Rhinebeck's here already? Holy Crap!

It's Thursday, and you know what Thursday means right? It means I have my 5 hour break and have time to post! Good stuff huh?

Ok, first off, knitting. I know I've been neglecting that for awhile. In honor of Lolly's Socktoberfest, I give you a picture of the socks I've been working on. (I have to admit I've been working on these things for several months, but you all know how things come up!)
My second sock is actually farther than this picture shows. I'm about a centimeter from turning the heel. I can't guarantee that these will be finished sometime in October, but at least I'm trying. Time is a rare commodity in my house these days!

I've also started another pair of mittens. This time it's a pair for my uncle, who's hands are bigger than my brother's, so I'm making the same mittens I made my brother, but adding four stitches on to the sides. You'd be suprised how much of a difference four stitches makes!
Do you see how big this sucker is compared to my hand? Holy cow, this mitten is going to take me longer to make than the other ones did given how huge it is!

So I probably won't be doing a whole ton of knitting in the car on the way to Rhinebeck considering I'm now going to be the one driving. Plans have changed a bit and now instead of going out there with some blogging friends of mine, I'm going out there with my mom. I contemplated skipping it, but then the call of the fiber got to me and I just couldn't resist (even though I can't splurge on any of it!). Plus the chance to meet all of you is definitely a big draw as well!

In other news my friend's cat gave birth to kittens last week (I was actually there too, which was really cool because I've never seen anything being born before!) And this week, I got to take a few pictures of the fur balls. They're adorable and so helpless. They're eyes aren't open yet, but they do have some lungs on them!


This is them at only a week old. I'll probably be showing updates since I stay with my friend once a week to cut down on the driving. These little guys are killing me with cuteness. I almost can't handle it! And they're just gonna get cuter, I'm not sure how I'll survive!

Last night I went to a presentation on the deforestation of the rainforest. What a seemingly helpless situation that is. I'm the type of person who feels a great responsibility to this world, to the people in it and to all the life on it, so when I hear about this sort of thing, I become almost paralyzed with helplessness and the feeling that hope is lost. I've been grapling with these feelings for awhile and trying desperately to turn my helplessness into action. I've somewhat succeeded in this by becoming vegetarian (which by the way is going excellently, though I find I'm hungry all the time!).

What can I do? What will actually make a difference in this world? I'm only one person, but despite this, I believe one person can do more than they think. I can be the change I want to see. I can conserve and be less wasteful and teach others to do the same. The greatest thing I can do is educate others and spread awareness. I'm a pretty determined person when I want to be and I've never felt more determined than I do now. And I've never felt more like my entire life has been leading to this point, which is exactly where I'm meant to be. If you've ever gotten to that point in you're life, it's amazing. Knowing that what you're doing or working towards is the exactly what you were always meant to do is indescribable. Scary and exciting all at the same time.

I know you guys don't come here to read about conservation issues. And I really don't want to cram it down your throats either. That's entirely not my goal. But my blog is more than just a way for me to show my knitting and discuss the varying techniques that go along with it. It's a place where I can voice the issues that have been on my mind and help to formulate into words the conclusions I've reached. I promise I won't innundate you with all of this stuff, but sometimes I have to get it out of my own head and put it somewhere so I can be sane!

Ok, done with that. I hope to see all of you who are going to Rhinebeck. I'll be there Saturday, probably by noon or so wearing this:
See you there!