Generosity is normally a fine quality to exhibit, but there ought to be limits to the ways in which it is expressed.  Sharing generously of one's time and talents is to be encouraged, of course.  On the other hand, when one is possessed of an overabundance of bacteria or viruses, generously giving them to others in your orbit will usually result in epithets such as "Typhoid Mary" being used for the giver. 

 

A couple of weeks ago, one of my colleagues was "blessed" with a copious supply of the flu virus, which he happily shared with the rest of the department.  Since then, well, let's just say the rest of us have been a bit ... ungrateful ... for his moment of sharing.    I really don't like spending three days inert, with barely enough energy to stagger from bed to privy and back again.  No knitting was accomplished during this time period. 

 

Let's think about that for a moment.  Three full days away from the office should have produced at least a few stitches on one or more of the current projects.  None.  Zip.  Nada.  This is not the way I'd prefer to spend three days away from the office.   Being that massively unproductive makes me cranky (not to mention the additional crankiness arising from feeling totally ghodawful).

 

The culprit has been appropriately chastised, and offered only "Hey, somebody else gave it to me" as a defense.   Somehow, that doesn't cut it for me...

 

In any case, the Plague has gone away, and I'm back to what passes for normality.  Knitting is happening, little bits of it here and there, at least, and the dreaded Startitis seems to be trying to gain the upper hand.  Thus far, nothing new has been cast on, but ideas are swarming through my (alleged) brain, including a modification to the charts for the Granny Weatherwax shawl.  That one, though, is going to have to wait a bit, as knitting black lace in artificial light just makes my eyes twitch.  Later in the year, when there's more natural light in the evenings, it'll get under way.

 

This year's "knit from stash" effort seems to be working thus far; I'm happy to report that I made it through January without purchasing any new yarns.  Wallowing in the gorgeous yarns already in the stash has helped, as has avoiding all my favorite online vendors' web sites.   There's no telling how long I'll be able to hold out, especially if my friends insist on dragging me into the new shop that recently opened in town.   As the Vogon guard was wont to say, "Resistance is Useless!"