2003-09-08

2003-09-08 - 2:33 p.m.

A few of you are aware just how hellish my job has been lately. (And across the building, L is also having no.fun.at.all.) Today it came out that my supervisor will retire in March.

Things are about to get very interesting.

2003-09-08 - 9:34 a.m.

Of course as soon as I made that bold statement about not working on projects, it became clear that again, my bed had rejected me. So last night I fell asleep about 1:30 watching Sex and The City while knitting. Sigh. At least the watchcap is almost finished. And it's cushy soft. Wish I could wear wool.

It is a huge relief to know that after Wednesday, I have no presents to give until November (when there are five, yow). I'm almost finished with a year of handmaking all gifts, and though it's been fun and challenging, it's also been exhausting. You have to plan this stuff! I tend to get a little carried away with gifts, too. Last year for Christmas I made: ginger, strawberry, and cinnamon liquers; marinated homemade mozzarella balls; corn rye and cottage cheese-dill rolls; three-citrus and blood orange marmalades; and two kinds of hamantaschen. But it was all significantly cheaper than buying gifts. Okay, except for the cordials - that was a lot of brandy, rum and vodka to buy.

The reason I'm thinking about all this now, in September, is because that stupid 8 Cups Tarot card keeps popping up. 8 Cups is all about the exhaustion caused by over-giving. It's about over investment in things that don't give back. I've had this card, no kidding, fourteen times out of the last twenty pulls. I know the odds; I understand that this is all coincidental. Nontheless, there's a message here. So that's my next project: instead of knitting or bookmaking, cooking or exercising, I'm going to devote an hour of the day to being quiet. Hopefully going back to yoga will also help; that was always a centering activity. My goal is to be able to sleep in the bed again.

2003-09-07 - 5:35 p.m.

I can hear the vegetarians screaming. Turn, piggy, turn!

As you probably guessed, these are shots from the Greek Festival on Saturday. We went, we ate, we rolled home. Here's a shot of Daddy's Platter o' Death: a fat ton of spit-roasted lamb, salad and pilaf. I went for the spanakopita and calamari instead.



We split a plate of loukemades (sp?), which are greek-style doughnuts dredged in a honey syrup. Oh yum. I will be working out like a madwoman all week.



The festival is a fundraiser for St. Basil's, the Greek Orthodox Church. There are plenty of vendors and fun things to do, but my favorite was watching one of the elderly priests dip candles with the little ones.



While we were eating lunch, Daddy started laughing really hard. Trying not to choke on his Mythos (Greek beer), he pointed over at another table.



Piggy head on a platter! And the little girl is chomping a doughnut right next to it, completely unconcerned. Now that's cultural acceptance.

It's been a very good weekend (Happy Birthday L!), but I'm really tired. It's time for a couple of days off from projects and the like. As JL noted in her comment on the last entry, I make a lot of stuff. I have four knitting projects underway, plus two books and the developing food blog. Next weekend Art Teacher is coming to visit, which means cooking and lots of intense conversations. In fact, the next *five* weekends are booked solid. To make things more entertaining, I can't sleep in my bed - I just lie there. So I'm on the couch every night, which means not much sleep. Project vacation it is.

Hope y'all had a good weekend. I'm going to take a nap while War Games is on TV. Heh.

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