So, I was listening to General Conference

And the topic was heeding the promptings of the Spirit, and how God will help you do things that you think are impossible. OK, I have had some experiences like that. Do go on.

Tell your friends and your family that you love them, and not just over the pulpit when you are giving a talk, because some people might think that is the only time you tell them, especially if you preface it with “I know I don’t say this often enough...” Fine, I will fire up my cell phone and tell each of the girls that I love them. It’s been a week or less for some of them and longer for others.

Oh dear. One of my children apparently no longer has a cell phone. At least she is not returning calls from the rest of the family, whether from inclination or inability I couldn’t say. And I can’t drop by and give her a hug because I don’t know where she lives [I try hard not to dwell on that fact, and occasionally I succeed]. It can be days before she responds to an email, but I did send her one. The one place I know she checks regularly is Facebook.

This is a fiendish plot. You know that, right? I came home and signed up between conference sessions. And then I soothed myself with snickerdoodles and a cup of milk.

While we are still sitting firmly on the old-dog-new-tricks square of the game board, this is probably a good time to mention that I learn something new almost every day [or try to]. Frequently, multiple things. In re-entering the world of dolls, I find that there is a whole new vocabulary since I played with Barbies. Shoes were shoes. Hats were hats. Barbie did her best to emulate Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy. Real mink trim on one of the jackets and its matching chapeau.

So I find that “Lolita style” has nothing to do with that book, or the hoochifying of little girls’ clothing. I read this while sitting at switchboard after finishing my two intense projects on Friday afternoon. Like “steampunk”, Lolita and its variants are based on Victorian and Edwardian fashion [which I like], but with a twist [which I also like].

If you liked the costuming in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, you would probably like steampunk. Especially as Mina Parker wears it, or Dorian Gray.

OK, I got to IM with my best friend in high school before crashing last night. Maybe Facebook isn’t so awful after all?

Before that, I stretched out on the couch with the leftover pink Malabrigo and designed a very simple fingerless glove for Lark. When I went to bed, I had three rounds done on the second one, but I had not broken off the yarn on the first one, just in case I don’t have enough yarn to get to the same point. If I don’t, I have some of the darker, brighter pink to incorporate; if I do it on both mitts, it’s a design element.

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