It has taken me quite some time to embrace the audio book. The book snob in me (who died whilst reading the Shopaholic trilogy and other chick-lit) did not consider audio books to be "proper" books. I believed that listening to Jane Austen was akin to gaining a knowledge of literature via Hollywood.

Additionally, I was rather challenged in the mental multi-tasking. Remember how well you could listen, absorb information and take notes during university? If it's been some time, trust me, you probably are a blithering fool at this now. At any rate, I found my attention drifting between the act of listening and the act of driving.

Having (mostly) mastered the art of dividing my attention, I have cast aside any remaining thread of snobbishness to embrace the joy of the audio book. My first re-introduction to the joys of a good listen was French Toast: An American in Paris Celebrates the Maddening Mysteries of the French. Bliss!

Quite by accident, I recently discovered Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. Sadly, I missed a recent airing of the film, and my request for the DVD was third in the library queue. Thus, I took a chance and rented the audio book version. What a delight!

For me, a good voice is paramount. Frances Mayes reading her one of her own books was rather painful, while the melodic, sexy voice of (the rather unsexy) Simon Winchester made Krakatoa a pure pleasure.

My latest audio companion is My Life on a Plate by India Knight which has me wishing my commute were longer. And that is something, given how I loathe to drive and the skyrocketing cost of gasoline!

Once upon a time, the lie of the Macy's One Day Sale irked me. The Preview Day, the Sale Day, and the Post-sale Day...that is three days, not one. But last night, in anticipation of May 1st as the start of several transformative projects, I had my own productive preview day.

After gathering my financial documents to create a spreadsheet, I reorganized the documents; and then I filed them. This was just enough organizational steam to propel me to jettison the surfeit of cosmetic bags (from GWPs) and samples (most of unknown age). While purging three eyeliner pencils is not a major shedding of material possessions, it is just one step in a multi-pronged, three-month process. Thomas Mann said, "Order and simplification are the first steps toward the mastery of a subject -— the actual enemy is the unknown.", thus I aim to bring order and simplicity to my health, my finances and my possessions/surroundings.

I live with a man who is far less concerned with "pretty surroundings" than I, but it is my goal to own nothing that is not beautiful or meaningful. I feel compelled to put The Divine Law of the Great Chair into action.

While many welcome spring, I am often saddened by it. Only recently did I find the root of this. Spring semester of my junior year was spent in Manchester, England (England... across the Atlantic Sea, and I'm a genius genius...), and the arrival of true spring weather in England that year coincided with the arrival of the semester's end.

Spending the summer running errands for a law office in Pittsburgh was a dismal sentence after five glorious months abroad. I had tasted a bit of independence, as well as a bit of the world, and I was hungry for more. The largest Primanti Brothers sandwich could not fill the void.

To this day, there is that certain smell of spring that makes me nostalgic and melancholy for that time in my life. Rather than focus on the past, I decided that I would focus on rebirth this year. Tomorrow starts a three-month focus on various areas of my life that need to be fixed, fine-tuned or completely revamped.

I have been reading Suze Orman (I would recommend either Women & Money or The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom); thus, the month of May will be devoted primarily to money -- checking interest rates, organizing my retirement plans, and creating a plan of action to make my money work for me.

There are other changes afoot, but I will not bore you further.

Joe's mother (aka my Mother-Out-Law since we are not married) lives in the same apartment building we do. On the few occasions where this proximity might have been a blessing -- locking myself out of the house with my handbag and keys inside -- she was nowhere to be found.

Typically, she is wandering around the property, looking to have in-depth conversations as you attempt to leave for work, play or some fabrication to escape. Yesterday, she interrupted my pre-brunch primping to alert me to the fact that an injured Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) was hanging out in one of the trees in the yard.

I took a few photos, then headed to Cold Spring for the day. Upon my return, I find Joe wearing an old black leather jacket and white work gloves, carrying a long stick and my vintage laundry hamper. Joe's older son is carrying a blanket, and Joe's mother is hopping around like Tweetie Bird. They are obviously attempting to rescue the hawk, and this image is enough to make me think about high-tailing back to my parents.

Life here is always a conflict of Man vs. Beast. This morning I narrowly escaped vehicular duck-slaughter. In Hooterville, braking for Mallards, Canada Geese and New York State Wild Turkey is standard fare, darling.

You would think that the combination of no internet and sitting hospital watch would have given me prime knitting time, and it would have had I brought a project with me. So in a knitting slump am I that I cannot even think of a project. Nothing stirs me. Although some strange force of habit resulted in my packing my Denise Interchangable Needles. I was cursing the space they consumed when I returned from my trip laden with additional books.

During my absence, Joe was kind enough to ship a parcel for me to a blog buddy in the siren city of San Francisco. Returning the favor of shipping a personal gift to work, I wrapped up the Diagonal Lace Scarf -- along with a Moleskin mini cahier pocket book -- hoping to surprise Rona. It worked!

Specifications
Diagonal Lace Scarf
1 skein Southwest Trading Company Bamboo, #133 Intensity
US 7 needle

Modifications: Accidentally knitted as a four-row repeat instead of a six-row repeat, but I like the result. I knit until I finished the ball.

My gift knitting has been fairly minimal, but it feels wonderful to make someone smile. And I could use a dose of smiles.

It was my intention to post about the now finished Diagonal Lace Scarf from Midnight Purls (view sidebar for PDF or download to Ravelry library), but I never managed to photograph it.

Tomorrow, I fly out of town at the crack of heinous for a family matter.

As my parents are fully entrenched in their Luddism, in spite of my slow introduction of "advanced" electronics, the quiet will continue here. You have grown accustomed to the silence, I fear.

Although it is quite close to the end of the day, I am filled with gratitude. The two-day migraine is finally subsiding enough to allow me time at the computer without wanting to gouge out my eyes or tear out my hair.

I cannot say for certain, but I believe Anna's Spring Surprise package may have started the healing process. Even if the migraine had not begun to ease slightly, the package would have cheered me mightily.

The knitted kitty looks on as the miniature kitty statue poses atop a bar of Anna's handmade soap. That scarf is my newly-designated walking scarf. Now that Spring is in the air -- until tomorrow night when snow and/or sleet will be in the air -- I am committed to a daily walk. In spite of the increasingly pleasant temperatures, the air is still sharp enough to require some neck protection.

Joe is understandably bewildered by these gifts from "people you don't know", I just put the crazy right out there to halt the conversation.
Joe: What's that?
Me: A gift.
Joe: From whom?
Me: My imaginary friend.

If the season itself is not in full swing, Spring Cleaning certainly is.

Nancy has been purging "stuff" and cleaning house for days. Anna also has the urge to purge, and the amount that she purged was impressive and inspiring. She did the usual piles of "Save", "Donate", etc., but her save pile had to have a purpose -- as simple as "it makes me smile" -- and a place in the house.

I own fabric that has neither a purpose nor a place in my apartment. It has been stored in a plastic bin, however the bin is stored on the floor -- next to the unused sewing machine. Purging is a slow and imperfect process, so it is fabric now and (possibly) sewing machine later. This is the last stop before the consignment shop. Gmail me at lumay1966 -- subjetc: FABRIC -- if interested (US only shipping is included).

Pre-printed cotton circle skirt (print is shown on "model").
Easy cut and sew for three sizes.
small (23-24"), medium (25-26.5"), and large (28-30") waist.
$10.00

"River Dreams" Judy Haas for Quilters O-N-L-Y cotton fabric
2.25 yards for $10.00

Olive "beads" poly fabric
1.25 yards for $6.00

Fleece tree/autumn leaves "camo" fabric
1 yard for $5.00

Remnants of striped fabrics $3.00

Amy Butler Barcelona Skirts Pattern
I clipped at excess, but none of the patterns have been cut out.
$10.00

The Spring knitting patterns are slowly filtering through my consciousness. There are a number of appealing patterns in the Berocco Nora Gaughan Vol 2 book. Currer, Ellis, and Porthos are lovely, and each of them would suit my style and my figure.

In spite of a tepid response to an online preview of Rowan 43, Tanya assures me that I will love the magazine. Noted.

Magknits' Josephine is so well-shaped that I am nearly convinced that the shaping could mitigate the inherent bulk of Rowan Big Wool. Almost. Marjorie and Speckles very much recall the vintage-inspired work of Sarah Dallas that I so loved.

The Vogue Knitting Spring/Summmer 2008 preview did not stir me, mostly because the trends and silhouettes are a bad fit with my style and figure. The Mirabelle Cardigan from Interweave Knits is still on my radar.

Scarves have always appealed to me as an accessory item, however, many of the printed squares are too "mature" or "ladies who lunch" for my taste. Yet there are times when I require a touch of warmth around the neck but desire a touch of fashion with that warmth. The textural quality of Jyri is so seductive that I will make it in a multi-season-friendly yarn. And I should mention that I have already set aside two hanks of Alpaca Sox for my Lace Ribbon Scarf.

Pile On The Pepper

The musical destined to make Delysia LaFosse a star has become a particularly poignant phrase for me. However, my star is not rising.

Pile on the pepper!
Literally. Last night, the shaker lid of the coarse-ground black pepper stuck to the screw-on lid as I was seasoning my dinner.

Pile on the pepper!
Last month, I spent a frightening amount of money on my car. 81% of my monthly net to be exact. The pain is compounded by the fact that I repeatedly forgo beneficial things -- a gym membership, a 10-week Yoga & Weight Loss Program -- because it is impossible to justify non-essential spending on my annual salary.

Pile on the pepper!
My service engine soon light came on -- again! -- today. Something is amiss with the gears shifting during acceleration. I am not a mechanic, but that sounds expensive.

Pile on the pepper!
I did not get either of the internal jobs for which I applied, but I was the #2 candidate for both positions. Oddly, I am flattered, but it still leaves me struggling cover the costs of gasoline and car repairs.

Pile on the pepper!
There have been no resume nibbles from outside firms. Apparently, moving to Poughkeepsie and taking an Administrative Assistant position is a career-killer. I honestly believe a stint in rehab would be more understandable to the corporate-types than re-evaluating my life.

Pile on the pepper!
My laptop has been acting funky lately -- shutting down without warning. Today, it refused to turn on until I spent 15 minutes trying every outlet in the apartment. Even now, I know this is merely borrowed time.

With so much pepper piling on, I was struck by this line of dialogue from Stephanie's dream: "She's got a sad story, but she hasn't gone sad." Wonderful, no?