Slapp

Not much happening in Kverulantinne-land. I've been trying to fend off a cold and have felt really sapped by trying to do errands in town (Oslo, that is) in the freezing temperatures, and really haven't made any headway setting up shop at my new job at ILN. I did get to see my dear friend Anne (waves to Anne!) and meet her husband and baby, which was a real treat. One of the best things about moving here was the fact that I already have a small, but really wonderful network of friends in place.

E seems to be taking to his preschool really well, mostly because of the copious opportunities for sledding. I'm surprised that he isn't more tired at the end of the day. He's going to bed really late, and sleeping in way too long. But he seems happy and healthy, so I can't complain. Apparently he learned the word "slem" ("naughty") in preschool yesterday, as last night he was trying it out on us, telling us he was a "slem" boy to see how we would react. He is getting a little resistant to speaking English already, and I'm pretty lazy about using it. In all my previous time in Norway I have been absolutely rigid about speaking only Norwegian so that I could improve my language skills, so it takes a really concerted effort for me to remember to speak English with E.

I've started two new knitting projects in the new year. The first was a reversible ribbed cable stole using lace weight alpaca yarn. I had wanted to try something with lace weight yarn for some time, and I am totally entranced by reversible cable patterns of all varieties, so this was a must. I had ordered two skeins of the yarn from Knitpicks before we left, and mysteriously they sent me three, which is just the right amount for the pattern, which further confirmed that I was destined to knit this. Here's a snap:

But after almost finishing one of the three skeins, I have to admit that I was pretty tired of using such thin yarn and such thick and awkward needles. I also noticed during my first week at work that I seriously need to acquire a few more sweaters. I'm still working out issues with my bank card, so I haven't been able to order the remaining Jamieson DK that I need to finish the Drops jacket I was working on (I only need enough of the dark color for a sleeve...d'oh!), so that meant that I really just had to go out and buy the yarn for a new project if I wanted something wearable any time soon. Garnstudio has a simple ribbed turtleneck in DK weight that fits the bill, and they have a very inexpensive superwash wool in nice colors, so I bought some at Tjorven yesterday, and am already well into the third ball of yarn. I love mindless, easy knitting. Here's the color, although it's really more of a bluish-green-gray in real life:

Well, I think that's it for an update. We're supposed to be able to pick up the car tomorrow...

P.S. On the front page of Ravelry today there was a picture from the yarn store, Unwind (in Burbank, of all places!). Seldom have I seen a retail space that so appealed to me. I think I want to live there...