so much more important than the mastercard

When packing for San Diego 3.5 months ago (!) I was trying to keep a few things in mind:

1.  Everything had to fit in my XL7

2.  I was leaving for 5.5 months, not forever.

3.  I had to pack everything I was bringing plus whatever we acquired in San Diego back into the XL7 for the return trip.

It’s a difficult thing to look around my house and try to figure out what items I will need for the next 1/2 a year.  When I went into my craft room, well, I spent a lot of time in there trying to figure out which projects to take.  I ended up not taking enough projects but more importantly, I failed to bring two very important items:  my swift and yarn winder.  My logic was that the yarn I was bringing was already wound.  If I were to purchase yarn while in San Diego I would just have the yarn store wind it for me.

The problem is, and I know this is stupid, but I don’t like other people winding my yarn.  I became a freak about this the day my knitting teacher explained that the yarn can actually get stretched if wound too tightly.  I have a very specific tension when winding my yarn.  I’m extremely anal about it.  But the other problem is that I haven’t been asked if I wanted my yarn wound and being in the position of usually doing it myself, I have forgotten to inquire about it before leaving the store.

I did bring my blocking board, which has been good because of my lace craze over the last two months.  But I did not bring my winder and swift.  I consider this a lesson for the ages (a new category!) and will from here on out, remember to always bring my swift and winder.  Amen.

I did remember to look ahead at birthdays and bring those cards, stamps, and checks (for the kiddos) with me.  Yes, I have cards for people’s birthdays about a year in advance.  But you know how sometimes you’ll be in a store and you’ll see a card and someone specific comes to mind?  I love when that happens.  So once a year I bring my HUGE list to Hallmark and spend hours doing that all at once.  It’s fun.   Also, when I was working it enabled me to not miss a birthday.  Because after I buy all the cards, while it’s still fresh in my mind, I get out Post It’s, write the person’s name, and the date the card should be mailed.  Then I put them in order – January through December – and put them away.  I just really love birthdays; far more than your average bear it turns out.

In an effort to cut our spending though, we won’t be mailing cards next year.  I probably spent about $350 a year on cards and stamps, which is worth it to me, but difficult to swing when the economy is shaky.  I’m going to try something different – Internet/e-mail cards.  We’ll see how that goes.

So at this point I’m babbling.  But take it from me – if you’re going someplace for a period of time, bring your swift and your yarn winder.