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Yesterday’s snowstorm in NYC was blown way out of proportion.  Yes, it snowed.  It snowed a lot.  But it was nothing when compared to the blizzard of 1996, where snow accumulation reached 30 inches in some areas.  The snowstorm we experienced yesterday was nowhere near a blizzard — the greatest amount of snow fell in the Great Kills neighborhood of Staten Island, topping the charts at 17 inches.  That’s really not so bad.  Public schools were closed, though, and the city university system shut down at 12 PM (several individual colleges chose to keep their doors closed all day).  As such, I didn’t have work and I couldn’t do much beside knit.  However, there was some excitement around 10 o’clock last night:

I’ve known that I’ve had mice for a few weeks now but, for the life of me, I could not figure out how to get rid of them. I have a cat, after all, so why should I be worrying about ridding of the mice? As it turns out, Dixon is a lousy mouse catcher:

He’s more interested in chasing them and playing with them rather than attacking or killing them. However, precisely because I have Dixon, I didn’t know what commercial techniques I could use to get this problem under control. Glue traps, spring traps, “zap” traps, and rodenticide all seemed extreme and inhumane. So when Alex caught the mouse last night in a jar, I didn’t know what to do. After some time on the Internet, the only advice I found was to drown it. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. This thing was too small (and, admittedly, too cute) to be disposed of in such a manner. So, instead, I braved the elephants and released this little field mouse into the woods behind my house.

This post is for you, little mouse. I hope you survived the 10 or so inches of snow out there… or became dinner for a wet, hungry street cat.

Of course, after bragging about all of my knitting adventures, I went and messed up that vest I mentioned last time.  My first mistake was accidentally throwing off the stitches in half the vest’s circumference.  However, I compensated for that error by adding a stitch (or two) and hoping that my sister wouldn’t notice the error.  However, about an hour later, I dropped several stitches and I couldn’t salvage them.  In the end, I unraveled the whole thing (about 5″ tall and 26″ around) while bawling my eyes out.  Instead of trying again, I just set the yarn and pattern aside and embarked on a different project while I mourned the loss of my vest.  (I ended up knitting a scarf for my boyfriend’s father.  It came out really well, if I do say so myself.)

About a week later, I figured I was ready to tackle the vest again… so I put my needles and yarn to work and, after three days, the vest is already looking like a vest!  (Or, at the very least, the beginning of a vest.)

It’s incredibly rewarding seeing the item take shape and look like what it’s supposed to look like.  At this point, though, all I’m worried about is fit.  The pattern is actually just a set of notes taken by a girl as she knit this sweater for herself.  (I think she’s Thumbelina in disguise.  She looks tiny in the photos!)  I’m hoping that I can recall some 5th grade math as I figure out the new dimensions for this vest, as it is meant to fit a regular-sized person.  It’s looking good so far and I’m quite pleased!

…Now I just need to make sure that I really pay attention while I knit so I stop making time-consuming mistakes.  (Harumph!)

As can be seen by my previous posts (and my Ravelry projects page), I’ve grown somewhat obsessed with knitting. In the span of two months, I’ve knit nine hats (one of which was unsuccessful) and six scarves (two of which were flops). I’m also currently in the middle of two projects: a pair of slippers and a vest. For the time being, I’ve decided to put off the slippers because … well, because I’m stuck and I don’t know how to proceed. I’ve knit the sole for one slipper and picked up stitches on the edge but I don’t know what to do next — I’m finding it difficult to follow the pattern instructions. Perhaps I’ll bring the project to my knitting group at work on Tuesday and see if someone there can help me figure it out.

Speaking of which, I left my job. Well, one of them. I will no longer be helping out at the reference desk but I am still involved in another project under another title at the same library. However, starting next week, I’ll begin my new job at another library. I’ll be on the reference desk for 15 hours per week, answering questions in person and by phone. I think I’ll also be on chat reference duty for much of that time. I spent several days this week running around campus, getting my paperwork done and taking my photo for the ID card. I was also given a tour of the library and I can genuinely say that I am looking forward to starting this job. The librarians and other staff members seem really nice. However, given that I was introduced to the library when classes were not in session, I do not know what to expect of the students. The first week at any college library is filled with questions like “Do you have this textbooks?” and “WHY DON’T YOU HAVE THIS TEXTBOOK!?” which is always nerve-wracking for everyone involved. I’m just glad I wasn’t there for the first day of classes (today) because I would most likely get a migraine.

So that’s what’s new in my life. If I’m not working (or worrying about interviewing for a full-time gig!), I’m knitting. People are starting to request things and I’ve yet to make something for myself. The vest is for my sister, the slippers are for Alex’s sister. Alex’s mother also requested a vest and his father wants a scarf. Alex himself wants a cardigan. I’ve also picked out a shawl that I want to make for my mother. (Well, I didn’t so much pick it out as I saw a coworker’s shawl and fell in love with it.)  As such, I’ve decided to continue coming in to the newly formed knitting group at my (old? current? existing?) job, even though I will not be coming onto the campus regularly.  I love my coworkers and colleagues so I’ll take any excuse to hang out with them.