It's the end of one desperate fiscal year at work and the beginning of a very somber one. There is way too much to do and not nearly enough people to do it. I'm just trying to keep up. I think I'll leave it at that.
Looking forward to staying at home all weekend. Maybe I'll be able to knit (not enough of that lately).
I signed up for a Ravelry Help Session and a Project Finishing Workshop at knit-one-one for next weekend, so I better take my down time while I can!
Today is the Boyo's 22nd birthday. Mr. Celia and I IM'd our birthday greetings to him this morning in Copenhagen, where it was already late afternoon. When we asked him what brought him there he said, "I've never been here...and it's close to Stockholm and Helsinki." I see. Scandinavian adventures.
Oh, for the days when hanging around with Grandma in front of the house...
...or digging in the pile of sand on the corner...
...was enough.
Happy Birthday, BOYO! Come home and see us sometime!
Wednesday, I stayed home. My neck had been bothering me (couldn't turn very far to the left without pain) and I had a chiropractic appointment in the afternoon. It just seemed like even if I did go in to work, I'd get nothing done. I couldn't focus. Just felt overwhelmed and in need of a mental health day.
My neck is much better but the overwhelmed blue feeling lingers. I did make it into work both yesterday and today. I think lots of people are feeling the way I do. All over the Bay Area. And especially at work.
You may have already heard that over 800 1000 1,200 fires are burning across California. The Governor has just asked for federal aid. No fires close by me yet (I am knocking on wood as I type this), but a smoky pall has descended on the Bay Area.
People like me are being advised to stay indoors. That does not improve my mood one bit. The feeling is physical: tired, heavy chest, breathing is not easy. I probably shouldn't be riding my bike. But I don't want to drive my car either.
Then there is the lovely reduction in force hanging over our heads. We are unlikely to hear definitively about that for another six weeks. Meanwhile, there is a crapload of work that we don't feel much like doing.
So, my friends, you may understand the critical need for a midsummer pajama day. I realize that many people have it much harder than me, but I'm really ready to just sit tight, wear pajamas, and knit my cares away. Hell, I might even make it a pajama weekend. July 5-6.
Who's with me?
FINALLY finished.
You may recall, I finished the knitting in May. But it took me until now to finish the finishing. It needed stitching up and lining (with a pocket) and now it's finished and gifted. The pattern was free from the Knitting Daily website. The yarn was also free from someone else's stash (label free, I'm afraid). And now I'm free to pursue other projects (if I only had the time).
PHEW!
This week has almost slipped by and all I can spare is a few moments at the blog. Mr. Celia returned from Europe on Tuesday, with tales of Travels with the Boyo and some nice presents from the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gough Museum. Taking care of myself, the dogs and the house all alone took a lot of time while he was gone. Not to mention the screaming schedule at work.
I am so glad he is back.
For now, I have to get back to the screaming schedule. I just have enough time to tell you to go read the Panopticon today. Franklin is a sweet pea.
That's all I've got.
We came, we sat, we knitted in public at knit one one. 
You can see the lovely Pamela on the left, placing a chair for me. At its height, the crowd swelled to about 50 knitters. Wonder Mike came and interviewed each and every one of us. It will be fun to hear what makes it into the podcast.
It was a most enjoyable morning, and the beauty of knit one one is that it's a studio, not a store. Thus, we were not tempted to add impulse yarn to our stashes.
With Mr. Celia gone, it's true that it is quiet in the house but it takes a lot to run the house without him. Dogs need to be fed, food needs to be cooked, mail needs to be sorted and read, plants need to be watered, and the house needs to be readied for the cleaning lady. And we're having a bit of a heat wave so I'm trying to keep up with the evaporation rate in the garden as well.
At work it's the end of the fiscal year, so we are busy with justifying next year's budget plus trying to wind up projects before the end of this budget cycle. Talk about busy! It's actually hard to get things done - so many "important" interruptions. That, coupled with news of an impending reduction in force, has everyone tense and worried about proving their worth.
Not much knitting happening, so far, this week. I'm looking forward to WWKIP Day, which I will celebrate at one or more of these locations. Meanwhile, I regale you with the view from my morning bath.
It's here I ready myself for the busy day. I savor this view. The hummingbird feeder attracts the current Queen of the Yard, who owns all the lemon and fuchsia blossoms in the garden and loudly chirps as she flits from flower to flower, challenging all who dare to enter her domain, even the cat. Sometimes she will deign to sip the ruby nectar from the feeder but, alas, not this morning.
That's all. Have a great day. Once more into the breach.
Life keeps rushing at me. Yesterday was the second Sunday in June already. The work week loomed and I was wishing there would be another Sunday today.
I'm alone in my own house - a rare luxury. Sunday morning, I drove Mr. Celia across the Bay Bridge to the San Francisco airport. He's off on European adventure with the Boyo. So I'll either have enough time to get thoroughly sick of living alone, or maybe I'll have just enough time to get used to it before he comes home.
I have driven across the Bay Bridge the past four Sunday mornings. Somebody's always going somewhere. In general, I don't travel over the bridge more than once or twice a month. But it's been an unusually busy season, filled with visiting relatives, friends who needed rides, sightseeing trips, graduations...you know the drill. And there have been more than just those Sunday trips across the bridge. While the visiting relatives were here, we even had a three-bridge day.
Sundays are usually quiet affairs. Celebrated in my pajamas with a lingering breakfast. This past month of Sundays has been quite...active. Not in an overwhelming sort of way - I've been enjoying all the activity - but I do long for a Sunday spent in pajamaed langour. It's just that I don't see it happening any time soon. Perhaps after Mr. Celia returns and we get back to our regular schedule. For him, Sunday morning is reserved for golf, while I have the house all to myself for a few hours of loafing in pajama comfort. That's the way things were until the last month of Sundays. I hope to hit that equilibrium again soon.
Midsummer Pajama Day, anyone?
The Girlie gave me this kettle several years ago. I use it every day. Often two or three times. And every time the handle gets hot. I usually use a towel, my sleeve, or a napkin as a potholder, and each time I think, "I ought to make a little felted potholder for the kettle handle."
Yesterday, I finally did.
Perfection!
