Resolutions

The blog has been at a standstill for a while now, and here’s the reason why. I wrote the following back in January, and thought I needed to add some photos to go with it. But I stalled at adding the photos, never having the two jump drive in the same place at the same time, remembering too late at night, etc.

And since then, many really good blog entries have written themselves in my head, but I really wanted this entry to precede them, so they sat and stagnated.

So I’m finally getting this January Resolution out there, and maybe after this I can get back to the fun knitting blather…

From January -

I’ve been trying to think of how I’m going to jump back into blogging, and I guess I’d better just do it! Even though it’s almost the end of January, I’m still trying to plan out the year, in many ways. The following areas come to mind: work, home projects, money, needlework, organizing. No need to go into the work stuff here. As for the others…

Home projects: I stopped blogging in late summer because life got a little hectic. My brother Tom got started on another renovation project for me. We replaced the last of the old windows in my house with new double hung windows. This was a big undertaking, and it’s not quite finished. It’s up to me now to sand and paint the interior walls of the sunroom while my brother plans what kind of interior trim work he will make. I have the paint and other supplies; I just need to get moving.

Money: I am still trying to get my finances in order so that I can retire when the time comes and not feel panicked. I made progress last year, and that’s encouraging. There’s still a lot more to do, and changing habits is an ongoing process.

Needlework: I accomplished quite a bit last year, but I could work on knitting, crocheting, sewing, and others all day long and still never achieve all my goals. This is one area I’m still trying to sort out.

Organizing: There is still too much stuff in my house. And it’s still way too disorganized. I keep a box out all the time for Goodwill donations, and have a nice stack of boxes set aside for an upcoming garage sale. However, as I’ve said before, this is almost another hobby, and one I could work on all day long as well.

Finally: I’ve been thinking a lot lately about personal privacy. On the one hand, while it’s fun to share all my activities, trials, achievements, and experiences, and get feedback and encouragement, I’ve started to feel that maybe too much information is being shared. I have very few blog followers; just a few friends and relatives, so the likelihood of having my privacy invaded is small. But with the glut of social media these days, it just seems like everyone is rushing to share their most personal thoughts and feelings with a whole universe of total strangers, without realizing the potential consequences. It’s overwhelming. I can read blogs that I think are about knitting and suddenly they go down the path of child rearing, or politics, or mental and physical disabilities. And while I understand that we are not one-dimensional, it feels like someone has just blurted out some inappropriate remark or had a private conversation overheard.

All the information that we are bombarded with on a daily basis is too overwhelming; it’s giving me the desire to withdraw from the hectic, fast paced frenzy of it more than ever. I’ve been thinking about Emily Dickinson, and her reclusive life, and wondering if would work for me. Can I be a recluse with a blog? Seems contradictory, doesn’t it?

Well, I think I might just try it. After all, even though Emily was reclusive, she was a prolific correspondent. And even if I just stick to writing about knitting, and maybe throw in a photo of a cat or some garden flowers, I still should have plenty to write about!