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Archives: December 2005

Fri Dec 30, 2005

rain rain go away

high water right, i've been busy looking for work and knitting, but i'm glad that i don't have a job yet because i would probably end up on my employer's bad side for not showing up. i feel like i'm living on an island. the road to town is closed due to landslides, and the creek out my back door is rising steadily.

just to give you an idea, the creek here is supposed to be well on the other side of that tree that's in the middle of this picture. the metal fence posts in the foreground are basically the edge of my yard so to speak. i took this picture this morning while standing on my porch and not using any zoom. the creek only has to rise about six more inches before it starts lapping the bottom of my porch. i must say it's a little bit daunting, and i'm not looking forward to the possibility of moving half my stuff out of my house. the water's moving really fast, faster than i've ever seen the creek here move, and it seems to be rising more as time passes even though it's stopped raining heavily.

in the meantime, while i wait for the water to rise and wash me out of house and home, i've been knitting. this is the sweater i made for my sister for the holidays. it was a great project, and it was super quick! i started it on friday night and was completely finished by monday even though i had to run to town on saturday for more needles and monday for more yarn. i used brown sheep burley spun yarn and bought some dyed locks (basically some wool that's been dyed but not yet processed for spinning) to put the turtles on it. it was my first experience using felting needles, and it was pretty fun. i look forward to more projects like this one, but i'm still working on several pairs of socks and a cotton bistro shirt (that i've been working on for quite a while).

while at the knit shop in eugene i saw a lady working on four socks at the same time using two circular needles. i've heard several people talking about using two circular needles and how it's so great, but i'd never tried it. now i can say that it's pretty cool. i finished one sock using two circular needles, and now i've got two socks going at once. it's actually nice because it assures that the socks will be the same size. now i just need to start on the heels, and that should be interesting because i've never done a short-row heel on more than one sock at once. wish me luck, eh?

maybe next week the water will drop, and i'll get a job. my english and spanish resumes are still available in case you're a potential employer and you'd like to hire me.

Posted by: mock turtle on 30 Dec, 05 | 10:18

Sun Dec 18, 2005

rampant capitalism

right, so the holiday season is in full swing, and the insanity ensues on par. though i'm not much for sending holiday gifts or cards or anything along those lines, i've tried to cover a few of my bases. most of the bases, however, are still blatantly uncovered and will likely remain so for a while to come.

i've been working on knitting mostly, trying to figure out what projects to work on next. i've finished a pair of gloves for mom (yeah, she already knows about them and actually requested the fingerless gloves with the covering mitten bit). i had to modify the pattern quite extensively to do exactly what i wanted to do with it, and it was fun to work it all out. i'm also trying to finish up the sweater i've started for sis that's gone really quickly, but i have to run to town tomorrow (monday) to buy another skein of yarn! i can't believe i ran out of yarn--i even bought more than the pattern called for! i'll try to have a picture posted of it once i finish it. after that, i hope to finish up a couple other projects i'm working on.

eventually i'll also get some of my pictures from spain posted in my photo album here online, and i'll even get some of them printed out so i can put them in my scrapbook. until then, i'm just looking for work. it's not very exciting, and there's not many jobs available right now, but wish me luck all the same.

in the meantime, i hope everyone who reads this has a happy holiday season.

Posted by: mock turtle on 18 Dec, 05 | 20:58

Thu Dec 01, 2005

oops!

it's been just over a week since i posted last, and it's been a little bit hectic. i've been working on knitting several pairs of socks, trying to keep my allergies in check since they're back in full force since returning from spain, trying to find a job, and spending loads of time with the family. suffice to say that i've barely been in my house for more than sleeping and showering, so i've not made any progress on the photos from my trip. i have, however, started to put my travel journal in electronic format for future projects.

so now, an update: thanksgiving day was a nice holiday. dad drove a few hours to pick up grandma so she could spend the holiday with us. mom and i (mostly mom) made a huge dinner with turkey, ham, potatoes, squash, dressing, cranberry sauce, waldorf salad, and a green salad. we all had a good day and, as is customary for thanksgiving, we all ate too much. in the early evening we were all sitting around chatting when suddenly the electricity went out. usually, if a tree or something falls on the line, the electricity flickers, but this time it just went out directly. we were stuck in mid-conversation wondering where the candles were.

everything worked out for the best; we found candles, and later mom loaned me a flashlight to walk to my house. it wasn't too cold, so i just added an extra blanket to my bed and slept comfortably though i dreamed that the power was back on several times. it was surprising when i woke up to find it still pitch black in my house. in the morning i took my red tail boa out of his enclosure to the parents' house where there was still heat from their wood stove. i don't have a current photo of my snake, but he looks a lot like the third and fourth photos on the page linked above.

i've been trying to figure out how to buy my mom the new sewing machine she really needs. basically, i 25 family members were to give me 20 dollars each, i'd have enough money to buy mom her new machine. wish me luck on that, eh?

i'm still looking for work, and i've signed up for unemployment insurance to help to pay the bills in the meantime. i hate being on the dole, but it's one of those necessary things so i can keep up on bills and afford to drive to job interviews. my resumes are still available in english and spanish if anyone wants to look at them and hire me. i assure you, i'm highly qualified.

Posted by: mock turtle on 01 Dec, 05 | 11:08

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