MAYARN

Hanukkah Miracle

Last Thursday, the day before Hanukkah started, I decided that maybe this year I would get The Boyfriend a Hanukkah present. I'm not sure why I never did this before. He IS Jewish. And we have always exchanged gifts on Christmas. I guess it's because gift-giving on Hanukkah was never a big thing in his family and he 100% does not expect gifts. But, for whatever reason, I was compelled to do some Hanukkah shopping. This is when I start to wonder if I'm psychic or something. Because the first site I went to was target.com (which I never shop on) and the first word I typed in to the search was menorah (he already has two) and this came back as #1 on the search list:

That's right, a bicycle menorah. I can't imagine a more perfect gift for Steve. Seriously. (As you may or may not know, the boyfriend is slightly biking obsessed.) It was a brand new item, posted within 24 hours before I visited the site. Serendipity? Dumb luck? Call it what you will—I say this was some sort of Hanukkah miracle.

I ordered it and even though Target said it wouldn't get here until Christmas, it arrived yesterday and I gave it to him last night. He was overjoyed, I think. If he could have bike-everything in his apartment he would. It was just too perfect and exciting enough to blog about. I wish I had a picture of it all lit up. Good times and a very happy Steve.

retail therapy

Well, I'm all moved in. At first it seemed this move was going to be one of the easier ones I've done. Then we discovered just how dirty and broken our apartment is. Then the movers couldn't fit my couch into the living room. I tried to get a parking permit, didn't have the right papers to even get a temporary one. Tried to go to the DMV to get correct papers, didn't have my license with me. And on and on and on...

This move has been pretty freakin' awful.

As I fought my way through traffic this morning after the annoying couch discovery, I began to feel homesick. I missed highways. And nature. And spacious, affordable housing... so when I saw over at Kristin's blog the sweet tshirt she got this weekend, I knew exactly what I needed:

I ordered a small in brown, and somehow I feel a little better now...

Maryland is for Knitters

Since I'm a day late on posting about the sheepy fiber blogging extravaganza that is Maryland Sheep and Wool, I'm not sure where to start. So many others have recapped so well. Some people even remember Saturday step by step, enough so to write their day's events in detail. I, on the other hand, am not  experiencing memory that good concerning this particular event. Most of it is blurred together into this happy rainbow sunshine ball labeled "FUN TIMES!! BEST EVER!!"

Seriously. Happy rainbow sunshine ball.

Read on for the longest post ever with a couple pictures thrown in...

I'm gonna love you forever

There are certain things I will always love. Old books, the smell of grapefruit, pretty stationary... and valentine's day candy. And by "candy," I mean Necco Sweethearts. 

I was a little flaky this year and did not make it to one candy aisle in one store before Feb. 14. After my friend Maurene and I had our our-boyfriends-don't-live-in-Boston Valentine's day dinner date, we popped into a seven-eleven to see if they had any candy. As holiday-specific products go, this particular say-lay (to you Alma grads) only had three-foot-tall greeting cards that said things like "My love for you is THIS big," pink and red stuffed gorillas and dogs and the like wearing stupid outfits, and m&ms in heart shaped containers. What kind of valentine's day was this?

Since that day, I've stopped into a couple CVSs and convenience stores and they were either over Valentines day and are now celebrating Easter, or all they had left was chocolate in heart shaped boxes. 

Today, however, I hit the jackpot:

Sweet sweethearts of miiinnnneee.... Thank you Walgreen's!

That's the 8-box value pack.  I have already eaten one box and will probably have eaten them all well before mid-March. Then it's on to Cadbury Mini eggs. mmmm.... holiday candy....

Actually, it's pretty awesome being green...

A few weeks back, it it was blustery and wet and cold. I needed some boots. As fortune would have it, one day while waiting for the train in the blustery, rainy, frigidness, a woman wearing head to toe rain gear started chatting with me about proper attire for Boston weather. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't scolding, just trying to help as I was the one who said I "need some freakin' boots!!!" She recommended rain boots (which I'm in the process of procuring) and also Uggs. Now, I never thought I would own Uggs. They are expensive and trendy and I was like "Never! Never will I succumb to this fly-by-night trend!"

But then I tried on my friend Maureen's new uggs (oh, the softness! The warmth!) and then I looked on Zappos.com (sales! good colors!) and I caved.

Oh my gosh I love how they make me look like a Muppet from the ankle down!

Cute green Muppet feet!

Unfortunately, they are way too big (apparently Uggs run big). Fortunately, I called and inquired about exchange and they already shipped out the replacement pair. Not that I plan to wear these before Boston freezes over - look what happens when you take them off:

fuzzzz...

Anyway, my feet will be as warm as a Muppet's when the cold rolls in and that makes me happy.

In other green news, I finished the knitting the Leaves scarf! I'm not sure how it happened as I have been a busy, busy bee. I think it's that I've been staying up later and later all the time... anyway, I weaved in the ends, soaked the pieces in some cold water, and since it was such a beautiful day, took it to the park to block and dry while I read. I took the scarf on this field trip partly so so it might dry faster in the sun, partly so I could take better pictures.

My afternoon.

Me 'n' Green. I look mischievous, but I'm really not.

It was a little chilly at the park and of course Green didn't dry all the way, but I did finish the book I needed to finish to write a paper, so that's good. Also, the park is literally around the corner from my house and I haven't spent nearly enough time there, but I love it. There are these huge willow trees and lots of variety of other trees, so it looks really pretty right now. I won't bore you with all the pictures I took between chapters, but here's a couple. 

Willow tree as seen through my sunglasses. Yes, I used my sunglasses as a filter.

Autumn blows my mind.

misson somewhat accomplished

It is late. I am tired. I don't necessarily have the energy to give a detailed run down of the awesome fiberfest/camping weekend activities, nor do I think I will have much time to do it later (or blog much at all for that matter) in the coming weeks. So, here's a brief run down in pictures:

Saturday, early, traveler resting between rows. I love this pictures in all it's blurryness...

Gigantic rooster greets us at the gate. Welcome to the Michigan Fiber Festival!

awwww! I can't choose between you. I guess you'll all have to come home with me. I hope you like city livin'.

Alright, alright - you can come too, cutie pie!

Choosing sock yarn is hard. Becky made a great choice. I went back to this wall like 7 times, but it was too much for me - I walked away with none. ;-(

I got this handy drop-spindle instead! Man...do my fingers hurt. But I'm making yarn! yay!

See? I'm still not so good at it...but it's a start.

Hooray for camping!

The fire looks so cool here....

S'mores are an excellent source of vitamins. Have one for breakfast today!

The Final Haul.

Wellllll...I didn't exactly accomplish my mission.Though I would still call it a success, I did not acquire yarn for the DreamCatcher Medallion cardigan like I so wanted to. I actually was starting to think I was going to leave with nothing. But right at the end I bought the little Chibi (I can't believe I didn't have one yet) and then I saw all that R2! That bag of yarn and the book came together for a great price - I think the tag is actually plainly visible in that picture. I'm thinking of making the green, leaf-motif sweater from loop-d-loop with that yarn. Oh - and I had tried a drop spindle at a different fiber fest about a year ago and have thought of buying one for some time. I talked with one of the vendors about what I should be looking for and  I ended up buying one, along with the cheepest tiny bag of roving I could find to practice with. I already spun all of it - it's wrapped around the spindle. :-)

I love fiber festivals so. I hope to make the bigger, east coast festivals (ie MSW) next year when I'm living in Boston. It sort of stinks getting new knitting paraphenalia you're all excited about when you have no time to dive into it properly. But all in good time, all in good time...

So keen!

It's official: I am a cold weather gal. I couldn't bear the heat this weekend. To ease my pain, I bought these:

KEENS!!! WOO HOO!!!

They're no Manos de Uraguay, but they sure to make me happy. Now I REALLY can't wait to go whitewater rafting in July.

UPDATE: People seem interested in my Keens, and people, I sure can't blame you. Want to learn more? Go here: http://www.keenfootwear.com/