Happy New Year! I must confess I did not knit a single stitch on January 1 -- I hope this doesn't presage what will be happening to my knitting in 2009!

On the other hand, I finished Jesse Kellerman's The Genius -- liked it very much -- and started the latest Anne Perry (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series), so I am very pleased that I've fallen back into reading. When I was working, I seemed to get through three or four books a week and naively thought I'd read even more when I retired. Now I'm lucky if I get through three or four books a month. I didn't realize how much of my commuting time was spent reading and/or knitting. Of course, being retired means I spend a lot more time with the New York Times. I'm able to read more articles in depth instead of skimming and it's much easier to handle when I'm not on a bus or train.

Tonight I was planning to wind the yarn for my next charity project, a red scarf for the Orphan Foundation (www.orphan.org). However, when I went to the website I learned the submission period is Seoptember 1st through December 15th. (I thought time slot was in February.) So either I get a very early start for next year or go back to my Socks for Soldiers. Of course, I could also work on the umpteen other UFOs lurking throughout the house.