**Sigh**

As it turns out, what looked like light at the end of the tunnel was really the headlight of an oncoming train, in the form of a ginormous final exam, posted today, due Friday by midnight. The good news is that the test originally due tonight is now due Thursday. Uh, what?

I'm going to go have lunch with the women from my Sunday School class, and then I'm going to come home and be a geometry head student. I got through the heel of my Inside Out sock, then did the 1st 25 rows of the leg. It's looking good, but I think the foot is a little long. I think I'm going to leave it that way, though. Or not. I just tried it on again, and it looks like I can pinch 8 -10 extra rows at the tip of the toe. Rats rats rats. Can't even operate a ruler.

I think there's a light at the end of the tunnel

My inner geek spent some 4 hours today playing with Geometry software (Geometer's Sketchpad), finishing the big project that is due Thursday by midnight. One big sigh of relief. There's still a test due tomorrow by midnight, and a smaller homework assignment due Wednesday night. I have done quite a bit of the test. Sometimes I need to take a long thinking break after I start writing a proof. [e.g. Can I do this? Or am I leaping to conclusions, skipping steps?] At least the professor is answering emails. I forgot to ask questions when I got stuck on the last test.

Knitting? A little -- another of the mumblety-teen works-in-progress, the Inside Out socks in STR mediumweight Monsoon, the February sock club kit.

It looks like another 13-14 rounds until I start the heel.

I would rather...

I would rather knit than do geometry. No surprise there. I did 10 rows of MS3 today, then worked on my way-too-long-on-the-needles Big Black Socks for Socks for Soldiers. I have never made a sock that took more than one 50g skein of fingering weight yarn before. Right now, they look like Big Black pedicure socks.

The legs could be an inch or so shorter -- at the time I was knitting them, there was some discussion about the legs needing to be 14" before the heel flap. And they look so skinny because they're 2x2 rib all the way down. The safety pins mark every 10th row.

I was a bit surprised to discover that I'd rather do housework than geometry. I spent the afternoon puttering around, picking up the stacks of old newspapers & catalogs, clearing off part of the coffee table. I should have been doing geometry. There's only one more week -- a test due Tuesday and a big project due Thursday. I can do this. I have to do this. Blah.

Busy, busy

It seems like it's been all geometry, all the time, around here, but really it hasn't. I am just 20 rows into clue 4 of MS3 right now, but I hope to pick it up and do 10 rows a day between now & when the next clue comes out on August 3rd. That's also the last day of my geometry class (hooray!).

Our crazy kitten reminds me of those little alien creatures on Buzz Lightyear. I just picture them saying "Ahhhh" as a group. The kitten runs for the refrigerator every time we open the door, and if she gets there before we close it, she has that same "Ahhhh" look on her face -- what is this wondrous place, brightly lit, with all these interesting smells? She also has to supervise every litter box cleaning, every document printed from the computer, every dish washed. She's a busy girl... who steals lettuce, and eats it.


Another trip to St. Louis & back home today, this time with the 15-year old as a passenger & my husband doing the driving. We took our son to spend about a week & a half with his uncle & cousin. I think they'll be working most of the time, believe it or not. The boys are about 7 months apart in age & get along really well. Anyway, I finished the knitting part of the project I mentioned working on last trip. It's the Doctor's Bag from Knit 2 Together, by Tracey Ullman & Mel Clark. I got the book from Amazon.com recently, for $5.50! It's still 80% off (go now! that's less than some individual patterns cost!). I used some lovely handspun bulky yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com, in a color that was labeled Black Forest when I received it, but something else when I ordered it. It's black/charcoal/grey, but the grey parts look purplish in sunlight. Really pretty. The stitch pattern is a herringbone, the fabric is thick & soft. Anyway, now there will be sewing together, finding handles & lining fabric, etc. So it could be awhile before it's really done.

Clue 3 done!

I did 30 rows of Clue 3 on Thursday, and the other 20 yesterday morning, so I'm caught up, not that there's a schedule. Clue 4 was released yesterday morning, 135 rows long; we won't get another clue for 2 more weeks. This one has added to the mystery -- a major change in the pattern on the last row, and we've been told to put in a lifeline at row 287, even if we don't use lifelines. Nothing seems to be special about that row -- there are 48 rows above it that don't seem different from the rows below that one.

I haven't started clue 4 yet, but I think I'm going to go do 10 rows or so. We have all this extra time so people can read Harry Potter (I still haven't read the previous 2 books in the series). My children will get first dibs, assuming we can pick up a copy of the book tomorrow, so it'll be awhile before I get to it, anyway.

We made a 6 hour round trip to St. Louis to pick up our daughter yesterday. The China-Back Complex Fire (more than one fire) was contained, so they were shipping people to other fires, and apparently no one had a spot for a trainee. So she came home. She's had a taste of what it's like to be out on fire detail, and I don't think she wants to go as a radio operator again -- too much like office work! I'm glad she's home.

I was able to get some knitting done on the way to the airport. Not MS3 -- that's not traveling knitting. I was working on a project I haven't previously mentioned on the blog. The surprise in all of this is that my chauffeur was a 15-year-old with a learner's permit. How much knitting would you have accomplished? He did really well -- we covered everything from winding country roads and twisty 2-lane highways to 8 lanes of interstate with speed limits up to 70 mph.

Clue 2 finished

Mystery Stole 3, that is.

I'm taking a day off from Geometry. Next homework is not due until Tuesday. So I did the last 20 rows of Clue 2, then the first 10 of Clue 3. Once I'm done here, I may just kick my son out of my chair and do 10 more rows. Clue 4 is going to be posted tomorrow.

I got paperwork in the mail from the school district today. W-4 forms (federal and state), retirement system enrollment, etc. So much to do, so little time! School starts August 15th! I know that's nearly a week earlier than last year, and the year before.

Our little helper kitty is just 3 1/2 months old or so. I was taking pictures of her and after that first flash, she sat down and posed nicely:

...in the kitchen sink. I don't know what she was doing in there; I just take the pictures.

Silver Anniversary

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary! Where have the years gone? It really doesn't seem like it's been that long. Wish I could find a picture from July 16, 1982. It would be pretty funny.

Our daughter is working at the local Forest Service office, as she has the past 2 summers. Last week, she finally got certified as non-operations personnel for wildland fire supression. That means she can go out on fire detail (2 weeks), but will be a radio operator at the base, rather than digging fire line. She was called today, to go out somewhere on the California/Oregon border. She's going as a trainee, with another woman from the local office. She's pretty excited. They drove to St. Louis this evening, flying out early in the morning.

I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that after several hours of work and some quantity of chocolate consumed, I finished my geometry test and have uploaded it.

Geometry or crochet?

How about both? Seriously, my geometry assignment a couple of days ago linked to this web page: Crocheting the Hyperbolic Plane. Go have a look. Scroll down to see crochet instructions. Keep scrolling to find pictures of actual, um, whatever they are. Maybe I could get extra credit if I make one ;-)

Actually, my grade right now is an A, so no worries... yet. He's a bit behind on grading the homework, so we got an extension on the due date for test #2. Originally due last night at midnight, it's now due Tuesday at midnight. Guess who hasn't started it yet. Instead, I did 20 rows on the Mystery Stole.

Geometry homework

"Can I help?"

Only 3 more weeks. So far, so good.

I've even managed to do some knitting. This is clue 1 of Mystery Stole 3. Clue 2 was posted last Friday, and I've done about 6 rows of it (out of 50). Next clue will be posted tomorrow. It's not a race, it's not a race. Besides, I have a geometry test due at midnight tomorrow, so I need to get that done first. My little helper (in the photo above) is stepping on my keyboard, making it a bit difficult to type anything that makes sense. We'll blame her for any typos....