This morning it was enough above freezing that standing outside for more than a minute was tolerable. So, I did. And I heard birds chirping and melting snow dripping down the drain pipes, and saw the still, giant evergreen trees standing out in stark contrast with the white snow and the gray sky. And I remembered that there is beauty even in the middle of winter here.
I feel happy today.
While browsing the web for the perfect knitting bag – I have a bag addiction, which has been mostly denied over the past several months because I have my personalized tote that Jenny made for me, but it can never hurt to look… Anyway, while browsing the web I found a really neat idea, which would make a very good beginner’s knitting project (hint, hint to the future SnB members). The Hugs for Homeless Animals organization donates small to medium sized crocheted or knitted blankets to animal shelters around the world – including a few local ones. They look like they’d be fairly quick to make, and there’s no need for them to be perfect. It’s also a good excuse to go buy new yarn, since 100% acrylic is not something I have lying around in my stash. Oh, darn. :)
I am no longer unemployed. In fact, I start my new job in three weeks. More on that later, after I’m done absorbing it. I’m still feeling really sad about leaving, but that wasn’t my choice, so…I’ll get over it. I can’t believe how much I’m going to have to get done in the next few weeks – including packing up my office!
In the meantime, I have a play to finish up this weekend. And yarn for two new projects should be arriving any day now. After all, is there a better cure for melancholy than buying new yarn and starting new projects? I thought not.
Plus, I’m thinking of starting a SnB group here with some of my co-workers, both as a way to keep in touch, and as an excuse to knit.
See, I had to get another job, just so I could afford my craft habit.
This is just an exmple of how distracted I’ve been lately, that I haven’t blogged about this yet. I’m an aunt again – twice over! – as of last Monday (no, not the 27th, the 20th!) I have a new niece and a new nephew. Yes, you read that right. More twins, siblings of my twin nieces. I feel a little sorry for my nephew, as he has three sisters. He just barely escaped being the youngest by three minutes. :) I’ll finally get to go meet them next weekend.
Seeing as these babies are much bigger than the older twins, I don’t know if they’ll fit into the gowns I made by the time their Christening comes along…I just might have another craft project to do!
I have worked at this company since I finished college. It’s strange to think that in a few weeks I’ll be handing in my badge. I’m sitting here staring at the massive number of toys, posters, books, plants and just plain stuff I have here, and feeling overwhelmed at the idea of packing it all up and going home.
I think I managed to write one line of code – not even code, just html – so far today. Pathetic. Yesterday’s positive outlook seems very far away today.
Well, it’s official, I’ve been laid off. Not entirely unexpected, but still a little bit of an emotional hit. I actually had to wait until 3:00 to find out, and got to find out almost everyone else’s fate before mine…that was the hardest part.
I’ve got very mixed feelings about this. I actually think that in the long run this is going to be better for my career. On the other hand, I’ve been working with this group of people for three years (almost to the day), and I consider many of them to be good friends. I’m really going to miss the people and the environment – not to mention the E.A.T. team! Of course, several of them have been affected, too.
I think that this sort of thing can be handled two different ways. I can either think that it’s a horrible thing and take it personally, or I can view this as a positive opportunity to try something new. I’m going to choose the latter. After all, I’m not in any danger of losing my house or starving, and I’m not going to have to sell Molly into slavery. But it’s still going to be a bit of an emotional roller coaster over these next couple of months.
As much as I like Blogger, my pro subscription will be running out in a couple of weeks…so I started to look at Movable Type. I’m going to play with this for the next couple of weeks to see if I like it better – who knows, I may switch back. Bear with me while I figure it out! The one drawback so far is that I haven’t been able to export my comments, but I’m still looking into that. Oh, and I thought I understood style sheets, but I’m having some issues with them, so if this looks really weird, let me know!
The show went really well this past weekend. We still have three more shows next weekend, but I’m done with rehearsals, so I can get back to actually being at home occasionally. Of course, over the past week, housekeeping has slipped a little bit, and I have a truly gigantic clothes monster in my bedroom. I think I could roll out of bed and never notice, there are so many sweaters and sweatshirts piled next to the bed! Being the odd person I am, I have a little song about clothes monsters, sung to the tune of “If you’re happy and you know it…”:
Just in case you didn’t believe me about the nun outfit, here’s proof! I am in the middle of hell week for Sound of Music. The rehearsal schedule allows me to be home between the hours of midnight and 7 AM. Then I have to go to work…and straight back to rehearsal after work. Everything I’ve eaten so far this week has either come from a vending machine, the cafeteria at work, or a fast food restaurant. It’s a wonder I still fit into my nun costume…and that I haven’t collapsed from lack of sleep. (And it’s only Wednesday…)
I finished my very first knitted sock. See?
I also managed to cast on the second sock and get through the ribbing and the first inch or so of the leg. (It was a very, very long rehearsal last night.) The weather’s so icky, tonight might just be a good night to put a fire in the fireplace and do nothing but knit…and make some fancy, chocolate-y coffee.
Oh, dear. Now I’ve gone and done it. It’s only 10:30 in the morning, and I have to work all day, but now I just want to go curl up on my comfy chair with a warm blanket, a crackling fire, a mocha and my knitting…and my puppy!