Okay, something is still not right with the blog layout, but I'm powerless to figure it out at the moment. I'll keep at it.

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, which makes me scratch my head that so much can have happened in that time.

School officially starts on Monday, but I've been working since my head start two and a half weeks ago. It took me four libraries and two boroughs, but I've managed to get all four books I'll need this semester, saving me $156 plus shipping. Whew! I love the reading so far, since much of it is focused on the history of the library - take me back to Alexandria! I'm looking forward to reading about the monastic libraries, since my love for anything Medieval is well-known. I'm excited about school, so I'm hoping my enthusiasm propels me through the FOUR PAPERS I have to get done in EIGHT WEEKS.

My baby boy turned 10 last week - how did that go so quickly? He was in my arms for the first time not so long ago, and now he's pushing for more and more freedoms. His own set of keys, the ability to walk home by himself - it's all moving so much faster than I want it to. I know you can't stop progress, but I'd really appreciate it if progress would slow down its speed for Mommies.

Talking animal movies no longer holds him in thrall... Mike's relieved (and we do still have Cutie Pie, who has already stated his intention to see "G-Force" on opening day), but again, it's one more piece of babyhood falling away. I miss the days where he'd curl into my lap - only for about 10 minutes, since his attention span usually demanded he wander around the rows of the movie theatre every 20 minutes or so - and watch horses, gorillas, bears and moose all talk about their latest adventures.

On the other hand, I can talk comic books with him, and we've just read our first Edgar Allen Poe stories together. As he grows and our relationship evolves, I guess it's just finding a way to make our favorite pasttimes change enough to fit his comfort zone.

So now, I'll be first in line to watch a covert team of guinea pig operatives save the world, with Cutie Pie giggling next to me - until it's time to wander up and down the stairs of the theatre. And I'll do it gladly, remembering that when I wake up tomorrow, he may be 10, too.

I've been knitting and reading, as usual. I finished Ghosts and Lightning, and to be honest, it wasn't my thing. It wasn't horrible, just not my speed for fiction. It was very much in the vein of Trainspotting - good movie, just not my thing.

I also finished I Am Legend, and read with superb timing as Queens is dealing with outbreaks of swine flu that are shutting schools down right and left. The book is much different compared to the movie, and I enjoyed the movie. It's two very different works; the book seemed to have inspired the cinematic retelling more than anything else (a la Blade Runner). The book takes place in suburban California as opposed to Will Smith's post-apocalypse Brooklyn; the diseases differ between the book and the movie - okay, suffice to say that the only common ground between book and movie is a character named Robert Neville. The book also had a small short story collection by Matheson, many of which read like Twilight Zone episodes. Good stuff.

What's on the needles? Socks, perusual. It's the quickest thing I can stash in a bag and I don't usually stress as much about getting gauge. I've got two pairs half done - does that make sense? Pictures forthcoming with more yammering about gauge, soft silky soy yarn, and gorgeous merino wool.