This was taken yesterday morning. It was the first bread I’ve baked since October 14 or so. It feels good to get back in my routine (and to know my starter survived), but as I type this on Monday morning, there’s this big routine called work that’s looming.

The trip to Iceland was one of the first vacation I can remember in years during which I was fully unplugged from my day job. I turned off my work email from my phone and tried to simply embrace the moments as they presented themselves. I still dabbled in the social media, but tried to hold back from photo-flooding my friends. It must have worked as a friend complained to me I didn’t share enough photos. Here I thought I was walking the edge of oversharing. All in all, the trip had a good balance of being present and not carrying a extra suitcase of stress.

As I go back to the office today, I am going to do my darnedest to let work just be work and embrace my life outside my 9-to-5 (which really has been a 9-to-7:45). Friends, dogs, cooking, knitting, reading and running bring so much more to my world than stressing about what is or isn’t happening when I’m not staring at a monitor. I’m grateful to have a job at a company I love and with people I enjoy. My biggest life-balance challenge can be myself.

Let’s hope I learned a thing or two on vacation. Here’s to better routines.

A little blog housecleaning on the template this morning. Twitter changed their widget badge stuff back in September, making my feed disappear from the sidebar. After a little fiddling, I have it back over there on the left. It’s a smidge more interactive. If you’re signed into Twitter, you can reply right there. You can also peek at photos within the widget itself. Oh, technology.

In order to get it installed, I had to change the width of the page and percentages of the main body to the sidebar. If things look wonky, would you let me know? Tell me how you’re looking at the site too (what browser, phone or computer, mobile or full site).

Thanks a bunch. See you next post.

A day late for NaNoSweMo’s start, but a fitting contender. Two strands of plutulopi, all stockinette, minimal colorwork on 5.5mm/US 9s. Alas, for C, not for me.

Keeping Iceland memories alive via wool.

I spent the last ten days of October in Iceland. This year I came with Chris, not a knitting tour, although there always much knitting and knitting friends. And there was beaucoup de yarn.

With four days of road trips, I saw a lot more of the country this time around. Back in the U.S. of A., I’m still on the road, awaiting our flight from Seattle back to SFO. More to come.