Proof

Here's a photo I snapped yesterday of our home on our way out for a walk.

We moved to our log home last summer. We now live in the same small town my husband grew up in. This is the first time in my life I've lived in a place where anonymity is nearly impossible. Everyone knows everyone and the sense of community runs very, very deep.

The log home was built in the late '80s and was neglected for years when the couple who built it as a vacation home grew elderly and eventually passed away. We haven't had much in the way of time or funds to make the improvements we'd like, but that will all come with time. The house is situated on 2 1/2 acres, all of which is loosely seeded at the moment and full of potential. One of our priorities in the next week or two is to walk the land and decide where we're going to plant our vegetable garden. Then we'll place our seed orders. To say I'm looking forward to homegrown produce would be an understatement, especially after eating bland, store-bought produce this winter shipped from who-knows-where (Chile and California, mostly).

Initially I was a bit iffy about the log home thing. Log homes conjured images of dead animal heads mounted on the walls and oversized furniture upholstered with silhouettes of deer and moose. I'm really a craftsman-style or bungalow person, truth be told. But we kept visiting this cabin when it was on the market and I was drawn to the wonderful energy the home and surrounding land has. Our acreage overlooks a large park and is backed up to the park's two-acre pond. The views from our back deck are wonderful. In the end, I couldn't resist its uniqueness and beauty. So we put in a bid and made it our own.

And that's the story of our cabin.

End of an era

Last week I lost my job.

My former employer decided they wanted someone physically present at the office full-time and this wasn't something I could give them. I was given a good-bye severance package, which arrived in today's mail. The finality of it hit me when the check arrived. I worked there for almost a decade. My entire professional career is wrapped up with this company. It's so strange that it has come to an end.

I don't know what's next. For the foreseeable future, I'm going to focus on the kids and the home. Last week felt a bit like a test run--getting used to having no obligations outside of my family and getting used to being the boss of my time for a change--but now it's time to focus, plan, and get a daily groove going. I'm sort of glad this change came in the depths of winter. Winter seems like a great time of reflection--a time to cozy up with a hot cup of tea and just think, which is what I'm going to do after I post this entry.

Flapper Hat

I've started the flapper hat. What a fun knit! I hope to have a progress shot this weekend. Actually, I hope to have it completed this weekend. It's a belated holiday gift that I really need to finish, block, and get in the mail. Monday night was the monthly meeting for my son's preschool co-op and I meant to bring my knitting, but I was in a hurry when I left and completely forgot. Oh well -- it might have seemed rude to knit during the meeting. I never quite know what the etiquette is with knitting at gatherings. It seems like a benign activity, but I can see how it would also be perceived as being rude.

January is usually a slow month for me, but not this year. It's passing by so quickly. We've had unusually warm weather that is tricking me into thinking it's March (this is supposed to change on Thursday when the temps will dip down into the mid-twenties for a high). I'm doing a bit of a purge around the house, including cleaning out the pantry, wiping down the inside of the refrigerator (still to-do), cleaning out old stuff in the bathroom, and so on. I'm also doing a bit of a clothing purge, giving away all those pieces I've picked up over the past year that aren't quite right and thus always get passed up for something a bit more me. I was reading the archives at The Glass Doorknob and I love Shari's series about clothing (scroll down). I remember always having a love affair clothes. As a child I loved watching the period movies to take in all the amazing costuming. I had one girlfriend, Mandy, who shared my love of clothes and I remember spending many hours with her drawing up fashions, usually '80s-inspired, jewel-toned gowns with lots of poofs and ruffles. I remember discovering Esprit clothes in sixth grade--an age when clothes started to really get noticed in my peer group. In high school I dabbled in the gothic look and then abandoned this in college for a sloppy, somewhat androgynous appearance. (This was also when I discovered thrift store shopping, which is, to this day, one of my favorite past-times.)

These days my look is pretty basic. Jeans, fitted t-shirts, fleece, sweaters, and comfort shoes (Keens, Campers, or Dansko clogs, usually). I'd love to dress with more flare, but I live on two acres in a rural, agricultural community (where everyone is extremely casual) and my work-at-home job means I rarely leave the house. I console myself with the reminder that dream wardrobe probably wouldn't withstand my kid's messiness all that well. That said, I wouldn't mind trading in my favorite jeans and clunky clogs for some beautiful vintage pieces, a few just-below-the-knee skirts, and some feminine slip-ons more often than not.

Last night I had my hair cut--my first cut since mid-October. It was long overdue. I'm growing my hair out from a very short cut and I'm learning these maintenance cuts are so, so important. I hate to sound cliche, but I feel like a new woman.

I hope to post again this weekend with progress photos on the hat. Hope you're having a good week!

Backyard Leaves

This is my first project from the book Scarf Style (a very popular book that I adore). It's a project for a friend for an online swap and I meant to have it done in time for Christmas. Oops. Many thanks to my friend for her patience.

A bit about the project. It got off to a rough start (I read the chart wrong--like a typewriter instead of back and forth, probably because I'm used to reading charts for projects in-the-round). But once I started reading the chart correctly, it was a fast knit. I plan on making another one for myself once I get some of my WIPs off the needles. Malabrigo is delicious stuff--I can't wait to use it again.



Pattern: Backyard Leaves from Scarf Style
Yarn: Malabrigo in Marron Oscuro, 2 skeins
Needles: Denise Interchangeables, size 8 (I think?)
Started: December 31st
Finished: January 1st