Thursday 8 March 2007

Yesterday, I had a day off -- because I get to work on Saturday . . . lucky me. What I need to know is this: Why is it that my days off start with such good intentions - and wind up wasted?

Yesterday's to-do list:
  • strip the beds
  • laundry
  • Go To The Gym!!!
  • check swatch for gage
  • knit some cardigan!
  • Visit LYS - try very hard not to buy anything
  • cave and buy something - preferably luxurious and expensive
  • have dinner on the table for Mr. Wonderful's arrival from work, keep lips shut about earlier purchase
  • bake bread
What I actually did:
  • surf the web for hours
  • review a pattern book
  • pieced 4 quilt blocks
  • visited electronics store with Mr. Wonderful - spent yarn money on DVD's and a new DVD player
  • watched a movie
  • made dinner
See?? SEE? It should have been a very productive day. Instead, it was not. But the quilt blocks are lovely. I just don't know what to do with them.
They were also free, and given that my credit card bill is astronomical, it's probably for the best. I can't help but be a little sad though. I'd rather be knitting a fabulous v-neck cardigan for myself. Or maybe that great vest . . .

My birthday is coming up -- just a little over a month. So now I am faced with the daunting task of coming up with a wish list. It seems to me that you reach a certain point in your life, and if you want it, you'll buy it!
Things that I haven't purchased for myself are either entirely too expensive to suggest, or just plain boring -- or a mix. I need new tires. Blech AND pricey.
And how do I tell people that I want yarn for my birthday . . oh, no, not that yarn. This yarn, and in this colour, and this amount, and make sure it's all the same dye lot . . .
I know, I know -- gift cards, but that's so anti-climactic. I'm thinking of making an e-list so there can be links. Or sending Mr. Wonderful to the LYS with a list of requirements and suggestions. Or just sucking it up and realizing that I'm bound to have another flat birthday full of uninspired 'you don't know me at all' and 'you don't know enough about my interests to get useful stuff' gifts. Sigh. Sometimes I wish we could just dispense with birthday gift giving altogether after the 16th birthday. Seriously. I still buy my 35 year old brother a birthday gift every year. Does he need anything? No. Does he want anything specific? No. Is it a waste of time and money? Most definitely. Same goes for my parents, and my in-laws . . . wouldn't a nice card and a lottery ticket do?

2 comments:

Erica said...

Knitting books. Seems the best thing for a wishlist. People want to buy you yarn, but have no idea what to get without mucking it up, so knitting books hold their hand a little bit more, and you still get something that you want. As long as they don't get something akin to "knitting for beginners" :-\
I understand about the birthday gift things though. What I need is this mundane thing, what I am going to get is most likely clutter :-\.
As for the unproductive day, sometimes a completely unproductive day is better for sanity than anything else :-P

Penny Karma, aka the F-Bomb Mom said...

I totally agree - after I get you a damn key chain for your 16th birthday, I wash my hands of you!