Archives for March 2018

I went for a walk, the first exercise all week. I’m still not a hundred percent. And I don’t like it.

There was Nusszopf for breakfast for my husband and the boy, I had some in the afternoon.

I did bake the bread I had prepared yesterday.

And that was basically it. I started writing right after breakfast but then my husband came when I was a mere 120 words in. I spent all afternoon trying to get myself to write and failed.

The boy and I watched some Star Trek and an episode of „How I Met Your Mother“.

I spent all morning knitting a huge gauge swatch for my next sweater. I didn’t get gauge with any needle but I think I might be close enough. I still am not sure which needle I want to use. I like the fabric that the 2.5 mm and the 2.25 mm needles make but the 2 mm needle is closest to the gauge the pattern calls for. The fabric seems a little stiff to me, though. By the way, the pattern tells me to use 3.5 mm needles.

The swatch has been washed and is drying as I type. Tomorrow I’ll measure it after washing, and then I will actually hang it up with a bit of weight hanging off the bottom to see how it behaves then.

I am spinning already, before finishing all that swatching because I want the yarn – or at least about half the yarn – ready by Saturday. That will be fun,

My mother is already driving me slightly crazy and I haven’t even talked to her in person yet. That will be interesting.

I have also started to think about packing. Okay, I did that weeks ago, but now it’s starting to get real. I tried googling, „Minimalist packing for knitters“ but got nothing. I wonder why. Though there is this one woman who hiked through Scotland gathering samples of different Scottish breeds. She had a small backpack (that held all her camping equipment, a spindle and knitting needles) and hiked all over the place while spinning.

She did something very similar in Wales as well, and that time she only took a tarp instead of a tent.

So my packing should be much easier.

I looked at general tips on minimalist packing, and as usual most sites had lists that for me would include packing everything I regularly wear. I think, that this time I’ll take my laptop so that I can write. Never mind that I’ve never managed to write while traveling before. And I will take the ereader and the iPad and as much wool as I can spin until then. I thought about it and I will have at least 20 hours of prime knitting time on this four day trip.

Since my mother won’t like what I’ll be wearing anyway I will probably just take one pair of jeans, one cardigan and one shawl, and then a change of underwear, socks and a t-shirt. I will take makeup which always is pretty heavy and takes up space, the knitting, a notebook, a pair of pajamas and all the electronics. And a few snacks. The food on the trains has become somewhat unreliable in the past few years. I can’t depend on getting a meal on the train anymore so I won’t.

I don’t think I’ll take the ukulele this time. So I might be able to squeeze everything into my daypack. Or I might have to take an extra purse. Which will be extra heavy because I’ll put the laptop and everything in there.

Aren’t you glad I’m telling you about my exciting life?

Today there will be writing (for real this time) and music and I don’t quite know what else. I’ll have to make a list.

This time I actually thought about the beginning of daylight savings time. I count that as a plus.

So that was a semi-productive day.

I did get everything ready and the house clean in time to go out for lunch with my dear husband, so that was nice. Came home in time to teach my sole student of the day, and then I basically sat around procrastinating about writing. I tend to do that a lot. No, I’m not proud of it.

I made bread dough to be baked today, and I baked Nusszopf. It was weird, when I was looking for the baking pan I couldn’t find it anywhere. Then I actually went upstairs and asked my husband who had two students there, one leaving and one getting ready for his lesson. I felt rather guilty about asking in such a bad moment but I was desperate. The dough was already sitting there and I didn’t know what to bake it in.

„Oh, that one,“ he laughed, „um, I didn’t know that you’d need it.“ That sounded ominous. „I used it to store the potatoes I had set aside for planting in the yard.

Right. My very new baking dish, the one that I had gotten explicitly for the Nusszopf that both my husband and my son love to eat for breakfast, the one that was somewhat pricey and had only been used thrice, that one was the one he used for the potatoes. Not any of the other baking pans and forms and such that are sitting in the basement slightly rusty and neglected.

Well, at least it was easy to get the potatoes out, and to wash the dish, and then I made the cake.

The boy came home, carrying a frozen pizza and I realized that I was just using the oven which meant that he would have to wait with dinner until the oven was free again. Oops.

He was a good sport, we talked about his day and then he got his dinner after the Zopf was done.

The boy didn’t want to watch anything so I sat down in front of the last episode of „Dollhouse“ with my spinning wheel and spun another 20 grams as a sample for the cardigan I want to make.

Had another beer, went to bed too late, and that was that.

Today there will be walking (I’m still not up to running, meh.) and music and writing (lots of writing, I’m behind again) and maybe some microphone tests, Who knows maybe I’ll even press the fabric for the dress I want to make.

Isn’t that exciting?

I was all motivated to write like crazy yesterday but then I just – didn’t. I did look at what I had written the day before and changed a ting or two and then I got stuck because I didn’t know what should happen next.

At least at some point in the afternoon I got sensible and started doing something else. I pulled out the two DSs that a friend gave me that I wanted to repair. I started taking the one apart that’s broken worse and found that I – need an additional part. And then I took the second one apart and fixed it. Of course something went a little wrong, it always does, but now it’s put together again and should be up and running. I haven’t tested it yet, though, there was no time.

Today there will be cleaning and going out for lunch with my husband to which I’m really looking forward to, and then I will teach my one student for the day (one is sick, one is in Spain, on is in England, and the boy is working) and then write like the wind. I hope.

And then it will be Easter break. I already decided to wait a little longer before recording the podcast because I still don’t have much of a voice.

I have plans for Easter break, lots of plans.

So stay tuned for the inevitable breakdown and not getting anything done for the first five days or so.

Phew. After the day before I thought I could just go on like that, and then – of course – I didn’t.

I woke up early but didn’t feel like writing. I also had to write my blog post first.

So no writing before breakfast. And then I just kept finding reasons why I couldn’t start writing just now. One after the other.

I did wind my sample yarn for the new sweater I’m planning into a ball and started swatching. I had thought the yarn were too skinny but it turns out, no, it’s not. Quite the contrary. My gauge was way off, and the swatch was stiff and unyielding. For the sweater I’m planning (Cria by Ysolda Teague) I need a drape-y and open fabric.

So I’m really happy that I only spun a bit of sample yarn. Next I’ll got back to the wheel and spin something a little thinner. And swatch again. Better to do that than to hate the sweater in the end.

I did manage to do the dishes on time, and I mailed three letters and went to the supermarket. And was back almost in time to help with lunch. A little too late, though.

We had a rather early lunch. The boy eating lunch elsewhere does make our lives easier. A little. And then instead of writing and working and getting things done I sat around eating chocolate bars. I had bought four, two for me and two for the boy. I did manage not to eat all four. I did eat three and left just one for the poor boy. Well, he hadn’t known that he might have had two, but still. Not my proudest moment.

I managed to take a shower barely in time for my first lesson of the day. And before, I finally started writing.

Then I taught non-stop all afternoon. And when I was done with teaching the boy had returned from work. Very hungry.

I reheated lunch for his dinner and ate a sandwich. Then I did the dishes right away because I was so exhausted that I was sure if I even waited a minute or two I wouldn’t do them.

My husband was meeting with an old friend for dinner so I barely saw him.

Then I procrastinated some more but ultimately I managed to get my writing done. Phew. And then it was time for bed.

I have to say that getting the writing done earlier in the day feels much better. Then I can still watch something or read without feeling guilty.

So my task for tomorrow is to stop procrastinating. Maybe I should have that tattooed on my hand. „Just do what needs to be done. Stop procrastinating, it only makes you unhappy.“ Knowing that only helps a little but it seems every little thing helps.

Today there will be very little teaching. I had planned to record the podcast but I still don’t really have a voice, so that’s out.

I’m pretty sure there will be more writing.

I was rather inspired yesterday by the book „The Art of Taking Action“ (Amazon Affiliate-Link) and I was feeling a little better with the cold so I got a little more done.

Still no running or anything, I guess I will start that again next week, but I woke up early and started writing right away. I’m a little fed up with the lack of progress on the story.

I went to the tea shop and the health food store and when I came back I wrote some more. Taught my students, had the last one cancel on me, practiced piano, and played a little guitar, and wrote some more.

I even did the dishes, made deodorant and folded the laundry after lunch as a meditative practice. Also, not being able to do things really gets to me after a day or two. Restoring order to the world, even if it’s through folding laundry, feels much better.

The boy came home exhausted again. While he is mostly sorting things he also helped build a computer and did some research. Still, he is counting the days to when he’ll have his afternoons back.

Today there will be more of the.same, I’m hoping to move the story forward, and I will go to the supermarket, and make some music, and teach quite a bit.

I’m still sniffling like crazy and I still don’t really have a voice. I tried singing in one of my lessons and couldn’t. Only when my voice is gone do I realize how much I’m singing while teaching. Just to demonstrate something here and there. But at the moment I can’t.

I too, was exhausted last night, but that’s okay. I watched and episode of „Grace and Frankie“, read a little and turned out the lights at 9.30.

Oh, and I almost forgot. The amp that my husband has been working on, unable to fix since August?

It’s done.

He worked on it all day yesterday, in between everything else, and it is finally done. For months he was unable to find out what was wrong, and now it’s fixed.

We might open a bottle of champagne to celebrate on Friday when the amp will go back to its owner.

As predicted, I spent the day mostly in bed, a little bored and not feeling all that great.

I did all my teaching. I should have rescheduled the singing student, though, because he had a cold as well and so we were a sorry sight, both sniffling with no voice in my case and not much of a voice in his. We still managed to make a little progress.

My last student didn’t even show. It’s always a little weird, that waiting and not knowing.

The boy came home just when I was setting the table for dinner which was an excellent timing. He was pretty exhausted from his first full day of work. Seems he actually got things to do. Sandwiches for lunch turned out to have been the right choice.

I went to bed at 9.30, giddy about the prospect of getting all.the.sleep and then woke up at 5. I feel a bit cheated.

Today there will be some grocery shopping – but not all because I’m still sick – and some teaching, more than yesterday, and a little writing (got 250 words in yesterday).

If the cold isn’t gone by Thursday the podcast will have to be late. It can’t be helped, no voice – no podcast.