Run That Body Down

How long you think that you can 

Run that body down? 

How many nights you think that you can 

Do what you been doin'? 

Who you foolin? 

I’d rather stay up late than go to bed early. I’d rather stay in bed than get up at the butt crack of dawn too. I’ve always been that way. I try to get to bed early but most nights I have too much to do to get there. Do I finish it all? No! After I get home from work, fix supper, load/unload the dishwasher (or not), wash clothes (or not) I just want to sit in my chair. Before I know it, it’s close to midnight!

On a good night I’ll get 6 hours sleep, maybe. At the 5:30 a.m. alarm in the morning, I’ll hit snooze and stay in bed as late as I can without being late for work. Breakfast is a travel mug of coffee, sometimes  accompanied by a Rice Krispie Treat or a PopTart on the 45 minute drive to work. I usually stay in for lunch but occasionally I’ll go with someone and get out of the office. By afternoon I’m dragging and think maybe a cup of coffee or a Coke might help. After an almost always stressful workday, another 45 minute drive home and supper, it all starts to catch up with me. Multiply it by 5 and by the weekend all I want to do is sleep in and sit around all day.

They say that if you start exercising you’ll have more energy. I have stairs in my house. Does that count? I go up and down the stairs, coming in and out of the house and also take laundry down and bring it up. And I knit. Surely that’s credit for some sort of exercise?

I know I’ve got to do better. It’s not fun being so tired. I don’t want to be the little old grandma in the chair who can’t do anything when the littles come over. I want to be able to do everything with them and for them. With that said…I’d better go to bed! 

I came back home and I went to bed 

I was resting my head... 

I didn’t really make any resolutions this New Year. I have some things I want and need to improve on, but I haven’t written anything down. Yet. But I still might. One thing I have decided, along with several of my knitting pals, is to complete some UFOs. UFO means an unfinished object. I’m an expert at UFOs. I finish the knitting part and I’m done. I don’t bother to weave in the ends or sew on the buttons or block something unless I’m forced to. Forced by myself that is. I just start knitting something else!

January in particular is the month to finish some things. So I’m giving it a try. Right now I’m working on the shawl I started (and stopped) for my sister. I know of three or four more needing the ends worked in. I haven’t taken the time to get all of them out, but I know there are plenty.

Assorted ends to work in and a couple of buttons to sew on

Trouble is, I also want to start things. We knitters call it ‘startitis’. And I have it bad! I haven’t cast on anything yet, but I did have a request for a scarf, much like the one I did as a gift for Christmas.
So now I have an excuse! But I’ll wait and do that as soon as the shawl is finished. I need a carry along project anyway, right?

Working on Judi's shawl

It’s supposed to snow tonight. If it was enough I might not have to go to work tomorrow! Then I could sit around and knit or something. It sounds good because I’m already tired. 

Kid, you better look around. 

How long you think that you can 

Run that body down? 

How many nights you think that you can 

Do what you been doin'? 

Who you foolin?

Material Girl

Living in a material world,

And I am a material girl.

You know that we are living in a material world.

And I am a material girl.

Can she make it on time if she pushes snooze again? She doesn’t know but she’s willing to risk it. Already? There’s the radio again. This time she has to get up. As she stumbles out of bed she knows she shouldn’t have pushed snooze. Now she has to hurry.

She rushes to the closet wondering why she didn’t take the time last night to get organized and figure out what she was going to wear. Surely there is a clean pair of black pants in there. She thinks she can never have too many pairs of black pants so she buys them whenever she finds them on sale. Those don’t look too bad. A little wrinkled, but she thinks she can smooth them with a wet rag and the blow dryer. It’s quicker than ironing.

There’s a black tank top. That will work. Black is supposed to make you look slimmer, right? There is no way she’d ever wear something sleeveless at the office. It’s too cold. Besides that those arms are pitiful. Where is that jacket, the blue one, with the black buttons? There. That’s a lot better. She always tries to hide her many imperfections.

Finally, with a to-go cup of coffee, she’s out the door. Where are the keys? She doesn’t need the confusion this morning. Thankfully it’s not too far to work. She sings loud as she drives. And she’s there. And she realizes she should be thankful because she has a job.

What happened to do what you love? That’s what they said in school. But doing what you love is complicated. There are bills to pay. There are shoes to buy. There are things she wants, things she needs, things that take money. She has a life to live and if it has to be done it can at least be done with style. So it’s to work, every day. Or has she settled? Does she just go because she has to exist?

And she dreams. She dreams in color. And she dreams in texture, smooth, bumpy, squishy, soft and fuzzy. And she dreams of warmth. The picture, rows of colored yarn, any color you could ask for. And she thinks if she was doing what she loved, she’d be there, in a comfortable chair, a favorite movie, needles and yarn in hand, creating, designing and knitting.

But she’s a material girl.

Living in a material world.

I’d still rather be knitting than much else. I’m sure it will pass. Maybe I’m just tired. The weekend helped. I didn’t have to do anything. Alan was working so I was by myself. I could do what I wanted. And I did. The Anthroplogie scarf may have hit a snag. I had more than enough yarn according to the pattern, cast on 100 less stitches, and had the same measurements going. But it looks like I won’t have enough to finish it like I wanted. Decisions. Day 283, January 8 is Saturday. Nothing going on at all. I’m excited! Coffee, movie, knitting, movie, maybe getting dressed, maybe not! Just so many choices! I took it easy. I used a turquoise/green wool that I really like. It may go into the Anthropologie scarf if I need it to. Day 284 is Sunday. It’s January 9 and another relaxed day. I’m getting the yarn cabinets ready for yarn. I’ve actually started with the red. It’s all the red and pink I’ve found so far but I have a feeling there’s more. I’ll go into orange and yellow next, which I doubt I have too much of, then on to green, blues and purples. I’ll leave the browns and blacks til last and might put all the ribbon type together. I might keep the dishrag cotton together in one place too. It’s sure going to be interesting seeing what all I have! I choose red, to remember this is where I’ve started. Day 285, January 10, I feel a little like a government agent or something! I’m the eraser, archiving illegal users on a software package we have at work. It’s kind of fun in a convoluted sort of way! I’m not choosing randomly. I have a list. And I also have asked to have the entire campus turned off. I’m waiting for the phone calls to begin! I chose a blue and white wool blend. I just used it for a cowl or infinity scarf. It reminds me of the sky and clouds. January 11, day 286, and I am on overloaded! We have a guest speaker letting us know the changes for the next school year in the dreaded tests the students are forced to take to graduate. It seems as soon as they master something it has to become harder. The presenter used an example of the math he took as a senior in an advanced class being the same his nephew is taking now in 4th grade. So how come there’s so many dumb people out there? Ah, well. I chose purple eyelash yarn. Purple is supposed to mean royalty. That seems to be what the people who decide to rule these kids lives think they are. I won’t start. On a bright note, the lady who created the knitayear project contacted me about possibly using my strips in an exhibit. It would be overseas. It’s an interesting idea. I might participate. Wonder how much it would cost? ;)

Living in a material world.

And I am a material girl,

You know that we are living in a material world.

And I am a material girl…