Unraveled, Week 25/2025

Is it only Wednesday? I feel like it's been a long week already, perhaps because the Mister left for a work trip Sunday morning and we've had all sorts of electrical work going on in our backyard and basement the past couple of days (the Mister got a new plug-in hybrid car, so we're having a line run from the house to the garage so he can plug in to something with a bit more power than a regular-old socket).

I am thrilled that I actually have some content to share with Kat and the Unravelers today! Though you'll have to forgive the poor picture quality. I'm basically living in our family room/kitchen these days, and the lighting is not great.

The blue thing on the needles is what I started on Sunday while Ruthie was napping; I got in a bit more time on Monday night while she snoozed and Molly and I were watching a movie. These look a bit funny, I know, but they aren't blocked yet and look better on a foot. These are some DK weight slipper socks that I'm designing using yarn from the Ross Farm. I ended up rewinding the cake after I finished the first one so that I could cast on the second with the other end, as I thought it would be better to have two feet that are very obviously different in color than a foot and a half in mostly red and half a foot in mostly blue.

To make up for the one poor photo, I'll share a puppy pic (which I was told was sufficient content in any case!).

This is how she curls up in her crate at night when I tell her it's time to "go night-night" (yes, I have started using baby talk again, and I continue to do it despite feeling ridiculous about it). It seems like I can usually count on her to take a mid-morning and mid-afternoon nap, and that's time when I can read and sometimes knit (though I could only read the past couple of days because she was napping in my lap on account of the electricians coming in and out).

I haven't had that much reading time, but I have had some, and this week I've spent it reading just one book:

I decided to change things up with a little nonfiction this week. Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism takes a social science approach to exploring why people are drawn to cults as well as what defines a cult. And while what is classified as a cult includes some of the more troubling examples you probably already know (like Jim Jones/Jonestown and Scientology), linguist Amanda Montell also shows how the same powerful language is used to power multi-level marketing companies like Amway and Mary Kay and fitness companies like CrossFit and Peloton. I did my undergrad degree in psychology and obviously work full time in a job that involves language, so I found this to be a really fascinating read. It feels timely, too, given that what many of these groups have in common is a leader who is able to appeal to their followers by making them feel validated and seen and by offering them promises of prosperity, a better life, etc. (sound familiar?). It doesn't read like an academic text and was easy to follow while keeping an eye on a puppy. I gave it 4 stars.

And that's all I've got for today! I will be back tomorrow (I got smart and pre-wrote and scheduled my post) for the final Thursday of National Poetry Month, and I hope to be able to post on Friday as well. If not, have a great rest of the week and a relaxing weekend!