Goals with Guidelines (not resolutions, right?)

Mother-In-Law's Tongue - Blooming

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has problems with following rules, especially self-imposed rules. For me, resolutions have always faded into the background of everyday life, usually much quicker than I’d like to admit. Still, I find it useful to go through the areas in my life that seem like they could use a little nudge in a positive direction.

This year I’m setting a couple of goals that have a some specific guidelines that are just that, guidelines.

A couple are pretty necessary and seem to be pretty standard across the resolution-setting population. For instance, I’d like to lose 10 pounds (best way for me to accomplish this would be to just eat less sugar and fewer carbs… Mayo Clinic diet anyone?). I’d also like to have a healthier body and the best way to do that (knowing my level of motivation) is sit-ups and push-ups every night, yoga twice a week and some cardio thrown in for good measure (obviously, I’m already a little fuzzy on the specifics, and believe it or not, I’m already in make-up mode with all the sitting on my ass that I did yesterday).

Also high on the priority list is a resolution that has repeated itself several times, but the year always come to an end without accomplishment. It seems especially more poignant given our experiences these last couple of years – get those documents in order (you know the ones I’m talking about, the ones that all adults should have created, signed and filed away).

Tibetan Spindle

A couple of my goals are not as necessary, but it would sure be nice to make some headway on. My mountain of spinning fiber has not shrunken any bit. Virginia suggested spinning 15 minutes a day. Seems doable, but, again, I’m in make-up mode. It looks like I’ll be spinning 30 minutes today. By the way, that beautiful Tibetan Spindle (a gift from my friend Barb of Wild Geese Fibres) is beautiful Purple Heart wood made by Edward Tabachek. Not pictured are the beautiful fibers that came with the gift, a luxury sampler from Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts.

The mountain of stash, this last year, grew into two mountains as I busied myself with making a whole host of needle felted friends. So, along with spinning everyday, I’ll most likely need to needle felt a little bit everyday.

Needle Felted Elephant

And, for kicks, I’d like to take a photo/snapshot every day. A snippet of life, with the challenge of finding something interesting in the mundane (or not), or capturing a glimpse of everyday beauty, or just figuring out how to deal with the lack of good light during the winter days when my daylight hours are spent in a fluorescent-lit office. I may not post all the photos that I take, but I do have a set on Flickr that will keep them organized.

Espresso

So, my friend, good luck to you in your own quest to meet your goals for the new year.

Fresh Air

Lately, it seems the only time I have been outside is to quickly scurry from the back door to the garage, and then the car to the front door of the office, with the weekly beating back of the snow after it falls. So, I was overdue for a leisurely spent day getting some fresh air. As a post-Christmas, pre-Birthday celebration, we spent the greater part of Sunday at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, my new favorite outdoor spot within a short drive from our home.

MN Landscape Arboretum

MN Landscape Arboretum

Under a heavy blanket of snow, the Arboretum still offered plenty to its visitors. The still, 20ยบ air was perfect for a walk along their groomed, outdoor trails. Although, I was a bit jealous of the cross-country skiers who were also taking advantage of the gorgeous, sunny day.

MN Landscape Arboretum

MN Landscape Arboretum

Snowy landscapes have tendency to appear lacking in much detail, but I love looking for little details here and there that offset that perception. For instance, a spot of red on the horizon:

MN Landscape Arboretum

Or, a little tuft of fur on a wintering magnolia bud:

MN Landscape Arboretum

Or, the long shadows cast while the sky is till bright:

MN Landscape Arboretum

This was exactly what we both needed after spending so much time inside. So, thank you to our friends, Dick and Judy, for inviting us to spend the day with them there.

Sunny’s Sweater

Tomorrow being the longest night of the year, it seems fitting to share Virginia’s latest knitting project.

Sunny's Sweater

This kid’s sweater (a custom knit for a friend’s grandson) is about as cheery of a sweater as one can get. Complete with blue skies, green grass, a beaming sun and…

Sunny's Sweater

…a caterpillar. Knit with superwash yarn (Creative Focus Superwash from Nashua), it should prove to be both easy to care for and easy to wear.

Sunny's Sweater

Of course, cute kid in the sweater will be far away, so you’ll just have to imagine it on a toddler.

Sunny's Sweater

Longer days approach, bringing sunshine, warmth and the melting of all of this:

Does This Qualify for snOMG!

I’m ready.

Needle Felted Owl – True Nature is Revealed

Owl with Prey

I’ve made quite a few of these cute, wee owl ornaments over the last couple of months (especially as we approach the holidays). They are cute, they make great ornaments. I mean, what’s not to like about owls?

Owl with Prey

The other day, as I was making the rounds through my yard, I was reminded of the true nature of these raptors. Efficient hunters. Eaters of small furry things. In my case, the remains of a bunny on our sidewalk indicated the dinner of choice.

Owl with Prey

I’ll be curious to see who ends up with this small juxtaposition of, on one hand, cute and cuddly, and the other, an unhappy ending.

Nature can be cruel, indeed.

She Makes a Mean Sweater

As promised in an earlier post, I’m sharing with you two projects that Virginia has completed in the last little while (and, to make sure you didn’t think I was resorting to using this blog just to promote holiday shopping.)

First, is a cute cardigan that seemed to take no longer than a few days to complete. It’s a pattern by Sarah Hoadley from the Winter 2009 issue of Interweave Knits called Icelandic Star.

Icelandic Star

It’s made with four colors of Cascade 220, and only taking 5 skeins of the yarn to complete makes this a pretty affordable sweater to whip out (easy for me to say “whip out” since I didn’t actually do the work – we all know if that were the case I’d be talking about completing it for the next 6 months).

Icelandic Star

The next project is another sweater. This one, made for me, is from a suitably titled pattern called “Drifter.”

Drifter - detail

Drifter - detail

This one is made from a super soft, and warm Rowan yarn called Cocoon. It’s also a Rowan pattern (in Rowan 48) from designer Erika Knight.

Drifter

I was kidding about the aptly named pattern. I’m much too much of a homebody. Not sure there are many drifters out there that would spend Friday nights sitting on the couch making a wee little owl or a fuzzy bear-a-knitting.