The bright side

Since I'm usually a glass half-full kind of person, I'm trying to see my glass with lemonade in it this morning. Tendonitis in my knee is keeping me from tai chi and walking. I'll have to give the knee complete rest for at least a week and then ease slo-owly back in. These are the lemons.

This means I have more for time working on the stepping stones rug which has languished and progressed very slowly. I'm coming to the realization, too, that I will not have enough of the 'stream' wool to make the rug as big as I intended. Some adjustments will be necessary.


I'll be able to finish the pink cardigan for Becky. It's an old Sirdar pattern and I think it's quite feminine yet grown-up. She really wants purple socks but I don't have the yarn right now so I shall finish this for her first. Purple socks are next in the queue.


Or I can just sit and read while I ice the knee. There's a lovely stack of books just waiting to be enjoyed. Right now I'm in the middle of an Ian Rankin mystery. And we all know that I must finish that one first. I didn't use to be a fan but I picked one of the Inspector Rebus books up last year and I've been hooked ever since.

And, of course, there's the ever-present paperwork. Reports and newsletters; agendas and minutes. I can't see that I'll be bored at all with my enforced rest.

Reading

No, I'm not reading great literature. Last week, all the relevant files were passed from the former president to the current president (me). It's just amazing how much goes on behind the scenes that as board members, we're simply unaware of. There are lots of piles of paper which are fascinating reading. This reading illuminates so much about the organization that was little or badly understood or, as I said, didn't know even existed.

Now, having done this kind of work before, I'm not totally surprised by the amount of background information there is. And I know that most of it is a read-once experience. I'm sure I will continue to generate this kind of paper pile for the next president. Imagine what can happen in two years!

But while I'm reading and learning, the hooking isn't happening. Nor is the book list being reduced. I do think this is almost as much fun, though. I love organizations, meetings and reading minutes. It's all about people and that's the most fun of all.

So long, 2008!

I know there's been some days in 2008 that I'd rather not experience again but not many. There was a lot to celebrate, too. New babies, new houses, new jobs. We were both healthy, and wiser, if not wealthier.

Today, I'm blocking my last knitted item for the year. It's time to think about the New Year project. For many years now, I have made it my personal tradition to clear up the old year's knitting projects by December 31. Then I spend some time thinking about what I'd like to start. Of course, I usually start today but I count it as Jan 1. It will probably be some new socks. I have a design idea in my head and this is a perfect time to try it out. Nothing else on the horizon that needs to be made.

I will also probably draw out some coasters to hook. I won't start a new rug because I still have the quilt blocks to finish. If I put it away, I'll just be creating a UFO. Not something I can live with anymore. Bad enough I have to live with the UFO's that exist from before I started making the effort LOL

I have just finished the last book for 2008: The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson. When the book fell into my hands a few weeks ago, I read the jacket notes and thought "sounds interesting but probably a bit of a pot-boiler." Just shows that you shouldn't judge a book by it's dust jacket, either. It has turned out to be an outstanding read. I polished it off in 2 days - excellent characters and a gripping story line. It's set in northern Ontario with dual time lines: depression through WW2 and late 50's and 60's ending in the present. Four stars.

Which brings me to my last rant for the year: did any one else see the results of a little survey commissioned by Canadian Heritage? I was appalled by the weekly hours spent reading books for leisure or interest. So shocked that I can't really believe the numbers. Apparently, the weekly average for the university-educated is less than one hour per day. For retirees, just over an hour per day. So, who is buying all those books? When do they read them? Was this an off week for all the readers?

Apparently, about 22% of the books we read are by Canadian authors. And I think that was the real point of the survey. Now since it was a grant-giving body which commissioned the study, I'm not sure the results don't suit those government types. " See? Readers don't care about Canadian authors so why bother throwing money to them? " Or, could there be genuine concern? Hard to know but it's also hard not to think this was a self-serving survey. Of course, I don't think surveys are useful anyway. There are so many ways to crunch the numbers that you can prove any case you want from one. Merely interesting.

That's it. Last words for the year: may you have just enough challenge in 2009 to keep life interesting and may you have just enough of everything else to be materially satisfied.