14 January 2014

New Year, Same Me :)

As far as I'm concerned, today is the first day of 2014. The kids are back in school, the tree is put away, and I can start getting my head back in the game.

The above was written last Monday, then I got distracted, and now it is next Tuesday. Sigh.

Anyway, this year is off to ... a start. I didn't get the job I'd interviewed for (twice). My ex-husband is AWOL (umpteenth time). My little sister was diagnosed with breast cancer (string of disbelieving swear words here). And the weather has been bonkers (54 degrees to 5 in 24 hours!). And don't even get me started on the hauling-the-family-to-another-time-zone two times in three weeks stuff. I always look forward to the holidays, but the status quo we have going on them is brutal.

On the plus side, I'm working on a design for a new special issue from Interweave (oh, you'll have to wait a bit for that one, but I think it's worth it), another for KnittySpin in collaboration with the awesome Wooly Wonka (more waiting - sorry!), the test is pretty much complete for a new shawl design (a quick tech edit, and then it's all yours, people), and I've got more ideas and yarn just waiting to become new designs for you. There is even a backlog of samples and spreadsheets and scribbles in some sort of scrum/queue to become even more new designs. And that crazy cold weather allowed me to wear some of my favorite sweaters, like An Aran for Anne with a turtleneck (usually I can't layer a sweater like that here in NYC - just too warm - lucky for me that the Louet merino is soft enough for me). The shawl is the one that's almost ready for you...

And to wear as many blue handknits at one time as possible (Ysolda's Ripley cashmere hat, my Infinite silk/mohair cowl, and the shawl-to-come in a merino-cashmere blend) over the aforementioned sweater.

A friend at school pickup said I looked like a blue version of the White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia - I am more than OK with anyone thinking of me and Tilda Swinton in the same thought! Thanks, Kathy ;)

Time and focus seem to be the missing ingredients for me right now (since I can't cure cancer), so I'm working on organizing my life to be more efficient, starting with the fact that I do my thing from home, which means my home (and the housekeeping that comes with it) is always there, staring, sometimes balefully, at my not doing housekeeperly things. Now, I know that this is largely in my head, but I can't escape that place any more than my home, so all I can do is manage it better. To that end I've assigned different tasks to different days:

  • Monday - floors (vacuuming, dusting, washing, staring - I like having choices)
  • Tuesday - kitchen (cleaning out the pantry, washing the fridge shelves, using the aromatic stainless steel polish, de-crumbing the toaster - the stuff that doesn't get done on a daily basis, but not all at once!)
  • Wednesday - laundry (I tried doing a load every day but just couldn't and would rather wait until the hamper is full)
  • Thursday - bathrooms (like the kitchen, stuff beyond the usual wipe-down/towel hang-up)
  • Friday - floors (with two cats and three long-haired ladies in the house, a second vacuum in the week sometimes seems necessary, and it's nice to go into the weekend with the rugs looking fresh)
  • Saturday - FREE! (or something the whole family needs to get in on, like cleaning out a room or washing windows)
  • Sunday - laundry (this way everyone has clean clothes for the start of the week)
Now, I've just implemented this system, so I can't really say how it works yet for sure, but I'm feeling good about it. I tried FlyLady and the lovely cult of Apartment Therapy and some other systems, but they never really stuck.

Anyway, I'm hoping this will free up some mental time for me. Instead of getting bogged down in guilt about the coffee dust that accumulates on the fridge shelf where the container lives (seeing it, being annoyed that it's there but not wanting to clean it up now, then worrying about when exactly I will get around to cleaning it up), now I know that I will deal with it on a Tuesday.

I'm not big into Resolutions, but after Winter Break is a good time to adjust habits. What's your New Year thing?

Alrighty, off to knit some sleeves. And deal with the coffee dust. Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen

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