Viking Tea Party

Heading Home

Maybe I was getting too comfortable.  Yesterday I found four good books at the library, started a scrapbook of Buddy for Mom and Dad, shelved Buddy's sweater for a bit to start a shawl and I even sat down last night and wrote a page and a half of something that wasn't an email or a blog entry.  Giving up and settling in just a little bit further.

I didn't expect the phone to ring but there I was, walking Buddy, when I heard Glen Hansard singing "Falling Slowly" from my pocket.  When I pulled it out, it was a 312 area code.  A Chicago area code.  Then there was a female voice with a British accent telling me that she was calling from the consulate, she had my settlement visa and would be issuing it by Friday.  "When were you hoping to travel?" she asked and I answered, "Any time.  I'm ready to leave any time."

I've been saying for weeks that I wasn't sure how I would finally react and when it actually happened I still wasn't sure how to react.  I smiled, I think a tear or two welled up in my eyes but...it didn't seem real.  It still doesn't seem real.

I think it'll sink in tomorrow.  When I sit down and make a list of loose ends I've been dying to tie up, people to visit, airplane knitting yarn to buy for real this time....

Letting it sink in isn't all smiles and happiness, though.  It's like I told Matt today when we were talking about homesickness and adjusting to life in a new country, "It's not being there that I'm worried about, it's not being here that worries me."  I have lived in Ohio all of my life.  The furthest I've lived from my parents' was an hour and a half.  The thought of finally really leaving here is devastating - hello tears - and I know it's going to be so hard to get on that plane but when Matt finally gets to carry me over the that threshold, the life that I've been waiting 35 years for will finally get to start.  For that I am so thankful. 

So, if all goes well and my visa arrives when I hope it does, it looks like I'll be boarding a plane late next week and heading home.  Finally.

A Visa Tidbit and a Little Knitting

Matt and I decided to give Worldbridge, the liaison company for the embassy, another call yesterday.   After being led to believe they were going to help us last time only to be let down, I was a little leery but I made a new friend recently on Ravelry who, uncannily, was in nearly my exact same position except that she received her visa weeks ago.  That was enough to make us decide that giving Worldbridge one more try might be worth it.

I can't quite say for sure yet but I think it actually might have helped.  I received an email this morning letting me know that my request had been escalated for detailed research.  I have every part of my body crossed in hopes that we get some good news. 

I cast on Kiri this afternoon in the Fino that I splurged on for my birthday.  I'm about fifteen rows in and I can already see the leaf pattern - for me, seeing the design start to take shape is what makes lace worth it.  It's like magic - a yarn over here a knit two together there....

Hopefully the yarn for the Gooseberry Cardigan will arrive tomorrow.  After coming home from the Wool Gathering on Saturday with no yarn (I had a really great list of possible projects, too), Matt suggested finding something online instead.  I'd been thinking about that cardigan since I'd picked up Interweave Knits - Weekend (I think there's a lot of good stuff in the issue).  It's top down but it still has some challenges and the sleeves are knit flat so I'll get to try at least a little seaming.  I'm not quite ready to dive into the world of expensive yarn for sweaters, though, so I found a nice red in Knit Picks City Tweed.  I really should finish Buddy's sweater first, though....

Speaking of Buddy - he graduates from puppy class tonight.  I haven't gone for several weeks because it's a couple hours of alone time for me and, honestly, I came home with a raging headache each time due to Buddy's barking.  He's just about the friendliest thing ever and he couldn't understand why he couldn't play with his classmates.  Mom and Dad said he's gotten better, though, and I can't miss the little guy's graduation.  We spend an awful lot of time together, after all. 

I Knit...

...a lot.  Toss together boredom, sadness and depression with a heaping helping of I Miss My Husband! and you get a very large serving of knitting (and a wee bit of crochet thrown in for fun). 

 

Summer Lace Shawlette

Cascade 220 Heathers #9564/ size 10 needle

 

Cowl'd and Frosty Morning

Misti International Chunky #701/ size 10 needle

 

Mason Dixon Washcloth

Good old Peaches and Cream kitchen cotton/ size 8 needle

Woodsy Acorn Pots

Vanna's Choice Solids/ size E hook

I made this to add to a package for Matt and filled it with leaf shaped love coupons.  Awww.

To add to the knitting maddness, I knitted a Shalom Cardigan this weekend while watching almost all of season three of Gilmore Girls and will post pictures after I pick out a button tonight.  Also, I'm halfway through an Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap with the leftover Cascade from the shawlette.  And I want to crochet a Little Acorn Project Bag from the Vanna's Choice leftover from the Woodsy Acorn Pot.  

I'd much rather, though, that my visa showed up and I could go home and forget about knitting for a little while (although the yarn for a super cute bag and the beginning of my February Lady Sweater are both already there [I, kind of unfortunately, had Matt take the FLS home in his suitcase]).  We found out a week or so ago that I'm not actually waiting for an email saying, "We're sending your visa!" (at least I hope that's what it'll eventually say).  Nope, an email letting us know that they've started processing it has to come through first.   We're coming up to week twelve which is the longest they say it should take.  I'm not relying on that tidbit of news, though, because summer is prime visa application time and we had that week of IT upgrades but I do have my fingers crossed that we'll hear something before the end of the month at least. 

Today would be good to hear something, though.  It is our three month anniversary after all....

!@#$% Visa Update

I've been stewing over this for days now.  From the website of the company that is a supposed liaison of sorts (can I be any more vague) for the consulate:

"03 August 2009: Possible delays to visa processing in the US. Due to a major IT upgrade at the UK Border Agency at the British Consulate-General, Chicago, visa applications processed between Friday 21 August and Friday 28 August 2009 will be subject to delays. The visa application centres will remain open and will continue to accept applications in the usual way but we will not be able to issue visas during much of this period. Applicants who are planning to travel to the UK in August are strongly recommended to apply well in advance of the above disruption to normal service."

They received my application on June 24th and I've yet to hear a thing.  I think alerting people of a week long hold up three weeks beforehand isn't going to do a damned bit of good.  If you were planning to travel to the UK in August you probably should have applied in December.  And that's not entirely a joke.  

Fridays are hard enough as it is - knowing that there's no chance of an email for two days - but today was the worst because it sounds like my chances of hearing anything next week are slim to none. 

That said, I cried a lot today.  

I'm trying to detour the sadness with a little knitting, though, and started the Summer Lace Shawlette yesterday.  Well, really I started it two days ago but I lost a stitch somewhere around row twenty-five and was in such a sad/bad mood that I just ripped it out completely and started all over.  I lost a stitch tonight but managed to keep myself in check - despite the fact that it managed to produce a few extra tears - and I just ripped back enough to correct the mistake.  I finished the Gaia Shawl this week, too, and hope to take photos tomorrow. 

Time to crawl into bed - something I've wanted to do since about 6:30 this evening but managed to put off until I was, you know, actually tired. 

Oh, I couldn't figure out why in the world I wasn't getting email alerts regarding the comments...I'd forgotten that I'd had to set up a new Gmail address since my other was already affiliated with the Dainty Kitty Typepad blog and I'd yet to set it to forward to my regular email address.  This means I also missed a reply to my comment regarding feedback on the "new Typepad."  It's much easier to navigate but I didn't like that in your comments left on other Typepad blogs the link that would normally take someone back to your blog actually linked to your Typepad profile instead.  The reply gave me a very easy fix. There are lots of reasons why I love Typepad and their customer service is certainly one of them.  It's nice to know that they're actually reading and responding to the feedback they requested.

My Experience With the Visa Process

I didn't particularly want my very first post on this blog to be written before I had moved to Salisbury but my visa has yet to arrive so here I sit, on my parents' couch, where I'm staying since I gave up my apartment weeks ago (for the most part - the visa is still going to arrive at that address via UPS so I still have the keys). 

I thought this would be a good opportunity to talk a little bit about my experience so far with the visa process.  The fact that there was no guidance available when I put together my application was absolutely nerve wracking.  It was a bit like an essay question on an exam : you write down what you know to the best of your ability and cross your fingers that the teacher likes it.  What I wouldn't have given for a few multiple choice questions or at least a list of what to bring to class.  They did give you a list of a few basic bits of paperwork to include but, as the list stated, it was only a guideline, not a complete list.  I read somewhere online that one couple even sent the cards that came with flowers he had sent. We didn't get quite that personal. 

That's just it, though, you have no idea what's too personal or what's too much or too little to send.  My application was, no kidding, a little under an inch thick.  This is a list of what I included (including this list):

From the applicant

- Passport
- Photo
- Visa Application
- Application letter [this detailed our relationship, was as personal as we got and further explained my employment status now and in the future]
- Biometric Appointment Confirmation Form
- Marriage certificate
- Bank account overview
- Bank statements for April, May & June
- Schedule of flight to the UK on July 12, 2009
- Latest telephone records - April 24 - May 23
- Example list of emails exchanged with Matt
- Flight details for Paris, France trip with Matt in November, 2008
- Photos of Matt and I throughout the time we’ve spent together so far, including wedding photos

From the sponsor

- Letter of invitation
- Cover letter
- Official copy of passport
- Letter of employment
- Pay slips (2)
- Bank account statement
- Savings account statement
- Letter from landlord and utility bill in her name
- Verification of address - phone bill and car tax form and receipt
- Telephone call detail - 1 month log and 6 month log with totaled call times
- Copy of Turning Point, Matt’s latest documentary

I had actually forgotten this cover list and had to run back home because there was no way I was going to send off these two stacks of insanely important papers (even though each item was labeled and highlighted carefully) without it.

To go back to the beginning of the process, we had actually filled out the application online nearly a week before we sent everything to Chicago via FedEx.  We were delayed by the fact that we had to wait four or five days for the next available biometrics (fingerprinting) appointment.  We had waited until we had the marriage certificate (you have to actually be married before you can send in your application) in our anxious hands, thinking we would be able to run down to Cincinnati (the closest biometrics location), get that taken care of and send out the additional paperwork along with a printout of the application the very next day. Had we known we would have to actually make an appointment and that the wait would be so long, we would have filled out the application earlier - like the day after we got married. This is another instance where a little guidance would have come in handy. 

The biometrics appointment was surprisingly simple.  The wait was fairly short, the fingerprinting process itself was quick and easy and he actually let me look at my photo to make sure it was okay.  I had no idea they were going to take a photo but I actually hope they use the one he took rather than the passport photos they told us to send because his photo is ten times better. 

Putting together everything on the list and sending it off was one of the most stressful things I've ever done.  Matt really wanted to help but I had to explain that this was one case in which I needed to be in full control.  My future depended on it and I needed to know that everything made it in to the package exactly the way it was supposed to go in.  Also, that meant any mistakes were purely my fault.  After the $950 fee, though, I really, really, really hope there aren't any mistakes that might cause it to be denied.  It would be really hard to cough that up again. 

Even though it's been several days past the 5 - 15 business day period stated in the email they sent when the package arrived (which was a nice touch - it's good to know it got in to the right hands), I'm consoling myself with the thought that, if it were going to be rejected, I probably would have heard something by now.  At least I hope that's true.

But, for now, more waiting.