Who'll stop the rain?

I really should post more often.

It's been a blah week. We've just been slogging along in the record-breaking Seattle rain, drinking our coffee and dreaming of high-carb snacks and napping. This has not made for the most productive week.

This quarter's class is going really well. The students have taken to their projects with a lot of enthusiasm, and my life as a TA is going swell.

In theory, I'm working on the dissertation. I should be spending more time arranging the intro, but haven't been terribly enthusiastic about it. I'm convincing myself that being pokey is ok, since I'm also doing an experiment currently. The pokiness will not be tolerated (by me) for long, as getting this bitch done and wrapped up is my ticket out of here. And as the news crawl in my head constantly reminds me, being done = getting a job = buying a house = getting a dog. And we all know that that's what I'm about, right?

Tonight is to be date night, although I have to admit that I'm looking forward to sleeping even more. It's such a sad state of affairs around here - it's not as if I'm sleep-deprived... the weather has just leeched the will to function right out of me. I am, however, looking forward to getting in some spinning and sewing this weekend. Watch for a pictorial update soon!

Happy New Year

We had a very nice Christmas with my mom and brother visiting. Lots of presents and way too much food. Hopefully everyone had a nice time. I did, but am now tired and feeling hermitty.

NYE was spent with good friends at a party, followed by ringing in 2006 with my sister and her beau. It was a fun, low-key evening... just my speed these days.

I've been busily spinning yarn on my new wheel, and working on a few other projects as well. Here are the first three skeins of yarn I've made on my wheel. The red is merino, the greenish one is a tencel/merino blend and the pinkish is mystery fiber that came in a jumble bag. It turned out much prettier than the bag of fiber suggested it would.

This is a scarf I'm working on for my indomitable Aunt Eleanor. I'm using this pattern from Adrian, and mohair yarn made by Sarah. Hopefully it will resemble Adrian's a bit more once it's blocked.

I also sanded and finished the niddynoddy H gave me for Christmas. I'm rather happy with the results.

In a fit of craft frenzy this weekend, I also made bath salts for a few friends, and got the supplies to make a motherlode of lavender sachets for my yarn stash. I've not dug out the sewing machine just yet though.

School starts again on Tuesday. Although I'm looking forward to teaching again (and my own class this time!), I'm so not ready for this break to be over. I need another week to get back into the swing of things before I'm faced with students. Just a few more days to sleep in, please?!

I've only got one resolution for 2006: I'm going to write my dissertation and finish this degree before the year is over. Oh yes, I will.

Here's to a great new year!