Good Morning

Any day that starts with a parcel is bound to be good. This morning 7 lovely balls of yarn arrived in various woodland shades, destined to be made into a blanket based on squares in Jan Eaton's 200 Knitted Blocks. I am not really an aquisitional person. Too much spending makes me feel queasily, sweatily guilty. But I have my monkeys on my back like most other people and they are: (primarily) yarn and books, then some way behind, bags and costume jewellery. I like clothes but don't really buy many as my shape and my desires are largely incompatible.

But of yarn and books I could never have enough. My yarn stash is fairly manageable as I almost always buy with a specific project in mind but the books are out of control. I don't feel that this is a terrible thing. Books last forever, near enough, and can be shared and passed on. It makes me comfortable to have this store of knowledge and stories in my book cupboard. I suppose it's the intellectual equivalent to those people who stockpile water and tins of food in case of nuclear attack. If the Internet breaks, don't panic - I have all the information. And besides, books and yarn? I could be addicted to crack! Or reality TV!

I also went for a run down to the shore of Loch Etive. It was beautiful and sunny and I ran for sheer enjoyment. I didn't think about speed or time or distance but just to loosen up and feel the fresh air against my skin. The feeling of bliss after a run or a walk is one of the best ways I know to get rid of tension or stress so why is it so difficult to motivate myself to get out more often? I often try to force myself into some short-lived and ill-conceived fitness regime that kills any passion I have for the actual activities of running, swimming , walking etc. I'm trying to stop thinking about these things as exercise or as things which do you good and start thinking of them again as playing like I did when I was a child. My thought for today: play more, worry less.