still settling...

Things are going pretty well in Portland.  Yesterday we bought flowers and herbs, and planted them in front of the little house.  We are assembling furniture, and waiting for our real stuff to arrive early next week.  And tomorrow, we pick up our brand-new Smart Car.  Hubby is beyond excited.

Thanks for all the good wishes about settling in!

we have arrived!

Just a quick note to announce that we've arrived in Portland, and that all is going well.  We don't have any chairs, but did manage to buy a bed yesterday, so at least we've got somewhere to sleep.

It hasn't rained the entire time we've been here either!  

Two women are knitting and crocheting (separate) blankets across the coffeeshop from me, so me and my sock feel right at home.  We are heading to Close Knit this afternoon, where I need to purchase the pattern for Felted Clogs and yarn, because our house is chilly chilly chilly.*

This weekend should allow for more writing time.  Check back soon.

*We are testing the waters with this thing called a thermostat.  What is this device?  You can tell it the temperature you'd like the house to be at, and it responds.  You don't need to open a window to make it cooler.  However, we don't really know what 62 means, and it turns out that it is rather cold for a house temp.  We turned it up after a while, but I still need slippers.

my last post from new york!

All of our stuff is on a big, big truck heading west.  We take off tonight.  Our car is still here, due to a completely to-be-expected hiccup with its transport.  But it'll be coming along soon.  

It's all quite freaky, and I've remained relatively calm throughout.  Relatively.  

It's been sunny and warm for the past few days, and I'm looking forward to the gray and rain of Portland.  And to starting our new life.  

harder than i expected

Yesterday was my going-away party at work. I've been there for eight years: one-fourth of my life. That realization really threw me. But more surprising was the large number of people who came for the speeches. It's good to be loved! But in fact, there were so many people that I got scared and gave an extremely inarticulate little talk. I'd thought of lots of little bits of organizational history and jokes to include, and then stammered out something about udon noodles (no one laughed, but it was very funny).

Today's task was to write down everything in a farewell email. Just me and the computer, no pressure while facing 75 of my colleagues.

It's starting to sink in that this is really happening. A friend came and took a bunch of furniture today. I'm going through the cupboards one more time to see if there are additional kitchen things we can donate to the thrift store. I brought a large framed picture home from the office, and my desk is stripped of its homey touches.

One of my gifts* was this fantastic basket. As soon as I get to Portland, I'm buying a matching bike.  I'd been debating about whether or not to bring my 15+ year old bike with me, but this basked wouldn't look very good on the front of a mountain bike.  The nice old-timey look is nice.

However, I would like my bicycle to have spokes in the wheels, and brakes, which don't seem to be present in this drawing.

*They also got me some Schaefer Nancy, in the Indira Ghandi colorway. I'm not sure why Indira Ghandi is represented by such a muted palate, but whatevs. It's pretty. And they got me "knitting sticks" too. I tried to contain my giggling (unsuccessfully).

one sock done

I had a couple of knitting goals for my remaining time in New York, and I'm clearly not going to make them. That's fine. They were really pipe dreams. I wanted to finish the Woodland Shawl (I'm into the third ball of four and it was a great project for the recent plane trip to and from Portland), and this last pair of commuting socks.


 The pattern is Swirly O, from the Knitter's Book of Yarn.  I had the Mountain Colors Bearfoot in my stash, so I jumped on them.  The second one is already in progress, but with only three more days of train commuting ahead of me, they won't be finished before we leave.  THREE MORE DAYS!  I'm also trying to pack in as much Yankees viewing as possible, while doing actual packing. That doesn't leave a whole lot of knitting time.  

frick!

Frick is my word of the week. Right now, the process of moving is all down to the gritty details, which is causing me to raise my voice in frustration rather often. However, this morning I divested myself of the most annoying part of my job*, and will now be concentrating only on finishing up larger projects and clearing out eight years of accumulation in my cubicle. I also need to figure out how to bring home a large framed picture from work – on the train. I wonder where my bubble wrap went to?

*annoying part of my job = part of my job that involves dealing with people

My going-away party is Wednesday afternoon, and I should prepare some sort of farewell speech. If there are any suggestions for witty and clever so-long tidbits to sprinkle into the standard “It’s been such a transformative experience to work with a fantastic group of dedicated colleagues” crap-o, do leave them in the comments. I’m thinking of going along the lines of “So long, suckers!” but I’m willing to entertain other ideas.

spring cleaning

Today is devoted to cleaning out and making some space. Dresser drawers, and the pile of unfinished knitted objects that have been lingering for too long. Of primary importance, I needed to finish the Clapotis scarf that I started on Oscar night. I'd done some of the decrease section, but was really worried about running out of yarn. So foolishly, I just left the project in a bag for weeks.

The yarn is Handmaiden Silk Maiden, a wool and silk blend. I only found one other match for this colorway on Ravelry (surprising!), so my running-out woes were only compounded by the lack of availability. There was no colorway name, and I've decided that it's most appropriately called Bruise. After one particularly ouchy volleyball game this year, my left knee was all of the colors in the yarn: brown, black, blue, and purple. Maybe that's why it wasn't too popular?

I bought the yarn for the wrong reason: I'd just had the first thesis project meeting for grad school, and I could tell that things weren't going to go well. It was pure retail therapy, and a substitute, because Downtown Yarns didn't have an Sea Silk in stock. So I bought this (relatively) small and expensive skein of yarn. However, I did get a fairly nice gift out of it for some lucky person.

There's not much left! I wasn't kidding.

a lease in hand

My trip to Portland was a success; I found a house (yes, a house!) for us to rent with favorable terms and we move in on the 24th. That's the 24th of this month, otherwise known as two weeks from now. (In fact, we land in Portland exactly two weeks from right this very second.) I saw a lot of real estate out there, and the quality varied termendously. We got something very good, I believe. Hubby hasn't seen it yet, but he likes the pictures.

I really enjoyed the time I spent exploring Portland. I learned that I need some sort of rain jacket, and stopped in an REI store. I had no idea that there were so many kinds of rain gear produced. It was completely overwhelming. Needless to say, I didn't get anything, because (a) there were too many choices and (b) why would I buy something to take back to New York that will be moved back in two weeks? But the coffee is excellent, as are the people. I think it's going to be a good fit.

I'm still a little distressed about my lack of Yankees viewing options out there. The team seems to be rather upset about me leaving, as they've been playing like crap this season. Guys: you are supposed to make me regret leaving the viewing area, not scoffing at your performance.

Tomorrow night is Hubby's work going-away party. It's going to be quite an event, and happily I get to go too! Friday is going to be rough.

opening day, take two

It was a great game, in fact.  Even if there was a crazy guy who shot his girlfriend (not in a life-threatening way, thankfully), stole a Con Ed truck for a quick get-away in front of some police officers, and then got stuck in traffic after the game and took his life.  But that was all after the game, while I was in a sea of humanity trying to get through the turnstiles for the B/D trains.  

I'm off to Portland for a few days to look for an apartment.  Wish me luck!

the best game ever

That was the best game EVER! Who would have thought that Chien Ming Wang would pitch a no-hitter for the first game of the season? And that every Yankee would hit a home run, and yet the whole game was filled with suspense and drama?

Well, April Fool’s Day came a little early for 55,000 of us Yankees fans. We took time off of work, trekked up to open the Stadium one last time, and then they called the game off for rain. Please note: it was not really raining. April Fools indeed.

I’m headed back up there tonight for the season opener, but my enthusiasm has drained away. I’m on my third cup of coffee, and hoping that I’ll muster some energy for the 7:05 first pitch.