Timmy's been down the well

Where have I been? Out of it. Bad case of vertigo, slowly getting better now. Hopefully it was only this
and will pass with time, and the exercises I've been (sort of) doing. After the first week, I did manage to get back into the routine with working and household stuff, but just more slowly than usual. Why are there no ailments that let you get things done even faster? Even knitting was slower, and when I would forget and turn my head to grab something or adjust the light, pow! spin! lurch! I suppose some people would pay extra for feeling drunk and disorderly without chemical help. Thanks, I've had enough now. Had a migraine in the middle of it all too, oh boy. Anyway, I'm back. I did manage to finish a pair of Austermann Step yarn socks, originally meant for Sean, but again there was some tragic error of non-swatching and not looking at size notes I had taken after the last Freudian error. Oh well, I had intended to make socks for someone else special in my life out of this yarn too, so hopefully she has received them by now. I mailed them off without a picture, the camera was about 20 feet away, might as well have been a mile. They are a simple ribbing with cables up the sides, she'll have to wait till fall and cold weather to wear them, it's about 90 already where she is. Maybe she can take a picture modeling them I can post later. I immediately cast on some actual man socks for Sean out of some Mountain Colors Bearfoot; knit a few rows and had him try them on. Yup, they fit. I'm using a wavy rib pattern from one of the Sensational Knitted Socks books which I love, and had spiral bound at Kinko's, fantastic idea from someone on the SockKnittersList
I also frogged a project, originally intended as man socks, of some uber-dark Schaeffer Anne, pure torture for my eyes, and cast on for the Ostrich Plume Scarf from Anne at Knitspot I'm still struggling with the dark color (and lace!) but use a white towel on my lap and good daylight hours. Zoe Godzilla seems particularly drawn to this yarn (the mohair content perhaps?) and often wants to sit in my lap and supervise, so helpful, thank you. But it's coming along, maybe half way done; until it's blocked, the pattern doesn't look like much, does it?
I had also been struggling with what to make with the April installment yarn from Rockin' Sock Club, it's beautiful, something new for them called Silkie. Love the yarn, the pattern not so much. To me it just didn't show off the yarn, and also was another toe-up pattern, which I just didn't want to tackle right now. I actually swatched and then pattern searched and considered a long time; finally cast on for Tropicana from MagKnits. Goal!
It's gorgeous, I'm so excited, can barely keep from putting it down to work on the other two OTN projects. I think it really shows off the colors. The yarn is really soft, a little challenging to work with, partly due to my dizzy head and inattention, as well as the classic "just one more row" syndrome, which has caused me to have to tink back a row several times. At one point last night I actually pulled one circular completely out of a row of stitches, which caused no end of colorful language and then 47 minutes of laboriously picking up slippery, evasive loops and counting. I can't explain it; aliens must just suddenly take over my hands and my brain.
We've also had cat excitement and entertainment.
Brigid brought in 6 gophers in one 24-hour period, 4 of them during one hour while we were watching Survivor. That was way more exciting than Survivor itself this season. She and Zoe have been doing more tussling and chasing around the house, as well as spending nights outdoors. Doing what, we have no idea and they are not telling. Brutus mostly sleeps and eats and lounges like the emperor he is, except when provoked with fresh catnip, at which time he will deign to "play" for 0.87 minute. And then look accusingly at us as if to say "now see what you made me do!"