Big Plans Come to Naught

Ah well, the mitten won't happen. Before I finished the first cuff my hands were complaining loudly, so it made sense to stop.
I can still crochet fairly easily and there is a need for afghan squares for the Pine Ridge reservation as well as baby blankets for Wool-Aid. It may seem generous, but it helps me feel useful and connected so it is not without it's selfish side.
Writing Fiction. It is happening on my own slow schedule, and that is enough for now.
Writing book reviews. I am still behind, but will vastly reduce the new books coming in until I can make equally vast inroads on the books that wait. I am often able to help out Fresh Fiction when a review emergency (ok, emergency is a strong word) comes up. I can often read and review an important book within a few days. (A book becomes important if, for example the author will be visiting one of Fresh Fiction's events and the review hasn't been published on our site yet.)
I need to apply that sense of urgency to the reviews waiting. I now have eleven books I have finished reading, waiting review. Tomorrow I will be rough drafting some more, getting the details down, and hope the day after that will be a 'polishing' day.

I purposely request books that have already been published or that won't be published for a while yet, so that the urgency to get that initial review is blunted, but I still dislike having books waiting.
On the crafting front, I am reserving my knitting for gifts (mostly for Oscar) and only knitting things without too tight a gauge. I am crocheting for charity. These projects are the type I can do in front of the TV.
Most of my gifts for nieces and nephs are finished, lacking only buttons. The niece in the southern clime will have something small made of cotton, the neph in the southern clime will likely get a gift card to a place that sells fishing tackle. :-} Then I have a few small toddler/baby blankets to crochet. Even the grand niece in the southern clime can use a blanket to play upon :-}.
When my studio is set up in the second bedroom, I will be exploring art using fabric, fiber and other items to create images. That will happen before next year, after the living room is finished.
Oscar will be painting in the living room today, then in the next few days will finish setting up the furniture, which will make space in the second bedroom. (Both by removing the boxes of flat-packed furniture and by providing space to put some books!)
When the space is cleared, I will also be able to set up my sewing machine and my electric spinner. I am looking forward to learning to spin with it!
I will also be selling some books and yarn on ebay in the next month or so. (Another great way to make space!) Or I may just donate the books and yarn. Oscar has plenty to do without extra trips to the post office!
In other Oscar news, he begins teaching a class after Thanksgiving and is very excited :-}
It is one of my greatest joys to see the pleasure he gets from going to work each day. A year ago life was very different. :-}