So here we are again.

Once again, it's November and I'm lagging on this whole blogging thing. I'm usually decent at the outset before eventually petering out, but this time I seem to have failed to even make it out of the starting gate.

Thing is, it's been that sort of a week. Actually, scratch that-- it's been that sort of two weeks. Two Sundays ago, my condo flooded due to a malfunctioning washer next door, dumping gallons of water under the adjoining walls into my kitchen, stairwell, and living room. We got a lot cleaned up that night, but it took four days, a cleanup crew, seven industrial fans, a dehumidifier the size of my stove, and the removal of half my downstairs flooring before everything was finally dry.

...and that was the easy part. Week 2 has been the hard part-- dealing with insurance companies. I generally expect insurance companies to do their job-- wearing us down to avoid having to release money-- but the run-around we've been getting has exceeded even my already-low standards. Luckily, I've armed myself with a trusty notebook full of info-- every name, every phone number, and every single scrap of documentation that might be remotely relevant. I'm also really lucky to have a couple of friends with insurance backgrounds who've let me pick their brains when needed, so I feel well-prepared for our fight with bullshit bureaucracy.

The whole thing, along with a couple of related tensions and frustrations, left me pretty worn out and depressed. I was too tired to do much for Halloween, which bummed me out even further. So after a week of eating my feelings and a beer or three, I went back to my preferred method of coping-- following through with my restoration plan, reminding myself that this will also pass, and making lists of the things I have to be happy and grateful for.

Right now I'm glad to be snuggled under my finished-at-long-last hex quilt. My finished size ended up being slightly bigger than throw-sized at 65"x65". I was originally planning on making a twin-sized piece, but after months of sewing I looked at my quilt where it was pinned on the wall and finally admitted that if I had to sew another hexagon I was going to hurt someone. "A throw would get more use anyway," I told myself while shoving 150 leftover hexes into my fabric trunk, and thusfar it's turned out to be true.

Voting and semi-ridiculous ideas.

Yay, election day! I dropped our ballots off earlier today. Even though it would have been simpler to drop it into the nearest ballot box, or heck, the nearest mailbox, but I like taking it to the courthouse to hand it in in person so that I can get the "I Voted!" sticker.

(It's a bit sad that I'm willing to go miles out of my way and wait in a line of cars just for a sticker. God only knows what I would probably do for a gold star.)

After other errands and a really good "happy birthday, Old Guy" conversation with my dad, I sat down and tore into some knitting. I still have a pair of armwarmers and a scarf from last month that need finishing touches, but today and yesterday called for some new projects for November.

As a show of solidarity with my boyfriend and other facial-haired friends participating in Movember, I started Incognito. Since I can't (thank God) grow my own mustache, making one out of yarn seemed to be the next best thing. I'm already halfway through the body of it, so with another day and some duplicate stitches, I should be ready to rock the 'stashe by the end of the week! With any luck, only 30% of people who see me will point when they laugh.

Even more ridiculous, however, was the Sock Yarn blanket I (sort of) started. The whole thing in itself is a bit crazy-- an entire blanket knit on size 2's from sock yarn? Seriously?-- but then I had to go and take the crazy to a whole new level. I currently have the hair-brained idea that I want to keep similar color groups together for a blanket that slowly shifts through the color wheel. I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to do this, as I don't have nearly enough sock yarn leftovers to make the whole thing and will be picking up new colors as I go, but for now I'm still in that early "wonderful possibility" stage of the idea. I'm sure the "logistical nightmare" stage won't be too far behind.

National Blog Posting Month!

Along with NaNoWriMo, today marks the beginning of NaBloPoMo or, in other words, a month where a bunch of people set about the task of writing a lot.

I was previously all set to go this month, but truth be told, my heart's not really in it today. Maybe it's some sort of post-holiday hangover, or possibly the dreary weather, but I woke up feeling uninspired, listless, and just generally brood-y. Generally when I'm feeling like that, I try to simply hunker down with a cozy blanket, a pot of tea, and television I know by heart, but that just wasn't doing it for me today.

So I did something I haven't done in some time-- I attempted to indulge in some retail therapy. Although I'm not a currently active member, I've been diligently sticking with my Wardrobe Refashion challenge. With the exception of picking up a dress to wear to a wedding last summer, I haven't bought new clothing that wasn't underwear since February. Apparently my clothing diet has left me way out of practice, because I left the mall with a bath mat and conditioner. Having said that, if I can find a pair of knee-high boots I like, all bets are off.

I did, however, fall off the wagon pretty hard when it comes to knitting books-- Hat Heads, 101 Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders, and Stitch & Bitch Superstar Knitting are all sitting on the couch next to me. My Christmas knitting has just begun, so I can use all the ideas I can get. I'm already months behind!