Happy New Year

Don't worry, I'm still here, you can call off the virtual blood hounds. I've just been otherwise occupied for the last two weeks, and happily so! It's not that I don't love blogging, I just love my lil' sis more.


That's right, Princes P. and Prince Bertram the Bad came up for a week long visit. I realize that only explains one week, but the week before that was spent trying to frantically fit two weeks worth of work, both at home and at the shop, into one week. I was semi successful.

Anywhoo. . . it was a lovely visit.

We knit


Princess P. knitting her self dyed yarn (much like mistletoe.

and we dyed


Sweet Spring Dreams


Big Rock Candy Mountain

and we relaxed.

P
Isn't this the cutest thing EVER! Logan was asleep, but I woke him up when I got up to get my camera.
Oh, and see that piece of knitting the Princess wore herself out knitting. . . it's this knit in Alchemy's Sanctuary. She saw the yarn, they had the model knit up, and really how could you say no to hand dyed silk and wool? Only my empty wallet kept me away.

and naturally we did a little shopping, mostly yarn and fabric stores. A visit to Nancy's ribbon room is a must for the Princess.

It was a wonderful visit and I was sad to see them go. I continue to try to convince them that the PNW is heaven on earth and they need to move here. The continue to come here in the winter and think I'm insane. Actually, the weather was pretty decent most of the time they were here, but the whole dark at 4:00 thing is hard to hide. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

Now, as for the whole New Year's resolution thing.
I don't do resolutions well. I am continually in a state of trying to improve myself. I think that is enough. I don't want to feel guilty for not completing something I resolved to do. I do, however, think it is a great idea to write down the things you want to accomplish. In fact, I'm something of a list maniac.
So here are some of the things that I would like to accomplish in the next year.

Spiritual:
Make more time for quiet contemplative time for myself. I sometimes feel that the world is sweeping me along at a pace that makes it hard to even think. I need to slow down sometimes.

Health:
Create several weeks worth of menus for myself so that I can make sure that I always have healthy food in the house, and I don't have to think about what I'm going to make for dinner when I am hungry and tired. I also want to eat more fruits and veggies, and with a little help from my friend Betsy I got signed up for a semi-weekly delivery of fruits and veggies right to my very own door. Thanks Betsy!

Knitting:
Not to worry so much about what I am knitting and what I am not knitting. I want to take the stress out of knitting that I have put into it. I am also going to make a concerted effort to knit from my stash. (Stop laughing- I can be determined if I need to be.)

School:
Survive- this last quarter really burned me out. I think my classes this quarter will be more interesting, let's hope so.

I hope you are all adjusting back into the normal swing of things. The Duke and I were reluctant at first, but remembered that while the holidays are fun and joyful, there is a reason that we only celebrate for a few weeks out of the year. The pace is somewhat of a sprint at times. It's nice to be jogging again for a while.