Sunlight in Winter

There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind. ~Annie Dillard

One of the major reasons we moved to the Southwest was to escape the gloomy, cold winters back East.  Generally our weather is mild in winter and we get many more days of sunshine than we experienced in the East.  Even on days like today, which has been cloudy with a few brief rain showers, we still have glorious bursts of sunlight.

I derive a tremendous amount of energy from the sun here. I love to observe it streaming in the front windows in the early morning and watch its progress throughout the day as it beams in one window after another.  My favorite time, however, is about an hour before sunset when it pours in our back patio doors and makes pools of light and shadow on the walls and floors.We do get fierce winds, too, but the sunlight makes up for it, in my opinion.

Almost Vegan

It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without soup or bread in it. ~ M.F.K. Fisher  

I have been planning for several weeks to try a vegan diet for a three week trial period.  I first mentioned this intent in this post on January 3.   Our visitors are gone and we have managed to finish up all the non-vegan perishable food in the house with the exception of some sour cream and buttermilk. We were so ready to try this new regimen that we began yesterday, even though we still had a few non-vegan items to eat.  That's why I entitled this post Almost Vegan. By Tuesday we should have nothing but vegan food in the refrigerator.

Today I fixed a delicious vegan soup from a 17 Bean and Barley Mix I purchased at Trader Joe's.  I followed the recipe on the package and then added some chopped spinach and Tofurky brand Italian sausage.  I also made some low carb buttermilk bread to accompany the soup.  A plain meal but delicious!

Another Look at Friendship

A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely. ~Pam Brown

In this post, I wondered if it wouldn't be better to let old friendships go and concentrate on new ones.  I've been pondering this question and I've decided that old friendships are too precious to let go by default.  I love to garden and the quote above made me think of how devastated I feel when I have neglected a plant and see it wilting or dying.  How much more important to me are my friends!

I've begun a sort of Year in Review for 2010 to send to my old friends back East and want to finish it and send it by e-mail before the end of this month.  A tall order, but I have always worked better under pressure.  Once the e-mail is sent I intend to concentrate on the letters and phone calls and small, silly presents angle. Like the Girl Scout song intones:  Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver, the other is gold.

Another Cuppa and Some More Crochet

Throw out those crumpled receipts, old card catalog cards, and ripped up parking tickets and get yourself some real bookmarks. ~Robin K. Blum

One of the book clubs I belong to will be meeting at my home in February for a discussion of Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje.  I wanted to make a little  something for the members as a token of my appreciation for them.  They are a wonderful group and I look forward to our monthly discussions with great anticipation. 

I came up with the idea of making each of them a bookmark and since it is the month of Valentine's Day I found a pattern for a little heart bookmark.  It is quick to crochet and I made four while sipping some Earl Grey tea.   

Little Heart Bookmarks

Sipping tea and crocheting is becoming quite a pleasant habit with me.  Now what tea shall I sip as I make four more bookmarks for my friends?  Vanilla/Cinnamon, Orange Spice, or Winter Mint?  

Tea and Crochet

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. ~Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

What a lovely afternoon I've had!  My husband and I sat in the living room sipping tea in companionable silence.  He read and I crocheted.  Life doesn't get any better than that. 

I was able to finish the first block for the 2011 Block-a-Month Crochet Along, a group I belong to on Ravelry.  The afghan I will eventually put together with the twelve blocks I'll be making is for my little grandson.  I chose very vibrant colors because the finished afghan is for a child.  However, I was getting a bit anxious wondering if the colors were too vibrant.  Now that it is finished I love it. 



January Block--Maggie's Square



Now, I only have eleven more blocks to go!

Friendship

Every man passes his life in the search after friendship.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

One of the secret, seldom shared wishes I have for my retirement is to make new friends while keeping the old ones. While I was in the working world I had many acquaintances, but few real friends.  Being a friend requires a lot of maintenance and I was often neglectful in that area.  I vowed that when I retired I would try to do a better job of being a friend.

I have more trouble it seems in keeping up with old friends than in making new ones. Distance makes it more difficult to keep in touch.  E-mails are my usual means of communicating with far away friends, but they lack a certain warmth and spontaneity that face to face contact has. No longer sharing common activities also makes it difficult to find meaningful things to say to old friends. I wonder sometimes if it wouldn't be better to stop trying to keep the friendships alive and just be content with happy memories.  

I have been very fortunate to find a number of people in my new life that I consider friends. We have common interests (reading and knitting and crocheting, for example) and proximity allows us to meet more frequently.  Today, I unexpectedly met with a friend I hadn't seen in a few months. We have both been busy with family matters and never seemed to be in the same place at the same time.  It was lovely to see her and have the chance to chat and catch up on all our doings.  She is a gentle person who brings out the best in me.  I have smiled all day today just thinking about our meeting.  Friendship is good for the soul.

Say "Ah!"

God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying, "Ah!" ~ Joseph Campbell

Lake Tahoe, California

Lake Tahoe, California

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Trees make me a believer.  I am drawn to taking pictures of them on all my travels.

Another Work in Progress

It's a work in progress. It's got a lot of new things on it, but it still needs a lot. ~Tiffany Ross
The road to h___ is paved with works-in-progress.  ~Philippe de Comines

I began another project yesterday afternoon.  I must be crazy with all the works in progress (WIPs) I already have, but this is crocheting one 12 inch block a month until December, 2011.  When I have finished all twelve of the blocks, I will put them together into an afghan for my grandson.  I am using seven very bright colors of a soft worsted weight yarn:  Caron Simply Soft Brites.  The yarn is a bit splitty, but I am pleased with the pattern and my progress so far.

Maggie's Square for Baby G's Afghan

The square was designed by The Crochet Dude, Drew Emborsky. It is a free pattern that can be found on Ravelry and here. It has a new stitch in it for me--the crossed double crochet stitch.  It took me a bit of practice and research to be able to feel comfortable with the new stitch, but I'm glad I took the time.  I really like it and am happy to add another stitch to my repertoire.

End of the Chase

Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.  ~John De Paola

Yesterday I was greatly frustrated in my planning for a family vacation in May.  Nothing was working.  I couldn't find flights that were affordable and with times that were reasonable.  I couldn't find accommodations for all of us.  I was ready to pull my hair out, so I took a break and just knitted for hours.  It was very calming and gave me hope that somehow I would make everything work another day.

Well, today was the day.  I talked with my daughter-in-law and she was willing to change the dates I was having so much difficulty with.  Then I went online and found flights and accommodations that were nearly perfect.  I feel a great sense of relief and now we are all looking forward to some quality time together. 

I hope I can remember this the next time I panic when things are not going my way.  Stepping away from a problem for a while is sometimes the best way to solve it.

Knitting As Meditation

The focus and the concentration and the attention to detail that flying takes is a kind of meditation. I find it restful and engaging, and other things slip away. ~Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford must have been reading my mind when he stated the above--almost.  If you substitute knitting for flying it is exactly how I felt today as I sat knitting on my Scrawl on the Wall Shawl.  

I have been very distracted, frustrated, and anxious the past few days.  I have been attempting to make arrangements for a family vacation in May and nothing seems to be going according to my plans.  I decided after being on line for several hours today searching for just the right flight and the perfect accommodations that it was time to take a break.  Remembering that one of my resolutions for 2011 is to finish all my knitting and crochet works in progress (WIPs), I took up my needles and proceeded to knit on the shawl I am making for my mother.  I not only succeeded in making good progress on it, but I also found it very soothing and my stress has melted away for the time being.  

Scrawl on the Wall Shawl

 I'm very pleased with my progress and looking forward to sending it to my mother.  Until I finish it, however, knitting on this shawl will be my refuge from frustration and anxiety.

Vast Wasteland or Good Stuff?

I was one of the first generations to watch television. TV exposes people to news, to information, to knowledge, to entertainment. How is it bad?  ~Tom Clancy


I know people who would rather admit to a social indiscretion such as getting drunk at a party or using bad language in front of their mother-in-law than that they watch television regularly.  Well, I don't mind admitting that I enjoy watching TV and even have favorite shows that I never willingly miss.  I am particularly drawn to crime solving shows and science fiction or fantasy shows.  Among my current favorites are:  NCIS; Bones; The Closer; White Collar; The Mentalist; Eureka; and Fringe.  In addition to these series, I also really enjoy House and Lie to Me.  All these shows are not only entertaining, but often have clever dialogue as well as thought provoking situations that my husband and I discuss after viewing.

I can only take the news in small doses as I feel that newscasters sensationalize events and give you sound bytes rather than substantive information.  However, one show that I tend to watch every week is GPS with Fareed Zakaria.  I don't always agree with his viewpoint or that of his guests, but always find his show intellectually stimulating.  It presents a wider world view of events than is found on many other so-called news analysis programs.  We also watch BBC America news for a slightly different take on the news than is found on the network channels.

Other television offerings we have tuned into are This Old House and Hometime.  When we were renovating our old house these shows gave us useful information about various aspects of our project.  When we had finished the renovation and were ready to sell our home we borrowed ideas for staging and selling from a variety of programs on the HGTV network.

PBS has always presented high quality programs that inform and educate.  Now that cable television is readily available to most viewers there is a proliferation of such programs.  We especially enjoy the shows on the FoodNetwork, the Travel Channel, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel.

I do not watch Reality TV shows such as Survivor, or Dancing with the Stars.  I checked them out a time or two and they just didn't appeal to me, but I am not a television snob.  I know many people who really enjoy watching this type of program and I see nothing wrong with that.  To each his own.

I read an interesting article on a blog  while doing a bit of research for this posting entitled, Is television still a wasteland?   The author, John Silveira, gives his assessment of the state of television today after a long time away from it. His numerous examples gave me even more food for thought.  I recommend reading his article, especially if you have a negative view of television.  He just might change your mind.

Whatever your own opinions about television watching, let me leave you with a statement from Jack Paar, the American radio and television comedian and talk show host, who took over The Tonight Show from Steve Allen.  Paar said, "I have never seen a bad television program, because I refuse to.  God gave me a mind, and a wrist that turns things off. "  Personal choice is still the best method of insuring quality in what we watch on television.

Time to Get Started

Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in. ~Napoleon Bonaparte

I've always been great at making plans, but come up short when it is time to put the plans into action.  I have no excuses now for not implementing my long deliberated resolutions for this new year.  My visitors have returned home.  We have no travel plans for the time being.  I have few social commitments.  The weather is good. So far my goals for 2011 have been unstated, but only because once I've actually expressed them verbally or in writing then I am committed.  The time for deliberation is over. 

My goals for this year are:  

1. Use stash whenever possible in knitting and crocheting new projects.
2. Finish all WIPs beginning with the 2008 Block-a-Month afghan for the guest bedroom.
3. Walk, walk, and walk some more.
4. Eat healthfully.
5. Write in my journal and blog regularly--at least once a week.
6. Call my parents once a week to check on their health and well-being.
7. Get a new primary care physician.
8. Read at least one piece of classic literature a month.
9. Make a baby quilt.
10. Make and give a family photo album to each of my children.
11. Send a long, newsy e-mail to my neglected friends.

Very ambitious, I know, but without goals nothing is accomplished.  I am very motivated and can't wait to get started tomorrow.

A Hint of What's to Come

O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?  ~Percy Bysshe Shelley 


The weather today has been heavenly.  The first day in a long time that I could go outside without a sweater or a jacket.  The sky has been blue with fluffy white clouds and it was warm.  I sat outside and just soaked up the sun.  The landscape is still looking like winter, but the air feels like spring.  My mind tells me that we will inevitably have more cold weather, but I am refusing to listen to reason.  My spirit tells me that the promise of spring will soon be fulfilled.

Good Things Are Worth Waiting For

I'm a firm believer in delayed gratification. Things mean more when you have to wait for them.  ~Jean Chatzky

My parents' visit is drawing to a close.  They fly home tomorrow morning.  I have greatly enjoyed their visit and I think they had a good time, too.  I am sorry in many ways to see them go, especially because I don't think they will ever make the trip back here again.  On the other hand, if you try to hold on too tightly to happiness it diminishes it.

That being said, I am looking forward to more free time to indulge my passion for knitting and crocheting.  I have several projects in the works that have been crying out to me to be finished.  I knitted some while they were here, but it was fairly mindless and could be done while watching TV or talking with them.  These other projects require my full attention and I felt that I needed to give it to them while they were visiting.

Soon I will be able to knit and crochet to my heart's content with the happy memory of their visit still fresh in my mind. Life is good!

Depressed? Not me!

A lot of what passes for depression these days is nothing more than a body saying that it needs work. ~Geoffrey Norman

According to a blog I was reading earlier this afternoon, today is the most depressing day of the year.  I wondered about what I read and so did a bit of research to find out if there was really some basis in fact for this statement. This article from the Mother Nature Network in the UK gives an interesting explanation of this phenomenon/theory/hoax/urban legend/whatever.  The article says that today is Blue Monday, the third Monday of January.  The depression is likely caused by the weather; debt load from Christmas; guilt over unkept New Year's resolutions; and that oh-no-is-the-weekend-really-over feeling many have on Monday morning. The whole concept was started as a publicity stunt by a travel company. Advice on how to beat the Blue Monday blues?  Use your depression as motivation to strive for a better quality life. For example, plan to spend less next year on buying Christmas presents.

Well, I'm not depressed today, but if I was, I would follow my great-grandmother's advice:  If you don't feel well, just get up and work.  It never fails to cure me of depression or just plain feeling sorry for myself.

Food Is Love

“Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.”  ~Craig Claiborne, ‘Craig Claiborne's Kitchen Primer’

Cooking is one of my joys and I certainly had a joyous time today making dinner for my parents.  In my family, sharing a home-cooked meal is an expression of our love.  I am seriously going to follow the vegan diet I mentioned at the beginning of this month, but in the meantime I have visitors that I need to feed.  Visitors who really wouldn't like all vegan meals.

So today I once again got out my crock pot and fixed a flank steak I've had in the freezer.  I followed a recipe from http://allrecipes.com that I have been wanting to make for a while.  It is called Slow Cooker London Broil and can be found here.  I made it according to the directions, but added some things mentioned in one of the reviews.  Besides the flank steak, cream of mushroom soup, tomato soup, and a package of dry onion mix, I also added an extra can of cream of mushroom soup, a half a cup of red wine, garlic powder, onion powder, and lots of fresh ground pepper.  The meat was sooo tender and the gravy delicious.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.  If I become a convert to vegan eating then I will make it for guests who are not of that persuasion--it is that good! 

Random Thoughts on a Saturday Night

So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.  ~Sidney Poitier

Maybe it's laziness or maybe it's just an inability to focus tonight, but  all my thoughts about what to post are flitting around in my mind like a hummingbird going from one flower to another in the garden. Not being able to come up with a coherent topic, I have decided to list some of my random thoughts.  Not exactly stream of consciousness, but pretty close.  Here goes:

• Wathching NFL playoff games on TV with my family is a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday.
• Meals cooked in a crock pot taste delicious and are almost effortless.
• Waiting for an amaryllis to bloom is rather like waiting for a baby to be born.
• Yahtzee is a boring game requiring little skill.
• If you play Yahtzee with someone you love it can be a lot of fun.
• Why do so many retired people move far away from their families and then spend half of their time going to visit them?
• Wearing socks to bed in the winter helps me get to sleep faster.
• Having chocolate candy in the house is not a good idea when you are trying to eat more healthfully.
• Grandchildren are one of the joys of getting older.
• There will never be enough time to read all the books I want to read.
• There will never be enough time to knit and crochet all the things I want to knit and crochet.
• Knowing that there are still books I haven't read and things I haven't knit or crocheted makes waking up every morning a wonderful adventure!
  

I Remember . . .

"Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were." ~Marcel Proust  

 I am happy to report that Proust was not completely correct in his assessment of our ability to remember things from the past accurately.  I went to a German restaurant for dinner tonight and relived Friday night dinners from my childhood.

I had a choice of sides to go with my Rindergulasch (German Beef Goulash). I chose red cabbage and potato pancakes.  Everything was delicious, but the potato pancakes provided me with a trip down memory lane.  Our standard Friday night dinner when I was young was tuna salad, applesauce, and potato pancakes.  I have ordered potato pancakes many times when eating out, but they never tasted like what I remembered from my childhood. Most of them were made with mashed potatoes and my mother always made them from grated raw potatoes.  She added a little onion, an egg, and some flour, and fried them quickly in a skillet until they were brown and somewhat crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  Mmm!  They were so good! The potato pancakes I ate tonight were just like the ones Mom used to make. Eating them was like being transported back in time fifty years.  

Daily Commitment

I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the years'.  ~Henry Moore

For some time now I have begun each day with a mental listing of behaviors that I want to engage in  just for today. At the end of the day I review my list to see if I have been successful in achieving my morning goals.  What may seem impossible for me to accomplish in the long term--a month, a year--is often attainable  just for today. 


Here is my morning mantra:  Just for today . . .   

• I choose to be free of anger, fear, worry, and regret.
• I will be patient.
• I will be grateful for my many blessings.
• I will work with integrity.
• I will show kindness and respect to my family, friends, and neighbors.
• I choose to live in sunshine, regardless of any shadows on my heart. 

I think this is the method I should use to acquire some of the new habits I have been writing about the past two weeks.    

Stick-to-it-ness

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.  ~Thomas Merton

I have been actively seeking serenity for some time now and have become convinced that by fostering balance and harmony in my life I can achieve it. Easier said than done, however. I tend to approach all my goals with great passion--one might even say obsession.  This life style is not conducive to serenity, but how does one change a long-established way of living one's life?  

Routines help.  Getting up in the morning and going to bed at night at the same time every day is useful in establishing some kind of order and rhythm in my life.  I can sustain this pattern for a while, but then something always disturbs it.  An extended trip away from home; a good book I just can't put down; an inability to get to sleep one night.  

Maintaining balance in my life requires tremendous self-discipline and dedication.  Passion provides the motivation, but so far I am lacking that perseverance I mentioned yesterday.  I need to develop the habit of stick-to-it-ness.  

This topic of forming habits is a recurring theme in my thoughts and posts this month.  Is it just the effect of the New Year on me?  It's January so I must make changes in my life?  I have been resisting making resolutions, but perhaps I need to make some commitments before I can see any progress toward my goals.

Perseverance or Insanity?

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.  ~Newt Gingrich 

Insanity:  doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  ~Albert Einstein


Sunday afternoon I grew frustrated with my knitting of the Scrawl on the Wall Shawl because I was trying to use a lace weight yarn and a novelty yarn and I kept having difficulties. The lace weight was too light and the novelty yarn too splitty.  I must have frogged the same section of the shawl three or four times and finally put it up.  Monday I attempted to add those two yarns to the shawl again and I had to frog it.  Today I picked the shawl up and decided to try one more time with the lace weight and novelty yarns and I had no problems!  Am I a persevering knitter or just plain insane? 

We Are Family

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."  ~Desmond Tutu

We haven't always agreed with each other.  In fact, sometimes, we haven't even liked each other. When I was 16, I thought you didn't have a clue about how to raise children.  When I was 21, I definitely did not want to be like you. In my 30s, raising my own children, I began to hear words coming out of my mouth that sounded a lot like things you used to say. In my 40s, I envied your freedom in retirement to travel the world and I was upset when I phoned you and you were not home.  In my 50s, I began worrying about your being so far away and what would I do if something happened to you.  Now, in my 60s, I take every opportunity to be with you because I know our times together are precious.  Today you came to stay with me in my home and visit for a while.  I really didn't think that you would ever be able to do that again.  Today I feel blessed to have you as my parents.

A Simple Sunday Afternoon

"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods."~James Beard

I spent a quiet day at home today. Just watching the NFL playoff games (glad the Ravens and Green Bay won!); knitting on my Scrawl on the Wall Shawl (became very frustrated after having to frog the lace weight and novelty yarns I was using today); and so ended my afternoon by baking some bread.  My parents are coming for their first visit to our high desert home and I wanted to make something to welcome them. I couldn't think of anything more welcoming than a homemade loaf of bread.

I used to make bread when my children were young and then stopped when my life became really crazy with work.  For years, I wanted a bread machine, but had so little counter space and storage room in my old kitchen that it remained only a dream.  Our kitchen here is not huge, but I made room for a bread machine and use it often. Today I made Nutty Low Carb Bread.  I've made it quite a few times and everyone seems to love it, plus it keeps very well.

I love my bread machine!

Yummy, nutty low carb bread

 

 

I was very tempted to have a slice, but once I start eating it I can't stop and it is for Mom and Dad, after all.

Comfort Knitting

"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." ~Jane Austen 

Jane had it almost right. My take on it would be:  There is nothing like staying at home knitting for real comfort.  

I have been staying at home a lot lately trying to stay warm.  After all the traveling we've done this year, it feels really good to be housebound.  I love to cook, bake, and read when I have some extended time at home, but for real comfort I love to knit or crochet.  I didn't finish my little Christmas gnome last night, but I did cast on the Scrawl on the Wall Shawl. It is an easy knit, pretty much of a no-brainer except when I have to decide what color to use next. Here is my progress so far: 

Some may turn to food or music or even drink for comfort, but just give me needles or a hook and some yarn and that's all the comfort I need.

Obsession

"The creative habit is like a drug. The particular obsession changes, but the excitement, the thrill of your creation lasts. " ~Henry Moore


Was it only two days ago that I was trying to follow the advice of Euripides to finish what I started before beginning something new?  I have made good progress on the afghan begun in 2008, but I certainly haven't finished it.  And yet today I joined two new groups on Ravelry in order to participate in their ongoing projects.  One group is knitting a shawl from scrap yarn and the other is making a different Christmas decoration every month through December of this year. As I was gathering yarn and needles and hooks and patterns to begin making the shawl and a Christmas gnome, my husband inquired why I didn't finish the things I had already begun before starting on these new projects.  That would be much more efficient he observed.  He just doesn't understand the excitement of beginning a new creative project. When the obsession to create overtakes me, I am helpless. I certainly am glad I didn't make any resolutions this year about controlling my knit and crochet addiction.  Now, I have to get back to that sweet little gnome.  He needs some eyes and a beard.  Pictures tomorrow--no time tonight. 

The Garden in Winter

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.  ~Minnie Aumonier

Here in southeastern Arizona, we are generally very fortunate in winter to have relatively warm temperatures and sunny skies while much of the rest of the country suffers with snow and ice.  Lately, however, it has been cold and gloomy often enough to make me dream of balmy breezes and tropical isles. The weather forecast keeps promising us a warming trend, but I have yet to feel it in actuality.  I have been wearing sweatshirts and sweaters and a double layer of socks indoors and only venturing outside when absolutely necessary.  My only solace has been the blooming paperwhite narcissus in my kitchen garden window.

Today I decided I had hibernated long enough and took a stroll through our back yard searching for some signs of life and beauty in the midst of winter.  I didn't find anything in bloom, but the mesquite is still green and the deciduous trees have a stark beauty as they lift their bare limbs to the sky. 

The garden is resting, but I detected the faint sound of music from  the trees as the wind blew through them giving me hope for an eventual concert in the spring. 
 

Looking for Closure in My Craft Closet

Do not plan for ventures before finishing what's at hand.  ~Euripides

In January of 2008, I began making a crocheted block a month in a group on Ravelry--an online knit and crochet community.  The idea being that by December, 2008, I would have 12 blocks that I could make into an afghan.  All went according to plan until October and then, for some reason I can no longer remember, I put the project in my craft closet and began another project, and another project, and another project. Some people call this affliction of starting one project before completing another "startitis".  There is a certain pleasure in beginning a new project--a thrill of anticipation in the planning stages before the project is actually begun.  There have been no problems; no mistakes have been made; no rethinking has been necessary.  There is just that rosy dream of what it will look like when it is finished.  And when problems or boredom do set in, it is a simple matter of setting the project aside to be finished "someday" and starting another one.  It's like a shot of adrenalin.

Towards the end of December, 2010, I joined another crochet block a month group on Ravelry to make an afghan by the end of 2011. (You'd think I would have learned better in the intervening 3 years!) As I impatiently awaited the delivery of the yarn I ordered to make this new afghan, I remembered the half-finished one from 2008 and decided to work on it until the new yarn arrived.  I am making the 2011 afghan for my little grandson and really want to finish it in time to send it to him for his second Christmas.  I have this superstitious feeling that if I don't finish the project begun in 2008, I will never finish the new one for my grandson.  I am happy to report that I have now finished all 12 blocks and have started on the first of 6 more that I have decided need to be added to make a good-sized afghan for my guest bedroom.  I have even begun joining the blocks that are already finished.  See for yourself:

October, 2008 Block

November, 2008 Block

December, 2008 Block

Afghan Under Construction

Euripides advice above is timely for me. I haven't achieved closure yet, but it is in sight now.

Why I Blog

"My blog continues to give me sooooooooooo much pleasure too, I love coming here and wittering away alongside my pictures!! It provides me with a hugely valuable means of memory-preserving which is so precious, . . . and of course it's all there for my Little People to visit and enjoy in the future."    --Lucy, blogging on Attic24

Back last August, I was pondering whether blogging was for me and if so what my purpose for blogging should be.  I thought and thought and even did some research on it, but never could come to a decision so, typically, I did nothing.  Then I suddenly had an epiphany after reading the above on one of my favorite blogs--Attic24.  I love blogging and all it involves: design; layout; choosing a topic; composing a post; taking photos or choosing them from ones already taken.  Blogging is a creative outlet for me. In addition, it is an electronic journal of my memories that I can share with my family and friends.

For 16 years, I have kept a written journal.  Actually, it is now 15 or 16 journals.  My writings in those journals is deeply personal, however, and not to be shared.  In fact, I have requested that they be burned upon my death. They aren't a potential tell-all blockbuster about my life--just my random thoughts and musings.  Now, with my blog, I have a means of sharing my life with others that I am comfortable with.

More regular posting is another habit I would like to nurture and develop this year. 

How Long Does It Take to Form a New Habit?

“People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas”  Author Unknown

 

So today I have been trying my best to begin a healthier eating habit.  I've been reading a book entitled:  Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes:  The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs.  The diet he proposes is vegan and I never really imagined myself following such a restricted regimen.  However, the more I read the more I am willing to give it a try.  I really feel the motivation to reduce my dependence on drugs to control my diabetes.  I also need to jump start my metabolism and loose more weight.

As for the answer to my original question:  How long does it take to form a new habit?  According to answer.com, it generally takes up to 30 days to form a new habit and this depends greatly on the ability and will of the person trying to establish that new habit and it requires constant repetition of the new behavior.  Am I up for all this?  Time will tell.  Next Christmas is a long way off.

A New Year

Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits.  ~Author Unknown

I hope I am able to begin some new habits this year.  Certainly not all my habits are bad or unworthy of me, but I do need to develop at least a few new ones.  Habits that will give me an even happier, healthier, and more creative life.  I shan't commit myself by making resolutions right now, but I am exploring possibilities at this time.  Perhaps posting today is the first step in a new direction.  Meanwhile, here are a few special images of my Person of the Year for 2010:

 

Such a happy boy!

Cutie Pie

What did you say?

Grandma knit me a sweater and hat

My First Christmas