Friday, August 6, 2010

Sunrises, Shawls, and Squirrels (and Such...)

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments on my Bali posts.  I hope I didn't bore you all to sleep with my endless ramblings about my trip with picture after picture after picture of scenes that I'm sure meant more to me than they did to you.  It was important to me to be able to document that trip, so thank you for humoring me for the past couple of weeks.

I returned home from my cabin a little less than a week ago and I, of course, can't help but show you all some pictures of the sunrises which I had the pleasure of watching every morning.


Honestly, nothing is more peaceful to me than sitting alone in the morning watching a sunrise.  I could do it all day long (if only... but then maybe it wouldn't be as special).


Every morning I would sneak out of my cabin before anyone else was awake to watch the sun come up behind the trees and listen to the birds begin their morning.


In fact, I would set up my own little stakeout on the deck with everything I needed for my morning.


Just me and the outside world.  A stack of bird books within arm's reach, a pair of binoculars, my camera, and a towel to dry off in case I chose to go for an early morning dip.


I really do miss that place when I'm not there.


Though you may have noticed that I didn't have any knitting with me in the mornings, I did find time during the evenings to work on my Aeolian shawl a little more and wouldn'tchaknowit, I finished!


It still (obviously) needs to be blocked, but I'm going to wait until I get to Pittsburgh to do that.


It seems like it would be a good project to christen my new apartment with.

Speaking of my new apartment... I'm moving on Wednesday.  And yes, I am overcome by a wave of stress every time I think of this.  Moving to an apartment in itself shouldn't be a stressful event, but the composite effect of several events occurring at the same time is quite overwhelming.
  • First of all, did you know I've never lived in an apartment before?  For undergrad I was required to live in the dorms for all four years, so I have never experienced the wonders of paying rent.
  • I am moving to a new city on the other side of the country - a city in which I know absolutely nobody
  • Top it off with a large amount of stress about preparing for grad school
  • Then add the cherry of the fact that I have an audition a week after I arrive and my clarinet has gone untouched for the past few months.  And let me tell you, I may mentally know how to play, but the physicality is gone.  Sadly, this is not one of those times when the "riding a bike" analogy can be used.  The muscle memory in my fingers is fine, but the muscle development in my embouchure is gone, and that can only be fixed with careful practice.
I don't think a day goes by in which I don't think to myself, "What the f#$! am I thinking?!"  Ah stress, how I missed thee.  (Now please go away).

Also, my landlord seems to think that I owe him rent beginning from July 15, which is something he never stated until today, I have not yet signed a lease, I wasn't even in the country (let alone this half of the globe) on July 15, and my early correspondences with him state that I was looking for an apartment beginning on August 1st.  I kind of wish everything weren't happening all at once, you know?

Anyway, I'm done complaining for the day.  Look what was in our yard a couple of days ago?


It's a baby squirrel!!!!  And also adorable.  It fell out of its nest in the maple tree in our front yard and cried and cried and cried until we picked it up.


It was such a precious little thing, its eyes not yet open and its body nearly naked sans its cute little whiskers and a bit of peach fuzz on its head.  Those cute little ears and tiny claws were so endearing, I didn't want to return it to its family, but we all know that mother knows best and it was back to the tree for this little fellow.  What a cute little guy.

16 comments:

  1. Sunrises? Beautiful. Baby squirrel? Not the cutest baby animal I've ever seen, but adorable in its own right. I've never seen a baby squirrel before!

    Moving to an apartment? Good luck! I do understand where the stress is coming from.

    And clarinet? I never knew how to spell embouchure before. I was never curious enough to look it up (I used to be a singer, so I know a bit about instrumentalists' terminology) and thought it started with an "a" or an "o" so it's a good thing I never tried!

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  2. A) Cute baby squirrel!
    B) Beautiful Aeolian, can't wait to see what it looks like when blocked :)
    C) Good luck on the new apartment and city adventures!

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  3. I was clarinet major in college. I live south of Pittsburgh. I spent a summer teaching/learning music in south Africa. I know what it is to say that we can't see what you see in your pictures. I also remember the disorientation upon my arrival home. We have a knit night at paneras in canonsburg- should you find yourself in need of knitterly grounding, we are a nice group. (though likely grad music school will offer little time for such things). My email is blts at windstream dot net. (knitnightMarc is comes to knit night so we'd be a statistical anomoly in western PA if there were 2! male knitters)

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  4. Be glad you're not in, say, Harrisburg (remember, PA = Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and Alabama in between)! Glad you got some beautiful and restorative sunrises. Gotta say, THAT is some butt uguly baby critter... demon claws of doom and all... I would stick to your guns about the Aug 1 date, especially if you have documented correspondence. Or get him to reduce your security deposit by that amount. Or pay that amount in fuel or something. Good luck in your recital!

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  5. Although I didn't comment on each one I thoroughly enjoyed all of your posts about Bali. I was so glad you documented it in such detail!

    Try not to be too stressed about your first apartment, rent, auditions and all that. Just get back to practicing, and everything will fall into place.

    Did you ever say where you are going to grad school? I don't recall. However, I'm sure you will know plenty of people soon enough. By the end of your first month you will no longer worry about not knowing anyone, and be irritated that your responsibilities are hindering your social life.

    Oh, I am rambling. Love the shawl! Beautiful work, as always.

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  6. Your nupps look amazing. Seriously. Did you use a different technique for them? I'm working on my swallowtail, and I'm just not very satisfied with the nupps.

    That little baby squirrel is oh-so-adorable!

    Apartment living is fun; I bet you'll enjoy it.
    Good luck with re-learning the clarinet!

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  7. Beautiful skies and lace! I like the baby squirrel's nails but the rest of him is less nice. Good luck with the move etc.!

    xo

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  8. Baby animals always do better with their parents.

    And do get in touch with my friends when you get to Pgh. Maybe you and Eve can do a little guitar & clarinet dueting.

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  9. I totally understand that kind of stress. I just did all of that when I started grad school in Philly last year and had my sister's wedding about a week before moving. It was nuts!

    When you get to Pittsburgh, head to Primanti Brothers for a sandwich and Pamela's for pancakes and you may forget about all that stress!

    Welcome to the Keystone State!

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  10. That shawl looks awesome!

    I'm sure everything with your move will work out. It always seems that the lead up to any major event is more stressful than it really should be. Good luck!

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  11. Beautiful sunrise and gorgeous shawl!! I think that one is def in my queue. As far as the apartment, I think you'll enjoy apartment living, just stick to your original date, specially if you'vealready paid your security deposit.

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  12. Those sunsets are just gorgeous!! And so is your shawl! It is very impressive.

    I'm sorry to hear that you are having a stressful time but hopefully it is all for the best. I hope that the move goes smoothly and that things can be worked out reasonably with the landlord. I'm sure you'll love apartment living! Are you going to be living on your own or do you have some roommates? That could make all the difference.

    Perhaps someday while you are there for grad school I can come for a visit...

    The baby squirrel is adorable!!! So glad to hear that you rescued it and returned it to its mother.

    Good luck!

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  13. I was so busy during the time you were in Bali that I'm only just now catching up on your posts! What an amazing experience.

    OMG, I totally understand your stress. I hope everything goes smoothly, but I know how hard it is to have everything happen at once like that. At least you got to play with a *totally adorable* baby squirrel! I've never seen one that small!

    Good luck with everything!

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  14. And how on earth could I forget to tell you how gorgeous that shawl looks, even unblocked?? Nupps are awesome.

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  15. Not boring, not at all! I really enjoyed reading and seeing all the gorgeous photos, even if I didn't comment. I was, just in my head. :P

    The shawl is beautiful, did you make the smaller version for sanity's sake, or yarn restrictions?

    The baby squirrel makes my heart go squee! He looks FAR too big to be that obviously young. I hereby dub him "Squirrelzilla".

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  16. Beautiful photos!!! And the squirrel is adorable! I vote for you to name the squirrel "Mo". (btw, I am MariaE on Ravelry)

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