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Saturday, January 26, 2008
Big Girl P@ntiesI have a friend who used to say that when life gets tough, you have to "put on your big girl p@nties" and deal with it. This has been a month for the big girl p@nties.S' family continues to recover from the horrific health issues they've struggled with so far this year - and we're really grateful for any good news that comes our way from Minnesota. On the home front, we lived like this for a bit at the old place:  Abbers was NOT pleased with our new concepts in interior design...  ... and then we lived with these fine, hardworking folks for a day...  ... and then we lived like this at the new place for a bit...  But slowly and surely things are finding places to live, and the boxes continue to get broken down and placed lovingly in the back of the truck to find a new home at our old apartment complex, where someone is always moving out and poaching boxes. And don't I look like I'm having SO MUCH FUN unpacking?  To be fair, I really don't mind unpacking. What I do mind is the job that is requiring me to work at least one day each of the last 2 weekends (including this one). (See note re. big girl p@nties, above!) On a much sadder subject, I have to announce the demise of a long-term relationship - Cricket and Spongebob have broken up. Spongebob, apparently, is not meant to be a "one-fuzzle" kind of pillow. Promptly after being unpacked last weekend at the new place, Spongebob already had an assignation all arranged...  As far as I know, Cricket hasn't spoken of or to Spongebob since. Luckily, being a resilient little kitty, she's already found her new lover... the floor-level heat vent.  See, in our old place, the ducts for the central heat and air had been retrofited at ceiling level, thereby depriving Cricket of a chance to absorb 95% of the furnace-output. Thankfully, in the new place, we've fixed that particular problem, and Cricket now spends approximately 21 hours a day curled up in front of various heating vents. The other great thing about the new place (among many great things?) I have my own Mr. Washie!!!! I do a little happy-dance each time I run a load, or wash my sweaters without filling up the bathtub...  Speaking of sweaters, I've been knitting away at the Union Square Market Pullover... I'm about 30 bind-off stitches away from finishing the last piece of knitting!  I can't wait to seam this up and add another cashmere sweater to the rotation. Plus, all of the stockinette on size 2 has been a perfect complement to the crazy stressed life I've been dealing with lately... so perfect, in fact, that I've upped the ante. I'll be knitting my next sweater in stockinette on size 0 needles. Any guesses?  Here's a teensy little hint...  Labels: Union Square Market Pullover, Wild Apple 0 comments || # Monday, January 14, 2008 WhirlwindHopefully, this time next week S and I will be snuggled up with all the fuzzles (and doubtless many MANY cardboard boxes) in our new home. We've spent the last few weekends trying to get everything ready - painting, changing outlets, cleaning and putting in shelf-liners (THANKS, MOM!), raking the leftover leaves, addding another foot or so of insulation in the attic... but I think it's as ready as it's going to be. If all goes as planned, the next time we open the door of our new place will be with the movers!So between all of the new-house activities and the fact that I've been spending every spare moment reading escapist novels (Steph - you know what you've done!), I haven't been making too much knitting progress. I'm pretty much just working on the Union Square Market Pullover - I've finished two sleeves and the back, and am biting my nails that I'll have enough yarn to finish the front. I have more yarn - but it's undyed... I guess the worst case scenario is that I run out, dye some more, and re-knit the front to hide the new skein(s). Adding to the stress is the news on the health front - S' brother continues to progress, but it's been very difficult for everyone to be patient as we all wait to see whether he'll continue to improve. I guess with brain injuries it can be very difficult to gauge what damage is temporary and what is permanent, so it's hard to know what the future holds. On a lighter note, even though my schedule currently makes Late Night almost impossible, I'm going to make an effort to be more proactive about meeting my knitting people at Knit Happens periodically - or having them over to the new digs! I'm kicking it off with a lunch date on the 26th... hopefully I can re-connect with the knitters, even without making it on Wednesday nights! 0 comments || # Tuesday, January 08, 2008 Thanks for all the support and good wishes - things seem to be holding steady on the health front, which is a blessing, I guess! S and I spent last weekend painting in the new house... and the lovely and talented Elspeth joined us on Sunday to help us correct our disastrous first coats!  Elspeth also proved that there's nothing sexier than a roller-wielding knitter...  Abby, meanwhile, helped supervise.  She had to do a LOT of supervising...  And here's proof that Elspeth and I are not the neatest of painters, and may have gotten just a little bit of paint on us.  And how do you paint around a huge fridge? Why, you crawl behind it and sit on it... duh!  Finally, at the end of a long day of painting, we celebrated with the traditional celebratory meal of donuts (chocolate glazed) and beer.  And even though I have still been knitting, I have been terrible about photographing my progress, so I'm going to employ the time-honored blogger strategy of more cute pets. This picture may give you a little idea as to why it is sometimes I have a terrible time getting out of bed in the morning...  And finally, I have a confession to make. Cricket has been carrying on a torrid affair with S' spongebob pillow. She has been neglecting everything in her life to spend time with spongebob... her friends, her snuggling, even her "wake maeve up at 4 am" routine. In fact, she is snuggling with spongebob as I type.   We may have to stage an intervention for Cricket soon before she demands that we carry her through the house on her pillow like an Egyptian pharaoh... 0 comments || # Thursday, January 03, 2008 Hoping for Good KarmaThis is definitely not the way we wanted 2008 to begin. My husband's family has just been slammed left and right with health disasters! Here's a quick summary of what they've been enduring since Christmas Eve:
I mean, SERIOUSLY - how can all of that have happened in a little over a week? Thanks for all the supportive comments - it's getting to the point where we don't want to answer the phone for fear that something has happened to yet another person in the husband's family! In a probably vain attempt to keep my spirits up in the face of all of this turmoil, I've started a new tradition this year. I have a wall calendar in my office, and each day when I come into work, I write one good thing that happened the day before. It doesn't have to be major - just something that made me smile. So far, I've got "Grandma saw new house and liked it" and "puppy snuggles when I got home." It's a small gesture, but one that I hope will help me concentrate on the good things instead of dwelling on the bad. 0 comments || # Tuesday, January 01, 2008 Looking Ahead to 20082007 was quite a year. I graduated, got married, took and passed the bar, was sworn in as a lawyer, started a new job, and bought a house. Perhaps it is to be expected that, with all those changes, I've felt overwhelmed the last few months.As 2007 drew to a close, I concentrated on getting a better attitude towards the stresses and complications caused by my new job. I'm a first year associate in a big law firm, and 3 months has been enough to convince me that I am not cut out for the stress and fast pace of this career path. My biggest resolution for 2008 is to accept that I have to struggle through what will doubtless be a challenging year at work. My goal is that, this time next year, I am looking forward to that next step, whatever that may be. Finally, the end of 2007 has given S' family some serious challenges. On Christmas Eve, his stepfather suffered a heart attack. Just as he was recovering at home in Florida, we received word on the morning of New Year's Eve that S' brother Scott had been in a serious accident - he had been riding an ATV without a helmet, and when it flipped, he suffered severe head injuries and was in critical condition. We're cautiously optimistic as Scott has survived surgery, and was able to squeeze hands when spoken to. S flew to Minnesota last night. Looking ahead to 2008, I hope that I can find a way to be at peace with the demands of my job, and that my plans for "what happens next" succeed. I hope that the move to the new house on January 20th goes smoothly. I hope that S and I continue to figure out this whole husband-and-wife gig. But most importantly, I hope that next year, we are celebrating the holidays with healthy friends and family - most especially S' stepfather and brother, who are starting the new year facing challenges that can't help but give me some much-needed perspective. 0 comments || # |
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