Stressed? Suffering from insomnia? Try the Stockinette Solution - cast on a nice plain vanilla sweater, worked in the round, in a serene color (Cotton Fleece Malibu Blue is working nicely) and start knitting - just knitting. No patterns, no counting, no thinking, just let your fingers go. I'm hypnotized by the repetition, the round and round of nothing but knit, knit, knit, my breathing regulates, my body relaxes, my mind wanders - and last night I went to bed very early and slept almost 10 hours, which is the longest night's sleep in weeks that was totally free of weird stress dreams. I should name this sweater Xanax. People wonder how I have managed to avoid needing mood-altering drugs to get through this situation; I tell them it's because I knit, and they look at me strangely, but I swear that's the truth. I've done about 8 inches of the body so far, and I love the color and the sheen of the yarn. I also love that I've calculated that I will have enough left over after this pullover to make a Shapely Tank in the same color - not to wear together, of course, but just to have it. I bought this yarn on eBay, from a seller (francispatricksales) who almost always has Brown Sheep seconds available - they're not quite the right shade per their color card, but there's not a darn thing wrong with the yarn. I've bought several lots and never had a problem. The quantity in each lot is more than I need for a sweater, so there's always leftovers for kid items or, in this case, tanks.


After my good night's sleep, I feel a bit more fresh and able to start, or finish, something else, something that requires a bit more concentration. I think the market bag is calling.


Sorority Girl left yesterday - she has a job up at school and can't be away from it too long, competition for jobs being fierce in university towns. Of course, considering the fiscal damage done at the mall the other night, perhaps it's just as well she doesn't live here year-round. I don't need a full-time shopping accomplice.


The days are very long and draining right now. I tend to lose track of the days/date, as they all blur into a hellish loop of repetition. Only somebody who has lived through the very slow deterioration and death of a loved one - particularly a spouse - probably could understand the mixed emotions, the sadness that his life is almost over, mixed with frustration that this is taking so LONG to be over. The kids and I have been grieving his loss for a long time now - there was never any real chance that this story would end any other way, and we all knew it.


Whoops, sorry for that depressing segue - back to actual knitting content soon, I promise.