Kninja Knitter

How in the world is it already October? I’m just stunned. This week my grandson turned nine months old, and yet it feels like he was just born. Still, his growth provides an excellent example of time moving ever-onward. In the past month he learned how to crawl, something he was merely thinking about a month ago. 🙂 And now he’s starting to think about walking. Watching the wheels turn through his facial expressions is an absolute wonder, getting me even more excited for what’s to come.

What else do I have to “show” for the passage of time this year? This blog was started to document my knitting achievements… I’ve completed nine pairs of socks, five baby hats, two shawls, two cowls, one toddler-sized sweater, one adult-sized tank and a baby blanket. My current WIPs are two pairs of socks, one baby sweater and an epic afghan that will show the fifty United States in an assortment of colors and acrylic yarns.

My home also illustrates for me a significant amount of work in my decluttering efforts. To date, I’ve removed 95 containers of items (combination of boxes of donations and bags of trash) and countless amounts of recycling (because I didn’t tally them ;-)). Huge milestones for me were putting to use the Roomba vacuum that I bought during the 2022 Amazon Prime Day sale, upgrading my couch after a couple of decades, and having guests in my home for the first time in over six years.

There’s still a lot of work needed to get my home under control, and I’m currently waiting for news on an offer for my house which could mean I’m moving before the end of the year. That would further accelerate my decluttering timeline, so stay tuned for that update.

I’ve had other activities filling my schedule this year, and there are more to come before 2023 comes to a close. Through my AMC A-List membership, I’ve seen 38 movies in the theater this year. I would have liked to see more, but my schedule – along with showtime limitations – meant that I couldn’t get out to see everything on my list. But with the SAG/AFTRA strike currently happening, I would prefer to see movies in the theater as opposed to streaming at home. My in-home viewing is more often spent on YouTube or (now, at least) watching football. With the former, I really got into watching reaction videos this year, particularly with a couple channels delving into the MCU. I get to experience that first-time thrill through someone else’s eyes. As an empathetic person, this makes me so happy.

Other things I’ve been up to this year: continuing to take classes regularly at Orangetheory- even managing several PRs on benchmarks throughout the year. I visited an OTF studio in Winnipeg, too, just to keep up with my routine. Dog/house sitting has been a decent side hustle, if not especially consistently. The money I’ve earned through this activity has mostly gone toward my Big Birthday Adventure travel package next year. This fall I got back into singing with the Gahanna Community Chorus, rehearsing for the annual Holiday Lights concert in November. I’ve also gotten back into musical theater – I was in a song/dance production back in May, and this November I’ll be a member of the Notre Dame Choir in a production of Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The last activity to share, of course, is spending time with my grandson. I’ve made a point of visiting with him at least once a week since he was born. And since regaining functional use of space in my home, he now stays with me one night a week. My heart swells when he smiles at me, which he does rather frequently. And both of his parents have told me that he pouts when they talk about me but I’m not there. Being a part of his world is definitely a huge highlight to my year!

There are still 87 days remaining in the year, and a lot can happen in that time. Perhaps the munchkin will take his first steps. Hopefully I finish all the current WIPs on my needles and knit a few other things as well. There will be performances to sing in, and in December I’ll be able to add another US state to my have-visited count (currently 40). My goal for movies in the theater is 55, so there’s something else to work towards. Time keeps marching on – may I make many wonderful memories to mark it!

Knit on.