La de da

Hello fair readers!

As November is upon us, I am beginning to turn my thoughts to winter. As many of you know, Chicago is right on the edge of the Central time zone. What does this mean you might ask?

It means Chicago goes from day to night at around….4pm.

And truly, Chicago in the winter, in the dark is beauty.

But this doesn’t take from the fact that the majority of our days for the next fews months will be spent in darkness.

So I have been thinking long and hard about how I will get through this winter. Since last winter, my first Chicago winter, I simply hid in my house playing MMORPGs. In small doses this would have been fine. But I think anyone who has played Lineage 2 can tell you that a “small dose” is very difficult to manage and one usually ends up online for anywhere from 4-12 hours a day.

Not healthy?

I think so.

So this winter I am determined to find better coping strategies. Does this mean I’m ruling video games out as an option?

Absolutely not.

Just less addictive video games. And ones that don’t involve needing to spend many hours a day grinding. (ugh. any online gamer will know and hate that term)

Besides some simple gaming, here are the tools that will help me get through the winter.

Crochet

That, dear readers, is my winter project. It will eventually become a blanket. As previously blogged, I had been knitting. However I’ve switched over to crochet for this project. Maybe it’s because I find the act of switching colors simpler with crochet? I’m not sure. But the decision has been made. And my project is underway.

A Sewing Machine

Honestly…I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do with this. But now I have it. It’s a very viable option for winter entertainment. Right?

Finally I’m going to pursue this whole cooking thing.

Last New Year’s I made several resolutions. One of them was to cook more. Finally I’m actually doing this. But now I’m no longer eating meat. So cooking had become quite interesting. Adventures recently include Egg Salad, Southwestern Bean Soup, and cupcakes

which is baking…I know!….but I’m working on it.

Anyways, if anyone has any other suggestions for getting through the long winter months I would love to hear them. As much as I adore the winter season

in all it’s splendor and beauty

I also like to keep my sanity.

Enjoy the dying days of Autumn, fair readers. I know I will.

Hello fair readers!

Fall is upon us. You can feel it in the air and see it in the trees. A beautiful thing. Truly. And I find as Winter creeps towards us, I tend to become more introspective. Try to find what will help me get through the next six months hopefully still happy and healthy and entertained. Here is what I’m finding out so far:

1. I am determined to get the whole knitting thing down.

I have tried to knit several times. The first was during my first year of college…a time when knitting was really not at the forefront of my worries and in it’s place was mainly beer and homework. Probably not the best time to decide to learn about knitting. But now I am a bit older. A bit wiser. (hopefully) And mostly a bit less into partying and then coming home drunk and attempting to knit an orange scarf that just ended up looking like a place mat. This site: yes this one has been totally awesome. She has video tutorials. Very nice.

2. As much as I hate to admit it, I am on the fence about Hillary.

And here is what it boils down to. I have been supporting her in every way for awhile now. She has some amazing views. But what it truly boils down to with me right now is change. I want change. And although she says she is for change….I just don’t see this in her words or even truly her actions. It is not that I don’t find her “electable” because I’m pretty sure she is. And it certainly isn’t some of her viewpoints. Some of the things she originally said she stood for are admirable. But she has become so….I guess vague is the word. This article: oh yes right here and also this one: strike two really made me stop and think. Check out that wording towards the end of the first Op Ed piece. Ugh. That makes me cringe. All politicians can be this way….it is true. But this borders on downright deceptive. Blanketing comments this way….as in not really taking a stand on any issue…is certainly not what I’m interested in. My opinion may change. Several people have told me this and it is true. A lot can change in 5 months. But this is where I stand now. On the fence.

3. I need to minimize my tendency for intense worrying.

Reading the news and listening to NPR can occasionally freak me out to the point of not accomplishing things. I need to find a middle ground. Where I can be conscious and concerned for the goings on of the world without feeling anxious and depressed for a good 48 hours about it. I mean really, who is this helping? Certainly not these people or these ones. So I am determined to start curbing this. My first step towards this is as always educating myself, reading several points of view. I am exercising more which always helps me to center myself. And also I really liked this: 7 ways to calm down I think I should try some of these things out. And remember that sometimes there are good things…not just the bad.

which leads me to this:

4. I am so happy that I am involved in libraries.

This may be unnecessary for me to actually write down. But the more I read, the more things I see the libraries all over the world doing, the more pride I feel. The more I remember why I initially saw interest in the profession. Librarians and library patrons alike can and are achieving truly amazing things. Just makes me feel proud. Good. And happy.

Well there are certainly more things coming up recently but I really should be getting some homework done. I hope everyone has a lovely Autumn. And get ready people because this

is much sooner than you think.

Have a lovely weekend.