Nesting

I've been nesting the past couple of weeks, thinking about the rental house and what needs to go into making it a home. And while for most chicks nesting means stuff for the house (and it's not like I'm not thinking about that), for me it's turned into a bout of knitting.

While at Candyce's, I started working on my snowdrop shawl in Cashwool, a soft brown merino wool. It's lovely in hand and took Episodes IV and VI of Star Wars to wind from a hank into a ball. An odd measurement of time, but it did actually take me viewings of both movies to complete the winding!

I'd have watched Empire Strikes Back, too, except that it was in the living room when Candyce packed all my movies. The only two DVDs left outside a box were the ones I watched.

As I'm knitting, I feel less tense and stressed. It's a very fiddly pattern for me, being all delicate, so it requires much concentration and that helps take my mind off things that have been making me sad. I've ripped it back several times already, but figure that unless the mistakes are horrendous (such as forgetting the yarn overs), I may just forge ahead. For example, my ssk's are kind of wonky, but no matter, I knit on unperturbed. Mostly.

It's probably the fact that I need to keep my mind focused on things that makes knitting so relaxing for me. While I don't like having to rip back, it doesn't seem to annoy me as much as it should.

In any case, I'm not sure how long this shawl will take. I'm putting in lifelines as I go along to ensure that I don't need to rip all the way back to the first stitch. We'll see how that goes.

Cherubs

I'm sitting at Candyce's computer, wrapped up in one of her bathrobes, listening to the sound of the fish tank gurgling. The cats are in the kitchen, hoping someone will feed them soon, but their mom is still asleep. I'm so grateful for good friends like Candyce, who lift my spirits and let me cry. Friends who stood by me in rough times and gave my little children nicknames when they misbehaved.

It was over ten years ago when Cecily, upon hearing stories of my boys and their active little boy ways started calling them "cherubs" because they so were not. She also nicknamed my obviously wrong boyfriend "Mr. Wrong" and mentioned how he was wrong for me just like her occasional boyfriend was wrong for her. We called him "Mr. Wrong's Cousin."

When I first started working at Regence, I was afraid of Cecily a little. At six-feet tall, she cut an imposing figure, quiet and assured with a wonderfully sardonic sense of humor. The first time I heard her laugh was the day that Lynda, Annabelle and I had to share a conference room with her because she was doing paperwork and the three of us were recording a song I wrote as a farewell for Deborah, another of our coworkers. We finished our recording and Cecily shook her head at us, laughing and telling us we were all nuts.

(And we were, too. Later on, Annabelle and I reprised the song for our VP at a Christmas party. It was pretty funny, if I may say so, being to the tune of "Mr. Sandman" and having to do with the physicians who called us on the customer service phone lines. I still remember most of it even now, but it's much better sung in close harmony...really.)

I haven't been in touch with Cecily since before Rob moved out here. We had lunch and dinner a couple of times after I left Regence, but I was busy with my multiple jobs and we just sort of drifted apart.

Melani left me a message yesterday that Cecily's passed away. I'm so sad and my heart feels like its been stomped on. I haven't seen her in years, yes, but I still call my children Cherubs and still refer to Erik as "Mr. Wrong," and it's all because of Cecily. She was supremely supportive when I went through my first divorce and was just an all-around nice person. Funny, cheeky and she had the best collection of cool eyeglass frames I've ever seen.

Thanks for being my friend, Cecily...I wish I had been a better friend myself.

Vive le Revolution!

Kevin is in LA at E3 this week, which would normally be my tradional week-with-Candyce. Now that I am already splitting my time between my cats and Dan, I will only be over a couple of nights. Quelle domage!

Last night I was lost to the wonder of Civilization Revolution. Alas, it sucked up my entire evening as I swept the world in not one but two victories! Hah! Take that, Napoleon! Suffer my wrath, Gandhi! Bite me, Cleopatra!

I need to get this game for my DS...after we move. Poor Dan was reduced to armchair ambassadorship, giving me hints and tips. I hadn't played before, but had been watching him over the weekend and it seemed like a fun game. It's terribly fun and addictive.

Shaka Zulu and I didn't build the United Nations until 1:30AM, whereupon we could rest on our cultural laurels.

It's going to be a loooooong day.

Snow in July

Snowdrops, actually, as I am once again going to work on Yarn Harlot's snowdrop shawl pattern. I set the pattern aside last year to make baby blankets but would really like to finish one of these shawls.

I already have off-white mohair which I found kind of snarky to work with (just as Steph and Gryph had said...the little prophets), and then saw this here Cherry Tree Hill Orenburg lace yarn (in Monet) at the discount yarn website...and there you go. I bought two skeins of the stuff.

I must be mad.

Candyce came over today after dim sum to help me pack up some stuff. Yay! I'm very glad to have had her company. We gossiped and chatted while putting away my living room thingers, until I ran out of boxes small enough for my books.

The house we're moving into is a 2200 square foot split-level. Dan and I surveyed our furnishings and realized we have only "downstairs" furniture. At some point, we shall have to make like grown-ups and by "upstairs" stuff. At least a couch of some kind. Maybe a light fixture. I dunno. We'll have to finish packing and moving in before we know for sure!

Eddie!

The evening had been anticipated for months, ever since Candyce and I conspired to buy tickets for our little crew of pals. In one of those weird internet twists of fate, the tickets we both bought within an hour of each other were in the same row, just two seats away. Mysterious! Magic!

Except that Lorien and Chris were in the next section over and down a bit...but we could see each other from our seats, so all was good.

The show was fantabulous! I don't know when I've laughed so often and for so long. Dan nearly lost his voice thereafter from laughing. Although we were all pretty tired from work, Eddie Izzard was a great respite from the daily grind! I highly recommend seeing him if you get the chance!

Funny...

...how things work.

We are going to rent a house.

Hahaha!

Happy Fourth!

Dan is making us breakfast and I am on the couch with my knee resting on an ice pack.

Yes, we are late risers. So sue us :)

Went to see a sports medicine doctor about the pain in the back of my knee. He poked, he prodded, he twisted it and all sorts of interesting things. It's obviously swollen (although I hadn't actually looked at the back of my knee until he did). He said it is very likely a Baker's cyst, which isn't as delicious as it may sound. However, he doesn't want to rush me off for an MRI quite yet. Instead I am "resting vigorously" on doctor's orders.

In any case, my knee still hurts but hopefully, we shall have it under control and I can go back to my training. Yay for training!

In other news, I got a new cell phone and spent last night playing with all the new features. I'm usually a last adopter of new technology, but I thought this might be a cool little gadget. It's got orange sidebars and is extremely thin.

And I can finally use the little owl dingle-dangle that Candyce bought me last year as this model also has a place to hang stuff from!

Enjoy your long weekend, everyone!

Whoo Sent This?

Cute little parcel arrived at the office yesterday and Dan denied any involvement. A secret admirer? Another stalker? Did I buy it myself and completely forget ordering it? I needed to use all my masterly Nancy Drew skills to figure out from whence it came

A good memory might have helped me even more. Thank you, Sushi-girl! I love it!

This is an adorable, adorable little necklace! It's on a Scrabble tile and...get this...the letter is a "T" -- now is that fate or what?

Photo is borrowed from their Etsy website so you can see just how stinkin cute this baby is.

Photos are up!

You may now peer at Phil's graduation AND the photos from Candyce's little "I'm unemployed! Yay!" fondue supper AND AND AND photos from the Seafair Half-Marathon.

Please to check out flickr link on the side.

Aloha!

One Thousand

According to Blogger, this is my one thousandth post! Aiee!

As you can tell, I survived the Seafair half-marathon walk today in pretty fair shape. I have a blister on one heel. Despite a temperature high of 91 degrees in Puget Sound today I am not in any particular pain. Weeks of training are paying off! Hah!

If I can do this, any of you can. Seriously.

I did take a handful of photos, but my camera connecting thingers are not convenient (and it's too hot for me to look for them even at this hour). Indeed, while I had paused on the bridge to take a hazy Mt. Rainier shot, my Breast Cancer 3-Day teammate Nazila recognized me and we continued on this walk together. I didn't expect to run into her, given that there were thousands of runners and walkers, so it was truly serendipity that had me pause just as she was walking up.

You may enjoy some Seattle Times photos of the event. I'm not in any of them. :)

Dan and I decided to go someplace air conditioned for the evening. We finally saw Iron Man! It was every bit as good as we expected and had bonus post-credits little vignette that we hadn't heard anyone mention before...so I mention it now, in case y'all don't have the Seattle habit of staying through all the credits.

It's still kind of hot, but I'm exhausted. Been a very long day and now I am heading to bed. G'night!

In Less than Two Weeks...

...we get the keys to the new apartment. Then we spend the rest of July moving out of our respective places and into the new one.

Of course, have I packed anything yet? No. Has Dan? No. I'm waiting to get this weekend's Seafair event out of the way before I tackle something more challenging, like lifting a finger to pack.

I have, however, taken glasses and tea mugs from my place to the office, as we are trying to green up the place by reducing how many disposable cups we buy. Kevin took in a couple of the most ginormous green mugs with shamrocks on them. They are seriously very huge! And green! Aiee!

My offerings were more dainty: my collection of Princess House hot beverage mugs. Lovely footed mugs that I've had forever now and don't want to get rid of, but rarely use. The nice thing about having them at work is that I can still see and admire them while other folks can benefit by using them.

It's really gorgeous outside right now. Clear blue skies, cool breeze, sun shining and birds in the trees outside the balcony. I've been watching a troupe of Stellar's jays hopping around one of the pine trees.

I love this place.

Summer is Officially Here!

Yes, indeed, for behold! Outside yon window tis 78 degrees and is likely to hit 90 on Sunday!

How unfortunate, temperature-wise, as I am going to be walking the streets on Sunday, walking the Seafair Marathon.

Needless to say, I am walking a half marathon and not the full deal. I'm very excited to walk across one of our floating bridges; they've apparently never closed it for pedestrians before. It's going to be hot though, which I detest, although at least my allergies shouldn't give me any guff.

We shall see. :)

Sunshine and Something

The forecast is sunny, looking out the window. Birds are a'singin and the cottonwood fluff is...matted to the ground! Finally!

I hate cottonwood fluff. It floats through the air, all sweet and ethereal, then gets in your clothes, your hair, your nose...and is most annoying. It's so nice to look out a window and not see a snowstorm of fluff floating past!

Dan bought me some flowers yesterday...tall, exotic spears of ginger, bird-of-paradise and a type that neither of us amateur botanists could identify. He also included a gladiolus, which is an interesting, soft contrast to the other waxy flowers. They're on the dining table right now. I had to scold Scooter (his cat) as she was showing way too much interest in the palm fronds.

I hope the flowers make it through the day.

Sad news...Candyce's pet Leia passed away yesterday. =( I was here on holiday in 2006 and went with her to pick Leia up. When we played games one night, Kevin brought down each of us a rat to keep us company, and Leia curled up within my fleece vest the entire time. She was so sweet and pretty. I'll miss her.

Miles to Go

In today's episode, I walked a little over ten miles in my new shoes. They were comfortable and I have no blisters. Yay!

However, I need to do something about my pacing. I tend to walk very quickly by myself and it's causing the back of my right knee to go nuts. It is currently wrapped with an ice pack and I have taken ibuprofen.

When I walk with my team, we sort of meander through our miles which keeps me from over-doing things.

Phil's graduation ceremony was very nice. Chris sat with us and took my camera closer in to take photos for me. While I love my little pink Sony, it doesn't really have a zoom that's meant for this sort of photography. When I'm less tired, I'll upload the photos we took.

I bought another couple of Sims 2 expansions and installed one of them, Seasons, on my laptop. In the midst of creating a new family, I decided to make Sims out of me and Dan (sort of). Welcome back, Drab and Lael Goober! They haven't been around since the original Sims. Lael, get this, wanted a career in...gaming! Hahaha! :)

Lazy Afternoon

We are just in from breakfast with the cherubs and Jonathan Gibbons, who never comes to visit us (hahaha, poor Jonathan Gibbons, whose name I can never say without appending that phrase).

A lovely breakfast, an exchange of gifts (Phil brought me Almond Roca for Mother's Day and I gave him Rock Band for graduation) and then they went their way and Dan and I meandered home past all my old stomping grounds in Federal Way.

The sun is shining. It's in the 60s and possibly going to reach the low 70s. I have two brand new Sims2 expansions to try out. And then later, we're going head to Puyallup for Phil's graduation.

This will be a lazy, lazy afternoon...other than all the driving around!

Blister it!

I walked nearly 9 miles yesterday and Dan and I will be setting out for a 5 mile trek in a few minutes. Butch will likely be unhappy that we lure him out under the false pretense of his evening constitutional, but he has no say in the matter.

At about the 6 mile mark last time, my toes were a bit unhappy, so I changed my socks and continued on my way, walking around Mercer Slough, through downtown Bellevue and then across 405 to head back south to the Slough. It's a decent loop route that allows for many variations to change the mileage.

But once at home, I found little blisters had formed on two of my toes. Sadness!

Before we picked Jose up from the airport this afternoon, Dan drove me down to Kent to consult with athletic footwear folks at his favorite shop, The Balanced Athlete. The guy was very nice, measuring my feet, filming me struggling on the treadmill to figure out what my issues are, and then bringing out appropriate shoes...all the while chatting sports gear with Dan.

"Can we make this more about me?" I asked at one point, inserting myself (and my feet) into their conversation. "Do you have any cute shoes? Possibly in pink?"

And although the first batch of shoes were not, he did finally produce a lovely pair of pink and white Pearl Izumi shoes that I fell in love with.

So, new shoes, let's go for a walk, shall we? Yay!

You know what?

I suck as Lego Indiana Jones.

=(

And I'm probably not much better as Marion.

Milestones

What an interesting weekend. I walked a gazillion (well, maybe eight) miles; watched a couple new episodes of Top Gear; took Butch for a walk so Dan could make it to D&D on time; submitted my early lease termination letter and tendered it to my apartment.

They require sixty days' notice, so my move out day will be July 31st. Dan and I are renting an apartment together in August.

Well.

It'll be much easier on Mittens, who misses me when I'm not at home. It'll be easier on me, as I am wracked with guilt for not always sleeping at my own apartment and leaving Mittens to the mercy of the electronic self-cleaning litter pan (which he's slightly wary of...especially since the day he was stalking it and I sneezed just as he approached it...oops).

Our new place will be probably all of five minutes from Kevin and Candyce's house, on a different slope of the same hill. It's the only apartment complex on that bit of road, surrounded by McMansions. There are a dog park, a grocery store, a Sbux and a gas station within walking distance (although, frankly, if we have to walk to a gas station then we have more issues than I care to think of).

Time to head to the office!

Massage is not always Relaxing

Photos from San Diego are slowly making their way onto the flickr page. More as I have time!

In the wake of our hit and run accident in Ohio, I've been prescribed several more weeks of massage therapy. Yay for benevolent doctors who realize that massage is not just for relaxation and spa weekends!

My massage therapist, Rose, is a gentle grandmotherly sort who looks at the whole picture rather than just the bits that hurt. She follows the pain along its various paths through my muscles and coaxes them into their original shapes.

It hurts like hell when she's done. Not when she's working, but afterwards when I get home. That's when I thank my lucky stars for pain medication!

Of the massage therapists that I've seen (for the Casa Guadalajara accident and now this), Rose is my favorite. While I know I'll be in pain when the session is over, the next day or two brings murch more relief than I had before I'd seen her. She fixes the whole body, not just the broken bits.

Time to shower and change for work now. Aloha!

Nappy-headed People

That would be me and Dan. I'm still exhausted from the weekend and even after an hour nap, still want more sleep. Dan's still napping. We got home about three hours ago or so. Zzzzz!

Also, I seem to have misplaced the little cable thingers that hook my camera up to the laptop, so all those lovely photos will need to wait for uploading. As though that's unusual with me and my photos :)

We didn't get to see half the people who apparently wanted to see us. Sorry, you guyses =( After running around doing family-oriented visiting and related chores for two days, Dan and I really needed a day to do absolutely nothing. Actually, I needed a day to do nothing, for my brain was in constant overload from all the traveling I've been doing lately. I had reached the point where I couldn't make up my mind about anything or think coherently.

In an ironic twist of hahaha Fate, it was warmer and sunnier in Seattle than in San Diego this weekend. We had had to go buy warmer clothing while on holiday.

Chris looks good. He turned into a vegan (and not, as I had suspected, a financial vegan) since I moved away. His roommate is very nice and he seems happy. That's good! I love my little cherub! We ate dinner last night at Brians' so I could gaze into the kitchen and watch him work.

And that little goober bought our dinners for us. I gibbered a bit, but Dan reminded me that this was something Chris wanted to do and could afford, so let him enjoy giving me a gift.

Now to go back to napping again. Aloha!