What I've Been Up To

Working, mostly. In two weeks, I'll turn in my last set of grades, and I'll only have one job. This will be a relief. I have two part time jobs, both of which really aren't. It will be good to have less juggling! (O, hai, free time. I miss u.)

Wiz has been to the doctor a lot this month. We saw the neurologist, the hematologist, the gastroenterologist, and the cardiologist this month. Neurology will want to see him again (unless the neurosurgeon needs to see him/do surgery), hematology and gastroenterology are pretty much permanent, and cardiology has signed off. Wiz has no heart problems. WOOHOO!

I've been knitting little things. First, I've knit 20 ornaments:I've knit a tam/beret.
Bottom of the beret. The brim. The top. (Mountain Colors, Weaver's Quarters in Sagebrush, which seems appropriate, since we are right on the edge of sagebrush habitat.)

I've knit a pickle. (This is for a tasteless, silly ornament exchange. I think it fits the bill.)
Finally, Game Boy made a boat out of duct tape (and got a hair cut). I think that the boys will both get duct tape in their stockings this year. There is just so much fun out of a roll of it.

New Things

Supposedly, it is a new season. Autumn, to be exact! However, if you look outside here, you'd never guess. It is currently 95 F, and we're shooting for a record! I think that this is better than cold, but...

Because it's a new season (HA!) I have started and/or made some changes around here. First up: office space for me. I'm teaching 6 hours on line this semester and 9 next semester, so I needed some place to call my own. Right now it is this:I'll be adding a corkboard and bookshelves and an actual office chair eventually. It's nice to have a space of my own. It's a corner of the guest room, but it still works for that, too. I'm going to add a curtain and buy new bedding, so that it can be my space. It might be the one place that's always relatively neat, too, so I'll have a refuge from everyone else's mess!

I haven't been able to buy yarn for the Collar's next sweater (it will be knitted from SUPERWASH!), so I'm working on two other things, instead. One is another hoodie. This one's for the Wiz.I've already completed the back, and I'm a good chunk of the way to the armhole on the front. I am using stash yarn, so I might not have enough for the sleeves. I'm thinking of a contrasting yarn color for the sleeves. I'll have to decide later. (It's boring stockinette, but he's a small kid. This is a combination of size 4 and 6 measurements. The kid is still skinny.)

I have also cast on for a shawl. I'm cold at church. The pattern is from Magknits. The pattern is Blossom. I am knitting mine in Fleece Artist Mermaid.
This is about 4 of 14 pattern repeats. I really like the colors, even if it is mostly blue! I chose the yarn because of the name. I always wanted to be a mermaid.

Last new thing for today (tomorrow I'm going to post about my SP's package!) is this absolutely soft and fuzzy alpaca yarn. It's a natural color (I believe the alpaca is named Prospector) and I'm going to make boot socks for me. The BB fanatics gave it to me. There's an alpaca farm near Augusta. (The Kentucky one, that is on the river. Not the Georgia one.)

Maybe some day it will be cool enough to wear boots...and warm socks.

One set down

I have finished grading one set of papers. That class only needs its final exam grades and I am finished with them.

I have papers to grade in the other class. Other than that, they need their final exams.

The last class needs their finals graded (they took it yesterday) and their notebooks graded.

The end is in sight.

I'll emerge some time next week.

*edited to add: I finished grading the exams! I think I'll tackle their notebooks next. Then I'll be finished with one set of grades.