Forks in the Road

So this will be a post with little knitting content. But a lot of things have been going on lately, and I thought I would post them here.

So I have been attending college and studying history, but I have been specializing in women's history, and primarily in the history of violence and rape. Not a pleasant topic, by any means.. but one that can't be forgotten, either.

And I am an activist, too. I am active at our local Planned Parenthood, and I am vice-president of the on campus Students for Choice group. So I tend to speak up about things.

The university I go to offers a Masters degree in Women's Studies. And the with that, I could teach at the local community colleges - there are tons around here. And they are clamoring for more diverse courses to be taught.

I thought I would graduate in the spring and work in social work, like at Planned Parenthood or at the YWCA. While I don't have a degree in social work, I have "street experience". And I'm still gaining it. As a social worker, though, you don't make much money.

I had an appointment with a professor, though, who said that she would like to see me get my Masters - and coincidentally, she is also head of the Masters program on campus. She said with that I could also supplement what I make working full time. I won't be making much, but I'll be doing what I love. And getting a teaching position from time to time might help make the ends meet.

So it's been pretty interesting. For a while I thought I was going to be going down one road.. graduating, working, (finally getting a spinning wheel!!!), but then a door opened that might help me grow some more. It's going to take some more thought, but it might be worth it.

My Fall TV Line Up

I noticed a number of knit-bloggers are blogging about what they watch for fall TV. And I thought I would write some stuff, too.

But we don't have a TV.

Well, I lied. We have a TV, but it's a small 13 inch TV with rabbit ears that we got from my parents for emergencies.. and to watch Lost. And it hasn't been on in months.. well, since the Season Finale of Lost. And it probably won't be on until the Season Premiere of Lost, or god forbid, there is an emergency where we need it.

Life without TV is interesting. I used to be hopelessly addicted. I never thought I could live without it. One of the first questions we get from visitors is "But where is your television?!?" Our living room set up is nice and cozy, with a stereo, the iPod speakers, bookcases, Justin's music stuff, the couches, etc.

We just kind of made the decision without any thought. You see, if we both worked full time and had the money for a nice flat screen and 5000 channels, you bet your ass we would have TV. HBO, Showtime, etc. But we don't both work (I go to school full time), and money isn't flowing freely in. And when you are stuck with 4 channels, and most of them mainstream media (which we both loathe), we just didn't watch it. We keep up on the shows we want to watch (Weeds, etc) using online TV sources. No commercials, no media. It's great.

I listen to NPR all.the.time. It's always on in the background, so if something is going on, I hear about it. When I knit, I usually watch something on the laptop, listen to a podcast, or listen to NPR, or Justin when he is playing guitar (he will play 2-4 hours a night.)

So when Lost comes back on, we watch it approximately an hour a week. Because we are HUGE Lost dorks. And my boyfriend *hates* when I tell people this, but when they mention a book on there, he runs out and gets it and reads it. THAT'S how much we are into it. We originally started watching it when we rented the first season from the library, and when we caught up we realized we should get a TV.

It really brings a new element into things, and I like it. I actually get more knitting done, more reading done, a little more of everything. I'm not exactly sure what we will do when we have money for a TV with all the frills, but it will be interesting to see.

Sans Ovary

So I apologize for the blog break this past week.. early this week my Mom got put into the hospital for severe abdominal pain, and they still can't figure out what's wrong with her. They have run a ton of tests, too, and they are still running more.

And to top it off, I had surgery myself this morning, but this one was scheduled. I had to have an ovary removed due to a cyst that was in the ovary and not making it a happy camper. Right now the boyfriend is being a great nurse, and I'm making sure to stay ahead of the pain. I look to get some knitting in once the anesthesia wears off, and the boyfriend said once I feel good enough he would drive me to JoAnns (it's close, it would be a good "first outing"). Awww! Plus I got a sock done, and I have a couple of recipes to post, so I have a couple of hefty updates coming up.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Normalcy? Normalcy.

So some normalcy is returning to life.

I got an upper GI on Wednesday, which was.. ugh. It also took 5 hours, because the barium didn't want to pass through my bowels none too fast. But, it's giving I'm finding out what I've been wanting to find out - answers. I got to see the pictures from it, and they were pretty cool.

Still not much knitting, but I am getting back into the dyeing groove of things, which is good. With a Dremel (gods, I love those things) and a 5/8 inch dowel I fixed my yarn swift by replacing the center shaft. So I have been winding cotton yarn to dye.

You might also see some recipes starting to pop up on here.. I've actually been trying my hand at cooking lately. It's been hit and miss. Tonight there was a hit and a miss.. the terakopita (greek cheese pies) was a BIG hit, but the Chicken Couscous was a hit with me but not with the boyfriend. I've done a couple other things, like lemon chicken and making my own croutons. I've also started growing my own herbs, which I love doing.. I have quite a window herb garden going. I want to try some cupcakes and muffins, too. So I've been playing around.. it's gonna be fun to see where this goes.

So I'm aiming to be a little more consistent here, because my life is getting a little more back to normal.

Keepin' Up

Boy, I tell you what, you can tell 24 year olds aren't supposed to be sick.

I've been busy now trying to get the paperwork straight for school. Getting everything figured out for my incompletes last semester and my loan information is like a full time job. Plus, I hear most of the country is in a heat wave, so sales in the Etsy shop has understandably come to a standstill.

I have been doing a little bit of knitting, the Dream Swatch Pattern (PDF) from Knit and Tonic. It makes a really pretty head scarf, and I'm doing it out of the Bernat Cool Crochet in the Blue ombre color.

We are getting things figured out with my illness, though, and it has been quite a journey. The more detailed CT scan results came in, and it looks like that might have some more answers, too. I appreciate everyones well wishes and thoughts, they have been a help!