1. I am totally taken with this image of Our Lady with DPNs. (This version is available here.) Does anyone know anything about it? I first saw it labeled as the Annunciation, but isn't that Jesus with the book? Aren't the two of them kicking back at home, when some angels come with a crown of thorns and three nails? Even though she lived a thousand years before the invention of knitting, I bet Mary would have been a knitter if she'd had the opportunity.
2. I myself am also working on the yoke of a sweater. Isn't that the prettiest cable? (Mine needs blocking, but I have high hopes for it.) It's a Kate Davies design called Braid Hills. I should be able to seam the shoulders this weekend, and then I'll just have the sleeves and the neckband to go. Perhaps it is a little silly to feel impatient about finishing a wool sweater in August, but impatient I am nonetheless. I started this a year ago, and let it languish all winter. Time to get this puppy bound off.
3. My 14yo would prefer it if my knitting energy were channeled in a different direction. I am also working on this sock's mate (shown here with a map and itinerary from his trip to Philmont Scout Ranch, a highlight of his summer), but it is not calling to me this week.
4. Perhaps I should be thinking a bit less about knitting and a bit more about work, since this is the first day of my contract. I'm most of the way there on my work goals, though: I have a bit of work to do (a couple of hours' worth) before I resubmit my rejected manuscript, and I haven't started scheduling interviews for my new project. I haven't yet published my course websites, since I want to swoop through the syllabi once more. But I think (I hope!) I'm in reasonably good shape. (If you could spare a prayer: editors are making a decision on a manuscript I wrote last semester. I would SO LOVE for it to be in this journal.)
5. The high school boys (plural! a senior and a freshman!) are back in school, and the other kids return Monday. Last night at open house Stella said, "I'm so excited about this place!" and her soon-to-be kindergarten teacher said, "This is the most exciting place in the world." Of course, then we went to the fourth grade classroom, where my sweet 9yo learned that his best friends both have the teacher we wanted for him -- and he does not. But the other teacher is not bad, just new. Here's to a good year for both of them.
6. The kids have been troupers this summer, faithfully helping me clean out the basement in exchange for chocolate and the occasional lunch out. It's about 80% less disgusting down there, which feels like an accomplishment. A couple of key realizations: first, in an old house, where the mechanicals are scattered all across the basement instead of clustered in one spot, your beautification options are limited. But, second, even if "beautiful" feels overwhelming, "more functional" is within reach.
7. Have you heard of the Whole30? I am doing the Whole 30. It is a little crazy, but it is a doable kind of crazy. This is day 16, and I am feeling like a font of energy and focus. A sweet-tempered font of energy and focus, even.
Happy feast day, y'all! Go read more quick takes at Jen's.
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