Finished Object, Reflections, Resolutions.

It's January 1st and I've already got a finished object!!!!



Basketweave Rib Socks, from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. I used superwash merino/nylon sock yarn from...ummm...I don't remember the vendor's name but she's pretty popular and I've gotten lots of roving from her in the past. She's based in Maine and her Ravelry user name is "Boogie". It's seriously stuck somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain, but everytime I think I'm getting it, it runs and hides from me. I don't think I'm tired, but I am a little aggravated over some problems I had uploading photos tonight. I sat down to do this around 9:00, and now, 54 minutes later, I have my photos finally uploaded and ready to blog. It's that fucking Kodak software (which I don't even know why I use; my camera is a Canon. How the fuck did I start using Kodak? But I've got 2 years' worth of photos in my "kodak pictures" folder that I need to delete or burn, just to get them off the hard drive so maybe things will run faster, you know? Oh, but the last time I tried to burn photos. . . .I spent over an hour, only to have the burn not "take". So I'm going to put all the photos I want to keep in a folder called "burn" and have ZMrK burn the CD, because obviously the burning software hates my fingertips. I used to be pretty good with this computer stuff, back in around 1987, and then again around 1998-ish, when I was in charge of my department's page on the company's internet portal. Now, however, I apparently suck at the computer stuff. I'm going to end this paragraph that has gone way off the deep end of topic, as if this last sentence makes a lick of sense.)

It's gotten me this far to say, Oh yeah, the vendor is Spunky Eclectic, and the colorway is Diet Coke, which is why ZMrK is posing with two bottles of Diet Coke and a nearly-full glass of it. The toes look different because it's different yarn. I figured out when I was close to done with the first sock that I would not have enough yarn, so I used some Shaeffer Anne for the toes. On one foot, I have to use the Anne for the last 6 rounds of the foot too, before the toe shaping. Anne has a crazy amount of yardage to it -- 500+ yards, I think -- so I should be able to comfortably make myself some fancy socks from what it left. It's a damn nice yarn too. I have an idea of what I want to make with it, but I'll save that thought until I start it, since I change my mind so much.

I knit a shitload today. I also worked about 15 rows of the Branching Out lace scarf I started back in October. I didn't take a picture of it because I thought it would be pathetically boring for me to take photos each time I knit a few rows of it. It's my first lace, and it will take a while. I've got about 4 repeats of the pattern in there, and tons more to go. There's only 300 yards of this yarn, and that's as large as I'll make it.

I also resoled my fuzzy feet today. I last resoled them nearly a year ago. I used the other sleeve from the same felted sweater, and forgot how cushion-y they were when I first did them. I do have plans, and some leftover Malabrigo, to make my next pair of fuzzy feet, but I just couldn't bring myself to throw these out yet. I must get that from my dad, who was born in 1930 and is the 2nd youngest of 7 kids and is thus into making do and storing tons of non-perishable food in the basement and not wasting, etc. etc. I have personally seen that man staple his slippers back together, even though he had a new pair of slippers in the box that one of us gave him for Christmas. The old pair were still wearable, though; they just needed a couple of staples. He also duct taped the pocket back on his robe, because the robe was still wearable. Don't ask why he couldn't just take a needle and thread and sew the pocket on; I guess duct tape was more handy. Oh, this behavior drives my mom crazy. I knit my dad a hat and scarf for Christmas this year, and I wasn't sure how he would react. He does have a city-issued hat from his job as a Crossing Guard, and he does have one of two scarves. I wish I had a picture of his face when he opened it -- he was thrilled. I had forgotten how much he likes handmade gifts. Well, every stitch was stitched with love. My mom got her hat and gloves last year, and he got his hat and scarf this year, so now they are even, right? Except I do have to mend my mom's gloves, because she "put her finger through one of them". I think I can handle that.

I was going to crochet either last night or today, so I could say I brought in the New Year hookin', but I had some trouble figuring it out. I am determined that this year will be the year I learn how to crochet.

Oh, that brings me to the next part of the post -- reflecting on the past year. Let's see what I did.

1. I learned how to spin.
2. ZMrK got a really cool portrait of me painted for my birthday.
3. Our landlady got really nutty on us, so we had to find a new place fast, and we found a really nice place.
4. I don't think I ever blogged about it, but Sunny, our ball python, didn't eat for a few months and we were really worried so brought her to a specialist at Tufts Veterinary. What we did find out is (1) Sunny's a she, and (2) she had eggs but no place to lay them, so she reabsorbed them and didn't need to eat. Cool. She's eaten fine since then.
5. We found tons of great nature walk spots near our house.
6. I went to four Sheep and Wool Fests.
7. I lost the best non-human friend I ever had. Shit, she was a better friend than most humans I've known. I know ZMrK feels the same way.
8. We got Ken.
9. We lost Solvie.
10. My dad had a stent put in, due to a new blockage. Only recently has he started to have health problems.
11. I became a great-auntie.
12. I learned how to dye yarn.
13. I ended the year being a crappy-assed, sporadic blogger.
14. I gained 10 lbs this year.
15. I started have hot flashes in December.

So, those are 15 reflections of things that happened in the past year. Some are wonderful, some a sucky, some just are. I think this was the year when I realized how little control we have, and how important it is to cherish those you love.

I do want to make some resolutions, which I will try to keep.

1. Keep good track of everything. I really would like to know what I ate, knit, watched and did for exercise on a given day (it's the nerd in me; I'd make spreadsheets if I had the time). I also want to know what I weigh -- this is how I know how much weight I gained! I started keeping a sporadic (of course) food journal right after Thanksgiving 2006, and recorded a few weights on it. It's not good.

2. Don't beat myself up over shit like that. I GAINED WEIGHT. Big deal. I can lose it. I lost 45 lbs at one point, and granted, I do not want to be back to my low weight because it was crazy trying to stay at that weight. It would be nice to not gain any more weight, and maybe lose 5-10 lbs (I gained 20 since my low weight) and be in shape. I joined a gym for three months, and would like to go about 3x a week to work on that. I do need to exercise, for the rest of my life, and I do enjoy it when I do it.

3. Don't be such a recluse. I've gotten better. We met a local couple at a friend's party in November and have seen them TWICE since then. We're going to see them again in a couple of weeks. I also have a *date* to go yarn shopping with Batty soon, to celebrate her new job. It will be tough to not be a recluse, because it is winter, but it's something I need to do.

4. When at work, DO MY WORK. I'm on the knittyboard too much at work, and sometimes on Ravelry too. I have plenty to keep me busy, and I feel much better when I do my job and don't surf the web. I also could be more sociable at work.

5. Cherish those I love and cherish, and let them know I love and cherish them.

6. Learn how to crochet something that doesn't look like a nipple or ferret poo.

7. Spin more! I should learn spinning technology so I at least can sound like I know what I'm talking about. I need to learn how to properly ply.

8. Take advantage of good weather and get out of the house.

9. Knit more from the stash. I did a good job on the yarn diet between Rhinebeck and the end of 2007, but I don't need to go so hog wild in 2008. I have a few sweaters' worth of yarn in the stash, and I should use them!

10. Knit more for others. I have a grand-niece I could knit for, and there are plenty of charities that need knitted stuff.

I guess that's all I've got. Boy, this is a long-assed post, and I didn't even get to the Christmas pressies or Secret Pal gifts I got! I guess I'll put those in another post.

By the way, Happy New Year!