Maybe a sparkle of interest???

The plague/crud/whatever it is continues to attack. Amazingly enough, I think the voice sounds worse than yesterday, yet I still have people calling me and complaining they can't undertstand me when they continue asking questions after the first croak. This is why there's email, people.

I'm not firing on all thrusters, so I don't feel comfortable doing tax work. But I'm bored. I've got on the TV. The current administration comes on talking about a plan to screw up the financial system as badly as they want to screw up healthcare. I can't even scream at the TV. I text Teresa on IM. I text Richard on the phone. I make up words to old songs, such as "Where have you gone, Alan Greenspan, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you, woo woo woo". I watch the market plummet. Now, I can't shut off this crap, because it's my job to keep up with it, much to my chagrin.

So I take out the knitting...

Most of you are now thinking, thank goodness, she's finally going to stop droning on and on about the tax code and the cleaners and the current administration and "how Mr. Smith is running this country and how many languages Enoch Powell can speak and then he throws up all over the Cuba Libres..." (as I lapse into Monty Python, Travel Agent sketch... srsly, if you've never seen this, it's a matter of cultural literacy). And she'll quit nattering about the cute dog.
(gratuitous cute dog photo)

I've been wanting to try two socks on one circular needle, specifically because my attention span lends itself to SSS (single sock syndrome, for those of you who don't knit). My friend Linda does them on two circs, and I've tried it, but I find two circs in general really fussy. A few nights ago Richard and I carefully weighed and divided a skein of Dream in Color sparkly yarn -- I forget what the heck it's called, but it was on sale at the Dizzy Sheep. My original intent was for it to become the wonderful Francie socks that my DF Jen on Ravelry had gifted me the pattern for, but upon review of the pattern and my state of mind, I decided those had best wait for another day. I decided that the Nutkin pattern might fit the bill... challenging enough not to be boring, but not so challenging as to send me screaming (or croaking as the case may be) for the frog pond.

First problem was casting on. Unlike The Magic That is Heather, I wasn't able to figure this out on my own... but fortunately others on the internet had kindly posted detailed photos of exactly how things should look. Got the stitches carefully placed on a size 1.5 47" circular needle and started to knit. I realized quickly that stitchmarkers were going to be necessary, as I kept pulling the cables too tightly and removing my "magic loop" (can you say "tense"?).

It took almost an hour, but I cast on and got two rounds of plain stockinette knit.
I really hope I get better at this. I'll let you know when I get to the heels.