I’ve been a lazy blogger of late, and guess what…I don’t even have a photo for you. Not a single one. School is back in session, and I suppose that and my counseling internship should take priority over knitting endeavors. I don’t always agree.

I’ve made some major life revisions, at least mentally, in the past couple of weeks. For the past few months Drew and I have been thinking of jetting off to Portland, OR to live when I graduate in May, but just last week we decided that wasn’t as feasible or responsible as we would like things to be right now. Damn, I think I may have one toe in the grown-up pool. Part of it is fear, I admit. The economy, though I seldom pay attention to such frivolity, is in tatters, and I hesitate to move to an area with a higher cost of living and shockingly lower rate of pay for counselors. Especially because I don’t know the job market or potential employers in the area. I can more easily network here and maybe get some good employment for the next two years while gearing up for the doctorate. Or I may skip the PhD part. See, I’m still revising.

Making the decision to stay in Fayetteville has lifted an enormous weight off of my shoulders. I was worried about being able to get a job thousands of miles away, and the interview process was especially worrisome. Now my visit to Portland (next week!) will be just a vacation. Albeit, a cold and rainy one. If you’re from the Portland area or know it well, please suggest good yarn stores, and breweries. Or just fun things to do. We have Wed-Fri full days to fill up.

In other life changing areas…the band I have been a member of: Man the Helm, is disinegrating. This is a bittersweet end. Though I hated practicing and my availability for weekday shows was quite limited, I am still sad that it is ending. We’ve had some fun memories and my band mates are my best friends. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this band on the blog or not, but here is a video from possibly our last show. Feel free not to watch it. And if you do, I suggest turning up the brightness on your screen.

Drew and I may be playing our own music soon. I just bought a synthesizer that I have to learn how to use. We still have to get an appropriate amp. Egads. I thought knitting was expensive. So a synthesizer, keyboard, and bass/guitar…we’ll see what happens.

Knitting content? Ah yes, this is kind of a knitting blog. I’m still working on the endless Sock Ease lemon yellow socks. I made a hat that imitated the N.cap out of Ozark Companion and LOST it a mere week and a half after finishing. I actually cried over the loss. The color was a yellow-orange with splashes of teal. The LYS might be able to get more yarn in this colorway in, but it will never be the same.

Ah the memories in that week and a half…I finished the hat (including decreasing) during The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (excellent film) and wore it probably every chilly day after that. The hat kept me company while I rode the bike trail for the first time in 45 degree weather. I am a wimp about cold weather, and hat made this transition much nicer. I never even got a picture of this hat. It is seen in the horribly dark video above. I’m on the right.Then I lost the hat, probably on my way home Wednesday night because it was warm enough out that I didn’t need it on my head. Silly me.

How do I cope with this loss? Keep on knitting. Luckily I was working on a second hat in this pattern before the loss of the first one. It’s made with Creative Focus worsted in a blue/green/purple color. I will post pictures soon.

I also found out this past weekend that apparently I prance while running on a treadmill. We went to a shoe store in Springfield, MO called the Starting Block with Drew’s brother and his girlfriend who is a badass runner. She has run several marathons and does all kinds of adventure races. She was purchasing shoes and they do some different tests to analyze your running style and one of these tests involves videotaping the runner barefoot on the treadmill. So I tried it. Just for fun. I was a little bit tipsy at the time or perhaps it was performance anxiety, because both Brady (Drew’s bro) and the shoe salesman asked if I “really run that way.” I have no idea.