Blazing trails in the woods

I'm sitting in one of the cafeteria/cafe areas at the college.  The food is mediocre at best.  There aren't enough outlets for all the laptops, iPads, tablets, whatever that abound here.  I may get knocked off the wi-fi in less than fifteen minutes.  There are so many first world problems that I won't even get into them.  Irritating, they are, like that one damned fly that just loves to visit when you need to focus.  Damned fly.

It's been raining off and on.  The sun is trying to break through the clouds.

I've got two knitting projects with me.  A hat for a Ravelry friend with cancer (fuck cancer, as you all know) and a cardigan for me.  I probably need to break one of them out.  I will in a bit.

I should also start one of the two papers that are due in a couple weeks.  I can't make myself care enough to do so.  Instead I'm pondering the quirks of my beliefs.

One of the classes I'm taking this semester is Comparative Religions.  I've always been fascinated by the subject.  What makes this religion so different from another?  How much do they have in common.

This lead me to look at my own beliefs.  I freely admit that I'm a happy little pagan.  I also knew that I had some Buddhist leanings, but until we read up on that, I didn't know how much.  The phrase 'live simply, so others my simply live' comes to mind.

I'm still pagan with a goddess and all that happy horse shit.  But I'm finding more about myself.  This is always a good thing.

PRO-castination!

There's a Netflix commercial (I think) were a guy pretending to be a Mary Poppins-like butler starts singing 'Imagination'.

I've got the word 'procrastination' bouncing in my head to the same tune.  Lucky, lucky me.

It's...annoying to say the least.

My winter/spring semester started last week.  I'm hoping not to fall apart like I did last semester.  Bah.

I've got a pair of fingerless gloves to complete for a friend's kid.  Marfan's and Reynaud's does not sound enjoyable to me one bit.  I offered to knit him some since his hands get so cold and then he can't play whatever game he wants to.

Then there's the scarf I want to knit for myself and possibly two sweaters.  One in a denim blue cotton yarn and the other in some Ssnguine Gryphon Traveller yarn in grey.  I've also got some bright freaking blue yarn for them.  That's yelling to be some sort of cropped cardigan, I think.  I don't know.

And off to homework!  With a damp dog on my bed.  Yay.

We the People...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

1791

SOPA in plain English.

Done!

My holiday knitting, that is.  Two hats and a Calorimetry.  Plus a small micro-turtle done in brown cotton.  (Note to Self: Don't knit anything fiddly in cotton.  It makes you cuss)

Sadly, the photos are still on my camera or laptop and not uploaded quite yet.  I'll probably to that tomorrow--along with folding laundry.  Whee.  What an exciting life I lead.

However, I may be able get get one more hat done.  This would be for my baby niece, Sprite.  I'm in no hurry, but it should be a fairly quick knit.  We shall see.

I have a mystery package UPSing its way to me.  I'm not too sure what it is, honestly.  It might be some tea samples, but I'm drawing a blank here.  It's not the right coast for my BPAL order to be shipped from, so...

Christmas shopping and wrapping were also finished up today. 

Frankly, all I want right now is for the car I use to be fixed.  Two Fridays ago, said car decided it didn't like that particular vintage of anti-freeze and left it all over the carport.  Bugger.  I realized this when, after dropping Imp and canned goods off at school, the car decided not to put out any heat and the engine get really hot.

I made the fifteen minute drive back home begging it not to explode on me.

We have yet to hear back from the cranky mechanic.  He's a crusty old soul.  I like him.

It's raining, it's pouring

It's the middle of December and I just heard a couple of rumbles of thunder.  It's also close to 60 Fahrenheit.  That's not right in my book.  It's supposed to be a good twenty degrees cooler at least. 

Although, this does explain the migraine I have. 

I guess I haven't been knitting enough around various family members.  My niece asked me this past Sunday for a knitted hat for Christmas.  Green and with cables, thank you very much.

Now, I just relieved a skein of Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga!  But there is no way I'm using that yarn on a kid that attracts dirt and smutz like a magnet.  I refuse.
 
So, I trekked up to my LYS and snagged a skein of Universal Yarns Classic Worsted.  This is the same yarn I used on Imp's never ending scarf.

Violet, my niece, will get an Owlie Hat. 

I promised my sister-in-law, Bubbles last year that I'd make her a calorimetry.  I don't know how many times I tried to figure that so simple pattern out, but couldn't get it.

This year?  Dude....

So I made her one.  One that's too small.  GAH!  Thankfully, I have enough of the Berrocco Ultra Alapca to make a bigger one, which is where I'm heading to in just a minute.

I'd rather be sleeping, though.

Die in a fire. Now.

I said as much to a classmate of mine today in A&P.  This year sucks.  I've given up on caring about much.

Granted, part of it is my depression talking, but I've never been this...Scroogish is how she put it.

And to make matters worse?  There's a good chance that the teachers at my college are going to go on strike after 12th.  So I don't even know if the spring semester will start on time.

Screw this, I'm gonna go knit.  And try to get more than three hours of sleep at night.  Sleeping during the day?  No damned problem.

I can't even describe how cranky this is making me.

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis

I'm avoiding my A&P work for a little bit.  All the abbreviations for various hormones are swirling around in my vision.

Instead I've been pondering what to make with my single skein of Road to China.  Then I've wondered if I should snag one or two more skeins....  That is a Gollum yarn if I ever saw one. 

I know I want whatever I make with it so be next to my skin.  I'm thinking of another pair of fingerless mitts since my hands get so freakin' cold.  Or maybe a cowl...but probably the mitts.  They're something I can do in class if I want.

Speaking of fingerless mitts...one of my classmates in my ASL class wants me to make her a pair.  In black.  That's fine, but d'you know how hard it is to find a black superwash yarn that doesn't cost an arm?  I'm going to have to talk to her and see if she wants easy to care for or not-so-easy-to-care-for.  It doesn't matter to me.  I just want her input.  Although, I did find some Cascade that should work for the superwash.

In other news in my not-so-exciting life, I ignored yesterday to the fullest extent that I could.  It would have been mom's 59th birthday.  I refused to deal with the world.  I fully believe that I was allowed to do so.

Then there's the shed.  In our backyard, we had a metal shed that was put up when I was about six or so.  The only thing that was holding it up was the rust and everything crammed inside.

Wednesday, it was only the flotsam inside holding it up.  The area had wind gusts of 40 mph.  the shed just gave up.  Dad was planning of replacing the shed, y'know, AFTER the winter.  Momma Nature had other plans.  Ah well.

It wouldn't have been so bad if the car I use didn't decide it needed a new battery and a tune-up.  When it rains, right?

I got some new tea samples this week, too.  From Harney & Sons.  For only two bucks for a sample, I didn't think it was a bad buy.  I got three; Irish Breakfast, Cranberry Autumn Blend, and Holiday Tea.  I've only tried one so far, the Cranberry Autumn.  It's a sweeter tea.  I don't need to add any sweetener to it.  The smell is juicy and red.  It reminds me of burning bushes in full fall color.  However, I don't think I let it steep long enough because all I could really taste was the water.  Or maybe it's just a really mild tea.  I don't know.

It did remind me of Puck.  I'll give it another try.

I've been debating on getting a Kindle.  I'm really interested in the Fire, but balk at the price-and it's one of the more..economical ones.  Maybe I'll go for a mid range one.  I need to start reading a little more.  Or get into audiobooks.  I don't know which yet.

Back to the books.  Meh.