slight lapse in concentration

Well, I go back to work tomorrow. I don't think I will ever get over the shock of how fast a holiday disappears, I am amazed every time.
As usual, I did not get half of what I wanted to get done, but have decided to think about the time passed in terms of achievements.
In no particular order:

• I finally managed to buy some new clothes that a) fit and b) don't make me look uncannily like a pig in a wig (I have still to find a bikini that doesn't make me resemble an egg with two rubber bands around it, but one step at a time). I now have more than one pair of trousers that fit and a couple more tops. This is a yay.
• I 'accidentally' joined facebook. Was not pleased with myself but have now managed to track down some people I haven't seen for years, so there's a silver lining. And not just people I have deliberately not seen for years!
• I spun a lot of yarn. I finished the laceweight Merino/Silk in Octopus' Garden. This is a 2-ply, 1200 metres to 130g, with the glow you only get from silk. Yes, I don't mind admitting I am disgustingly pleased with myself over this one. Took forever, and I think it will become this year's summer lace project. This is some BFL/Soy worsted weight 2ply (colourway name long forgotten, it was a fibre-club installment, anyone remember?). And some Optim/Bamboo Navajo aran weight, Bilgola. Oh, and some Merino/Angora (95/5) aran weight, navajo again, Big Top. And some more BFL/Soy navajo, this is about an 8ply, Boutique Skies 2. Let's just sum up by saying that the new wheel Crispin (thanks again, Naomi) is getting plenty of action, as it were. All fibre, care of the lovely Mandie at EGMTK.
• Some knitting happened. The Merino/Angora Big Top became a hat very quickly. It's the scallop-edged hat from 101 one-skein wonders - very cute pattern! Nothing else worth flashing really, and the black-lace-shrug-o-doom got partially frogged and re-worked. We're not thinking about deadlines over here, ok?
• The olds returned from Europe this morning and, far from being shattered from jetlag, are actually quite perky and about to show up on my doorstep. Odd really, the day before they left I dyed my hair red and now, 6 weeks later, i have almost an inch of regrowth and barely any colour left. (Is that rapid hair growth, btw?).
• My skin went to Hell in a handbasket. No explanations for that one, might be a reaction to a new, gluten-free diet?
  
• TSS had her gorgeous opening of Playing House yesterday and managed to look remarkably serene through the whole palarva. I do not know if this was genuine serenity or the kind of punch-drunk serenity that sometimes comes over one when one is secretly convinced that there is nothing bad left to happen, but either way I was impressed. The houses were too. The whole event was faSHinating.

Monkey, the buns and I are quite well.
Hope the last two weeks have been enjoyed by all.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. Monty says "Hi. Are you food?"