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!