Revisiting a friend's artwork

V's veil
Originally uploaded by Cyndiva.

The photo is a re-tread, but I ran into a couple ladies today who were talking about this very veil. My friend V did an inSANE amount of work on designing and knitting this and it came out absolutely stunning.

Today was one heck of a day -- I got up really early to work out on my Wii Fit and shower, then grab breakfast and head down to the Knitting Nest to meet Franklin. I must say, he is just a great guy to talk to -- and Delores, I hear, was well-behaved. She must have been hung over from Guero's the night before (or still out playing with Leslie) because I didn't run into her at the opening of the photo shoot. Granted, there were a lot of people there, so it is entirely possible that I just missed her, but I don't know how. Heh.

Right now I have to get back to some serious photo editing that I owe another friend and then perhaps I can post more updates to my Flickr account from today. 7 weeks and counting until the big move!

Successful lunch mission completed to get new lamp at IKEA. New problem: fending off overwhelming covetousness for other stuff...

My own private army

One of the things I think I am looking forward to the most in my upcoming move is having my own washer and dryer for a change instead of schlepping down to the communal laundry room or laundromat. With the exception of the occasional weekend I've gone to my mother's house (and taken a load or three with me) or the months I was recovering from a back injury and was physically unable to do my laundry, that's...let's see...almost SIXTEEN YEARS I've been without a washer and dryer in my current place of residence (and yes, I am counting college dorm life in there).

Not only has this led to me having far too many clothes in general - sometimes it's easier to pick up a new outfit if you don't have the time to spend an afternoon doing laundry or the laundry room is not available - but my word, the sheer mass of undergarments is nigh to unimaginable! I mean, I could clothe a third world country with the numbers of these things I own; outfit my own small army of Amazons. Granted, they'd be outfitted only with unmentionables, but I'm sure that would prove a tactical advantage in battle.

I've already successfully pared down the contents of my closet to less than half of what it contained before, so surely this task will not be insurmountable. I pity the poor soul who goes dumpster diving for goodies later (hey, I live in an apartment complex -- I've seen people do it!) and comes up with a discarded bag of old panties, though. Well, at least they are clean.

Wake-up call

Yesterday I was all set to rant about the cruddy "bouncer" at Zilker Botanical Gardens, and I realized that basically I was just transferring my stress about some other things in life to another situation that probably didn't deserve as much angst as I was giving it. Well, it deserved _some_ angst. I mean, come ON.

Oops, I'm sidetracking myself again.

At any rate, I've been trying to keep myself busy enough to avoid the pity party -- and been marginally successful. Of course, the busy part probably didn't decrease the stress levels even if it did distract me a bit from this last week of absolute insanity. Due to a disappointment that happened this week I've been a bit sulky (although I didn't want to admit it) and I was even contemplating skipping church this morning. Yeah, bad move, I know.

As it turns out, sometimes God is sending us pretty loud messages, but it takes us a while to clue in. As much as I tend to worry about things, I went to church after all, and the gospel lesson and sermon were over Matthew 6:24-34. Even the hymns and the opening lesson whapped me over the head with the "let go, let God" concept. Regardless of what the future brings, I know whatever happens fits in with God's plan for me.

Nice - just got hassled by "security" at Zilker asking if I knew
about the photo policy. He actually made me fill out a session pass. More later.

Retaining my ability to write

So much has happened in the past week, it feels like an eternity since I last took the time to put pen to paper (or thoughts to blog) outside a quick splat from the phone on the go.

Life is still a little stressful but I've got an exciting opportunity coming up. In addition I am working really hard to get my apartment in order so I can actually move in a couple months. Add to that a concert to sing next month, and three (count them, THREE) friends having babies in the next 12 weeks -- one being one of my bestest buds in the universe -- for whom I need to finish knit gifts, and well, my life is a little full at the moment.

In the midst of all this, I have still been knitting and crocheting, teaching, singing, taking pics, walking and all that. Yes, I bring the craziness on myself but it definitely helps decrease the stress from other outside sources that I don't have control over.

Well, come August life will be different one way or another.

And the week gets better - third freaking flat tire this month.

Hot work

To the celebration of no few of my friends, I've finally made the step to close on a new place -- and I will definitely be moving in a couple months. I've been working on getting decluttered for this for a while, and now I can make the final arrangements for the move.

To celebrate (and to give my poor eyes a break), I also finally upgraded my television set. No longer do I suffer through hi-def content (okay, from my game console mostly) on my 20 inch standard television. We went HDTV, baby! Well, as soon as I finish setting it up, anyway. These things are work, I tell you - and I only got the 32 inch model. My original plan was to get the 26-inch, but they had a deal on a really nice 32-inch by the same manufacturer for not much more, so it came home with me. Throw in the zero-interest financing and I decided the budget could handle the slight increase, since I'd been saving for the upgrade anyway - it may mean no new yarn purchases for a while, but I am pretty sure my stash can bear me out.

It's pretty, what can I say. If it were pink, there wouldn't have been a question. Then again, if it were pink, they probably would have been clearancing it for a couple hundred less, because only weirdos like me would by a 32-inch pink television. Heh.

It is insanely hard not to go wild on retail therapy when I'm as stressed as it's been this week. I haven't...but that HDTV is tempting.

If you pride yourself on your food, label your salad bar accurately. Grape tomatoes are not cherry, and penne is not tortellini.

I am in love with Torchy's Tacos - you can't beat that fried avocado for breakfast.

Working for the weekend...

Has anyone else had problems with their blog publishing this week? Very frustrating!

I spent a very enjoyable afternoon with E - we went to see Made of Honor, which I highly recommend as a chick flick. At first I thought it was just going to be a remake of My Best Friend's Wedding, but as it turns out the movie actually had a plot of its own. And McDreamy, so hey, it's all good. We also spent some time later on talking - and I cannot say enough about the blessings of heartfelt talks with one of your best friends in the universe.

Life has been stressful lately but God has blessed me with great friends and He is also there for me - I just have to listen.

Working for the weekend...

Yes, more stress. More stress means me trying not to do the comfort food thing -- not so much with the eating when inappropriate, thankfully, but just stopping when I am full and not continuing. Sigh.

This afternoon was good, though -- did the matinee movie with one of my bestest pals in the world and we had a good talk afterward. I think she gave me the shot in the arse I needed to get my self-esteem back off the floor.

And miles to go before I sleep

I tell you, it keeps amazing me how much excess I've managed to accumulate in a decade of just being too busy to be home and deal with it. For one friend in particular, I need to point out that the collections really have very little to do with it - getting rid of my VHS tapes did free up some space but not a great deal, it was more the relief with finally having decided to do it, and my other "collections" aren't huge space-takers either. Well, perhaps with the notable exception of the stash, which I will admit needs to be catalogued so that I can pare down what I don't intend to use -- I've gained a few "ooh, pretty" things over the years, but quite a few of those I've managed to ship out as gifts or trade in swaps.

So, today I put four more bags of stuff to donate in my trunk, plus a box of dishes I got from Mom but have been in a box for six years in my bedroom closet -- I intended to garage sale those, but the box was too heavy for me the first time I had the opportunity, and I just forgot about it this last time, so out it goes as a donation. To note, Mom gave me her blessing to get rid of them as long as it wasn't the fine china. That I kept. Three of the donation bags have been packed for over a year, and I don't even remember what is in them - too bad, so sad, out they go. The last is a few pair of shoes that have been on my shoe tree for a while - if I haven't worn them in long enough for them to get completely dusty and they are in good condition, out they go. Plus, a good-sized bag of the worn-out or otherwise non-donateable shoes that I don't wear anymore are headed down to the dumpster on my way out the door. And so the process continues. Perhaps at this rate I really will be ready to move by the end of July; one can only hope.

Now I have to print off some patterns for a crochet lesson I hope to give this afternoon, if my student shows up, and then perhaps I'll have some for my ongoing class as well... Highlights from this weekend's concert series when I get a larger moment to breathe! :D

The messier my hair gets over the course of an evening, the more complements I get on how great it looks.

Nothing like sitting with unwashed masses for a long wait to encourage you to get your auto registration done online next time...