knit night open to all. So, if you're in the area, check her out! We have to keep the good shops around! (Yeah, I helped. heh Picked up a couple skeins of some alpaca/cotton blend in yummy colors.)

I know. Like I needed more yarn? Whatever. I have a very specific plan for those two!

Next up... catching up on non-yarny fun! Later! =)

I don't recommend it

2009-10-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

Knitting with dark sport weight yarn on smallish (also kinda dark) needles on a less than well-lit plane, that is. heh Oh, and metal dpns on a plane - not good. Way too slick for comfort. I think it's time to go in search of a full set of (affordable) bamboo dpns...

I'm using the Swirling Gauntlets (Ravelry link) pattern with a couple mods. I'm making mine a bit longer, moving the cabling down to the wrist where I don't need as much stretch since cabling pulls in and adding on a thumb. I finished most of the first on my trip home Friday and cast-off at the airport - Indy, I think. haha It all just starts mushing together after awhile. Cast-on #2 on the tarmac - again, Indy... or possibly Cleveland. =) Loving how these are coming out!

It seems my time in New York is dwindling. I'm loving watching the seasons change here, but I've been in Albany since sometime mid-July (I think) and I'd love to be out before the snow hits! And the amount of work for us here has been, well, less than stellar. Way less. Excited to see what's next!

Fall has arrived!

2009-09-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so technically Fall started last week, but it's finally made its way to my knitting. After breaking up the short fling I had with some way too bright pink yarn, I re-cast-on for a pair of fingerless gloves in a more autumnal colorway.

I'm just starting the cable pattern and I have to say, I LOVE this yarn! Love the colorway. Love the feel of the yarn. Love the way it's knitting up. These should be nice and toasty for the chilly mornings to come. Sometimes, a yarn and pattern just do not mesh. This is not one of those times. Stay tuned for finished pics...

I have a problem

2009-09-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

I love finding awesome deals on yarn. Yarn I don't really need. But it's just so irresistably pretty, dontcha think? Six skeins of this yummy mohair, wool, silk blend now reside in my stash. Well, my hotel room for now. heh It's not fattening... or illegal... so it's all good, right? ;-) And under $20 for the lot of it! How can that be bad? Heck, if the heat goes out, I can always just bury myself in my stash to survive, right?

I do believe the company I got this from is covering up the fact that they've perfected that method of transport used in Star Trek movies and beamed this to me. I placed my order late, late Wednesday night... and it was waiting at the hotel for me Friday afternoon! Wow. Okay, so it was only coming from Vermont and I'm in western upstate New York, but still. Now, what to do with it? I think this needs to be some sort of shawl or wrap. Any suggestions? I have 1200 yds and it's 8 sts/24 rows to 4" on US7 and a boucle (Wool In The Woods Harmony) - not looking to use all 1200 yds, obviously. heh =)

I started my fingerless gloves... and then frogged them. I'd started them on US6 dpns and realized quickly they were too big. I also realized... I didn't like this yarn as fingerless gloves. I loved that yarn in the ball. Still do. And it'll be perfect for something... just not fingerless gloves. ;-) At least, not for me. So I left that yarn at home last weekend and brought back some purple/blue/green variegated wool to restart my gloves. This colorway seems much more fall-like anyway. Pics to come...

BTW - Reilly is doing much, much better this weekend. Though it took longer than anyone (including two vets) expected and racked up a couple more vet bills along the way, he's apparently back to his old, bouncy self. =D Woo!

Hmm, any techies reading this? I know next to nothing about html. Is there an easy fix to make this section wider? So it doesn't cut off the edge of my pics? Just curious. It bugs me. =)

It's times like this I hate my job

2009-09-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Poor little guy. He's had a rough month. First, it was cysts that had to be removed, followed by him puling out stitches requireing a trip to the emergency vet's almost an hour away on a Sunday (of course) the last weekend I was home. Now, just as the time neared to get his staples removed, I come home and find this pitiful sight. Not exactly what I was hoping for when I got home at nearly 11:30 Friday night! He'd apparently been sick (not eating... this dog never refuses food!) since the afternoon though my mother decided to ignore this huge warning sign and even went to bed, leaving him in my bedroom where he'd thrown up multiple times. Yes, I'm beyond PO'd. So... half an hour after walking in the door, we were in the car heading to the emergency vet's again with a very sick little dog. Finally got back home just after 3a and spent the rest of the night mostly awake - Reilly and me anyway. Morning finally came around and things hadn't improved so off we headed to the local vet to see if there was any more to be done to help him feel better and to be sure it wasn't something more serious. X-rays thankfully came back clear so no blockage (which would have required surgery). Turns out it's gastroenteritis triggered by who knows what and the little guy has to take three different meds twice a day for the next week. He got fluids today to counteract dehydration and some special food (which he still won't touch). I'm just hoping I can get him to eat in the morning before I head back to the airport and back to NY. I really wish I could stay home until the pup is better. Times like this are when this job really sucks.

Fun-guy!

2009-09-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

The hotel was repainting the parking lot today (yes, on a Sunday morning) so I had to be out and about by 10 this morning. Wasn't sure where I was headed when I left, but decided to just pick somewhere that popped up on my GPS and see what I'd find. I picked a nature park about 20 miles away and headed off. There was a nice little trail from the parking area to Shaver Pond, offering lots of opportunity to use my too-often-of-late neglected camera. When I don't shoot for awhile, I forget how much fun it is!

It was a beautiful walk...

and I found a few interesting fun-guys along the way. =)

Even found someone ready for his (or her) close-up!

There are definite signs of autumn...

I can't wait for autumn to fully show its colors. There is one good thing about being stuck here for a few months - New England Autumn!

I see moose!

2009-09-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

The other day, I worked in an office in a small townnorth of Albany, just a few miles from the New York/Vermont border. I finished the office early so I decided to go for a little drive. Hadn't been to Vermont before! So off I went to the nearest town, Bennington, to see what I could see. And what did I see? Moose! Very cool, painted moose to be exact.
And one covered in tiny photos:
Yep, very cool. They have an annual Moosefest and hire artists to decorate a dozen new moose every year. There are more pics of the other moose in my flickr account if you're interested. =) So, if you're anywhere near Benningtong in your travels, stop by and check out the moose!

Organic, Low-Salt, Low-Sugar, Vegetarian...

2009-09-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

Why must I choose only one? I was looking at ketchup the other day at the grocery. There were so many options! Now, I can choose standard recipe, thick, low-salt, low-sugar, organic, spicy, the options are almost limitless! Don't get me wrong, I love that the choices are there... but why do I have to choose only one? This is pretty much across the board with all packaged foods. Why can't I choose low-salt and low-sugar and organic??? Does it not make sense that many people who would choose any of these options, might want them all? Frustrating. Any wonder I prefer to cook myself?

It was supposed to be a stress-free weekend...

2009-09-06T19:18:00.001-07:00

Does this look stress-free?
Yeah, I didn't think so either. Poor little guy. Had some skin cysts removed a few days ago, wasn't given an e-collar by the vet (really, what is wrong with that vet?!) and he pulled out some of the stitches so had to deal with the mess and have things fixed... with a trip to the emergency vet's 45 miles away. *sigh*
I do think I figured out the inspiration for the first "pill pockets" though!
haha Worked like a charm! Reilly does love his fruits (and veggies too)!
It's been nice having the house to myself this weekend (my mother is visiting her mother and my sis in OH). I've organized the freezer finally. One of the few places in the kitchen I haven't overhauled since being here. I picked up a couple of plastic shoe boxes today to wrangle in the smaller items in the hope that my mother will actually look and see what she has before buying more stuff. I can dream, right?
I also picked up a couple of shallow storage bins to slip under my bed so I could move the large red suitcase (that's been holding a good chunk of my stash) out of my bedroom and into the basement... where I discovered my mother now has THREE bicycles. *sigh* One is older, though I'm sure, still usable as much as she would actually use it if it was cleaned up and serviced. She had a newer model in the garage that probably just needs new tires or something. Now there's a third in the garage... brand new... tags still on. I don't know the last time she actually rode a bike. I guess my attempts at helping her declutter aren't helping...
Anyhoo, I sorted my stash mainly by fiber content and decided my two balls of this:
are destined to become fingerless gloves! So pretty! And will go perfectly with my black wool coat. =) Haven't picked a design yet. I'm open to suggestions...
I also came across this:
Such a pretty, pale lavender and so very soft! I'm thinking baby something. Baby what, I don't know. A sweater perhaps? Or possibly a hat and matching booties? Decisions, decisions. Again, open to suggestions!
Some of the stash isn't making the cut. Once I saw it all together, some skeins just didn't inspire a desire to knit. I'm thinking of putting together a bag to pass on to someone... I've also got a bag full of clothes, shoes and purses mostly, ready to donate to Goodwill or somewhere. Planned to take care of that today, but the little guy had other plans. Ah, well, the longer the bag is here, the more that will end up in there! =) Just gotta get it out of the house before my mom realizes it's donation stuff and decides to sort through it...

Twisty Fun!

2009-09-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Socks! Finally. Here's pair #3 for the year. Yeah, I'm not exactly prolific. heh I started these back at the beginning of February in Indiana. They went to Seattle with me... then to Arizona... and more recently, to upstate New York. Do socks earn frequent flyer miles?!?

Gotta say though, now that they're done... I LOVE them! They're so bright and fun and so very comfy!

The yarn is Beyond Basic Knits Superwash Sock in Lemonade Twist. I grabbed the skein on the way to Knit Night one night, needing something to work on. I cast on, not knowing where I was going with these. After finishing the first toe, I realized this colorway just screamed for cables. I worked out a simple cable pattern that worked with my stitch count and off I went. The first sock went quickly. The second... not so much. =) I didn't keep any notes on the first sock and realized once I got an inch or so into the cuff on sock #2 that I'd begun the cuff ribbing too soon. I hate ripping back! So I put it off. Finally picked these back up on Sunday, ripped back the rows I needed to and off I went, finishing up and weaving in ends Monday night. Now I have one more pair of handknit socks to brighten up my sock drawer. =)

Some days, nothing goes right...

2009-08-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

It's been an, um, interesting two weeks in New York. Lots of things have gone wrong. Way more than usual. And unfortunately, it did not end before my trip home last night...

I'm usually SO good about getting to the airport two hours in advance. Yesterday, I worked in an office up in Adirondack Park, an hour and a half from my hotel. I left early after kicking chart butt and headed back to the hotel so I could swap out a few things and head to the airport. Didn't leave until 15 min after I'm usually at the airport. On the way, I nearly forgot to fill up the tank before I actually got to the airport. I get there and there are NO signs for my car rental company. None. Every other car rental co has a sign saying where to return your car. Mine? Nada. I find the kiosk where I picked up my car and ask the guy there. He says, just park it over there and walks away. Hmm. Okay. So I wait 15 minutes while he rents out cars to others before another guy finally wandered over and checked in my car. I'm just putting the paperwork in my bag when I realize... I don't have MY car keys! Ugh! I'd double-checked to be sure I had my ticket for the long-term parking, I'd checked to be sure I had my hotel key for when I returned... completely spaced making sure I had my KEYS in the bag! Luckily, the guy who shuttles cars back and forth was there and offered to take me back to my hotel... luckily again, only 15 min away. I get to the hotel, run upstairs (3rd floor of course), dig through everything... no keys! Back downstairs, dig through my bag again to be sure... no keys! Back upstairs again, more digging, toss the suitcases out of the closet... there are my keys on the floor under the suitcases!! How they got there, I have no idea. Rush back downstairs and hop back in the car and we're off. I start laughing and tell the guy the maid's going to think my room's been ransacked! heh He says he was thinking he hoped I'd remember when I get back on Sunday that it was me who did the ransacking! hahaha Thank God, Albany is a really small airport or I never would have made my flight. I had to stop at the ticket counter to get boarding passes printed (the printer at the hotel's been down for days) and head to security... no line. =) I get to my gate with time to spare before they even start loading the plane! Whew! Way more stress than I needed after the roller coaster ride that was my past two weeks. But it all worked out, I caught my flight (where I got trapped next to the window by a guy who took full advantage of the free drink policy in first class - he passed out, I had to pee. heh The second half of my flight, I got bumped out of my window seat... by a cello. Hmm, definitely the better of my two seatmates! haha I head back to NY tomorrow with a too-short-for-comfort layover in Cleveland. Wish me luck! The next two weeks has to go better than the past two!

Welcome to New York!

2009-08-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, made it to upstate New York last weekend! Checked into my new home for the next couple months. Don't you just love my new view???

It's okay, you can admit it... I know you're jealous!
I'm staying in Albany, but so far have been all over the surrounding area, mostly (literally) in the middle of cornfields...

heh I jest, but really, the countryside is beautiful! And what a change from the Arizona desert!

There are fruit/vegetable stands everywhere - absolutely loving the access to fresh produce!!

Freshly picked nectarines and gooseberries! Yum! I don't think I've had gooseberries since I was a kid!

In addition to my lovely view, I've spent the week getting the hotel staff to fix nearly everything in my room, making me wonder if this hotel actually ever does maintainance unless it's demanded by a guest. I'd ask for a new room, but I get the feeling I'd just be starting over with new problems, so I'm staying put. I've had a few issues in rooms before, but seriously have never had this many in one place! So far, I've discovered I had no hot water in my bathroom sink... none. Turn it all the way to hot and the flow of water completely stopped. Their solution resulted in my sink now dripping rapidly when the faucet is off. Apparently their prior solution to the dripping was to turn the hot water off. heh I was also missing the information folder, two of the drip pans for my stove (making two of the burners unusable) and the phone cord for the desk phone. Who takes the phone cord?! When I called down to the front desk and mentioned this along with other issues, the girl pauses and asks, "um, how are you calling me?" HAHAHA There are two phones in the rooms! Also, my ice trays are crusted with calcium deposits and the door on my dishwasher soap dispenser wouldn't close - hmm, all the soap in the prewash cycle? The ironing board had basically no padding and a large stain on the cover. I think that's been it so far... I'm hoping that's it. I used the oven and though the pans have blackened crustiness that won't come off (I bought foil to cover), the oven at least works. Going to try out the laundry room today... Wish me luck!

The weather has been a total 180 from Arizona! No more dry heat! This week has been rain, rain, and more rain!

Wednesday saw torrential rainstorms in the afternoon and overnight. More pouring rain on Friday. I have to say, I enjoy the rain... but this has caused some major damage and forced too many people out of their homes due to flooding of rivers, creeks and streams. The flooding even shut down some trains into NYC! Hoping for a few more dry days so people can really start cleaning up...

Latest FO - A Mini Media Bag

2009-08-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

I had a small amount of cotton left from a couple other projects and decided I wanted to use it up. Wasn't sure how many yards I had left (and I was too lazy to measure), so I decided to just wing it and see what I could come up with. =)

I thought maybe a wrist support for using with my mouse might be useful... but discovered midway through I didn't have enough yarn for that. So then I thought maybe a small bag since that's basically what I had at that point. It ended up the perfect size for my mp3 player and headphones. Only had maybe 1/2" of yarn leftover. It was meant to be. =)

I cast on 32 stitches using the magic cast-on I use for my toe-up socks (16 stitches per needle on US6 dpns) and worked my way up in the round in stockinette stitch until it appeared I had just enough yarn left for a few more rows (lucked out here, eyeballing it really well as it turned out).

At this point, I did one row of *k1 YO K2tog* followed by a row of knit and then cast off.

I left the tail attached and wove it down through a couple stitches until it was even with the holes from the YOs, then made a crochet chain the length of the circumference of the bag and wove it through the holes, attaching the end on the inside of the bag. This created a drawstring without loose ends hanging. I can just pull on a section of the drawstring to close. =)

Basic mindless knitting resulting in a cute, useful little bag and the perfect way to use up a small amount of leftover yarn. I'm guessing I used roughly 15 yds for this bag.

The last of Arizona...

2009-07-20T22:00:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's true. I've finally finished my last sting in the desert heat of Arizona! I did stay long enough to see a bit of Monsoon season though. What do you know, there is weather in AZ afterall...Still hot though. heh Had to switch hotels in the middle of the week (uh, multiple times), causing me to have to leave groceries in my car all day. Apples didn't fair so well in a hot car... half baked!

During Monsoon, the weather can change at the drop of a hat. I went into an office with blue skies as far as the eye could see...

and came out to pouring rain! Ever so brief, but still, and amazing site after months of blue skies. =) I spent half of my last trip down south in a border town, Nogales. Beautiful area!
Amazing sunsets!

And finally, I made it to Phoenix for the last week. Unfortunately, my week in Phoenix happened to coincide with the hottest week so far this year! 115 degrees is seriously not fun! Can't say I was so sad to see my last Arizona sunset:

My week in Phoenix translated to a week spent indoors in a/c. haha I was forced to shop... causing my suitcase to be overweight for the very first time in the more than a year I've been traveling on a regular basis. haha Had to do that lovely suitcase shuffle at the ticket counter, but I made it! And all those flights finally paid off! I'm finally silver elite with an airline and got bumped up to first class for my flight home... where I met a very entertaining guy who also travels for his job. That is one of the good parts of my job - I meet so many interesting people! Here's the really funny part, he knew who the Yarn Harlot is! And he even brought her up! haha Yes, big surprise. I was knitting on the plane. Can't share that project quite yet... unless you're on Ravelry. It's on my project page. =)

Back to the Needles

2009-07-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

Hey, wasn't this mostly a knitting blog?! heh Haven't been doing so much of that lately. I think being stuck in the desert in ridiculous heat finally sucked the will to knit out of me... I'm starting to find the urge again now though. I bought this yarn with the intention of making a felted messenger bag. It was from a non-profit shop in Seattle and cost next to nothing (well under $2 for three cakes of super bulky wool). It's been stored in a suitcase under my bed the past few months, waiting for inspiration to strike and prompt me to do some math to figure out stitch counts for the simple pattern I had in mind. That day (technically, night) finally came around 1 this morning (still on AZ time even though I'm in IN for the weekend).

Step One: Knit a swatch - unavoidable here!

Step Two: Beat the crap out of it... er, FELT it... to judge shrinkage

Step Three: Knit... A LOT =)

The Perfect Bag(s)

2009-07-03T23:13:00.001-07:00

When you travel for a living, you're always looking for the "perfect" bag... or combination of bags. heh I've been dragging a large computer/office bag around for the past year. I'd purchased this bag, a Swiss Army bag, for only $20 as it had been stored, unused, in someone's garage and they finally decided they no longer wanted it taking up space and had listed it on craigslist simply as a computer bag with wheels. It was just too good a deal to pass up once I saw what it was! =) This was just before I was offered a travel position... as if I'd known I'd need this bag soon. heh It's perfect for traveling to offices, neatly fitting pretty much everything I need to have on hand during the day. It doesn't work quite so well as a carry-on however. It's large size means it often doesn't fit either under a seat or in the overhead bin on smaller planes and often needs to be gate-checked... meaning I have to pull the laptop out and hand-carry that while the bag goes down below. So, lately, I've been using this as my 2nd checked bag and packing my laptop in a backpack-style computer bag. That works... but leaves me with light bruises on my shoulder after every trek through an airport. I really needed something with wheels to get me through the airport unscathed. I'd seen one at Big Lots for around $25, but passed at the time because it was small and I had my behemoth already. Rethinking things, I'd gone back for it... no bag. =( The search continued. Tonight, after a wonderful day spent with a great friend, I ran into Wal-Mart to grab a couple things and just happened to take a trip down the clearance aisle (something I rarely do). What should I find there? The perfect small office bag!! And on clearance for only $20! It's made by Franklin Covey, has the strap across the back so it will easily piggyback over the handle of another bag for easy transport of all the bags at once and is well-padded. Perfect. =) No more backpack bruises. No more shuffling items from bag to bag in the trunk of a rental car in the parking lot of an office or at the car rental return. This bag has just enugh room for my computer and accessories, a knitting project and a book. =) It will take its maiden voyage in just a couple days...
*****
Alas, the bag turned out to be not-so-perfect afterall. One two-week trip where it's most roughest use was the trip to and from on the plane resulted in a bag with a practically non-functioning extension handle (meaning I couldn't roll it - the whole point of the bag) and the piece of fabric across the back (enabling it to piggy-back on another bag - requirement #2) pulling free at both seems to a point where it was barely attached upon return to Indy Luckily, still had the receipt so I got my money back. The search is back on...

Hotel Hopping

2009-07-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

Oh, this last week and a half in Arizona was tiring. I flew into Phoenix and drove down to Rio Rico... for a couple days in order to finish up an office in Nogales (Mexican border town), then headed back on the road...(the scenery down there is gorgeous at least!) over to Tombstone... where I stayed another couple days to work an office in Douglas (another border town). Enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the hotel... before heading back to Tucson where a rainbow awaited my arrival... for the last few days to work an office there. Whew! Three hotels in less than a week! Tiring. When I go back this Sunday, it looks to be even worse... I'll be hopping back and forth among Tucson, Phoenix, Patagonia and possibly Rio Rico again, rarely in one place more than a day. I'm insisting on a better car this time! haha Of course, the Enterprise in Phoenix promised me a better car my return... so I get my travel and my company is flying my into TUCSON this time. *sigh* There is still hope! I got a really good car the one time I flew into Tucson. Beginning to think I should just leave my bags in the car and just take in a set of clothes for the following day at these hotels. haha Oh, the days of being in one hotel for a month or more...

A Big Hole in the Ground

2009-06-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Still in sunny, hot Arizona. Finally made it to a couple of the best spots in AZ though!

I met up with my friend Sarah who's been working in Phoenix and we headed north to see the red rocks of Sedona:

Beautiful! It's almost shockingly so after seeing so much brown and dull green around Tucson these past couple months. I lucked out this time too and got a great car! =) Love my bug! Too bad I got stuck with a Yaris when I came back after my weekend home. =(

Then, we headed farther north... to see a big hole in the ground:
Completely worth the drive! We stayed for sunset,
then headed back to Phoenix for a little wandering around before I headed back to Tucson once again. What a fun weekend! Even brought home a couple souvenirs - a baby palm and a baby agave cactus. =) The drive north is awesome. The terrain changes so many times along the way, it's as though you've passed through 3-4 states along the way...

My flight out this past weekend was delayed due to weather (Monsoon season has officially begun), but we got a great view while we waited!I'm now down in Rio Rico and just finished an office in Nogales (border town). It's beautiful down here, but there's not much to do. The resort grounds are full of birds though and I wake each morning to various, interesting bird noises. =) Much nicer way to wake than either an alarm or the trash truck I heard each morning at another hotel. haha I even saw a roadrunner about 15 feet off my patio yesterday! =) Tomorrow, I'm heading slightly east to another border town, Douglas, but I'll be staying in (more than likely) Tombstone. =)

Feeling completely lazy... and loving it.

2009-05-31T22:30:00.000-07:00

I did nothing this weekend. Nothing. Barely even left my hotel room. Everything that even slightly interested me was at least a 2+ hr drive away and I didn't feel motivated for a 4+ hr round trip in the car knowing I have a 4-hr drive tomorrow to get back to Tucson. heh So I stayed in and vegged. It was nice. =) Nowhere to be, nothing I had to do. I read a lot... putzed around online... and read some more. Eclipse is awesome! Nearly finished and ready to start Breaking Dawn soon. =)

I haven't knit a single stitch since getting back to Arizona. I knit on a sock at the airport in Indy, but the two small projects I brought along haven't seen the light of day since. haha Left my sweater at home this trip. All that's left to do is the button band and I haven't totally decided if I want to do buttons or if I want to go with a pin instead. Kinda need to decide that before doing the second side at least. I LOVE it though and nearly can't wait until it gets cool enough to actualyl wear it! And I love my socks (that are nearly finished). I even love what I have so far on the first block of my afghan. That plan of one block each trip out isn't going so well though. haha Whatever. Knitting is not something to stress about. They'll all get finished eventually. I think I just needed a weekend with nothing in it. Ahhhhhh. Very relaxing. =) I used to feel a little bad being out on the road and not doing enough sightseeing, like I was wasting a good opportunity. Now, I'm realizing that I need to do what I want and not feel obligated to do the touristy thing. There are a couple places I plan to stop along the way tomorrow. I'm happy with that. =)

I had a long talk with a good friend tonight. One who is incredibly supportive, yet totally rational. She may be 3600 miles away, but she had perfect timing. I needed that this weekend. It's just so nice to have someone who listens and doesn't immediately dismiss my ideas as stupid or ridiculous. If only there were a few people like that in my family. haha