Posted on 8 Comments

TWiP: Whooooooosh!

How did it already get to be mid-January? I feel like the days lately have been long and full, but the weeks? Whooooooosh!

I mentioned on the blog a few times last year that I was on the hunt for a full time job (mostly I mentioned it in the context of sweaters I was knitting to keep slung over my chair, blouses I was sewing to wear, and mandalas & coasters I was crocheting for my desk). Well, after nearly a year of looking, I finally found one last week 🙂

It was a bit of a whirlwind, actually. I’ve gotten used to sending out a bunch of applications online and then hearing nothing back, but I got this phone call within a few hours of submitting my resume. I had an interview the next day, and started working a few days later. Whooooooosh!

So, I’ve put in four days so far, and I like it. I work with nice people, only 15 minutes from home. It’s taking a bit of getting used to, being out of the house for so long every day, but so far I’ve been busy enough not to miss home.

My evenings are necessarily starting to look different. There’s been a lot less knitting alone in front of the TV, and a lot more doing laundry, hanging out with the kids, and taking them out the the library and Starbucks.

Soon Neil will be home full time and will take the laundry and the errands off of my hands. He can’t take the “hanging out with the kids” bit off of my hands, but I wouldn’t really want him to. As long as I can knit a sweater sleeve, or wrap a pen with polymer clay once in a while during our together time, I’ll be happy.

What does this mean for Polka Dot Cottage?

Well, I will probably open up custom ordering less frequently (and when I do, my turnaround time might be a bit longer). And I will publish patterns less frequently. But all of the stuff I’ve already done will remain available, and I will add to it as often as I can without making myself crazy.

As far as blogging goes, I’ve already found myself only posting once a week, so that won’t get any worse, at least!

BTW, I started working on a new post to show you the details of the Christmas mandalas I crocheted, and the one new one for my bedroom, but I haven’t gotten very far with that. Hopefully I will feel like writing some evening next week, and get that finished up for you 😊

So, what is This Week in Pictures?

It’s a roundup of the photos I shot for Project 365 (the theme for 2017 is “words”), plus some snapshots I posted on Instagram during the previous week.

📷 = taken with my Canon DSLR
📱 = taken with my Samsung phone

Ready? Cast your mind back to this time last week…

Saturday

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365 📱: 2017 7/365 – O Bagel – I was going to say that I wouldn’t have gone out this morning if I’d realized how much snow was accumulating, but now that I think about it, I probably would have ventured out anyway. The lure of the weekend bagels is strong ☺ [Taken at O Bagel in Gillette, NJ.]

Sunday

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365 📱: 2017 8/365 – Crocs – It snowed all day yesterday, so today was another boot-wearing day. Which is fine with me. The novelty of my new boots has not yet worn off.

Monday

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365 📱: 2017 9/365 – Ear, Nose & Throat – Checkup! [Taken at my ENT.]

Tuesday

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365 📱: 2017 10/365 – LiteSpeed – The next phase of my career started today. It’s been a while since I’ve worked in an office building! I have to get used to sitting at a desk again, instead of on the couch with my laptop. Like I’m doing right now. [Taken at work.]

Wednesday

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365 📱: 2017 11/365 – Cotton / Sturdy – I am disappointed to find that the Laundry Fairy didn’t show up while I was at work today. I think maybe it’s time to make one of my offspring do part of this job 😉

Thursday

View this post on Instagram

Good morning, Instagram! ☕

A post shared by Lisa Clarke (@lclarke522) on

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365 📱: 2017 12/365 – 5th Place – A certain son of mine came in 5th in a regional spelling bee recently, and now he wants to have his name legally changed to 5th Place. We’re not really into that idea, but Starbucks apparently is cool with it 😉 [Taken at Starbucks in Gillette NJ.]

Friday

View this post on Instagram

When your mug matches your shirt.

A post shared by Lisa Clarke (@lclarke522) on

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365 📱: 2017 13/366 – Lettlopi – I’ve gotten very little knitting done this week. I’ve got about half a sleeve to show for my trouble. It’s Friday night, though, so I can kick back with some mindless tv and make up for lost time!

Thanks for taking a peek at this week’s photos! If you want to see this stuff as it happens, please feel free to follow me on Flickr and/or Instagram.

I may already have plans to blog about some of these things in greater detail over the coming week, but be sure to leave a comment if there’s something in particular you want to know about!

SAME WEEK PREVIOUS YEARS (2015, 2016)

This Week in Pictures 

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Posted on 8 Comments

8 thoughts on “TWiP: Whooooooosh!

  1. Congrats on job. Hope it is what you wanted to do. You could have expanded on your job description 🙄🙄 so we know what is your expertise 😍😍❗❗❗❗❗

    1. I’m working in technology, at the moment it’s mostly website design kind of stuff. 😊

  2. Wishing you much success in your new endeavor! 🙂💪

    1. Thanks, Jodie!

  3. Wishing you the best on your new job! I bet you will have more time to keep your creative juices flowing than you think right now. Enjoy!

    1. I hope so! Thanks 😊

  4. Best wishes to you on the new job, Lisa! I love how your mug matches your shirt…very cool! 🙂

    1. I designed them this past summer, but I didn’t plan to use them at the same time 😉. Thanks for the well wishes!

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