New things

We're only just over a month into the new year, but this week has gotten me thinking about those resolutions, or rather, hopes, I made a few weeks ago. I've been slowly taking small steps towards them and then this week I took some rather huge strides.

On Monday, I met with a friend up in town for a sophisticated brunch, some intellectual exploring, and (much to the bemusement of the staff) a knitting lesson in a pub. It was a most wonderful day, and filled with new things. New books, new ales, and new skills.
Yes, Lady M was teaching me two-at-a-time toe-up socks! I decided that as part of this years wish to up my craft game socks would be on the agenda. However, given I struggle to knit pairs of things, and suffer dreadfully from second *insert pair of things here (mittens, sleeves...)* syndrome, it seemed only logical to go all out and tackle not only toes and gussets and heels, but to knit both socks at the same time whilst doing so. It's actually much simpler than I thought, and although the socks seem to grow slowly, it is at least both of them doing so!
On Tuesday I arrived home to discover a new treat in the post. A lovely skein of hand dyed 4ply yarn from Squeaky Elliot. I had been admiring her yarn in a magazine and then low and behold she walked into the shop on Saturday! Rather fortunately for me, as I was able to bully, ahem, persuade her, to put the yarn aside for me. I wasn't supposed to be buying yarn, I need to knit from my stash for a good while, but sometimes you see something and you can't exist. I'm thinking shawl?
Then on Wednesday the really big new thing happened. I officially started my new job. Yep! That's right, mornings have become more hectic because suddenly I'm having to be up and out before eight, and so am mucking up N's routine like anything. From now on I shall be working a second part time job in a local delicatessen. It's a small step towards that whole career plan thing I was talking about. I'm working with food, talking about food and making food, and who knows, there might be some space for some preserves in there too.
I hope so, because I noticed today during a rainy potter around the garden that the rhubarb is up and about, the currant bushes have started growing again and the rosemary is looking very healthy.
Which is good, because my new scales have arrived and are amazing me with their shinyness and accuracy. I've been testing them out this afternoon. Not with something new, with an old classic, that I shall share more about in a couple of days.
Out with the old, and in with the new!