January 2, 2017

Quick Fixes

Will plays peek-a-boo with Auntie Heather
This is going to be a long one.....post that is.   Recovery from the holidays is well underway and almost complete.   OMGosh!  William had a fabulous first Christmas as did the rest of us.......Isn't it wonderful to have all the family home for the holidays and isn't it just a tiny bit wonderful when they leave and you can have your house back in order, no waiting your turn for the bathroom or shower, no countertops covered with mugs and glasses and cell phones and chargers, no sink full of unending dishes and life is back to quiet evenings of stitching.   I do love them coming and we have so much fun, lots of laughter and even though the silence is welcomed and I am no longer tripping over dogs and quaranting the cat,  I miss them already........

I kind of just melted into the sofa when the last of the house guests left on New Year's Eve.  I started bright and early New Year's morning with cleaning and pulling down the decorations.   As I did, I reflected on 2016.      Mr. Wonderful retired and that seems to be going OK.  We had a Grandchild! and he is wonderful.  I accomplished some of the things on my 2016 list; accomplished some that were not on the list; I did things I never expected and had things happen that I never planned.......   I read 15 books, I completed several projects,  I 'announced' my retirement by giving my boss a 3-year notice of my planned date of retirement.....overall it was a good year for me.

I hesitate making New Year's Resolutions or planning stitching goals.  I feel like it is setting yourself up for failure with unattainable goals.....something always gets in the way....a new project, a class, a diversion (squirrel!),  of my well meant intentions....but it is the thing to do....to start fresh with a clean slate,  plans in place, list goals.  It is like when you get a new planner at work or calendar and it is all fresh and clean and none of the pages are dog-eared and possibilities are endless.  And I do work best with a list.....there can be a sense of accomplishment when you cross things off....so time to just suck it up buttercup and make my list, resolutions or not!

I spent New Year's Day getting my house back in order.   I stripped beds, vacuumed, did laundry, wiped baseboards, found stray socks and moved furniture back in place.   I did stray a bit and spent some time looking through my basket of WIP's.  As I was restoring order,  I made  mental notes of nicks of paint here and there that need a quick fix.   (not from my houseguests....just normal wear and tear) And then there is that wallpaper project from last year.   Well I can rationalize it.....it was summer, it was hot, I needed to be outside in the yard, the pool was calling, I offered money to a friend to help and have a girls night with wine and wallpaper.....nothing, nil, nada accomplished other then my first attack which created the point of no return ..... so I vow for 2017 to work one night a week on removing the wallpaper until it is done!   Hopefully, that will see the job done.

Of course the obvious.....hmmm, the weight.   No need to get on the scale and see that ugly number.   It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know there is a problem when the sweats are the pants of choice.  I've always struggled with weight loss but I am planning a different approach.  Just as important as loosing weight is getting fit.  My plan is to work on getting fit, built my endurance, increase my speed and distance on the treadmill, become more active, do more yoga,  and if weight loss happens, all the better.  And the most important part to remember is that at 2 pounds a year of weight gain over the last twenty years will not disappear overnight.  No quick fixes here.



I also am vowing to do more Random Acts of Kindness.   They may be as simple as giving up a parking space, allowing someone with only a few items ahead of me in the grocery store, writing a quick note to a sick friend.   Simple things that will make a difference in that person's day.  


Stitching Plans for 2017
I have two large pieces I'd like to concentrate on in 2017.   Funny, the first is from my "list" for 2016 and it never saw the light of day since I put it there.   The second is a stitch-a-long I am hosting.  (see this post)  My guild is hosting a challenge to complete WIP's and this could be a good thing when it comes to my basket of shame.  Then there are ornaments to stitch.  Every year I just swoon at all the pretty ornaments everyone stitches......this could be the year I stitch a few.  You know you always need that quick fix of a quick finish.

I am creating my own rotation method to stitch through the year.   I need to rotate through different projects because different stitching times call for different stitching pieces.   A lunchtime project is different than a weekend at my daughter's project and different still from an evening at home project.  

My focus pieces will be Rosewood Manor's Cornwall Cottage Sampler and Queenstown Sampler's Corsica River.   I just love the colors in the Rosewood Manor pattern.   At the time I brought this pattern, it was such a difference from their normal sampler themed designs.  So far I have two of the twelve pages of charts completed.   I will be happy to make it to four or even, hope of all hope, six pages!

I just really was taken by Corsica River piece when I saw it at a guild meeting this summer.   It has some stitch techniques I have not used before and I always enjoy the challenge of blackwood plotting my route in and back.   This is planned as a two year project so there is only pressure to keep up but not to finish.

 Some finishes I'd like to complete in 2017.
 My pen pal gifted me this and I did need to steal 30 minutes to get this started before Jan. 1.

 This Mill Hill kit looks creepy but Halloween is the time for all things creepy.  I've seen this completed and it is really very pretty.    Halloween is permission to be outlandish!

 Another gift from my Penpal from a couple of years back.   Time to get a stitching on this.


Pardon the sideways photo.   This is an Alma Lynn pattern from the 1990's showing a duplicate stitch Uncle Sam.   My Thursday night ladies and I are stitching this on 18 count and plan to make this a stand up 4th of July design.
 This is something I started a million years ago.   Hopefully my skills have improved and I am a faster stitcher now then when I started this.

 This is a kit from my visit to Longaberger in Dresden, Ohio in 2006.   Got about 30 stitches in place in the hotel room on that trip and then no more.

 Oh my!  This was on my list to finish in 2016.   I did double my progress but there is more to do.  I get hung up with the tons and tons and tons of smyrna crosses.   Yes, had I not diverted my path down the entire left side I could have replaced some of those smyrnas with another stitch....

 I am sure there are more projects...some new starts.....some WIP's....

 And then we have the many faces of William....Happy

What, you want me to model my sweater knitted by Auntie Amy again?

 Hmmm, what shall I get into next?


  Best present ever.

 Hey dad! Share that donut!


 Peek-a-boo gramma.

I know it's a John Deere but I am really not ready to start grass cutting.

And then there is travel to look forward to.    I have three stitching weekends in Ocean City Maryland to look forward to.   I have already signed up for a Betsy Morgan Class this spring and probably will sign up for a Lauren Sauer Class in the fall.  I am toying with the idea of starting a Thompson Family Reunion this year.  (more incentive to get the wallpaper down and the hall and stairway painted!) The Second Annual Mother and Daughter long weekend with my daughters will be in the Rhineback area of New York in late August.  I am trying to talk my travel buddy into a cruise in the fall.   I'd like to try the New England cruise in October but I am still twisting her arm.   I have some have some plans for continued pruning and revamping flower beds and gardens.   I am sure there will be some show and theater events to attend.   I already know I will buy tickets to Straight No Chaser when they are back in the area next fall. And last but not lease, I have an open invitation to my boss's place in Florida that I just might take her up on this winter.

And congrats to you if you managed to stay with me all this time.   It is going to be a great year!

6 comments:

  1. Whew--I'm worn out just reading about what you want to accomplish in 2017...but sometimes it's the journey...not the destination!
    Good luck achieving your goals.....and.....aren't grand kids the best???

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  2. Happy New Year, Robin! Boy, I am tired just from reading your post. I wish you much success in achieving your goals/intentions. What a handsome boy William is!

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  3. Happy New Year Robin: I had such a giggle reading parts of this post, the photos starting with the sweater were so cute I had to giggle, what a little cutie pie.
    I see you have some great projects in line, I just cannot get myself to put together a list of what I will stitch in the coming year, in the past I have tried Failed big time.
    I love having family but love when they go home.
    I need to lose 50 pounds am really trying this year, good luck your exercise regime.

    Blessings
    Catherine

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  4. It sounds like you have a fabulous year planned! Wow! Enjoy the ride. xx

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  5. What a wonderful post, looks like you had a wonderful time this holiday season. William is adorable. Good luck with your 2017 goals.

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  6. Happy New Year! Good luck with your goals Robin. Your Will is so adorable!

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Thanks is much for stopping by. I so enjoy your comments even if I do not always reply. Have a great day that hopefully includes a bit of stitching.