Change is Good

I'm excited about a number of things today.  In no particular order:

My sister Susie's birthday is today

Isn't she so sassy on her bike?  Happy Birthday Frog! I love your guts.

We're getting a new President

2 of these get to move to the White House.  Either way, History is made.

I am picking out new glasses frames this afternoon

Yes, I know...four eyes are not more glamorous than two, but I'm excited about being able to see.

I have a yummy new project on my needles
 

This is the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran I have been hoarding since last summer.  I'm making the Aran Accents Vest  From Patons Cables.  The color is better represented here:
 

A friend of my mom's used to call this color Lilac-y.  Not quite lilac, but not lavender either.  Purple is my desert island color; I never get tired of it.

So today is just a boring old Tuesday, except that it's overflowing with possibilities, and certain to change everything forever, even if only in little ways.  I wonder how often the days are this full, but I'm paying less attention?  I going to remember to be thankful for the changes, both big and small, that keep this life so interesting.  Will you?

Busy

Got one or two things on my plate at the moment, all of which seem to have competing due dates.  First was Campbell's 7th birthday, which we spent the whole weekend celebrating:
 

Too bad he doesn't much like his new bike. 

Then I worked on this Knit Picks project, which is going to appear in the February 09 catalog:

And of course, there are book projects, which are always expanding to fit the time I have alloted for them...

This one is only 3 days behind schedule, so it's possible I may be gaining momentum, but just as likely that I am delusional from cold medicine. 

Did I mention that school has started?  That means that between my job at the hospital (germ pit) Phillip's teaching at the high school (bacterial cesspool + teenagers = gross), and the smallies at elementary school (only marginally more sanitary than landfill) our house becomes a miniature Calcutta every fall.  I can't believe any of us ever sees a well day, if exposure has anything to do with sickness.

So that's all the news that's fit to print, and some that really isn't.  I gotta buy more tissue.
 

In A Haystack

One of the things I wasn't going to buy at TKGA was this sterling silver tapestry needle.  It comes from Crown Mountain Farms of Yelm, WA.  Yelm, WA is one of those wide spots on I-5 between Portland and Seattle that I thought didn't have anything I needed.  Boy have I been wrong.  Once I saw that Carson had one of these, I lost all my resolute determination and just about knocked down the cash register in the rush to get my own.  I'm so glad I lost my resolve and buckled under the weight of Knitting Tool Lust.  Using this needle is like putting on your great-grandmother's string of pearls in anticipation of the party of the year.  It's heavy, smooth, and trusty.  Not to mention easy to thread.  If you are looking for a special gift for yourself or anyone else you love, this is the ticket.  It's the needle equivalent of continental-size sterling hotel flatware.  Do not delay; succumb to the Lust.

In other news, my limited math skills have alerted me that I have four (4) weeks till deadline for all my patterns and samples.  This is the same thing emotionally as falling off a high ledge is physically:  Not really enough time to change anything; only enough to realize what's about to happen.

It leads me to reflect on the nature of needles and haystacks, and things that are either lost, or thought to be.  I seem to have misplaced my self-assurance.  It isn't that I can't give up sleeping, (I've already done away with housework, social interaction and basic hygiene), or that I don't know how to pace myself.  It's more a matter of cumulative fatigue.  I have been on this completely unrealistic production schedule for so long that I have no memory of what I used to do with my time before there was a book to write.  I think there may have been something to do with children, but memory simply fails.

However, it seems to me that the more beautiful the needle, the more worthwhile it is to dive into the haystack.  I just have to remember how much I like my designs, and how much I want to share them.  Where theres' a will, there's a way, no?