Yesterday, I left San Francisco and made my way to Fort Worth, Texas.

(View from the top of Twin Peaks, courtesy of an early morning jaunt with Stephen)

This trip is mostly knitterly, with a quick trip to visit my friend Stephen thrown in, and that means that I’m carrying my teaching stuff, my teaching supplies, student supplies, handouts, a computer projector, examples of knitted stuff,  you have no idea.  Then there’s my personal stuff, and although I tried to keep it reigned in hard… It’s chilly in San Francisco, and hot in Texas and cool in Minneapolis and that made me think I needed more clothes than usual, and then I needed boots for hiking and sandals for the heat and so they’re in there, along with a raincoat because… well. Clearly I came a little unglued.  All of that fits in two bags, and then there’s my carry on.  In that I have all my computer stuff, and the ridiculous number of cords and plugs,  and a big camera, and all my knitting (two kinds, in case I finish one) and also my wallet and really, that bag is so heavy that carrying it is making me shorter. 

All of this is unwieldy and heavy and I feel like I have way more than usual (because I do) and yesterday morning I carried it all down three flights of stairs, somehow got it onto the street in San Francisco, and kept it from rolling down a hill, and then lifted it all between parked cars, and then I got it into the taxi, swearing on my stash that I would never, ever have this much luggage again – all the while thinking that it’s insane that my bags are this full, when I didn’t even bring a swift and ball winder- which is a huge measure of restraint.  I keep going over those bags and trying to figure out why they’re so full, why I have so much – why I’ve had to unzip that expansion thing on the side of the suitcase just to keep it from exploding, and seriously, there really hasn’t been an upside to having this much… until today – see, I was already knitting with Verb For Keeping Warm yarn when I landed there… and that really did take the edge off of my collecting habit.  I only got one skein- which is a miracle of remarkable proportions. I have a bit of a thing for their yarn. 

Today, today I have no strategy.  Today I’m going to be at MadTosh.  I’m giving a talk at 6pm, and it’s right in the store, and I really, really don’t see how it’s going to be possible to avoid the yarn.  To make things worse, I’m still trolling for nephew sweater yarn, and that makes me feel like I need to buy some…

and I’m about 20 minutes away from finishing my Suki. 

The only thing that’s going to help me? (And I swear in the name of everything holy that if one of you makes shipping it home sound reasonable and sane instead of expensive and crazy I’m done with you)

I can’t buy much.  It won’t fit.

PS.  I just realized that I’m already in trouble.  I meant to type "I can’t buy anything" and just noticed I’ve already rationalized my way to "much"  I might need to take a buddy.