Friday Quote Day

"Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense."

~Thomas Arnold Bennett

How's that for a cool quote for the second week of a "certain task?" Heh.

I had to start moderating comments yesterday. I guess it means I've arrived in the world of blogging when I start getting random spam comments. These were weird, though. You'd probably never have found them, as they were on posts that were several months old. At any rate, I love comments from you ... just not from those nasty spammers.

And speaking of comments, Gaby called me 'scary' yesterday! HAH! She was all worried about her grammar.

I would never criticize how you write or speak [well, except for Mr. Shrinking Knitter]. I only pointed out the lapse in usage of more than/less than because our new Speaker of the House said it and the New York Times quoted it. I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if it hadn't been drilled into me by that editor. [If you're new here, this is what I'm talking about.] And Jonathan pointed out that usage has changed over the years, as language does, so feel free to call me an old fuddy-duddy.

But not scary.

Anyway, Gaby posed this question:

Aren't human beings designed to be preoccupied about food if the supply is uncertain?

I suppose we are, or at least the Neanderthals were. Which is why they went around hunting and gathering and such. If that's all there is to it, then we have a problem of perception. Even though the freezer is stocked and the pantry is full, we must think we're about to run out, and therefore must fill up at every opportunity.

Which, if you're sittin' 'round the shanty pretty much means all day.

You don't see fat wild animals, but you do see fat domesticated ones. Maybe that means we should all get wild, eh?

Gaby also asked for 'any advice you can offer,' but I'm unclear as to whether she wants advice on giving up alcohol or becoming less preoccupied with food. So Gaby, if you're still reading, e-mail me at shrinkingknitter AT citynet DOT net and we'll talk.

Training update: I've been following the prescribed half-marathon training regimen almost to the letter. I'm still not good about doing strength-training, but the continuous running is getting easier each time I hop on the treadmill. Yesterday's mail brought the registration confirmation for the Country Music Half-Marathon, along with a training t-shirt that I couldn't resist ordering when I signed up. And I uploaded my latest running mix to iTunes yesterday – these songs are the perfect beat to keep my short legs moving.

•••

Now's the time on Sprockets where we knit! [Raise your hand if you can see Mike Myers in a black turtleneck in your mind!]

First, I finished the Snakes and Ladders Gansey! I'm going to make a little care instruction card and send it off today, to welcome an adopted child who is coming from China to Wisconsin. From what I hear about the weather there, he might not need a wool gansey in Wisconsin this winter. I hope he'll get to wear it. Actually I hope it fits! It matches the schematic for a 12-month size, and he looks small from the photo I've seen. [Fingers crossed.]
Next, I've been sorting, organizing and culling the stash. I bought two more large – excuse me, LARGE – lidded plastic tubs which are now full. That makes six, and that's just the oddballs that won't fit in the yarn closet. One entire tub is full of sock yarn. So full I could barely get the lid clicked shut. At least the next time I'm in a get-rid-of-it mood it'll all be in one place. [And why can't the get-rid-of-it mood coincide with the organize mood?]
Finally [no photo for this one], I started a beret with the leftover Patons SWS I used for the Lucy Bag a couple months ago. I. Love. This. Yarn. I didn't have enough to do the whole hat, so am mixing in some similar colors of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride to stretch it.

I'm definitely having some fitting issues with my knitting lately, and the beret is going to be too big. Fortunately it's wool and, thus, shrinkable. A woman in the knitting guild I used to belong to slightly felted a beret once and I hope mine turns out as nicely as hers did.

Wouldn't it be great if we could just jump around in a hot shower, rinse off in a cold one and come out shrunken, just like wool?