Moving! Almost Done!

So, yesterday I checked in to my shiny new apartment at UC.  I really like it here, except for maybe the shelves being too high and the microwave being too high and some of the cupboards being too high, but I'm pretty used to that since I'm too short. 

The one minus is that I had to cut my stash down from the usual tub of yarn-y goodness...

To this.  One blue duffel bag which fits my needle box and yarn.

Granted, this will probably supply me with all the yarn for all the projects I want to do in my queue in the next 12 weeks... but STILL.  What if something comes up? My parents aren't going to overnight "that gray alpaca sock yarn" to me.  A birth certificate or passport, or some other essential... maybe. (Heck, probably not.  My parents are busy people! But I'd like to think...)

Other than lack of yarn-ness, I'm psyched for Honors Orientation tomorrow, since I'm an OM (Orientation Mentor).  Today was fancy meetings where we talked about leadership, which I missed half of due to drama.

Hopefully after this next week I can get a schedule in place that works for me and my housemates (none of which have moved in yet) but until classes start a week from Monday, I'm probably going to spend my free time relaxing, reading, and knittingunlessmyarmhurtsthenstopping.

The living room table is a good spot for my plants. Notice the mint? I feel like I just plucked a jar of leaves off two weeks ago... didn't I do that? They all grew back! So, I made fresh peppermint tea.

And it's delicious.

My Random Monday

1. This week is so hectic, I'm making this post now.

2. My right hand has carpal tunnel. It started in the afternoon on Sunday, when my hand felt tingly. I thought "This sucks" and complained to my mom.  Of course, knitting is the source of all of my carpal tunnel to her... when I KNOW it was moving all of my crap!

3. Because of number two, I have not knit a thing since Sunday afternoon.  I'm sad that I'll probably have to "take off" today as well, because my right hand still has this feeling like it's caked in mud.  :\

4. I'm typing this with my left hand.

5. I'm not super sad about not knitting, which I see as a really big step for me.  Maturity level +5! Well, I also had practice last year.

6. I'm also not super sad about not knitting because I have so much stuff to do! Don't tell me about decluttering your life.  I'm using the time before I move to RIT to get rid of the stuff that I don't use, won't use, and will only clutter up my Dad's house!

7. For example, there's currently a box that contains four cubic feet of books in my dad's attic.

8.  There is also this in my dad's study.

I planned on taking it to the Salvation army and getting a nice write off, but there are 8 bags there.  8.  I think I'm going to do the drop and dash... erm, well, there's a drop-off point in town.

9. For those of you who don't know me well, getting rid of the books was a big deal. W said he was proud of me.

10. Tomorrow I move into my apartment at RIT... I have all my packing done, but I need to get it all into the car! 

How to Dry Herbs in the Microwave

I've really enjoyed my fresh herb collection that I've amassed on my little front porch - I'm pretty bummed though, because my apartment at college is way smaller! I won't have space for all these plants!

Thankfully, I've found everyone good homes - Some italian parlsey and basil are going to live at my house, and my peppermint plant, but everything else is going to be given away! Before I do that, of course, I had to steal as much as I could ;)

So I went to the store and bought some of these...

... and now, I have these!

From left to right: dried peppermint, Catnip, Fennel and Parsley

I was a little nervous that I would mess up, but overall it was totally easy!

My Random Monday

1.   

This week is a major "Get stuff done" week for me.  I want to work on every little thing.  Erm... actually, I have to work on every little thing. I'm moving out on Saturday.

2.  

I'm pretty bummed about everything.  No W.  No Lotus.  Leaving work.  Having to do dishes.

3.  

I just saw a ten-year-old girl wearing a suggestive tee shirt.  Why am I leaving this town again?

4.  

I turned this:

Into this:

In 36 minutes. It will be the FROG for my old floor once school starts, which is why it's so simple. Each week, a new person that has done something nice (like helped someone out, or done something good for the floor) is given this doll and must add something to it.  By the end of the year it is decorated to the nines! I must remember to post a picture of it in May.

5. 

Why didn't I put my sewing stuff in the living room table six months ago? Maybe the reason all of my sewing has been neglected all this time was because it was shoved in the studio.  Oh, no. I remember the reason! It was because I messed up on every project that I started on the machine.  Because I don't sew so well.

6.  

People seem to think that I sew well, which sometimes makes me think that I sew well, then I sew something and I realize that the people that think that I sew well don't sew.  This puts it all into perspective.

7.  

When I was downloading photos of the narwhal, I found out that I had photos of Lotus that I had forgotten about, so, here you go:

She is cuddled in a blanket in W's arms after a bath. No clear pictures of her face (she was moving around and being fussy) but you get a good idea of her mood.

URG... ACK.

 
This week has been crazy.  No W. No Lotus. Not a lot of time to knit or blog between OT and packing! I'm a little worried that my apartment isn't going to be moved out by the end of next week. I'm a little worried that I'm going to lose everything in the move, and not have time to find it all! I'm a little amazed by all of the crap that I have.  I went through all my clothes (which was crazy! I have so much!) and those were easy to get together to take to goodwill.  All my books... I dunno.  Those are going to go into storage I think.

And my knitting... well, packing away the stash was easy.  It's already in a bin! The funny thing was all the little balls and stray skeins that I squirreled away. A tiny ball of stray yarn beneath the sofa, two or three skeins packed into an end table drawer... it was madness!

Hopefully I can finish this week off with a bang.  I have no worries about work, it's just getting packed up and keeping on schedule! That will be the challenge.  Food needs to be cooked (and eaten), herbs need to be harvested, dishes packed, narwhals sewed, and a thousand other things that need to be done!

But, I do have good news! I got some gorgeous yarn at a festival yesterday! It's suri alpaca from a local farm (Well, local to W, not to me!) and it's a super deliciously soft.  I wanted to make a shawlette, but there's only 100 yards... so perhaps a ciof.  What do you think? Does anyone have any patterns for neckwarmers that are less than 100 yards?

My Weekend in Photos (so far)

Today has been super jam-packed with action! For one, my brother dearest goes off to college this week, so we had a family get-together with hotdogs, hamburgers, and brats.  Also involved were about 8 dozen assorted cupcakes.

My aunt got these gorgeous cupcake displays!

Vases with fresh cut flowers :)

Besides awesome food, I finished something last night! I can't show pictures because it's going into a swap, but I can give a teaser photo:

Also, I got to start another swap project! I can't wait to make this, since it's going to be... AWESOME.  Already, the more I talk about it, the more tempted I am to reveal.  So no more of that! I'm still chugging along on the factory.  The main body is done, and so are the things that go in and out of the factory. All that's left is a replacement panel on the side of the body of the machine.  Whoo hoo!

We also let Lotus run free in one of our garden boxes.  It was a closely supervised freedom, of course, with photos. I had visions of my cute little hedgie among the flowers, but she had different ideas.  She rolled in the dirt and anointed herself with it, which was still cute! Then she hid under the lilies, digging and chasing bugs.  She got one at one point!

She was so dirty afterwards though! I'm happy my mom and aunt don't use fertilizers or any other additives in their soil, so my happy hedgie can roll in it.  She was super excited to get dirty... dunno how she'll feel about a bath that's coming though! This picture illustrates half the horror.

It was hard to get good ones, she was running around so!

And then when we picked her up, she was grumpy again.

Maybe next time I'll get some pics with flowers and some lovely grass! I can dream.

Oh, also... I finally took pictures of the owls! My plan is to start test knitting sometime this week. I have to get in touch with the few people that have mentioned test knitting to me, but I think that it's the more the merrier.  If you're interested, let me know :)

The Last Week of W.

So, this weekend W is packing up and leaving! He's doing some excellent things for an excellent theatre production, but I'm going to miss him. That said, we're making the most of the week and having every night be something special! Last night we drove to Wal*mart and ate at Applebees.  Tonight, we're going to have a roast chicken dinner with green bean casserole.

I'm going to miss my boyfriend for so many reasons. He's my best friend, and having him stay with me has been the best part of a pretty already awesome summer. Also, who else washes my dishes and gives my hedgehog a bath!?

Erm... that sounded like a euphemism, but wasn't.

Anyway, I want to finish my tiny factory by Friday at the latest! It's already looking more factory-esque.

It needs a panel and a gauge on the front still, which is going to be crazy.  Plus, all the little things that come out of it! We have decided that it's going to make penguins... Yikes! Wish me luck! :X