AuntyNin's Place

Vacation is a wonderful thing. The first day back at w*rk after twelve days off, on the other hand, can be downright depressing. The alarm's shrill sound at 6AM (well before the sun makes its appearance) after nearly two weeks of sleeping until 9 is ... well ... not at all welcome.

The plans outlined in the last post were followed religiously; lots of reading, eating, knitting and sleeping happened. The reading matter was quite diverse, including such titles as: Pride and Prejudice; Guards! Guards!; You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps; Hogfather; and The Other Log of Phileas Fogg. Foods included a wide variety of tasty tidbits, from quiche to key lime pie, occasionally in amounts rather more than was truly wise, but then, it's the holidays...

Not surprisingly at all, a lot of knitting happened. The Hogfather brought me a lovely scarf kit from Signature Needles, including a ball of lusciously soft yarn - 45% qiviut, 45% merino, 10% silk.

For indication of scale, the needles are 7" long, with Signature's "stiletto" point, in a 3.75mm size (US5). The yarn proved so soft and good-feeling in the hands that the project worked up amazingly fast. It was cast on Christmas day, and cast off on December 30.

Some other knitting happened as well, with the Ice Queen cowl finally off needles, the first of the Sassy Stripes socks done as well, and progress on both the Talia shawl and yet another "stealth" project.

New Year's Eve brought a less pleasant surprise:

That gray mass behind the amber glass is snow piled high on the living room windowsill. The glass is 8" tall, which means the snowdrift was about 17" deep on the sill. My first thought on seeing it was, "Boy, am I glad I went grocery shopping yesterday!" Thus, I was able to fire up the kettle, make some utterly decadent hot chocolate, and revel in not having to go out in the storm.

All good things must come to an end, alas, and now I'm back in the office, embarking on another year of rescuing people from the consequences of their mistakes. Let's hope it goes better than last year did.

Goodness, it's been a long time since the last update here. Not that there's anything much of note to report, as life seems to be chugging along reasonably smoothly just now.

The comparative tranquility chez AuntyNin may be attributed to the household's minimalist approach to the holidays. None of the current knitting projects have imminent deadlines - the closest "due date" for any of them is March of next year. Decorating? Not done, probably won't get done, as I mostly tend to ignore the alleged "festivities" of the season. Cooking, baking, shopping, parties, frantic running hither-and-yon? Nope, none of that happens here.

My recipe for the holidays hasn't varied much over the past several years; it's simple, relaxing, and suits me perfectly. This most excellent recipe follows:

Sleep.

Eat.

Read.

Knit.

Repeat as needed.

Since my employers have decided to shut down entirely the week between Christmas and New Year's, there will be twelve days available for following this recipe, and I plan to make the most of them. Yes, there will be brief excursions for necessities (if I don't go to the grocery store, I don't eat, y'know?), and one for some pampering at the salon, but otherwise it's going to be a resful knitty vacation.

The case of Startitis that has been trying to take hold did indeed cause me to cast on one new project, but most of the recent knitting has been plugging away at existing items. The mohair "Ice Queen" cowl is nearing completion, in spite of the yarn's constant attempts to tangle and confuse and make me crazy. It's going to be a nice warm addition to my winter survival gear.

Shawls and socks and sweaters are progressing, little bit by little bit. The wrap cardigan is at the point where it needs pieces sewn together before the ties can be completed, but that chore is being held in abeyance until I have large swathes of time to devote to it. Still, I would like to be able to wear it this winter, and with luck I will.

Let's all try to remember that this ought to be a season of good will to all, and be kind to each other, okay?

Aaah, the joys of having friends who are fabulous cooks. Thanksgiving was everything I had hoped it would be - relaxed, happy, tasty, filled with good friends and good times. My friends' fur-faced critters all greeted me with joy (including the one cat who's usually antisocial). We spent a lot of time lounging around and bringing each other up to date on just about everything. When I got home, I found an enormous selection of leftovers in my tote, enough for two more meals. Yum!

The rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful, except for the completion of the "stealth" project that has been absorbing much of my knitting time for the past month or so. Now that it's off the needles, I'm free to start new projects, right? There's just the minor difficulty of deciding which of many to tackle next.

What's that you say? Other projects-in-progress? Well, yes, there are several on needles, what of it? Finish some of them? Well... I suppose I could...

finish the edging and ties for the Silky Tweed wrap sweater so I could actually wear it this winter ...
resume work on the Faroese that The Demon Enabler convinced me that I "needed" to knit ...
continue the prototype of the Granny Weatherwax shawl ...
finish the Faux Spanish stole ...
resume fighting with the cone of mohair that's becoming Knitty's "Ice Queen" ...
continue the test knit of Mmario's "Talia" pattern (which has reached the seriously tedious stage, with 1120 stitches per row) ...
turn the heel on the Sassy Stripes sock-in-progress ...
try to figure out where I was on that much-neglected baby blanket in the corner ...

Or ... start something new and exciting from the "I Wanna Knit That!" list. Decisions, decisions. Not that there's any real doubt about something new hitting the needles, right?

Fortunately, my employers have just announced that pretty much the entire joint will be closed from December 24 through January 4, so I'll have more than ample time to make progress on all of those projects over the holidays. The hard part will be dragging myself out of bed to return to w*rk on January 5th, after having had twelve consecutive days of being able to sleep late. Still, it's nice to have an income for continued yarn purchases.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Once again, Thanksgiving is upon us, and while many people are focused on “What’s for Dinner?” or the outcome of the day’s football games, it’s also time to reflect on all the good things in our lives.

Even though I sometimes grumble and call work an Anglo-Saxon 4-letter word (which it is, but let’s not go there today), I do appreciate having a job that pays the bills with a little left over for fun and hobbies. It’s also interesting work, with a nearly-constant stream of new things to learn and new projects to tackle. The fact that I work with a great team is just icing on the cake.

Having a decent place to live, with heat that works and walls that keep out the snow can make a big difference to your comfort levels in the winter in Siberiacuse, er, Syracuse. Trust me, folks, it gets cold here in the winter, and camping out has never been my favorite way of life.

Hobbies have provided countless hours of relaxation and stress relief, and it’s wonderful to be able to pursue them whenever the spirit moves me. It’s also a blessing to know that I’m not the only person in the world who is this fascinated by the potential of playing with sticks and string. The possibilities are nearly endless, though I do sometimes wonder about why anyone would actually sit down and figure out how to knit some things, like the scale model of the human digestive tract. In spite of this, I’m constantly inspired by the beautiful things other knitters are creating. They’re a constant inspiration, not to mention continually adding items to my “I Wanna Knit That!” list.

What I’m most thankful for, this year and always, is the little band of amazing people who have been a very important part of my life for most of the last 20 years. We’ve shared good times and bad, always there for each other through thick and thin. There’s no telling what would have become of me in recent years without their love and support. They're the best!

Finally, I’m very thankful that the doofus who was speeding through campus last Friday night zoomed down the street where he/she/it did, rather than six inches to the left. As Maxwell Smart might have said, “Missed me by that much!”

Here’s hoping that everyone who reads this also has good things to celebrate this Thanksgiving season.

Three years and three days.

Amazing.

“Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” Um. No, it was only three years and three days ago, right here, that some strange impulse caused me to start blogging about “Life, the Universe, and Everything.” Much has changed in that time period, though much more has remained the same.

Yes, I missed the formal "blogiversary" date, as blogging from a moving Amtrak train doesn't work well when you've decided to leave the computer at home. So it goes.

Knitting still occupies great swaths of my (limited) leisure time, though nowadays lace makes up the largest amount of it. For this I “blame” my dear friend Mmario, also known as “The Demon Enabler.” His designs are spectacular, causing me to cast on far too many for the few hours available. With friends like this, life is very very good. My other close friends also contribute lots of good times and giggles, all of which keep me perking along nicely.

W*rk is still an Anglo-Saxon four-letter word, but could be so much worse than it is. I’ve been very fortunate to share the Systems Cave with a bunch of bright, hardworking, frequently goofy colleagues. Having such a great team takes much of the sting out of having to spend so much potential knitting time earning a living. And let’s face it, without an income there could be no new yarns to play with, and no home to inhabit with my ever-growing stash. Now, if only I could persuade my employers to pay me to stay home and knit . . .

Speaking of knitting, the Cashlana socks are done, and warming my toes even as I type this. The second sock's toe was grafted in the Metropolitan Lounge at Chicago's Union Station on Sunday afternoon, as I waited for boarding time for my train. As usual, many of my fellow passengers seemed bewildered about my playing with sticks and string.

Something I've noticed in my travels is that non-knitters have no clue that a knitter can (and usually does) observe an awful lot of what's going on around her, even when she appears to be totally focused on her knitting. For those of us who enjoy people-watching, this is an asset. To the couple on the sofa on Sunday, yes, I did notice you and your ... um ... obvious enjoyment of one another. So did lots of other people. There was quite a lively discussion of your activities after you had gone to board your train.

It's been an interesting three years and three days, and it's quite likely the next howevermany years will continue in similar fashion. Lace will probably continue to absorb a lot of my knitting time, though cables are beginning to nudge their way back into my plans, and recent news of a dear friend about to commit motherhood for the first time has me digging through the books of baby patterns. You just never know what'll happen next, which keeps life interesting.