I’m still horribly tired. Clark is doing much better, but still isn’t sleeping through the night so aside from fighting my own illness, I’m fighting chronically interrupted sleep as well.

It’s a lovely, sunny day. The birds are very sociable and chittery right out the window, and it’s making me happy.

Last night was fun. We visited with family and Hayden, and Abby felt special. We gave her a ukulele, which she has wanted for a couple months.

I don’t have enough mental energy to focus on and plan her school friend party which is immediately after school tomorrow. Likewise, I am unable to craft a well written post. So my ramblings will be fragmented and dull.

But I wanted to say that considering that I just sat down at my spinning wheel for a little rhythmic relaxation, and rather than spin up my prepared rolags I instead decided to card more rolags… I’m guessing that this fleece really sucks. I need to get it done so I can start spinning something more enjoyable. Because it seems to me that spinning should be preferable to hand carding, any day.

And I’m through the heel flaps and turns on both socks. So they’re ready for picking up stitches and working the gussets. Which is too much effort for my energy level. So I carded rolags which takes less thinking but still gets me touching wool. And that’s a good thing, or would be if it didn’t mean I was ignoring the looming 9 year old birthday party breathing down my neck.

Yesterday was Clark’s birthday. He is still sick, so we didn’t do much in the way of celebrating as we’re doing that tonight anyway. But I felt bad for him. This is the only picture I got of his special day.

And today is Abby’s birthday. I’m not feeling that great, although not completely sick either. But I feel tired with all that lies ahead this month. Multiple birthdays, their respective parties, a baptism, a wedding, a fly-in-and-fly-out visit from my mom and my uncle in the midst of an insane weekend (see “wedding and baptism”), self employment taxes… and I have to be forgetting at least 5 things.

Plus, since the girls didn’t get parties two years ago, I told them they could have a party last year. Which was right when we ended up moving and birthing Clark. So I put it off and put it off until it didn’t happen. So this year, there’s no escaping the party throwing. We usually do the extended family thing on their birthday. Then we’re having a party with school friends. Then we’re having a party with church friends (separate only to keep the number of children in my house at any one time a manageable one). Times two because Liv’s birthday is this month also. Plus, both girls are dying to have sleepovers, so they each get one. Yeah, let that all sink in.

I’M TIRED!!

And the party hasn’t even started yet. We have dates fixed for two of the four promised events, and Liv’s sleepover will probably end up happening in May.

I’ve finished the second leg and have begun the first heel flap. This is the first pattern I’ve made that has you decrease for the heel flap. That’s weird. The socks are already a little snug, but I did it anyway thinking that I’d already intended on making the heel flap longer to give some ease.

And I’ve been cabling without a cable needle for the first time. Too lazy to get up and check online to see how its done, I worked out a method myself. It might be how everyone else does it, I don’t know, but it’s working for me.

I started the Uptown Boot Socks from the Winter 2003 issue of Interweave Knits, and a few things have taken me by surprise.

First of all, am I just a huge ignoramous to not have anticipated my Socks that Rock skein of Foo Foo to self stripe? I had no idea it was a swirly striping yarn. Is all Socks that Rock self striping? Do tell.

Secondly, in all the pictures I’ve seen on the internet and in the pattern itself of these particular socks, nowhere have I seen a predominantly right slant. Sure, the right slant looks a bit stronger than the left slant, but in the pattern, it looks like the cabling makes a sort of criss-cross or honeycomb type texture, not right slanting swirlies. So, I have a sock with a left slanting, self striping color pattern, and a right slanting texture pattern. It’s a bit ridiculous.

Ok, it’s extremely ridiculous.

However, I’ve tried it on, and I think I like it anyway. Dunno. I’ve finished the first leg, and will start the second leg when I knit next.

I’m also thinking that I much prefer the feel of wonderful, soft Koigu to the kind of rough, superwash Socks That Rock. BUT, I’m willing to give them a wear and a wash before completely deciding. I’d love to hear any thoughts you have on the subject.

Clark’s still sick as a dog. He’s had a fever all weekend. I’m taking him into the doctor now, and I’ve been feeling yucky all day. Sinus headache, fatigue, the threatenings of a sore throat.

Great. Just what I need.