keep on keeping on

What's New?

We took new kitty back to the no-kill shelter that we adopted him from. It was a very hard thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. While sweet and loving towards us, he was totally uninterested in our other cat Athena. She tried to play with him, snuggle with him, and groom him... but he wasn't interested. The whole reason we adopted him was to provide a kitty friend for Athena. On top of that he also had food issues. Not needs special food issues. We can do that. But I've starved before so now I think food will always be scarce no matter how often or how much my people feed me issues. It was too much.

In garden news, I finally cleaned up my raised beds for winter, planted two types of garlic, and scattered some nitrogen-fixing seeds on top. I'm hoping the cover crop seeds grow, but I realized I started them very late in the growing season. I know there are rules and guidelines for gardening that, if followed, would make my gardening experience more successful. But the realities of life often get in the way of following those rules and guidelines.

In kitchen news, I've started cleaning out and reorganizing my pantry cabinet. I had tried to use some plastic bulk food containers for rice and grains but they just didn't work. They didn't stack well, and they always just seemed awkward. So I've decided to donate them and use what I have: glass canning jars. They are plentiful, inexpensive (I buy most of mine at Goodwill), easy to clean and I just like the way they look. I added simple labels and grouped foods by type. Now all my dried fruit are on the same shelf, all the grains are on the same shelf, etc. I still have more to clean out and organize. Seeing progress so far helps to motivate me to keep it clean.

Currently Reading

• The Martian by Andy Weir

On the Needles

I've started seaming my Wood Hollow Vest. It's a slow process for me, since I don't have a ton of seaming experience and I want to get it right.

I've worked a bit on my Bonny top while on the bus. It's a great bus knit - simple and easy to pick up and put down.

I started knitting Gramps for my nephew Xander. It's going to be tight, since I'm a little short on yarn, but with some creativity I think I can make it work. I've already divided for the sleeves, so now it looks like a sweater instead of a blob.

Looking Forward To

1. getting together with friends for food & games

project 52: week 44

What is Project 52? It's a little like Project 365, but instead of the goal of posting a photo each day, I'll post a photo or two each week along with a short update. Really I just need a little push to post something every week. Since I like to keep this space positive, posting every week forces me to look back and find something shiny to talk about (ten points if you get that reference). Some weeks that's a piece of cake. Other weeks it's more of a challenge, and those weeks give this task true meaning.

What's New?
I dragged my dining table and chairs outside in order to get a few pictures. That same day, a nice young man came by to pick them up. That's it - they now belong to someone else. Part of me is sad. I have fond memories involving that table, but the truth is that we haven't had space for it since we moved into this apartment four years ago. Yikes. A small kitchen island is getting picked up today by another stranger, and next week I'm going to list our small loveseat. After reading Marie Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I've been itching to get rid of superfluous things in my life. It's hard, each time I watch something that's been a fixture in my life go away. But afterwards I feel a weight off my shoulders. It's a good thing.

Currently Reading

• The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
• Grounded by Megan Morrison

On the Needles
So much is on the needles right now that I'm going to share pictures in a separate post. I'm mostly working on my Earth & Sky shawl and my Wood Hollow Vest, but there are a few other projects sitting on the needles that I pick up now and again, like my Hue Shift Afghan.

Looking Forward To

1. berries from the farmer's market
2. bouldering

farewell September

What's New?
Transitions are always hard for me. September brings the start of the school year, and a big shift from summer life to autumn life. I get up earlier (sort of), get out the door earlier, and spend most of my day away from home. Both of us have long commutes, and long days, so simple things like food preparation sometimes become huge challenges. I'm pretty good at doing food prep on the weekend, but I still have those days when I realize on the ride home that I have no idea what's for dinner.

We've also been struggling with keeping the house tidy, and since our "house" is a pretty small apartment, that becomes a huge deal very quickly. So I looked at what the problems seemed to be, and realized that for many of the things that ended up scattered around the living room, they simply did not have a designated place to be. So I started looking around and ended up finding an IKEA shelf combo on Craigslist for less than half of what it would cost new. Now our commute bags & lunch boxes have permanent homes (not just somewhere on the couch, or near the couch on the floor, or wherever we drop them when we walk in the door). Ahem.

Currently Reading (36 books so far this year - I just might make it to 50)

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - I sped through this book in two days. It's YA, and should be required reading for all middle schoolers/high schoolers, in my opinion. Not an easy subject to read about, but so terribly important.
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan - I finished this book and have already added the sequel to my library queue
• Casing Spells by Barbara Bretton - I had to call it quits. I was attracted to knitting + fantasy, but this is clearly a romance, and a predictable one too, and the author throws in so many quick details about the fifty billion different fantasy characters that live in this world that I feel like she's just sprinkling glitter onto her manuscript (and don't get me started on the fantasy character that actually sprinkles glitter wherever she goes). I'd prefer one or two fantasy characters that are fleshed out completely, rather than a hodge-podge of superficial characters.
• The Movement of Stars by Amy Brill - just picked this one up, and so far I'm enjoying the story.

On the Needles
I finally picked a project for the single skein of Malabrigo Rios I picked up this summer. I couldn't decide if I wanted to make another infinity scarf, a hat, or new fingerless gloves. I settled on new fingerless gloves, to replace the tattered pair I knit nearly five years ago. It's been slow-going, and I've already frogged it once, but I really like the pattern so far, and I LOVE the subtle color variations in the yarn.

Looking Forward To:

1. celebrating Joe's 30th birthday

changes

What's New?

I cleaned up my 'porch' area today in our 80* Seattle heatwave (I know... just roll with it). I got a new bistro set, and a plant stand for my herbs. Of course, it's too hot outside to sit out there, but I hope to enjoy it soon. Maybe I'll have breakfast outside tomorrow.

I used up all my u-pick strawberries making this jam, this jam, and this tasty dessert. The strawberry-honey jam is by far my favorite. It set up very nicely and has a pure strawberry taste (as opposed to traditional strawberry jam which kind of tastes like strawberries and sugar).

I've been so completely busy the past two weeks, it feels like my summer vacation will never start. I've been working at school on my room and my ProTeach portfolio (which is finally finished!), getting my placement file up-to-date (it's been seven years, after all), and staring at all the projects I need to tackle at home. It's a bit overwhelming, really. I'm going camping next week, which will help me unplug and unwind, and it can't come soon enough. I hope to emerge a more rested and centered person at the end of that trip.

Currently Reading

• The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

On the Needles

My Leaflet cardigan is almost finished! I have 10 more rows to complete before starting on the ribbed edge. Then, of course, I still have to do the sleeves, but those will go very quickly as they are only half-sleeves.

Looking Forward To

1. camping with Kristi & Tyler

better late...

What's New?

I've decided to take on a student-teacher for the spring quarter. This will be my first time as a mentor teacher in my seven years of teaching, and I hope I do a good job. One thing that has kept me very busy this week, on top of my already busy schedule, has been cleaning and re-arranging. I've worked very hard to make my classroom a more inviting space for both my students and my student-teacher. I cleaned up a few "junk piles" and made room for another teacher desk. I swapped out an awkward table for a better model that now holds my document camera and laptop. I think my room looks pretty awesome now. I didn't take many before pictures, so you'll have to settle for these.

Before:

After: 

Currently Reading

• The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan

On the Needles
My striped Idlewood sweater is now getting sleeves! The body is off the needles, I've tried it on, and I'm working hard on the sleeves. I think I'll have enough yarn to do full-length sleeves, but we'll see.

Looking Forward To

1. the beginning of Spring
2. Joe's new job

What are you looking forward to?

ten things

In the spirit of Soulemama, here are ten things since my last post two months ago:
 1) I've made huge gains in organization at home


 
2) I celebrated another year of marriage with a picnic at the park


 
3) I picked blueberries


 
4) I went camping at Penrose and found treasures at the shore


 
5) I explored a very small town in upstate New York


 
6) I visited family


 
7) I made friends with Dempsey


 
8) I flew in a tiny airplane mere hours before Hurricane Irene hit the mid-Atlantic region


 
9) I smiled when I saw my mountains


 
10) I knit fingerless gloves for a friend


It's good to be back in this space. I hope to be around here more often. I know it's been quite awhile since I've posted, but I'm shocked to realize a full two months have gone by. My, how time flies.

settling in, one room at a time

We moved a little over a week ago, and are getting settled in. It's quite overwhelming to pack up everything you own. It's even more overwhelming to unpack into a new space. Since I've had this week off from work I've been slowly going through boxes, deciding where to put things and how to best organize. Besides the necessities (where are my socks?!), I've found that making a space my own, complete with pictures on the walls, really helps me feel grounded.

I've been working on the kitchen space.







Not yet finished, but definitely coming along.
And those spice jars all lined up on their shelves? They make me smile.

spice jars

My spice jars needed some help. I've collected all sorts of spice jars over the years. At this point I always refill them with bulk spices, so I'd never get the chance to stick to a certain brand.


After shopping around online to get an idea of my options, I went to IKEA and bought a bunch of their droppar spice jars. I fiddled with some printable mailing label sheets I had on hand and made some labels.


They are sort-of color-coded to match what's inside.


Mostly I just wanted some variety.


I love that they all match, and that I can easily tell which spices are running low. Once we move to our new apartment at the end of March, I'll pick up a spice rack for the wall to keep them together. For now they'll go into a storage bin.