It’s always easy to be on the wagon the first couple of weeks of January. And especially so when you’re still on holidays.
But for the record:
Tonight I cooked dinner. And it was delicious. I’m back on the 12WBT and I made the eggplant and sweet potato bake. And it was divine. Definitely a recipe to keep on hand to sub in for ones we don’t like. And best, it serves 4 so we have a meal for tomorrow.
I watered my garden, aka 6 fruit trees. My father-in-law watered them whilst we were away and even discovered the three I’d planted at the very back of our backyard (note, you can see from the back door to the back fence even though the lot is hu-uge, on account of the barren wasteland in between these two points). He told me he drenched these when he was there and that he thought 2 of the three could be saved. But today when I headed out and watered them, I saw budding green leaves way at the bottom of the dead sticks. I think maybe, just maybe, this watering thing could be something. And my potted dwarf fruit trees on the patio also look so much healthier than when I left them too, despite the heatwave. Ahem.
I worked on cleaning and decluttering and tidying too and for the first time ever after a trip, my bag is unpacked and my clothes washed and put away, a day after arriving home. I’ve also tried something new, instead of letting new gifts “settle in” (the time you allow possessions to just become at one with your house whilst remaining packed in their packaging and in fact just sort of metres from the front door where you first left them when you brought them in), I’ve unpacked and washed what needed washing and started using things. I’m trying this out because I’m terrified of becoming a hoarder and also because when you leaves things for “special” or for “the right time/use”, you just end up never using them at all. And if they are remotely perishable, like candles or body lotion or tea, you end up throwing them out without ever having enjoyed them at all. I guess I’m exploring the enjoy things early even if that means you’ll have used them later.
I started airing my yarn stash. This involves pulling it all out and looking at it. I’m entering all my stash into Ravelry, at the moment without photos to speed up the process and just have something that’s workable. (I’m girliejones over there). As I work through things, I’ll tag them slightly better, etc. I’m a bit scared about the total tally – that it will be ridiculously huge. And at the same time, I’ve just been looking at my more precious skeins, with the idea of looking to keep for items for myself because I LOVE and must HAVE that yarn vs using it to make for gifts for someone else i think would appreciate the colourway more, and also with the intention to reduce the amount of stash overall (so looking for projects as well, rather than just having it there “in case the whimsy takes hold”) and there is a little bit of anxiety about it – not actually wanting to give up the pile of skeins, liking and wanting the pile of skeins in and of itself. Which is not *so* terrible if the idea is that I am a yarn collector rather than knitter. But how big should a collection really be, if that’s the case? And I’m not sure that’s the case with me (though … ooh “collector” is such a dangerous word in this house … must put down the obsession, and walk away). I’m trying to console myself with the idea that when I use up all the yarn, I *can* buy more. There’s no rule that says no purchasing of future yarn in the future. But still. Pile of yarn. So yummy.
I’ve also started trying to rationalise and make better use of online (and social media) tools. I think the name of the game will be to streamline internet use both to reduce the time spent whilst also maximising exposure to quality content that genuinely interests me. So that’s meant culling subscriptions to feeds on Google Reader and being hones about what blogs and sites I genuinely want to read. And getting back into using Ravelry properly, as mentioned above. I’ve also been using and tidying up my Bookmarks (for some reason I stopped using Bookmarks in like 1998 and then never occurred to me to use them as a way of refinding things on the net. Don’t ask!) I also tidied up my Pinterest account – I got one ages ago as a way of brainstorming for my wedding palate so I never really mentioned it. But now that’s done (and really, was there a reason the colours and themes of my wedding needed to be a secret? I was always torn on that one), Pinterest can be for fun! And also, there’s my wedding board still there if it interests anyone. You’ll not be shocked to find out I am girliejones there either.
