Oh, hi! Oh.

I think I moved that Ojai story to Ohio. By the way.

Gosh I'm in a finishing mood. I'm mostly burning it off on knitting, though I did make or alter a bunch of skirts. One of them was a head-scratcher because I'd measure it and it would look super short and then I'd measure again and it would be long. This is before finishing it. I was measuring to pin it up. How bizarre.

Then I wore one of my favorite skirts yesterday and it just seemed weirdly short all day long. I don't think that can actually happen, can it? Though it's possible I put it in the dryer by mistake or something. Huh.

Anyway. Productivity, man! I'm working on it! (That is a joke.)

Also work! I love having a job, no kidding. You don't appreciate the you-did-it-right-now-relax of a job until it's not there. The opposite of that many-hyphened thing is anxiety. I mean, it's the biggest check mark ever. Tied with writing. Not doing it is so very bad! Bad in the sense that you don't get that satisfaction, or money of course, and can't relax.

It's going to be somewhat intermittent for a while at least but that's okay! It lets me ease into it again. Maybe I'll even return my overdue library books on a day off like today, huh? (Maybe not.) Anyway I am thrilled no end and that's a fact. Long may such a state remain!

Actually I'm making chili again in a hands off kind of way, which just means the soaked kidney beans are cooking in Little Baby Crockpot. And while that's going on, I'm messing with various yarn and thinking about what to make and how, and knitting rows and rows of The Most Boring Rug Ever while I do it. I think I started this during the men's World Cup. Eek!

Other things on the finishing blocks:

these green/blue/purple toe-up socks on teeny tiny needles, started in the last century, dude
the aforementioned super boring rug/blanket
Deep In the Forest mittens, black trees on deep blue
the most beautiful sweater in the world, seriously annoying to knit, though

There aren't finishing blocks, I realize, but it's some combination of starting blocks and the block in Chicken Run where Mrs. Tweedy chops off Edwina's head prior to roasting her for Sunday dinner. Combine, mull, get this knitting done.

I did finish a mitered block baby blanket for Afghans for Afghans. Yay, me! Oh boy, this came out super cool. It wasn't quite the required 30x30 inches, so I started knitting along the sides, which turned into stripes, then I put mitered blocks in the corners to join the stripes together. It's red, purple, green, pink, yellow, and white. And it's completely freaking awesome. I'll take a picture and show y'all. I have to wash it, too, but they don't want baby blankets right now so there's no rush.

I'm keeping a log of everything I finish this year. I'm on the finishing rampage, I tell you what. I'm putting rows and rows into the most boring rug/blanket ever, every day, because I really want to cast on new things but I can't really do it while I have so many projects on the needles.

Knitters are laughing their heads off right now because lots of people have a TON of projects on the needles all the time and who cares? But I'm feeling finishy, as I say.

Gawain Dog decided to run straight up the mountain out the back door today, so I went with him, cup of tea in hand, little wool Mary Janes on my feets. Fortunately the ground is frozen today, not all soggy like the past few days. We ended up having a terrific time rummaging around up there in the woods. I found the eastern boundary line, for one thing, which I've been looking for. It's not marked all along its length so you can go past it and not know it. But now that I know how to find it, I can mark the rest of it. Yay!

And I made a giant bowl of veg for lunch. Oh boy, I'm getting all minimalist again with food. At least it was three types of veg: carrots, peas, corn. In a bowl. Plain. Cooked with a little salt, though!

Mostly I seem to be living on brown rice pudding (SO GOOD) and chili. I'm making more. Bliss! I even soaked the beans this time. Last time I just cooked them for about a hundred years so that when they came out of the crock pot, they were way beyond soft and heading toward dissolved.

A lot of the snow melted, most of it in fact, but there's some heinous winter storm coming tonight and tomorrow. I hope it doesn't interfere with my travels to and from work. Because unless they call to say not to go, I'm totally going. I'm ridiculously excited about work. Oh boy! Happiness!

Also, you know, since it's ME we're dealing with, I hear winter storm and think, "Wooooooo!!! Which boots should I wear? I might get to wear my newly finished hat! Oh boy!" Yes. I get excited about things. I even jump up and down for real. Oh it's true, it's all true.

Back to knitting exceedingly boring things, reading exceptionally good books, and plotting exciting things to knit next. Whee!