Linguists are wacky

Or at least, so the evidence suggests.

I was reading along yesterday (a grammar, if you must know), and I came across this observation:
"[the clitics] occupy Wackernagel's Position".

No seriously.

Does that not sound vaguely obscene? Or at least in questionable taste?

Of course, the upshot was that I spent the next fifteen minutes chanting "Wackernagel's Position, Wackernagel's Position, Wackernagel's Position" and laughing maniacally. How not? (Go ahead, I dare you to say that and not laugh.)(Heck, I triple dog dare you.)

If you all are not finding this as funny as I did, that might be an indication that the maniacal laughter was more a product of my state of mind, rather than of the inherent funniness of Wackernagel's Position. (But seriously, didn't it make you giggle just a little?)(And wouldn't you think that linguists could do a better job of naming something?)

In fibrous news, I have been knitting. I have, in fact, been knitting my handspun. This scarf is going to be a birthday present for a dear friend of mine; I'm just using one of the stitch patterns from Barbara Walker (I can't remember if it's the first or second treasury; I'll find out and let you know). I'm really pleased with the combination of the tweedy/nubbly handspun and this particular pattern (which is a cabled feather and fan).
The green is a little more browny/yellowy than that. I think you can see the cabling better here. Doesn't it look almost like real yarn?
I should let you know, btw, that's it's not as easy as it seems like it should be to knit a scarf like this in a movie theater. Seriously. There is just not enough light coming from the screen to cable effectively. Ask me how I know.

In other news, I made the pear cake for a faculty meeting today. I think people liked it.
I think there's just enough left to make the girls a nice little dessert tonight, don't you?

P.S. Thank you all so very much for all of the good wishes for Anna; I've been relaying them to her, and she is so appreciative. If you haven't had a chance to either leave her a message, or donate to her walk for a chance to win some yarn, you can check out my post about it here.

Good causes, and yarn giveaways

There are a lot of them. And I know that we all have our list of causes that are near and dear to our hearts, and that we put our energy and time and love and, when we can, money into. There's one that's been on my mind quite a bit lately, in large part because of my friend, Anna.

I first met Anna because our daughters went to school together. Our daughters became friends and we became friends, and we have stayed that way even as our girls have gone to different schools, and as they've moved in and out of activities with one another. When I first moved here, one of the hardest things to leave behind in the Bay Area was a network of friends so close that they were almost family; oh, heck, really, they were (and still are) family -- you know how that is. Leaving those friends was terrible and wrenching, and I wondered if I'd ever end up being part of a community like that again. How it happened is another story, but I did, and Anna is an important member of that community. I know that I can always count on her to be there when I need her, and to be cheerful and upbeat when I hate to hear it, but know that it's time and past time to move out of that funk I've sunk myself into.

For all the years that I've known her, Anna has been deeply involved in volunteering and fundraising for events which support women who are battling breast cancer. Her own involvement with that cause came from watching her dear lifelong friend Nancy struggle with breast cancer after being diagnosed at the age of 32 just after the birth of her first daughter. During the years, I have watched Anna give unstintingly of her time and energy to breast cancer retreats, and to raising funds to support those retreats. The amount of organizational energy that goes into work like that is breathtaking, and Anna has this sense of sympathetic awareness of what needs to be done that I can only wish I had. Nancy has participated in the Walk For the Cure several times now, and each time Anna has been unable to walk it with her. But this year she can. I can't tell you her story as well as she can, so if you want to read about it, click here. This is personal to me, too; both my grandmother and Rick's have fought breast cancer, as have a number of good friends, and we have family members and friends who are at high risk for developing breast cancer. And we have daughters. And the part of me that believes that no knowledge acquired is ever wasted is sure that what we can learn from developing better diagnoses, treatments, and cures for breast cancer can be used to fight other, equally frightening and devastating diseases.

When contemplating something this big, it's so easy to feel helpless, to ask, "but what can I do?", and to feel like the only option is to leave it to the medical professionals. But sometimes that behemoth "The Medical Field" needs help. It needs financial help (research costs money), but I also think that it needs help in maintaining its own sense of hope, of connection to the real people who are affected by the diseases they research. An event like this is all about hope. It's all about believing that something can be done; not something for some other people someday, but now, for these people who are walking and the people they love, today. Hope is powerful, and its effects should never be underestimated. I don't think I can adequately describe how awestruck I am by each and every person who participates in an event like this. Walkers aren't just giving three days and 60 miles of their time; they're also giving all of the steps and time that are involved in training for the event for months in advance, and every one of those steps is motivated by the belief that something can be done. I've been trying to support Anna by walking with her twice a week, but at the end of our hour together, when I can go home and take a shower and have that second cup of coffee, she is still out there walking, getting ready for those three days in November when she and so many other people will participate in San Diego's walk.

So, here's where the ask (and the offer) come in. First, the caveat. As I said at the beginning of this post, I know that each and every one of you has causes that are important to you, and that you support as much as you are able. I also know that these are rough financial times. So it is absolutely, 100%, A-OK to leave a comment here sending your best wishes to Anna as she trains for and completes this walk. I'll pass along every single one of them, and I know she appreciates that encouragement at least as much as the donations. But if this is one of your causes, and if you don't know anyone who's walking this year, or you haven't had a chance to give what my girls call their "charity money" this year (the girls usually choose Heifer for their annual donation, but this year, it's The Walk), or if you have a couple of dollars burning a hole in your pocket (ha!), then I want to offer this as an option.

I also want to make taking that option fun and suspenseful, so I'm giving yarn away! (See, I remember that this is a fiber blog, really I do.) If you leave me a comment on this post (I'll put a link to it and to Anna's page in my sidebar) telling me that you were able to donate to Anna's team (honor system here, I trust you all), you will get an entry into a drawing for all the lovely yarn I'm going to show you below. And no, there is no minimum donation amount; every little bit counts. If someone leaves a comment saying that they came over from your blog to donate, not only do they get an entry, but you get an extra one, too. I'm thinking that I'll do the drawing around October 20, which gives everyone around three weeks; I'll extend it if it looks like we're still going strong. Also, I've got seven prizes here right now, but if lots and lots of people are participating, I will add more so that everyone has a reasonable chance of winning something. Please be sure to leave me a way to reach you in your comment (your blog address, email, whatever works for you).

At the moment, here's what I have photographed (badly -- you all know me and cameras) and available:

That is a skein (balled, but unused ever) of Manos del Uruguay (138 yards), in the colorway Agate, 100% kettle dyed wool. The colors are more rosy than that, with all kinds of lovely autumnal shades of oranges and bronzes. It felts like a dream.

And those are two skeins of Misti Alpaca (100% alpaca) laceweight (437 yds each) in a color that is a deep eggplanty purple. This stuff is so soft, I can't tell you; let's just say it's really really soft and leave it at that.

This washed-out picture is of a skein of Cascade Yarns Malizia (the one on the top), 54 yards of colorful ribbon yarn, paired with (on the bottom) a 75-yard skein of Berroco Glace. Scarf for the fall, anyone?

And this, my friends, is 550 yds of 100% merino, hand-dyed, Briar Rose yarn (Fourth of July). I'm dying here. And we're not done yet.

Two skeins (balled) of Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome (80% superwash merino, 20% nylon) in the colorway Fall Foliage. It looks like it sounds (I'm attempting to be marginally seasonally appropriate with most of these).

Except this one, which is a seafoam green skein of Dream in Color Smooshy, 450 yds of 100% superfine Australian merino superwash, in the Beach Fog colorway. And last but not least...

A ball of Plymouth Yarn Eros ribbon yarn (165 yds) in forest greens and golds.

So there it is. A chance to make a donation if that's something that's right for you right now, and to simultaneously maybe win some yarn. If it's not the right time to donate, I (and Anna!) would still love to hear from you.

Next time: back to our regular programming with some lace knitting involving handspun yarn, and a knitting book.

Where does the time go?

(I see I've used this post title before. Maybe this is a hint to me to develop some better calendaring skills?)

Thank you all so much for the good wishes for my brother and his partner. We had a lovely weekend in Sacramento -- it was even relatively cool, which was a pleasure. The wedding went beautifully, and both girls played their parts well. Older Daughter had a reading to do, and carried it off with aplomb, and Younger Daughter kept track of the rings and produced them at the appropriate moment. They loved being part of the ceremony, which was very small and intimate (just close family), and I was so glad that we could all be there.

You may be noticing the total lack of photographic evidence that we were, in fact, in attendance at this wedding. That's because I forgot the camera. So did Rick, to be fair. I have this theory that, on every trip, something will be forgotten, and this time it was the camera. The nice thing about this theory is that I assume that something will be forgotten (note the singular there), not somethings, so once I figure out what I've left behind (it can't be on purpose, though, not even accidentally-on-purpose) I can relax. And in this case, it wasn't even that bad, as there were more than enough cameras to go around, and I've been promised copies of the pictures. I'll share later.

The time in the airport and on the plane and relaxing in my parents' backyard (yes, there was relaxing!) meant that I got some knitting done. On Thursday evening, I cast on for a pair of socks that I've been contemplating for a while, and made some significant progress during Friday's knitting group plus the two-and-a-half hour meeting that came after it. These are the socks that I'm knitting for my friend who is participating in the three-day Walk For the Cure in November (yes, I have promised a good long post about that, and it's coming; I'm trying to time it right). This is the pair that caused me to buy Lime and Violet's Intentions Yarn, and people, I am loving this yarn. Adoring it. Really, really having fun knitting with it. I'd roll around in it, if there were enough of it for that. But there isn't, so you're all saved from a picture of that particular horror.

Meanwhile, how about a picture of the socks? (Note: I still don't have the camera with me, so you get PhotoBooth shots. Sorry.)
As you can see, I'm almost done with the first one, just the toe to go, and then some kitchenering (which I'm looking forward to), and then I can cast on for the second. I've gotten some good knitting time in since coming home, as all of the California Indian Day events that are taking place on campus this week (and which I'm on the planning committee for) offer a perfect opportunity to knit. This includes the 2-hour guest lecture I'll be attending tonight in a colleague's class. I'm guessing I'll have cast on for the second sock by the end of that.

I'm knitting them the way I knit my Yarn Nerd socks this summer. I hesitate to call it a pattern, since it's really just a stitch motif from Barbara Walker (doesn't it look like dragon scales?), but I really loved the way the heel turned out on my pair of socks, and it seemed appropriate in this case to knit something that came out of my own brain (plus Barbara Walker's). I hope they fit my friend.

I also managed to ply almost all of the Jacob on Sunday night after I got the girls to bed. All that's left is what was on one of the bobbins after I finished with the other (I apparently misjudged my roving split a bit). I have around 200 yards, or a wee bit more, plus whatever I'll get off that second bobbin once I get around to winding it into a center-pull ball for plying. I am tremendously happy with the way this turned out. It's a little looser than I might have liked, but there's no twist in the hank, so it doesn't look like I either over- or underplied it, and it's so very soft. It also bloomed beautifully when I soaked it.

I haven't had a chance to work out the wpi yet, but you can see that it's relatively fine, even plied, and I think it's pretty even (there are a few bobbles, but mostly it's fairly consistent).

I'm not sure yet what I'll use it for, and whether I'll knit a scarf with it (or mitts?), or whether I'll save it to put some colorwork into a bigger piece. Since I don't usually knit in more than one color, that feels like a big commitment to make, but we'll see.

Meanwhile, I have to finish a big ol' pile of grading, after which I'll be caught up until about 10:00 tomorrow morning, when I'll get the next pile in. Then I have to write a midterm (yes, it's almost that time already), do more reading for my classes next week, and check my List O' Things To Do Yesterday. What's on your version of that list? Mine includes sleep...

Interstitial posting

As in, I'm posting in the interstices of a crammed-full day. Tuesdays and Thursdays are a bit insane this semester. For example, today's schedule:

7:10 am: Leave house with children in tow, cup of coffee in hand, and breakfast in tupperware for in-car consumption.
7:33 am: Drop Older Daughter off in circle outside school.
7:55 am: Drop Younger Daughter off at playground at her school.
8:15 am: Arrive on campus.
8:15-8:55 am: Madly prepare for class. Finally convince our new software program to give up the updated and (we hope) accurate class rolls.
9-10:15 am: Attempt to educate students as to the nifty and rule-governed nature of the tense/mood/aspect system of English verbs.
10:15-10:30 am: Pee. Try to buy a sandwich for lunch and realize the line is too long. Check email veryvery quickly.
10:30-11:45 am: See 9-10:15. Am still not sure about the success of this venture.
11:45-11:58 am: Wait in Library Plaza for appointment with man who never shows up.
12:00 pm: Get to office to find students waiting; also waiting is a message from the man who never showed up asking where I am. WTF?
12:00-1:00 pm: Continue to attempt to convince students in office hours that the TMA system of English is in fact not at all arbitrary (see "rule-governed" above), and that exploring the nature of verbs is one of life's really good things. Also try to neatly eat sandwich while explaining the aforementioned contention.
1:00-2:15 pm: Discuss gendered linguistic behavior. Turns out, women don't talk more than men. But they are more polite.
2:30-3:00 pm: Have wonderful meeting with independent study student who is enthusiastic and intelligent. Remember why I enjoy independent studies.
3:00 pm: Reschedule meeting with The Man Who Never Showed Up.
3:10 pm: Inhale cookie. Wonder if the day will ever end.

Note: I will be leaving campus in 20 minutes (5 now), picking up one daughter at school and conveying her to her piano lesson, after which I will do my best to make the 35 minute round-trip drive to the other daughter's school in 30 minutes so that she can have her piano lesson, too. And I'm supposed to get grading done when in all of this?

Meanwhile, I did get some spinning finished last night (I know, I should have been grading). In fact, the singles of the Jacob are now all done, and I might just ply them tonight. I might just ply them in spite of the very intelligent and thoughtful suggestion that a great way to match this yarn to whatever I'm going to make with the black Merino would be to spin the Merino, compare the singles of the two yarns, and then decide whether a 3 or 2-ply would make these two match better. (Thanks, Willow!)(I'm not sure whether I'm conveying that correctly, but trust me, I understand what she said in her comment, and it's a very logical way to go about making two yarns match.)

However, doing it that way assumes that when I say "I'll see whether this yarn matches what I spin with the Merino" it means that I'm going to actually think ahead and analyze my fibrous data. What I tend to do instead is to madly spin things, wildly hoping the whole time that something worth anything will come off of my wheel, planning all kinds of sympathetic magic to make it happen, and then dance around the house, cackling maniacally when things turn out the way I'd hoped (or frankly, even when they don't; maniacal cackling is useful in all kinds of situations).

In case you were going to suggest that I check my medication, or even get some medication to check, I'd like to point out that my doctor is unlikely to prescribe anything for maniacal cackling. This is, after all, the woman who, when I went to her one semester tired out of my mind and demanded that she do something to help me, like prescribe some cocaine (I've heard it's great for fatigue), suggested that I get some more sleep. Huh. More sleep. Imagine.

So, that's my life. We're heading out of town this weekend to go home for my brother's wedding. He and his partner are flying out here to California to get married, and the girls are ring-bearers. Must go home and pack. I'll try to have more fiber-related content next time, I promise, and maybe even a picture or two.

Fiber content incoming

I do remember that this is a fiber blog, really I do. It's just that sometimes, my life isn't a fiber life, y'know? However, I have been plugging away on some things, little by little, and yesterday, for the first time in ages, we had an unscheduled day. You know the kind: no plans, no get-togethers, no soccer games, no nothing except what needed to be done at home. (Also, dance update: Older Daughter had a marvellous time and was tremendously glad that she'd gone. Therefore, I can be tremendously glad that she'd gone. Whew!)

I got the laundry done, and cooked an actual, sit-down, try-out-some-fun-new-recipes meal; this is something that I like to do at the end of the weekend when things aren't too swamped. With soccer in season, things are swamped, but who would miss watching galloping girls?
That's Younger Daughter heading for the ball there.

So dinner last night (with actual time to plan and cook it) included a potato gratin with onions and sausage and cheddar cheese, and a lovely cake with a pear/caramel topping (an upside-down sort of cake, which turned out to be not only yummy but pretty; I'd show you a picture, but we ate half last night, heh).

I also got to knit and spin to my heart's content. I'm plugging away on the bump of Jacob roving that I've had for ages; I want to get it done and see how much I have in the way of yardage, and at what weight. I have this theory that it'll go nicely with the 250 gms of black Merino I have waiting in the wings, if I can just spin the Merino at the same weight. Here's the second bobbin of singles. I'm almost done; I think another hour of spinning (or less) will see it finished, and then I can ply, which always goes much faster.
I adore the color of this wool. Love, love, love it. And every time I go back to get more, the only Jacob she has is brown, and not nearly so silky. Alas. We'll see if it still feels as soft when it's plied up; I have high hopes.

I've also been working on the latest lace project. (Why yes, it is another one of Anne's; if she'd just stop writing such fun and gorgeous patterns, I'd stop knitting them, but as things stand...) This one finally turned out to be the one for the Icelandic laceweight that I held off on using for Lacewing. I think that this is a much better match. And check out this pattern! I'm in love with the huge lace motif -- it's swingy and full of life. The pattern is also incredibly intuitive. As usual, the first repeat took what felt like ages, but the second one went much much faster, and I'm thinking that things will speed up from here. I'm knitting the tall width, but will probably only do the petite number of repeats for the length. We'll see a) how I feel, and b) how much yarn I have.
You should see how this is looking in the gorgeous purpley color Anne's knitting it in. Go ahead, check it out. I'll wait. Beautiful, no? I'm nowhere near so far along, and given the way my schedule is going, this is bound to be a longer knit than I'd hoped, but I'll get there. I have some birthday knitting, and some support of others knitting to get done, which might slow down progress here, but we'll see.

Meanwhile, homework assignments are starting to come in and need to be graded (who assigned all this work?). And I've got to read the articles and chapters that my students will want to discuss in class (who assigned all these readings?). It's clear to me that my alter-ego is designing my courses, and that my alter-ego is an overachieving ass. Sigh...

Hunh. Where'd that come from?

Older Daughter is off to her first school dance tonight.

Wow.

When we asked her the day before yesterday (when she asked to go) if any of the kids she knows are going, she said, "I dunno." When we asked how she felt about going if she wasn't going to know anyone, she said, "But this way I can meet new people." (Said with that "duh" look that pre-teenagers start mastering early in order to be ready for their teenage years.)

This is the child who, up until very recently, was, to put it mildly, extremely cautious of new activities and people. Who preferred (and frankly, still does prefer many times) to read a book rather than to go out and meet new people. The stories I could tell... Of course, I don't say this in front of her. I don't ask her, "Where's my older daughter and what have you done with her?!" It seems to me that people should be allowed to be who they are, rather than who they were (or who we tell ourselves they were). And she's doing a magnificent job of being who she is right now. And really, I'm having a wonderful time seeing who it is that she's turning out to be; watching her self unfold over the years is a constant source of joy and wonder (and yes, there have been those moments of tension and outright terror, but mostly those other things). If she didn't become new things, if she only turned out to be what I thought she'd be, would I be doing my job as well as I could? Maybe, maybe not. All I can say for sure is that I really enjoy the opportunity to sit back from time to time and watch.

She just headed out, ready to go off and try this new thing. She was still nervous enough to bring a book in the car to read, "So I can calm down." And she's meeting a friend there. But she's going. And she's looking forward to it. Dang girl, I'm proud.

Mitts and a meme

Wow. How long has it been since I've posted? It feels like ages. I'm still reeling from the start of the school year, even though I'm halfway done with my third week of classes, Older Daughter is onto her fourth week, and Younger Daughter is solidly involved in her second. I am starting to feel like the schedule is coming under control; I'm not saying it's easy, just that I know what's supposed to be happening at any given moment, and what should be coming next. We'll get there.

On Saturday, I went up to Clear Lake for the day to do fieldwork. It was a wonderfully productive day, and I left, as I always do, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction at what we got done. But it's also a long day, involving a 7:10 am flight into Sacramento, 100 miles of driving, almost six hours of work, and then all the driving and flying in reverse. One way and another, I'm on the go almost 17 hours by the time I get home.

I so wish I'd had my camera on this trip. The California landscape has entered the season of sepia, and the hills are all in shades of gold and brown and taupe. I tend to think of California's seasons as color-based: verdant, gold, sepia, gray. So much more evocative (and accurate) than spring, summer, winter, and fall. Of course, wet, dry, fire, and fog might also be more evocative, no?

Sunday morning, I finally got my longed-for chance to sit and knit. I finished the mitts (finally!), which Younger Daughter promptly put on. I had to bribe her to take them off, and she's tried to wear them to school the last two mornings (I've pointed out that we're still in the dry/sepia season, which is not mitt-appropriate). The camera battery is dead (so it wouldn't have done me any good on the trip even if I had remembered to take it), but here's a photobooth picture, so that you can see the finished object that they are (I'm clearly not proud).
Is this one better?
I'm kind of wishing these were for me... Maybe she'll get tired of them? To recap, these are Laura's Sugar Push Mitts, which (I just popped over there to check) she has just released. I knitted them in the leftover yarn from The Knittery that I used to knit Younger Daughter some socks with over the summer. The pattern is very intuitive and fun, and a fast knit, if you're looking for some instant satisfaction, or if you have a gift that needs to come together very quickly.

Knitnana tagged me for a meme, which I don't often do, but this one seems like fun. I'm not going to tag anyone else (since everyone who's on my shortlist is also entering into the beginning of the year madness!), but I hope some of you pick it up; let me know if you do so I can come see the answers.

What are the last three things you purchased?
Oatmeal raisin cookie
Sandwich for lunch
Isopropyl alcohol

What are the last three songs you downloaded?
Ummm...None? I don't really download a lot of music, although I'm considering getting Fiddler on the Roof (I only have it on tape).

What are the three best places you visited?
Wales
New Zealand
Alaska

What are your three favorite movies?
Pirates of the Caribbean
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Twister (I know, I know)

What three things can you not live without?
My family
My friends
My pets

What would be your three wishes?
Peace
Social justice
For the world to be a place that I want to leave to my grandchildren
(Boy, there's just no way to answer that one without sounding a) trite, and b) like a beauty contestant, is there?)

What are three things you haven't done yet?
Bunji jumping
Sky diving
Walking on that glass walkway over the Grand Canyon
(And I'm never going to do those things, either!)

Name three things that freak you out?
Angry people
Big crowds (especially at amusement parks; Disneyland = nightmare)
Exposed heights (see above)

What are your three favorite dishes?
Mole (imagine that with an accent on the e)
Spaghetti with really good ragu
Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting
(Can I have more than three, please? Because I need to get butternut squash, chard, and goat cheese lasagna in there, too...)

Name three things you are good at?
Driving
Teaching
Parenting

What are three things you are currently coveting?
Spinning lessons
A massage
A mojito

That's it -- I'm not sure I'd call it me in a nutshell, but it's what I've got at the end of a long day of teaching. Thanks for thinking of me, Knitnana!

I'm at work on something new (remember that Icelandic laceweight?), and I have a special contest/opportunity to support a good cause post coming up in the next day or two.

A mac truck

That's more or less what I feel like I've been hit by. Turns out, though, that it's just the beginning of the semester. You'd think I'd remember what this is like -- I've been doing it a while, after all. This one has had its share of chaos, though, what with the implementation of a new campus-wide software system (by a mandate from above). In spite of the fact that this implementation was years in the making, and that you'd think the software management folks would be aware that people might actually want to look at, you know, their schedules and class rosters on the first day of class (shocking, I know), they were completely unprepared for the load on their servers, which caused untold problems the first couple of days of the semester. We're still dealing with load times of 5-10 or even more seconds per page, which doesn't seem like a lot until you're trying to see whether new students have added your classes, or to find the permission numbers we now have to give to students to add our classes instead of just signing add slips (this is supposed to be Easier for Everybody; it has become clear to me over the years that Everybody does not include faculty). However, this too shall pass.

And in spite of all of this, I do have students, and I even now have rosters (hooray for technology). I like my students, I like my subjects, and I am determined that this is going to be a good semester. Hear me now.

However, I'm still dealing with a lingering longing for the simpler days of summer, so I thought I'd share a few pictures of this past weekend's camping trip, by way of staying in that moment a bit longer (which I realize is not the same thing as staying in the moment, but I'm going to contend that it's a step in the right direction).

Did I mention that we packed our new very favorite camping meal ever? Tamales from our local farmer's market. It turns out that cooking them over an open fire makes them even yummier than when they're steamed. Who knew?
Add some cut-up red bell peppers and a hard cider, and you've got a meal fit for royalty. Especially when it's finished off with s'mores made with dark chocolate. Mmm...

Rick got to do some reading.
So did Older Daughter.
And when it got too dark to work on the mitts I'm knitting, I worked on my half-pi shawl.
The next morning, we went for a short hike.
We are definitely planning to go back.
In the meantime, I have now made it through half of this week, including an academic senate meeting today that was, as the first of the year always is, interesting, and during which I got to the thumb gusset on the second mitt. Only two more days to go on week 2. Is it time for a nap yet?