It's been six years since I've updated this blog.

I left Cincinnati and moved to Philadelphia.

Opal was diagnosed as diabetic in 2015 and I've been giving her insulin injections twice a day since then.

I lived in two apartments and then bought a house.

I have a housemate who makes the house a home.

I had all three cats until Sunday 6/14 when I found Opal altered, unable to walk and uninterested in food.  I took her to the emergency vet.  She was in liver failure, kidney failure and possibly cardiac failure.  We made the decision to let her go.

I'm still single.

I got a job at CHOP and still work here, though I'm currently on my fourth position since getting here.

I may actually start updating this blog more.  We'll see.

Cincinnati Bucket List

Well, it's a little more than a week until the movers come and two weeks until I move out of Cincinnati. I still don't know where I'm going, but I've spent the last few weeks either visiting or revisiting sites in Cincinnati and the surrounding areas that I've enjoyed in the past five years.  Oddly enough, most of those have been food places.

In the realm of places I hadn't yet made it to.  My friend was recently visiting from Alaska and we decided to drive down to The Woolery in Frankfort KY.  A very friendly shop with lots of looms and spinning wheels set up.  Lots and lots of weaving yarns, spinning fibers and knitting goodies to play with.  I bought my first linen for tablet weaving while down there.  As an added bonus, there was a well behaved shop dog on a leash to say hi to.

What makes this a trip I'm glad I did now when it was only a two hour drive is that we just didn't spend all that much time there.  Unless you are going to play with the equipment or take forever to pick out yarn, it's just not going to be that long a visit.  Unlike my trips to WEBS and the Mannings which both took at least four hours the first time around.

We did our best to make a day trip out of it, spending some time in a Kentucky craft store, an antique store, a used book store and grabbing a snack.  We still spent more time driving then we did in town.  If it hadn't been so warm, there were probably some things we could have done outdoors.

Guessed wrong

You would think that a repeat root canal wouldn't hurt as much.  There's no root there to begin with plus the canal has already been drilled out once.

Yeah, No.

After getting on my bad side for doing the block without starting the nitrous, I have to say the endodontist exceeded my expectations.  He was able to go around the post that was implanted after the first root canal, the removal of which was my big stomach churner.  All of which means that the crown isn't totally destroyed and I may get away with filling this one in.

The lidocaine he used started wearing off within the hour and I've had that same dull ache that sent me to the dentist since that point.

So for fail #2, instant vanilla pudding with greek yogurt.  Yeah, glad I bought the regular stuff too.

I think I've grown up

If you're reading this, you probably know I've left my job and sold my house.  This month should have been packing up, interviewing and goofing off before moving on to the next adventure.  So what has it turned into?  I'm talking to the company that bought the house about staying for part/all of September.

So why am I sticking around for a bit:

1) I have the cats to take of.  If I just take off and explore (which was my original plan) they get uprooted and I lose my trusted pet sitter.  I will do this eventually, but for now keeping them here seems easier if I'm going to be traveling for interviews.

2) Dental mayhem part two.  A tooth that previously had a root canal has been causing trouble and I've learned not to ignore these things.  That's at least three weeks to get everything done.

3) In the age of computers, the application process takes forever.  Places I applied to in July are just getting around to interviewing in September.  Refer back to #1

I still have no idea where I'm going, but for now I'll take care of myself and then head back east for some friend and family time.  The addition of the cats will probably mean hotels instead of staying at friend's homes.  There's enough stress on the cats with the travel and leaving the house, add in a dog or other pets and Opal may never forgive me.

There's also the fact that once I move, I won't have access to the puppies next door.  Though Ellie is now a senior at almost 5.  I've been taking more pictures of the pups, so here is one of Elllie being pathetic on the couch next to me because she was left home while everyone else went to the park on a hot day.

Try Again

As I pack up the house for my move, I find myself going through all the pictures I have laying around.  This whole house is a trip down memory lane.  What I find though, is that I don't have a lot of Cincinnati based memories.  Even Philly, where I spent a year that was hell, has memories online and in the house.  Almost everything in the past five years is either knitting or family related.

So, time to try and revive the blog.  My time is Cincinnati will end shortly.  My house is sold and half packed and I will shortly move on to the next adventure.

Now, to actually start backing up my photos from all my other sources to my laptop.

Bruises

I have a rather nice collection of purple, yellow and green spots all over my body this week.  I'm proud of every one of them.  They mean I made it through my Krav Maga class.  Even if you do everything perfectly, you're going to come out with some bruises.  Especially when a 200+ pound opponent has you in a headlock on the ground (my left hip has one from that today).

The new contacts, while not enough correction for everyday wear, have made a huge difference at Krav.  No more getting my glasses knocked off my face or trying to work without them.  I still take a few hits to the face, but at least I can see them coming.

One of my friends suggested arnica for bruising.  I've got a cream with arnica and other herbs in it that cuts the bruising time at least in half (when I catch them early enough).

On the knitting front, I'm working on a new shawl.  Another Faroese shaped shawl.  I wear the one from last year all the time, so this time I'm making one in dark green.

My poor baby wolf is starting to look lonely.  I haven't had a warp on it since before my surgery.  I think when I'm done with the shawl I'll warp up the color gamp kit I have sitting on the shelf.

The tablet band I'm working on is going to take forever.  Since I only have one loom, not much new to show there for a while.

Weaving vacation

It's been a bit of a weaving week for me.  Since I finished my time sensitive project, I've been spending some time with my tablet weaving.  I've finished three bands and discovered a few things.  While wool is sticky, it makes a wonderful band.  If I was actually going to sew the band onto something, I'd probably use wool.  Links will take you to the ravelry project page for each band.

wool band, ivy pattern.  

 wool band, modified dancer to make it wider.  Had a bit of trouble with this one, so it's a bit shorter.

Cotton band, hard to see but it's a star of david pattern.

On the other end of the spectrum, I think I either bruised or cracked something in my foot at Krav last night.  I landed a bad kick and jammed my toe.  Made it through the rest of class without a problem, but today it hurts (aches) when I walk and there are some sensitive points on the top of the foot.  Krav is the one time when I wish my genetics didn't include a big toe that is shorter than my second toe.  Makes it much easier to catch my toe if I don't land a perfect kick.