Wednesday 13 November 2013

5 Small Goals for the Season: Winter



There is something exciting about each season change- an opportunity to do things that you might only do certain times of the year. But sometimes i find that a season can totally pass by in a blink, and all the fun things I meant to do didn't quite happen. Does that ever happen to you?

So I decided that this winter (and I think of winter as being pretty much the middle of November to the end of February), I'd make a small, do-able list of things to help me focus on what I'd like to get out of the season. Nothing crazy, not a checklist of a hundred winter activities that I'll never get around to doing, just small things that would make me feel like I had a good winter:


I went a little crazy with the winter themes on picmonkey, so  it looks a bit more christmas-y than I really meant for my winter list to be! 

 The first one is something that I've really been wanting- a new, super warm pullover to get me through the winter, and hopefully something I can wear to the office, too. I'm thinking something in a cuddly alpaca! 

As for eggnog from scratch, this stems form my desire to have some low-fat eggnog, and never being able to find it. Surely I can just make it at home with 2% milk or something, right? I'll google. 

It occurred to me recently that I haven't built a snowman since I was a small child. I think this might be the toughest one on the list, because we tend to not get a lot of snow in Toronto. But I'm putting it on the list in hopes that it will encourage the snow to come. Winter is so much prettier with the snow. 

There are lots of great winter festivals in Toronto, like the Royal Winter Fair, The Winter Music Festival, Toronto Christmas Market, City of Craft, to name just a few. There's something about attending festivals that make enjoying any season super easy- they've got it all decorated, the atmosphere is on target, you get to wander around and enjoy. 

As for a new-to-me craft, I'm thinking of sharpies/painting on mugs. In my head, I have a secret fantasy where I'm amazingly good at this craft, so much so that my fantasy self has opened an etsy store selling my stunning artistic mugs and painted porcelain. But have I ever actually tried my hand at it? No.  It's time to fix that. 

Do you have any goals for yourself this winter?

16 comments:

Christina - a Babys Smile Knits said...

This is a great idea. I always have the best intentions but then life gets crazy and I forget to make the time.


and hey if show is an issue, come on out east of the city, we usually get lots.

melody (mandarines) said...

Oh this is such a great idea!
I want to drink more festive hot beverages this season, give a try to your gorgeous cardigan make over (how is it possible that I haven't seen that before!), knit a cardigan, take a zillion of pictures outside, homemade decorations with pine...

evergreenknits said...

I love this idea! Especially the egg nog :)

Andi said...

I love your list! Most of my goals for the winter season revolve around Christmas. I want to really decorate my apartment this year, and I want to knit myself a Christmas sweater.

I hope you have fun making egg nog! My sister and I tried making it one year, but something went wrong and ours curdled when we added the liquor to it. It was a bit of a rude surprise.

katherinelynn_04 said...

I would not recommend the sharpie on a mug project; it seems that it doesn't actually work/doesn't stay on if it does. There are glaze pens sold at craft stores that you bake and becomes permanent. They're relatively inexpensive (around $5 apiece or cheaper if you buy them in a pack). They're made by a company called Vitrea. I have a few and they work great.

Bridget said...

I like the idea of seasonal lists - I may have to give it a try!

These sound doable - though the snowman one does depend on the weather, so if you miss that one, it's not your fault ...

Sara said...

Finish my husband's socks. I'm just not feeling the yarn I chose, it's both splitty and my first fingering weight project. I work more in worsted than anything else so the size 1s are KILLING me. After that it's a bunch of dishcloths for Christmas and possibly more patchwork. I just hit a wall with quilting where I just wasn't feeling inspired anymore.

Loulou said...

I love this idea to make a list. I'll have to think of what I would put on mine. As for building a snowman, I happened upon the cutest one last winter that someone had made a big effort to build right beside the walking path is a small park nearby. I so enjoyed seeing it!

Lena said...

What a great idea!
On my list:
Find Butterbeer en find out if it's tasty.
Knit myself a warm colourful sweater.
Take a walk in the very early morning when everybody's still asleep and when it's really cold and snowy and all!

Teresa said...

This is such a great idea! I lobe making lists, so I'm thinking I'm gonna do that ip today. Also: you've oened my eyes to exciting new possibilities for Christmas gifts. Sharpies on mugs?! Amazing :)

Candice said...

My family and I have been trying Nog by Silk which comes in different flavors too like pumpkin spice - Amazing!. Soooo yummy and a healthier alternative to raw eggs and cow's milk which can curdle and make for some gross chunky eggnog.

Pauline said...

If you want some inspiration for painting on china, check out this French blog (and there's some knitting there too!): http://blablaetc.canalblog.com/

Unknown said...

This I love. I can't wait to see you explode all over the Etsy scene with your amazing DIY'd mugs. Can't wait to see how these goals play out. You're going to have a lovely winter.

Voie de Vie said...

I don't need a list exactly - I really want to go ice skating *somewhere* outdoors. If I do that, I'll consider the season a success.

Good luck with your list - and I love how it looks. Nicely done.

Hilary said...

This is such a great idea. I have a tendency to set way too many goals, then get disappointed when they don't all happen...so I think narrowing it down to 5 completely reasonable goals is awesome. Also, I can't wait to see your mug creations! And when you open your Etsy shop, I will be first in line to order! :)

Unknown said...

I LOVE this idea! I'm always setting work goals, and then the things I really want to do get pushed aside. I also want to knit a sweater this winter, so I guess that will be the first item on my list!