Pretty freakin' long non-apology, eh?
Yeah, so a few weeks ago, Becca tagged me for the 8 Random Things meme. I've posted so many random things about myself in this space that I think you must know them all. But since I've been thinking about blogging and where my time has gone lately, I thought I'd post 8 Random Things I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging:
- Being sick. Like all of autumn, so far. For the last 4 weeks, I have had some variation of head/chest funkiness (including an ear infection that caused me no pain but sent me to the doctor for unrelenting vertigo). I'm really, really tired of being sick.
- Worrying about a spider bite. I got bitten by a spider about a week-and-a-half ago. I didn't see it happen, only found the bite later. Of course I can't be sure it was a spider, but I think it was. Then I started worrying about it being a Brown Recluse, thanks to Googling my symptoms. (my bite looked a lot like a lot of the pictures I saw) My ridiculous hypochondria led to one sleepless night and the death of two spiders that turned out to be Grass Spiders (sometimes confused for Brown Recluses). I'm pretty sure now that it was not a Brown Recluse.
- Dealing with Mac problems. While My Old Man's hard drive sits at a data recovery place in California, waiting for his manuscript to be retrieved, my own Mac G5 continues having ridiculous and irksome problems. Sometimes this affects my photo uploading abilities, which totally messes up my blogging groove.
- Practicing an unusual bout of knitting monogamy. Our niece's wedding is 3 weeks from tomorrow, and I have 9 repeats left (out of 24) on my shawl. It would be going a lot faster if it weren't for the beading. I love the pattern (and the yarn), but it is seriously bumming me out to be so focused on one project when there are so many others I am itching to get my hands on. But I am determined to wear the shawl to the wedding, so that means monogamy till I'm done. (to guess how I feel about this, see my first paragraph about obligations - it applies to self-imposed ones too)
- Paying people lots of money to fix broken things. Toilet (which overflowed into the basementt and ruined a few things). Sewing machine (worth every penny). My Old Man's MacBook (see #3, above).
- Drowning in email. I can't keep up, and I feel bad blogging when I don't consistenly respond to my blog comments (blogger does make that especially hard). Meanwhile, I am steadily trying to whittle down the 4000 emails in my gmail inbox by using the label and archive functions. I am trying to archive two pages' worth a day....
- Working on uploading and categorizing my photos in flickr (made more difficult by #3, above).
- Re-doing our living room.
It was the best place in the house to knit - the arms were in just the right place, not too close but close enough that I could rest my elbows there while knitting (didn't realize I even did that till I didn't have the option). Turns out I also prefer to have my feet up while knitting, and a light directly over my head. It may take me awhile to adjust to my new knitspot.
But I also discovered that my attachment to that ugly recliner was more about nostalgia than function. That recliner was where my old dog Mocha, now dead three years, used to curl up and sleep (an 85-pound Rottweiler, she considered herself a lap dog). It is the recliner I used to elevate my very swollen feet during the last hard months of my pregnancy. It is where I nursed my babies. It is where my little boys liked to sit on my lap together.
I know we'll be making new memories with our new furniture. But for now, I miss my old knitspot/dogspot/nursingspot/sitspot. It has made its home (along with a matching recliner and a sleeper sofa) in a house where 23 college students live.
My Old Knitspotred recliner, Cozy on the back, Scrunchable Scarf in progress (last October), favorite mug (Michigan Radio), autumn candle
9 comments:
Oh, your big snuggly red chair looks so much like my big snuggly red chair, which is my all-time favourite reading, knitting, nursing, and gabbing-with-friends chair ... I guarantee you will not regret it!!
Mine's a blue rocker/recliner that we got when I was pregnant with my now almost five-year-old and my heartburn and reflux got bad enough that I couldn't sleep in the bed anymore. I have used it for knitting (of course), grading papers (when I was a TA), nursing various and assorted little ones, using my laptop, and even the more mundane sitting, reading, or watching TV. Love my big blue chair!
I know what you mean about new furniture. We recently bought our first new couch and love seat and I love the fact that's it's new and at the proper height, but it's not the greatest for knitting. I think I'm just like you, knit with feet up, elbows resting and light overhead, unfortunately, there's no room for a recliner in our living room.
Oh, and don't worry about responding to my comment! :-)
I got a spider bite recently too--I wasn't concerned until it turned into a giant blister. My toe hasn't fallen off yet though. :)
I've always loved the furniture at World Market. We got new couches that were promptly ruined by one of our cats though, so I know how you feel.
i agree about not letting blogging be an obligation... though i am feeling sort of the same way lately w/ my sporadic posts... ah well!
23 college students in one place?! yikes. i am sure they will enjoy your knitspot :)
xo
If you want to have people over to see your new, unstained, unscratched furniture, you'd better do it pronto. I have cats too, and the amount of time they leave a new piece of furniture alone before inaugurating it as a scratching post is unmeasurable by human instruments. "We just can't have nice things" is a constant refrain in our house.
Wow, I'm a jerk. I should have said "yay for your new furniture!" rather than just throwing a stormcloud over your parade.
I've never really had a special knitting spot. The way you describe yours makes me reeeeeeeally want one, though.
After we moved, I haven't been able to get a comfortable knitspot again. My old rocker was comfy, although not snuggly. I'm getting used to sitting on a couch now, but it's not the same.
When my husband said he wanted new couches/loveseat (our story is very similiar to your's), I was against it. But we got an Ektorp sofa and loveseat from IKEA. They look great, and everything is washable! The cushions get washed quite frequently, and the body slipcover gets it about once a month. I highly recommend them to families with little kids!
You shouldn't feel bad about not posting. Most people have busy lives and can fully understand that you need to deal with that before blogging (I actually can't remember when I last posted, and my bloglines unread list has made me groan). I've had to give up responding to every comment on the blog now, I'm just hoping people won't take offense :)
Where to start? Those twenty three college students are sure to enjoy it :) I don't have a favorite knitting spot in this new house yet. I'll be settling back into knitting in the next six weeks or so as the temperature changes and I'll be on the lookout for good light, etc.
I don't worry about not posting for a while. Most folks use some sort of blog reader and when you post it shows up in the reader. So even if you haven't posted in a while and people start to forget you their memory will return when they see your name pop back up again.
Your Mocha must have been very special.
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