January? Check. New Year's resolution? Check. That's right, just the one, I've resolved to 'go with the flow' in 2013, to take the path of least resistance wherever possible. This would be why my knitting tally so far this year is a minus number ... I've been frogging* again and
Villeray, having suffered a second whippet encounter, is no more. But never fear, dear reader, for
this lovely thing is edging ever closer to a ta-dah!
That said, I haven't felt much like knitting this past week. I've been struggling with a bout of
trigeminal neuralgia,
and with conjunctivitis, having managed to poke myself in the eye with one of the winter branches that this year substituted for our Christmas tree. (Oi, who just chortled at the back there?) So, inertia rules for the moment ... absolutely
not the best way to start the year!
Feeling sorry for myself, reading
The Snow Child, and searching typography websites for the perfect 'k', these have been my principal occupations during the last few days. It's an awkward letter, k, hard to tame, one of the spikiest in the alphabet and one of the least pleasing to the eye, particularly as styled in my current title font, Pupcat. But it's derived from the Phoenician
kaph, which had its origins in a simple pictogram of a hand, and I must say I rather like it for that.
Last year I chose 'abundance' as the word to guide me through 2012, and quoted Epicurus when explaining why, "It's not what we have but what we enjoy that constitutes our abundance". This year I'm choosing abundance again - with apologies for the repetition - but sharing a more contemporary quote, "Abundance is not something we acquire, it is something we tune into." If 2012 was my year of enjoying life's simplest pleasures, then 2013 shall be my year of tuning in to delights so small they can easily pass us by ... the subtle scent of a new book, the origins of a letter form, moss calyptra after rain ... How about you, do you have a guiding word for 2013?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
A handy hint for the bloggers among you ... if you're experimenting with a bloggy makeover you can see how your site will look to the users of mobile devices in
GoMoMeter (for iPhone and Android) and in
iPad Peek (for iPads, obviously), and to the users of various browsers in
Browsershots, which takes a little time to retrieve the data but is worth the wait (your blog stats should indicate which browsers and operating systems your readers most commonly use). Meanwhile, if anyone has any feedback on the way
knitsofacto looks, particularly the fonts, that would really be most welcome.
Just don't worry if things look a little odd when you drop by, I'm in the process of changing the header and have temporarily reverted to the default view. Done! Although I'm still searching for that elusive perfect 'k'.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
*An explanation of the term for those who don't knit ... the Oxford English Dictionary defines frogging, the noun, as "ornamental braid or fastenings of a type typically found on a military dress coat or cloak" ... frogging, the verb, to unravel or 'rip out' knitting, has so far failed to make it past the OED's editorial team. Why frogging? Well I've always thought frogs croaked, but apparently they say 'rip-it, rip-it'!
Hallelujah! I'm all about going with the flow this year too (though I think I termed it shuffling along, which sounds a bit less ambitious.)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the TN, I used to have patients who struggled with that, and my mum had her first episode of it in 2012. It's the pits.
A font with a lovely lowercase k is Channel. Ooh I love me a good font, and I like channel because it's k is very good. Not such a fan of the uppercase though. Such a geek.
I've always enjoyed 'tink', which is to undo knitting one stitch at a time - it sounds perfect, but it is also 'knit' spelt backwards! How great is that.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a word for 2013 but I've been trying to think of one. Maybe when I get into the spring, which always feels more like a new year to me.
OUCH! I just looked at the link for trigeminal neuralgia and it sounds awful. I hope it beats a hasty retreat and you are back to good health asap. I don't have a word for 2013 as such, rather thinking about the little things that make me happy.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful day.
Anne xx
Trigeminal neuralgia sounds bloody ghastly, crossing my fingers that it goes AWAY. I do love your posts and admire your cheeriness despite the rotten health you have had lately .
ReplyDeleteI think a word for 2013 is a good idea but I haven't found one yet -restraint seems like a sensible one but abundance so much more appealing.
And that photograph of the moss is just exquisite. Macro lens? Mines a 60mm but I suspect you have something a bit more powerful.
Oh Annie, I had hoped that 2013 would be kinder to you on the health front! I do hope that you're feeling better soon. I love playing with fonts too and I hope you find a pleasing K for your new look. I suppose that if I had to pick a word for the coming year it would be 'structure'- life just runs more easily here when things are organised, predictable and routine and we need a little less disorder in our lives right now!
ReplyDeleteHere's to you feeling so much better as soon as possible ((hugs)) Love the picture, so delicate. xx
ReplyDeleteAmerican frogs say "ribit(ripit)" but I don't think all frogs do. :D
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear your feeling under the weather, and you have my wishes for a speedy recovery. Maybe it's time for me to think about a guiding word for the year. There are things that I would change about my life without really changing the essence of what I am.
I hope you get through that awful sounding complaint soon.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your 'words' for 2012 and 2013, although the same word, it is such a fabulous idea and very eloquently defined.
And also ......I adore that photo! x
Wars again Annie???! Hope all's well soon!
ReplyDeleteWord for this year? I fear it will be 'wedding'.
V xxx
Likewise - but in the plural!
DeleteH
Beautiful picture! Sorry to hear about your state of health - hope you're feeling much better soon <3
ReplyDeleteSarah xx
I do hope your health gets better soon Annie,it amazes me that you remain cheerful in such times. I love that you persevere and don't grumble about these ailments. I am a far worse patient than you!
ReplyDeleteIt made me smile when I saw your struggles with the letter k, my married surname is Kaye and it drives me potty with the spelling of it despite the easy pronunciation. I do however,like the isea of a hand pictogram as all hands are so precious. My maiden name was Burns and this was a tad easier to live with, I do hope you have some success in finding a suitable font for your K.
Look forward to seeing your clever knitting sometime soon and revelling in your 'abundance' x Penelope
If I had to choose a word for 2013 it would probably be courage x
My gosh, I'm so sorry you are in pain! Ouchie and boo! I'm glad you've been able to do a few fun things. That shot up there is amazing! Hugs to you.
ReplyDeleteHello Annie, I just love your lovely macro shot of moss with raindrops! Very well captured indeed! Sorry to hear that you have been suffering from neuralgia and a sore eye. I hope this will soon all be cured. I'm sure that writing a newsy blog post was great therapy to help you get out of yourself.
ReplyDeleteLots of people, I notice, seem to like to choose a word for the year and even like to plan their year month by month, day by day. I would feel very hemmed in if I did that. I rather do like to go with the flow and see what Life has in store for me. It's much more fun than trying to rule over my own destiny I think! In planning too much for the morrow, we can forget to live in the day or for this very moment we are in now!
So sorry you've not been well. Any kind of neuralgia is so painful and conjunctivitis on top of it, well you have my sympathy and I send you a hug. I am always ridiculously afraid of conjunctivitis - feels and looks awful and can take time to shift. I hope it goes very quickly for you Annie and the neuralgia likewise. I love what you write about the letter "k" - how interesting! And your quote about tuning into abundance sounds on the money to me. Sorry to hear about the frogging - if it's any consolation I have been frogging too - on a rather dismayingly large scale but once you know it's got to go, it's got to go! Love your moss photo - the droplets of water look so like solid glass beads - beautiful. Take care and get well! E x
ReplyDeleteI love the idea behind your word abundance. It is the attitude we have to life which gives us he feeling of having much, and that never comes from stuff. Actually too much stuff always makes me feel suffocated. Your posts always make me feel that despite ups and downs you have real abundance in spades x
ReplyDeleteYes I have decided to go with the flow this year too! I was once told things happen for a reason, I am beginning to believe that, so I have decided to take one path and just see where it leads.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon
Julie xxxxxxxxxx
This picture is most pleasing, Annie! Those drops of dew/water/melting ice remind me of dressmaking pins with ornamental heads stuck in a mossy green pincushion. I love detail and I applaud your word and philosophy for 2013.
ReplyDeleteGet better soon and there was no chortling here! Honest ;-)
Stephanie
That is one breathtakingly beautiful photograph! I have The Snow Child sitting on the pile of books to read by my bedside. I am taking Steve Jobs to bed each night at the moment..... Hope you are soon over your health issues.
ReplyDeleteHope you're well soon Annie! xxx
ReplyDeleteGet well soon Annie and find that kicking "K".
ReplyDeleteUgh! Trigenimal neuralgia is rotten, hope you get some relief soon.
ReplyDeleteBalance is my key word this year. I'm fed up with the undulations (or could read roller coaster) and am looking for a bit of level ground even if it's for a while.
Annie I have just googled the neuralgia, crikey, wiki says it is one of the most painful conditions known to man. How you have the energy to blog at all is a mystery. I do hope for your sake it is a 'bout' and goes as quick as it came. Fantastic photo of the bejeweled moss. As you know my word for this year is 'light' lightness in everything, chuck out the rubbish, look for simpler options and the fun side of life. So far it is working, progress is slow but sure. xxx all good wishes from here.
ReplyDeleteNo chance of just going with the flow for me in 2013... I have to hit the ground running ... so my word for 2013 is 'Opportunities'. But I hope you have time to recover and feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the search for the perfect 'K' ... I'm partial to a Latin Uncial myself.
Oh my dear, I'm wincing while reading about TN. What an absolutely ghastly condition!
ReplyDeleteOur word of the year for 2013 is 'Harmony'. Hubby came up with it and with 5 adults living under the same roof, tempers can get frazzled. Going with the flow is an excellent idea. If one doesn't bend then one will snap.
You have my sympathy, my father suffers with TN. It is indescribably painful for him even morphine patches don't hit the spot, no wonder it is called the suicide disease.
ReplyDeleteThe photo is terrific. Have a great 2013.
ReplyDeleteGosh, your health problems sound awful - I do hope you get some relief soon.
ReplyDeletenerve pain especially in the face is one of the worst ailments . Please heal well.
ReplyDeletePoor Annie, if it's not one thing, it's another lately for you. I hope all these afflictions clear up soon so you can have soon peace and quite and health all at once!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links, they sound wonderfully useful and I love your search for a K. I'm so glad I'm not the only lunatic that might do such a thing. As to the design of your own lovely blog I think it's very beautiful. I love the simple, freshness of the white, the clean font of the text and sidebar and of course, your stunning photos. I even like the coloured body text which I'm not usually a huge fan of but yours works well. My only hesitations would be the header and post title font, which I'm less fond of and the height of your header picture, which I think means the header dominates the page too much over your post when you initially land.
I hope you don't mind me saying so, I'm reasonably confident that you won't as obviously it's not a matter of right or wrong, merely personal preference. And being your blog, ultimately it is your preference, not mine that is of importance!
S x
*quiet (not quite!)
ReplyDeleteI've learnt a new word. It was when I got to the point of doing more frogging than knitting that I gave up, many years ago! And I really must try it again - I still have the stash.
ReplyDeleteGet well soon Annie, Jx
So sorry you're unwell. Hope you're feeling better soon - one thing you don't want in abundance is ill health...
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, I have been thinking of words and have been compiling a list of my favourites for an upandcoming blog post...not sure I can hone in on just the one though. I feel a little overwhelmed by abundance, which I understand in the 'plenty' concept. Think I'll have to go for something more like 'honed' - used already in this comment, in the sense of refine, make optimal, perfect...Axxx
Enchanting photo Annie. And a great choice of reading for this time of year. A friend recommend The Snow Child to me just before Christmas and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteLovely quotes on abundance. Hope you are recovered!
Annie, I hope you have some very heavy duty painkillers - not a nice condition at all. I'm quite fond of the letter "k" as a handwritten letter - its opportunity for spiky sprawliness pleases me (whereas "M", my own initial letter always trips me up and comes out ugly). Finding a font is a different matter though, so I wish you luck.
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me to choose a word for 2013, which will be "embrace", which is a little in the spirit of going with the flow, but with a bit more intention. I am, by nature, low in energy and stamina and thus a little half-hearted, so I would like to step up and embrace what life brings me in a more wholehearted way.
Here's to whole-health for you.
Moira x
Are you enjoying The Snow Child? - I read it on a wonderfully snowy day.... My word for this year is 'free-spirit' - should be fun! Wishing you an abundance of good health, good books and good knitting.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you're not very well, you've been through the mill a bit just recently. I hope you're feeling on top form again soon. I've only just picked both my knitting needles and crochet hook up for the first time this year, most unlike me.
ReplyDeleteI do hope immersing yourself the Snow Child has helped you to manage being poorly. I read it at the end of last year when it looked like we were in for a cold snap and did enjoy it, especially imagining the coat, even though in my head I knew it was all somewhat preposterous. But a little bit of escapism can be a good thing, no?
ReplyDeleteHere's wishing you well.
You have all my sympathy. I got the TN T-shirt a few years ago - total agony. Eat pain-killers and do as little as necessary - there is light at the end of the tunnel. x
ReplyDeleteHello Annie:
ReplyDeleteWe are so sorry to read that you are 'laid low' at present. The neuralgia and conjunctivitis sound nasty and irritating, so we do hope that you will get well soon and be back to all your tricks!!!
We cannot think that we have any single guiding word to take us through a year or a week for that matter, but seizing opportunities have always come as second nature to us and this has always proved interesting if not downright dangerous. Going with the flow sounds perfect. Life is really too short to object to things or to put up barriers. Indeed, sometimes, even the most unpromising things can bring untold joy!!!
Whatever, we wish you a year filled with every happiness, good health and peace!!!!
With that pain, you have every reason to feel sorry for yourself! Best wishes for the quick passing of your pain.
ReplyDelete"The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey... I love that book, and so did one of my sons.
No I don't choose a word for the year. But your 'go with the flow' is brilliant. Wisdom. Etc.
"Auntie"
Going with the Flow sounds like an excellent resolution. I have been 'frogging' too and now have hanks of very crinkly yarn to wash before I can start knitting with it again. Hope you're feeling better soon Annie.
ReplyDeleteI was horrified to click that link and read about the condition you are struggling with. I hope you make a quick recovery, and that you never have another bout of it. You have had a lot of difficult things come your way lately. I hope things turn around for you very soon. Hugs from Canada!
ReplyDeleteouch. take care of yourself xxx I am still contemplating a word or phrase. at the moment I am most taken with "don't panic"
ReplyDeleteThis picture is terrific!
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon Annie.
Take care. xxx
Oh my goodness ..... that photo is stunning Annie, just stunning.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, i am sorry to hear that you've been struggling with illness, it sounds very painful, i hope you are feeling better VERY soon x
Can't wait to see your Ta-dah!
A guiding word for 2013???? Hmmmmm you've made me think now ...... Calm, yes that is my word
love jooles x
really so sorry to hear about the neuralgia, and hoping for speedy relief. The snow child was a good escape read; a distraction is always good.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see storm warning finished; I favored it the minute I saw you started working on it, although I have yet to cast it on. Sometime soon, maybe?
As an elementary age child (just a couple!! hee hee!!! years ago) "K" was my favorite letter. ??? Have no idea why I needed to have said 'favorite', but K was it. And, as a result, Kentucky was my all time most favorite state EVER....(never having been there, of course) because there were TWO 'k's in it. We've now lived in Kentucky for over 30 years, and I always have to smile when I think this was a childhood dream come true.....and why. Good luck on finding just the perfect "K"!!!
That neuralgia thing, how on earth do you keep sounding so cheerful. Hope it shifts quick.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon. Living with pain is no fun at all.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture in this post! Amazing macro shot!
xx
Oh, the neuralgia thing sounds absolutely awful - I do hope you recover soon!
ReplyDeleteI've never thought of having a guiding word for a year, but the idea appeals to me. Now I just have to figure one out.
Sorry to hear of aches and pains - soon mended I hope.
ReplyDeleteMost odd that I was searching the internet only yesterday eve - searching for an 'Underground font' that I am most fond of and wish to use for a daft project. I then got very sidetracked by the abundance of lovely fonts out there - madness! I wish you well in your search though this one is just fine - generally curved fonts are better for those with dyslexia so anything too scrolly becomes a bit tricky. Did you get a new camera? That photo is lovely.
Best wishes
Jenny
I think 'go with the flow' is good! I go with it most days, can 'flow' into some sticky situations, but sometimes end up somewhere really fantastic!!! Happy flowing! :) x
ReplyDeleteI remember my grannie suffering from trigeminal neuralgia, it was horrid. I hope it goes away, and stays away, very soon. Take care, Juliex
ReplyDeleteYour photo is breathtaking, I think some of the droplets are heart shaped. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are soon on the mend, conjunctivitis is know as jungle-itis here, my daughter misheard when she was younger and we all say it now. Be well. x
Your are spoiling us this year with your photographs, Annie. That one is just stunning, and does rather make me wonder why I bother...hmm. To improve, that;s why!
ReplyDeleteI like your word and the thoughts behind it - not dissimilar to the 52 Weeks of Happy thing that myself and lots of other bloggers are doing - looking for and acknowledging the small, simple pleasures in life.
I think my word would be balance, for I am terrible for saying yes to everything...
Gillian x
We are doing very similar things Annie - reading The Snow Child and frogging knitting, except my frogging is due to my own silly mistakes but thankfully my Whippet is behaving himself this week!
ReplyDeleteYou never dissapoint and I love your focus on abundance and would like to tune into it more too. I'm trying to capture more of the little things that are making me happy but as for a single word, well last year was meant to be my year of "Simple". Ha! So I'm a bit scared to put a single word on 2013 other than to reiterate my general hope that this year will be one of consolidation, slowing down and 'rolling with the 'punches'.
Sorry to hear about your TN, that sounds extremely painful and conjunctivitis is just a plain nuisance. I hope it all sorts itself out soon and you can reveal that lovely grey knitted/beaded number to us soon
Mel x
That was meant to read "you never disappoint..... with your photos'!
DeletePoor you, Annie. I am sorry you are ill and hope you will soon be out of pain. I loved the Snow Child when I read it last year, inspired by Jane at Marigold Jam. I love your water spangled moss picture today :)
ReplyDeleteTake care and hope you will soon be well.
Helen x
Lovely photo! Hope you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteMy word for 2013 is speak. As in speak now, speak up, speak your truth...
Chronic pain is a terrible thing to face. I am so sorry to hear it. I think going with the flow is a great way to face life. Best wishes for a healthier 2013!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to argue with an intention to tune into the small things and find, therein, abundance. Thank you for the photo - I have moss just like that growing (intentionally) on my garage roof (which is flat, and planted). Lastly, I hope the TN attack passes quickly. It sounds utterly horrid.
ReplyDeleteAnnie, what a beautiful photo. Moss is so lovely and moss with liquid diamonds is pure magic.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a word or phrase for the new year. I am ashamed to admit that many of my words in the last few weeks would come under the heading "epletives deleted".
I am sending love and wishes that the pain goes away right now, this very instant and that this year brings good health to you.
Oops..that is supposed to be "expletives"..good grief, tho. perhaps we should all delete epletives. They sound nasty.
ReplyDeleteOooh, I've just popped in again and I am loving the new header!
ReplyDeletexo
Annie I share so many sentiments expressed here. Firstly your search for the perfect "K". I collect fonts, calligraphy books, anything to do with text, lettering in any media, so can quite understand your thirst for the next one...will this be the perfect font?
ReplyDeleteSecondly neuralgia is beastly. Well, any chronic pain is. I am just beginning to feel the first faint stirrings of arthritis in my right thumb - caused I think by enthusiastic melodeon playing, and stitching, and a bit of tennis elbow from the same origins, I expect. Well, nil desperandum, as they used to say! We can't give up the stuff that makes us happy.
I think abundance is a great word to choose to carry through the year, there are so many aspects of it we can focus on, from counting our blessings, to being more careful about over consumption of earth's resources .
Great post as usual, love your new look. (looks!) you are braver than me, I am just happy to stick to what I have, being a terrible technophobe! Catch up soon. Lx
I'm so sorry about "the frogged one" but I remember when you started knitting with the beads...who could forget that and the gorgeous yarn in the gunmetal blue....scrumptious. It is items like that and knitters like yourself that keep me in the game! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI am slower than snail do-do but I have been "going with the flow" for several years now....forced to at first and now consider it a blessing but alas progress in any area comes very slowly. My word for several years now has been GRACE....it was promised to me in a whisper from above and I couldn't ask for anything more. Blessings and abundance and great health to you in 2013 and beyond.
A word to guide you through the year... what a great idea! I think I'm going to do that as well and find my word too.
ReplyDeleteI discovered your blog a couple of weeks ago, and have been passing by a couple times since. I like it! And I particularly enjoy the vintage pictures. I even might write a special post just to have nice vintage pictures on my blog too. Oh, and I really love this moss picture... just beautiful!
See you around and greetings from Québec city!
What a beautiful photo Annie - there is beauty in the most humble of things, things that often go unnoticed (although here we notice moss daily as the cat knocks the darned stuff off the roof onto the terrace and paths as she clambers about on it!)I shall look at it with new eyes as I sweep it up!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear you've been suffering, I hope you feel better soon, and good luck in your search for the elusive "K"!
Gill xx
Annie, I must leave you a quick comment saying how much I love that photograph of the moss. Wow!
ReplyDeletexo
Get well soon; it sounds too awful for words.
ReplyDeleteI'm off to consider my guiding word for 2013 now....
I love your word and the TWO explanations of it. My word is balance - and as a friend said - it must be because I am feeling off kilter. Sometimes friends can be just so ASTUTE. What a beautiful photo of moss .... I try and try and have yet to capture that microscopic loveliness. Just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDang, Annie, it's been a rough haul for you. Hope that neuralgia and conjunctivitis turn right around and go back where they came from.
ReplyDeleteWhat a glorious shot of the water-beaded moss. And do I spy a bit of crochet in one of your header photos, or is that a bit of knitted frogging (in the OED-approved sense of the word)? :)
What a lovely pattern indeed that "lovely thing" is - can't wait to see the finished product.
May your year be abundant with good health and pain-free days, and many completed projects. :)
Annie, TN sounds like the cruellest of conditions and you have all my sympathy. I do hope this current bout passes soon and you can start to enjoy all your activities properly. I love your superb moss photo and it's rather nice to see your default header again as I've always liked it.
ReplyDeleteI'll confess that it has never occurred to me to choose just one word as the theme of keynote to a year, but the idea rather appeals to me. I will give it some thought.....
The moss with dew is breathtaking! And I love your word - abundance. My word for 2012 was present, and I think (but need to commit) that my word for 2013 is renew. So sorry to hear about your condition - it sounds really awful. Hope you overcome it speedily.
ReplyDeleteI'm late responding but I hope you're feeling better! Pesky illnesses are no fun at all. Love, love your photo.
ReplyDeletexo
Claudia
Poor dear Annie. I'm so sorry you are having these problems. How's the RA? Maybe it's lying low while you are dealing with this? Abundance! What a wonderful word. We all have much abundance in our life that we really don't acknowledge.
ReplyDeleteFeel better soon.
Hugs,
Sharon