Mutant Cukes, and a New Top

Jet lag last night was like bad shrooms. When my dad asked what that meant I told him its like being in a musical you don't want to be in. -- Lady Gaga

Man... jet lag really, really sucks. And it was really bad this time. I'm usually over it in a day or two: a couple of super early 3am mornings, and then a couple of nights of being awake for an hour in the middle of the night, and a couple of tired days before feeling normal again.

Waking up at before 5am every day for a week is like living in your own version of Dark City. There you are, lying in bed in the dark, trying not to look at the clock, rolling through every single thought that enters your brain. And, of course, because it's dark, and because you're jet lagged, they're thoughts that make you crazy.

"I should get the zipper of that boot fixed. Or maybe I should get a new pair. Or maybe I should get brown ones. Chocolate brown ones. Or maybe grey..."

"If I get up now, I could clean the bathroom. No, that's stupid. I could clean the fridge instead. Maybe see if there's any peanut butter..."

"I wonder where I left my knitting bag? I think it's in the car. Is it in the car? Did it fall out? I better get up and check. No, better not. I heard there was a bear-sighting near here. Black bears. Are you supposed to fight back with black bears or play dead? But maybe I could bring a piece of meat or something... you know, throw it the other way. I'm pretty fast. I'd have to wear running shoes... and maybe a bra..."

Miraculously, I made it to the weekend, and last night, I managed to stay awake until nearly 10pm. And, even more miraculously, I stayed asleep until 6am. It's like I'm a real person.

One of the things I worked on in my brain during those early mornings was what I was going to do with this top:

I actually finished it while in Belfast after all. I happened to stop at a store that sold crochet hooks, so I bought one and managed to put it together using slip stitches, and then added some single crochet stitches around the sleeves to finish them off.

It's pretty comfortable: very light, very airy.

And the uneven hem isn't all that noticeable, as long as I resist my habit of tugging on my shirt hems every three seconds:

I'm not so sure how noticeable the linen stitch bands are, but I'm glad I put them in. They give the garment a bit of structure, especially when the rest of the fabric floats about so much. Somehow, I managed to make this side slightly differently... when I matched up the corners, this side was a little droopier in the centre, which made a natural front neckline:

And the back neckline was perfectly straight, which sat nicely on my neck:

The weather has turned here, and we've had some cool, rainy days. This means that I might not wear this much until next spring, but I might wear it under a jacket or blazer or something. I'd hate to have to wait that long to wear it.

In the meantime, I'm glad for the cooler weather. It means I can do a bit of cooking inside the house. I'm going to make something with these zucchinis that took off in my garden while we were away. They're mutant things, aren't they? Like something out of a trippy dream:

They'll go well with these funny-looking cucumbers my friend gave me this week. Yes, they're cucumbers, seriously. Weird, but given my jet laggy week, maybe not so out of the ordinary:

I'm off to get a cookie. I'm sure there were two of them in the cupboard... I think one said "Eat Me." Just as soon as I get some tea for the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. Tea, anyone?

Oi, I need a nap...