No, it's not over yet.

I'm still waist-deep in work (at work) and work (at home, in the hell-hole once known as our washroom), but I thought I would take a moment out of my lunch at work to fill you in on what's going on.

I've made very little progress on *any* of my sewing or knitting projects, lately (Wollgut, your Farmer's Market Bag is woefully under-finished...fear not, my dear friend, I shall finish and send it as soon as I find my mind).  I have 2 pairs of pants to sew up and a tunic that was intended for summer use.  My cardigan is languishing in my knitting project bag.  Having said that, I found the most amazing designer.  Check this out:

Doodles in String

She seems to have tapped into my brain and figured out what I want for my cardigan.  I'm going to shamefully copy emulate her and add a band of ribbed waist shaping to the sweater.  So you see, maybe I've been slacking for a reason: all this time, I just needed to find her blog, discover her sweaters and get inspired....  Well, that's my theory, anyway.

My husband is gearing up to get back to work (curse you, teachers who get the summers off...I know your job is the most under-appreciated and difficult in the world, but what I wouldn't give to have had a *bit* of time to lie in the hot sun this summer!).  We're desperately trying to get the bathroom reno wrapped up.  We've got most of the plumbing in, we're sorting out the waste/venting tonight, we've got the flooring ready to go and we're just waiting to get the drywall puttied and taped.  Too bad it takes time for the putty to dry - we could have had more done by now.  The lighting will wait for a bit - I just want to be able to take a shower in my own home already!

The reason we're desperately trying to get the bathroom finished (sort of) is that I am expecting company this weekend.  A very good friend from high school is coming to visit us and we have planned a week of eating and sightseeing and eating and drinking and eating and camping and swimming and (possibly...fingers crossed) SURFING! and eating.  We're hanging out here for a few days and then we're headed to Cape Breton Island for a few days of camping (despite the encroaching autumn weather).  It promises to be a great week (my only vacation time for the year) and I will do my best to take as many photos as possible so that I can gloat about how fun it was and rub it in all your faces, afterward.  Just kidding.  I wouldn't do that to you.  The gloating and rubbing-in of faces, I mean.  I will show you photos, however.

My health is finally getting back on track.  I don't think I realized how sick I was until I started getting better, last week.  My problem was definitely candida-related and now that my digestive system is clearing, I am understanding just what an effect this illness was having on me.  My focus is better, I am less exhausted (geez, it was getting bad for a while, there...I could barely make it through the day), I finally kicked that nasty cold I caught, my skin has cleared up, and I'm much less congested.  I had been ill since May and couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.  I'm so relieved to know what it is that it doesn't bother me too much to forgo all the awesome in-season fruit and ice cream and baked goods and sweets that I would love to partake in.  I have to obey this diet for another 4 weeks or so and then I can start enjoying some goodies again (I've expanded on the fish-and-rice-and-veggies theme, now that I know what was causing the problem).  Camping will be interesting, food-wise, but that's fine. 

My yoga teacher just got double-cataract surgery, so I've been without yoga for 4 weeks.  I wasn't too bothered by it, because I felt so crummy that I wasn't interested in going anyway.  This past weekend was the first time in a LONG time where I felt that some exercise would be *just the thing*.  I've lost a LOT of weight (not purposely, just as a side-effect of not eating any fatty or sweet foods) and I am started to feel some of my energy come back.  A small Moksha Yoga studio just opened up across town and for the first week, they're offering free classes.  I am lining up to go this evening, to start easing back in.  I signed up for an amazing yoga retreat scheduled for the day after my company leaves and I am quite excited about it, but I'd better get my arse back in shape if I don't want to pass out on my mat.  How embarrassing would THAT be?

Oh, and one last thing before you go off on your merry way:

Have you seen this new series, Fit to Flatter over on Stash, Knit, Repeat?  I can't remember where I first found the link (probably over at Doodles in String, when I was obsessively poring over every last little bit of yarny goodness), but I've since gone and read the whole thing.  Wow.  Just wow.