As you many of you know, I have a list of “things I want to do” every year. It isn’t a list that involves goals, rather, it’s just stuff that if I don’t write it down I’ll forget it and not make an effort to do it. I marked five things down on the list, one of them was enter a crochet contest. I’ve crocheted for 36 years and never entered anything! So this year I decided to change that.

Of course, as the months of 2010 ran on, I realized I still hadn’t looked up any contests. When I did, I found that I was too late to enter many of them. I’ve since set up a google alert so I can catch them a little bit earlier. One of the alerts pointed me to the “Purple Scarf of Hope” contest, which also benefits the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. When I saw that this was for a scarf (one of my favorite things to make) and that I had the time to get it done and that it benefited a great cause, well, I really couldn’t pass it up.

I made this purple crocheted scarf using a pattern from a free ebook over at Crochet Me.com.

The pattern is delicate, but very simple. I actually think I will make a few more of these, but in a lighter color next time. For the purple scarf, I used Caron rhapsody yarn, with an 80% acrylic/20% polyester blend. The scarf took just over 2 oz of yarn (and I mean JUST over – I only used a few strands from the second skein.) I used a Size G hook.

In keeping with my frugal ways, I got the yarn from the dollar store. And it’s good quality yarn, not that stiff stuff but is very soft and feels nice in a pattern like this. Sometimes yarn can be so darn expensive. I used just over one 2 oz skein, which means I probably spent about $1.25 in yarn. (And how often can you say that!)

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I have personal and professional goals (like get an agent, write another dating book, yadda yadda) that are always there. The New Year doesn’t increase or change those goals.

Having said that, I do generally have some idea about things I want to do in any given year. They are more “fun” in nature rather than “goal-ish” (which sounds too much like work.) I like to choose things that have some variety, that I’ve usually thought about for a while, get me out of a comfort zone (a little bit at least) and are not hard to accomplish. (Hence, “stuff I want to do” and not “goals I want to achieve.”  Hey – might as well make it a bit easier on yourself, right? Life is not a race.)

I like to list five things because it’s a nice number (not too large – or the list would be more like a chore – and not too short, because then it wouldn’t be a list.) Okay, so without further blabbering, here it is (in no particular order):

1. Go to Twin Anchors
2. Throw a Collector’s Party
3. Volunteer
4. Enter a Crochet Contest
5. Join a Book Club

See what I mean? Not earth shattering, life changing things. Just stuff I want to fit in this year. Let me explain some of these.

Go to Twin Anchors

Twin Anchors is a Chicago restaurant that has been around since 1932. They’re famous for their ribs and great atmosphere, but the reason I want to go there is because two great movies were filmed there. The first movie, Return to Me, is my favorite of all time. I love the characters, love that Bonnie Hunt made it a timeless story, and love the scenes in the restaurant. Incidentally, in 2008  The Dark Knight also filmed a scene at Twin Anchors. I’ve been saying for years (probably since 1999 when Return to Me first came out) that I want to get down there and check it out sometime. This year, it’s on “my list.”

Throw a Collector’s Party

I’m a collector (of dishes and Eiffel Towers) and I know some other folks that collect something. Whether it’s figures, comic books, memorabilia, sports stuff, and you name it, people enjoy hunting down crap to keep. So why not have a party and celebrate it? Sometime this year, I want to get all the people I know who collect junk together and have them display it, talk about it, have fun with it, and eat good food and have some drinks. Maybe this is just one more excuse reason to have good food and drinks? Then again, do we need a reason?

Volunteer

Last year our church emphasized the act of serving in some way to help someone else. Getting out and getting involved in the community. Since then, my husband and I have been looking for opportunities to serve. The trouble is, we keep talking about it, and never doing it. So this year we want to find some place to volunteer our time. We’ve got a few ideas and hope to do a few different projects, events, days. I’ll keep you posted.

Enter a Crochet Contest

I’ve been a crocheter for 35 years, believe it or not, and I really want to enter a contest of some sort. I’ve never done that. Notice I didn’t say win a contest (because that would be too much like a goal), but instead I want to just enter something of mine. I have no idea how to do this, and no idea if these things even exist. But by the end of the year, I’ll find out the answer to these burning questions!

Join a Book Club

Joining a book group might seem like a simple thing to do, but for the last several years I haven’t had much luck in this area. I used to belong to a couple different book clubs, and it really helped me get out of my comfort zone with regard to books that way. I was introduced to so many wonderful writers I wouldn’t have necessarily picked up on my own. One of them, Sharan Newman (and her Catherine LeVendeur Mystery series) is listed among my favorite historical fiction books. Another, Possession by A.S. Byatt, was one of my all-time favorites. Finally, I first read Willa Cather’s My Antonia with a book group and it has stayed with me for years.

None of these books are ones I would have necessarily picked up on my own. So book groups are important that way. As a writer, they’re good because you’re reminded of what readers look for, and sometimes as a writer we can forget that and get too caught up in our own little world. Besides that, hanging out for an hour with another book lover or two ain’t half bad.

The problem is that I haven’t been able to find a book club I can click with. But I’m on the hunt!