Springing

The signs of spring...

The lilac bush is trying to leaf out.

Daffodils are making an appearance.
As is my official diploma from IU.

It would be lovely to have all the time in the world to enjoy spring, but my supervisor/taskmaster/editorial assistant keeps me hard at work with the job application process. So far it's pretty quiet on the employment front.

My taskmaster keeps me on track, though (she can be darned bossy when she wants to be).

Of course, being in charge takes a lot out of a cat. She schedules some nap time into her busy schedule. When the cat's asleep, I sneak in some time for crafty things - lately beading.

I'd forgotten how very satisfying simple stringing can be, and quick, too. I have an off-loom bead weaving project going, but this bracelet and earrings were so much quicker!

Since most of my bead stuff is in a box, in a warehouse, in Indiana, I'm playing with a few things I had, and a few things I found at local craft stores. This necklace is made with some very inexpensive colored jump rings. The bigger ones are a light lavender, and the small connecting ones are silver. It'll be fun to wear with springy tops.

While I couldn't find exactly what I wanted to do this necklace, I was able to come up with alternate plan J. I'm satisfied with it, for now, and I can always restructure it later if necessary. It'll be fun to wear this spring, too. Now if only my spring clothes weren't in a box, in a warehouse.....

Moving Furniture

When I began my job search, I had hoped that it would be relatively quick and painless. I knew this was optimistic at best, but hey, it never hurts to be optimistic. The room I've been staying in had been functioning as sort of an spare bedroom, mainly for children (and yes, don't think that I haven't thought my placement here has some amount of karma going on).

The room had both a daybed and a crib. All of the nieces and nephews, etc are past the age of crib use, though. A few weeks ago, I dismantled the crib, and the sister it belongs to took it back.
This left enough space to move a table up from the basement where it was being stored.
Once the table was in the room, though, I decided to rearrange to try to maximize some space. At first it was tucked into a corner where there wasn't a lot of light. In the new placement, the table is near the one window. It now gets light, plus Callie can sit there and look out.

Previously, the corner with the dresser was pretty crowded, since the bed was on the same wall.

Now, there's lots of space, all the toys are together, and the litterbox is off to one side (instead of in front of the one storage unit). My lovely milk crates have been covered with an old curtain, so it looks less temporary (and messy).

The corner by the closet and the door into the room was a collection are for boxes piled up.

Now, it's home to all the cat stuff, which looks a little more organized. Plus, the end of the bed now is home to bags of knitting stuff.

Before, the bed was on the south side of the room, and I would sit on it with the laptop and try to work.

Now, the bed is on the opposite wall. It fits neatly, and makes the rest of the room seem more open and spacious.

Having a desk area for both the laptop and for beading is very, very nice. It's still a temporary port, but at least it's better organized. And it makes it much, much easier to work on job applications. Let's hope that speeds up the process.

Updates

I'm up to the usual - job applications, knitting, reading, etc.
(finished baby blankets for the Mary Madeline Project)

My future excitement is that I will be attending the LOEX conference in Albuquerque, NM, April 30-May 2. It's a library instruction conference, and they cap the attendance at 200. I was on the waiting list, but got moved off recently. Since I'm such a new grad, I got one of the student spots. Woo hoo! Not only do I get to go, but I got the student rate! There really should be a conference category for first year after graduation for library conferences, instead of jumping from student to regular rates. I had to pay the regular ALA dues this time... and would have had to pay the ACRL regular rates if I had gone to that conference. While I have the time and interest, as an unemployed, job hunting future librarian, I don't have the money. That's why getting to go to LOEX is so cool.

Hair

This is the new hair cut. It's shorter than I anticipated, but she liberated a whole lot of curly hair. Who knew it was quite that crazy?

Callie versus the toilet seat

Callie has never been entirely normal, but I don't know that I've ever met a normal cat. Possibly weirdness IS normal for a cat. This is a video of her at possibly her weirdest, though.

The toilet seat hinge in the upstairs bathroom developed a loud squeak rather suddenly. I first noticed it when I was in a hurry. I washed my hands and headed downstairs. Callie had been on the sink, but she jumped down, ran down the hall after me, hissed and batted at my leg. She doesn't typically do things like this. I had no idea what had upset her.

Later that same day, I was sitting in the bedroom working on the computer. Callie was asleep next to me. My mom squeaked the toilet seat. Callie woke up, jumped down with her fur all fluffed out and ran into the bathroom, startling both my mom and I in the process.

Turns out the squeak in the toilet seat really annoyed her, for whatever reason. I really wished I had video of her running into the bathroom after my mom. Instead, this is video as she sat in the hall and yelled as my mom tried various things to fix the squeak. Who says cats aren't as entertaining as dogs? (and yes, the squeak is fixed and it's safe to use the bathroom once again.)