A New Year
8:26 a.m. - 2014-01-11


Last year was most peculiar. I sort of lost my urge to write anything, my sewing mojo dried up, and we wallowed in stress because of the new healthcare situation. That has been solved, mostly, with lots of effort on our parts and vastly increased expense, but now that the new year has started, I am beginning to feel like sewing again. Yesterday, to kick off the creativity, I made my usual trek to the shop in Sebastopol and came home with lots of fabric, bought by the pound. It is such a cheerful bunch of yardage, all bright color combinations that make my heart sing. It has been a long time since I saw such nice colors. Just looking at the mound of them in the laundry basket after their welcome home cleaning makes me happy. My wardrobe is sadly lacking right now, but since I had to change my diet and am losing weight, I have that "wait until the weight is off to sew" feeling again. However, my daughter is always telling me not to postpone life but to sew and create for life as it is right now. She is totally correct, of course. I need some nice blouses and tops and some fancy blouses for office parties.

Sewing goals for this year are to start using all the vintage sewing machines and equipment and trying out the masses of attachments I have gotten at the craft thrift store. Knitting goals are to continue making sweater after sweater. Right now I have gotten into a little sweater slump with four almost completed sweaters waiting for buttons. Yesterday I got out the navy blue jacket and found its buttons. Nothing happened, but at least I am moving in the right direction.

The spouse and I were both sick over the Christmas holidays but I managed to get past all the Christmas work before I caught his cold. As colds go it wasn't too bad, and now I am better and feeling the energy return. My first project of the new year was to repair a pair of shorts for the spouse. He likes to wear shorts and jeans to work in the yard, and he wears them until they are literally hanging by a thread. This pair of work shorts had long horizontal tears and lots of holes, but I managed to mend it so that from a distance you can't tell it's really a rag.

I have also accomplished some life goals of a minor nature. Years ago, when I was first married, I read some books by D. E. Stevenson that I loved. One of my favorites was Miss Buncle's Book. I was never able to find it again, and then I found out it had two sequels I would love to read, all sadly out of print. Well, I have been on a quest to buy up my favorite books from long ago and now own the Sue Barton books in addition to other childhood favorites, and I was delighted a few weeks ago to see that the Miss Buncle books had been reprinted and were available through Amazon. I am now reading Miss Buncle again after about 40 years, and it is as good as I remembered. I always did like English and Scottish books about life in past decades in small towns and villages.

It's a new year and spring is on the way. I'd better plant the bulbs my MIL gave me for my birthday last fall.