Three

You might recall that Taz and I had been dating for three years and three months when he proposed to me, on January 3rd, at 3am, on my third week in India. Apparently, the number three is lucky for us. And now, in keeping with the "three" theme, we've been married three times:


For more pics from the US party, click here.

I think the third time's the charm, though, so I don't anticipate us planning any more wedding-like events anytime soon. What I do anticipate is years of happiness as we share life's adventures. Thank you for loving me enough to marry me three times, baby! I love you!

Ow.

I'm no stranger to pain. Ok, so I have yet to give birth, but I've had my share of nausea-inducing migraines. And while, unlike with a migraine, I am actually still functional at the moment, whatever this thing is that I have in my eye hurts waay more than I thought possible. I decided a picture of some ibuprophen was preferable to a picture of my eye. Trust me. Yes, I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow.

Late to the party

I'm sure I'm the last person on earth to discover and listen to a Lime 'n' Violet podcast, but Oh. My. God. are they hilarious! I first learned about them from Holly, but immediately thereafter became so busy that I'm amazed I had time to breathe, much less download a podcast. This past weekend I finally got around to downloading one, and yesterday I listened to it on my metro ride from work to Late Night. I think my fellow metro riders must have thought I was deranged the way I was laughing to myself. And humming along to a very weird song about Harry Potter. It was soooo good to see the Late Night gang again after more than two months. Wine, cookies, knitting, cute dogs, and witty company--the perfect way to spend a Wednesday evening!

In other news, no pics yet, but I am finally working on the heel of the first Snicket sock, and the sleeve caps for Samus. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I am absolutely determined to get done with Samus so I can focus on Autumn Rose.

My wonderful mother-in-law arrives tomorrow from India, and we can't wait to see her. So tonight, I have to finish getting the house as ready as I possibly can (which, alas, will not mean being 100% unpacked and organized, but oh well). My brother is also arriving from Japan late today. So much family excitement in so little time! Somewhere during all this 90% of my Autumn Rose yarn should be arriving. Woo hoo!!

The excitement builds!

I should be folding laundry. Or at least swiffering the floors. I did a little of that. But mostly, I spent the evening alternately flipping wistfully through the Autumn Rose pattern and dancing around the house chanting "My book is here, my book is here!"


My book!!!

The first page has a close-up of the Autumn Rose fabric, and it is just exquisite! And here's the main picture with the pattern:



It's definitely the hardest project in the whole book, and I am definitely feeling nervous about it, especially considering I've only done a very small amount of stranded knitting before. But if there's one thing I've learned in knitting it's that if I take things a step at a time, I always seem to get there somehow, no matter how new or complicated or scary the technique is. Now the only question is, when will my yarn be here???

Announcing the Autumn Rose Knitalong

Didn't I just get finished telling you how busy I've been? Well, apparently I'm not busy enough. I seem to have deluded myself into thinking I have time to help run a knitalong. Blame it on Jennsquared--she's the one who talked me into it, and is (thank goodness) co-administering it with me. So far we have a blog with two contributors (us) and one entry. Eventually we hope to have a Flickr group and many many KAL members. After all, who wouldn't want to knit this gorgeous sweater? And so, without further ado, I present to you:

In Love With Autumn Rose

Please go visit the blog and then join the KAL. We're gonna need all the help we can get!

Random Friday

Busy, busy, busy! I know, I say that every time. But seriously, in less than a month, my 6-person department at work has lost three people (to fabulous new jobs for them, not layoffs). So I am now officially doing the job of two people. And it's only going to get worse, since I am the only person left out of the three who doesn't get any paid vacation, and both of the other two are taking their summer vacations in the next month. So I'd better blog while I still can. Here's the run-down of non-work stuff I've been up to:

1. First and foremost, moving. There are still sooo many boxes to unpack, so much stuff to organize, and the new place needs a thorough cleaning before my mother-in-law arrives next week. But I think I promised to post some photos of the new place, so here are the ones I've managed to snap so far:


Our new dining area, with a pass-through window to our spacious kitchen.
There is a door in the kitchen that leads to the stairs down to the finished
basement (with unfinished storage area as well)--oh the glorious space!!!


A small portion of our books, and the stairs to the second floor.


Our living room area, complete with Ivy breaking in the new futon.

2. An outdoor concert:


While Chris Isaak played at Wolftrap, my friends and I shared wine,
bread, cheese, and more than a few laughs.

3. Knitting. Believe it or not, I have actually managed to get a little bit of knitting done throughout the craziness. Not enough to warrant photographing, but I'm almost to the heel of Snicket, and I'm nearly done with the sleeves for Samus (and my amazing mother gave me a zipper that matches the yarn almost perfectly, so I no longer have the "but I can't find a good zipper" excuse for not getting it D-O-N-E). When my folks stopped by the other day, Taz saw the sock that my mom was knitting for my dad, and suddenly realized that he is not totally against variegated yarn. So you can bet that at the very next opportunity, I got me to the LYS and picked some up. Still fairly subdued, but light years more interesting to knit than plain charcoal gray:


Lorna's Laces in Black Watch colorway.

4. More knitting. I swear, I'm not just making stuff up so my list will look longer. This deserves its own spot. Months and months ago, I was reading Eunny's blog, and I saw a glimpse of a design she had just completed and sent off to Jamieson's for their next pattern book. Well, that book finally came out, and I have already ordered it. Simply Shetland 4 is hopefully already on its way to my anxious little hands. And as soon as I get it, I am going to buy the yarn for the Autumn Rose Pullover. It is the only fair isle sweater I have ever felt compelled to knit--it has a scoop neck, 3/4 sleeves, and waist shaping!! Finally, a fair isle I can actually wear! Anyone want to join me?