Umm...Hi.

Okay, well, this blogging thing hasn't worked out like I had in mind. Namely, I had actual blogging in mind, and it hasn't worked out in that I haven't done it.  In brief, here are some things I meant to cover in the recent non-existent posts. 

Post 1: Steven and I had some people over a couple of weeks before moving. I made a cake for the occasion. It became, through a series of poor choices, accidents, and general misfortune, the ugliest cake I've ever made. 

Seriously, it was bad. And if that doesn't convey the full horribleness of the cake, then know that it was not intended to be a bundt cake. It was flat; the middle didn't get done, and I scraped it out and covered it with icing. Too much icing, producing the "ant farm" look seen here:

On the bright side, everyone liked the sprinkles and enjoyed the moistness of the cake. I think "moist" does sound much better than "undercooked."

Post 2: We moved from here

With all of this

To Fayetteville. I don't have a picture for that yet. Also, that "upstairs fragile" label was not ours. We don't have an upstairs, but we did have a lot of boxes leftover from someone else's move. We were completely unpacked within a few days, and we're very comfortable here. We've spent time with a couple of old friends, made some new friends through visiting different churches, and learned our way around, at least to the main places we have any need to reach. Now we're mostly just looking forward to the start of school and our time as graduate students. At least, I think I'm looking forward to it...

Post 3:

I've been knitting a little. I've been working on this scarf/shawl, using the pattern Gabriel's Wings. 

I've been adjusting the width of the stockinette and garter bands as I go to suit my taste. I rather like the way it looks with the stockinette bands getting wider with every repeat. So far I've only narrowed the garter to three ridges, but I may bring it down to 2 as I get closer to the end. 

Post 4: I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday. It was very different than Searcy's, in that it was much bigger with a wide range of people. The best way I can put it is that it didn't feel like I was in Arkansas anymore. I bought some corn, purple-hull peas, and potatoes, and supplemented those with grocery store carrots, celery, onion, and vegetable broth, and made a really delicious vegetable soup. I love a good hearty soup, even in the summer. I also love it when I manage to pull off a good meal where all the vegetables are properly done, not crunchy or mushy, the cornbread is golden and just right, and it's all on the table by six o'clock. It seems to happen so rarely that it's a big thrill when it does. 

And returning to my current post. I'm trying to focus my attention this evening on re-learning the International Phonetic Alphabet. I expect to be tested on it at either orientation or the first day of classes, and I also expect that doing poorly on that test will require me to retake a class on phonetics. I do not want to do that, so here I am, studying before school even starts. Ah well. At least it gives me a focus for the last few days of summer - I'd probably be a little down if I didn't know what I needed to be getting done.