My ball winder and swift hate me, I think.  Perhaps they didn't like being in the trunk of the car for so long.  I tried to wind a ball up today, and ended up with quite the tangled mess.  I spent well over an hour attempting to untangle it, before giving up and cutting a piece off.  And then created another tangle.  Which also got cut off.  So now one skein is three pieces of yarn.

On top of that, I don't think the yarn is quite right for a hat.  I do love it, but as I started to knit it up, it just didn't say hat to me.  It has no stretch to it, and seemed a bit small, and was frogged back to a ball state.  I'll have to see what I do with it.  Maybe a scarf might be fun?  

I do have four rows of mom's first hat done though.  The second use of the swift/ball winder was much more successful and gave me a perfectly formed ball.  

And a pair of socks waiting to cast on.  (the baby blanket 

is in a box and on its way to MA, for the baby girl that arrived last saturday...  right on time.)

Today was the most mellow day I've been able to have in quite a while.  I saw a couple of apartments this morning...  I'm trying to decide on one of them.  I liked it, but I can't say I loved it.  So, I'm torn.  The price was right, but the fridge was small.  And the toilet was an industrial style one, rather than a home style one.  And for some reason, the flush mechanism on those industrial style ones just bother me in a house setting.  Part of me wants to call and see if I can get a second look at the place, but then I look at my schedule and laugh.  I'm praying for some insight.  I really want to get settled into a place and have a home.  

After the apartments, I hit a Whole Foods...  mostly for browsing and not buying though.  And then headed to this great Latin market I've found here.  I scored on produce, and got 4 avocados, 3 limes, a red pepper, two jalepenos, a bunch of parsley and a bunch of cilantro, a 5 lb bag of apples, a mango, and an onion for less than 10 dollars.  That is just is unheard of.  I've spent the last three days recording my food intake for my nutrition class, and am trying to make an effort to eat more veggies and good for me stuffs.  We'll see how long that lasts.  As I always seem to say that, but never get further than a few days with it.  

I also had my first Chicago night on the town last night.  A girl who was a student of mine 6 years ago is now a student here in town, and I met up with her and her friends last night.  It was fun to get out, and the bar we hit gives you a free personal pizza with every drink ordered.  I was a bit early for meeting them, combined with their running late, and found a new ice cream shop across the street. 

  (the making of ice cream)

It was a cool concept shop - they make your ice cream for you when you order...  you can specify your milk type and the flavor and even the color you'd like.  And they mix it up in a Kitchen Aid mixer with some liquid nitrogen to freeze it.  Alas, the cool factor and the taste factor didn't combine.  It tasted like frozen milk, and not much like ice cream, which was disappointing after a 10 minute wait in line and a 15 minute wait for them to make my "creation."  

And here it is 11 pm on a Saturday night , and I'm ready to call it a night.  I have a paper to write tomorrow, and to decide if I'm going to go for this apartment or not.  And a bit more cleaning up to do around here...  although it seems easier to leave it in piles and not get too settled in...  I can't believe I've been here three weeks already!