by Kat | Nov 29, 2024 | General
Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. — Gloria Steinem
Amen, dear Gloria, AMEN!
I have used the same planner for over 10 years. It is a system that has served me well, I have added to it as I entertained new ideas… some worked, some not-so-much. But live and learn.
One thing that has worked for me this year was my second foray into keeping a Word Journal for my word. Now this is not some scrap-book-y, artistic venture… but rather a way to keep track of important moments, things I want to remember, and quotes that really hit home for me. I include a photo of myself each month. This journal quickly became too bulky to reside with the other planners. In addition, I wanted to spend time this year being thankful… so I added a journal just for that… I am not sure how I will incorporate that next year, but I am thinking about it.
But one can get to the point of having “too many journals” to be practical… I am verging on that point as I am out of “space” in my already modified leather Traveler’s cover.
So before next year begins and I continue on the same path, one that has lost the “excitement of possibilities” and feels very stale. So I decided I needed to shake things up a bit. I am not one who needs to reinvent the wheel… but I have tried to “change things up” before with no success. So I sat down and contemplated what might I change, learn, reimagine next year. I made a list of things I wished a planner to do/have and what I like about my current system.
Once I gathered that information, my choice became easy… at least until a slight hiccup happened, but more on that later.
My first thought was that I really like the slim profile of the standard size (4.33″ x 8.25″) but I wanted something that had both monthly calendar plus a weekly break down and if it could have pages so I can keep track of lists… books I want to read, things I want to knit, wardrobe replacement items, etc. To my delighted surprise, there is a “planner” that has all those things… the Hobonichi Weeks MEGA… so I ordered one! It arrived and I was shocked to see how small it is… and it is really small!! (3.75″ x 7.5″) I am going to have to practice MUCH smaller penmanship in the new year! But, size aside, this planner will be taking the place of almost all the inserts in my current Traveler’s system. (save the Thankful Journal… I still have LOTS of pages to fill in the current journal)
Now enters the hiccup… earlier this month Kay and Ann shared some information about a class with Felix Ford on journaling and the price was reasonable… so I signed up. In the past, I have tried and failed using the BuJo system but what if I can glean some new ideas. And what if some of those BuJo tips and tricks work well in my new calendar?! I am very eager to listen to Ms. Ford!
And finally… I am committed to continuing the journey I began last December with Margaret Renkl in reading/thinking/writing about my backyard. So yes… another book and I will use it in tandem with her essays in The Comfort of Crows (and yes, this will be my third time reading it… I think that is the measure of how much I love her writing! Also, if you have not read Comfort of Crows… it starts on the first day of Winter… you have time to get a copy and begin!)
And that is where I am as we wind down 2024 and get ready for 2025! My hope is that I will have a new appreciation for my planner… and maybe I will even learn a few new things to make my journaling even better!
See you all back here on Monday!
Links on everything I talked about:
Key to the planners in the Header Photo:
1 and 2, obviously Margaret Renkl’s books.
3. Traveler’s cover that holds my calendar, my Thankful Journal, and two almost full “list/plans journals”
4. My new Hobonichi Weeks MEGA planner
5. Time journal in a Galen Leather cover.
by Kat | Nov 27, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers!
In a week when most of the making is likely happening in the kitchen… I do have a spot of actual knitting content to share!
With a blast of wintry weather heading our way, I knew that wee Franklin would need a bigger sweater to stay warm! He is still growing in his winter coat and has a long way to go. I pulled out some handspun yarn and cast on. I used this pattern but I modified it significantly. I wanted this sweater to have some “room to grow” and I think I achieved that! The problem with knitting a sweater “bigger than the pup” is that they don’t stay on as well but I think my “neck work around” works well, it is nice and snuggly and does not slide down his shoulders! I knit 6 rounds of ribbing, knit a “fold” purl row, and then 6 more ribbing rounds. I then joined the live stitches to the cast on edge (yay 3-needle join!) and then started the chest increases. AND!! While doing that, I worked in an opening for his harness so the sweater can go over the harness! (another brilliant way to help a sweater that is a bit big to fit!) I matched the “legs” to the neckline… giving them a nice double layer of fabric to cozy up his bare little armpits! It was absolutely not as quick as that first sweater, but I think this one will get him through some months and as you can see… he has room to grow!
One woolly sweater for a not yet furry boy!
This week I also felt that I had enough “brain bandwidth” to follow a Gnome Pattern… yes, I started the marled gnome! As you can see, I have the hat done and the body is underway.
I reached the halfway point in my Color Changing Marled Scarf, but it does not look much different from last week, so I have no photo.
I have been mostly listening to books again this week but I happily stumbled upon some things to watch and wanted to share them with you all.
First, FX (although, I watched it on Hulu) has a series on Patrick Redden Keefe’s Say Nothing. I thought the book was very good and this series equals that. It is brilliantly done and I very much recommend it.
The other book-to-television series was found on Amazon Prime… yes, there is a BBC series on Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life. Now this is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a book I *still* think about and I was skeptical about how one could translate the brilliance of the story to a series to be streamed. Well, the BBC did it brilliantly and if you are looking for something to watch over the holiday weekend, I highly recommend it!
Now, I have a pumpkin pie to bake! I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and I will see you all back here on Friday.
If you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Nov 25, 2024 | General, Words
We may try to think of you, Time,
but you, Time, think of yourself continually,
without need of imagination, assistance, or witness.
— Jane Hirshfield, an excerpt of her poem Time Thinks of Time*
Time was a thief this month… or perhaps it was its typical selfish-self… as the minutes, hours, days, and weeks raced past.
I have spent as much of my time as I could, settled into Time… the book… and when reading was not possible, I listened and re-listened to some of the essays read by the authors here. (You will find Jane reading her poem, Time Thinks of Time in the list… and it is so very worth the listen!)
What a perfect serendipitous gift this issue was… and it has made me think and rethink my thoughts on time. Perhaps it is just being at this point in my life, closer to the end than to the beginning, that the focus on time has bubbled to the surface of my thinking. But I had so many things that tipped me towards this word last year… far too many to be a coincidence. I think perhaps that some other force gently nudged me into thinking about time. I am so glad I followed the nudges because it has been a magnificent year of learning! It makes me a little sad to turn the calendar from November to December in a few short days, ushering in my last month with this word.
Except… it won’t really be the end, will it? Time being a constant… at least as we know it in our days. Or is there a way to change our perception of time. As Ms. Hirshfield so brilliantly reminds me in her poem, “What might be different, could we interrupt you?”
And so, this month, I set out to discover ways to do just that… interrupt time. I’d like to say that I found an abundance of things, but sadly that is not true… there was not enough time… but the thing that topped the list turns out to be the best interrupter ever created! That is, of course, wee Franklin. He is the Master Time Disrupter! But then, he is currently the Master Disrupter of All Things!
Master Disrupter of All Days wondering if there will be a second brekkie today…pretty please?!
But despite his disruptions this month I was reminded that the simple act of knitting a row or two is an excellent pause on racing time… that and a quietly napping pup!
I shall continue to contemplate ways of interrupting time… and perhaps the act of contemplating is the first (and best?) interrupter of time!
As always, I am so thankful that Carolyn provides a space for us to share each month. Way back when I started having a word focus, I had much to learn… and staying focused was not easy! Carolyn helped cement this practice for me by providing a reminder and a space to share. I cannot thank her enough for all that she has given to me!
Stop by and see how others fared with their words this month!
*Time thinks of Time by Jane Hirshfield published in Emergence Magazine, Volume 5: Time.
Header photo by Skitterphoto
by Kat | Nov 21, 2024 | General, Poetry
I contemplated skipping the poetry today… because, I completely forgot about it. But I pulled out the poetry book I am reading this year (although, I have not read a lick of poetry from it since you know who arrived!) and serendipitously, it fell open to the poem I am sharing today.
A few more moments spent searching on Pexels for a photo that will work and before I knew it, the post was ready to share!
The poem is so very fitting for my life right now and I hope you enjoy it as well.
Clearing
Martha Postlethwaite
Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.
Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there
patiently,
until the song
that is yours alone to sing
falls into your open cupped hands
and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know
how to give yourself
to this world,
so worthy of rescue.
Martha Postlethwaite, “Clearing.” Copyright © 2007 by Martha Postlethwaite. First published in The World of Prayer: Activists and Humanitarians Share Their Favorite Prayers (Orbis Books, 2012).
There is little about Ms. Postlethwaite on the interwebs and she has just a single book listed on Goodreads. I am ever so glad that this poem was included in Poetry of Presence II.
If you need more poetry in your life today, stop by and see who has gathered with Bonny today.
See you all back here on Monday with my word update!
Header photo by cottonbro studio
by Kat | Nov 20, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday!
First, I apologize for the low light photo… it was a rainy day with little to no light here. But we desperately need the rain, so I am not complaining.
There has been a bit of making this week… thank goodness! As you can see, I have made some progress on the Marling Scarf and with each slight color change, I am loving it even more. My motivation is the wonder at what the next color will bring… and so I press on with these methodical knits and purls. I have shifted away from my first “constant” color as I meander my way back through the micro-swatches and the delight of never changing more than one color is just magical to me. One color can be a dramatic change… or the subtlest. I have roughly nine color changes to go to completion… which is still a lot of knitting!
I also took one afternoon when you know who was napping and set up my calendar pages through the end of the year. It feels good to at least have my calendar set up… even if not much is getting done.
Mornings are an especially rough time for Frankie… he has all the pent up energy from having slept (most of) the night. So my morning time has been non-existent… although I am trying to write this post while keeping him occupied with an array of toys. The “teething” bone is the winner most days but even with that he has a short attention span. So forgive me if this post seems a bit disconnected!
I did manage to finish some books this week! AND!! I also caught myself up with book reviews… I am such a slacker! I am currently listening to Louise Erdrich’s latest novel, The Mighty Red and loving it! At night I can’t seem to keep my eyes open past a sentence or two but hopefully these middle of the night trips outside will be over soon!
What about you? What are you focused on this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
