Happy Thanksgiving To All

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you are enjoying the turkey with fixings, the game, the family, or a quiet day however you spend today. I did the fixing cooking earlier so DH could have the kitchen free to make the bird, yams, and boiled steamed broccoli.

Haven't posted in a couple of weeks; my lab and office have moved and I had to do a lot of the moving myself. The move was not initiated by moi, but by my department chair. I'm now in exile, 1 floor below my department (where drinking water, coffee, needed common equipment, mail services, etc. are), sans office (temporarily), with my office furniture in the middle of my lab so I can't get to my benches or equipment. I had to buy a new lab refrigerator, which will arrive before my office situation is straightened out. I'm still expected to give seminars, write grants and papers, review manuscripts, attend meetings, and function like any other faculty member. Just without access to my printer or files (I was able to set up my iMac, but working from a lab bench on a computer is killing my back) and in a lab 1/3 smaller than the old one. Moving the heavy stuff injured my knee, put my microscopes out of whack, and contaminated my cells. Why did my chairman do this? I dunno; insanity I guess. Other faculty would dust off their curricula vitae and starting to shop for a new job. Me, I went to the Dean of Research and made him come to my lab to see not only that I can't be expected to function, but my lab now violates every safety rule at our university. Which is why he said there and then he had an office for me. Not my department has an office for me; he the Dean of Research will assign me an office on the same floor as my lab. Monday I will nag ask about the office, before my back permanently seizes up.

Enough rant! I'm grateful that the Dean saw reality and saw fit to help me out. I'm grateful that the mole that DD#1 had removed in October was nothing more than a benign spot. I'm grateful DD#2's interview at Johns Hopkins went very well last month. I'm grateful for my family (except when they drive me nuts). I'm grateful to have all that I have. I'm grateful to have a long weekend to spend a part of knitting.

If you want to see 2 adorable movies, I recommend "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" and "Enchanted." Especially "Enchanted." Go see it for Amy Adams' performance alone.

Cringing Along

See the new yarn Sundara yarn that came today? That's Ruby sock yarn and Grass sport merino yarn. When I added them to my Ravelry stash, I came up with 31 lots of yarn, and I know I haven't added everything yet. I cringe as I type. The only cure I suppose is to knit more. So I'm off to knit some more of my Lupine socks. I had nearly finished 1 sock- and discovered that Sasquatch could wear it (and I take a size 7 shoe). So frog I must, and now I'm up to the heel flap.
NB: If you want to see a delightful little movie, rent "Miss Potter." It's about the life of Beatrix Potter, it stars Renee Zellweger, and it didn't nearly get the good press it deserved in my very humble opinion here. The views of the lake country make me want to pack up and move there, to raise sheep of course!

Proof That Surfing Can Be Dangerous To Your Wallet

Checked out Jeanie Townsend's blog to see what's doing and she had posted about these gorgeous socks. As if I hadn't enough trouble with knitter's ADD and second sock syndrome! OTOH, they might look nice in the Shell over Cocoa Butter Sundara yarn I have in my stash.....

Meanwhile, check out these babies I just finished:

Do they look good enough to eat wear or what? One day I will master the art of the neat Kitchener stitch at the sock toe. I hope.

New socks started: Evelyn Clark's Lupine Lace, featuring Sundara Yarn Sport Merino in Blue-Violet over Cotton Candy. Love her sock patterns. As always, I tweak a bit: eye of partridge flap and French heel. EoP flap just looks better to me for some patterns than heel stitch, dressier, I guess. French heel is my fave, undoubtedly due to the fact that it fits me best of them all.


Have I worked on Rogue? Sad to say, not for a while. But with the coming of colder weather, I'm sure I'll be nagged by a certain daughter to get back to work on it.