A new chapter begins..

So, as some of you may or may not know.. I have left my beautiful home of Portland and ventured off to the east coast again.  The most amazing man I have ever met swept me off my feet (again) and welcomed me into his life.  So my kitties and I are now part of a military family in NC.

We packed up a truck and drove across the country, and me being the amazing yarn bomber that I am, decided to put crocheted flowers on the welcoming state signs along the way.

Here we goooo!

Idaho

We missed Montana because we were going through some treacherous mountain pass.

Wyoming (it was windy as shit btw)

South Dakota!!!

We missed Iowa I think because of construction, so here’s Missouri.

Also missed Illinois because of a stupid bridge, so here’s Indiana.

Kentucky, its hard to see, but it’s there!

Tennessee.

And lastly, North Carolina.

• Our totals:
• 12 states covered
• 8 dead skunks smelled
• a little over 3400 miles covered
• 6 days of driving
• saw 3 herds of antelope, 3 mule deer, and 1 pheasant

Oh and the cats actually did wonderful.  After the first couple days the screaming stopped and they mellowed out.  Stoli found her favorite spot on the dash.

And Akasha found her favorite spot in the drivers lap.

The trip was pretty good. We got to see our families, a lot of the country, shared a bunch of new things with each other, laughed, talked, and played the nintendo DS.  As much as I miss Portland, I’m glad to be here.  I’m finally truly happy and feel like Doug is as well.

Vandals!!!!

So I met up with Annie, Elsa, and Elsa’s cousin Mike (I hope thats his name!) at Palio’s in Ladd’s edition.  Annie had a GIANT stash of stuff she had worked on while I was out of town, so she was ready to go.  When I pulled up on my bike her and Elsa were already putting pieces up.  We put pieces up on 4 or so trees, 3-4 benches, a few bike racks, street signs, light poles, a bus stop bench, business door handle & gate, & cables from a telephone pole.  Some of the photos I took are on flickr (there to the right) and the rest are up on my photography site. 

 

We had a TON of positive reactions today.  People would walk by and watch us and smile, a couple asked what we were doing so we let them know.  People in the coffee shop and bike shop were wondering as well so Mike went in and told them what was up.  We did have one woman who thought we should be doing something better than wasting yarn on poles and trees tho.   We decided she was just too uptight, and put up more pieces!

 

After that Annie and I walked to downtown, and stopped by the Vera Katz statue to place a hat on her head.  We then headed over the Hawthorne bridge and stopped at Chapman square.  I showed Annie the little hair piece I had put on the pioneer statue woman, and we decided the little boy needed a hat.  I put it on, took a couple photos, and not 2 minutes later a couple women walk by, see the hat, and say ‘We need to take that off!’.  I laughed, walked up and told Annie what they said, and backed up a little then watched them take it off.  We stood back and laughed at them while they took pictures of the statue for a good 5-8 minutes.  We still don't know why they would want to take it down, but oh well, we went back later and put it back on! Ha! Showed them!!!

 

After lunch we walked up to the Zoobomber monument and happened to run into Elsa, Mike and Brandie who were eating at Kenny & Zukes.  It was awesome to run into people I love being around!  Annie and I walked alllll over downtown today. We got more measurements and tons and tons of new ideas.  We definitely have our work cut out for us.

New beginnings…

So, I’ve been back in town for a whole day, and I already feel like I’ve gotten so much accomplished.  Got back into my workout routine at the gym, also got back on my bike.  I can’t tell if my legs are happy or mad about the biking part.. but damn it feels good.  I’ve gone from not wanting to get out of bed or even leave my apartment, to waking up at 6:30 am. getting to the gym for a 1.5-2 hour work out, and getting errands done before noon.  I wish I had this cloud lifted from my head sooner, cuz damn it feels good to go outside and breathe the beautiful air.

 

I spent a good 2 hours today just walking around town in the rain.  It was nice to see so many people out and enjoying the day like myself.  I saw a few statues that I’ve decided are just too plain or naked.  I also thought of the bell that’s in front of city hall, some type of knitting needs to go on that.  I walked thru the park blocks and saw a few more statues that needed some color, but its just a matter of reaching them that I need to figure out.  I want to make cozies for the park benches as well.  Possibly the ones in the park by the federal building.  I think if I get enough of them done I can get all the benches on that block done. Ooooo such a challenge!

 

I also saw soooo many photo ops today, but felt a part of me wilt when I remembered I dont have the canon anymore.  I think in order for me to be able to save up any sort of money for the camera I want, I’ll have to find another job. And I’m SO glad I can say ‘another job’.  So many people here can’t even find one, and I was lucky enough to be given one at an amazing store!

 

I also can’t believe that I’ve been asked to be interviewed three times for yarn bombing.  And then, after my article in the Rapid City Journal, somehow Peggy McMullen, a blogger for the Oregonian, found that article and blogged about it!  It’s like two interviews at once!  I finally feel like I’m making a mark somehow and that I can make a statement and someone will notice.

 

All in all it’s been an amazing return home, a fantastic day filled with love and excitement.  I had a wonderful night with my amazing knitters at HK, followed by beer (& way too many tots) at the pub across the street.  I missed you all so much and it’s great to be around you all again!  Then biked up to another friends place and played wii for awhile (mario cart is redic amounts of fun).  And my bike ride home was brisk, quiet, and a perfect ending to my day.

 

I can’t wait for tomorrow!