No knitting today.  Daylight’s been too elusive in my life to attempt pictures, and I’m fighting with the lamp stand-in lately.  And the Lenores are too subtle for anything but good lighting to show them off.  And the other knitting I’ve got right now…secret.  Shh!

So, in the spirit of the season, I give you this all-too-familiar sight for many of us this month, but with an addition that, honestly, makes my head hurt.  Has UPS developed teleportation?  And why on earth is something “Out for delivery” at 2:30 A.M.?  (I know there are normal explanations for both issues, but I’ve been grumpy all weekend that this package has apparently been sitting in Louisville without moving, and I’d rather get a laugh out of the whole ordeal, to wipe out the grumpies.)

Half a bottle of super-concentrated dish soap + My living room carpet = The largest flooring mess I’ve seen since my sister and I spilled a large container of magenta tempra paint when we were in elementary school.

This would also be the day that I dropped 90% of a batch of cookie dough on the kitchen floor.  Yesterday was definitely not a good day.

When you have to call a technician over to fix your virtual house.

Also when the sleeping pills haven’t actually, you know, knocked you out even though you were almost stupidly tired before you went to bed.

This after your hard drive decided that it wasn’t going to let the computer boot a few times in a row.

I’m tired.  I’d like things to just be normal for a bit…

At least, after getting deeply into a project that seems to suck out my brain and wonder why I even started it. Even more so if it’s a case where I start multiple complicated techincal projects at the same time. Currently on my plate at the moment:

• Making the blog look good again, which actually led to:
• Switching web hosts (don’t ask how it led to it. It just did, trust me)
• Writing a complicated PHP/MySQL database application for…tracking virtual clothing
• Preliminary planning for a system rebuild

And the best part? I had given myself a “brain vacation” this weekend, after turning my brain to cheese with the clothing project on Friday. Of course, then I had to rewrite some code that got eaten by a bug in Second Life. Followed by helping a dear friend set up a TeamSpeak server. That I didn’t mind. I just hope she forgives me for being braindead a lot during the process. I thought I’d spend Sunday doing photography and just entering things into the clothing database, but every few outfits I’d find something I’d forgotten to take into account. And therefore, would have to do some more programming.

Yeah. Not a lot of knitting done this weekend. There was also large amounts of sleeping, all during daylight hours, and some actual downtime. Adamas has stayed it its drawer. I started the August sock, but the first ball decided to puke up yarn guts, so it took awhile to make it all better. I’ve just finished the first section.

With that, I’m going to go do a small bit of blocking and get some sleep. I’m really, really sick of still being awake at almost 10am.

Honestly.  Lace knitting.  Medications that make me loopy.  They do NOT mix.

I suppose the public service announcement here is:  if you shouldn’t be driving while taking it, then don’t knit lace while taking it.

This message brought to you by the Adamas Shawl, Xanax, and our special sponsor, lifelines

I’ll also note that, probably for similar reasons, I thought this was a good time to design a database for my clothing in Second Life.  And because I’m not insane enough, a MySQL database with a PHP front-end, and ideally with the ability to hook into it from Second Life itself.

Yeah, I aim high.  I’ve done something *like* it before, but not on this kind of scale.  Yes, I *do* have that many virtual clothes.

It is, however, now almost 9am.  I haven’t slept, so I think I’m going to put the to-be-recycled ink cartridges in the mail before I try again.  How very kind of them to give me free recycling envelopes.  *rolls eyes*  Since the twin-pack of ink (black and color) was expensive enough to make me think it must be made from the blood of virgin unicorns or something.

…And my mind just took a very, VERY wrong turn.  Blame a conversation with a friend that was far more detail than I ever needed or wanted to know.

Insert comment about goggles and their lack of usefulness here.

Covered in cats

Originally uploaded by foogrrl.

Wonder why I can’t get any sleep…

Well, this was a lovely way to wake up.  </sarcasm>

Sleep far too late, because I’m still getting the last traces of Luvox out of my system.  Come down to check email, etc.  Hit the power button on the computer, and absolutely nothing happened.

There may have been some cursing.  In Mando’a, at that.*

If that wasn’t hint enough, proof I’m a geek:  I had a spare machine I could cannabalize for a temporary replacement power supply.

I’m also experiencing more or less the PMS from Hell, due to withdrawl from the Luvox.  I’m very thankful that I have people around me who are both caring and understanding.

For good, there’s this:

The phoneix-like return of the Adamas Shawl.  Please note, I hate the picture on the KnitPicks website – you can’t see any actual detail of the shawl, which is quite lovely.

Also good:  the podcast novel 7th Son from J.C. Hutchins.  TD turned me onto podcast novels in general, and this one in particular, and I’m enjoying it a great deal.  Bit too involved listening for knitting lace, but perfect for spinning.

If it weren’t so hot here that the thought of spinning makes me want to melt.

*  If you’ve never read Karen Traviss’ work, please treat yourself.  Her Republic Commando books are my literary equivalent of comfort food.  With the past year being what it has, I need to replace those copies with new reading copies, as they’ve been read and loved nearly to death.

One more thing that makes me smile often:  The signed copies of those novels on the shelf over my desk.  That was a most wonderful gesture at a time I really needed something good to happen.  I do, however, suspect TD’s involvement, since he has my mailing address.  Otherwise I’d start to worry.  Hehe.

You’ll all have to forgive me, but I’m in serious love.

Things of beauty, aren’t they?  One’s obviously (at least to most) an iPhone.  I adore this little thing far more than I thought I would.  The other?

Some absolutely delicious merino/silk roving from Serendipity Fibers on Etsy.  I’m trying to contain my drool, because I don’t want to ruin the fiber!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately - I’ve been dealing with side-effects from a new medicine. Hopefully the doctor and I can get things back on track soon. In the meantime, I’m exhausted.

Another picture, because I find it incredibly funny.  But first, a short bit of story.

A short while ago, the largest and most co-dependent of the cats came over to get petted.  Nothing out of the ordinary – he does it all the time.  However, when I touched him, I felt some dry, plant-like stuff on him.  Very odd, as they’re all indoor kitties.  I take a look, and ask him, “Just how did you get covered in catnip?”

Not expecting an answer, of course,  Only Kali holds two-way conversations with humans.  So investigation ensued.  The findings?

I live with a bunch of addicts, it seems.