Even if things get heavy we'll all float on

I got tagged by Helena for seven things about me, but I've actually already done that one. No worries, I've decided to change it to 7 Exciting Things That Make Me Smile. As things continue to go well over here at Chéz Griffin, I don't think this will be all that hard. Let's see:

1. Yesterday I got my invite to Ravelry , and I just can't stop playing around with it. I think I'm going to end up with carpal tunnel syndrome from all of the computer time I'm logging these days. I hope I don't have to take a knitting break due to sore wrists. Today I realized I have a message box over there and inside it was a hello from Eleanor ! She's now my first Ravelry friend - yay!

2. There are less than 20 days of school left. While I'll miss my school, I'm so happy to be moving on. These last few weeks will be really tough, knowing the excitement of what's coming next!

3. I have had some yucky dentist issues of late, and after three Wednesdays in a row of getting all novacained-up and having work done, I am now dentist free for the next six months! Yay!

4. I'm still in the midst of packing up my entire apartment. So far I have 13 full boxes, 2 extra thick trash bags, and 1 very large suitcase all set to go. In addition, I have 4 1/2 bags of clothing/shoes to donate to charity, 2 bags of books that are ready to move on (used bookstores and library donations), 1 bag of books to go back to school, and approximately 6 bags of apartment trash. It's coming along, but there's a lot left to do. The thing that makes me smile about it is the fact that I finally have a good reason to get rid of stuff. I've been in this apartment for 3 years now, and that's a new record for me. I've accumulated quite a bit of crap in that time, and it's time to say goodbye to a lot of it.

5. Hehe, Socks that Rock yarn is abundant in my stash. After starting in on cataloguing my stash for Ravelry, I've realized that I have nine unused skeins of the stuff. Yum! Much of that is due to the recent acquisition seen below:



Then of course there is the April sock club yarn:




6. I'm going to Harvard!

7. I'm going to Harvard!

Ok, I cheated at the end there, but that was a lot of things, don't you think? I think I did pretty good. Plus, Harvard counts for AT LEAST two, if not three or four, on a list of things that make me happy.



Previous Title: Dave Matthews Band, "Monkey Man"

The lucky one's going to get it all

I'm glad you all liked the baby bear sweater as much as I do! Baby Griffin will definately be getting one of those. In addition, I've been frogging some old items and have consequently added to my stash. I have about 6 skeins of this yummy Sirdar Snuggly Domino.



It's clearly designated for Baby G, but what will it become? I have this pattern for it, but I'm not sure how I'll like it in this colorway. Still thinking on that one . . .

There's also some pink cotton yarn that I think is Classic Elite Premiere and some light blue cotton (maybe Tahki Cotton Classic?) for when the baby is actually born. Although both may become sweaters for my friends' twins.

Talk about planning ahead on projects! Sheesh! I better speed up on my current projects. The Dollar and a Half cardi is about 70¢ along, and my bandwagon scarf (can you guess which one?) is about halfway there. Pics of both coming soon.


Previous title: The Beatles, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

With a couple of kids running in the yard . . .

News! I have news! My brother and his wife are going to have a baby! Courtney's due in November. They've decided to wait it out and let the sex of the baby be a surprise, which is great for them, but kind of sucky for an anxious and over-excited knitter. Still, I think the idea of letting it be a surprise is kinda cool too. So, who's got suggestions on their favorite gender-less baby patterns? I'm thinking this is the perfect excuse for the Debbie Bliss teddy bear cardigan that I have always loved.



Also, I have a collection of rainbow colored leftovers of Tahki Cotton Classic - maybe a cute baby item? All ideas are much appreciated.

Before I say goodbye for today I also want to thank both Johanna and Helena for their really sweet words of encouragement and support. I'm still working on staying cheery, but lately things are good.


Previous title: Our Lady Peace, "Innocent"

I remember feeling low

Hello there. It's been a long while. Since the last post, so much has happened in my life - almost all of it has been good news. But the thing is, I've been in a bit of a slump lately. I don't know why or what it's all been about, but I just haven't been able to shake the feeling. It feels stupid and selfish given all that's been going right for me lately and yet I can't seem to get over myself and just be happy. I think maybe I'm not used to feeling like things are going my way and that idea kinda scares the shit out of me. It's not like things have ever been particularly difficult in comparison to what most people's lives are like, and it's certianly not like I have any right to compain. But for a long time now, that's just the way I've been feeling. Maybe I'm waiting for the bottom to fall out (is that even the right metaphor?). I've certainly been having my share of nightmares of things going wrong. There was one about finding out that my apartment didn't go through because they wanted a $30,000 security deposit that I wasn't willing to give. Sure, it could happen. Even more believable is the one about the tadpoles that we were caring for in my classroom. I walked in and they had sprouted wings and were flying around the room. Clearly possible. My personal favorite and most recent is a dream about showing up at Harvard and finding out that they never got my response to accept the offer of admission. I swear no drugs have been involved in creating this dreams.

At any rate, and perhaps most importantly, today things have been different. It was a beautiful sunny day, not too hot and not too cold. The sky was one of those Magritte paintings with the white fluffly clouds against a soft blue background - I love when the clouds do that. I left school happy today. I went to Whole Foods for some groceries - still happy, and I HATE going grocery shopping. I got home and finally did some packing. I can't tell you how long I've been trying to make some progress in packing my apartment, but today I feel like I finally did. I made a solid effort in the bedroom (that sounds so dirty) and packed up a good portion of the closets as well as a bureau. I even got rid of four trash bags of unused stuff (three for donations and one real trash). Pretty good, no?

For the life of me, I'm still not 100% sure of what's been up with me lately but I'm glad things seem to be turning around. I'll try to keep on looking for that silver lining.


Previous title: Death Cab for Cutie, "Soul Meets Body"