Swish swish

I cut my hair!!! And I couldn't resist the before and after pictures.
Before:

After:

Granted the lighting is quite a bit different, but you get the idea :) I LOVE it! And I can't stop touching my hair - it's so light!

It's nice outside!

So why am I inside blogging? haha For the first night in what seems like forever it actually felt cool enough for me to go for a bike ride and it was beautiful weather. After my ride, I sat outside for quite a while reading The Places in Between by Rory Stewart. I just started it last night, and I am liking it a lot. It is Stewart's account of his walk across Afghanistan in 2002. He has a way of writing that feels very natural to me; it's difficult to explain. Let's just keep it simple and say that I like the way he writes.

I had first read about Steward in a National Geographic Adventure magazine when me and Chris were on our way to Iowa, and it made me go out and track down one of his books as soon as I could. I like the feeling that I get when I'm reading about his journey, but of course I can't explain it. But maybe that's a good thing.

Besides finally venturing outside, I have been working on my knitting project. The throw is coming along nicely, although I had to fix my mistake of adding a stitch. I should have known not to attempt to knit when I was tired! But it worked out well because that way I won't forget the easier way of undoing my work.

Here's the big news though: I'm cutting my hair tomorrow night. After toying around with the idea for the past couple of weeks and consulting my mom and friends, I have decided to cut it. This is a kind-of-but-not-really big deal because I have basically keep my hair long because I like it. But I've decided that I just don't want to have to spend as much time blowing drying it and curling it for work every morning. I long for the days when I used to be able to spray gel in my hair and forget about it.

I'll post a picture when I get it done so that people can gasp "Oh my God!" and then tell me how good it looks (even if they're lying). Maybe I should do the funny before and after shots. I'm planning on having it cut to about my collarbone and layered up from there. It will likely still be considered long by a lot of people, but for me, that will be short. And it is completely ridiculous that I have written this much about it, so I'm going to stop now. Have a good night!

Weekend at Home Home

I just got back from spending another weekend at Home Home. It is so wonderful, and I felt like I had just gotten there when I had to pack up and come back. I drove up Friday night and got home just in time to snack on some of my parents' dinner (they were apparently starving waiting for me). Saturday was mostly cloudy, so we spent the bulk of the day on the porch talking, reading, walking around the yard looking at Mom's gardens, the apple trees, etc. Our lunch ritual is playing cards, and we have started to play penny poker. Each of us has our own container for pennies, clearly labeled with our names on both the side and the lids (as a joke, me and my Dad switched one of our containers with my mom's, who by far has the greatest amount of pennies because she had a ton of them to start with; after that, she labeled both the lid and container itself).

In the afternoon, we headed over to one of my uncle's birthday party and had crawfish and seafood on top of all the other foods that were brought. I had never tasted crawfish before, and my only real experience with them is having one as a pet for a while (I think it had to do with school...). It was really good meat - very rich and bite-size. When we got home again, Pokey was very excited (we had abandoned her to go to the party).

This morning, we took the boat down to Three Island before it really started to get hot. My parents both fished, and let's just say that the big fish weren't really biting. I was quite content taking pictures and starting a new book. I just started Dave Barry's Big Trouble since I finished One for the Money by Janet Evanovich Saturday night. I really liked reading Stephanie Plum's "adventure." Good pick Kimmi! As for Big Trouble, I have already seen the movie with Chris, which was really funny. But books tend to be better than movies, so I'm already enjoying this one a lot. My favorite character thus far is Roger, the dog, who loves all people because they might give him food - reminds me of a dog I know...

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from this weekend:

Light Summer Rain and Kicking Row 7's Butt

Have I mentioned how much I love being out of school? As I'm sure you've gathered by now, I am devouring books. My latest read is Christopher Moore's Coyote Blue. Imagine me trying to read this on the bus without laughing out loud. Needless to say I am grinning ear to ear the entire time, which may freak out the passengers around me. Works better than string! (inside joke, but if you ask real nice I might tell you about it).

This evening the sky has gone from extremely sunny to cloudy to partly sunny and on and on... During one of the sunny parts, I decided to go for a short ride. It was beautiful. I was listening to my music, cruising along at a nice pace, when I felt a drop on my thigh. I thought it was odd that I would be sweating so much that it would drop to my thigh. Then I felt another, and another. Have you guessed yet? hee hee It was raining! That was so awesome! Sunny and raining! I love those moments anyway, but to be able to ride in it was quite a treat. A guy walking on the trail ahead of me a ways had his arms reached up to the heavens soaking it all in. Glorious.

And yes, I just kicked Row 7's butt. I am getting through the entire pattern without messing up, mainly because I am very deliberately counting either to myself or out loud and checking my work frequently. Call me paranoid, but it's working and my future throw is taking shape. Granted I only have a few inches at this point, but it's enough to get excited over :)

Row 7 Fiasco

I started a new knitting project yesterday; I will knit a throw with a fuschia-colored yarn I got which matches perfectly with the quilt on my bed. With the help of Gina, who graciously supplied me with a pattern, I began this endeavor. Following a pattern should be easy right? Just follow directions. Well, after a couple of slip-ups early on, like casting on two too many stitches, I was finally getting the hang of it.

Or so I thought. I had gotten through the first four rows of the eight-row pattern and decided to call it a day. Gina and I parted ways, but apparently any good knitting vibes left me when I left Gina's watchful eye. I knitted the next two rows when I got home which were extremely easy because it was a straight knit. Then came Row 7.

Let me tell you about Row 7. It shouldn't be that difficult. The repeating pattern called for you to knit five stitches, wrap the yarn around the needle, knit a stitch, wrap it around, knit a stitch, wrap it around, and repeat. I should have been left with two stitches that didn't fit in the pattern. First attempt: I was left with four. Shit.

So I found my problem: miraculously I had been knitting 144 stitches instead of the 143. Apparently when I knitted those two rows of straight knitting, I accidentally added one stitch. I fixed the problem after undoing the row (don't ask me why I did that, but I did; actually just don't ask me because I forgot why I had to do that!).

I went back at it, following the pattern described above. I thought I was doing good until I came to the end: this time I had three stitches. SHIT! This time the problem was that I decided halfway through the row that I would mess up the pattern by wrapping the yarn around the needle and knitting a stitch an extra time. I had to undo half of the row again. The one good thing about this is that I'm actually able to find my problem and am quickly becoming an expert at neatly undoing my work.

The third time was the charm. I finished the row, only messing up the last two stitches in it because I forgot to wrap the yarn around before knitting the last two, which meant I only had to undo those two. That was such a great feeling. I successfully got through row 8 with no problems though, which I think is a good sign.

I think the funniest thing about this project is how foul-mouthed I became when I figured out that I messed up the row, and how the swearing got worse and louder each time. It's knitting for goodness sake! All I can picture when I think about knitting is a little old grandma sitting on the porch in a rocker with the needles flying. I'm not surprised at my response however because that's how I react to pretty much anything meaningless like that.

I have begun the second set of this eight-row pattern, so wish me luck! And to Row 7 the II: you better watch out 'cause I'm comin' for you.

Bike Trails Galore

The park reserve back behind my aunt and uncle's house is awesome. There are many miles of trails all connected throughout it, and I'm having a lot of fun exploring and figuring out how to get around. Tonight, after it cooled down a bit, I decided to go for a bike ride (I was itching to do something active). Since my bike is still in the shop, I borrowed my uncle's and headed out.

I have gotten down a really good hour-long ride, but I decided to go the opposite direction since I had no idea where it ended up. It turned out to be a perfect ride because it was flatter and mostly shaded the first half, and the temperatures had dropped enough by the time I got to the second and more hilly half. If anyone wants to head up here sometime to check it out, let me know.

In other news, I am reading Guns, Germs, and Steel (finally). I started it while I was still in school and had to abandon it soon after. I'm glad I'm reading it now so that I can actually enjoy it. I just got through the part where the author is discussing the movement towards domestic agriculture and why some areas moved to farming while others remained hunter-gatherers. Interesting stuff.

And another thing: I'm not a big fan of the heat. Luckily I work in an air-conditioned building and ride air-conditioned buses (I'm so spoiled). The air definitely is not working at home though - last night we all suffered through a night of horrid heat with the windows closed while thinking the air would come on. It never did, and it was miserable. Yes we turned it on!

So back to reading I go!

Michelle the Knitter

I've done it! I completed my first project! A lovely scarf, that's wider on one end (my knitting styles changed throughout the course of the project - I started knitting much looser with the second skein). Nevertheless, I find it to be a work of art! And yes, I knitted the whole thing without any neat patterns. I figured I can get away with it since it's my first scarf. Here's a picture:



And here's me modeling it - keep in mind that I'm braving 90+ degree weather to bring you this picture:

So thanks Gina for teaching me how to knit, and thanks to Kimmi for letting me borrow her knitting book. I have to say that I have become an expert at ripping these apart and redoing them. I made tons of mistakes, and yet it ended up ok.

What's my next project you ask? While I was getting the second skein for this scarf, I happened to find four skeins of a fuschia that perfectly matches the colors in my quilt. You know what's on my mind: a blanket! I know that it will take FOREVER, and I'm not even sure how big it will end up being, but it will look gorgeous no matter what and it will give me something to do :)

The Working World

I am still really happy that I'm done with school. It's a great feeling to put in eight hours a day and be able to leave everything behind at my desk. I feel like I have so much free time, and at the same time it feels like I don't; I don't think one can ever be fully satisfied. I love how much reading I've been able to do. Right now I'm reading a book that Chris gave me: Buddhism: Plain & Simple. It's all about how we all have many worries in our lives, and it's about seeing these worries for what they are and realize that we can never be rid of worry; that's our reality. It's all about truly seeing reality and truth. And for some of my truth: I thought The Poisonwood Bible was an excellent book and highly recommend it.

Tonight I spent time with Kimmi before her trip to Maui! She is going to be in a triathlon on Sunday, so please send her some good vibes! We made dinner and watched It Happened One Night, a 1934 movie starring Clark Gable and Caludette Colbert. I had watched it in one of my undergrad classes and loved it. It's a comedic love story - good stuff.

I also brought my bike in to get some new tires and after testing them out, I've decided that more work has to be done on it. I think I'll call the bike shop tomorrow to see what it will cost. I'm having some trouble with the gears and the brakes since the brakes more or less just slow me down some rather than bringing me to a stop. Hee hee - I'm thinking that could be a problem down the road...But I'm being safe (don't worry Mom).

Wonderful Weekend at Home Home

I spent the weekend at my parents' house in Longville over the past weekend and it was wonderful (I wasn't kidding!). Since it was mainly rainy weather, I sat on the porch and ended up almost finishing reading The Poisonwood Bible and for anyone who hasn't read it, they definitely should. Even Oprah agrees (hahaha). The book is about a Baptist family that goes on a mission to the Congo in 1959. The story is uniquely told by the mother and four daughters, and tells everything that happens. The story includes the country's independence from Belgium and the unraveling of the family. I don't want to say much more than that because it feels like such a personal book, one that each person will take something different away from it. It really made me think of my time in Peru last summer as well in the sense that to any outsider, the ways of the world in Peru seemed chaotic, but to anyone inside, everything was part of a system.

Back to my weekend: it was soooooo nice to see my parents again; it's been a really long time since I've been home. It felt so much better too now that I don't have schoolwork to do, so I don't have to make them feel guilty about not letting me work (I was always looking for them to distract me anyway).

I discovered that I actually have a good bike, thanks to my parents who wanted it out of their shed and wanted me to actually use it since it is nearly new. I got the mountain bike when we were still living in Elk River, but we moved shortly thereafter I believe, and since there was no good place to ride my bike without supervision, it ended up sitting in the shed for the past how many years. But it has been rediscovered, and I am excited! It's a 15 speed, and is in dire need of new tires. Just for my own curiosity I want to see how long the tires would last, but I think that I would be quite annoyed to have to walk it all the way back home. Steve suggests that I circle the block so that I don't have to walk very far, and I'm thinking that might not be such a bad idea. So I have to take it in soon to get new tires and to see if they can straighten up the back tire frame because it's a little warped. But other than that, it appears to be in excellent shape! And it's a beautiful emerald color, which is a far cry from what I remember it being. I could have sworn that it was only a 5 speed and was speckled green, black, and pink. Don't ask me where I got that, but maybe that shows how sharp my memories are. Scary stuff.

Pokey is good after all of her encounters with various creatures. She has a mild stench which smells like skunk. It didn't help that she was wet from the rain for the majority of the weekend. She couldn't be more proud. She has also been trying to become part of the herd too. The cows are back in the field and Pokey sees all of her potential playmates:



Now all she has to do is get them acclimated to her presence, and soon she'll be resting with them under the trees like she's been doing every summer.

I resisted the urge to take a million-and-a-half pictures of her. Instead I found some new subjects: the flowers in my mom's gardens and the hummingbirds.



I miss sitting on the porch already. It is so relaxing sitting there, looking out on the field, with book at hand, or carrying on a conversation. I'm going to try to focus on that while at work tomorrow morning :)