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And first completed month of my project 365 for this year.
Though not technically accomplished, or perhaps remotely interesting to anyone but me, I do find these little snippets of captured life pleasing. And I see that at least one aim for this year (having more fresh flowers in the house) seems to be working out.
Regardless of how you feel about the cynical exploitation of Valentines Day for commercial gains, you have to admit that it is good to have something fun to focus on at this time of the year. A bright and frivolous counterpoint to the depressing murk of the day to day.
I am struggling with the greyness terribly at the moment. In my photographs and my outlook. This time of year is just hard. Hurry up Spring.
This weekend offered up a finished project - hooray! I have been enjoying my knitting of late. Mostly because I began this project a good while back, but abandoned it with only a small portion left to finish off, so when I picked it up again, it came together ridiculously swiftly.
It seems I love either end of the knitting process. The selecting of yarn and pattern keeps me happy and occupied for weeks. And the bit when it is all coming together and I can try on my garment. Not that the middle isn't enjoyable, but I find myself fretting. About following the instructions properly, not making a mistake that I cannot correct, the question of whether it is going to fit or not. All these thoughts intrude on the meditative stitching bit - there, I am a nervous knitter - I confess.
But I wanted to do this gorgeous yarn justice. It is Blue Sky Alpacas Melange "a confection of exquisite colour" to quote the label. I'm not sure if the photos capture it exactly, but it is a truly foxy orange and I love it for that and it's gorgeous alpaca softness.
The pattern I chose was this one:
But it's all part of learning. A little bit of experience I will take with me to the next project. I've seen a very fetching Spud & Chloe pattern the Polly Pullover. What do you think?
I think my current crush on orange dates back to when we acquired Reggie. He is unashamedly ginger and has the thickest fur imaginable on a short haired cat. And as he struts around our home, I notice how he enhances the place, with a little orangey injection into his surroundings.
And then I was aware of it infiltrating my wardrobe - slowly, but surely. Because it's impossible not to feel happy when you're wearing orange.
And today it was in the kitchen. Especially in the big bag of seville oranges I brought home to make marmalade with. And when it was done, the sticky jars echoed the dropping petals of the tulips bought last week and the much loved casserole dish.
There are worse colours to have a crush on, but it hasn't always been orange for me - the phase before this one was turquoise blue (the early motherhood years), and before that, forest green (career girl) and way back in my student days, it had to be red. The palette of my life, the rainbow years.
I am being bullied. By the Wii. See, dottycookie mentioned that she'd got a balance board for Christmas and that reminded me that we had one, so I dragged it out and fired it up.
First it complained that it hadn't seen me for 346 days. Then it told tales on Johnny too - allegedly he hasn't been exercising much either. Then it measured me and told me that in those 346 days I had put on 11 pounds. Then it called me a rude name beginning with o.... Is it any wonder I don't visit much?
In time honoured tradition I look for something to blame - is my middle-aged metabolism slowing down? Is the fact that my children are growing older and require less physical input from me a factor? I'm sure there's some link to stopping work and having free access to the fridge all day long. And not being on my feet all day either.
And then I wanted to cry. See, I've never been one for diets and weighing myself - if the truth be told, I've never been on a diet. I figure a sensible attitude, cooking from scratch, lots of fruit and veggies and bad things in moderation only ought to suffice. But clearly, what was sufficient is no longer working. And that means I'm going to have to do more exercise. And I'd so much rather sit down with a nice snack. That trainer guy is not my friend.
For a brief moment, this morning, a beam of sunlight shone into the living room, making the shiny things in the cupboard sparkle.
The things I couldn't quite bring myself to stow back in the loft with the rest of the Christmas decorations. Everything got put away slightly earlier than usual this year, because our tree developed a squeam-inducing aphid problem and I wanted it out of the house. See, plastic fantastic has it's advantages.
And I am sort-of pleased that real life has resumed - it was time. Though I am conscious that while hubby and the boys return to the routines at work and school, I actually continue in much the same vein as in the holidays - pottering, cooking, occasional light housework duties, just with an added chauffeuring requirement. It's not a bad job, is it?
A small scale project sometimes helps to get the juices flowing and I find this especially true when it comes to knitting. It allows my hands to rediscover the rhythm and my days to accommodate the quiet sitting time that knitting requires.
So a gentle start to the knitting year using this pattern and some Crystal Palace Mini Mochi in a colourway bright enough to banish any hint of winter blahs. Johnny is helpfully posed so as to hide the mismatched bit where my single skein failed to yield any matching colour for the remaining thumb. And I am sure you will be good enough to ignore the laddering in the purl rounds where try as I might to adjust my tension, the transfer from one DPN to the next shows.
Because it seemed important just to begin (and finish) something and to get going. I don't think I have any grand plans for this year - just to use the time given to me well and to enjoy the ride.
