Drowning

You know that horrible feeling you get after being away from work for a week? You know, that feeling that you'll never, ever, in a million years, get caught back up? You know how you can't manage to answer the emails faster than they come in -- and the phone keeps ringing, and people keep leaving voicemails, and you don't want to talk to any of these people because you don't have time for them?

That's my week so far.

Ugh. At least with Paul halfway around the world, though, it leaves my work schedule pretty open. Last night I screened a DVD until 1. I can do things like that when he's not here. I can also live on frozen dinners and Haagen Daaz and whole blocks of pepper jack cheese and fat free cheddar and sour cream chips. It's probably a good thing he doesn't go away all that often.

So anyway...thanks to all of you for your kind comments on the shawl. I really do love that thing. It was so soft and comfy -- and while next to no one knew (or even suspected) that I made the shawl myself, I knew, and I was pretty darn proud of myself. I can't wait to start the next one. :)

Speaking of which...back to my week away...

The first few days of our week away were spent at my parents' cottage in Michigan. We drove up on Saturday. Paul drove the first shift, and I knitted -- though I quickly discovered that I'd done a pretty horrible job of packing my in-car knitting bag. I'd given myself my Muppet Wrap (which ended up getting green fuzzies all over the car, so I finally gave up), a second baby bootie (which knit up in a jiffy -- though I didn't feel like finishing it, so I set it aside), and some dishcloths (the one that was on the needles required some attention and thus made me carsick). In packing, I put the yarn for my new cardi in my bag-for-later, thinking that I wouldn't want to start a new sweater in the car. But, as it turned out, I really wanted to start a new sweater in the car. Grrr...

I was barely unpacked before Mom had the whole neighborhood of knitting ladies over to admire my shawl. So, as is usually the case when I'm at the cottage, we sat around and had a long knitting discussion. I shared my favorite links, and they took notes. (You'd think by now I'd be getting commission checks from KnitPicks, Elann, and Knitting Pure & Simple.) They laughed when I produced my two knitting bags, and they thought it was pretty funny that I was having a really hard time not starting a project while they were sitting there.

By the end of Saturday, I'd used some leftover lace yarn to knit up a swatch for my next shawl. That night, I blocked it.

Picture this swatch:


In this yarn.

Of course, I just found out when I went into the store yesterday that my Treasury of Knitting Patterns should be in by next week -- so I don't know if I want to start now...or wait until I have 500 other options.

Maybe it's safest just to start now...

Speaking of the store, yesterday was a great time with the girlies. I went in feeling tired and cranky, but the girls cheered me right up. Miss H, Miss S, and Miss A the all there -- and I found out too late that it was the last Monday of the school year. Had I known, I would have brought some of the leftover wedding cupcakes that are tempting me from inside the fridge....