A polite request

To: The gnomes that live in my room and hide my stuff
From: A frustrated knitter

Dear Sir/Madam/Top Gnome/Whatever:
It has come to my attention that you have apprehended the knitting pattern I was about to start. Normally, this would have been tolerated for a few days. Yes, there are certainly other things I could knit. I understand that the holidays are upon us, and work is especially rushed and stressful. But was that really necessary just when I finally got gauge with my lovely yarn? I respectfully request that you GIVE IT BACK ALREADY.

Sincerely,
The human whose room this in fact IS, and don't you forget it!

Postscript, several hours later:
AHA! Thought you were clever, did you, hiding that pattern behind the books? In the future, please limit your scavenging activity to the pile of Red Heart Ickrylic in the far corner of the closet.

Thanks,
The Management.

A neat story

I tutor a little girl from the inner city on Tuesday nights. She's a total sweetheart and a huge blessing. But tonight, when she got out of the car, I noticed she was limping. Her right leg had several sores and a bandage. I asked her what happened, and she said she got stung by some sort of bug. My father, a physician, is also a tutor with the same program, and I called him over to look at her leg. It's infected. So while I was reading with my student, he called her family, then called in a prescription for antibiotics at a Buy 4 Less Pharmacy close to her house. He told the pharmacist about this little girl whose family simply can't afford antibiotics. The pharmacist told him, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Ten minutes later, the girl's mom had the antibiotics, free of charge.

Just thought you might want to hear some good news.

A woolly day

Today was the type of day that is positively perfect for wool. It started with a thunderstorm and was snowing by the time I was on the road. So I'm wearing my Hourglass Sweater, some socks from Lion Brand Magic Stripes, and earlier I also wore my Lunch Break Hat, Dreamswatch scarf, and Fetchings. It's such a joy to be able to keep others (and yourself!) warm with things you make from waving around string and sticks.

Good news on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan! I sent it through the washing machine, and it's back to its intended size. Machine washing the Silky Wool also gives the fabric a velvety texture. It's a good thing, too, because I really did not want to frog that sweater.

My goal this year is to knit six sweaters. I've got two-ish down, but now I'm having a hard time deciding what to knit next. For a while, I've been adoring Eustice from Berroco, but I have just barely not-enough sportweight wool for it.

Good news and bad news

Bad news: Because of the ice storm, I don't finish Biochemistry until Thursday.
Good news: Because of the ice storm, I don't have to take my Biochemistry final until Thursday!!!!!!

Good news: I finished my grandmother's Swallowtail Shawl, and it's simply lovely (although not yet blocked).
Bad news: My camera's batteries are dead and there isn't a single AA in the house. (Pitiful, ain't it?)

Good news: Our campus is closed tomorrow, so I get a snow day to knit and bake cookies and wrap Christmas presents and do fun stuff! (oh, and study my behind off)
Bad news: Um...thinking...nope.

And this week's Blogstalker - excuse me, last week's Blogstalker topic - is/was Your Favorite Invention of the 20th Century. Here's one of mine that came to mind this past week.

Clarification: DNA was not invented in the 20th century, I know. But its structure was elucidated in 1953 through the combined efforts of James Watson, Frances Crick, and Rosalind Franklin (and probably a bunch of research techs like me!). Not only is it the source of my job, it's just so elegant - four "letters" combine to make a girl, giraffe, or goat. How cool is that?!

Thoughts of the day

(Yes, I'm updating at work. What else am I going to do at almost 7:00 PM during a 10-minute centrifugation?)

1. Any experiment that involves:
a) nuclear protein extraction
b) rat liver
c) dry ice
d) a mortar & pestle that must be kept at -80 degrees Celsius (and used at -80 degrees Celsius)

is likely to be neither fast nor easy, no matter what the protocol booklet says.

2. The more you like your T-shirt, the more likely you'll get gunk on it, even if you're wearing a lab coat.

3. When they say "cold room," they're not kidding.

4. No matter where you stand and how much covering you're wearing, when you load a centrifuge in the cold room, you'll end up with a vent blowing directly down the back of your neck.

5. For some reason hitherto unknown, when you get bleach or even water on a lab countertop, the black countertop will get all over your clothes and WILL NOT WASH OUT (hence the lab coat).

6. When you see scientists on TV, movies, or advertisements, if their lab coats are white, they're faking it.

7. If you try to put two gloves on the same hand, it's time to go home.

8. If you feel naked when you take off your nitrile gloves, you're probably a molecular biology geek.

9. The more you want to go home, the longer it'll take to thaw the vial of standard that was in the -80 freezer.