Sunday Summary, ROW80 Fail, Nesting Eagles, and the Saint Patrick's Day Parade

aking a leaf out of Kait Nolan's blog today and posting a summary:

Writing and editing: For one week now I've taken an unexpected, unplanned and unadulterated break from editing Rome, Rhymes and Risk. I did manage to revise the query for Out of the Water, thanks to everyone who offered insightful comments over at Matthew's, but I haven't sent out any new queries. A little scared...

Blogging: I've posted, and thanks to everyone for coming by - I will visit all your blogs soon!

But, and the reason I've been so slack with social media - though I did manage to vote for Jo Bourne and Kait Nolan and Darlene Marshall as they moved up the ranks in DABWAHA - is that I've been:

Knitting: Yes, it's The Saga of the Kilt Hose! I started this project two years ago, for a Scottish friend, and every time I dropped it and started again there was a new deadline. His next birthday. Robbie Burns' night. The Saint Patrick's Society of Montreal Annual Ball. His birthday again.

Not sure what stuck a spur into me this week - the derisive laughter of colleagues who've seen me work on this project on and off for two years might have had something to do with it - but I've been determined to complete the socks for his birthday on Wednesday. I'll put up full details and the annotated pattern (I had quite a few problems understanding it) on the knitting blog at a later date.

Here's what the kilt hose looked like when I had only the feet done, two years ago.

I've got ten rows left to go and then comes the 'finishing' (weaving in the ends and possibly washing and blocking them, if I have the nerve). Wish me luck!

(image courtesy of the Shady Shamrock blog)

Until then, it's parade day! I promise not to get too happy, so that I can finish knitting tonight. Montreal has the second oldest Saint Patrick's Day parade (after NYC, of course) in all of North America; this year's is the 189th edition. I was in/on a float one year (college float - any and all alumni were invited!), but I still can't decide if it's better to be a participant or a spectator.

Two extra items:

Friends of mine participated in a Polar Bear Plunge yesterday, to raise money for the Special Olympics. While the plunge is over, I believe you can still donate - head over to the Feisty Fusion team page!

Now, for your viewing pleasure, live stream of nesting eagles in Iowa:

Free desktop streaming application by Ustream

She's sitting on three eggs that are due to hatch at the end of the week!