I finished a couple more of my mini-knit ornaments.
Am a little over half way on the second of a pair of fingerless gloves. Depending on how long I get to take lunch, they may be done this week. I am on ruffle 3 of 8 on a second Christmas tree. Another Murphy mini-sock kit shipped. I saw really cute little hats and scarves for wine bottles I may try to make, since I am giving 3 people wine. (hint if you are getting wine - you are too boring and need a life - it means nothing else says "you" in the stores or on the internet!!) I want to make another mini-sweater and a couple of mini-santa hats. We'll see what the realities of time have to say about that.
Coming tomorrow - I won a blog contest on Thom's blog -so there will be pictures of my cool prize package ( Angie already snagged the t-shirt) and there will be a brief recap of my trip Thursday to get the Angie back home (42 hours - if you were wondering how long before she pissed me off) Oh and I won the football elimination league I was in ( so to all the boys I beat - Suck It!!)
Yesterday I realized there are 18 days left until the year is over. Not just the year but the decade as well. It seems like just a year or two ago everyone was freaking out about Y2K. The Angie was 8 almost 9. Totally obsessed with dance - at that time she was @ the studio almost 20 hours a week. She had just become an altar server at church. I think time goes faster when you have a kid.
Don't worry, I'm not going to rehash the whole decade - my memory isn't all that good! But I'm in that looking back on the year, deciding if it was worth the carbon footprint I left , and thinking about plans and goals for next year sort of mood.
Parenting wise - since we already did a double take on the Angie, I would say 2010 was definitely a hit out of the park. Angie had a great senior year, a good summer, and moving her into Temple went relatively (relatively being the key word) smoothly. She absolutely loves Temple, loves her dorm, loves her classes, likes her classmates, is fencing very well. She really enjoys being in Philly, although after mid-October stopped having the time to head into the city. We'll be picking her up on Thursday for Christmas break. She goes back the day after her birthday in January, assuming we don't kill her in the month. It will definitely be interesting to reincorporate her into day to day household life.
Marriage wise - we've been in this for 20 years later this winter. Not shabby for someone who categorically dumped a guy after 90 days for most of her dating career. We've had some issues this year, mostly because of communication style and because there is our married life, and our outside of marriage life, and the outside part includes a lot of important stuff, and we just usually just don't talk about it. Also Curt hates conflict at home, so just side steps it, and because of that I don't bother anymore and just bitch to my friends alot. But we came to a new truce and moved forward. I was a little bit apprehensive as to how we would deal with Angie being gone. We really haven't had any issues, probably because Angie had such a full plate through High School that she wasn't home a lot, and because we are still great friends and can have a lot of fun just hanging out together. Now the hard part. the me part. I had a bunch of false starts at trying to take better care of my health and my body. I really need to make a better attempt here, as I am really starting to feel not just my age, but all the abuse I threw at my body over the years as well. I just need to figure out how to motivate myself here.
I posted earlier in the fall that I was going to make a concerted effort to start reading, because my brain was turning to mush. Although I am not entirely happy with my accomplishments here, I must say I have read 3 books each month. the book of the month for my 1001 Books To Read Before You Die group and 2 others. I really want to get that up to 4 books a month - except that the book for Jan & Feb together is War and Peace. I wasn't going to read this book, I mean I will never logistically be able to read the whole list since they keep updating it, and I don't plan on taking 10 years off to just read, so there will be books I don't hit. I just want to read a bigger chunk of the list. But since that was the book voted on, and I suppose it will have a sort of sense of satisfaction to accomplish it, I am going to give it a try. And I'm not going to feel bad if I quit!
I made a goal last January to create 52 knitting/crochet projects in 52 weeks this year. I had one month, July, in which I really barely knit, and didn't finish anything that month. As of yesterday i am at 45 projects started in 2010 completed. I am knitting the second fingerless glove of a pair at lunch ar work. I am working on a second slightly different lit Christmas tree- this one with smaller LED lights and beads knit into the tree as "ornaments". I should be getting 3 or 4 (I slightly lost track) mini-sock kits this week. I also have a couple more Christmas ornaments I want to knit. So although it isn't a guaranteed "give me" I have a good shot at reaching this goal.
I also had a goal of trying new types of projects this year. I think I was true to this one. I did not one but 2 beaded shawls. ( I am currently using that beaded technique on the tree I'm knitting) I made a slip stitch felted bag. (not 100% thrilled with the bag but the colorwork came out great). I have done more lacework this year. ( i am usually more of a cables than lace knitter) As a matter of fact the gloves I am working on have a lace inset. I am doing miniature projects, thanks to my Creepy Cute swaps and these Murphy mini-socks.
I finished one afghan for the Victory Junction camp. I fixed another one so it would comply with the camps guidelines. I crocheted some cat beds, and knit several hats for charity. I definitely am going to do charity knitting this coming year. I am not sure other than an afghan or two for VJ in which direction that will go.
So other than charity knitting, I think I am going to look at creating one Christmas decoration/ornament project a month, so I can decorate for next Christmas with more knit items. I think in January I am going to make a real effort to dig out some of my UFOs and actually finish them ( I think I said this last year also, but the 52 new projects sort of pushed this one aside) I am definitely after Christmas going to cast on for my Tappan Zee Cardi. I usually avoid sweaters ( I have made 3 all for the Angie since I learned to knit) because of the large project/short attention issue and also because I really A. hate seaming and B. am bad at seaming. But I want to beat this, and while I don't picture them becoming the mainstay of my knitting, I want to make one for me.
A goal I completely failed at this year, is I told myself after Angie went off to college and I wasn't running to her meets and booster club meetings and parents groups, and other volunteer stuff at her school, I would work on organizing. I have a lot to organize. I want to get my stash list updated. I know people who can pull up their stashes on their smartphones in a LYS and determine if they have what they need for a project. Probably 30% of what I had listed was yarn from when I first started knitting, when I thought AC Moore was the bomb because they had better yarn choices than Rag Shop (now gone) Michaels, Jo-Anns or Walmart. I was never going to knit with it. SO I gave it away to a teacher that runs a knitting club at her school. And probably 25% has been used. AND Most of what I have acquired in the last year and a half is not listed. I need to file all the paper patterns I have accumulated. I need to deal with all the paper and stuff in this place. SO after Angie goes back in January, I will address this.
I did a much better job following through on my garden to the end. And this year I actually got all, the pots emptied and cleaned up before Thanksgiving. SO it will be easier to deal with in the spring. I tried a bunch of new plants, and while some failed some succeeded so I learned for the future.
These are just my thoughts right now. Nothing concrete yet. Just a mental perusal. In other words you may be subjected to more in the near future.
Hi I'm DJ KathyA! Welcome to Rock 'n Roll Fridays. We are like other memes in that we will ask you thirteen questions each and every Friday. But our little "twist" is that each week we will pick a singer, band, era or category and pick thirteen of their songs. Each of our questions will be based on the lyrics. Got it? Great! Let's begin this week's meme!
Today we picked Simon and Garfunkel.
1. A HAZY SHADE OF WINTER But look around, the leaves are brown, And the sky is a hazy shade of winter. Oh, seasons change with scenery, weaving time in a tapestry, Won't you stop and remember me?
Do you think of someone special during Winter? Frosty!
2. BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER When you're down and out, When you're on the street, When evening falls so hard I will comfort you. I'll take your part.
What cheers you up? Snow, Curt, a hug from the Angie, Braun's sending C with my carpet, MMMBD ,one of my teams winning, new yarn..
3. EL CONDOR PASA I'd rather be a forest than a street. Yes I would. If I could, I surely would. I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet.
When was the last time you went barefoot in the grass? Yesterday, running out to my car... yes it was 28 degrees, I just hate putting shoes on once I take them off andall my flip flops are in my bedroom closet.
4. AMERICA Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, They've all come to look for America…
How do you entertain yourself during a traffic jam? Big reason I work from 4am - 130 pm?
No traffic at either time. What do I do in traffic? literally bang my head on the steering wheel and headrest.
5. SOUNDS OF SILENCE When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence
What words would flash on your ideal neon sign? No stoopid people!
6. 59th STREET BRIDGE SONG Got no deeds to do, No promises to keep. I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep. Let the morning time drop all its petals on me. Life, I love you, All is groovy.
What was the last event that made you feel groovy?Not sure, but it had to involve a lot of alcohol.
7. RICHARD CORY The papers print his picture almost everywhere he goes: Richard Cory at the opera, Richard Cory at a show. And the rumor of his parties and the orgies on his yacht! Oh, he surely must be happy with everything he's got.
Do you make enough money to keep you happy? I thought I DID, until the Angie went to college and I started getting her bills.
8. THE BOXER In the clearing stands a boxer, And a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders Of ev'ry glove that laid him down
How do you feel about boxing as a sport? Heavyweights remind me of two tuskless walruses - and all they do is hug! I like the lower weights - my last favorite was DelaHoya.
9. MRS ROBINSON Hide in the hiding place where no one ever goes. Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes. It's a little secret just the Robinsons' affair. Most of all you've got to hide it from the kids.What was the last thing you hid from the kids or significant other in your home? Um Curt does read this occasionally you know!
10. I AM A ROCK I have my books And my poetry to protect me; I am shielded in my armor,
What item protects you? fists, guns, bows, brains
11. KATHY’S SONG I hear the drizzle of the rain Like a memory it falls Soft and warm continuing Tapping on my roof and walls.
What is your least favorite thing about rain?I love the rain, always have. Love the soft gentle caresses of rain in the summer, love the power and energy behind a good thunderstorm, love the peace behind a nice grey rainy day. I do not like the days that are not really drizzle more like heavy mist that are not wet enough for wipers but wet enough to annoy you on the windshield. I do not like people who complain about rain and then bitch about droughts.
12. HOMEWARD BOUND Home where my thought's escaping, Home where my music's playing, Home where my love lies waiting Silently for me.
What’s your favorite thing about your home? My home is my sanctuary. No stoopid people are allowed inside.
13. FIFTY WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER The problem is all inside your head, she said to me The answer is easy if you take it logically I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
What was the worst way you ever left a lover?ok, funny story. It was the late 80's, there was a gay bar on the other side of the lake from where I was living. To get there you had to drive about 3 miles down a wooded/unstreetlighted road from either direction of the 2 main highways it was between. Because of vandals the pay phone out front never worked. I had a really good friend, Kevin, that did an AMAZING Tina Turner. My friends and I used to go there pretty regularly to see Kev and because the food was really amazing and relatively inexpensive. So the guy I was seeing, but needed to dump, knew we went to this bar to see Kevin play pretty often, but never took him along, because he was annoying about said friends being males (part of why he needed to go, other part was I found the next guy) So I asked him if he wanted to come with me because my friends couldn't make it and he was annoying, but agreed. I told him I would drive since it was hard to find, he said ok. So I drove, told him to get a table and get me a drink while I hit the ladies room. He went inside and found out what kind of bar it was, and what kind of show Kevin did (btw I discovered after we had been dating that he awas a HUGE homophobe) and went to look for me - but I was halfway home!!! Yes, I know very wrong. he ended up walking the 3 miles in the dark with his little keychain light to the gas station, because he wouldn't ask the bartender to call him a cab. So he did deserve it a little. But he never called me again, so it did the job.
Hi I'm DJ KathyA! Welcome to Rock 'n Roll Fridays. We are like other memes in that we will ask you thirteen questions each and every Friday. But our little "twist" is that each week we will pick a singer, band, era or category and pick thirteen of their songs. Each of our questions will be based on the lyrics. Got it? Great! Let's begin this week's meme!
