Bracing for Stitches

Tomorrow begins Stitches West.I finished the second Monkey sock in the Jungle Stripe colorway, and made 5 tiny knitted socks in all, and attached earwires. No pairs here, mix and match according to mood is the plan. I had hoped to get Sean's second sock finished, and I am halfway through it, ready to turn the heel, but I don't think I'll get it done tonight. I'm pretty much packed, have done my homework for the classes I'm taking, and have been trying to keep excitement levels in check. In my early childhood, I used to manage to get so excited I would throw up. I know now, from reading Oliver Sacks excellent book "Migraine," that behavior is actually related to migraines in children. They manifest differently than later in adulthood. I do know I used to get aura as a very young child. I had been doing pretty well for several weeks, and now I've had many days in a row with migraines. Drat.
Bengali cooking class was wonderful again. We all seem to have relaxed into each other's company. Arijit and Sangita had such a great program organized, more geopolitical and cultural background, and a lovely video of a river journey partway up the Ganges. The food was outstanding. Preparation is very complex in some of the dishes. This is definitely "slow food" and having an extended family situation to help with preparation as well as eating would be wonderful. Sangita wore an exquisite black and gold sari, and Arijit's was a pale ochre color, and looked very comfortable as well as elegant. He joked that as long as Sangita was wearing a sari for the class, he wasn't allowed to wear jeans.
They had a small display of some of the traditional kitchen implements, including a device used for slicing vegetables and other things. It was simple, but deadly looking. As many problems as I have with plain old paring knives, I'm not getting near this thing!
The first dish was light, crispy fritters, paired with the ginger cha. I adore ginger, but I should know better. It is such a major migraine trigger, and sure enough the next morning I had aura around dawn. It was worth it though, the experience of the meal and class was fantastic.
The other thing that is probably not helping my brain is the pollen. The acacia trees are bright yellow, covered with flowers, and the pine candles are loaded with pollen. Every gust of breeze causes a cloud of pollen to burst into the air. The cars and every outdoor surface look as if we have been hit with a chartreuse icestorm. We're irrigating our eyes and sinuses with normal saline several times a day, it feels wonderful and really helps. I'm hoping there's no one there with the flu or pneumonia, like last year. Fingers crossed, and Airborne is packed.