Strange Times

I can't bear to go into the current state of things right now (what has happened to my country?), but I think this sums it up.

Yarning

I'm having fun shopping, and planning and plotting, with some birthday money from my mother. And I'm looking at this vendor, Blue Barn Fiber, that I haven't bought from before, but which is mighty tempting. 

Just look at this beauty:

But there's also this one.

I'm going back and forth on which to get. Though I admit I also found myself thinking:

But I don't know, as I think about it, I do like the first one just a bit better. I still like the second one, but maybe just one this time. Mmm, yeah, I think so. Off to click. Click-click-done! Thanks for hearing me out.

What?

 

Two Thoughts Regarding the End of Daylight Saving Time This Year

On the one hand: 

But on the other:

Wouldn't that be nice?

Keep On Knitting On

Knit night!

 

Oversharing; Voting Info Fatigue

 How Much Info to Share

I was thinking this morning about how one could share information about a situation, and how one decides how much to share. I could say, for instance, to the woman at the lab where I popped in to see if they could do my bloodwork then, that I stopped by because I was in the area. In fact, that's what I did say. But I could also have said that I was nearby dropping off a package at the UPS store; it's more information than she needs, but it could count as making conversation. Some people like that conversational padding and others just want you to get to the point, and it's hard to know which is who. (I heard, years ago, about a company that had some sort of indication that went on employees' badges, to show whether they would prefer you just ask directly for what you need, or would like to chat a bit first.)

I also amused myself by thinking of how I could easily have gone full-blast into babble-level oversharing. "I was dropping off a package at the UPS Store. It had a return label, so I didn't need to pay or anything, it was quick, but it's very time-sensitive and I made sure to get a receipt in case anything goes wrong. Have you heard of Cologuard? Well, what they refer to as your 'sample' has to be back to them within 72 hours of your 'collecting' it, so they have a next-day delivery label on the box. And believe me, the collection process was pretty gross, so I don't want to have to do it again. Can you imagine working for that company? They must have to wear nose plugs to do that job. It makes me queasy to think about. I told myself, doing it this way can't be as bad as an actual colonoscopy, but I wouldn't know; I've had appointments for a colonoscopy twice, and each time, the day before, I got one of my killer migraines, you know, the ones where I want to die, and I couldn't even drink water without throwing it up, so I couldn't do the prep. I told my doctor that I've hesitated to reschedule it because those days were so awful, and she said I could try the Cologuard first and if it's clear, I'm off the hook for three years at least. I hope it's clear! Maybe in three years I'll have gone through menopause and my hormones will have settled down and I won't be as prone to migraines. I'm about to turn 52, you'd think the system could shut down already!"

Not my style, but kind of funny to think about.

VOTING

I could not agree more that voting in the upcoming election is hugely important, perhaps more so than ever before. But recently I have started to notice some signs of fatigue in myself related to the reminders to vote. They are everywhere! And I'm already voting! I'm registered, I've checked, and I don't just have a vague intention to vote, I have it planned out. But I open Instagram and there's a reminder to vote. I open Facebook and there are reminders to vote, to check your status, here's where to go for more information...and these are good things for those who might need them, but oh my god, I'm going to vote, I promise, could you just chill out a little. I'm scared about how this is going to go, and I'd like to not be reminded of it constantly. I'm just so tired.

Though if it can make me laugh, I will love the reminder, as I did at this image, tweeted out today by Mark Hamill (who you should follow if you don't already):

Trump Refuses Inauguration Ceremony, Flees Capital in Disguise! I cackled out loud.

A Good Day: Fresh Air and Yarn

 Happy fall to you! (Or spring, if you're in the southern hemisphere; anyone?)

We celebrated here by turning off the air conditioning and opening the windows, as the humidity is finally down far enough to make it pleasant to do so. And it's wonderful! The fresh air smells fabulous.

And then the mail brought me this:

Soft and gorgeous. If you need me, I'll be the one carrying yarn around and petting it.

Pppbbbbbbbbttttttt

It was that kind of day.

But I have yarn coming tomorrow! 

Day Trip to Sanibel

On Saturday, my mother and I drove to Sanibel and did the wildlife drive through the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge (what a name, eh? I particularly like the quotation marks), basically just to get out of the house and go somewhere. We had though to go last weekend, but with the rain and clouds as Tropical Storm Sally went by, it wasn't fun weather for a day trip. Second time lucky: the weather was beautiful. 

And wasn't it nice to get out of the house, and off the familiar paths we've mostly been on for these last months. Even the parts of getting there that weren't lovely were at least different.

We stopped for lunch at Dante's, at the Sanibel Outlets, and the food was really good. We were drinking Cokes, but clearly they have others in mind as an audience. Look at the taps! And the list of what's available.

Impressive even to a non-beer drinker.

The Wildlife Drive itself is 4 miles, and given how slowly one goes, and how often one stops, it takes some time and is very enjoyable. At this time of the year, it's also not very busy, which was nice; I imagine that going through in season would require a lot more attention on the part of the driver to driving, while I was able to really look around.

Ibis

Very well-camouflaged black bird in the brush.

See him? Just left of center here.

Don't worry if you can't. Even I have trouble seeing him, and I know where he is. He was easier to see when he moved, and the light shimmered on his feathers.

I climbed a small tower, and saw some birds in the water off that way.

I managed to get a picture of them through the binoculars that were on the tower.

And of course, just down the road, there they were.

As was this bird on one side of the road.

And on the other side, what, an iguana, maybe? He moved pretty fast!

Lots of beautiful views.

After the drive, we drove on and around Captiva, and then back. And I had to circle back to get a picture of this sign! Wouldn't you?

We did not see any owls, though. Which may be for the best.

Maggie was quite cross that we had been out so long; is she ever out of the habit! Once she got onto my lap (after snubbing me for a while), she was not easy to get off.

"Stop leaving me. Ever."

Random Images, A Few Words

Anti-mask? What are you doing, reading here? 

Maggie relaxed on my lap last night so hard that she lost her head. And her front paws. (And I got an hour or two less sleep than I might have, being too soft-hearted to disturb her until way past my bedtime.)

I keep screwing up my knitting, but I keep fixing it and going on!

Speaking of knitting.

Yep, I did it again. (I'm not sorry, either.) Here's a hint as to what's coming:

Can you blame me?

Yep, More Yarn (and more thoughts of startitis)

 Look at the pretty thing that came in the mail!

It's hard to capture the hints of purple in the blue in some parts; it's a subtle, lovely effect. And so soft! you know how I love that bit of cashmere.

Meanwhile, I came across a pattern today that I think would work nicely for the Vegan Yarns Albireo that I got recently: Stephen West's Batad (Ravelry page). It's a similar idea to the Across the Waters that I made, but it will be fun to try a different pattern. Not that I'm casting on now! But it's on the list.

Yarn Came!

Storm update: the tropical storm went to the south of us and is just about past. We have been drenched with rain, there are floods where I've never seen them before, and I haven't seen the cat in hours, but nothing worse than that for us here, thank whoever you wish for that. We are grateful.

I finally got the yarn that I ordered back in July (there were a couple of snafus; I hated waiting, but in the grand scheme of things, no big deal). It's so pretty!

I first took pictures of the two skeins together, as you do.

But while they are both beautiful, they don't really complement each other, and I think they are better show separately.

The brightness that is Rainbow:

The subdued but still gorgeous shades of Whiskey in a Teacup:

Both skeins are Studio Seconds, meaning they may have slight color differences or knots or whatever else makes them get marked down. I'm willing to try them! Other than the delivery delay, how can you go wrong?

I have one more order on the way; the post office says it will be delivered tomorrow, but I am skeptical. We shall see!