Pain in the Neck

So I was not able to knit for 4 days.  I had a serious pain in the neck...a pinched nerve. Ouch. It has been miserable, I couldn't read, I couldn't knit, I couldn't enjoy my usual comforts like my bed.  I've been sleeping in a recliner now for 5 days.  I am on an anti-inflammatory but still can't lay down in my bed at night.  I did knit for about an hour last night.  That was nice.

I am in my planning stages for my auld lang whine.  I am working on my lists of stuff to knit up this year.  At Christmas, my youngest niece was not opening the gift I gave her and her comment was that she'd just see what everyone else got because they all got the same thing in different colors.  So needless to say, she will never, ever get what the other girls get ever, ever, ever again.  Maybe that was her plan. So with that in mind, I can knit just about 33% more for the other girls.  I am good with that!

Also, to my wonderful amazement, my oldest niece is having a baby next year. I can concentrate on knitting for the new "girl" (or boy) instead of the cranky teen aged girl. And, even more wonderful, my husband has a niece that is due for a baby about the same time this year.  Jeepers, I better get to knittin'. To top that off, both of these babies to be have daddies that are going to Iraq in February. So my nieces will become moms without their husbands there to be with them.  That is a bummer to say the least.

I have also renewed my desire to knit for charity.  I have so much excess yarn I could make hats and mitts and scarves and whatevers...but again, I have visions of all the work I can do while I sit here with my pain in the neck!

As I mentioned in my last little bloggity-blah-blah-blah, I have 22 items on the needles that require attention. I have in fact listed them and prioritized them by percentage of doneness. I would prefer percentage of funness but well, I just like to knit.  Maybe I can get some pictures on here so that all this boring chit-chat will be less annoying (to me) and more enjoyable (for you).

I am back! almost...

Auld Lang Whine

I have been madly reworking my yarn room, commonly known at my house as "the Pit."  I make my kids clean up their rooms so they thought I should clean up mine.  What is it with kids today?  They act like they have minds of their own or something.  When I was a kid, I would never have told my mother what she should do even if she was wrong!  Oh, well, they were right and my room needed a refresh.

So I've been reorganizing and preparing my knitting new year's resolutions.  The "Auld Lang Whine" as I like to call it.  I realized I've put at least (there may be other lurking in hidden places) 22 projects on the needles that are yet to be completed. I am now in the process of prioritizing them. My goal is to either complete these or frog them.  Just make a decision and go with it.  That's list one.

List two will be to assess the yarn that is designated for a project and write those down, prioritize and set them aside until I finish at least 3 from list one before starting a list two project.  You might say, "Lori, that's just crazy."  Well, I've never been accused of being a bastion of mental health. 

There may be a third list of non-designated items.  This would be an arduous task even for someone who doesn't have ADD.  That list is a kind of "pie in the sky" list. But I am a dreamer and I love to dream about all the possibilities I could have with all that non-designated yarn... /snap.

Ignore me while I argue amongst myselves:
      Left brain: "Don't worry about it..."
      Right brain: "Chump!"

I crack me up sometimes.

Time Marches On

When I was young, I would stay up every New Year's Eve and wait for the "ball" to drop on New York City (re-run for central time, of course).  It would bring in the new year with fabulous promise,  opportunity and hope.  It was refreshing and invigorating and all the positive things I would think as I looked forward to my life, renewed with the new year. Somewhere along the way, I lost that hopefulness.  Now if its 10:00, I go to bed, even on New Year's night. Sadly, I am no longer excited by time marching on. I've come to realize that my life has been going no where for a long time.

I went to church on Sunday (twice) and listened to the sermon (twice) but I definitely needed to hear it (twice). I think I tend to think of my life as a failure but only because I've listened to a lot of negative criticism.  The sermon talked about all the little things we do everyday that are accomplishments and praises that we don't really even think about; that we forget about. The little joys should be brought into the forefront of our lives and the disappointments should left behind.

I woke up this morning thinking about how knitting has helped me to be more hopeful and joyful all year round. I think about the people I love all year because it takes me all year to to get it all knitted. In my own peculiar way, that's my praise.  I get to do what I really like and seem to have a modest talent for and I get to show the people that I love that I love them and think about them all year.

Once again, I am loathe to come up with those unattainable new year's resolutions.  But I have discovered that those resolutions do a couple of things, first, they get one off of one's proverbial duff and move one in a positive direction. This past year, I have gained even more weight, allowed more disappointment to soak up my already shallow pool of hope and choked down additional negativity from certain members of my family.

I have become "silent" again.

I had promised myself after my last divorce 8 years ago that it wouldn't happen again but here I am, silent and disappointed. I learned a long time ago that if you're not willing to do something about "it" (whatever "it" is) then shut up.

So I will make some new year's resolutions this year.  I need to lose weight, get off my bottom and go do something. I will definitely look for the accomplishments and joys in everyday life and I will write them down (as suggested in the sermon) so that I can reclaim the joy that each day will bring.

I hope your new year is full of hope, opportunity and joy.  I wish this for myself as well.