I had a monster of an endocrinology exam on Friday and this week is going to be hell. There's a derm exam on Wednesday morning, then that and Thursday afternoons I have surgery that will take up all of the afternoon. Then on Friday morning I have a surgery lecture final. I wish I could be excited about doing my first spay and neuter but with this schedule I just know I will be exhausted and still have to go home and study afterward. So, no knitting to be done right now.

I did talk a couple friends into going to a LYS (well, if local includes 40 minutes of driving) and one of them decided she wanted to learn how to knit and bought some nice yarn for a scarf. The next time we have a free weekend (ha) I will give her a knitting lesson. I even talked her into knitting Continental even though she's right-handed. Ha! I could teach her the basics of English throwing but I'm super awkward with it and I kinda believe that Continental is just inherently faster, whether that's actually true or not, I dunno. :)

Finally, to contribute to my Secret Pal hostess's baby pattern frenzy, my favorite baby pattern that I've completed was the baby Chucks (Ravelry link) that I made for little Wayne. I have to say I had to make several just to get them perfect but the final product was so cute I was okay with that, and the other patterns I tried before I found that one were not so productive. Another easy favorite pattern would be the Umbilical Hat from Stitch 'n Bitch because they're super quick, and kitties don't mind trying them on for a few minutes (while they're napping.. see header photo).

Woops, I intended to make my usual Sunday post on Sunday but never got around to it. I am currently working on some glittens for a friend. I made one glove and the hand fits well (the next larger size is too baggy) but the fingers are too tight so I'm going to have to break out the calculator and figure out how to rectify this problem. The pattern is Urban Necessity. I made the first glove in a couple Gossip Girl episodes. Glad I still have most of the second season to catch up on.

School started again last week and I scrubbed into surgery for the first time! It was just surgery orientation but we will be completing our first procedure next week. It is pretty nervewracking. And closed gloving is HARD! Oh well I'm sure we will be very good at it by the end of the semester. That's all for now.

Sorry for missing a post! To prove I was afk, here are some vacation pics.

The upper Mesa waterfall in Idaho...



A buffalo somewhere in Montana..



And a pretty famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park..



So, no knitting recently but I've got a new project for a friend in the works. Tomorrow I start class again. This time it will be 2 years straight because we'll start doing clinical rotations at the end of the spring semester and work right through the summer. That's what I signed up for, I guess!

Garden Party



I didn't get any knitting done this week so I thought I'd share a photo of my unruly Zinnias. Please ignore the also unruly grass around the edges - I have the most unreliable lawn mower on the planet.

This week I had to finish the poster for my research project on a deadline. My mentor was too busy to meet with me about what needed to be on the poster until late in the afternoon the day before it was due because he was too busy. When I went home to work on it that evening, a bad storm came and knocked out my electricity. I took everything to a friend's house and worked on it for a few hours and then headed home to continue working. My electricity was back on but my router seemed to have died. I had to haul everything up to the school and finish what I could on the poster using the school's wifi. I left after 1 in the morning.

I am not at all the kind of person who leaves stuff to do til the last minute so that evening was way too stressful for me. I think it was payback for not having to work on my project as much as other students were working on theirs throughout the summer.

Well, I am glad I am pretty much done! We had our last weekly seminar on Friday and I just have to stand by my poster for a few hours on Tuesday and then the whole program is finished. I am going with a couple good friends to Yellowstone/Grand Teton soon afterward so I will finally get a chance to truly relax before school starts.

I have a wedding to go to tonight, and I am wearing a dress. This might not seem like much but I haven't worn a dress since my sister's wedding.. in 2002! I'm sure my friends will go crazy.

Alright, I will leave you with another garden photo to round out the party!