George

George passed away two days ago.
I'm very sad.  It's hard to express how horrible I feel about it.
Over the past few weeks, he was slowing down.  Getting thin.  He slept a lot more than usual, and lost interest in eating. 
Early this past Saturday morning, I woke up to find that George had climbed into bed with J and me.  He hadn't done that for a very long time. 
He was breathing hard.  I could tell he was focusing on getting air into his lungs.  It was taking all of his energy.  It seemed as though he was suffocating.
I believe that George came to our bed seeking help from us.  He was scared, and didn't know what to do. 
We did what we thought was best.  With my sister's help, we used a gentle technique to euthanize him here at home.  It was very quick, but I know he was afraid right before he died, which devastates me.
I had to go to work right after his death, which was really hard.
Goddamn it.
Over the past couple of weeks, I've had to work so much.  I haven't had much time for anything.  I do recall that a week ago I sat with him on my lap, and it was very nice.  I had a cup of creamy coffee and he helped himself to little sips.

It sucks that he's gone. 
It sucks so much.
I'm not going to lie: he was my favorite. 
I loved Bella dearly.  I loved her very, very much.
George was...one of my best friends.  My little guy.  Small fry.  A smile in my life.
He filled my heart.
I will always love him. 
I am having a hard time accepting that he is not here anymore.
It's so goddamn hard to accept this!
I've been alternating between deep, horrible sadness and bizarre numbness over the past two days.  Nothing seems quite real.  Everything is strange to me.  I've lost both my children in the past two months.  I live in a house that isn't mine on borrowed time.  The four cats in this house are okay, but I am not connected to them.  Not truly.
J is at my side, but he does not belong to me.
I do not want anything to belong to me.
I seem to belong nowhere.
On December 31st, I am leaving my job of 4+ years.  It's a decision I made.
I will go free.
I have some plans for myself over the next few months.  I wish to seek some volunteer work.  I will take a class for school.  I have many personal projects to work on.
No matter what happens, I'll find ways to survive.  I have my backpack and my sleeping bag and my boots.  I have friends to count on for shelter and support if needed.
Yet I don't think I'm going to need much outside help.  My life lacks the complications and costs that tangle up the existences of others.  I don't have a car.  I don't have a phone of my own.  No debt or bills.  No rent to pay right now.  I have some savings, more than most.  I know how to scrape by.  I know how to make do, how to slip through the cracks, how to live with very little.
I cannot deny that I am excited about my future.  I very much want to volunteer my time to a few organizations and do some good work.  I am thrilled about finally (finally!) getting some much-longed-for sewing projects started, hopefully for a bit of profit in the form of a tiny business.  I am also dreaming about getting a small bicycle-powered enterprise off the ground this winter, the details of which I shall get into another time...
With that, I bow my head in humility and acceptance as I step forward slowly.
I have hope, even as my heart is weighed down by sadness.
I shall ignore the critical words of others around me as I forge my own destiny and make my own decisions about what I define as meaningful work in these coming days and months.
For what else can I do, but work?  I love to work.  I am enriched by work.
I just wish to wield more power over the work I do.
Good night.

Can't believe it's been so long...

...since I posted to this thing.
Well well well.
Let's see...
It's late, and I can't sleep.  I work in 7 hours.  Great.
I've been knitting.  I am working on my olive green sweater with the Brown Sheep Nature Spun, only I have nixed the Roam idea and, instead, am making my own version of the Wonderful Wallaby which I plan to turn into a hooded zip cardigan by steeking it.  I can't help it, I like working in the round.  I don't like knitting in pieces and sewing it all together. 
I finished my Monkey socks a couple of weeks ago~

Turned out well, I think.

I'd better attempt some sleep.  Good night, for now.

New Home

Hi there!  Been a little while since I've rapped at ya...heh...
So, to sum up, J and I are living in the small house next door to my sister.  We officially moved in over the past weekend.  We're going to be here for at least a few months.  I'd like to stay forever, if I could, but the woman we are housesitting for may be able to move back in when she undergoes enough physical therapy.  Of course she should: this is her house.  I am really enjoying living here, however.  No rent and we don't have to pay for utilities until January.  Whoo!
About 75% of our stuff is moved in, and the remaining quarter is still at our old apartment.  Shucks.  My least favorite part of moving is the final cleanup of the old place, the space I'm tired of looking at and dealing with, and having to sort through the remaining crap that needs to either be moved, trashed, or donated.  We have until the end of this month to finish with it, but I really want it to be done sooner than later.
Moving.  I have moved twice in the past three months.  Getting a bit old.  Makes me want to minimize to nothing but a backpack.  Maybe I still will.
I did do a good deal of moving on my bicycle this past Friday.  I had taken that day off from work in order to attend the annual Weavers Guild Fiber Fair at the Textile Center in Saint Paul, but instead I decided to do some moving and not spend a bunch of money at the fair.  Wise choice, I think.  (My stash is still not diminishing, anyway.)  I loaded up my bike rack bag/panniers, filled my big backpack to the brim, and carried a shoulder bag around my neck.  I also tied some shirts and a sweater around my waist.
It was a beautiful, sunny fall day and I had no issues with my bike-move.  I rode south on Bryant Ave in Mpls to the Greenway, rode that to the light-rail trail, and took that into the West Bank, my old neighborhood .  From there I rode through the U of M campus and across the commuter bridge to the East Bank, rode to 15th Ave SE and took that to Como Ave, and went east on Como to Eustis...and a few short minutes later, I was in my sister's driveway:

It only took me 40 minutes to ride from Lyndale and Franklin in Minneapolis to Larpenteur & Eustis in Saint Paul/Lauderdale...and I took the long way, loaded with lots and lots of gear on a little folding bike.
Yes...Lauderdale.  Lauderdale, Ramsey County, MN.  Bordering Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Roseville, and Falcon Heights.  I lived in Lauderdale from 2009 to 2010, then the West Bank till last August, then J's apartment in the Wedge area in Mpls, and now...back to Lauderdale.  Right next door to the house I lived in before with my sister and her partner.  It's bikeable, there are buses nearby...the only person with a car between the 4 of us is J, 'cause he works like 30 miles north of here...
Lauderdale is a strange, amazing place.  I will devote an entire entry to Lauderdale and its history. 
Don't worry, I will eventually devote an entry to pizza.
I also want to write about the apartments/dwellings I have known and loved and hated in my time.

Here is a photo of my new home:

Built 1928.  This is the rear of the house.  This is the only door we use, as the front one is pretty much sealed.  This view faces the backyard.  My sister's house is on the left.

Backyard, facing away from the rear of the house.  That's the garage.  There is a large garden space in front of the garage.

Moose, who came with the house.  He's a gentle giant.

Lilac, also part of the bargain!  She is a very pretty (and chubby) kitty.

On an animal note, the four cats are learning to coexist.  There is a fair amount of hissing and snarling, but hopefully it will lessen over the next few weeks...hopefully.

George is not well.  Over the past week or so he has become ill with an upper-respiratory infection and he is losing weight and some of his hair.  He's getting old.  I worry about his kidneys, too, because he's drinking a lot of water.  Just a few weeks ago, he seemed just fine, but now...not so much.  I do not want to take him to the vet, however.  I have always had negative experiences with taking rats to the vet for an illness, even great vets who specialize in small animals.  It just may be George's time. 
(Update, later in the day: we took George to an emergency vet because I became paranoid that he couldn't pee due to a blockage and was in pain.  The vet's X-ray showed no blockage, but he does have an upper respiratory infection.)

It's hard to tell from this photo, but George is really blissed out on J's lap getting a little massage.

Yarny stuff...

I finished one Monkey sock the week before last (I think) and just started the second one yesterday.  No pics till I finish them both.

I have another pair of socks on the needles that is just stashy stripes and I am not liking 'em.  They're ugly.

Maybe I can just "put them away" and tuck 'em into a basement corner forever...?

I am still going to knit Roam as soon as I finish the second Monkey sock.  My current thrift store cardigan zippered hoodie is falling apart, and Roam will be the perfect replacement. 

The yarn I will be using came my way via a very recent visit to the discount loft at A Depth of Field yarn shop on the West Bank in Mpls.  (I don't mind that store, but my sister has had some major 'tude from there...)  I found exactly 8 skeins of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in olive green on sale, which is the perfect yardage for Roam in my size. The total for all of 'em was $28.  WOW.  Yes, I love Peace Fleece and I like blue more than green, but I cannot beat a deal like this Nature Spun.

I have decided to knit Oona's Hoodie by Veronik Avery with the Patience Blue Peace Fleece that I have not even ordered yet. 

I think this will look delightful in blue.



All right.  I should close up shop here.  I need to get dinner started for my hungry hungry manimal who is hopefully on his way home.  And what shall dinner be?  I think hashbrowns.  And sandwiches.

Do widzenia.

A little less knitting, a little more biking.

I used to be a pretty hard-core cyclist.  A serious commuter by bike.  When I lived in Chicago, I biked ten miles each way to work from the far north side down to the Loop.  Biking became a primary way to get around.  For a long time I didn't even have a halfway decent bicycle, just a department-store "mountain" bike, and I still just...rode and rode.
As time went on, I acquired a nicer, faster (used) bike, a 1982 Schwinn LeTour (which is currently taking up space at my sister's house).  I rode the hell out of that thing, and eventually converted it to a single speed, added a coaster wheel, changed the handlebars...yadda.  Yadda.

After I moved out of Chicago and into Minneapolis/St. Paul, I alternated between biking daily and taking the bus/train.  I did own a car for a short while...um...it's long gone, so no need to talk 'bout that.

When J and I first started dating, we biked everywhere together.  Hell, we met 'cause of bikes.  We first became acquainted on Mpls Bike Love, a local website devoted to Twin Cities culture complete with advocacy, forums, et cetera.

Lately, I've been very public transit-reliant.  Nothing super wrong with that, yeah, but at the same time I get so weary of waiting for buses and trains, dealing with noisy passengers and crowds, having to rely on departure schedules, the works.  I've been riding public transportation for 18 years, so...I know what's up.  I know.

This morning, I decided to ride my bike to work for a meeting. My job is 10 miles from my apartment.
Not only that, I also decided to bike to my school after the meeting.  That's another 6 miles.
Then I had to get home,  According to Google Maps, I live 10 miles from my school.
So, I biked 26 miles today.  Not bad!

My new goal is to bike to work as much as possible.

By the way, my current steed is a souped-up 1979 Raleigh Twenty.  It's a folding bike.  The guy I bought it from on Mpls Bike Love added a 7-speed internal gear hub, light alloy wheels, and high-pressure tires.  It's a pretty nice ride, even if this picture ain't so nice...

This is not the interior of a garage.  This is inside our apartment.  Sad, sad, sad.



Lately I have been spending more money than usual.  I've been buying clothes and shoes that are cold-weather specific, like merino wool base layers and socks, warm boots, even a new parka with a detachable liner.  I've heard rumors that this coming winter ain't gonna be a wimpy one, and I don't intend to stay indoors for the whole season.  I wanna bike, hike, ski, and basically do what needs to be done.  I'm also going to have to shovel lots of snow.  Why?  Because...
...J and I are moving within the next month into the house right next door to my sister's!
Long story short, the owner of the house has become disabled and is staying in an assisted living facility for the time being.  J and I are going to be the live-in caretakers of her house, probably just for the winter.  We'll take care of her two cats (we'll be up to four felines), shovel, winterize, and pay the utility bills.  We won't have to pay any official rent.
It's pretty exciting, yet I know we have a lot to do in the next several weeks.  (Pack, clean, minimize, oh crap...)

I finally finished the Grape Loop socks...

I'm going to be doing a little less knitting in the near future.  I still have projects lined up the wazoo, but since I have rekindled my interest in biking, I am gonna have to make some cuts to my knitting time.  I am also going to devote more time to schoolwork.  Ain't got no choice anyhow, since my final paper is due in a month and the big exam is a bit after that...
...add to this pile the moving situation.

Happy Halloween!

Upcoming blog idea: my favorite pizzas of all time.

What next...?

It's been a little while since I've had a moment to write.
Sadly, Bella passed away early last week.  Her health declined to a very low point quite quickly. She stopped eating and hardly had the energy to get up.  J and I made one last attempt to try to help her, which entailed giving her IV fluids daily and feeding her with a syringe (all this in addition to her multiple medications).  Nothing worked.  The vets we took her to believed she had a serious disease underlying her hyperthyroidism and her kidney problems.  I agree-- she most likely had liver failure.  This past Monday the 17th, Bella was so ill and in such bad shape that my aunt and I took her in to the vet one last time.  It was so the right decision.  She died in my arms... :-(

She was such a good girl.  So beautiful. 

It's been sad around here, without Bella.  At the same time, I am relieved that she is no longer sick or suffering.

So much on my mind...

On a different note, J and I went camping on yet another lake way up in northern MN yesterday evening.  It was very secluded...quiet save for beavers splashing into the water and owls hoo-hooing...just right.  It rained hard during part of the night, but J and I remained snug in our cozy tent and new sleeping bags.

This morning, dark and early, J and I packed up and drove a bit further up the road to the town of Ely.  We were on a mission: to purchase Steger mukluks.  I wanted two pairs and my sister wanted two pairs.  She was unable to come up north with J and me, so she made her request before we left for the trip.

Believe me, going to the mukluk store was no whim.  My sister and I have been wanting mukluks from Steger for two years now!  They are expensive, but supposedly well worth it...very warm, durable, and cute to boot (pun totally intended).  Plus, they're made right in Ely, and we don't get a chance to go that far north too often.  I bought myself a pair of the Apache moccasins and a pair of Little Muks, both black.  My sis wanted chocolate-brown Apaches and tall Ojibwas. 

J did not purchase any muks today, but he tried some on...he's strongly considering getting his own.

Gosh, a part of me would like to live on a small parcel of land up north in the lake country, have a small cabin, some sheep & goats & chickens...

My sister dreams of this as well.

J is fond of the idea, but of course he keeps bringing up the fact that gainful employment opportunities are scarce in the northern part of our fair state.  He's from Grand Rapids originally, so he knows.

I'd like to write more, since there is a lot circulating in my head, but I am getting tired and I still have unpacking to do.

Recently off the needles:

Cotton socks, Peaches & Creme in Colonial.

Winter cowl, Mountain Colors Twizzle in Headwaters.  Blurry photo taken this morning in Ely.

G'nite.

Monday Monday

I am trying to do it all today-- clean, launder, grocery shop, study, spin.
So far, so good, except for the studying and spinning part.  Well, the day ain't done yet.
I finished the "mystery" project yesterday...slip-stitch cable arm warmers.

I used leftover Cascade Heritage Paints in blue and green, and stranded those colors with some stashed black Elann Sock-it-to-me 4ply that I was never gonna make into anything.
I like 'em, I really do.  Glad they're done, because warmer #1 was, for some reason, just a big nuisance.  #2 was a helluva lot easier-- in fact, I cast on for that one on Saturday morning before J & I went north and I was 90% finished with it by the time we set up our tent on Saturday evening.
Speaking of camping...it was great.  The campsite was a rather secluded Itasca County site on a pretty lake.  J has a knack for finding these off-the-beaten-path places.  We like to camp (for free!) in remote, hike-in or canoe-in sites where we don't see anyone (or hardly anyone).  I like the state parks in Minnesota, but they're often filled with at least some folks. 
I didn't take any great photos from the weekend, unfortunately.  Just these dumb (and mostly blurry) ones.

 Lake, sky, tree trunk.

 Um, same.

Lake.

Me in the tent at night.  Woot.

Anyhoo...

I am worried about Bella-cat.  She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism a while back, and she continues to get more skinny.  She was off her meds for a bit because the vet gave me a new Rx food that's supposed to help, but it's not doing much.  Bella barely eats.  So, back on meds she goes.  She's been so lethargic.  It's sad.  She's 13, getting older...I know.  I know.  What do I do, other than try to get her to eat and force those medications down her poor throat?

Oh, here's that handspun 2-ply I mentioned before (quick change of subject, yeah).

It'll look better when it's actually knit into something.  I think.

Okay, I gotta go.  I have to study.  I must!  I have a midterm in less than two weeks and I have to read four chapters by then.  Yeah, all righty, it's not really that much, but oh boy, have I been slackin' since the start of this semester.

So.  Yes.  I must crack open the textbook.

Willow sez: "Study?  Why study?  Take a nap in a window!"

Going Up North Today

J & I are leaving this morning to go camping overnight on a lake about an hour north of Grand Rapids.  Neither of us have been to said lake before, which is exciting.
J is still abed.  Our drive north will be nearly three hours, and we also plan to stop in Grand Rapids for eats and to browse our favorite camping-goods store.  I'd dearly prefer not to pitch our tent in utter darkness, so I better make a move to get J up and at 'em very soon.  We still have to load up!  Boy, nothin' like winging it, eh?
My sister still has my camera.  I am having some separation anxiety about this, as I have plenty of new things to take photographs of.  I might pick it up from her house on our way up north today so I can take photos of the woods, the lake, & the like.

Lake shot from a camping trip a year ago.  I needed some eye candy in this post.

By the way, I have been suffering from a sort of "knitting sickness" lately.  I can't seem to put my needles down, but when I knit I am rife with worry.  My latest project is truly beautiful (no joke), but every few rounds I make another error and have to rip, rip, rip.  My color choices have given me slight concern...I can't decide if the scheme is magickal or a mess.  To top it off, I'm using leftover sock yarn (stash-bustin') and ye Gods, I hope I have enough to finish this thing!  Maybe it's because the design is a mishmash of a published pattern and my own insanity...?  In any case, this mystery project is halfway done, so pics will arrive soon!

Till next time...

Stash-busting projects, et cetera.

Just a nice day here at home.
Laundry and dishes done.  Right now, avoiding schoolwork by playing with yarn.
I'm frogging a red & blue hooded scarf that I made a few years ago and winding the yarn into skeins.  I also finished a pair of socks and started two new pairs in the past day, continuing to make a firm dent in my yarn stash.
I dearly wish I could post new photos of all of these wondrous projects, but alas, I lent my camera to my sister yesterday.  I don't know when I'll see her next.  J's two digital cameras are damaged beyond use, unfortunately.
I have decided to start knitting a new sweater sometime soon.  The pattern I have chosen is Roam by Laura Chau, and the yarn I want to use is Peace Fleece worsted in Patience Blue.  I'll order my skeins within a week or two.
I also want to knit some fingerless mitts before winter starts.
Here's one of the socks of the pair I finished yesterday at Craft Club.  I call them my "commuters", since most of the knitting was done on the bus to and from work.

A basic, rather mindless pattern.  I used leftover Mirasol Chirapa.

For the remainder of today, I'm going to:

*put laundry away

*study

*make soup from scratch (sweet potato-coco-peanut)

*knit & spin, of course!

Wish wish wish I had my camera.  I have some handspun that I plied last week (2-ply) and I wanna show it off.  I used Corriedale (white) and Coopworth (brown) roving, and the effect is marvelous. 

There's been some discussion lately about the possibility of J and me moving into my sister's house in St. Paul.  The house, which is dubbed the Black Lodge, is technically owned by my sister's partner's mother, but my sis and her partner (or fiance/boyfriend/dude, all the same thing) live there and maintain it.  I used to live there too, over a year ago.  It's a 3-bedroom, not huge, and somewhat ramshackle.  However, the rent is insanely cheap, no lease, chickens and ducks live in the backyard, there's a garden, the neighborhood is very quiet, and there's a lot of freedom to do what you want.  J & I would be able to have my old bedroom, which is a nice space.  When I lived there, I painted the walls a deep blue and stripped the old carpets to have the original hardwood floors.

The apartment where J and I live right now is okay.  We've done some work to it lately, like cleaning/organizing and putting in some new shelving.  It's garden-level, near the Wedge co-op and countless cafes, but also next to a highway entrance ramp, as I mentioned before.  It can be noisy (as I type this, a motorcycle is revving its engine).  :-(

We'll see what happens.



A day.

Today has not been the best.
Last night, I started having some sharp pains in my chest, on the left side.  It wasn't the first time I'd experienced this.  Every few weeks, I have chest pain (!), but it never lasts very long...perhaps a couple of minutes at most, with the pain coming in waves.  I always assumed it was nothing, or at least nothing serious.  Early this morning, though, I woke up to more pain.  I went to the ER around 8am with J at the recommendation of a nurse at my primary care.  I was at the hospital for about three hours, and after an EKG, an X-ray, and some blood tests, I still don't have a diagnosis.  The doctor I saw thinks it might be anxiety-induced.  I have a history of anxiety, so this isn't a terribly big surprise.  It's still crappy, though.

I didn't go to work today.  Tons of guilt about that, which makes the anxiety worse.
I've been deep in thought all day.  I'm thinking about some ways I can reduce the stress I feel, and try to absorb less of the day-to-day pressures I face.
I was somewhat productive here at home.  This is just off the needles:

Sock #1 of my modified version of Froot Loop.

I also watched the entire second series of the BBC's The Office on DVD, which I really like and has been oddly comforting today.  J was sweet enough to rent it for me from Filmzilla.

Anyhoo...I otter go...
Good night.



Cleaning day! Also...is crafting in my genes?

Whew!  I've been a busy bee at home all day today.  (I don't work on Mondays.)  I have been cleaning like a fiend!
The first thing I tackled in the apartment was our bedroom closet, which truly has been an utter disaster until this afternoon.  I wish I'd taken a "before" photo, but here's the "after":

Honestly, the carpet was not visible prior to the clean-up, and there was no space to actually stand.  Clothes and shoes and other randomness were littered everywhere.
Now, though...so much better...sigh.  :-)
I like tidiness.  It keeps my stress level down.  I'm not even a neat person by nature, and it does take conscious effort for me to keep things organized.  (J is even worse.)  But I am much more calm when things are spic-and-span.  I don't want to live in a sterile, uber-hygienic space.  I'm definitely not a germaphobe, and I abhor anti-bacterial household chemicals and all that crap.  I just want things...neat.  Easy to access.  Not all over the floor waiting to be tripped over.  Not cluttered. 
After the closet purge, I cleaned George's cage, vacuumed the bedroom carpet, did laundry, did the dishes, and swept the living-area's floor. 
As I did so, I pondered my love of knitting and other crafts.  I started to think about some of my relatives and their own love of crafting.
My maternal grandmother's mother and her sisters were ardent quilters, crocheters, knitters, and "tatters" (that is, they liked tatting).  I've been told that they often entered their works into county fairs and such, and won prizes.

My great-grandmother and her sisters as young women in Sparta, Illinois.  This photo was probably taken around the end of WWI.  I'm not quite sure who is who. 



I am fortunate enough to have some quilts and other craftworks made by my great-grandmother and great-aunts.  Here's my favorite, a quilt made by them together and other women in their community:

(Bella and Willow are helping by increasing the cute factor.)

The quilt was made between 1938 and 1940:

My great-aunt Gladys's piece on the quilt:

So, I come from crafty stock.  My grandmother was a knitter and crocheter like her mother.  My mom is quite the seamstress, while my aunt likes to cross-stitch. 

When I lived in Chicago, I used to make soap from scratch and sell it sometimes at local fairs.  I called my mini one-girl company Scrub No Evil.  In my run-down apartment kitchen I'd brew my soapy concoctions of lye and olive oil, and use essential oils of patchouli, bay rum, peppermint, and lavender for all-natural scents.
I taught myself how to make my soap, using a few Internet-acquired recipes as basic guidelines. 
I also taught myself how to knit.  It was the fall of 2000 and I was in Americorps, doing wildlife management stuff (specifcally, feeding local elk herds) in rural Washington state.  I found a battered copy of a Vogue knitting book from the 1970s, went to Wal-Mart in Yakima to buy some cheap #6 needles and Lion Brand yarn, and the rest was...history?

Here's a patch I knitted "free-hand" in 2007, sitting on a bus en route to Latvia from Lithuania:

What should I do with it?  Sew it on a sweater, maybe?

I'll get going for now...gotta get some other things done, like start dinner, do some homework, check the ol' e-mail...

Till next time!



Moose sock blockers!

About two weeks ago I ordered a pair of wooden sock blockers with a moose design from Purrfectly Catchy Designs.  I got them this past week, and they are fantastic!  I love them.

Lookee here!

 The socks are my Northern Lights socks, which I finished a couple of weeks ago.  Yarn: Farm Blend (llama, wool, mohair) by Blackberry Hills in Wisconsin.  The colorway is so beautiful...ice, navy, sky, storm, star...

 

Deep Gemstone Lake socks, also finished a couple of weeks ago.  Yarn: Mirasol Chirapa (100% merino)--

what a great yarn to work with!

I've been taking lots of pictures today of some recently finished knitted socks on my new "mooses", which have been great because it's hard to take good photos of your own feet!  (At least, it is for me.)  In general, I have a somewhat challenging time taking photos of my knitted projects.  It's hard to find the right light and angle to properly show the definition of the stitches and the true color of the yarn.  My camera, a Nikon Coolpix L3, is decent enough (I guess).  It's the only digital camera I've ever had, and I received it as a college graduation gift from my aunt and uncle back in 2006.  I have considered getting a newer camera, but ultimately I feel that since I have taken some great pictures with it in five countries (and countless situations!) over the past five years, why give up on it?  I just have to be a more creative photographer by working within my camera's limits.

Various knits from the past year or so!

Rusty Cables pullover, adapted from Cathy Payson's Placed Cable Aran pattern from Interweave Knits, Fall 2007.

Short red knitted dress, created using the Incredible Custom-Fit Pullover method by Pamela Costello.  This is a wonderful, simple and effective un-pattern, by the way.  I highly recommend!

Cypress, a long cabled green hoodie.  My sister is the model in this photo, and it looked so good on her that it is now hers.

Okay!  It's a lovely Sunday afternoon, so I should get off the computer and do something else (like knitting or spinning...)

Just one more photo:  J and me, cross-country skiing near Grand Rapids back in February of this year.

(very tall guy + very short girl = fun!)