We’re going on vacation! Hooray!

I’ve kinda already checked out, and I’m finding it really hard to focus on getting much of anything done right now, other than daydreaming about what to pack, so I decided to just go with it and get it out of my head so that I can move on to other things.

Clothes — I will be bringing way too much clothing with me. I’m afraid Mike is going to be bringing way too little clothing with him. I think it’s a point of pride for him to winnow down to as little stuff as possible, and he keeps resisting things like pajamas and good pants. (Too bad we can’t share.) I, on the other hand, always seem to think I’m packing enough, but then get into a situation where I really need another shirt or something. So I’m bringing more than enough shirts with me. Way more. And shorts, too. And shoes.

Knitting — This is a tough one. After reading Stephanie’s slightly disturbing, very funny post about her dpns being mistaken for weapons by a fellow air traveler, I’ve been obsessing a little bit about what to bring on the plane and in the airport with me, so as to improve my chances of not having to surrender anything at the security checkpoint. I’m thinking I’ll be bringing the colorful socks on two circulars, and the Cashsoft hat, since both are circular projects and won’t require any scissors at all. I will also be bringing the stuff for Michelle’s sweater, which I would very much like to finish while on vacation so that I can block it when we get home and give it to her when I see her for Thanksgiving, and the Go With the Flow socks that I’ve been carrying to work with me. (I’d much prefer to bring these on the plane with me, but those little bamboo #1s are pretty threatening.)

Carryon — And then there’s the question of in what to carry things on in the first place. I hate to bring something too big, because that’s a pain when you’re in the airport bookstore, looking for just the right beach book, so that pretty much excludes the green backpack. On the other hand, something too small is just as bad, especially when you end up packing it so full that it ends up being big and it’s impossible to find anything in it, so I can’t get away with just the blue shoulder bag.

Traveling Clothes — The final major issue is what to wear tomorrow. It’s probably going to be, like, 28 degrees F here tomorrow morning, and then 80-ish when we get to Orlando. Layers, obviously, but something, too, that I might actually find some other use for. I don’t know. I think I’m probably just going to plan on changing at the airport before we pick up the rental car.

With the vacation and whatnot, I may not be blogging much in the next week, but I will be taking pictures and posting when I get back.

Check it out: Write yourself an email and have it delivered to you 1, 3, 5, 10 or 20 years in the future. The stuff about how it works is pretty cool, with redundant systems and other failsafes.

I wrote a message to myself for one year from now that just talks about what’s going on right now, this very moment, in my immediate life. I’m in the midst of one for 10 years, though, and that’s a bit harder. I’m trying to give myself a snapshot of my state of mind at age 32, to talk about the things that occupy my thoughts, the things that may be different in another decade. I’m thinking about writing a poem for 20 years…

How could I forget? After the trials and tribulations of working on this in the midst of cat entanglement, I finally got the Branching Out scarf from Knitty finished, blocked, and ready to send off to my friend, Jane. I put a piece of navy blue card stock under the first layer so that when she opens the box, she can see the loverly pattern.

Here we go, in order of most important that I finish first:

My friend, Lisa, comissioned me to make a sweater for her beautiful Brittany, Chaucer. It’s the “Peruvian Sweater” pattern from Dogs in Knits by Judith L. Swartz, out of many colors of Cascade 220 Superwash. It’s also my first two-color knitting project. A new knitting friend assures me that everything will flatten out nicely when I wash it, so I’m trying not to stress about the funkiness of it.

My intention with this lovely hat was to make it and send it to Kristen, my sister’s high school friend with breast cancer. I don’t know now, though. It’s so pretty and the yarn — Rowan Cashsoft DK — is so soft, I may have a hard time giving it up. Also, I’ve discovered cables without a cable needle, and boy are they pleasant.

Koigu Painter’s Palette is nice. “Go With the Flow” from Summer ‘05 Interweave Knits is nice. Size 1 bamboo needles are nice. I find it hard not to work on these, which is rough, because I have some deadlines on the other projects.

I also have yarn and patterns for at least four other projects, some of which I’m just dying to get on the needles. And then the new KnitPicks catalog came yesterday, and that’s just about killing me. Too little time. Good thing vacation’s coming soon.

This isn’t a surprise for Michelle, so if she takes time out of her busy doctorin’ schedule to even glance at my blog, it won’t ruin anything.

Here’s the back of her sweater, almost done. It looks kinda funky now, but I’m sure it will all even out in the blocking. How do I know?

I was a good girl and swatched before I started. This is an extreme closeup on the trim on the bottom — “Arbor Lace” from Nicky Epstein’s Knitting on the Edge.

I have lots of catching up to do. I’m just gonna do a bunch of posts today, rather than try to get everything in one.