Monthly Update

I see I last posted on November 1st, so here on the eve of December I post again.

Spent this Thanksgiving in Kansas and loved it. It was in the 60s there (I don't think this is normal) and I got to accompany my cousin's one-year-old on a wagon ride with his grandpa (my uncle). Also met the newest member of that family, who is very very small and still feeling serious about her entry into life. My family is ripe with United Methodist ministers on both sides, and I toured a couple of churches and it was really great to see the improvements being made and the growth there. I also ate lots of wonderful things (not just on Thanksgiving day) including several varieties of pies. I felt rather nostalgic traveling with just my mother and sister, the three of us together in Mom's SUV was great. I knit and talked and drove and talked.

Roxie had a lonely Thanksgiving at a "pet resort and spa." The "resort" gave me a Thanksgiving card with a picture in it that they'd taken while Rox was staying there. She looks so sad and a little stressed. She's slept it off, though, and seems no worse for the wear as she lounges beside me on the couch. It was too rainy yesterday for a really good walk, but we've had several cuddling sessions to make up for the stress.

Merry Christmas season! I am enjoying plotting planning for Christmas this year. Not as many handmade gifts as last year, I'm afraid. But it is fun to carefully think about everyone anyway. And there's always buying handmade things. ;)

Next Tuesday are finals for this semester. I am inordinately proud of myself for having successfully finished a semester of school while working full time. I've learned so much and had such a great time doing it. It's heaven for me to be reading and writing about and talking about great texts...and I'm looking forward to my Spring classes and my two Summer sessions and then... who knows? I'll have a Bachelor's degree! In true Shannah style, I think I'll ace my English classes (the hardest, senior level classes) and just do okay in the Freshman Political Science class. Is it bad to be so terribly one-sided? Maybe I should just go with what I'm good at and enjoy the ride? I'm classified as a "non-traditional" student now anyway.

I'm looking forward to a month without school where I can read not-as-good books and knit and sew and spend time away from campus, relaxing with the boyfriend and the dogs. Life is very good this year.

Some Knitting

Another good, quiet, productive weekend. (I do miss Andy when he's out of town, but gosh I get a lot done!)

Outside it's so beautiful. The rain has stopped for a bit (we've been positively covered in rain here, which would be nice if my car's passenger-side window rolled up all the way, but since it doesn't, well, we won't discuss it...), so now we have that fabulous in-between weather, where it's cold but not too cold, just warm enough that you only need a light jacket, and the leaves are falling off the trees in little wavy motions in the woods behind my apartment. Roxie and I opened the door this morning to enjoy the cool air and the birds chirping. We were interrupted by a cat fight immediately in front of our porch (I had to go sit on my big dog so she wouldn't jump the gate to assist), but even with the door shut we were able to enjoy a bone and some coffee, respectively.

This afternoon has been for studying and reading and paper writing. (Roxie has been napping and snacking and napping.) And also something else: knitting.



Note the needle size compared to hand size there. Yes, this is to scale. Those are size 50 needles! They're perfect for my busy life right now, where every stitch needs to count for fifty stitches...and they do. I've got a blanket more than halfway done in one day, for my friend's wedding next weekend (let's hope she's too busy preparing to read this, or doesn't care about the element of surprise). And I'm okay with the fact that this knitting isn't intricate or delicate. I still think of her and her fiance with every stitch, and it will still keep them warm this winter and many winters to come.