It's nice here

It's sunny and warm but not humid. At least not Carolina humid. And the people I've met are very nice too. I expected people from the suburbs of a big city to be grouchy, but that's not the case here. Or maybe I'm prejudiced because I come from a big city full of grouchy people.



We got a very sunny apartment which is still completely bare and without furniture. Furnishing it could give me something to do while I get a job, but I agreed to let my husband choose the furniture, since he's the one with good taste (after all, he married me). Our car got here today, which was earlier than we expected, but the rest of our stuff is still on its way. Ever tried cooking an entire meal using a non-stick griddle?



On the knitting front, I'm waiting for my WIPs to be here. I did remember to bring the pink raglan with me, but I lost the instructions somewhere, and now I need to rewrite them. I'm in the public library just now so I won't be posting pictures until I get DSL at home.

Two lists

I'm leaving tomorrow. I took the time to make two lists.



Things I will miss:

The very nice people I've met here.

Bertoldino. He's now in a large tank with lots of other fish. I hope he likes it.

My plants. Most of them went to good homes. Will they be all right?

My favorite cheap sushi place.

My favorite cheap Chinese buffet.

Being able to walk to work.

My job, where I get to meet a lot of people, do some fun labwork and also knit.

The weather, especially the mild winters. The summers are hot, but I like them so.

The three different theatres in town that show independent movies.

The library (and the inter-library loans).

The local theater company.



Things I will not miss:

Tobacco smoke and tobacco stench.

Not being able to buy wine on a Sunday morning.

The humidity (rust, mold, wet towels that are hung to dry but are still humid the next morning).

The southern drawl (except for the "y'all", which is lovely).

The excessive amount of pickup trucks and SUV's (and their drivers).

The fact that there's not a decent Mexican restaurant in this area.

The excessive Jesustalk that I encounter in all sorts of circumstances, and that I perceive as mere lip service.



I'm still depressed but that's just because I'm overwhelmed by all the stuff that still needs to be done. I'm sharing a few pictures of Guatemala just to cheer me up:

Leaving soon

They picked up the car today. Tomorrow the movers are coming to take the rest. I'm still packing. No matter how early you start packing, there's always something left. I had a goodbye dinner and I got some nice gifts, among them some pretty Noro:





I didn't ask what type of Noro it was. Any guesses? Being a cheap knitter, I'm not a Noro expert. It's very soft and wooly. And I love those warm colors, perfect for an autumn scarf. I cannot gawk at it and caress it anymore, it's been packed already. Suddenly, I'm very depressed.

Too many woven goodies

I finally made pictures of all the handwoven items I got in Guatemala. I'll start with this beautiful huipil (the neckline is machine embroidered, but the rest is woven and brocaded by hand):




This is a more authentic huipil, all the embroidery is handmade:





The next one is not a traditional huipil, it's the sort of thing only tourists buy. It's not woven in a traditional loom, but all the embroidary is handmade. That green bird is a Quetzal.




I also bought two pillowcases and a set of handwoven placemats:



And a little brocaded purse that I quickly filled up with stuff:




Except for the blue huipil, I did not spend much money. In fact, it hurts me that some of these things are too cheap. All that labor for just a few dollars doesn't seem fair.

Moldy corn

Looking at my pictures from Mexico, most are pictures of friends and family. The only interesting picture I have is this one:




It might look yucky, but where I come from, moldy corn is a delicacy. We call it "huitlacoche", and nobody can cook it better than my friend Beatriz. She added garlic, onion, poblano peppers and created a piece of heaven. Too bad I did not take pictures of the final result, I was too busy eating it. Yummy!



I have not gotten yet to my pictures of Guatemala, nor have I taken the time to make pictures of my souvenirs. Those will be coming soon. As for knitting, I have not picked up my needles at all. Among unpacking, doing laundry, selling furniture and preparing our move, I've had no time.

Back in the USA

And glad to be here! Coming home wasn't easy. They must have cancelled over 40 flights in Atlanta after yesterday's storm. They did not cancel ours right away, of course. They kept re-scheduling it for many hours until they finally cancelled it. By then the line for re-booking was as long as the airport terminal itself. We tried talking to a representative through their hotline but all they could do for us (after a very looooong wait listening to bad music) was get us a flight for tomorrow morning. And since this was just bad weather and not Delta's fault, they were not willing to pay hotel expenses. So we decided to rent a car (we finally got one at 4:00 am today) and we drove all the way from Atlanta. I still did not make it to work on time but at least I'm here. I wish my luggage were here too but we'll get to that later.


My vacations were lovely and I had a great time with friends and family. I want to say I was a good girl because I did not buy any yarn, but I did spend some money on hand-woven and hand embroidered huipiles. I'll show pictures as soon as I catch up with work and everything else.