Tag, you're it!

Annie Knits tagged me with this little meme:

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

In June 1998, I was home from my junior year in college, working at The Best Summer Job Ever, a fun, laid-back software company, as a sort of intern, floating as needed.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

1. Pay car insurance (this involves going to our State Farm office, with really, really nice staff who will drive me nuts trying to sell us even more insurance for various purposes)
2. Wait for our handywoman to come clean and repair our gutters
3. Water poor plants, which are wilting in the extreme heat we've been having (my cilantro looks unbelievably sad)
4. Get the mail
5. Feed Lilah and the cats. Oh, and me.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Pistachios (I was eating them way before South Beach Diet came along), Triscuits and Laughing Cow, edamame. And chips, which I try not to keep in the house.

4)Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Pay off school loans and house, treat family to whatever they need. Open a cafe/bakery. Hire Mary Poppins so I can have time to write. Start a foundation, because who wants to spend all their time deciding how to spend their money?

5) Places I have lived:

Bakersfield (CA), Atlanta, Chicago, Madison (WI), Atlanta again

I'm not sure who's done this and who hasn't, so I'll say if you read this, consider yourself tagged!

Knitting: A finished object picture would be nice, huh? Geez. I can't believe I forgot to do that.

Anyway, Yarnthrower, I wore the headband ALL DAY and it didn't budge. My concern is with the cotton stretching out so it'll eventually be too big for my head. Cotton might not have been a smart choice, but I can always try washing in a bit of hot water to get it back to size. When you decide when to bind off, make sure you stretch the headband slightly so the diameter ends up being a smidge smaller than your head. That'll help it stay in place.

The Details:
Pattern: Arrowhead Lace Headband by Persnickety Knitter
Yarn: Pakucho Organic Cotton in Chocolate (much less than one skein)
Needles: Size 7
Notes: This was a nice, quick pattern, but this skein of Pakucho was really splitty, so every ssk and psso was a nightmare. It took much longer than it should have. I only had Clover circulars in that size, and the tips are very blunt, which didn't help. Bad needle/yarn/pattern matchup. But I like the finished piece, and I've already worn it. The pattern is simple without being boring, and was really the best headband pattern I found.

Reading:
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo

I loved Fablehaven and the sequel, and I'll have to pick up book three. But I was really disappointed by Leven Thumps, which I expected to really like. After my juvenile fantasy kick, I'm reading Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn, the second Claire Malloy mystery by Joan Hess. These are fun. I have a lot of books in my piles (someday, I'll frighten you all with a full list), but mainly I'm reading the Joan Hess books, Kate Kingsbury's two series, and I have the Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett to read.

Writing: Lilah's done a bit better sleeping lately, so I've had more energy, but a lot going on. I've also been easily distracted lately.

Cooking: Not really anything interesting. I threw together a stirfry that was okay, but not really worthy of posting a recipe. I made lasagne for friends expecting a baby soon. They can keep it in the freezer and have food ready for when the baby's born. I'm making them enchiladas as well, then I will have exhausted my casserole repertoire.