We live in a typical Glasgow tenement building (red sandstone; built prior to 1919; quite similar to this photo). Most of the time I love living here: the buildings are delightfully late Victorian, we have a bay window which lets in an enormous amount of light, the rooms are huge, the fireplaces are Art Deco (and sadly defunct), the tiles lining the staircase are gorgeous Arts & Crafts tiles (much in the vein of these), and our neighbours are mostly charming and friendly people. It is a pity that we do not have double glazing, though, for I have ended up with yet another bout of stuffed nose/sore throat and spend most evenings wrapped in a blanket/sleeping bag. In fact, I have read two Georgette Heyer novels in the last twenty-four hours which should speak volumes about just how miserable and cold I'm feeling. Tania of Cherry Makes is a good craft friend of mine. We have never met, of course, but that has never stopped me from forming friendships. Recently Tania came up with the intriguing idea of Ten for '10: "Simply choose ten things that you think will expand your skill set, and resolve to make something that tries your new skills out".

I want to participate in Ten for '10, but have been thinking hard about what I want to achieve craft-wise next year. Without going into too many details, my life might just undergo a few changes in the next few months and I find it difficult to think beyond the next few weeks. So I am expanding Tania's idea to go beyond craft and include other things too. It is not a New Year's Resolution wrought early, in case you are wondering, but more like things I feel I may have neglected lately.

1. I want to read more than I have in 2009. Or, rather, I want to read better quality than I have in 2009. I find it easy to curl up with frivolous little books, whenever I'm feeling sorry for myself, but I should also curl up with books that make me think (because I love books that make me think and sometimes I forget this).
2. I should watch more films. We went to the cinema once in 2009 which is plainly ridiculous. We watched a few on DVD, but there is definitely room for improvement.
3. I want to feel comfortable baking with dried yeast. I grew up using fresh yeast for bread-making and since moving to the UK I have been reluctant to scale this molehill called "dry yeast". Enough.
4. I should really get around to knitting a pair of socks. It is not that I cannot wrap my head around sock-knitting, it is more that I'm not entirely convinced I will enjoy the process.
5. Make Flyte, the jumper of my dreams. I have the yarn and I have the pattern. I even have a tweed skirt that'll look extremely fetching together with the jumper. Enough dithering.

Five more aspirations tomorrow.

Finally, are you following the Drops Christmas Calendar? Each day leading up to Christmas, they'll unveil a new pattern. Hey, I'm Scandinavian. We love doing things like this (stayed tuned for tomorrow for a bit more on Scandinavian holiday madness).