Thu Aug 4 - It was a jam-packed morning with trying to get up early, getting laundry done even before going to work, sitting in heavy morning traffic (because after laundry I was hitting the freeway later than usual), and when I got in to the office I had a proofreading job for a co-worker sitting ahead of my normal work. And since I'm out of soy milk I can't even enjoy a latté through it all. Ah well. Such is life. *grin*
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Work is slightly stressful since I'm having to figure out not only how to use some new software but also make sure that all my content info is correct before doing the importing and configuring. I have a deadline to meet tomorrow, and feel like I could really use another day or two in my life to really get everything under control.

But I got all the reports for the meeting tonight done, and the drive home went fairly quickly. Lilya had a lovely sleep-in and lounge around morning and was ready to leave as soon as I got there. I was thankful for that little detail. I found the thread organizer she was looking for, and picked out a sewing notions organizer, too, which she really liked. Dropped her off safely, and cut over to the coast to avoid the evil-bad freeway interchange. It was exactly 5:00 pm when I was finally leaving her place in LA, and there was no way I was going to sit in that beating afternoon sun, crawling up a hill for another hour or more.

And I made the right call—Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) through Santa Monica and Malibu was gorgeous. Cool breezes off the water. Very little traffic. I just flew up the coast and loved every moment of it. I even got to the meeting site early and had time to get a latté (first one all week!) and sit comfortably enjoying the downtime before the meeting started. And with my new lucet, I got several short cords done for our September event.

Speaking of my lucet, I've taken a photo for you all: Just click on this thumbnail to see the larger photo.

After the meeting, several folks went for coffee and dessert so I went to hang out for a wee bit. Then I joined up with folks who'd gone for dinner. They had saved a seat for me and ordered a diet soda so it would be there when I arrived. Lisa also rang me up as I was headed to coffee, so on my way to dinner I convinced her to join us there. I really love getting to catch up with everyone at least once a month, and treasure being able to go out after the meeting every month.

Then I realized I should have just arranged to crash at Dayle and Ken's, and I hope I didn't wake Dayle when I rang their house to see if it would be okay to drop in. And bless him, Ken made up the guest bed downstairs. So after I went to pick up all my latest eBay purchases, I arrived to find that everything had already been set up for me. I am so incredibly fortunate to have friends like these in my life.

Oh! And in my mailbox? The ancient spinning whorl is here, the folding keyboard for my Palm Clié, the small spindle with the grey angora fiber (plus seven little samples of other fibers she sells!), and an early monograph by Peter Collingwood (a world-renowned weaver) that I'd forgotten that I had purchased!
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Fri Aug 5 - I had a lovely sleep, got up a little later than I wanted to, and hit the road at 5 am (instead of 4 am). The traffic was fine all the way home, although heavy once I'd showered, changed, and headed to work. But I remembered to get some soy milk yesterday at work, so I've had my latté now at work and am ready for yet another day!