Plumbing and Squirrel

Last week, I took a couple of days and went up to the mountains to take care of plumbing problems (sulpher smell in the water and dripping pipes under the kitchen sink) as well as to clean up the damage made by the squirrel.

Last month, my house partners went up to check on how things were after the winter and discovered that a squirrel had come down the chimney, out through the wood-burning stove and into the house. It is amazing how much damage a trapped, hysterical, sooty squirrel can do. There were little sooty tracks all over the living room and kitchen, larger sooty swaths where his tail had lashed, and he had tried to eat his way out the window frame.

Long story short, I haven't cleaned so hard since we moved Jon out of his apartment, end of sophomore year and we wanted at least part of our security deposit back.

So now the plumbing is fixed, the house is clean, and this guy is gone.

A Fine Finish

Head to Toe Knits is now officially available from lulu.com.. Finally. A year and a half of thinking, designing, knitting, editing, false starts and fine finishes. I'm proud of what I've achieved. I have achieved book.

I've learned a tremendous amount, and, if I tackle a second book, I know the process will be smoother and the end result will be even better.

Over the last few weeks, I've been exploring ravelry more. I am amazed at the talent, creativity and productivity of the world's knitters as exhibited on ravelry; much of the time, after spending maybe ten minutes poking around, I leave, feeling humbled and awed by what I've seen. I alternate between feeling that my own creativity is being sparked and feeling that there's nothing left to design (especially by me). But that's my own doubts speaking, because I know there are still endless variations of baby sweaters and hats out there, just waiting to be thought of and knitted, not just by others but by me, too.