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Mmmm....Friday

Isn't consistency wonderful? I'm always happy when the workweek comes to its inevitable end and it's Friday once more. Consistency in our scheduled lives is a great thing, and sometimes I think I'd happily stay in a rut for Routine. On the other hand, things that are growing change, and there's nothing like the feeling of a fresh adventure.

I've been leaving some clues for you in my Cryptic Dept. blog entries for several days, but the countdown has begun here, so I'd like to reveal some personal news. Thursday next, this blog is relocating!

The pups and I are breaking up with the Jersey Shore and embarking on the pursuit of some excellent personal opportunities that (Oh! What glorious good fortune!!!) are located only a few minutes from Sister! She and I haven't lived within 3000 miles of one another in 30 years, and so I'm deliriously happy with the prospect of being near her. I'm planning on knitting socks, hats, and whatever else her heart desires to match her Skull Vest. And, I'll get to be a soccer-auntie to my nephew! Awesome!

I'll be making entries right up to Thursday, and then will be offline for a few days. More details will follow, of course, as will more knitting. But I wanted you to be the first to know.

Have an excellent weekend, y'all, and remember, change is good! As soon as I remember what box I put the Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan in, I'll work on the remaining sleeve and give you an update photo. See you Monday!

Thursday Thursday Thursday

What a wild week! It's been packed to the gunnels with busy-ness. Last night I only managed four rounds on the colorful sock-mate before deciding I was finally too tired to even knit. However! There's still some news! Remember the Special Guild Project that my wonderful guild was working on, in which all members spun various colorful wool-mohair rovings to be used as the warp on a woven afghan? Our weaver finished it up, and so Monday night we met to finish the fringing of our made-with-love creation.

Here we are fringing:

And here we are checking the collective length of the fringe:

The alpaca weft has made this the softest afghan ever, and it has a beautiful drape. Plus, the purple band contains my very first full skein of handspun!

We're all very pleased with our collaboration, and will present this to our much-loved recipient at our August meeting.

Pups + Cicadas = Ewwww!

Are you familiar with that amazing summer buzz that comes from the cicada? The little critters spend up to 17 years underground, then emerge to morph into scary-looking winged insects that produce that wonderful summer sound. Mike and Jack have found that the cicadas are a particularly toothsome dachshund delicacy. Imagine spending years on your personal growth, only to be devoured by dachshunds who find you crunchy. Nature can be quite cruel, right? Jack is certainly not going to give me a puppy kiss with that mouth today.

Happy Thursday! When you hear those summer cicadas today, think about that ol' miracle of life, and enjoy yourself!

Reconnected

Happy Wednesday, knitters! I'm pleased to be here! Nothing like a little enforced absence from technology to make you appreciate the old bits and bytes of life. How wonderful it was to read your comments; thank you for leaving them! I'm very appreciative of my online pals.

Della and I are still feeling a little discombobulated from our technology breakdown:

But we expect to make a speedy recovery. Late last night while I was still reinstalling software, I came upon this BBC report that proposes for technology-types, loss of email is "worse than divorce." My! I dislike myself for being the type of person who is so wired that being un-wired freaks me out, but yes, Teresa, It Freaked Me Out!!! Totally!

Knitting Dept.

No progress to report on the remaining sleeve of the Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan! However, there's another tech support sock finished:

I'm working my way through my sock basket; I seem to have fallen prey to Second Sock Syndrome, in which I knit one colorful sock, then neglect to cast on for its mate. Satisfying summer knitting, for sure.

Cryptic Dept. Update!

Okey-dokey! I'm happy to see you all today! The painters are coming in less than an hour to finish the small bedroom, so I better bust a move. Have a great Wednesday, y'all.

Tech-Support -- How Sweet It Is

Here I am, back online again after a hard-drive failure. I've spent most of the afternoon re-installing stuff! Nearly-catastrophically, my techies were able to salvage everything BUT my dissertation, so tomorrow I'll be trying to cobble it back together. I was surprised at how anxious it made me feel to not be able to blog. I had wondered if the urge to blog was only urge-nt if I posted regularly. I know for sure now...I missed you.

While waiting for news on my hard drive, I finished my Regia socks:

They don't match very much, do they? And I also knitted a bit on another sock that's been languishing in my workbasket, plus the Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan sleeve. But mostly I worried and fidgeted about the extent to which files could be recovered from the drive.

Luckily, I have dachshunds who are always ready to let me know what's important in life. That's right: Belly Rubs!

See you tomorrow! And by the way, you might want to BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE, okay?