Catching Up

It's been a really busy fall so far, and entering November only means more grading, more craziness, more dancing and choreographing, and more planning for the second half of the semester.  I have so many projects and so many things to do that I'm getting whiplash from looking around at the piles and lists and the laundry needs to be done and for the fourth day in a row I have 30 minutes for dinner before I have to run to dance and...
That's what the entire last two weeks have felt like.  Non-stop running made me feel like I was falling behind on everything, from grading (which is true) to knitting (also pretty true) to keeping the apartment livable (a guy and two cats can make a fairly quick mess).
Then, this weekend came.
I didn't have anywhere in particular to be.  No driving to a wedding out of town or any truly solid plans to speak of.  Only two days to catch my breath, catch up on life, and make a meal that didn't go directly from the box to my mouth.  I have to admit, it's been quite glorious.
Yesterday was a lot of grading, since that's my number-one priority this weekend.  Instead of feeling buried by the avalanche of close to 100 papers to read and comment on, I sailed through the first section and a half.  I have a number of them left today, but I don't feel nearly as behind or rushed.  In fact, I feel confident in getting them done (knock on wood).
I didn't knit anymore on Milo yesterday; instead, Scott and I took about an hour break together in the afternoon to hang out together.  He read more in Dance with Dragons, and I cast on for another Christmas knitting project.  I'm calling them "Toasty in Tofte" in Ravelry, since the recipient lives up the shore from us.

I just made this pattern for another friend, and for that pair, I didn't do the Latvian braid for the edging.  I had a really bad experience with twisting and tangles the last time I did a braid, so I improvised something that wasn't nearly as cool.
This time, however, the recipient is a knitter, so I had to do it right.
I found out that doing the Latvian braid on mitten edging is much, much easier than doing it on almost 400 stitches for a shawl.  Hmmm. Must remember that for the future.  I even knit through the cuff in to the main part of the mitten before heading back to the grading table.  Now I have a project that can travel around with me set up and ready to go.
Today will be for finishing more grading (huzzah!!), getting down to the climbing gym this afternoon, and hopefully a little bit of Armadillo knitting tonight.  Hopefully Scott and I can fit in making some delicious vegetarian chili to nom on during the week as well.
And who knows?  Maybe I'll finally get around to cleaning up the pile of clothes that have accumulated in the closet.
Weekends are for making miracles happen. ;)