Five Favorites for This Friday

Long week, work-wise.  But you know what - ONWARD!

Here's what has stuck with me from the past week.

1.  "Live" Facebook-ing with my family during the Oscars.  Two of my nieces in particular, have a running commentary on FB during awards shows, and the rest of the family joins in, as well as some of their friends.  It is absolutely hilarious, and ridiculous, and the next best thing to being together watching.  (Of course, I signed off to go to bed before it was over.  I was already up past my bedtime as it was!)

2.  Starting a new pair of socks.  So far, I've barely finished the cuff on sock #1, but I love the colors of the yarn, and I like having a pair of socks on the needles, no matter what else I am or am not knitting.

3.  A visit to my dermatologist.  I know, weird, but I really like her, and since she knew I was coming, she brought in some pictures from her son's wedding last fall.  It was at Halloween time, and the bride, groom, and everyone else wore costumes at the reception!  How many people have drs who bring pictures to show?

4.  A compliment from a stranger.  I was walking home from work the other day, and a young man came over to me and said, "Excuse me, but I just wanted to say that those are great glasses."

5.  My new humidifier.  We used to have one, but it died, and we never bothered to get a new one.  A couple of weeks ago, I kept getting truly major nosebleeds, and my dr said that a humidifier would help.  So I got a new one, and not only has it resolved the nosebleed issue, but I've been able to sleep more soundly, I think because I'm not always waking up with a dry nose and throat and having to get a glass of water.

Hopefully you have some good things to remember and enjoy from the past week as well.  Have a really wonderful weekend!

Marching into March

Whoever first said, "March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb," was probably not thinking of this kind of image, where the lion is restful and calm.  And even though I know that this kind of thing would never happen in real life,  I like this image of the two creatures together, and this is my blog, so there you have it.

Hello March!  Today is - so far at least - sunny and cold, though all of the weather reports are saying we'll get socked with another snowstorm Sunday night through Monday, so I guess the month is coming in, roaring like a lion.  Well, it is still winter, after all, and lions didn't get to be kings of the jungle by being quiet and demure.  :-)

March is one of my favorite months, no matter what.  For one, I really like lions and lambs, so the imagery pleases me.  It's also the month of my birthday (cake!), St. Patrick's Day (Guinness!), St. Joseph's Day (zeppoles!), and the first day of spring (daffodils!).  This year, it will also include a long weekend with my niece and her husband at a beach house in Rehoboth Beach.  Sometimes, Easter happens during March (chocolate!), so you can see that for me, it's all good.

Anyhoo, the other day I was reading someone's blog (and of course I don't remember which one, because at the time I didn't make note of it.  Apologies if you are reading this and I've forgotten!), and they talked about their *monthly* goals, as opposed to yearly goals like everyone makes in January.  I remember thinking that was a good idea, because it broke things down into smaller, and theoretically, more achievable pieces.  After which I probably moved on to wondering what I would have for lunch or some other world problem.

But then I kept thinking about it. I like having goals, but I also like having realistic goals, since I am really hard on myself when I don't even get close to achieving something I've set out to do, regardless of how doable it may actually be.  And you may recall, my One Little Word for the year is "Grace" and particularly as it pertains to grace over perfection.  I have therefore decided that for the next couple of months, I will give myself a few monthly goals, and see what my success rate is or is not.  They will be taken from my overall goals for the year, but put into a more immediate context.

Here, then, are my goals for March:

1. Enjoy it.  (see second paragraph)
2. Get back to more regular exercise, either at the gym or through other activities. (I've been too lazy lately)
3. Make more progress than just the picture below on my Agnes sweater.  (I'm having issues with M1R, it keeps looking like a yarnover)

4. Clean out a closet as part of my efforts to organize, but also get rid of things that are not being used or worn.
 5. I am going to make/fix something using my sewing machine.  One of my goals for the year is to use my machine more, and improve my sewing skills at least a little bit.

I'll let you know how/if any of this works.

What about you, do you try to think ahead for the month?  If so, good luck with your plan, we can try together.

In any event, enjoy the things that March has to offer!

Some Greenery

Winter may still be here in full force, but I'm feeling good because of some greenery.

I finally finished these socks!  It's not that they were particularly difficult, or that I didn't like them.  But I started them and got going, and then put them down to work on so many other things, both successful and non-successful.  I had hoped to finish them in January, and came close, but then a couple of weeks ago I closed up the toe and wove in the ends on the second sock.  For all of my sock-knitting, these are only the third pair I've ever made for myself.

Project:  Emerald Hedgerows
Pattern:  Hedgerow Socks
Yarn:  Apple Laine Apple Pie, in the Yoda colorway*
Needles:  US 1 1/2
Modifications:  None
Comments:  This is the second time I've knitted this pattern.  I made a pair of these for one of my nieces a few years ago, and enjoyed knitting the pattern - easy to remember, but challenging enough to keep you interested.  I received the yarn a few years ago in a swap, and have always wanted to use it.  I think I found a good fit with the pattern and the yarn.  The resulting socks are soft, cushy, and very cozy.

I'm going to wear them to work this Friday, and expect them to keep my feet warm walking to and from work in the return of the Polar Vortex.  Also, I am going to the first meeting of a group of knitters and crocheters during lunchtime at work, so it only seems right to wear my new socks for that, right?

*Before anyone mentions it, I do know that Yoda was not green since at least 100 people have told me as I was knitting these.  But I'm not the one who named the colorway ...

Five Favorites for This Friday

It's time to get back to thinking about the good things from this week, which has otherwise been full of annoying co-workers, epic nosebleeds, a cold, and so many other things.  But it is Friday, and  I'm still here, so something is working, right?

1. Melted ice.  For the past week or so, going outside meant taking your life into your hands unless you were a member of the Ice Capades.  Now, you can actually walk on the sidewalks.  (And when/if you fall, it's up to you to find a reason!)

2.  Fog.  I don't have to drive or fly an airplane, etc., so when it is uber foggy like it is today, I can just enjoy it.  I like the feeling of being tucked away in the universe.  I'm sure I wouldn't enjoy it if every day was this foggy, but fortunately it's not.

3.  Extra cuddly kitties.  Jetsam has been so much more cuddly than usual this week.  Every evening, he has sat on my lap or chest and purred his little head off, and then when I go to bed, he snuggles up right next to me.  The best.

4.  Long-lasting manicures.  Last night, I finally removed my nail polish from my manicure last Friday!  It had only started to chip.  I've never had one last that long, and this week, there was a lot of extra hand-washing, etc.  (see above)

5.  Friday evening.  Full of anticipation, even if your weekend is more or less free of specific plans.  Cozy, homey, and worth every second.

What about you?  I hope you can find some good things from your week to think about.  And no matter what, have a good weekend!

Relaxation With No Regrets

Here are some of the things I've been doing the past few days.

Starting

Finishing

Reading

Writing

Pampering

Baking

Celebrating

And then Monday morning my cold kicked in, so now I'm also

Medicating

At least I didn't have to take a sick day, even though I felt lousy.  And it just meant I had to just relax some more, and I was OK with that, you know?

Today, though - back to the real world.  But at least it's a four-day work week!  Let's hope it's a good one for all of us.  :-)