I was never very good at charades, which is too bad. I could use the skills today, since I have no voice. When I fell asleep last night, I had hopes of waking up this morning and feeling much better. Sadly, it didn’t work out that way.

I know from experience this can go one of two ways, so I’m laying low today and hoping for the better outcome. A day or two of rest and tea and Halls stuff, and with a little luck, it’ll pass quick. If Monday rolls around and my glands are still doing golf call impersonations though, I will be making a trip to the Dr. to avoid the long drawn out full on sick this could turn in to.

Luckily for me, I have plenty to keep me entertained during this self imposed chill out time.

I’m snuggled under my old UFOlympics winner, laptop close by, Halls Breezers to soothe the throat and my choice of Definitely Dead, the One Row Scarf, or of course, Hemlock. I knwo I said last night the Noro was going to become the Silk Delight Scarf, but I just wasn’t feeling the love. I rooted around on Ravelry and came up with this one, and it feels like a better fit. I only knit some last night, and haven’t touched it today – although I may knit a row or three between rounds on Hemlock. Or maybe after increase rounds on Hemlock… of which I only have two left!

I’m also catching up on the new episodes of (a guilty little angsty teen drama pleasure) The Secret Life of the American Teenager since I’m actually all caught up on Podcasts.

If I didn’t feel so crappy, this would be a pretty awesome day. Actually, even in spite of feeling so crappy, it’s still a pretty decent day.

Back to knitting (and maybe some more tea with honey). Happy Saturday.

I woke up early this morning since we have a ton of stuff to get done here this weekend, and my brain isn’t shutting down long enough for big chunks of sleeping. I really want to fall into bed tonight, exhausted, but with the knowledge that I have nothing that i HAVE to do tomorrow (except go to DSW, they are having a giveaway for DSW rewards members with a $40 purchase and I definitely need some new shoes). There are a lot of boxes that need filling between now and then, so getting up at the crack of dawn was the best plan of attack.

It did give me a chance to snap a shot of a gorgeous early morning sky. Please keep in mind it’s a crappy cell phone pic, so it really doesn’t do the shot justice (note to self, it’s time to upgrade the cell phone)

And now, it’s grey and kind of icky outside. I’m happy to be staying inside today.

The rest of this entry is non-knitting, just life stuff. I wasn’t even sure when I would be writing this post, since there were people that needed to hear from me before I just put it “out there”. Now that all those people know, I am free to share…

We moved to NC last October. I started my job shortly thereafter. Here it is, 1 year later – we are about to close on our house, and I have just finished my second to last week at work. I gave my notice last week, after accepting an offer that I think will give me a chance to learn, and move my career in a different direction. I’ve worked in call centers for almost as long as I can remember, and this new opportunity will definitely broaden my horizons. I couldn’t be happier, and yet…

Yesterday was the day I told my team I was leaving, and it was not easy at all. These folks (and some other very special people in the office) are a large part of why I struggled with the decision to go. I will miss seeing them on a day to day basis, but I also know that we will be but a phone call/email away. The agents on my team have so much to be proud of, and I know their commitment and drive is a huge part of my success over the last year. Their response to my news really touched me, and I’m truly flattered by their words and emotions.

There’s another group of people there that helped get me through the day, and I feel lucky to call them my friends. Somewhere along the way, these people stopped being co-workers, peers, bosses, IT guys, etc – they became the people I turned to, confided in, laughed with, cried with, plotted with, and behaved badly with. We’ve shared the ups and downs of each others lives, and I know that bond won’t be easily broken.

So yes, I am excited about my new opportunity, but very much aware of the pangs of loss. I know it isn’t a forever thing, and that we will stay in touch (I KNOW that we will, my closest friend down here is someone I met my 1st day at that job – she left fairly early on, but we still see each other just about every other weekend, and talk several times a week!!) and yet, it’s still tugging at my heartstrings.

One year, almost full circle. While we may seem to be right back where we were last year at this time, I see the progression. A new house of our very own, a new job with open possibilities, new beginnings. 2007 has been a year of transition, but I think we have successfully built the framework for tomorrow, and tomorrow’s tomorrow. Very soon, we’ll get to build around that framework, and fill it with the life that we have worked so hard to claim. And eventually, furniture!

It is extremely hard to be anything but happy today – it is SO nice out!! Bright blue cloudless skies, perfect temps, light breeze – just exactly my kind of day. My only regret is we don’t have outside furniture, or I would be sprawled out there with the laptop instead of inside on the desktop to post this. Ah well, it’s on the list for the new place

See how nice it is outside?

That’s the second to last Saturday Sky I will take from here! Maybe 3rd from last, since we won’t be moving in until the Monday after we close. It hasn’t been a bad year here in our rental house, but it will be nice to live in a development where every house doesn’t look exactly the same.

Since it was so nice outside, I decided to see if I could find a spot to take some shots of the Woodland Shawl – ya know, the one whole pattern repeat I’ve completed? Sadly, the choice of backdrops is limited as we have done nothing to the outside of the house we rented. Therefore, I present to you, Woodland on Pathfinder, a study in still life.

I’ll be working on this tomorrow though, during Disc One of Season Two of CSI Miami. Who knows, maybe you will see TWO whole pattern repeats next time

This past week, two very wonderful women have bestowed the Rockin’ Girl blogger award on me, and I am very flattered. Jaime is someone I have known 7(ish) years now. We met way back when online, and despite hundreds of miles between us, and never having met in person, she is someone I can easily call friend. We share very similar tastes and personality traits, and even though she thinks she won the Vin Obsession contest, I know better All joking aside, Jaime is talented and artistic and funny and genuine – one very cool chick – and I am very flattered she nominated me for this award.

The other amazing woman who nominated me is none other than Kimberli, straight from some far off exotic location (she’s in China right now, and then is off to who knows where!) Kimberli is someone who I missed meeting up with while I still lived in NY, although I am holding out hope she will meander down south during her travels. She is smart and funny, and strong, and loving, and just like Jaime, although I have never met her in person, I wouldn’t hesitate to count her amongst my friends.

Thank you ladies! You both made me smile!

ETA – In my tired state, I forgot that I too am supposed to bestow this award to 5 rockin’ girl bloggers…
Since I know many of you have been awarded, I fear that some of these may be repeats, but that’s ok – trust me, having it passed on to you more than once feels really nice

» Erica – Amazing how a little thing like a “yarn swap” can turn into friendship, huh? Balancing life with 2 kids, a hubby and a dog, Erica still finds time to knit, and be a great friend.

» Tana – Tana and I have only known each other a short time, but the more I get to know, the more I like!

» Kristi – if you haven’t seen Kristi’s patterns, read her blog, or gotten to know her, you are missing out. Kristi is not only a very talented knitter/pattern writer, but she is also a really nice person to boot!

» Nancy – Ah Nancy! Here’s a relationship that should just never work out, but did. See, Nancy is a serious Ranger Fan – and me, well we all know how I feel about the Islanders. By definition, we should be like oil and water – and yet, all her good personality traits overshadowed her questionable taste in hockey teams (I KID Nancy, I KID!)

And last, but certainly not least –

» Sooze – Talented hand dyer, smart and generous too – Sooze and I don’t converse back and forth often enough, but she is still someone I think is well deserving of a Rockin’ Girl Blogger award!

And finally, one last item that made me smile today. Earlier today while we were running all over creation trying to get things done (and accomplished a lot actually) I made my honey pull over so I could take a picture of this mailbox. In a business parking lot!

Still makes me laugh just looking at the picture.

Now I need to finish up the list for today, and get some dishes and laundry out of the way so I can kick back and knit. Every window in the house is still open, there is a nice breeze, and it will be nice to put my feet up and relax.

Just as I was feeling all smug about escaping the annual Summer Cold, I woke up last Sunday moring, and my throat was scratchy. I took some extra vitamin C and let it be. I was off on Monday anyway (use it or lose it PTO time in my office for anything over 80 hours, so I got to schedule a bunch of Mondays off in September.) so I wasn’t too worried. When I woke up Monday morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck that backed up and ran me over a few extra times, I was less than thrilled. It was probably my own fault for tempting fate a bit too much by going to work every day where EVERYONE I work with has been hit hard by this crud. I ended up with a sinus AND ear infection, on top of all the loveliness that is a Summer Cold. Between sniffling, sneezing, coughing and not being able to hear, smell, taste or talk, I have been a joy to be around. And in seriously remarkable news, I have passed it along to my honey, who NEVER gets sick. He is a few days behind me, but at least I can tell him there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am still a little stuffy, throat is still a little scratchy, and I don’t feel 100%, but I feel WAY better than I have been.

Needless to say there has been very little knitting going on around here. I missed Knit Night this week (but will be there next week) and by the time I got home each night, all I wanted to do was drink the Nector of Relief (AKA Nyquil) and sleep. I did somehow manage to crank out the hat to match the Baby Cardi though. After the Miss Dashwood experience didn’t quite work out, I decided to just wing it – I cast on a guestimated number of stitches, knit a few rounds, threw in some YOs for eyelet holes, knit some more rounds and then decreased in a way that made sense in my cold afflicted brain. Then I just made a small Monk Cord , threaded it around the holes, and VIOLA’. Matching hat. (I take no credit for any of that, I’m sure many before me have done the exact same thing.)

The color is funky in both pics, but it will have to do. I gifted this on Thursday (I was supposed ot be at the party today but sadly, feeling as icky as I have, being around babies is probably not the way to go.) I am hoping when the weather cools some, her Mom will share some model shots

I did also get one full repeat of the Woodland Stole done. (no pics yet, sorry) One whole repeat. It’s NOT a hard pattern, but my congested brain was resisting coherent though and refused to pay attention. Knitting the Euroflax Linen probably didn’t make it any easier, but I do like the colors and I am sure once I pick it up again, I will do better with it. I also read somewhere (sorry can’t remember where – see congested brain) about someone’s great idea for using index cards to keep your place in pattern rows – meaning, write out one row of the pattern on each index card, and when you are done with that row, flip the next card. No losing your place or wondering where you left off! When we head out later (2 quick errands and back home to veg) I will pick up some index cards and see if I can make a go of it.

I also got my Fiber Godmother match up, and have sent out my initial Hiya! message. Now that I know who she is and what she likes I can start planning her package. I want to get it done sooner rather than later since we are (100% OFFICIALLY) closing October 12th and things around here are about to get hectic (-er!). This really is my last swap for awhile, I only joined this one since I had a great time in the 1st round about 18 months ago, and since it is a one off swap – a card or letter 1st, due in the mail by Sept 20th, and then the package is due by October 13th. Melissa and Michelle did a really nice job last time, and I know this time will be no different!

And finally, the driveway issue I mentioned recently? It’s a non-issue now. They ripped the driveway up, and repoured it, and it is MUCH better now. I know I have had a few bumps in the road but each one has been addressed and rectified fairly quickly. MUCH better than some of the things I have read and heard about other builders really… We sent off all of our final paper work to the attorney yesterday, and have got 2 painting quotes. They both came in WELL under what I was expecting and I am really happy that we will close the 12th, and one of the 2 painters we spoke with will be in on the 13th and 14th painting so we won’t have to. We have to set up the movers for the 15th (Monday) and then will have the whole week to start to get things settled in. My friend Shannon will be visiting from NY for a chunk of that time (can’t wait to see her!!) and while I don’t know the dates yet, my Dad is coming down to visit too (can’t wait to see him too!)

I can’t believe we have been here almost a year. (In fact, the weekend Mary and I are at SAFF will be a year) Time certainly flies! Aside from missing people (and some foods!) I think we have adjusted really well, and we both really like it here. With getting involved in some knitting groups I am meeting some really nice people (plus many more than there was words to link!) and learning more and more about the place I now live.

House pics and Woodland pics probably tomorrow (maybe later if there is a good Saturday Sky pic to post! – ETA – Posting the Saturday Sky pic now, but that’s all. I need to get a good shot of the 1 whole pattern repeat I finished before I can post it. And since we are sitting down to a CSI:Miami DVD after dinner, maybe I might actually get some more done!).

I’m off to get my outside stuff done so I can come home and watch my latest deliveries from Netflix and knit the weekend away ETA – outside stuff done, minus the index cards. I only found HUGE ones, which will not work. Maybe tomorrow. Dinner is almost ready, and the DVDs are set for after dinner viewing/knitting time.

OK so there’s no roll. But there is focaccia, and a rainbow!

It’s been a busy day. Hair cut ‘n color early this morning, swing by the house to see if our “in writing” stuff is done (not yet, but they promise it will be in hand at our pre drywall inspection – better be, or we aren’t signing off on the inspection, plain and simple. I’m trying to remain cautiously optimistic) We noticed there were guys siding the house, so we decided rather than disturbing them, we would swing by later to snap some pics. Had lunch at Panera, and picked up a focaccia bread to use for dinner (more on that below). I thought I would use my time productively and picked up the baby cardi WIP, and noticed what appeared to be a dropped stitch 8 or 9 rows down. Grrrrrr! I grabbed the crochet hook and even though I didn’t see the actual dropped stitch, the ladder was pronounced, and I ignored my instinct that said something else was wrong. I proceeded to “rescue” the stitch. I carried it all the way up, and when I looked at the row, there was still a hole and everything to either side of the new stitch looked wonky. I clenched my teeth and ripped back 11 rows then put the whole thing on a line of throwaway yarn and have put it in time out mode.

S’ok, I wanted to cast on for another project this weekend anyway, and I guess this one getting put in the corner instead of finished isn’t that awful. More on the new project once I wind up the hank and actually cast on.

The dog was in a very odd mood today – we let her out in the yard for a bit, and little miss toughy decided to chase butterflies, even barking at them! They is the same scardy-cat dog who was afraid of a plastic bag flying in the back yard not that long ago!!

And since I was out there taking pictures of her, I snagged this for Saturday Sky

We planned to have dinner, then head back over to the house to see if we could get some new progress shots. We made a yummy balsamic chicken, peppers, onions and provolone pressed sandwich which ends up being 4 meals (one dinner and one lunch for both of us.) It’s super easy and really good!

After we had happy full tummys, we headed out to the house again. About 1/2 way there it started to get dark in that ominous “its gonna rain any second” kinda way. We kept going, hoping to beat the downpour.

Got those two shots and the skies opened up. We sat in the truck for a few, hoping it would let up (and honestly, waiting to see what the siding guys were going to do – they don’t have much left as the whole lower portion of the front of the house is stone.) Just about the time we were going to give up, it stopped. (bonus Saturday Sky shots!)

Even though you can barely see it in the picture, that rainbow was BRIGHT! That’s a house kinda diagonally across the street, sorta. Then a few minutes later, as it got even darker:

That’s our house, from the corner – at the bottom left, you can almost make out the foundation of the house they just poured on that corner. (Their backyard will touch our backyard. Our lot has the dead end on one side, and 2 backyards on the other side.) All the lots surrounding ours have now been sold, and work is starting on each of them in one way or another. I’m glad we were 1st over there, since we got 1st choice of front elevations (the no-monotony rule, no 4 houses in any direction can have the same elevation)

Tomorrow, I plan to do little more than a load or two of laundry, and work on the new project. I was tempted to wind it up and start it tonight, but instead, Im going to head upstairs, watch some tv and try and get a decent nights sleep, a rarity. I will probably end up waking up early tomorrow morning (damn internal alarm clock!) but it’s worth a shot. And if I happen to wake up early, it’s extra knitting time

Ya know how much you look forward to going away (even for a few short days) but how that tends to get squashed when you return home to a mountain of stuff clamoring for your attention? It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t kinda thing. You NEED to get away but the re-entry can be painful… Yea, that was my week…

Another week has gone by where I have barely looked at knitting, let alone picked up the needles and actually done any. Bad knitter, bad blogger.

It in no way makes up for anything, but here is my Saturday Sky shot for the week.

We ran by the house late this afternoon and found some new updates (some roof shingles have been added, that you can barely see in the shot above. It’s nothing major, but there are a few more shots in the Flickr Set).

That’s it for now, hopefully a better update tomorrow

Warning – this will probably be a picture heavy post, and will have no knitting content (other than the fact that I flew to NY for the weekend, took my knitting with me, and didn’t touch it once.) I will not be at all insulted if you just click on by, honest!

So, for the 1 of you who decided to stay and read, I got home late last night (early this morning really, our flight was WAY delayed and we got in our front door here at 3:45am. We were scheduled for a 11:30pm landing. Seriously.) and feel asleep wondering how I can be so connected to so many people back in NY, and love some of the conveniences and the things I have become accustomed to, and yet, it just didn’t feel like home. That’s not to say I feel completely settled in here, or that I have completely severed all ties with NY – I don’t, and I haven’t. But I can say with unwaivering certainty that moving here was the right thing, and that these past 8 months (EIGHT MONTHS!! ) have flown by!!

We flew up very early Friday morning. We had some paperwork stuff to take care of early, so we got that out of the way by 12pm, checked into our hotel (felt SO weird to be in a hotel! We could have stayed with a variety of people who all offered, we just didn’t want to impose on anyone, and we liked having no timelines, or worries about our comings and goings conflicting with anyone) We went to dinner Friday night with our friends Shan and Bri (and since we have been spoiled by Chinese food in China town, of course we had to head into NYC for a fix!!)

On Mott Street, off of Canal

I don’t even know who ordered what, the 4 of us just split everything

There was more, but the smells lured me into eating instead of photgraphing

I’m impressed this last one came out – I stuck the camera out the window from the back seat as we were driving home to take a pic of the Brooklyn Bridge! No retouching at all (except for thumbnailing for posting)

Saturday morning, I knew I needed to start my day the right way.

I miss 7-11 coffee. I miss 7-11 period! I SO wish they would come back here (apparently they WERE here but all closed? The closest I am told is in VA. *sigh*)

We spent the majority of the day visiting my dad. Sadly, I have but one picture of the time there, and it is a Saturday sky shot.

We intended to try and see Pirates Saturday night, but by the time we got the details worked out, it was late, all the showings were either sold out, or front row seating only, and we decided to just hit up a coffee place, sit outside, and enjoyed the company. We were all pretty tired anyway, so it was a relatively early night.

Sunday, we got up early, had breakfast, and then I got to be super secret sneaky! See, part of the reason we went up was for my friend Joyce’s surprise graduation BBQ. Not only was the BBQ a surprise, but my being there was a surprise too! No one knew I was coming!

Although it looks like Joyce is looking at the sign above her head, she is actually dramatically looking to the future.

Sadly, I couldn’t stay there tooooo long, as we had a flight home to catch. Allegedly anyway. We got delayed and delayed and delayed and finally made it back here safe and sound at almost 4 in the morning.

Which brings me back around to the topic at hand – home. I know the cliche, and I agree mostly. I think there is a part of me that feels almost guilty for not being more homesick. I DO miss my friends and family, SO MUCH. But Long Island? The place I grew up? Not so much. I guess it’s not such an awful thing, I just know so many people who think of the place they grew up with such high regard. I have great memories but they revolve around PEOPLE not the place. I’m just going to keep reminding myself that THEY are what matter. The people who matter know that they do, and know they are missed. If people think I am awful for not being homesick, so be it.

I also did something today that really made the move feel real. I got up, and went to the DMV and took my license test. (NY & NC aren’t reciprocal, so I had to take the test again, and at the discretion of the examiner, I could have had to take the road test. Fortunately, I had a very nice examiner who said he would let me slide this time I passed my vision and written tests (100 on both thankyouverymuch) and got my new license. They took my NY license though From there, we headed over to the other DMV office (you can’t do licenses and registration/titles in one place here apparently)

Yea, I know, you can’t read the plate. It’s a generic NC new tag. At some point we may switch to vanity tags ( NooYawka? ) The point is, it’s a NC plate.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end… (nothing like a trite pop lyric to drive a point across huh?)

Even though I will be playing serious catch up at work since I was off Friday & today, I am SO glad it is a short week. And for those of you who stuck it out and read this far, I hope to have some actual knitting content soon ™ (despite the fact my knitting traveled 1400 miles and never saw the light of day). Hopefully there is enough knitting fodder swirling around blogland that my pathetic lack thereof won’t be tooooo noticable?