A week and a half to go!

Until the new year, that is. Everyone continues to heal up (blessed be), things are peaceful and quiet -- maybe a little too quiet.

Yes, in my family it is tradition to take good fortune as a harbinger of the bad. It's a screwed up way to live, and I wish I didn't do it, but there it is. Particularly after this past year, I'm a little frightened to have faith that life isn't about to stab me in the back.

I'm working hard on mom's mink neckwarmer. It's beautiful and soft as kittens, and I love it. She will enjoy it, too, I know. Plus, being an infinity scarf, she won't lose it. The benefits of felting an acrylic/mohair blend scarf by wearing it -- you get it replaced with mink.

I'm lining up my projects for next year, and I'm spoilt for choice. I've already decided to join my hermit's club's Ravellenics team -- Team Knit Alone. We don't officially register for the games, just knit along. I'm going to finish my Hue Shift Afghan because my colorway is the shockingly appropriate "Rainbow".

Look at the rainbow -- LOOK AT IT!!!!

I'm also thinking about working on my Double Cross scarf, because it has sparkles. Rainbows and sparkles? Oh, yeah.

Sparkly rainbows would be better, but I'm limited by my stock

 

I've been trying to narrow down my book list, but am not having much luck in figuring out which books to remove. Truman Capote will have to come off, sadly -- In Cold Blood is, technically, non-fiction. I think I may have to simply choose a book by an author who has several on the list as I come to the author on the list. I'd have to read two books a week, on average, to hit 100 books next year anyway, and that's not going to be feasible. I have a hard time mustering up enthusiasm for literature, anyway, not sure I could make it through two a week. That's like...eating peas every day for every meal. Urgh. I'll just have to see how many I can get through. Anything over three will be a major improvement for me.

 

I only have one more work day left before we close the office for the holidays. Wheee! I won't finish up mom's scarf in the next three days (unless I give up going to the bathroom in favor of sitting for the whole day in my chair, knitting like a fiend), but that's ok. I'm sure I'll get it done over the holiday break. Then I can maybe move on to another project, pick a book and get started on all my goals at once. 

 

But for now, I'm off to watch the first episode of season one of Sherlock. I need to watch them all over again before the third season starts up on the 19th. Possibly twice.  

My first blizzard!

I grew up down south, an inch or two of snow was big news. Then we moved up to the midwest, and maybe 6 inches was a big deal (we're not near the Great Lakes, or that far north, we have far more moderate winter weather than most people expect). But right now, we're getting up to a foot of snow! And the wind is blowing! What does that spell?

BLIZZARD!!!

I've never been through a blizzard before, and so far it's pretty dull. I mean, I'm in the house, it's fairly warm (ish, my patio isn't the coziest place on earth) and I've got access to food and fresh water, so...yeah. It's just a lot of snow coming down really fast and blowing around.

It sucks, but sucks about on a par with all the other types of snow. Of which I am not fond.

Oooh, speaking of snow, saw the Doctor Who Christmas special last night. It was weird and creepy and altogether too much fun for a girl to have on a dark Christmas night, and it gives you a new suspicion to have about snow. As if I didn't have enough problems with it before!

At least I've got a metric ton of yarn and projects to work on to keep myself busy today. I've been working on my Birthday Cowl of late:

I seriously love how those stripes are panning out. I couldn't have done that better if I'd planned it, could I?

Plus I've got my never ending Shawl of Green (the ruffle is taking forever, but not using as much yarn as everyone told me it would). I'm pretty sure I'll have it ready for next winter. Le sigh.

And I'm also thinking about doing another attempt at a more successful destash effort in the new year. I've been going through my stash, finding pretty yarns and trying to match them up with projects. So far I've got several stash items (which may include more than one skein of the same yarn) reserved for projects covering blankets to shrugs to scarves. If I ever bestir myself to finish up my sweater, that kills a lot more stash, too. My goal is to rid myself of at least one of the auxilliary stashtainers, with an ultimate goal of whittling down the stash to fit in my Cedary Stashtainer of Yarny Goodness within two years.

Hey, I gotta give myself time; I'm not the fastest knitter in the world. Although with the advent of the new job in the new year, that might change -- I've got nothing but knitting time during the days. Pray for my wrists.

So I'm planning my destash projects out as well as knitting on my cowl.

And if all else fails, I've got my Christmas swag to enjoy:

Ok, maybe time for plan Z.v013245

I have discovered I'm terrible at getting things done. I'm not sure why--it could be a lack of discipline (never having to study for tests in school because you have a near photograhic memory leads to a shocking lack of a sense that you have to work for things) or maybe a hypersensitivity to stimulation (as the psychologists posit is possible for a Jungian Introvert like me) or another side effect of my low esteem that says whatever I do doesn't matter, no one cares but me, so why not just bunk off and finish that book you started yesterday? I don't know, but the effect is the same, I just don't get things done. Or I do the minimum required and never really get ahead--although I can honestly say that doing the minimum required is more easily understandable to me. Sticking my neck out by extra effort never got me anything good when I worked in the corporate world, so I stopped doing it. One lesson I have learned, and learned well. (Hmmm, maybe this contributes to the 'nobody wants to hear it' aspect of my not getting things done issue, too....)

Whatever, I'm getting tired of angsting and the angst getting in the way. But if I divorce my emotions from the writing, the writing is flat and, frankly, just plain bad. So what to do? No, seriously, what do I do at this point? There's supposedly some value in writing through the angst, but I've never been able to do it. I've been able to write freely and well when the project only took three hours or less, but that's about as long as I can go before the angst gets overpowering and starts affecting the words. As you can imagine, this is a non-starter.

I need suggestions. If anyone out there has an idea, no matter how weird or flaky or outer space it might be, I'll listen and probably try it, at least once because for once I'm completely and totally fresh out of new ideas. Even sitting upside down in my chair and watching television (which usually jogs something out) doesn't work.

I suppose it doesn't help that Mater Gloriosa has decided we have to start preparations for Thanksgiving (last year, oh, my God, it's only 12 months away, what are we going to do, how will we get everything done!?!?!??!) today. She busily throwing out everything in the freezer because who knows, we might need sixteen cubic feet of storage for frozen foods for one holiday. *eye roll* Even with 16 people here, it doesn't have to be this big a deal. I don't know how I'm going to cope.

I hate the holidays. I so seriously do. Thank God Christmas is at the brother's this year, or I'd kill someone.

(Sorry for the fractured post, people. I'm trying to type this and my mother is asking me if XYZ thing is mine or if she can throw it out because you never know, we might have to shove a 50 pound turkey in there for a week and a half. Help me.)