Christmas is in a week???

I'm not prepared. I've done some shopping, but not much.

Part of the problem is that one of my two busiest times of year at work happens during the beginning of December. This week was the last week of the semester, so I've been playing hurry-up-and-wait with grades and schedules. We are completely closed the week between Christmas and New Year's and I make it a point to get grades and schedules out to students before I have my week off. As a result, I have spent nearly four hours more at work than normal over the past three days. I rarely put in overtime, so even an extra hour-and-a-half at the end of a day makes me feel as though I'm living at work. I'm pathetic, I know, but it's a job, not my life.

The only knit gift I've made is the Hallowig, which is now being worn by a styrofoam head, with a gold elastic from a box of holiday chocolate as a hairband. I found a new battery for my camera this evening, if I can find film, I'll take a photo of it tomorrow before I wrap it up to give it away.

My Sophie is coming along, I've bound off the edges and am probably a third into the first length of i-cord. Even if it takes until tomorrow evening to finish, it'll still be the quickest knit I've done so far. It's been fun, and I already know I plan to make at least one more, probably with some Patons merino from West Earl Woolen Mill, though I'll need to make sure it's not superwash, I suppose.

Okay, for those of you who have cats: Do your cats chase their tails? I know it's fairly normal feline activity, but my younger cat makes it strange. The only time she really chases her tail is when she is perched on the back of my desk chair. The reason I bring it up is that she's doing it right now; my chair keeps lurching slightly as her weight shifts. I'll have to try to get a photo of her in action sometime soon.

I just finished reading Madras on Rainy Days by Samina Ali. I enjoyed it, not only for the engaging storytelling, but also for the peek into a culture with which I am totally unfamiliar. The main character, Layla, is an Indian Muslim who has grown up alternately in India and the US and finds herself in an arranged marriage in India. It wasn't quite as emotionally engaging as some books I have read, but the cultural differences were interesting enough to keep me interested in Layla's world and situation.