It's The End of 2014

Thank goodness?? Maybe?? Not really sure...

This past year was pretty great - it really had its ups and downs. Bimmer Man's grandfather died, we  traveled to Colorado, we went to Indiana, we went to one of Bimmer Man's car races at Road America, we went to Bemidji State Park and walked across the Mississippi, I re-connected with old friends.

Lately I haven't been sleeping very well. Mostly I think it's the weather - we had a good 4 - 5 weeks with almost no sunshine, rain, no snow... not really the ideal weather for snow shoeing or getting outside and doing stuff.

I haven't been really inspired to make too many crochet items and I really like to crochet. It seems as if I've hit a roadblock. The last two cowls I've made have had knots in the skeins of yarn (which really sucks if you crochet because you have to cut the knot out and then re-join the yarn and weave in two more ends). I've made a few items and then frogged them (pulled them apart) because they just didn't look right. I need to look at more inspiration photos and get back to the granny square blanket that I'm making for myself. That's on my list of things to do AFTER I finish up with 3 other things. Oy, my to-make list keeps growing.

We've all had some sort of sickness. Colds, mostly. The Monkey got hit with ANOTHER cold just two weeks after the previous one and she's pretty much coughing like mad. Essential oils have helped a bit more with this cold than the last one - I'm sure I'll get it later this week.

The Monster has been, well, a MONSTER. He's learned how to open the organic waste bin with his snout. Cute? Yes. Well, no, especially not when he's pulled out sausages and gotten them stuck under the stove. Or dug holes in the backyard IN DECEMBER. Blerg.

Now it's freezing cold but at least it's sunny. I'll still be taking my extra Vitamin D.

In 2015 I'd really like to do some sort of book challenge. I'll be googling a few later this week - but first I have to get through the Outlander book series. I'm 1/3 finished with the 3rd book (Voyager), and the 2nd book I had started reading in August. It might take me a bit, we shall see.

This morning I took down the Christmas tree and all the Christmas decorations. Christmas is over, I was dreading taking down decorations since August. I normally decorate like mad, but this year I wanted to go back to being simple. I wanted to minimize everything that didn't matter with the decor and this past year I feel like I really succeeded. I downsized all of the decor to one bin plus the tree box. Everything fits, and there's more room for ornaments as The Monkey grows and makes more ornaments each year for the tree.

I also got rid of a lot of shit in our house. Our basement was gone through and I trashed and donated whatever I possibly could. You can step into the storage closet without something falling on you. I think that's awesome considering that most of America keeps an off-site storage locker with shit in it. I donated a ton of clothes - now I have empty hangers in my closet, there's no clothes falling out of drawers, I can happily choose something to wear in the morning without dreading opening a drawer to search for some random shirt that I vaguely remember having two years ago. The linen closet is pretty clean, the bathroom closet in the upstairs bathroom is generally organized (but I still need to toss some old make-up). One downside - I cleaned out my kitchen drawers and cabinets but then somehow I've acquired more kitchen stuff (Christmas cookie cutters, a few small Pyrex bowls, some more utensils, Tupperware, a flour sifter). I would also like a kitchen scale but that's not on any priority list, it's just a "like" that I want to have.

Minimalism is going to be more of a priority in my life this upcoming year - as the Monkey grows, I want to take care of less crap and spend less time doing things I don't want to do. I'd like to spend more time outdoors, less time inside, more time reading, less time cleaning, more time cooking, less time maintaining stuff. And toss some crochet time in there too and that should be my year more or less.

The basement is now on its way to being finished (there was a small electrical shock, a stabbing with a screwdriver, and falling ceiling tiles) but hopefully I'll be able to have some updated basement photos later this year. Bimmer Man is doing a great job with the help of Uncle Beardface (and I get wine time with the Dog Lady).

So... happy end of 2014... and happy 2015!!