General observations and thoughts (non-knitting):

1) On letting things be: I have been fussing with a Christmas cactus for 3 years. I got it from SO's mom as a small cutting, and planted it right away. Despite all the fussing, it has grown slowly and looked kinda wimpy. I have mainly ignored it this winter, except for the occasional watering. Lo and behold, flower buds! When I stopped trying. Perhaps there is a moral to this story?

2) On meditation: I sure do have a busy mind! I had stopped meditating 2 years ago, because of general busyness. I tried again today, by burning a candle and meditating until the flame went out. I am always surprised by the volume of unnecessary thoughts that fly through my mind! I put the lovely thin candle in a small flowerpot (the previous tenant of said pot died and shriveled up a year ago) full of old potting soil instead of sand (no sand to be found in my house). I got a surprise at the end, when the soil caught on fire!

3) On exercise and diet and weight: Just do it for heaven's sake! I spent far too much time planning and scheduling, and it is much easier to surrender and just go to the gym. Or put down the Christmas cookie and back slowly away... This spring, I will go back to my baseline weight from college: 15 lbs less than current. It will be great to fit in my drysuit next winter!