The sun is going down on Christmas. Emily and her sister are napping downstairs. I spent the first half of the day with family swapping gifts and hugs, and I must say... I'm glad the magic of this day never dissipates. I'm glad that no matter how stressed or tired I am by the time the twenty-fifth rolls around, that I still have those butterflies in my stomach.
I hope that for years to come, I still have as much love to be thankful for as I did today.
I hope you all a peaceful, beautiful day.
This is my youngest niece, Elena, the soon to be recipient of the Baby Surprise Jacket. The picture was just too adorable not to share.
The new bookstore job is wearing my butt out. I have spent the last two days shelving and alphabetizing book after book after book, and right now the muscles in my legs are so sore that walking is a bummer. Worse than that, though, is the fact that my fingers are aching, so I could only handle about four rows on my latest WIP. I've jumped on the Baby Surprise Jacket craze, and let me tell you, this pattern is glorious. Right now I have a garter stitch blob, but I am mesmerized watching it grow. Using Artyarns Ultramerino to knit the thing helps quite a bit also. This is knitting heaven.
Speaking of knitting heaven... after I finished alphabetizing our entire stock of "general" cookbooks today... that's fifteen shelves worth, mind you, I ran over to the craft section and tackled our needlecraft, knitting, and crochet section. Oh, my, goodness... every knitting title ever. Well.. not all... no EZ, which is a crying shame.... but I got to look at (I'm not supposed to take the time to do this) a ton of stuff I haven't seen yet, including Vogue's new sock book. Too much temptation.
The fact that I now work both in a yarn shop and a bookstore is going to be trouble. I guarantee this, people. Here's to hoping that enough of my paycheck finds it home.
I keep hinting about change. There has been a lot of it here lately, which tends to be almost a constant in my life. These past few weeks have been scary, exhilarating, freeing, and prolific. I have been knitting on a more consistent basis than I have in years. I've been dyeing yarn like a crazy person. I've been spending time with friends.
Three weeks ago, I quit my job. "The Job" as I always referred to it here, consisted of working as an inbound customer service representative for a major wireless phone service. It was awful. I did it for just over a year, and I cannot begin to express to you how thrilled I am to be out of that place. I feel, oddly, like I got myself back from some dark place that I was trapped in. I spent my days doing something I hated, and each morning as I arrived there, I had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that can best be described as the way it felt to show up at high school without having done your homework.
I walked out on a Saturday and only went back to turn in my letter of resignation. I have since gotten my job back at The Knaughty Knitter (best LYS ever) working a few days a week and teaching scattered classes. I'm also working at a bookstore, and have finally found the time to set up my own Etsy shop. I've been having a good old time over at Ravelry, and I have finished several things.
Sometimes I can feel people not understanding when I try and tell them how much I love knitting, yarn, and the rest. My goal now is spend a bit more time with people who get it, and spreading the love as much as I can.
These have been some of the best weeks I've had in a long time. Welcome me back.
This is our new cat, Mary Louise. Her presence is one of several new and exciting things around here, and I'm super excited about all of them, and I plan on sharing it all, but I'm waiting for a few more things to fall into place.
Let's just say The Job... is no longer my job.
1. To the left is a shoddy photo of my Easy Flame Lace Scarf. All I have is the cellphone to take pictures right now, so the colors are off and the resolution is blah, but it's better than nothing. I am well over halfway done with the scarf at this point, which is exciting. I'm still not bored.
2. I finally finished sewing up a sweater that I started last year today. It's busy blocking right now. Out of nowhere, we're about to have a finished product. What do you think about that?
3. The new Rilo Kiley record is rocking my socks off. I can't get enough. I highly recommend it.
4. I am not very good at dieting. The only solid progress I've made in changing my eating habits has been switching from regular Mountain Dew to diet Mountain Dew. At least that's something.
5. I hate my job. I just had three days off and the thought of going back tomorrow makes me want to pitch a fit. Just thought I'd gripe about it.
