more february.

Posted on March 9, 2016 by barefootrooster

Catching up here and everywhere in my life right now; thought you might want to see a bit more of our February — or at least the parts I happened to photograph!

An old friend sent me this gorgeous, hand-carved spoon for my birthday. He’s been wearing hats I’ve knit him for close to a decade; I love that I’m going to be stirring things on the stove with his handiwork for years to come.

Um, another one of those amazing breakfast sandwiches. I’m pretty sure I snap a picture of this each time I eat it.

My smoothie matches my pants! It needed to be documented.

Cocktails and oysters. Just because, and also because I’ve got some news to share: this summer, Boh and I are headed West. I’m going to start my dream job in the fall, and I could not be more excited. (I also could not be more tired — balancing my first year of professoring with being on the job market has been exhausting.) I’m grateful every day for the wonderfulness of my students and my colleagues at my current institution. Everyone here has been so supportive of my search for a tenure-track position (I am currently a visiting professor), and even though I am thrilled about where I’m headed, I will be sad to leave this community.

Got stuck in Newark during my interview travels, which means I got an evening with this sweet dog and her owners.

This guy is getting a bit gray in the face. Love him to pieces.

Christening a new pot with brussel sprouts!

Another professor costume.

Oh, hello, Boh. Why so worried? I keep telling him that we are going to move back to the mountains, but I don’t think he gets it. His response is always something like, “is it dinnertime?”

road trip, part 1.

Posted on July 18, 2009 by barefootrooster

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Boh and I camped halfway, and I managed to capture the last (blurry) moments of an Ozark sunset.

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While this picture reveals a general state of disarray — a mere moment in my packing up process, I assure you — it highlights the importance of good coffee. I came equipped to make my own, and it was delicious. (This was the only time I got out my camp stove on the whole trip, and I’m glad I brought it!)

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Several hundred miles later, the backside of the mountains I used to photograph out my front door came into view.

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The next morning, Boh and I were lounging in the sun in the backyard of our dear hosts. I miss desert mornings most of all, and I tried to absorb as much early morning sun as I could. (Yep, that’s Mara. She’s getting bigger and ever more blob-like.)

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[ETA: this photo taken by the lovely oogaknits on ravelry.]

We enjoyed a leisurely stroll above 10,000 feet (and were surprised by how well we slept that night).

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(to be continued…)

it may be sunny and 55…

Posted on February 24, 2008 by barefootrooster

but I am wearing a sweater!

(Boy, that mirror is dirty.) I can justify the sweater, though. Take a look at the mountains:

See? There’s snow up there! Also, I think there is some kind of rule that you have to wear your first sweater the second it is done. (Okay, not true. This isn’t exactly the first sweater I’ve made. Over the summer, I knit Coachella, but the neckline turned out a bit too low to be worn in most situations…More on that someday.)

Anyway, I spent much of last night finishing the ribbing. Here’s a shot of the shrug in vest form:

I spent all morning seaming. I was a bit unclear about how everything was supposed to line up — no schematic — so I ended up seaming most of the sleeve caps, looking at them, and realizing that I needed to seam a few inches more of the sleeeves to the body. This process created many ends to weave in.

Somebody was pouting. In all fairness, he did miss a leisurely Sunday stroll. (His life is extremely hard.)

A few more pictures of my finished Bolero Jacket:

The necklace I’m wearing, by the way, is made by Lisa Donald, a friend who also makes/sells jewelry. She has a great eye — this is made from a clip-on earring that feels very 1960s to me. How convenient that it matches this sweater perfectly!

Posting may be sporadic this week — a dear friend flies in tonight to spend 4 days playing with me and Boh!

and exhale…

Posted on February 18, 2008 by barefootrooster

I’ve been knitting quite a lot lately, as you can see. There are many reasons for this, but there is one big reason that I haven’t shared: I’ve been waiting. Anxiously. And not sleeping super well. This fall, I decided that I was ready to apply to graduate school. I completed each step, put everything in the mail, and began to wait.

On Saturday, I received a phone call from a professor in an excellent department of ___ at an incredible university. In August, I will begin a PhD program. I have truly loved (and/or learned from!) the range of work I’ve done over the last four years, but it is time. I am so excited to be able to devote myself to reading, learning, thinking and writing.

I had planned to run away this weekend to disconnect from technology a bit and distance myself from things like “no” letters and the anxiety of waiting and worrying. That phone call came as I was packing the car. Boh and I headed south, to explore by doing this (that’s not me!):