making a list...

the next ten days will be an exercise in simplification. crossing things off of the long list that i've made, fitting as much as i can into the two pieces of baggage i'm allowed by the airline, figuring out what i really need/want to ship, finishing my work here. ten days doesn't seem like nearly enough time, yet it seems like ages. i often wish that i was one of those people whose stress reaction is to be super productive and energized. instead, i tend to get sleepy and procrastinate. my brain is going in a dozen different directions, which is resulting in my not spending any productive amount of time on any one task. and while i know that getting things done and seeing my to do list decrease would make me feel a million times better, i can't seem to concentrate on anything. decreasing daylight + stress = sluggish and surly me.

i'm seeing lots of crafty bloggers prepare for the holidays and i feel sort of ambivalent. i love christmas, maybe a little too much. but the last few months have left me sort of grinch-y. i'm sure that once shorty and i are done our big ol' day of travel, i'll feel a little more festive. i am looking forward to doing some baking and decorating the tree. and, in spite of the odds being against it, my family will all be together for a least a few days. while m and i have never spent christmas together, this year i really wish we were.




winter arrived in full force this week with cold and snow. and i'm glad. i like the changing of the seasons and can't imagine living somewhere that didn't have four seasons (even though the joke about canada is that we have two seasons, winter and july). the cold weather has woken me up to the fact that it is indeed december. i like the cozy of inside when it's cold and snowy outside. (oh, but please weather gods, let december 18 be storm-free between here and halifax.)

perhaps surprisingly, the one area in which i've managed to get something finished is on the knitting front. i cobbled together a pair of mitts over the past few days. i haven't, however, taken any photos. i've finished all of the christmas knitting that i had planned, which, admittedly wasn't much.

my apologies right now to all friends and family: i am completely broke (even more so than other years) and as a result, unless you want something knitted and i have the yarn for it in my stash, i will not be able to give presents this year. i'm totally on board with buying handmade or local for gifts or making my own. and while i'm a proponent of less buying and more sustainability, goshdarnit i like christmas and i like giving gifts. yep i'm the one who wakes up at six in the morning on christmas because i'm just that excited. so usually i'm shopping a bit and knitting up a storm, but this year well, life got in my way.


so i'm concentrating on all of the things that i have to be thankful for. like that michelle and her family are doing well and they were able to take their baby girl home yesterday. yay. another friend is due in just a few weeks. time for baby knitting.