Best Quote I Heard All Day
Writing is easy. You only need to stare at a piece of blank paper until your forehead bleeds--Douglas Adams

You want to talk about supperating open sores? Mere bagatelles.

There's a bucket o' blood beneath my computer at work.

Only imagine trying to create coherent directions on how to burn a flash card using WinImage for those intrepid users who need to install mobile units, and you'll feel my pain.

I've been out of touch and out of my fucking mind. But I'm here, still writing.

And Still, It's the Melanie
Yepper, as they say in Pennsyltucky. I'm still at it and it's the only knitting I've been doing for how long? Three months? I'm on the border now, with 104 rounds + 4 plain at the end. Oh, and don't forget the "lacy cast-off."

I wasn't going to publish a picture until it was on Corinne's back but it's such a fetching little bag of lace, I thought, why not?

Here's the best detail shot I could manage, given that there are countless stitches now on a 29" circular needle.

The wedding is a week from today. I have done 20 rounds. Do the math. I'm fucked, right? Perhaps not. I have all day today and tomorrow to put my carpal tunnel syndrome into full-blown activity. Plus oddments of time from Monday through Thursday and all day Friday.

Please light a candle for me, say a Novena or a Nelson Mandela or whatever the fuck you believe in. Because this shawl will be finished, even if I block it the night before in the hotel.

I hate deadlines.

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Etsy Blacky Bunny Fibery Goodness
If you haven't bought any stuff from Black Bunny, Miss Carol's fine online yarn and fiber emporium, what's wrong with you? I couldn't wait any longer to spin some of the Pansy Corriedale-ish fiber that I bought from her and it was almost as good as sex with a dark-haired man. Heh.

I'm spinning it a bit heavier than I normally do so's I can get it to become fingering weight for a pair of socks. Haven't done a wpi yet. I needed a break from knitting the Melanie the other evening, so I decided to spin a bit. And with two full bobbins of the Emerald City, I need to spend some time plying that, as well. Not happening this week or next.

Presents of Mind
Here's why I love Ted, besides the fact that he's such an incredible knitter and spinner. He's a good friend who worries about me when I'm up to my neck in work and then sends me a little present to make me even crazier.

On the right is the new mohair that Sharon Miller is selling. I will definitely be taking this to Virginia next weekend to play with. Sharon gives you a miniature Orenburg shawl pattern with the samples.

Do ya think I've had enough lace? Nope, because soon I'll be starting the Wedding Ring shawl with Ted, Franklin and Loopy. This is not a knitalong. This is just four idiots who want to gnash their teeth in unison.

At the rate I'm going, it's unlikely that I will be knitting anything other than lace this year, socks excluded. Oh yeah, and probably that KnitPicks Fair Isle vest that Mammy gave me for my birthday. Compared to lace, Fair Isle is now a slight diversion.

Luddite? Me?
This past week, I was gifted with a Blackberry at work. Now, I ask you. Do I need this?

No. I already have a cell phone and I most certainly do not want to be available 24/7 to anyone, which is why I am known not to answer my cell phone if I don't know who the caller is.

Here's why I consider myself a Luddite. I hate techology, even though I work in the industry. I don't like the idea that people can call me any fucking time they want. I work for a company that provides systems for other companies to track their "mobile assets." I'm waiting for the time when people walk around with their own personal GPS systems on their bodies so that Big Brother knows where they are every minute.

I don't like this at all.

We can know where anyone is at any given time these days. And although I appreciate the benefits that I've gotten from being part of the problem, there are times when I'd be just as happy to not know what the latest technology is. Unfortunately, since I am a writer, the computer will always play some part in my life because I'm too fucking lazy to write longhand.

So there it is. I now own a cellphone, a Blackberry, a desktop, a laptop, a DVD player, an iPod, and a cordless phone. That's as far as I'm willing to take it, and perhaps further than I need to.

A cabin in the woods by a lake. With no phone, no TV, and perhaps just my iPod so I can listen to Telemann and Gilbert & Sullivan in peace.

Being a private person is rare and handy. And private I am, despite this blog.

Next post: Live next Saturday, from Williamsburg, VA. Wherein you will find out if I actually finished the Melanie.

Note to readers: There's been a minor coding problem. That is, your idiot blogger, while making some upgrades, managed to delete some code. I've now replaced it but the Haloscan comments, while still coded, are not showing up. So I will give the Blogger comments a go. We'll see how it goes. Could be Haloscan is having problems. Or not.