the end of December

(winter scene from somewhere on Mt. Hood, taken sometime in December of 2009)

Greetings! It turns out that if I want to say something before the end of the year, I pretty much have to say it now because I work tomorrow and have 2 books to finish if I'm to make my Goodreads goal! 

(Northanger Abbey: Almost done! Catherine is sneaking around the abbey thinking the thrilling worst at the moment. The other is a collection of gardening columns from Vita Sackville-West that I can't remember the name of... Anyway - it's arranged by month and I am in December, so I should be able to make it to the end in time.) 

This, the TENTH YEAR of this blog, has been my year of least posting. In the new year I'd like to get back into the habit of a lot of things, of which blogging is one. I don't know. It helps arrange my thoughts, somehow. 

Well now it's after midnight and time for chapter 10. More on books and thoughts and pictures and everything in 2015! Or tomorrow. You never know. 

still January!

Hello!

How are things?

For me, they are good. Here's right now:

•  I just finished my temporary position at work and resume my regular schedule this week. I was happy for the opportunity and the $$, but will also be glad to get out in the stacks and back to my super flexible schedule again. 

• I just (yesterday!) had two teeth extracted and am all propped up in a chair with pillows and blankets and a cat, fulfilling my medically advised "take it easy" prescription. I also have a face swollen like a chipmunk and the Lortab is making me itch, but it's all to a greater good so I'm down with it. PLUS, did I mention the blankets, the cat, the pillows, the book, the laptop, etc. 

• I am deeply covetous of some expensive boots. I tell myself I don't need them (I don't) but then I see them disappearing slowly from the internet and I get a little panic in my feet. The mystery of late winter will be whether or not dollar logic prevails over boot desires. 

• State of the Union tonight! I will be watching, will you? 

Like many, I'm not one for a list of specific resolutions, but there are some new year things that I'm thinking about. Such as…

• this William Morris quote: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

• while I was looking for that, I found ANOTHER Morris quote that speaks to me right now: “A good way to rid one's self of a sense of discomfort is to do something. That uneasy, dissatisfied feeling is actual force vibrating out of order; it may be turned to practical account by giving proper expression to its creative character.”

• Making time for long books. 

• wardrobe overhaul. More on this soon - I would really like to only keep clothes that I love to wear. This should be doable! (see W.M.'s golden rule above.) 

• super excited about gardening this year. 

• making things! clothes quilts jewelry photographs food etc!

• adventures

• friends

• listening to albums and not just songs

use it up!

'
(don't these look like mossy legs? And a mossy torso? And mossy hands? I'm pretty sure this tree was sneaking up on me.)

Resolutions! I used to be against the Resolution Industrial Complex because it seemed like such an arbitrary system prone to failure, but now realize that I made poor choices. Small steps are the way to go. In my no-resolution years, I switched it up to a general theme idea - like "this year I say yes to things," or "this year I try things and don't worry so much about the result." This works, but I think what's even better is a combination of general ideas and specific (DOABLE!) goals/ resolutions.

I'm still working on the list of specific things for which I can earn a sticker or make a mark on the calendar, but I have a couple of big theme ideas ready to go. The first is: FINISH IT! I have many started and stopped projects, it's a good time to finish them up or let them go. I find myself wanting to pare down to what I really want, which is good because it means I might finally have some idea what I really want.

The Second, which goes hand in hand with the first is STASH BUSTING. I've got a lot of stuff, and I should use it up! What's the point of having some beautiful fabric or lovely yarn or amazing beads if they just sit in a bag or on a shelf. This line of thinking led me to the great World War 2 don't waste it slogan:

USE IT UP

WEAR IT OUT

MAKE IT DO

OR DO WITHOUT

Which got me thinking even more about the Use It Up portion -  I can't tell you how many little ends of things I have around (pens that are almost dead, lipstick that's almost gone, etc.) that just gather dust. I'm going to make a concerted effort to wring all of the good out of these things and then send the husks on their way.  2013 will find me shopping from my own supply first. 

I have a weekly desk calendar for the first time in years. I want to write down what I've done so I can see the results at the end of the year. I keep an electronic journal, but it's just not the same for wondering when it was I painted the hallway or what day the sweet peas went in the ground.  

As a break from the money-spending holiday season, I'm also having an Austerity January where I'm not buying anything unless I have to.  We'll see how it goes! It certainly doesn't hurt to try. 

In the end, I think flexibility is key for getting the most out of a new year plan. Try it, if it doesn't work like you thought it would try it again in a different way. What do you want? How do you get there? Keep trying and have a great year!!

like an arrow

hood ornament from a fancy automobile.  

January 1 - I don't have a lot of big fancy resolutions, but that doesn't mean I don't have PLANS and thoughts on how I'd like to conduct myself in the coming year. The main thing, I've decided, is that doing things every day is important - also, taking care of little things before they become big things. I tend to let things stack up and become overwhelming -  if I just chip away every day, everything is so much easier!  This is not a radical idea (thanks, Ben "stitch in time saves nine" Franklin), but for some reason it feels like I'm getting away with something by not making things more complicated than necessary.  Mwahahahaha! (my evil getting away with stuff laugh.) 


On the topic of books, I can tell you that I'm reading The Family Fang and Great Expectations right now and I'm enjoying them both very much. More book stuff and everything stuff soon, since I think I'm going to blog every day in January because why not?

(photo at top is from the museum's Art of the Automobile show I went to this past summer.)

wintertime

How is your mid-late December going? I've reached the point where I am longing for January, which means I need a MENTAL CORRECTION. (not like brain jail, more like a 'check yourself before you wreck yourself' intervention.) Let's say more of a recalibration than a correction - it sounds nicer, but more mechanical. hmmm...

Anyway! I like this Christmas lights picture. They look like little neon skiffs sailing to the north pole.


More lights - this time with needlework.

I usually think of January 1 new year's resolutions as a self-defeating high-pressure cop out. If you want to make the change (whatever it may be) why not start now? Except this year I find myself feeling a lot of pressure to get this or that holiday thing done, and that I can either be thinking about how I have to do these things, or I can be doing these things, but I sure as shit shouldn't be thinking about how I want to take more photographs in the new year, let alone be taking more photographs RIGHT NOW. But this is bullshit!  I could get all this holiday stuff (most of which is FUN) done in no time.  It's a complicated time of year. I'm scraping the barrel of things to feel guilty about.



Question: Guess What?
Answer: KITTEN!!!!!!!! (still nameless because why rush these things.)

most kitten photos are blurry because he does not like standing still. He idolizes Busby. It's so funny to watch as Busby strolls by and the kitten gets all excited but shy, like Busby is his hero but also a famous celebrity that he probably shouldn't bother but then he throws himself in Busby's path because he can't stop himself. Busby has been very good with the kitten and I think it will all work out once they've had more time to know each other and once the baby is a little bigger.



A KITTEN'S THOUGHTS: I will eat your camera strap! And climb to your shoulder so I can climb on the bookcase so I can stand at the top and mew plaintively.

I found out that I will not be going forward in the latest recruitment at work. This is what I expected when I applied, but there's always that little reservoir of hope. BUMMER, except I found out literally five minutes before going to the Humane Society, after which I was like "Who cares?! KITTEN!!"  This is why internet cats are so popular - kittens can fix a lot of things.  And weirdly I made it through further (this is for the job classification above the one I have now) and the kiss off letter was much nicer than the last.  So... progress?

CAVEAT: I am covered in tiny scratches; I look like I've been crawling through delicate barbed wire. However, it is totally worth it.

bagpipe solo

I was thinking about this resolution stuff and thought that I could really torture myself and anyone who happens to read this by drawing it out all month! mwahahaha! I don't think I will (because I'm not entirely evil), but here are a few more related to entertainment:

Read More -- I didn't keep count of what I read this year until a couple of weeks ago -- it was more than I thought, but not as much as I'd like. I want to introduce a little more variety and challenge to my reading diet. I have been reading a lot more poetry and non-fiction which is what I wanted to do a couple of years ago, so yay me! But even so -- there are so many books I want to read, I really don't have a good excuse for not reading them. (I have plenty of excuses, but none of them are good.)

Mix It Up -- 2007 was a lousy year for me making mix cds which I used to love to make all the time! I think it was in part because I wasn't listening to much new stuff due to my need to cocoon my rattled self with the familiar. But like I said last post, change is good! (in fact, I think that could be my 2008 motto -- where I always get it wrong with "change is good" is that my mind immediately goes to the opposite of what I want or am familiar with and assume that change will be this terrible disruption, which of course is ridiculous! I mean, sometimes it is horrible, but not always. Not even usually. Besides, change happens whether I like it or not, so I'd rather be happy about it and maybe even get to the point where it's not a disruption but a fun new twist. what? It could happen.)

Where was I? MIX CDs! yes! I think maybe I'll try to do at least one a month for myself. (including theme mixes of stuff I have already. I like the notion of putting things I love already in a new-to-me context.)

My ipod needs a major refresh as well. Wheeee!

What To Watch? -- Well, TV is going to be dire for a while so I think it's time to plan some themed movie events. The library has so much (including a ton of TV on DVD -- there was a guy in a panic today because he was returning Dallas season 5 and his hold for Dallas season 6 had expired the day before. I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that it all worked out) -- it shouldn't be too hard to come up with something fun and interesting. I had an inadvertent Carole Lombard festival this summer which was very enjoyable, so with a little bit of planning I figure I could have a whole lot of fun. Actor? Genre? Year? Director? Coolest Cover? Close My Eyes And Grab? Farscape Marathon? Recommendations? Some top 100 list or another? The possibilities are endless!

My favorite item processed at the library in the past week: about 10 pieces of bagpipe specific sheet music. I love this for many reasons: 1) someone is learning the bagpipe! I'm glad the hoodlum children who live next door have thus far limited themselves to the trumpet. 2) someone learning the bagpipe thought "I wonder if the library can help me out?" 3) The library has a ton of sheet music! (central has a whole sheet music department. it's awesome) In this collection is music intended for learning the bagpipe! 4) it was all pretty old and had quaint retro bagpipe-design covers. 5)honestly, I don't think I can type the word "bagpipe" enough times.

change is good

I bought this little coin purse to give as a gift, but it makes me laugh and laugh every single time I look at it so I decided to keep it. I think it’s the coinbeast's gustatory delight in change: I shall feast upon thy coins, INDEED. ) I mention this here because it seems in keeping with the first of my Super Sexy New Year’s Resolutions.

I used to think I didn't like new year's resolutions -- making them seemed like one more road paved with good intentions and we all know where those lead. For the past few years I've eschewed traditional resolutions in favor of more general mood or behavior directives. (2006's Say Yes and 2007's Be More Generous.) This worked, but I've decided that there is room for the broad theme AND the specific resolution. I still don't like vague and unhelpful resolutions and I hate HATE HATE how resolutions are used like a cudgel to beat the resolved in gym membership advertising... on the other hand, I really like making lists.

That being said, let me get to the first of my SSNYR: Zero Debt! I'm really close, but my bout of uninsured hospitalization at the end of 2006 was a setback -- the bulk of my bill was excused, but there was still quite a bit to pay. (for comparison purposes, 2007's visit to the emergency room for a similar but not as nearly as bad issue still cost me $500, even though it was less than 10 minutes with a doctor who didn't do anything beyond look at my face with his eyeballs and write me a prescription for a very cheap antibiotic.) ANYWAY. I am giving myself until the 15th of january to do a tiny bit of celebratory shopping (for things like CLOTHES and SHOES which I actually do need to have) and then I'm going into serious pay-down mode. It shouldn't take me too long to get things back under control, and as a friend said "no debt feels like sticking it to THE MAN" which it totally does! I'm not quite to the point where I want to keep cash in socks stashed around the house rather than using a bank, but if they piss me off one more time I will make a resolution to learn to knit Pushing Daisies style money cozies. hee hee.