Lawsy lawsy! The times, they are a-changin'

I'm half-way through finals and it feels as if my brain is sort of spattered on the inside of my skull. So what did I do? I indulged in a little of what we like to call "retail therapy." Now, some of you know that I am what we like to call "dead broke," so my indulgence may come as somewhat of a surprise. But that's all part of the million and six things that have happened since I came back from Michigan, all million and six of which can be reasonably defined as Earthshaking Changes.

I finally convinced my Egyptian sock to pose for a photograph. It preened a little, but finally calmed down enough to get all of itself into the picture: I'm a big fan of the star-shaped stranded toe. I may have to incorporate it into some other socks, but how I have no idea. Toe-up might be a good place to start.

I'm sure you recall the Saga of the Finger, which thankfully has ended well although I think it will be awhile before I attempt marathon stranded work again. I recovered enough to finish my first German Stocking, of which I am quite proud. I resumed work on the Super Secret S--x project, which seems to be going along swimmingly since I swallowed my pride and ripped back the four pattern repeats to the original site of the missing yarnover. Now there is the proper number of stitches and everything is going well. I quite like the yarn and the colorway just tickles me to death, so I'm perpetually entertained. Then again, that's not difficult given my current (some would say permanent, and I know who you are!) state of being.

And now back to the retail therapy portion of our show. Last Friday, I took an interview with a tutoring company that was looking for a writing/English teacher. The interview went so well that I drove straight over to my usual LYS and bought my first Koigu and Lorna's Laces.
Oh, smooshy yarn I love you so! And in such pretty colors! Originally I was looking for something for my Hogwarts Sock Swap pal - a Slytherin - but I definitely came away with yarn I am unwilling to part with. Or should I say, yarn with which I am unwilling to part. Ending a sentence with a preposition is bad, mmkay? And I should know, because after all I am a tutor. And given my current obsession with knee-highs, I may have to pick up one more skein in each colorway before the dye-lots change on me.

Anyway, the interview went really well and on Saturday I was offered a full-time job with benefits and everything. Hurrah for a new job, with no more 5am mornings or snaggy fingernails or harsh chemicals! Can I get a hurrah - in case you missed it the first time - for no more 5am mornings? This clearly deserved more celebratory yarn purchases, so I ordered some things from Knitting Notions. Then I headed to Purlesence, where I actually found yarn for my sock swap partner.

Whew! All that searching and celebrating put a dent in the $900 refund from my student aid, but not as much as tomorrow's trip to H&M will. Since I am moving up in the world, I need more than one pair of khakis. Apparently teachers don't usually wear jeans and t-shirts to work like coffee jerks do. Who knew? So I'm saving some, but most of the rest of that refund is going to end up morphing magically into clothes that are work-appropriate.

In the meantime, the actual therapy occurred today to celebrate the middle of finals, two-weeks notice at the coffee shop and a successful first day at the Tutoring Place. I bought some things from The Knittery and some things from Etsy and and stopped there to create my very own Etsy shop, which will justify some of the purchases of the last 3 days. Once finals are over, I will start dyeing yarn. Hopefully it will continue to come out like this: So that's what's been going on. Lots of changes, no? There are more. Remember the Luscious Boy I mentioned visiting in Michigan? He may be moving here. And since Jer and Elizabeth are moving to San Francisco, he may be moving in with me, which has me in an interestingly mixed state of mild panic and excitement. Updates as they occur.

Can you see the problem with my Stash Drawer?
Technically there are two problems. One is that it is kitty-free - all that unlicked yarn! - but the second has to do with the top right corner. Oh, the depravity! And just so this post isn't as problematic as my Stash Drawer, here is your gratuitous tummy-and-paws shot of the day. Stay back, ladies! He's aaaall mine: