When we go on longer vacations, I tend to make mini-goals for myself, just as a way to keep myself on track. A little. I knew there would be some down-time on this vacation and I didn’t want to spend it all binge-reading the way I did when we went to the coast. So I made some goals and didn’t bring any books along. That’s right – I didn’t read a single book during that time. Not on the plane, not while I lazed about. It was exactly the break I needed!
My goals: Edit the four manuscripts that needed edits. Outline the three manuscripts that are potentials for my next project. Walk like crazy in that lovely Wisconsin morning air.
I mentioned in my other two Travelogue posts that I would get up every morning, walk the half mile to McDonald’s to get coffee, and edit while I drank. I’d spend about an hour every morning there, and usually got 25-50 pages read through (depending on how extensive the necessary edits were). By the time I got off the last plane on the way home from San Antonio, all four manuscripts were done. Success!
Sadly, I didn’t do any outlining, so those goals move to July projects. In better news, when I synced my Wii Fit pedometer, I discovered that in two weeks, I’d walked over 122,000 steps, or just over 47 miles. Officially – miles that I actually calculated for exercise, rather than just step count – I walked (and hiked) about 22 miles. Not bad! And I was super happy to discover that despite eating tons and tons of junk food during that two weeks, I managed to maintain my weight while on vacation. Yay!!
Officially, those were my vacation goals, but unofficially, I decided to crochet like crazy on the trip. I was in the middle of two projects when we left on June 21st, and I brought a bag of yarn, hooks, and supplies on the plane. While in Duluth, we stopped by a crafty store and I bought more yarn. In the end, I not only finished my two projects, but created five more during vacation. Instead of outlining.
This was my first in-progress project. It was meant to use up extra yarn that I had lying around, with the intention of fitting under my desk. Now I have it at home, and it fits perfectly!
My second in-progress project was another tarot bag. I have four tarot decks, and two of them had bags already. For my last bag, for my third deck, I designed the pattern from scratch. This time, I decided to follow a pattern, and honestly, I wasn’t happy with the results (which is why I’m not linking out to the pattern here). My first attempt was with size 4 yarn (pattern didn’t specify a size or gauge!), and by the time I got a third of the way through, it was the size of a three-month-old’s head. It made a nice hat that will go to my future nephew or niece (due September). So the second time, I used a size 1 yarn, and that turned out to be too small. I had to add a whole bunch of extra stuff in the middle to get to the right height for my tarot cards. Even beyond that, it’s a circular pattern, so it doesn’t quite fit the box of cards all that well. Still, it’ll do. It’s for my least-used deck anyway.
Next up, I made Jason a dragon-egg dice bag. I heard about this lovely pattern from my friend Liza, and had a lot of fun making it.
Next up, a string bag (pattern adapted from One Skein Wonders)! This was made using a split stitch half double crochet pattern, which was a bit tedious I admit, but totally worth the result. I love the pattern, the texture and thickness and colors. It’s about the right size to hold a skein of yarn and hook and other supplies, or to slip in a paperback book. Great travel bag!
Lastly, the boys all got excited about Jason’s dragon-egg dice bag and wanted ones of their own. I hurried to make these in the last day of our trip (making my hands a little sore!!). The boys each picked out their own colors from what I had available, and they were all super excited about how they came out.
I’m really glad I brought my yarn with me. It turns out that crochet is a great way to keep my hands busy while conversing with people! I liked having projects to play with as we watched movies, played board games, etc. Of course, my hands needed a bit of a break, because I pushed myself a wee bit too hard toward the end, but I’m recovered now. I have a few more projects lined up in July that I’m super excited about!
Wow! Most people bring EXTRA books when they go on vacation. I’m impressed at how dedicated you were to your goals. I wish I could be that dedicated in everyday life!
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I think I overdid it with reading in the two months before vacation. I usually pack books. This time, I just wasn’t interested in them!! I couldn’t even bring myself to listen to an audiobook.
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