First Week

I'm about halfway done with my first week of school, and it's been a little overwhelming so far.  Going from the relaxing vibes of summer, where the time of day is regulated by the sunlight and my stomach, to very regimented schedule and 8 am classes and combing my hair and putting on teacher clothes every day has been mildly jarring.

I'm battling it by staying as organized as possible, trying right off the bat to connect the names and faces of over 100 new students, and keeping a super positive attitude.  After three classes yesterday, I came home exhausted from being exuberant in class.  Being pretty zonked had its benefits, though- all I wanted to do was chill out on the couch for a little bit to knit.
Which I did.

The Northlady Mittens are coming along splendidly.  At first, the little "this is going to be too big" alarm was ringing red lights in the back of my head...

but when on my hand, it's fine!  Plus, they're also going to be double-layered.  The outside is what you see- Cascade 220 in a Scandinavian Snowflake design.  The inside mitten will be knit- similar to the Molly Mittens- with Blue Sky Alpaca yarn.  This makes a durable, workable outside and a super soft, fuzzy inside.  The recipient tends to go dogsledding up in Alaska, so I thought these would be a great addition to her winter wardrobe!  Plus, if it knits up well, I'll be cranking out another pair for a Christmas present.
I really want to finish these mittens fast- ideally by right around September 10th.  Why then?  Because my awesome old high school friend Sarah will find out whether her little one on-the-way will be a boy or a girl!
I have a few projects in mind for this baby's appearance, but one in particular will require me to decide whether I should go blue or pink.  I know it's not really a huge deal, but... eh, may as well wait. :)  Gives me a solid deadline for getting other projects out of the way, and plenty of time to finish Baby's gift before Sarah's baby shower!
The hot and humid days are supposedly in decline here in Northern Minnesota, and not a moment too soon.  I need to get out and run off some of that extra ice cream I've been nomming on before fall climbing season gets here... and a sweet climbing trip on the horizon... :)