October Socks...in November & more Jane Austen

Work has been rather hectic the past few weeks. The last week in October and the first week in November, all mechanical engineering students consulted with their academic advisor about which courses to take next semester, then registered for those courses. This week, it has been my duty to determine how to come up with an additional section of Thermodynamics I and of Mechanical Measurements Lab, and to decide which courses will not be offered. Since I'm still short one faculty member, two courses have to go so that those two extra sections can be added.

The courses on the chopping block are those that are not required for any Mechanical Engineering major, nor for any engineering minor, that have the fewest students registered. No matter what I decide, someone is going to be unhappy. (More likely, several someones.) Fortunately, my colleagues have readily agreed to the changes I've proposed.

There has been no progress on A Diplomatic Alliance these past two weeks; I have not written a word, but I've been pondering an important plot point. I did, however, complete the final two pairs of October socks. The first pair completed (on November 1st), which was the second pair started, was the socks for the Boy Child (a.k.a. Mr. Bigfoot)---Wendy Johnson's Mock Cable socks. It is difficult to see the cables in the dark blue yarn, but they are there.

The final pair completed, which was the first pair I started, was Ms. Johnson's Peace Socks. These are for my mom. They are rather funny-looking because the skein was smaller than I thought---by about 20 yards. Finding leftover yarn of the same weight which would not clash with the colors in the original yarn was a challenge, but I'm rather pleased with the result. I didn't finish these until November 7th, so I suppose they can't really be considered October socks, even though most of the knitting was done in October.

I'm pleased that I was able to complete three pairs in a month---or, to be precise, a month plus a week---despite everything else that was going on. That's a first for me!

Since my last post, I have re-read Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and I'm currently re-reading Persuasion. Jane Austen's books never fail to please.

Susannah