Thursday, February 13, 2014

Ravellenic Games Day Seven

Wow.  It's the end of the first week already.  How did that happen?

The crazy Texas weather decided to actually allow me to go to my Astronomy class tonight.  It would have been better if I'd remembered to wear my winter boots, because Converse have absolutely no insulation whatsoever.  I was physically in pain from the waist down when we went back inside, from not having enough layers.  I'll try to remember next time.

I'm thinking my medal count is off at this point, because surely we've finished more projects.  I'll check tomorrow, but I'll put up the old count tonight anyway:

Cable Cross-Country (1)
Cross Cowling (1)
Mitten Moguls (1)
Single Skein Speed Skate (2)
Stash Skeleton (1)
WIPs Dancing (2)

I'm actually extremely pleased with my progress for today.  I hit two major milestones today, which makes me think maybe I can actually get this stuff done with time to spare.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Ravellenic Games Day Six

Why did no one inform me it was Stupid Drivers Only Day?  That would have been nice to know before I went out on the road today!  Driving Tip Of The Day:  When you signal to turn left, move into the left-turn-only lane, don't just block up the straight lane!

In other news, I've discovered that people with weird or unusual hobbies and passions are more likely to listen to each other talk about their passions even if they don't share them.  Case in point: My English teacher has a great love for pens and pencils.  He spends a great deal of money on really nice vintage pens that have a rich history, fancy quick-dry ink from Liverpool (because he's left-handed), and "the most perfect pencil in the world" according to somebody.  And we spent half of English class today talking about the pens he uses to grade our papers (a Parker 51)and how using a favorite pen or pencil actually makes the writing process more pleasing.  Some students were laughing, but I was really interested.  It's always wonderful to listen to people talk about subjects they really care about.

My knitting circle was tonight, as I think I mentioned yesterday.  My best friend ended up having to do something for his world history class, so I knew he wouldn't be coming.  But no one else came either!  I did not expect to be the only one there tonight, but I was able to make significant progress on my socks (more on that in a minute).

The medal count seems to be stalled.  Are we just not finishing quick projects anymore?  Just a a reminder, we have 8 medals total, from the following categories:

Cable Cross-Country (1)
Cross Cowling (1)
Mitten Moguls (1)
Single Skein Speed Skate (2)
Stash Skeleton (1)
WIPs Dancing (2)

My spinning sort of... crashed.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Ravellenic Games Day Five

Today has been the weirdest day.

I woke up when my alarm went off at eight, checked my computer to be sure classes were definitely still canceled, and pulled the covers back over my head.  I love my Octuple Rainbow because if I pull it over my head and tuck the rest of the blankets around my neck, it's still warm and reasonably dark but the holes in the granny squares allow me to breathe.  My mother came in at nine-something to let me know that while our street is totally clear, a friend a few miles away had reported that her driveway is completely iced over.  Weirdest weather ever.

I've now watched all but the last five minutes of The Square, which is a fascinating documentary released on Netflix about the ongoing Egyptian protests against the government. (Did you know those were still going on this past summer?  Apparently America lost interest, because I didn't know that.)  I'll try to finish the last five minutes tomorrow, which is frustrating because it's probably two minutes of movie and three of credits.  If that.

And because of the evil school-chomping weather that did not exist, I went to hang out/study with my best friend and Astronomy classmate, talked about grocery shopping and the horrors of kids who won't clean up after themselves with his mother, and listened to more of my frightening audiobook on the way (more on this later).

Medal count stands just as it was yesterday, so I'll simply remind you:

Monday, February 10, 2014

Ravellenic Games Day Four

Really, it's only Day Four?  Wow.  Time is crawling.  I thought it was later than that.

School does not seem to be cramping my speed much, but maybe that's more of a reflection on how much time I actually spend doing homework.  I think the most time-consuming part of school is actually the driving, but that's probably because it feels like wasted time.  (Except I listen to audiobooks, and that makes it not a waste of time.)

Anyway.  You all are here to see the medal count, aren't you?  Then let's get to it!  New medal categories and additions in current categories will be listed in blue to make them easier to recognize.  Oh, and I'm going to start alphabetizing them.  This random order thing is starting to kill me.

Cable Cross-Country (1)
Cross Cowling (1)
Mitten Moguls (1)
Single Skein Speed Skate (2)
Stash Skeleton (1)
WIPs Dancing (2)

Both our new medals today were earned by a wonderfully soft-looking bulky cowl knit by one of my teammates in an astonishing 2.75 hours!  (Seriously, she knit a thing you can actually wear.  In under three hours.  She deserves those prizes.)

On to my progress for the day:

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Ravellenic Games Day Three

No one is slowing down yet!

I'm only hearing sporadically from my teammates, so I assume they're all knitting like the wind.  (Can the wind knit?)

The medal count stands now at:

WIPs Dancing (2)
Mitten Moguls (1)
Cable Cross-Country (1)
Single Skein Speed Skate (1)
Stash Skeleton (1)

Which is only one more medal than we previously had, but that medal is mine!  A WIPs Dancing medal earned for me by this lovely little fella...

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Ravellenic Games Day Two

This year's Ravellenics are off to a good start.  Two of my teammates have already finished their first projects.  I'd like to keep track of how many medals my team earns as a whole, just for the fun of it. So far, we have medals in...

WIPs Dancing (1)
Mitten Moguls (1)
Cable Cross-Country (1)
Single Skein Speed Skate (1)
Stash Skeleton (1)

That's five events my team has medaled in, and it's only the second day!  I'm so proud.

My own projects are coming along nicely as well.  Ready to see some major improvement?

Friday, February 7, 2014

Ravellenic Games Day One

Greetings from... virtualSochi, Russia!  I'm not actually in Sochi, but my brain kind of is.  At 10am this morning I joined knitters, crocheters, spinners, and weavers around the globe in beginning the challenge of working an entire project between the 7th and the 23rd, the run of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

I was not expecting to start at 10 since I have Speech class beginning at that time.  Because my professor ran out of copies on an important handout, though, class didn't start until a few minutes after ten, and I used those minutes to cast on for my first project.  Lucky coincidence!

I'm going to try to do daily updates on my progress, so you can keep up with the fun.  Ready?  Here we go.