In Which Nearly Invisible Progress Is Made

I swear I've been knitting. Girl Scout's Honor. I just seem to have very little to show for it.

I've reached the stockinette portion of Damsen, and it's really turning out quite lovely. The color is blackish with greyish bits in some lights, dark blue with greyish bits in other lights, and even has tints of green in bright sunlight ... so it will really match anything.

It's actually much bigger than this ... it's just too big to lay out flat.

The goal is to finish before we go to Vail (t-minus 16 days and counting) so that I have fabulous neckwear to wear around and be effortlessly fabulous. And I have the added bonus fun of choosing a new vacation project (re-start the frogged tye-dye socks?). One would think with the small amount that I have left that I would be able to crank it out in 16 days, but there is Dad-visit looming (this weekend!) and this pesky thing called "work" that seems to suck up a fair amount of my time and energy (who does that?). Let's just say I'll be pleased with myself if and when it happens.

The other thing sucking up time and energy? My lovely Dear. As much as I love him (and I do), the fact that I am now 10 lbs and a size bigger than when I met him is not putting me in a happy mood. Now that our twitterpation has worn down a bit, we're both realizing that we need to get back into our somewhat physically active habits and maybe cutting back on the booze during the week wouldn't hurt either (but it sure is kind of boring). We've had some lovely bike rides on the weekends, but now running has entered the conversation. I'm willing to give this a try, but I have not forgotten the near-crippling shin splints that I experienced the last time I was a runner. My running career lasted about 6 months before my shin splints were so bad I finally went to see a professional sports trainer ... who then informed me that I had multiple hairpin stress fractures on both legs and I sure as hell better stop running if I didn't feel like spending the next 6 weeks in double leg casts. So I switched to low-impact and haven't had too much trouble with that ... but now it's time to step up the game. I'm hoping a combination of starting out slow, hot yoga supplements and serious stretching before and after a run will save me from the horrible pain I experienced previously. Mostly? I just want to be able to say I tried.

Have temporarily put the BSJ and Rob's Monster Afghan on hold. Damsen took over my interest and I'm not looking back. Sure hope that afghan gets finished by July, though .....