Just Do It - 500 Word Challenge, Day 2

Addicted to Crochet - Just a few of my latest bits!

So my brilliant plan of writing these 500 words every morning as the first thing I do each day kind of slipped badly today and it's only day 2! I do have a very good excuse though. I had a day's work, helping out a friend in her yarn shop and after over three weeks of working at home, Mum away on her travels and almost no social interaction elsewhere, I have to say it was a huge change of scenery for me which although fun, has left me drained and also fairly emotional.

All I had to do was make tea and coffee for customers who stayed for a chat. My friend was running a charity yarn day - tombola, guess the teddy's name, free hot drinks and cakes as well as goody bags for the bigger spenders. As you can imagine, I met a lot of older ladies today - many of whom knit or crochet for every baby that enters their own social circle. But there were also a surprising numbers of younger females too - several very heavily pregnant ones included.

The guys who came in to the shop were obviously just waiting for their womenfolk to get their supplies - which is a shame because there's loads of other craft related stuff on those magical shelves and racks - but I guess these guys preferred more 'manly' occupations like DIY, gardening or tinkering with car engines.

I've recently taught myself to crochet using Youtube videos so I had a great time chatting to the old biddies about different stitches and learning a few neat tricks too. I had the chance to show one young Mum-to-be how easy crochet is and she left with supplies to make her own baby blanket. That felt pretty good.

If you want to try crochet, this is the video that I started with.

There is something special about my friends little shop. People just pop in to say hello and stop for a chat as well as to buy their wool. Some of the ladies knit so much, they bring stuff in for my friend to sell for them. it's not really a profitable venture for them, just enough to cover their yarn costs and make a little extra.

It's almost like an old fashioned haberdashery - lace, ribbons, buttons and fancy trimming all adorn the wall racks and one wall is just a riot of beautiful yarn colors. I wish I had taken my camera with me - that wall of yarn was calling to me all day - especially the 10 or so different purple yarns! I wonder if I could make a quilt one day or would that really make me feel old!

In a small town like mine, these lovely old fashioned shops often act like small community centers. We have quite a few elderly residential homes as well as warden assisted living units so those old ladies who can still get out and about, pop into the shop just for a chat. We had some good giggles with one lady today - she was a character and a half. Some of the stories she told were hilarious but we also found out about the new Princess from her and how to enter the London Marathon. She's thinking of entering next year - not bad for someone I'd guess was about 75!

It was a great day and reminded me how much I miss my grandmother. She was a prolific knitter and she taught me when I was about 5 years old. I think she'd be pleased to see me crocheting these days athough I have my doubts that I can ever reach her prolific output! The other thing I learned today was no matter how old I feel now, there's still loads of life left to live (God-willing of course) and there's nothing to stop me doing stuff except my own fears and mindset. Maybe Nike do have it right after all - Just Do It!

Word Count - 657 :)

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J is for Just Do It!

Following on from yesterday's post with the links to the articles on procrastination, I thought the Nike catchphrase was quite appropriate for today although as a confirmed faffer, actually getting stuff done is my biggest weakness!

I've been lucky enough over the years to have tried quite a few adventurous things. But then I'm not afraid of heights or have a fear of flying or drowning or anything like that so when it came to jumping off the top of a mountain or stepping over the edge of a 8 storey building, I did , in fact, just do it. It was the same with learning to scuba dive - I just did it with only one or two false starts on the whole breathing underwater thing.

However, achieving anything sensible on my to-do list seems to be beyond me most days. I had a meeting with my boss yesterday to organise my work for the next two weeks whilst she is on vacation. I mentioned the article about procrastination as part of the conversation and she agreed with me. I compared her to the Panic Monster which made her smile too but I was really pleased when she said she doesn't mind nagging me because she knows that when I do eventually do the job she's nagging me about, I'll do it really well!

I have to change though - it's stressful to have a list of things I want to do and to not be checking any of them off. They nag at me, driving the frustration ever deeper until at last, I throw something together in an attempt to check it off my list. I know in my heart, that I've not given it my best though so that then niggles at me.

Talking to my Dad today about this too and he said that he knows exactly what I mean. He has his own shiny distractions when he's trying to get stuff done but he's developed a self reward system over the years which helps him focus long enough to achieve things. It was quite an eye-opener for me to hear that he has similar problems. He's always been so active - involved in community stuff, sports clubs and even small scale local politics - but as he said to me, those were his distractions, his pleasures that helped him avoid digging the garden or decorating the house.

So when I get to work on Monday, I will print 'Just Do It' in a large font on a big piece of paper and stick it to the wall above my monitor at home. I also have to sit down and look hard at my to-do list - how much of it is really necessary and how much is important. Once I've pruned it, I'll pick one item and break it down further into manageable steps and that will be my new to-do list but with dates and schedules and deadlines built in. Just maybe, getting more organised will help!

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