Addicted again

After a long knitting hiatus, I am replenished. I have a list of things to knit and some things that just pique my interest. Plus I'm getting some online inspiration, and some hard-copy inspiration in the shape of old 60's Vogue Knitting magazines my mum sent me.

Apart from the utter coolness and timelessness of the designs (I should put these on Flickr sometime), I like that there are all these synthetic fibers you never hear of anymore, like Bri-Nylon, Courtelle, and Crimplene.

Speaking of addiction, it looks like there may be a new shoe shopping site, Endless, which could give my much loved Zappos a run for their money.

I don't know why, but these feral child stories fascinate me.

I think I lost a CD that means a lot to me; my ex-boyfriend was in the band, man. But I managed to find it cheap! Yay!

Life's Small Victories

My computer screen had gone completely kaput, but then I looked around and I found I had purchased a three year warranty which I had totally forgotten about, so the repair was covered! Yay! Though I desperately, desperately miss my computer, now that it's in the shop. Especially all my music.

Is it wrong that I think the Bratz Babyz Mermaidz are cute? Even though their language may be a little suspect?

This is a bit of alarming news - the 3,000 year old Ayles ice shelf has broken off (actually about a year ago). Here's an amazing website about global warming.

Another Place is a kind of creepy but cool installation on Crosby Beach that was supposed to have come to the US. It seems like a quintessentially British work of art to me - maybe it's the slightly alienated distance between the figures, or the pathos of them being covered and uncovered by the sea.

So, single American women are in the majority. I think our expectations from a partner are higher than ever, and our capacity to live financially secure and socially fulfilling lives is equally high, which really ups the ante for meeting a soulmate. Plus I don't want to share my Bratz collection with anyone.

301 Things A Bright Girl Can Do

My mum recently mailed me Three Hundred and One Things A Bright Girl Can Do. It's one of my favorite childhood artifacts, along with The Little White Horse and The Moomintroll books. And yes, I was kind of a prissy little girl.

The reason why I love THOTABGCC (published in 1911, at the tail end of the Edwardian era), is that there is a kind of sense of impending modernity about it, but it's still pretty quaint, and is kind of illuminating in terms of the knowledge a well-brought up young lady could reasonably be expected to have.

It has chapters on different sports (hockey, tennis etc), and a whole entire chapter on May Pole Dancing, which is less exciting than you might imagine. If you were a bright girl, you could also learn how to: make tents, grow flowers, sketch, paint in oils, do pyrography, study architecture, raise silkworms, tell fortunes, make a hammock, knit, crochet, sew, create the illusion of someone being cremated alive, do sign language, cut a bottle in two, play a series of very boring but elaborate parlor games, make toffee and fudge, decorate a church, and put on a theatrical production.

I guess all this only applies if you were a bright girl who was lucky enough not to have other commitments,

Another reason I love this book is the blatant snobbish editorializing; in the aforementioned May Pole chapter: 'it is a pity that the vulgar rubbish of the Cockney music-halls should prevail when excellent music is available'. In the hockey chapter: 'Girls who club together for the exercise alone and with no desire to show off will be able to keep expenses down'. In the Introduction: 'How gracefully and well does a woman ride a bicycle usually; how humpbacked and ungainly do most men appear on the same machine!'

Anyway, I guess I'm the third generation to own this book; there are no bright girls in the fourth generation, more's the pity, but I hold out hope for the fifth.

Really Happy New Year

I feel like the first week of the New Year doesn't quite feel like a fresh start yet, more like wrapping up the Kwanukahmas season. And it's hard to start any resolutions while you still have leftovers and/or hangovers. Rather than think of January 1 as New Year's, I think I'll think of it as the circumcision of Jesus, and the New Year can begin on Epiphany.

Once the holiday tree or bush gets tossed, though - then it feels like a new year. And in that spirit, I make public my resolutions, and the rationale behind them. I've already shared them with some of you, but I might have a better shot of sticking to them if they're even more public:

I resolve not to resolve to lose weight, which I do almost every year. And I do lose weight almost every year, and then put it on again. I'm your classic yo-yo dieter. So this year, I'm going to strive to live more healthfully, eat better (five servings of fruit and veggies a day, less refined food) and continue to exercise at least three times a week, which is one good habit I kept up with last year.

I resolve to spend more time in nature (not au naturel but in natural settings). Whenever I do this, I'm glad I carved out the time. Going for a walk in the woods or canoeing or even just having a picnic can de-stress you like no amount of alcohol or sleep or eating chocolate can.

I resolve to knit stuff people have asked me to knit in the order they asked me (sorry Stewie - I know you've been waiting a long time for that hedgehog!). I have quite a long list but I'm afraid I've forgotten a lot, so put in your requests! Time related (i.e. baby) items trump anything on the list, and I can see at least one of those on the horizon, so that's my only caveat.

I resolve to be more accepting of my size and my looks in general, whilst living the healthiest way that is practical (sort of the emotional component of my first resolution). I'm not going to get any younger, and while I may or may not get thinner, I'll still be me-shaped, which is not a fashionable shape.

I resolve to continue to expand my social life independantly of my son, but kindly and slowly, for both him and me.

I resolve to reduce my feelings of guilt (about every area of my life!), and treat myself like I would treat a friend instead of beating myself up. I have really struggled with this in the past, but this past year, I feel like I've at least become more aware of it. I can literally lie awake all night feeling guilty about my job, money, my son, my parents, my nephew, my old age, my weight - it goes on and on. And what does that accomplish - nothing!

I resolve to be grateful for the many wonderful things I have in my life; health, a beautiful, smart, kind son, a cozy house, fantastic friends, a job I really love, and a comfortable, if modest life. Though I absolutely refuse to call them "blessings". Is it indicative of anything that clicking that last link brings up an empty page for me?