I've started thinking a little more about the chicken coop we're going to be building soon. backyardchickens.com has some great inspiration, and forums with people that will answer all your questions. I need to get my hands back on some chicken library books again, and start drawing up something a little more concrete than pointing at the screen and saying, "Take this part of this coop, and this part of that coop and mix them together!" And I'm working on chicken names - like Noodle and Nugget and Kung Pao and Potpie and Sesame. Just because it makes me smile.

And I've got the first FO of the year done! Well, okay, it's just the first half of a FO. And the ends aren't woven in yet. But it's a fingerless mitt, and I designed it myself! Hopefully I jotted down the pattern well enough, and the second one will match the first. I did a lot of the work on the mitt at Sticks and Stitches - which was a good time. Would have been a little better if the game was interesting, but you can't have everything.

That time, again.

It's time again to be introspective, to analyze what just happened and send out good hopes for what's to come.

Re-reading last years resolutions wasn't very illuminating. I wanted to have a place to call my own; we managed to accomplish that. I wanted to knit something of consequence and I believe that I have. I wanted to get a business plan written, but it seems that we're skipping that step (for the moment) and just jumping in. All in all, a good year.

For this year, there's only one things I'm determined to accomplish - I'd like to relearn how to connect with people.

I've never been good with people; I've never been quick to make friends. I've spent the last two and a half years learning how to survive. First how to accept a world that was merely a poor imitation of what I'd always known; second, how to carve out my own place in the world. I've been so focused on developing myself and my place, I haven't had anything left over for anyone else. I'm ready for that to change.

I'm going to try to reconnect with the friends I used to have. I'm going to try to find a knitting group I actually enjoy. We're going to hike this winter, and maybe meet some people who want to keep going come spring. Barring that, we'll find another group to hike with then. I want to be able to plan a dinner party, and have people to invite that will actually want to show up.