Do you ever sit down to write a blog post and look at that blank screen and blinking cursor and . . . nothing comes? No? Just me? I’m guessing anyone who has ever written a blog post or an email or a report has had the same experience and it’s . . . not fun.

I know I could just not write a post, this is a hobby and not a job. But I also made a promise to myself a long, long time ago that I would blog consistently every week day. And other than vacation time I have kept that promise and I’m not about to abandon it now . . . even if I can’t knit at the moment.

Honestly, the hardest thing about the not knitting is not having something to do while watching television. It feels so strange to just sit and watch a show without my hands being busy. I’m open to suggestions for something to do if you’ve got them but I also think it’s good for my hands to just rest so . . . there’s that.

As for television, we just started season 2 of Ted Lasso and it’s as wonderful and charming as ever.

In the middle of writing this post, Hannah stopped by for a quick visit. While she was here I prepped a couple of mason jar salads for my lunch for the rest of the week and now I’m back on the couch and Dale just got home from a meeting and I’m going to wrap this up and try to come up with something interesting for tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

It’s been a while since I did a weekending post, mostly because weekends have been spent quietly at home. This weekend wasn’t all that different, but it does illustrated a slice of our life right now.

Friday was an at-home day, with some strength training to start things off right and then plenty of time for reading and puttering, organizing a shelf in the kitchen and sorting out my coat rack . . . to prepare for having to actually wear a coat again soon. Friday Night Snacks have fallen a bit by the wayside the last few weeks, instead we got sushi for dinner and finished watching Nine Perfect Strangers on hulu.

On Saturday I took myself to Home Goods to shop for some fun fall things for the house. Dale teased me about not buying any pillows, a long standing joke around here, but I did still come home with one. And a fall wreath for over our bed. I also went to both Michaels and Target, neither of which I have been too since January 2020 . . . and I left without buying anything. I guess the pandemic has changed my shopping habits and not in a bad way. We had a wonderful dinner at Sean’s that night, it was fun to relax and eat delicious food, and catch up.

On Sunday we went to a local nursery and got mums and kale and pumpkins for my window boxes and a new hydrangea for the front bed. Dale moved the struggling Annabelle into a shadier spot and planted the new Limelight that we bought and he helped with weeding and the window boxes, too. There was some football and some meal prep and planning for the week ahead. We got caught up on Impeachment and that was about it.

It was a typical early fall weekend and I enjoyed it all.

How was your weekend?

The title of this post makes me sad, mostly because it’s not just Wednesdays that aren’t for knitting right now . . . it’s every day. You see, I am dealing with a significant flare up of carpal tunnel in both hands/wrists.

I can’t pinpoint the problem to one thing exactly but I probably overdid it with the wedding sweater (there was a weekend in mid July where I literally did nothing but knit for about 6 hours a day for 3 days in a row) and my hands were pretty sore. No wrist pain or numbness, though. After I finished the sweater, I concentrated on the socks. I cut it pretty close on the finish (Thursday for a Saturday wedding) but my hands felt fine. While we were in Iceland I cast on for a Musselburgh Hat with Gauge Dye Works Solar System yarn. I knit off and on during our sightseeing and then knit a lot on the plane trip back to the USA. I also hit the Nintendo Switch pretty hard when we got back, spending time getting caught up on Animal Crossings.

Whatever the cause, I seem to have overdone it and I’ve had significant pain, swelling, numbness and tingling for the last few weeks. I’m completely off Animal Crossings and I think going forward I’m going to have to be completely off knitting, too. Monday night I picked up the hat and knit just a few rounds, figuring it would be okay since I hadn’t knit at all in 8 days. And then I woke up in the night and my right wrist felt like it was on fire.

I’ve tried magnets and braces, I’m taking ibuprofen and doing recommended exercises, but this isn’t going away readily. So. No knitting for me. And before you ask, yes, I do have a doctor’s appointment, but it’s 3 weeks away.

Without my standard hobbies I’m a little bit lost, and spending way too much time on TikTok, too. I miss knitting very very much but it would appear this is to be a time of no knitting for me . . . at least for a bit.

Sob.

Are for resting and recharging after a very social weekend. I’ll be enjoying a bonus day at home today doing . . . whatever I want.

I hope your Monday is equally epic.

We are three quarters of the way through 2021 and I think it’s a good idea to check in on how I’m doing with my 21 in 2021 list. Because, let’s face it, it’s becoming do or die time.

1. Run for selectman again
2. Renew passports
3. Deal with the big bag of socks (still sitting on the floor in my bedroom but on the list for spring cleaning)(now moved to the closet but still not dealt with)
4. Get an estimate for the dining room floor (I’m thinking we’re going to postpone this until at least next year given the fact that materials have gotten so damn expensive.)(This is going to have to wait until we figure out what we’re doing with the wood stove because when that goes we will need to do the living room floor and we are thinking we’ll do both rooms the same.)
5. Learn to knit brioche
6. Learn to knit intarsia (not yet and I haven’t even considered it because wedding knitting)(not yet and probably not this year at this point)
7. Complete 2 creative writing prompts each month (on track)(I have completely fallen off the creative writing wagon but I have a plan to get back on track)
8. Celebrate the 8 Sabbats (on going and on track as I have observed Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane and Lithe. My steam has run out a bit but I’m going to reenergize myself for Lammas and Mabon!)(Mabon is next week and it’s one of my favorite Sabbats so I’m excited!)
9. Learn about crystals (not yet but Hannah loaned me a book)(same)
10. Complete my Peloton Century Ride
11. Learn to make stuffed artichokes for Jessica (not yet)(this seems like a good fall project, I’m currently searching for a good recipe)
12. Learn to make Italian meatballs (and I just have to say that now I make them all.the.time!)
13. Take a virtual cooking class
14. Bake with Jackie
15. Keep Mama Cass alive & bake sourdough bread regularly (so far, so good)(I didn’t bake over the summer because it was too hot but I’m feeding Mama Cass again and ready to bake bread soon)
16. Plant flower and vegetable beds (2 beds of zinnias, the first of which bloomed yesterday, and one bed with summer squash, cucumbers and tomatoes)(we had great success with tomatoes and the zinnias are insane!)
17. Watch a movie outside (not a movie but we did watch the Boston Pops 4th of July concert outside on the deck so I’m counting this as done.)(And hoping to do this again now that it’s not so hot and it gets dark earlier, too)
18. Do two puzzles (not yet)(I sort of forgot about puzzles, I’m going to get cracking on this)
19. Learn one new skill, ideally something to do outside (I hope to try the stand up paddle board on vacation on the Cape next month. I’m also considering learning to tie-dye which should absolutely be done outside.)(Still nothing and still open to suggestions for this.)
20. Do all 12 OLW Prompts (on going and on track, I have done 6 months so far)(still on track)
21. Get all the golden tools in Animal Crossings (on going and on track, I have the golden axe, the golden slingshot, and the golden watering can. I have 2 fish left to catch to earn the golden fishing rod and 7 bugs to earn the golden net. I should also be getting the golden shovel soon since I’ve helped Gulliver close to 30 times now. )(well, this is not going to happen this year. I have 2 bugs left to catch [the golden stag and cicada shell] and they won’t be around again until next July. I have one fish left [the golden trout] and it’s available until November so I am hopeful about that and I should be getting the recipe for the golden shovel any time now but still, I’ll be missing that golden net without those two bugs.)

Alright. I’m prioritizing the bag of socks, the puzzles, and the stuffed artichokes! Wish me luck!