love is all you need

Yes sir, yes sir

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann is a book I picked up last Monday when my mom and I went shopping in Dallas and by Wednesday night I had already finished it. It is about a flock of sheep who find that their dear shepherd has been murdered and they set out to solve the mystery of his killer. I found it cute and clever and fun to read. When I was done, I was a little disappointed that I had read through it so fast as it has been a while since I've read a book that I didn't want to put down.
If you're finding it a little too hot this summer to knit, this book is a good way to enjoy some wooly fun.

I was going to begin this post by complaining about how difficult it was for me to get from Brooklyn to my parents' Texas ranch (3 planes, 2 trains, 1 automobile) but I decided to focus on all of the fun stuff I did last week.
I saw the clouds from above

I wrote, knit and snacked while I flew

I picnic-ed in the shade with the family

I drove a tractor and raked hay

I enjoyed the beautiful sunflowers

I hung out with the nephews

and I loved on the dogs

I had a wonderful week visiting my family and I'm so glad I got to spend some unexpected time with them.

Since today was Joey's first day at work and I was home alone with a monster headache brought on by being in bed all day yesterday with an atrocious stomach bug, I decided to stay in today and finish off an armwarmer.

This one is a wee bit snug on me which wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't originally intended it for Joey. Now I'm wondering if I should forge ahead with the second one, potentially creating a situation in which I have a really cute knit that I don't wear that often cause I can't seem to get it off once its on. Or maybe I'll block it and see if it grows any.

Remind me not to drunk-blog anymore. Sheesh. Thanks for the kind words, though. I'm already in a much better mood. This weekend was a blast.
We headed over to our friends' apartment, where they were hosting a rooftop barbecue complete with fajitas, grilled corn, hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade blackberry cobbler and homemade ice cream. We were joined by tons of people who we didn't know and we partied with them all. Then came the fireworks, which were three times the size of any fireworks show I've seen. Here is a picture that doesn't show the two identical scenes to the right and left.

On Sunday we decided to go for a bike ride around Brooklyn which became a bike ride around Brooklyn and Manhattan. Now, I am not an in-shape person. I get winded climbing the stairs in my 3rd-floor walkup, but I thought I was getting better after all the walking I've been doing around here. Those hills were killing me! We went from our apartment to this beautiful park in Brooklyn called Prospect Park, rode their bike trail, went up to the Brooklyn Bridge and biked across it along with the hordes of tourists, ending in Manhattan. Then we rode along part of the Hudson River bike trail, passed by the WTC site and the Vietnam War Veteran's Memorial, and Pier 17, with all the cool old ships docked there. Then we headed up to the Williamsburg bridge and biked it back home. Actually, I had to walk my bike up the first part of the Williamsburg bridge because it was too steep for me. Then I had to hang on white-knuckled as I zoomed down the second half, feeling my bike vibrate so hard I thought the back wheel was going to fall off. By the time we got home, I thought I was going to die. My legs were shaking so badly I could hardly stand. My hands were in an semi-permanent claw position and I uncurled them to reveal two nice swollen bruise-spots on my palms, which are still hurting me today.
This better not interfere with my knitting

So the yarn store never called me back. I'm floored as to why they didn't call me back- I reorganized my resume to show off my customer service and retail "skills," as well as wrote a nice intro into how much I love knitting and the whole fiber world. Plus, I knitted a bad-ass lace swatch at my interview. Actually, I wasn't even interviewed, I just went in and was asked to knit a lace swatch. Then they said they'd call for a second interview and they never did. And I KNOW I didn't make any mistakes on that dang lace swatch. So I chalked it up to maybe they interviewed someone who knew someone and it just didn't work out for me. But then I saw that they RELISTED their original help wanted ad. Maybe I should apply again just to piss them off. Actually, no. I will just not buy from their store. There's one that's way closer to my apartment anyway.
So, since I last posted I not only didn't get hired for the yarn store job, but I did get hired for a personal assistant job. And I worked one day and then turned it down. I've never done that before, but I came home from my first day and just bawled my eyes out at how horrible a day it was and then took it as a sign that I probably shouldn't do that to myself on a daily basis. And today, I went for another interview, doing the same thing I did back home. It actually seemed to go pretty well for an interview and I want to say that I'm a shoe-in. I guess I'll go ahead and post this and then we'll all see what happens together.
It has been an amazing but emotional month here in Brooklyn. I love this city and I'm so glad I moved here, but I miss my family and my dogs and I'm anxious to get settled and comfortable again.
So as not to have a completely depressing post, I'll end with some fun, upbeat commentary:
Joey got a job and it is one he really wanted- he starts tomorrow.
We live in such a fun part of the city and have had a complete blast every day that we've been here.
If I get this new job, I'll have plenty of time to knit and read on the subway ride in.
I've basically just had a month-long vacation in NYC with my favorite person in the world. Now we get to start new lives here and keep on enjoying ourselves.