Back In The Groove

As I was saying in my last post, I've been dragging a bit lately, not being very productive at anything, not even my knitting. I began to wonder if I'd started associating knitting with pain, since I'd used knitting to preserve my sanity last year while waiting for back surgery.

Thankfully, my productivity is a bit better now. The weather is still icky (flurrying right now, in fact....big fluffy lazy flakes), but I'm able to pick up my Diagonal Lace socks and knit contentedly on them while listening to an audiobook or a KnitPicks podcast.

Had I told you I can listen to KnitPicks podcasts through my TiVo? That's a pretty neat TiVo feature. I'm not sure how I ever managed to keep up with any television series before TiVo. I never seem to be able to watch broadcast television when it's actually broadcast anymore.

Back to my knitting....today it occurred to me that it might help to toss in a charity item, so today I'm casting on a knit hat to be donated to a local charity that provides blankets and warm clothing to homeless individuals in our community.

I'm going to use the "Regular Guy Beanie" pattern on Ravelry. I'll keep you posted.

I'm Still Here

I've been terrible about blogging lately, I know, and I apologize. After I finished my Christmas "stealth" knitting, I can't seem to finish ANYTHING. I still have the same two pairs of socks on needles that I had started before I had surgery in November. I don't know what's wrong with me. Here it is, snowy ugly weather that should be absolutely perfect for knitting cozily in the recliner and I can't seem to get anything accomplished.

Not just my knitting, either. I promised myself that after I recovered from my surgery I'd start cleaning my closet and my "spare room" 15 minutes at a time (FlyLady style....do you know about FlyLady?). That hasn't happened either. I do manage to keep the daily household work done, but that's been about it.

I'm behind in my e-mail and blogging and I have no idea why, because I enjoy both.

So what's the problem? I blame it on this gray, ugly winter. Our local meteorologist reported last night that we've had 19.1 inches of snow this season, and the season average is 15 inches. And there's at least two more months of "snow season" left. (I've actually seen it snow here in April.)

By the time I get home from work and get unbundled, all I want to do is eat and go to bed.

So what's the solution to my winter doldrums? Action has always worked for me in the past, so I'm going to give that a try.

When I get home tonight, I'm going to set my kitchen timer for 15 minutes and do housework. Anything. Dusting is needed, so that's probably what I'll do. Then I'll fix myself some dinner and clean up my kitchen. Then I'm going to set my timer for 30 minutes, get in the recliner, and knit until the timer goes off.

For months, every time I got into the recliner I picked up my knitting. For some reason I got out of the habit. Lately I've found myself just vegged out in the recliner watching television. That brings up another thing I'm behind on....audiobooks!

So tonight I'll let TiVo save all the things I would've watched this evening. I'll put an audiobook into the Zune and pick up my sadly-neglected knitting. And GET BACK IN THE GROOVE.

I hope this post doesn't give you the impression that knitting is a chore. It's not. I love taking sticks and string and turning them into lovely, soft fabric. I just seem to be on the verge of becoming a recliner potato (a far worse vegetable than a couch potato) and feel the need to break this habit before it gets too deeply ingrained.

Get ready, socks, here I come!!