Quick Check-in

I'm at Sis's place in the Wyoming mountains again, and am dropping by to show how much I've accomplished of the list of chores I had lined up for the summer.  Here's a re-cap:

 

Finish polishing up an article and get it off to a journal for publication

Plan and execute a birthday party for my dad

Visit the sister

Give a talk for the state archaeological society's field school

Massage a course to accommodate a new textbook

Knit a pair of socks for the Emperor for Christmas

Finish the dadgum Jupiter Cardigan

Get the craft room in order

Solve the Great Bag Dilemma (again)

1.  Article Polishing: On the way to and from Dad's place, I visited an archives where I found some more fantastic primary source information to include in the article, which I am happy to report is much further along that I thought it would be.  I brought all the stuff with me to Sis's place, and I have plenty of quiet time to play with it.  I'm hoping to have a good final draft done before my return to Smack In The Middle.

2.  Massaging A Course: I worked on that last night.  This is really a matter of re-arranging the order of my already-finished lectures to match where they appear in the current text.

3.  Jupiter and Sock: They are sitting right beside me, and in odd moments I pick them up.  I'll probably work on the sock more next week, when I head for 'Way Out West to visit my old friends.  We spend a lot of time just hanging out and yakking, so I find myself naturally reaching for the yarn.

4.  Craft Room: Maybe when we get back, I'll carve out some time to do this.  I did some work earlier this summer, but kept being interrupted by Actual Worky Work.

Dad's party was nice.  It ended up being about twenty-five people but wasn't as expensive as I thought it might be, as we were in a Good Restaurant.  Dad was pleased, and we got to see family members I hadn't been with for a good twenty years.  The only downside was that The Passage of Time was made painfully evident to me.  But as we said at the time, birthdays may be tough but the alternative is unthinkable.

I solved the Great Bag Dilemma again by recruiting my fabulous and fashionable friend Miz C-- when we were together in California a few weeks ago.  She has an unerring sense of style, particularly in the area of shoes and bags, so we took a couple of hours to peruse handbags at Marshall's.  I came away with a very nice specimen that not only has two outer pockets, but a good-sized zipped inner pocket that my organizer fits into perfectly.  I can carry everything I need, plus a small knitting project, and the bag does not look over-stuffed.  I can even get my calendar in there!  Plus, I did not break the bank.  We also picked out a nice school bag, but I didn't sprig for it at the time.  I plan to hit a Marshall's on the way home and see if I can get a similar one.  At least now I know what I'm looking for and how much I can expect to spend (not much, in this case).

So for the moment, we are having some good quiet (and productive) time, and soaking in some rest for the upcoming autumn and winter.