The Empress has new clothes.

My first order from Gudrun Sjödén arrived at the office today. The tunic and the blouse need pressing, but the skirt is pretty much ready to wear.

Skipped Halloween in favor of dinner with Fourthborn and hanging out at Panera with our respective projects. She's remaking an old T-shirt into a shirt for the American Girl doll our friend Lisa rescued and rehabbed for her. I added several rounds to the current baby sock.

I want more of the skirts. Lyocell with a bit of spandex, smooth and silky to the touch, and they go all the way down to my ankles. The coppery color of the shirt and the warm burgundy of the skirt remind me of a favorite outfit that I made in the early 70's. A warm gold (verging on pumpkin) sleeveless tunic with a wide stand-up collar, worn over a fire engine red mini skirt, back when I had the legs for it. Both made from a poly-cotton blend that I think we called hopsacking. I've slept since then. I've got a vintage Harvé Benard scarf picked out to wear with it, but the floral Pucci scarf my sister gave me would look great as well. And I have an enameled bangle that Br. Sushi brought me from one of his travels

The tunic is gorgeous as well. Hand-embroidered in India, so it will need some babying if I don't want it to shrink so much that it would fit BittyBit.

I have another tunic on the way, my first purchase from Zulily. It's music-themed.

The rayon plaid tunic that I bought at Cato is already starting to show some wear. Apparently the yarn is very loosely spun, because there is a narrow swathe of tiny pills where the shoulder belt rubs it when I drive.

I go through periods where getting dressed is simply a matter of comfort and coverage, with style being an afterthought. There are other times when I am passionately interested in clothing, and it's easy to find things I like that suit both my body and my spirit. I seem to be easing into one of those.

Night, y'all. If I want to have as good a day back at work tomorrow as I did today, I need to go to bed now.

The "rest" of the story

I was mostly ready for work this morning when I decided to stay home and sleep instead. My sinuses and nose were still a little crabby, although the thunderous sneezes of yesterday were only a memory. Thank goodness! I wasn't sure if the bodily calm would continue or if it were merely the calm before another storm. So I did the sensible thing and honored my body and called into work.

I was back in bed by a quarter to nine and slept for five solid hours!!! It was good quality sleep, too. Happy, peaceful dreams. Since then I've been alternating between scanning documents, playing the occasional AARP game, and eating.

After 5:00, I moseyed out to the car, because Middlest had consumed the last of the meal supplements that have bringing my kid a measure of comfort and nutrition, and I needed to deliver the four cases of water I'd taken to church yesterday for our project to comfort the homeless this winter, but which I'd completely forgotten when my head started exploding. Went to Costco, bought the absolute necessities, tanked the Tardis, and brought everything home by way of the pharmacy, because I had a refill that was ready to pick up. Completely forgetting to cross the street and get us some more OJ and milk.

I did stop ~ briefly ~ at the party store with the intention of picking up some of those little paper parasols that I've loved since I was a kid and bought them for my Barbies. Completely forgetting that this was Halloween Eve until I walked into the store and found the aisles jammed. I made my way up one aisle, down the other, and out the door again. As Middlest would say, I noped right out of that store.

Forgetting seems to be the theme of this day and of this post. Once I'd gotten home and put the groceries away, I hopped back in the Tardis and drove to a different Braums and got what we needed. I need to take the meds that I should have taken an hour ago, check to see if the T-shirt I want to wear to work for Halloween is still presentable or if I should go with Plan B, and hit the sack.

Later, gators. I'm pleased to report that my head seems clear (except for the forgetting part) and my nose and lips are only a little chapped from yesterday's adventures.

Moosey

Behold the moose au natural. He really is the most jolly little fellow. One of the things I did was to sew his eyes on more firmly, using black thread instead of the white thread he came with.

SuperMoosey.

Moosey goes to Hawaii.

And last of all, the first items I finished. Hey, there's a precedent (1 Nephi 13:41-42). Don't judge!

Isn't that the dearest little face?

Hoping to have pictures for you tomorrow.

Not sure where the battery charger is for my camera, or a spare USB cable. I think my phone might be dying. I had it charged to 80%, it took one picture (maybe) and said seeya.

Moosey's hula skirt and lei are done. The superhero cape is done. The leg warmers and scarf are done. I want to take pictures of him in each of them so I can do a little photostory.

I'm going to miss the little rascal when he's gone.

Flow. Flow. Flow. Flow. Zot! Zot! Zot!

It was rather nice to spend an entire day in the office. For the most part, the day just rolled smoothly along, task after task getting crossed off the ToDo list. About 4:00pm all you know what broke loose. A mediation that opposing counsel was trying to reschedule to an earlier date. A client who was scheduled for deposition tomorrow who woke up at dark-thirty this morning feverish and barfing. Another client whose attorney I back up, who thought her deposition had been rescheduled for February ~ it was her trial date ~ and was not available to be deposed tomorrow. I remarked to a friend that if I were still a drinking woman (which I haven't been for 42 years), today would be a day for a nice cold margarita.

Drive home was uneventful. I've spent a good chunk of the evening researching Mississippi River cruises and Alaska cruises and making notes for maybe-after-retirement.

A little more progress on Moosey's stuff. I'm about to hop off the computer and get stitching.

And in other good news, a replacement water reservoir for my CPAP was waiting for me when I got home.

Is anyone here familiar with Quirk Books? An ad popped up on my FB feed for Star Wars VII rewritten in iambic pentameter with woodblock illustrations. William Shakespeare's The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh. I'm intrigued. And slightly appalled that the Kindle version costs more than the indie-printed hardcover. But since I haven't seen the actual movie, I'm holding off for awhile. I did download his Dickens/Shakespeare "A Christmas Carol" and will get back to you.

But for now, Moosey's stuff is calling my name.

Let me explain...

No, it would take too long. Let me sum up...

Middlest rode into work with me this morning. That part went fine.

When I got to my desk, I logged on with the new password that I created yesterday and started cranking out the work. After about an hour, I forwarded my phone, locked my workstation, and took a comfort break. When I got back to my desk, my computer would not recognize my password. Eventually, of course, I made enough attempts that the system said NOPE. So I called the IT number, worked my way through three security questions and a couple of other hoops, and got a temporary password.

Logged on with the temporary password, finally came up with a password that the system liked: not too long, not too short, not too complicated, but complicated enough. And then I needed to leave my desk again to do something, I forget what. When I came back, guess what? My computer would not recognize my new password, NOPEd me out, and back I went to the IT number. Three different security questions and two alternate hoops gave me another temporary password. Logged on, created yet another password that was decidedly more snarky than any other password I've come up with in the eighteen years I've worked for the corporation, and attempted to get something done before it was time to leave for our dental appointments.

By this time I had lost somewhere between half an hour and forty-five minutes to stupid technical issues and was midway between simmering and seething. This is when I discovered that one of the letters I created yesterday was not yet necessary, because one of my attorneys had granted a discovery extension to opposing counsel and forgotten to tell me about it.

I cleaned up and e-served the other letter (hey, your discovery responses are late, don't make me have to file a motion to compel), only to get a phone call from opposing counsel that my attorney had granted them an extension as well. She'd also emailed me, so I forwarded that to my guy with the comment, This was a surprise to me. And a frowny face. I marched myself to the loo, stood in a stall, and literally tried to shake it off.

Back to my desk.

At which point it was time to shut down my workstation for the day, grab my lunchbox from the fridge, fetch Middlest from the atrium on the plaza level, and go get Fourthborn. I warned Middlest as I walked up, "I've had an extremely frustrating morning, and it's not your fault. I'm going to the loo before we drive away, and I'll try to adjust my attitude while I'm in there."

By the time we got to Fourthborn's I was in a decent if not stellar frame of mind. And by the time we got to our dentist's, I was nearly myself again. I knitted (baby sock, sigh...) while waiting for our hygienist to finish setting up. We were early. I drive faster when I'm crabby. The knitting helped a lot, and while I waited for Middlest and Fourthborn to get their treatments, I worked on the waistband for Moosey's hula skirt.

Middlest was right about the spelling. It's Moose + Y.

I got a bit of financial good news at the dentist's today. Since there were no X-rays this time, the tab was about 40%, each, of what I'd braced myself for, which further improved my mood. We zipped over to Cheesecake Factory for the traditional desecrating of our teeth, and our server sang Happy Birthday to Fourthborn without the usual pandemonium which happens when patrons admit to a birthday in a chain restaurant.

We took Fourthborn's leftover cheesecake back to her place, and I gave her the strawberries that I'd taken to work yesterday, which had stayed in the fridge overnight. Waste not, want not. And then we went to Knit Night and hung out for maybe an hour and a half. I knitted a very little, and I mostly finished the waistband on the hula skirt and started the neck binding on the superhero cape.

And now we are home. Middlest has retreated to one bedroom, and I'm heading shortly to my own. Life is sweet again, and I'm hoping for a good night's sleep and a productive and blessedly uninterrupted day at work tomorrow.

We did a lot of laughing in the car to and from, and in the waiting room at the dentist's office. There was a lovely woman there with her nearly grown autistic son, and because of Middlest's training I knew how to behave in an appropriate and non-scary manner. Middlest recognized the woman from church several years ago and said, "You know Firstborn." The woman said yes, yes she did. Middlest said, "That's her mom over there, and we are her siblings." The woman grinned broadly and said, "OK. That explains a lot about Firstborn." At which point all three of us cracked up.

My endorphin levels are approaching what passes for normal with me. Night, y'all.

PS. Aren't you glad that I only summed up?

Somewhat less wasted day.

For which I am grateful. Reasonably productive day at work. No difficulty staying awake. Minimal purchase at Costco on the drive home. Semi-sensible dinner and dessert. Altogether too much time on Facebook, but time well-spent listening to TED talks. Definite distraction by the Zulily website, when they showed a tunic that had piano keys marching down one side of the front and musical notes all over the other side.

I bit.

And was almost instantly irritated by pop-up ads on a page I had open, and by my receipt coming via Facebook Messenger. Oye with the poodles already.

Depending upon how impressed I am with the tunic, I may be disengaging from Zulily once my order arrives.

Knit happened. The gusset decreases are almost finished.

Middlest is awake, and it's time for me to take my meds and go to bed.

I remembered to use my discount code and order a ticket for The Forgotten Carols.

That's all I've got for you tonight. Oh wait, one more thing. George Will, a political writer I loved and respected even when I was a young Democrat, parted ways with the Republican party after they decided that #45 was the best possible man for the job. My esteem for him (G.W., not D.T.) has only grown.

Night, y'all.

Semi-wasted day.

I did not sleep well last night. Middlest and I think it probably has to do something with the CPAP issue, which should be resolved around the end of the coming week. I had enough energy to stay for all three hours of church (but just barely) and was richly rewarded by the time spent in Sunday School and Relief Society.

Came home, made a big pot of black beans, corn, Ro-Tel, and chili, all portioned out for lunches this week after putting two scoops into a latte cup. Nuked a cup of easy-mac and stirred it in. Filled my tummy and cleared my sinuses in one non-fell swoop.

And then I went back to bed and slept for something like six hours. It will be interesting to see if I get any more sleep tonight, but while my dreams were colorful, they were not anxiety-driven. I'll take that as a win.

I've listened to two TED talks since arising. Dinner was some leftover mashed potatoes with a big glob of Greek yogurt and a generous grating of Tillamook extra sharp. Carbs, protein, and happy fat. I also took two overripe bananas, a whole lot of hulled strawberries, two cups of apple juice, and the last of the buttermilk plus half a bottle of water and created four bottles of smoothies to take to work this week. Now the new bananas can go onto the banana hanger, further reducing the minute amount of clutter on a different counter.

I also emptied and reloaded the dishwasher, which is humming happily in the background. That dishwasher was one of my first adult purchases after becoming a widowhood. Firstborn helped me a little with the research, and I've been pleased with my choice ever since.

We have three different sets of healthcare appointments this week. Dental cleanings for the three of us on Tuesday, and I only remembered this morning how that was going to impact my budget. I am working really hard to whittle down my credit card balance, and I don't want to just put them on plastic. Then an appointment for Fourthborn at a new facility on Thursday, and she would like me to take her. (I probably won't need to the next time she goes, because it is, I think, closer to her apartment than where her GP practices, but I'm happy to help. She is making small, determined, steady strides in dealing with her anxiety, and I am so proud of her efforts.) Middlest has the regular monthly appointment on Friday morning, and then we trek to the pharmacy because the Rx has to be hand-carried. But so worth it for how it helps my kid focus.

Friday night is the monthly doll meet. Saturday I'm feeding the elders since I completely forgot yesterday and going from there to a friend's house for Girls Night Out with soup and rolls and desserts and lots of happy conversation.

There has even been knitting today. I got the baby sock back on its needles and am working the gusset decreases. It's been good to take a break from baby socks and work on things for Moosie, because I've actually enjoyed working on the sock today.

In which your intrepid heroine has a brainf@rt.

I was supposed to feed the missionaries tonight. I even had a reminder on my phone. But since my phone has spent most of the day in the charger, and I forgot to take it with me when I took Middlest to the doctor and the pharmacy, I completely spaced on this. Instead, I went to the 50th wedding anniversary celebration for friends in my ward.

I have since sent a text of apology to the elders, who assured me that all was well, because the missionary couple in our ward fed them.

I went back to bed after breakfast and morning meds, and I slept until an hour before Middlest needed to be at the doctor's. So I haven't needed a nap this afternoon or evening, and I'm ready to go to bed as soon as I post this and take my evening meds.

I finally broke down and bought a shirt/jacket, tunic, and skirt from Gudrun Sjödén's website. I have no idea if they will play nicely with one another, but each will go with something that I already own. I will now be in "the club" and eligible for a good discount on any future purchases.

Knit did not happen (again) today, but I got a good start made on a superhero cape for Moosie.

Night, y'all.

It was a good day, and rather a long week.

I felt productive at work, by the grace of Heaven, and it was very very nice to shut down the popcorn stand at the end of the day and come home by way of JoAnn's. My first thought was to buy half a yard or so of aqua tulle to make a tutu for Moosie, but I found some (non-lunatic) fringe that will do well for a grass skirt, and some flower passementerie. I bought six inches of each and brought home a roll of the passementerie in another color, quite possibly for Justice's unfinished skirt.

I thought I had some fairly wide aqua or turquoise silk ribbon that I could use to cover the header on the fringe and to protect the edges of the braid, but I've come up empty. I do have some turquoise silk broadcloth that I bought roughly 30 years ago to make myself a blouse, and I could cut a small section of that. Or I could take a side trip to Fort Worth tomorrow before my friends' anniversary party and go to The French Knot and see what they have. Or I could broaden my palette and use a different color that I have on hand. I'm not going to do anything tonight, except maybe traipse back into my studio and rummage through the drawer that has my silk embroidery supplies.

Knit did not happen today. At all. But I listened to a TED talk, and I made myself a healthy dinner instead of eating out, and there's still time for knitting before bedtime. I woke nearly an hour before the alarm this morning because my bladder was yodeling. As soon as it was happy, my stomach chimed in, "Hey! You're vertical! You should go out to the kitchen! Like, five minutes ago!"

I think this is going to be a mostly-sleeping weekend, as opposed to a mostly-eating weekend. But I am determined that it will be both restful and restorative.

So, the plan was to keep it simple this evening.

And for the most part, I succeeded: pick up two cases of bottled water on the way home, mend a little spot on the shoulder seam of my red corduroy jacket (turns out there were two small spots, but both are properly mended), and knit on the scarf for Moosie.

The only complication was that when I parked near the store to fetch the water, I had an impulse to go inside Cato, where I've never found much to my liking in the past. But I left with a rayon twill buffalo check shark-hemmed tunic that appears to be reasonably well-made and feels so good to the touch. Of course, it hadn't been properly steamed, so I spent half an hour carefully steam-pressing it on the wool setting with a new pressing cloth between the iron and the tunic.

I'm quite pleased with how it came out after a little attention, and I'm wearing it to work tomorrow.

In knitting news, I'm ready to check Moosie's scarf and figure out how much longer it needs to be. I'm hoping that I have a small button the right color, and then I can just work a buttonhole at the right spot so it will stay on him.

I still don't know what to make to cover his torso, but I suspect inspiration will strike once the scarf is done. Hop to it, Ms. Ravelled!

Kind of a weird day.

In spite of setting my alarm, I napped too long after breakfast and was slightly late to stake conference. Came home, ate a quick bite, and took Fourthborn home.

I've been fighting sleep all day. Notwithstanding that, I've finished knitting the legwarmers and armwarmers for Moosie and am trying to figure out what to do next. I think probably a scarf of some sort.

Last thing I did before hitting the sack last night was to attempt sealing up the CPAP reservoir which I dropped while taking it out of the box. Woke up to Lake Ravelled on my bedroom floor this morning, which only added to the weirdness. I'll call the company and request a new reservoir tomorrow.

I missed very little of stake conference this morning. I definitely heard what I needed to hear, which is that once the temple reopens, I need to attend it regularly (taking my kindred dead along, naturally). Not sure that I've ever been chided so gently but unmistakably.

I'm giving up on staying awake. Time for meds and sleep. Later, gators.

Valor, standing for the right

We'll get his arms all tricked out another time. Took forever to get him dressed like this, and nobody here has enough energy to wrestle with partially restringing his arms, plus I need to make thin skin-colored sleeves for his upper arms, because the black elastic on the whatsits made dark smudges on him, which Middlest removed, and we don't want a repeat.

Clear as mud, right?

Can't go to bed without saying how great the Saturday evening adult session of stake conference was. I felt the Spirit so sweetly, particularly during one of the hymns. Looking forward to tomorrow's general session. And if I don't get to bed soon, tomorrow will be here and I won't be sufficiently rested to enjoy the meeting.

Pleased to report that I did not over-schedule myself today. Three activities only, although there were other things that need to be done. I helped clean the chapel in the morning. Drove Middlest and Fourthborn to a party at our friend Lisa's house that was billed as a pre-Halloween celebration that Fourthborn gets to eat real food again. (Which we celebrated with junk food and pizza.) Lisa had found and rehabilitated an American Girl doll for Fourthborn, which we knew was happening but Fourthborn did not. Third activity was stake conference, unless you count the catnap I took between the party and the meeting

Night, y'all.

I've spent the evening surfing "lagenlook" and "dark mori"

Until my brain is "mori"bund. I just want to go stash-diving and whip up some wonderfully eccentric clothes. I found a pattern line I liked while having some downtime at work, and tonight I stumbled onto a review that savages the patterns as being inadequately and confusingly drafted. Given that the printed patterns are $20-plus, I don't want to throw my money away.

Might be time to dust off Mehitabel (the dress form that Secondborn found for me, which I have yet to use except as a display for my bellydancing scarves and veils) and see what kind of mischief I can draft using the brainpower that Heaven gave me.

But for now I'm just going to brush my teeth and go to bed.

New phrase, thanks to Pinterest: mori girl

You know how on Pinterest they suggest boards you might be interested in? And you click on them and find another part of yourself? This is one that popped up recently. And here is a how-to. So apparently I am standing at the crossroads of Mori and Boho. I want more color in my life than Mori provides. But I love the juxtaposition of layers and textures that both looks offer.

And now if you will excuse me, I think I have just enough oomph left to patch my turquoise crinkle skirt that I accidentally ran over and shredded with my rolling chair. If featherweight interfacing does not fix it, I bet I can come up with a boho solution.

Night, y'all.

Weird day at work, with a side order of good news.

You would think that a day with the courts closed and no mail service would mean playing catch-up on my workflow, and you would be right. My desk was looking almost civilized when I left the office today.

I'm hoping for more progress tomorrow, between bouts of checking EMS for tracking information on Valor, who is shipping out from Korea. I have a tracking number, but it's not active yet.

After work I went to Trader Joe's for a few things, Costco for a few more, Braum's for orange juice, and Kroger for the rest of the items on my list. Home around eight. Tardis unloaded forthwith. Bean burrito inhaled with much gratitude and washed down with a mug of buttermilk.

I have a handful of items on my honey do list, and I doubt that they are happening tonight. (Knit did not happen, either.) I think I'm just going to brush my teeth, take my meds, and call it a day.

Too much doing yesterday = nothing doing today.

I went to bed feeling pretty pleased about how the day had gone. Lots and lots and lots of running, loved ones seen, barest of necessities purchased, and the Tardis tanked for the Sabbath. Had a good night's sleep, got to church on time, frogged the sock heel flap before sacrament meeting started. No difficulty getting up to conduct the music, or to sit down again.

Today was fast and testimony Sunday. The testimonies borne were sweet and tender, and they barely registered because I couldn't find a comfortable position for my legs, which were in nearly constant motion. No pain whatsover, just "get us out of here" restlessness. I have no explanation.

So I made my excuses and left after sacrament meeting. Ate leftovers from yesterday's birthday celebration and other remnants in the fridge, played two or three games, and went to bed.

Since waking, I've prepared my spreadsheets for next year and the year after that. I do a two-year budget bundle; this will be the fourth one since marrying Beloved. I was able to eliminate a couple of columns that no longer apply, and all of the sheets which have dates on them (paydays, mortgage installment days) have had those cells populated. I've picked out color-coding for the next two years.

I do this because I've been too cheap to buy Quicken and keep it updated. That may change for next year. I'll have to think about that.

I haven't knitted, other than the frogging of the baby sock, nor have I sewn anything for Moosie. I think I'll go listen to a Conference address and whip up something quick on my needles, just to feel that this day has been a waste that neither fed me spiritually nor blessed anyone or anything but this quirky body. I'd like to have something to show for it when I go back to bed in a couple of hours.

Knit happened; however...

There was a mistake that I might not be able to finesse, which would require frogging the entire heel flap and re-knitting the four stitches which precede it.

We picked up our quilt blocks, and the family party for Willow and Lark was wildly joyful. We took Fourthborn home, as she was on the way from the restaurant, then brought Middlest home and drove back to the quilt shop, because I'd forgotten to grab Justice's skirt to find coordinating fabrics so I may finish it to my satisfaction. I came home with three half-yard pieces. Home by way of JoAnn so I could pick up packages of single-fold bias tape in two plausible colors, then off again to buy two cases of bottled water and take myself to see Victoria and Abdul, which I thought was well worth my time and money.

I'm now an hour and a half late to take my meds, but the bottled water is stacked neatly beneath the last few bottles from the previous batch. I've had an ice cream cone. My eyes are heavy, and I think I should be able to sleep well tonight.

Over and out!

This, from Middlest.

"His vacation is the Metamucil that makes your workflow go smoothly." I was laughing so hard inside that it was hard to walk down the hall to wake up my computer and get this written down.

Work was beyond frustrating today. It was not due to my attorneys. Both were out of the office. It was not due to my coworkers. They are great people. We had technology issues. Which is like saying that Titanic hit an iceberg. A task that would normally have taken two or three minutes took the better part of half an hour. Maybe longer. I was too busy twitching.

I did get in a bit of knitting between the increments of progress on several tasks. About half of a heel flap, to be exact, and by the time I sat down to dinner said heel flap was ready for the magical, mystical turning of the heel. Still gets me, every time.

After work I was knackered and in need of self care. Left a voicemail on Middlest's phone and an IM on Facebook, telling my kid that I was going to get a haircut and dinner and maybe catch a movie. Thank you, Supercuts and Panera! My hair feels and smells wonderful. (I wish Beloved were here to appreciate it.) My tummy is a happy camper: clam chowder and Caesar salad each did their part.

I decided to skip the movie for tonight, hit Braum's for milk and buttermilk and OJ and apple juice, then come home and hop into my jammies.

I want to see the new Judi Dench movie about Queen Victoria (12th cousin, twice removed). And it doesn't need to happen tonight. I have the slightest bit of a headache and am going to drink a little buttermilk, eat a handful of ginger cookies, take my meds, maybe read for a few minutes, and call it a day.

Night, y'all. Have fun storming the castle.

BCNYA

No, I'm not going anywhere other than to bed in about an hour. That was the license plate on the car in front of us on the way home from Costco. I was listening to Middlest with about 90% of my brain and giggling at BCNYA with the remaining 10%.

I brought my coworker's daughter's Moosie home tonight. Daughter's favorite color is aqua-to-turquoise. Just so happens that I have a plethora of yarn scraps in those colors, and fabric scraps to boot. My goal is to crank out several small projects over the weekend and present her with all sorts of options for Moosie mischief.

The yarn is calling my name, so I'm going to play a couple of online games and go see what wants to be the first project.

This is going to be so much fun!

I've spoken with the Cyclops, and...

The walls are thin at the clinic where we went for Fourthborn's post-op appointment. We're pretty sure that the doctor in the next room over said, "I've spoken with my boss, and..." because, as Fourthborn pointed out, Cyclops is an imaginary creature.

I will be stringing together several drafts into what I hope will become an entertaining post.

The weeks-long remodeling of the restrooms on our floor is done. We will get to view (and utilize) the finished work tomorrow. I was riding down to the sixth floor until they had to cut holes in the ceiling at one point. It did not inspire confidence to look up and see crawl space and pipes and stuff and to wonder what, if anything, could see me. So for the past three or four weeks I've been going to the second floor.

When L sent out the memo this afternoon, I replied-all, "Skip, skip, skip to the loo my darlings." Crickets, except for one coworker. (A wise-cracker is not without honor, save in her own office.)

Christmas came early, chez Ravelled. This is what I ordered from the company catalogue. I'm not sure how many imaginary creatures they had to skin to make the covering, or why it was necessary for it to be fluffy instead of something smoothly textured. But it's filled with twelve herbs, and it can be nuked for a minute or stuck in the freezer for an hour or two, depending upon whether I want a hot pack or a cold one on my neck and shoulders.

It's going to work with me tomorrow, because the microwave there is larger than the one here at home, and because I have greater need for it there. If worse comes to worst, I can always thwack people with it. That would be a huge stress reliever on Friday afternoons.

I wore this outfit to work on Tuesday. Can't be bothered to figure out how to take full-length selfies like some of my friends do. This is a skirt that is approximately 20 years old (and needs to have its elastic redone so it will not slip down over my belly as I change positions) plus a shirt I bought a year or so ago and a vest from my friend B's fortuitous weight loss. She has great taste, and sometimes I'm the beneficiary.

I love how the points of the vest in front strike the hem of the shirt. One of my friends teased that I looked like an angel, and I cracked up. I would love to find a pair of ecru or lightest brown boots to wear with this. Or a pair of boots that had cream, caramel, and black all swirled together like a s'more. I would almost certainly have to have them made to measure. I've always wanted a pair of cowboy boots. Maybe next year when I get my bonus?

I forget how much I love to read until I step away from my handwork for a couple of evenings and dive headfirst into a good novel. I just finished reading Madeleine L'Engle's A Live Coal in the Sea. This is Tola's fault. I downloaded it onto my phone for $1.99.

I may have solved the design challenge of the next segment of Justice's skirt. Will have to see what I think about it after I've slept.

That's all I've got for y'all tonight. I have some pictures to post to the doll blog, and then I'm out for the count.

Hello, Fitbit.

Firstborn gave me her old one at family brunch yesterday. I've got it synced with the app I've been using for a little over a month. I can finally stop using my phone as a proxy.  I've begun to tweak the default settings. 5,000 steps instead of 10,000. 7 hours of sleep instead of 8.

I was curious to see what my sleep patterns would look like. In the 8 hours and 20 minutes that I was horizontal last night, I only slept 7 hours and 22 minutes. That's 58 minutes of being awake when I *thought* I was sleeping. My other app has no provision for naps. Fitbit does. The nap I took this afternoon consisted of two long periods bracketing a very short period of deep sleep, all separated by slivers of REM sleep. In other words, I slept like a log. The only bit of waking time was as I was drifting off to sleep.

I like that I can keep track of my water consumption. I'm happy with the default setting: 64oz.

Today our weather was unseasonably cool and delightful. 72F° at 10am and 82°F predicted for noon, with a nice breeze and a 15% chance of rain. We live about a block and a half from the chapel as the crow flies. Driving, it's almost three times longer, a bit less if I walk down the alley.

I was feeling adventurous. I decided to see if I could walk to church. (I couldn't have, six months ago.) And I did, then home again after church. At this writing I have 3306 steps for the day, when most Sundays it's been more like 500-1000 logged because I forget to grab my phone when I'm up and about.

Knit has not happened today, but I got quite a bit in after family brunch yesterday. I wove in the ends from the last of the frogged  yarn. The scarf is roughly 28" long. Target is 36" before I check with Middlest to see if he thinks it will make a cowl of sufficient circumference.

I've set myself a reading goal to catch up on The Economist before the end of the month. Time to read.

Oh, before I go: office manager sent out a text that when the reno crew tore out the last of the kitchen cabinets yesterday, they found mold. We're tentatively opening at 1:00pm tomorrow, depending on if the mold expert who's supposed to show up bright and early says it's safe. No alarm clock tonight, and lots of knitting and/or reading time tomorrow morning. Likelihood of meeting my steps goal? Partly cloudy to flash flooding.

A good weekend, and a good day at work.

General Conference was everything I could have wished. I've been catching up on a few talks that I missed. Internet issues, mostly, that interrupted one talk or another, and I slept through the priesthood session but will catch up on that one talk at a time. Elder Bednar's talk was the one that gave me the most to chew on.

I finished Justice's second sock on Saturday and her shirt yesterday. I have about half of a skirt put together. Not sure how I want to develop it further. I tore through my stash of lace and trims after dinner tonight, and nothing's quite right.

Our new admin started this morning, and the office manager is continuing to interview legal secretaries. We are once more approaching fully staffed and up to speed, and it's a lovely feeling.

Going to bed now, because I woke an hour ahead of my alarm this morning, and notwithstanding all of the sleep I got between Conference sessions, I'm feeling it. I'd like to have as good a day at work tomorrow as I did today, and for that I need a rested mind and body.