Happy Birthday, Hermes!

So Hermes is 2 today. I didn't actually get him until June, but his birthday still needs to be observed. He's certainly changed a lot from when I first saw him - see?









This was taken the first day I got him - This was taken last month

See how much bigger he's gotten!? His bunny is still one of his favorite toys, though - the bunny and his reindeer. I swear he treats them like his kittens, now. Used to be more like litter-mates, but they didn't grow with him, obviously :P It's adorable, though - he routinely 'saves' them from the vacuum, and if I leave the house, he brings both of them near the front door to wait with him for me to come home.

He really is a total sweetie, even if he does drive my mom nuts with getting on the counters.

Admittedly, as much as I love him, I do hope he starts to calm down some this year. He's a bit rambunctious sometimes ^^;

Anyway, Happy Birthday, kitty mine.

Blather

Two posts in a week?!? Insanity :P

This is Hermes, asleep on my freshly washed clothes. Which is, of course, brilliantly appreciated - especially since these are my summer clothes, which I just pulled out of storage today, and haven't even gotten to sort out yet.

Thanks, Hermes. You're right, they didn't smell nearly enough like you, and they were all woefully lacking in kitty fur. How kind of you to see to that for me.

Incidentally, he's still contentedly snoozing away in the basket - it's not like they wouldn't be covered in fur by the time I wear them, anyway.

I have to admit, though - I really did not expect to be unpacking my summer clothes now. Not because I thought it would still be too bloody cold, but because I thought they would have gotten unpacked at least a month or so ago - along with everything else.

When I quit my job, packed everything up, and moved back home last August, I expected it to take a few months to find a job. I hoped I might be able to move out before Christmas, but I was expecting that it wouldn't happen until after New Years. I honestly expected to be employed by my birthday, though.

Obviously not the case. It's now been about eight months since I started looking (almost nine - I'm being generous). I expected it to take four. I didn't necessarily expect to move right away - despite wanting to move sooner rather than later, logic said I should save up money before finding my own place again, if I possibly could.

Now, well, it's a bit difficult at times to keep my spirits up. I'm essentially an optimistic person (sometimes to the point of stupidity regarding some things), and I rarely feel down. I'm not always exuberantly happy, but I'm usually quite content. Lately that's taken more effort. Not that I've been depressed (at least, not usually), it's just more difficult to be happy about anything. I think that's part of the reason I want to move out so badly - it's easier to keep myself happy when I don't have to worry about everybody else.

But! That's why I've been knitting lately ^_^ It gives me something fun to do and focus on. I finished my first sock last week, see? It even fits properly! Admittedly, it's a little roomy in the toe on my right foot, so for the second sock, I think I'm going to turn the heel just a row or two earlier. My left foot's a bit bigger, anyway. Ah, the joy of knitting something to my size and shape! It'll be a lot more difficult when I try to do sweaters, but I'm building up to that.

I've added a project to my list recently - I need to make myself a shrug. I went looking for one to go with my yellow dress this weekend, and I couldn't find one that would work. It's the wrong time of year to buy one, anyway. But I found two really simple patterns I can work off of, so I'm planning to go find some yarn this week. I really don't have anything in my stash that'll work. Well, I have a whole lot of purple yarn that I got from a frogged sweater, and it would have a lovely drape to it if I worked it into a shrug, but I want a simple white one to wear with the dress. I'll have to see about making myself a luxurious purple one later :P I have a time limit on getting a white shrug, since I want to wear it to Monica's wedding. Both patterns I'm looking at, though, are basically modified scarves, so - really easy. I'm thinking I'll add some seed stitch trim, but it'll probably depend on the yarn I get.

I didn't mention, but I think I'm going to actually go to a yarn shop for this project - I don't think Michael's will have anything that'll really work. It's almost pathetic how excited I am at the idea of going to an actual yarn shop. The closest one is is a good 20 minute drive, though, according to Google maps. For some reason, there just isn't one nearby. I don't think many people around here craft, since Michael's is the only craft store in town - we have to drive a ways just to find a JoAnn, even. So, yeah, very excited about a real LYS ^_^

Also thinking about going to the Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival in May. I'm thinking I might be able to talk my sister into going with, since I know my nephew would love seeing the sheep and other animals. I know she's awfully busy, though, so maybe not. It would be lots of fun, though - and there would probably be handspun yarn for sale! Squee!

Although I'd have to remember not to pick up a free kitten this time around!

Babble

Okay, wow, two months since I posted. You'd think I'd post more often, since I don't really have much else to do. On the other hand, I don't feel like I have too much to talk about, usually.

Do I wish my life were exciting? Not really - I like not being busy and rushed. Also, there's that infamous Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times." The times are quite interesting enough, in my opinion, thank you. I would like to be busier, but I'll just have to wait and see.

I am, of course, still looking for a job, which is frustrating beyond belief, but I'm hopeful that something will come up soon. I've decided to apply to things further afield, so that should increase my odds, right? Besides, I might really like living somewhere like Utah - you never know. I certainly wouldn't mind living somewhere with mountains again - Minnesota is pretty flat.

Besides the interminable job search, there is, of course, knitting. I'm rethinking my plans for Christmas - I am definitely doing scarves for my aunts and grandmother (essentially, all the grown women in the family), but I don't think the rest of my family would really appreciate a hand-knit scarf or hat. And, honestly, considering the amount of time and effort that goes into knitting, it's no fun to give someone a gift they'll never use. So, I'm pondering colors and patterns and such for a few scarves, but I haven't even started any yet. Instead, I've been working on other things.

My fingers have been positively itching to work on my first pair of socks for...oh, two months, maybe? I'd gotten yarn and needles from Monica for my birthday last year - really nice yarn and needles, too - so all I had to do was find a pattern. I finally cast on on Sunday, and I just finished turning the heel on the first one! Yay! Now I just have to hope I put the heel in the right place. I'm going from the toe up, instead of top down, so I can try them on as I go, and I think I have it right....but it is hard to wiggle my foot in there between all the needles. Next time I try a pair of socks, I might do it on circulars instead of double-pointed just for that. Besides the difficulty trying them on, I don't have a problem with the dpns - and it's fun seeing people react to me working with 5 needles at once :)

(The pic is from earlier today, before I turned the heel - isn't it pretty?)

Theoretically, of course, I shouldn't be working on these at all yet - I told myself I was going to finish that poncho, at least, before I did. But I'm having a lot of fun with the socks, and the poncho is pretty boring - plain garter stitch, with occasional yarn changes for stripes. I had been planning on putting a fringe on it, but I might skip that - Hermes is having far too much fun batting at the strings hanging off as it is.

Besides the socks, I've been reading a lot lately - going beack and forth between some fantasy novels and non-fiction books on astronomy, for the most part. I'm a little frustrated with the library right now - I have two series checked out, and they don't actually own the entire series, so I can't decide whether or not I should read them. And they're terribly annoying about buying the rest of a series, especially with sci-fi/fantasy. Grr. I would be fine with just buying them myself, but I don't really have the cash. Of course.

The non-fiction books are pretty interesting. Not sure how many of them I'll actually finish, but they're interesting. I just read The Pluto Files, which was short and amusing, and I'm part-way through a book on Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. I've picked up a couple others, including Hawking's A Brief History of Time, which I'm rather expecting to go right over my head. Thought I'd give it a shot, though.

And knitting books!! I've been checking out quite a few. I did, of course, pick up a sock book - probably not the best one in the world for beginners, but it has lots of charts for sizing and such, which is helpful. I think I'm going to start putting together a list of books I want to buy, too. It's nice to be able to look through, decide how many patterns are in there that I like, and then decide whether or not to buy the book. Well, to buy it in future, anyway. I've found patterns for birthday and Christmas presents for my sister, already. Still haven't decided what I'm giving my mom for Christmas, but her birthday present is already finished! Waaay early, too, since her birthday isn't until August :P

I'd been debating making something for my friends' wedding at the end of May, but I don't think I've got time, now. Especially since the one thing I might have made has gone into hibernation until I can figure out the pattern :P But I have definitely decided I'm going - haven't bought plane tickets yet, as I'm hoping I'll have moved *crosses fingers*, but I am going! It's a perfectly viable use of my tax refund. I'm going to go buy shoes (hopefully this weekend) with my sister. She also needs white sandals for a wedding in June, so the plan is to split the cost on a pair that fit both of us okay. Of course, she wants to see my dress before we go....but it's still buried with summer clothes in the basement. I'm hoping mom and I can un-bury that box sometime next week.

I'm also (sorta) making plans to go to Scotland in the fall. Megan and Monica and Lee are going, and I'm hoping I will a) have the money and b) be able to take the time off from the job I hope I'll have by then. So, needless to say, my plans are fairly tentative at the moment. I'm letting Monica and Megan do most of the planning, but I really should check out some travel books so I can put my two cents in. I really hope I can go, though! I'd love to see Scotland, and traveling with friends is always fun.