Back to School

It's back to school and to celebrate, I broke down and ordered two skeins of Socks That Rock. Now I'll get to see what everyone has been raving about. That accounted for a little less than half of my Christmas money, so I'll sock away the rest toward a spinning wheel or weaving loom, unless my weak nature gets the better of me and I buy more yarn.

In the meantime, I've been plugging away at Samus, towards meeting my UFO resolution. I have hope to finish the bodice today, since I only have about 10 inches of the left front left to complete. Then onto the sleeves. The other two UFO's that I hope to finish are the Fall Dancing Widdershins and the Shifting Sands Scarf, both of which will be fairly quick finishes. Of course, I have numerous other UFO's but the momentum of finishing a few things often spills over. Then, watch out.

I went through my mending basket yesterday, just to clear out any old mending projects. Nothing like starting the year without any mending projects. Of course, in the midst of this morning's laundry duties, I found two more items that needed mending. Ironic, isn't it. It just goes to show that a woman's work is never done. One of my main frustrations with being a SAHM is that the majority of my labor never remains finished. Doing the dishes lasts only until the next meal is prepared. Clean laundry stays that way until it's worn five minutes. The newly swept floor lasts until the cat tracks through with cat litter on its paws or someone gets a snack of peanut butter on crackers. And don't even get me started on Murphy's Law concerning a freshly mopped floor!

One lesson my family has learned recently - the hard way - is how much effort really goes into maintaining the house. While I've been laid up with a back injury, the house has gone from bad to worse. At first, the kids were eager to help. It was a novelty to have new resposibilities. But the excitement soon waned and it became a drag to have to do the dishes again . . . and again . . . and again. And the clutter that ordinarily gets picked up by me as the day progresses began to pile up. It amazed my husband how much junk piled up while I was down and out. And the laundry that piled up with a defunct washer is downright scary.

Now that I'm a little better, I'm trying to dig myself out of the hole we're in. Although the family made a valiant effort to try and keep up, it just goes to show, even a family of 5 inexperienced workers isn't enough to replace one good woman. I guess it should feel good to be needed but then again . . . (sigh)