Work has been utterly insane.  For most of this year, I have been doing the jobs of 3 and 4 people by myself.  I finally get to hire my assistant, and replace the staff member who retired at the end of December.   That will take a great deal of stress off of me.  It comes with its own new set of stress, of course, but at least it will be different.

The New Year’s Debauchery at Stupid Big House went well.   Nothing broken, no major injuries, no serious drama.

On my daily commute, I’ve been reading a lot.  I decided to re-read all of the Wheel of Time series before I started on the latest book, The Gathering Storm.  I think Brandon Sanderson did a good job with Jordan’s “voice”.  There were differences, but nothing so outrageous that it pulled me out of the story.  Now that I’ve finished that, I plan to re-read the Shanara books, and add in all the ones I haven’t read yet.  Or, I could go with Stephen R. Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant books.  I may have to flip a coin.

Sewing hasn’t been happening much.  Sven needs a serious tune up, and the embroidery portion is just not happening.  I have a winter coat to finish, but all I have left is the fiddly bits, and I hate working on the fiddly bits.

I have been knitting a little more.  And I even crocheted the other day!  I am working on the “Spanish Armada” shawl, the “Irish Diamond” shawl, the “Spanish Christening Shawl”, several pairs of socks, a blanket, and I need to make a new pair of convertible mittens for myself. 

I’ve been staying away from the computer at home for the last several days, so I’m getting much more yarn stuff done.

In December, I had to travel to Iowa for my older brother Tom’s memorial service.  It was sudden and unexpected and I’m still not quite sure how I feel about it.  There was much drama with my mother and her trip to Iowa.  She ended up missing the service because she became ill on the train she was taking from Pittsburgh.  She wound up in a hospital near Chicago while the rest of us who could make it went to Iowa.  I’m sure my sister could say a few things about getting Mom back home, but we’ll try to keep it clean here. 

So, that’s pretty much everything that’s new.  Not a lot to say.

Faire season has come and gone, with the major high point being TOH’s and Silver’s job sharing.  It was really nice to be able to spend time with my husband.  I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but one of these days, I’ll put up the ones that I did take.  And maybe last year’s.  And maybe the 2009 cruise pictures, too.

Silver’s new garb turned out wonderfully, and eventually I’ll have pictures up.  We’re already thinking that for next year, we need to create something outrageously ostentatious.

The winter blahs seem to be setting in early this year, though.  All I want to do is sleep.  And then sleep some more.  And have a nap when I wake up.

Work is still quite insane.  I finally have a list of candidates for my assistant position.  But, the list presents new problems of its own.   I need to pick and choose between candidates, set up interviews, check references, etc.  But I have all of these other tasks to work on as well.  There’s too much to do, and never enough time to get it all done.

The commute is still meh.  Normally the trains run great, and it takes me about 3 hours round trip to get to work and back.  Lately, though, the traffic on the roads between the house and the train station has been ridiculous.  It has been taking me an average of 40 minutes to drive the 6.7 miles.  To add insult to injury, Tuesday night’s train home broke down, and it took me 3 hours to get home.  I spent about 5 hours in transit that day.

I want to get back to sewing, but motivation has been lacking.  Klumpen says I ought to make a list of all the things I need/want to work on, so maybe I’ll tackle that sometime soon.  Sven still needs to go in for servicing, and the laptop we were using to run the pattern making and embroidery software has kicked the bucket.  My personal laptop has also died.  Apparently, laptops do not like me right now.

Music-wise, there have been a couple concerts since I’ve posted.  Back in August, we went to see Carbon Leaf and Great Big Sea at Wolf Trap.  We had fantastic seats, in row 2 of the orchestra pit.  Which can be a liability when the kids say something to make me laugh hysterically during one of the quieter songs.  (Sorry, Bob.)  Then last month, the kids and I went to see Guster at the 9:30 Club.  It was a great show, as always.  They played all of “Lost and Gone Forever”, in order, as well as a bunch of other stuff and 2 new songs.  They did a few songs that they rarely play, had a guest string section, horn section and children’s choir.  And, of course, Scooter with Cowbell.

I have been reading voraciously lately.  In the past month or so, I’ve read Company of Liars, Elantris, Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and Warbreaker.  I’m currently working on The Hero of the Ages and after that will either read The Gathering Storm (which is a continuation of the Wheel of Time (WoT) series, written by the author of most of the other books I’ve read lately), or The Autobiography of Henry VIII, or maybe even go back and reread some of the later books in the WoT series before I start on the newest one.

So, that’s what’s new here.

Seriously. It feels like it was just a couple weeks ago that we threw the NYE party at the stupid big house and were packing for the February cruise.

But, here it is, September, and tomorrow is TSM’s 13th birthday. Yes, why yes I am having a bit of a freak-out about that, thank you. My baby is turning 13. I will officially have two teenagers living in my house. The “good” news is that Klumpen won’t be a teen for much longer, since she’ll be turning 20 in nine months.

But, back to TSM. He’s not quite so “Short Man” anymore. In fact, he’s nearly as tall as I am, and I expect him to be even taller by the end of this school year. He’s a good kid, and is turning into a fantastic person. We like hanging out with him, and he seems not too terribly embarrassed by us as well.

So, tomorrow, in all the remembrances of 9/11, remember that it was a great kid’s birthday first.

In work news, I still do not have an assistant. I keep hoping the job posting goes out soon, but there are other issues that keep jumping in line ahead of mine. And then I have to hope that I actually find someone in the pool of qualified candidates that I think will work well with A) me, B) my team and C) the Division. Add in interviews, background checks, and all the other bureaucratic red tape, and it will be December at least before I have anyone here.

In the meantime, the stress of not having enough time to do what needs to get done is causing the “tension-related migraines” to reoccur (not that I think it ever really went away in the first place, but, whatever…). So I took yesterday off, and now the headache is even worse because I have to try to catch up from yesterday.

I have been trying to knit a little more often again. I finished the Mystery Shawl that I started in June of last year, but still haven’t blocked it. I also finished the Seascape Shawl that I’d started back in March of 2008. I also still haven’t blocked it out, but Klumpen did dye it from a boring vanilla to an interesting green for me. I also found the pair of socks I thought I’d lost, and have been working on them. I finished the first, and am now at the heel flap of the second.

Sewing wise, I’ve been working on Silver’s garb first (he is paying me after all!) before I work on my own. I did help Klumpen finish a shirt for TSM, but he hasn’t worn it once. He’ll probably grow out of it before he gets around to wearing it. I have yet to make anything for myself. Hopefully I can work on something soon. I still need to either adjust or remake my Italian gown, and I still want to make the red velvet Italian with the crazy cutwork sleeves. But, being so tired I can’t see when I get home tends to put a dent in those plans. I do need to make a new pair of velvet tights, though, to replace the ones I ripped when I fell this past Saturday. My knees hate me right now, but they seem to be healing well enough.

Speaking of garb, Faire has started again. We’re already two weeks into the season. TOH and Silver are trading days at the booth, so I actually get to spend time with my husband! And it tickles me immensely. But, I do miss having my brute squad – with Deuce in Wichita through this week, and then working weekends now through the end of season, as well as Spyke working at Faire, I’m left to my own devices. Not that that’s a bad thing all the time. I still wander around and greet everyone I know, and a few I don’t. (“Honey, honey, come meet my new toy!”) I’ve met a few new people this year, and spent a little more time with people I met last year. I probably still spend the most time with the DoRTs, though, since they’re my some of my favorite people.

So, I think that’s all the news so far. At some point, I’ll put up last year’s faire pictures, and the few I’ve taken this week. Most pictures of me are over on Facebook in other people’s albums, which is ok by me. I’m more often the one taking the pictures anyway.

For now, it’s back to work.

It’s bad when you can’t even come up with a title for a blog post.

That’s how wiped I am these days.   I’m currently sitting in my new office, surrounded by blue packing crates.  I can’t unpack my crates until the facilities staff come up to rearrange my file cabinets.  And I haven’t been in my office long enough for them to do that today.  Everytime I left my desk today, I’d come back to find I’d missed a phone call.

June 29th

Wow. I started this nearly a month ago. I guess that just proves how insanely busy I am these days. I’m still glad I took the new job, but it’s wearing me out unbelievably.

When I first started this position (back in August 2008), I kept saying, “When XYZ is over, maybe I’ll have a little more time to think.” Well, several “XYZ” things have come and gone, and I still have no time to think. I still spend most of my time reacting to things. Planning is just an item on my wish list.

I’ve been staying away from the computer a little more when I’m at home, though, and spending more time knitting. I’ve finally finished my “Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl” (except for blocking) and my Seascape Shawl (also except for blocking), and I’ve been working steadily on the “Rosy Fingered Dawn”. I’m up to Row 74 or so, and making good progress.

I started to sew a couple weekends ago, but then Sven decided to be a bitch and jam at the slightest provocation, so I ended up walking away in frustration. I was trying to take in some of my suits for work, because the stress of the new job has resulted in a drop in weight. Not that I’m complaining that I’ve lost weight! Yay weight loss! It’s just the method of weight loss that’s a problem. And the fact that I don’t really have the disposable income to go out and buy a new wardrobe for work. So, I need to take in my clothes. Which is almost as time consuming as starting from scratch.

Music wise, we’ve been to a few concerts since the last time I posted. We saw Gaelic Storm in early April. It was a great show. There was a kitchen fire. At the end of May, the kids and I went to see Carbon Leaf. It was also a great show. There was also a kitchen fire. (Are you sensing a trend here?) In mid-June, TOH and I went to see Cowboy Mouth. It was another great show. Luckily, there was no kitchen fire. (I was getting a little worried.)

House wise, we threw a big party at the end of May for Klumpen’s birthday/start of summer/whatever. It went well. No one died. Nothing was broken. No horrible messes to clean up.

So, I guess that’s everything. Or at least the bullet points.

My life has been a bit crazy lately.

Work is kicking my ass.  There is so much to do, and never nearly enough time to get anything done.  I have been working 10 hour days fairly consistently.  When you add my 3 hour round trip commute on top of that, it doesn’t leave much room for anything else.  By the time I get home most nights, it is nearly 8 pm, and too late to do much of anything beyond eat and head to bed.

So, I’m sure people think I’m being antisocial and a bitch that I never respond to any social invitations (the few that I get that is), but I’m too tired to do much else.  I hope that some day I’ll be a little more settled into this job, and will have time to go visit friends, but that day is not in the near future.

I am moving my office next week, and while I’m trying to pack my own stuff, I’m helping the other 26 or so people who are moving.  As well as planning for the move 2 weeks later of an additional 50 people.

I’m also working with our Human Resources office to fill about 20 vacancies that the Division has, as well as bringing on board summer interns.

The kids and I are going to a concert on Friday night, and on Sunday we’re throwing the “Spring Shindig at the Stupid Big House” for Klumpen’s birthday.

So, I’m pretty wiped.  Happy Spring.