PolarGrrlPurls

Guten Abend!

School started! On Tuesday I went to the Uni. and spent 3 hours registering for 3 classes. It was an adventure finding three classes that I could get into (most were full) and that did not require a prerequisite class that I do not have and that also fit my schedule. I ended up with German 101, Intro. to Asian American Literature, and Intro. to Management Information Systems (MSIS 101). I attended my first class yesterday morning and really enjoyed it! (Though, I'm still a bit nervous about my ability to learn German. Hey! Maybe I'll get one of these and label the German names for everything in my house!) I managed to score all my text books at half price by buying them used online and now all I have to do is wait for them to get shipped to me. (Hopefully soon!)

AND! I'm going on vacation soon!! *Insert jumping-up-and-down emoticon here* Marikal and I are taking a few days off and heading out the very end of The Cape for our anniversary next week. We found a room available in a B&B with beautiful views. The fur babies have been entrusted to a good friend who adores them and we are counting down the days. I'm so excited! (Can you tell?)

There's knitting news, too, but that'll have to wait for when I'm posting at home.

Back and Rested, With News

I am back from my mini-vacation. Actually, I've been back for a few days, but I've been savoring the moment. Even with the arrival of an impressive downpour on the second day, I had a great time. We did a little shopping and I picked up some very cool postcards that we may use as the RSVP cards when we get hitched next year. (Oh yeah, did I mention I'm getting hitched to Marikal next year?) I also found a t-shirt that I just had to special order in my size (they were low on stock when we were there). In Northampton, there is a very cool store called Cornucopia selling organic foods and natural products. We stopped in to browse and I picked up a couple bags of Baji's Papadum Chips. I'd never had them before, but they are delicious! I will definitely be hunting them down locally. There was another store there that sells discounted name brand stuff...a little like a Big Lots, but a local business. I found a very cute pair of black Birkenstock sandals with rhinestone buckles and Marikal got a pair of Dr. Marten slides, both for a steal. In fact, the next time we heaad out that way (hopefully in the next month or so) I plan to bring extra $$ for shoe shopping, as they had really great brands there (Ecco, Naturalizer, Dr. Marten, Earth Shoes, Dansko, Birkenstock, etc.) and a reasonable selection of sizes. Lastly, I paid a visit to WEBS, where Marikal sat in a comfy arm chair and read her trashy tabloid magazines and I wandered around petting yarn to my heart's content. I spent a gift certificate that I've been saving for three years and bought enough superwash wool for a sweater for my friend Fall, and two yummy skeins of Trekking XXL for socks for me.

And now onto the news of the land.

I had a nice luncheon yesterday with my friend SongBird who was up from Atlanta to visit her mom and I had the opportunity to meet her charming and wonderful partner. I also spoke to my dad in the afternoon, who had some upsetting news....my grandmother who is 88 and a very tough bird had a heart valve replaced about 10 years ago. Long story short, the valve is starting to wear out and my grandmother has decided not to get it replaced again. This means that she has a weak heart and it will only get weaker as time passes. The docs have given her about two years, but as with anything health-related, that's only the grossest of estimates. I respect her decision, but the news still makes me sad. We are planning a full family visit around Labor Day weekend...a bit of a reunion, if you will.

In biz news, I have picked up another client (Yay!!). This means even less free time (*sigh*) and more money for expansion and marketing (yay!). Scool is also going well for this second session of the summer, though it has been even tougher to find time to stufy this month than it was last month. Urgh.

I've also decided that I should stockpile some prepped meals in our large freezer for when school starts and work picks up so that we are not eating take-away every day, like we did a few months ago when life got ridiculous. To that end, Marikal and I made three meatloaves and a huge batch of meatballs and red sauce for the freezer yesterday afternoon. I also plan on shopping the sales on TV dinners to have easy work lunches. After all, we have a ton of freezer space, may as well use it, no?

In Which I Get Very Wet

As has likely made national news by now, the Northeast region of the United States is positively drowning in rain. We have already endured 7 days of this dreary weather and according to the projections, are primed for an additional eight. Yes, we are looking forward to EIGHT MORE DAYS of grey and rain. Yick. Moods, both at work and at home, have become foul to match the weather.

Yesterday, Rose, P, and me made a journey to the wilds of New Hampshire for the annual New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival. I got to look at and fondle a truly staggering quantity and variety of fibers in all their forms. I got to feel quiviut fiber in roving form (as well as tussah silk, wools of all types, cashmere, alpaca, and keeshond), see sheep, alpacas, goats, angora bunnies (I wanted to take them home! They are so CUTE!!) and endless amounts of yarn and other knitting supplies. I bought 2 lucious skeins of angora/wool blend yarn, called "Bunny Blend", from Ackers Acres Angoras in a beautiful purple-blue and  a cranberry color, as well as 2,300 yards of worsted weight wool in a rich blue for a sweater. I've forgotten the name of the vendor that I bought the wool from, but I have his business card  at home, so I'll post it when I post the pictures this evening. I saw a very cool spinning wheel of a design that I think I may actually be able to use almost one-handed, too! It's made by David Paul of The Merlin Tree in Albany, VT and is called The Hitch Hiker. I'm not buying it anytime immediate, but I do think that I may after I move. I've been resisting the idea of learning to spin, as the drop spindles are nearly impossinle to work with one(ish) hands, but this wheel might work, I think.

I haven't quite figured out what pattern I will use, but the cranberry colored angora yarn will definitely be a scarf for me. The blue worsted weight wool will be a sweater for me, too, but I have a few ideas of what that will look like. I'll have to knit it up first, but I have a feeling that I may be placing an order for more of that yarn in other colors before the next festival.

Getting back to my subject line, Rose, P, and I all got pretty well soaked, as the weather did not cooperate for the festival. It alternated between a steady drizzle and pouring rain then entire time we were there. My Dansko shoes held up suprisingly well in the lakes of rain water that flooded the fairgrounds and the worst of it for me was a chronically wet spot on my hair where the umbrella didn't quite sheild and the legs of my jeans from the knee down. On the way home after the festival, I stopped at Store24 and bought chicken pot pie for dinner. After a day in the cold grey wet weather, I really enjoyed the hot stick-to-your-ribs feeling of that meal.

That's all for now! Pictures will be posted tonight!

Homa Again, Home Again...

...Jiggety-jig. I'm home again. But before that, the stoy of the rest of my trip!

Bice Ristorante was fantastic! Truly incredible. We had a traditional northern Italian meal, with antipasti, a pasta course, a main course, and desert. There was a wine pairing with the entre and a champagne toast for Bea's 80th birthday. The service was superb, as well. The head waiter was extremely attentive, stopping just short of the point of obsequious. Don't ask about the bill. Really. It was quite large. Granted, there were eight people dining and the wine and all, but...suffice to say that the the tab was equal to the incredible-ness of the meal. The last day in Paradise was spent helping Bea move small items from her old house to her new and then we all had lunch and relaxed at the house until it was time to head for the airport.

The flights home were very full and the second leg of the trip took off 15 minutes late, which made us 20 minutes late on arrival and then they took forever to unload the luggage. But everything was fine in the end. I got in very late last night and then had to run out the door to see a client this morning. It's been a long first day back. Sigh...

'Twas the Day After Christmas

Yesterday was quite nice, though it didn't really feel like Christmas, what with it being some 68 degrees yesterday. Very weird having a warm Christmas. We opened gifts in the morning ("Santa" was very generous this year!!) and my step-mom's family came over in the early afternoon for visiting and dinner. Dad out-did himself this year with a fantastic pork rib roast, risotto cakes, carrots with dill and caramelized onions, and a delicious green salad that had candied walnuts and fresh green beans in it. YUM!! I spent an hour between the appetizers and the dinner last night teaching my step-grand-mom (Bea) a knit cast-on and trying to teach her the long tail. The knit cast-on seemed to be easier to explain, however, so that's the one I ran with. She already knows how to knit, but she only knew the twisted "e" cast-on. Dad thought it was cute and took a picture of us sitting on the back patio. ;)

I'm up rather early today because we are going to EPCOT to tour the park this morning. This evening, we are having dinner at EPCOT for Bea's 80th birthday. I'm looking forward to the dinner, as it will be at the restaurant Bice, which I've heard a great many things about, but never had the chance to dine in.

Tomorrow evening will conclude the trip to Paradise, as we fly back in the late afternoon. Naturally, in my infinite organization, I managed to forget to pack the digicam, so there won't be pictures of this trip unless I manage to get copies of the photographs that my dad and brother took.

Yeah, yeah...

...no new pictures or FOs in a while. That's just me being lazy. And my understanding that no one really reads this thing but me. I'll have a few new pics when I get home from paradise, but until then I'll just yammer on about my trip. :-)

The flight down here was (thankfully) without incident, though I did seriously consider stabbing a few teenagers who were kicking my seat on the second leg of the flight. I managed to refrain from homicide, however, and my luggage managed to arrive on the sam plane with me. Seeing as it's the Hollerdays and all, I guess I'll just be thankful for small miracles. The first day here we (me and the family) went to Downtown Disney (think: Disney Lite - all the shops, but none of the park and you don't have to pay to get in because they are going to suck the money out of your wallett anyway). Yesterday, Dad, Bro, and I went to Walt Disney's MGM Studios and spent a good 8 hours there going on rides, poking through stores and people watching. It was a lot of fun and I found a few small little gifts to bring home to roomie and Marikal while we were there. Today, Bro wants to swing by the local stores and do a little last minute holiday shopping and I need to buy a mango to complete my step-mom's gift. The mango splitter and Dad's gift both arrived in good time and are just waiting to be gift wrapped.

Back at HeadQuarters (home), Marikal had a job interview with a staffing agency that went very well and they are sending her through orientation and checking references next week. YAY!!! Hopefully they can get her working sooner rather than later, as it would be nice to start building up the savings account again. Anyway, that's all for now. Signing off from the land of Mickey Mouse and orange groves, this is Jennifer saying, "Have a great hollerday!!"