Wearing down

[cimorene]

February is the worst month of winter because it's just 100% dirty ice and snow coating everything (here). It's guaranteed already fully coated in snow and ice by the beginning of it and guaranteed that there's still snow and ice and the end of it (though it's totally likely to have thaws in between; they simply don't last long enough to get rid of the built up snow and ice before it snows or rains and freezes again, trapping the previous layers of gravel under layers of more ice). It's been cold but not SUPER cold most of this month, above freezing quite a few days, rain, snow, hail, sleet, slush, and what feels like whole weeks without a glimpse of sunshine.

Last week was particularly exhausting, with a super-social long day on Tuesday full of interacting with people and then another super-social long day on Wednesday where I was only alone at work for about ten minutes in the morning and twenty before the end of the day, with a Valentine's Day party in between and a bunch of people to converse with. Thursday and Friday I was mostly alone but I got an unexpected quantity of tasks to do all at once that interfered with my plans to start to clean the floor. Sometimes the floor just gets dirty enough that you actually want to live with it less than you want to get all gross and sweaty futilely struggling to mop it. And then sometimes you have an advanced plan of mopping and have totally steeled yourself to embark on the distasteful project, and then something comes up, and it's all very anticlimactic.

Also I keep staying up way too late trying to finish this sweater I'm knitting. The fabric is so beautiful and I just really want to wear it! But I was somehow thinking I would have time to start sewing better flannel bloomers and cutting out the striped wool skirt this weekend, and that doesn't look very likely anymore either.

Comments

[viggorlijah]

Interrupted cleaning is the worst because you have this vision of cleanliness! And the energy! And then bleh like a punctured balloon.

Knitting is a slow way to make clothes but satisfying - although I did see some Shetland knitter studies where they knit up to 200+ stitches a minute, and one commentator said his mother could make a jumper in a day. Apparently Norwegian knitting comes closest. I knit continental but I may try switch styles.

[cimorene]

I've heard about Norwegian knitting a bit and I've seen the Shetland demonstrations, but of course Shetland is so adapted to the whole... making a fine-gauge square of colorwork and steeking and stuff.

Knitting IS satisfying even though it's slow of course, maybe more satisfying given that you spend more time with it... but on the other hand when I'm plodding along I'm always wildly underestimating how much time is left and I look forward so much to putting on the finished garment. Of course as soon as it's done no matter how much I love it I move on to fantasizing about the next one I'm going to finish...

[krait]

February is definitely the worst month of winter! Here it's less dirty ice (though we've had some of that) than just that I'm extremely tired of being cold and precipitation. I want to be outside in the garden under some recognisable sunlight already.

My condolences on the last week, particularly the mopping. My floor hit that state sometime this week so tonight the plan is to vacuum EVERYTHING so that mopping can finally happen.

Good luck with the sewing project!

[cimorene]

Yeah, I did the vacuuming at work and then got interrupted before I could mop! I also discovered the bags we had don't match the good vacuum and had to use a hand held one that doesn't have much strength so I had to go back and sweep again before I could dust mop.