Can You Take Your Knitting to Couples Counseling?

I really think it might be time for the Orenburg Shawl and I to get some professional help. It's not so much that I think I might have some issues to talk out as it is that I am convinced the shawl needs some help with communication.

I am finally on the body of the shawl and I have to admit that the left and right border look smashing and the Russian graft, which I thought was going to look stupid, looks beautiful. Not at all how I thought it would turn out. Which is about what I could say, only in reverse of the pattern in the body. After working hours (at least 7) on the shawl yesterday, I went to bed having ripped back to the second row because in spite of spending about 4 hours altogether trying to find the error that was causing all the rows after about row 11 to be off by a stitch, I couldn't. I couldn't find the error. So I ripped back like 20 rows (only about 3,500 stitches in all) and once I had everything properly back on the needle and the stitches pointing in the right direction . . . gave up and went to bed.

I woke up sick with a sore throat and aching head and general wooziness and spent the day running on half an engine--and I'm relieved that I started to feel better around 6pm or so. I'm hoping to be more productive tomorrow.

Ben and Milo signed up for four more weeks of swim lessons. They're finally getting it. They can swim from the wall to someone standing about ten feet away. Ben has even surpassed Milo (he has a stronger kick), but they're both feeling pretty good about things. Even though they could probably pass the Eel level, we're keeping them there for now because the teacher they have now is good at making them listen and stay on task. Ben and Milo can charm paint off a barn and derail trains with their banter, so I attribute all their progress to the teacher. The teacher promises she'll continue to work with Ben and Milo "pass the Eel skills," so I'm happy to leave them with her. The other option is private lessons with her and that's just too spendy this spring.

They're making good progress in piano, too. So I'm thinking they're in a bit of a cognitive growth spurt. This is appropriate as they spent most of January and February having a physical growth spurt and they're just so big and tall now. Max is taller every week, too. I need to go acquaint myself with the local goodwill if no one is going to stay the same size through a season for awhile.