I’m in my new role at work full-time now, acting just as a temporary back-up for my former teams for a little bit longer, so both the work and my brain have settled down a little bit. I’m not feeling scattered and overwhelmed like I was last week. But I am remembering the “fun” of a new job: that learning curve where you make normal mistakes which make you feel kind of dumb and incompetent for a while. I mean, yes, I know I’m not either of those things, and this job is a great fit for me and I’m loving it. I just like it better when I settle into a job and know what I’m doing. Anyway, less stress at work means my brain isn’t quite as tired at home, so I’ve actually been able to do some knitting! I’ve abandoned my sock monkey sock for now, probably because it’s brown and brown isn’t fun and colorful, and instead I cast on for my first Rose City Rollers.

The yarn is Indigo Boulevards 2-ply Sock, hand-dyed in Nebraska and purchased when the girl and I were there for a college visit. This is colorful and fun! And I couldn’t believe how quickly I got to the heel; I could get used to making short socks, I think.

My other little project is the girl’s Sockhead Hat. You might remember that this was one of her WIPs that I decided to finish. She’d gotten halfway through the ribbing when I started, and our gauge was crazy different. I tried to roll with it but couldn’t, so I frogged and started over.

I like it MUCH better now. This yarn is Malabrigo, I think. I love the colors. I’m just about ready to switch needles and start the stockinette body. This will be great travel knitting for all the end-of-year concerts. (And…graduation! Gasp!)

But the most fun thing that happened last week was unrelated to knitting. Lately the boy has been itching to learn guitar, and he’s more excited about it than I’ve ever seen him about anything. So we decided to give in and got him his first guitar, a gorgeous used Les Paul, and he’s in heaven.

We’ll get him started with lessons ASAP, but he’s spent the last couple of days teaching himself chords and he’s doing really well, apart from the sore fingers. And thankfully he can plug headphones into the amp when I’m tired of listening to him practice!

And for now, it’s cold and snow outside (hooray for Spring?) which means it’s perfect weather for snuggling with pups, drinking tea, and knitting!