So, our final team member has now joined as of Friday. She’s someone already known to us, and so that makes training a bit easier. The team member who started at the beginning of October is doing great as well, and our office is beginning to settle in. It’s quite exciting, and everyone seems to get along pretty well and be respectful personalities. While training two new people is mentally taxing, it’s not nearly as mentally taxing as dealing with a particularly disruptive personality, so life is already quite a bit better at work.

I’ve kind of just been doing my best to really take TIME to concentrate on my own job again, a thing that often got lost in the chaos we’ve experienced for a few years now. And, when I get home, I am pretty tired, but in a good way? Like, I am working toward something exciting. I can absolutely see a difference in my own mental state, in the sense that I really look forward to going in to work, and I am eager to assist those around me, and I am overall more ready to deal with anything that comes up in a gracious and optimistic way. It’s like I am me again! And it’s refreshing. Mr. Ink said one morning this week, as I was kind of dancing around the house getting ready for work, “Well, looks to me like this work change has made a whole new Shells.”

I’ve been working almost exclusively on a cabled vest out of bulky yarn. I’ll be honest, I am not loving it. I wanted to get the yarn out of stash, so I began this project. But, I suspect it may be ill conceived. And, add to that the fact that knitting with bulky yarn really bothers my hands, so I am hurting as well. I am not quite sure what to do about it, if I knit it as written I fear that I won’t have enough length in the vest to wear it. If I knit extra length, I may not have enough yarn to complete the project, which isn’t ideal either. I mean, the idea was to GET RID of that yarn, not buy more. Plus, the color is discontinued, so I’d have to hunt destashes.  I’ve gone over this many times, and I think the plan is to knit as written to the point at which I add sleeves. Then I stop, and soak and block the project to see if I can figure out if it will block long enough for me to wear. It might! Often times knitting blocks further than I imagine it will. I have only 19 more rows until it’s time to block.

It just does NOT look long enough! Once blocked, I will further decide what can be done, I think. (Because if it doesn’t block to appropriate length in the body of the sweater, it’s not going to fit in the top area either.)

19 more rows to see if this one gets frogged completely. I swear, if this project doesn’t work out? I am making a blanket for Lizzie out of this yarn and calling it good. Hah. After all, she loves a good scratchy yarn.

It’s cold here, and my crazy nut of a kiddo is in a tent outside in the yard. I think I should be grateful though that she’s not in annoying me. Mr. Ink is working this morning, so it’s very quiet. I am hoping to find some motivation today to get something done around the house other than the normal laundry/dishes routine.

That’s about it for here on a quiet day. Have a great weekend!