Checking in from the second half-century...

I can see from my posting history that the first year of my second half-century hasn't been a great one for blogging.  It's not surprising to me at all that the number of views for my posts are in single digits.  I haven't been very consistent and (I can say this because it's my blog) I haven't been very interesting.  I really thought that having the iPhone would make it so much easier to pop up a short post with a picture.  Unfortunately, blogger is a Google product and Apple and Google have decided to be competitors who don't play well with each other.  Come on!  Stop it!  Each of you do some things really well!  Focus on those and all your consumers will be happier! 

I have been sick all week.  I want to feel sorry for myself, but half the country is as sick or sicker, so that isn't working too well ;-)  It's been awhile since I have had a cold this bad.  I met my Thursday deadlines last week (the challenging days I spoke of last post) and then on Friday I just taught my morning class and went home.  Both of the assistants were also sick, as was one of the part time grant directors in the office.  So I literally closed the office!  I put up a sign that we would return on Monday.  Only I didn't return on Monday and neither did anyone else!  From Friday until Tuesday I didn't get out of pajamas.  (Ok, that sounds disgusting--I did take a shower and change into new pajamas at points during that time span!)  On Wednesday I went back to work knowing that it would be a two-day week since we have today off for Mr. Lincoln.  I went home relatively early on Wednesday (3 ish) but had to stay until 6:30 last night--ugh.

One bright spot to the couch time was a lot of knitting.  Mindless knitting.  Felted slipper knitting!  These are a gift for friends of El Esposo.  They are newly married and they are a Valentines Day gift for the newlyweds.  Here are before and after shots.

I was able to use quite a bit of leftover handspun and some other yarns that have been hanging around for ages.  It might be hard to tell from the pictures, but the unfelted slippers are HUGE!  If you have felted before you know this.  (I am pretending here that I have more than 3 readers who all have used this exact pattern or have seen me knitting these!)  I like how they turned out and I am glad to have them done in plenty of time for V-Day.

In other knitting news, I am on welt 9 of my sweater.  It is still over 500 stitches around the thing, so this isn't going to be finished any time soon.  I like how it is knitting up, but there really isn't anything new to show.  I really love the ruby color.  The variegated is more brown than anything on these first welts.  Not as interesting as it was at first to watch the variegated color progression.

I have to say that I was very thankful to have knitting.  Putting together the slippers was a great distraction from how crappy I felt.  I was productive even though I barely moved from the couch for 4 days.

I hope if any of you catch this crud it gives you an easier time than it gave me!  Stay healthy!