Boh keeps me company while I read.
A glimpse of a favorite handknit and tea with milk and sugar.
Coltrane, ready for bed. (Seriously. Apparently if he doesn’t get tucked in, he waits at the bedroom door. Also, note the paw under the pillow. I love this dog.)
More soon. (With knitting?)
Like Hammer time, but not.
It’s official, folks. For the last several weeks, the weather has mostly been the kind of weather where you CAN wear a cowl, and you won’t be too warm. Today, though, is the first day where I feel like I NEED to wear a cowl or some other form of hand-knit goodness around my neck. I’m declaring it officially cowl time. Please adjust your behavior accordingly. (Boh will wait.)
Or maybe he’ll just continue to supervise the edging on my hap blanket.
I’m about seven rows in — so far so good. Happy Friday!
Well for one, stitches. (Time to start knitting the edging!)
Also, work. I’ve managed to get a decent amount of reading done since Thanksgiving, which is good. (I’m not counting today…)
And myself, too. I bought some holiday booze this week — a small indulgence, a reminder that fancy things can be just for me. You know, like extra olives and good gin while cooking dinner. I’m trying to remember to be good to myself. (B. left a year ago today. And what a year it has been — my exams, moving to the lake house, writing the dissertation prospectus, all this research travel. I think I get an extra gin-soaked olive or two for all of that.)
Picking up….? I’ve got nothing for this one. Boh looks pretty happy with the pace of things around here. Can you believe it will soon be December? Stay tuned for more pictures of the hap blanket edging. And give yourself a treat. You deserve it.
Weekend highlights from the iPhone: First, Boh claimed a small rug near the fireplace as his own. (This became prime real estate when a fire was actually burning in the fireplace, which occurred at least twice during the holiday weekend.)
Yes, Dad, I’ll have a martini with my transcription, thankyouverymuch.
Proof that bathroom mirror photos can be way more glamorous. (Note the poinsettia in the shower.) I found this awesome 100% wool sweater of cable-y goodness in my childhood closet (which is now mostly filled with my mom’s stuff). I think I asked for this for Christmas about ten years ago, and Santa delivered. And within a few years, somehow, it seemed out of style. To be fair, I moved to Southeast Asia and then to the desert, where a super-dense sweater might not be the first thing to reach for. And I didn’t yet knit. Anyway, I’m so happy to have found it. I pulled it on this morning over whatever I was wearing as I worked, and I love it. I imagine this will be a go-to sweater for taking Boh out as the mornings get colder.
Time to unpack and then enjoy the leftovers I brought home with me!
For so much, but these days, especially for this dog. This has been a weird semester for me: I’m not teaching, and I’ve been traveling a lot, which means I’ve spent a lot of time alone, working (or trying to work). Trying to both get my research done and make sure Boh is happy while I’m away has been a bit of a scheduling challenge, but I wouldn’t change my decision to add him to my family 4 and a half years ago for anything. His routine — and companionship — have been incredibly important for me, especially these past few months. And since this is probably the month of his birth, and he’s turning five this year, I’m taking a moment to be thankful for his wrinkly face and his place in my life.
There are so many people friendships moments words that I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving. I’m so lucky to have so many reminders in my life — of what’s good and true, of what’s worth fighting for. And in focusing on Boh in this post, I don’t mean to downplay those at all.
But this year, this fall in particular, I’m appreciative of what it means and how it feels to have the company of a sweet dog during a mostly solitary semester.
Boh and I are headed to my parents’ house tomorrow morning, and we’re taking along the hap blanket — so stay tuned for more actual knitting! (The wedding, by the way, was lovely. A chance to laugh and reconnect with dear friends, and even to get some quality hang-out time with the groom, who easily makes it onto my list of all-time favorite people.)
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating this week, and safe travels.
Sorry. Couldn’t help myself. Anyway, not much to report around here — just slow and steady progress on the hap blanket. And a sweet, snoring dog keeping me company.
Crazy, right? I tend to always vote for sensible over sexy in the shoe department, but I’m attending wedding #4 (of 8 this year) next weekend, and I realized that I do not have non-summery shoes suitable for black-tie-optional affairs. (And, you know, teaching. I’m teaching a course I designed this spring, and I figure that being the “instructor of record” might warrant tall shoes. It could also be that I am missing M., a friend currently traveling the back roads of the deep South for research. She wears tall shoes.)
Anyway, I ordered two pairs, and decided to keep them both. Here’s the first pair. I actually wore these to the coffee shop earlier this week to “practice.” No wipe-outs. And I feel awesome in these shoes. (Years ago I would have shied away from shoes like this, both for practical — a broken toe from my rugby days — and political — as affirming certain cultural ideas about prettiness/beauty — reasons. The toe has healed, though, and while my politics are perhaps more radical and feminist than ever, they’re also more nuanced.)
So, I love them. And while they aren’t the most comfortable shoes I own (hello, flip-flops), they’re for me, and nobody else, and I think they’ll give me that extra boost of confidence I’m realizing I need to attend so many weddings this year by myself.
Speaking of which, also on the wedding to-do list was to decide on a gift. Ages ago I thought I’d knit a pinwheel blanket, which seems to be my go-to wedding gift knit, but when the time came to cast on (okay, really the time should have come a few weeks ago), I just wasn’t feeling inspired. I really like the idea of giving a lap blanket because it is cozy (perhaps cozy enough for two — and certainly cozy enough for two newlyweds) and not super gender-specific. This next wedding is the wedding of one of my best guy friends from college, so I want to knit something that feels like it is for him (though I also really like the woman he is marrying, and think they are a great fit).
After a lot of digging around ravelry, I settled on the Hap Blanket, by Ysolda Teague. I’m using two greens — a greyish green heather, and a deeper olive/army green for the contrast color, both in Cascade 220. I’m following some super thoughtful mods I located on a few projects: provisional cast-on, and revised numbers for worsted weight yarn. I don’t think I’ll have this done in time for the wedding, but I’ll bring it to knit on the plane, and then I can send it to the bride and groom shortly afterwards. (They’re getting married not where they live, so I feel like sending it to them at home is best.)
I love squishy garter stitch. So cozy and warm and home-y. Other things that fit this description?
Garlicky chard and toast. Also, this guy:
Yep. I love this dog. Boh and I are going to settle in for an evening of knitting on the couch. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
A slow start today, folks. Yesterday I managed to get some serious revision done on the prospectus. (The trick? A five o’clock latte. I think I’m starting to resign myself to the fact that I need an afternoon change of scenery and a fancy espresso drink to get shit done and feel good doing it.) Boh looks like he could use a latte, and it isn’t even noon.
I’m making slow, steady progress on that BSJ I started a few weeks ago. I love this shade of green — so bright, so happy.
Here’s the side view of that sweet pout. Looks like somebody needs to give Florence and the Machine’s new album a listen. Seriously. I downloaded it yesterday, and it got me through a whole sink of dishes. There’s something about Florence Welch’s particular brand of big and epic that I love. (*”Shake It Out” is the second track on Ceremonials.)
Yesterday afternoon I met up with dear friend T. and her very handsome son W. for a walk in a nearby state park. Boh was so excited to be on an adventure that he could barely hold still to have his photo taken!
The weather is growing cool and crisp, and these awesome birthday mitts from brokeknits were just what I needed. Hooray for mitt weather!
After our walk, it was time for me to get back to work, and there was no way that was going to happen curled up on the couch with a very happy dog. I put on my wurm cowl and headed out to a coffee shop.
I think this is going to get a lot of wear this fall and winter. Thanks, you guys, for convincing me that the colors wouldn’t be too crazy for me. Off to yoga!
Yesterday I made veggies and poached eggs, inspired by this recipe. I listened to loud music as I chopped veggies, and then sat down with the latest New Yorker on the porch to eat the first half of this. (The second half was dinner.) In between, Boh and I went on an outing, to one of our favorite places to walk. You know, before we had a path in the backyard. He needed an adventure, and I needed some spices from the farm market nearby. So off we went.
I think we both really needed an hour away from everything. We put our paws in the creek, and enjoyed the beginnings of fall colors. And the warmth of the sun. It’s going to turn cold again this week.
One more shot of Boh, ever vigilant at the door. He works so hard. And I’m trying to. I’d really like to send off a draft of my prospectus today. I was aiming for the weekend, but today’s a holiday (for some) right? So today would still count as making my self-imposed deadline…
barefoot rooster 