Well, almost everything that needs to be done is done.

I've selected projects to take with me - Hiawatha with the edging to do (which is fun - knitting on edgings is fun because you know you're nearly done, AND it finishes the object without having to do any whipstitching or grafting or anything like that. That pleases both the lazy part of me, and also the finicky part - I like that the piece can essentially be made of long continuous pieces of yarn, without knots or "tricks" like grafting).

The current socks-in-progress (four pair - I'm almost done with the first sock of the Owl socks and also of the Embossed Leaves socks). A bunch of sockyarn - some Opal Hagebutte ("Rosehips") which I guess looks like roses to me, but it's more orangey. I'm going to try out that ribbed-and-cabled sock pattern that was in Interweave over a year ago with it.

Also some self-patterning yarn for "plain" socks - car knitting for while I'm on my way to, and on my way back from, my cousin's wedding (It's like a 12 hour drive. I'm just hoping that with my brother and sis-in-law going too, that we're not so crammed in there like sardines that there's not room to knit).

I also tossed in a couple balls of Artful Yarns "Candy" and a pattern for a "Juliet Cap" (which I will probably have to alter, as it's written for bulky yarn and the Candy is a true worsted. I'll have to try swatching in the round and see.)

I also chose my books. (Understand, this is an important choice. You need a diversity of books - books good for train-reading, books good for "on the road and surrounded by too many people and homesick" reading, books good for "I'm going to withdraw for a half hour to have a little quiet" reading.) So I've got a yet-unstarted Roderick Alleyn mystery*, and the Brunetti mystery ("A Noble Radiance") I'm currently reading. And "The American Senator," which I'm still plowing through. And a couple of non-fiction books, neither of which I've started yet:**

Joseph Ellis' "Founding Brothers" (I am fascinated by the American Revolution and the beginning of the "American Experiment." I'm also amazed at how little I know/remember, despite having pretty good American History courses through school and getting a 5 on the American History AP exam)

Marva Dawn's "Keeping the Sabbath Wholly." It's a meditation on the idea of the Sabbath, and how we need that time as both down-time and "connection time." I've read other works of Dawn's and found them thought-provoking, so I hope I will learn some useful things from this.

(*the "Golden Age" British mysteries - ones mainly set in the Edwardian period, and set among the upper-middle to upper classes, are one category of "comfort reading" for me. A couple years ago I hadn't even heard of Alleyn but now the mysteries featuring him - which were written by Ngaio Marsh - are among my favorites. And I prefer them to Christie; I think the character development is better and they are more plausibly plotted. You know, now that I think of it, I might toss another one in my bag, just in case. I can blow through those pretty fast.)

(**That can be a risky move as there are few things more disappointing than taking a book on vacation, starting it, and finding it either bores or infuriates you. But both of these come highly recommended from different people)

I guess it would strike some people as odd - some maybe as even downright bizarre - that I give a lot more attention to choosing the books and knitting projects I take than I do to choosing my clothes. Actually, beyond making sure I have the requisite numbers of things (and, this time, something acceptable to wear to a wedding), it's not something I care much about.