Mr. & Mrs. Gubbins & Sons

Saturday, January 28, 2006

he has returned!

For any of you out there, anxiously awaiting word of his safe arrival, here it finally is: Andy is home, safe.

He brought with him lots of stories and photos, which I'll let him decide if he wants to post...except for this one, because it is one of my favorites:

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

the day after tomorrow

As you all know, I have been pining away here in cold Minnesota for WEEKS now...


...while my dear husband went off on an adventure in warm and exciting South Africa.


But on Friday...

...less than 48 hours from now...

...the waiting will be over!


And reunion will be sweet.


Friday, January 20, 2006

sealed fate

The dates for my department's 2006 written preliminary examinations have been set: July 18 & 19.

For those of you who are far enough from grad school that you either don't know or don't remember what prelims are: be thankful.

Those of you who have been through prelims already and survived...

...well, just don't prance around saying "it's no big deal, you'll do fine" too proudly--we all know you were just as freaked out as I am when they were the next big hurdle on your horizon.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Knitting Notes

So...after tomorrow, I will have officially survived the first week of classes of the new semester. And what has been the best part of this first week of classes? Well, knit-night, naturally.

I have an updated photo of my sweater to the right--the front and back pieces are finished, and shoulder seams are sewn. I have begun the left sleeve, but as you can see, have quite a ways to go. I was rather hoping that once I got to the sleeves it would go quickly, but that is not the case. The sleeves are actually almost as wide as the body of the sweater (then folded in half, of course), and much longer...so I'm afraid I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me. I just hope I finish this sweater in time to wear it while it's still cold out. (Luckily for me, it will be cold in Minnesota well into April, so I probably don't have anything to worry about.)

Best of all this week, I received an email with some adorable photos of little Abigail, trying on her hand-knit-by-Jess-wear, which is still a bit big, it seems. I had no idea that little acorn hat and booties would turn into exercise-wear, but I am glad Abbie is keeping her limbs mobile, as she'll need them in no time to crawl on :-).

Monday, January 16, 2006

Grump

The past week in Minnesota has been unnaturally warm. Mostly gray, sometimes drizzly skies, with temperatures in the 30s, almost always above freezing, have made the return to Minnesota from vacation a bit less of a shock than in previous years. But tonight, in honor of (or should I say, as a way of laughing at?) the flocks of poor students, returning to the University of Minnesota campus tomorrow for the dreaded first day of classes of the new semester, winter has returned.

This is my long way of saying that it's snowing.

Incidentally, in that brief week-long warm spell, I'm fairly certain everyone in the Twin Cities forgot how to drive in snowy conditions. On my way to dinner tonight, I passed at least 4 accidents (nothing major, all fender-benders), and another couple on the way home. With at least 5 months of the year likely to include snow, you'd think people would learn.

So classes are starting tomorrow and I have spent most of the day in a mostly-depressed stupor because of this (slight exaggeration...but actually, only slight). As night has fallen, however, I think my body/mind/qi is beginning to realize that no matter how I bemoan its coming, tomorrow is coming, nevertheless...so I'm beginning to move from angry-grumpy to more of a resigned-grumpy. Still, I am a grump today. It's a good thing my wise mother-in-law gave me this book about a year ago, to help me through such a difficult time.

I believe that if everyone read more children's books, the world would be a better place.

p.s. I am making lovely progress on the sweater I am knitting for myself, and would love to show a photo or two, but my camera has absconded to South Africa (yes, my camera has a will of its own).

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Peter Peter, Pumpkin...well, you know


Yay! Thanks to the amazing Pete, my Christmas hand-knit gifts have now all been photographed on their owners. Behold, Pete in his cabled hat:

In other, unrelated news, Andy has reported that he is having a wonderful time in South Africa. He'll been in Cape Town for the next couple of days and then will return to Johannesburg for another two weeks. He comes home on the 27th...about 3 weeks too late, for my taste, but you know...

Friday, January 06, 2006

Safely Arrived, & Departing

Andy has arrived safely in South Africa, and reports that he is excited and happy to be there. His email access will probably be very sporadic, so if you've emailed him, you may not get a response...and if you do, it may take a week or so.

Jessica is departing today for an extended weekend in Madison...so, if you happen to be in Madison, give me a call. If you're in the Cities, I should be back next Monday or Tuesday, so give me a call then. If you are neither of these places, well, it probably doesn't matter much to you anyway :).

Happy epiphany everyone.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

packages tied up with yarn

This post is for those of you--all two of you (to my knowledge)--who read my blog and actually care about what I am and have been knitting. Now that the whole Christmas gift-giving season has come to an end, I can show off hand-knit gifts I gave...

Liz and Ioan got hats similar to those I made for Andy and I

Karlie got a sparkle hat for her birthday...and no, I didn't know it would match her vest exactly

Pete got a cable hat--my very first cables :)

And I saved the cutest for last--Ellie got this tank top, which is a bit big for her (I'm just glad its not too small!)

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Welcome to 2006





We have returned.

Actually, we returned to the Cities late on the 30th, but since then have attended three more gatherings, so it really feels like all the holiday visiting has come to a close only tonight.

We had a wonderful time seeing everyone--though we are a bit exhausted from all the excitement. Andy leaves for three weeks in South Africa in about 30 hours, so we are trying to recover from the holiday craziness and prepare for his departure, so a few photos will have to suffice for now.