New Year's Resolutions

We had a visit this week from my Mum which was nice, we did something different every day and today we drove out to the village where we are trying to buy a house so she could see it.
Every time I have seen the house since we put in the offer (3 months ago!!) I feel a little panicked at it being smaller than I remember. It it a small house - a 3 bed with reasonable, but small rooms. For the last 16 months in Swansea we have lived in a very large 4 bedroom, 3 storey house with high ceilings, a lot of space and rooms that are barely used. It is spacious and airy but definitely too big for us and I feel like I spend a lot of time walking from one end to other, I certainly don't have the time of energy to keep it clean and tidy and all of that space fills up quickly with Stuff. In the past when Will has suggested living in a much smaller house, tiny homes etc. I have felt like that would only work if you have a lot of outdoor space and freedom, and your home is simply somewhere to sleep, otherwise you need the space and comfort. With the new house, assuming this final part of the process goes well, it feels as though we will have it all. There is plenty of space in the house - we will need to learn to live with fewer possessions which is no great sacrifice, but otherwise there is plenty of space for a family - and there is a very large garden as well as miles and miles of hills in every direction. I have a lot to be thankful for at the end of this year. It is a year that has blessed us with our daughter. It has been our first full year living in Wales and we have made many good friends. And hopefully it will not be long into the New Year where we will have our own home for our family to live and grow in.

With that, I will share my New Year's Resolutions (so far..!):

Don't put down, put away
Learn to tell the difference between what I need and want (it would be nice if these eventually became exactly the same thing)
Eat less salt and sugar
Reduce possessions
Spend less time bitching
Live deliberately and intentionally
Be generous
Learn to cross stitch, sew and follow knitting and crochet patterns properly
Start taking buses and trains to places
Join a knit and knatter
Learn more Welsh and speak it to people
Do something creative every day
Fix things as soon as they need fixing
Stay in touch with people
Get garden and house how we want it and plant first crop (no matter how small)

Lastly, we went to a new charity shop that's opened in Swansea and I picked up 20-odd balls of yarn, some cotton/linen, a few acrylic and wool and a handful of mohair and two large knitting machine cones, one DK, one chenille-type yarn, so I am sure I will find something nice to use then for. Also a few books on cross stitch, sewing and patchwork, all for 17.50

I have a pair of legwarmers in a cotton sock yarn on the go (only a few inches in) with a leafy pattern from Ravelry at the cuff. It's a 16-row repeat, so the other end I will do 2 or 3 repeats so the cuff is larger at the top. Once these are finished I'll do the dinosaurs for my friend's baby's birthday, and after that I have a pair of socks to start for Will in some of the wool I picked up this week. He has chosen the pattern, simple socks with a diamond pattern at the cuff.

That's it for now, a very Happy New Year to everyone.