Protective Custody

It's a good thing my boss didn't choose the wrong moment to stop by my cubicle yesterday: I would have had to explain why I was sitting there alternately smiling and sniffling. You guys are all awesome, and I'm lucky to have such great friends.

I sort of wimped out on a major part of what I was trying to say, though. I'm more selfish than I like to let on: little as I want to shortchange any of the wonderful people in my life, even less do I want to shortchange me. If I stay inside all the time, I'll never get rained on, but I'll never see the sun either, and as was all too rightly pointed out to me yesterday, keeping myself on a tight leash is just another form of control-freakery. So I'm trying to get to some kind of balance, to lengthen that tether a bit. You all help a lot.

All right, already, with the pop psych. In among all this introspection, believe it or not, I've been productive lately. I finished Kay's socks and met Kay for dinner so she could try them on; having seen that they fit, I can now weave the ends in.


I started and finished a Dulaan hat. Only four more items to finish by June 15: I think even I can manage that. I've already begun a pair of Magic 28 socks.

I bought and actually planted some herbs. In addition to basil and thyme, I talked myself into a catnip plant, even though we've had trouble with catnip in the past: it generally gets obliterated before it has a prayer of being big enough to resist easy destruction. This time I managed to come up with a solution.


The cats could easily jump in with it, but they seem confused by the wire mesh. It's strong enough to keep them out, but too frail for them to want to climb on. So far, so good.

The other day I came outside to find Miss B sitting next to Achilles, who was writhing and rolling on the grass. "You gave him catnip, didn't you?" I said.
"Um, yes," she said, "how did you know?"