The obligatory Oakwood post

So I've been here in the DC area with my husband, who will remain nameless, for about a week now.  We're staying in Oakwood furnished apartments (the mothership, in case any of you reading this are familiar with the Foreign Service - and if you're not, it's where the FS puts up employees while they're in training).  It seems the "thing to do" is to complain about Oakwood - and to be fair, it's hotel-like, temporary and I've heard some legitimate horror stories from other locations.

I just can't bring myself to.  I swear to God, every time I sink into those down pillows at night and pull that fluffy, white comforter over my shoulders, I feel like a goddamned princess.  Here I am in this place with everything I need - FOR FREE - and I've done nothing to deserve it (ok, I guess I passed the OA, which is what my husband did to deserve it, but my employment hasn't kicked in yet, so nyah).  We have a couch!  I can't believe I ever used to nap on my bed!  We have a dishwasher that we can afford to run!  The kitchen is small, but we have so much more counter space than I can use in the preparation of one meal!  We have a maid!  That's disconcerting, but lovely!  We have a pool, and a hottub, and a bank of grills, and a playground and free yoga classes and more stuff than I have had time to take advantage of (stupid rain)!

And I don't have a job, and my knitting is in transit, and I am bored out of my skull.  But let me tell you, this government-issued 1br apartment still seems to good to be true!

Homeless

Not really.  I mean...I have a place to stay.  Hell, I even still have an apartment, it's just empty and unbelievably sketchy.  But here's what's true:  Last Monday, movers came and emptied out our apartment.  We stayed in a hotel with the kitties until last Friday.  My husband, who shall remain nameless, took the kitties to DC and I went on a trip with a friend and spent the weekend sleeping on the ground in a tent.  Now I'm sleeping on the floor in a friend's house for the rest of the week.  I'll be in a B&B this coming weekend, and then - only then - will I make it to DC, where my husband, who shall remain nameless, and my kitties await me.  So for now, I do feel a bit like a vagrant.

I'm so tired.  It's disconcerting not having my own space for so long.  That apartment was no great shakes, but at least it was a consistent place.  It had my creatures in it.  Bouncing from floor to floor is exhausting.

But lemme tell you, crashing in a sleeping bag on my friend's floor is a damned sight better than crashing on the floor of my sketchy, empty apartment (that was my first plan, which my husband, who shall remain nameless, wisely vetoed).  Her place isn't sketchy!  And it's not empty.  I'm an introvert - I do pretty okay by myself.  But usually "by myself" at least involves kitties.  It's nice having another soul in the house, y'know?  And it's nice not to have cigarette smoke wafting through the bathroom vent and pot smoke creeping up from downstairs and neighbors screaming at each other, and wondering when the really sketchy people will figure out that you're 105lbs and all alone....

Thanks Becca!  :-)

It's time to play: Finish! That! Quilt!

This quilt was made for my husband, who will remain nameless, by his grandmother when he graduated from high school.  It's a wonderful quilt - comfy, and it fits my nameless husband to a T.  And when this quilt replaces our big comforter on the bed, I know it's really Spring.

It's also seen better days - there's a tear in the top that I'm not sure I can adequately mend, and it's starting to wear down.  So we need a new quilt.  What a coincidence - I need a project to document on this here blog to keep me posting regularly, and delusions of Knitty grandeur are keeping me from sharing my current knitting project, for the time being.

So I'm taking bets:  How long will it take Sasha to finish that quilt that she started...um...over a year ago?  :-D

Good to be home.

I have had such a stressful whirlwind few days.  On Sunday, I flew to DC for the Foreign Service Oral Assessment - a grueling day-long series of exercises and interviews that is the final step in the selection process for Foreign Service Officers (ok...not counting security clearances and all that).  I won.  So in a few months, barring some unforeseen catastrophe, I will begin training to be a US diplomat.  But oh my dear sweet lord, was it ever a long, rough few days surrounding that.

So I've spent the past couple of days at home recuperating.  I've been taking it nice and slow, spending time knitting and baking.  Bread and granola and (not pictured) onion soup and asian-style coleslaw.  Maybe crackers and granola bars today.  And there's a ridiculous bete noire in the fridge, compliments of my husband, who shall remain nameless.

I'm home with my kitties and my person and my kitchen and my yarn, and I'm going to be a diplomat.  Everything is good today.  :-)

Ceres Winners!

Congratulations Diane and Kat!  You've each won a free copy of Ceres!

Since so many people entered my giveaway, and all of them with helpful, well thought-out responses to my question, I decided to give two copies away, instead of one.  Spread the love.  For those of you who are interested, able and didn't win, Ceres is available for you to purchase through my blog and through Ravelry.

Stay tuned for more patterns, and more giveaways!

Giveaway Glee!

Jeez, kids, if many more of you enter my giveaway, I might have to give out two copies of Ceres!  :-P

I'm really enjoying the responses to my Ceres giveaway!  Some of it's stuff that really hadn't occurred to me, like buying patterns the moment you're ready to knit them.  All of it's helpful.  Thanks to everyone who's entered so far!  For those who haven't, you've still got a couple of days left to enter and win a free copy of Ceres!

Brown Things

I was supposed to go to a sort of folk-harp masterclass on Sunday morning.  So I grab my harp, hop into my car, get horribly lost and miss the class.  As a consolation prize, I took my husband, who shall remain nameless, to The Sow's Ear for yarn and chai, both of which he enjoys.  Did I win the nameless husband lottery or what?

So I spent the $30 that I didn't get to blow on the class on yarn.  Nice fall yarn, unfortunately, and I'm knitting something devastatingly simple, so expect a rather unseasonal free pattern to emerge before long.  :-)  I'm going to be nice to myself, knit for myself calm and easy before getting back into the "knitting for publication" groove.  I have ideas, but I'm not going to push them out just yet.

I finally bought yarn.  Oh, that feels good.  And what yummy yarn it is.  Merino wool, alpaca and silk.  Sulka.  Yes.