Back from Bethlehem

It had been a busy week. This post is really more of an update for our friends and family, but there are a few crafty bits at the end of the post if you bear with me.

After a long weekend of stewing in indecisiveness, I turned down the job offer, justifying my decision in an exceedingly lengthy babble, and felt an enormous relief as soon as I put the phone down. I think it was the first time I ever turned down a job. What was odd was how quickly I developed a feeling of loyalty to the interviewer, and even though I really didn't want this job, I felt like I should maybe just take it anyway. Just because he was so nice. Good thing I snapped out of it. Instead, I am going to focus on finding a volunteer position that will better utilize the skills I already have. And, a part time office job may have fallen into my lap so I'll have something else to keep me busy. A good ending, I think.

This Tuesday, D and I traveled to our potential new home of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where D was offered a job at Lehigh University. The trip started out with a few bumps (missing our connecting flight and me twisting my ankle) but we did make it there eventually. Bethlehem was a lovely little town, very quaint and picturesque, and surprisingly fashion-forward. It was once the centre of a booming steel industry (which they're turning into a casino - very sad) and there are some very beautiful historic buildings in the downtown. The university is built on a mountain, which reminded us of McGill - only with many, many more spectacular old and beautiful buildings and no ugly sixties cement block-style facilities.

The Library

We stayed at the Hotel Bethlehem, and had some really great meals and drinks at Bethlehem Brew Works, Tap Room, Olive Branch Cafe and Restaurant, White Orchids Thai Cuisine, and Star Fish Brasserie (where we also heard some fantastic live jazz on martini night!) Considering its size, there are a surprising variety of shopping options in Lehigh Valley, ranging from local vendors and farmers markets to the usual mall-type places, which made me quite happy (Allentown Farmer's Market, Moravian Book Shop, Saucon Valley Promenade, Lehigh Valley Mall, and the essentials: Target & Ikea). My most significant shopping discovery occurred immediately after our arrival, when I spotted Tangled Yarns right on Main Street. Yay!

Sweets at the Farmer's market

Farmer's market produce - a more modest St. Lawrence Market

We enjoyed our visit quite a lot, and spent much time talking about how weird it will be to settle down. The small-town feel is appealing, and we got excited about the possibility of a cute little house with a garden and barbeque. And being able to paint the walls and drill holes in them. It was very weird, however, to think that we will no longer be urban city folk with access to great public transportation. It will no doubt be a pretty big adjustment, but there is much to look forward to. New York City and Philadelphia are close by, so when we have we-miss-the-big-city moments we can take a day trip to either place. And oddly enough, ever since we moved away, we have actually been seeing friends and family more than we did back in Toronto.

I have not done much actual crafting at all, but I have been doing a lot of cleaning and reorganizing - my craft room is a bit more functional, I swatched the orange and tweed I bought last week, and frogged Skully:

The demise of D's first sweater

And it's time to do something with these lovely laceweights too, perhaps the Swallowtail Shawl or Shetland Triangle.

Ornaghi Filati Laceweight

Things have been slow on the cake decorating front, but yesterday I did make a yummy lemon cake - tart, moist, sticky and mostly eaten, but still worth showing. Here's the recipe - since I didn't have yogurt, I subbed sour cream for it instead, which worked nicely.

Gatsby, eager to help me blog as usual.