The Dweebmachine

 I had a wonderful day today, what with the cool drizzly weather (a welcome change for the hottest February I've ever experienced; admittedly I am in Guatemala...) and an orchid exhibit just next to my apartment! A couple friend's (one was a member of the orchid society in Guatemala) and I met for a little coffee and a nice visit. The exhibit was small, but it had all local to Guatemala orchids! There were micro-orchids,  The orchids are growing in the center of the leaves! grassy orchids,  and of course the Monja Blanca, the national orchid to Guatemala.                 According to my friend it's a sort of albino variant of a pink orchid.  It was really nice to discuss the different things and a little about how many were discovered because of Orchidmania in the Victorian era. It's dark, but the petals are GREEN! And wel...

As promised here's a quick roundup of projects I'm currently working on:   First up, the waffle pullover! It's from a vintage pattern, my second attempt at using one. I put it aside when I had a dream about a sweater, which happens to be my next project: an Irish wool striped pullover Finally, I have a mitered square blanket I'm working on in between things, not that I've had time in a few weeks. It's using cotton from right here in Guatemala! Well most of it. I had a few scraps of cotton that I brought with me from the US.

 It's been a while, hasn't it? It's been a very stressful few weeks! First my birthday, which was not stressful, but rather busy. I made a complex dessert and a curry. I had a couple friends over for dinner, games, and cocktails. It was amazing. One got me some really nice Irish yarn! Birthday cake, knife included A little drunk chilling on the couch Then at the last minute the Guatemalan government decided we could teach in person when the city was on Red, which it couldn't do before. We found out at 5:00pm the night before (and the day after my birthday 😭). I adapted and managed to get to work with only a little annoyance. But on Tuesday, after being back only two days, I was forced to quarantine because two of my students tested positive. Then a parent did. Then another parent. So, a week of stress over if I was infected, because I HAD been exposed...We came back Wednesday, with parents of COVID positive children angry they had to wait a week, because of...

 I've been really busy the past couple of weeks, but I haven't at the same time. My school went virtual for two weeks because 40% of my division and 30% or so of others were in quarantine. I'm talking teachers, not students. We were allowed to work from home, so I did. I appreciated the opportunity to ease back in. However, let me just say: teaching is HARD. Teaching 3 year olds is HARD. If we are virtual, it's a little physically easier, but it's emotionally exhausting. In person, it's both. We go back in person on Monday. It's Saturday now. I do love my job, though. Early Childhood education is a joy. Okay, so it doesn't really feel like a New Year, because the past several months bleed together. COVID life is wild. I always make resolutions to grow as a person each year, and this year I thought of them, but I never did anything about it. I like to draw out something that represents them, so I have a visual to motivate me. This year its: Remember who y...

 There was this blanket I heard about ages and ages back, near to when I started in 2018. I don't remember exactly when I found it, but it came up repeatedly. As a novice knitter, I was intimidated by a large blanket, so I pushed it out of my mind. By the time I was ready, I had started selling things. I had to get ready for a convention, so no time. On and on the excuses came: art show, Christmas gifts, quarantine. Sure, quarantine in 2020 was probably the best time to make a blanket, but this one was never really high on my list of things to do. I had a list of sweaters I wanted to make, a couple half started projects to finish, and techniques I wanted to learn. Quarantine eased, and I was hired in Guatemala. Cue the list of projects that will use up yarn AND I could bring with me. This project uses up yarn, but I never would have been able to get it here. And since moving here, I fell in love with blankets, even though it never really gets that cold in Guatemala. But hey, it...

 I live in Guatemala. I've been here for about 6 months now, well, I'm in the 6th month. I've gone to the market, visited Antigua for a weekend (twice), and explored a few things in the city. None of this was vacation. From the outside, it feels like it should be a vacation, but it's my life. I'm a teacher, so I go to work, get home, eat a lot of food, and crash. Every day. Knitting is involved in this of course. On weekends I grocery shop or stop in Dollar City for decorations or pots and pans. That's life. It's what I did as a teacher back in the United States. Why should that change just because I'm in another country? I know people will argue the point that because I'm in another country I have an obligation to do things and travel. These people are not preschool teachers. Planning a trip takes time and money, something I don't have enough of often. Just because it's easier to go to Antigua if you live in Guate, doesn't mean you want ...

 I've been busy, busy the past couple weeks! I realized I had a stricter time limit on a couple knit things than I thought, so decided to put the tree skirt on hold. It will be done by Christmas, yes, but I'm taking a break. I foolishly told a group of students at my school that I would make them a surprise. The surprise was knitted Christmas trees. They didn't take me long, but they were something else I had to do. Then I have Christmas stockings. I have a strict timeline, which turns out is about 2 weeks, to finish several Christmas stockings (4 now, I think). I've made 2. I take on too much at Christmas. Anyway, I'm leaving for a trip on Friday, and will be able to knit some while away. Not much, though. Here's what I have done so far:     And I would have done more, but I've been visiting my friend's kitten. He's a darling little thing but he won't let me knit.