Hiking

This weekend we took the Monkey hiking in Alta. He does better and better while we are out, but still does a considerable amount of sniveling while being forced to walk uphill. I think he's so happy to have Marc around all the time that he wants to constantly be carried by him. We saw hummingbirds and squirrels and a pica that a clueless youth group was absolutely delighted to see, as they all thought it was a beaver. No moose on our trip, the Cecret lake trail is waaaaaay to crowded for them. Too crowded for me too, but it still is a beautiful area so I'll put up with the crowds once a year or so. The Project that Would Not End came too, and enjoyed the amazing wildflowers that still blanket the mountains.

Hurray!

We are finally home and back to normal after the Bar exam, which took us to Boise for 5 days. I'm really glad to be back home, and the monkey is too, based on his much improved behavior. Still broke, still unemployed, still have to move by the end of August, but I'm focusing on the fun stuff that we get to do while we have a lot of free time together. I'm even getting some knitting done! Still clicking away on The Project That Will Never End (aka Shetland tea shawl), working on a sock for Christmas, and finished a Sophie bag a week or so ago.

Pattern: Sophie from MagKnits
Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Winter Night
Alterations: I cast on 50 stitches instead of 39, because I carry around a lot of stuff for the Monkey. I followed the pattern for decrease rows, but knit an extra 8 or 9 rows after the last decrease. I made the handle longer too.
In retrospect I probably didn't need to make the bag bigger since it has become a project bag for The Project That Will Never End. I will definitely re-block and maybe further felt the bag in order to make is a little more tapered towards the top.

I crave the normal

I will start updating this again with some frequency in a little less than a week, when my life returns to as normal and predictable as it ever is. But for now, it is going to remain a little erratic.
For those interested in my band, we are playing tonight at a club called The Circuit (7711 South 700 West). We'll be up at around 9:00pm. If you are interested in going, I've scanned in a sheet of discount passes that will get you in the door for just $5. Just print them out and please be sure to write Lucky Dragon - Erin on the back of the pass. Streetlight Silhouette, Blame the Sea and 4 Saken 1 will be playing too, so it should be a really good show. This is the first all-ages show we will have played (read: non-bar) so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I hope to see you there!

Dry those eyes!

I just finished reading Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears. My goodness she is a hoot. I will probably not use any of her sweater patterns anytime soon--I fear no seams and think set-in sleeves look best, but her overall knitting advice is very sound and practical. And again, she is hilarious. Best quote:

Really, all you need to become a good knitter are wool, needles, hands, and slightly below-average intelligence. Of course superior intelligence, such as yours and mine, is an advantage.

Lazy Sunday

Another lazy lazy weekend here, due more than a little to the unbelievable heat outside. Last night at 1am it was 84 F outside, too ridiculously hot to sleep. Thank goodness for air conditioning; wo/man's greatest triumph over nature!
Continuing on my efforts to feed my little family, yesterday I made more jam. Just in case we decide to eat nothing but peanut butter sandwiches between now and whenever we move in August. Three big jars of Cherry-Nectarine, yum! They look a lot like the jars from Thursday's post, only red. I've come to the conclusion that I'll pack these carefully in the boxes that will not be opened until we are wherever the Air Force sends us, probably in December. That way we will have something delicious and homemade, wherever we end up.
Marc's last day at his job was Friday, blah. But to see it with a positive light, now he can spend the next week cramming for the Bar exam. As it is only the most important test he'll probably ever take, we are going to call this a good thing. I'm not really concerned about him passing, he is a very smart guy and great at taking tests. But there still is that abstract fear in the back of your mind any time something this big is coming up. Just one and a half weeks though, and the anticipation is over!

Where have I been anyway?

Today I got up and actually got things done from my list, amazingly enough. I haven't been sick for a couple of days, but it really took me a while to get back on my feet. It feels like I've been laying around for weeks, getting nothing done. And while nothing is a bit of an exaggeration, it only just barely falls into exaggeration territory. I've been staying afloat and nothing more. But today has seen the bathroom and kitchen cleaned, the house vacuumed, and jam made, and it's only half past noon. Behold the beauty of the jam!
Apricot-Pineapple! Apricots from the trees in my in-laws backyard, and pineapple from... Indonesia, according to the label on the can. Global economy at its most delicious! It does seem a little silly to be making jam though, as our move out of our deluxe apartment in the sky looms close in my mind (still a month and a half away, but I'm really dreading the thought). Since the Air Force has not yet decided to send Marc to Japan, we have to make other plans. Currently that means moving in the with in-laws at the end of August, and staying there until mid-October when Marc goes to Maxwell AFB and I float to California. I love Marc's family but still feeling apprehensive and sad about the move. It feels like one more useless step between us and whatever the future holds.
Wow, I had no intention of unloading like this today, I really meant this to be a positive post. I guess what is really there is oozing through my cracks more than I thought.

Ouch

Ok, I apologize for the omission from today's earlier post. I am on pain meds because I have one awful aching oozing case of strep throat, and it has caused an abscess on my tonsil. Needless to say, I feel like shit. I can barely even knit.

FIRE BABY!

Yesterday some pretty cool thunder and lightning blew in for the 4th of July, bringing with it delightful cool temperatures. So we opened up the windows and turned off the AC (it was smelling weird anyway, like something blew into the big water tower outside). Fast forward to this afternoon. Remember the weird smell in the AC last night? This afternoon I turned on the AC and looked down the hall, and there were FLAMES in the air intake. Little flames, but flames non the less. So I calmly unscrewed the thing, popped out the filter and patted out the fire. Go me! Maintenance is up here now replacing a fuse (the part that was on fire). Way to go original fuse! I thought your job was to prevent this kind of fun. It was probably the pain meds that kept me calm, otherwise I might have been more concerned about being very sick and having a naked toddler (he's potty training himself) while my apartment went up in smoke.