Glimpse of a Gopher
A couple of weeks ago, I think, my Facebook status indicated a light at the end of the tunnel. Well, that light is certainly approaching much more slowly than I'd expected.
The tunnel in this case is my current project at work. I started on it in late April, though the project itself had been going on for a few months already at that point. Our original development end date was mid-June. At the beginning of last week I thought it might be done by the end of the week; this week I make the same prediction, but with more confidence. Testing has already started; no firm launch date yet but probably mid-September.
This project has already forced me to miss the Washington Post Hunt, NPL con, and the Lewis County Fair. So incredibly disappointing! I'm determined not to miss any of those events next year. I did get to my cousin's wedding over Memorial Day weekend and camping for July 4th. And we are also intent on spending a few days in Chautauqua with my aunt/uncle/cousins in August (no way this project will ruin my entire summer).
Not that the project itself is odious. I've actually learned a heck of a lot from it. We're integrating blogs/wikis/forums into our site, which is password-protected and has a complex user/organization/permission structure, is fully localized (10+ languages) and brandable (all text and graphics). That makes the integration much less than straightforward, and necessitates complete re-implementation of the user interface. And that's the part I'm doing (the UI). I'm now an Ajax/Prototype/DOM expert. (For the non-techies, that's like what's used for the profile and link pop-ups on LJ.) Definitely a useful area of expertise these days.
But it's been all-consuming, required extra hours, and I come home not really wanting to do much of anything, especially anything involving the computer. Thank heavens my husband makes sure I'm fed! There's been quite a bit of vegging in front of the TV, but also a good amount of reading and crochet. (There really should be some Enigma solving in there too, but there hasn't been as much as there should be -- I'm sorry, saxikath, and I do have some June sols to share!)
In penance for my long LJ absence, I can at least present visual evidence of some of my activity. Remember that crochet dress I started back in February to wear at the aforementioned wedding? I finished it with sufficient time left to make a matching shawl (when I realized that otherwise I would freeze!). Pictures taken on our patio, zinnia and coreopsis in background:
I'm really happy with the way the dress turned out, especially the decision to add the second color (and thanks to otherwise-nyc and Erin of A Dress a Day for their opinions on placement of the lower stripe). I also was fortunate to find the perfect color slip to go under it (which you can't even see in the pictures). My only mistake, as I discovered yesterday when I put it on to take the pictures, was to hang it in the closet after returning from the wedding - you might be able to tell from the picture that the bodice has stretched a bit from the weight of the skirt. Even though the dress itself is incredibly comfortable on, that much cotton is heavy!
Next I started on a baby shower gift for my sister-in-law, delightedly discovering after having chosen the design that she loves monkeys. So does Minnie, judging from the pictures.
And the monkey blanket was going so quickly that I took a break in the middle to make something else for myself. This top, from the summer issue of Interweave Crochet, conveniently used the same medium blue yarn as the dress, of which I had one skein left over.
And now I'm working on another skirt for myself, this one in a peach-colored light wool-acrylic, from another Lily Chin pattern. Should be finished in about a week.
Reading will make its way into another post. TTFN!