I have become crochet obsessed again! I used to crochet a lot in the US, but then I took about a year off here in Japan. Now my hooks are on fire again!

Organizing the monthly Mie Stitch 'n Bitch with Molly and Lauren inspired me to pick up my hooks and yarn again. I spent two weeks on Stan's couch with my injured foot propped up, my lap full of yarn, and my hands speeding through project after project! Now I even crochet at work sometimes! You may be gasping, but you haven't seen how dull my workdays usually are.

Since I've been lazy about finishing this post, I have completed several more projects. But for now, check out these pictures...


A mohair, Diamond Mesh scarf.


Kind of geometric...


A crazy, flower power type scarf.


For a certain baby boy.


My tickled pink scarf.

O, crochet. I love you crochet, do you know that? Of course you do!

Food, Glorious Foooooood!


Please enjoy some pictures of yummy food that I have cooked, taken pictures of, and then been too lazy to write about over the past couple of months!


Afghan-style fried eggplant with tomato-mint sauce and yogurt. This was soooo amazingly delectable!


Chinese-style tofu and vegetables with black bean sauce.


Fried eggplant and chicken with Indonesian-style tomato and chili sauce. This sauce was really tasty, and it worked well with eggs the next morning!

You might be asking yourself, "Where did Megan disappear to for a month?" I disappeared to Stan's house. You see, I tore ligaments in my foot at a soccer tournament, and I ended up in a cast for two weeks. Wow! I never knew how difficult it was to have a cast! I was wobbly on my crutches, the stairs leading to my second floor apartment almost killed me, and I couldn't drive or shop on my own!

Then there was the matter of work...

All my schools have two flights of stairs in between floors, and all my classes are on the second and third floors. This posed a problem. I was not supposed to put any weight on my right foot, but I couldn't get up stairs without using my right foot. Then there was the matter of squat toilets, which my schools also have, and which I couldn't use. I tried to go to school, but the teacher I worked with refused to move our classes to a classroom I could reach, so I sat at my desk and wiped away tears of frustration. Then my boss let me go home...for two weeks! It was very kind of my Board of Education to let me convalesce like that, and pretty much necessary. As soon as I got the OK to stay home, I actually had Stan pick me up and I went to his home, which feels like home to me, too. Stan's house has zero flights of stairs, a spacious shower area where I could sit on a stool, and a super-duper boyfriend who cooked for me and did my laundry! I love Stan's house!

So, are you wondering what I did at Stan's house for two weeks? I have two words for you: TV and crochet. I had recently rekindled my love affair with crochet, and those two weeks gave me a chance to go crochet crazy!!! I would sit on the couch, with my foot propped up on pillows, watching downloaded American TV shows and crocheting for about 8 to 12 hours a day. It was crazy. It was awesome!

I took advantage of my inability to go most places and just kind of "dropped out" for awhile. I didn't write a lot of emails. I didn't post in my blog. I just let myself disappear from my overly busy life. I loved it.

In case you're wondering, my foot has been healing well, because I stayed off of it. It is now taped up tightly and encased in a brace. Walking and standing for too long hurts, but I am on the road back to normal foot usage!