barredell

So it looks like I’ll be taking classes in East European fiddle technique starting…tomorrow! This is a bit odd, seeing as I’m in London, but I’m not complaining. I’ve wanted to learn this style of fiddle for a very, very long time – ever since I realized that my family’s Polish background is home to some really great music. So now I’m listening to Warsaw Village Band (modern folk on traditional instruments) on repeat to get pumped up. Whee!

First try at a knitting project that doesn’t look or act like a scarf:
Urchin, from Fall ‘07 Knitty. Lessons learned: Short rows are actually easy, they just sound difficult. I am still confused by grafting. And finally…
listen to them advice! check gauge first! the fitted beret became a Rastafarian-esque toque. I look like Strawberry Shortcake in pastels. Oh well, just took one day (and I was probably not going to use that yarn for anything anyway.) I’ll be in London this fall, so I’ll be hunting out yarn shops all soonlike so I can try this one again.

This is getting ridiculous. Two years ago, I lost 30 pounds over the course of the summer after graduation. This wasn’t fun (ate very little, exercised twice a day) but it was effective. Between college and two internships this summer (one in Alaska, where I ate the poor(college)man’s diet of carbohydrates and the other in China, where every meal was a meal at a restaurant) I have gained back about 15 of the pounds that I lost, and lost a good deal of the muscle and cardiovascular fitness that I developed.
I’m studying abroad in London this fall – this does not bode well (less opportunity for exercise than a slow, lonely summer at home, as well as a cheaper diet that could easily sway towards starches). However! My goal is to lose these 20 pounds by Christmas.
Now, let’s see if I get the ordering on these stats right…
Height: 5’4”
CW: 144
GW: 124
Loss to date: 0