I've been a bad blogger...

... but I've gotten a lot of work done, so that's something.

I've finished three knitting projects and started on two (2!) pairs of socks, one color work and one plain that a friend requested. I'm looking at starting on a star-stitch scarf, because obviously we all need another scarf in the world, and I can't let this yarn I bought that's the wrong size for what I want to do go to waste. It's really pretty, even if it is far too yellow for me to use in a lot of ways. (I look like death with yellow next to my face. Seriously. Not a good thing.)

Sephi got out of the yard yesterday and went wandering, and I went this morning to pick her up from animal control (she's fine -- the lady there knows her and knows us, we just couldn't get back by 3:30 to pick her up, given that we finally got the call at 3:25). All is well, though we have to make sure her paperwork is caught up and get all the collar batteries for the invisible fence updated.

My gothic class is going really well, and students who were nervous about the reading are falling in love with some of the books I've assigned -- and honestly, there is nothing that makes me happier. None of my students are English majors, so while I'm asking them to think about the literature in ways they aren't used to, I'm not asking for the same amount of rigor and depth that I might require if this were an English lit class instead of more of a culture class. What I'm finding, though, is that my students seem to have picked books to focus on that they find meaning in -- that they enjoy reading, and that's as much of a surprise to them as to me. If they come to a love of literature in my class and discover that there's something out there for them, as well as learning how to write a thesis statement and structure a document/argument, that is all I can ask for. It's so exciting. :)

Also, my class is all women/queer folks. I decided to ask people to let me know if they prefer anything that wasn't female pronouns (the first time I've done that) and one of them emailed me, letting me know they prefer "they" rather than "her," and thanked me for asking. :) I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like I did a good and welcoming thing. I've also got a transwoman in class, and she let me know straight out she preferred female pronouns (though I'd already been using them with her, because I hadn't thought about it and she gave me a female name) and I'm really excited to have her perspectives and participation. I kind of love my class.

Si has a new larger crate and he loves it. We'd bought him a bed, but Sephi unexpectedly took to it (she normally hates bedding, as she gets too warm and the footing is uncertain) but since she liked it, we gave it to her and ordered a new one for Si. In the meantime, he's still resting in Leo's crate (comfy bed) whenever he gets the chance. Dogs are weird.

In Growling Door news, I'm working on developing SAVE: The Eternal Society. Final drafts are in and compiled, and I'm starting the dev pass today. I've also finished an outline for Daedalus (Eeeee!) that I'm super excited about. I've stepped back from the writing of it, as realism trumped desire, and I'm contracting an awesome slate of writers to work on it. I should probably make that a blog post in and of itself. Duly noted.

In health news, things are good overall, except that my anxiety is ramping up. On Monday I go get a mouthpiece to help combat the TMJ I'm developing and that'll stop me from grinding my teeth, and train me back out of it. Also, I have an appointment for next month for genetic counseling, to talk about testing me for Fragile-X. Read this if you're not sure what Fragile-X is. I am both excited and terrified, even though I know what it is and have every reason to suspect I am at least a carrier, even if I don't have the full mutation. Knowing for sure would be a huge relief, though, and could help protect me as I get older -- at least a diagnosis would mean it's in my records.

I've finished reading a biography of Daniel DeFoe that I got from one of my profs. I found it useful, but I'm glad to move on from it. I also finished Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, which I need to write about at some point, though I feel like talking about it without also having read Bodies that Matter is a bit pointless. However, I don't know that I'm going to have time to fit in reading BtM while I'm dissertating, and that's really the more important activity at the moment. I'll keep thinking about it.

Oh! I have Fallout 4! I love this game so much. I'm avoiding spoilers because I have this weird thing where if I feel like someone I know tells me about story/world elements, then the discovery is ruined and I don't enjoy it as much. All the same, though, I really like it. Good stuff.