blah blah introspection whatever stuff and stuff

Shit, when did this blog get to be all FEELINGS and shit? I thought I was here to talk about yarn.

Just kidding. But I suppose I could write something more substantial than "look how depressed I'm not anymore" and actually tell people what I'm up to. I'm still keeping up my lots-o-hours at Preble Street. Subbing technically isn't over, but it seems teachers are sucking it up and just working this week. I suppose taking a day off now is like getting tackled on the 1 yard line. I just hoped someone would want to use up the rest of their sick time and earn me a fast $75 on a day I might happen to have available. But, instead, I'm doomed to just sleep in, read, level up on WoW, and make muffins. Tragedy, I know. And my last day of subbing was the perfect way to close out my career. I did absolutely nothing. Literally. Not only did I never teach anything, I never stood up. I sat at the teacher's desk all day and did the following:

* Drink tea
* Use a laptop
* Gossip with someone that used to be an ed tech in Yarmouth
* Read over 100 pages
* Text friends
* Eat a sandwich (roast beef, pickles, mustard, pepperjack cheese, warmed up in the microwave so the cheese is melty)
* Do an entire crossword puzzle
* Text my friend to inform him that I did an entire crossword puzzle

That's it. This guy teaches study hall. And if there's ever more than one kid in the room, there's at least one, sometimes two, ed techs in the room. So I had absolutely nothing to do. Allegedly this guy has a reason to have a job, but I wasn't seeing it. That said, AWESOME. There was absolutely no reason for me to be there. But there is no better reason to get woken up at 5:15 am. (I got back to sleep, MERCIFULLY.)

I fell out of the knitting zen for a while, since I got absorbed in other hobbies, as well as totally bored with my current projects. I was making that cowlneck endless stockinette sweater seen in the previous post, as well as a 3x3 ribbed knee sock. I finished one sock but needed to graft it, and meh, who wants to do that. I also had to cast on the next one after that and I just couldn't work up the effort to pay attention to when I should decrease to match the original sock. I got way into reading again, going back to my 300 page a day habit. It's easier to kill a couple hours when you're absorbed in a book than when you're knitting, since you're not looking around or just making the same motion over and over. I'd been reading in the library, my car, Monument Square, down at the waterfront, on the beach, at a park, really just all over Portland. I feel like there's so much reading I have to catch up on, seeing all the amazing books at the Portland Public Library I want to read. It doesn't help that I was recently introduced to Longfellow Books and would be happy to buy out the entire store. (A Portland, ME bookstore)

My zest for baking has returned, as well. I used the time I had today, with not working until 3, to make vegan apple cinnamon muffins. Originally, I was just going to follow a non-vegan recipe in my Pillsbury baking book. This book has never once failed me. I put the word out on Facebook that I was going to bake for my coworkers, and the first and immediate response was from a vegan coworker. I mentally facepalmed, picturing me bringing in those muffins and he not being able to eat them. I wondered about how shitty that must feel to have to pass on something others are enjoying Every. Single. Time., and decided that, out of respect for Sean, I was going to make some damn vegan muffins. The first link I looked at had a super simple recipe. All I had to do was buy bananas, and since I'm a turd and had forgotten to buy apple juice when I bought the apples in the first place, I had to go back to the grocery store anyways. I even scored a couple of Empire apples last night when I was flirting with the fruit guy. He had them hidden out back and brought them to me when I took issue with how shitty all the McIntoshes looked. To his credit, they were indeed absolutely perfect for the muffins. I'll have to go back and thank him for succumbing to my feminine charms and getting them. Vaginas are powerful, man.

The muffins were easy to make, and allowed me to get my prep cook on by dicing up the apples and mashing bananas, both of which were highly therapeutic. And, now there's apple juice in my house. I doubled the recipe, since I knew if they turned out to be any good, they'd go fast at work, and I'd still want to leave some home for my grandmother to eat. I ended up with one muffin shy of 3 dozen. I also covered myself in batter, but that's just obligatory.

They were so well-received at work that I can't wait to make more. I even got high praise from someone who told me that this was literally the first vegan snack he's ever enjoyed. And most importantly, Sean loved them. I did good. And, I even loved them! A lot of times I lose interest in what I baked, since I have high standards and can taste when a cake just isn't right, or I'm too annoyed with how a cookie came out. But these are awesome. That muffin pan is about to get some serious use. If only it wasn't a total bitch to clean.

Working on the sweater in the previous post right now. It's a bit below belly button length now. That means I'll be switching over to 4x4 ribbing soon and then the body is done. Just sleeves left. I got a huge chunk of the body done on Friday, between getting out of work at 9:45 and going into super focus mode when knitting at the bar with my friends Megan, Brian, and Matt. It grew like crazy then. I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere. I got my knitting mojo back by making a new slouchy hat, and I loved the pattern so much that there might be another one coming soon. But for now, I'm sleepy. See you tomorrow, internet.

Wait. One more thing. The other day, just because that's how I am, I started answering the phone at Preble Street thusly:

Preble Street, this is Liza, can I help you?

Sometimes it's best just to give in and go with it.