The consequences of loving to travel

That's what I'm suffering today.  Even though it's New Year's Eve and typically I take this day off with my Christmas holiday, today I am here at work.  It is dead quiet.  The sole reason I'm here is that for the first time I can remember I have used all my vacation time before the end of the year.  Oh I get close always, but this year there wasn't a drop left in the bucket, so to speak.  The good news is that we'll be closing up early, so I'll have time to get home and get ready for the party I'm attending tonight.  It's not dressy, which is good news.

I couldn't seem to catch up on my sleep while in California.  On alternate nights my sister and I would stay up late - late as in 4 am.  And then the next day sleep the morning away.   She had to go in to work the day after Christmas and I stayed home and got lots of good knitting done on the lace blouse.  That was the first knitting I had done for ages and ages and it was wonderful.  It is going to be quite the garment.  Since it's being done with an angora blend yarn, the fuzz factor is huge.  I have no idea what I'll wear it with, but hopefully I can find something that won't attract too much fuzz.

The weather was quite chilly for what I am used to when I visit, but I didn't mind too much.  It was an excuse (reason) to keep a fire burning which made it quite festive.  And during the days it was mostly sunny.  We got out for a day in Chinatown and Little Tokyo.  Did a little shopping (big surprise), although because of my current lack of closet space, I only purchased an accessory. 

I didn't get home until late Saturday night and yesterday was spent watching football -- the Seahawks are in the playoffs!  I will be getting the Christmas tree out of my teensie living room on Tuesday, then I'll hang the pictures.  I spent a little time yesterday deciding where I wanted them to go.  I still love my new apartment and I will love it even more when I get rid of the two wall units and my dresser.  I have chosen a glass TV wall unit that will open up that space a little more and for the bedroom a white chest for my clothes and a small glass shelf unit for my yarn and needles.  Hopefully I can get those in the next week or so.  And I have a friend to store a few more things out of my hall closet to open up a bit of wiggle room there so I don't have to curse the laundry basket when I try to open the doors for the washer and dryer.  And ... horror ... I must purchase a mop.  My other apartment, while full of storage, had very small bathrooms and kitchen and I could, and did, wash the floors on my hands and knees with a spray bottle of cleaner and paper towels.  Really small.  This place has much larger kitchen and bathroom floors that are going to require mopping.  So it's not there yet, but still it's very comfortable.

I must wake up.  Time for a second cup of tea.  Happy New Year!

Lost and Found

As much as I hate packing for a move, there is an up side.  That's finding lost treasures. A few months ago I was lamenting the fact that I must have donated my awesome BCBG boots, because I couldn't find them anywhere.  It was surprising, since I loved them and couldn't imagine getting rid of them.  But when I was packing I found them at the bottom of a box in my storage closet.  Evidently when I first moved in I left them in the box with other odds and ends because it was springtime and I wouldn't be needing them.  And then I forgot about it.  So yay me!  I love these boots.   Although with the super high heel it was a bit dicey walking Tink and getting to the bus.  It's a little slick out there.  No rain though.

As much as I wanted to empty that last box and put away things into my bathroom cupboard, I had to get a few presents purchased and a few wrapped.  The convenience of being able to just walk to the mall is fabulous.  No parking hassles.  Just cross the street.  I did quite well, met my goals and was able to relax around 7:30.  Unfortunately, I wanted to relax in front of the TV and it wouldn't go on!  The television would, but I couldn't get the cable box to work.  After a telephone call to the cable company I figured it out.  There is an outlet that is controlled by a switch and guess which outlet the TV is plugged into?  Yup.  I know -- don't say it.  Move the plug to another outlet.  But because of the wall unit's placement, that is much easier said than done.  So for now I'll just have to be sure to keep that switch in the on position.  Once that was sorted I fixed some dinner and watched a silly movie.  I wanted to knit but I don't quite have myself set up for that yet, lighting-wise.  I'm getting there slowly.  I think once the dining chairs are gone to Goodwill and I have my little storage bench and ottoman I'll feel better, because there will be just that much less clutter around.

I forgot to check my channel line up for the Husky bowl game tomorrow.  I'll have to do that tonight, because if I don't get that channel in my new set up then I'm going to have to plan on going somewhere to watch it tomorrow.  Probably the Ram.  It's fun to watch football there with all the other fans.  It's almost like going to the game.  But since this one is in Las Vegas ....  And then the Seahawks on Sunday night.  That is going to be a fantastic game.  Since they've put more than 50 points on their last two opponents, and  San Francisco is also doing well, it is getting a lot of hype with the playoffs coming up.  Very exciting weekend.

Foiled by the rain

Oh my - is it ever raining -- still.  I was hoping to be able to get rid of the two chairs to the donation station set up at the mall, but the rain made it impossible.  Also impossible to get a Christmas tree.  I have carved out a little spot for a small tree but I didn't want to be hauling a wet tree into my apartment so that'll have to wait for the weekend.  It is supposed to stop raining soon.  But rain or shine, I MUST finish my Christmas shopping tonight.  I just have a couple of things to pick up at Nordstrom and then a quick trip to Barnes and Noble and that should do it.  I'll pick up some wrapping paper as well and get started on that tonight, hopefully.  I was thinking ahead and all of the gifts I bought while I was on my November trip were small and thus easily packed into the bottom of my suitcase.  Then when I get to my sister's I can put the ribbons on them. 

It is very difficult to be at work this week.  I don't have anything that's urgent and therefore I have a hard time buckling down to do any real work.  I'd rather be home finishing my apartment.  There's not much left for me to do until I can get new furniture for the bedroom, and that's going to have to wait until January.  My artwork is stacked up in the bedroom against the walls, making it even harder to get around.  But I don't want to hang anything until I see how much wall space I'm going to be opening up in the bedroom.  Maybe I should re-think that.  I could probably get a good bit of it up in the living area and the hallway and that would in turn open up more room in the bedroom.  But I honestly don't think I'll be able to fit it in this weekend.  I'll be getting home late tomorrow, and Saturday is the Husky bowl game and Sunday I'll be getting packed to leave on Monday.  So I'm going to have to just relax about it and try to enjoy the holiday.

I found out this morning that one of my neighbors - I can't tell if it's upstairs or downstairs - gets up at the same time I do.  Their alarm went off at exactly the same time and it sounded like vibration, so I am guessing it's an iPhone too.  But that's all I heard, as if the phone were on the floor or against the wall.  This apartment building reminds of me of a nice hotel.  When you go out your door the hallway is quiet and the door makes a nice click when it closes.

I thoroughly enjoyed noon knitting yesterday, even though I only did a couple of rows on the Argosy wrap.  I'm going to take the lace blouse with me when I go to California.  I am hoping I can get a few quiet times for some nice, relaxing lace knitting.  And just in case, I'll get a pair of socks on the needles for TV time.  Kelli always watches the most inane shows.  At least I can have my hands busy.

Is it rain? Is it snow?

It's a mess, that's for sure!  I didn't wake up until 7 this morning -- forgot to turn on my iPhone alarm last night -- and I could hear the rain.  But when I walked out the door of the building with Tink I could see it was snow as well.  It's just over freezing, thank goodness, or it would be all snow. 

Tuesday kind of disappeared.  I wasn't feeling terrific on Monday and blamed it on being overly tired, but it became increasingly clearer Monday night that it was a little bug, so I stayed home yesterday.  By mid-afternoon I was feeling good enough to work more on re-arranging my place.  The kitchen and living area is now done.  And I combed through my closet Monday night and took another bag of shoes and three more bags of clothes down to the donation bin that is so handily located in our recycle room.  So now my closet is lean, baby.  If I buy anything I have to throw something else out.  No more junk in my closet.  It feels pretty darned good, actually. 

I have two dining room chairs - one I use for my desk and the other sitting behind the table.  So if I have company for dinner there is a chair.  I don't have any room for the other two chairs.  I refuse to be tiptoeing around my own living space.  Just because it's small doesn't mean it has to be cluttered.  So they need to be taken to the Goodwill bin.  The bathroom will be finished tonight.  As soon as the little cupboard is bolted to the wall I can finish putting away the rest of the bathroom things.  That leaves the bedroom. I was WAY off on how that could work.   A couple of smaller pieces of furniture in there will make a world of difference. 

I just love the building so much!  Everything is super clean, the tenants are extremely nice, and there are breed restrictions, so no aggressive dogs are allowed.  No Pit Bulls, no German Shepherds, no Rottweilers and ... oh, one other one I can't remember.  And quiet?  Oh heavens ... it is so quiet.  The only noise I heard yesterday was the maintenance man vacuuming the halls.  Tink has a nice long hallway to chase her ball in, and she seems to like the paths round the creek.  I am happy happy happy!!

And now Christmas is looming.  I haven't finished my shopping, nor have I wrapped and mailed gifts to California, so I guess I'm going to have to put them in my suitcase.  It's getting a little late.  Maybe if I wrapped them tonight I could get them sent tomorrow .... I'll see. 

Noon knitting today.  How long has it been since I've run?  Too long.  Hopefully I can do it tomorrow and Friday before my week of sloth in California. 

Chaos

Oh what a weekend.  I am exhausted!  But I'm moved in, and that's all that counts.  The weather was, as predicted, wet but at least it wasn't pouring.  It was raining hard a lot of the time though, which made things all that much more unpleasant.  I had 5 men and a woman plus myself, and two trucks, a trailer and a station wagon.  With all of the purging I had done I was thinking one load, maybe another small-ish one.  Hah!  Two full loads and a third small one.  Unbelievable how much stuff was packed into that apartment.  Which seemed even smaller than I had remembered.  We got it all loaded up and had something to eat (the BEST hamburgers I've had in ages!) by 3.  Then I had to clean up the little things and vacuum and turn in my keys at the old place.  And then back to my new place where I got a gorgeous bouquet of flowers!  Just what I needed to keep me smiling. 

Tink had been very good all day and so I had to take her for a nice walk before I started to dig into the boxes.  I had cleaned out my fridge last thing at the old place and I had two boxes of food, one of them frozen, to get into the refrigerator.  Unfortunately the entire floor of the kitchen and the counters was stacked with boxes.  It was a puzzle shifting things around and unloading what I could to make room so I could open the (small) fridge.  I worked and worked and worked and then wanted to take some recycle out to the recycle room but I couldn't get into it.  I found out the next day I was trying to get into the wrong room.  I fell into bed without having found my clothes.  Not my hanging ones - they have taken up the ENTIRE closet, but my socks and underwear.  I had to put on my same clothes yesterday because I still couldn't find the box.  Of course, it was one of the last ones I found.

By five o'clock yesterday I had all of the boxes unpacked and I came to realize, as I was putting things away, that I hadn't gotten rid of enough stuff.  As I was putting dishes away I was throwing almost as many away.  Seriously - do I need place settings for 12.  No, I do not.  I picked my favorite colors of the fiesta ware and the rest - bye bye.  While the floor space in this new kitchen is twice as large as the old place, the cupboard space is not, nor is the fridge.  But I will make do.  As I was putting away the silverware and utensils, I made a discovery - there were no utensils.  Now I am one of those people who always goes twice around a hotel room to make sure I haven't left anything but I did not do that at the apartment and found that I had forgotten the entire drawer of utensils and all of the baking sheets.  Oh well -- at least I didn't own any really expensive knives.

I had to get rid of my comfy chair and ottoman.  There is no way I could fit that into my new place and have a speck of room for anything else.  So I put it on Craigslist for free and it was gone by 7:30 last night.  Now tonight I have to throw away even more clothes and shoes.   I thought I had been thorough but I need more room.  And in my bedroom I have to get a different dresser, because I can't open the bottom drawers.  Also I can't have the wall unit in there so that's going to have to go as well.  But it can wait until I get back from California.  I have plenty of fiddling around to do this week and I can get those things out of there last.

So - do I love my new place even though it's chaotic right now?  Yes indeed.  It is an awesome little village.  So far I've eaten at the Thai restaurant and that's outstanding.  And the burger place is equally outstanding.  The creek walk is gorgeous and full of beautiful art.  The transit center is a 3 minute walk - not a fast walk - from my apartment.  It is clean and quiet - I couldn't hear any traffic.  I am going to be very happy there.  Now I need to make it through this week so I can go to California for Christmas a rest.  I know I will want to keep fine tuning every evening.  I want it to be perfect, but it's going to take a few weeks.  But I am happy happy happy!

In case it's not been obvious ....

I am beyond excited to be moving out of this apartment.  I think the only other time I have been this enthused about moving was when I was going to Paris for six months.  I am beyond over this apartment complex.  This morning when I took Tink for her walk there was dog urine on the elevator floor!  Last night when I took out some garbage the entrance to the garbage enclosure was mostly blocked by a mattress and box springs.  I had to push them over in order to get through!  PIGS!!  There will be none of that nonsense at my new place.  There are little rooms with garbage shoots - recycle and garbage.  There is no way to dump furniture.

I brought a HUGE bag of hand knit sweaters in with me this morning.  My friend Peggy has volunteered to keep them for me until the knitters retreat next October, when I will take them to sell or trade.  She says it's a very popular thing to do there.  I would hate to toss them after all that work.  But here's what I learned - I don't wear bulky sweaters, no matter how gorgeous the yarn.  I don't wear many pullovers at all.  I kept three cardigans out of the 10 or eleven things I brought.  Thankfully I quit using bulky yarn long ago or I would have had even more.

Today is the last final for the students before they head off for the Christmas holiday and I am administering it in 30 minutes.   Then it'll be a short day for me.  I've got the kitchen to pack up tonight and the bathroom and my clothes.  It'll be easy, but might take a few hours.  Can you believe I packed up all my stuff from my big house in only two days, by myself?  It was difficult, I will say.  But I was terribly motivated.  It's much nicer to take my time, a few hours a day.  I think that's another reason it'll be nice to get out of this place.  It represents my flight.  This next place will represent my calm, fun life.

Double whammy

Sometimes I hate riding the bus.  Well ... I almost always hate riding the bus, but sometimes I hate it even more.  Yesterday on the way home I was assaulted by two loud phone talkers.  One guy sitting right across from me had been doing the same thing the day before, which is speaking WAY too loudly.  To make matters worse it was in a foreign tongue, so I couldn't even understand it.  [Joke - like "The food was terrible.  And such small portions".]  And last night to add insult to injury there was a woman sitting right behind me who came on the bus with her phone and talked nonstop, in a loud voice of course, for her entire ride.  That was two stops before mine so I got to enjoy her babble for quite a while.  I had my ear buds in, of course, but even with the sound cranked I couldn't help but have to hear about her social life.  Maybe it's time to invest in some noise cancelling headphones?

I needed some knitting therapy after that nonsense, but it wasn't meant to be.  I had too much to do at home.  Oh and I was so very very tired.  I had a shower and that perked me up somewhat and I made another push before I put down the tape gun and made a nice dinner.  Then it was a quiet hour relaxing with some stupid TV and I was out like a light.  I've pretty much done all of the time consuming packing - the delicate and fragile things that much be wrapped.  I've got a few last dishes and then the rest of the things I've left to pack are easy, just throw them in a box type of things.  I'm pretty proud of myself, actually.  I don't feel panicked at all.  I've got 5 guys and another woman to help with the move Saturday and it is going to be considerably less stuff than I moved out of my house.  Even if it's raining, which it is pretty likely to be, the load in will be under cover because there is a garage at my new place.  Only a few more nights of freeway noise as my lullaby.

I am SO sleepy!

Here it is coming up to the shortest day of the year, so it is dark here in Seattle.  Add to that the clouds and it seems that it hasn't been really light for days!  I've been staying up later than usual as well, since I'm packing.  It has really caught up with me today.  I can barely keep my eyes open!

I had another great evening, making lots and lots of progress with the packing.  Also getting rid of things.  Yesterday my coffee table went, and the sewing machine as well as the small bookcase in my bedroom and lots and lots of yarn to a very sweet girl who will certainly be enjoying it.  The person who had wanted to buy one of the larger bookcases Monday was supposed to come back last night, but did not.  I need to re-do my flier today.  I forgot to add the microwave and a few other things, plus I've got to take the free stuff off so people will stop calling.

I stopped around 8 and finally figured out the problem with the Argosy wrap and got back on track there.  I only have one more 8 row repeat and then it's the final part.  Oh I will be so glad to be done with that thing!  Then I can work on the lace blouse after I get moved.

No running today - it's Wednesday and I'd rather be knitting at noon, but instead it's the departmental holiday party.  It seems kind of early, but I think there are several vacations planned for next week.

I finished my last time travel audio book yesterday.  I have to say I was very disappointed in her last books.  Actually none of the other three were anywhere near as good as the first one.  They got a little romance-y and rather heavy handed as well.  But I stuck with it.  Now I think I'll get the new Tom Wolfe.

Autopilot

We are all such creatures of habit, and I don't usually mind.  It's what keeps me from forgetting my keys and things like that.  Other times it's not such a good thing.  I brought my running clothes home with me last night to wash them since I had forgotten them on Friday and I had run in them Monday.   I did my laundry and, as I usually do, separated the running clothes out from the other clothes and put them into a bag to bring to work.  And this morning I even added a couple of pairs of socks and my running bra, so it was in my mind to take that bag.  But when I got back from walking Tink I just grabbed my purse and headed out to the bus stop.  It wasn't until I was on the bus that I realized that I hadn't brought my running clothes with me!  Arghgh!  And I had had such a good run yesterday.  I was really looking forward to my run this afternoon.  Now I'm going t have to settle for a walk instead.  Yes, I do have my running shorts and a shirt here, socks and shoes, but not my one crucial piece of gear. 

Yesterday evening was super busy.  While I was doing laundry I was packing and I got so much done!  Also, I had put up notices that I was getting rid of some things and I had people coming by to take a look at bookcases and things like that.  One of my favorite tenants came by - a beautiful young mother and her three children.  They are adorable but oh my goodness, they were like little destructive tornadoes!  The little boy, who is 2, was a terror.  I caught him putting handfuls of Tink's food into her water dish, and then I caught him with her food, sprinkling red pepper flakes into it!  The pepper had been on the counter - I wouldn't even have thought he could see it let alone grab it.  I had put on the flyer that I had some yarn I wanted to give away and she was interested in that.  She is going to take it all - the two crates in my storage closet and the two big bags of odds and ends I culled from my yarn shelf!  I am so happy to be able to help her out and get rid of the stuff as well.  She's also taking one short bookcase and I had another couple people say they were interested in the other larger ones.  Good!  The less I have to actually dump, the better.

I worked for 3 hours solid and then collapsed and had a bite to eat and watched some silly TV.  Tonight after I'm done with my 3 (or so) hours I'd like to figure out what I did with the Argosy wrap and get that  row finished.  Then I'm going to have to put the knitting away until after I get moved and unpacked.  I hate living in disarray, but it can't be helped when you're packing everything up.  And it's only for a few more days. 

Work work work

I am just astonished at how much I have taken out of that apartment this weekend.  It's crazy!  On Saturday I took 13 large bags of books to the used book store to sell.  This time I had things they wanted and I actually got some money for them.  It took the sorters more than an hour to go through it all.  And before that I took bags and bags of clothing and shoes to the donation site.  I would have thought that the apartment would feel empty after that purge but ... no.  On Sunday I took some larger things - an entire pick-up truck bed worth - to a friend's for temporary storage.  Things like my golf clubs and skis, boxes of Christmas ornaments, a card table and chairs ....  I don't know what all.  And then in the evening I cleaned out cupboards and closets and took four more bags down to the trash.  It is so liberating to be rid of all this stuff! 

While I was poking around through my storage closet boxes I found two large plastic crates of knitting stuff -  finished products and yarn.  That is in addition to the baskets and bags of odds and ends that I must purge myself of that are on the shelf and in my office.  I will enlist the help of my knitting lady friends.  I really don't want to toss this stuff in the garbage but it is difficult for me to get it to a donation site during the week.

I had one last chance to make it to the fantasy football playoffs.  I thought last week was it, but  no I had another chance.  I did set my lineup even though I didn't think I was in the running but I got just crushed and I don't think I could have done anything better had I known I was in the running.  The Seahawks were absolutely unstoppable this weekend against Arizona and the defense got my opponent 41 points!  Forty-one!!  My defense got my 4 points, I had one player out completely and two others that barely scored anything.  I was soundly trounced.  I do have Tom Brady tonight but I don't think even Tom can help me.  I am out.  Ah well -- I shall set my sights on next year.

It's hard to get to work when I would much rather be at home packing but there's nothing for it so I'd better dig in.

Just a little more

I actually got into packing boxes last night.  Well ... I got one box all packed and it was a time consuming one so I felt pretty good about my accomplishment.  This weekend is necessarily going to be the big push.  I find it very difficult to really get down to business when there is so much that needs to be gotten out of the place first.  My office is full of boxes and bags that need to be donated.  And once they are out of there then I'll be able to make more progress plus have a place to store the packed boxes.

My hard work was rewarded with some relaxing knitting.  I was doing quite well until I got interrupted with a phone call and when I got back I might have started going the wrong way.  You'd think it should be fairly easy to figure that one out, wouldn't you?  But because of the pattern it is not, so I had to put it down and when I can carve out some quiet time this weekend I'll solve the problem.

I had an interrupted night - it was cold and the wind was blowing the blinds, making so much noise.  My new place is going to be so quiet compared to this.  Although I am near the entrance to several restaurants and the movie theatre, so I imagine at times it could get loud but it shouldn't be for long.  Mostly I am just happy that I won't have to hear the freeway anymore!

I just know it's going to hurt

Monday when I ran it wasn't terrific.  I did make it through the entire run, but I was back to the slow pace I had before my banana fueled jump in speed.  I couldn't run on Tuesday, nor yesterday so I have got to get back out there today and I just know that it's going to be another tough one.  That makes it all that much more difficult to actually change my clothes and get out there.  I am determined though.  It isn't that bad once I actually get going anyway and I know that.  But at this point, only a few sips into my first cup of tea ... well, I'm not looking forward to it.

I took the night off from doing any packing chores last night, but tonight I am going to start packing up glassware and other nonessential types of things.  Since I did all of the packing when I moved out of my big house I know how long it takes and I saved all of the boxes, so I am set.  I will put some music on and just dig in.  Actually it goes pretty fast.  And then this weekend I've got to get all of the books and clothes out to donation sites.  I think I'll also put up a couple of fliers around the building and get rid of some things that way - some bookcases I haven't room for, my microwave and sewing machine ... I am sure I'll be able to find plenty of things like that.  If they don't go by mid-week then it's off to Goodwill with them too.

It is quite cold, but at least not freezing.  If it can stay this way for the next week and a half that'll be super.  Regardless of how much I get rid of, it's still not going to be nice to have to move in the rain.  The good news is that my new building has an underground garage, so worst case we'll have to tarp up the open trucks and since it's only a little over a mile we won't have to worry much about things getting wet.

I must find some time for knitting tonight.  I am feeling the need for the .... how can I describe it?  The way it makes me feel sometimes, like chanting perhaps.  It's a rhythm that is soothing.  Or like meditation maybe.  Because if you're concentrating on a pattern and repeating it in your head, then there's no room for worries.  Not that I have many of those these days, thankfully.  I am quite happy.  My trip really helped.  Every once in a while I just need to be there.  And then I'm fine for a while.  Just a while.

I think I'm caught up now

After waking at 4:30 yesterday morning, I was a zombie by 5.  I didn't get a chance to run because I had students coming to see their most recent exam and I needed to get up to the post office and back quickly.  I have to get my sister's birthday present sent off today or she'll not get it until after her birthday, since she's decided on a quickie trip to Hawaii with my nephews - a kind of joint birthday celebration.  Since I just came back from Europe I don't get to go.  How could I be disappointed?  And yet I am.  I love Hawaii!!  Ah well -- I'll get to see them all in a few weeks anyway.

The weather is nasty and blowing and cold but Tink still needs to be walked, so off we went after work.  I was hoping it would wake me up a bit, but all it did was make me uncomfortable.  I had a goal though that needed to be met, so after drying Tink I tackled the chore, which was cleaning out the rest of the clothes to get them ready for the donation bin.  The only thing left now in that vein is the shoes and boots.  I always hate to get rid of shoes but I have to be brave.

I found a nice room arranging web site and I believe I've got the bedroom all set.  That leaves the living/dining area and I am torn.  I would have more room if I got rid of my comfy chair and I almost got to the point last night, but I think I'm going to keep it and move it and see if I can make it work.  It's such a comfortable piece and Tink and I can fit comfortably on the seat while I knit.  I love that!  I tried to do the living/dining area set up on the web site after getting the bedroom set but the program kept acting up so I'll have to try again later - maybe today.

I fought to stay up until 10 last night and fell into a deep sleep and, thankfully, slept through the night without waking up and tossing and turning.  So I feel pretty good today and good thing because it's going to be busy today - I've got a meeting this morning that's going to take up the biggest part, then off to our staff holiday lunch.  That doesn't leave that much real work time in this day.

Jet lag or just a busy brain?

Jet lag is, of course, entirely different going west.  And I must admit that I got pretty darned cocky about handling it.  I fought going to sleep too early last night and made it to my normal bedtime, slept great and then .... woke up at 4:30 am and couldn't go back to sleep!!  Part of it was that my brain is going a million miles an hour around my move and all the things I want to get accomplished before the 15th and how am I going to get it done and around and around and around.  Of course everything will be fine in the end, but there is a lot of work that is going to be needed to make it be fine.  I didn't really dig in to it last night like I had wanted to.  I needed to finish cleaning my apartment and getting the rest of the laundry done.  I can't work in a messy environment, even if it's packing and sorting.  And after that I was tired so I gave myself permission to just veg for the rest of the evening.

I didn't bother watching the football game.  I needed over 30 points from my one guy and I knew it was a long shot.  So I missed being in the playoffs by less than 20 points at the end of it.  Darn!  I was doing so well at the beginning.  The thing is I had torn allegiance this weekend because the Seahawks were playing the Bears and I needed the Bears defense to get me the usual HUGE amount of points, but on the other hand if they had gotten those points that would have meant they were beating the Seahawks.  As it turned out, the Seahawks won and that is good because then they have a chance at the playoffs.  But still .... So see?  I'm torn.

I wonder if I'm going to have any time to knit before I move?  I am getting kind of twitchy.  Maybe I can allow myself an hour to knit tonight if I get one closet sorted and cleaned out.  That sounds like a good trade off. 

Back to the real world

Ah yes -- that's what always happens when vacation is over.  Back to the real world.  I really missed being able to blog while I was away but my the issue with my iPad could never be resolved.  It was seamless the last times I was away so I don't have a clue what was going on. 

Basically it was a fabulous get away.  I got to visit with old friends and sleep in and wander the streets.  The weather wasn't perfect and certainly not anything like the last November when it was quite unseasonable.  This time it was cold but only raining some of the time.  The last two days in London were spectacular.  I walked so much!  I visited the Natural History Museum on Thursday and Friday the National Portrait Gallery and after that I walked up to St. Paul's Cathedral.  This was a whole new part of London for me to see on foot and since it is prominent in the books I am currently listening to, it was nice to put into perspective.

Not once did I feel the uncontrollable urge to knit, although it crossed my mind a couple of times.  I never feel like I have that much time to actually just be sitting and not doing anything but knit.  And I was busy and/or distracted with football this weekend so maybe tonight I can get a few rows done and get back into the groove.  I have so very much to do getting ready to move on the 15th that I don't suspect I'll be getting too much knitting done.

Speaking of my move -- I finally got to see the inside of my new apartment on Sunday.  It is small, no doubt about that.  But the environment is WAY better than where I am currently so it is going to be an easy trade off.  I made some measurements and scoped out the closet situation.  I have a lovely view and a fountain in the courtyard right outside my windows.  Nice.  The difficult part is going to be getting rid of all the extra stuff that I have no room for in the new place.  My goal is to sort and bag all of that type of stuff this week so that this weekend I can get it hauled to the donation sites or wherever.  Then the following week I can just pack at a leisurely pace and be ready to move on Saturday.  Good schedule but let's see how well I do, eh?

Thanks to the PJV Method of Combating Jet Lag (PJVMCJL), I am feeling perfectly back in sync today and if the weather holds out I'll be running at lunchtime.  This is a big switch for me.  Typically I spend a week wallowing after vacation.  But I don't have that luxury this time.  Too much to get accomplished.   There was a huge storm last night and I had to close the windows it was so loud and windy.  It isn't bad this morning - no wind or rain - but it could come back at any time.  Let's hope it holds off until after lunchtime.

Happy birthday greetings to the aforementioned PJV.  And now -- time to dig in.

No ranting or knitting

Nor blogging it seems. I have not had much WiFi for my phone and for some odd reason my iPad was not able to let me post. Strange, because I was able to last time. I should have just made the effort to find the password at Emma's, but it is hard to get to. I had it saved on my iPad but since I have a new phone it isn't there. Annoying. It is too hard to post from my phone so this is short. I am currently waiting for my flight back to London for my last few days. I have been staying cool and stress free. Have not had the need to buy yarn and needles. Wow.

I must say I have definitely had my fill of cigarette smoke. It is crazy bad in Lux, where people can still smoke in bars! I have been stuffed up for days.

Onward to London.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm falling ... falling ....

Arghgh!  I lost my fantasy match up this week and now I am down to 4th place!  It was ugly last night - Chicago got just pummeled and the defense, which in the past has gotten me as much as 26 points, got me only 1.  I've got to be perfect for the rest of the games in order to win.  It's going to be tough. 

I am almost on vacation.  The plane doesn't leave until 3:30 today and I'm going to be taking the bus to the train to the airport, so I will be leaving here around noon.  I have a few things to get in order before I go.  I don't want to have to worry about a single thing while I'm gone.  This is going to be all about rest and having fun and NOT STRESSING.  I want to come back all relaxed and ready to pack and move to my new place. 

I got packed last night and I did not put any knitting into the suitcase.  This is going to be interesting.  If I just go crazy and HAVE to knit I will simply buy some needles and yarn wherever the urge hits me.  But I think I'm going to be just fine without it.  I have books and movies on my iPad and an audiobook on my iPhone and I like to just sit and watch the world go by when I'm on a train anyway.

It was SO wet!

The autumn storms are here in spades and it was pouring rain Sunday morning.  But races are never cancelled and so off I went in the pouring rain to run around Green Lake.  Oh, and it was cold to boot.  I put on my bike jacket, which is water repellent and pinned my bib number to my thigh.  The bad weather kept quite a few people away though, you could tell.  There were bib numbers over 2,000 but there weren't nearly that many people there.  And yes, I did do the fastest 5K for me.  Not as fast as last Thursday, unfortunately, but faster than any officially recorded time and so I am very very happy about that.  And when that race was over -- boom! --- I was in vacation mode!  Unfortunately I have to work today and tomorrow morning but mentally - I'm on vacation. 

After standing under the shower until the water was no longer hot, I got dressed and headed to the mall to get my nails done and to pick up a few things, then football and beer and lunch at the Ram.  I have to get more than 13.6 points from the Chicago defense in order to win my match up tonight.  I had a couple of REALLY bad performances and one guy didn't get me a single point!  Luckily my opponent had just as bad luck as I did so I do still have a chance.  I have to pack tonight but I have all of my laundry done so it shouldn't be so bad.  I am expecting the weather to be about the same as it is here, unfortunately.  Last November it was positively warm!  I don't think I'm in for that kind of treat this year.  But it will be wonderful, no matter the weather!

I am still holding strong on not bringing any knitting.  I wavered a bit last night, thinking I might as well bring something but if my travel history has taught me anything it's that as much as I think I'm going to knit, I just never do!  I'll save the space for something really important - like little mince pies!

Now I've got lots and lots of work so this day should zoom by.  I don't mind.  I'm getting quite anxious to be on my way.

Bus rant #2

Part of the route one of my buses travels is along an extremely narrow residential road that unfortunately also allows curbside parking, making it even narrower.  The buses need to look out for each other and make sure they can both pass, so typically one waits as the other passes.  Yesterday on the way home the southbound bus did not let my bus, the northbound bus, pass and instead thought there would be room for the two of them to make it around each other.  Unfortunately because of a car parked on the east side of the street the southbound bus got stuck before my bus driver thought he had enough clearance to get around her.  So do you know what he did?  He just stopped and called his supervisor, letting the traffic back up on both sides of the road.  People were having to back up and turn around and take a detour.  Finally a passenger from the southbound bus got out and tried to convince my driver that he could easily make it by driving just a little but up onto the curb and the driver refused to do it, saying he needed permission from his supervisor.  Unbelievable.  The passenger then guided the southbound driver in backing her bus up enough to let my sissy driver pass.  MY driver could have gotten out and helped that other driver back up but no, he needed permission.  What an ass.  Oh well, soon enough I'll be on a one bus route that has no narrow streets.

I can hardly believe it but yesterday again I had another stellar run, this time breaking my own mile AND 5K records.  I guess having a few days off didn't hurt at all.  I probably shouldn't be getting my hopes up for a super duper run on Sunday.  Anything could happen - like another party downstairs.  They were quiet last night.  Let's hope they're not saving up for a big bash this weekend.

I have a HUGE weekend coming up.  Vacation is going to be just what the doctor ordered.  Rest and relaxation and happiness in the company of my friends.  In the meantime I've got to get through quite a few chores but then Sunday morning is the run and the rest of the day will be fun fun fun -- a mani/pedi, lunch and football at the Ram and a little shopping.  Now if I could only win my match up this weekend!!!  Reggie Bush is killing me!!  I might have to drop him.  Last Sunday he got benched after a fumble and ended up getting me only a few points out of the 12 or so he was projected to have.  Last night was another bad performance - I think I got 2.7 out of 11.5 points projected.  Not good.  I'll have to count on the Bears defense to go crazy Monday night.

The tenants with nothing to lose

My noisy neighbors .... oh I cannot wait to get out of this place!  They had another party Saturday night, waking me out of a deep sleep at 12:30 with their music, not to mention the odd bangs (sounds like they are body slamming into the walls) and the girls screaming.  I threw on my pajamas and went downstairs, pounded on the door and they answered and again promised to turn the music down.  They did, but that didn't stop the banging and the girls screaming and the smoke, which comes up into my apartment because of the shoddy fans in the bathrooms.  It went on until 3:30.  The apartment office was closed Sunday so Monday I dropped by to ask what could be done about them.  Turns out, probably nothing.  The manager told me they had been having trouble with them, had turned it over to the lawyers and he was sorry they were bothering me.  Yup.  It sounds to me like they are being evicted so they have nothing to lose.  Again last night they started up with the super loud music -- let me stop here and explain that I am not being overly sensitive.  These apartment walls are thick and I never heard a single peep out of my previous neighbors.  These guys are turning it up to 11.  Anyway, they started up again and I realized that I have two choices.  I can get angry about it and lose sleep or I can just accept it for what it is - temporary - put in some ear plugs and carry on.  That is what I did.  If they start up that nonsense on Saturday night again I risk being 100% for the race on Sunday if I get all wound up, so I am going to relax and think about England.  hee

I did some great work on the lace blouse at knitting yesterday afternoon, but nothing at home.  I wasn't in the mood for that much concentration.  I took it easy, made a lovely salmon dinner and turned in to read.  The weather is great today and I am looking forward to my run.  It is supposed to be rainy this weekend, which is good for me.

Work is pretty slow these days, compounded by the fact that I am not motivated to do much but daydream about what I'm going to be doing next week and the week after.  I have lists and list of things I want to do and people I want to see.  And a couple of wonderful train rides to look forward to.  I love riding trains.  But in the meantime -- time for another cup of tea!

An inadvertent sleep in

I haven't been using my alarm clock since I got my new iPhone.  The dock is different so I can't charge my phone in it and I found that I was just hitting the snooze button or turning it off altogether.  So now I set the alarm on my iPhone before I turn out the light.  But I forgot last night, probably because I had yet another blinding headache.  I woke up around 7:30 feeling grrrrreat!  I hot footed it in to work and made it here just a little over 30 minutes late.  Not bad.

I guess I'm going to be super well rested for the race next Sunday.  I didn't run Monday because I had that sinus thing going on, I didn't run yesterday because I didn't get in to work until nearly noon and didn't want to run back out again and I won't run today because it's Wednesday.  That leaves Thursday and Friday and I am okay with that.  My running last week was just awesome, so there's no reason to think I won't have a great race Sunday.

I had a lazy evening, not even picking up any knitting.  The weather was miserable for both of Tink's walks and I just felt like curling up and staying warm.  I did manage to figure out nearly my entire wardrobe for my trip.  I have a couple of days yet to work out but this time everything is doing double duty.  [I say that every time, don't I?]  My biggest quandary is the knitting.  I am pretty certain that I have brought knitting on all my trips and hardly, if ever, touched it.  Last April when I was in France I know that I knit one afternoon for a bit as I was cooking dinner.  Other than that ... nothing.  So I think I'm going to risk it this time and not even bother packing it.  That'll mean all that much more room for bringing home Christmas goodies.

Now I just have to make it through the rest of this week!!!

The reality of not owning a car

Today was the first time I really had to deal with not having a car.  I had a dentist appointment at 10 so I stayed home and went from there rather than come in to work and turn right around and head back out.  It should have been a simple enough trip but the One Bus Away app was not accurate for some odd reason.  It was saying that my first bus was running very late, so I took off walking the mile to the second stop rather than risk being late.  And since yesterday was a holiday I had not only  my purse but another bag with my running clothes and my week of lunches and yogurt and tea and oatmeal.  Not so heavy but rather awkward.  Of course I was half way to the second bus stop when the bus went by - not late at all!  Other than that, it was fine.  Thankfully it wasn't raining. 

Yesterday was a holiday for us and I loved having the 3 day weekend.  Saturday I did all of my chores and errands and watched the Huskies win.  That  left Sunday absolutely 100% free of anything but football and knitting and I did plenty of that.  Because I was watching games I worked on the simple project, the Argosy wrap which is SO huge!  But the end is in sight.  The Seahawks also won their game, but unfortunately I lost my match up this weekend.  I am still second but I was very disappointed to lose. 

Saturday I signed the lease at my new place and so I wanted to get a start at cleaning out my closets on Monday.  Unfortunately I had another sinus headache and so didn't get as much done as I had wanted to, but still managed to get one closet done.  Now I have to find a way to get those two heavy bags donated.  I am sure I can strong arm someone into helping.  And then after a lovely little nap I had a nice long afternoon to work on the lace blouse.  I got a good bit done.  Pretty soon I'll have to move it to longer needles. 

I am starting to get really excited about my trip.  One more week!  And I am busy busy this week and the weekend so the time is going to zip by.  I am so looking forward to it!!

They say it was squirrels

A large part of my job is creating and delivering classroom web content to the medical and dental students for the classes taught out of my department.  A few years ago we were forced to change our delivery from individual (and in my case awesome) departmental web sites to a system run from upper campus so that all of the websites could look the same (which is ugly) and therefore the students wouldn't be tasked with figuring out the layout of each class' site.  Like that's so hard ... but I digress.  The histology class, which is currently running, uses not only the site to deliver content like lecture slides and syllabus chapters, but I have also built a virtual microscope for them to use rather than traditional microscopes and all of those links are on their web site.  Yesterday was the second time in 3 weeks that the system has failed during the class.  I was able to email a document to the students so they could do their virtual lab but I'm going to gone for four classes during my vacation.  If we can't count on the system they forced us to use .... it just makes me crazy!  I think I'm going to have to build a back up site to run on our servers in case the system goes down while I'm gone.  Oh ... and the word from the IT group is that squirrels gnawed through some lines.  Really?  Squirrels?

I did not have a terrific night, but for good reasons.  I was tired after getting home and doing all my little chores, plus making banana bread.  The bad thing about eating bananas for breakfast every  morning is that I have to buy 5 on the weekend.  But this weekend I was at Costco and nothing is small there so I ended up with some very ripe bananas so voila! banana bread for the office this morning.  It's good.  So anyway I didn't even pick up any knitting but instead headed in to bed to read.  My eyes wouldn't stay open finally so I dozed off only to be woken up by some noise from downstairs (ooo, I am not going to miss those people) and then I was wide awake, my mind going a mile a minute trying to figure out how I'm going to arrange my new place, and getting excited about my trip, and thinking about my race on the 18th ... around and around and around.  I am very glad it's Friday.

And did I say cold?  Brrrr ... In my bedroom this morning the heat came on!  So it must have been very cold for that to kick on.  It is currently only 2 degrees above freezing!  This is a little colder than normal for this time of the year, but at least it's clear.  I had a nice run yesterday in the beautiful sunshine, although I was a bit chest-y ... a teensie bit of asthma when I stopped.  Still I had a good time.  I am going to extend my run to 35 minutes or 5k today, which ever comes first.  I got my new shoes yesterday!

I am going to have to give my notice today and I haven't gotten final final confirmation yet from my new place.  That's first on my list today - to call them.  Oooo , I'm excited!!

One extreme or the other

So now the seasons are changing and it is actually getting cooler outside.  Into the 30s at night and there was frost on the grass this morning.  The heating in this building - well, in this collection of buildings here at the Health Sciences Center - is wacky.  In the summer you see people bundled up in heavy sweaters and in the winter others running around in short sleeves.  At the beginning of this week and all last week our offices here were sweltering.  I had my fan on and windows open.  It was close to 80 degrees in all of our offices.  And then yesterday ... brrrrr.  However, around the corner in the another corridor a lab was in the 80s.  It's just crazy.  You have to dress in layers all year 'round.  But I zipped the lining into my coat this morning because I knew I'd be cold on the way to work and I am glad I did.  It's clear and going to be a lovely afternoon for a run. 

At noon knitting yesterday I finally got back into my lace blouse and did a couple of rows there and then when I got home and got settled I did another few.  It is growing larger and larger. Soon I'll have to change to a larger needle.  And oh is it ever pretty!  The angora gets all over anything dark though and the fuzz made it quite difficult to knit on it with my contact in.  At least I am not allergic to it.

I spent a little more time on my iPad app trying to figure out how to arrange my furniture in my new place.  I got a call and it's 99.9% approved.  The woman who called me said I could give my notice at my new place.  She doesn't have the final sign off from her boss, but was confident enough to call me and say it's on and I am sooooooo happy!!  I can't get in to actually see the unit until I get back from my trip, but that's okay.  It'll give me something to look forward to and then, hopefully, I won't get the post-vacation blues that typically knock me down for a few weeks when I return from Europe.  Maybe tonight I'll start on the closet in my office.  I am going to be ruthless.  Yes, ruthless!

New apartment on the horizon

As instructed, I checked in to see if anyone had given notice on an apartment that fits my needs and  lo and behold they did!  The only hitch is that I had to go in person to give them money to hold the unit while my application was processed.  This was 11 am when I got that news so I thought this would be the perfect time to try Zipcar - zip over there and back in an hour.  But there were no Zipcars near - probably because it was getting close to midday - so I had to bus it.  It wasn't so bad.  There is a direct bus, which is very handy.   I had decided to postpone going to the Department of Licensing to report the sale/gifting of my car, but the bus on the way back to work stopped right in front of it, so I went in only to find out that my nephew had already reported it on Monday.  I was under the impression that I had to go in person but hooray anyway.  I cancelled my car insurance as soon as I got back to work.

My move in date is December 15, so I have plenty of time to purge myself of all that extra junk I've been carrying around, and to figure out how I'm going to arrange myself into 605 sq ft.  I downloaded an app for my iPad last night and that's what I did - fiddled with the app, adding furniture and trying to get the dimensions of the apartment down.  It's going to be tight but not impossible.  I love the fact that the windows look out onto the square and there is a fountain below.  What I am just a little bit concerned about is that this is listed as a studio with a sleep alcove, which really means just that it has a bedroom, but there's no window to the outside.  I like fresh air when I sleep, but there are always fans so I'm not going to worry about it.  The location is awesome and the apartment is only 1 year old.  And there is a washer and dryer in the unit - woohoo!  Right downstairs on the square are several restaurants and right across the way is the Regal Cinema and I get two free passes a month. 

I didn't get to run yesterday, nor will I today but that's okay.  I am feeling SO good and I've got another entire week to train plus Thursday and Friday this week.  I'll be fine.

Well, I am very glad the election is over and pleased with the results.  No more politics for four years.

It keeps happening

I had an awesome run on Friday, breaking my own record for fastest mile and yesterday I ran my fastest kilometer, which would put me more than 3 minutes faster than I've ever run for a 5k at that pace.  It is the banana.  Odd, but that's what it seems to be.  Needless to say the banana is now a staple in my breakfast.  I am just so happy I can hardly contain myself.  I've been trying and trying to get faster and nothing has worked.  I cannot wait for that race on the 18th!  And then a few days later I'll be in London.  How could things possibly get any better?

I had big plans to get home and give my apartment a good cleaning but instead I got a few things tidied up and said to heck with the rest.  It is nothing that can't wait another day and I was tired.  I just wanted to zone out, which is what I did.   And I got a great night's sleep so tonight will be chore night.  I did not knit, unfortunately.  I was itching to get my hands on that angora blouse but I knew I was just a little too tired to confidently knit lace so I lazed around on the couch reading magazines and flipping through the channels.  Of course my fantasy match up opponent did NOT get his points and so I won this week and now am tied again for first, but I'm listed as second because the other guy has more points than I do.  Now this week if I can win again and he can lose again, then I'll be first!

The DOL in the University neighborhood is closed on Mondays so today is the day I can file my papers and be done with the car.  Yesterday I started to reserve a Zipcar for my dental appointment next week but the lot has been discontinued in the small parking lot across the bridge from my office so the next closest is in the main parking garage for upper campus which is a half mile from here.  That's not a big deal, but it adds maybe 10 minutes onto the trip.  When I did the math it is free and nearly the same amount of time to take the bus, so that's what I'll do.  I am anxious to take my first Ziptrip but it can wait.

I've started thinking about what I'm going to take on my trip this month.  Again, of course, packing light is the key.  I think I've got a good wardrobe arranged where I will need only my walking boots and two other pairs of shoes.  I am not going to be doing a lot of shopping, but there are Christmas goodies that I know I will want to bring back, so I've got to leave myself room for those.  I've got two weeks to get it ironed out.

The deed is finally done

After a few false starts getting together with my nephew to make the handover, I finally got it done yesterday early afternoon.   And now I am completely car-less.  I'm all signed up for Zipcar although I have yet to activate my membership.  So far I don't have any plans to use one until my dentist appointment next Tuesday, but I'm going to have to reserve one so I will do that today.  My big chore today is getting the title transfer filed with the DOL.  There is an office not too far from here and, if it's open on Mondays, I plan on taking the bus up there, getting the paperwork filed, and then running back to work.  I believe it should be pretty close to 2.5 miles.  Close enough anyway.  When I get the paperwork filed and my car insurance cancelled, then I'll feel free of my car. 

Besides that I had an incredibly busy weekend.  I am helping a friend with the remodeling of his house, so there were hours spent looking at cabinets and counter tops which was really fun.  I got to pick up all my boots I had taken to the shop to be repairs.  Woohoo!  It's like getting new shoes for a bargain price.  Then I bit the bullet and finally got some new running shoes.  I have noticed that mine are definitely ready to be replaced.  Unfortunately the ones I wanted weren't in stock so they are being sent.  I just want them in time to break them in before my race on the 18th.

No word yet on if there is an apartment available for me at the new place.  I am going to get in touch this morning.  People have until the 10th to give their written notice.  Which means I am under the same rules in my place.  I had better stop by for a chat today to let them know my intention and see how flexible they can be.

In between all of the running around and laundry and such there was football.  Friday night the Huskies won (yay) and Sunday the Seahawks won (yay) and it looks like I will win my matchup this week!  My opponent has one player in tonight's game and he has to get over 30 points to beat me.  It's not likely.  Also, the one guy who is one game up on me looks like he's going to lose so we'll be tied again.  Oh this is exciting!!

I didn't get to do any cleaning this weekend so I must get on that tonight.  At least I got the laundry done.  The clocks even got turned this weekend but I was so tired from running around I don't feel like I really took advantage of it.  No knitting either.  I have a week of catching up to do.

Finally clock turning time!

Daylight Saving Time was moved and finally we get to turn the clocks back this weekend.  Although it's not going to make much difference in a few more weeks anyway. 

Here's the thing about my run yesterday - I did it on oatmeal and berries for breakfast BUT I also had a cookie so my calorie consumption was probably more than oatmeal and a banana but my run was not as good.  I was almost as fast, but I was feeling it more.  Today will be the oatmeal and banana again and I will compare.  I was a bit tired yesterday and I am not feeling so tired today, having gone to bed before 10.  I think it's the banana but I'm not 100% sure.  I did find a race to run on the 18th and it's at Green Lake, which is my favorite race course since it's flat.  I want to make sure to have a race this month when I'm feeling great and running fast so I can get a new personal best time on the books.  Plus it'll keep me from being in vacation mode too early. 

I have another busy weekend coming up.  Lots of errands and chores and hopefully getting the car settled in its new home, not to mention the Huskies tonight and Seahawks on Sunday.  I hope I can find a little time to knit.  I did get books on soap making and lotion making but when can I carve out the time?  Oh ... I just realized that I have Monday the 12th as a holiday.  I could do it then. 

Hoorah! It's November

Only 20 more days until vacation.  I am ready now.  Yesterday felt like Friday, which is a shame isn't it?  But it shows how much I need to get away. 

Tonight after I get home I'm going to clean out that car so it's ready to pass along.  I'm not paying for parking this month so I want to get it gone as soon as I can.  Already I'm feeling strange about being carless.  I looked at my calendar for this month and see that I have a dentist appointment set for 4 o'clock on a Tuesday.  This is going to take some doing.  Getting there won't be much of a problem since I can take a bus easily enough.  But getting home from there is going to be a bit more difficult.  Yes, there are buses that go to my place but when I drive I can get home close enough to 5 so that Tink doesn't have to suffer much.  But this next time it most likely will take me a lot longer to get home.  Maybe I can see if I can move the appointment to 3 or earlier in the day.  If I move it earlier in the day then I can get a Zipcar here at work and come back.  The only inconvenient thing about Zipcar that I can see is that you must return the car to the same place you pick it up.  If you could pick up in one spot and drop off somewhere else that would be a lot easier.  Oh well.  I'll get the hang of it.

Today is the day I try running with an oatmeal and berries breakfast.  It'll be interesting.  There are other things in play as well.  I was up a little later than usual last night and so I am a bit tired this morning.  But it is wet and my lungs are clear so .... we'll see.

And yet another incredible run!

This is such a strange phenomenon.  Yesterday I had another amazing run even faster than Monday!   And while it is possible that changing my breakfast fruit could be the cause, I am not completely convinced so I'm going to go back to the strawberries for tomorrow and see what happens.  The fact that I am breathing so much better than I have for months is certainly a contributing factor as well.  I actually don't care why this is happening.  I just want to keep it happening.  If I could run a race this weekend I would easily beat my personal best by a couple of minutes.  It's just crazy.  Oh -- and it was raining hard yesterday when I went out.  I know I have a window now so there is no reason for me to be surprised by that, but my window looks out onto a courtyard and it didn't look like it was raining out there.  It was though and I was soaked to the bone by the time I got back.  I should have worn a cap at least but I was just so happy I didn't care.  It's not cold but boy is it wet.  I changed into a hooded jacket after I got home to walk Tink because holding an umbrella while walking a dog is very inconvenient.  My pants were sopping when we got back.  And even Tink didn't mind turning around. 

Today I drove in -- for the last time (at least for a while) -- so I could stop and get something for our lunch party today.  I was hard pressed to find something healthy to bring but ended up getting grapes.  We're having pizza and beer and heaven knows there will be candy and goodies aplenty.  I saw boxes of croissants and I really wanted one but knew I would be sorely disappointed.  Only three weeks and I can have real ones.  Mmmmmmmm  

All I wanted to do last night after getting soaked twice in one day was a hot shower and to sit in my comfy chair and knit on my pretty blouse.  But my sister called and I ended up talking to her for her entire drive home while having a lovely martini -- which meant I was not in lace knitting mode by the time we hung up.  No matter - cozy in my chair with Tink, we watched a little TV and I read.  It was nice.

Holding steady at #2

Well the results are in and I lost my fantasy match this weekend but still retained my ranking, thank goodness.  However this week my quarterback, Tom Brady,  has his bye and so I am going to have to go with my bench and that's Jay Cutler.  His team's defense is awesome but he's a wild card as far as points go.  I'll just have to hope for the best.

I tried the banana breakfast yesterday and indeed I had a fantastic run.  I did notice that my asthma symptoms are totally gone and so I'm sure that has something to do with it as well.  I will try the banana again today and then on Thursday I'll do strawberries and see what that tells me.

I was anxious to work on my new project when I finally got to sit down yesterday evening.  This is most definitely not TV knitting.  Well, every other row is TV knitting.  Cecilia (described as a romantic circle blouse) is lace in the round with a nice plain knitting round in between each pattern round.  The pattern isn't difficult, but each row is different as you can see, so you definitely need to concentrate and count even with markers.  But it's super fun and it's going to look awesome.

It's rainy today but still it hasn't gotten really cold.  I'm glad that I'm going to have at least mild weather for the first few weeks after giving up my car.  I'm giving it away on Friday and then .... we'll see.  I suspect this month and a half before I move to my new place is going to be a bit of a challenge but I'm up for it.  I'll sign up for Zipcar today.  It's an adventure!

Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day!

Friday I woke up with a killer sinus headache.  I wonder if it was all of that intense computer work I've been doing lately?  Days and days of just staring at the screen.  I don't think I wore my contacts to work once last week.  Anyway, I stayed home and dealt with that Friday.  It wasn't until early afternoon that it finally eased up.

I had another super fantastic run last Thursday.  That morning I had 3/4 of an apple with my oatmeal instead of the strawberries and again I had energy to spare!  The only conclusion I can draw from this is that I have been eating less than I should for an optimal run.  I got more bananas this weekend and today I'm going to try a banana for breakfast with my oatmeal and see if I can get the same results as last week.  Also it's misting and has been raining hard so there is a lot of moisture in the air.  I can't wait for lunchtime!

I got SO much done this weekend I can hardly believe it.  Friday afternoon I took a load of shoes and boots to have the heels repaired - long overdue.  Then I stopped by the apartment complex where I want to live and found out that yes, definitely, that's where I want to live.  I have an application and I saw a couple of units, but I can't move until mid-December so I am going to complete the application and then just wait for the right unit to become available.  Unbelievably they have over 90 different floor plans!  And also because I work here I don't have to pay the application fee and get a discount on the refundable deposit.  Nice.

Besides going to two parties I also started a new knitting project - another one from the Feminine Knits book.  This one is a lace blouse and I'm using a white angora blend that I frogged from another project that I never could get into.  It is going to be gorgeous!

The Huskies won what sounded like a great game, but I didn't get to watch it!  I was bummed.  The Seahawks lost - unfortunately a game that I was able to watch.  Not good.  My fantasy team has one more player in tonight's game.  He needs to make more than 16.54 for me to win.  It's doable.  Fingers crossed!!

Snow is predicted for Luxembourg today.  It is so pretty when it snows there, but I hope it's gone in three weeks because it won't be fun getting around in it.

Those pesky neighbors

Was I just super lucky my first year at this apartment complex?  I never heard a peep out of my downstairs neighbors.  But now .... or heavens!!  These people are SO noisy!  Last night I had to go downstairs and pound on their door because their music was blasting so loudly it woke me up!  I had to knock 4 times before they heard me.  It is extremely annoying.  And I didn't even have to say, "Uh ... would you please turn that down"?  He knew even before he opened the door.  "Sorry.  Have a nice night".  I'd have had a better one of I could have smacked him one. 

I cooked the most wonderful dinner last night.  I had some kale left over from the soup I made last week and I sauted it with garlic and olive oil.  It was really yummy.  And then a quiet evening - well, quiet until the dance party downstairs.  I was going to start a new knitting project but held off.  I copied another pattern from that feminine knits book - a lovely lace blouse.  I have the perfect yarn for it.

Four weeks from now I'll be getting off the train in Paris.  Oh I know these next four weeks are going to just zoom by and I don't want them to.  If the days up to the vacation zip by then the vacation for sure will be finished way too quickly. 

It's cloudy and cool today.  I sure hope I have another run like I did on Tuesday!

I do wonder about my sanity

You will not believe what I did yesterday evening.  I still can't believe it.  When I got out of the elevator after work I reached for my keys and .... I couldn't find them!  I searched all through my purse - not there.  I searched my coat pockets and in the little bag I had - nothing.  I couldn't believe it but they were nowhere to be found.  I decided I must have dropped them when I put them back into my outside purse pocket on the bus, so I headed to the apartment office and had them let me into my apartment so I could walk Tink and figure out how to get my keys back.  And oh, I was SO mad at myself!  I got Tink and away we went as I put a call through to Seattle Metro Lost and Found to alert them to the fact that my keys were on the bus. The lines were busy and after waiting about 10 minutes I entered my telephone number for them to call me back when the line was free and went along on my walk, fuming and fussing all the while.  And then I started thinking how I was going to describe my little key wallet and what keys were on there -- my electronic door key, my apartment door key, the facilities key, the laundry room key, the mailbox key .......... and that's when it hit me.  I stopped dead in my tracks.  I had gotten my mail!  That meant that I had my keys when I walked into the building.  Oh I felt so stupid!  By this time my sister was on the phone and I told her what had just happened and she accompanied me back to my building to find my keys in the vestibule.  But nope, they weren't there!  Then I noticed another call coming in on my phone - the apartment office.  Of course, I got there and they had my keys.  Someone had just turned them in.  Whew!  But how silly is that?  I felt like a total idiot, and not wanting to take any chances doing anything else stupid I had a shower, put on my comfy flannels and made myself a drink.  I was in for the night.  Disaster averted. 

Yesterday at lunch I had the most awesome run I have had in months and months!  I don't know why but it was just incredible.  I was flying along (for me).  If I had been running that pace Sunday I would have had a personal best time.  And no coughing, no asthma after I was done either.  It was just perfect!  No running today so let's see if I can repeat it Thursday.

Now I'm number 2

Oh it was fabulous while it lasted, but the results are in and now I'm 2nd in my fantasy league and the guy who beat me is now number 1, even though we have the same records.  There's still plenty of football left and I should have a decent number of good players for next week.  I think only one of my guys has a bye.

Yesterday was busy at work and I skipped running, as I usually do after a race weekend.  But I'm not going to take the entire week off this time.  I'm getting right out there again today.  I am still undecided about the race in December, but I might as well keep it up.  Usually I take at least a week off after a race, but since I've got a trip coming up in four weeks(!) there's no need to slack off.  Heaven knows, it will be a week and a half of sloth and gluttony.  I've got to be in shape for that kind of action! 

I didn't knit last night.  I was just a slob on the couch, watching football and eating left over pizza.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  Now that I have had the little cowl knitting interlude I must dig right back into the Argosy wrap and get that thing done and move on to another interesting project.  And speaking of projects, I ordered a soap making book last night and a lotion making one as well.  I really do love handmade soap and it's not often that I get to a market or street fair where I can buy it, plus I am particular about my scents.  So now I can make my own.  It could be fun.  Or a messy disaster.  We'll see.

A very hilly race

Sunday was the Dawg Dash and we really lucked out with the weather.  It had been raining off and on since Friday, sometimes hard.  But the morning was mild and the really dark clouds stayed over the mountains all morning, not moving in until late afternoon.  There were about 4,000 runners for both the 5K and 10K races combined, plus plenty of dogs.  Because the stadium is being renovated the entire race was run on the upper campus which is on an incline.  I was feeling pretty good Sunday morning, my cough being mostly gone.  But we started out up hill.  Ugh.  I hate running hills and it is a very hard way to start a race.  I managed to not panic and made it to the top of the incline where the course turned west and then south, which is down hill.  Oh and we were all just flying down 15th and it was wonderful!  I knew that sooner or later we would be turning back east into the campus and have to make up all this flying down with a lot of hard up.  And indeed we did.  There were even a couple of places with stairs!  Holy cow.  It was the most difficult 5K I have ever run.  Needless to say I wasn't breaking any personal bests.  I am proud to say that I made it, I did have to walk up a couple of the steepest parts of the hills and of course the stairs, but I was strong over the finish line and that's what counts.  And it was fun, of course.  There's another run on  December 9th which I am seriously considering doing.  I know it will be only a week after I get back from my vacation but I think it would be a perfect way to keep from doing my post-vacation week of pouting and eating and drinking way too much.  I will check out the route.  If it's not too hilly I will seriously consider it.

I was quite busy this weekend.  I finished up that gorgeous little neck warmer I started last week on a whim.  It's called "Holly" and it's from a book that Monika brought in to noon knitting a few weeks ago called "Essentially  Feminine Knits".  There are a lot of lovely patterns in there and this cowl was super fast and not too difficult.  I mean, it's lace and I was knitting while watching TV, so it's not that complicated. 

The Huskies played Saturday night and it was a terrible and ugly game.  Since I had to get up early Sunday I just went to bed and gave up on it.  Ugly ugly game.  And then Sunday I stunk it up in my fantasy league.  I do have one more chance for points tonight but considering that I only have 44.93 points and my opponent has 106.10, I don't think there's much chance there at all that my defense is going to get me the win.  Ah well, that just means that there will be someone tied with me for first place.  I had all my good players on a bye this week so that's taken care of.  I should be golden for the rest of the season.  Let's hope.  I would dearly love to win this thing this year.

Some people

Some people are just plain difficult to work with.  Those people who can't seem to have a simple working relationship with anyone.  I am cursed to have not one but two of those people in my life, both autumn and winter quarters.  So I am practicing staying calm, cool and polite.  I tend toward sarcasm and it is oh so difficult now and again to keep those comments off my lips.  This one this quarter sends off a barrage of emails, one after the other, usually ending up with her figuring out the answer to her oh so important question.  Most of the time her questions and concerns would be non issues if she would just look at the web site or take a second to think the things through.  But for her everything is a BIG problem.  For example, she came storming into my office yesterday afternoon, waving a piece of paper.  "Shelley, we have a BIG problem!  The schedule on the web site doesn't match my schedule for the students!!"  She's practically hyperventilating.  "Really?", I say because I know it's not true and if she had taken a second to open her laptop to look at the web site she would have seen that.  But she hovers over my shoulder and we look at the web site.  Ah!  Okay - a typo.  "Oh, I see there's a typo here.  That should read 'Muscle' and not 'Blood'.  There, it's fixed.  What else?"  "Well, I don't know".  So we went through her schedule and of course there was nothing.  She hadn't even looked, but expected that there was a huge disaster.    The students are smart enough to know if it says they are being quizzed on a subject that won't be covered for another week that it's a typo.  But there you go.  Thank goodness, it's Friday.

And pouring rain.  The clouds came in last night and by seven o'clock it was bucketing down.  I took a break from the game and took Tink out and we both came back soaked, although I had my raincoat on.  The game was disappointing.  We lost.  Plus I had one of the Seahawks on my fantasy squad because three of my best guys are on bye weeks and he dropped the ball 3 times!  Arghghg!  I think I'm going to lose my fantasy matchup this week. 

I was very disappointed in my run yesterday.  I hope I do better today because Sunday is the race.  I had lots of protein for dinner last night so I am guessing I will be stronger at lunchtime today.  And it's very moist air that I'll be breathing, which is good.

The neck warmer is coming right along.  I am half way through it.  I got quite a bit done last night while I watching the Seahawks.  It would have been a perfect evening if they had won.

Rediscovering the joy of knitting

At noon knitting yesterday one of my friends was showing off a beautiful cowl she had knit during her recent vacation.  It looked so pretty and I asked her for the pattern.  Then when I got home last night I searched out the perfect ball of yarn from my stash - a cotton/angora blend in a beautiful blue - and cast on for that cowl.  I ended up doing 10 rows and it is going to be beautiful!  I think I have just been slogging along with projects I'm not all that interested in for too long.  It's lace, but not too complicated to knit while watching TV.  Perfect, because the Seahawks are on Thursday Night Football tonight.  Guess what I'm going to be doing tonight?

I actually did get my last reservation made yesterday.  I've been such a procrastinator lately.  It took me ages to get my new passport and I have dry cleaning that's been ready for weeks that I haven't picked up.  But all my reservations are made.  I guess we can see where my priorities lie.

I am looking forward to a wonderful strong run today.  It's beautiful outside again.  I was expecting rain this week but so far it's been lovely.  I guess it's saving up for race day. 

Mid-week bliss

I love Wednesdays.  It is a day when I don't run and I don't have any guilt about it.  It is noon knitting, a nice hour chatting and knitting with my friends that I look forward to each week.  And today it is lovely again outside, although just a touch chilly.  When I was walking Tink this morning I realized that in just 5 weeks at this time I will be checked into my hotel in London!  It is dawning on me slowly that I have a wonderful vacation in the not too distant future.  And boy am I looking forward to it!  It has been a rough six months.

My run yesterday was a bit disappointing.  I didn't have much omph.  Perhaps it is because I ate only vegetable soup for dinner the night before.  It wasn't my wind, because my cough is much diminished and I haven't been wheezing.  I think it's going to be raining on Sunday for the race, or cloudy at least.  And I do best in that weather so I'm not going to fret over it.  

How much do I love my new iPhone?  One of the features that I have been using more than I anticipated is the voice recognition, Siri.  It is so easy to make appointments, set reminders, get information.  No more typing on that little keyboard - or at least not so much.  You can dictate emails, just about anything.  If you are driving and a text message comes in you can ask Siri to read it to you and then dictate a reply!  Or you can ask her to remind you when you get to a certain place - for example I asked her to remind me when I got to work to make my last plane reservations.  And sure enough, as soon as I stepped onto the grounds my phone beeped.  And that's just a tiny portion of new features that I am learning about.

I was restless and antsy last night.  There was nothing on television that I wanted to watch.  I didn't feel like knitting (!!  I know!  I guess I need a new project).  I ended up going to bed early and watching a movie on my iPad, but then I got interrupted by a work matter.  I was tired anyway so I was asleep by 10.  I woke with a little cough around 1 but I got it under control and I am rested today.  Here's hoping this lingering cough will finally be gone by the race this weekend.

Someday I'll make a list

I have to start with a rant today.  This just irks me no end.  Why?  I have no idea.  Maybe because it's just so obviously selfish.  It is that person sitting on the aisle with an empty spot next to the window, typically filled up with their bags or back pack or whatever.  At each stop they make sure to be busily studying or reading or riffling through whatever is sitting on their seat with them so that no eye contact is made with the passengers walking down the aisle looking for an empty seat.  It just bugs me, that's all.

Other than that it is a gorgeous morning.  Looks like the rain just blew through, although I believe it is due back soon.  I had a great run yesterday and my cough is most definitely much better.  I almost made it through the whole night without coughing, which is a HUGE improvement.  I have high hopes for a good solid race this weekend.

Even though I had already won my matchup (yay me!  I have the best record in my league still) I was interested in watching the Monday night game, the Broncos against the Chargers.  But at the half the Chargers were up 3 scores and I had finally found a book I wanted in the Sunday Times book review section, so I headed in to bed to read, figuring that the game was in the bag for the Chargers.  Hah!  Never under estimate Peyton Manning.  I found out when I checked the scores this morning that he brought the Broncos back in the second half to beat the Chargers!  It must have been a great game.  But I did enjoy my quiet reading time.  There's still plenty of football left.

Now we're back to normal

Finally after a long and dry spell, we are back to our normal autumnal weather - cloudy and rainy.  The temperature is still quite mild but definitely not dry.  I don't mind actually.  I heard the swish of car tires on wet streets and it was a very cozy sound.

Friday before I left work I made all my reservations for my trip in November.  And good thing too, because even as I was searching for airfare the prices went up!  Seriously - I had a search with a fare listed and when I went back to it about three  hours after the initial search it said the results were no longer valid and they had gone up - same flight - over $50.  So I definitely got right on that.  And next day they were up over $100 more.  The only thing I have left to book today is my flight from Luxembourg to London because Luxair requires passport number and I didn't have that with me.  So - today I will be done and now all I have to do is wait.  Piece of cake.

Last week was a long, hard week.  I was happy to relax Friday after work with a nice dinner and a little silly TV.  Saturday was chock full of errands and I needed to be up and out by 8.  Tink had a grooming appointment at 8:30, so I picked up a coffee and off we went - no traffic at all.  In fact, it was so quiet and calm that I got to my nail salon 15 minutes before they opened!  After the mani pedi it was off to finally pick up my second box of contact lenses that I have been waiting for, then to the hair salon.  Yes - a completely girly day.  Finally I stopped by the mall and that was when the traffic started getting insane.  I don't know what was going on.  The only thing I could come up with is that people have been enjoying this crazy good weather for so long that when a bad weekend day arrived they all flocked to the mall to catch up on their shopping!  I had to park WAAAAAY far away and I only got that spot because I happened to drive by when someone was pulling out.  It was totally worth the search though because I found a skirt that I have been coveting was on sale and they had my size, plus I got a really cute pair of pants and a new top.  Nice score.  At that point it was 2 o'clock and time to head back to pick up Tink.  The trip that took me less than 10 minutes at 8:15 that morning took me 35 minutes!  It was bumper to bumper traffic.  Crazy. 

While I was out running errands my big oak desk had been removed from my office.  Hoorah!  Now I only have the books to finish getting rid of and clean the closets ... no, I didn't ever get around to it this summer.  But since I have decided that I'm not going to force myself to move at the end of November I feel better.  I have plenty of time. 

I went out and heard a really fun trio Saturday night.  I needed cheering up because the Huskies lost in a terrible game to USC.  The Seahawks more than made up for that on Sunday by beating the Patriots in an AWESOME game.  So I got the best of both words on Sunday - Brady made my fantasy team some good points and they lost.  I have won my fantasy matchup again this week.  I can hardly believe it and if I'm having a hard time, my nephews and their friends must be going crazy.  The football this week was accompanied by a lot of knitting.  The Argosy wrap is maybe two weeks away from being done.  Less if I put some effort into it.  I'd love to finish it up this week.  That's my goal.

Signs I'm coming to my senses

And good thing too!  After a few days things are settling down and I made a very good decision yesterday evening, as I was knitting.  I would be absolutely INSANE to try to move at the end of November!  Yes, I really really want to move to a new apartment.  But to add the burden of finding a new apartment, packing all my things and then coming home after 10 days away to a new apartment with all my belongings strewn around by strangers - that is an absolutely ridiculous idea.  Plus it would be costly to have someone else do the move, no matter how organized I was.  Silly.  Also, I need a month or so for all my financial dealings to settle down.  I will take my time and find the perfect place and move at the perfect time.  No rushing.  I can do it when I get back from my Christmas in California.

I got off to a late start this morning.  I was tired last night and dropped off early but woke up and was awake for a while in the night, so when the alarm went off I must have shut it down, because that's all I remember - it went off.  I had planned on emptying my big desk last night - it is going away tomorrow - but I didn't get around to it, so that's first on the list for tonight.

It's finally raining.  Eighty days without rain.  It's not pouring, just misting.  I had a good run yesterday, so I bet today is going to be awesome as well!

A little treat

I decided yesterday afternoon that I needed a treat.  I am not really all that self indulgent, am I?  I guess we all have our days .... but I just really really wanted to have dinner at one of my favorite nice little restaurants.  So I invited a friend, ditched the evening workout and went to the Stumbling Goat for a gorgeous little meal.  Also, truth be told, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be one of those people who weird out after having an anxiety attack and can't eat in restaurants any more.  Success!  No problems.  And I had a delightful meal, as always.  And then, home for a little knitting and some silly TV.  It worked its magic, I slept great and I feel wonderful!  As I suspected, now that this house thing is done, even though it didn't end up as well as I had hoped, I can move on with things and I feel better.  Maybe I'll even be able to start a new knitting project!

I would like to get my travel reservations made this week, but I have SO much work to do this morning.  It can wait another day or so if need be.  Now that I have all the pieces in place I just need to get the reservations done and that won't take much time at all.  And my new passport came so I am all set!  Oh hoorah!!  I can hardly wait!  Six more weeks.

I have had several people ask me what I'm going to do about my fantasy line up this weekend.  The Seahawks are playing the Patriots and my quarterback is Tom Brady.  I did have the Seahawks new rookie quarterback but he hasn't performed as well as hoped so I dropped him and picked up one of our receivers.  So - I am going to have to root for my team, but also root for Brady ... it's going to be tough. 

Looks like I'll be having another good run today.  It is cloudy and misty.  My favorite running weather.

As predicted

I did have a fantastic run yesterday!  Oh, but I had to really talk myself into it.  I was tired and thinking of all sorts of reasons NOT to do it.  But I am so glad that I listened to the voice of reason.  It was glorious.  Today is knitting Wednesday so I won't get a chance today, but Thursday and Friday for sure.  Then I'll have to be super conscientious next week to get ready for the race on the 21st.  I think the cloudy weather was a factor in my good run.  The best ones are always in cloudy weather or, the best, misting a bit.

The knitting therapy was used again last night to a good end.  I was calm and sleepy and went to bed early to read.  But ... I couldn't decide what to read!  I need a new book but nothing jumped out at me.  I hate it when that happens.  I get on Amazon, ready to buy something and download it to my iPad and I dither around ... history or mystery?  Something light or ????   Gahh!!  I have a stack of magazines I've not even opened but that didn't spark my interest either.  I ended up playing Scrabble in my iPad, browsing a bit on line and then I was out like a light.  Maybe in the cold light of day I can decide on what I would like to read next.  It sure hasn't been working from bed.