Inspirational and shit (Day 33 KEDfaY)

I always hope that when I sit down to write my daily posts that I'll have some sort of inspiration and then talk about something insightful. Sometimes I have an idea of what to write about but more often than not it's just, "Here's what I knit today. Yup." 

Maybe one day I'll tap into that power that some writers seem to have, where they can sit down to write a post and write something amazing and thought-provoking. Until I get bit by a radioactive typewriter though (because that's how you get that super power) I'll just hope for the best.

Thinking of knitting a sweater next. I don't really know why since I now live in Florida where the head index today was over 100* but I figure it will give me something to do. I have a couple sweaters worth of yarn, I just have to find patterns that can use this yarn. Hmm. Maybe I'll go looking on Ravelry. 

Sunshine State of Mind (Day 21 KEDfaY)

Look at how beautiful and sunny it is outside. How the palm tree is shining in the sun and everything seems just so perfect!

(This is where I pretend that I sat outside and knit today. I didn't. It's currently 90* F with a Real Feel of 102* F. Since I'm working with acrylic yarn that tends to be squeaky and gross in the best of conditions, I didn't feel like sitting outside in the sun where everything would be multiplied. My hands are sweaty just thinking about it. I figured though, dear readers, that you were sick of basically the same picture every day so I decided to change it up a bit. So you get a palm tree. It's a nice palm tree. It's definitely better than the one next to it that you can't see but that is directly outside the window that my desk looks out of. It's just so sad. It hasn't quite recovered from being transplanted yet. 

My plants haven't either. Well, I take that back, they all have except my Japanese Peace Lily. My other plants, the coffee tree, the lemon tree, the cactus, are all doing well. Who would've thought that putting tropical plants in a tropical climate would really make them happy? My aloe plant wasn't doing great but I moved him inside and now he's much happier. I did the same with my JPL but it's still kinda mopey. I'm hoping that they next few days of love and attention will help it feel happier.

Yes I am one of those people who talks to and names their plants. I name a lot of things and talk to a lot more other things so this shouldn't really be a surprise for you in the future.)

But there it is! I worked more on the blanket again today. I am definitely going to run out of the yarn I am using for the border but I'm done with 2.5 sides and just have 2 more corners to turn and then I'll have it off of my needles. Whoo! I'm trying to get it done for a KAL in one of the groups I'm in on Ravelry. I don't do a lot of KALs but I figure one that is just trying to get things off of the needles is right up my alley since I have all of the projects ever on my needles. It would be nice to just get some things done, clean things up if you will. Supposedly having clutter makes it more difficult to be creative or whatever. I don't think this is the case but merely a ploy to get creative types who tend to be messy to clean up once in a while. While I do tend to let things get cluttered when I am busy and stressed, I am neither of those right now so things around here are pretty clean, or at least as clean as I can get them. There is a lot of the Boyfriend's clutter around that I can't clean because 1, I don't know what it is and 2, I wouldn't know where to put it. I am still working on organizing his random stuff but it's been put on pause right now because the next tub I need to sort had a bottle of bike chain oil spill in it while moving and I don't feel like cleaning it up. I mean, would you want to clean bike chain oil off of random electronic components? Me neither hence why the tub is currently sitting on our dining room table. 

I don't know if I'm going to be able to get this blanket done this week. I can probably get it done by Monday but not if I also want to get that sock done but I'm not really in a rush to get that done because I have no one to test knit it for me. If you're interested, please contact me and I'll get the pattern out to you as soon as it's done!

Malaise (Finished Friday of sorts)

Malaise probably isn't the right word but I haven't found a good enough synonym to replace it.

I haven't felt...right this week. Not sick or depressed really just...off. Okay I did feel sick that I have reached that age where if I don't get a good night sleep, I feel sick the next day. I've also had a couple of head aches this week but I blame that on the constantly changing pressure systems here in Florida. Sure, it's all sunshine and rainbows most of the time but talk to any Floridian and they will tell you that it rains every day. It might not rain a lot or for very long but it rains every day.

If you can name the show I was watching, you get 50 Internet Points

This malaise, for lack of a better word, hasn't stopped my knitting though which makes me believe further that I'm not sick or depressed. I knit a sock (but not the one that I needed to work on), I've worked on a blanket to donate to charity along with some baby booties that took me less than two hours to knit, and I've been working on my Inheritance shawl/scarflette thinger. I've also found another scrap blanket that I want to work on but I'm forcing myself to finish at least one other blanket, preferably one to donate to charity, before I start it. See, I'm showing restraint on making another scrap blanket. Possibly only because I don't know if I actually have enough scraps to dedicate to another blanket. I have a lot of scrap blankets in the works...I am definitely not a monogamous knitter. Being a monogamous knitter is boring.

I did learn some new techniques this week. I learned how to do an afterthought heel with was really fun. I paired that with a crochet provisional cast on and this might be my new favorite way to make socks. It was fun and easy. The afterthought heel did make it difficult trying the sock on though, especially since I am constantly worried that somehow my count gets off or I accidentally change needles or something and the fit gets all messed up.

There hasn't really been much excitement here really. I think the cat is trying to kill me but I haven't discovered her secret plans yet so I can't confirm it. Once I can confirm it, I'll let you know, mainly so I have witnesses if I happen to go missing.

You'd do that for me, right?

The Hot, Hot Heat

I'm now in Florida!

And it's hot.

My boyfriend and I are slowly settling into our new surroundings. We've had fun exploring the various local restaurants and Florida-only chains. Our new local grocery store is very GF friendly so I am extremely happy. The move itself was uneventful. I got a little teary as I crossed the Indiana/Kentucky border, I won't lie, but I am excited about what's ahead for us.

So far, lots of knitting. It's hard to find a job when you don't know the area, you don't know anyone, you don't have a car and the public transportation system in the city you live in is laughable. My boyfriend and I were driving to meet his parents at a restaurant near the beach (I can say things like that now) before they had gone home from helping us with the move. I saw the first bus I had seen since moving to Florida and it was stopped. We stopped at a light near the bus and I tried to figure out why the bus was stopped for so long. The driver then stepped out of a convenience store close to where he had parked the bus. He stopped the bus, in the middle of his route, to get a drink. Laughable.

So I'm knitting. A lot.

I've already finished two socks and started a third multiple times now. I want to do a self challenge sometime where I knit a whole pair of socks in two days. I think I could. Both of the socks didn't take too long and the second one could've been finished in a day if I hadn't taken a nap during the F1 race. Maybe sometime soon.

I'm trying to find some sort of job but so far it's not going well. It would also help if I knew what the heck I wanted to do. Sure, I'd love to knit all day but so far I haven't found a test knitter position open, or at least not one that pays. I have been working on my own patterns for eventual publication and hopefully to make a little bit of money but it's slow going. I don't know how other designers do it. It seems like every one of them pumps out a new pattern daily (I'm sure this is hyperbole) and I don't even have one finished pattern yet.

It doesn't help my mood with the fact that everyone I talk to about my move then instantly asks me how my job search is going or what I plan to do now that I'm down here. Each time I'm asked that, I want to crawl into a hole even more and the self pity spiral starts up.

On the plus side, the cat and I are getting along much better than I thought we were going to. She has a history of swiping at me and generally being mean to me so I was expecting the worse but she has been my companion the past two days as I clean up and finish unpacking while my boyfriend is at work. It's been a little nice if not completely suspicious.

This sure was a bummer of a post.

Florida Bound

The past few weeks have been incredibly stressful for my boyfriend and I. He had a job interview at a great company that happened to be in Florida. We're from Indiana. We currently live in Indiana and have lived in Indiana for at least 20 years (I'll get to that in a minute). My boyfriend was so excited about this opportunity and once he got home, the waiting began. Would he get a phone call? Would he get an email? Would they be positive or would they be breaking bad news to him?

Last Friday while we were at work, he got a phone call. It was good news. I jumped up and down as our coworkers looked at us and congratulated us, mostly him, on the great job and pretty perfect location. I ran outside and called my family, the first person I got ahold of was my dad. We talked about  specifics like when and where. We ended the call with him saying, "So, going back to the state of your birth, huh?"

I was born in Florida. I was there for such a short time though that I don't really talk about it, let alone mention it. When we left work that day, my boyfriend asked me, "So, how's it feel to be a Floridian?" And I responded, "What? Again?" My boyfriend of almost four years didn't even know I was born in Florida, or at least didn't remember it, that's how little I talk about it. My dad was in the Air Force and a few months after I was born, we were residents of Wiesbaden, Germany. So, Florida, don't take it personal that I don't really talk about you much when it comes to the History of Leigh.

There are a bunch of mixed emotions right now. I am excited because I have hit my mid twenties and the Wanderlust that effects most post-collegiate grads has hit me hard. I want an adventure. I love Indiana, I love the cornfields and the Hoosier fanaticism, especially when it comes to Peyton Manning. Many Hoosiers refuse to believe that Peyton Manning is playing for a different team although Andrew Luck is quickly gaining popularity 'round these parts. I've lived in Indiana for the majority of my life. There are very few memories that I have from when we lived in Germany, before I lived in Indiana. I'm going to miss this place with its two seasons, winter and summer (or basketball and construction). I'm going to miss local places like Sno Castle and the Park, places you can't replace. The best you can do is find a mediocre substitute. But most of all, I'm going to miss my family and friends.

I'm not worried about making new friends or new acquaintances. When I do want to be around people, I can actually be quite pleasant and enjoyable and I've even been called fun, but that was after most of a giant margarita. You can find new friends, that's not hard. You of course can't replace old ones, the ones that were there to eat ice cream with you after a bad break up, or those who bought you your first Jaegerbomb and you decided it was nasty and that you'd never have one again, or those who you've known since middle school. They can't be replaced, you just find mediocre substitutions.

But what I'm going to miss most of all? My family. We've had our rough spots and times when we haven't talked much or gotten along well but they're still my family. A couple of weeks ago, after my boyfriend had his interview and came back to Indiana, I visited with my mom. She told me about when she left Indiana with my dad to go to Florida. She sat and cried as she talked about leaving her grandmother and about my dad being compassionate, something that doesn't happen too often.

"You'll see her again." He said as he grabbed her hand and she sat crying in the cab of the moving truck.

I feel like history repeats itself and sometimes in very eerie ways.