Counting down to Cape Cod

We'll be on Cape Cod in less than a week. This will mean a much longed for vacation, in addition to our wedding. I think all the plans are (more or less) in place, excepting only dinner reservations for Friday night. We've started checking the weather reports for Falmouth and comparing them to available clothing items. I'll be making little piles on my bed all week, adding and subtracting from them as my mood and plans change. What I do know for sure is that I will not end up packing what I need. If I pack jeans I will want to wear sweats. If I pack sweats I will want something dressy. I'm an experienced traveler, and I really can pack a carry on bag to serve my needs for a week. It's when I pack a little more that I get into trouble. Luckily we'll be staying with family, and anything I do not bring Inace will be good enough to loan me.

Traveling knitting will probably be socks in progress for the very few who will be lucky enough to receive Christmas knitting. A lot of what would have been gift knitting time was devoted to the Peacock Feathers Shawl, and I think this year I will not attempt to kill myself with gift projects. I have a few started, and those few I will finish, but I'm going to take it easy on myself. Also I have yarn in my stash I bought last year for a pretty new scarf for myself. I'll be taking that, or the scarf itself (in progress now), to the cape with me. I've got yarn stashed for a sweater, three shawls: two lacy masterpieces, and one destined to be a simple pattern made up in exceptionally beautiful yarn. I don't see any way I will get to these as long as I devote months and months to gift knitting. There is also the matter of a baby blanket or two to churn out before next spring for which I think I have enough yarn. I'm just not fast. My yarn stash is not large by the standard of most knitters. It's generous in sock yarn, and there are a few skeins of Wool-Ease purchased on extreme clearance and stashed in expectation of turning it into hats and mitts. The yarn pictured here does not include a paper grocery bag of acrylic destined to turn into baby blankets and amigurumi and about half that amount of sock yarn leftovers too good to throw away which will probably make its way into some kind of a scrap afghan, amigurumi, or baby hats. Still, I picked up most of it in eager anticipation of starting some really nice projects and I am ready to get them under way.

Now that the election is over I'm stepping away from politics for a minute, and have been especially interested in websites and podcasts of a scientific nature. Some of the concepts make my head hurt, but the ideas are fascinating. If you have time to spare click on over to The Daily Galaxy for a very cool smorgasbord of interesting scientific topics. For varied content less scientific and more pop culture, try Boing Boing for interesting articles and links (some, I must admit, are of a low and vulgar nature, but you'll have a warning before you click on any NSFW links).

In other news of general interest, Furnace Wars has ended at my house. The temperature inside the house had finally dropped below 60 and the dog was cold. I took pity on her old and cranky self and let Shana turn on the heat at last. I surrendered.