Can I have a do-over?

Flippin’ ‘eck!  January has screamed past in a blur of plans, taffeta and fondant icing, and I find myself on the verge of February with very little to show for it knitting-wise (‘cos, y’know, LIFE-wise I gained an awful lot in January!)  Tim and I have been wandering around in a sort of giddy haze for the past week, partly through the joy of becoming man&wife, but partly because we both have this sense that 2008 hasn’t really started for us.  Now that the dust has settled a little, I’m declaring tomorrow the unofficial start of 2008.  There will be plenty to get excited about this year, and I want to start the year off with a bang tomorrow: resolutions, new toys, Christmas presents, all sorts of things that I am just a tiny bit behind on.

Hitched!

Sealing the deal :: January 26, 2008

Thank you all so much for the beautiful, wonderful, funny and heartfelt comments over the past week. We have both been touched by your support and generosity, and are happy to report that the day went without a glitch, was everything we could have hoped or wished for, and seems to have been enjoyed by all. I am putting the majority of the photos on a private flickr account, but will be adding my favourites over the next couple of weeks in this set.

Nearly there…

Dress pressed: check.

Cake delivered: check.

Marquee erected: check.

Sassy wedding night lingerie purchased: check.

Compulsory pre-marital scrap with my intended over something incredibly silly undertaken and resolved in laughter: check!

Now must just remember to breathe, to savour, and to enjoy!

A vow and a promise

Funny how the plainer ring means so very much more. Two more sleeps…

Two weeks tomorrow

Note to self – don’t try and cable on the tube when half cut.

Went out to work leaving drinks tonight and saw some people who had left the company a while ago.  Spent the evening explaining that yes, I am getting married in two weeks time.  It has hit home recently in a way that I never thought it would.  I mean, we’ve been together for four years, for goodness sake, and have lived together for pretty much the entire time (we were flat mates when we met), so why does it feel so different?  I had a bit of a wierd moment at the bar tonight – they had this acrobat girl do a performance on those sort of fabric strips that hang from the ceiling.  It was pretty cool just as it was – the last leaving do we had at that bar they had a burlesque show, so this kind of entertainment is becoming de rigeur.  But the thing that struck me as I watched her twirling and posing was an overwhelming sense of freedom.  This woman was doing something she clearly loved, that wasn’t a mainstream job, that possibly didn’t command a high salary, but it didn’t matter to her, because she was strong enough and passionate enough to do it.  And at that moment I felt completly free – not that I am about to take up aerial arts, but that I know, absolutely, deeply, that I am marrying a man who will support me and accept me for who I am.  I know that whatever I choose to do – be it have babies, don’t have babies, career, academics – this man will be by my side 100%.  I am the luckiest woman alive.

Triumphs and challenges

Aah, easing my way into the new year, and getting quite excited about all the knitting I will be doing this year. Taking my cue from Adam, I think a little snapshot of the year would go nicely right about here:

Embarassingly, this is pretty much all that I finished last year. Not a lot, admittedly, partly because I buggered about a bit last year and really didn’t finish as many things as I should have, and also because I am frankly useless at getting photographs before sending gifts or swaps out the door.

Now, I am not going to have an official knitlist this year (because 2007’s was so successful, snort!), but as part of my consolidation efforts this year, I have resolved to knit my stash down before buying more yarn. I know I said this last year, but really my stash then was so pathetic that I felt uninspired, so had to get my yarn jubblies elsewhere (I know, any excuse!)

And also last year, there was no Ravelry. God, I love that thing! For one thing, I have (almost) all my stash there, so instead of browsing online yarn shops—and ultimately buying yarn—I can browse my stash instead. Also, I consolidated my queue in my lunch hour yesterday, getting it down from nearly 150 to just under 50, and assigned yarn from the stash to each project. So I now feel way more focused and excited about my 2008 knitting.

Vun, ah, ha, ha!

Last year I made several resolutions. One was to lose weight (ha, bloody, ha). Another was to knit a group of items from a specified list (0 for 5 on that one). The last was to blog for a whole year. Well, blow me down with a Dustbuster – I might just have managed that one!

Goodness, has it been a whole year already? Time does fly, eh? And what an interesting year it has been. There have been highs, there have been lows. There have been moments of chaos and moments of calm. And through it all, there you have been, dear ones. Supporting and encouraging me. Laughing at my sillinesses and making me laugh with your brilliant comments. Coming by time and time again just to see how I am doing.

Thank you, my friends, from the bottom of my heart.

Taken on Boxing Day – excuse the rictus grin, I think I was about to fall off the gate face first into the mud!