Back to (Almost) Normal

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. I'm happy to report that the Mister is feeling almost completely back to normal -- he even went for a run this morning! He's got follow-up appointments with the surgeon and his PCP in the next week, but as far as I can tell he is healing well, and he certainly appreciates your concern.

After the crazy weekend and having to work on Monday, my internal schedule got all out of whack, so it was nice to wake up this morning and realize that it's already Wednesday! I am once again joining Kat and the Unravelers for a round-up of what I'm working on and what I'm reading.

Though I set it aside for a little bit last week, this week my top knitting priority is finishing up my Torbellino. Here is where it stands right now:

I have about three and a half inches to knit on the second sleeve in the main color and then the ribbing in contrast and I will be DONE. I'm actually hoping to manage to do that today, if I can. I started knitting this for the Media Peruana Designs Sweater-along, and it ends next Monday, which is what prompted me to pull it out again. Just in case anyone is worried about yarn chicken, let me reassure you that the yarn you see here is not all the yarn I have left -- there's still most of the fourth skein of red remaining. I just figured that I'd try to eke out this sleeve from the skeins that had less yarn remaining so that the leftovers are in just one skein, which will make it easier to use them for something else.

All the time sitting at the hospital on Saturday also enabled me to finish a sock and start its mate:

These are for my mother-in-law and should match; I wound off a bit of yarn to get to the same point in the striping sequence to start the second sock.

I'm still working on the secret design project (which will be the top priority once the sweater is done), and one of these days I will get back to my Breathe and Hope shawl, which I abandoned earlier in the summer.

Reading has been good this past week. Since last Wednesday, I've finished two books and have begun reaping the benefits of having a number of books on hold at the library.

The Resilience Factor filled the final square on my second bingo card, making it my 50th finished book of the "summer" (we started SAH Book Bingo in early April). This was technically a re-read for me, as I originally read it in college as part of a seminar with the authors. Reading it again brought back some good memories, but it also reminded me how far I've come, emotionally, since the last time I read it. The first time around, I was still in treatment for a major depressive episode, so I was reading the book as much for my personal benefit as I was to fulfill the course requirements. And though I chose to read it again in part because I already owned it and it filled the "More than one author" square on my card, it also felt like a worthwhile read given the difficulties of our current times. I'm not sure the authors could have imagined using resilience during a global pandemic, but it certainly can't hurt. I gave it 4 stars.

Just yesterday I finished The Bookman's Tale, which I'd put on hold after Mary mentioned how much she'd enjoyed listening to a chat with the author at the virtual book retreat she attended. It was a delightful diversion for me, combining so many things I love -- books, England, a good mystery. It takes place at several points in time, following the main character during two periods in his life and a book that plays a key role in the plot as it traveled from person to person. It was a quick read and an intelligent page-turner. My only complaint is that (how to put this politely?) it was very clear to me in reading some of the, um, intimate scenes that the author was a man. I gave it 4 stars.

I am currently reading the anxiously awaited Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by the supremely talented Isabel Wilkerson. I actually got a notification that my hold was up while I was sitting in the surgical family lounge on Saturday, and it was the perfect diversion while I waited. Though I am only about a third of the way through it, I could tell from just the first few pages that it was going to be a phenomenal book, and I have not yet been proven wrong. If you haven't yet gotten yourself on a waiting list for this book, do it now!

That's all for me for today. I hope you'll share what you're reading and working on in the comments!