ding DONG! Aarufff, Rruff, RrawFFFF!

A spooky glowing eye?

No!  The house finally has a working doorbell again and that was it (probably autofocus and no flash, but I'm not sure.) Every step installing it has had some complication or another, making it an enormous pain in the butt over several days. I'm most upset about the inaccurate description posted by the online retailer AND how one of their employees called to argue with me about it and insist my complaint was just a matter of semantics. Accommodating that one difference they dismiss is what set off an avalanche of problems. But I really don't have the energy to go through it step by step.

I am very pleased that it works. I like the size and the decorative detailing and the finish. I am especially enjoying that it lights up with an LED. The light is supposed to make it easier to find in the dark, but the porch light right above is illuminated all the time anyway. I appreciate it's unexpected usefulness as an indicator that the wires are properly connected.

And it certainly is a huge improvement over the old doorbell button, which had endured sloppy paint jobs and about 21 years of use. At first it was still operable even with the duct tape over the missing button section. I'd applied that because of the way the button on it had broken. I wanted to be sure no one would be at risk of cuts or shock from using the button, but needed to leave it in place while securing a replacement.

I'm certain, besides age, location and resulting positional abuse contributed to its demise. While sheltered from weather conditions by many feet in all directions, it had the misfortune of being mounted on a wall perpendicular to the door. I think most people pressing on it were doing so from the outside corner, rather than flat on the face of the button. Makes sense that it would snap the way it did. In the last year possibly five different people have drawn my attention to this doorbell button (pre-duct tape, with no broken parts), suggesting that it didn't work. I'd reach over from the door's threshold and press firmly on the face of the button and we'd both hear the doorbell chiming loudly a few feet behind me. I think the button in the new doorbell button has a better chance because the button part doesn't pop out and press in  to the same extent.  There's no outside corner to press on in a circle.

I really should do some touch up sanding and painting to really finish the installation. I even took out the matching paint when I started this project. But it's been so much extra trouble already and I am truly exhausted.  Unfortunately next time there's a problem, new wires are going to have to be fished through. Every bit of extra slack was used up in this fix (not my plan at all, just kept going that way) and I found that the insulation on the wires came off easily, seemingly without even touching it at all. And the smallest manipulations tended to snap the wire right off.

It's Resolution Time

Playing a trick on me
when I turned my back.

I don't really do that, but lately one specific issue that more than merits that kind of consideration has been huge drain on my limited energy and concentration. I am so tired of scrambling each year to finish and mail things, omitting Christmas cards or sending them late, and constantly feeling anxious about whether or not I'm going to finish everything I'd hoped and if it's going to arrive on time.

I'm never far enough ahead or caught up in knitting (or crochet or anything else) to be working on anything besides what needs to be done now. So it's hard to imagine planning crafting far enough in advance to not have to worry. It's clear to me (and would probably surprise no one) that budgeting my time and reconciling my big ambitions with realistically small planning.

Fortunately this was a fast project!

I finished the Clauses and the hotpad/trivet, but there were several other items I'd hoped to have finished by now, some not even started. I would have liked to knit a pair of Malabrigo loafers for a relative - the same one who got the Clauses and the hotpad and not the one who reads this blog. Well I wanted to make a pair for my Dad, too. It will take a bit of figuring to see if I can adjust my needle size to get a pair slightly smaller than small for my Aunt.

No progress since Oct.

Then there are the mostly finished things I haven't bothered to finish, like Jack Frost, who just needs fingers and blocking, both of the Alpaca alpacas... actually I never put the embellishments on either pair of my own Malabrigo loafers or affixed buttons to Prairie Boots, which I've been wearing around the house anyway. The second of three robots only needs arms sewn on, but the third is not yet cast on. The robots, along with a land & set playset were gifts that I hoped to finish for a friend with young boys. I cast on the train for that last night and haven't made much progress.

Sherbie, Alpaca alpaca

Deja Vu, Alpaca alpaca

Prairie boots, sans buttons

loafers, v.2

loafers, v.1

Nonetheless, I must admit if I were more disciplined about planning my projects and even more rigorous about finishing them before starting others, perhaps next year I could manage to have my holiday knitting/crocheting finished by mid-December and none of my birthday projects would be running late (like one for Amy, whose birthday was in April and Mic, whose b-day was in June). Of course those were multi item projects and there are some additional circumstances that caused me to delay finishing the last details of them, but still.  It's almost always the last finishing steps that are the biggest challenge. So this kind of thinking really needs an audio clip of maniacal laughing to accompany it.

Happy New Year everybody. Try not to be too tough on yourself.