Will the adventures never end?
Once again, I experienced Island Life to its fullest today. I mean, sometimes it's like I'm on another planet.
I've been making friends with the owner of the local yarn shop here. It's a really sweet little shop and she has some lovely yarns. When we first moved up here, I of course sought her out right away, just sure she had a job opening with my name on it. That actually didn't work out so well, but I began popping in every so often, we started to warm to each other, and I have been able to convince her that I'm actually pretty savvy around a yarn shop.
All this to say I am now on her schedule to teach two classes this spring and I spent much of my day today working on a little website for her.
But here--let me back up for a moment. I had planned to meet Cindi at her shop this morning and, silly me, assumed she opened at 10:00. After dropping the kids off at school, I had what I thought was an hour to kill, so I took my book (The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. Have you read this book? Holy Smokes but I can't put it down) to the coffee shop (yes, the coffee shop) and happily read for an hour.
Then I packed my self up and drove over to the yarn shop. Which on a less blustery day should have been within walking distance, since the town of Langley only has two streets....but as I was saying, I drove to the shop, parked, and noticed that it was closed. At 10:00 in the morning. Closed. With no sign on the door and no hours posted, I had to assume that she was following the hours of the shop next door, which was opening at 11:00.
Fine. I have an hour to kill. So I decided to go to the library. The sweetest little small town library, across from the coffee shop and next to the City Hall. Closed. Until 11:00. Great. I suppose a less self conscience person would have gone back to the coffee shop for another 45 minutes. But not me. I ended up sitting in my car, freezing half to death while reading, waiting for the yarn shop to open.
And don't think for a moment that all the shops in Langley open at 11:00. Only some of them do. Many open at 10:00. Or so. And several are closed on Tuesdays. And some stay open until 5:00. Except for the ones that close at 4:30. It's a very frustrating system and poorly coordinated. Like the church we attended on Sunday. That was suppose to start at 10:00, but that really started at 10:15 because of all the meandering going on....Whenever I mention this faulty scheduling system to my parents they simple shrug and say "island time."
So yes, I'm going to teach a couple of classes. I'll make a couple of bucks and if all goes well, I won't cause anyone to cry.
On a farming note, it is apparently time to order baby chicks. Eric is already thinking up names. Naming dad's turkeys Lunch and Dinner made it a lot easier to say goodbye. Think Eric is ready for that lesson yet?
It's a shame that it's 2 inches too short all the way around and that, as a "professional" knitter and former yarn shop employee, I failed to do a gauge swatch (I mean, what a waste of time, right? Cascade 220 is a fairly reliable yarn...), look at the schematics, or at any point before knitting halfway up the armhole decide to compare it to an existing cardigan. I started knitting a size M. Because I'm generally an M. I rarely wear an L, so why would I possibly look at the measurements for an L?
In fact, it wasn't until I laid it out to take a picture for you that I realized that it was looking rather petite.
The one thing I am successfully knitting are these Pagewood Farms socks for my niece, Ellie (I said successfully knitting, not photographing. In case you are wondering, they are green).
But with no job and with Dad on the mend, I apparently have all the time in the world to knit the same sweater twice.
Etsy turned me down. Not a huge shock, since I'm sure they had thousands upon thousands of applications. Really, it was an honor just to be nominated. Still, it would have been the perfect job for me. And that other job that I've been waiting and waiting and waiting on....well, apparently the hiring person was out sick for a while and, according to her last email to me, it's not dead yet. So at some point I may actually be employed. But I'm not yet. So very not employed. My resume has circled this island many many times, but I seem to be in a bit of a slump at the moment.
What a great time to knit a sweater. Again.
No, really, this has been a week that has reinforced every stereotype of my life up here in Amish country.
Like, for instance, the flock of turkeys I passed on the side of the road driving the kids to school. I don't mean that this flock of turkeys was in a fenced-in pen or yard. That would be typical of island life. No, these turkeys were walking down the street. Turkeys.
Or how about the fact that I know people on the ferry now. And I don't even commute.
Or our adventures at the movies the other night. Yes, that's right, another visit to The Clyde. This time we saw Up In The Air. We sat down in our usual place and a nice older couple sat down behind us. The woman tapped me on the shoulder and said "I'll pay you not to move, since I can see perfectly over your head." So we laughed about that and got to chatting a bit and somehow got to talking about my dad and the importance of The Clyde in his life. And low and behold, we met Steve and Wanda, some random friends of my parents that I hear about all the time, but had never met. THAT is what happens here on Gilligan's Island--it all comes full circle and without even trying you become completely enveloped into this wacky little society.
Or the little barber shop Mike and the boys went to last weekend where they paid a total of $34.00 for 3 haircuts. While Ryan tried to figure out how they stuffed all the game birds that decorated the shop.
And then there is life here on the farm. My dad had foot surgery a couple of days ago. So now guess who's parents are secretly happy their unemployed daughter is hanging around the house? Otherwise, who would my dad call from his cell phone in the living room to the house phone in the kitchen to have me go shut the drapes because the sunlight was causing a glare on the tv?
Yes, that is correct. I am still unemployed. That one opportunity that I thought would pan out? It still may. But it hasn't yet. For now. In the meantime, I had completely put that Etsy job out of my head because why pin all your hopes on a job that is literally one in a million? But get this--they contacted me! Yes indeedy, they actually thought I was worth a look. They sent me a writing assignment last week, which I have completed and zipped back to them through the magic of the internet. And now we wait.
I finished knitting my mom a pair of socks last night and wound yarn to knit a pair for my niece. That, I am counting among my greatest accomplisments of this week. And now that I have taught my dad how to correctly use his tv remote, my work here is done.
Today's post is about knitting. Because that is all I have to report to you. I still have no job (although something may be on the horizon, so stay tuned....), so I figured, might as well knit! With buckets of yarn and time on my hands, I should put myself to good use.
This is mom's finished vest. As you can see from this fine photography, I am the one responsible for this quality photo. Don't ask me why I chose to put this white towel under the vest for picture-taking purposes. But by now you should all remember that photography has never been a strength of mine. Anyway, let's focus on what is important here--the vest is finished. All mom has to do is pick out some buttons and then she is in business!
Fast forward about 14 months and here we are. I am actually knitting this luscious object for me. I absolutely love the yarn and the pattern is quite easy. Not to say that I haven't made my share of mistakes, but all of them due to my inability to use that pesky universal numbering system we all like to call MATH.
Among my non-knitting activities lately are celebrating Eric's birthday by taking the boys and their cousins to Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakquel (everyone says how traumatized they were by The Single Ladies. Much harder for me to take was their complete butchering of Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round) and the hugely overrated Harlem Globetrotters. Oh, so much of my life is about me these days...
I will say this--remember the person I met at Avatar who asked me about my knitting? Fast friends. We had coffee about 2 weeks ago and spent 2 1/2 hours talking, with only 10 minutes of it about knitting. Tomorrow I'm going to her home for lunch and more knitting.
So my life no long completely sucks. Now it just mostly sucks.
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