Fråtsing

While all my brain power is supposed to be going into the push to finish the Peer Gynt book, I'm still making at least an attempt to lead a normal life. E turned six yesterday, and I think he had a very nice day. One of the fun things about Waldorf school is that they make a really big deal of birthdays - he got to wear a regal cape and crown, and was attended by two friends. I brought cake and got to eat lunch and participate in the festivities. I totally over indulged while baking the cake - way too much cake batter, frosting, and candy decorations were consumed in the process. Not good. Tomorrow we're having a party for E here at home with about five of his friends - all boys, I'm afraid, little chauvinist that he is.

I've also been knitting, but it's such a drab color and pattern, and there is so little light for photography now in the darkest time of the year that it has seemed pointless to try to post a snapshot. I'm knitting the "Plain and Simple Pullover" (Ravelry link) and I have to confess that I have yet again frogged a sweater I knit myself that I wasn't entirely happy with in order to do so. The dark green fair isle yoke sweater I made earlier this year never quite worked out: it was too tight and the colors of the yoke ended up being too Easter candy cheerful. Of course I got lots of compliments on it, but it was just totally not my cup of tea. I was relieved to rip it all out and knit something, well, "plain and simple" out of the olive drab alpaca yarn (which appears to be holding up pretty well, by the way). I'm thinking of knitting up a quick hat out of all the short pieces of yarn left over from the yoke, maybe something like Urchin?

ETA: I managed to get close to a decent picture on Sunday morning, so here it is:

The color is almost impossible to photograph in the winter light.

Another confession: I have to admit that I'm counting the days until my little writing retreat. The ideas are percolating and I'm so excited about how the book is coming together. I can't wait to totally immerse myself into the project in the same totally self-indulgent way I used to back when I was a single graduate student. Every once in a while I think that kind of thing is healthy.