Long Time, No Blog

Okay, I'm indulging myself in one whiny, sad sack post. Be forewarned, though, that it will eventually move into giant water bowls for duck ponds and the progress on the mitered square blanket.

Here's the self-pitying part: I have extreme blog-envy mixed with definite blog-self-beating-up. In other words, I'm wanting to peek at my blog and see an occasional, well, to be honest, a good batch, of response. I know you folks are out there. First, I've had too many conversations in which my colleague says something that he or she would not know unless he or she had read my blog. There's a sudden recognition that the game is afoot, and then, generally, we both pretend as though the source of information had not been my blog. And I like when that happens. It lets me know that you're out there, joining the trip with me, at least once in a while.

And second, I have (now all will flee in panic) a Sitemeter. I've of two minds about it, and had even removed it for a long while because I'm not entirely comfortable with the concept of gathering information on who is visiting, where they live, what blogs they tracked back to my blog from. But I then re-installed it because I was becoming too involved in the traffic, or lack, to Pegotty, and I just wanted to know what was going on out there. You can find the Sitemeter way at the bottom of my sidebar, with a title that reads "Is Anyone Out There?" Right now, it's pass worded. But if I keep it, and my instinct is to make it go away again, I will un-password it so that anyone visiting can see the same data that I can see. (Note: I've unpassworded the meter.) In this era of Patriotic Acts and Guantanamo Bay and 24, I think that the less information gathered, the better. But it is reassuring to go to the world map part of the Sitemeter, and see the little red and green and white dots all over the earth, representing folks out there who are reading my blog.

The main point here? Maybe once in a while, you can give me a hello that you're lurking. I play with having a blog because I love to write and because I enjoy being part of a community. I've met some wonderful people in the short time that I've been writing Pegotty, and I hope to meet more of you in the future, or connect with friends that are already there.

Enough then, and if I've driven you away screaming, never to return, I apologize.

Now, for the knitting and the water bowl. Here's progress on the blanket. Not much knitting this week, as I'm back to work full time. And last night, after a very good day at work (a good visit with my boss and a visitor from our corporate office, which involved refolding almost every top in the store), some great sales, two credit cards opened by me at the same time (this brought much notice from one of my assistants, who praised me numerous times for the two-at-once aspect), a perfect score on our secret shop, I came home and discovered that my arms were just too tired to knit. And that I'd found a good book to read. Life of Pi. A bit strange, but intriguing so far. So here's where I am. An indoor and an outdoor shot, because the colors play differently in the light.

And a close-up of the pale purple and blue square. A good visual of the concept of value in color. Almost exactly the same shade, because of the equality in value, despite being different colors.

And finally, the Water Bowl.
You know spring is here when we put this giant water bowl out on the back porch for the dog. I wouldn't be surprised if I came home one evening to discover a family of ducks, or even swan boats, navigating through the waters.