"Live deliberately... and suck all the marrow out of life" has been one of my guiding principles since I discovered Thoreau via Dead Poets Society as a young teen in 1989. In that spirit, I have been having a lot of trouble lately packing in all the fun and/or meaningful activities I want to have in my life. There just aren't enough hours in the day, days in the week, weeks in the month... etc. You may have heard me rail against the limits of time before.
As such, I'm trying to not waste any time... at all. This doesn't mean I don't make time for leisure. I just am trying to make my leisure time quality time. One of the best tools for this has been my new DVR subscription. It's like TiVo, but through the cable company, or as a friend likes to call it, "Ti-Faux." DVR is the BEST THING EVER. A short backstory: a few years ago, I declined to sign up for cable, thinking that without it, I would watch less TV. Turns out, not so much. No, instead I just watched a lot of bad TV. So I finally broke down and got cable last year, which is great, but it's still a major source of time suckage. But with DVR, instead of scrolling the program guide for shows I might like, I can scroll my list of the many shows I actually like, and I can skip all the commercials. Also, I don't have to remember to set the VCR, or worry about Scott taping over the show I wanted to watch (as he did recently, which was what prompted me to sign up for this service a couple weeks ago.) It is an amazing invention. Right up there with the printing press and the lightbulb.
So that's good. But I wish I could make time for more exercise (I'm currently getting the gym about once a week), more journal-writing, more reading, more art projects, more time with friends. I just bought sheet music to Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy," which I've always wanted to learn to play. Lord knows when I'll get around to that (but I do have the bass line down). And then there's always so much to knit (and so little time). And so much to learn.
I feel incredibly blessed to have such a full life. But it's frustrating to always want to do EVERYTHING.
Hey, want to see a photo of my latest work-in-progress? Sure you do. (And enjoy it, because it was very hard-won as I learn to use OS X on my new Mac at my office.)
This is the left front. The back is plain with just the ribbing on the bottom and no cables. Now my question for you is, do the sleeves want cables like the fronts, or do they want to be plain?
Very nice. :) I think I would make the sleeves plain.
Posted by: Andrea | March 16, 2005 at 09:54 PM
It sounds like we're in the same place right now.
The things I really want to do, and I'm trying to be intentional about doing, get brushed aside as "priorities" become bullies.
I wanted to spin tonight, and I ended up doing work research.
I wanted to work out tonight, but I ended up cleaning the kitchen and the bedroom.
While I may have gotten things done, I don't feel any closer to the person I want to be. And that's terribly frustrating.
If you come up with any great strategies let me know (I have a TiVo already)...maybe if I could just get my hubby to care as much about a tidy house as I do. :)
Posted by: Lisa | March 16, 2005 at 10:07 PM
Is that knit one of your own design? It's lovely, I crave it!!!
Posted by: Mona | March 16, 2005 at 11:12 PM
Ohh. I love your cables. I vote for plain sleeves.
Posted by: Katie | March 17, 2005 at 07:31 AM
Oh, the sleeves want cables, yes they do - I don't know if they want a broad cable cuff knit sideways, or a long cable down the arm though. Probably a cuff.
I love that squiggled cable - your own design?
Posted by: juno | March 17, 2005 at 10:40 AM
Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions. The sweater as a whole is my design, but cable itself I unceremoniously lifted from an Alice *more sweater, so I won't be offering up the pattern.
I'm still undecided on the sleeves, so keep the comments coming!
Posted by: Alison | March 17, 2005 at 11:51 AM
Plain sleeves.
Posted by: Norma | March 18, 2005 at 02:13 PM
Those are some wacky cables - I love 'em. A complementary cable cuff sounds like a great idea to me. And not just because of the alliteration.
Posted by: mindy | March 18, 2005 at 03:33 PM
Can you tell me which AS sweater or book that cable came from?
Posted by: juno | March 29, 2005 at 08:52 AM
hi Juno,
It's from Aran Knitting, I can't remember the name of the sweater off the top of my head but it's near the end of the book.
Posted by: Alison | March 29, 2005 at 11:33 AM