Party planning: cleaning, knitting, hockey, and plaster dust ... just an average day

So, I'm having a party, as some of you (local-people-who-know-me-outside-the-blog) know already. It's a show-off-the-condo party, more politely called an open house or housewarming (condowarming?). I was going to say I don't know how long it's been since I entertained like this, but then I actually thought about it (there's something, thinking before writing), and nope, I've never entertained like this. It's a first! And it may be a last, but I don't want to be negative.

Not too soon, anyway. Plenty of time for that.

The thing is, I've invited a lot of people. Most everyone I know who lives around here. Not that that's a lot of people, really, I am an introvert after all, but still, it's a lot of people for me. It's just that I love this place, and it seems to be made for entertaining in a way that my previous abodes were not. I want to have people over, not all the time, but not never, either. I may be over-ambitious with this party, probably am, but time will tell. I'm only normal-nervous so far.

Today, though, P-7, was supposed to be a day to get the place cleaner, not so furry, and at coming on 9PM it's less clean than it was this morning. Not according to plan. What happened was, I found out this week that the building was going to get hard-wired smoke detectors and, in the kitchen, a heat detector (neat, huh? apparently it doesn't go off every time one burns toast), and they were put in today. (This is follow-up to the fire in the building before I moved in, before I closed on my condo, last fall.) I did have smoke detectors, of course, but battery-op, not hard-wired.

Which means that some holes were cut in the ceiling, and although the workers did a decent job of clearing up after themselves, the dust does drift around, and of course their presence also impeded my cleaning progress even if they hadn't been contributing to the anti-clean movement. I got laundry done, but that's it.

Of course, that is an accomplishment. Having been away last weekend, I was very behind. But still. What's less impressive to guests, some clothes in the hamper or dust bunnies verging on dust rhinos?

I mean, I tell myself that my friends are not going to drop my acquaintance for a little dust. But I still want them to see the place at its best, particularly since most of them haven't seen any of my previous abodes: I told you, I didn't entertain! Hardly ever at all. This is a really big leaf I'm turning over. At least I'm doing it in style. If a thing is worth doing...

I foresee a week of increasingly harassedness, a party-day that I may well totally blank on afterward, and the following day spent in bed. Melodramatic, to be sure, but hey, I'm a Bruins fan, don't talk to me about moodiness! We're winning! We're losing! We're winning! We're losing! Slit your wrists! Hire a band! You need a bit of Sybil in you to follow this team, or at least a strong masochistic streak.

As for the knitting, there's a little frogging in my future. When I finished the knitted wristwarmers that have brought so many here from the Harlot's site (comment early on Stephanie's post, mention a photo on your blog, and watch your blog stats ... wow, I tell you, it's an education), I had enough yarn left to contemplate doing 'something' else. Another pair of wristwarmers? Yes, but then again no, quick frog the start. Maybe a hat ... didn't even start. I thought that a small scarf, almost more a neck wrap, would go well with the idea of the wrist warmers: a neck warmer. I tell you, the breezes literally blow in my cube at work sometimes, and if I'm not wearing a turtleneck, the back of my neck gets chilly. I started a simple k1p1, 42 stitches (of course), and about 6 inches into it I though maybe I wanted it wider, so I switched to all knit, which of course widens it out from the rib. Then after a good stretch of plain knit I went back to the k1p1, but as I approach the end of the yarn, I faced a dilemma.

It is going to be Just Barely long enough to go around my neck. It is also wider than it needs to be, even the ribbed part, and of course the knit part is wider still, and it isn't what I want. I think I shall have to frog it and do again at maybe 30 or 32 stitches, which should be wide enough, and then it will be longer, and I'll do it k1p1 all the way, and I think I'll like that better. I would insert the photo here, but apparently my camera is just Not in the Mood, and I'm starting to share the feeling. We'll try again tomorrow. I have captured the scarf on camera, it is the camera-to-computer step that is apparently too much to ask. Have you noticed how technology can tell when you're tired or frazzled or whatever, and knows when to act up? I will now back away from the computer.