Dec 26

Christmas part 2 was good for the Twins; Santa brought many nice things they enjoyed. I liked it because they were enjoying themselves. The Paternal Grandmother and I could not stay long with the early fight, but it was nice while it lasted.

Yesterday was the worst flight experience I have ever had. We were late departing, landing, and our luggage was delayed. No lunch whatsoever and the StepMaternal Grandparents were still here when we made it to the house. We wolfed down food and had the last Christmas. Then I crashed.

Dad and I spent the afternoon at the Portrait Gallery. We did not get the chance to look at everything but I saw some early American writers that I knew. All was cool.

Dec 24

It is official: the Crew has left and the house is clean once more.

We skipped the sermon this morning to get ready for lunch which doubled as my Christmas part 1 of 3. Earlier, Mom noticed that one of the Twins’ friend’s mom only had her younger girls. Her husband is serving overseas and her older two kids went to see their dad. So the girls and their mom joined us for Christmas part 1. It was surprisingly fun. I have been completely sister-ed and Puppy is exhausted but it was a good time.

Apparently, at their house they take turns opening stuff whereas this branch of my family just goes at it. The mom just sat back flabbergasted at the chaos. But we do chaos well.

All that aside, Christmas part 1 was good. I had an Austen/Shakespeare theme this year. Mom and StepDa found 9 editions of the 1926 Yale Shakespeare for me and bought the BBC taped performances of his comedies. The Maternal Grandparents gave me the 10^th anniversary edition of the A&E Pride and Prejudice (I was heartbroken when the Maternal Grandfather accidentally opened it and showed it to me. Why would he get it instead of me? I asked for it.). Going with the Austen theme, I also received a day planner with her quotes and a friend gave me Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating as a gag. Mom also found a sweatshirt that says: “I heart Mr. Darcy.”

I really have gotten into her lately and I am not sure why. I suppose that is because I been able to read her without some teacher standing over me pointing everything out. I have a tendency to resent some of those texts.

The Paternal Grandmother should be showing up in the next few minutes. Tomorrow is a tight calendar, after Christmas part 2: Santa, we hop on a plane to see Dad. I do not expect much in the morning by way of gifts, as most of mine was given today. Oh, Christmas Mass is this afternoon with the StepPatneral Grandmother. Yea!

Dec 22

The Maternal Grandmother and I went shopping with Mom yesterday. And other than the Younger Twin spending the night last night, not much excitement has happened here.

The box did get to Dad’s side of the family this week. That is always a good thing.

And my blue cobweb shawl has been started. Glad to be done with all Christmas Knitting and wrapping, but I am feeling tired. I have not been sleeping well the past few nights.

How many days before Christmas is over?

Dec 19

Happy Dance! All Christmas Knitting is finished. As soon as my, repeat my, blue cobweb shawl is finished; I am starting next year Christmas Knits.

But guess what? Grades are out and I have 2 As and 1 B. The local family is really proud of me for doing so well. Wish I could have made a perfect 4 point my first semester but there is always this spring.

Dec 18

When was someone going to tell me Christmas is Monday? Ok, so I knew that but it just hit me how close it is.

I finally mailed off the last of everything that needed to be mailed. I wonder if Dad’s family got their box yet.

The rule is, do not buy anything for yourself after Turkey Day but I had to have two of Hayley Westenra’s songs. I heard her on PBS the other night as part of Celtic Women and thought her voice was familiar. Turns out she sings a duet with Helmut Lotti on his current CD. Anyways, she is now on the Shuffle and will be for the time being. “Wuthering Heights” and “Dark Waltz” are simply gorgeous. Now if only her songs from the promotion were available...

Today was the last day of warm weather for awhile. No more 60-70 degree days with sunshine. This will not be fun.

Dec 17

My guest has left, so I will not be rude to spend more time talking about yesterday at the yarn store. We played musical knitting projects. Girl A who has been knitting a stocking for her sister for the past 3 weeks gave her project to Girl B who works there. Girl B gave the scarf she was working on to Girl A. Then my friend, Girl C was handed the scarf to see how well she worked with the larger needle size (35). I picked up the stocking while Girl B checked people out at the resister. About that time, another employee took over Girl D’s scarf that had to be done within an hour. I gave Girl A her stocking back because the needles were hurting my hands. She was working on circular needles that were 24 inches long and she really needed them to be 16 inches long. I picked up Girl B’s scarf to try out the needles but was not too impressed by them so I only worked a row. Ten minutes later she buys a pair that length and when we left, Girl B had the stocking again. It was really fun to pass all the projects around. No one wanted the socks I was working on, so not a whole lot of progress was made on them. However, the hat I started last night is nearly done.

My friend gave me a box of Earle Gray for Christmas and Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating for Christmas. It is a cute book and is probably someone dissertation in a novel format.

I am about to screen, March of the Penguins to see if the Younger Twin will like it.

Dec 16

A buddy from my former college is in town for the weekend which means we are doing all the touristy things like Graceland and Beale Street. She kept yawning in the car when we were headed back home, apparently she needs to get more sleep during finals.

In honor of the 2 As, I picked up 2 hanks of yarn today. Now what to do with them? I am open to all sorts of possibilities.

Dec 15

If I am not careful, I will only be writing on this thing every other day. But things have been hectic, as they always are this time of the year.

Good news, grades for two of my three courses this fall are up. Both are As. Af/Am Lit is still out, however, I do not feel that I should be too worried. After all, grades are not due to be up until next week. I am so relieved.

Tomorrow, I’ll be sending the last of my Christmas off in the mail. This includes cards and whatever else.

I did not work on the Last Christmas Knitting today; I seem to have lost motivation. Never fear, I shall jump-motivate myself over the weekend. I need to be on the foot part by Monday for when I observe a third-grade class. The elementary school requires their substitute teachers to sit in on a class for a day. No big. It should give me the time to work the foot.

Dec 13

Mom was sick last night, so after dance the Twins came here and spent the night. I woke up this morning when the Younger Twin asked if I was awake or not.

But all looks good for substitute teaching in the Spring. I’m only signed up for kindergarten through fifth grade. So I will not be getting as many days as those who are signed up for the whole district, but this will work out better for me.

I learned how to do a 3-needle bind-off for the Maternal Grandmother’s socks. That is the last Christmas Knit-gift for the year and one of the pair is done. I am so happy, the end is in sight.

Lastly, I actually sent off the box for the DC family today. It took awhile to find a box that would fit all the gifts. I plan to send off the Christmas cards by the end of the week. Fun.

Dec 11

Since Friday:

• An Extended Family Grandmother (Hey Sis, it’s Mimi) managed to flip her car. She broke her wrist and cracked a thigh bone. The photo landed on the front page in the paper tonight and how she walk away from it is a wonder.
• I finished 3 washcloths, including the one on Friday, and a scarf. I did not block the Purple Spider Web but I did find some scarves I stashed back. And as of December 20^th, I am stopping all Christmas Knitting. If someone did not get a knitted gift, they can wait until January. Mom is actually surprised it has taken me until now to declare I am tried of knitting for Christmas—she was expecting it a fortnight ago.
• Went to church 3 times yesterday. The middle one was at the StepPaternal Grandmother’s new church. They had a service on carols and the scriptures that went with them. She had a solo that went over well.
• The Twins’ art lessons ended with a ‘gallery opening.’ It was not half-bad, better than some of the modern stuff I’ve seen in museums.
• Saturday night, I watched Tristan and Isolde, the recent movie. Romeo and Juliet have nothing on these two. It is so much better than R&J. I love it.
• The Maternal Grandfather and I watched Celtic Women on PBS. Wow. Oh, look it is on again. Later!

Dec 8

So, the job prospect is on hold until Monday. I tried twice to get in touch with the right person but she was out both times.

I am half-way done with a washcloth and could finish it tonight if I push hard. The Twins helped me ball some yarn, not all of it needed to be re-balled but hey, if it keeps them occupied we’ll ball yarn.

I’m going to enjoy some down-time while they are bathing. Yea! No cartoons on the TV!

Dec 7

Well, one semester down and only three to go. Now I can focus on the remaining Christmas knits, cleaning my room, tossing out all the rough drafts, and weeding out my bookcase. It really is past time that I got rid of Heidi, The Secret Garden, and others along that line. H. G. Wells may also end up at the County Library; I mean how many copies of Time Machine do I need? Stevenson and I have to talk tomorrow as well since I am rather fond of Treasure Island.

Turns out my Women N Lit prof did not realize that it was Study Day, we knew it but if your prof says show up, you show up. After turning in papers and filling out an evaluation she made up, she lectured on one of my favorite writers—Virginia Woolf. I was one of the few in class that has read the novels the prof referenced. Now I really want to reread them all. But no time for that Christmas is coming up way too fast. Anyways, after we were dismissed a buddy and I went to this Italian place just off campus to grab a bite. We are both experiencing the stress of the end of the semester and needed to vent about life. It was fun.

Look, I made a Scarf Tree from the swing arm of my lamp. And I still have about 3, maybe 4, scarfs left to hang on it. I might want to start wrapping and shipping them.

Dec 6

I spent the day at home writing papers/essays. I cannot wait to turn them all in tomorrow because then it is all out of my hands. Everything I could have done, I did. The grade is now in the hands of God and the professors’ pens. Sure, if I do horribly I feel bad but this philosophy gets me through a week of anticipation.

The County Library had a dedication of the new children’s section. Like the previous Library (the current building is about 5-6 years old), the children’s room is dedicated in memory to a former librarian who ran the County Library for 22 years. Lots of people showed up, including Santa. He read some books to the handful of kids present, which made the Twins actually get close to him. And they took a picture with him. What can I say; we are a family who reads.

After browbeating myself over the yarn shortage of 256 yards needed to complete Dad’s gift; I’ve switched projects. Late in the game, yes but it is the only choice I have. It will not be shipped with the others late this week/early next week. Which means I have to remember to take it with me or pack it.

The Maternal Grandmother is editing the bigger paper due tomorrow, the little essay is already undergone the pen. I’ll get up around my normal time to wrap them up since tomorrow is a Study Day and the only class that is meeting is the Women N Lit (where we turn everything in and watch a movie).

Dec 5

The Lit Research paper has been turned in. It is exactly 1 inch short of a full 14 pages. And it is turned in. How great is that?

My Af/Am Lit Prof returned my rough draft all marked up. I had really thought it would be done by now and the fact it isn’t… I feel the breaking point coming on fast. Most of the technical errors I fixed at lunch and tomorrow will fix the weak points of the argument. I can not look at it right now.

The idiot in my Af/Am Lit class presented his Annotated Bib today. I have never been so happy that mom put me in an organization that forced me to give public speeches so often. Apparently this guy has a problem about doing so. It was painful to watch and would not have been so bad if he hadn’t continued to come down on himself verbally to us.

We just got back from the town’s Christmas Parade. The first one about 7 or so years ago consisted of “an exotic horned dog” and the Public School’s Band. This year, there were about 20 floats and it took 30 minutes for the whole thing. Of course, we thought it started an hour earlier than it actually did so I’m pretty frozen right now. Weather is not that bad, but after awhile it gets to ya.

Volume 11 was so worth the wait. Volume 12 comes out in May. May!

Dec 4

I finished another draft of the Lit Research paper due tomorrow.
Guess what comes out tomorrow? Volume 11! Yea.
Here is a quick story about the Younger Twin that took place over the weekend. For months, anytime the Twins want something that obviously they will never get (like a hippo or castle), Mom has been telling them “It is on the list.” Well, the list is pretty long at this point. The Twins and Mom had breakfast with Santa on Saturday and neither wanted to go; but the Maternal Grandmother talked the Younger Twin into telling Santa: “Tell him that I have been good this year and I want a diamond ring.” This sounded good to her, so she went quietly. When it was her turn to see Santa she told him what the Maternal Grandmother had said. He was very happy to know that but wanted to know what she wanted. The Younger Twin looked aghast, “You mean you didn’t get the list?” He quickly remembered it and assured her he did.
Well, back to the paper mill…

Dec 3

This weekend was wonderful, full of rest and much needed relaxation. But now reality has settled in and I am starting to feel the stress. I have the week all mapped out, but will ignore any incoming calls (except family, naturally). Please forward all mail to the university’s library.

However, I have just realized that I am over 200 yards short of the yarn I need to complete Dad’s Christmas gift. I could just cry. It might even be worth the migraine that the crying will trigger. Now the real question is: mittens, hat, or scarf? Because that is all I have time for. The Maternal Grandmother pointed out that I have a great start on next year’s gifts. That statement would really sound great next week sometime, but not right now.
I am unsure who is happier that I’m home: Puppy or the Maternal Grandmother. Though one of the Twins’ friends told me she missed me. Glad I picked up a little something for her and her little sister; because she just made me smile. The Younger Twin gave me lots of kisses when I walked in; the Older Twin just ignored me after ‘Hello.’

How many trees did I help put up this year? Not even a full 1. Somehow I missed most of it, either I was chasing after the Twins while Mom was setting hers up or I walked in too late to help. It was not intentional, it just happened that way. Oh well. I know it won’t happen again and that I will take part in the taking them down.

The December wedding sent me an invitation this weekend. Without an RSVP card. I asked the Bride’s Mom if showing up was an option. She told me no. The lack of the RSVP card was due to her knowing I was showing up in a dress that is not black. Yes Bride’s Mom.

Last Day in Nov

The Af/Am Lit paper was pushed back to Friday which is a very good thing since she did not have my draft done. But I was able to speak to my Lit Research prof who assured me that I was on the right track for his paper. I knew I was, but I need him to say it. I feel much better now. I did edit most of that paper throughout the day.

Yesterday was a blur. Work on the paper. Knitted in the yarn shop (nearly finished with Sister’s gift). Went shopping with Mom for a pair of pants and found a jacket too. Took donuts to the Twins. Went shopping with the Maternal Grandparents for the necessities of life. Ate dinner. Helped Mom get the Twins to church. Called it a night. Oh yeah, and my soda exploded on me on the way to knitting. Kinda a dull day.

Nov 28

Yea, my presentation over Af/Am Lit’s Annotated Bib is over. And it was not as painful as I thought it would be. In more good news, the Lit Research paper is 10-15 pages and class has been cancelled on Thursday. Since I have a night class, I’ll stop by his office and talk about the paper since I’m about 80% sure I did it right.

Since I have to take a book back to the library tomorrow, I plan on spending some more time in the knitting shop. Even though I’m down to about 8 people’s presents, I am a little more behind than I need to be. I also will finish the Lit Research paper and start the Women N Lit essay.

Last night, the girls came over before, during, and after dinner they danced to some Crooners. The Maternal Grandfather and I also took breaks from eating to dance with them when asked. It was a good moment.

I bought some yarn on Black Friday. Note to self: never again buy ladder yarn, no matter what sale they put it on.

Nov 27

Update:

Af/Am Lit paper: 12 pages unedited

Lit Research paper: 12 pages, not finished (conclusion, defining terms, and more of my opinion still remaining)

Women N Lit final essay: what are the questions?

All in all, I call it a very productive day. I think I’ll have a piece of cake and spend the rest of the day knitting. Ok, so I’ll more than likely take Puppy for a walk and look over the essay topics for Women N Lit. Either way, the countdown has begun and only 9 days left. And still so much to do.

Nov 26

Ha! I actually typed 2 whole pages yesterday on my paper. Then I went to Zoo Lights where Mom paid $3 to have the Twin’s picture taken with Santa. StepDa and I also made the cut, each holding one of the girls. It was worth the entire trip to see him sit on a stool on the other side of Santa and have a picture taken. I’m hoping that makes the Christmas card…some people would greatly appreciate it.

And today, the StepPaternal Grandmother and I went to see the new Bond flick. We enjoyed it a lot. Our next movie will be the one about the Mayans as that was her specialty (for Grad school I think). But our Christmas film is the one about the museum coming to life after hours. We bond well over films and it takes care of any gift no matter the occasion.

Speaking of that particular grandmother, her new place is coming along well. Several people have already planed to rent out the bottom for weddings. It is very beautiful. And since it is the only place this side of the river that will allow dancing and alcohol, she will have no problems renting it out once word gets out about it.

Tomorrow there will be only nine more days before volume 11 is out. That also means I only have nine days to write 2 seminar papers. This should be fun.

Nov 25

Volume 11 of the manga series I follow comes out next Tuesday. I can hardly wait to get my hands on it and devour it in less than 30 minutes. It should be a nice reward for turning in two 15 page papers.

Why do I even bother to try to write a paper during the holiday? It’s like asking a carnivorous animal what salad dressing he would like. But the undertow is definitely about to pull me under, which would be the first in a very long time.

Nov 24

No, I did not start my paper. But I do have a clearer picture of how I am going to write it tomorrow.

And, I have ½ of Sister’s Christmas done. I finished the Purple Spider Web, now I have to block it…weekend after next. Also, another scarf has been made with another about to be thrown on. ‘Tis the season to make scarves. I really should just finish Dad’s though. The list is rapidly growing smaller. I wish my papers would follow suit.

Day ere Turkey Day

No cleaning, but rather productive anyways.

Mom and I took the Twins shopping at a dollar store. The Older found large yard candy canes and put two in the cart “For Halloween.” She told this to us several times as well as to anyone else who would listen. They picked out some good gifts and some not so good gifts. But it’s the effort that counts. I’m expecting a handful of silk flowers or really flashy yarn.

Finished one pair of mittens and found a scarf I made for StepSister no. 1 for her birthday. I think that takes care of just about everyone in the DC family. Except that I realized about 4 hours ago that my Sister would be the only one I did not knit something for. When I started Christmas knitting, she was in the navy and I was going to buy her something she needed. Now that she is home, I’ve thrown something on the needles for her. Should have it finished in time to wrap and ship out there. Now if only I could get through Dad’s gift.

what day is it?

I’m back: after missing 2 classes last week, a trip to the APN, being sick all weekend, and spending the past 2 days writing an Annotated Bib for Lit Research (nearly all my previous research was useless).

Wow.

Obviously, I did not travel this past weekend at all. I showed up to class Thursday morning to present my Annotated Bib for Af/Am Lit…only to have the class canceled. I went to Lit Research, turned in some work and went home early. On the way, I stopped at the nurse. She likes giving me shots, and I did not fight it this time. I even took all the pills she gave me in addition to the shot. Stars, I was out of it. I’m finally back on food, but taste is still en route. This week’s big dinner was moved to our house, which means lots of cleaning tomorrow.

But my Annotated Bib for Lit Research is done. The baby blanket I threw on the needles last week is done. All Mom’s mittens need are thumbs (BTW, the knitting shop I go to loves them: lots of compliments today on them, not to mention how many tried them on) and I am down to the last 3 inches on the Purple Spider Web.

Now, if only I could write that paper for Lit Research, do another draft for the Af/Am Lit paper, read the last text for Women in Lit, and finish all my Christmas knits. Life would be very, very good.

Nov 15

Spent the day in bed, curtsy of a stomach bug. What I would give to hold something more than soup and crackers down. It woke me up every 2-3 hours last night. I did manage to get some reading done. Not sure what I read, but my bookmark has moved several pages.

Tomorrow is my big day, and unlike other Thursdays this one starts with a presentation. Lucky me.

I’m hoping to feel better in time for my weekend trip but at this point it looks like I’m going to have to cancel. That bites.

Nov 14

Today was not the best day ever. I locked my keys in the car and called Triple-A at 0700. Two hours later, they let me in my car. I called them several times, the last time I was hysterical, after all, when I placed the service request the person told me I was the only activity. Amazing how having to deal with a hysterical female makes people jump.

Sadly, I had to go home early, due to a migraine sitting on top of sinus pressure. I hate missing class for any reason. But I was in no condition to attend my Lit Research lecture on Af/Am criticism.

This tells you how bad it was, I didn’t pick up a pair of needles from the time I left Af/Am Lit class early until MASH came on at 1730.

I’m taking meds and working on a baby blanket as of now. I have to get better soon, as I need to write a paper and will be returning to my old campus this weekend. It was the only way I saw myself getting a holiday before the semester ends.

Nov 13

Guess who got up before dawn and got all the classes she wanted? Yep, that would be me. I feel like the world’s biggest dork for being this happy. As of 0700, I have been enrolled in Elizabethan/Jacobean Drama, Medieval Lit, History of Critical Theory, and Research Methods in Writing. Though I might drop the last one to take Rhetoric Theory. Can I handle two theory courses in one semester? I did as an undergrad, but I’m really questioning myself about it now.

The Purple Spider’s Web is almost complete. Only about 9 inches of lace knitting left. I’m seeing its recipient this weekend back at my last university. She has no clue it is for her, which I like.

Well, I’m off to write another journal entry for Women N Lit before heading off to Wal-Mart to replace a taillight that went out. Fun.

Nov 11

It’s been a long, long day and a half and between the Twins’ lack of a nap and their dog eating my knitting needles it has not been a good one. Thankfully I found a piece of sandpaper and the needles can be somewhat repaired. I am still mad at that stupid thing. Guess I am much to use to my well behaved Puppy.

Mom’s doing well; the damage wasn’t as bad as the doctors thought it would be. In fact, if she continues on this path, I’m going to hide for a few hours tomorrow.

I am definitely starting to feel the undercurrent of Grad School Homework threatening to pull me under. Right now, I am just barely above the surface. Despite this, I still love it. All I need to do now is keep going and avoid the panic over grades. Speaking of which, I made a B+ on my second Women N Lit essay and there are now 12 pages to the Af/Am Lit paper.

Nov 8

From 0730 to 1300, I was able to add 5 pages to my Af/Am Lit paper and overhauled what I had already written. This leaves only 5 pages to write, and I haven’t gotten into 2 of my sources yet.

I really want to take Friday off from homework, since I’ll be playing sister all weekend. Mom goes in for oral surgery and will have lots of happy pills for the weekend. I’ll figure it out tomorrow.

Dad’s Christmas knit has been hurled to the side for the next week, or so. However, the mittens are working up fast as is the Step-Brother’s hat. Yea for me. After taking a break from the Purple Spider Web, I picked it back up this afternoon. Only 13 more inches to go before I cast-off and block. I am a very happy camper.

But today was really long (after I did my time in the library, I did some reading and ran errands) and tomorrow is my long day by default.

Nov 6

I woke up this morning fully planning on going to the library. But I heard the rain outside and realized it would be cold. So I turned off the alarm and succumbed to the temptation of a warm bed with my Puppy.

Nonetheless, this morning was very productive. I wrote 5 pages on the Af/Am Lit paper and only used 1 quote. Now I have 10 + pages to fill in with source material and explanations of said material. I feel loads better.

I was planning on going through at least two of my sources this afternoon but then I remembered I still had a novel to finish, journal entries to type in, and reading/summarizing the chapter on Postcolonial theory.

In any case, I am very glad that the paper has been started and I am caught up with my homework…at least as much as I can be.

Mom has invited me to go with her and the Crew (Twins + Friends) to Chucky Cheese Wednesday afternoon. I’ll have to see where I am with this paper. I still have to get started on the Lit Research paper. If I can ever figure out what he wants.

Good news for my knitting: Mom’s mitten fit pretty good, I have to re-knit the thumb but I thought I would. And while I have not found the hat pattern I was going to use for the StepBrother’s hat, I have found one that will work. After I fiddle with it a bit.

Nov 5

Wow. What a party. More people showed up than I expected, but I was really glad they did. Neither family has a whole lot of money they can spare to help my buddy and dude to start off. They got no less than 12 complete place-settings in her china along with some everyday plates and some plates in her china pattern.

I’m looking forward to some nice, quite hours in the library tomorrow reading and writing papers. This week is defiantly a week for writing papers.

Nov 4

This is definitely a weekend for parties:

First there was a birthday party for an eight year old who knows the Twins from dance (and her grandmother knows my Maternal Grandmother). Small gathering, but everyone enjoyed themselves. The cake was wonderful. And I made excellent progress on a scarf, as all my other projects require paying attention to the pattern. Another lady was there cross-stitching so I wasn’t out of place.

Then there was a ‘Season Shower’ (she got holiday themed gifts, mostly Christmas) for my buddy getting married in December. I took pictures while the Twins and another kid un-wrapped the gifts for the bride-to-be. This is the second of many showers of hers I’ve attended and each time, I end up with the camera. Thank the stars they’ve hired a photographer for the wedding and that I am not a bridesmaid. This thing is going to be huge and I’d rather not have to play nice to everyone while wearing a dress that about 10 other girls are wearing. No, instead I’ll be running around like mad helping out as needed.

And tomorrow, there is a regular wedding shower for the friend getting married in January. The Twins have already told her they are helping her tomorrow with her presents; while I plan on chatting up the soon-to-be-mom-in-law. She fits in nicely to our chaos here (translation: she’s pretty cool). Again, I don’t have to wear an ugly bridesmaid dress; I’ll be wearing the only costume I have: a Renaissance dress. If I’m going all the way to Nashville for her, I’m wearing what I want to.

But for tonight, I plan on watching a movie while I finish up Mom’s first mitten. She’s trying it on for size in the morning. It has knit up quicker than I thought it would—always a good thing.

Nov 3

Yea! Essay 2 for Women N Lit is completely over, meaning I turned it in yesterday after spending all of Wednesday restructuring and editing it. I love this part of writing an essay, that happy feeling of knowing there is nothing more I can do. True, by Thursday I’ll be wound up worried about my grade but right now all is good.

Turns out, I am ahead in my reading (just barely) so I can have a half holiday today. Good thing too, around 1:30 yesterday afternoon (in the middle of Lit Research) I started to get a migraine. It hasn’t gone away yet, so I am actually going to take a few hours off. You know, read some articles I have saved for my Lit Research paper.

The little morning job I had ended unexpectedly today; the doctors gave the gentleman I was taking the work his license back. I’ll miss the drive, he was a good passenger. And it was nice to have an excuse to get up early to go to the library. Now it really will look like I’m a responsible student. This also means that I’ll probably start substitute teaching in the local public school district. Fun.

And, I finally get to use my new Reeling Machine (it holds the yarn making it easier to roll into balls from hanks). My KnitPick order came in yesterday. I got in from classes and there the box was, waiting on my bed. Happy moment for me.

Oct 31

This just isn’t my week; I think the shorter hours are starting to get to me.

The Purple Spider’s Web is coming along very nicely. Sadly, that is the only good thing knitting wise that is going for me. After many attempts to knit Mom a shawl, I’ve decided to make her mittens. She’s been wanting them since she’s seen my frustration over the shawl. Maybe this Spring I will be able to do the shawl. I hate the way Dad’s gift is going. And I don’t want to make him something he’ll wear just because I made it. This weekend, I might just rip it back completely. I cannot find the hat pattern I was going to use for my StepBrother. If it doesn’t surface before Monday, he’s getting mittens. Do I spy a repetition emerging?

My KnitPick order still isn’t in and I really want to break-in my new umbrella shift machine.

But Grad School is still going well. Tomorrow is library day. Again.

Oct 29

Yesterday was semi-productive. I helped Mom do a few chores around the house, like move the furniture in the front room to give the vent a chance to heat the room. The house was empty when I got home, so I was able to spend a few hours working on my bibliography for AfAm Lit. I’m weeding through source 6 of the 12 articles pulled so far.

Today I spent doing things with Mom and the Twins. We went to church and lunch before I ducked out to come home and let Puppy out (the Maternal Grandparents went to visit extended relatives and spend the day with them). Then it was back to Mom’s where I helped get everyone ready for the church’s Halloween thing. I even wore a Renaissance princess dress the Step-Paternal Grandmother bought me. She showed up for a spell and I was glad I was wearing it. I skipped night church to assist Mom get things in the house—and have a long hot shower to rinse the sister off me. I love them. Would give them a kidney if they needed it. But there are moments when I just have to take a breather.

Tomorrow, I plan on spending some time at the library working on the Thursday essay, reading for Tuesday, and get to article 8 on the list for my AfAm bib.

Week Wrap-Up

My weekend plans have changed twice since nine this morning. My Paternal Grandmother cannot come to town due to car trouble. My buddy’s wedding shower is next weekend, not this one. The only good thing about this is that now I can work on those papers coming up.

Af/Am Lit—12 articles found. 5 have been read. Due date for annotated bib: Nov 16. Due date for paper: 1^st week in December.

Lit Re—7 articles found. 3 have been read. Due date: 1^st week in December.

Women N Lit—All novels for essay 2 have been read. Due date: this Thursday.

At least I have good music. Hello Dolly, Mona Lisa, Moon River, and the various original compositions on Lotti’s The Crooners disk 2 have been getting me through many hours in the library this week.

I knitting news, I have managed to be 13 stitches short of where I should be at this point on Mom’s shawl. And Dad’s isn’t getting any better.

What would it take to be the only child for 15 minutes? That is all I need. Just 15 minutes of not having to play big sis to the Twins. But I think it is like asking for world peace. Nice to dream about. Not going to happen anytime soon.

Oct 25

We had a good discussion in Lit Research yesterday: whether or not to dress up next Tuesday. My Professor advised that we all dress up like our favorite character from The Tempest since that will be the reading on that day. Then he added we could always do a Post-Modernist costume and come as Graduate Students. How fun is that?

I also had dinner with my StepMaternal Grandmother last night. It was some really good food. I must have gained 5 pounds from dessert alone. ^_^

Right now, I’m in the library and have been for over an hour. In that time, I have managed to find 3 books and about 7 more articles for my Af/Am Lit paper due in December. I feel productive. For my next trick I will now actually read the articles and see what I pulled. But seriously, I plan on spending another hour in front of this computer before I pull the books from the shelves. Then I’m taking a break where I’ll knit some. After that, I’ll go home and do the school work for my classes tomorrow.

Dad’s Christmas knit is giving me a run…the colors don’t look as good as they do in the picture not to mention the pattern. I’m too stubborn to pick something else for a gift. Just hope he likes it at this point. I might cry if he doesn’t.

Oct 23

I had a productive day in which nothing exciting happened.

How Monday.

Birthday Weekend

I helped Mom go through her Christmas closet to see what she has. Then we picked the Twins up from art lessons and had a picnic at a park with the Crew (their best friends, all total there are 6 girls and one little brother that numbers with the Crew 50% of the time). After the picnic, I helped the Maternal Grandparents with some yard work. Between that time and the fund-raising spaghetti dinner, I slipped in some knitting and two walks with Puppy.

Not bad for a Saturday.

I’m trying hard to put an order of yarn together by tomorrow, if only so I have a chance to use my new yarn tool: one of those umbrella swift machines. [It holds the yarn and spins it so you can ball up yarn from a hank without getting the yarn twisted.] The Maternal Grandfather and StepPaternal Grandmother went in together and bought me one as a birthday present.

And how was last night’s dinner? Let’s just say “thank you God for steak.” In addition to the umbrella swift machine; I have a new Celtic cross charm, a journal, and some money. The Maternal Grandfather liked his coffee and my Stepdad enjoyed his six pack. Of course, they got more stuff like DVDs and coffee mugs. Everyone enjoyed themselves very much and we’re looking forward to next year.

Oct 20

I spent over 6 hours in the library yesterday. All I have to show for it is a dozen or so articles that I cannot use, 2 books that I can, and over 20 articles that I haven’t looked at yet. My brain is having problems remembering what the articles I read were called. But I did have good background music and found one of my classmates in the library so I wasn’t alone in all those shelves.

I also had to rip back 3 hours worth of knitting and read the wrong book for my night class. The only book I had to read this week and it was the wrong one. Luckily, I had read the text earlier therefore was still able to participate in class.

Somehow, I did not get to the German I wanted to study today. With the family birthdays this weekend, other things popped up; like picking up the cake.

On the plus side of life, we get to eat out tonight at a very nice steak place. And the best part is: only the adults are eating out tonight.

Oct 18

Going to the library today didn’t happen. I felt too sick to do anything all day. Nothing serious, just sinus and with the recent weather who isn’t feeling ill? Regardless, I did manage to finish up homework for tomorrow night’s class and just finished doing some articles locating on the University’s online library. I love the internet. While I’m on campus tomorrow, I’ll do the leg work.

Mom’s shawl has been resurrected. Though since I have started unraveling knits, I am wondering if I shouldn’t start Dad’s over as well. The color combination really worries me and I am not sure if he will even like it at this point. Just something else to think about.

Mistakes

Ok, big mixed feelings about Fall Break. It was wonderful to sleep in and I was looking forward to getting a lot done on Mom’s Christmas knit. Then I realized all the little mistakes I had made had added up to one big tangle. So after knitting 2/3 of the shawl knitted, I had to start all over.

Why can I never remember: some mistakes cannot be worked around?

I’ll log in some time at the library tomorrow morning, then try again. This time, it will be simpler.

For now, I’m going to have a large bowl of orange sorbet.

Just Another Monday

Yea for Fall Break. Too bad I’ve spent the last hour researching for different papers. But before that, I was reading The Bluest Eyes for my Women in Lit class. Wonderful language, I am just tired of reading. I know I’m logging library hours Wednesday and Thursday, but I wanted to see what I could find before hand.

It has been a nasty, blistery day all day. Being Monday makes it feel even worse than it is. The kind of weather ya just wanna fall asleep and miss altogether. Things should warm up later in the week, until then I’m drinking lots of hot chocolate.

On the plus side, reservations have been made for Friday’s family birthday dinner and tickets have been bought for a local school’s fundraising spaghetti dinner. We will be eating very well this weekend.

Life Update

Someone please pass the whiskey. I’ve been at Mom’s since about 11, getting ready for a fall party for preschoolers, having the party, then cleaning up afterwards. I am so tired.

Yesterday was pretty cool, did some chores around the house and goofed off.

Thursday’s classes were wonderful. Each of the three just reinforced that I am in the right department. It was disheartening that my paper received a B while the two girls beside me (who wrote their papers at the last minute) both made an A. But that is not that unusual. And I like starting out on a B; it lets me know exactly what they are looking for; no guessing required. Plus, all my journals for that class have done very well. Nothing to worry over yet.

After looking at knitting patterns for over two weeks, I have finally started on Dad’s Christmas knit. I hope it looks as good as it did on paper. Not that things have fallen apart in application before, but it is a fact of life.

I am going to take a bath; hopefully this will help with all the hay I am still finding in my hair.

A Better Day

In sharp contrast to yesterday, I feel like it should be Friday. I ran the needed and not really errands this morning (like digging up my immunization record and walking Puppy). Finished reading the novel Unless by Carol Shields for my Women in Lit class tomorrow night. Did the last journal entry for that class. Read the chapter in Peter Berry’s Beginning Theory on Marx criticism for tomorrow afternoon. Believe it or not, that was a considerable amount of reading. Glad I got through it.

Well, I have to go do the family thing and make sure all my books are together for tomorrow. Nothing is worse than not being able to find them all and running out the door.

nothing

I feel like nothing happened today.

Classes were good. I enjoyed them very much. But what happened outside of class?

Knit some. Ate a good dinner. Walked Puppy. Did some homework.

But nothing really happened. How is that?

Monday

The Purple Spider Web is approximately 30 inches long. The current section has abandoned the lace pattern, but the yarn still reminds me of a spider’s web. I never feel like I make any progress on it when I’m knitting. Even after working over an hour on it this morning, it feels like I’m just creeping along. On the more positive side, I had an hour to listen to the Shuffle while I waited for one of my mentors to do whatever it is the PT people make her do.

The Maternal Grandmother had a school thing 2 hours away she was suppose to go to, however, since some of her meds are making her sick she was forced last minute not to. I hope she feels better by the end of the week as she has 2 other events around the state she has to talk/present to on Thursday and Friday.

I am so looking forward to tomorrow. Homework—done. Reading—almost done. Knitting goal—not even close. But all should be fun.

It would be a good time to walk Puppy, if so many people weren’t on the roads for the next 90 minutes. She is trained to stand still when a car approaches us and what would be a nice 20 minute walk become a stop-go for 40 minutes. Defiantly not fun at all.

^_^

I have early b-day presents from Dad’s household. Guess what I have now? The new double CD from Helmut Lotti: The Crooners! And it is autographed! So it is no surprise that as soon as the second disk is downloaded, it will be the only thing on my Shuffle for the next few weeks.

Friday

My first essay as a grad student was turned in last night. I still have 4 due before the end of the semester; thankfully some of the research has already been started.

I’m feeling kinda low today and there is no reason why I should. Yesterday was better but I don’t know why.

The Purple Spider’s Web is making great progress now that I’ve modified the pattern but there is still a long way to go. The yarn sale was a let down. They kept telling me how great the prices were but the numbers were still too high for me. I ended up buying some books and sock yarn. I’ll take a sweater I made for me apart after Christmas, having found a pattern I like a lot better.

Wed Update

The idiot in my 2 day classes has now had his mobile go off 4 times during class. Yesterday, it went off during his own presentation and it took him a while to find it. Then he looked at the number long enough to let me know he was thinking about answering it. When the professor asked questions, trying to have a discussion on the book; he read passages that had nothing to do with the question. After he did this for the second time, I realized that he actually thought he was answering the question. It was also during this class that he talked about getting into the PhD program. Thankfully, a buddy of mine informed me that she did not think he would. I’ll trust her opinion on this.

I finally finished one of my AFO (Almost Finished Object). That brings me down to 2 WIP and 1 AFO. This purse is for StepSister No 2. The pattern came from Folk Bags printed by Interweave Press.

It's Monday

Where did my weekend go? Did I even have one this week?

We did it again. Another dog will be emasculated this week. The newest member of mom’s family is a 10 mo old male black Pomeranian names ‘Sugar.’ Do I need to say the twin girls named the poor thing? The kidsitter noted to mom that Sugar liked nap time today. I can only imagine why.

In other news, I am now the proud owner of a ball-winder and seven new hanks of yarn. I am so happy to have a ball winder as it (in theory) should save time and frustration from now on. The Maternal Grandfather and I set it up earlier and wound two hanks in no time at all.

And my first essay for Women in Lit is half done. I already have someone to look at it for me tomorrow so I can see what needs to be added for length. Having worked on it all afternoon, I can no longer remember what I have written and what needs to be written. Usually when someone else reads it, I remember. I have till Thru to get it done, though I normally do like things done sooner than this.

My mouth is sore, though no longer throbbing. I plan to pop a pain killer before bed; hopefully this will let me get comfortable enough to sleep. The Maternal Grandfather told me not to worry too much about the rest of my teeth feeling funny, that the surgery just did a number on those nerves. Here’s hoping.

This is...

My mouth is still sore, but it isn’t hurting anymore. This is good.

I tried to get up and straighten up my room, and it worked for about 10 minutes before I got too dizzy. This is not bad.

I am really hungry for real food; in fact, I’m willing to bet that is why I’m still dizzy. But I am still on soft foods for the next few days. This is bad.

This whole experience is not as bad as I thought it would be. This is good.

If I have to stay in tonight rather than go to church, I will develop a case of cabin fever. This is bad.

It’s not that I’m overly eager to go to church; I am just tired of being in bed. This is sad.

I'm Back...

...if only for a short time.

Thru night’s Women N Lit class was enjoyable. The discussion over the book was very active and lively. The video we watched in the last ½ of class just kept dragging on. I could have sworn it lasted more than an hour, despite what the time told me. One of my new buddies in that class lives on the other side of campus across several busy streets and knowing my Grandmothers would feel better about my night class if someone walked with me to the car; I now have a buddy and she now has a ride. Everyone wins this round.

My teeth are now out, the anticipation of it was worse than anything. I asked for the gas when I was put in the chair, so when they put the IV in I was already half out. I still cried when they were prepping me for the IV but the nurse was really nice and put her hand on my knee. The dentist wanted to count to 3, thinking I would feel better and I told him not to tell me. He was going to show me the needle after he took it out but I kept my eyes closed. The next thing I know, I’m stumbling down the hall—I don’t even remember putting my glasses back on.

The painkillers are great at putting me to sleep. I’m even feeling well enough to think about going to the Hullabaloo. If I do, I probably won’t stay long.

If anything good came out of staying in bed all afternoon, it would be that I am nearly finished with Stepsister No 2’s Christmas knit. And I get to look at the pretty plant and balloon my Dad sent. The bad part was, the left part of my mouth bleed a lot. But it’s good now. I’m chewing and talking very carefully for the next few days.

In a Nut Shell

-It turns out, I only have my top wisdom teeth which is good news according to the dentist I saw today.

-There was a death in the family (someone I met like 12+ years ago) and everyone came over. The youngest of the bunch, who is a few months younger than the girls, accidentally slammed a door. Too bad my fingers were the things it slammed into. It would not have been as bad if I could have just cussed one good time. But with 3 preschoolers less than 15 feet away, that just wasn’t possible. She was really upset and cried even after I told her I was fine and gave her a big sister hug.

-It took me all day to work up the patience to complete a 23 minute assignment that I was going to do earlier in the day but never got around to.

-This is the first time all semester that I just don’t want to go to class tomorrow. But as I am already set to drive someone in the morning, I might as well go. Great, another 14 hour day on campus: should get lots of reading done.

-There are approximately 85 days till Christmas. I’ve made the list of people I’m buying for, have to start knitting, and have to finish. Panic will shortly set in.

In a single hour at the yarn store, I had to rip back over five times. That seems to sum up my day.

The field trip to the library was fun, I hadn’t figured out the finer points of the website resources. Lucky for me, the database searches for the Humanities (at least the Lit ones) all look the same. Which means, I’ll be knee-deep in resources by this time next week.

And tomorrow I go to the oral surgeon to have them look at my teeth. Fun stuff.

A Very Busy Monday

I read “The Museum of Kitschy Stitches” by Stitchy McYarnpants this weekend. It was hilarious; I recommend it even to non-knitters. Sadly, some of the patterns it laughed at were some the Maternal Grandmother liked. I was scared.

The teeth are not causing near the pain they did last week but the appointments have been made and there is no sense of backing out now. They have to come out or be dealt with eventually.

Part of my homework this week was to read the chapter of Feminist Criticism in Lois Tyson’s “Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guild.” Not a bad broad overview but I do not agree with some of the points. But this is not that unusual.

I went with Mom and the Younger Twin to the doctor today. We came back with a very large plush unicorn. The kid dragged it around the store and did not put it down for anything. I would have gone with the smaller one, if only to avoid the battle of why you can’t take it to church and school. Mom wants to leave it here at the Maternal Grandparents, which won’t happen if I can manage it.

Now back to homework…

I'm Back

I had a great weekend. The Paternal Grandmother and I went shopping, watched movies, and sat around and talked. Amazing how much time can be spent doing 3 activities. It was really great to disappear for a few days. But now, sadly, I must face reality (a.k.a. the 3.5 feet of books and journal entries).

Today was so a Wednesday

Today was productively unproductive. Several small non-school related tasks were completed this afternoon (earmarked for school work). However, this meant several hours of delay between the times I could have spent doing homework/research/reading ahead.

On a brighter note: the Purple Spider Web is now 10.5 inches long (up 2.5 inches from yesterday) and I do not have to work on Friday as that business had to close today several months before it was going to. This allows me to spend a full weekend at the Paternal Grandmother’s house in a town that now boasts about having 3 red lights that work.

Now everything for classes tomorrow has printed and only 1 chapter left unread.

An Overview of Tuesday

Note to self: spend an hour knitting after each Lit Research class; great way to decompress mind after 1.5 hours of lit criticism theory. In fact, I may bring something simple to work on during class. I wonder how many washcloths can be made during that time.

There will be no sleeping in this week as I will be driving early as a chauffer or going to class. But I knew there would be weeks like this when I started. No complaining. Just enjoy what you get.

Puppy and I took an early walk this evening so I can get ahead in some reading since I am out of commission next weekend. Speaking of which, I better go do that. Before I do, here is a pic of the Purple Spider Web (ar e the mistakes very visible?)

Life is good.

Yea for me, I have an appointment with an oral surgeon to see what needs to be done about my teeth. I am thrilled. (Not sure what the accuracy:sarcasm rate of that statement is.)

I am nearly finished with the red vest for my Maternal Grandfather. Most of it was completed while we watched PBS; even after acquiring cable the family still watches PBS. Living with grandparents is great. (Absolutely no sarcasm there.)

And shock of all shock, I almost finished all of my homework. Wow. I was beginning to think that could never happen. In celebration, I plan to take an hour off from life and find a nice quite corner of a yarn store to knit.

Weekend Update

Yesterday was hectic; I now have the experience of eating lunch with a four year old in my lap whose plates take up our side of the table. But it was the only way we could get the child to enter the restaurant. Then there was the church get-together at our house, I thought it was for today and I am glad the Maternal Grandmother knew better. Otherwise we would have had a truck load of people and not enough food.

Today has been nice, if one overlooks the wisdom tooth pain. The Maternal Grandmother and I went shopping for a new pair of jeans. Of course that meant we needed shirts to go with the jeans and she picked up a new winter coat. Now that I have new jeans, the time has come to trash the pair that is falling apart. And just when they were getting good and comfortable.

Tomorrow is already full: call the dentist, take someone to work, take a mentor to school, finish up a Christmas knit, write a summery of Nietzsche, read Harriet Jacobs, and write a journal entry for Women in Lit. Believe it or not, Nietzsche is not the easiest person to sum up in a page.

Friday News

The Bad News: I am spending yet another Friday listening to someone I don’t particularly like talk while working. And I think I am trying to cut a wisdom tooth. Fun stuff, as I do not see any chance of going to the dentist for another week and a half. True, it could be the sinuses acting up; either way I need to pick up some tooth-numbing stuff tomorrow when I pick up my other meds.

The Good News: I got to sleep in and will have plenty of time today to knit and work on my German. I may actually get a chance to write some e-mails. Classes yesterday were fun; the Af/Am Lit discussion could have gone a lot worse on my part. Lit Research was more philosophy and we will go over Nietzsche on Tuesday which should be interesting. To no surprise, a room full of women tends to get sidetracked in our discussion groups. Still, it was a good discussion.

A Quick Post

Today has been very good indeed. Nearly all of my homework is done. I got to sleep in this morning, both the last book for my classes and some yarn came in the mail, and (yea) Helmut Lotti has a video and pre-listenings on his website. I am so loving the song, “Caterina.” Simple and very 1950-ish, yes, but the style is catchy and he sings it well.

Tomorrow is my long day on campus, but it is nothing I cannot handle.

The shawl I am working on is very feminine and delicate: I think I am knitting up a spider’s web.

This post is very random and scattered because Puppy is begging to go for a walk. I’ll indulge her before wrapping up homework.

Theories

Hmm…all the Structure Theory stuff is enough to make my head hurt. Granted, not much help is need in that department but the comment/feeling stands. A good majority of these theories feels like philosophy on some level. The prof helped explain the rougher parts but I still left class in a blur. Af/Am Lit rocked this morning. Sojourner Truth is one of my favorite orators of all time and something about her Narrative/‘Book of Life’/Memorable Chapter clicked when I was reading it. One of the PhD students and I did the most commenting but we did let others speak.

In other news, it seems another good friend of mine (m’lord Oberon as it were) is thinking about planning a trip down the aisle. Alas, another one is lost to us. Five to be exact. Seriously, I am ecstatic for her as this guy sounds like someone that is good for her and to her. This is a long time coming for many of us and she is beyond lucky to have found him so soon. It will probably be an even longer time for me; however, I am not even concerned with looking for it now. Let those who have found their happiness take it and enjoy.

Now why can Lit Theories be as simple as this?

Life From a Window Seat Looks Wonderful

Another afternoon spent in the window seat with a cup of tea: pure bliss. I am more than happy to report that not only is the bulk of my homework done but I actually understood nearly all of it. This is scary.

I was in the neighborhood of a yarn store this morning and could not resist. Needless to say, it will be another week before I can even think about ordering Helmut Lotti’s new CD. Ah well, I need to figure out exactly how much it will cost me and crunch the numbers again. Sadly, I cannot bring myself to regret buying this beautiful worsted alpaca/wool blend in a natural looking color. In fact, all I can think about (outside of homework) is how nice it will look as a lacy shawl.

Can I sleep yet?

Well, this has been a weekend. It was almost as busy as last week put together.

Saturday: finally watched Domino (not bad), went with Mom and the Twins to the bookstore, installed new window treatments (less sunlight in my room is always a plus), and went to dinner with the local family minus the grandmothers.

Sunday: helped Mom get the Twins into the car, church, b-day lunch for Step-Paternal Grandmother with the entire local family, quick dash across the bridge to see The Illusionist (pretty cool movie, I didn’t have it figured out), looked at dishwashers and refrigerators at a DIY place, started dog-sitting, installed Anti-virus on Step-Paternal Grandmother’s computer (missed church because of it), and I am ready to crash and burn.

Too bad I need to finish reading a chapter for Lit Research and get to bed early.

Bad words. Very bad words.

I thought I would have the day to goof off and study. No. I was asked to work at the same place I was last Friday. Not fun at all. I was able to do some studying already, but I really wanted my head to cave in so I have a legitimate excuse to go home. Yesterday was much fun; the classes are defiantly getting better. The work load is more than I thought it would be but less than I was told to expect.

For my Lit Research class, my seminar paper topic was approved with conditions. Yea. I plan on looking at Ariel (The Tempest) and Puck (Midsummer Nights Dream) and comparing their attitudes towards their masters. Naturally, I’ll be looking at it through a Marxist lens and my prof reminded me to look at Postcolonial-ism as well. Ok. So I am a Lit dork who is quickly coming out of the massive Shakespeare closet.

In the world of knitting, I have started the front of my maternal grandfather’s vest, a purple shawl, and ordered two more skeins of the purple lace yarn. Like I need more yarn, well in this case I do but the principle remains.

So this weekend: take step-paternal grandma to the movies, watch the used DVD I bought last weekend, knit, church, study, and start dog-sitting for one of mom’s coworkers (hey, a broke grad student always needs a little extra cash and there is that Lotti CD…).

Homework Stump

I hate having just enough homework done that you decide to slow down. Then you get a cookie and something to drink. Then you stare out the window for awhile, after all most of your homework is done and the rest can be done later.

I have reached such a point. Now, despite knowing I will have no time later tonight, I cannot motivate myself enough to write a simple one page summery of a chapter I have already read.

But on a brighter note, Helmut Lotti’s double CD is coming out this month. Only 21 euros plus an ungodly amount for shipping.

Well, I think I’ll take a quick walk to see if that helps at all.

We (mom, twins, step-dad, me) went to the zoo yesterday and had a great time. The twins no longer like my favorite snow-cone flavor. At last, I do not have to share! Yes, the main reason I like it so much is because no one else does. ^_^

I finally found the most annoying fellow grad student on campus. It takes much self-control not to throw things at him when he speaks. He contributes to topics 5 minutes after everyone else has moved on, cannot be brief in his speech (I know, pot and kettle, but I think in Early Modern English but we don’t speck it in class), and has the personality equal to a toadstool. Oh, and he is in 2 of my 3 classes this semester. Great.

The class that did not have a book list for the longest time now has books that cannot be found in any of the bookstores (both the one on and off campus). She emailed the books were in. The people with name tags in the bookstores cannot find them in the computer or on the selves. I spent a good hour walking from one location to the other and back with no luck in locating the book we were suppose to read. Which was aggravating when she lectured us about coming to class prepared or we are just wasting time. Sorry, I can only move so many mountains before class.

Despite all of that, I am still loving grad school. I might need another CAT scan though; liking Lit Theory this much isn’t normal.

No zoo today. But I did buy a few used DVDs at Blockbuster. The step-paternal grandmother and I watched Casanova. It was a great movie. We were very glad we decided to buy it over renting.

Anyway, the zoo has been pushed to tomorrow and now I may or may not go. I need to understand this chapter on New Criticism before Tue afternoon. Fates only know what will actually happen tomorrow.

I finished 2/3 of another “11^th Hour Hat.” And no, most of it was not knitted up during church…just the brim.

A Trip to the Botanical Garden

We spent the day in Memphis running errands. Mostly, we had a list of things we had to get done and places we had to go. I picked up two leather bound books at an estate sale for about $30, not bad for a good copy of Plato and a much better—complete—copy of Tristram Shandy than the one I had. However, at one point we were close enough to the Botanical Garden to spend an hour or so. As we walked around, feeding the koi and admiring the beauty, this poem came to mind (minus the last stanza about how only a virtuous soul lives forever).

Virtue
By George Herbert

Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky:
The dew shall weep thy fall to night;
For thou must die.

Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye:
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.

Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie;
My music shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.

--1633

I might go to the zoo tomorrow. We shall see how things go.

making up for yesterday

I spent the day at my stepdad’s business learning how things are done. Later this month, I am supposed to be able to handle things by myself for a day while the regular worker takes a day off. That meant I had to listen to her talk all day long. For over 8 hours. About some drama surrounding her boyfriend’s divorce; incidentally he and his soon to be ex are members of the church and I had heard most of it before. Sadly, I could think of no polite way of telling her to keep silent on the matter and she never picked up on my nonverbal signals.

Thankfully, I was able to finish the body of a purse I am working on for stepsister no 2’s Christmas knit. A picture will come after it is blocked and pieced together. I might scrap it altogether.

I am ecstatic about my night class. The Prof has actually seen the study of Women in Lit from the start of its academic life; meaning when it quit being a handful of major writers (Emily Dickens and Virginia Woolf mostly) to having dissertations written about a single woman writer. How cool is that? The class is going to be focused around the voice of women (or lack thereof) and how it comes out literature. My day classes are still fun: I am leading my Af/Am class on the 12^th when we go over S. Truth’s ‘Ain’t I a woman’ speech; and my Lit Research Prof made the dull readings exciting. Don’t misunderstand, I love theory but the background makes me want to bang my head against the wall.

Here is a pic of the building I have class in. It is
kinda weird, walking into the second floor lobby. For my friends back at my undergrad university—I mean a real lobby. With chairs, tables, chairs, benches, and a small food/coffee area where we can buy Pepsi, chips, candy, pre-made sandwiches, hamburgers, etc. And did I mention there are tables and chairs to eat at? And benches to sit on? Granted, we still have to sit on the floor outside of classrooms waiting for the other class to get out; but we have a well-lit lobby and the halls are white with many florescent lighting. And an overhead on the walkway so we can smoke/eat/meet/talk outside and not get wet or be too much in the way. The building looks funky, but I am so loving it. Though it is weird to not be in ‘the dark cave of Irby Hall.’

Knitting Update

While my tea is seeping, I’ll show you the “11^th Hour Hat” I finished yesterday and a sample of a lace pattern I worked on this weekend.

The hat turned out so well, I plan on making up another three or four. I had to fold the brim in half and stitch it together; otherwise it is longer than the body and crown.

This was supposed to be a shawl before I realized I needed to make it wider. And use a softer yarn. However, I could not bring myself to rip it out, hence how it became a sampler type piece. I know, I know, why not use it as a washcloth? Partly because it is wool and will felt, but mostly because I like it as a sampler.

Grad. School. Rocks.

Grad. School. Rocks.

Ok, so I just had the best day of class. Can not wait until Thursday, even if it is a long day. Here is how it went:

0930—African American Lit to 1900 where she did put in a book list in June but it didn’t make it to the right person. No big. The one male in the class did not show up, which was weird. I had no problem giving my opinion, no surprise to those who know me from previous classes, on Phyllis Whitney. Thank you Prof Anderson for your many detailed lectures on Neo-Classicalism and again on early American Lit. I am already planning the semester paper.

1300—Lit Research where Prof Britt was funny, interesting, and just plain cool. Turns out we are going to learn about the different schools of criticism and how to write a paper on a higher level. Some of the critics he talked about I have heard of though Evolution Rhet Theory, but I have no clue what they think about literature. And he wants to teach us how to summarize, not analyze or give opinions, an essay or work of literature. I learned how to do that in Rhet and Cross-Culture Communication last Spring; good to know the odd classes I took as an Undergrad are going to pay off.

The other students are pretty cool. The Lit Research is full of bubbling personalities; in fact, my face still hurts from smiling and laughing before class. Oh this is going to be fun. And I get to sleep in tomorrow! Yea for me.

What a Lovely Afternoon

Comfort is sitting in a makeshift window seat reading books while a small coffeemaker is being used to make tea. I never thought I would enjoy a window seat as much as I did this afternoon. I read 2 of the 6 books for my Women in Lit class, which is not even meeting until Thursday night, while Puppy slept on the rug. It was really nice.

Tomorrow is the first day of Grad school and I simply cannot wait. Lit Research and African American Lit to 1900 sound like good classes. Though it would be nice if the latter had a book list or reading list or something to give me a heads up. After class, I have to stop at a yarn store—not to get yarn understand, but I do need some better needles in a size 4.

Yesterday I listened to 3 sermons before noon. 2 of them were delivered by a member of the church (not an elder, deacon, or preacher). First he gives a 5 minute spill at the communion table (that could have been said in under a minute if the man has ever attended a rhetoric/speech class). Then the preacher had his normal spill, which for mom’s church means 15 minutes including the PowerPoint outline and scripture. Lastly, the communion dude makes a 10 minute speech (which was a disaster rhetorically: bad use of parallels, images, repetition, etc, and he no idea how to deliver a speech). I was cringing the entire time. A day later and I still have no clue what he was trying to do. The message was the same as the preacher, that much I have grasped. Please God be merciful and keep him from speaking next week. I might have to give him one of my rhetoric books…better yet, where are my notes from all those speech classes? I’ll donate a copy to him.

My dad made it back from the beach with his family, everyone is in tact or so I’ve gathered from his blog a few minutes ago. Glad to hear that they had a good holiday last week.

Better Day

We spent nearly the whole day shopping girl style, meaning we went to 4 or 5 shops to find, try on, and compair different stuff before we bought anything. But I found two brooches for the shawls I have already made for Christmas. Yea! All that the shawls need now is to weave in the loose ends. Funny how something little, like finding the right brooch, made the day seem brighter. Forgive the quick pics:

I somehow find that my Sunday, as well as the rest of the week, is quickly filling up. I shall have to fix that soon. Maybe I will hide Wednesday afternoon; that should give me sometime to read for class. Tuesday morning cannot get here soon enough.

I See A Pattern Emerging...

So yesterday wasn’t a very good day either. I have not been feeling like my normal self since the last big migraine on 10 Aug. At lunch with Mom, I decided to visit the RPN in town who gave me a B12 shot in addition to a Sinus Cocktail. The shot area still hurts and the B12 has yet to ‘reenergize’ me. I am not sure I slept more than 3 hours last night at all.

I spent this morning driving people around, which I really don’t mind. Somehow I have managed to get just shy of 10 minutes behind the clock.

There are roughly 120 days left to Christmas and I have just about talked myself out of knitting Stepsister 1 a sweater. Heck, I do not even know if I will knit my Dad a sweater at this point. The vest has not made any progress since Wed, mainly because I have made the armhole an inch longer than the pattern says to. Joy. When he steps out tonight, the project will be measured against vest he already has to see if I can simply adjust the pattern. Anyone have a spare goat/dove/chicken I can sacrifice? This is a very noble cause.

I cannot help but wonder how I managed to get Panic at the Disco, Rob Thomas, Helmut Lotti, Garth Brooks, and The Killers on my Shuffle at the same time. Strangely, it is not such a horrible playlist…minus the drastic theme and tempo changes.

Sometime this past week, I’ve picked up the current Interweave Knits issue. I love the books the company publishes but remain undecided on the quarterly magazine. Nice patterns and articles, do not misunderstand, but it almost feels too upper townish for the area devoted to organic and folk styles.

Very Monday-ish

Thank the stars the day is nearly over.

While nothing has gone wrong today, nothing has gone right either. Like missing an exit. Yes, I knew another way to go but it was still frustrating. One of my books would not scan in the bookstore this morning; this is after it took me 10 minutes to find a parking lot where my parking tag would work. Turns out, the first little lot I pulled into was General Parking—it just looked like a church/ministry parking lot.

The mentor I’m escorting to PT is making very good progress. While she was PT-ing I worked on the vest and just when I was making real good progress…I ran out of yarn. There was a fourth of a hank earlier; I could have sworn there was.

The only thing that kept this from being a ‘Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’ was the fact I did not lock my keys in the car. I am turning in very early tonight in hopes that I have a better day tomorrow. Here’s hoping.

We have 75 channels of TV to watch now so what do we watch? PBS. Don’t get me wrong, it is much preferable to watching Barbie’s version of Swan Lake or whatever it is that the twins want to see nonstop. Though it does kinda make me feel old; especially since I actually told some kids at church to stop running in the hallways. And I stood there waiting for them to turn around to see if I was still watching them—which they did of course.

I am almost finished with the back of the Christmas knit I’m working on. My maternal grandfather still has no clue it is for him. ^_^

I have also begun to get in school mode, now that all the books I ordered are in and I will buy the remaining two or three tomorrow. Wednesday is quickly becoming a busy day for me. I’ll drive one of my mentors to PT, which should give me enough time to get some serious knitting done. That will be followed by a shopping trip to Wal-Mart for Puppy some food since the other stores do not carry a formula for senior dogs; then some other important stuff. Fun fun.

Quick Break

The wedding shower has 30 minutes left to go and already I have had 6 cups of punch. The mother of the bride handed me a camera over an hour ago and I cannot believe the party is still going on. True, most of the guest have left, however there is still clean-up to come.
Sadly, my quick break is now over.

The Weekend of Wedding Parties

So, Rina’s meet-n-greet wedding party went well today. Her future MIL and MIL’s best friend are pretty cool. First wedding of children for all families involved, so MIL is having a blast shopping and planning for it. She kinda sees Rina as a member of the family already and is genially fond of Rina. Which makes me feel great, after all, she is like a cousin to me and if she insist on living and having the wedding 4 hours away from us then she at least has a mom figure she can go to. And the groom and his friends are going to help with the heavy jobs—volunteered by MIL and Rina. I have been given the job to monitor the sales at local craft stores. As in the places that also sale yarn. It’s like asking the kid to step in the candy store every now and then to look at what’s new. This should be fun. ^_^

While one of Rina’s friends entertained the twins and the moms and Rina were talking wedding, I cleaned my sister’s room (a catch all room since she joined the Navy). I did some major overhauling and now we can see the floor and get from one end to the other. After everyone left, I helped mom clean the rest of the house for Rebecca’s wedding shower tomorrow. I have already promised to wear a skirt to this thing, shock of all shock, so I do have to show up. I am so ready for all these wedding stuffs to be done and over with.

Despite the fact my textbooks were due in from BarnesandNoble.com yesterday, they did not show up. Right now it is bouncing around from one place to another. I plan to start reading the novels tomorrow, but I would like to look at the theory book sometime soon. I did, however, get started on my grandpa’s vest for Christmas so the day was not a complete loss.

As much as I would love to chat, I was sistered by the twins who had no nap today. Preschoolers need naps daliy, if only for their older sister's sanity.