Protracted Birthdays...and Late! Late! Late!

My Knitpicks Birthday order arrived! So be prepared, this is a photo-heavy post, those of you on dial-up, I'm sorry in advance...

First up are the two books I ordered:
Tweed and YNotKnit. The second one I've been putting in and out of my cart for months now, and finally got on the 40% off sale...I haven't had time to look at either of them, but I'm excited to think I might teach myself Continental Style knitting...I flipped through Tweed and if I ever make a sweater there are a couple I might decide to queue!

And then there was the yarn (most of this is from their new colors):
Bayou Shimmer laceweight - I'm thinking the Swallowtail Shawl (that's the Ravelry link)
Essential Tweed in Blue Ox (socks, what else?)
Felici in Provence (more socks!)
Gloss in black - only one skein for a pair of fingerless mitts to go with the Koolhaas Hat I knit in January.
Imagination in the colorway Evil Stepmother (for more socks, of course) - hmm...that's also the Red Hats colors, so I'm not so sure I take kindly to the inference that older women are evil, but I suppose with the fairytale theme of these colorways - shoot - no! KP, what were you thinking? Haven't you read Clarissa Pinkola Estes????
The size 0 Harmony needles that started this entire order! NOW when I finish the Black Iris socks, I can finally work on Wendy's Seaweed Socks with the right needles! Maybe they'll fit, even! lolol

I'm really really late (okay, only two days so far) getting this book back to the library. When I went to try to renew it, I discovered that there were others who had placed holds on the book so I couldn't renew...
So as a result, at lunch yesterday, I broke down and tried to do something Jane is always doing - you see, I'm ALSO trying to finish those Black Iris socks for this two week's contest at Summer of Socks '08! Gotta do that by 11:59 p.m. Friday! I couldn't figure any other way than to try multi-tasking...this is my setup at home, not the office (I had to recreate it, because I didn't have the camera at the office). With luck I'll have the book finished today and returned by tonight, so it won't cost much in late fees.

I hate being late. But...oddly enough? I don't mind paying the fines. They're not very steep, and I know they're for the best cause of all - my wonderful library.

Let me tell you, I find Jim Webb's thinking quite fascinating. He writes eloquently and has obviously done a great deal of research on his thesis. If you find yourself looking for a serious read, this might be it. You'll learn a great deal, even if you don't agree with his premise.

It's refreshing to think that someone of his intellect is representing the Commonwealth in the Senate.

Just my two cents worth...