There is a Santa Claus!

I got my Christmas present from H last night. He wins! He totally surprised me with a spinning wheel. It's so lovely, and I'm so excited! I can't wait to start spinning. Unfortunately, this means I may never finish that pesky dissertation.

I was dreaming of a wheel, but didn't logically expect it. I was planning to wait until we have a house. But H decided that the "someday" for owning a wheel should come sooner, so he did all the research, even contacted darling Sarah for advice, and got me an Ashford Kiwi wheel.

I am such a lucky and happy girl!

Fresh Ink

I took the plunge on Saturday. This is my first tattoo. I had been waiting for the right idea to come to me, and it finally did - inspired by my weekend knitting with the awesome broads in Kansas. Thanks ladies! Not only is it about knitting, it is to remind me of the inspiration to live a full and meaningful life - to pursue dreams and not settle for a boring life. Just getting this was taking a risk for me... and I'm so happy I did.

1/7/06
Here is an updated picture, all healed up! Isn't she pretty?
I should mention that this was done by Darcy Nutt at Slave to the Needle in Seattle.

Non-update

Seeing as it's been over a month since my last post, I suppose I should update things before they close my account!

The big news around here is that my sweet and wonderful sister recently got engaged to her sweet and wonderful boyfriend! I'm super happy for them both, and couldn't imagine a better guy for a BIL. I'd say welcome to the family, Erik, but you've been a part of it for a long time now. So, welcome to being legally bound to the insanity.

Life has been boringly busy with school and work. I've been wrapped up with the near-constant grading of papers and tests for the class I'm teaching. And on top of that, I've also been working on a manuscript. Although it presents it's own pile of headaches, this is a much-needed step in my quest to get out of grad school. Sadly, getting the greenlight on manuscript only came from my advisor's wrath with another scientist, rather than complete faith in my work, but at this point I'll take any chance I can get.

Last night we celebrated Thanksgiving with my sister, soon-to-be BIL and his parents. There was a massive spread, with way too much good food. I believe I may have actually injured myself by eating too much. I am now officially ready for the holidays.

Craft-wise, I've been working on a baby gift for the imminent arrival of a friend's little one, as well as a scarf made from yarn from the ladies at the Kansas knit-a-thon. The scarf is coming out poorly. It was so nicely conceived in my head, and yet now looks like a fiasco. Oh well. I will wear it and love it because of where the yarn came from. Also, the baby gift is coming out gigantic - and will probably fit the kid when he/she is 5. Oh well - I guess there's no rush to get it in the mail.

So that's all the news that's fit to print around here. Hopefully something post-worthy will come up soon.

The other shoe drops

Well, that didn't take long. Did I forget to knock on wood when I was going on about how I love my students?

*sigh*

Yesterday I caught one of them red-handed, cheating on a paper. An entirely cribbed (verbatim!) paper was turned in for credit. At first I felt foolish, like I had been taken. But over a manhattan or two, I did realized that I was not duped. I caught the fraud and was not the fool here. However, I do resent being played for a fool. And by a very ingratiating student, too.

Rrrrrgh.

Although it is a heartbreaker to realize first hand that this stuff does happen, and that trying to be a great teacher won't always prevent this nonsense, I can't say that I'm any less enthusiastic about my position. The same day, another student told me I am "the bestest" for a silly little favor I did. Not that I really am the bestest, but that at least one student appreciates a kind gesture makes up for the bullshit that scamming assholes will pull.

There will always be both types of students. And as long as that is the case, I'll still love what I do.

Those who can't?

Today was my long teaching day. Lecture (the prof, not me) in the a.m., then 2 hours of discussion sections (mine) in the p.m. Long because there is lots of other business to attend to before, in between and after all of this. Anyway, having spent the day with students, I was given my weekly reminder of just how much I love teaching. I really really do. Maybe it's genetic - my mom's a damn fine teacher. Maybe it's just right. And I love that I love it.

I'm in my seventh (yeah, I said it, seventh) year of graduate school. I've been doing research for that long. And you know what? I'm really not very good at it. Actually, I'm a technical whiz in the lab. I'm really good at all the things a trained monkey could do with practice. But the ideas? The big picture thinking? Yeah, it turns out I pretty much suck at that stuff. The stuff that scientific careers are made of. I say all of this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, because I'm finally really ok with it. But it is true, alas.

The good thing, and point of all of this, is that eventually I will have a Ph.D. And what can one do with a Ph.D. when one is cognisant of the fact that they make a crappy scientist? One can teach! I took this TA position with the hopes of honing my teaching skills, bulking up the ol' C.V. and testing the waters as far as this teaching business goes. And I must say... it's going well. I love meeting with my students. I love hearing their ideas and seeing them discuss and learn from each other. I love getting to know them and being there to answer their questions. I really dig what I do.

It's really cool. After last weekend, I've been so energetic about doing the stuff I love. And loving the stuff I do. So I'm really thrilled with how much I dig this teaching gig. How rad!

If I had started this blog a few years back, one may have been able to chart my progression from diligently spinning my wheels to deep depression with the full realization of my mediocrity to the present. I've gotta say... all that other stuff was pretty crappy. And not that it can't or won't change, but I'm so happy with where I am right now. It gives me hope for the future. That I'll be happy with my career, and will make a difference and mean something to someone.

How awesome.

Best. Weekend. Ever.

I'll begin an update on this weekend's trip to Kansas, though it may take several edits to complete...

As the title says - it really was the best weekend ever! I met up with Marissa and Sarah at the Kansas City airport. We then set out in our posh Cadillac for Harveyville, home of Nikol and her magical schools. After a few mishaps that I maintain were "short cuts," we found the schools and got the grand tour.

The schools are absolutely fantastic. Built in 1955, they have all the great architectural designs of the era. I'll get some pictures up at some point. There are lots of lovely wood built-in cabinets, one of which houses Nikol's mammoth yarn stash. There are tons of other fun details too, and we had fun exploring the nooks and crannies of the buildings.

Everyone else arrived as we were looking over Nikol's project designs. Everyone else included Jenn, Carolyn, Adrian, Amber, Rebecca, KellySue and Jen, who brought Brian to play with Ron, Nikol's man. I was meeting Adrian, Amber, Marissa, Rebecca, KellySue and Jen for the first time, and seeing Sarah, Carolyn, Jenn and Nikol again. It was an amazing group of fabulous women... I really can't imagine a more fun group to spend the weekend with.

When everyone had arrived, we ended up on the front porch for drinks and chatting, which brought the opportunity to meet the locals. At the risk of sounding terribly derrogatory, the locals in Harveyville, KS, are an exact charicature of what you would expect of rural yokels. Oh my. We were first schooled in the absolute dearth of entertainment for rural youth. Having discovered the presence of a large gathering of people (mainly female people!) - a carload of teenagers proceeded to drive up and down the road in front of the school no less than a dozen times. Lest we not notice their presence, they were thoughtful enough to alert us, using duck calls. Perhaps this is a local custom in Kansas. Perhaps teenagers are idiots everywhere. The hooligans were treated to Ron's high-powered spotlight, which, it seems, is not a teenager-deterrent. It did, however, work to draw more local youth, who arrived in a pickup truck. Yes, cars are indeed a rarity there. The two guys, one in a Bud Light shirt, and the other in a shirt that simply said "Rodeo" (and I suspect this did not refer to the Copeland symphony) got out and postured up the sidewalk toward us. Upon reaching the stoop, they stood there for a seemingly long time, with their arms crossed, looking for all the world like bouncers at a roadhouse. Finally, one drawled "Y'all live here?" To which Ron replied, without missing a beat, "Yeah, but I'm only married to these three." Ron is my hero.

Apparently a gathering of people signifies an invitation to the public in Harveyville. The two visitors soon summoned more of their ilk, which drove us inside. We retired to the gym with our projects, where we talked and laughed and knitted until way into the early hours.

Saturday brought more knitting, along with an abundance of excellent eating, drinking, giggling and fun. It also saw us embark on a mission to Topeka, for booze and tortillas. Marissa and I accompanied Amber, who braved the roadkill-riddled roads to get us to our appointed task. Topeka is an unfortunate place to have to go, and we were glad to get back to the happy coccoon of the school. Nikol made the endeavor well worth it however, with the astoundingly yummy enchiladas she whipped up on our return. More eating, laughing and drinking ensued.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the silent star of the weekend, Nikol's ancient pup Herman. Miss Herman was the most lovely hostess, seeing to it that we always knew where the food was, helping to untangle yarn, and generally providing love to all. She also does the cutest doggie trick ever - the stealth dog french. When you least expect it, she'll slip you the tongue. I suspect this is born of interest in whatever you may have just eaten, rather than a desire to be intimate. Although I would not tolerate such tongue-related behavior from most, Herman was such a lovely charmer that it was entirely adorable.

The weekend continued in this sublime vein until we all departed on Monday. The conversation, food and general atmosphere was never short of sublime. My recap here certainly does not do justice to the fantastic time I had. It was just so good to meet and spend time with all of the lovely ladies who were in attendance, as well as the two fine gentlemen. I had wonderful conversations and full-on hysterics with everyone. It was wonderful to get to know most of the ladies, and to spend time with those I already knew. Again, I can't imagine a lovelier group of people to spend the weekend with.

Since returning, I've been floating along in a state of bliss rather unatural for me. I was so inspired by everyone. It was such an experience to be around people who are really living life, doing things outside of the mundane existence. While I suppose anything would become mundane if repeated enough, I found inspiration in being around people who are open to the fun and magic that life has to offer. And every person there was an example of this. From Nikol and Ron who ventured out of the ordinary and bought schools in Kansas to turn into an artist retreat, to everyone else, who were all willing to jump in the car or on a plane to be a part of this weekend - every single person was a reminder that there is lots of stuff to do in life, and the regretable thing would be to miss it.

So thank you Nikol, for having us and for being such a lovely hostess and for making me a fat and happy piglet, and thank you to Sarah, Jenn, KellySue, Carolyn, Amber, Jen, Rebecca, Adrian and Marissa, for being such wonderful companions. It was the best.

In other news

Not much has happened in the past week worth updating. I finished one sock, but haven't had much time for any other craftiness. I've been really busy keeping up with my teaching assistant position. It's going really well, and I adore my classes. The students are really great for the most part, and even the so-far unspectacular ones are way better than most. So, although it's time consuming in the biggest way, it's going really well. Yea!

H starts his new job tomorrow - another yea! He had this past week off and made much of his time. But now it is time to rejoin the working world (lest I really start pushing the housework thing!). Not only will this job free him of the EVIL that was his former supervisor, he is also now free of having to be at work at 7am. He has to be there at 9am! After 5 years of rising at 5:45am, I am giddy with this development! I can only think that this is a harbinger of very good things at the new job.

The other biggest thing in my life right now is my upcoming trip to Kansas! Although this may not be something that most would get their panties in a twist about, I am over the moon! A friend has written a knitting patterns book, and a bunch of us are converging upon her converted school-home for a weekend of testing knitting patterns and general girly fun. It should be the best time... I absolutely can't wait!

Stash from the Fest

It's now been a week since I went to the Flock and Fiber fest in Oregon, and I have finally taken pictures of the treasures procured there.
This is a "mystery batt" of various fibers. It has very soft shading to it, and will be nice to mix in with other fiber, or make some very humble yarn with.
This is sheep wool, dyed a lovely red with steaks of greens and blues. I'm envisioning mittens, perhaps.
These two lovelies are merino/tencel blends. I couldn't resist the colors, and they feel wonderful.
This is some natural yak's wool. It is so much softer than you can imagine. I thought yak would be coarse, but it's very fluffy and soft. I only got a little bit to play with - I should have bought more!
And this is a cotton/hemp blend. I was interested in spinning some plant fibers, so I got just a wee bit to try out.

Though it doesn't look like much, this will keep me plenty busy! And though I certainly didn't NEED it, I came across some unbelievably soft baby camel fiber at Weaving Works today and just couldn't resist that either. So I got some to toss into the mix. Stay tuned for LOTS of forthcoming yarn!

In related news, I finished spinning the fiber that Sarah dyed and gave me. It came out so much nicer than my green crap. What a difference the original fiber makes! I will take pictures of that once I have washed it and made it all nice and bouncy.

Annigan goes to the farm

Forget a weekend at a swanky spa, the three days I spent with Sarah on her homestead were exactly the relaxation and inspiration I needed. I had the best time there!

Of course, I got to meet Sarah's darling husband, who is an absolute dear. And then there were all her critters. Since meeting Sarah I have been anxious to meet her boys - the pygora goats.
Here are Darwin, Spike, and Mr. Nibbles, ready to greet us and hoping for treats.
Nibbles is clearly the self-appointed star of the show, and is eager to make friends. He gave me a good tasting, including testing the rivets on my jeans and trying out the zipper on my sweatshirt. He is a huge ham and attention hog, and is a gregarious bundle of fleecy friendliness! All three goats are absolutely cute and charming, and I am now completely certain that I will one day fulfill my longstanding desire to have some fellows of my own.
I was also won over by the chickens. Her flock includes several breeds, all of whom are perfectly lovely ladies. I had a great time feeding them and watching them do their cute chicken thing. They are much friendlier than I ever thought chickens to be!
And her muscovy ducks are perfect examples of sweet duckiness! Here are the three grown-ups, Mopsy, Cottontail and Flopsy,
and these are the three babies. All are just the bees knees, and the most puppy-like birds you can imagine! They loyally follow their people around, wagging their tails and hoping for treats and affection.
Clearly, affection is something that is generously handed out on the homestead, as all of Sarah's animals are gentle, friendly, and absolutely sociable.

Truly, I have been re-inspired to pursue our dream of one day owning our own small farm; now that I've seen that it can be done, and in such a charming way.

On Saturday, we drove down to Canby, OR, to the annual Flock and Fiber festival. It was a fiber extraveganza! There were tons of fiber-bearing animals, including goats, sheep, alpacas, llamas and bunnies, all looking lovely in their finery. There were lots of people spinning, on wheels and hand spindles. And there was ample opportunity to buy all manners of fiber, from raw, unwashed fleece all the way to lovely hand-dyed and spun yarn. I bought several types of fiber to spin, including some vibrant merino-tencel, some yak fleece and a cotton/hemp blend in their natural colors, some basic wool, and a "mystery batt" of mixed ends. (I will photograph all in the near future.) Sarah gave me a refresher course in spinning, as well as some gorgeous fiber to practice on, and I am well on my way to spin-tasticness!

At the festival there was also a show of fiber creations. There were everything from basic scarves to this - a life-sized family made of felted wool. It was amazing, as well as a bit puzzling. (Yes, the woman is breastfeeding.) I don't think that project would have ever occurred to me. Anyway - it was quite the display. While the fiber-arts show was very nice, with a few impressive pieces, I was firmly convinced that Sarah needs to submit several of her creations - most especially her yarn! - next year, as she would definitely clean up the competition!

It was a truly fantastic weekend, and I enjoyed every moment. I am so grateful to my lovely hosts, and hope to be able to visit again!

You spin me right round

This weekend, when I wasn't blowing my nose, I worked on some yarn with my hand spindle. I've been trying to learn how to spin, and it seems like practicing from time to time is a good idea. This green yarn is what I'm working on right now. It's a little tight, and very thin. I know it'll puff up a bit when it's washed, but I'm not sure I like it so thin. It's the neurotic control freak in me that leads to work coming out too tightly wound, but it's also that lovely characteristic that prevents me from being pleased with my first attempts and their sorry results. Meh.
This pink yarn was my first attempt at spinning. I used some roving I had left over from a needle felting project, which is how I came to make hot pink yarn. It was fairly tight to begin with, and washing puffed it up, so maybe I'm on the right track. If I can just give up the idea of making yarn of a consistent thickness and be happy with thick and thin yarn, I'll be all set.

I'm going down to Oregon this weekend, to go to a Flock and Fiber festival with my friend Sarah. (Of Sarah's Homestead fame.) I'm thrilled that I'll finally get to see her homestead and meet all her critters! And we're sure to have a blast at the festival! Since it's my first one, I'm not sure what to expect. But I do believe I'll be coming home with more than a little fiber and/or yarn to keep me busy for a while.

In the knit of things

I finished my first pair of socks yesterday. Whee! They don't match exactly, but whatever. Live and learn, right? Now I'm working on a little cozy for my camera, so that it doesn't get scratched when I'm toting it around without its bulky case. Next I think I'll be working on another pair of socks, this time with fabulous yarn from Hello Yarn. I can only wish that I had this much drive and energy for doing my school work. I would have been done years ago!

Remember my dumbness

Yesterday, while at a flea market, I found a little book of autographs. It belonged to a Lucille Winifred Corson, and contains notes from her friends and commrades in high school. She was in the Everett, WA, class of 1930, I think.

In contrast to the half-witted nonsense scrawled in the high school yearbooks of the present (unless I am mistaken and things have improved dramatically since 1995), this little book is full of charming little poems. There are a few "roses are red..." lines, but most look to be either original, or passages that have fallen out of common use.

Here is one I particularly like:
"Isn't it strange that princes and kings
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings
And common folks like you and me
Are builders for Eternity?

To each is given a set of tools
A shapeless mass and a book of rules
And each must make ere life has flown
A stumbling block or a stepping stone."
- Annabelle Giloery February 18, 1926

Another of my favorite entries:
"Dear Lucille -
Just remember me is all I ask.
Your friend,
Della Eisenman
Remember my dumbness" May 18, 1928

I hope that if Lucille is still alive, she remembers fondly Della's dumbness.

On the bright side

This is me with my husband, back in June, at the annual Solstice celebration. H is the most wonderful husband, and my best friend. We've been together for 13 years now (married for 7), and each year seems to get better. Oh, we've had up years and down years, but as far as our relationship goes... through a combination of luck and devotion, we've continued to grow together through the years.

I found H at summer camp when I was 15 and he was 16. We've been together ever since. Really. In case you haven't heard this charming story before, we were long-distance for 6 years. We grew up on opposite sides of NY and then went to college on opposite sides of PA. Got married after he graduated from college, 1 semester before I did. While being a virtual child bride was all well and good, there really should be a law against letting 19 year olds register for housewares. Our marriage is great, we just hate our dishes with a virulent passion.

Anyway, he's a keeper, and it's a darn good thing. We're much too interdependent to ever try to navigate these waters alone.

Then again, maybe not

Being a graduate student for the past 6 years has left me with one defining and undesirable character trait - I am completely unsure of myself. I just cannot trust my own judgement on anything. This has come from years of conditioning to question everything, and that most things I say are just plain wrong. Nevermind that this is mostly subjective wrongness, as determined by my advisor, wrong is wrong. I have developed a loud and omnipresent voice in my mind that questions the veracity, factual basis, and certitude of everything between the moments of conceiving of, and voicing, a thought. As such, I am left with few opinions that I am certain of. This is probably a good thing - as being too hard headed about anything is probably a dangerous position to take. But I also don't trust myself enough to make many definitive statements or take decisive action. This is bothersome. Take this morning for example: I have already emailed back and forth with my friend Adrian a half-dozen times simply on template questions pertaining to this blog. She, incidently, is the same guru that I turn to with knitting questions that I should be able to answer for myself. She is a saint and hasn't refused an answer yet, but I certainly feel like an ass for having to ask for instructions for every little project I want to do. *sigh* Will I ever learn to trust my own judgement again? This, and other frustrations stemming from being an eternal student, will probably surface quite a bit here. I'm feeling particularly wobbly today.

A Reasonable Likeness

After a nightmarish struggle of herculean magnitude, I was able to produce that fancy little icon of myself. I think I'm supposed to notify you, for legal purposes, that I used the illustrator at Abi-Station. It wasn't so hard to make, just to deal with once I had. Anyhow, now you know, so go make yourself one!

Latest creation

This is a baby sweater I made for a college friend's new little one. Hopefully it will fit him, as I kind of winged it in enlarging a pattern for a newborn. It's got lots of love in it, which I figure will cover a world of other ills, right? Welcome to the world, little Ben. Be warm!

Genesis

This being my first blog post, it's mostly just a test. I thought I'd start this for several reasons. Primarily, I'm the only person left on earth without a blog, so y'know... Also, I figured it would be a good spot to stash all of those thoughts I don't have another place for. We'll see how this goes. I'm not good with journalling, so it will probably be spotty at best. Here we go...