Hermes

More to come. Just a portrait today. He was kind enough to pose for me, while staring out the window at his girlfriend (a little stray calico that he has been told in no uncertain terms will NOT be coming in the house).

Points of Inspiration

Currently Reading: The Type-Writer Girl
Currently Watching: Misfits

I've been feeling a little out of it lately. This morning when I left for the parent's house to do laundry, I managed to leave behind the book I was reading, my knitting, and the notes for the scenese I'm supposed to be working on for my November goal, the one I'm trying to reach in place of doing NaNo.


This is probably due in part to the fact that I spent half an hour on the phone with the electric company this morning, trying to figure out why they are charging us $70 for 2 weeks of service in a tiny apartment that we are seldom in. I've come up with a few ways we can cut our usage (not many, since we already use energy efficient bulbs, turn off lights when we leave the room, and keep the heat on the lowest setting we can stand), and a few reasons why those first two weeks might be higher (like the bazillion loads of dishes we had to do, since everything was in storage right next to my dad's sandblasting shop), so we'll see how things go next month. In the mean time, I'm trying to find some freelance writing jobs online to earn a little extra cash. Too bad the majority of my skillset (knitting, spinning, sewing) are not terribly marketable in today's economy, unless I want to bill them as "art" and charge exhorbitantly, which I'm not willing to do. Partially because I don't think anyone would pay the fees I have in mind). (Business is not my strong suit, if you haven't noticed.)


In the mean time, I've been obsessively tracking my ebay typewriter, which after five days has only managed to from Aimes, Iowa to Des Moines. *grumble* I still don't quite know how I'm going to mod it. I know that I want to do a style that I call Jazzpunk (steampunk + Roaring 20s), which takes inspiration from things like this:





And this:



To make things like these:













Just for reference, the typewriter is actually an early 60s-ish Royal Royalite, so it has some curves that fit nicely with the feel I'm going for. Now if only I could figure out what to do with them...

I promise I've been doing stuff. Really.

So I haven't opened a single story file since November started (I'm doing really well on that goal, aren't I?). As a little motivation for myself, I've begun posting the story on fictionpress.com. You can read it here (you might need an account to read it).

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The camera is still AWOL, but I finished the sweater back and I'm almost done with the second pocket lining. I'm sure that will be much more exciting once I actually have pictures I can post with this, but I didn't think you guys would a appreciate a webcam shot considering how terrible I am with a normal camera.

I do have scans of some artwork up on devart. Those will also be in the next issue of the CFM.

And now I am off to do homework and see if I can figure out Twitter...

The Eyes Have It.

Conjunctivitis, that is. My poor baby had to go to the vet today. His eye has been runny all week. I knew he’d have to go to the vet, but was trying to put it off until I had a paycheck in my hand. Then this afternoon I noticed that it was swollen. No more procrastination. My vet is a saint and took a post-dated check.

It has been a Week here at chez KnotMagick. I’ve been picking up hours at the Discount Retailer, even though I wasn’t set to officially start back until Sunday. I ended up calling in sick though, because on Saturday night I had an allergic reaction to a granola bar I brought as a snack for my break. Why do all health food companies find it necessary to add soy to all of their products?

Anyway, my throat swelled up--not enough to merit a trip to the ER, thankfully, but I ended up staying in bed until 1 the next afternoon. I’m pretty much back to normal now, but I had a moment of panic when the vet gave Hermes his antibiotic, then handed me the box and told me to give it to him twice a day for a week. If you’ve never given a cat meds before, then let me tell you, it’s a very messy process involving claws and teeth. It took me, a vet tech, and the vet to hold Hermes down so that ointment could be applied to his eye (another fun chore I get for the next seven days). But the antibiotic he gave me was amoxicillin--along with it’s sister med, penicillin, these are the two things I am most allergic to. I informed the vet of this, and he swapped it out for Liquid Gold, which is what we call penicillin substitutes around here, since a one week supply for a human runs upwards of $80. Thankfully, both prescriptions plus the office visit only came in at $55, which, ironically, is the cheapest vet bill I’ve had since I got him.

I’ve had kitty on the brain lately. If I wasn’t living with my parents and their dogs, I’d be tempted to get him a sibling (actually, I’m still tempted, but I like my head on my shoulders and I’m pretty sure my dad would kill me). Alice and my friend T keep telling me I need to make a Hermes comic strip, so while I was sick that was exactly what I did. He’s just such a character, I’m surprised it took me this long. I’m looking forward to spending time with him this summer. I’ve missed the furry little demon.

Click for the big version.



On my ipod: You Can't Always Get What You Want--Glee Cast
On the night stand: Death du Jour--Kathy Reichs
On the needles: random crochet hat and Mystery Project #1. Little to no progress on either.

Resigned

Yesterday was a bit of an anticlimax. We went back to Lafayette park, picked up "Worth it?" and then Mrs. Alice's Mom took Alice shopping (I was there too, but it wasn't my kind of store (It wasn't Alice's either, for that matter) and I've already spent too much money on this trip, so I hung back in the shoe area with a notebook). We went to lunch at Panera (I highly recommend the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad, which is saying something since I don't normally like Panera except for their bagels).

We came back to the apartment. I don't know how, but Alice and her mom got into a blow-up fight about her future. It mirrored exactly a discussion I had with my mom a few weeks ago, only there was less shouting and more bawling when we did it. Basically, it goes like this:

Mom: "Why aren't you doing anything with your life?"
Daughter: "I'm trying, but there are no jobs out there."
Mom: "You're a college grad, you should have a job."
Daughter: "No one is hiring entry level positions, and I'm not qualified for anything."
Mom: "So just pick something and apply. You can't afford to be picky in this economy."
Daughter: "I know, but most of those jobs won't pay enough for me to live on. I have to make X amount, and they only pay half that!"
Mom: "So decide what you want and work towards it! Just find a way to support yourself in the mean time!"

At which point it spirals horribly downward when the mother realizes that after four years of art school, neither of us feels qualified for an art job, would rather introduce our skulls to a nice brick wall than work in art, and other than eventually getting published, neither of us has any idea what we want to do with our lives anymore. We're caught in an endless cycle: To get a good job, we have to leave Ohio. In order to leave Ohio, we need a good job--I have $500 in my bank account, and my current job isn't going to give me enough to live on. Basically, I'd need a $1000-2000 signing bonus, and who is going to give me that?

After fifteen minutes of shouting, I left. I went for a nice long walk, got a Baskin Robbins shake, and came back slowly to find Alice and her mom beading together at the kitchen counter like nothing had happened. Because that's the great thing about moms: one minute you're at each other's throat, and the next you're baking cookies (and for the record, these arguments usually start because Alice and I both get pissed off and pig headed in the same way our dad's do, so technically, it's their fault. And that is my (late) mother's day gift to everyone out there: it's all the guy's fault).

In the evening, we went back to the Torpedo Factory, which was having a sidewalk sale/open studio night. It was interesting. Alice wanted to show me the fiber artists, since if you are Fine Artist doing fiber at CCAD you're automatically not as good as the painters and belong in Fashion, and the Fashion people look down on you because you aren't "couture" enough (even though most of them wouldn't know couture if it bit them in the ass). A lot of them were really interesting, but I don't want to touch a gallery with a ten foot pole right now. The little shows like Code Pink are fine, but I've had enough of the art world. I need some time off.

We ended the night by watching movies on FX. Action, blood and gore: the perfect ending for the day. No plans for today, since Alice has crossed the University of Virginia off her list, and they still haven't replied to my email.

Apologies; I'm getting back into that bad mood I didn't want to broadcast.

Road Trip!

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to show "Worth It?" at the Code Pink Mother's Day Vigil, on May 9-10. I'm going to send them the piece, but I'd really like to drive down and take part as well. The problem is...well, I'm in college. I barely have enough cash to live off of right now, even if I tap into the Emergency Fund (about $150).

I need $150 to go down (we'll be staying with Alice's parents, so most of our food and all of our lodging will be free). If you would like to help fund this little road trip, then you can check out my etsy shop. All of my jewelry is clearance to $10 or less right now. Even if that is all you buy, it would be a big help in getting me down there.

I hate to ask, but I think that the cause is important and I really want to take part. If I go, I'll also be taking information on the Peace Project with me.

If you are going to be in the DC area from May 8-10, I'd love to meet up at the show. I'll be there both days, and things start at 1 pm on the 9th.

Thanks!

New Etsy Items and a Sale!

Oh, hey. This is a fiber blog, isn't it?



Four new spinning batts, 7 ounces of 3-ply hand spun merino, a clutch made from recycled fabric and handmade paper, a mini journal with a suede cover, a hand dyed silk headband and two hand dyed silk scarves (only one is show), and a laptop-sized tote bag.

I'm also having a sale through April 11:

~ All spinning batts are 50% off the list price
~ Free US shipping on all items from the SALE and STASH sections of my shop and international shipping is 1/2 off
~ All purchases will receive a free surprise jewelry item

Go check it out!

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My knitting has gone by the wayside a little. Working with those wool spinning batts and spinning up that yarn has aggravated my wool allergy, so the two little projects I was working on in wool have been abandon. I'm actually going to be giving away a partial ball of yarn that I spun using the colors from the Cherry Limeaide Fiz (third column, third one down) because I can only knit a row before my eyes start itching and watering now.

My other knitting project was in cotton. I was teaching myself double knitting...until my (brand new) circular needle broke. So far I've had really bad customer service from the place where I ordered it (8seasonknitting on etsy, which has suddenly disappeared with no warning).

All of my other projects have been for school, so I don't feel much like talking about them now.

I've also been invited to show some work at the CODEPINK Mothers day event in DC. Still hashing out the details, but it looks like I might be traveling down there between the last day of school and my graduation ceremony. For more information on the event, got here.

(Spring) Break?

Okay, I've been meaning to update for a couple of weeks now. First off, the show went up the first week of March, and while I won't call it a hit, it was something of a success. There was a small turn out for the reception (we still have two tupperware containers of mini muffins my mom made left, and two liters of soda). I got some good discussion going with the reviews, though I probably won't take most of their suggestions. The show is about 80% how I wanted it, and the 20% that didn't turn out I either know where it went wrong and how I am going to fix it, or I have an alternate plan in mind. The hardest part about this show is that I couldn't actually see the Peace Project all laid out until it was actually in the gallery, but now that I've seen how it hangs I know how to fix it.

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Photos of the show
[to be added when blogger is actually connecting]
(click to embiggen)
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I have photos of the reception, but I wasn't the one who took them, so I only have hard copies. A friend of my dad's made me a lovely scrapbook of all of the pictures as a get well present, so I can't really take them out and scan them. It's very pretty though, and brings me to my next point of business.

So spring break is this week, and I get to spend it on pain killers. I went in yesterday morning to have my wisdom teeth out. All told, it's not so bad. Having four teeth removed doesn't hurt nearly as bad as spaces, a pallet expander and having my other 32 teeth re-arranged around them. Especially when I have 600mg ibprophen on my side, and hydrocodine if that's not enough (haven't broken into the narcotics yet. Trying to avoid it, and honestly, haven't been in too much pain). The worst part was the anesthsia. After I woke up, I had double vision and I was really dizzy. They had me lay on a couch in the doctor's office for a few minutes, but not long enough for it to go away, so when I climbed into the car a few minutes later...well, you do the math. Suffice to say it was a good thing Ruth put the photo album in a gift bag rather than just wrapping it, and that I took the photo album out before hand.

I'll be spending the next few days catching up on my reading/writing, and re-doing a project for my mythology class (don't get me started on that. I asked a simple question which resulted in a 45 minute lecture on how no one in the class knows how to do research, and was then granted the privelige of being told that not only do I have to re-do the entire project, but that I now have to do twice the work of anyone else in the class. I'm a little murderous right now).

Bullet Points

1. I'm taking a page from Crazy Aunt Purl and doing this list style, because I'm too scatter brained for anything coherent.

2. Vanyel is the new love of my life. I'm working on a three ply right now, and have fiber on five of my six bobbins.

3. My show will officially open in one week, three days, and seventeen hours.

4. My white matter is making a lovely catered BBQ out of my gray matter thanks to #3.

5. Because of #3, everything that doesn't need to be done NOW has been put on hiatus, including the other blog.

6. I had a mental break down on Tuesday. I literally sat in my studio and cried for four hours straight. I am that stressed out.

7. If any of you are going to Santa Clara, CA for Baycon in May, could one of you send me Mercedes Lackey's autograph? I would love you forever. And give you yarn. Hand dyed yarn spun on Vanyel. Cookies?

The End is Near

The end of the semester, that is. I won't bore you will all of the gory details, but here are some of the crafty/arty things I've been working on:

1. I had to buy wool for a class project. I only needed a little out of the 1 lb package, so the rest has been dyed and turned into roving (or is waiting to become roving). It's for sale in my etsy shop.
Here's a sample of one of them:


2. I started my Christmas presents. I'll post pictures when I'm done with all of them, but I have about 1 and a half sets finished.

3. I made a shirt for my construction class. Pictures of that and the stuff I've been dying will come shortly--I've been meaning to take pictures for over two weeks, but things have been really crazy with finals, so it hasn't happened yet. Maybe tonight.

4. I've really been enjoying working with paper, especially embroidering and embellishing it. Here are two of my latest pieces. As you can see, my photography skills have not improved. (In my defense, the lighting in our school studios is terrible.)


5. The student art sale was last weekend. I made $85, double what I would have made at work in the same amount of time (more, actually). I also sold some scarves and things that I've been trying to get rid of for a couple of years. I'll be back in the spring, with loads of silk to sell, hopefully.

Well, I think that's all the really major stuff. The Peace Project is coming along, but not as quickly as I'd hoped. I'm revising the construction (again) so that I can use my machine for at least part of the work and speed things up.

Everything is linked

Do you know what this is?

That would be several ounces of alpaca fiber I am in the process of unspinning and re-carding.

I got a pair of hand carders in this morning from Minabear on Ravelry. I had to wrestle a postal worker to get them, but they're here and I love them. I used this video on youtube and this article in Knitty to get the basics down. I'm going to dye the batts on Monday with some food coloring, and then card them together with some silk I ordered from ArtemisArtemis a while back. She is the reason I am addicted to silk, and I would so marry her for citizenship if she were only Canadian.

"Worth It?" was measured last week. It is now over 24 feet long, and just about 1/2 way completed. I have to knit 36 rows every day between now and Dec. 31 to finish on time.

My anatomy class is killing me, but I'm plugging away in the other classes and doing well. I love my papermaking class, and will probably be adding hand made journals to my etsy shop soon.

I'm saving up for a spinning wheel. I'm thinking I'll probably get an Ashford traveler (double treadle), but I'm going to a spinning group this week to see about trying out some other wheels just to get a feel for them.

Doctor Who ain't got nothin' on this.

The other day I was listening to an older episode of Lime and Violet (maybe a month or two old), and Violet was talking about a Doctor Who scarf that she's knitting. At 18-20 feet long, they are quite a commitment.

This right here? Just over 1/4 of the total length.

I think I need a taller gallery.

I ordered a sewing machine a few days ago, and it came in the day before yesterday. I made some curtains and a pillow for my room. No pictures yet, but I'll take some soon (I always say that, don't I?).

I also got my studio set up at school. It's nothing terribly fancy, but I mostly sew and knit, and I don't need all of the stuff that the painters do. I need to get a case for my machine so that I can bring it with me to work, but I haven't found one that both fits the machine and my price range yet. I think a trip to JoAnn Fabrics is in order.



I want to put something on the walls, but my body of work is only about *that big,* and none of it is recent/two dimensional.

My classes are going well. I'm busy, but hanging in there. Anatomy is a chore though, and Textile science is remedial. We answer questions like "Where does cotton come from? Is flax an animal or plant fiber? Why do textile manufacturers need to know about textiles?" (yes, those are all direct quotes from the class or my text book).

Well, I'm off to work some more on the thesis show. Really, having it be put off is a blessing. It'll give me more time to untangle myself from this Scarf of Doom.

Ooh, shiney!

Mom, Dad and I went to the Good Guys car show in Columbus today. 4,000+ classic cars. Squee! A lot of people think I'm pretty girly, because I like to knit and crochet and make frothy, foamy girly dresses, but I'm also a bit of a tomboy. I love cars, especially Chevys from 1958-73. The Impala is my favorite (1960 model, to be exact), but I don't discriminate (except against Ford).

The Good Guys show is one of the largest in the country, and attracts people from all around. I saw license plates from Texas, Ontario, and...Hawaii? Somehow, I don't think they drove all the way to the show.

The weather was good, but we did get about an hour of storms and afterwards it was pretty muggy, especially in the main area of the show, which was all paved with no trees or anything to provide shade.


While we where there, I was introduced to a few new car models that I'd never seen before, like this 1965 Belair. It was for sale for such an awesome price too. I did my best to talk my dad into buying it for me for Christmas/Graduation/Birthday (for the next three years!) but he didn't bite even though he was drooling over it too. I didn't even know that they made Belairs that late--I was only familiar with the boat-like version form the 50's that my dad drools over.

There was also a 1963 version that I think was even nicer (I'm a sucker for the fins; I like the line) and was for sale/"interesting trade." He didn't bite on that one, either. Shucks.

Sadly, this is the only car I got to take home. It's a '68 Corvette. Mom and I sat behind it while we took our rest break around noon, and I started sketching it. Not bad, considering I've hardly drawn so much as a stick figure in the past year (Who me, an art student? What are you talking about?).

Maybe I am a girly-girl after all. Do you know what I bought? Earings. Pewter earings shaped like tape measures with a thimble, a pair of scissors, and a button hanging from them.

Strange things happen at 3am

Remember that cold that I had back in Edinburgh? The one I thought I’d left behind? Well, I guess it got lonely. It started with a runny nose, then a sore throat, and then this morning around 2am my right ear decided to join the party. I don’t know why I have such bad travel karma. I get sick in Edinburgh and then high off of Dutch cold medicine, then there was the fiasco with the train, the trip to London that never really happened, arriving in Italy a day early and scrambling to find a hotel or hostel that spoke English. Not to mention all of the other random crap that has happened. This is even worse than when I was in Canada—My flight out was canceled because of the FAA computer crash, then my luggage was lost, I developed pityrisasis rosea, which completely freaked out my pregnant co worker. She refused to work with me for a couple of days, then wouldn’t go within 20 feet of me until it went away. We got two flat tires, then I had 12 hours of delays on the way back. Why do I have such bad luck when I travel? Who did I piss off and what do I have to give them to make it better?

So anyway, I was up at two am because I was both wide awake and exhausted. What do you think I did for an hour and a half to tire myself out?



This is a Turkish rib, and it will eventually be part of a tank top. For some reason, I can manage a right side row of p1, k2, and a wrong side row of p3, k1, but I kept screwing up the k2 p2 for the mistake rib/Medusa scarf. But hey, it’s called a Mistake Rib for a reason, right? I figure it adds character. The knitting part of that is finished, by the way, I just need to weave in some ends and then I can post the finished piece.

I don’t know where my brain goes when I’m sick, but it sure is amusing:



“Marienne, where did you get that yarn? You didn’t go robbing the weavers, did you?”

“No, of course not, Robin. Do you remember that hideous surcoat Guy of Gisborn was wearing when we caught him last week?”

“Yes. We sent him home naked because of it.”

“Well, I frogged it. I’m making you a sweater.”

“Oh. Okay. Just don’t do anything too fancy.”

“But I just found a stitch pattern for bows!”

“…”

“It’ll be cute, I promise!”

“What kind of bows are we talking about here?”

I totally want to go home and get my old fiberglass target tips and knit myself a sweater now. If I manage to volunteer at my old shooting camp this summer, maybe I’ll bring it along and do it then. I’m sure everyone will get a kick out of it.

I also spent a lot of time this morning thinking about what music I want to play at the show. I’m going to take some of the lyrics and embroider them on “filler” panels. The music I’ve picked out so far is “One World” and “Someday” by Celtic woman (“The Prayer” might also end up in there too), “Summer Planet no 1” by Two Mix, Kuraki Mai’s “Always Give My Love,” if I can find an MP3 of it, “Size Matters” by Natasha Beddingfield, “Where is the Love” by the Black Eyed Peas, and what I think is a great theme song for this project, “Land of Confusion” by Disturbed.

I know, it seems kind of random, until you listen to the chorus: “This is the world we live in/These are the hands we’re given/Use them and let’s start trying/To make it a place worth living in.” Isn’t that just great for crafting for peace?

If you have any more suggestions on music, drop me a line!

Let There be Peace on Earth (and Let it Begin with Me)

A few weeks ago, I was on Ravelry in the Knitting our Way to Peace group. In this thread, I brought up a project I would like to do for my senior thesis show this fall. The other Ravelrers were enthusiastic, and now that things have temporarily settled down a little, I'd like to get started with it.

The idea is this: a flag for every nation of the world, sewn together to make a large quilt. At the center would be the words "Let there be Peace on Earth." I think it would be much more meaningful if it was a group project, rather than an individual one.

So, here we are. I would like a little help with this, but of course, there are guidelines. If you would like to participate, PLEASE READ ALL OF THE RULES CAREFULLY BEFORE BEGINNING!

General Information:
1) Please sign up for a country before you begin to prevent repeats. This link will provide you with a list of available countries. To claim one, simply leave a comment on that post.

2) Some countries and territories are in the middle of political upheaval, and have more than one flag. I leave it to you to decide which flag you do, or even both. All I ask is that you please select a flag from the list; Due to time constraints, I am no longer open to other flags (Maybe. If you can make a good case for it...)

3) There are occasional buyers who attend these senior thesis shows. If the piece sells, I would like to donate the money to Doctors Without Borders, which helps every nation regardless of politics or religion.

4) The show will be held sometime in early 2009, probably January. Dates are TBA. Please check back with the blog or with the Ravelry group for the most up-to-date information.

5) Sign ups are open until November 8, 2008.

Construction and shipping:
1) The height of each flag should be 20 cm, or 8 inches. The width should be 16 inches, or about 40 cm. IF YOU DO NOT MATCH THE PROPORTIONS EXACTLY, DO NOT FROG YOUR WORK. Please send it to me as is (preferably blocked, but I'm not picky). As long as it is reasonably close to the specified dimensions, I'll put it in (i.e, only off by 1" or so in each direction.)

2) The materials are open, but keep in mind that each flag will be hand-sewn together. Knitting, crocheting, weaving, felting, quilting, embroidery, tatting–I don’t care, but it must be fiber. You could even paint on canvas, but I ask that if you do, please remember the dimensions, remove the stretcher before shipping, and please leave enough blank canvas around the edges for me to sew, as I don’t want to damage the painting.

3) I would like to receive all the flags no later than December 13, 2008.

4) You can ship your flags to:
Sheena Pennell
P.O. Box 781
London, OH 43140
USA

5) Feel free to send your personal messages with your flags. I would love to display them at the show. I’m thinking about binding them into a handmade book to give with the finished product. If you would NOT like your messages displayed, just include a little PS and I'll leave it out.

6) I want to give credit where credit is due. Please include your name (real name or screen name, doesn’t matter), along with the name of the country your flag represents.

Please continue to check the blog, as I'll be posting regular updates and reminders.
You can also find the latest information in our Ravelry Group. You can watch the progress of the project through our Flickr group.

Edit: I had to move the list of countries because this post was over eight pages long and Blogger decided to rebel. You can find it here now. Please leave your sign-up comments on that page from now on, just so everything is nice and tidy and in one place. Thanks for your understanding! ^^

Still falling, but a little slower now...

This post was going to go up several days ago, but computer problems have gotten in the way. The school computers have been unbeleivably slow, and then the charger on my laptop broke. To buy a new one from apple would mean paying $70, a ton of shipping and customs, and hoping they'll send it to me in Italy. Buying from the Italian store would run me 90€, or about $120. Ebay doesn't have the kind I need, just the really outdated ones that I don't trust, and Amazon won't ship it to me, because I'd have to buy it off the marketplace. I even tried the UK store, and the french one,and if they even have a seller with it in stock, then they want about the same as apple.com.

I will not rant. I will not rant.

I need to remember not to blog when I'm pissed off. But then, I'd probably never blog at all, would I? If only my original name for the blog wasn't taken. Damknit suited me so much better than KnotMagick.

Again, I am ranting.

Yesterday I went on a tour of the Medici villas and their gardens with my art history class. The first six hours of the tour wasn't bad, even if we had to be at the bus station by 7:20 am, but the gardens were lovely and I was so happy to see trees I almost asked one of my classmates to take a picture of me hugging one of them. Thankfully, I restrained. There is already enough evidence of my dorkdom floating around.

The second half of the trip, we went to museum after museum dedicated to Leonardo da Vici. Honestly, I'm sick of hearing about him. I had a week of class dedicated to him in high school, several art history lessons at CCAD, and we'll be having our third class on him on Monday. Please, no more da Vinci!

We got back around 7:30 pm. I was hungry--all day we'd only had one break, a half hour for lunch, in which I scarfed down a nutella sandwich, some clemontines, and a couple of cookies. Alice was a lifesaver who thought ahead and bought me a sandwhich from the snackbar downstairs before they closed.

I've gotten back to writing, picking up a story from this summer based in Montreal. Of course, right as I start writing again is when my charger breaks. Wouldn't you know it? Anyway, Florence and yesterday's tours have been inspiring for that, so I have a bit of research to do now.

I keep trying to be open minded. This is an adventure, right? My chance to get out of Columbus, see someplace new and different, historical and beautiful.

But I keep wishing I was back home. Don't ask me why. I was so ready to be gone. But I find that the only way I can really tollerate Florence is to pretend it's Old Montreal, which only gets me so far and only works at certain times in certain areas.

I tell myself that it will get better, and it will adjust. Already this week has been easier than last week. A few more days, and I will be fine. When I was in Montreal, the first week or two was horrible, and all I wanted was to curl up in bed until the plane arrived to take me home. I find myself wanting to do the same thing now.

I like the new part of the city better. We drove through it yesterday. The streets are broader and there are some trees along them, and there are more parks. I can breathe there, even if there is more traffic and there's a more industrial feel to it.

On the bright side, textiles are huge here. I walked through the market on Friday, and every other vender was selling either leather or knitted garments (machine made, but whatever. Still pretty), or woven scarves. They were all beautiful, and I'd have loved to examine them, but the vendors were really pushy. It's a general rule that you don't stop unless you are planning to buy.

I'm already thinking I might write my term paper on textiles. Florence was really big on that, and there's another town not too far away that still specializes in lace making.

I've also been doing research on schools. Obviously, I am no longer planning on staying in Europe. It's neat here, but it's not me. I'm going to explore, hopefully get to see Paris at the very least, but I'll be leaving in April. I started looking at Concordia University in Montreal. They have a fine art program, but it only accepts about 28 students a year, so I'm thinking of applying to the textiles program and getting another degree. I've never felt as at home as I did under the shadow of Mount Royal, and I know it will be easier for me to move up there if I go as a student. Of course, dual citizenship has it's perks.