One week ago I started the speckle and pop mystery knit along. One week ago my yarn arrived. One week ago I spent a ton of time winding all my yarn. One week ago I was swatching and changing my yarn choices. One week ago I was anticipating two upcoming grant submissions and training a new staff during my work week.
It feels so long ago! But, the week, though very long, was also pretty good. Both grants went out the door, one appropriately early and the other with only 15 minutes to spare on the deadline. New staff training went beautifully. So far so good. It’s a great relief. I would get home and crash though, having very little energy left for anything. On Friday, I spent the day mostly not training and trying to catch myself up on my own work. It was madly productive and left me in a good place for this weekend. So all in all, a pretty good week.
It’s been raining for 2.5 days though. The area is under flood watch, though we, up on this hill, aren’t having any issues. Our neighbors have been asking if we are having basement wetness and drainage issues, but we keep telling them no. Mr. Ink fixed our drainage issues by gardening. Or rather, landscaping. We joked at the breakfast table this morning that Mr. Ink tries to fix everything by gardening. Stress at work? Try some gardening. Basement drainage issues? Try some gardening. Electrical problems? Well…it doesn’t always work but we know he wishes it did.
Speaking of rain, here’s what Lizzie thinks of it.
This is a highly unusual picture. It was storming again last night. She’s not afraid of storms. Since before us, she was an outdoor dog, outdoor stuff isn’t too intimidating. She tends to be afraid of indoor things, like the vacuum cleaner, the iron, door locks…odd things. But, she was so done with the rain. And she’d gotten up on the couch with me and stuffed her nose under the couch pillow. She never gets under anything. Ever. But she was sick of it all.
Clue 1 on the mystery shawl was intense. It was a lot of knitting for a first clue! My hands actually hurt from working so hard to get it completed. I didn’t knit on anything else, and was only able to complete it today because I took it to work a few days this week to work on during my lunch break. If you don’t want clue 1 spoiled, you’ll want to leave off here.
The swatch, again, for hiding purposes.
Guys, I love it. I wasn’t sure I would, but I REALLY do!
It’s a fantastic fade! Really bright, really dramatic, but also fairly well blended! I am so happy with it. Clue two is out, and I’ve looked at it and I think it’s going to be a great and exciting clue. Lots of color blending, with linen stitch, to really showcase these three yarns. I am SUPER excited about it! But, I refuse to get started until I get some chores done today. And those chores have to do with shopping. Blech.
Plus, it means we have to be out in this rain too! Double Blech. But once it is done, I can be in for the rest of the day.
Have a great weekend friends!
Suzy Sells Sea Shells 
Oh that’s beautiful!! I’m looking forward to seeing clue 2. Your colors are fantastic!
That looks gorgeous so far! Can’t wait to see what it looks like after clue two😀
Poor Lizzie. If it makes you feel better my Aussie (Kendall) is mortally afraid of the shower curtain and the van floor, but thinks thunder and lightening are fun.
I am beginning to realize that perhaps smart dogs are afraid of strange things. We’ve lately noticed that the sliding screen door has holes in it. Right by where we touch it to open it. I guess when we leave her indoors with the screen open, she’s busy trying to figure out how to open it herself to join us. Oops!
We had to change our doorknobs and gate latches to ones Kendall cannot work (yet)!
Lizzie is adorable! Ooh…your knitting is exciting and I’m looking forward to the next installation 🙂
Thank you! I am glad she puts smiles on the faces of people all over through the blog.
Have you noticed a drastic increase in blog traffic since you got Lizzie? I know I have to click through if she appears in the photo with the blog headline….
Hah! I admit I never check my stats, I’ll have to look. It’s certainly possible. She does have the kind of face that just brightens the day. I am glad she puts a smile on other people’s faces too!
Since you have too much rain and we have none, I would be okay if you sent us this weather. Maples at the edge of our woods are wilting, it is so bad.
Work sounds like it was crazy!!! The second grant would have been making me nuts, good job hitting that deadline! I hope you and your team took two minutes to celebrate the accomplishment!
And the mkal looks wonderful, i love those colors, so bright and cheerful yet soothing.
I am feeling mixed about the rain. Our lawn had already gone dormant, and mowing was something we barely had to do. Now? Well, it’s back with a vengeance. Hopefully those storms will just move your way, like the warm and cold weather do. But, that’s probably wishful thinking!
I’ve got 3 more grants due this month. One next week (but it’s small) and two due the week after that are new to me so a bit of a challenge. We won’t see a slow down for a couple weeks, but after that it’ll be nice to settle in at work, in November we’ll be working toward our new normal.
We are having a rainy day, totally unpredicted but it’s a happy event. No swim today, though.
Your new normal sounds like something you are looking forward to. I hope all those grants go smoothly. You will be back on your normal schedule then, right? That will be nice for you.