A New Start

To me, New Year's Day is always an opportunity to start fresh. It also is a time to reflect on the year that just passed.

Two personal goals for 2011 was to read and knit more than I had in the previous year. I managed to accomplish both of these objectives, one just barely.

For 2011, I read a total of 36 books. One more than I did in 2010 and three more than I did in 2009. I also wanted to expand my reading horizons and try some different authors and subject matters. I discovered Jo Nesbø, a Norwegian author who writes crime novels. I read 4 of his books this year. I also read Kurt Vonnegut for the first time. While Mortals Slept is a collection of short stories and essays that were very enjoyable. As usual, my library grew larger this year and I have over 20 books queued up and ready to go.

I was also pleasantly surprised with my year end total for my knitting. I doubled up the yardage from last year. I consumed 23,231 yards in 2011, compared to 11,594 in 2010. That is still down from 2007-2009 however. I completed 34 items in 2011, compared to 26 in 2010. That is also down compared to 2007-2009. I was also surprised that I didn't finish a single piece of needlework this year. That is the first time in my life since my fiber compulsion started when I was 7.

So, goals for this year: Buy Less Yarn. I have no hope to truly reduce the stash unless I refrain from adding to it. If I take the 2/1 or 3/1 ratio, for every 2-3 yards I consume I can buy 1, maybe I can truly reduce the total yards in the house. I also want to increase my charity knitting to reduce the stash. I have quite a bit of yarn that is perfect for charity projects.

I also want to do more scrap booking. I managed to eke out some space in the home office to do some scrap booking and accomplished that at Christmas with the creation of 5 Year In Review albums for my Mom and Aunts. I really liked how they turned out. I have a couple of calendars to get done, so I better get cracking on those today.

I also would like to compete at State Fair this year, but if I don't stitch, there won't be any projects to submit. I think I need to set aside a couple of nights a week for stitching projects. That stash has been ignored for some time now.

2012 is also the year that I plan to make a major change in a more personal way. This year it's all about getting healthy so I can get off the prescription drugs. We now have an exercise bike that I need use every day and I need to eat a balanced, healthy diet for every meal. Less processed foods, more fruits and vegetables.

It's not so much about making resolutions, it's about improving and growing. January 1st is a good place to start.

Oh - and another objective is to blog again. I really miss it, so I'm going to try to check in here more often.

Thanks for stopping by -- Happy New Year!