OT

Thinking of dispensing with the OT ... so little is on topic and most of it feels like a public diary anyway. Maybe I can do annoying headlines... but I don't like headlines unless I get paid for them.

Sunday I went to the park for a meeting (SCA). It's an off week in a new location, so I don't expect to see anyone. I arrived early to claim a nice table, sit with my helmet, and knitting needles. I cast on for another pair of socks. This time I am trying a hemp-cotton blend that is different in texture from anything else I have used, but I feel politically smug when I use hemp, and I've loved cotton since I have known what cotton is. I found 5" long #2 needles (2.75 mm), and I haven't worked with needles so short before. The yarn wanted a bigger needle since it's a bigger yarn, so I thought I'd give it a try. And I lost one of my #0 (2.0 mm) needles, so it would be harder to knit a sock that way. The last pair of socks were on the #0 and had 15 stitches per needle for a sock that will fit. This set up needs 12 stitches per needle, and I may have to drop the bottom of the sock to 11. But some give in the sock will be needed because these aren't superwash, and they won't stretch much. I find myself wanting a cardigan out of this yarn, but it was a tiny skein for a ridiculous amount of money, and I don't think I could afford that much yarn. I cast on the toe and finished the toe, then left to go home.

But I remember my first time at the park, for another meeting. No smells bothered me. I could hug the people who had used body spray (But I didn't wear perfume just for you!). I didn't need a second thought about how the wind is blowing because I must be upwind of So and So. This time, I sat off out of the way (and yet visible in case friends did show up). Everyone who did walk by did so at least 20 to 30 yards away, and the smells washed over me like tsunamis of perfume. That one had bug dope. That one bathed in cologne. That one is fresh from the pool- the chloride scent very strong. I could be a new superhero with this sense of smell... It's Fucked-up Super Canary~! Able to smell one part of methane in a stadium! And I know I am more sensitive than I used to be. This does not bode well for my future health. A slow down hill slide is not good at all. I'm still able to go out like this, but now I'm getting sick from the smells almost every time. How long do I have before going to the grocery store becomes impossible? I'm grateful for the internet so I can at least still do research and have conversations. Being locked inside my home would slowly drive me mad, no matter how much I feel safe here.  ¶ 1:27 PM