Hermione

Here's Hermione (Megan) modeling her sweater. I'm so excited with how it turned out!



And here's Hermione and the scary dinosaur trick or treating at Living History Farms.

I made it!

I've been in Denver for almost two weeks now and finally have time to blog about it. I've been rushing home from work every night since I arrived and knitting feverishly to try to get a sweater done for my niece Megan to wear as part of her Hermione costume. It was the House Sweater from the Charmed Knits book. I have realized that it probably wasn't a great idea to have such a tight deadline for my first real sweater (one that actually has to be made to fit someone), but in the end it all worked out. The sweater went in the mail yesterday and arrived in Des Moines today. I anxiously waited all day to hear if it actually fit, and a call from Megan set me at ease. She was wearing the sweater! Hooray. She and Noah were heading out to Living History Farms with my sister and my mom and dad. I can't wait to see photos. In the meantime, here's the photo I snapped before running the sweater to the post office.



So catching up. The kitties and I survived the 10 hour drive from Bartlesville to Denver on Oct. 13 in a car so packed, I barely fit. We were welcomed by a raging thunderstorm, and not the mountains like I had hoped. But it was well worth 2 day wait to see them. They are spectacular! Mary and Phil met me at the apartment just a few minutes after we arrived, and brought Chipotle! I can't think of a better welcome to Colorado. It was great to see them, and the kittens enjoyed Phil's kitten impersonation skills. Xena even came out to greet them.

Over the last two weeks, I've had the opportunity to see so many friends from different stages of my life. It's amazing how many people I know have ended up here. It's been so much fun catching up.

The new job has also been great. I am going to be one busy girl, but I'm excited for the challenge. Everyone has been great so far. This move has been really fun. The only thing that hasn't happened like I hoped is that the house still needs to sell. I'd love to be able to buy a place here by the end of the year, but that can't happen until the house in Bartlesville is sold. So, if you're thinking of moving to Bville, I know of a great place to live. :)

Also, back in Oklahoma, the Tulsa chapter of IABC, the professional organization I'm involved in, held their annual Bronze Quill Awards last night. I really wish I could have been there. Two projects I worked on for my last company won Awards of Excellence, and I was surprised to discover I was honored with the President's Award. It was very unexpected and it really means a lot to me that the Tulsa IABC president, my friend and former coworker, Shawna, felt I deserved the recognition. I would have loved to be there to accept the award. It's a really big honor.

And I can't believe I didn't blog about this sooner. I had the opportunity to spend a day before I left Oklahoma with my new friend Stacy, who is the creative force behind Tempted Yarns. Tempted hasn't been around for very long, but it she has done a great job getting her product out to all of the yarn crazed knitters out there. Her yarns are sold at a yarn shops in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky, and I'll be taking it upon myself to be her marketing person in Colorado. She was a wonderful hostess and let me play with her yarn and dyes. It was a blast! We even came up with a couple of new colorways for Tempted. My favorite was one we called Fiesta and she's been filling lots of orders for it. I'm so proud. I can't wait to knit something with my skein.



Of course I have to finish with a photo of the kitties. It must be the thin Colorado air, but Xena has been much more tolerant of the kittens, especially Ashford. I was in shock when this happened.



Notice the Harry Potter sweater that they're using as a bed?

I'm moving

Like I said in my last post. The last month has been a whirlwind. The week before Ironman, I was approached about a new job opportunity. I wasn't looking for a new job. I was actually quite happy with the one I had, aside from where it was located. But the more I heard about the new position...it's a growing company, the position is new, the department is led by someone I knew from a previous job and really admire...the more interested I became. And to top it all off, the job is in Denver.
I've always loved visiting Colorado, and always thought how lucky people who lived there were, but for some reason, I just never thought I would have an opportunity to live there. But here was my chance. So, four days after Ironman, I managed to get myself to Denver and spend a day interviewing for the job. The next week, they made their offer and I accepted. I'm going to be the director of corporate communications for this company. I'll be developing an employee communications program along with providing communications support for a change program they're working on. It is a fantastic opportunity for me and I can't wait to get started!
My last day at my job here was Friday, and I'm taking this week off to relax a bit and determine what I need to take with me. It all has to fit in the Xterra. On Saturday, the three kitties and I will set off on our 10 hour drive west (that's the part I'm really not looking forward to). We'll be living in temporary housing until the house here sells and I can buy something in Denver. Hopefully, that will all fall into place quickly.
So, I have had some productive knitting time the last couple of days. I finished the Tulips sweater.



And I'm determined to finish a pair of socks before I leave, but the sock will be put to the side once the supplies for a Harry Potter sweater arrive in the mail. My niece is going to be Hermione for Halloween, so she needs her house sweater. This will be my first try at a non-baby sweater, so we'll see what happens.

The kitties are not very excited about all of the move activity that has been taking place. Xena really doesn't appreciate being locked in a room with the kittens every time someone comes to look at the house. It is so beneath her. She would prefer staying in the cat cave. So much more dignified.



And Purl is still able to vamp for the camera even with her sister squishing her. Nothing can stop the cute.