about a year ago, courtney got me started with knitting. i picked it up and learned the basics (casting on, binding off, knit & purl), but i’ve not really done anything with it. jocelyn suggested we take a class to motivate me, but at the time i was lost in wedding planning land so i missed out.

starting next tuesday, however, i’m starting the advanced beginning knitting class at main street yarns in watkinsville. as it turns out, the one and only carrieoke will be my teacher! score!  if you are interested in taking her class, you can register online.

in the meantime, chip’s mom made a trade with me — i gave her a tivo we weren’t using, and she gave me a sewing machine she wasn’t using because she found her old one.

i have wanted to learn to sew for a long time. (being five-foot-two on a tall day and shaped a little wonky, there are lots clothes i wish i knew how to alter just slightly so that they would fit right.) again, jocelyn suggested a class, but there hasn’t been a beginner’s class offered on a saturday. i went by sew beary special today and just asked when the next one would be offered on a night or weekend, and the lady was so nice she just up and scheduled one while i was there! rather than divide it up into two classes, they’re just going to smoosh it all together into one saturday class.  (she said to go ahead and plan for 10 – 4 p.m., but it will probably end a little early — more like 3 p.m.)

so… if you are interested in a beginning sewing class, i could definitely use some sewing buddies! (they like to have a minimum of three people, but there’s room for six.)

I made pancakes with strawberries & powdered sugar this morning!

Originally uploaded by Scrappy Rocks!

as a little sunday morning treat, i surprised chip and made pancakes topped with powdered sugar and the last of our fresh strawberries we’d picked earlier this summer at washington farms and frozen for such an occasion. chip and i had worked really hard on saturday, doing our best to tackle the rest of the barn and the house so we could clear out as much stuff as possible for the yard sale next weekend. the barn is the emptiest it’s been in years! and although the house is currently a wreck as we play tetris with boxes, i can see the light at the end of the tunnel and know it will be a much neater place in the end. all this sorting and packing has stirred up our allergies even with our new air purifier working overtime. i think we’re both eager to push through the last little bit tonight, sneezes and all, and let maid teams go wild during their visit this week.

one of my weekend resolutions was to go through my entire wardrobe and do a major “for sale/goodwill” pile. i literally chucked one third of my entire wardrobe in the pile. i’m all for keeping staple items for the long haul, but when i realized i was wearing items from high school (with bleach stains, no less!), panic set in as i realized i was a viable candidate for the next episode of tlc’s what not to wear.

so, i’m starting over. i went out on sunday afternoon fully prepared to shop till i dropped. i got a new pair of shoes, a new pair of slacks, and a couple of tops and sweaters. mom is treating me to a new cardigan for work, too. it’s been very exciting to go shopping for the first time in ages!

all in all, a very good, sneezy, delicious weekend.

i voted!

Originally uploaded by Scrappy Rocks!

i realized that i ought to go ahead and vote today so i don’t risk any mishaps due to my name changing between now and election day. (i certainly wanted my vote to count in this election!) i have to say, it was a painless ordeal — in and out in less than 30 minutes.

name change? not so painless. (btw – the social security office looks like the kind of place elephants go to die. hot, crowded, based on a number calling system that may or may not be in numerical order… i felt like i needed medication for depression by the time i walked out of that place!) anyway, new name applied for. supposedly i’ll be mrs. chip in two weeks’ time, so the process of converting my identity will commence shortly. (if only i could regenerate at the same time like doctor who…)