This is what my battle with the mice has turned into: the contents of my knife drawer and my silverware drawer are on the dining room table. Also, any pots and pans that normally hang out on the stove are here too. I’ve emptied out the space underneath the sink, as well as the drawers the mice seem drawn to. Everything has been cleaned and disinfected, and the traps are baited and set. If I can convince them — through encouragement (in the form of the all natural spearmint packets the hardware store sells that convince mice to move on) and with a little bit of violence (there are rules, as K would say) — to relocate (again, physically, and in some cases, also spiritually) before it gets too cold, I’ll be able to reinhabit my kitchen and enjoy the rest of fall. If I can’t, well…I don’t want to think about that.

Instead, I’ll knit on another project started long ago: Snowbird. I had gotten as far as the collar and the raglan increases, and then the pattern has you start the sleeves before working the body. I was about 20 rows into one of the sleeves. I worked on this for about an hour last night, and I remembered why this was sort of slow going: reverse stockinette. I think I need to focus on relaxing my hands while purling. Or something. Good thing I love the idea of this sweater.

All right. Back to Monday, which for me, means writing midterm comments for my students.