Knitting Cybrarian

Traveling light?

I've found myself looking at luggage reviews a lot lately.  It probably started when my husband bought me a wonderful knitting bag for our anniversary/Christmas/Hanukkah:  The Tom Bihn Swift.  I LOVE this bag.  It's light, holds tons of goods, but is manageable.  And because it holds so much, I have to clean it out pretty regularly (receipts, etc.) and I use it as my purse.

I traveled to Chicago for almost a week in February, and I used the Swift as my purse then, which was great.  But what wasn't great?  I took my hardsided suitcase (called R2D2 by the airport staff), and wound up having to pull it up 1.5 flights of stairs at the Grant St. metro stop.  That's right folks, NO elevator.  Stairs only.  Ugh.  Lots of folks asked me if I needed help.  I thanked them, but no.  And I hauled that beast up the stairs.  While the wheels helped, it was still a heavy sucker.  I just checked eBags, and Samsonite's updated model of that bag weighs 17lbs.  Unpacked.

Ergh.  No wonder I'm always pushing the airline weight limit when I use that bag.  By the time I put in clothing (and yes, I make careful choices), my music (if I've got gigs on the other end), and a couple of pairs of shoes (those dang size 12s take up a lot of room), I've got quite a bit.  But this time when I *unpacked* at home, I noticed I had 2 shirts I hadn't worn, the swimsuit I took but didn't use, and the knitting project I took but didn't need because I didn't finish the other project I brought.  Hm.  Oh yeah, and maybe another item or two that I didn't touch.  Hmmmm.

So I'm rethinking things for longer trips.  When I'm going on a short trip, I either use my husband's bag (a cloth one made out of some rugged backpack type material) or a small rollerbag.  But for a longer trip of a week or so?  I'm thinking about what else Tom Bihn has to offer.  I've been looking at the Aeronaut, which converts into a backpack when needed.  I've also been reading sites like OneBag. 

I usually travel 3-6 times a year now.  I used to travel 5-10 times a year when I served on my professional association's board of directors.  And while I don't anticipate traveling that often in the immediate future, I also don't want to haul that danged large suitcase up 1.5 flights of stairs.

So, dear 2.4 readers, what is your preferred luggage method for travel?  Advice?

Oh, and I got a Tom Bihn Ristretto bag today and the wallet.  Can't wait to try them out!

Happy spring -- things may be warming up for the season here at last!

Thursday musings

I'm going to attempt going back to work today.  I still sniffle, cough, etc., but it's much less than earlier in the week.  Go meds!  I hope my voice holds up.

This morning I leafed through the pages of the most recent J. Jill catalog.  I don't order from them too often ($$), but I love the styles.  I think I found what really appealed to me, though.  The photos showed a lovely spring day -- not too bright, but spring still (which won't be here for quite a while).  The women look lovely in the clothes.  Comfortable.  Effortless.  Glowing, but not too.  Confident.  They don't have too much makeup on (which appeals to my minimalist aesthetic).  The hair styling looks to be fairly natural (illusion, but still).  The children are always clean and smiling (a few are included in select photos).  The rooms are clutter and dust free.

All in all, it seems like a big slice of a life I'd like to have.

Yes, as I've gone through 2+ boxes of tissues in less than a week (haven't broken my prior record, though), have scaly skin on my face (from the 2+ boxes of tissues), and no matter what I have in my closet, I still go back to black knit pants, black knit top, and my beloved alpaca sweater that although clean, needs a trim (to get rid of the pilling).  Oh, yeah, and my Birks.  We won't discuss the cat hair.

I look at this page (if the link doesn't work, it's the lower left hand back cover image), and I think  "Oh, tulips!  A lovely comfy sweater with a rosy pink!  Ah, spring!"  And then I remember that I don't look so great in pink.

But hey, I can dream.

The fall of the year

That's how my dad would refer to this time of year.  I've noticed a change in my senses the last week.  When I pull something from the oven, the heat feels good, and I linger a moment to let the warmth sink in.  When I run the water for my morning shower, I can smell the warmth, and it smells wonderful.

This morning when I work up, I noticed the house temperature is 62.  I grabbed a polarfleece throw.  It's time to wear wool and enjoy both the cool weather and snuggling into wool.  Time to knit lots of socks!

couldn't have said it better myself

Where are the honeybees?

White clover is blooming everywhere in Kansas City.  I especially notice it growing between the sidewalk and the curb on the street near the Studio.  I park close to the curb, but not too close so I can gingerly step on the green strip, now adorned with white clover.  We also have patches in our lawn.

I wear sandals all the time these days, so I rely on childhood habits; I look carefully before I step in the white clover, having been stung several times while walking in the clover.  Tonight it hit me.  There are no honeybees.  None at all.  I stand on the sidewalk, looking across the lawn of grass with clouds of white clover in front of the elementary school across the street from the Studio.  There should be buzzing, and there should be little bees flying like mad among the white clover blooms. 

There's nothing.  No bees.  Ants on the sidewalk, but no bees.  I check again after I've closed up the shop and approach my car.  No bees.

When I get home, I pull the car into the garage and check out flower plot out front.  No bees.  I look at the white clover patches in our lawn.  No bees.

I think back to my childhood in Virginia and I'm searching my memory banks -- how early do the bees come out to pollinate?  Tough question to answer.  I'm thinking they're usually out and about in early May, as soon as things are blooming.  I just checked the University of Missouri extension web site, and if you are starting a bee hive, you want to start it in April when the bees become active.

Perhaps I'm worrying too much.  I did see a bumblebee over the weekend, so I know the bees are out now.  I'll watch our prairie garden this weekend.  I hope I'll see some activity.

Oh, and I've been 2 groundhogs (or woodchucks) crossing roads this week.  Be on the watch and don't hit one if you can help it. 

I finally finished the birthday sweater for my niece.  Her 1st birthday is tomorrow.  It won't get to her tomorrow, but it'll still be good to wear whenever she gets it!

Oh so true

see more crazy cat pics

Why can't we

stop the madness?

It's been seven years

and I still miss you, Dad.

Vanilla spice

I'm sitting in the Charlotte airport and thanks to the joys of free Wi-Fi, am checking e-mail, blogs, and even posting to my own blog.  Whoo hoo.

Except.  I stopped by the Body Shop and was dismayed they no longer carry their Vanilla products.  It's now Vanilla Spice (the unseen Spice Girl, I wonder??) and I tried the lotion.  And now I have this shimmery sparklies all over my hand.  And now all over my laptop keyboard.  Uck. 

And my cell phone.  Ugh.

And my wallet...

Quiet for too long

It's been too long since I've posted.  Why?

• It's been hot here.  Dripping hot.  I'm so sick of the hair on the back of my head being perpetually drenched.  I'm sick of sweat dripping off of the end of my nose.  We had 3 drops of rain here this morning.  That was it.  You'd think my sweat would be enough to replenish the earth, but I can't exactly make it work for the whole yard, much less the entire NOTR area (that would be North of the River in KC parlance; not to be confused with LOTR).
• Busy.  I've worked at the Studio just about every Saturday, which means I'm pretty tired on Sundays (zzzzzz in the pm) and I've just not been too focused in the evenings.
• Hmm.  Boring?  I've knitted a second swirl hat (which did not turn out much bigger, if at all from the first swirl hat knitted for the nieceling seen here)



• I'm knitting matching booties.  Will be very cute.
• MS3.  That's Mystery Stole 3.  I'm one of the slow bees, having started the actual knitting late in the game.  But I'll catch up.  What is MS3?  A shawl designer created a Yahoo! group for the summer, and it was open for membership through early July.  Nearly 7,000 knitters signed up.  Once a week on Fridays, she posts part of the shawl pattern.  It's a mystery because no one knows the theme, and the shawl pattern parts are called "clues."  You knit along not knowing exactly what the finished shawl will look like.  The e-mail list where knitters share clues, troubleshooting, etc. has massive traffic.  I've deleted most of the messages because I just can't keep up.  Oh, and there are volunteer translators across the WORLD (yup, across the planet) who translate the written directions in various languages.  And then there are those who translate the charts into written directions.  I'm one of those knitters who loves charts, though -- it's much like reading a musical score for me.
• Work has been nuts in some ways.  The day-to-day stuff's not bad, but there's been lots of other not so fun stuff to deal with.  'Nuff said.
• Now a thought to leave with you.  When I was in Virginia, I took some time one day to do some shopping and ramble a little.  I drove over some roads I hadn't been on in say 20 years or so.   These are mountain roads, barely wide enough to accommodate two vehicles side by side, and one needs to be prepared to hug the shoulder.  Some of the roads have steep drop-offs and no guardrails (in fact several of the roads I drove on were like this).  There's just not much traffic.  Anyhow, I drove up the mountain, climbing higher and higher, and when I drove over the gap onto the other side of the mountain, the view was fabulous.  Hollers, ridges, meadows, mountains all lay out before me.  I gasped (and immediately shifted the car down a gear to save the brakes) and said aloud "why did I ever leave?"  I left because there were no job prospects for me as a musician, as an academic who wanted to be at a larger university.  And yet, seeing the view, that rip your heart, your breath out view of the land where my family lived for generations, reminded me that home is still there in Virginia, despite where I make a living, and where my music, books, and knitting are stored.  During the drive down the mountain and the rest of the drive back to my mom's house I was thinking of what Joel and I could do for a living on one of those mountainsides, and would satellite internet work well enough for me to be some kind of information broker?
• Enough for now.