Post Workplace Abuse: Working on goals

I confess that I didn't touch this blog last week.  My mind has been so busy thinking about my goals for this coming year, refining them, and beginning to act on them that I couldn't clear my mind to one train of thought to write about.  My mind was all over the place ... from knitting, to taking pictures, to reading, to making room for eating breakfast and exercise.  It sort of jumped ... and jumped ... and jumped some more

So here in pictures is a small synopsis of my life in 2015 so far....

2014 ended ... and 2015 started ... with this project:  a Christmas tree hat for my middle grand.  The story is that I made one to sell at the craft show I attended.  It didn't sell but it looked really good on the youngest grand so I gave it to him.  Then the oldest grand kept snatching it from his head, so his mother requested I make a second one for the oldest grand.  Which I did.  Then the middle grand who doesn't "do" hats came up to me and earnestly requested one for himself.  Who can deny such a request?  Certainly not me.

Even though it was my third Christmas tree hat with the same pattern, this one became quite a challenge as my mind went on vacation without advance notice.  In other words, my cognitive skills - ability to comprehend and follow the pattern - failed.

After the hat was finally finished, I decided to work on dishcloths ... knitted dishcloths rather than the crocheted ones.  Doing these is a great way to learn new stitches and improve my skills.  Each project usually takes less than a day.  I have a pile of patterns printed off from sites such as Ravelry and knittingpatterncentral.com.  I put them in a pile and simply pulled off the top pattern, did it, put it on the bottom and reached for the next pattern.

This worked well.  I did eight or so of these and was going to continue on ... until my focus suddenly shifted.

I took a walk to the nearby river (the Grand River in Canada not to be confused with the more well known Rio Grande in Mexico/Texas).  It was a bitter cold day.  I took the walk to work on another of my goals for 2015.  To work on my photography, plus to get outside the house more.  What better way for me to get out of the house then to take my camera with me on a walk for the express purpose of capturing whatever I see?

It was a bitter cold day in Ontario and I was all bundled up:  thermal underwear, thermal socks, jeans (which I almost forgot to put on and had to go back for), quilted vest, parka, cowl, hat, scarf and two pairs of gloves.  After all the objective of the exercise was to take pictures ... not to get frostbite.

So here is where my knitting focus changed - at least for the time being.  I finished the dishcloth I was working on, set it aside in the basket, picked up bigger needles and black yarn and began to knit a scarf for hubby.  He already has one.  In the same pattern.  Cream coloured.  Long.  He wants a shorter one to wrap around his neck and his uniform is black.  So here goes.

I put it down for a bit and ... and promptly lost one of the needles.  Knitting with only one needle does not work.  You need two.  So I am temporarily stalled on this project for the moment.  But don't worry or feel sorry for hubby as I've knitted a small size cowl for a friend's child and am working on a larger size one for an adult.  Just for fun.  Just to see how they work.  Maybe for future craft sales?  Or Christmas presents for next year?

Just for the fun of it, I've attached a picture of a helmut or something from WWII vintage which has captured my imagination and I'd like to try some time.  I'm thinking of red.  What would you think if you saw that walking down the road towards you?  On a head, of course.

In the meantime, a friend's Mom has cancer and will be undergoing chemotherapy in the near future so I'm looking at my hat patterns and available yarns.  So another shift is coming soon to my "safe" room.

From dishcloths to warm things for cold weather to chemo hats  to ... doll clothes.

Yes, you read right.  Doll clothes.  A friend had commissioned me to make some for her grandchild.

This is getting fun.

Now back to my goals as there's one I haven't mentioned yet in this blog post:  writing.

I have determined to start learning more about the craft and working towards making writing more than just a blog ... or a hobby.

I already have quite a reference library.  An unread reference library.  Therefore, I've decided to pick one book and read it.

I've chosen the book which is on top in the picture above for the first one.  A memoir in a series of essays by a woman whose workshop on essay writing I took in a local event in 2013 called the Wild Writer's Literary Event.

It doesn't tell me HOW to write a memoir.  It shows me.  She is writing in such a style that the stories come to life.  She inserts all the senses.  You can feel the tension between her parents.  It is real.  It is palpable.  And it keeps me reading.

Next will be to start writing short segments to see how I can insert life into my own writing.

So this is 2015 in utero.  In it's beginning phases.

This is why you didn't hear from me last week.

I've been busy working on starting my goals.  Working on recovery.  And ... sigh ... dealing with the junk life throws at me (which I'm choosing not to write about at this moment - maybe later when I get it sorted out in my mind).

With all of that, I guess you could say that I've been one busy girl.

What about you?  Where are you on your journey towards recovery?  What are your goals for this coming year?  What is your focus going to be?

Will we achieve our goals?  At this point, I have no idea but I sure am having fun working on them, watching them and seeing them take shape ....

Until next time.