getting ready for my holiday in Italy

We'll leave the day after tomorrow for a one-week-camping-holiday in Iesolo, Italy. So I don't really have time to write a long post. But inspired by this post I'm giving you my list as well. Here we go:

Making : granny squares for the Mario blanket. This will take a while longer 
Cooking : nothing, as my man cooked for me today. 
Drinking : innocent tropical juice. So yummy but expensive. 
Reading: Robert Galbraith - The Silkworm
Wanting: to get out of this overstuffed train. 
Looking: out of the train window, watching the beautiful Austrian landscape go by
Playing: phase 10.  addictive. 
Deciding: on which clothes I need to pack for Italy. 
Wishing: It would be Thursday already
Enjoying: the time I can spend on reading, now that I commute by train
Waiting: for my holiday to begin
Liking: the fact that we've set a wedding date! 
Wondering: if I should wear my mum's wedding dress. The fabric is in a bad condition though
Loving: the fact that my mum is out of hospital and feeling waaaay better
Pondering: about joining my man in visiting the Austrian harley Days after Italy
Considering: riding with my man on his Harley on our wedding day when we get to our location. Might get complicated with the dress...
Watching: The Walking Dead
Hoping: that my mum will stay healthy! 
Marvelling: at the fact that my mum requested the same crochet top that I made for myself. 
Needing: new yarn to crochet the top for my mum
Smelling: all those people in this crowded train. Believe me, it's not the smell of roses...
Wearing: Jeans and T-Shirt, typical outfit for myself 
Following: the gingerbread lady probably the funniest blog I've ever read!
Noticing: how cold it has gotten over the last few days. It's still to early for Autumn! 
Knowing: that i made the right choice when I changed into my new job! 
Thinking: about what to pack when I come home
Admiring: the way a person that I know very well deals with her not so nice faith
Sorting: my books! I moved in March and there's still chaos in my bookshelve
Buying: a mug in Venice. Hopefully! ;)
Getting: more and more sure about the decision to get married. 
Bookmarking: the pattern for the crochet top. Need to start soon! 
Disliking: the smell in this train
Opening: the envelope where my man's birthday gift was inside
Giggling: about the fact that "getting married" in sign language can easily be confused with the word "Schnitzel"
Feeling: happy
Snacking: NOTHING! And I'm really hungry! 
Coveting: new Nike sneakers! I need comfortable but pretty shoes
Wishing: that it won't rain for the next ten days! 
Helping: my man pack when I get home
Hearing: people talking about their dinner. And my stomach growling. Have I mentioned that I'm really hungry? 

I'm offline now for a week, as I won't go on the internet in Italy! But I will come back with lots of pictures. Take care and have a nice week and weekend! 

No big city life for me

I work in Vienna. It's a beautiful city and for the five years that I went to university I also lived there. But I grew up in a small village in the countryside. And by small I mean tiny. Like 1500 inhabitants. Tops! And I loved it! Mymum didn't have to worry when I was out alone with my friends, we played tennis on the streets and rode our bikes EVERYWHERE! 

I never felt really comfortable living in a big city. I hated the noise, the smell, the fact that there are ALWAYS people EVERYWHERE, yet you're just an anonymous number that no one cares about. 

Today, I live in a small town, about 45 minutes away from Vienna and 30 minutes away from my home-village, where my parents, my grandparents, a lot of my relatives and most of my friends still live. 

I went for a walk with my part-time dog Hugo. I just crossed the road from my appartment, walked for another five minutes and then I was here, out in the nature, in the greens, where the few people that you meet will greet you and ask you how you're doing and where - most imprtantantly - everything is nice and calm AND SMELLS GOOD! Look:

How can you prefer a big, grey, crowded city over this I will never understand. Ans if this view gets to boring we will hop on our bike, drive for 20 minutes to be on top of a little hill called "Braunsberg" to catch an AMAZING view over the Danube river. 

So where do you live? City or countryside? I'd love to hear! 

a rare sight in Vienna

I slept really bad last night. At first I had problems with falling asleep in the first place. Our neighbour had an argument with another woman, whoever that was. They screamed. They laughed. The chatted. And then they screamed again. Eventually I fell asleep. Only to wake up two hours later as rain was pouring through the open window in our roof. Too bad that our bed is right underneath it. I closed the window. I went back to sleep. Only to wake up three hours later. Don't know why. Had troubles falling back asleep.

At 5:30 in the morning I had enough and got up. I had breakfast, took a shower, drank two coffees (and many more to come that day) and decided to drive to work early. Starting early means leaving early. And so I was in the city centre of Vienna at the ungodly hour of 7:30 a.m. I'm sure that's a time where a lot of city-folks go to sleep!!! Anyway. When I get out of the subway I stand in the middle of the square in front of St.Stephens Cathedral, probably the town's most famous landmark. And it looked like this:

the square in the morning. And it has been raining for three days straight. hence the loomy picture.

Absolutely deserted! I have never seen it this way. I usually go to work at 9, where a lot more people are around. People on their way to work, people going to the bakery, buying breakfast, the early-bird tourists that want to visit the cathedral before it is stormed by hundreds and hundreds of people who want to tick it off their sightseeing list.

the cathedral's entrance

Just look at this place. There's no one. There are no horses. Usually at this place there is a line of carriages, called "Fiaker" which have the one and only purpose to drive the masses of tourists around the famours "Ringstraße". 

walking without stepping into ... well ... "manure" the horses left behind..

When I got out of the office 8 hours later, everything went back to normal. People. Tourists. Horses. It was loud and hectic and smelly. 

I have to admit, I preferred the early-morning-version. Just because you rarely get to see that.

the cathedral. just for you to admire.

left tower

back

Say hi to the granny square machine!

Hi, Hello, it's me, the woman who doesn't crochet anything but granny squares anymore! 

Honestly, I really like those squares. They are quick, they are versatile, you can make nearly ANYTHING out of them, they're easy to transport and you can make them without having to think. 

But boy, do they get annoying when there's nothing else! 

See, I promised my man that I would use up the amounts of wool that have been accumulting in our tiny appartment! And one BIG heap of wool is the one that I use for my Mario Blanket. Now I know that it is a gargantuan task to crochet 252 5-rounds granny squares in just 5 different colors. But I wanted to tackle it and so I'm working everyday on getting these squares done. I realised that I probably have to order more yarn and so I switched from crocheting them one by one and sewing them together to crocheting ALL the squares of one color to see how much yarn I have to order. And that's exactly what I did last week, starting with the dark blue. Only 20 more to go. And then the brown ones. And the reds. And the yellows. Peanuts. 

And if this wasn't enough I crocheted up some granny squares (one can never have enough of them!) for my hot water bottle cover at the crochet along. I was a little behind but I managed to catch up over the last days. I didn't really like it when I had first finished the squares but once they got sewn together and I had crocheted the white rounds I really started to find them pretty. I always fall for blue, it's my favourite color! 

Happiness is...

...when you get some free and home-grown vegetables from your parents and some of them have the lovliest shade of purple. 

And the tomatoes turn into a lovely spaghetti sauce right now. 

There is a reason why my hometown is known as "the vegetable garden of Austria!"

Yummy! 

Finally

Another blog post! Last week has been CRAZY! New job, new way to get there, new colleagues, new routine. Definitely something that will take some time to adjust - hence the quiet week! I really like my new job but boy, there's looots to learn! That doesn't leave me much time to be creative! Now that I commute by train rather than by car my commute takes up another hour of my day! That leaves me pretty exhausted in the evenings. This week I came home, fixed up something quick to eat, watched an episode of the Walking Dead (after Dexter the man and I were in need of something new. Veeery disgusting but at the same time really fascinating!) and then went to sleep. Most of the days I was out before ten pm! I hope this will get better over time! 

BUT I still managed to do some crocheting. And not just the odd granny square. Oh no. I finished something that I wanted to make for quite some time now! Be prepared, readers, for this is a world premiere (at least it's one for me!). Believe it or not, I, the writing/reading/crocheting Emma have mastered the art of following complex instructions to create something that is not just pretty to look at but at the same time very handy, cosy AND warm! I'm sure, your curiosity has reached its climax by now. I can imagine you, sitting before your screen, gnawing on your fingernails, heavily breathing while you mutter to yourself: "What is it? What could it be, that this genius of a woman has made for herself? WHAT. IS. IT???"

Alright, i can't keep the suspense and my own excitement any longer! 

Ladies and Gentleman - are there any gentlemen here anyway? Does anyone of the male gender read our ramblings about wool, yarn, colors and textures? If you're out there, reveal yourself! I love the thought of having male readers too! 

Anyway, I'm rambling. So here's what you've all been waiting for. Without further delay I present to you: 

My FIRST crocheted garment!!! How cool is that? I MADE THIS! Myself! I'm wearing it right now although it's WAY too hot for it. But I can't take it off anymore! I'm so excited! 

Now most of you have been there - done that! Making your own clothes is nothing special to you, I know that many of you do this all the time. But I have never done it and I am so proud of myself to have created something that I will actually wear outside in public. People will see me on the streets and I wont be embarrased! 

Now I haven't been able to take two pictures where the colors look alike. It's not red, nor pink. I would say it's a dark fuchsia. A mixture between purple or pink. 

I made it with Schachenmayer Catania, 100% cotton. It was already in my stash (as I have promised my man to get ridd of all that wool that is lying around our home) and I think I used about 6 balls, which equals about 300 grams. Now the instructions says that you would need about 400 to maka a size S, but I used a different yarn than they suggested so 6 balls were enough. I even have some of it left. 

It's the perfect top for a slightly chilly summer evening. You obviously have to wear something underneath it, if you don't want the world to know which bra you're wearing. The cotton makes it nice and warm and it feels really good and soft on your skin. 

Now, one last picture of me wearing it (the picture has not been altered. I snapped it on my phone - as you can see - and because I actually have to get ready for a party there really is no time to apply any fancy filters or even to crop out the chaos in my hall. Which doesn't deserve to be called a 'hall' because there isn't even room for two people there. Have I already mentioned that we live in a really, really small appartment?), please focus on my pretty top (and please tell me if and how you like it! My man won't answer any questions regarding my milestone top anymore. He runs out of the room if he sees me wearing it. Men. They simply don't understand. Except you, my anonymous male reader. I bet you get my excitement) and ignore any surroundings. 

I LOVE IT! :)

(Pretty clever how I blocked out my face with my phone, isn't it? Now go and tell me how pretty it looks)