Nuthin' much

1—Very little other than school work was accomplished this last week; I have been staggering into bed around midnight every night wrestling with my marking mountain.

2—Of the little I got accomplished, this about sums it up. I did do another repeat on my Hitofude—9 down, 7 or so more to go! This is my blanket with all the blue done and one and a bit of the next white done, and the second of my finer dishcloths. I got quite a bit done while talking to my mom on her birthday.

3—Stomach bug + possible giardia?

4—Java cat!

In Which an Awful Truth Emerges...

For nine months of the year I have no life. Not just the usual teachers have no life, but I was thinking about it the other day, and even if I lived near somewhere to go shopping, and if I had a car, I pretty much don't have time to go shopping during term. So, with a weekend off I'm hoping to get a few things done. Basically, I finished one of the fine gauge dishcloths I'm slowly working on,

and I turned the heel on my second Time Traveler sock; now I can zoom down the foot and get these DONE! Double bonus; Stash Dash AND my floors are super cold!

Oh yeah, I had to pull out a few rows on my mystic spiral sock because I thought I was done with the short rows, and the more I looked at it, the more I was convinced that I was a row off. So, I went back, fixed it, and am now set to zoom on towards the heel. Picture next week hopefully!

I made kettle corn for the first time following here; using coconut oil is a nice touch, though my regular oil worked well too. I'm wondering now if using the raw Zambian sugar will make any difference...

That's basically it for this week! I'm hoping to get some solid relaxing/knitting time in this weekend; I'm pushing really hard to be all/mostly caught up on marking so I can actually chill. Boy do I need it!

Happy winter solstice!

In which markedly little knitting was done...

I have had barely any time to knit this week; marking mountain was more overwhelming than usual, but by really pushing and getting grammar marked early, I was able to spend Thursday evening watching The Phantom Menace for the first time in YEARS, and I cast on the Mystic Spiral sock that I have been itching to do for more than a year now. I have a strong suspicion that I bungled the first spiral which lead to starting the diagonal band in the wrong place, but once I start the second spiral I’ll try and get it sorted out. No way am I pulling out a rare evening of knitting freedom’s work! I am also trying to get my second Time Traveler sock done; I’m just about ready to turn the heel. Good thing, because my floors are COLD at night. It occurred to me, looking at my two sock projects, that I am big time channeling the 70’s right now. Could be worse…

I also pulled out of long-term hibernation my crazy blanket which I want to finish off for stash dash. I got a triangle and a half done while watching First Knight on Saturday, and hope to get the second one finished soon. I’m debating how to do the boarder; the idea of doing it in four parts and then sewing the corners seems rather untidy to me… I wonder if that was just to keep you from having to knit rows that never end?

Well, that’s me for this week—hopefully more knitting news after mid-term reports are done and in. Remind me why I chose a profession with +3 hours of homework every night?

Oh--another book swept me away this week, but in a different way. The Handmaid's Tale is something that has been on my list for awhile because a friend read it, and because people keep referencing it in regards to our new political leaders. On the one hand, this was absolutely written from a place of feminism and deep mistrust for Christianity, but the thing that scares me is that I can see the seeds of this in conservative Christian culture. I don't think for a moment that things will ever go that way, but to have been so often treated as less than an adult because I am a single woman... Very thought provoking.

Two socks and the book that swept me away

First of all, very little ‘exciting’ knitting took place this week. I was very, very busy before, during, and right after half-term, so while more repeats were added to my Hitofude, it still looks pretty much the same, and while I added a few extra colors to my second Time Traveler sock, I also screwed it up when I added a stitch and a hole while watching and fixing mistakes in the dark of half-term video. I had to frog and fix, but we’re back on track now.

I DID start the first Mystik Spiral Sock; I’m so excited for how this is going to turn out! I love how you increase in the toe; this is one of the best method’s I’ve seen yet. I don’t see myself ever becoming a sold out toe-upper, but it is nice to find better ways to do something. So far it’s really unexciting—not even up to full stitch count yet, but that was as far as I could get with my 30 minute ‘oxygen mask’ while listening to a Great Course this afternoon. I figured I deserved a break after my non-stop weekend!

So, even though there is hardly any knitting worth noting, I wanted to talk about a book that totally swept my off my feet and invaded my world for this last week. It absolutely rocked my world, and still has me thinking. What was it you ask? Me Before You.

I have had this on my ‘to read’ list for awhile, and for my birthday weekend I borrowed it and Son via my library’s digital collection. In my head this was going to be something on par with The Fault in Our Stars which I haven’t read, but I’ve seen the movie and know enough to know that I was too old when it came out to be swept away with it. Well, I was wrong. Utterly absorbed; could barely put it down.

First of all I must state that as a Christian I cannot endorse the choice Will made, but as he was a non-believer, I can understand why he made it. Even though I knew how the book was going to end, I kept hoping right up till the end that somehow the space-time continuum had changed and the ending was going to be different—he was going to accept the life he had waiting for him with Louisa. I loved watching them fall in love, and reading this book made me question very deeply what my attitudes towards disabled people were, and how I can treat them with better dignity and respect. I love how they both opened up each other’s worlds, and I love that Will looked out for her and protected her at the end.

An excellent book, a gripping story, and with ideas and questions I will need more time to work through, this was not only enjoyable as entertainment, but a good stretch to my thinking. I believe in the sanctity of human life; that our lives are not our own because we were created by the almighty God. To end our life says that He is incapable of moving in our situation, or that He made a mistake by allowing us to walk through that pain. I believe that there is always hope, and that God can redeem anything--anything to His glory…if we let Him. So I’ll keep thinking, keep looking for ways that I can speak hope into hurting people, and keep reading so I can broaden my mind and faith. Of all the things I fear, brain calcification is quickly becoming one of the top ones!

Parting shot: This weekend I watched The Magnificent Seven with Ruthie; so much fun! Absolutely a typical western that was surprisingly racially diverse, and with lots of great lines. This one however, might be my favorite. In response to the question about what to do if he dies, Denzel Washington’s character replies,

New life goal: to be in a situation where I can legitly quote this to someone. Right up there with hoboing it in the Opryland Hotel…