January Days


Happy New Year!  Usually I have great difficulty writing the new year on documents but '2020' is so easy.  This bodes well for how great the new year will be.  My house is de-decorated and everything is back to the way it used to be.  I love January and how 'fresh' the month feels.  New planners, new plans, new goals or (non-goals) and brushing off a dusty old year.

As you know, I do not pick a word for the year, I just can't boil down to a word.  Also I usually have a litany of goals for the new year.


Among them:  menu plan - exercise more -  eat more fruits and vegetables - read more - knit more.  Well you get the idea, I pick a myriad of goals some I achieve and some I do not. 

This year my goal is to document my creative days in a daily planner.  I was in Barnes and Noble and impulsively bought a daily planner and the idea hit me:  Oh, I could track my creative days and see what I accomplish. 

I've tried bullet journalling in the past and it's too stressful for me to have a list and check it off as I go.  Not checking something off feels like failure.


This planner will let me see a nice snapshot of each day.  Already I notice that I am less distracted when I sit down and knit for an hour.  Or I know around 6 pm I'll be doing a bit of sketching and watercoloring and look forward to that time.  There will be many days that my creativity will be minimal, I'm hoping the planner will include what I was doing instead.


I'll let you know how it goes.


A little personal resolution is to be more mindful and present in whatever I am doing.  When I am knitting I want to BE knitting and not thinking of what I have to do next (the planner helps with this).  If I gain a bit of patience along the way that is even better.  (I tend to be impatient...)


My son and his girlfriend are visiting us this weekend.  The house is clean and I am ready.  Poor Holly though, she sees the girlfriend as a stranger and she hides the entire time.  Her choice.  I guess even though she isn't keen on the kids, she does remember them from her kitten days.  Frodo loves everybody and whoever visits us is his new best friend.


Well I'm off to the gym this morning!  Have a great weekend.


Comments

  1. BonnyJanuary 3, 2020 at 8:44 AM

    Documenting your creative days in your planner sounds like an excellent way to make sure that creativity happens! Too often, I have to put off knitting until late evening when I'm so tired that I fall asleep after a row or two. I'm anxious to hear how it goes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JuliannJanuary 3, 2020 at 8:48 AM

    I was playing in my making notebook yesterday and look forward to developing a daily habit of creating and documenting. Enjoy your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AsKatKnitsJanuary 3, 2020 at 9:27 AM

    I like this idea of documenting your creativity! I think you will find your planner fills up quickly! Have a good weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  4. wisps of wordsJanuary 3, 2020 at 11:33 AM

    You have a pool cover, like ours. They are wonderful... So glad we finally got it, a couple of years ago.

    Nice to find the best-for-you way, of keeping track of your accomplishments. Each person is different, and no one way, works for all.

    Wow, your home has been emptied of the Holidays decor. And cleaned. You are ahead of the game. -smile- But you do have "company" coming.

    Have a lovely weekend!

    ⛄ 📕 ⛄

    ReplyDelete
  5. VeraJanuary 3, 2020 at 11:56 AM

    Your plans/ideas/thoughts for the New Year sound good to me and perfect for you. I can't get into journaling (too time consuming and then, like you, I feel like I have to check things off or oops, failure!) The Planner idea seems like a good one for you. I'll be curious to hear/see how it goes for you. Our tree is still up and probably will be for another week (That's Fletch, not me). I'd like to clean, but.....later I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MeredithJanuary 3, 2020 at 6:10 PM

    Love your idea of keeping track of your creative time. Have a wonderful time with your family.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Deb J. in UtahJanuary 3, 2020 at 10:59 PM

    I love this idea of tracking your creativity. I want to get back into crocheting and find more ways to be creative this year as well, but haven't really decided on anything concrete. I love your old upright piano! That is cool. Do you play? Have a good weekend and I will see you again soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. karenJanuary 6, 2020 at 1:07 PM

      I do not play but both adult children do play!

      Delete
  8. mamasmercantileJanuary 4, 2020 at 5:34 AM

    Such a wonderful idea to document your creativity. I like to choose a word for the year but as yet have not come up with the perfect choice yet. Patience was a contender but this past month or so has certainly given me lots of opportunities to practice. I too am loving the piano it reminds me of the one my own children had to learn to play on. Hope you are keeping well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Needles and WoolJanuary 4, 2020 at 11:44 AM

    Happy New Year! you are off to a good start to the year. I really love using a planner to plan out my weeks and they help keep me focused. Your home looks so nice and inviting. I used to have a cat that hid when strangers came in too and she was so different with us. I hope that you have a great year!

    ReplyDelete
  10. kathy bJanuary 4, 2020 at 4:00 PM

    I love your red knit in the round. Fezzik is not a fan of guests. BUT, he knows Zach and Allison are family somehow. The only one who stuck around during our guests visits was Miss Pie. And then she got overstimulated and bit me! Poor girl. Animals love their routines so very much. I feel badly that Pie got to that high of a stress level and I thought she was just vocalizing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. JaneJanuary 4, 2020 at 8:49 PM

    For me, bullet journaling seemed like making busy work. I can see how it would work for a young working Mom though. I am anxious to hear about how your documentation of creative pursuits evolves and grows. Great idea! Please share the details. That pink journal on top is so delicate - perfect for you. I too enjoy the less cluttered look and feel of January.

    ReplyDelete
  12. MaryJanuary 5, 2020 at 9:08 AM

    Happy New Year, Karen! love all the sunshine in these photos ... along with books and knitting. and figuring out a way to leave a comment again :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. sustainablemumJanuary 5, 2020 at 3:43 PM

    What a lovely idea, I do hope you will share little bits from time to time.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jeannie Gray KnitsJanuary 7, 2020 at 9:30 AM

    Love the idea of a daily creative planner, or actually for me, a journal. I tend to get the 'you can't make me!' attitude about plans so I might not create just to spite myself but I love the idea of a journal of what I've done.

    ReplyDelete
  15. StefanieJanuary 12, 2020 at 10:37 PM

    Good plans for the new year. Cute pic of Holly. Mortie and Minnie like to look out the window; I love it when they're laser focused on a bird or squirrel outside. I like that color you're working with.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment


Your comments are welcome as long as they are relevant to the post and spread joy, thank you for visiting and sharing your ideas.

Popular posts from this blog

Weekends

Image
My weekend happily contained: -wearing the above woolens all at the same time without being hot -so many walks and taking in the changing leaves. -a leaf shower on Saturday-the wind swirled the leaves off the trees up in the air to float down -changing screen savers to autumn themes! -a craft fair where my husband and I say "we could make that", but we don't. -french fries at the craft fair -scrambled eggs and toast for dinner because we were lazy. -football season has descended in my house. he was in the front room watching whatever is on today -I sat in the family room and watched A Tree Grows in Brooklyn .   Now I want to read it again. -Oh! I finished the socks!! So I wound up about six skeins of yarn and have three projects ready -started a cowl for me in fall colors (I hope to finish before fall ends) -enjoying Spirits of Joy .  Hannah graciously had a one day free sign up for her birthday at the end of September which I luckily saw on Twitter.  Than...
Read more

Happy List

Image
  - neighborhood pumpkins - my oak trees showing off - new friends at 'school' - Tai Chi hour - lunch out with my husband - cold morning walks - an unexpected warm up - all the fall knitting (imagined and real) - wearing wool - browsing knitting patterns - sister outings - dark chocolate - blue skies - neighborhood dogs - the kids coming to visit next weekend - the to-do lists that I am creating - afternoon reading (possible snooze) - apples! - soups! - hearing the breeze whisper through the trees - setting intentions - giving myself grace when I need it the most - solitude - grandchildren laughing - Holly being Holly - Blue skies - phone calls from family and friends - the kindness of others - assuming everyone is doing their best - drinking water and staying hydrated - hot decaf green tea in a BIG mug - first sip of coffee - geese flying in V formation and honking all the way (delightful!!) - Focusing on gratitude - focusing on joy  What would make your happy list?
Read more

Weekends

Image
  Good morning! How are you? How was your weekend? I had a great weekend but I didn't take any great photos. I've been wrapping presents a little bit each day instead of doing it all in one massive long day. This has made a difference in my joy as I wrap. Do you wrap all at once? Or do you do a little bit at a time? Miss Holly has been finding the sun spots and getting her 'tan' going. She is a sweetie. I have no idea what she is watching outside that window. She does that every day. My guess is probably birds or chipmunks but chipmunks should be resting now that it's super cold outside. Sadly I did not take any photos of my knitting, but I have been knitting! I continue to work on my husband's hat and I ripped out a pair of mitts I started (couldn't see the dark yarn with cabling) and started a much simpler pattern instead. Sunday was church then the laundry. I am getting excited for the upcoming holidays. The kids are coming back with the grandchildren and...
Read more