summer, part 2.

As I begin typing this, thunder is roaring in the background. Of course. The weather (what a lovely way to start) has been nothing less than interesting. Storms. A lot of storms. Last night the thunderstorms lasted for several hours, not ending until about three in the morning. My home was quivering under the crashes which I’m sure were several miles away. The light show was amazing though, there is nothing like staring out your window at one in the morning trying to fall asleep when lightening strikes (something) and the sky becomes bright enough to be considered day. If only for a couple seconds.

But it seems the storms are rolling in again tonight. That is to be expected though. Thank god I finished my night class Monday.

Today I went to my first U.S. History class. It took forever, four hours of listening to a man who is really excited about history go on and on. Made me feel a bit dense when he was asking us questions that I only learned about a semester or two ago and I forgot the answers. Oh well.

The professor seems nice, which is always a plus. The class seems as though it will be an interesting one, to say the very least. And as long as I study (crazy amounts) I should pass with an A though I won’t report about that status until I figure out what his quizzes and exams are like.

After class I went to my friends house. We’re both bored and basically out of work so we sat in his room. Doing nothing but it was fun nonetheless. We walked through the woods for about an hour. Almost got caught the the construction company in the clearing. Found what I thought was a dead mole. We poked it with sticks to see if it was alive and it was though I was quite concerned it had heat exhaustion. I didn’t have any gloves on hand so I found a piece of a tire and tried to scoot him on that to get him in the shade, but he/she wouldn’t have it. I didn’t want to leave it where it was because it was on a truckers path but the baby-thing wouldn’t budge. At least we tried. I’m just glad it wasn’t full grown or else it could have caused some nasty bite and scratch marks.

Later this afternoon I just came home. By that time I had been up for nine very groggy hours and was about to collapse. So I did. And here I am, in my pj’s staring at my computer screen.

In other news, my best friend turns 20 tomorrow! YAY! Happy Birthday! You’re finally out of those terrible teens!!!

My boyfriend is in Italy. I believe for the next day or two he will be in Pompeii. He is excited. As stated by his email to me.

I’ve been knitting a decent amount lately. Nothing too special. I’ve been working on my first toe-up sock so this proves to be an interesting learning experience. I’ve also knit about four to five more inches onto the Summertime Tunic. I would really like to finish this within the next week or two and if I just keep going, that might be a possibility. I’m also trying to get a some stuff ready for the fall craft show in town. I’m knitting arm/wrist warmers, scarves of various designs, maybe socks, maybe hats and I’m making earrings and stitch markers. I only have one item up for grabs but I’m hoping that by the end of summer, I’ll have a variety of about 20 knit items with several stitch markers and earrings.

Besides schooling, friends and my boyfriend, nothing is really happening. I guess that is a good thing though, sometimes it is good to have nothing going on.

I think tomorrow I’ll just watch tv and knit, hopefully also read. Then who knows what the weekend will bring.

Pictures of toe-up socks and Summertime Tunic to follow shortly.

Evening folks.

& with pictures.

Hello! As I promised, here’s my post (with pictures). First, let us have a quick update on my life.

My College/Education: I finished my first year at college! Yay! It wasn’t to bad, though by the end I was freaking out more than I’d like to. I ended the year with a 3.7 GPA which is good but one of my grades is changing from a B to an A and another one is in question. I decided to take a summer course (Art 101: Introduction to Art) which I will finish this coming Monday. Now, I signed up for another class that will take me to the end of July (HIS 101: US History 1). I should get an A in both which will boost my GPA crazy amounts.

My Family: Today we are celebrating my brother’s 20th birthday! We went out to breakfast at the local diner and dinner at a local Chinese food place. Otherwise, all is well with the family.

Friends: Most of my really good friends graduated from high school earlier this month. I am so proud of all of them. I helped one of my friends even pick classes for the fall semester. My best friend got the job she’s been wanting at a local camping ground. I am very thrilled about that. And her birthday is coming up! There will be great things in store!

My Knitting: I’ve been knitting the Summertime Tunic from Interweave Knits but got bored with it six inches in and have put it aside for now. While I was online one night, I came across the pattern for Fetching. I knew this existed but had put it aside because I wasn’t sure about cabling. But I tried it:

The left hand is complete with the right in progress.

This picture was taken yesterday. As of today, I finished the right hand and they look great! They were so easy and fun!

I am currently playing around with socks. I have knit several socks, but never a pair. So, I’m determined now. I do not need socks now, for it is quite warm, but the nights are chilly and hand knit socks would be just the thing. I’m almost finished the first one and plan on finishing the second tomorrow so I will finally have my first knitted pair of socks for myself.

My Green Thumb: Or, Lack There Of. The following pictures are graphic in nature. If you cannot stand the sight of dead (and rotting) plants, please, turn away now:

Two herbs (lavender left, lemon thyme right) who have sadly perished because I do not know how to care for plants. My best friend says this is a bad sign and I should never have children.

I am very ashamed at my lack of luck with any type of living plant. As of this week, that is four out of four herbs I have killed.

My Boyfriend: He just received his third degree black belt in tae-kwon-do earlier this month. Along with celebrating his 18th birthday and graduation! Busy man he is. He also went to freshman orientation at his college and he brought me back this:

A teddy bear!

Mind you, he tends to get me teddy bears a lot. I have one from Hersey Park, one I got for Christmas, another for Valentine’s Day and one he won for me at a fair. Also note, I love teddy bears!

I spent about an hour with him today while my brother was watching a movie at a park for Relay for Life. His karate school had several teams and also a demonstration which I went and watched (Devil Went Down to Georgia, Drum Line and Unknown). It was good. I didn’t spend too much time with him for he had things to do but I did play frizbe and catch with a football (pathetically I must add) with several instructors and friends. He walked me back to my car and we sat and talked for about fifteen minutes.

Monday he leaves for Italy (a ten day trip with the schools Italian and Latin Foreign Languages Program). Hence my excitement when I got to go see him today before he left the country.

Otherwise I finally caught up on the Cast On Podcast and am searching for some new knitting (or non-knitting) podcasts. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.

For now, I’m going to go and finish up that sock and maybe give the boyfriend a call. Have a great night!

moving!

Yes, I have moved. It has been on my mind for a little while now. I felt that the old blogger address was too long and complicated and I was not sure if I wanted to keep the “Girl with the Bamboo Sticks” persona. I am staying with the same blogging company, Blogger, but there will be changes.

I have joined the photo group, Flickr, so that I can better share my photos with the public.

The setting is also a bit different. Hopefully for the better.

One reason I am changing addresses is because I am beginning to make my business cards and feel that the previous web address was too long. I needed to shorten it up! I also feel that my life is changing a bit more and, in turn, I can no longer blog on the old address. I will leave that address running a bit longer, just to inform those who read it of my new address, but otherwise, all new updates will take place here.

I plan on posting a bit later with some new information on my knitting, my love life, my friends and family. There is a lot going on in my life. I hope you enjoy!