Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Out with the Old and In with the New

I can't believe another year is over.  It just seems like yesterday when I was laying out my goals and plans for 2013 and it is the very last day of the year.

To recap, I started and finished quite a bit of crafts and acquired some crafty equipment.  I have the classic "eyes are bigger than my stomach" mentality when dealing with the fibery goodness.

I did go through my cabinets, cupboards, shelves as well as most of the garage and had quite a big pile to send to AmVets.  It is very freeing to see stuff that I never use go some place else.  I am going to try very hard not to fill up that space just yet.

I think I am at some kind of saturation point on the fiber and the yarn, however, I am still tempted when I see a new pattern from my favored designers as well as the welcoming feel of my LYS.

I am going to pledge to go through my closets next and get rid of all the clothes that never in a million years will fit on my body again and will make a concentrated effort to finish things - either already in progress and languishing or in the queue all ready to go.  I think I need to move some stuff out to clear the mental clutter before starting anew.

I have disengaged from all clubs dealing with tools, yarn, fiber, and patterns so it is a step in the right direction.  I also closed my art fire shop since my heart was not really into production and sales.

I have also been working up my endurance on my treadmill and have been doing quite well with 4 - 5 workouts per week on it for 30 minutes or so.  I will also make a concentrated effort to keep this up as well.

I know that in a blink of an eye, I will be at the last day of the year 2014 and I hope that I was consistent at least in my actions.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Catching Up

It has been quite a while since I last posted and it has been a super busy fall.  When I was last here I had posted a few times from Southeast Asia but it was pretty difficult to post from the iPad.

I am now just going through all the photos from the trip and will be posting highlights in the coming days and weeks interspersed with crafty news as I go forward.

I did not take any crafting with me on the trip since I was limited on space in the suitcase and wanted to save some space for those cool souvenirs for the voyage back.  I have to say that it felt kind of strange to not have needles and yarn in hand for over a month, but I was able to take in some local crafts which was super awesome.

There were some interesting things that I saw on the trip that is so different from home.  For one, there was a watering station at the Taipei airport where you could fill cold or hot water for I am assuming the steeping and consumption of tea.
You can also see the regular water fountain but while I was waiting for my plane to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, no one used the regular fountain.

The other shock for me was to look across the way and only really see Asian faces.  At home, I live in a pretty good mixing pot and although I do see Asian faces, they are among many other ethnic groups - even at the Asian markets.

The other interesting thing I noticed at the airport were relaxation areas with zen gardens and big screen monitors with soothing scenes.  But the most shocking of all was the level of service on the airlines which harkens back to the days when you got full meals on the airplanes with real silverware.  I really miss that!  Even on the short hop, we all got blankets and pillows and a full meal.