NO CLEVERNESS LEFT

I don't have a cute title for this post. Nothing clever. I'm too tired. You'll have to forgive me. This happens every year at around this time...as we enter the Jewish High Holidays, or, as I like to call them, the Bhutan Death March of Holiday Seasons.

First it is Rosh Hashanah. Clean the house, polish the silver, try to make sure the house doesn't smell like dog, bake things with honey, feed a crowd, then run out on a disasterous mound of dirty dishes and head to synagogue to sit in an un-air conditioned sanctuary for three hours while the cantor does her finest impression of a banshee, then rush home, tumble into bed -- totally ignoring the dirty dishes -- only to arise a few hours later to start cleaning up before beginning another day just like the last.

Ten days later we have Yom Kippur. Clean the house, polish the silver, try to make sure the house doesn't smell like dog, bake things with honey, feed a crowd before the sun sets, then run out on a disasterous mound of dirty dishes and head to synagogue to sit in an un-airconditioned sanctuary for three hours while the cantor does her finest impression of a banshee, then rush home, tumble into bed -- totally ignoring the dirty dishes -- only to arise a few hours later to start cleaning up before beginning another day like the last, only this time on an empty stomach.

Yom Kippur is closely followed by Sukkot, an eight day festival and among my favorite of the Jewish Holidays. It might help that Sukkot is usually right around the time the weather begins to turn cool. Then comes Shmenei Azeret. Bringing up the rear is Simchat Torah, which celebrates the giving of the Torah. This is also my father's yahrzeit. Don't ask me why I threw that in...just trivia.

All this means that, by the middle of October I have the shiniest silver in the world and a lethargy so pervasive, sloths form my pep squad. It also means that between Labor Day and the middle of October, Norbert only has 12 or so days of school. You can't imagine how stressful that can be.

KNITTING

I have completed a few more repeats of the pattern on the Luna Moth Shawl. It really slows down after a certain point...I think I am up to 339 stitches and approximately 60 inches in width across the top. I figure two more repeats (40 rows) and I will check to see if it is large enough.

Ravelry continues to suck a whole lot of time out of my life! It is really such a fun place. I've picked at least a dozen lace projects I want to start, which should be enough to get me through the next 2 years. But every day I go back, looking for more!

I've made some Ravelry friends, and I've joined the Lace Knitters' group, the Yarn Harlot Fan Club, Dolores' Devotees, the Brenda Dayne Fan Club, a Shawl Knitters' group, Jewish Fiberholics, and a couple of other groups. I haven't made any best friends, but I figure I'll invite a bunch of the kids for a sleepover and maybe things will just click.

In real life, or the real world, or whatever this is, I found out that my law firm has a knitting group which meets every Wednesday at 12:30. I wasn't able to go this week because I had a doctor's appointment, but I will definitely try it next week. I hope they are ok with a guy who knits, because I would hate to have to add everyone to my list of people I have to crush when I win the lottery.

I've made a tentative decision on the next shawl I'm going to knit. I've decided on the Swallowtail Shawl, which I hear (from people on Ravelry) is an enjoyable knit and looks really, really beautiful. Don't you agree?

Kwiky is thinking of knitting the same shawl. I can't wait for the pattern to arrive so I can cast on!