Mini bouquet of mini dahlias.

Such a great afternoon at @pocketbooksshop.bsky.social with @writesloud.bsky.social and @mrswhitehouse74.bsky.social in conversation about First Kicking, Then Not. Entirely relatable strangeness, perfect for our present moment.

Unpleasant realization about my writing today: when I write lately, I write until the character needs to take action, and I stop. Just thinking about it makes me tense. Thinking about adding the next sentence with the action makes me tense. Neither of these things inspires forward motion. Help?

How happy am I for the last minute decision to throw my #musselburghhat into my knitting bag? 🧶

I added a second color yesterday, by reaching in the bag and pulling out the first thing I touched. Color changes are determined by a set of personally significant numbers. 🧶 #roadtripknitting #roadtrip #michiganorbust

Ever since I made the long, colorful scarf for Karl a few years ago, I’ve been thinking of making one of my own. Today it begins. Acres of garter stitch in soft, smooshy yarn is perfect car knitting. #roadtripknitting #roadtrip #michiganorbust

Three hours is not enough sleep before going to work. Spending two hours at the emergency vet to learn that your dog is high does not help. Who either fed my dog THC-something or dropped it on the street for her to hoover up?! Today was already not going to be my favorite of the week.

Married in a bookstore.

I’m thinking about my notebook out in my bag, but I’m also thinking about going to bed. It’s been a long week already and it’s only Tuesday.

@lancasteryarnshop.bsky.social TFW you are almost finished but you realize you knit the entire middle section with the wrong size circular. I’m glad I enjoy watching the stripes pile up. #musselburghhat #frogging #dpnlifeline

Haven’t been felled by a migraine in quite awhile, but here I am. Should have just stayed in bed, but felt obligated to get things done at the office.

@erindorney.bsky.social I cannot wait for this letter! Yay, you! Yay, subscribers!

“A lot of people come to programs at the library because it doesn’t cost them anything to access the programs. If that’s not available, then that’s just not gonna happen. Where else are they going to go?” lancasteronline.com/news/local/b...

If you need joy and complex sentences and descriptions of Ross Gay smiling (which I would love to see in person), read this.

For the past few evenings I’ve gone up to the room where my yarn and laptop are and spent time with my writing. Tonight, I finished the dishes and succumbed to inertia. My work week caught up to me.

Folks: I am NOT affiliated with the group that is using my name to support an economic boycott. Please spread this post, if you would.

2025 is apparently the year for unearthing knitting UFOs and doing something about them. Finished object number two is the Carbeth Cardigan by Kate Davies that I didn’t quite finish in 2020! All it needed was underarm grafting, woven ends, and buttons. I loved it from the moment I put it on.

As far as Jean is concerned, any box will do.

Not a hat update, but a nearly dry cardigan (that bulky Lopi really soaked up the water!) that I may be able to wear in a day or two (once I trim all the ends).

My latest for Sierra magazine.

I did try to write this evening, but it didn’t come together, so knitting was the other option to keep my phone out of my hands for a while. I’ll try again tomorrow.

Hat update? Sure! I’m a little more than halfway through the pre-decrease length and am still enchanted by the stripes as they stack up. They are a little les than a round-and-a-half long, so on any given side of the hat some stripes are two rows deep and some are one row deep. #musselburghhat 🧶

Gratitude List: 1. Writers’ brunch at Nooks 2. Cafe time (writing) at Denim with Karl 3. Our new little free library 4. Firebird Festival in Phoenixville 5. Getting back up after going down

Read my weekly allotment of essays while icing an ankle that is acting up. I always learn something about what to do (or not) in my own writing by reading submissions. No time left for knitting tonight, but there’s only one more day until the weekend.

Putting my phone down and knitting for an hour did help whatever needed it. No photo, doesn’t look much different than it did last night.

Spent a lovely hour or so writing at the library this evening while my husband had a meeting. All great except the guy who came and sat in the closest chair to me who was coughing and sneezing without covering. I hope my mask was enough. I did get up and move, but not immediately.

Hat update, because who couldn’t do with a dose of bright rainbow stripes right now? I’m on circular needles and just going ‘round and ‘round for the moment. I need to pick the knitting up more and the phone up less; still working on that. 🧶 #musselburghhat

Beauty in the strange alchemy of sun, wind, snowmelt, and a fault in the gutter overhead. The rest of the tree was bare of ice or snow. While we sat I watched someone walked by and swatted the lower, long curves, leaving stubs behind. So much for beauty.

I finished the increase rounds. When I pick it up again, I’ll likely transfer to a circular needle to make things a little less fiddly through the straight stockinette section. Each stripe is about a round and a half wide with all stitches accounted for. #musselburgh

I’m slow but I’m having fun watching the stripes pile up. Not done with the increases yet, so I think the stripes will be very narrow through the middle. #musselburgh

Finished one hat and started another with some walking in the snow and writing notes to friends thrown in for good measure.

First proper snowstorm in a while. We walked in it when it was just pretty flakes drifting around and barely sticking. By the time we got home, everything was coated, including our coats and bags. Then it began to come down in earnest. Kids on the sledding hill are in heaven.

The sun was doing interesting things this afternoon.

Very late to a writers’ breakfast this morning. They were also starting a group to do The Artist’s Way, most of the conversation on which I missed. I’ve done that already. I may go to next month’s breakfast though, on time and bearing food of some sort.

I am on the sofa against a heating pad, because I am at the stage of life when I can wrench my back by rolling over wrong in bed to turn off the alarm. Powered through with OTC pain relief before/during work, but now it has worn off.

Fog snuck up on me tonight (as fog is wont to do).

Quick, chilly weekend in Philadelphia to see Intimate Apparel and walk for miles in the cold today. Luckily I decided to break out the 80-year-old wool letterman’s sweater (sans letter) that I found at a vintage clothing shop in August.

Can I crowdsource a page citation, like in the old days of the social web? Anybody have a print copy of "Dare to Lead," by Brene Brown? I have a quote I need a page number for and thought I had a copy of the book but I don't! If you have a copy and wouldn't mind skimming, I'd appreciate your help!

Sunday morning pets.

I forgot that bundle up season and dangly earrings are not compatible and I lost one of my brass bear earrings sometime today. We retraced our steps home from where I realized I was only wearing one, but no luck. Yes, I do have some extra plastic backs, but didn’t think about that this morning.

Got up, dressed, ate breakfast, emailed work, got undressed, got back in bed. Finally doing what I should have done Monday.

Still feeling not great. If I feel not great again in the morning, someone else can set up the room and run the department meeting. The agenda and presentation are done and readily accessible. I’m tired of being the one who can’t call in sick if I don’t feel well. They’ll manage, or not. 🤷‍♀️

Really wanted to stay home and be under the weather today, but I had two meetings and some deadlines to meet, so off I went. The person who scheduled one of the meetings called in and someone else had to pick up the slack. I’m tired of all of it and too tired to do anything else.

Body aches, chills, low grade fever, still no regrets since the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term discomfort.

I spent a couple of hours today emptying my file cabinet onto my office floor, partially looking for something, partially because I need to reorganize. So, maintenance and insurance records for a car I no longer own can go, right? Pay slips for a job I left over six years ago? Why am I like this?

COVID vaccine at noon, sore arm and body aches now. Still worth it.

Today I lived “be careful what you wish for.” Meeting packets have been going out with errors, so I said I’d like to review the components beforehand. Today was the beginning of my first go-‘round and it was a lot. I mean, I was busy, which is better than not, but I do wonder what I’ve done.

Moody sunset seems appropriate.

I made this recipe for dinner tonight (except that I had to use smoked salt and regular mozzarella) with some steamed purple cauliflower and it was comfort in a bowl. I am glad I’m not getting my cholesterol checked this week, though. www.theguardian.com/food/2024/no...