I find myself someplace new. It would have been easy to slink back to Chicago after my last gig. I'd finally had enough months ago, but had to find a new job before quitting that one. So, I find myself in a new state, working at a real regional theatre. So far, things are good. Sure, I've schlepped and fished cables through the mud (don't try that at home), but that effort has been appreciated. I am part of a team here. I need that. My skin has also cleared up and my hair looks better. Less stress or no more crappy soft water? Perhaps a combination of both.
Winston is lying next to me as I write this. The move has been an upgrade for him, too. He has more windows from which to look longingly at the semi-wooded yard, and lots of sunny spots for naps. He already has a couple of fans in the chorus, who met him while visiting one of my roommates. In short, it is good to be Winston.
I am knitting occasionally a sock out of Claudia Handpainted sock yarn. I keep telling myself that I do not need more yarn, though I also took note of the local yarn store listed in the program at work. Maybe I'll just go check it out on my day off....

I am somewhere else

Yep, big changes have occurred since I last wrote here. Now, I live in a completely different part of the country. I don't like it. People are nice enough, certainly, but I'm used to living in a city. I realized this while riding the Metro and reading the free daily paper, as I had so many times in Chicago. It felt normal. I need to walk quickly down city sidewalks and feel the faster rhythms of an urban setting. It feels strange disliking a place that many consider an island paradise. It's gorgeous, but the pace is slow. So, so slow. Also, I am without the benefits of working in a major metropolitan market. If I need an unusual adapter, I have to order it and wait. Everything takes longer to get here, too. I spent half an hour on the phone with the post office this morning because a package I've been expecting is stuck in some sort of holding pattern in Puerto Rico. I live nowhere near Puerto Rico.
Work is work. I have a bunch of new gear, which is a joy. A console designed and made this century! It's like driving a Porsche after years of driving a Buick Century. The new sound system doesn't address all of the problems here; it never could. The expectations are high and the support low. I design the shows, I mix the shows, I schlep the gear, and I set up and break down everything myself. It's a lot.
So, that's a heap of complaints. It's not all bad. I have a very nice roommate who handily replaces lightbulbs and laughs with me about work bullshit. My cat is here with me, unlike previous relocations. I've gotten several RAK packages of sock yarn ends for my hexipuff project lately, too.
My knitting mojo has been on the wane since I moved.  Maybe because I am working many more hours than I was as a freelancer, maybe because the need for warm woolies is basically non-existent here. So, I've taken up my hexipuffs again. They're extremely portable and endlessly addictive. Last year, a fellow raveler sent me a huge bag of Socks that Rock ends. So, so many beautiful colors and a lot more than I could have dreamed from a total stranger. I think she must have small feet, because she had more yarn left over from making socks than I ever do. Well, 150 hexipuffs later, I put out another request for scraps on ravelry and was met with more astonishing generosity. I'm making one now with a lovely ball of Dream in Color Everlasting Sock that is dreamy to knit with. I've used their dk before for cowls and things, but the sock version is a lovely surprise.
So, how many puffs are one hundred and fifty puffs? Well, about a third of what I estimate I need to make a blanket large enough to drape across the back of my futon. They live in a large popcorn tin that I bought from Trader Joe's a couple Christmases back, with a couple of lavender sachets. And they keep me knitting while my enthusiasm for larger projects is on the wane.