here i was at 10am or so, getting really frantic over work. the 12 books that i turned in last thursday came back today finally with corrections, which would be fine, except the coordinator wanted them all back this afternoon. before i left for classes. and even that would have been do-able, because the correx were pretty light, but then, i saw it.
it was like when you look at your knitting and see a dropped stitch 37 rows back. no, wait—it was like when you are working on a complicated lace stole, and see that 17 inches back, you somehow turned the whole thing around so that now, you have been knitting right-side rows on what should be the wrong side. heart-chilling, right?
i started seeing fractions in the wrong font size all over the place in one whole book (these books are supposed to be heading off to print, like, today; they have been through proofing at least 8 times!). and scattered randomly in the other 3 books. 4 books with wrong formatting. in two different volumes.
8 books that each need to be checked obsessively for fraction violations.
arrrgghh.
definitely NOT fixable by 3 pm.
that’s when the mail carrier showed up. with presents.
(is it weird to make as if you are going to jump on someone to hug them hard, and then not do it??
i just wonder how that looked from the other side . . .)
one of these boxes contained chocolate. the other one had yarn in it.
can you guess which is which? remember—your answer says volumes about you . . .
i had to wait to open them so i could deal with the emergency brewing at my desk, but finally i gave in when i realized that i was definitively NOT going to make the day’s deadline.
my buddy kim (sadly bloglesss—and we are SO missing out because she doesn’t have one . . . yet), was in san francisco this past weekend, and sent me a little something.
we share a fondness for milk chocolate and little boxes.
we are not chocoholics. we just like a little nip o’ the stuff now and then.
the yarn is from that sweet chris at Briar Rose. it’s a reward for knitting.
(i KNOW. where were these people when i was in school??)
just kidding—actually, it’s a reward for offering lend her the morning glory shawl for her touring season. chris does a lot of fiber shows in the midwest, so if you live in an area she covers, you can visit her and see the crack yarn in person.
chris actually has been dyeing single-breed yarns for a while, and is one of the rare suppliers of such a product. she sent me a hank of the wensleydale and a hank of the corriedale, both of which i have been curious about.
the wensleydale (front), has a relaxed feel that seems to have a similar drape to alpaca, and similar reaction to dye as well—it is more muted and soft-looking than vivid. this yarn is a fingering weight, and i think it would make a wonderful winter shawl, or lap throw.
the corriedale (back) is almost the polar opposite—it is lightweight, squishy, and springy; vibrant with color. definitely sweater material; i’ll have to search for an idea that will show off the variegation well. maybe a side-to-side style, or a clever, EZ construction.
are you catching on yet that i don’t have any knitting to show you? not because i haven’t been knitting—i have. but really, how many times can you look at the shawl in one week?
tree scum sock came to classes with me this evening, but sadly, i’m not getting good pictures of its new heel and gusset. maybe later in the week, eh?
and now, i think it’s time to go find that shawl and get some rows done. right-way ’round of course.
25 thoughts on “the mail carrier is a goddess”
A box of chocolate and a box of yarn. Who cares which is which as long as there is a box of each! I’m with you, a few bites of really good chocolate is just right. The Briar Rose colors are really nice and rich.
I love little tins and boxes too. My mom said I used to hoard them in my room even as a little girl.
Love that yarn- the colors…oooooooh.
Wow, that is some friend! A box of chocolate AND yarn? You need to keep this one around for a longtime!
Oh, love the yarn colors too!
Marly
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To be honest, both boxes look pretty comparable in terms of volume, what with one being short but wide and the other being taller but thinner. 😉
But wow, that is a brilliant mail day. I am so jealous. Not jealous of the proofing emergency, but jealous that the universe is giving you something back for all the stress.
Good luck with the books! You obviously don’t need any luck int he friends department, right? 🙂
It’s easy to tell which package has the yarn, if you’re a dedicated online shopper like me! See’s candy is one of the very best things about living in California–have you tried See’s chocolates?
That’s really too bad about the books, especially because the problem is the kind of thing that’s so picky to fix even with lots of time.
OH GAWD! I miss See’s candy! Lucky ducks. Great yarn colors.
Nice! It sorta makes up for the corrections. Sorta.
even though you couldn’t get your corrections done, there was yarn and chocolate as consolation…not bad…
It’s so cool to get to see a bit of the difference between the two single-breed yarns… lucky you, you even get to touch it! One day, I’ll make my own! I seriously will have to get practicing my spinning if I wanna get there in the not-too-distant future, though…
Chocolate… it wards of Dementors and takes the sting out of frogging and tinking. That rots about the books and hopefully they can be caught before printing. I’ve finally settled on yarn for the Starlight wrap but now I have to pick a color. Tough decision! Cheers.
That yarn is gorgeous — their colors look so vibrant and lovely. As for the chocolate, all of the leftover Easter candy at my office has been problematic!
i might be the only person that thinks finding “fraction violations” sounds like fun. but only in a twisted, just-finished-my-masters-in-statistics-and-don’t-have-any-math-to-do-anymore kind of way.
So what generally happens when a book is on the verge of going to press, and you discover a problem like this? Does the first edition go to press as-is and the corrections are saved for the second printing, or what?
I think the yarn was in the big box, just because yarn takes up more space. Even lace yarn. 😉
Mail carriers can be wonderful. I have some things I’ve received that I need to blog about. See’s chocolates are very nice. I like Scharffen Berger from Berkeley, but they specialize in dark chocolates.
The yarn is beautiful! I think it would be fun to learn about all the different types of wool and their properties. Looking forward to seeing what you knit!
I hate doing proofs! I had an editor change the name of the enzyme I studied to “fit the format” of their journal. Only the editor’s name for the enzyme made no sense biochemically. Round and round we went!
I’m sorry about the books, that really sounds like a pain in the behind. The yarn is gorgeous! I have never purchased from them, but I may have to.
And one quick question-what are your classes that you’re going to? You mention them often, but I must not have been around here long enough to know what they are!
It’s OK that you don’t show knitting if instead you’re showing off great yarn! I’m glad the postal carrier had such good timing 🙂
YUM! Both chocolate AND yarn!
Good luck with the corrections…
PS: Do you happen to know whether there are any knittingblogs that give out tips for those who want to start their own knitting blog..?
I would like to start my own and am scouting the net for information 🙂
Does it matter which box had the yarn and which the chocolate? They both look large enough for a day’s ration of either.
Oh rats, now I had to go and look up the San Francisco Chocolate Factory, and, don’t you know, they do mail order. (Maybe I’ll be OK if I go raid my Easter basket now.)
Okay, reading about the books and fractions made my head ache…but, alas, your gifts changed the entire mood….
Wensleydale. *Sheep*??? We can get a lovely Wensleydale cheese at Central Market, and I somehow always thought that Wensleydale was a place, and not a critter. I’m particularly fond of the Wensleydale with dried cranberry bits in it. A little sweet, a little tart, a little gritty, and *heaven* piled up on a slice of batard or toasted baguette. Dang, now I’m hungry again…
Ummm, the yarn is very nice, too. Both of ’em.
I always thought proofreading books would be just the greatest job. Seriously, I was always wondering how in the world I’d make the right connection to get to do that for a living. What happened with the fractions? How did it end??? The yarn your friend dyed is gorgeous. What a treat!
Both yarns are absolutely stunning!!
I have a corriedale fleece from one of my sheep, but haven’t done anything with it yet. Hoping this will be the year I learn to spin! 🙂
That’s a great friend to send chocolate. A nip now and then is just the ticket. Glad you received some nice packages to relieve some of that crazy job stress!
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