Thanks, Lynette!

Hey, I received an actual comment!

OK, maybe a more substantive post is called for. Like, where did I go?

I'm still knitting, but the advent of Ravelry really revolutionized knitting interaction on the web. The forums are truly a godsend if you want knitting input on, well, anything. It's also rather an enabler, because my yarn purchases went off the charts last year! So, I took the summer off from Rav as well.

Bean is now a third-grader! So, the summer was filled with softball and swim team and trips to NYC and Iowa to visit Dr Pig's family and attend the Iowa State Fair.

My volunteer work has ramped up to psycho levels. Honestly, I'm such a sucker. I teach adult ESL every Tuesday. I'm the Cookie Mom for Bean's Girl Scout troop. I volunteer at church. I am on the board of two local charities. I'm in charge of a committee on two different major fundraisers. It's NUTS! But I have fun.

Still knitting, although I took the summer off. Knitting and swim team in 100+ weather is not a happy combination.

The most fun thing I have learned to do in the last year is bake bread. It's now only in the 90s here (cough), so I will be getting out my bread stuff and baking again and post pictures. I received Jim Lahey's My Bread for Christmas. Lahey is the guy who pioneered the no-knead bread craze - he was the inspiration for Mark Bittman's article in the New York Times. All prior attempts at bread baking had produced something more akin to a softball bat; so this is a revelation to me. Actual bread! That you can eat!

I had read a couple of other no-knead books, but all Lahey's method needs is a big bowl, plastic wrap, and time. I have all of those. Dr Pig bought The World's Biggest Roll of Plastic Wrap, so I'm set for the duration.