They are so lucky
that I cannot remember
how to use doorknobs
- Ryan Mecum, Zombie Haiku
I’ve noticed a trend. The word “resolution” has a bad reputation, so people have resorted to calling them by different names: Goals. Intentions. Plans. Not-Resolutions. I am guilty of this sort of trickery with 2011′s “Not-Resolutions.” Today, we take a look at those lofty notions to see how I did.
After consideration, some items were dropped from the list:
Learn to make cheese – I’m in the land of cheese. Someday I will try to make cheese. While I’m in Italy, I will just eat it. Often.
Consciously decorate our apartment – Cement walls require a lot of hardware. The apartment is consciously decorated to the extent we feel comfortable given the material of the walls, space available, time available, etc. I’d rather spend my time otherwise. Also, I’m just not very good at interior design.
Finish Black & Blue Quilt – I need blocks 5-12 which may not longer be available. I may have to come up with another use for the backing/batting/materials which made it to Italy.
Make ocarina – I have three perfectly lovely ocarinas. Someday, I make make one.
Make buttons – Just like ocarina, this isn’t high priority but something that still kind of interests me.
Read Simple Foods – I read half the book. I filled my pantry with most of the items recommended. I make more effort to cook using foods found on the economy rather than stocking up on American processed delights from available sources.
Some of the things on my list were pushed to the forthcoming 2012 list:
Complete First Hand knit Cardigan – I have one panel to complete before finishing and assembly. I’m seriously procrastinating on buttonhole samples for the associated finishing class. This will be finished early this year!
Complete Level 2 Master Hand Knitting Program – I promised myself I would finish the cardigan and fishing course before working on this level. Therefore, I should be starting within a few months.
Make homemade vanilla – I bought the beans, just never got around to making it. My intention is to have some set for Christmas baking 2012.
Learn continental style knitting for combination method fair isle knitting/Knit a sampler afghan using continental – These two projects are really one in the same. I have the materials for this project. As soon as this blasted sweater is complete, work will begin.
Dye yarn – I have both natural and unnatural dye ready and yarn available for dying. I feel like I must complete a few in progress things before starting this. I have an excellent resource, which I’ll comment on later.
Learn to spin – The wheel is almost assembled; however, as with the dying, I really want to finish a few things before starting the “next big thing.’
At this point, you may be asking, what did you do in 2011?
We traveled. We moved to another country. I finished a few lovely scarves and other projects not listed in my 2011 list. I broke 4 bones. I learned to cook some Italian dishes. I played lots of board games and enjoyed a greater social life than anticipated. I made many great friends. I started to run. In a sense, I lived. I also did some of the things on the list:
Learn Italian – There are a lot of words. I can participate in passable conversations with lots of mixed language and hand motions on the part of all involved. I completed a college level course in Italian 1.
Plant an herb garden – Basil, cheese, homegrown tomatos and local olive oil on a crust of bread is delicous. We look forward to a greater variety of herbs this year. Italians plant many things in their yards and in pots on their balconies and in their home and almost all of them are edible and serve a purpose.
Learn to can jams and jellies – I did not make any jellies in 2011, though I collected the materials but I did make a few jams/compotes. I even made jam thumbprints using homemade pear cinnamon jam for a Christmas party (both recipes can be found at Food in Jars via link on the sidebar here). Jam is much easier than I could have imagined and the results are always sugary but delicious (there are ways to lessen the sugar of course). Even if you overcook the jam (the biggest difficulty in jam making) it tastes very good and can still be eaten (very tacky but tasty).
So though I completed few items from my original list, I must conclude 2011 as a wonderful, productive year. Many things from my list are all set to be accomplished in 2012 and I can’t wait.
