Total Befuddlement Saturday..

Before I left for Sock Summit (yes, I know, here I go again, the topic that just won't end...), I considered the fact that those of us who were going were getting terrifically excited about what turned out to be a pretty amazing event, but that we were going to have to come home, the event would end, we'd come back to our lives, and the letdown would be rough.

I did my best to console myself, that I wouldn't have time for that, I'd be right into preparation for that Cat Show in DC (note the ticker above...it's so darn close!), and of course, the rest of my work commitments...

Surprise!
(or not...depending on your perspective)

It does not matter how much I prepared myself, nor how much I have to do (in fact, I think that makes it worse).

The letdown is enormous. And I don't think I'm alone, either...(I'm seeing folks on the Sock Summit group on Ravelry continuing to discuss how wonderful the event is and when is the next one...and what was bought, and what their regrets are (yes, I've also participated in such discussions...I'm every bit as into this as they are!)

I'm trying to push myself, but I am also reminding myself that I wasn't as up to snuff as usual when I left on the trip, and I'm not bouncing back either...(surprise, again!) It was after all, major mileage and timezone hopping, which I have never done before...

So. I'm making myself to-do lists, and crossing things off. The old stand-by behavior for when a person is under stress of any kind - CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN, and recognize your TANGIBLE progress...

So:
Yesterday I finished the Neopolitan Disco socks (that's my Personal Sock Club July edition, and is a plain vanilla sock with 2x2 rib cuff. I knit them on my trusty size 1.5s, but - this is complicated - I started on my new Addi Lace Needles, then realized I could not risk losing those needles to TSA, so I switched to the Hiya Hiya bamboos that The Meezer munched on, then to my least favorite set of Knitpicks Harmony needles (because the bamboos went on the feather & fan socks I just finished). I guarantee you they look fine, none the worse for the switching out of needles...
:)
So that's my first accomplishment (knitting-wise).

I've been reading two EZ books - yes, I tend to do two or six things at once, why do you ask? Isn't that "multi-tasking?"): The Opinionated Knitter and Knitter's Almanac, both available from Schoolhouse Press. It seems to me that it's only appropriate to buy the books from EZ's company, run by her daughter, Meg Swanson, now. I wouldn't think of getting them anywhere else, hence the link you're given. We knitters need to support our own!!!

But I digress...

I'm reading EZ because I never have. (ok, don't get nutty on me, I haven't because I've never had any reason to want to knit a sweater, and that's where EZ was in my head - a sweater knitter - yes, I know I was dense. I'm working on it.)

I'm hoping to make a BSJ (Baby Surprise Jacket) with the donated yarn from last year for NoSoKnit this year:

Yes, unfortunately, that is what I am required to work with. I'm not looking forward to it. Well, except that I do hope to learn something of EZ in the process...(of course, I know she'd recommend WOOL!)

Remember this yarn?
I started the toe before I left for SS09 because I had packed everything else. I left it at home. When I started working on it (this is the Personal Sock Club August edition, Trekking 173), I didn't realize I'd added 2 stitches more to each needle (4 sts total) making the width of the foot just too wide for me.

It was frogged and reknit yesterday...I'm now back where I was when I left for Portland. Because this is the August edition of the Sock Club, I'm hoping to finish it before I go to DC. We'll see...

Because of course, the reason I'm going to DC is the cat show, so you know I'm sewing too, right? I've been working on existing orders, too. Today I've washed fabrics, and am starting on regular laundry, doing some cleaning that is desperately needed, too...

And still not feeling all the best - not quite sure what the next step will be for my back, but I can tell you for sure that I'm not giving acupuncture a third try - it might be that my version of fibromyalgia just makes it too uncomfortable (I also cannot be hypnotized, for what that's worth), or perhaps the heat lamps affect my Lupus too negatively, but either way, it's just not for me.

Anyway. I didn't want you to think I'd fallen off the end of the earth, and I was at a good point for a sit-down rest between "stuff."

I'm fortunately not depressed (that was my very worst concern - that I'd come back from SS09 and slip into a deep funk, all the excitement gone...BAM). I'm very relieved about that!!! I'm just ...

Tired. Hm. That's it. I'm Tired.
(explains why it was almost 10 when I rolled out of bed today, right? Oh, well that and the RAIN...we're getting a bit mildewed around here - lots of storms, flood watches, BILL - that hurricane off the coast and a front, I think. Our beautiful Blue Ridge acts like the sides of a bowl, funneling water down into the valley that is where I live...)

Ok. Time's up. Back to work!