Clarification And Confirmation

I'd like to take this opportunity to address a few points. I run a tight ship here, after all. And since I know that everyone in the whole, wide world spends a great deal of time and energy wondering about the goings on in my life, I think it is helpful to answer some of the questions that certainly come up in Sheepish Conversation.

I'm nothing if not willing to help...

Question The First: Whatever Happened To The Knitting?

Valid, very valid. It is certainly fair to wonder if my little knitting blog has gone the way of so many others and just become a place to ponder. (not that there's anything wrong with that...) It's not like I've been cranking out the projects of late. Or even finished anything of note in recent memory, now that I think of it. I'll tell you the same thing I told my doctor on Wednesday when she gently pointed out that I'd gained some girth since last I stepped on her scale:

It's been a tough year.

When I took on The Bad Job At The Middle School That No One Else Would Take I knew it was going to suck up a great deal of time and energy. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this, but had little choice. My former position no longer had enough qualified students to make it viable and was being eliminated. With over twenty years of teaching experience under my belt and school districts losing funding on a daily basis, I am no longer a tempting candidate for hire. I cost too much. Hence, I was going to TBJATMSTNOEWT. Further, I was being sent there to clean up a colossal mess which came from the application of good intentions and poor planning on the part of the former director. In short, I had a train wreck on my hands and most everything else took a back seat. I taught, I contained the mess, I reworked the program and, when time permitted, I ate and slept. There were a myriad of issues, all of which sucked the very life out of me.

In the end, I managed to repair the damage and earn the thanks of a grateful school district. But the knitting? She suffered...

It's not that I haven't been knitting at all. It's just that I've found myself sort of haphazardly working on bits and pieces of things. Some were abandoned. Some were set aside half finished. Some were the victim of too many projects going on at the same time and were either forgotten or poorly executed due to lack of attention. I never do well when I have too many things going on at once, it seems.

Question The Second: Didn't You Just Say.....?

Yeah, yeah. I know what I said. I was there, wasn't I? And there is nothing in the world I like better than the sound of my own voice, after all.

But I still started another sock project today right after I finished up the gussets on The Pair That I've Been Working On Since There Was Snow On The Ground. I know that this sounds like a direct contradiction to Answer The First, but it isn't really.

I need a simple travel project, something I can take along to Knit Night or drag with me when I know I'll be sitting in a waiting room. I just can't do anything requiring counting or being aware of what row I'm on if I have to be thinking about something else. Even simple, repetitive patterns are just impossible for me when I'm also trying to have a conversation. Hence, I worked up TPTIBWOSTWSOTG sock right up the part where it's naught but mindless stockinette, popped it back in the sock bag and set it aside for the next road trip.

That left the day free to start something else. And, with the recent dearth of FOs around here, I don't think it is such a bad thing to have a new project on the needles. I could have spent some time with that thing that is not a sweater, but it is not finished with its time-out. As soon as I see that it is well and truly sorry for its poor behavior, then it can come out.

This should keep me occupied in the meantime.

I like to think that the start of summer vacation and the resulting decrease in the stress levels will result in a few knitted objects I can flash around. This is, after all, a knitting blog. (recent evidence to the contrary...)

Question The Third: How's Your Hair?

Oh, that's a good one! Although why it didn't occur to me that everyone has been wondering, perhaps even worrying, about my hair is beyond me. Of course this is how you spend your days. How else would you be filling the empty hours once the parade of poorly knit garments faded away?

My hair is fine, thank you for asking! Better than fine. It was tended by The World's Greatest Stylist And Life Coach today. I love her. Deeply and passionately. I would throw myself in front of a bus should I think it might so much as graze her elbow in passing. There are many reasons for this. I've listed several of them over the years. Here's another:

Reason #637 on the Why I Love My Stylist List

I didn't even have to tell her that it had been a challenging school year. I don't think I ever mentioned it. She somehow just knew that she should hand me a praline and tell me to go home, make a nice cup of coffee and enjoy my summer break.

She also tried to steal my new handbag again but that is her way of telling me that she admires it so we are OK with that. You can forgive someone for petty purse theft when they end up putting a cookie in the bag. That's the rule.

There you go! Answers to the questions that have surely been plaguing you for god-knows-how-long. I do hope that this allows you to rest easier. There is knitting a-plenty over here now that summer vacation is upon me and I am not wanting for pralines.

Well...maybe I am wanting for pralines a little bit. There was only the one. And it was goooood!

SA