Oh! Hello There!

Did I say I was going to start posting again? Yes, well, about that... You see, work is nuts. No, really, it is totally insane. So insane that we just got a cautionary memo that the near-term deadlines will be met even if it takes working weekends. Um, has anyone been watching the time stamps on the emails around here? Yes, we are already working long hours, weekends, and, if we had any holidays, we would be working those as well.

Today is Monday and I'm in Pittsburgh! Okay, so I'm only in Pittsburgh long enough to soak up some free wi-fi, check my BlackBerry, and head back on a plane to Baltimore. It has been a while since I last traveled for work, but it is going pretty well. Oh, there was that little mishap when I left my drivers license at Security. Mr. Engineer rescued me by rushing my passport to the airport well before my flight was boarding and the TSA folks found the license anyway, so now I can rent a car when I arrive tonight! Given how much traveling I have been doing this year, you would think that I could handle a simple business trip! We will not speak of what my carbon footprint looks like this year. It's not pretty.

Traveling is good for knitting. As I waited for my flight from Minnesota to California two weeks ago, I cast on for Evelyn A. Clark's Pacific Northwest Shawl. I've wanted to do this one for years and I gave in to an urge for laceweight as I was driving to the airport that day. I'm also nearing the finish line for my version of Basic Black. Yesterday, I blocked the fronts and back. One sleeve is finished and the other is about 2/3 finished. I picked up buttons on Sunday and brought the entire project with me to see if I can wrap it up in the hotel room this week. It would be really fun if I could wear it before the week is up! No guarantees of that because I will also be spending evenings catching up on email. We'll see. I have plenty of options if I can't get to sleep!