Marie at 1 Write Way

Five Things on New Year’s Day 2026

It’s been awhile. I’ve been busy, but not busy. It just depends on how you look at it. My days fly by, sometimes in a (for me) whirlwind of activity. But when someone asks, “What have you been up to,” I shrug. My usual response, “I’ve been busy but I can’t remember what I did.” Or, I remember but I fear putting my friend to sleep if I share. But if I put you to sleep with this post, at least I won’t see your eyes closing.

Organizing

It was just yesterday that I had a spurt of energy and pulled out my poorly kept daily journal and my monthly calendars for 2025 and 2026 and updated all of them. The 2025 calendar will go into a drawer with other calendars. My memory is bad enough that occasionally I’ll pull out a previous year just to remind myself of when we did this or did that.

And I bought a few things that I had been planning to buy for a long time (like extra bowls for our cats’ automatic feeder … exciting things like that). I emailed friends, sent electronic holiday cards, and even went to the gym.

After all that, I still had to prep for dinner but I was so tired.

Aging

I start my days with ice on my wrist and heat on my shoulder … both on the right side because, of course, I’m right-handed. I did have a steroid shot in my wrist a couple of weeks ago (and, yup, it hurt more than the pain I was there for), but it does feel so much better.

When you positioning yourself for Downward Dog, you don’t want to have pain shooting across the top of your wrists. Arthritis is the culprit, swollen tissues are the exacerbation. Hence the ice. Even though my wrist is so much better, I’m still icing it twice a day.

Same with my shoulder. Same problem but heat feels better so … .

My left knee is still a problem but that will be discussed with my doc later.

All of this is to say that, to my dismay, I’m experiencing chronic physical limitations. I haven’t taken a walk in my neighborhood in months, in part because I dread navigating the hills and broken sidewalks with my bum knee and unsteady gait. Oh, did I mention that my right ankle is also a problem now? The tendons are tired.

Surely I have something positive to say on this first day of the new year. Surely I’m not turning into one of those “complain, complain, complain” people.

Shifting (topic)

I’m still knitting. Recently I participated in a mystery knit-a-long and produced this very warm and toasty hooded scarf.

Me wearing a knitted hooded scarf in black and blue stripes.

I’m also working on a shawl that seems more like a scarf and is taking FOREVER to get through. It’ll be lovely once it’s done. It’ll be a light, airy fabric of silk and mohair. But it’s taking FOREVER.

I picked up my weaving again. My focus is still on functional items, like these dish towels.

Two 100% cotton dish towels in stripes of natural, yellow, and orange.

Next up will be one or two hand towels. I know, I know. Not exciting! Not a blanket or an arty wall hanging. Small steps, people. It’s challenging to set up my loom and I’ve relied too much on muscle memory to get through the weaving (hence, one dish towel is almost twice as long as the other). But I’m learning.

And soon I’ll buy a spinning wheel because I’ve taken up spinning too! Right now I only have a couple of drop spindles. If you want to delay gratification, try spinning with drop spindles.

The act of spinning takes me back to when I was a student at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. I was an unhappy student until I took a spinning workshop during winter session and then a weaving course. I fell in love with both. I would spend hours in the weaving studio, sitting on a stool, my fingers twirling the spindle, while I watched the fibers catch and twist into yarn.

Writing

That’s what I’m doing here.

Cats

Lately it’s been on the chilly side, temperature-wise, and Raji exhibits his snugglebunny nature. Even Wendy is gets up close and personal at times.

Raji on my lap, half covered with my knitting project as I knit.
Wendy stretching herself out on a pillow between me and Greg.

I also babysat for our neighbors’ two cats for a few days in December.

Kitty Meow Meow (aka KM2).

We all suspect that Kitty Meow Meow (aka KM2) is either Raji’s mom or grandmother. She was originally “owned” by a family up the road who claimed that they could not keep her indoors and who finally had her spayed after her second litter. Then our neighbors took her in. Well, she was at their house all the time so you can say she adopted them.

Frankie, a “snowshoe” breed of Siamese

Similar story with Frankie. He was originally from another household that allowed cats to roam and reproduce freely. I lost count of how many other cats our neighbors claim that Frankie has sired, but at least he can’t spread his seed any more and his current staff give him shelter and lots of love.

Ending my posts with cats–mine or someone else’s–always leaves me feeling happy. I hope they make you happy too.

Happy New Year, everyone! Good riddance to 2025, and welcome to 2026, a year that I hope will bring a lot of “good trouble.”

Marie A Bailey

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22 responses to “Five Things on New Year’s Day 2026”

  1. Yes, all of the above. I’m lucky that my injured foot that barely allowed me to hobble for weeks, seems to be fine. I only went to the clinic because so many people were nagging me. The guy I saw advised me to come back if is wasn’t showing any improvement in 6-8 weeks, and then it did. For years and years I’ve been told not to use aspirin/acetylsalicylic acid, and I’d recently stopped. He was also a runner and gave me the thumbs up for aspirin, which is my pain-reliever of choice. Thank goodness!

    Any post ending with cats… beautiful cats!

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  3. I’m sorry about the physical aliments, but I’m glad you’re still continuing to do such wonderful things–knitting and weaving–and spinning! It sounds kind of magical to me with no such skills in that way at all, and as though you’ve entered a time machine, too.

    Yes, let’s hope for good things in 2026, along with all the joy cats bring!

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  4. Our bodies do seem to do unwelcome things as we age. I hope your pain gets better (or at least stays well-managed!). I LOVE your hooded scarf—two accessories in one!! I, too, am hoping for “good trouble” in 2026. 2025 needs to be buried deep beneath the Nevada desert like nuclear waste.

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    • Thank you, Liz! I recently read an article that said injuries in older people tend to occur because they don’t/won’t realize that their bodies are aging. Like me trying to do the same weighted shoulder exercises I did when I was in my 30s, half a lifetime ago. Sometimes the pain is just the body saying, “Enough!” ;-) I’m lucky that modifying my physical activities (and listening to my doctor) makes a real difference, even if the pain never goes completely away.

      That you for your kind words about my hooded scarf. I wore it today and really appreciated its versatility. I want to make another one :-)

      I’m hoping that my hopes aren’t too high for 2026. I read that a Democrat unseated a Republican incumbent in an Iowa State Senate race. Iowa!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Actually, I stand corrected: a Democrat had held the District 16 seat in the Iowa State Senate, but she died earlier in the year so they held a special election. Renee Hardman (Democrat) won with roughly 70% of the vote. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the Iowa Senate, but Hardman’s win kept the Rs from getting a supermajority.

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  5. Happy New Year, Marie! I’m sorry you’ve been in pain. I hope you get relief and answers from your doctor.

    Love your hooded scarf.

    How nice that you’ve been cat sitting. Lovely pictures of the kitties.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Happy New Year, L. Marie! (You know I love that we share a name.) My pain is manageable, and I’m grateful for that … and I have a really good orthopedic doctor. Thank you for your kind words about my scarf. I wore it today even though it wasn’t that cold, but I do love its coziness. Petsitting is fun. I get a little nervous because their cats are indoor/outdoor (my cats are 100% indoor), but since I do literally live right across the street from them, I know that their cats don’t roam far. Sometimes they only roam as far as my front yard :-)

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    • Thank you, Laura! No, I did not knit that sweater. It is my favorite sweater though, and it’s still in great condition. I bought it in 1989, I think at REI or Whole Earth. And it was even on sale when I bought it!

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  7. Marie, your cats are adorable! I was just saying to my husband yesterday that we should get two more to go with Lou and Gord, but I don’t think he’s for it.
    Anyway, I love your scarf, and I’m sorry you’re having such pain issues. Getting older sucks sometimes. 😔

    Liked by 1 person

    • Getting older has its drawbacks but I’m managing. It’s been important for me to realize that I really needed to modify my exercising.

      Thank you for your kind words about my scarf. I don’t have much opportunity to wear it here in Florida, but I love it when I do.

      We’re pretty happy with our two cats. We’ve had up to four indoor cats, and while everyone got along, it was a lot of work, especially when the two oldest started getting sick. I’m resisting getting another cat. I’ve been vocal about not doing it because of our ages, but it’s really hard when I see cats for adoption at my vet :-)

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  8. Yes, I get it. Two cats are actually plenty, but when I see how happy they are and how much Gordie has blossomed (he had a rocky first two years before we adopted him), it makes me want to open my arms to more rescues. But we must be practical, I guess.

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