The Passage of Time

Well. I'm finally back. Where has all the time gone?

It's like I'm sitting in a time warp. The weather being so crazy hasn't helped matters any, either. The hottest it has been so far this summer is 80. Yes, you read that right. 80. I read and hear about everyone else in the country sweltering in the heat, and I'm outside wishing I could go swimming. I guess that's how things are when you live so close to San Francisco Bay. Fog, drizzle, and cool weather. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but when you've been away from home and lived in Sacramento for 12 years where summers routinely climb into the 100's, this is lovely but takes some getting used to.

So where have I been? Knitting, teaching, attending to family matters (Hubs and I are going to be raising our twin grands- they're three), and the whole gamut of things that occupy one's time and steal it without you being aware of it passing. The older I get, the faster time goes by. I'm not sure I like it. When I was a kid, the only time when time passed quickly was during summer vacation. Otherwise, the school year just DRAGGED on. And on. And on. But enough rambling. My one reader would probably like to hear about knitting. So be it.

I've got two sock projects going (well, four - I knit on two circulars and have two different yarns on each set), two ponchos (one for each of my grands), a wool soaker (for a friend who's expecting), a beaded scarf (class I'm teaching), a lace shawl (another class I'm teaching), a modular knitting thing (yet another class I'm teaching), and some more things which I'm probably not even aware of. I would love to knit some lace for myself, but I just don't have the time. There's that word again. No matter how much I knit, the more I fall behind. So what brilliant idea did I come up with? I decided to take up spinning again (after a 12-year hiatus) and bought a new wheel. There was a bright bulb in my head that must have exploded when I pulled that particular stunt. I've had the wheel for about two months now and haven't spun a damned thing on it yet. But I will. I WILL.

There is a possible bright spot in all of this chaos. After last night's first installment of my ongoing sock class, I may stop teaching altogether. I couldn't even get them to understand how to do a long-tail cast-on. These aren't beginners. These are women who have a minimum of three years' experience - or so they said. I'm a good teacher - I've taught countless people countless things in the knitting arena. So what was wrong with this group? I think I know. They're well-off, have too much time on their hands, get easily bored, and haven't thought for themselves in so long that when called upon to learn something, that part of their brain which deals with learning just doesn't work anymore. That has to be it. These people were using the thumb loop method of casting on for everything they made (and that amounted to... scarves.)

I think I may take up drinking.