Mein Hut, er hat kein Ecken

So, I do have a few things that just flew off the needles. Nothing easier in the world than...HATS! I love a good hat. Un fortunately, I frequently do not look good in hats. Like berets. I couldn't figure out how to look good in a beret but I bet my weight loss makes it work a little better now. Check this out:



A hat for my friend, disillusioned made out Handpaintedyarn.com. It was fun to take a pattern and kind of make my own based off it.

And then I made one of my own out of some KnitPicks Alpaca Silk in Lettuce:


Cute, huh? And nice and warm, too. And just in time because it's about to cool off around here.

There's only ten days left here. Today Daisy and I startled a group of Canadian Geese and they flew off, automatically getting into formation as they cleared the trees to go to another spot to rest and I realized that I don't think Utah has Canadian Geese. Ahh well, they don't have Canadian Geese poop all over the road either. Heh.

What's changing where you're at?

I forbid you maidens all to wear gold in your hair

There is no argument that I need to update this blog a lot more frequently, despite the fact that I lose readers when I do. Aw well, who cares, people need to know what's going on! I love the rest of you. :D

So, here's where I am with knitting. I want to knit but it's kind of a vague, half-heated desire. I've created a few things but there's no passion. I think I might need to use up my sock yarn but yeah, like I need more socks right? I could use a scarf, some mittens, another sweater but socks? Pssht. Well, okay, some of my socks are in a sad state and could use replacing. Hmm. Do I *feel* like socks? No, not really.

You know, though--I think this lack of wanting to knit anything is related to the fact that I've been without a job for a while. I quit Hy-Vee when my skin started tearing itself up (and no, it hasn't gotten better) and I haven't been employed since because that was right when I was going to Utah and LA and when I got back, I felt that I should distinctly not find one again. There was the whole move looming overhead and it was a good decision, but one that has left me feeling a little despondent. And if I did what I knew was good for me, I wouldn't be left feeling like this. But sometimes I give myself very good advice that I never take.

So. Moving to Utah. This means I'll be applying for my nursing license out there and then getting a job. More than likely, I'll go back to working part time for the USH mental hospital. We don't call it a "mental hospital" but dang it, that's what it is. You don't go there for busted limbs, you go there for busted minds and please don't call me on being politically incorrect. Sometimes I am. And sometimes, the sky is blue, sometimes a dog's poop stinks.

For now, I'm waiting.

Think it before you speak it

This one goes out to a good friend of mine.



Sometimes even I say the "R" word. I don't say it to be hurtful but it still is and I've gotten a lot more careful.

Grown-up words do not always mean the four-letter words that we should not say. Grown-up words are the ones we use to be mature, reasonable, respectful people.

beauty

If you haven't figured it out yet, I am shedding Kansas for Utah. Yes, shedding. I've been here for so long, all wrapped up in memories both good and bad and yes, even ugly that I feel like I am ready to leave it all behind. In fact, I felt like that once before and it was good to leave, to start over elsewhere. I made friends and I discovered new facets to myself that I knew I had but didn't dare explore. I grew up a little. But then I came back. And it was right that I did, because my mother needed me and I needed to be here one last time. But now we're all going and if we look back, it's not with regret but with fondness.

In the meantime, Kansas has been giving us something to remember her by:

From Misc

I apologize for the quality, the light wasn't fantastic and it's REALLY hard to photograph a rainbow. But yes, it was that gold pink outside with shades of turquoise, like a Turkish bath house. And that rainbow had two echoes of itself that you can't quite see.

Mom and I have been trying to take daily long evening strolls. We go through the Fall Creek neighborhood, a very posh and upscale area where the houses are fantastic:

From Misc

From Misc

and the hills provide a proper workout (phew!):

From Misc

From Misc

I'll miss Kansas. I'll miss the crazy storms where the sky and air turns pea-soup green and the lightning and thunder recreate wars in the heavens. I'll miss the Renaissance Festival every fall. I'll miss the winter storms that cover everything in ice, turning the world into an intricate crystal wonderland that no sculptor could ever recreate. I'll miss the sunsets. I'll miss my friends. I'll miss seeing hawks and bald eagles while walking out in the fields. I'll miss downtown Lawrence and the nonchalance everyone there possesses. I'll miss KU campus.

But I have those memories neatly packed away, freely accessible and now I'm off to make new memories. Thank you, Kansas. It's been good, it's been awful, it's been a growing experience. I won't forget.

From Misc

No, not ever.

P.S. This one's for you, Abby!

From Misc

EMMETT I KNOW IT WAS YOU. I CAN READ MINDS OKAY??? I HATE TO QUESTION YOUR INTELLIGENCE, BUT I MUST.

Copied flagrantly from Cookie, WITHOUT HER PERMISSION! Ohnoes&shi~nola.

1. My uncle once gave me his copies of the best sci-fi radio show ever, Searcher and Stallion. <3

2. Never in my life have I impressed people when I tried. I've given up and life is so much better.

3. When I was five, I got a third kidney.

4. High school was a hazy dream. Let's keep it that way.

5. I will never feel comfortable among people talking politics.

6. Once I met my knitting and blogging friends, I was happy to find that they're just as extraordinary as me.

7. There’s this boy I know but not in the Biblical sense.

8. Once, at a bar, I had German food and listened to German drunks singing German songs. It was awesome.

9. By noon, I have exercised, had breakfast, showered, and walked the dog. Don't judge me.

10. Last night, I wound the lace yarn for Mystery Stole 4.

11. If only I had the courage to stop people from abusing me and taking me for granted.

12. Next time I go to church I'll be fasting for a fast sell and a smooth move.

13. What worries me most are things I can't do anything about anyways.

14. When I turn my head left I see the future, hazy and impenetrable.

15. When I turn my head right I see the past, a guideline for the future but a hazard if one stares too long.

16. You know I’m lying when I use my sarcastic voice.

17. What I miss most about the Eighties was living in Germany and being a crazy kid who didn't worry about make-up or what people thought about me.

18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be Beatrice.

19. By this time next year, I might have passed my CPNE. Positive thinking, go!

20. A better name for me would be spoken in awe by the people on the ground as I fly by in spandex.

21. I have a hard time understanding why people buy the phony 'sweetness' act. I don't.

22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll get my Bachelors in Nursing, I guess.

23. You know I like you if I engage in an actually conversation with you.

24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: me. I worked darn hard for that award, I deserve a little accolade for myself.

25. Take my advice: don't bother asking me, go see a dang doctor already.

26. My ideal breakfast is flavored instant oatmeal. Sorry, Alton Brown, but I love it.

27. A song I love but do not have is: hard to find. *coff*

28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you lose yourself downtown for a week.

29. Why won’t people shut their yaps for a moment and actually comprehensively listen? Take a few moments, consider what the person is trying to actually say, THEN respond.

30. If you spend a night at my house, bring your own coffee.

31. I’d stop my wedding for an act of God, like a tornado or lightning in the sky spelling Surrender Dorothy "DON'T DO IT".

32. The world could do without chiggers, lousy pestilences of the Universe with no real reason to exist.

33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than take up smoking.

34. My favorite blondie is canine (I love Goldies).

35. Paper clips are more useful than a horde of handsome men holding papers together in bundles, but not as attractive!

36. If I do anything well, it's obviously due to me being fabulous.

37. I can’t help but cry when I'm angry. Ugh.

38. I usually cry when I'm PMSing.

39. My advice to my nephew/niece: be true to who you really are inside. Follow the herd only if they're going your way.

40. And by the way, my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. ;)