Finishing Up

My time here in Ames is running out. In a few weeks I'll be moving on to Iowa City. I've been trying to start sorting my belongings, deciding what goes to Iowa City, what goes back to my parent's house, and what just needs to go. I've also been trying to tie up some loose ends project-wise. The dress I made for a coworker's new daughter is finished, and waiting for C. to return to work so I can give it to her.

I think the flower buttons are the perfect complement to the color and attitude of the dress. I also recently finished my second-ever weaving project, the pink scarf on the left. I'm proud to say the the mistakes get less and less frequent as you move down the length of the scarf, and that I had a blast making it. Weaving moves so much more quickly than knitting, and a quick (if not instant) gratification project made in spring colors has perked up my April. I am also please to inform you that the gloves on the right are finally complete, and Kimberly has finally received her Christmas present.

Currently in progress I have a narrow baby-blanket, sized for carseat or stroller use on the loom. A sock to complete my first hand-made pair, and a wool biking sweater for my brother. The Baby blanket seems the most urgent, so it's on the agenda for today. At a rate of 2 in/5 min I have much more confidence in my ability to finish weaving projects in a timely manner.

Poking a bruise

I work a heart-wrenching job. I watch people lose loved ones to disease, dementia, and depression. I watch people lose everything: freedom, ability, communication, comprehension. It is my job to make the suckiest situations suck a little less. I leave my work week physically and emotionally exhausted. So what is it that makes me, at the end of this work week, choose to write a research paper on Dementia, only to discover, once again, just how hopeless this disease is?

Domestic Bliss

After a day spent thoroughly cleaning and sorting my bedroom, taking clothing to a consignment store, taking rejects to goodwill, and returning the recycling, I am rewarding myself with a grilled shrimp & spinach salad, drenched in bacon vinaigrette. Also, cornbread hot out of the oven, baked in a cast iron skillet. It tastes fantastic.

Work stories

Sometimes my job is a hoot. For example, last night I had the following exchange with an elderly man, James*.

Me: "It's time to start getting ready for bed James, can you brush your teeth?"

James: "I like when you call me James because James is a man's name, and when you call me James I know that you know that I am a man."

Me: ....

In other exciting work news, Mrs. Neva Morris is now the oldest person in the US, and the second oldest person in the world! We're very glad she's still around, and thankful for her humor and good cheer. See the news article and a video here: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20103090359

*named changed so HIPPA doesn't come after me.

Reading Material

I love "Year of..." books. Books like Barbara Kingslover's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," or my most recent literary acquisition, "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible" by A.J. Jacobs. I like that someone else commits to a daunting task, and then tells me about it, so I don't have to.

In "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" a family commits to eating only local food. This involves learning to do things themselves, or do without. Their story is insightful, comic, and motivating. Did you know you can make cheese? In a kitchen. In your kitchen. The book is rife with fun facts and hilarious anecdotes, and I highly recommend it as winter-into-spring reading. Prepare yourself for garden-lust.

Today, I picked up "The Year of Living Biblically." I'm only a few dozen pages

in, but the story of an agnostic mentally, physically, and spiritually embracing a literal translation of the Bible, is both humorous, and moving. He hires a shatnez inspector to clear his closet of cotton/wool blends, he learns how to pray, he grows a truly epic beard, and he drives his wife nuts. I appreciate his respectful approach, and that he can still laugh at himself. Mostly, however, I appreciate that he wrote it down, so that I can share in the experience, while sitting in my armchair, wearing cotton/poly blend, drinking milk with my ham sandwich.

Zombification...76% complete

After 17 hours at work, I'm a little fried, but I'm $200ish richer, and the baby dress is a few inches longer. So we'll call it a wash. Six hours later, and it's time to head back for more. Is this commitment, or just dumb? Also, Alzheimer's unit tonight, look forward to STORIES.

Filler post

I have five minutes before midnight to come up with a post. I don't want to fail at my goal on the second day, but interesting topics are not forthcoming, and time is short. Perhaps tomorrow I will write my post before work, not after. I will leave you with a picture of me, and an elephant.

Blog-a-day? Oy Vey.

A new goal for at least the next couple months is a short blog-a-day. A what's-the-haps sort of thing. Today is a knitting/homework sort of day. I currently have 5 projects in the works, but my favorite by far is a sweet little dress for a co-worker's baby, due in a couple of weeks. The pattern is Little sister's dress. I love the boldness of the brown and red colors, a deviation from baby pastels.