right now i am knitting like a crazy person in hopes that i will finish my sweater in time to wear it this fall.
oh wait, who am i kidding...it will be comfortably wearable for at least the next ten months.
and, actually, would have been comfortably wearable every day this summer except for a few days last week.

the experience of knitting it has been fun, and i have discovered a few things about myself:
i get motion sickness if i try to knit and watch a movie at the same time.
i understand why people pay $70 for a premade sweater [although it is, of course, about the experience, not the ultimate cost].
if i was selling this thing when i was done it would be perfectly fair to charge at least $400.

soon i will have a new, grey, hooded, cable sweater.
hooray!

i think this whole new habit thing might actually be cultivating an addiction.
although, what's the difference, really?

i am trying to start a habit.
i read that it takes 21 days to establish a habit.
as in, if a person does something for at least 15 minutes for 21 days straight, by the end of the 21 days it will seem strange to our complicated little minds to not do it.

so i am trying to make myself start running consistently again if my ankles and knees will have it.
since moving from mpls i haven't been keeping up with running very well [oh, how i miss the trails along the mississippi river].
it really helps to be moved into town where i have choices beyond:
1. run on the highway
2. run on croftville

i am on day three.
we will see how this goes.

it also necessitated buying new running shows b-c i am long overdue for a new pair.
they should come next week, and hopefully they don't suck like the asics gel 3000s did.
[the new, improved version of the gel empires you say? rubbish.]

here's the thing about deadlines.
they suck.

but they are a fantastic motivator.
often i get pushed right up against them--like really, uncomfortably close, to the point my nose starts to flatten a bit.
but after i finish up whatever it is, i feel like i could just about fly.

i am all moved.
it took a very stressful weekend, but it's done.

...

i feel like i can breathe again.

i have room.
i can't see my whole entire living space from one spot.

there is light.
the walls and ceiling are not pine-paneled and therefore do not suck up every ounce of light that enters.

it feels like home.
i am not even all unpacked yet and it feels like home.

it inspires me.
there are projects i want to do--can do there.
i have even started a list!
after 1.5 years of living at my old house, i never once felt inspired to work on anything.

...

and it took getting out of my old space to realize all this.
with that perspective i realize my old house has something off about it--something lifesucking and uncomfortable.

i am so glad i am no longer there.

yesterday i read snakebit by leslie anthony.
we got a review copy, and i decided for once i would actually read a book before writing the review.
it's this guy's memoir--he's a herpetologist--and it was great reading for a 65+ degree day on the deck.
[it also reminded me about how one year i wanted to be a jesus lizard for halloween. how do kids come up with this stuff?]
i recommend it--a good dose of reptilian science with anecdotes that entertain, but make me glad i don't chase snakes for a living.

i am going to knit a sweater.
it will be my first "big" project since matt's mittens [scarves don't count anymore].
i'll post pictures when i'm done, but according to the blogs of myriads of other people who have knitted the same one, it should turn out fine.
it's a hooded cardigan with cables, pretty darn cute i think.
it will be nice to have a project again!

we sent out the pdfs for the sailing brochures yesterday.
i must say, it's a bit of an improvement over last year's.
[take that, mean marketing lady. we don't need you.]
they're trifold brochures, so you have to imagine them folded, but here they are...

this is the front (far right), back (middle) and inside right flap (left)



and here's the inside:



not too shabby, eh?
kind of makes you want to hop on the boat and head out onto lake superior.

and last of all, here's a good pic of yesterday.
reading snakebit after a 23-mile bike ride on our first real summery day.
and i've got a sunburn to prove it--the awesome burnt legs below the bike shorts look. hooray.
[you've got to enjoy those days while you can. today it's gray and like 40 degrees].