So, Sunday, I decided I was going to finish the little BSJ and then cast on a Clapotis. I made *knitting plans*, people. And then, like a good little knitter, I proceeded to execute them. Everything was chugging along nicely until I got up to get the buttons for my little sweater and discovered that I didn’t have any that were suitable.

I kinda had a wee knitting meltdown at that point!

Call me crazy, but it took me 20 minutes and a phone call to convince myself that it was OKAY to go ahead and wind the yarn and start the Clapotis even though the BSJ wasn’t finished if I had taken it as far as I could with what I had here at home. Because I was absolutely NOT getting dressed and driving 20 minutes one way and then agonizing over buttons and then driving back home and sewing them on on Sunday. Not. Sometimes, I think I get a little too rigid with my plans. Just sayin’

My best friend once looked at me and said, “Cass, you are a little anal.” Well, Joan, it hasn’t gotten any better, apparently. But at least now I can laugh about it. Later.

Anyway, here is the BSJ, finished except for buttons:

And here is the caston Clapotis, in shades of pink:

Now then, now that the knitting is out of the way, let’s talk about a shiny thing. That One and I always say that when we abruptly change subjects in the middle of something we really ought to be finishing a discussion on. It’s apt, because we are both easily distracted, each having a great love for the sound of our own voice. Specifically, I want to talk about how one gets ready to buy gold bullion. If you’ve done it, were you more interested in the beauty or the investment value? Did you buy coins or ingots? And did you sell it later or do you still have it? If you sold it, were you pleased with the earnings growth, or do you wish you had held it a little longer? If you haven’t sold, why not–is it because of the market, or are you holding out because you have certain plans for that money and the time is not yet right? I mean, I know it’s gorgeous, and it’s sparkly and useful for decorating one’s self with, but what else do I need to know? What’s your personal 411 regarding it?

So, I am home tomorrow afternoon, and I think after I do a little tidying, and I do mean *little*, since I am currently in the middle of a plumbing disaster that has left me without running water, I am going to sit in my office on my nice comfy mattress and do some planning.

I’m going to be taking Thursdays off this summer, which will give me more time to focus on my kids and my writing and hopefully some dye work. I’ve been doing some thinking about how I want to go about it, in order to keep prices reasonable and also avoid huge cash outlays on my part, which I really can’t do anyway. And after all that, it should be around 2:30 and time for bonbons and soaps. But if I can’t find my bonbons, I might knit. We’ll see.

As some of you may know, I work two days a week in the pharmacy. I really enjoy it; the counting and attention to detail really appeal to my innate desire to be regimentally organized (yes, you may certainly read that as an anal retentive tendency, it won’t offend me at all). I have to say, though, that in 10 months time, I have never filled a prescription for Viagra for a woman. Not ever. I have, however, filled a goodly number of antidepressants, and have even considered them for myself. (I decided against it for reasons of my own, but I did consider it.) Which brings me to the subject line of “Now, that’s interesting.”

According to this Web MD study,

”Seventy-two percent of the women on Viagra vs. 27% of the women on placebo got to ‘much improved’ or ‘very much improved’ on a scale [of sexual functioning],” says Harry A. Croft, MD, medical director of the San Antonio Psychiatric Research Center in Texas and a co-author on the study.

Now, I had no idea antidepressants did that, especially since I know that depression also lowers libido. OTOH, since I’m ….um….not exactly married anymore, perhaps antidepressants might be an option for me after all. But without the side order of Viagra!

In crafty news, I finished a hat for Diva, since she asked for one. I gave it to her before I took a picture, and well, who knows where it is now. Basic black cotton-ease, go ahead and visualize it for youself.

In non-crafty news, I have a lot of blogging to do, good stuff on books and products and such and such and such. I’ll try not to flood your feed reader too much, but I do have about a six month backlog of stuff to talk about. Which, amazingly enough, roughly corresponds to my extended period of silence. Welcome back into my world, dear friends.

There, I said the worst thing first. I mean, I try to roll with the punches, and I have been known to let fly an expletive or two, but I rarely get told “don’t be a dick”, and it has certainly never happened repeatedly. Before I had even finished my first cup of coffee. But I will say this: after I got past the language he was using, I took more notes on Merlin’s keynote address than I took on any other session at IEAfest. He was phenomenol!

I had read on his blog just before i was left that he planned to change his focus over at 43 Folders, and so I was very curious which side of the change his presentation would most represent. He came down squarely on the new side, which is about getting your very best work out there. Every day, he said, you should write. You should write about your passion, and explain it to just one person whom you respect. And don’t be a dick stinker. And get better.

He also recommended a couple of books thatI do plan to get and read: On Writing by Stephen King and The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharpe. And ya’ll, the man is hilarious. In spite of the potty moth. He’s just funny.

As for the rest of Saturday, it was informative, and I learned several things about design, and some great plugins, many of which I have already started using. And then there was this:

I cleaned up as best I could in the sink after the hunt. the shirt I was wearing was a complete loss, and I am still waiting for a replacement to arrive. Hard to believe that I was able to get back to some semblance of normality with just water, and paper towels, isn’t?

I can’t believe how different I look in this picture with Marisa and Christine.

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Ok, I do have lots more Orlando stuff to talk about, and I also need to rave some more about Marisa and my now amazing hair and the t-shirt I ordered today, and I want to talk about a few other things to, SO! There’s just no way I can do all that in one post, or even two. Go get coffee, LOL!

What I want to talk about this very minute is diapers. And contests. And videos. And my amazing hair. Wait, that’s later. Sorry.

Have you ever felt like this “dad”?

Yeah, I know it’s a little out there, and I’ve never had a kid quite this “good”, I do still chuckle when I remember my first born son peeing in his own face when he was a couple of days old. I also laugh at dh when I recall that he has been peed on by all three of our boys, but none of them ever peed on me. So there. Anyway, the point of the video is to let you know about a contest where the prize is free diapers and wipes. If you will visit the Huggies contest, you will have the chance to tell your own funny diaper story and win coupons for free diapers. I like free, so I figured you might, too. And about that coffee? Don’t be trying to drink it while you read the entries. Just sayin’

This one is a freebie. I’m sharing it because I think some of you may enjoy it Of course, I could be wrong. I might not be funny to anybody but me.

I made something the other day, and I thought you’d get a kick out of hearing about it. Now most people, not being crafty like me, when they need new Bar Stools, go and pick out a nice stool like the one on the left, and they take it home or have it shipped, and they are quite happy. At least, that is what most people who are relatively normal would do.

But not me. You knew that was coming, didn’t you? I made my own bar stool the other night, and it was a very short stool, which might have been ok, since I am short, except that I made it completely by mistake. Let me share with you how to do it, in case you are interested.

First, inherit the dining room set that your husband ate at as a child. Heavy maple, if possible.

Second, begin to use it while you are a family of 5, and continue to use it for three meals a day until you are a family of ten.

Third, let one of your children get grown and leave home. (This step may be omitted, but it adds to the poignancy of the whole thing, don’t you think?)

Fourth, cook, on an otherwise ordinary evening, a delightful meal for your family. The better the food is, the more hilarious your trick will be. But bear in mind that you won’t be hearing the compliments so it should be something they have raved about before.

Fifth, serve the plates, walk to your place and lift up on your chair to slide it out so you can sit down and eat with your lovely, large, loud family.

Sixth, gape (with open mouth) at the sixty year old chair back when it detaches from the seat and you hold it in mid-air.

Seventh, and most important if you hope to maintain a shred of dignity, declare you wanted to eat at your desk anyway, and walk away looking smug.