Hello, there! I am totally late posting this. It’s been quite chaotic around here the past couple of weeks. At my office, our graphic designer resigned and I suddenly had to switch gears and wear her “hat”. It had been quite a while since I worked in production juggling multiple jobs with tight deadlines, so I am pretty exhausted and can’t wait until we hire a replacement.

Sick Doggie

Did you know dogs can get pink eye? I had no idea. My little dog had been looking a bit off. She kept squinting like when the light is too bright. It took me a while to notice it, but then it was obvious something wasn’t right with her eyes. I googled a bit and found it could be conjunctivitis, a.k.a. pink eye. So, I took her to the vet on Saturday and have been Nurse Gabi for a few days. Thankfully, she’s feeling much better!

Since it’s been so crazy, I was very pleased to actually finish one of my projects in progress — my first pair of socks, ever.

I had been scared of making socks. The process looked easy up until you reached the heel. ‘How did they do that?!,’ And now I know one way of doing it. As in everything in knitting, there are many ways to turn a heel.

Turning the heel wasn’t as difficult as I imagined. One thing that kept me going is my tip for you this week: When you first look at a pattern, you might be intimidated by techniques you don’t know or have never heard of, and abbreviations that make no sense. But don’t despair! If you like the pattern, don’t think about any of that. Just start.

Taking a pattern one step at a time and one instruction at a time is what will get you from beginner to pro one day. You’ll learn a lot! It won’t always be easy. You’ll have to be resourceful and find good videos that show you how to do things you don’t know yet, or good books, or become great friends with the person that runs your local yarn store. There is a wealth of free info out there. You just need to want that finished project badly enough. And you can apply this tip to other areas of your life. So, what’s your next project? Let me know in the comments.

Bonusfamiljen

Since my eyes have been so tired from trying to align pixels all day at work, I haven’t had the energy to knit. So, my amazing green sweater is still pretty much where I left it a few weeks ago.

Instead, I’ve been spending my evenings watching a Swedish t.v. series called Bonusfamiljen or Bonus Family. It’s a “dramedy” and funny enough, even though I am not a huge “dramedy” fan, I am hooked.

The show has helped me realize just how bad my Swedish is at this moment, and I am in awe at the fact that at some point in my life I was able to understand all of it. The language is slowly coming back to me, which is exciting. By the end of the series, who knows, I might be close to fluent again. (I don’t think my Swedish was ever super great, but it sure was better than what it is now!) Had you heard about this show? What do you think of it?

Quick WFH Lunch: Mediterranean-inspired Grain Salad

Before I go, I tried the simplest salad this week. It’s crazy fast to make and holds up in the fridge for about one day — perfect for my work-from-home life.

• 1 cup red quinoa cooked and salted (you could also use barley, wild rice, or couscous)
• 1 small Roma tomato cut into small dice
• 1/2 cup English cucumber cut into small dice
• 1/2 smallest red onion you can find, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional: Crumbled feta cheese or Kalamata olives for extra saltiness
• one thinly sliced scallion

Method:
Cook the quinoa and let it cool. Chop all the other ingredients and mix them together. Keeps covered in the fridge for up to one day.

Until next weekend!