Gratitude
Thanks to Neuro, I had the most wonderful surprise today! She sent me a yarn care package over the weekend, and it contained BABY MITTS and an amazing skein of yarn! I'm so thrilled - thank you very much, Neuro!!!
The timing for the baby mitts couldn't be more perfect - I was racing to get 4 pairs done before this Wednesday (more about that below), and was thinking about how to pose them for a blog pic. Now that I have 7 pairs (SEVEN!!!!), they make the most beautiful flower:
The yarn is amazing too, and will keep me busy thinking about what kind of sock pattern it wants to be. Definitely more on that yet to come! Here is a sneak peek at its super duper colors:
On a somewhat related topic - 88 days ago I started working on The 90-Day Gratitude Journal. The dates aligned perfectly with my 90-day notice period for my termination; I started the journal the day after receiving my notice. Day 90 is this Wednesday, which is also my first official day of severance (I'm meeting a former colleague just ahead of that, and will be asking him to yarn mule the mitts to their next leg of the journey).
Based on the research of Martin Seligman and others, the authors compiled this little booklet to help build a practice of gratitude. Every day you complete the following: 1) I am grateful for ____ because _____; and 2) What am I looking forward to today? There is a third wild card each day as well, things like - describe your happiest childhood memory, list 10 of your favorite possessions, etc. At the end of the 90 days, you have a habit, and I suppose can refer back to the book or just continue being mindful about these perspectives. I've really enjoyed keeping up with this journal, and having to spend some quality time thinking about what I have, versus what I don't (like a job, LOL). This practice is intended to counteract sadness, maintain forward momentum, and build resiliency.
I've also been thinking about how to make an even stronger connection to the mindful knitting I was carrying on about not too long ago. It's not too difficult to remember why I make the baby mitts (unplanned extubation prevention as well as overall general cuteness and warmth since they can't/don't wear anything else other than a diaper), but so often I will make something just to make it. For example, January Hat; it was red, it was fun, but then it went into a pile, I had no plans for it. Until last week, when I met up with a former colleague over coffee. Red is her color, and it was cold, so I brought it along and gave it to her. She was absolutely thrilled, and it made me happy too. So - March Hat will have a similar fate later this week (it's drying now, I'll post pics in a couple of days). Maybe I'll just be that nutty lady who always gives you a pair of mittens or a hat whenever she sees you!!
In other news - we had snow and wind all weekend, but on my way back from the mailbox I spied our foxie loping across the field (headed in the other direction). I almost missed him, since I had my head in the envelope with all the mitts and yarn!
The timing for the baby mitts couldn't be more perfect - I was racing to get 4 pairs done before this Wednesday (more about that below), and was thinking about how to pose them for a blog pic. Now that I have 7 pairs (SEVEN!!!!), they make the most beautiful flower:
The yarn is amazing too, and will keep me busy thinking about what kind of sock pattern it wants to be. Definitely more on that yet to come! Here is a sneak peek at its super duper colors:
On a somewhat related topic - 88 days ago I started working on The 90-Day Gratitude Journal. The dates aligned perfectly with my 90-day notice period for my termination; I started the journal the day after receiving my notice. Day 90 is this Wednesday, which is also my first official day of severance (I'm meeting a former colleague just ahead of that, and will be asking him to yarn mule the mitts to their next leg of the journey).
Based on the research of Martin Seligman and others, the authors compiled this little booklet to help build a practice of gratitude. Every day you complete the following: 1) I am grateful for ____ because _____; and 2) What am I looking forward to today? There is a third wild card each day as well, things like - describe your happiest childhood memory, list 10 of your favorite possessions, etc. At the end of the 90 days, you have a habit, and I suppose can refer back to the book or just continue being mindful about these perspectives. I've really enjoyed keeping up with this journal, and having to spend some quality time thinking about what I have, versus what I don't (like a job, LOL). This practice is intended to counteract sadness, maintain forward momentum, and build resiliency.
I've also been thinking about how to make an even stronger connection to the mindful knitting I was carrying on about not too long ago. It's not too difficult to remember why I make the baby mitts (unplanned extubation prevention as well as overall general cuteness and warmth since they can't/don't wear anything else other than a diaper), but so often I will make something just to make it. For example, January Hat; it was red, it was fun, but then it went into a pile, I had no plans for it. Until last week, when I met up with a former colleague over coffee. Red is her color, and it was cold, so I brought it along and gave it to her. She was absolutely thrilled, and it made me happy too. So - March Hat will have a similar fate later this week (it's drying now, I'll post pics in a couple of days). Maybe I'll just be that nutty lady who always gives you a pair of mittens or a hat whenever she sees you!!
In other news - we had snow and wind all weekend, but on my way back from the mailbox I spied our foxie loping across the field (headed in the other direction). I almost missed him, since I had my head in the envelope with all the mitts and yarn!
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