Lo Siento

I hate to say this.  I really, really do.  But there's no episode today.  I'm sorry!

My weekend didn't go like I expected it to.  Like, at all.  I got sucked into home improvement projects that should not have, in any way, taken as long as they did.  I hardly got any yarning done.  And I did not finish the next episode of Second Blessing.

I feel awful.  I feel like I got nothing done that should have gotten done.  And I'm so upset that there is not an episode to enjoy today.  I hate that I'm skipping this week, especially because we just started this one.  But I need more time.  I hope you understand and are willing to forgive me.

I'll get it together.  I'll get it back on track.  I just need a little extra time.     

Baby Knits

So.  Here's the thing right?

We're having the baby shower for my brother and his baby mama and the soon to be nephew of mine who's still cooking right?  And I made that baby blanket and it's going to be great.  (I showed Brub and he was all super enthusiastic and he really loved it a lot.) And I thought I was all set right?

Nope.

Because a week after our shower they are having one of their own in Massachusetts.  And we got invited.  And we're going.  So that means another baby present.  And I'm all gah!  I can't just buy something after I've made something.  Okay, well, I totally could.  But...well, if you know me at all, you know I make stuff.  And on top of that, it seems like cheating to make a blanket and then just buy a present.  But I don't want to do another blanket, because that seems like cheating too.  So then, what to make? 

I'm thinking the hat and sweater combo.  I have some lovely yarn that's a delicious blue.  I just remembered it's in my stash.  And it's more than enough to accomplish what I want.  And it eliminates the whole problem I was having about finding a pattern because it's worsted weight...which a lot of the patterns I found are and the yarn that I thought I would use is DK weight, so I was getting frustrated because everything I found wouldn't work count-wise because it would end up smaller because the yarn was thinner.  But!  Since I remembered about the blue yarn, and it's a boy, and it's just a beautiful color...well then, that makes things a hell of a lot easier.  

Last time I made a baby sweater (I've only made the one) it was for a two year old and I made it in like a week.  This will be smaller, so I should be able to make it a hell of a lot faster.  And the hat.  And there we go.  Now that I've decided on using that yarn, it was easy enough to find easy patterns that I actually like.  So that's what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Because today, I'm babysitting.  And my bum has already been out of bed for a couple of hours.

And speaking of babies?  My coworker finally had her baby on Wednesday...only 13 days later than expect.  Paige Lynn weighed in at 8 pounds 9 ounces and mother and baby are doing well.  

Omen

A good omen appeared to me yesterday...and the day before for that matter.  I'm feeling much more positive about the changes in my life.  It's funny how something like that, and the way you choose to interpret it, can really brighten your outlook.  I'm not a hundred percent there yet, but I'm feeling good.  I think it was something I was meant to see and feel.

Thank goodness it's Friday.  I've been ready for Friday all week.  

I'm on kid duty tomorrow.  Basically, it means that I'm going to have to haul my bum out of bed before the sun rises.  Hopefully, they'll fall asleep for a few hours once they arrive.  And then I'll spend the better part of the day chasing after a not quite two year old and a nine month old who is getting increasingly more mobile.  We do have a pack and play now, so at least if things get crazy I can toss the little one in there with some fun toys and she at least won't be making a break for the stairs or the cats or trying to get into anything.  After they're gone, I'm certain I'm going to be in desperate need of a nap.

Hoping to also get more settled this weekend.  I don't know if I'll actually be that lucky.  But I'm very tired of living in chaos.  Very, very tired of it.  Everything is still in disarray and I can't find anything I'm looking for and I'd just like to be able to hang my damn clothes up in the damn closet.  Soon, though, hopefully very soon.  When I manage to get a little something accomplished, I start itching to get more done.  Only I can't yet, due to circumstance out of my control.  Oh well. I honestly believe there will be a day soon when I've got everything taken care of and all this will be a distant memory.

Hey, the crow appeared to help me make those steps toward change.  I've got no choice but to start walking.      

Stuff and Things

I've been slacking in the post department this month.

There's been a lot going on and I feel like nothing is completely accomplished.  I haven't even finished my time budget which was something I was really looking forward to having.  Perhaps I should have budgeted time to finish the budget, hm?

September is nigh on finished and I can't believe how fast this year has gone by.  October is probably my least favorite month of the year, not even entirely sure why, but it is looming.  And when I think about the fact that there are, essentially  only three months left to the year I'm a little astounded.  

I'm also feeling a little overwhelmed.  There have been some big changes for me in the last month or so and it sort of hit me yesterday evening that I'm having a little trouble assimilating it all.  I'll get there eventually.  But until that happens, I think I'm going to have these little moments of panic and freaking.  I settled down quickly enough when it does happen.  Mostly, right now, I'm just trying to cope.  

And at the same time, I feel like there are big things on my horizon.  If I just keep plodding along, taking that next step, taking those deep breaths, it's all going to be so good.  If I can just get through this moment, and the next, and the next, it's all going to work out.  

So yeah, a lot of conflicting emotions running around in my brainpan.  It's getting rather crowded in there; what with all the emotions and words and patterns.  It's times like this I really wish there was a brain recording device so that I could get everything out and only put it back in when I needed it.    

Ribbit Ribbit

I started the BFF's birthday present the other day just because I wanted something other to work on.  I got a good portion done.  And then I got to the pattern stitches...and promptly fucked it all all up.  

Fail.

I don't know what I did.  I can't figure out how I did the stitches wrong.  But now, I have to figure out if I can frog it back to the good part, which is only three or so rows, and not lose any stitches, or if I should just rip the whole thing out and start over.  That's the bad thing about knitting.  Sometimes, it's impossible to go back and fix your mistakes and you just have to start over.  I suppose I could try to tink (that's knit backwards, literally!) but I don't know if that would be a successful endeavor either.  I guess it wouldn't hurt to try either method, frogging or tinking, and then, if it doesn't work, just yank the whole thing out.  Because if it works, then it's good.  And if it doesn't, I'd have to frog the whole thing anyway.

I really love that yarning has it's own language.  I'm a fan of making up words.  Well, it's more like I change the meaning of words from what they actually mean to suit my purposes.  So the fact that there are words in the yarning vernacular that don't mean anything in real life, but make perfect sense in the world of yarn, appeals greatly to my sense of whimsy.  

At any rate, I'm gonna attempt that tonight.  I think.  We'll see how it all goes.

Second Blessing: Part 2

Another Monday, another installment of our on going saga.  

If you missed the first episode, you can click the label, of course, and it'll take you to last week's episode.

Enjoy!

What's In A Name?

What we call something, or someone, is rather important.  And can change depending on the region or the mood or the situation.  It defines who that person is.  It identifies that thing your talking about.  I drink soda, but you travel an hour and a half west, and they drink pop.  I get into an elevator, but 3,000 miles east, and they ride a lift.  I grew out of calling my mother mommy when I was about six, but for last fifteen years or so, she's been Mommy or Mama (as well as a host of other nicknames because that's a thing of mine) again.  

I see a lot of names in my day job.  A lot.  Thousands.  And I see some of those names and all I can think is "What were his/her parents thinking?!"  because obviously they weren't.  And still  others, I come across and I love them, love the way they sound and think that his/her parents must have given it some thought before they named their child because the name just works.

When I first started thinking about starting a blog, it was several weeks before I even did it because I couldn't think of a name.  This one finally came out to me out of the blue and made me sit up straight and consider.  But there was no way I could even start this without having that name.

And speaking of titles, I often have a hard time coming up with titles for my books/stories.  The short story that is going to be a part of the DSP Advent anthology?  I had no idea what to call it until I got to the very end of writing it.  

And don't even get me started on my characters.  I have a penchant for J names.  Don't know why.  And usually my characters tell me their names.  And more often than not, one of them begins with J.  But sometimes, there's just not a name that fits the character and I have to search and search (and ask the opinions of others) until I come up with one I sort of like.  That sort of fits.  Fortunately, the character usually grows into the name rather quickly once I choose one and then I can't imagine any other name for him/her.

There's my brother and his girlfriend and my nephew.  He's still getting cooked for several more months, but they've chosen a name already.  I don't happen to agree with it.  I don't like the way it sounds with the last name.  I don't really care for it at all.  Not for my nephew. And I already have two people in my life with that name that I love to pieces.  But it's not my child and I don't get choose.  I voiced my opinion, politely, and then moved on.  Because they are the parents and are going to pick the one they like best.

But speaking of naming a child, I have a personal peeve about parents who find out the gender of their baby and then pick a name and nothing can sway them.  I'm all for finding out what you're having.  I'm even a fan of having a few choices of names.  But wait until the baby is born before you pick one!  Look at your child and see if the name fits!  Because believe me, most of the time, you can tell.

Admittedly, I'm probably particularly biased about this topic because of my own situation.  I was supposed to be called Anne (Anna is a family name) but when I was born, my mother took one look at me, said I wasn't an Anne and gave me my name.  My father, perplexed, said they have never discussed my name.  But my mother, in that post birth glow, just said, "Look at her!"  I'm rather pleased with my name, honestly.  I think part of that is I've always known just how much my mother loved it.  But also, Christian is a family name as well...dating way back.  Every generation, there's one.  And in my generation?  I'm the Kris (though it is a feminine version, to be sure) which makes me feel like I'm carrying on the heritage a bit.  And I'm really not an Anne in any way, shape, or form.

It's interesting, too, how names make certain people feel.  I grew up with Emily's and adored them, loved the name.  My mother?  Wrinkles her nose.  To her, Emily is an old lady name, because when she was growing up, it was.  It's funny how names cycle, isn't it?  Twenty years from now, the nursing homes are going to be filled with Brittanys and Tiffanys as patients, while the nurses are named Grace and Anna.  (Not trying to be sexist, by the way, it just seems that female names have more of a cycle.  Yes, there are "cutesy" boy names, but really, the old classics never go out of style with boy names, you know?) 

Anyway, let me get off the soap box.  It just something that creeps up and invades my mind every once in a while.  Names are important, even if it what you call a baby's pacifier or the drink in your glass, and they can invoke all sorts of feelings when linked to a person.  Sis says she doesn't like her name, though I adore it.  Mom really hates her name, but I love her so much, that I think it's great.  

What are your thoughts on the whole name issue?

Gateway to Weekend

Thank the Lord, it's Friday again!

Mom's Kindle Fire stopped working.  No, that's not entirely right.  The touch screen was completely unresponsive.  Apparently, it's a thing with some of the Kindle Fire's.  Usually, resetting it makes it work just fine.  And I did get it to work for a few minutes once after a reset.  But it stopped working again.  So I contacted Amazon and they are sending a free replacement. As long as we return the damaged Kindle within thirty days, of course.  Mom's all on that.  She 's already printed out the return label (with paid postage and everything) and is all set to pack up the broken one in the new one's packaging and send it off.  It's sad that it stopped working, but I have to give the customer service rep and Amazon two thumbs up for the handling of the situation.

I cleaned the fish tank, but that was the only thing on the list that was the only thing on the list that I actually got accomplished.  Well, dealing with the Kindle situation was on the list too.  So that's two things!  Oh, and sending my latest edit back...hmm, I guess I did better than I thought.  

I'm still working on the time budget.  Haven't got it all worked out yet.

Some babysitting tomorrow and a trip to the farmer's market.  Sis and I really love going and walking through all the stalls and getting fresh produce.  The fruit usually grabs us.  We take the babies with us and that comes in handy because then we have places on the strollers to put the bags of things we buy.  Little man loves fruit so we can usually keep him occupied by giving him a pear or a banana to munch.  

There's a trip the gay bar tomorrow night that I'm still trying to get out of.  I do not like crowds.  We'll see how successful I am.  It's not looking too promising at the moment.

Tonight, the one thing I have absolutely budgeted is relaxation time.  It doesn't matter what I do, just that it's quiet and away from the hustle and bustle. I need to decompress a little.

I'm very much looking forward to that.   

Random Thoughts and Observations

After the freakish cold of earlier this week, it's starting to warm up again.  It's because I actually dug out and set up the space heater.  I take heart in the fact that it will get cold again sooner rather than later.

I'm torn about what the BFF's birthday present is going to be.  I thought I had it all figured out but then a thought just occurred to me that would be pretty awesome.  Same thing, but different pattern.  I can't make a decision. I hate it when I'm dithering.

Sis's blanket got a few more rows on it. I promised it to her quicker than the last one but...yeah, I don't know if that's going to happen.  Next year, she totally getting cash.  I'm a bad sister for always putting her project on the back burner to do other things.

My goddaughter's birthday is in November.  I have this fanciful notion of it being a thing that I always make her something for her birthday.  If that's the case, then I need to get cracking.  

I've always got another project on the horizon, it seems.  Something else I want to make more than whatever I'm making at the moment, a different story I want to write than the one I'm working on.  If someone would stop feeding the plot bunnies, I might be able to get something accomplished.  (Don't really stop feeding the bunnies, I love that you do!)

Speaking of writing...Second Blessing is shaping up to be a good time.  I'm really liking these guys!

I really need to clean the fish tank. That's my first order of business when I get home tonight.  It's going to be fun carting the water up and down the stairs.  *insert sarcasm here*

My second order of business is to write out a detailed time budget.  I'm going to do a few days at a time and see just how well I can stick to it.  I need a little extra discipline in my life right now.  There are a lot of things that need to be budgeted in but if I think too much about it right now, I'm going to get overwhelmed.

I absolutely need to find a better arrangement for what's plugged in to which outlet.

I also really want some cookies.

   

Yarning News

Yes, I do, in fact, still yarn.  I know it seems like I've got so much going on in all the other aspects of my life that I don't have time for that anymore.  But I do, sometimes, still yarn.  Especially when it's been a while and I start to miss it.  It's like a missing limb...or worse, a torso.

Anyway, last night I watched TV and finished the baby blanket for Brub's baby.  So no rushing for it to be done before the baby shower!  Go me!  I had to locate the parts (ie: the extra yarn I bought) but I sat down and worked until I was out of yarn.  So it's bigger.  Do you remember which one it is?  The star pattern one from the day of yarning about five months ago.  It was just after we found out that there would be a baby and I had bought that lovely yarn I couldn't leave on the shelf in the store.  I bought the "girly" color and the "boyish" color because I didn't know what my coworker was having.  And I hoped that she would have one gender and my brother's girlfriend would have the other.  And that's exactly what happened!  (BTW, the coworker has yet to give birth to her little girl.  She was due last Thursday.  She's very tired of waiting)  So, yeah.  When I "finished" it before, I didn't think it was quite big enough, it really needed a few more inches.  So one day while I was out, I picked up another skein of the yarn so I could put on a few more round.  And now?  Finished!

I also finally got the curtains hung so at least the light won't be sneaking in while I sleep anymore and waking me up.  Feels a little homier now too.  But it was a freaking bitch to install and I was swearing up a blue streak.  The directions weren't clear and it's a good thing I basically knew what I was doing or else I would have been completely lost. 

I wrote a little too, but not as much as I would have liked, the yarn was calling my name like a seductive temptress.  But the curtain is up and I slept well and I finished that blanket!  

State of Flux

The move is complete, though the settling has just begun.  Living in disarray is tiresome and I'm ready to have a place for everything and everything in it's place.  I sat down to knit Saturday night after I had finished moving everything in order to unwind a bit and relax before going to sleep...except before I could do that, I had to wade through boxes and bags and containers to locate Sis's blanket and haul it out.  By the time I got settled and started knitting, I only finished a couple of rows before I was falling asleep.  Kept my lap nice and warm though.  Although my new space is well insulated, it does get colder/hotter than the rest of the house.  I have a rock awesome space heater that will take of the problem when it gets real cold, but it seems pointless (and a little dangerous, so much stuff!) to pull it out now.  For now, it's slippers and an extra throw and possibly the motivation to finally make myself that pair of fingerless mitts that I've been intending to make for about six years.

But I'm tired and hurty because it's a lot of physical work, and my hamstrings still feel like cooked spaghetti when I walk down the stairs. And I'm more than ready for everything to be completely finished so that I don't have the anxiety anymore.  Anxiety to get it finished, sure...but also not knowing where anything is, and feeling unsettled, and just anxious for it to all be over. I can't get my brain to focus on the yarn or the boys when I'm constantly worried.  I think I repeated myself a little bit there, but that just goes to show how unfocused I am.  It's one thing if I've created the mess, it's another entirely when the mess is beyond my control.  So, yeah, very ready to be settled.

My regular routine has been interrupted and I don't function well when that happens. But I'm pushing through and in a week or two, I should be relatively settled and back in my routine with only a few subtle changes.

Have I whined enough yet?

At any rate, if there's one thing that's positive from this whole ordeal is that there was plenty of time to get lost in my head while physically carrying stuff and painting...spent a good portion of Saturday envisioning cable patterned gauntlets (might have actually made a decision too!) and a good deal of Sunday letting plot bunnies run wild while painting.  At least it made the time fly.  And as soon as I get a chance, I'm writing those plot bunnies down!

Second Blessing: Part 1

Oh look!  Ta da!  The first episode in our new story!  Here we go folks!  Remember how it all works?  Of course you do.  New label in the side bar, click to catch up, yadda yadda. We will, as usual, post new episodes on Mondays...with the occasional extra thrown in.  And it seems like, if the past two are anything to go on, when I get towards the end I get impatient and start posting more often.

Also, yeah, you're probably going to want to read the first two, if you haven't already, because, really, it follows along.  You wouldn't be completely lost, I don't think.  But still, you may want to.  And I'd certainly appreciate it if you did.  

Enjoy!

MIA

Alas, I will be absent much of the weekend again.  Too much to do, you know?  

However!  There's good news!  If you tune in on Monday, 7:00 AM EST then you will find the first episode in our new season of the Boulder Practitioner series.  Second Blessing is the story of Daniel (who's been patiently waiting) and Sean.  Wait till you see what I have in store for these guys...and all the other practitioners we've met along the way.

So, you know, there's that to look forward to.

I'm hoping that next week, I'll mostly be back to my regularly scheduled life.  There's definitely going to be some adjustments going on but I'm hoping to settle in fairly quickly.  I can adapt.  I swear I can.  *g*  I think I'm totally making it into a bigger thing in my head than it actually is.  Which, you know, is usually the case with me.  Hey, at least I know my own faults.

Enjoy the ep on Monday and I'll be back Tuesday with updates! 

Self Control and Change

When I left work last night, and after I stopped at the bank, I had to actually force myself NOT to go to the yarn store.  Because I seriously wanted to.  Desperately wanted to go shopping at the yarn store.  It was like...it was the oranges all over again.  Remember the oranges?  Now, seriously, I know that I don't need anymore yarn.  And I've got enough projects in the pipeline to keep me occupied for a while, right?  But it was this driving need to go shopping at my LYS.  I actually drove out of the bank the back way so I was pointed in the opposite direction and less tempted.  Okay, I wasn't really less tempted, but it would have been a bitch to take a left out of there and I try to avoid those kinds of turns whenever possible.  So I went home instead.

And then I made myself a deal.  After I finish the move, and get the old place cleaned and painted, then I can treat myself.  Not that it would be yarn for a project for me because that hardly seems to happen at all.  But just shopping and seeing all the lovely things and buying something sumptuous and fabulous would be a treat.  I will buy yarn for the BFF's birthday present.  And maybe for this other project I have in my head.  

So now I'm determined to get everything done so I can shop.  It always works well for me if I have a motivation!

One thing about the move though?  I'm excited about it and I know I'll be happy once it's done, but I'm also sort of reluctant too.  Now I know I'm not a big fan of change.  But it sort of feels like I'm losing something vital by doing it.  *shrugs*  There's been a lot of change in my life recently.  A lot of it is good.  Most of it in fact.  But I'm also sort of set in my ways and it's hard.  I just need to take a deep breath and keep pressing forward.  I'll be okay.  I think.  

I'm Baaaaaack!

But not in the creepy Poltergeist way.

Honestly, I'm not done with anything that I need to be done with and there's been a lot going on and a lot of it is really good stuff and some of it, not so much, and really every time in the last few days that I've sat down and opened a blank post and lifted my fingers to the keyboard I just...I had nothing to say.  I couldn't think of one damn single word I wanted to put on the page.  

Everything that did cross my mind seemed irrelevant or boring or, I don't know, trivial and I just couldn't write it down.  Those insecurities crept up and whispered, in that seductive way they have, "No one cares.  No one is interested in the babble you've spewed countless times already."  And so, there was nothing to say.  

I've told that voice to shove it.

So what's going on with me?

Yarn front: I have to put a couple more rounds on that baby blanket for my nephew.  We're having a baby shower here on Columbus Day weekend.  It's not on the registry, of course, and I have a sinking feeling she won't appreciate it.  But maybe she'll surprise me and love it.  I have not done any work on Sis's blanket.  Soon I'll get to start the BFF's birthday present and that will make me happy.  I'm looking forward to that. 

Moving front: Not done.  Not far from being done, but sort of at a stand still.  It's been crazy hot and humid the past couple of days and that has impeded my progress.  I need to get my ass in gear.  

Writing front:  Oooh!  So, I did the first round of edits on the short story for Dreamspinner Press and that was exciting and nerve wracking.  I'm trying to take each thing as a lesson to help improve my craft.  I've got the beginning of Daniel's story sorted out and it will go live on Monday.  I'm only 93% certain of the title, I'm still dithering a little.  But Brub helped me figure it out with his ginormous brain.  I have two other stories bouncing around in my head that are demanding page time.  They have to wait, and they aren't being incredibly patient about it.  But I'm managing for the moment.  

Work's fine, though a bit stressful right now.  Family is good.  Cats and tortoise and fish are all thriving.

Is that all my fronts?  *nods* Yeah, I think so.

And you?  How are your fronts?

Mush

I'm a great big pile of mush.  Thanks for that, Alder.

But I need to focus, right?  Work, then packing, then moving, then settling.  It's a process.

I'll not be around this weekend.  Too much to do.  And even though I thought the first ep of the new story was going to go up on Monday, it doesn't seem like that's a going to happen.  I apologize in advance for that.  I've just got too much going on this weekend to get it finished.  So it'll have to wait. 

I'm going to be a hot mess of tired come Sunday night.  On the upside, there's no doubt I'll sleep well.  

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Moving

It's a pain in the ass, right?  A great big headache.  And there's packing and schlepping and all sorts of body aches to go along with it.  And then when you get your stuff to where it's going there's unpacking and sorting and arranging...it's really just a hassle.

But the good part about it is that you actually are forced to go through all the stuff you have accumulated and you have the perfect opportunity to get rid of things.  All that stuff that's really trash and you don't know why you've actually hung on to it?  Bin it.  All those clothes you haven't worn in years but are in still pretty good shape?  Off to Goodwill or the Rescue Mission.  

So it's a colossal pain in the bum but it's also a good thing.  You just have to constantly remind yourself that it'll all be worth in in the end when you're finally, finally, done.

That's what I'll be doing for the next week or so.  Packing, schlepping, unpacking, sorting.  
And reminding myself it'll be good once I'm finished.

Nothing

I got nothing.  

I wasn't good and didn't yarn very much on Sis's blanket, so I didn't go shopping and take advantage of the sale.  I'm kicking myself now thinking I should have gone shopping anyway.  I might have to stop over there after work tonight...just to see. (If you believe that I'd just be looking, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona you might be interested in)  

Monday night at 11:30 I did go out to the airport to pick up the BFF who had just gotten back from her trip to Atlanta and Dragon*Con.  She had an awesome time, as per usual.

I'm pretty sure the first episode of the next saga will go up Monday.  Still doesn't have a title by the way.  I'm working on it.

I can't believe it's only Wednesday.  At the exact same time, I can't believe is already Wednesday.  Weird how time is like that, isn't it?  I've got so much I need to do and so much I want to do...that always seems to be the case.  I need to stop whinging about it and just get to it.

Well, I guess there were a few things, but I've got nothing else.  Hope your day is filled with awesome!

September Again

Almost went to the yarn store yesterday.  So close.  I know, right?  Like I need more yarn.  Although I do have to make the BFF's birthday present.  I've only got two and half months and I'd like to have them done and not have to scramble...that was a really nice feeling.  I'd forgotten how good it felt just to have something done and waiting until last Friday when I had to wrap the baby blanket for my coworkers baby shower.  I'm going to aim for that again.  And my LYS is having a great big sale to make room for fall yarns...

Oh, speaking of fall!  It's September!  Yay!  Autumn is my favorite season.  I really love it.  I'm not a fan of the heat and humidity of summer.  And winter is fine, except when we have those blizzards and eight feet of snow.  Spring is often too wet for my liking.  But fall is just about perfect in every way.  And the apples come out and apple picking is one of my favorite weekend activities.  Followed by baking all the delectable apple treats.  

I've been working on Sis's afghan (go me, I really need to get that shit done) and so my goal is to get a lot done today.  If I accomplish my goal, I just may have to reward myself with a trip to the LYS tomorrow.  Take advantage of the sale and get the yarn for the BFF's present and get yarn for fingerless mitts for me.  I've only been intending to make a pair for myself for about five years.  We'll see how well I do.  

Oh, and within the next week or so, I intend to submit another story to Dreamspinner.  Wish me luck!