The big update!

Happy day after Christmas all!

As promised, I have tons of crafty goodness to post, now that it has been gifted. But first, the exciting news: Nikol's book is out, and my knitting is in it!!

As you can see here the tank and the owl that I knitted made an appearance in the book. I'm so excited (and unreasonably proud)!

Ok, onto more recent creations...

I finally got around to making a Clapotis.
This was a Christmas gift for my sister. I knit it from my own handpainted sock yarn, using the pattern from Knitty.com, modified to make a scarf.
Also for my sister - a pair of pearl and crystal earrings. For my sister-in-law, I made this jasper and leaf necklace. I hope she likes it!

I found this awesome pendant from gNeebo on etsy.com and made this necklace for a good friend of mine.




And finally, I present the project that I was most excited about: The R2D2 hat that I designed/knit for my brother-in-law! He is a huge Star Wars fan, and asked if I could make him a hat like this ages ago. I finally got to it, and am fairly pleased with the results. (Now I have to hope George Lucas won't sue me for some sort of copyright infringement.)

In addition to the glory of having lots of obligatory crafting out of the way, Christmas was grand. We spent the afternoon with my sister and BIL, ate tons of yummies, played games, and generally vegged out. It was a very nice, low-key day. I was gifted with many wonderful things - too many to list, for fear of leaving something out. I surprised H with a beer-brewing kit. We'll see how that goes... hopefully we won't have to sustain too many errors before he gets the hang of it.Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays!

Well then! It's been a rollicking good time in ol' blogland, huh? No crafty pics to post lately, since all of my crafting has been aimed at Christmas... possibly for a loyal reader or two. Perhaps I'll manage an ex post facto update after gifts have been given. And apologies to Shawn, to whom I seem to remember promising a Thanksgiving extravaganza post. I did manage to take this picture before getting too busy & tipsy:Other than that - please use your imagination.

Moving ahead one holiday, here is the Christmas letter we will not be sending out this year:

Merry Christmas!

We hope this letter finds you well and having a wonderful holiday season! It has been a busy year for us.

In February, we went to Austin for the wedding of H’s sister M to P – a wonderful guy that we adore. The wedding was beautiful, and we had a great time in Austin. The city is a lot of fun, and not at all representative of the hellhole that we had been lead to believe was Texas.

For most of the summer, H was left to fend for himself while A devolved into a primitive state as she finished her dissertation. After her defense in August, we had a huge party to celebrate her return to civility. There were cupcakes and liquor! A may just have to get another degree, if that’s what it takes for a party like that.

At the end of August, we spent a week in San Francisco. We saw the sights, met up with a friend, ate lots of tasty things, visited a pirate supply store, and learned the hard way that in SF, all seafood is served with its head intact. We had a blast!

Autumn brought visits from both A’s father and mother. Though blessedly, not at the same time. A great time was had by all, and we just can’t wait to drag visitors through the Pike Place Market ONE MORE TIME!

H’s job is still going fabulously. A likes to joke that he is “curing cancer” – but that turns out to be just the case. We would give you the details, but we’ve learned that most people would rather pull out their own fingernails than attempt to understand scientific procedures. Watch for H on Time’s “Man of the Year” cover sometime soon.

A joined her friend S in September for the Oregon Flock and Fiber festival, where they peddled their handmade wares, including handspun yarn, dyed fiber for spinners, and other yarn-related accoutrements. Upon return home, A opened a small online shop selling her yarn and other handmade curiosities. Sadly, the business did not turn her into an overnight success, and she has been forced to take teaching gigs at the university to supplement the household income.

H has also continued to be very successful with his pipe smoking. He is up to 2-3 smokes per day, and took 3^rd place in a pipe-smoking competition this year. We’re very proud! To expand on his pipe smoking abilities, in October he went on an educational retreat to the Ozarks, where he met up with other pipe smokers. They had a good time smoking and playing banjo.

In the past year, we successfully fought the urges to buy a house and have a baby. It was rough, but we feel triumphant. By not using risky financing options or leaching money from our parents to buy a house, we have gained a tremendous amount of sanctimonious self-satisfaction. It may not be earning us equity, but if you don’t have pride – what do you have? Despite the advice from several well-meaning and all-knowing friends and family members, we have decided against breeding. Those who know us best agree – we are just not fit to breed. Between H’s misanthropic attitude and A’s shaky relationship with alcohol, we feel that this is a sound conclusion.

We’re looking forward to another stellar year. We hope to hear from you, and might even see you sometime soon!

Happy New Year!

Love,
A & H

A Saturday for doing

Huzzah! Thursday is Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving. I love making a ton of food. Whether I'm feeding the two of us (most years) or 10 of us (this year), I love to make lots and lots of yummy holiday foods. For some reason, this tendency seems to upset others around me (my husband, my sister?), but it's my favorite way to spend my favorite holiday. Plus - leftovers!

This year I got an early start, and got lots of yummy bits made today, including 4 pie crusts (hooray pie!) and sweet potato crescent rolls (many thanks to my friend Liz for sharing the recipe years ago). These are in the freezer now, awaiting the big day. The fridge has also been cleaned and arranged, and the turkey is thawing and dreaming of it's upcoming briny bath.

During rising & baking time, I also got some spinning in. A pretty aqua yarn that I'm pleased with. Pictures are forthcoming. And I've been knitting and knitting, but only on Christmas gifts, so no pictures for a while.

I managed to pursuade H to see "For Your Consideration" with me tonight. Although the ensemble was funny as always, especially ad libbing most the movie, the writers really ought to have outlined a plot for the movie. Despite lots of giggles, I spent the whole movie waiting for it to start. Such a bummer, given how much I adore the Christopher Guest troupe. (Note to said: Please stop re-making "Waiting for Guffman" - it wasn't strong in the first place, and certainly does not bear reenactment.)

Halfway through November already?!

It's been a busy several weeks, without a ton to report.

In addition to the biopsych class I was planning to teach, I've also been asked to teach a developmental psych class next quarter. Against my better judgement, I agreed, and am currently prepping 2 brand new classes that I've never taught before. Awesome-o!

I've been a bit behind in the crafty department, but have been able to make a bit of yarn and a few baby gifts, as shown below. (The blue blanket in the upper left hand corner, and the yellow bonnet on the left, middle.)
Other than that, we're just looking forward to having a full house on Thanksgiving. Family + friends + wine + pie = FUN!

Gratuitous crafty post

In and effort to keep up the appearance that I occasionally turn something out, here is a pair of socks I made.

(Shhh, don't tell... I actually finished them in July.) I just forgot to take a picture of them until last week, before they finally flew out to their intended feet.

They are made of handdyed, handspun, superwash merino, using Adrian's Afterthought-heel recipe.

Mmm, pie!

After I mentioned taking some comfort (over our recent home-buying let-down) in an NPR report on delinquint mortage payments and the idoitic borrowing practices that have lead to such a state, H sent me a link to this: Schadenfreude Pie.

Yes indeed, Schadenfreude pie is just what I need a little slice of these days.

As my mother would readily tell you, I'm a rotten person. But, aren't we all, at least a little?

I don't want to talk about it.

Rather than erase half of my last post, I'm just going to say this - plans have changed and we are not going to be buying a house, condo, etc. at this point in time.

Yeah, I'm sad about it. But life goes on.

Progress

A completed project - finally!
I've been working on this pinwheel baby blanket for months now, on and off. I finally finished it the other night. Washed and blocked, it's very soft and a reasonable approximation of what I was going for (i.e., a round baby blanket). Since the little person I started it for is now virtually in college, it will go to a newer little person, who shall remain nameless for surprise reasons.

This leaves me with approximately 25 baby gifts left to make. *sigh*

It's been quite the week, with plenty of emotional ups and downs. These mostly stem from the fact that we are slowly beginning to wade into home buying. On one hand, this is just plain old exciting. We're going to buy a home! But on the other hand, this proposition is fraught with lots of worries and pitfalls. For one thing, we are looking for a home in Seattle, WA. For anyone reading this in the rest of the country, thinking "but home prices are coming down!" - no, in Seattle they are not. Which is why I keep using the term "home" and not "house." The likelihood of finding a house in our price range that is actually habitable is slim. So, while owning *anything* will be good, my dreams of a cute little cottage are being killed by the reality of the situation. At least I have H's promise that I CAN get a dog, even if we are in a condo, to keep me going.

And then, of course, I also feel stupid that we are only just now approaching home-ownership. At 29 & 30 years old, I feel like we are totally behind the curve on this. Getting my degree was what kept us in limbo for so long, and now that I have it, that should be of some comfort, right? Unfortunately, teaching one class while I deperately scramble to find "real" academic employment is not exactly the fulfilling situation that one might imagine. (And then, let's not even get started on what kind of big fat loser "drops out" of science to teach...)

Alas, I'm such a whiny pile.

The good news is that, at the rate that I update this blog, chances are pretty good that I might actually have a house and a dog and 2.5 kids by my next post! On second thought, let's scratch the kids...

Making stuff

I keep thinking "I should post some stuff." Which is rapidly followed by the thought "Just let me finish one more thing, then I'll take some pictures." Ok, so at the rate that I work, I'm never going to post anything if I keep that up. So here's what I've been up to lately. Besides school.

After the OFFF, Sarah and I swapped hand-dyed fiber. This is what she gave me:

And here it is, all spun up and plied:

I call it "Sarahndipity" - the colors are so perfectly Sarah's colorway. I just love it. I'll post a picture once it's knitted up.

I have also spun up a bunch of thick and thin for my etsy shop. And in other craftiness, I constructed a lightbox in which to take pictures of my yarn. I fear the colors actually come out truer when photographed against a blanket or sheet on the couch. Meh.

Oregon Flock & Fiber Fest!

This past weekend was my debut, along with Sarah of Maisy Day Handspun,at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby, OR.

Yes indeed, for the past month, I've been working like crazy to get ready to sell my wares at this great festival. And now that it's over, it's safe to say that we were quite successful for first-timers! We had a blast, made lots of contact with great people - both shoppers and other vendors alike, and sold a whole buncha stuff!

Here are some pictures of our booth while we were setting up. Unfortunately, I forgot to take more pictures the next day, when things were in full-swing!
This table has a basket of Maisy Day hand-dyed sock yarn, a selection of my hand-dyed fibers, and my needle cases.
And this table (as yet uncovered in this photo) has more of my hand-dyed fibers, my hand-spun yarn, and a basket of my sachets. Oh, and those are my hand-dyed sock yarns up on top.


The third table featured Sarah's hand-dyed fibers and handspun yarns, along with another basket of my sachets.


Here is a closer view of some of my hand-dyed superwash and regular merino.


These are my hand-sewn needle cases.
And these are 2 of the 3 tote bags I brought along. Although they garnered much attention, none sold. Alas!

We also featured a variety of Maisy Day handturned tools (nostepinnes and drop spindles). Those were a big draw, as they are lovely, and impossible not to touch!

We had such a great time. This was my first time selling my handmade goods, and it was incredibly rewarding to see that people were interested. I am definitely planning to go back next year!

If you are interested in my handmade goods and couldn't make it to Canby, I am happy to announce that my Etsy shop is now in business. Please check it out at FreshYarns.etsy.com. It will be updated with more goods very soon!

Girly

I'm feeling very pearls-and-Chanel today. Perhaps it is the new eyeliner I bought yesterday... so dramatic and swoopy on my eyes. Perhaps it is standing on the precipice of adulthood (on the eve of my 29th birthday - I'm a bit late in coming). Whatever it is, I'm feeling terribly girly, in that Audrey Hepburn, classic, sexy, demure way.

Too bad my jeans and flip-flops betray me.

Done

Writing a dissertation does not make for a very bloggable life. Hence, my recent silence.

However, I am now here to shout from the rooftops: I'M DONE!!

Yep, I defended last Thursday (8/10) and turned the thing in yesterday (8/15). I have a little signed receipt that says I'm all done! It was fairly anticlimactic. The defense went exceedingly well. My committee was great, and I feel like I performed pretty well. I was close to done with my revisions then, so I polished the manuscript up over the weekend, did a final check Monday, and trundled it over to the grad school Tuesday. That was it.

There were no choirs of angels, the clouds didn't part... I was just suddenly done being a graduate student. After 7 years. The nicest thing, I think, is the feeling of relief and amazement that floods me when I stop and realize that I'm done. I did it. I successfully earned my Ph.D. Sure, that was the whole goal, and I said I'd do it. But now that it's done... whew! I can hardly believe I did it.

And now, onto life as a grown-up. I'll be teaching the same class I've been teaching for the past year again this fall. But I get all of September off. Despite the lack of paycheck coming my way, I'm very excited for a whole month off! I am planning a grand month of cooking dinners, exercising, and being as crafty as I can possibly be.

Woot! I love being DONE!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today marks 8 years of marriage for H and I. It's been a very good 8 years, with each one better than the last. I owe H so much, but most of all, I thank him for the happiness that he brings me day in and day out. I could go on and on and get sloppy, but I'll just say that we make a very good team.

Today also kicks off August. I took a very deep breath yesterday, as I don't anticipate breathing until mid-October now. In the space of one month we will celebrate our anniversary, turn 30 (H, not me!), defend our Ph.D. (me, not H!), turn 29 (me again!), go to San Francisco, and play host to my father. September promises to be about half as busy, which is still busier than most months. My head is spinning just thinking of it all.

Work on the dissertation has progressed (devolved?) to the point where I can no longer make sense of certain sections of it. I've read it so. many. times. I think it's going well, although the anxiety dreams have been coming full force. Last night I showed up for my defense and realized I had to take a written test that I wasn't prepared for. Awesome! I can only imagine that the dreams will get worse as I start to freak out in waking life as well. Wait, did I say "start to"? Yeah, that's begun as well. There are moments where I feel calm and ready, and then there are the moments when I remember that defending one's dissertation does not guarantee passing. I'm close, but with no promises.

9 days to go... we'll see what happens.

Awesome Saturday

What a fantastic day!

I turned in a draft of my dissertation on Wednesday - what a relief! I have plenty of work yet to do on it, but took today for myself and H. It was perfect in every way.

We went to a favorite fish 'n chips stand for lunch, and also stopped by Ms. Laura Bee's store while in the neighborhood. It was my first time visiting her shop... I am now in soooo much trouble! Her website totally does not do justice to the plethora of goodies all in one place. If you are in the Seattle area, go see her! Get yourself something cute and support a local artist!

We then headed over the lake and through the hills to visit some good friends who we hadn't seen in FOR. EVER. R & M, and their kidlets O & M, are wicked rad. It was awesome to see them, and hopefully it won't be so damn long next time. They have 3 CUTE alpacas, who were recently shorn, and I am now the owner of about 40lbs of fresh alpaca fiber. Dude! I have to find someone to prep it for me... and then I will be in alpaca spinning heaven! I totally have to teach R to spin too - this is a ridiculous wealth of fiber and she just handed it over to me!

On the way home we passed a little cherry stand and stopped to buy about 8 lbs of cherries for $8. Crazy! Apparently it was "get fantastic stuff for nothing or next to nothing" day. Woot!

TA DA!

Never underestimate the power of having a dissertation to write as a motivating factor to finish anything and everything else that might need doing!

As you can see, I finally finished the tank. I'm very happy with it. Here's the front:

And here's the back:My tattoo looks blurry there - it's just the picture. I had to do a two-mirror/camera acrobatic act to take the picture... so, you know.

Anyway, my two small issues are that the back V isn't quite as low as I'd meant for it to be, and that I forgot to bind off with bigger needles, so the bottom is a bit snug. Hopefully it will give a bit with wearing. I'm forgiving myself those two details, as this was the first thing I designed for myself.

I've been meaning to post a bit about writing my dissertation, but a) I've been too busy doing it, and b) that's just boring. I'll try to spare you as much as possible. In exchange, you can know that that's what I'm up to when I'm not posting here.

I'm here... really!

Just a brief update, since it appears that someone does actually read this, and wonders about my presence on the earth when I vanish for a bit. I recieved an email from an old high school chum who asked about my tank progress. It seems that Mr.F gets bored enough to follow these things from time to time.

So, for SF, and anyone else checking in... I'm here. And the tank is still on the needles. It was done at one point, but trying it on lead to ripping out the straps to make them longer, and ripping out the bottom hem to make that A LOT longer. So I'm still poking along on it. (The whole project lost it's velocity when I didn't have it done by Solstice.)

Speaking of Solstice - it was fantastic! Sarah came up to join us in the festivities, and we had a fabulous time. Someday I'll get around to posting pictures, but if you're wanting to see them NOW, click on the Sarah link and look at hers.

OK, so where the hell have I been? Right here, typing away. It seems that a completed draft of my dissertation is due to my committee on July 12. Yikes! Yes, I've been working on it for a looooong time now... but I've been poking along. Now I am in the fast lane, trying to speed along. (It feels like I may be driving a 4-cylinder up the fast lane in the Alps, but I'm definitely leaning on the gas pedal, and not coasting anymore.) So, I'm a bit out of touch these days. But the good news is: I really can see the light. I have a list of deadlines, and I will meet them, by god! And then? Then I will be done, my friends.

And when that happens, you are all invited for drinks!

Tank progress

If the micrometers of work I'm accomplishing on a daily basis constitute prgress, I'm making it. Goodness, this is getting boring. If anyone ever reads this, I'm sure they have fallen into a boredom-induced coma. But I shall persevere, just as I shall finish this tank. See, the back is openning up nicely. That's something.



Unfortunately, I keep finding little mistakes. These things happen, right? Ugh - they drive me crazy. Nothing major, like dropped stitches (which I would definitely fix) - just little visual oopses. They displease me, but I'm ignoring them in the interest of time and sanity.

Tanking along...

Here's the latest:


As you can see, I've begun the back split. It's going well, except that either side of the V is in a completely different stitch. I simply could not replicate the lovely slip-stitch pattern from the knit side over on the purled side. Oh well. I am satisfied for now that the stitches on either side are consistent. I'd muck around with it some more if I wasn't in such a hurry. But alas, I am rushed, so this will suffice.

The Tank Rolls On

I'm making progress... almost done with the waist decreases. Once the decreases are done, I'll start the divide on the back. Last night I managed to knit in not one, but two bars. I'm on a mission, a mission to knit.



While knitting in bar #1 (a wonderful local joint specializing in potpies - YUM!), a friend and I were discussing our crafty endeavors. She said that she tried her hand at sewing, figuring she should be able to do something "domestic". That got me to thinking... isn't being "domestic" about running a household efficiently? If that's domesticity, by definition, I have to think that crafting is no longer a domestic activity. Spending $75 and 3 weeks to make a sweater that you could buy at Target for $15? Not efficient. No, I do believe that being crafty may now be considered a luxury, in more ways that one. What would our foremothers think?!

Today I met with a glorious, unbelievable windfall. Unfortunately, it was the direct result of the company my sister works for going under. She's in merchandising for a chichi company that makes party dresses for little girls. Apparently the soccer moms aren't doing their capitalistic duty, as the company ceased to be financially viable and was dissolved. The upshot of this is that the now-former employees were given permission to help themselves to the leftovers. So today my sis pulled up with a trunk full of huge bolts of silks, satins, and all manner of fancy fabrics. For me! She's doesn't sew, so in exchange for a promise of a skirt or two... the fabric is all mine! Oh my. I am now swimming in miles of luxury fabric... I just can't believe it!

Tank mission: day 2

I have this sense that by doing a daily update, I'll get more done and finish this project quickly. Bear with me!

I have finished the pattern rows at the bottom of the tank and started on the decrease rows. You can see the pattern in this picture:

I'm designing as I go, and trying not to be scared. Why must I be so obstinate about using patterns?

Tank challenge!

A little background... every year, there is a huge festival to celebrate summer solstice here in Seattle. It is kicked off with a big crazy parade, featuring all manner of talent and insanity, followed by 2 days of street fair extravaganza. In a city full of summer street fairs, this one is the pinnacle. I love the solstice fair. It's a big, fun deal, and I look forward to it yearly.

Also yearly, I have some sort of pre-solstice freakout about something that I absolutely must make. 2 years ago, I NEEDED the perfect bag to carry (I finished it the midnight before the fair). Last year, I think it was a skirt. I know it needed to go with the tiara I would be wearing. This year, I have determined that it is imperative that my tattoo be visible for the fair. Now, when getting my tattoo, a part of location selection was that it NOT be visible most of the time. So it is in the very center of my back, and never visible. This is the challenge. Not finding any commercial tops that are low-cut enough in the back, I've undertaken making myself one. Not only am I trying to whip up something wearable in two weeks (and I am a notoriously slow knitter)... I'm also designing it myself, more or less as I go. So, we shall see. I will post pictures as I go, but right now it's just 5 rows on the needles. I'm knitting it in Brown Sheep cotton fleece, in a color called "Nymph" - seems a fitting color to showcase my knitting pixie. Here's a swatch:

I really hope this works! Stay tuned...

2-ply Sunshine

Remember this?
It's now this:
At some point in the *hopefully* near future, it will be a pair of socks for a friend of mine. For now, it's a big squishy skein of delight.

In other spinning, I finished up the remaining fiber from my first attempt at dyeing. I am so enamoured of this yarn! Perhaps everyone feels that way about their "firstborn" fiber.

I finally got a bunch of sachets whipped up this weekend. Some will go to a friend, as promised a month ago, and some will be saved for a project Sarah and I are working on. Shhhhh, we'll talk about that later.
Don't even ask about knitting... I'm just as behind on that as I am on my dissertation. Perhaps someday I'll figure out how to wedge 18 more hours into a day... then I'll be just about set!

Much school, little crafty

I've been remiss about taking pictures of my latest work, which should be remedied this weekend. Of course, I also haven't had much time to get much craftiness done lately. This weekend needs to see some sewing happen. I've got curtains to hem, and satchets to whip up. (C.K. - I haven't forgotten!) Hopefully a bit of spinning will transpire as well.

Today is the last day of classes, which means I've been up to my eyeballs in grading and student emails. But, things are winding down, and now I'm getting a bit weepy over saying goodbye to this quarter's crop. (Well, maybe not weepy.) It's been a good quarter, and this group of students has been fantastic. I couldn't have asked for a more supportive bunch to have during a quarter that saw me disappearing not once, but twice, for funerals in NY. They've been great!

In small but mildly exciting news, I'm narrowing down a date for my dissertation defense! Should be the 2nd week in August... though picking one actual day is going to be tough. 5 committee members, 5 different schedules... this could get sticky. But, it'll happen, and I should (*hope*pray*) be a doctor by my 29th birthday.

Little bit of crafty

It's been a slow few weeks. There was lots of catching up to do at work after the get-together with the girls, including a big talk last Thursday. It went well. Or as well as a talk about salt appetite to a room full of kind but bored people can go. For the first time in 7 years, I didn't get nervous and choked up, so that was something.

Around the ranch, I've been busy grading papers, but managed to find a few minutes to make myself some new necklaces.
I've been wanting a garnet necklace for a long time, and finally found some garnet chips that I liked. (Not being dyed purple was my main criteria.)
And I had been wanting to do something with this blue pendant that I got at Parts & Labour in Austin. I love the pendant, but hated it on a plain chain. So now it's on three strands of tiny blue goldstone. It's an improvement.
I think there will be more necklaces to come, when I find a bit more time.


Look at my new toy! This beautiful nostepinde came from Sarah, at Maisy Day Yarn. Actually, her dad made it. If you'd like one, you can put your hot little hands on one over at Hello Yarn. It is beautiful - made of oak and purpleheart. So smooth and shiny... I love playing with it!


Last weekend I dyed some roving, which I haven't had time to spin up yet. The yellow and blue rovings are superwash merino, and the red/purple one is regular merino. I'm dying to spin the superwash... it's sooo soft and silky.

Fun Fun Fun!

Whew - it's been a week of recovery after last weekend. A week ago today, several friends descended upon us here in Seattle for a fantastic weekend of shopping, knitting, eating, and general merry-making.

We started with dinner at Bamboo Garden,a yumtastic Buddist-style veg Chinese restaurant, then moved onto some pool at a nearby bar. We later made it to "my" bar, but not until after a mile-long walk that nearly got me lynched!
Saturday found us knitting, knitting, knitting -
first at a picnic in the park (freezing!) then at Zoka, a local coffee shop. After a strenuous day of knitting, we fancied up, and headed down to the Pink Door, for an evening of excellent food, drink, company, and naughtybadfun.

(Ok, the busboy didn't REALLY get deflowered...)

The night wound up with more excellent drink & company (followed by girly slumber-party style chatting with my inestimably fabulous guest Sarah until the wee hours!).

On Sunday, we headed to the Market for a bit of shopping before most of the girls headed down to Sarah's homestead for a real slumber party. So much fun - but I had to miss out, due to work on Monday.
Everyone but Sarah returned on Monday evening, and Tuesday we rounded out the get-together with dinner at Cutter's, a seafood place near the market, followed by "Fame!" starring our own dear Rebecca.
What fun!

Aside from the flurry of activity, it was just really fantastic to see all of the girls. To see Jen and Carolyn again (they were both at Kansas), Ali, who I haven't seen in 2 years, seeing Sarah is always fun, and getting together with my neighbors here in Seattle that I NEVER get to see - Danica, Rebecca and Jenn... It was just a great weekend.

Time for some good news

Back from NY and posting from my brand new laptop! My shiny new toy comes coutesy of my research grant, which exprired in March. Apparently I had a bunch of money that needed to be spent... they didn't need to tell me twice!

I came home on Wednesday to find, nestled in the midst of an inbox full of student questions and pleas for attention, an email asking me to teach a course here at UW next year! So far, it's only one course (Physiological psychology), next Winter. That means I need to find something else to teach in the fall, then hopefully spring, but it's a start! A job offer I hadn't even applied for! I am so thrilled about this!

I haven't talked to my advisor about this, but apparently she recommended me for it. Knowing that makes it easier to think about the discussion I need to have with her, about my future plans.

A year ago, I was in what I would best describe as a state of grief. I was looking at a fairly miserable run in grad school - having produced, at best mediocre, but in reality pretty weak research. The thought of a career TRYING to continue in this vein was utterly depressing. It was what I had planned to do all along, but I was beginning to come to terms with the fact that I am not great at research, and thus not happy doing it. Who is really happy doing anything they're not good at?? Anyway... things seem pretty bleak when you're faced with the fact that your plans are just not going to pan out. So, in an effort to find something I could at least do to make some money, I took a class on teaching. Not how to teach, but the ins and outs of teaching at the college level. A lot of it was focused on why people might choose to teach (rather than the typical being forced to teach in order to climb the academic ladder). The class was great, and opened my eyes to a lot of the things I value about academics. That lead to me requesting a teaching assistantship in the fall, when I was lucky enough to be assigned to TA for a fabulous teacher who really fostered my interest and teaching skills. That, in turn, lead to me requesting another TAship, which resulted in instructing a lab on my own, which I've done for two quarters now, and will do again over the summer. It's so fantastic... I just love teaching. I get so much out of it, and truly love pouring myself into it. I love my students - every quarter I develop such a deep affection for each one of them. It's strange - I have the usual mix of over-achievers, slackers and average students, but I've been able to get to know all of them, and find something great about each one. That sounds so sappy and disingenuous, I know. But it's really true. I have found what I really want to do.

Ideally, I'll wind up with a full time job at a small liberal arts college. That would be awesome. But for now, I've gotten myself a lectureship, and it's somewhere to start. In the midst of this totally crappy month, where I've just been too tired to contemplate my next move, this happy development has sprouted.

I feel like I'm being given my start on a future that I'm really looking forward to.

Goodbye Aunt Eleanor

Some people have $700 a week habits. Shopping compulsions, fine dining, blow...

Me, I fly to upstate New York every week to attend funerals.

Aunt Eleanor passed away yesterday. I thought I wasn't ready for it. I didn't want her to go. She wanted to live to see 100, and she was so close. I wanted to see her reach 100. But now that she's passed, it's a relief. It's good to know that she's no longer in pain.

I hate to think of the suffering she endured. Instead, I'll focus on the happier times. Here she is last summer, enjoying some cake.



She was the dearest lady, and I will miss her. Be at peace Aunt Eleanor.