happiness is...

- spending the week catsitting
- driving a plow truck to clear out their driveway (that was an adventure that I'm not sure I'm willing to do again but now that my car is unstuck and the long lake-side driveway is clear I'm pretty damn proud of myself)
- marathons of Law & Order (all versions; thank goodness there are so many years of them to pull from, as I've yet to see a repeat)
- spending the last day of the year with Liz and enjoying homemade tomato soup and a fantastic grilled cheese
- Ringing in the New Year with a cup of tea, flannel pajama pants and an old sweatshirt, winding yarn into a center pulled ball (I finally learned the technique) and (now for something completely different!) episode after episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus on BBC America. (I love, love, love British sitcoms - both old and new)
- a recent sock yarn buying binge


for the past week or so, this is what has kept me entertained....


kitty yoga (believe it or not, she's purring; yarn is against her back, she's curled around my arm and side of my lap)


cat naps


stretching and twisting and turning (think of the core strength she has...)


curiosity about a yarn winding operation


(didn't hold her interest very long.)


Liz's homespun, a not-quite-finished scarf for my brother, sock #1 and sock #2.


A hank that she was selling on commission at her local yarn store. Once I saw it I picked up with plans to buy it - before I realized it was hers.



socks from home-dyed yarn

Sock #1 reminds me of a ball of rubber bands - I liked it better in the ball then knit up. It's future is uncertain. Sock #2 was an attempt at self-striping yarn - next time the chairs need to be further apart though, because the stripes are only a row or so apart. (I need to swatch and measure next time....) Ball #2 is my first center pull ball made using a cardboard tube.

I've been knitting, but knitters ADD has stricken and I've been flitting from project to project. Socks, the unfinished scarf and swatching for Rogue have kept me busy during my unfilled days but I haven't spent all of my days and nights knitting. Theresa is also planning to start one (at some point - no deadlines!) and I'm hoping to keep up with her if we start around the same time.

Having time off feels strange because for the past several months I've had to be in certain places at certain times and I'm not used to having so much free time. I'm still figuring out my place in the medical world and how to keep what I see with patients separate from my own life. It involves putting up "walls" or other barriers and the lines can become thin and movable in a community where I live and shop and drive with potential patients. I'm not sure how to best handle some situations but I (think I) am comfortable with being in the process. (I don't really have a choice, so choosing to be comfortable is a step in one direction...)

Tuesday, when my rotations start up again, I'll need to have a plan - socks for the days (lunches might be knitable, but I'm not sure yet) and Rogue in the evenings is my initial thought. The scarf is going to be my main goal for tomorrow so I can pass it off to my youngest brother before he starts his weekend ski trips. He requested one that would match his winter coat and I think he was pleased with this start when I showed him. I put off starting it because if he'd gotten into one college it was to be one set of colors - otherwise it would be another set.

The new year is here and I, like some others, shy away from resolutions. I still need to loose the 15 lbs (that is now closer to 20) that I've gained since being in med school, still need to get organized (moving in 6 months may or may not help with that because I still am not sure where things went after my last move last year) and don't meditate nearly as much as I'd like. Everything is a work in progress and if I think much beyond tomorrow I'll be totally overwhelmed; living for each day seems like a manageable goal.

Happy New Year!