Have you SEEN this?

AnnyPurls wrote up a post about O Wool Classic, and her before-washing-after-washing pictures make me want some. In a big way.

FO: Sunrise Circle

I finished seaming up my Sunrise Circle Jacket last night... no pictures yet as I don't have any buttons- I have high hopes of getting all that handled this weekend. It's big. Definitely a jacket, which is what I was hoping for, but it is big. The sweater is a little bulky across the chest and under the armpits, and the sleeves are too long, and the neck is too wide. Mr. C has suggested (in layman's terms) to try to full or felt it a little to shrink it down a tad.... Still mulling that over. I will probably get a lot of use out of this sweater as it is, but a little smaller/firmer would be great. I'm just nervous about felting it too much and ending up with a miniature bulletproof sweater that I can't get over my shoulders....

Any suggestions?

Pictures! Finally!

The iPhone camera is pretty good. Even though I don't have any mode, flash, focus, or color adjustment power, I can still take pictures.

I've knit a few more squares for the mitered blanket- here's what they look like so far.









Here's my finished Monkeys:



And another finished Baby Yoda:



YAY! Knitting!

Celebrity Knitwear Sighting!

Yesterday as I was driving out of downtown, I saw a Tangled Yoke Cardigan! It was knit in the beautiful bright green color of tweed, probably Rowan Felted Tweed. I tried to get the knitter's attention so I could compliment her sweater, but she had her iPod headphones on and didn't hear me. Then I reached in to my purse to get my camera, but the light changed and I had to go.

That's the first time something like that has ever happened to me- what a rush!

Whew!

After finding out my good news last week, I went on a weeeeeeeee bit of a shopping spree. The spoils continue to arrive and delight.

First up, Mr. C got an iPhone earlier in the summer, and it is AWESOME. So, I got one as a "YAY I GET TO BE A LAWYER AND MAKE LOTS OF MONEY ifievergetarealjob" reward. I heart my iPhone.

The iPhone has a camera, which means photos! on the blog! someday! Darn Daylight Savings Time- all decent light is gone by the time I get home from work, and there is no flashy on the otherwise perfect iPhone, so pictures will have to wait until either 1. weekend or 2. I get up early enough to do it before work.... So..... see you this weekend???

My other splurgy purposes were of the fibery variety. Hill Country Weavers had the Habu Scarf Kit with stainless steel and merino wool, so I picked one up!

(Photo from habu's website)

There are some gorgeous examples of this in the blogosphere- here and here, for example, plus on Ravelry- here and here.

I also got a skien of Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn in Fire. It's wonderful.

This firey red must be on my mind because of the Yarn Harlot's socks, because I have been stalking the Hazel Knits Etsy Shop in hope of scoring some of the Sailor's Delight colorway. And I did. WOOHOO! Should be arriving this week- will definitely let you know how fabulous it is.

The last bit of yarn booty has already arrived and is even better than I could have imagined. I treated myself to three skiens of Sunshine Yarns sock yarn. I got the Twist Sock Yarn in Costa Rica, Soft Handpainted Sock Yarn in Orange Crush, and Wool/Silk Sock Yarn in It's Cold Outside. Holy Guacamole, this stuff is gorgeous. Each colorway is a different type of yarn (that was intentional! I'm so smart!) and I can't wait to dig right in to each. YUMMY YARN.

I am knitting.... I'm almost 2/3 of the way done with my sunrise circle jacket, and I'm cautiously optimistic that the sizing will work out. I wish I had this one done already so I could wear it! It's cool here right now- mid 50s this morning- but we're supposed to be back up in the mid-80s by this weekend. Ugh.

HALELUJAH!

I have PASSED the Texas Bar Exam. WOOT!

For some reason, I want to hurl. But it's a GOOD kind of hurl. :-)

AURGH

So I'm knitting the Sunrise Circle Jacket (warning-PDF!!!!) from Interweave, Spring 2006. I really like it so far- hopefully it'll turn out well.

The back is done, and so far the sizing is spot on, even though I couldn't get gauge with the Cascade 220.

I had almost finished the left sleeve- knit from wrist to shoulder- when I realized that I had cast on for the smallest size, not the largest (which, naturally, is the size I'm knitting.)

AAAAAURGH. An entire SLEEVE, which is misery anyway, down the tubes. Blech. Naturally, I ripped it out and am now 4 inches into the second sleeve. Except that it's really the first sleeve.

Kill me now.

Happy Birthday to Mom!

My Mom's birthday was on Sunday, and I went home to NM to celebrate!

We spent Friday in Santa Fe, including a very short walk through the not-yet-fully-changing aspens up near the ski area.





The walk was short because (1) I'm no longer used to 10,000 feet above sea level and (2) it started raining. Apparently the short, cold rain was just what the aspens needed- a friend called Sunday morning to say how gloriously golden everything was on the mountain.

I try not to give too many hand-knitted gifts to family and friends. While the gifts are appreciated, I think that most people don't care as much as I do and would just as soon have something else. But this year, all Mom got was hand-knitted goodness- because she has shamelessly dropped hints about wanting these two specific things.

I managed to finish the fingerless gloves as my plane landed in Albuquerque. A little too close for comfort, but they were done nonetheless. A perfect fit, and a bit hit!



This is my own mish-mash pattern based on the wonderful glove article in Interweave Knits Winter 2003. The yarn is Louet Gems Opal, navy blue.

I also gave Mom the Cherry Scarf Redux. She liked mine so much that I'm rather surprised I was able to get out of New Mexico with it when I moved in May!



Also a big hit.

I really enjoyed being back in NM for a few fall days. The weather was really cool and crisp, a perfect hint of winter. It's still in the mid-90s in Austin, so that kind of weather is not yet on the horizon here. Sigh.

Ok, NO. And a new yarn store.

Yeah. The whole two circulars thing doesn't work for me at ALL. I ripped out the little progress I made on the fingerless gloves and am now almost done with the pair using my trusty old DPNs. It was a nice thought, but I'll take five pointy sticks over a pair of circulars ANY DAY.

I finished my Monkeys, and I'm just not in love. Very "Meh." I think they'll be a perfect Christmas present for my Dad's wife, though- and I know she'll appreciate them. The camera is still shot, so until C and I can coordinate a photo shoot with his iPhone camera, I can't share them with you!

In other news, Austin has been blessed with two new yarn stores in the last three weeks! Craziness! I stopped by Gauge Knit on their opening weekend. This looks like it's going to be a great store. Everything is organized by, you guessed it, gauge. The space is really hip and modern, and it looks like they'll be offering some good classes. I also stopped by The Knitting Nest on Friday, and had a little credit card incident. Stacy, the owner, has in stock at least one full pack of every single color of Cascade 200- talk about a wall of color! Well, she had full packs till I bought almost all of the charcoal grey. She also has the worsted and DK weights of Peace Fleece, which I hadn't seen in person yet- very nice- and is waiting on a massive Lorna's Laces order. Gauge Knits is really close to my house, and the Knitting Nest is on the other side of the universe, but both are great additions to the local knit scene, and I'm sure I'll be back at both stores sooner than I want to admit. :-)

Outstanding books on the way!!!!

I am such a sucker for good knitting books, and it looks like this fall is going to be a gangbuster season for gorgeous books....

I just ordered Jane Brockett's "The Gentle Art of Domesticity from amazon.co.uk- it doesn't look like it's available in the US yet. Jane Brockett writes the amazing yarnstorm blog, which is visually stunning. Her color sense and general aesthetic is fantastic- I cannot WAIT for this book to get here. I don't know how much knitting will be in this book, but frankly, I don't care.


Kaffe Fassett fans rejoice! Not only does the master of color have a new line of sock yarn out, he has knit again! I've got a couple of his other books (Kaffe Fassett's Pattern Library: Over 190 Creative Knitwear Designs and Family Album) and they're great. I'm curious to see the new book and all the color goodness it surely contains!


This book, Pretty Knits, is apparently patterns from Loop, a fantastic yarn store I visited when I was in London in 2005. The cover alone is enough to make me want the book.


Again, a serious case of Rowanphilia and cover photo love makes this book virtually mine.

Socks(ish) on two circs?

Last year I knit a pair of fingerless gloves for my Mom out of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. She owns an estate-sale business and frequently finds herself in under-heated houses, storage units, and warehouses in the colder months. She also suffers arthritis in her hand bones (so sad for my knitting future, but that's another story). She wanted something warm and cozy that would still let her use her hands to rifle through buried treasure, and whatever I came up with had to be machine washable.

Interweave Knits did an article called "Gloves Made Easy" in its Winter 2003 issue- the first I ever bought! The article is eeeeexcellent- describes basic glove anatomy, how to do several different types of gussets, etc. I knit a pair of fingerless gloves based on the pattern in the article, and they turned out GREAT- good fit, perfect yarn, right color, all around a great project.

Until they got lost. The gloves got left at a friend's house, then put into a Christmas gift bag and returned to my Mom, and sadly thrown out Christmas morning in an attempt to clean up after the grandkids' Christmas Morning Messtacular. An honest mistake, and Mamacita feels HORRIBLE.

But she wants another pair. :-) So, I picked up some Louet Gems in the sport weight at one of Austin's new yarn stores (Gauge Knit, http://gaugeknit.com/). It's perfect. But I thought I'd teach myself a new trick, instead of facing a whole lot of stockinette. I decided to do them on two circular needles....

I'm using the tutorial at http://www.socknitters.com/2circs/index.htm, and it is excellent. But can I just say that this is really hard?? I've got the hang of it now, but dayum- I never would have discovered that I love to knit socks if I had started this way. I can see myself using it for plain stockinette socks so that I can avoid toes/legs of different lenghts, but otherwise I think I'll stick with my handy DPNs.

No pictures. Bummer.

Mr. C and I both have Canon Powershot A70 cameras. Mine started acting up a year ago, and finally died in March. Now Mr. C's appears to be on the fritz, in the same way mine did. So sad. Looks like we probably need to look at a new digital camera. I really like the Canons, but I don't like how quickly they stop working.

In other news, it's Friday! I'm glad I'm only working 4 days a week right now- it's a nice transition from nothing to do all day into working again. Unfortunately, I'm spending today doing laundry and cleaning- it's a little scary around the house! This will probably be my routine for the next few weeks. I'd rather clean and organize on Fridays than spend weekend time doing it.

As predicted, my knitting pace has slowed. I've got 2/3 of the second Monkey sock done, and it probably would have been finished if I hadn't been at work during the day.

I was worried this spring and early summer that my interest in knitting was waning, but that appears to have passed. Meg teased me earlier this week because I have 142 projects queued on Ravelry. There are some great projects out there right now!

The new Interweave Knits is great- I know everyone has reviewed it already, but there are several projects I'm interested in. I'm thinking about making the Tangled Yoke Cardigan out of the Green Mountain Spinnery New Mexico Organic yarn reviewed in Knitter's Review this week. The original pattern calls for Rowan Felted Tweed, but I don't much like alpaca (gasp!) and alpaca is So. Hot. that I'd never wear it in central Texas. (As if pure wool is better- yes, I am delusional.) I also really like the Placed Cable Aran, Dickinson Pullover, Tyrolean Stockings, Minimalist Cardigan, Cinnabar Pullover, Cobblestone Pullover, Snowflake Socks, William Street Socks, and Ambrosia Socks. Speaking of the Ambrosia socks- go check out Meg's recently finished pair! They're gorgeous, and make my fingers itch to catch on.

I am also more impressed with the new Knitty, which has failed to catch my interest for a couple of issues. Muir is gorgeous, and may be in my future as a stash burner. I find Henry quite charming- I see us with lots of quality time together this winter. Again, potentially a stash burner for me, though I liquidated my 4-ply stash over the summer via eBay. I definitely plan to make the Back to Basics Socks- interesting construction, but still basic socks. I also really like Roam, Neiman, Mr. Greenjeans, Totally Autumn, and the Diamond Waffle Socks.
The Foliage patterns are interesting, too- a friend here collects knitted beanies, and I'm thinking about making one of these, or the famous Shedir cabled hat (PDF! and scroll down) for her, as I already have a ball of Calmer sitting in el stash to use on that pattern.

Be sure you stop by Rebecca's blog and encourage her to keep blogging when she gets back to Australia- she and her husband are moving back home after spending 3 years in Albuquerque.

Sorry for the lack of images- I'm not sure when I'll get around to figuring out what's going on with the cameras. What a pain!

Good Day.

Job is good. Nice to have some structure to my days. I get to take Fridays off- WOOT! I'm missing the knitting already, but that'll happen in the evenings. And Mr. C has a TON of soccer games to referee in the coming weeks, so there's plenty of three plus hour stretches of knitting....

Made the switch

I subscribe to a lot of blogs.

A LOT of blogs.

Knitting blogs, legal blogs, foodie blogs, home decoration blogs, technology blogs....

I had been using Bloglines to manage my subscriptions, but it was pretty cumbersome and sometimes just didn't work. (one post showing up several times, some posts not showing up at all....)

I just switched to Google Reader, and I like it a lot. The interface is a lot easier to use. I do wish I could save posts the way I did in Bloglines, but it seems that feature will be going away with Bloglines Beta, and it's easy enough to use del.icio.us instead.

Albuquerque Wedding Vendor Reviews

Hopefully this is the last wedding-related post I'll write. :-) (all photos copyright Ginger Russell unless otherwise noted).

I had a really hard time finding information about New Mexico wedding vendors online when I was planning my wedding. I managed to find really fantastic people to work with, and want to make sure other people can find them, too!

We had our reception at the Albuquerque Museum. It's a beautiful space and we were generally really happy with them. The staff isn't very accomodating- we had a close call on scheduling (they had a lecture for 25 people scheduled to end about an hour and a half before our reception was scheduled to start, and they refused to do anything to make our reception setup easier). If you use Stefani at City Treats as your caterer, though, you can get around some of the Museum staff issues.




(this is not a Ginger Russell photo)


(this is not a Ginger Russell photo)

Speaking of Stefani and City Treats, LOVE THEM!!!!! I cannot say enough wonderful things about Stefani and her staff. The food was awesome, there was a TON of extra food, they managed to get tables, chairs, and complicated table decorations for 180 people set up in a REALLY SHORT amount of time, and her prices were the best in town. The staff was incredibly professional. Stefani also does events outside the Museum- if you need a caterer anywhere in Albuquerque, USE STEFANI. You will not be disappointed.




(this is not a Ginger Russell photo)

Melba of Melba's Floral Studio did our flowers, and they were beautiful. We kept things somewhat simple, using mostly white tulips (spring wedding), but everything Melba did was gorgeous and very reasonably priced.






Ginger Russell was our wedding photographer, and we are really happy with the work she did. Ginger is a delight to work with, and she really captured the feeling of our day. She lives up in Santa Fe, and her prices were good- not cheap, but far less than other photographers who specialize in the journalistic style we were hoping for and only slightly more expensive than the blah photo factories that everyone in Albuquerque seems to choose. We're working on putting the album together right now, and I am really excited to see it. Ginger's work is really wonderful- check out her blog- she does portraits and non-wedding photography as well.

We hired Jim Gross of Carousel of Music as our DJ. He was fantastic. EVERYONE, from age 8 to 70, had a great time dancing, and several people commented that he was playing all of their favorite songs. I even had people call me after the wedding to ask for the playlists because they loved the music so much. Each of Jim's DJs are also talented musicians who play live music (included in the package price) for an hour during dinner or cocktails- Jim plays classical guitar and was wonderful. Jim also had the best prices in town.

Finally, we rented a limo, but not just any limo- we got a 1956 Chevy Imperial Limo from Monty at Imperial Limos. He's a gas, and the car was fantastic.




(this is not a Ginger Russell photo)
If you're planning a wedding in Albuquerque or Santa Fe, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have- there aren't a lot of internet resources for New Mexico wedding vendors and I'm happy to share my research and thoughts if you'll find it useful!


(albuquerque, new mexico, wedding, vendor, venue, caterer, reception, photographer, flowers, dj, limo)

The end of an era?

Remember yesterday when I posted about how much knititng I'm getting done without a pesky job to get in my way?

Well. This era of extreme knitting productivity appears to be at an end already- I start a part time job doing legal research for a small firm on MONDAY. It's a great opportunity to get my feet wet with a local firm and to start learning Texas law without committing to a full time gig just yet. Even though this position could potentailly become a full time lawyer job, I plan to continue the networking I've started so I can develop a better understanding of who's who in this town's crowded legal market. It never hurts to get to know people in your field, especially when you don't have many contacts in a new town!

I'm excited, nervous, and a little disappointed that my leisurely days are over. But I know it's time for me to get started and I'm looking forward to the challenges down the road.

My only question is- what should I wear?!?!?

Freaky Finishing

I tell ya, this whole unemployed housewife thing is really good for the knitting! Notsogood for the income, but great for feeling like I'm getting SOMETHING done....

In the last week, I've made two baby hats from stash yarn:



This little guy is based on the hat formula in Ann Budd's "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns," and used up roughly one ball's worth of leftover Lion Brand Microspun. This yarn is incredibly soft, but DANG is it splitty.



This hat is also based on Ann Budd's hat formula, with different decreases at the top. I was going for an elf hat thing, and it didn't quite work out.... Ooops! This one used up leftovers of Manos del Uruguay that were gifted to me when I first started knitting- probably 150 yards worth?

I also finished my Cherry Scarf Redux over the weekend. The scarf itself was finished back in December or January, and I had put off making the pom poms and leaves. Mr. C and I drove to Arkansas so he could referee a game in Fayetteville on Sunday, so I was a captive in the car and had plenty of time to finish this up! I'm so glad I did- now it's done in plenty of time for the recipient's birthday at the end of this month!!!



While the leaves on this one are way better than the one on mine, the stems look kinda spastic.... Oh well!

RIP, Onde Tank

I pulled this lovely out of the trunk of my car yesterday*:



Yep, that's my hideous tank top made out of the Phildar Phil'Onde yarn that was all the rage back in 2004. This may have been the first garment I ever knit, and it shows. I recognized last spring that this tank just didn't work, but didn't rip it out for some reason.

Yesterday I got a bee in my bonnet about this thing and ripped it out. I think I'm going to turn it in to a birthday present/summer sweater of some kind for my niece, who will be three years old in May.

It felt really good to rip this thing out.....

*I'm not sure how this ended up in my trunk- I think I was trying to leave it in my Mom's garage when I moved back to Austin in May, but she must have stuck it in the trunk right before I pulled out.

Haven't You Always Wanted a MonKEY?

Yes, I have succumbed to the recent Cookie A sock pattern madness and started a pair of Monkey socks.

I've had a hard time getting into the pattern. I reworked the numbers so that I don't run in to too-small-sock syndrome, and my math was off the first time. I had to knit the cuff 3 times before I finally got it going. Then I was struggling to knit with my chosen needles (Crystal Palace bamboo 1 dpns), but that went away when I cleaned the needles- the accumulated use-grime was creating too much drag which made the knitting miserable. Now that things are moving along more smoothly, I think I'll enjoy this more....



Picture was taken two days ago- I just finished the leg on the first sock.



It's hard to capture this shade of Trekking- it's much more rich than it appears.

The best in the world

I don't think I ever told you about the Best Matron of Honor Ever, or the Best Bridal Shower Ever that she threw for me.

Katie (my bestest law school bud) hosted a fabulous law school friend shower back in March. We had incredible food, fantastic games, and lingerie galore. Good times. As if that weren't enough, Katie made incredible party favors- a knit hat, complete with appliquéd felt flower, for each of the 20 guests.



Not only did she get a picture of the hats, she got a picture of the guests WEARING their hats!



Yes, Katie is awesome. It was the best, most thoughtful shower ever.

New York (mini) Yarn Crawl

As Meg hinted, we did escape the wilderness one day in search of new yarn. Not like either of us need it, but hey! it's what fiber addict friends who live in different states do whenever they're together!!!

Meg started the trip off perfectly by brining be a skien of Socks That Rock, color Rhodonite, as a thanks-for-spending-a-week-with-me present. As if! Seeing Meg was treat enough!



Our first stop on the yarn crawl was Lonesome Landing in Saranac Lake. Cute town, cute store, cute owner. Things were a little disorganized, but there was interesting yarn, out of print books, and a great deal on Opal sock yarn ($11!!!!) I brought home this darling, after Meg spotted me the cash to make the purchase- if you go to Lonesome Landing, be forewarned that they only accept cash and checks!



Our next stop was Adirondack Yarns in Lake Placid. Cute town, cuter store, cutest staff! I really liked this place- clean, bright, well organized, and you could see everything! There's also an adjoining coffeeshop/bakery with tables and chairs- very nice. We walked in the door approximately 5 minutes after their shipment of Fleece Artist sock yarn came in, so naturally I brought home some of that, too!



I also impulsively bought a ball of subtly varied blue/green merino sock yarn called Sol Joy by Catalina Yarns. It's yummy, and I think it's going to become the Denmark Socks from Nancy Bush's "Knitting On The Road."

One more wedding picture....

We're sorting through pictures to figure out what goes in the album.... I think this is my favorite.



Photo Copyright Ginger Russell.

Ravelry!

I got my invite to Ravelry yesterday! Good stuff. I can see myself spending LOTS of time here in the coming days, weeks, months.... :-)

If you're on, or when you get on, stop by and say hello! I'm "womanobsessed" as always.

WHEEEEE!

Well Rested

Just got back to Austin from my restorative week in the Adirondack Mountains with Meg. It was an incredible time- wonderful to see her, great to get to know her family, and fun to hike around in the mountains.

A few pictures:









I also finished the Embossed Leaves socks! What a fast knit....



Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt, as printed in "Favorite Socks"
Yarn: Koigu Premium Merino in a gorgeous variegated pale minty green
Needles: Crystal Palace Bamboo #2 DPNS (the short ones)

My own personal madness

I read each and every post January Onewrote about hermadness like I had been infected with mitre fever. The color was absolutely astounding, and all I knew was that I wanted some, too.


Tahki Cotton Classic, with flash and dog paw

Everyone on my side of the family struggles with addictive behaviors. We are all into different stuff, and we all cope with it differently. My stuff comes out in knitting and eating. (Better than drugs, right?)


Tahki Cotton Classic, without flash

I'm ready to start my own personal madness now. I don't have my scheme yet, but am thinking about how I'm going to structure the madness. Cara's post about the rules (in the middle of the post) is kinda what I'm going for- something to give this project structure while letting creativity flow.

FO in Action

After living in a closet since its completion, my mitered square rug has finally found a home in our kitchen!



All our smaller appliances are red Kitchen Aid (love the wedding registry) and we've got red and aqua dish towels. The rug is finally at home!

There's nothing like Koigu in the morning...

Today I cast on for another pair of socks.



Embossed Leaves Socks, from Favorite Socks. Koigu KPM 23521, Brittany Birch size 3 needles.

I know everyone and their dog has made these socks, but I am really excited about making my first pair.

Six month sock, Six day sock

I finally finished a knitted object- I think this is the first of 2007 (gah- can that be true?)

I give you navy blue socks.



Pattern: basic 3x1 rib top down with short row heels and toes.
Yarn: Greenwood Fiberworks, stretchy cotton sock yarn
Needles: size 1 alumninum

The one on the right took six months, the one on the left took six days. The six months were filled with wedding planning, getting married, finishing law school, moving to Texas, studying for and taking the bar exam.... The six days were filled with... knitting. Aaaah, the good life.

I liked working with this yarn, though my tension was not consistent at all. I've never knit with an elasticized cotton before, so I'm sure that's most of the problem.

After kitchnering up the toe this morning, I wound a bunch of yarn for my next two projects. Yay!

And, even BETTER, is that it looks like I get to see MEG soon! WOO HOOOOOOOOO!

Hallelujah!

I survived the bar exam. Damn near had a heart attack on essay day, but managed to live to tell the tale. I know I missed a few things on the essays, and that I fudged answers to a couple of the procedure and evidence questions, but all in all, I feel good. Optimistic even. Too bad I have 93 days until I get the results. Ugh.

Mr. C took me out to dinner on Thursday night, and it was wonderful. Nothing too fancy, just the two of us getting a chance to reconnect after weeks of me being holed up in my office. I was finally able to have a conversation, instead of identifying stupid legal issues that related to things he said. I swear the bar was like first year all over again, when we would run around campus trying to figure out if mom promising to do my laundry during finals constituted a unilateral contract or not.... This test made us all stupid again.

Friday and Saturday were rainy, perfect for spending curled up with Harry Potter. Which is exactly what I did. J.K. Rowling is an incredible storyteller, and the characters are incredibly compelling. Makes me want to reread the entire series. Since I am a Lady of Leisure now, I may do that.

I don't have a job lined up, so my days are more or less free. I'm getting my eyes checked this afternoon for the first time since law school started. I expect a massive change of prescription, as all that reading wreaked havoc on my poor little eyeballs. I'm trying to finish getting unpacked, cleaning this bachelor-ish pad into a more habitable abode. I also need to remove the 10 pounds I gained while studying for the bar (and hopefully a few more) while I search for a job.

Life is good. I'm so glad this dumb test is behind me. Whew!

Still life with book and cat

This is my world these days:





It could be a lot worse, but I am ready for this bar exam to be over.

The good news is: I will be COMPLETELY FREE! FREE AS A BIRD! as of 5:00 pm one week from today.

Hurrah!

This is SO ME!

Cartoon by Dave Walker.