brainylady

I'm here!

Thanks for all your encouraging and supportive comments. The drive did indeed go pretty well, and Mooky did sleep for a few stretches (between other stretches of crying, panting, and making a crazy face). We arrived in Montreal early Wednesday afternoon, and the movers arrived about three hours later with our stuff. The house filled with boxes, which we have since been steadily emptying. We had more than 5,000 pounds of stuff! Doesn't that seem excessive for two people? Apparently it's not unusual for a family to have 40,000 pounds, but I'm still amazed that I'm personally reponsible for more than a literal ton of possessions.

We've really just been settling in since we arrived. It's been pretty hot, and I do miss the central air of our farmhouse. But I love this place. It's smaller, but I'm choosing to see it as cozy. I can walk to a park, and to shops. We have a back porch, which is a lovely place to sit and look at the flowers in the backyard.

There are a few exciting things I'd like to show you, but my camera batteries are charging at the moment. One thing that is very exciting is wireless high-speed Internet! Did you know that I've only had dial-up for the last two years? At our last house, only one of us could use the Internet at a time, and if someone was online, you couldn't use the phone -- and it was really slow. So I certainly don't miss that.

You really just want to hear about Mooky and knitting, though, right? Mooky took to this place right away, and he's been spending all his time outside. The first few days were smooth, and he made friends with a little black-and-white cat. Then on Monday he had a mid-afternoon nose-to-nose low-growl showdown with an orange-and-white cat. Yesterday, he got into a fight. We heard it but couldn't see it -- must've been that orange cat. And Mooky's never won a fight in his life, even though he always certainly has the weight advantage. (One night, about four years ago, he came home with another cat's claw all the way through one of his front paws.) He doesn't seem hurt, though, except for his pride; he's been laying low since yesterday.

As for knitting, I'm about a quarter/third of the way through a Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Shawl, using charcoal-grey Inca Gold baby alpaca. (I was originally inspired to knit this shawl by Cari's lovely sport-weight version.) I really wanted to knit myself something special after finishing my thesis, and this is the first time in a long time that I have the time to sit and knit for any period of time, let alone with a pattern that I actually have to think about.

(For those following along at home, yes, this is the yarn that I originally bought to knit this shawl, and which I then started Madli's Shawl with. I decided to abandon Madli and go back to the original plan. Basically, the Leaf Lace Shawl is easier and quicker.)

Hmm... it seems that I want to talk and talk and talk and get caught up. There was a huge storm here last night that knocked out our power for an hour. I've never seen anything like it. The lightning was almost constant. Unfortunately, it didn't really cool off. It kind of feels like more rain is on the way, which would be bad news, since we have outdoor plans tonight. Yes, we're venturing beyond our new neighbourhood for the first time in a week; my very dear friend's band is playing tonight as part of the Outgames festivities. This means I'm taking it easy today, conserving energy and just trying to stay cool. We've been falling into bed exhausted by 10 o'clock every night lately, so it'll be a struggle to stay up! I think I'll put a bookcase together and then knit another pattern repeat on my shawl. Sounds nice, doesn't it? I love being on holiday!