My sense of the passing of the days is really off this week. I have been working overnight shifts all week because the university library where I work is open 24 hours during finals.

Staying up all night hasn’t really been the issue. The real challenge is getting any kind of quality sleep during the day. I draped a bath towel over the curtain rod on the bedroom window to help block out the light, and wearing a sleep mask helped, too, but I still slept fitfully, woken up by the sounds of daily life–a neighbor’s lawnmower, traffic noises, my husband coming home from work, kids laughing and talking outside as they walked home from school.

But, when this post goes live, I will be heading home from my last overnight shift. Then I will try to sleep for a couple hours before staying up the rest of Friday so I can try to get back on a normal sleep schedule. Wish me luck.

Here are this week’s links:

• Lizzie Kate answers fan questions about her cross-stitch design business. I love that she stitches all of her own models.
• The L.A. Times has a wonderful profile of artist Betye Saar, who is 89-years-old and still going strong.
• Paper Thin Personas is a blog that features hundreds of free, original paper dolls. I’m in paper doll heaven!
• Mr. X Stitch has a roundup of 12 mobile apps for stitchers.
• A fun behind-the-scenes tour of a Medieval Times dinner theater. I confess to loving Medieval Times, even though it’s probably been close to 15 years since the last time I went.
• I am a dedicated listener of the On Being podcast, but I only recently discovered the wonderful articles on the On Being website. “The Gift of Presence, The Perils of Advice” by Parker Palmer is a great recent column on the site.
• Craftypod reviews needlework books from the 1970s.

Video of the Week

I heart Michael Franti, and I never get tired of listening to this song.