Yesterday was the end of a fantastic three day weekend that I really needed after a busy week. I had gotten back from my snowboarding trip late Tuesday night and was thrown straight into a two-day conference that I was organizing for work, with houseguests for added fun. When the conference ended and my friends rolled out for their snowboarding trip on the three day weekend, I didn't know what to do with myself. I even felt kind of lonely! But those feelings were fleeting and after Stitch 'n Bitch on Saturday afternoon with the handful of people that were left at home, I was happy to come back to my apartment and just relax. I unpacked, cleaned, organized, weeded through old clothes, started to repack for my next trip (Australia, next Thursday, wheee!) and got mentally ready for my impending move. There is really going to be a lot going on for me in 2008.

Somewhere in there I found time to sleep until noon and knit while watching Oprah (thanks, Mum!) so it wasn't really strenous at all. I finally got to spend some time working on Hanami, which I had finally cast on for in the hopes of bringing something light with me to work on in Hokkaido. The lighting in our bed and breakfast was poor at the best of times though, so I had to write off knitting on that trip and give in to other vacation fun. Ever played Puyupoyo? Anyway, working on this end of lace pattern this weekend was FUN. It has been a long time since I worked on a lace project like this and I love the mental groove I get into when I am working through all the YOs and decreases. I decided not to do a beaded cast on because the yarn is not so delicate looking... actually, I just didn't have any beads and I wanted to get started. I think it looks nice this way though, and as it is being made as a gift for my tea ceremony teacher, I don't think it needs the extra bling. It's still nice and light so it'll be coming to Australia, too!

I realized that even in the light of midday, my apartment gets no good light for taking photos (something to cross my fingers for when I move). Ripple is coming along nicely and it is fast as ever. I just can't believe the amount of yarn it is eating up. I am pretty hooked on crochet (haha) and I just want to make it longer and longer. A main reason for making this was to use up yarn that I had, so buying more yarn to make it bigger does kind of defeat the purpose.

That's all I've got for now. I don't know who slipped the caffeine in my drink today, but I am going to use this energy to be productive tonight!