I didn't make the tulip-shaped dishcloth yet. In fact, I strayed from knitting entirely, for a while.

I certainly strayed from this blog.  I really CAN'T be trusted.

FIRST UP:  OBLIGATORY YARN-RELATED CONTENT:  

I haven't bought yarn in a Really, Really Long Time.  I am on a yarn fast, and finishing up UFOs (UnFinished Objects) from the stash. The very, very large, out-of-control, hoarded stash of yarn and UFOs.  The current UFO, and the only project I allow myself to touch until it is done, is a pair of rather yummy ankle sock, the yarn for which was bought in Florida when my kid was in a basketball tournament down there in Orlando, sometime around July of  2011, I think.  I cast on the socks then... and I'm finishing them now.

• Yarn shop:  
• Needle Craft World, in Kissimmee, FL.  needlecraftworld.net  
• Yarn:  
• Infatuation, color 1302.  two skeins, 7.95 per.  
• Needles:  
• Knit Picks, of which I'm not too fond.  They feel almost sticky to me.  Size... I dunno.  maybe they're size 2?  something like that.  
• Guage:  
• eh.  Running about 7 stitches to the inch.  
• Pattern:  
• You might have noticed my previous rambly post about making socks.. it's kind of a recipe, or guide, for making YOUR sock with YOUR needles and YOUR yarn.  I tend to just kinda wing it when I'm knitting socks.  It's not hard, but people THINK it's hard, so then they think I have really big Smartacles... Which I do.  I can own that. 
• top down
• 2-at-a-time
• Intended target:  
• This is under intense negotiation.  Thing 2 thinks they should be for HER, but she is threatening to wear them OVER HER POINTE SHOES, ON THE SIDEWALK OUTSIDE THE STUDIO...yeah, that's not going to work for me.  Therefore, I think they should be MINE. 

NON-YARN, CHATTY PERSONAL CONTENT:

I got a job  (GET A JOB, I said to myself.  And then I did it.)  I have friends and loved ones to thank for that; Beloved Cousin, who hired me to deliver veggies, and then L.P., who kindly recommended me to share a job with her as an office assistant for a professional organizer.

Yeah, a professional organizer.  Stop laughing.

I can't stop laughing.  Seriously, I can't say it without a giggle.  But, The Boss is a quilter, so she understands about craft stashing.  I'm hoping to learn a thing or two from her, about stash management.  I will post some ideas here.

OK, so...  first, the vegetables:  See, Thing 1 has gone to college.  College, people.  I have a kid in COLLEGE.   This traumatizes me, but even more than that, this traumatizes my wallet.  And Thing 2 is still taking dance classes, at an insane level of participation and commitment.  Should we be prioritizing DANCE classes, financially speaking?  The argument could strongly be made that we should NOT, but..  It's her THING.  This is a struggle.

So I needed a paying gig.  I've made Forays into Work World, over the last decade or so, but this is, hopefully, a Return.  Returning to Work World, after being absent for 15 years, is very difficult.  The confidence is not there, and frankly, the skills have eroded.  I mean, I still lapse into using words like "potty," and my wardrobe is "Mommy Chic:"  sweats and jeans and oversized t-shirts.  So I've learned to shop smart in thrift shops for work clothes (which is surprisingly fun).  I have stared for hours at my resume, and I might even have a halfway decent one written.  I have struggled mightily with the whole "courage to submit" thing.  I have tended to screen myself out of jobs before I even finish reading the job announcements.

So.  Beloved Cousin, who rocks solid in a thousand ways, got involved with a veggie delivery crowd. The Farm Table (thefarmtable.org) actually is a fantastic group that delivers in Virginia.  They market and sell local, sustainably grown fresh produce gathered from farmers who are all located within about a 150 mile radius of Richmond, VA.  Their motto:  "48 hours, dirt to doorstep."  Some of the dirt comes along; there is no time wasted with washing your potatoes for you.  Anyhow, I tried out their service, thought they were fairly awesome, and signed up to make deliveries, because hey, I got a pretty great discount and I worked pretty much entirely on Thursdays.  And, Beloved Cousin was my boss, which was fun.  Actually working for a relative is hard, because you want so much not to let a relative down that you tend to go perhaps a little work-crazed.   Anyhow, between the (admittedly not wildly high) wages and the (very, very deep) discount, and along with the increased fun of cooking interesting and healthy food, my grocery budget took a plunge, which helped us.

SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT:  

If you check out their website (thefarmtable.org) 

and you decide to sign up, use coupon code 

KristinTFT 

to get $15 off the $50 yearly signup fee.  

You can buy a trial box before signing up.  

You can skip deliveries, at will.  

AND if you want to get involved delivering, they are looking for Team Members.  

Drop me a message and I'll get you in touch with them, 

or call the numbers on the website for more info.  

DISCLAIMER:  

All the awesome stuff I am saying about The Farm Table is true.. 

I am still their customer, and technically not quite off their payroll, 

and I will get a small boost if you use coupon code KristinTFT.  

Still.  Objectively speaking, It's Good.  

Along the way, I met a bunch of Farm Table Team Members, mostly Awesome Chicks, though there are some Awesome Dudes, too.  L.P. was one of these.  She left the employ of The Farm Table, and began working part time for a professional organizer, and needed someone to share the full-time hours, and for some inexplicable reason, she thought of ME.  I am grateful.  I've had to give up delivering for The Farm Table, which I enjoyed and which I miss -- but I was hired and have begun working 28 or so hours a week, doing Office Assistant things.  I like it.  And the wardrobe requirements are casual, so the clothes-shopping requirement is very low.

I was a Program Analyst for the government, many moons ago, and for a long time, before quitting to raise the Things.  Since them, I have worked intermittently for temp agencies, and I have worked for preschools and elementary schools, and I have worked for retail establishments and even a bookstore cafe.  I have taught knitting classes, I have delivered groceries and now I am an office assistant ... What a weird resume.  I'm nothing if not well-rounded.

Well, that's it.  I got nothin' else to say.

:) K