New Years thoughts and 14 in '14

No big party here on New Year's Eve. Greg is sick with a cold, so we stayed home and watched Eric Clapton's Crossroads concerts on TV. He has the TV connected to the stereo, so it sounded great and we enjoyed music we love. Once again I was snuggled into bed and asleep before the magic hour and awoke to a new year and some spitting snow outside.

I'm not making any resolutions. Last year on January 1, I posted a list of "13 in '13" things I wanted to work on over the year. Yeah. I did part of one of those things, and that was finishing an afghan and learning to crochet hats. Hmmm... do you think my goals were a bit lofty? I still want to work on many of the challenges I listed, but for this year will pare it down and make a concerted effort to work on it. So here goes:

1. Playroom -  the quilt binding is pinned on, so I just need to sew it. When I do that, I'll sew the bedskirt and reattach that. I do still want to frame the chalkboard. The boys have really loved having that in the playroom.

2. Paint - the entire house really needs a fresh coat of paint, but I'll start with the partially painted kitchen and go from there.

3. Finish the blue afghan. Holy cow - I'm about at the end of the 10-year plan with that one.

4. Scrapbook/craft at least once a week, and use my stash and Cricut. No purchasing anything besides adhesives.

5. Make homemade marshmallows. Okay, not just marshmallows. I'm going to make lots more things from scratch and try to get rid of the processed stuff in my kitchen.

6. Pinterest provides hours of entertainment as I browse and pin. I have over 2,800 pins myself, and I do make recipes and use ideas from what I pin, but there are many great ideas still waiting for me. Once a week I will choose something from Pinterest to make/do.

7. Use up as much fabric from my small stash as possible. I love fabric almost as much as I love paper, but I am not a stellar sewer like my sister. I can do an okay job on easy projects, so will get a sewing area set up that I can leave up, and work my way through those totes of fabric. I'd like to make things for the grandboys and nieces/nephews, but also for donation to some charitable groups.

8. Read more. I already have some titles on reserve at the library.

9. Blog more. I don't keep a handwritten journal or daily log of what we do, so my blog is a good way to keep track of happenings around here.

10. I am going to participate in this (click on box to see what it's about):

11. Move more. I have a new Yoga dvd that I look forward to trying.

12. During January at least, but possibly another month or two during the year, we're participating in this:

12. Jess and I have talked about opening an Etsy store. I'm not going to say it will be done, just that I'll do some more research then we can decide.

13. I want to do this:

It's all over the internet, so I don't even know who to credit for it. One tip I read was to mix and match amounts put away, so if you need to do a small amount, do that, if you can do a larger amount, do that. Even if you only do half amounts, you'll have a tidy sum for Christmas shopping.

14. Christmas project - I won't say just yet what it is, but will be working on something my siblings will enjoy. 

Well, if you're still here, thank you! This turned into quite a novel, but I feel like my thoughts are a bit more organized and I can focus on being productive and creative. Many blessings to you all for a magnificent new year!

Tammy

Stocking Cap #2

Last Friday I woke up with a headache, which means it’s with me all day long. I can (and did) take migraine-strength pain relievers that allow me to function for pockets of time through the day, but mostly I spend the day quietly. In the early morning, while waiting for the meds to take effect, I somehow got to looking a crochet videos on YouTube. (I know, I’m cool that way.) One of those videos was for a toddler-sized stocking cap with flaps and fun braided strings. It looked easy enough, and that’s what I needed since I’d only made one stocking cap, and that was a few weeks ago.

It was mid-afternoon before I could get started on the cap, but it went pretty quickly and was over half-finished by supper time when Silas arrived. He was here for a few hours, then after he went home, I was able to pick up the crochet again. It was close to midnight when I finished, and my hands hurt terribly (on days I take migraine meds all day, I don’t take my arthritis meds. It’s a bit easier on the kidneys…) but I was really happy with the finished product.

Silas likes it, too! He’s all ready for the snowstorm that is expected in a couple of days. The cap turned out to be the perfect size for him, though I thought it looked huge when it was finished. I’m thinking I know several kids who would enjoy these hats, and what a quick and easy project for gifts for Christmas, right?

 

Working On 13 in ‘13

It has been several weeks since I felt very productive, but finally the influenza seems to have run it’s course for all of us. It’s time to get to work on my 13 in ‘13 projects, and I chose one of the simplest ones first, finishing afghans and learning to crochet a cap. I had two afghans I was working on, the first being a solid navy that was started several years ago and then packed away in a closet. I pull it out every now and again and crochet a few rows, then tear out a bunch. True confession about the navy afghan, though – I can’t find where I tucked it away last time, so I can’t work on it right now. It’ll show up eventually – there are only so many places it could be – and I’ll work diligently to get it finished. So that part of this project is on hold, but the rest has been completed!

The second afghan is for the playroom, and is the first one finished for this project. It’s long and narrow, but intended to be one that more than one kid can snuggle under together while reading, or bring out to the living room to watch TV. I finished it this past week and really like it!

Silas loves to snuggle under it on the couch and pretend he’s going to take a nap. I used a granny stitch, the colors and pattern inspired by this blanket on Attic 24. I love her crochet projects – always so colorful and sweet.

Besides the afghans, the last part of this goal was to learn to crochet hats. I’d pinned this one:

The instructions were clear and the hat came together quite quickly. I started it at about 11 o’clock Tuesday night, worked on it for less than an hour, then finished it in about 40 minutes the next morning. I can see how making these could become addictive since they come together so easily. Brad was happy to model it for me, then took it home. It was a tiny bit big for Silas, but I’ll make him one this week anyway. As fast as he’s growing, it’ll probably fit him before the end of winter.

The sun was so bright that Brad had a hard time keeping his eyes open while I tried to snap the photo…

So, until I find that other afghan, I’m calling this complete. Yea!

 

2013 – Challenging Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I was sound asleep in my bed when midnight rolled around last night, but my honey and I did have a nice supper of prime rib sandwiches, and then we went to a movie. We enjoyed “Jack Reacher”, did a quick trip to the store, then home to peruse Pinterest for a bit before snuggling in for the night. As far as I’m concerned, that’s an okay way to finish out the old year and usher in the new!

No resolutions for me to fail at, but let’s talk about some challenges I want to work on this year. I belong to a couple of Yahoo email lists, and one of those groups is having a 13 in ‘13 challenge. Each participant chose 13 “things” to work on this next year. Some of the “things” are projects to complete, some are skills to learn, some include budgeting goals or family time. Each list is different. One lady made her list from her “someday” projects – things she always said she’d get to “someday”.

My list is kind of a combination of finishing some things I started but let languish, learning a few new things, and making things for frugal, but meaningful, gift-giving. I’ve been working on this list for several weeks, and actually have more than 13 things I’d like to accomplish this year, but these are the first ones I’ll work on.

Here they are:

1. finish redecorating the playroom - this includes painting the doors and a bookshelf, fixing the bed skirt, binding the quilt on the daybed, and framing the chalkboard                                                                                                                                            2. finish painting/redecorating kitchen and sunroom - this includes painting walls, putting new trim around kitchen window, curtains of some sort, adding some live plants
3. scrapbooks - make corrections/additions to niece's scrapbook from high school graduation; update Bradley's; start Silas's
4. crochet projects - finish the two afghans I have started; learn to crochet hats
5. expand vegetable garden by adding a few more raised beds; involve grandsons in gardening this year
6. re-do all four closets in the house - empty, paint, add new shelving, reorganize (I know – there are only 4 closets in this house…)
7. remove cupboards in laundry room; replace with open shelving for added storage
8. sew blankets/quilts for grandsons
9. make all birthday gifts 
10. make new Christmas stockings for everyone in our immediate family (seven total)
11. make gifts for Christmas 2013 over the summer
12. try some new recipes/cooking skills by following my Joy of Cooking cookbook section by section (kind of a Julie/Julia thing...)
13. learn to use woodworking tools and finish my own projects without needing help from DH

I will report on my progress periodically.

The other challenge is one I give myself and Greg a few times through the year. Click on the button to go to the original post with the challenge.

I know I’ll have to get fresh dairy and produce through the month, but there’s plenty of meat and sides in the freezer to use up. Who knows – I may even dig out the pasta machine this time. That’d be fun with the grandboys, wouldn’t it?

There are more things I want to work on, but I think this is enough to list here for now. Time to go scrounge that frig and pantry for some lunch…

How are you welcoming this new year?