…and approved.

Posted on April 29, 2015 by barefootrooster

That means I’ve done everything I need to do to receive the degree at the end of next month. One more conference next week, but this is the homestretch of a lot of things.

Got notice about final approval this morning. Want to see how we spent our day? (I mean, after a bunch of work and teaching-related emails, which I did not photo-document.)

I took a blanket out to a natural area owned by my university. Boh licked all the different kinds of grass, and then basked, like this, in the sun. I started a book.

And then I finished it on the porch, after stopping for my first soft-serve ice cream cone of the season.

I made multiple trips to the library this evening to return books, because I’ll need to clear out my account before graduation. (But I did make a big pdf of everything I had checked out so I can go back to some of this stuff when it is time to begin the process of revising the dissertation into a book manuscript.)

And then we did a little more lounging while listening to the new Mandolin Orange album, streaming here. (To be released next week.) I still have teaching work to do, but I’ll prep for tomorrow’s afternoon class in the morning. Knitting soon, I promise!

filed (!) and…

Posted on April 28, 2015 by barefootrooster

Boh and I basically sat on the couch like this all weekend, formatting my dissertation.

I made up new rules for myself, like when you’re working on an enormous bibliography, it is okay to eat avocado, sriracha, and cheese broiled on toast for dinner. (I think it’s a great rule.)

Even though it is supposed to be spring, we had a bit of a relapse…

Boh shared my enthusiasm for the shift in weather. See?

But yesterday, I filed my dissertation. (Well, I hit the button to submit it, and I’m still waiting to hear if I managed to screw up the formatting.) But I also did something else, something I’ve been daydreaming about for years. I got my dissertation tattoo, a downy woodpecker, beautifully drawn for me by a woman who owns my favorite coffee shop and works at the tattoo parlor in the back.

(Ignore that bruise; it’s from a blood draw earlier this week.) I knew I wanted a bird, but I picked this bird, specifically, because there’s a female downy woodpecker who regularly comes pretty close to the house when I’m writing on the porch. This bird is about a lot of things: she’s connected to my research, but also to the home I’ve built here, to these last seven years of graduate school, and also to the movement (migration?) ahead of me. Isn’t she beautiful?

still not knitting…

Posted on April 23, 2015 by barefootrooster

…but I need to add my voice to the chorus of folks saying that the new Alabama Shakes album is AMAZING. Seriously. I loved their first album — Brittany Howard is the real deal, and also, I’m a fan of any lady who writes a song where the dude says, “Now let me take you out, buy you new appliances…”

But this is pretty incredible. Here’s Don’t Wanna Fight and Gimme All Your Love. The rest of the album is just as good. And perfect for this turn back toward winter we’ve been experiencing. Might get some snow flurries today, highs in the forties.

More of the same around here:

Boh, “helping” me prep for class.

More popcorn with the curry-cumin-cinnamon-salt spice mixture.

First spring flowers in the yard!

More “helping,” this time with formatting the bibliography of the dissertation.

Another professor costume. K. says that I should call it a uniform instead of a costume, since I’m not pretending. We’ll see about that :)

Boh keeps watch over the front yard.

And smiles after a great walk through the park. This dog is thrilled about spring. (We should be back to spring temps after a cooler today/tomorrow.)

a (quiet) day in the life (of boh).

Posted on April 19, 2015 by barefootrooster

Turns out I did a pretty good job of documenting Boh’s movements yesterday. Together they add up to a quiet, but accurate, portrait of a Saturday filled with dissertation polishing on the porch:

We started with coffee and some reading. (I’m considering assigning this at the end of one of my classes this fall, so it counts as work, even though it is definitely “fun” work.)

While I read and drank my coffee, Boh looked at his reflection in the porch window.

And then he spent some time looking at me, like, hey, we’re ALMOST outside, can we just keep going?

And then he settled down in the patch of sun under my favorite yellow table.

And tried to get comfortable.

He stayed here, in this patch of sun, for a few hours.

It seems he was so comfortable there that he didn’t even move when I got up to make some lunch.

Yesterday afternoon, we took a nice, long stroll with our friend R. Boh was very happy to see him; R. stays with Boh at the lake house sometimes when I travel for conferences and research. We walked all through one of my favorite neighborhoods, and ended up here, at the waterfalls that are quite close to town. I’ve never seen this waterfall rage so hard–must be a combination of quick melting and steady spring rain. Boh put his paws in the water.

More porch working, and then I decided to make a big batch of popcorn. (Boh is just out of the frame. He loves popcorn–or rather, thinks he would love popcorn if I let him have any.) This batch is dusted with a mixture of curry powder, smoked paprika, salt, cinnamon, and cumin. Not sure where I got the ratios (they are just scribbled inside a cookbook now), but I like these spices on popcorn a lot.

After a break (I just went back to the beginning of Orphan Black because the new season just started, so I’m appreciating anew how amazing Tatiana Maslany is in that show), back to work. Boh napped in what little space I was not hogging on the couch.

And then, sleepy from our walk today, Boh played at being a lap dog.

He doesn’t often curl up and stay like this for hours, but last night he found a comfortable spot and just settled in.

He even let me get out my book.

I figured we’d sit like this for a little while, and then all of a sudden I’d stayed up pretty late finishing the book while Boh snored. Coffee’s ready, so time to begin today’s version of all of this. Happy weekend, friends.

ruination day (april 14)

Posted on April 14, 2015 by barefootrooster

Gillian Welch’s “April the 14th Part 1” is worth a listen all the time, but maybe especially today. And thank you, friends, for all your kind words and congratulations. It hasn’t really hit me yet that I did this thing. Maybe once I’ve filed the thing at the end of the month?

Anyway, my first few days as a doctor involved catching up on some sleep, eating breakfast on the porch, and taking some solid walks with my sweet dog. (And some actual celebrating.) Want to see?

Boh, basking in the sun. (I had to laugh–his eyes were closed, but he was holding up his head and sort of nodding as he fell asleep.)

More beautiful flowers to celebrate. I love spring flowers.

Our local waterfall, raging after a lot of spring rain.

Boh was pretty excited about it — can you see that he’s drooling? (This is a little gross, but Boh only drools when he is excited, either on a really great walk filled with good smells, or when he’s playing outside with new dog friends. His drool is really…viscous? So he’ll be running around with a serious strand of it hanging from his mouth. Sort of icky, but also strangely endearing.)

Celebratory beverage, the first. I have decided that all beverages should be chilled with ice spheres.

Warm enough for bare legs! Also worth celebrating after such a long winter.

Porch breakfast (scrambled eggs, salsa, corn tortillas), flowers, and a matching notebook. (For slowly getting back to work.)

My trusty sidekick, snoring under the table. I’ll take it. No knitting to share right now, but I imagine I’ll be back to it soon…

april (almost there).

Posted on April 6, 2015 by barefootrooster

Hi, friends. Boh had a rough week. Those of you who’ve been here awhile can probably tell that this face is not Boh’s regular sad face.

He did not feel good on Wednesday, and was having trouble getting up onto the couch. He tried to jump up into the car and missed, which broke my heart. So we went to the vet.

And after lots of bloodwork to rule out the scary stuff, the diagnosis was that he tweaked something in his back. Armed with pain meds and orders to not jump, play, or take walks for a week, we headed back home.

And the weather turned into pretty good hunkering weather. The fog sat low over the lake, which made the yard look eerie.

Eerie but lovely.

And look! Spring might be here soon. The daffodils are trying, anyway.

Somebody’s feeling a little better. Good enough to make that super quizzical face at the huge pile of paper on my lap. (That’s a draft of my DISSERTATION, you guys!)

And here’s a roasted beet salad I made the other night. Farm beets, homemade dressing, and bread I picked up at opening day of our farmers’ market.

Beer to help with the grading. (I’ll confess, I picked this half because I miss the West, and half because of the sheep. Beer for knitters?)

Still sleepy, but he’s definitely feeling better. The sun is shining today, and I’m so ready for Boh to finish his meds so we can get back to all of our favorite spots. Happy spring, friends. (And maybe there will be some knitting soon? I’ve got a blanket to finish, and I did recently offer to make someone a hat…)

[clears throat]

Posted on January 23, 2015 by barefootrooster

Hi, friends. I seem to be neglecting this space. But the good news is that I have been knitting — mostly simple things, and a lot of garter stitch bias blankets as presents. Want to see some of what we’ve been up to these last few months?

Well, this guy has been doing a lot of this.

And I’ve been knitting a lot of colorblock bias blankets, all of them wedding presents.

I can’t even pick one; I love all the different color combinations I’ve been using for these.

Oh, and this hat is going to make its way to a friend who I’m pretty sure has been wearing a hat I made him something like 8 years ago — one of my earliest projects.

Another! This yellow yarn was a cashmere blend that I bought in NYC maybe in 2007? It just hadn’t found the right project yet. I love this stripe of brightness.

This blanket has some Fibre Company Knightsbridge AND a whole skein of Malabrigo. So soft.

A walk on a cold but sunny day. I love all the different colors in the water and ice of the stream.

An attempt at a self portrait with Boh. He never looks at the camera when we try this, so this is about as good as they get.

Butternut tikka masala from Feasting at Home. This was SO GOOD.

The finished blanket with the Knightsbridge and Malabrigo.

I got a very cool portable standing desk, and now Boh supervises by sitting right next to me while I write.

I’m on the academic job market right now, and it is brutal. Boh and I needed a little bit of sunshine this afternoon, and the view from the park near my house helped. Everything was sparkling today.

A baby hat out of handspun for a friend’s soon-to-be-here baby.

An adventure to find the waterfall at a local natural area owned by my university. I think it was December, but it felt like fall.

Happy, happy rooster. (And happy Boh, too.)

Hope you’re all well, fiber friends.

fall.

Posted on October 4, 2014 by barefootrooster

I just looked over at Boh snoring next to me on the couch, and thought you might want to see a little bit of what we’ve been up to the last few months. I’m not knitting very much, but I’m hoping that my fingers will want to work on something simple and help me catch up on the wedding gift knitting in my queue. Things are very busy around here — fellowship applications, the academic job market, the dissertation. I can’t promise there will be much blogging, but I am still here, still reading blogs, and still very much appreciating the internet community of knitters and spinners. Happy fall to all of you.

Boh enjoying one of our favorite places to walk.

And wade.

We enjoyed watching this flicker look for treats on the stone steps outside the enclosed porch.

Scrambed eggs, avocado, and salsa on corn tortillas: lunch of dissertators (champions?).

Negroni on the porch.

I had the flu a few weeks ago, and Boh took care of me.

A self portrait in the very fancy bathroom of a new building on campus.

Sitting on the dock.

My mom came for a quick visit, and she brought me a pumpkin!

Farm flowers. The gladiolas this year were gorgeous.

Happy, happy dog.

Fall has begun. I love it, and I think Boh really does, too. Maybe there’s something about the smell of leaves?

Fancy shoes and a manhattan help with proofreading, right? (One of my goals for this fall is to become a little bit more proficient in the land of mixing drinks.)

A view of the lake from campus on a clear, sunny day.

Thanks for reading, friends.

almost all boh; no new knitting.

Posted on February 21, 2014 by barefootrooster

Sometimes I have to put on pretty shoes (or any shoes) to get some writing done.

I baked myself a cake: strawberry buttermilk cake, to be precise. (Based on that Smitten Kitchen raspberry buttermilk cake that I’ve totally made and linked to, here, many times. Of course, too lazy to track down the link right now…)

Wrinkles and snoring.

This blue vest is my new favorite thing — it’s the birthday present I bought for myself. (Do you do this? If not, you should.)

Another handspun eternity scarf in action. This is the first one I knit.

I picked a fight with the driveway the other day. A sheet of ice, courtesy of some early morning freezing rain, means that I’ve got a bloody knuckle and a banged up hip. Tough to get old. My students were sweet, though — I held up my fist and one of them said, “What’s the other guy look like?”

This face is what I saw when I woke up on Thursday — I’d been trying to sleep in, and I didn’t set an alarm. Hello, sweetness.

Boh seems to know that I’m in the market for a little extra puppy love these days. I’ll take it.

Oh. My. Goodness. I swear, he puts that bone around his leg like a bracelet all by himself.

And then proceeds to take a nap.

Snowbird in action.

Boh performs “lap dog” quite well sometimes. Happy Friday, friends.

february.

Posted on February 16, 2014 by barefootrooster

Hello, friends. This is pretty much what it looks like here at Chez Rooster. Except there’s more snow. (Which means there’s been a lot more shoveling…)

Sweetness from Boh.

A ridiculous outfit I found myself wearing sometime last week, and had to document.

Wrinkles. Snoring. Swoon.

Some mornings, this is the look I wake up to.

And some knits in action. Because if I’m not really knitting right now, at least I should be enjoying handknits, right? (Also, forgive this silly pose. If I want my neck in the picture, which is where the knitwear is, but also want you to be able to see my boots, some awkward posing is necessary. And I’m sure the hand on the hip is thanks to plenty of social conditioning. I cringe.)

I have been wearing the heck out of this handspun eternity scarf. I think the fiber was Pigeonroof Studios merino, and it is so so so soft.

Some grading and editing work at the coffee shop this morning. I treated myself to a dinosaur cookie.

Boh and I are hanging in there — lots of things are up in the air, and the to-do pile grows ever larger. Thankful for a long weekend to try to catch up a little bit. Hope you’re all well — and warm in your knits!

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barefoot rooster

cockadoodle-doo: one rooster's ramblings

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