Friday, May 16, 2008

So close...

My sweater will be done as soon as I finish sewing up the side seam, tucking in the loose threads and then sewing on the buttons. As little as there is to do, you'd think I would have found the time to finish it up in the last day or two, but I haven't. Maybe tomorrow!

Tonight I'm going to a fancy dinner. My hair has been looking pretty scraggly the last week or so, but I've been putting off getting it cut. This dinner seemed like a good excuse for a little sprucing up, so I went to the salon yesterday. I even splurged on a manicure! It was heavenly! My hair is a little shorter this time...a little longer than chin length. I was hoping it would curl like it did last time, but it didn't. Oh well. I'll be wearing my favorite little black dress and shoes which both miraculously survived the flood! The only thing is, I don't have the perfect wrap. It's a real pity! So I suppose my next big project, after I finish my brother's Christmas socks, will be to knit a lacy wrap.

Only three weeks till school starts. I think I have everything ready. I looked up the text book I'll need and it was rediculously priced as usual. Over $100 new and $87 if I bought it used. I had a moment of brilliance and looked up the text on amazon.com and found it new for less than $10! With shipping it was $12! Talk about a bargain! I'll be learning SPSS (statistics program for social sciences) all over again. I don't know that I really learned it when I was in Ireland. Basically I just learned how to set up a data sheet and run simple stats. Nothing intricate though. I have a feeling this time I'll know it like the back of my hand!

Enough rambling for now!

Friday, May 09, 2008

Gone amuck...

Last ngiht Lacy and I headed over to Barnes & Noble for a chat and we brought yarn and sticks. She worked on a chrochet hat and I was able to finished all the actual knitting on my sweater. I hemmed the first sleeve and sewed it in. Here's the thing...I totally don't understand the pattern. First of all, I started from the center of the shoulder and worked down towards the front and then towards the back. Seemed like the best way to make sure it was centered. Well, except that the sleeve doesn't exactly fit between the markers placed. Dang it! So then, if I had gotten all that right...which I didn't...there would be about an inch and a half or so of raw edging under my armpit. That reduces the bulk, but it's still not very pretty. To make matters worse, when I got home, I realized that I managed to pick up a stitch on the back when I was tacking down the button placket. I gently pulled and tugged and found the right strnig to snip. WRONG. I know damn well that you never ever cut anything when you're knitting. So now I clipped the stitch in the back and I have to figure out how to manipulate the situation so I don't end up with a flippin hole in my sweater. I was so pissed. Still am actually! Pisses me off even more that the pattern - which was sooooooo detailed in the beginning ended up soooooooooooooooo not detailed in the end. I hate it when people do that. It happens all the time. On the simple stuff like joining in the round, they all remind you not to twist your stitches. Who doesn't know you'll end up with a freakin mobius if you twist your stitches? But by the end of a simple sweater pattern, the designer figures any idiot can place the sleeves in a sweater. Maybe any idiot can and I'm lower than an idiot. Guess I'll have to humble myself and go to the yarn store for help. I hate asking for help.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Wait! I forgot!

I forgot to tell about my new dishes!!! I have some super cute summer dishes that are brown and yellow and have black eyed susan flowers on them. Perfect for summer! I only have the plates and maybe the dessert plates. Well, the other day I was walking past Jan's Alley and she had some in the window! There was a sugar bowl, butter keeper and plates on the table. I just thought it was funny to see them. Didn't really think about buying them. I'll be darned if mom didn't buy the entire set! The entire set of dishes, serving bowls, etc. All for a whopping $15!!! Can you believe it? They're a bit retro and although I think they're adorable I can see why most people might not want brown and golden yellow dishes. Still, mom and I were still surprised at the bargain bin pricing. So there you go...more dishes for me! Let me remind you that I have no furniture and I'm homeless, but I have something like 8 entire sets of dishes. I might start renting them out. Dinner party anyone?

Another sweater nearly done...

I'm so close to being done with my summer sweater! Should it even be called a sweater? I don't know? It's more like a golf shirt minus the collar. Anyway, it's almost done! I have to knit 4 more rows on the neck band, sew in the sleaves and then sew up the sides. Well, and hem it. Still, it's kind of almost done!

Our knitting group might be famous today. Haven't seen the paper yet, but a journalist (Laura Anthrop) came to take pictures the other night. I looked like a grub, but that's ok. Annie and Anja looked adorable (as always). There's a new lady who just moved here from raliegh. I hope she gets her picture in the paper! She's only lived here for about three weeks and it would be so cool if she would tell her friends that she's already been in the paper! I should have grabbed the paper on the way to work.

Today is just gross weather wise. It's cold and humid and just gross. I'd much rather be at home snuggled up watching movies and drinking coffee. Instead I'll be filing documents most of the day. Not my favorite thing to do, but then again it's better than working at McDonalds! I only have one more month of freedom before I start my voluntary slavery in the world of PhD. I'll have statistics every morning at 8:40am. That alone isn't much to look forward to! After that I'll spend the day running a lab-based experiment. It's a component of the bigger picture of the research project. Basically we'll be feeding people and then...lucky me...we'll take 24 hour urine collection and...even luckier me...I'll be analyzing the urine to see what nutrients were excreted and assume the rest of the nutrients were absorbed and used by the body. What a way to spend a summer, eh? Of course there's more to it than that, but I Don't know how much I'm allowed to tell and how much is a secret.

I'll post a picture of my sweater later today!

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Things that are making this road trip great...

1. Good tunes
2. Sunshine
3. Blow Pops

All I need is a lottery ticket!