femminista: thoughts of a feminist rhetorician

Well, I must say that I am saddened by all of the things that take me away from blogging. It is now 12 days since my last entries and I have had so much to say in these past days but no time to say it.

My heart failure subsided as I finished my paper in time for the conference but was reignited when, because of illness, I was unable to attend and present it. I've had a sinus infection that won't go away and the flu, making the nine hour drive to Michigan and the Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference a non-option. Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who missed the conference as many Fems/Rhet presenters and attendees were stuck in various airports because of a snow storm in Minneapolis. However, fortunately for all of us, our tireless conference organizers are giving us the opportunity to post our papers on the web, giving us the next best thing to being there. Even though I am sad to have missed the conference, I know that my decision not to go was best. I became more ill during the week and would have been (even more) completely miserable had I gone. On the bright side, I've been able to get some work done in spite of my illness(es). I have sent Chapter One and the preface of my thesis to my director, finally. Even better, I'm almost done with Chapter Two and Chapter Three is well on its way!

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything about knitting. Perhaps because I haven't really been knitting much. I still have my almost finished bikini, my partially begun sweater, the afghan I started, the front half of my mom's pillow still awaiting its back half, and my sister's birthday gift, which shall remain nameless until I finish it and she receives it. Oh yeah, and her birthday was July 29th! I had hoped I might finish it prior to my own birthday, tomorrow! But alas, no such luck. However, I am thinking about adding a knitting archive page with pictures of some of my many other knitted creations, including those that I designed myself:) Hmmm, I may also visit that knitting store in Lexington and get some more of the Adrienne Vittadini that I used to make my mom's mother's day washcloth.

I am still in SC awaiting the birthday celebration of my baby brother. I've spent the last week hanging out with some old friends and making some new ones, all the while imbibing more alcohol than I should. Now I'm trying to get back to work so that I'm not in too much of a crunch when I return to Indiana to teach summer session. I've also been getting a bit of knittin' done and showing off my impressive needle and fiber collection. As promised, I will be adding some LYS reviews.

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Folly Beach (also known as "the Edge of America" to see the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in over two years. I can't wait. I have spent most of my life near the ocean and living in the midwest I have missed the smell of the salt water and the feel of the wet sand under my toes. I can't wait to lay down in the waves and feel the heat of the sun on my face and neck. I'll be combining my beach journey with my continued scouting of LYSs in SC. Hopefully, by tomorrow evening I will have several more yarn store reviews to add to my list and hopefully I will also be able to pick up some size three circular needles so that I can finally get started on my Debbie Bliss sweater. Oh, my will it be sweet!

Today I made the (little over an hour) drive to Aiken to check out Barbara Sue Brodie's NeedleWorks and I must say that I was impressed. After checking out the previous two LYS I was disheartened, but Barbara Sue's place was more than satisfying. Upon entering, I immediately noticed the large dining table set up on the dais in the back of the room, since there were about eight women sitting at it knitting needles in hand listening carefully Barbara Sue explain what to do next. The environment, with the friendly black lab that licked my pattern book, the women knitting for the first time, the amiable and helpful saleswoman, was so different from my previous two LYS outings that besides the fact that they all contained yarn of some sort, it bore no resemblance to the other SC yarn stores. It was amazing.