Basic Food

In the beginning there was Real Food and SisuGirl saw the food and it was good.

So she decided to blog a bit about real food, cooking basics of beans and whole grains, subsistence foods and their gathering and prep and enjoying every.last.bite.

Here is the first of what I hope to be an ongoing feature in my adventures.

For someone who has always loved food, this blog has had a noticeable lack of food content…

and that shall be remedied…

starting….

NOW:

Real Food Flowchart brought to you by Darya Pino, PhD, aka : SummerTomato

Her Healthy Eating Tips are amazing; I really, really love her entry about How to Start Working Out When You Don’t Like To Exercise and, quite frankly, I haven’t yet  disliked a single entry she has written.  When I read thru her site I find that she has written the way I think about food and exercise…which means that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel here   Many of her Recipes look amazing and I may even make her Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon for myself and M in my effort to find a way that he would enjoy the brussles sprouts.  Honestly, if he doesn’t like them, I don’t think I would be too put out to eat them all myself.

One of her best articles, IMHO, was How To Eat Healthy Without Being a Buzzkill.  For someone who lives a rather solitary life, like me, we don’t generally have to think about how we eat around other people because we just don’t get the chance to do it often.  For the other 90% of the population, you might be able to use these tips and not just be like me : grateful that you don’t have situations like these!  In this article she shares some common sense, witty and intelligent quips that will help keep the person trying to change their Healthstyle sane and allow them to participate in social situations.

Even better

Once Upon A Time there was a girl who had a favourite sweater…

You see, she moved to Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland during July of 2002 and quickly realised that a Northern Irish summer was much different from the Michigan summers that she was used to.  She needed a cardigan that she could pull on during the brisk mornings and cooler evenings, something lighter than a jacket but still would look smart and go with everything.  With a budget of a student a handknit aran was out of the question so she went to Primark instead.  After searching and searching through racks of girls clothing and finding nothing sensible and everything thin, frilly or fashion rather than function focused she was about to give up and try elsewhere but then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw it.  It was sandy coloured with a bit of grey on the inside hem at the wrists and collar, ribbed in the front body but with plain stockinette (read: just knit) back and sleeves.  It would go with everything, always look smart, was in her price range and, despite being in the Mens Department, fit her suitably.  She bought it and proceeded to wear it nearly every day

…for the next 2 years.

Seriously.

I wish I had more photos of me in this sweater because I think that, short of June, July and August in Michigan, at which time I had it in my bag or in the car for cooler evenings, I was wearing the darn thing constantly.  It was perfect.  It went with everything that I owned because it was that perfect neutral.  The ribbing in the body gave it that little bit of shape that I only vaguely needed in my round shape and the fact that it was an Acrylic/Wool blend, probably 75/25, and wore like iron made that sweater indespesible to me.  I moved from Marine City, Michigan to King County, Washington and found that the sweater was even more useful there because of the Seattle climate and, since it was completely machine washable and dry-able, it was wonderful for me to wear while playing with kids as a nanny and getting gloriously messy with kid wipe-ings…you know, like runny noses, tears, fingerpaints and all manner of crumbs that the youngest would drop on me from his seat in the backpack.

Sadly, that is where the story of this amazing sweater ends.  I believe that I lost it one day, most likely between juggling kids between the Seattle Aquarium and Pike Place Market where we would have chowder for lunch at the Market Grill.  Trust me, McGeaths review of the food is in no way an overstatement and I would be right there along with him, including the beef brisket, to get more of that amazing chowder or another sandwich with the heavenly rosemary aoli.  The kids loved the chowder too and we were such regulars there that I would phone over there and one of the guys would ladle me two large bowls so they could cool while I walked up from the aquarium with the kids, 2 and 3 at the time, and be ready to eat when we got there.  Anyway…back to the sweater.  I think that it was during a late spring heat surge that I managed to take it off while shifting children and forget to pick it up again and lost it to the whirlwind that is the Seattle waterfront.  I didn’t realise that it was missing until maybe weeks later when the temperature dropped and I went looking for what was never to be found again.  Sad Day for sure.

Fast forward 2 years and I made a replacement.  I had found an AMAZING pattern online, the Ribby Cardi by Bonne Marie Burns, and thought it would be the perfect sweater to replace the one I lost.  I finished this one on March 26th, 2008 and, sadly, shrunk it in July ’08 when I learned that my new washers “Delicate” cycle was nowhere near as delicate as anyone would have though.  As sad as I was to lose nearly 3 months of knitting, the sweater was not without its flaws.  #1 was the colours.  I LOVED the look of the blue and the brown and both suited me very well…but they didn’t go with everything so the sweater didn’t nearly get worn as much as I would have wanted.  #2 was the fact that I managed to do some interesting things with the sweater, like seam a sleeve inside out and not notice until weeks later, and I was never entirely happy with it.  It may have been the colour choice, it may have been the strong but just shy of next to your skin soft Wool of the Andes, my usual workhorse yarn, but there was always something…missing…for me.  I think this is evidenced by the fact that in the end, despite being around multiple craft and sewing stores, I never got around to buying and sewing in a zipper.  It just wasn’t true love like the original sweater.

This time around I did it much better.  Instead of knitting in pieces and seaming, I did this one in the whole body and the sleeves in the round.  With only the sleeves to seam in and the body done together to the underarm, I felt that this one went much faster and I was on to the sleeves before I knew it. 

Then, 22 days after I originally swatched, I had a sweater.

And its even better than the original!  While the original had ribbing only in the front of the body, this one has it on the sides, which creates waist shaping and hugs curves quite nicely. The ribbing on the sleeves mean that they hug my arms instead of being loose, something I always disliked about the original.

The original only had contrasting stitching at the inside of the cuffs, collar and hem and this one

has it as the first two rows of the cuff, hem, up the centre where the zipper will go and at the collar …which also got a makeover: and was made double thick so that it would block the ever constant wind of Nelson Lagoon and the future cold of Pilot Station, which was -25 yesterday, from seeping down my neck.  Even without the zipper, which will go on March 9th, the day after I arrive in Sitka and buy one, I LOVE this sweater. The City Tweed HW yarn is so very soft and warm, undoubtedly from the Merino/Alpaca fibre blend, and I dont think that I’ll ever wear another sweater as much as I will wear this one and barring any fate of felting, which will never happen because this sweater will ALWAYS be hand washed, I would like to think that this sweater will outlast the original.

PS: The sweater is being held by a shawl pin made by ThatLoganChick who, sadly, doesn’t make shawl pins anymore.  She does, however, have some lovely shawl patterns for sale in her Ravelry shop which is linked above.  I had won two of her pins in a contest back in ’08 and I’ve gotten some great use out of both of them for holding various sweaters closed!

 

PPS: Please ignore the horrific “halo” of hair made much, much worse by the flash used and my placement under the overhead light.  I have lots of new hair growing in for some reason and they all seem to be in the sticky-up stage of growth and no number of clips, headbands or amount of product are able to keep them tamed so I’ve stopped trying and let them do their own thing for now.  Much less stress but makes for much worse photos.

 

PPPS:  I had to laugh at myself and realised that I am nothing if not constant.  In the first photo I am wearing jeans, long sleeved t-shirt and The Sweater and have my trusty backpack sitting on the step next to me.  In the last photo I am wearing jeans, long sleeved t-shirt and The Better Sweater and have my very same trusty backpack sitting next to me on the floor…You can see it here, just hiding under the chair.  See the red?  Yup.  Nothing if not constant.

 

Single Most

What’s the single most important thing you accomplished in 2010 and how do you plan to top it in 2011?

At first I thought that this was going to be incredibly easy to write about.

What was the most important thing I accomplished in 2010?

Pshaw…it was losing 60lbs!  <–to–> 

Duh.  I mean, how many other people can say they had done that?  Oh wait…how do I top that?  I can’t lose any more weight.  Well, I can, but it wouldn’t be healthy for me to do so…so how about planning on keeping it off.  Since 95% of people who lose weight gain it back again, being one of those special 5% would be amazing.

 

OK, that was easy.

 

But I forgot about mentioning M.

Mike and Tasha 8-29-10

Entering into a long term relationship with him was huge for me and a major accomplishment of the last year.

 

What about going to visit family in MI for 2 weeks in the summer and meeting my nephew?  That was a big trip in the planning and the making and certainly something that I got to cross off my 101 list.

 

And what about…

 

STOP.

Breath.

Think.

 

Completely inadvertently, the SINGLE MOST important thing that I did in 2010 was “Let Go.”

I let go of the security blanket I was carrying around me that allowed me think that I was “happy” being overweight when it was more of a fleeting thought that if I could make my own self think that I was confident and content with what I looked like then others would see that confidence and not notice the poundage.

I let go of the idea that I was past an old relationship, admitted to myself that life was nowhere near where I thought it should be, realised that I was still mourning the loss of that idea, accepted that I was making a new path all my own and actually DID move on.

I let go of a relationship when I realised that it was more of a band-aid for the both of us and that neither of us were ever going to be what the other wanted.

I let go of control and learned to go with the flow, accepting things for what they were, not what I wanted them to be.

I let go of the “Perfect Plan” I had made for my life when I was in college (!!) and embraced the idea of a new future with new adventures around new corners.

I let go of my singleness and entered into couplehood in a way that was far less awkward that any other budding relationship that I have even been in proving to myself that it was right in a way the others had never been.

I let go of my fears of not being Enough and just Was and that made for a wonderful visit with my family, some of whom I hadn’t seen in 5 years.

I let go of a lifetime of shopping woes, lived in the moment and splurged on some wonderful clothes that look great on me.  We won’t talk about some of those *other* pieces of clothing that end up as lacy piles on the floor…those look good on AND off me.

I let go of the idea that I was stronger as a single person and embraced the power that comes from leaning on and drawing from someone else.

I let go of nearly all of the negative things that were holding me and started reaching for those things that I wanted to embrace on a regular basis.

Balance  Clarity  Connection  Courage  Faith  Fertility 

 

Healing  Hope  Inspiration  Joy  Love  Patience  Peace  Perseverance  Strength

I started to live my life Intentionally.  Back in August I actually let go from inadvertant living and started Intentional Living…focusing on the parts of me that made me, well, me.  What made me happy, sad, angry.  What gave me focus, energy,  or passion.  What excited, inspired or drained me.  How I could use those forces for the good in my life and not spend so much life on the feeling of “getting thru it” parts.  Because in the end, life IS the journey.

How will I top that in 2011?  For starters, the first 8 months of my 2011 is still focusing on Intentional Living.  I still have 12 area of focus to move thru in the next *GASP* 7.5 months (realistically 6.5 because moving and setting up house will take at least that long).  I’m going to continue working on letting go of those things that have a hold on me, most notably, my negative view of my body.  In the end, I want to look at 2011 as my Intentional 16 Months (8/29/10-12/31/11).

And you can bet I’ll be blogging about it here.

 

Looking Forward and other thoughts

A few thoughts that I’ve been knocking around in response to topic suggestions:

#1: What are you looking forward to?

For me, thats easy. I am always looking forward to something while I try and savour the moment that I am in here and now. I think I have more issues with the savoring that the looking forward!

In Knitting: Oh there are so many patterns to talk about and I SO want to be knitting them all RIGHT NOW so I can wear them tomorrow…  The Bel-Air and the Apres Surf Hoodie just to name two.
Ribby Cardi is on my needles yet again and I’m done with the body and, despite this photo from Monday, am nearly done with the first sleeve.

I just love the KnitPicks City Tweed HW, both how it looks, knit-ability and how it feels and this sweater is nearly perfect.  If I were wearing it now then it would be perfect.

Also on the needles right now is a Hot Water Platypus. (Rav link only, sorry!)

Yes, a Platypus.   Or at least it will be soon.  Knitting it between the sweater and socks gives me time to order and get a new hot water bottle since my old one sprung a leak around the gasket.

and, of course, socks galore! I need to finish the pair of Mikes socks that were “The Jaywalkers That Were”,

but, in typical Jaywalker fashion, too tight to get over his heel…so they were frogged and are a 2×2 standard rib sock done toe-up and are both nearly to the heel.

In Spinning:  I’m really looking forward to plying the Intentions : Clarity later today.  I plyed and set the Balance on Monday and wow, it really looks wonderful and I’ll blog about it later this week when I get photos done. 

Both Balance (L) and Clarity (R) need a final post to them and Connection (Bottom) needs to sit and wait a bit before I can ply it up.  Courage is up next and I’m looking forward to seeing how it spins out.

In Life in general:  I WAS looking forward to snowshoeing with my Best Buddy, M, yesterday when she got home from Anchorage.  We gave each other snowshoes for Christmas…I gave her pink ones because pink is her favourite colour and she, well, she knows me well.

Sadly, the temp came up and the rain fell down so Nelson Lagoon is a slushy mess with nearly all the snow gone.  This means ocean-like puddles EVERYWHERE because the ground has been frozen for at least a month.  Instead I played with my Wii and “Just Danced” for more than an hour, quite a good workout in itself.   I would have gone for a run but my new shoes, Attla by IceBug, have not come in yet.  Highly recommended by a runner colleague and backed up by other AK friends who run in all our icy weather as being worth every penny, I am really looking forward to giving these a go.

Of course there is also the 8 more weeks of looking forward to go as M moves thru his training to become a VPSO and then one more week before our move to Pilot Station, AK.  If you haven’t yet, I suggest you Google Map it and compare it to where I am now in Nelson Lagoon.  Its on the Yukon, yes, it IS further north and I promise to add more photos of it as soon as I am there to do so.

#2:  Why did you start blogging?

Hmm…I wanted to have a place where I could see my knitting progress with words and photos and have a medium that I could share with my friends and family around the world.  I have family members and friends from WA to MI to FL to the UK and wanted some way for them to be able to see where I was and what I was doing.  After my first year in Sitka, I realised that words spoken over the phone or letters alone wouldn’t cut it, so I started to blog!

#3: Does everything happen for a reason?

Oh yes.  EVERYTHING.  I believe this not only because of the Jeremiah 29:11 verse: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” but also because I have seen evidence of it in my own life.  Sure, things don’t always work the way I had planned, but always, in the end, good things have come from it all.  Want proof?  Here was an ending…And Here was a new Beginning.  I am nowhere near where I thought that I would “Be” in my life but I am so happy and content with where, and who,  I “Am” and this is all because everything in my life has happened and shaped me into the person I Am.  It is for good reason that I am this way.

A beautiful end to the Christmas Season

Stress? Not here!

The post idea for today was: Are you stressed out?  If so, why?  If not, why not?

Nope, there is NO stress here at Chez Sisu.  In fact, there is a great joy, anticipation and relaxation around here and here’s why:

Joy?

Oh yes.  The Cold Bay store got a shipment of frozen okra and that means that I can make Okra and Tomatoes, a dish that I just LOVE but havent been able to make properly, due to lack of frozen okra, in 2 years.  It will be hard not to eat the whole batch in one sitting but considering the hours I would have to spend in the loo tomorrow if I do so, I think I’ll restrain myself.

Anticipation?

There is brown rice in the rice pot and lemon chicken (and shrimp) in the crock pot right now.  I’m waiting for the rice to finish and the shrimp to pink up.  The shrimp were a late addition to the pot…I had made a really good version of lemon chicken {3 Bl/Sl Chicken thighs, 3T lemon juice, 2 cloves of garlic crushed, 1/2c water, 1 T chicken bouillon on high 3 hours} and then fished the chicken out, added 3T of soy sauce and 6 frozen shrimp and popped the lid back on.  They are nearly done and its been about 20 minutes.  Yes, I should be worried that any possible bacteria haven’t been killed because the broth hasn’t come to a boil, but as I’ve never gotten sick (knock on wood), I’ll enjoy it as broth over the top of all foods on my plate tonight.

Relaxation?

My Ribby Cardi #2 knit from City Tweed in Orca and Cottontail (Cottontail doesn’t seem to be available anymore, I’m glad I got lots.)  For some reason, I am loving this right now.  I’m knitting it in one piece and, so far, No Worries.  However, I bet money that there will be some issues as my work goes on just because the pattern has to be re-written.  I’m going to take my time though and just work steadily through using all Ravelry tips I can get!

I am spinning Connection, my third Intentions roving and really, all of the above things blend into feeling connected.  I have grand memories of eating okra and tomatoes AND using the crock pot with my family.  I was given my rice pot by the family I was a nanny for and I have quite treasured memories of all of them.  Knitting always makes me feel like I am connected with my Mum, who taught me to knit, and my Nana, who was ALWAYS knitting.  My cardigan was a good knit the first time that I made it (sadly felted it too much to wear again) and I can’t wait to have another, especially one knit in these colours because they match a Favorite Sweater that I had bought at Primark when I was in Belfast…and then lost in Seattle, most likely at Pike Place Market.

To further the connection, I am feeling very connected to M as he is away.  I feel his absence quite keenly this time and I think its because there is a HUGE reason why he is gone:  Training for a new job.  A job that is going to take us away from Nelson Lagoon and on to a new village.  We will be moving together.  Making a fresh start together.  Being connected together.  Being a part of a Couple.

And I am so excited about it, the spinning, M and the move, and the feeling of connectivity is the part that makes me know that everything is as it should be.

 

Makes me Smile

I am, at my core, a Tea person.  I love tea, from herbal to green to black to white.  I think its the English side of the family coming thru but, for me, the day just starts better when I begin with a cuppa in my hand.

I fully admit to drinking the “floor sweepings” that Lipton’s packages as tea on a regular basis.  Its what I grew up with and really, if I’m honest, what I love for its simplicity and known flavour.  There is something familiar in the taste and ritual it invoked.  Even as I reach into my cupboard today I still expect and want to be reaching into the glass hexagon jar/canister that was always the tea caddy in our house.  I know exactly what color the cup needs to be to be my perfect cup and I can bet I can get my Mums cuppa perfect too.  There is comfort too in the face on the old style box.  I’m not such a fan of the new style as they 86′ed the guy.

As I “grew up”, I used my own money to invest in tea at college and came home every summer with new boxes of just about everything, herbal or black.  I found a new love in herbal teas because I have always been effected by caffeine, especially if I drank it after  4pm but I still wanted that warm drink for both my fingers and my insides.  Last year I discovered a box of Wild Cherry Berry in the depths of my sisters cabinet…apparently my BIL is also a tea fan and has the same tendencies to buy and try and put away that I do.  After killing the box, I was crushed to not find any in the store to bring home to AK.  Even worse was that I couldn’t find it in my local grocers either but it was Mum to the rescue and she discovered: 

the renamed version of my Wild Cherry Berry (because if there are no actual “Wild” Cherries mixed with the Berries, you can’t call it that!) and bought it for me in bulk.  I just got another box in my Christmas box and I am most grateful.  I drink BCB at least once every evening and still look forward to is as a ritual and a treat.

A staple for my tea habit is Sleepytime for its soothing qualities   It is my go-to tea if I feel just a bit to jazzed up to sleep and it also seems to be M’s too as he will get up at night to get some.

My new favorite and something that makes me smile more than anything is .  My Mum and Sister gave it to me in my Christmas box and I am LOVING this tea on a daily basis.

2010 in review by WordPress

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health (My thoughts and comments all look like this ) :

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow. ( I wonder what it would say if I had more posts and more readers?  Amazing?  Very Wow?)

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,800 times in 2010. That’s about 7 full 747s.

 

In 2010, there were 71 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 130 posts. There were 285 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 581mb. That’s about 5 pictures per week. (Roughly 1.37 posts per week…not bad, but I’m going to work harder at hitting my 2/week goal set in my 101/1001…and take more photos.  2011 is the year of Tasha and her camera.)

The busiest day of the year was November 2nd with 45 views. The most popular post that day was About. (Seriously?  Theres next to nothing written there and far, far more interesting posts!)

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were ravelry.com, facebook.com, blogger.com, bloglines.com, and alaskanpurl.com. (Not really surprised that Ravelry and then Facebook came #’s 1 and 2, I do spend most of my online time there.)

Some visitors came searching, mostly for cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum, sisu tattoo, sisu girl, cuius testiculos habes, and cuius testiculos habes habeas cardia et cerebellum. ( I love that the most searched for words/phrases are A) In Latin and B) About getting a mans attention by grabbing a certain part of his anatomy.)

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010. (I really like that my initial Intentions blog made that list since I plan on doing a lot more of it!  I also think I’ll use a bit more Latin since it got peoples attention…though I don’t know about their staying power or if they thought for any reason that they would find a Knitting/Spinning/Life in rural AK blog when searching…I’d really like more long-term readers…)

1

About October 2008
5 comments

2

Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum April 2010
2 comments

3

And then there was body art August 2009
3 comments

4

Announcing My Intentions August 2010
1 comment

5

30 down, 20 to go April 2010

 

All in all, a great year and we are off to a grand start with 2 posts in 2 days   Heres to a wonderful next 363 of knitting, spinning, adventures, blogging and taking photos of it all!!

The Grand Update of my 101 in 1001!

The Grand Update of my 101 in 1001!

101 in 1001
Grand Aim: To do some amazing things along with the mundane before my 30th Birthday.  To live my life fully and with no gaps between what I want and what I do.
Begun: 1/1/09
Formally Ends: 9/29/11  Goal End Date: 8/29/11 (970 days)

Completed

In the works

(Altered)

Last updated 12/2/09
1.    Go 24 hours w/out TV once a week
2.    Read Narnia Series
3.    Read “Alaska” by Michener
4.    Read Higgins ‘Sean Dillon’ books
5.    Listen to 1 podcast a day – 335/1001
6.    Move DVD’s into 1 case and out of jewel cases
7.    Borrow and read 3 books a month from the Library (I’m calling this one In the Works since I’ve gotten/am getting books for my Kindle)

8.    Watch 9 movies a month
9.    Return Netflix movies the day after watching them
10.    Read the Bible
11.    Read all of Terry Pratchetts ‘Discworld’ series
12.    Catch up and continue reading Brian Jacques ‘Redwall’ series
13.    Read all of Jane Austen’s novels
14.    Hike the Superior Trail
15.    Visit Hawaii
16.    Visit all of UK
17.    Visit Marquette 3 times – 1/3
18.    Lose 40 lbs – Lost 60!
19.    Keep it off
20.    Spa day-the works- on 30th Birthday
21.    Manicure or Pedicure every other month (DIY at home so I can use up some Mary Kay handcare)
22.    Shave once a week – 143 Shaving is SO far from important to me
23.    Take a vitamin every day for 3 months – 90/90
24.    Do a cleansing fast. Nope.  Not important and chances are, not healthy either!
25.    Be in bed by 10 pm 6 days a week
26.    Get up at am 5 days a week Jan-May 09
27.    Walk Sisu 2 laps – 5 days a week Jan-May 09
28.    Walk Sisu 2 mi/day May -?
29.    Drink only 1 cup of coffee per day
30.    Workout 1 hr, 5 days a week @ PF Jan-May 09
31.    Workout ‘Biggest Winner’ 4 days a week May -? I just went to walking Sisu and running and it was perfectly me
32.    Complete couch to 5k program using Podrunner Intervals
33.    Try 10 Pilates workouts – 5/10
34.    Run 2 – 5k’s
35.    Eat Vegetarian 1week/month 6 times – 6
36.    Eat beans not meat 1 meal/week for 6 months – 20/24
37.    Have friends over for dinner 1/month (Trying but fallen way short)
38.    No processed foods 2 days/week for 12 months – 24
39.    Buy and enjoy 2 bottles of wine/month – 64
40.    Save 75% of income Jan-May 09 Save 50% of income Jan-May
41.    Review and plan savings when I get a new job
42.    Detail and monitor $300/month budget Jan-May 09
43.    Review, detail and monitor new budget May 09
44.    Use cash or check for all minor purchases.
45.    Pay off all credit cards by May 09
46.    Pay off student loan by Jan,‘10
47.    Get a CHA/P position
48.    Move
49.    Put laundry away immediately after folding
50.    Vacuum once a week
51.    Organize and de-clutter once a month
52.    Put all important documents into a binder
53.    Create workout binder
54.    Write letters to family members 1/month – 32
55.    Email Mum once/week – 143
56.    Keep in touch with Jessica Campbell
57.    Blog 2 times/week
58.    Update 101 list once/week
59.    Pare down possessions to 4 totes, 2 suitcases, wheel and dog food J
60.    Catalog entire yarn stash
61.    Catalog entire fiber stash
62.    Keep both #60 and #61 up to date bi-monthly
63.    Spin thru entire fiber stash as of 1/1/09
64.    Knit 12 sweaters for myself (3/12)
65.    Buy no more sock yarn until all existing stash has been used 2/24
66.    Knit hats from remaining Noro 0/6
67.    Spin 30 mins/day
68.    Knit 2 hours every other day
69.    Knit Christmas ornaments 1/month – 3/32 (gave 2 away!)
70.    Put all patterns into pockets and into a binder
71.    Organise patterns
72.    Photograph all WIP’s every other week
73.    Update Ravelry every other week
74.    Knit 3 baby sweaters for Bolliger baby 2/3
75.    Buy only Etsy handpainted fiber after all stash has been used
76.    Knit a Christmas Stocking for myself
77.    Knit thru ‘The Great American Afghan’
78.    Go to OR fiber festival
79.    Go to MI fiber festival
80.    Go to sock summit, Portland, OR 8/09
81.    Only buy yarn for a specific project.
82.    Work towards becoming self-sufficient
83.    Research raising ducks
84.    Research raising rabbits
85.    Research raising bees

86.    Write a business plan for dyeing yarn and fiber

87.    Research land availability
88.    Save towards buying house and/or land
89.    Plant herb garden/pots
90.    Plant vegetable garden
91.    Be open to dating after May ‘09
92.    Pray Daily
93.    Get my dresser from Mum I’ve got to first find a longer term housing arrangement first, then I can get my furniture!
94.    Knit 3 vests of different styles with at least 1 being of my own design

95.    Design and knit one pair of mittens.

96.    Knit 2 things using patterns from 365 Knitting Sitches a Year

97.   “Bite it, Write it and Move on” for 3 months

98.    For 2011
99.    For 2011
100.    For 2011
101.    Make a new list

 

I love reading thru this list nearly as much as it formatting between Word for Mac and WordPress annoys me…some things I just can seem to be able to alter.  On the other hand, there are some things that I can do something about and its those that look like they are going to be the most interesting.  I have to laugh at myself when I read some of my goals…12 sweaters?  What was I on when I thought that THAT would happen?  Using up ALL my sock yarn before buying more?  Um, No.  I failed at that one early on.  My list was written when I was in a very different place…physically and mentally, A year ago I was in a different, different place and today I am looking forward to a whole NEW different place within the time of the list expiring…a new place that can change a lot of these plans and ideas into real things.  Growing green things is hard when you dont have any dirt in your region…but after re-doing #47 and #48, there will be plenty of dirt, a chance to become more self-sufficient, raise ducks/chickens and plan on what I am going to with the last two “For 2011″ challenges.

For the record:  #98 is Spin my Intentions Rovings.  I really, really like what I have come up with so far with this project and I can’t wait to see what the next 12 rovings bring me.

Happy Old Years Night!  Stay Tuned tomorrow of my Knitting/Spinning recap of 2010 and some photos of recent adventures.