Things I've been up to...

1. Job Applications
2. Reading
3. Putting myself on the waiting list for the LOEX conference
4. Various crafty things as demonstrated by photos

earrings (because you can never have too many)

beading experiment with wire, beads, fiber and the bead loom
finally socks! (yes, they are not the same, but the pattern adaptation is almost perfected)

One of the baby blankets I'm working on, using a beginning lace pattern

Callie inspects the other blanket (she's really trying to play with the end of the circular needle)

The only other sound's the sweep,

Of easy wind and downy flake.

Somehow a little Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening seems appropriate today. After flirting with spring the rest of the week, winter decided to step in and put a stop to that. A bit of jealousy (and in time for Valentine's Day)....

The rain chimes - softly filling with the shawling snow

One table, no waiting
the view from inside, safe and warm

And for contrast, Monday - a view of the Omaha skyline

The pedestrian bridge that crosses the Missouri (my mom and sister's backs)

pedestrian bridge (melting ice chunks floating down the river)

Looking up at the cables

Vampire sink cats, hobbit trees, and sunshine

And what have Callie and I been up to this week, aside from the usual job hunting stuff? Well, I've suspected that Callie's not a normal cat for awhile. I think I now have proof that she's a vampire, though. Look at the golden eyes! If she starts sparkling in the sunlight, I'm really going to worry.
Yes, she's developed an obsession with the sink, and lapping water out of the bottom of it. Here, she's showing her displeasure at not having water in the sink.

This is a photo from a walk at a local lake on Friday afternoon. I love the color and texture of the ice. The photo doesn't do it justice.

This was a tree along the walking path. It's huge and has branches everywhere. It looks like a hobbit could step out from behind, or maybe a centaur.

When Callie isn't in the sink trying to train people to give her water, she enjoys the sunshine (and I don't see any sparkling).

I think I want to be a cat. Maybe I can get her to trade places.

Until that happens, I will be continuing my job quest, knitting (rest of sock number 2, rest of baby blanket), and playing with some beading.

I finished reading the Harry Potter books again. Anyone have any good, must read books to suggest?

Happy February Random Bits and Knitting Photos

So, my life hasn't been all job applications and pondering my future. I've been spending time with family, ordering boatloads of Girl Scout cookies, and reading. In between, I've been doing lots of knitting. I finished a scarf I started in Bloomington with my knitting group, and made matching fingerless gloves to go with it.

closeup of the scarf - I finally figured out how to do K2tog and ssk stitches in a way that works with my "backwards" knitting.
modeling a glove (with Callie ignoring me in the background)
One sock, and the beginnig of the second - the top of the sock is too baggy, so I'm adjusting the pattern for the second sock. I'll end up with a pair that aren't quite the same, but with a pattern that will be customized to my feet.

I've also finished several baby blankets for a local nonprofit, the Mary Madeline Project (http://www.marymadelineproject.org/). They donate infant burial gowns and blankets to local hospitals for bereaved parents.