Day 1

Yes, it's cold out this New Year's Day, but Roy and I took a long walk anyway.  I love the new hat I made for myself.  It's actually the second one I made, but youngest daughter really, really coveted the first one I made from the handspun that blogging buddy Shiralyn sent me.
And you know I couldn't refuse her.
It is a  really easy hat to knit, and quick.  It looks somewhat like a helmet.  It is long in the back, which covers my neck, and my ears.  I really love it.  I am going to make more.

 And yes, my nose is red.  IT'S COLD.

We are 9 followers away from a giveaway.  But what to give away?  What kind of a giveaway should it be?

Don't you love "Day ONE"?  Doesn't it make you hopeful?  doesn't it make you feel that anything is possible.

I've been asking myself some questions.  Here are my questions, and answers, and you can comment with your own answers, if you want.

1. What am I going to do for myself this year?  JUST FOR ME.

 I'm going to make a date with ME every single week, to spend in the great outdoors, kayaking, hiking, just sitting on a rock somewhere with a book.  Because when I was a kid, I knew then something that I have tended to forget as an adult........being out in the serenity of nature makes me happy.
 Here is an old picture I found.  This is a place where I spent a lot of time growing up.....see the X?  That's where I used to lay on my back and look at the clouds.
One time, in the winter, I rode a toboggan down that hill.......and looked up too soon.  It is hard to see, but there was a barbed wire fence close to the top, and I have the scar on my temple to prove it.

2.  What do I feel the urge to get done this year?

I want to be more minimalist.  I have started already, down sizing clothes, and books, and cleaning closets.  I want to extend this throughout my home, and my life.  I want to live simpler.   It isn't a resolution, I've already started to do it, I just want to do more.  I want it be become part of who I am.
For instance, yes, all the coats drastically reduced in the Land's End flyer are marvelous, but I don't need a coat.  Not really.  Need vs want.   I am going to pay more attention to that.

3. What would I like to learn this year??

I want to weave more complicated patterns this year, and be a better weaver.  I want to spend less time "producing", and more time "creating".

4. What is the ONE thing I want to do this year, NO MATTER WHAT.

Spend some time on a pond in Maine.  Listening to loons, being still.

5. What was the smartest decision I made last year?

The smartest decision I made last year was to trust my gut feeling, and also to trust my doctors,  and have the surgery that gave me hope for the future.


And don't forget, I need giveaway ideas.