Tomorrow is the first day of Spring semester, my last semester of college, which is hard to imagine/comprehend. Intersession went by very fast and now its back to the grind. taking five classes, possible i might have to add a sixth, but let's hope not. bought my books today, one class had 14 books, one had 9, and two had 1 each, and one had none, so..... i came home with 26 books. heavy heavy load, luckily i was at the bookstore after an art brigade meeting with ham and nona d and michael was there so he drove me back to my apt. ginger lumber jack hopped into the car on the way because he spotted us and needed help running an errand on shifty street near shifty, inferior liquor store. discussed focaccia with him and other bread goods. only way to not make it awkward with a boy you know for a fact used to have a thing for you and who knows you were nowhere near interested in him but want to be his friend is to limit the conversation to the only two common interests you have: baking and conspiracy theories. we always either discuss bread or zombies or aliens. anyways, it was less awkward than usual so wooot. great to see ham again and be reunited with her and nona d, or donasaur as we now call her, as we are the power trio! we had a lot of work to do for art brigade so our meeting was like 3 hours long, but we ate at carma's so it was tolerable, plus at least an hour was spent catching up. i had an apple alexander and a honey cappuccino, standard. the split pea soup looked more like green mashed potatoes and the girl eating it at the table near the front did not look particularly enthused so i went for the old standby instead of trying the soup.
speaking of soup, i made over the weekend a delicious curry- butternut squash- sweet-potato-apple soup that is soooo delicious! slightly sweet from the apples (though i used granny smith so not overly sweet), spicy from the curry, creamy, thick, warming, squashy..... major yum. thanks barefoot contessa, as always, inalicious! the reckster is supposed to get back tonight, Smcinty too, but seeing as its 1:23 am and neither have showed, I guess it's going to be Monday arrivals for them both. Miss them both but Jenbot and I have bonded a lot which is great. We have had regular date nights which ranged from cooking and watching bones on the couch (with wine), football party with homemade snack foods, going out to dinner or bars, and more often drinking tea and crafting while watching tv like the little old ladies we are. it's cold as balls but my new coat is awesome, though still entirely too big on me. never managed to get it altered when i was home. i'll wait till there's a warm week (above 37) and then i'll take it to some taylor michael recommended. speaking of, i haven't talked to taylor-dailurgh in ages. i miss her. she's awful at keeping in touch, though it's not like i'm super great. i should send her an email since she never responds to texts or gchats. i want to see philadelphia before i finish school on the east coast, or we could make a trip to dc together and see all the GW APA crew.
I was super nostalgic for France last night, and my experience there, and gruyere cheese. i was just missing the sense of adventure i had while there and how everything was a new experience, and just thinking back to how this time last year i was just starting off on my french semester, well, it's kind of sad now that it's over and a year away from present time. i loved france and want to go back, and i miss all my friends from the program. i was also anxious last night and kept having half asleep dreams that someone i knew was in the hospital. first it was annie, my biffle, and i had to go to upstate ny where she lives to see her in the hospital, she was in a coma and her parents were considering pulling the plug and wanted me to be able to say goodbye. talk about the absolute worst nightmare i've ever had, and i wasn't even fully asleep. even after i snapped out of that dream, i kept feeling anxious and sad about hospitals and sickness, until finally i fell asleep around 5 am. today i found out that my grandpa is in the hospital, admitted yesterday, and seems like he had a small stroke. he's fine now and there were no lasting effects, but it was bigger than the TFA he had during Rosh HaShanah, but the man is 88 it's bound to happen. he's almost 90 for goodness' sake. Still, the thought of him dying is absolutely unbelievable. he's my last living grandparent, since my mom is estranged from her family so i don't have contact with her father, who is most likely still alive because we haven't heard otherwise. frankly he's an awful person so i don't care one way or another, but my dad's dad, grandpa arthur, i love whole heartedly and being near him in college (since he lives in Maryland) has been such a treat for me as i saw him only once a year as a kid. Two of my good friends have lost their grandfathers lately, so that on top of the dream anxiety and the fact he's in the hospital have me on edge. He's spending the night just for observation and more tests, and he's on a new medication that should help, but i can't help but worry. i made him a scarf for his birthday this winter, and seeing his reaction to it and how special it was for him that i made it just for him was probably my most rewarding experience of 2010. i'm not ready to lose him just yet.
But he's fine, so I should stop waxing melodramatic and get to sleep. School tomorrow! Last first day of school possibly ever, and definitely for the next year or so! Wow! What a thought. I have no idea what I'm doing with my life but I am free and young and healthy and live in a peaceful democratic country where i have all my rights (what's up with egypt btw? i should call yoni) so i think i'm doing pretty well. fingers crossed for a good first impression tomorrow, maybe i'll even meet a cute boy!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
jacquard crochet update: i started a jacquard crochet project that i'm really excited about, after starting a bunch of other ones that didn't end up working out because i tried to design them myself and the counting was off. i'd actually seen these slipper booties a while back in an issue of a crochet magazine that is sometimes slightly granny-like but usually okay, and at the time i'd wanted to make them but didn't have the time or good yarns for the project. since i have done two major craft stock up trips this winter and have plenty of yarns and since i'd been super excited about trying out jacquard crochet, now was the time! here is the pattern, it's for cool slipper booties which was another factor in deciding to make the pattern since my pair of slipper boots is currently hanging on by a thread. I never wear them in public (unlike my regular slippers which can pass for moccasins) because they resemble the dreaded uggs, but they're so nice in winter when its fucking FREEZING outside, like right now at a blustery 24 degrees. i have always hated how they look, so it's an exciting prospect that i'll one day have an awesome, colorful, patterned pair that i made myself. knowing me, i'll probably try to find a way to attach soles to them to make them outside-friendly and then i'll wear them in public haha.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
friday update
still have not done laundry.
made cookies instead.
jen maybe broke her toe?
finished one intersession class that was only a 2 week thing.
zombie apocalypse movies.
pumpkin spice latte from chocolatea.
it's the weekend.
also, had a weird dream that had something to do with my blog last night, don't remember details but someone had read my blog who i barely knew and they knew all this shit about me..... weird thought.
made cookies instead.
jen maybe broke her toe?
finished one intersession class that was only a 2 week thing.
zombie apocalypse movies.
pumpkin spice latte from chocolatea.
it's the weekend.
also, had a weird dream that had something to do with my blog last night, don't remember details but someone had read my blog who i barely knew and they knew all this shit about me..... weird thought.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
major crochet geek-out:
JACQUARD CROCHET!!!
So I've always really loved the look of traditional Scandinavian sweaters, which are usually knit. The intricate patterns and colorwork are so impressive. Anyone who is familiar with the fiber arts/handicraft knows that colorwork is basically the hardest, most intricate, eye-squinting, and frustration-inducing type of knit or crochet that exist. For those who don't know, when you crochet or knit a piece with multiple colors, like a fair-isle sweater (what's up posh spice?), you don't cut the yarn and tie on the knew color every time you need to switch colors, because then the sweater or whatever you're making would have knots all up in its grill and would be all lumpy. Instead the technique, which is hundreds and hundreds of years old, is to run one color through all the stitches you're making in the current color in such a way that it's hidden inside/behind the stitches, and then switch to that hidden color when you switch colors. That way there are no knots and constant tying on new colors, but it means you're working two strands of yarn at any time, and possibly many more if the item you're crocheting has many colors. What results are beautiful crocheted pieces with pretty colorful designs, just like knitting, created in a traditional Northern technique that people in Scandinavia and the Baltic area have been using for centuries. Being of partial Baltic descent myself (sup Latvia) I find this connection to craft history really cool. I always thought fair isle was just for knitting and that crochet didn't have an equivalent, and I had major knitting envy, even though every time I try to learn to knit i end up injuring myself, others, and my ego. Then I found out about this! It's called either jacquard crochet or tapestry crochet, because like woven tapestries it's colorful and pictorial. I'm so excited about trying some of this stuff out. I've been eye-ing some crocheted mittens done this way but I think the pattern is too advanced to attempt now, I'll try to make some test swatches and just play around first. I found this site, wow!, which is amazing so I'll be futzing around with this all winter I'm sure. Also, you've noticed I figured out how to post links on the blog, so no more copied and pasted websites guys! Gotta go crochet for 10000 years now!
So I've always really loved the look of traditional Scandinavian sweaters, which are usually knit. The intricate patterns and colorwork are so impressive. Anyone who is familiar with the fiber arts/handicraft knows that colorwork is basically the hardest, most intricate, eye-squinting, and frustration-inducing type of knit or crochet that exist. For those who don't know, when you crochet or knit a piece with multiple colors, like a fair-isle sweater (what's up posh spice?), you don't cut the yarn and tie on the knew color every time you need to switch colors, because then the sweater or whatever you're making would have knots all up in its grill and would be all lumpy. Instead the technique, which is hundreds and hundreds of years old, is to run one color through all the stitches you're making in the current color in such a way that it's hidden inside/behind the stitches, and then switch to that hidden color when you switch colors. That way there are no knots and constant tying on new colors, but it means you're working two strands of yarn at any time, and possibly many more if the item you're crocheting has many colors. What results are beautiful crocheted pieces with pretty colorful designs, just like knitting, created in a traditional Northern technique that people in Scandinavia and the Baltic area have been using for centuries. Being of partial Baltic descent myself (sup Latvia) I find this connection to craft history really cool. I always thought fair isle was just for knitting and that crochet didn't have an equivalent, and I had major knitting envy, even though every time I try to learn to knit i end up injuring myself, others, and my ego. Then I found out about this! It's called either jacquard crochet or tapestry crochet, because like woven tapestries it's colorful and pictorial. I'm so excited about trying some of this stuff out. I've been eye-ing some crocheted mittens done this way but I think the pattern is too advanced to attempt now, I'll try to make some test swatches and just play around first. I found this site, wow!, which is amazing so I'll be futzing around with this all winter I'm sure. Also, you've noticed I figured out how to post links on the blog, so no more copied and pasted websites guys! Gotta go crochet for 10000 years now!
oops! forgot to blog this week.... well, it was basically the same as last week. intersession classes are tiring, have too much reading, and way more work/hours per week than their measly 1 or 2 credit status. Maybe it's because the other years I did intersession I took art history classes so I was more interested in the material, but these classes seem way harder than the norm for intersesh. Blegh! I've been staying up super super late, like 5 or 6 am, and sleeping horribly late on the days I don't have class, and mostly pulling all nighters on the days I do have class. I can't seem to make myself start on my reading before midnight the night before, and then I finish everything class-related by like 8 am, sleep till 11 or so and then get up and go to class. It's not a good system but i can't seem to function like a real human. I'm exhausted all the time and just want to crochet and sleep and watch gilmore girls and do nothing else.
some proactive things i did manage this week:
finished two scarves for etsy shop
started a pair of glittens/convertible mittens. very excited about these!
read for classes and did class assignments
went to the grocery store and stocked up on foods
made lentil soup (delicious, easy)
avoided getting caught in the two snows we've had so far
called mimz and caught up with her
made awesome girl rock/female singers mix to cheer up jess about her stupid schmuck of an ex-bf
still need to do:
tidy room
organize all craft supplies
sleep regularly
laundry
B&N run- need books and supplies and tape for wall decoration project
fun things i did this week:
watched football game with jen and john, which involved lots of snacks and then me falling asleep after i lost interest in the game. jen made her delicious and oh-so-bad-for-you onion dip and her chili cheese dip, which involved cream cheese en mass quantities so i only ate a bit of that, and i made cheese straws- classic cheddar/cayenne and mozz/parm/pesto which are so good it should be illegal. Also drank New Orleans beer that I discovered while there and is delicious and probably the only amber beer I like. Also found kriek and black currant flavored geuze at the liquor store when j and i went there to get beer for the football game. Waiting for A and S to return so we can all experience it. v. excited about the prospect of anything black currant flavored. one of the all-time best macarons i ate while in france was a black currant (cassis in french, there's your french word of the day) in honfleur while we were on our weekend trip to Normandy. Droooool.
some proactive things i did manage this week:
finished two scarves for etsy shop
started a pair of glittens/convertible mittens. very excited about these!
read for classes and did class assignments
went to the grocery store and stocked up on foods
made lentil soup (delicious, easy)
avoided getting caught in the two snows we've had so far
called mimz and caught up with her
made awesome girl rock/female singers mix to cheer up jess about her stupid schmuck of an ex-bf
still need to do:
tidy room
organize all craft supplies
sleep regularly
laundry
B&N run- need books and supplies and tape for wall decoration project
fun things i did this week:
watched football game with jen and john, which involved lots of snacks and then me falling asleep after i lost interest in the game. jen made her delicious and oh-so-bad-for-you onion dip and her chili cheese dip, which involved cream cheese en mass quantities so i only ate a bit of that, and i made cheese straws- classic cheddar/cayenne and mozz/parm/pesto which are so good it should be illegal. Also drank New Orleans beer that I discovered while there and is delicious and probably the only amber beer I like. Also found kriek and black currant flavored geuze at the liquor store when j and i went there to get beer for the football game. Waiting for A and S to return so we can all experience it. v. excited about the prospect of anything black currant flavored. one of the all-time best macarons i ate while in france was a black currant (cassis in french, there's your french word of the day) in honfleur while we were on our weekend trip to Normandy. Droooool.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Being back in Baltimore is going well despite the cold cold cold weather and the immense amount of reading for each of my classes. it seems totally absurd that my one credit 100-level class has tons more reading than my 300-level 2 cred class, but both have way too much for intersession. In the 1 cred class, citizenship and nationalism, we have really good discussions though and it's an interesting topic, especially because the prof is from a former soviet state so she has a unique perspective. plus i think she likes me because on the first day she asked us what our citizenships and nationalities were and i said i was american of latvian and polish descent, and she's lithuanian so we got the baltic thing in common. my other class the teacher just lectures and we had to read an essay line by line all together because he seems to think we've never encountered any text more challenging than the tv guide, so.... yeah. We get to talk about the apocalypse and zombies and nuclear war a lot though, so that's lively.
j and i are going out tonight to get afghani food and drink even though i have reading to do for my classes tomorrow. it's not like i would start it until midnight anyways so it doesn't matter. i'm crocheting new things for etsy! yayyy! its 27 degrees out oy vey! instead of saying jesus christ like people do when theyre like its so cold jesus christ or something like that, im going to toss random jewish figures into my vernacular. Its so cold out, moshe rabeinu!!!! You can go straight to Gehenah mothafucka! Need to think of a Jewish/yiddish equivalent for douchebag.
j and i are going out tonight to get afghani food and drink even though i have reading to do for my classes tomorrow. it's not like i would start it until midnight anyways so it doesn't matter. i'm crocheting new things for etsy! yayyy! its 27 degrees out oy vey! instead of saying jesus christ like people do when theyre like its so cold jesus christ or something like that, im going to toss random jewish figures into my vernacular. Its so cold out, moshe rabeinu!!!! You can go straight to Gehenah mothafucka! Need to think of a Jewish/yiddish equivalent for douchebag.
Monday, January 10, 2011
etsy etsy etsyyy
so i'm getting closer to my new year's resolution of getting an etsy shop up and running (other new years resolutions include: stop biting nails, find work after graduation where i can learn new things, don't lose sight of my goals or my friends after graduating, try new things, find a nice jewish boy, and take risks, which i'm horrible at.) anyways, i went to michael's and bought a ton of supplies, which i'm very excited about.
now it's down to the finer details, like naming the shop. i was brainstorming with jess earlier and after coming up with many horrible ideas, i came up with a few cuties. input from anyone would be lovely as i'm the most indecisive person to walk the earth.
-in the lead we have, chartreuse crafteuse
- clementiny was takennnn waaahhhhhh
- tangeringaling but i'm not wild about that (mostly a reaction to seeing clementiny was taken)
- craftycat or crafty kitten but i feel like that's basically ripping off the name taylor and i came up with together and i don't want to steal it.
- bramble scramble (bramble is my favorite word in the english language)
- teacup picot (pronounced peeko, its ironically my least favorite crochet stitch)
- curl-up-cozy crafts
some are cheesier than others. littlebird crafts already exists, and petite oiseau is a bit hard to pronounce for les americaines so i nixed that idea. also if i ever open a maternity store for any reason, it will be called chrysanthemummy, i claim this. dumb people will think its chris and the mummy and that will allow me to feel superior which is always a pleasant little boost.
for some reason i cannot make myself do school work. it's my first reading assignment for intersession, and i can't even make myself finish it. usually at the start of a new semester i have a new burst of energy, but im still exhausted from travelling all day (had to sit with an annoying fellow hopkins guy who i know from hebrew school, can only tolerate so much saccharine my goodness). I think i might use parentheses too much. (but i love them). maybe i'll get fancy and switch to brackets. {maybe not}. Break was great over all despite catching a cold, endless rains and lack of sunshine. I didn't want to leave, but it's nice to be back in the apt in Baltimore. Desperately need to go to the grocery, will try to find time tomorrow. Lentil soup is in my future.
now it's down to the finer details, like naming the shop. i was brainstorming with jess earlier and after coming up with many horrible ideas, i came up with a few cuties. input from anyone would be lovely as i'm the most indecisive person to walk the earth.
-in the lead we have, chartreuse crafteuse
- clementiny was takennnn waaahhhhhh
- tangeringaling but i'm not wild about that (mostly a reaction to seeing clementiny was taken)
- craftycat or crafty kitten but i feel like that's basically ripping off the name taylor and i came up with together and i don't want to steal it.
- bramble scramble (bramble is my favorite word in the english language)
- teacup picot (pronounced peeko, its ironically my least favorite crochet stitch)
- curl-up-cozy crafts
some are cheesier than others. littlebird crafts already exists, and petite oiseau is a bit hard to pronounce for les americaines so i nixed that idea. also if i ever open a maternity store for any reason, it will be called chrysanthemummy, i claim this. dumb people will think its chris and the mummy and that will allow me to feel superior which is always a pleasant little boost.
for some reason i cannot make myself do school work. it's my first reading assignment for intersession, and i can't even make myself finish it. usually at the start of a new semester i have a new burst of energy, but im still exhausted from travelling all day (had to sit with an annoying fellow hopkins guy who i know from hebrew school, can only tolerate so much saccharine my goodness). I think i might use parentheses too much. (but i love them). maybe i'll get fancy and switch to brackets. {maybe not}. Break was great over all despite catching a cold, endless rains and lack of sunshine. I didn't want to leave, but it's nice to be back in the apt in Baltimore. Desperately need to go to the grocery, will try to find time tomorrow. Lentil soup is in my future.
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