How many things can go wrong at once???

I guess I really don't want to know the answer to that one. Enough has gone wrong this week already, and more would be a bit much to handle...

My beloved miniature panther went walkies on Monday, and I haven't seen her since. I've just read some stuff about when I should be walking about and calling her, and that's 10pm - 2am, when it's quiet. Unfortunately, it's not a good idea to be wandering around alone then, so I'll have to recruit some help (and wandering around alone calling out "Evil" probably isn't the best idea either...). Tomorrow, I'll be doing flyers (finally managed to get to the store for printer ink...), and maybe someone will see her. I miss her most at night, when we go up to bed and she gets her 20 minutes of petting time. I find that I don't want to go to bed...

And Skew. Skew is killing me. The first attempt I was finding my brain saying, "Yes, this yarn is lovely, but it really isn't quite stripey enough..." When I got to the heel part and found that I had 2 too many stitches, I decided it was a sign that I should use a different yarn. Well, I had split some Lion Brand Magic Stripes yarn into two balls on the weekend, and so I figured that was a sign that I should use that yarn. So, I sallied forth. 3 rows left in the "heel" and then I noticed how very little yarn was left, and I panicked. I didn't think it was enough to finish the socks. So I pulled them off the needles. Well, having read the pattern, and realized that I'd be doing a bunch of short rows to fill in one side of the ankle, I now think that it would be close. So, put the socks back on the needles you say? Ah, no. I tried them on. I folded up the heel bit to see how it would look (because I will have a pair of these socks!), and found out that yea though I followed the pattern to the letter, yea though I had 7.5" pretty much exactly when I started the gussety bit, the socks are too long. By about 8 rows. So... I will be putting the socks back on the needles, but 8 rows back from the gussety bit. Which, of course, means I'll have more yarn when it comes to that short row section. But, darn it, this sock is being very annoying in the amount of "oops" that I seem to be having with it...

Some things have gone right, though. I remembered to file my state and school district taxes. With 23 whole minutes to spare, I finished the last bit. Oo-ee. The federal return was done some time ago because I was getting a refund. But, I owed Ohio, so I put off doing it. It's is done.

I also cut out the bits for a pigeon photo studio for Keith, and the plastic that I thought would just shatter in the table saw actually cut pretty well. A little wonky because the plastic could just barely slip under the fence at one point, but still quite usable. And since it cut so well, I cut out pieces to make covers for the fluorescent lights next to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom - the old ones were very yellowed and one was broken. Went to Lowe's to try to find something to make a corner out of, and found the perfect thing. For somewhere around $1.50. Perfect and perfectly affordable - that was impressive.

I even mowed the yard and didn't get a migraine afterwards! I did, however, forget to put on the mask I need to wear for lawn work when I raked the hay (the grass was awfully long...) later on in the day, and did get a minor headache. Which pretty much confirms the "I need to wear a mask" theory that I've been operating under...

Hopefully tomorrow will go better than today did...

Yip... I'm so skewed...

Okay, there I was with a pair of worsted toes on the needles, ready to be made into another pair of quick socks. But, I wanted to do something different with the heel. Something that was way out of the ordinary. I hadn't even decided what to do with the body of the sock, but I figured once I found my funky heel, I'd make that decision....

I found the funky heel! But not in a worsted-weight pattern! Enter "Skew"

OMG! Did I just die and go to funky sock heaven or what?!?!

So, now here I am with a pair of worsted toes on the 5's and I'm at the "mid-toe" section of Skew on 1's in standard sock yarn. And I am thrilled to pieces. The yarn I picked is not quite as stripey as I'd like, but it's still damned gorgeous. And I have learned two increases that were floating in the back of my head, just out of reach of ownership, and now they are MINE. And I like them so very much I don't think I'll ever use "make one left" and "make one right" on my toe-ups again. Nope. "Left-leaning lifted increase" and "right-leaning lifted increase" are the ones for me! So very happy!!

Now, if only my digestive system would come back onlne, I'd be golden!

But, at least I have the beginning of some really groovy socks!!