Yesterday I received my third and final present from my Better Pal. As some of you may know, the Better Pal exchange was purposefully kept small and intimate and everyone kind of knew at least a few of the people involved. I was lucky enough to NOT know my better pal gifter or my giftee (you can figure out which is which.)
My exchange had a decidedly INTERNATIONAL flavor as both gifter and giftee live outside my home country. How amazing is that?! Every time I got a gift from my pal, G would get all excited! It’s like he was a little kid and wanted to collect the stamps or something.
Because of the intimate nature of the exchange, it would’ve been VERY easy for me to find out who my pal was. I mean, c’mon, it’s not like there are a lot of bloggers from her country – in fact, every time I mentioned where my pal was from people were more than ready to tell me who she was. I was beginning to think she was THE ONLY blogger from this country. Alas, I think she’s not. But it was pretty funny when I was googling around the internets one day looking for sock patterns or something and I came across this blogger and I was reading some posts and then I realized SHE WAS FROM NORWAY! FUCK! My better pal is from Norway and she’s the ONLY NORWEGIAN BLOGGER OUT THERE!!!! Damn. Damn. Damn. I wanted to keep it a secret until the big reveal.
So when I got my last package it wasn’t a total suprise to find out that Kris of s t r i k k e r fame was my better pal!
One of the things I loved best about getting Kris’s gifts was that she always wrapped them in color coordinating paper. Oranges, or Reds/Pinks and lastly Blues. So cheery! And besides some decious Rowan Yarn in my first package, all of the items in the gifts seemed to be made in Norway! Even the yarn! YAY! That’s been a real treat! Something different. Something I couldn’t get for myself, you know. This last package had some chocolate, some gummy feet (you guys have the BEST gummies!), some much needed handcream (Thank you! How did you know?) and some delicious silk/alpaca eggplant yarn. YAY for better pals.
I have to say, that while the presents are fun to get and it’s nice to be spoiled, the best part of this exchange is that I really feel like Kris and I made a connection. Hopefully it wasn’t just on my end, but we seemed to have a lot in common and I’m looking forward to keeping in touch with her. Thank you Kris! You made all my secret pal swap exchange dreams come true! And I should know – I’ve been BURNED before!
On the flip side, my better pal giftee was Nicole of Craftapalooza located in The Land Down Under! Talk about intimidating! Nicole is one crafty girl. I’m not crafty. I knit. That’s the extent of my craftiness. Nicole, on the other hand, is one of the founding hosts of Back Tack – that super cool exchange where you actually MAKE things for your pal. Crafty things. So not me. I have to admit, I was nervous – but it was an opportunity to think out of the box. I studied her blog. I read her questionnaire and in the end I think I did a pretty good job! Nicole seems happy at least. So job well done for all of us!
And of course there’s the whole torture Ann thing. Better fun could not have been had. Sheer unadulterated delight. Now that’s the kind of torture I can get behind! The fact that Margene was behind the whole thing – well – let’s just say that it was definitely worth all that postage to Australia! I’ve signed up for the next one and a big thank you goes out to Rock Chick and Shobhana for organizing the whole shebang! Thanks girls! This is the first time I haven’t been burned in an exchange. I appreciate it!
Wonderful friends and presents aside, I’m in a shitty mood. Kind of like all work and no play makes Cara a dull girl. The truth is I’m bored. I don’t do bored well. But I’m in that kind of ennui type bored where nothing seems interesting and I still have a lot of work to get done so I can’t really abandon everything and jump into something and my house is a mess – beyond mess – it’s ready to be condemned so I don’t want to even leave the office because it just reminds me what a horrible wife I am that my husband works so, so hard all day long and comes home to a shithole because I can’t manage my time better. Oh and also I hate any kind of work around the house. HATE IT. I’m not satisfied with my knitting, which is my stress relief these days so it’s kind of making me more stressed. Last night, prime knitting time, I just laid in bed and watched my soap operas (Another World, repeats on SoapNet) while my sock sat RIGHT NEXT TO ME and I didn’t do anything. I tried to cast on for mittens but got the stitches on the needles and gave up. I want to be inspired! I want to go to sleep thinking about waking up the next morning because I can’t wait to work on whatever it is I’m working on! Mary is unbelieveably inspiring these days and her enthusiasm is infectious but the idea of casting on for a swatch makes me want to cry. There are so many things I have on the needles or want to put on the needles I’m overwhelmed and nothing feels right, you know. Thank god for the Jaywalkers because I don’t think I’d be getting ANY knitting done if it wasn’t for them.
Enough bitching. Back to the grind. Some Bruce. Some gummy bears. I’ll be fine. 😉
Hey, my book from Japan is to be shipped this week and I can hardly wait to get it! Hope it doesn’t get caught up in the maze of mail at Christmas!!
Go for a run/walk or something and get the “stink blowed off you”..as my Grama used to say! You will feel better then I am sure.
It’s November, I think that’s normal. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only bloggy-type knitter who’s ever got ennui so bad I can’t knit. As sad as I am to hear that you do, too, I’m a little relieved. I’m convinced it’s November.
Hey, did you see this: ” Cara and other knitting superstars” on the Knitty blog? Did you know that you are a knitting superstar?
Best way to get the house cleaned up quickly? — Invite someone over for dinner. Then you have to scramble to get everything looking presentable.
If you don’t feel like knitting, give it a rest. As EZ said, it isn’t compulsory. Maybe this would be a good time to catch up on some reading that you’ve been wanting to do.
woo hoo! i can finally comment! thank YOU for being a great spoilee!
know what you mean about the ennui – it’s the kind where you know you just have to do all that boring stuff in order to get over it but then again that’s the source of your griefs so you’re back to square one. argh! close your eyes and think of britain 😉
I’m with you too … trying so hard to finish a fingerless mitt for my nephew (it’s the last of three pairs I’ve made in the past month) but last night it just sat next to me on the couch while I watched figure skating, even though I know I only have a few rows to go. I didn’t knit at all over the holiday weekend and instead spent most of my time helping my sons put together little plastic models … actually I think that “time out” helped and I’m feeling a little better about finishing up the mitt. Maybe you’re just feeling the burn from your sock-a-minute-a-thon?
Sometimes destressing is just staring at the tv…or wall. It’s ok. No need to beat yourself up because you can’t DO IT ALL! Who says you have to do it all anyway? Do what you can, break it down into little segments and set a timer if you have to so you don’t get overwhelmed. It’s a shitty time of year, too busy, too hectic and too full of obligation. Don’t over stress, it just isn’t worth it (or good for you!)
Oh, that eggplant yarn is gorgeous!
I “ditto” Margene. Try the little segments part — 10 minutes of focused effort in one area (living room, bathroom, dining table — yeah, mine’s often a horizontal filing cabinet, too) can make a BIG difference. Try that a couple times a day (or week — whatever) and Voila! Clean (clean-ish, cleaner) house!
[{(Mwah)}]
I second the go for a run or a walk plan. And I wish I had Soap Net. So fun watching old soaps! Those hairdos!
You could do what I do – HIRE someone to come in and clean the house for you. And as for the knitting, it’s not a J-O-B, it’s a hobby and therefore, it’s not required. You’ll knit when you feel like it. Besides, you’ve been flying through those socks at lightning speed, maybe you deserve a slow down, huh? Smooch!
oh yes, ennui…that’s the best word for how I felt today! As I was getting ready to leave my house this afternoon I just laid back down on my bed. What is up? I think it’s the drastic turn in weather we’re having now. Or something…maybe pressing knitting (the holidays)?
Well, this isn’t very cheery so I say-Cheers! It’ll pass and your knitting will seem all the more fresh after the absence!
Love your site, and thinking of joining the KAL, that is if I can all the other projects done, well at least some. Having trouble getting the Jaywalker button on my site? Can you help?
Breathe… that’s all i can say… i have a sink chock full of pots and pans and i’m hitting my knitting plateau since i feel like i haven’t stopped since August. Take small bites and you’ll be ok. Know that someone (a lot of people) admire you 🙂
The fifteen minutes a day thing sometimes works for me. That said, there is only ever one room at a time clean, maybe two 😉
Hang in there…gummy feet and socks sound like a good plan in the interim.
Love Margene’s timer idea. We live by them! No guilt! Great pal prezzies. It was total fun screwing with Ann’s head!
I’m right there with ya in feeling overwhelmed. Except I watch tapes of Guiding Light. Here’s hoping we both come out of it soon.
I can say having lived in Norway- that the Melksjoklade… THAT is the bomb, it cured me of Norwegian winter depression (the kind that comes when you only get 3-4 hours of grey with crunchy snow/sleet per day). Consider yourself lucky 🙂
I’m feeling the same way about my knitting and my house right now. Not enough inspiration for the amount of overwhelming that exists. *sigh*