Three Rewarding Things About Reaching a Goal

Even though I'm not surprised, I'm still surprised that today is the last day of NaBloPoMo 2017.  I'm not surprised, because of course I knew today's date; but I am surprised because this year I found the whole process somewhat more natural than before, so the realization that today was the last day of November and it was in no way awkward or impossibly difficult to post every day was a surprising one.

I used to be a person who set tons of goals for myself, most of them unrealistic.  But I was determined to force them to be realistic.  At a certain point, I realized that really isn't how it works, or how it's supposed to work.  So I adjusted my thinking and my decisions about what should/could/would be a goal for me.  There are still plenty I don't accomplish, but most of the time I've either gotten close or realized it wasn't a goal I was really interested in reaching.

Originally, I started blogging so that I could participate in swaps.  But I also enjoyed writing and posting pictures, even if for a long time it was only for my own reading.  Along the way, I ended up making lots of friends through my blog, and at this point, I think of it as just part of me.

So I managed to accomplish my goal of posting every day for a month.  And though there is no reward in the sense that most people think of it, it's still something I set out to do and was able to finish.  Which brings me to today's Three on Thursday post, Three Rewarding Things About Reaching a Goal.

1.  The feeling of success.  I'm a big believer in small things making a difference.  As I've mentioned before, I'm not a big joiner by nature.  And for some things (i.e., most KALs), the minute I decided to join, I lose all momentum to continue.  So regardless of whether my goal is to post here every day for 30 days, or to try and knit one fall-related item over the course of months, knowing I managed to do it and enjoy it is a really great feeling.

2.  The confidence boost.  As in, if you were able to reach Goal X, you just might want to give yourself another goal.  You did it this time, if you work at it (and are realistic), you just might do it again.

3.  The discipline.  Granted, there were no legal or other consequences if I missed or skipped a day.  Anything like that would be strictly self-inflicted.  But no one is better at beating me up than I am myself.  So making myself take the actual time to write something, post a photo, plan ahead, or even come up with an idea was good practice.  I am somewhat self-disciplined, but a lot of times if it's not something I absolutely have to do, I can easily justify skipping it altogether.  And especially if it's something I enjoy in the end, I'm always happy when I've made the effort.

So farewell to NaBloPoMo 2017, and thanks to everyone who also wrote a post for me to read/comment on, or who read/commented here.  It was nice to check in each day and see how things were going, and for my part, there were days when having several posts to read made all the difference in how that day turned out.

On to December!

Holiday Raveling and Reading

Hello there - it's Wednesday, which besides being my middle sister's birthday, is also Unraveled Wednesday.  I thought I would share what I'm knitting and reading because I am just that kind of person.

I just started reading this holiday-themed book on my Nook:

I read another in the series last December, and found it to be really interesting.  I'm only on page 10 (because no one would stop asking me questions during lunch hour!), but so far it seems interesting.

And then on my way home, I'll stop at the library to pick up this book since my turn has come up on the hold list:

I've read good things about it, and am hoping they are true as far as my opinion of it goes.

Currently I have three projects on the needles:  The Tim's fingerless mitts, my For the Birds sweater, and then this project that I cast on during the day on Thanksgiving.  I'm a bit farther along now than in this photo:

For as many pairs of Christmas-themed socks that I have, and as much holiday yarn as I own, I do not have one pair of  hand-knit Christmas socks, so I finally got my act together to remedy that.  I bought a kit for these many many years ago, when I had just learned to knit, and when the idea of knitting a sock was incomprehensible to me.  These are the Simple Holly Socks, by Mary Dominski.  They will definitely be wear-around-the-house socks, since they are worsted weight, but that also means they will go pretty quickly when I actually choose to knit on them.

I can't believe that tomorrow is the last day of NaBloPoMo.  I know for some people it's a struggle, but I have to say that there have only been a couple of times this year when I've wondered what I could post.  I don't know if that means I have more to share, or if I don't care as much if whatever it is turns out to be inane.

Po-ta-toe, Po-tah-toe, right?

A Proud HO!

I recently heard several podcasters refer to a half-finished project as a HO and found it so amusing, I decided to adopt the term.   Because I will always glom on to something that amuses me.  Work with me here, people, I have to take it where I can find it.  :-)

I have been off work today for medical stuff.  I left the house around 9 a.m. this morning and got home about 15 minutes ago.  That's a long day of prodding, poking, scanning, and whatever else they felt like doing.  Fortunately, it's all routine to guarantee that nothing NOT routine shows up.  But it is still tiring.  Having said that, it's still better than a day at work for me, which is sad but true.

Anyway, I mentioned previously that I was moving along on the fingerless mitts requested by The Tim.  Before I left for my appointments this morning, I'd been able to add the middle finger.

Once I had knit the ring finger, I knew what to expect, so the middle finger didn't take long at all.  Even better, after that it was a pretty short road to a HO:

I just finished weaving in the ends and closing a few gaps a big ago, so the poor thing is pretty wonky-looking, but it looks like what it is supposed to be - YAY!  I tried it on my hand, and it was too big enough that I think the finished pair will fit The Tim just fine.

Someone (Bonny, I think?) asked me about the pattern.  I initially started with a couple of free patterns from Ravelry, but to be perfectly honest, they were not well-written, and since I had never made fingerless mitts with separate fingers, I wasn't able to extrapolate what I should really do (others might not have a problem, but my mind doesn't easily handle that sort of thing, especially if I've never tried before).  So I ended up purchasing the Iron Horse Mitts pattern, and I'm really pleased that I decided to do that.  Though I do think the original pattern designer might have used more than one color of yarn, since it occasionally refers to the Main Color (MC) and Contrast Color (CC) but the mitts in the pattern photo are one color, so once I determined that I was truly not missing something important, I was good to go.  I won't be adding leather palms to them, because I don't really like them that way, and also we try to avoid leather when we can.

I'm very pleased with the first one, and will get started on the second later today or tomorrow.  I think it will be very doable to have them both completed well in time to give as a Christmas gift.  It's also a good feeling to know that I was able to do something new (to me at least) successfully, so it's a real boost for the day!

Down the road, I may even make a pair for myself ... :-)

Monday Miscellany

Back to work Monday.  Ugh.  It had to happen, and obviously I survived.  But still, Ugh.

Anyway, I'm feeling a bit scattered and don't really only have one single thing to talk about, so I'm doing a brain dump as it were.  Hey, it happens.

I did a fair amount of knitting over the long holiday weekend.  I really didn't make it much farther than the picture I showed the other day on the fingerless mitts for The Tim.  I had planned to work on them yesterday while he was at work, but got myself into a cleaning frenzy and spent the better part of the day and all of my energy on that.  Not only did I decided I should seize the moment when I could, but we are having some family visiting this coming weekend, so I thought I'd clean up sooner rather than later.

I got myself seriously in the zone though on my For the Birds sweater.  I have it in my brain that I would like to finish it before the end of the year, just because.  And that may actually happen!  The front is finished, and shoulder seams are on waste yarn, awaiting the back being finished so I can do a three-needle bindoff.  Then just the neckline and the short sleeves.  I think I can, I think I can!

I also started a  pair of holiday socks for myself, but I'm saving that to show you later in the week.

I do have a funny story.  I already shared this on Facebook, so some of you may have already read it.  Anyway, yesterday I decided to go to church in the earlier part of the morning.  This particular Mass was one where they collect the younger children to go and spend some time crafting so their parents can have some quiet time.  There was one kid who very dramatically clomped up the aisle towards the group and the priest, wearing a #11 Carson Wentz jersey.  The priest always has a little chat with the kids before they leave.  He said, "Well, now Thanksgiving is over, and we have been thankful for our friends and family.  What are we getting ready for next?"  Fully expecting the response to be "Christmas," perhaps hoping to hear, "Advent," but before any of the others could respond, #11 said, "E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!"  It took the priest a good five minutes to recover, he was laughing so hard.  I love when stuff like that happens.  (BTW, some little girl then said, "Advent," so we were all saved from damnation ...)

This morning, Pip had a checkup with the new vet we are taking the cats to see.  Milo already visited a month or so ago.  The Tim took Pip, and said that he was very good, and was quite popular.  Apparently, one of the people there said, "He's a lot different from Milo, isn't he?"  Oh, you have NO idea!  :-)

As is my usual practice, I'm trying to figure out what to read during Christmastime.  Of course, I'll read "regular" books, but I love reading books that take place during Christmas.  Let me know if you have any suggestions.  Mysteries are fine, memoirs, fiction are fine.  I'm not one much for sappy romances, though.  But suggest away, sometimes I surprise myself!

Are any of you watching the TV show "Godless"?  It's a western, and so far, we've watched two episodes, and it's pretty good. I like westerns, when they don't involve just a bunch of shootouts.  Admittedly, I watched a ton of cowboys vs. Indians movies as a kid, even though they would likely be appalling by today's standards.  But this one so far is more about good and evil, and though there are Native American characters, the main focus is on the hunt for a gunslinger and the survival of a town where most of the men were killed in a mining accident.  Yeah, I know, not necessarily cheery, but well-done.

I guess that's enough for now.  I hope you also made it through your Monday relatively unscathed. :-)

Quiet November Sunday

Choices

by Tess Gallagher

I go to the mountain side

of the house to cut saplings,

and clear a view to snow

on the mountain.  But when I look up,

saw in hand, I see a nest clutched in

the uppermost branches.

I don't cut that one.

I don't cut the others either.

Suddenly, in every tree,

an unseen nest

where a mountain

would be.