Okay, lets try this again (yop update)

I have been making some progress.  A while back I started a new medication and I feel like it is helping some but I also have to really work at dealing with difficult stuff that it hasn't helped with.  I've started getting out of the house.  I got a used car so I can go places on my own during the day.  I had a lot of anxiety at first, especially since it has been so long since I've driven on my own.  My husband put me to the test though and he said to get in the car and drive to this place about 30 minutes away.  He rode shotgun and played navigator.  I felt more comfortable with him there.  The highway and intersections have been redone now and everything's so different.  In town there are new intersections that are really weird now and roads have been repaved and some widened and just changed.  I'm getting used to so many different changes.  I had depression with agoraphobia so I started going to places close to my house first until I was more comfortable and then gradually push out the boundaries.  

I started going to this place in the mall to get some exercise.  I like that it is only women, it's close to my house, Michaels is at one end of the mall and there's a grocery store at the other end.  It's not much of a mall so that's not far to walk.  I have been going to exercise on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then sometimes I stop by and grab a few groceries for the week.  It feels good to start feeling closer to my normal self again.  I still have a lot of chronic pain and often when I exercise I trigger a pain flare and then can't get out of bed for a while. I'm learning to only give 50% effort to avoid triggering a Fibromyalgia flare and I have to protect my joints so I can hopefully avoid a psoriatic arthritis flare.  It's tricky.  This is a picture of my new to me car in my driveway above.  It was a few minutes to midnight there and the sky was still blue.  We are slowly losing daylight and getting a little darker at night.  I got some seat covers on amazon for my car to to make the insides more my taste.  The interior is beige, which I'm not a fan of, and it was a little stained.  My seat covers add some navy with smaller sections of the beige so they match still and it looks good.  

So I have crocheted a baby blanket.  It was quick and easy.  It's the Baby Blue Cotton Blanket by Kris Moore.  I called this one The Mermaid Blanket.  This is for a mom who loves green.  This yarn is beautiful and it looks a lot prettier in person.  I used Caron Blossom Cakes.  I left off a few rounds of the border because it was getting so big.  It is about 33 to 34" square.  I actually wanted it to be a rectangle but I adjusted the size of the rectangle (width and length) to make it smaller so the whole thing wouldn't be so big and when I added the border it ended up being a square.  It is what it is.  It is going to the new mom right now.  

Okay, I'm going to do my best to keep going and improving.  I hope everyone is having a great summer and hopefully, not too hot.  

DJ

Trying to feel better

I've been trying so hard to feel better but there's a limit to what I can do.  All I can do is keep asking doctors and reading anything I can find for ideas of things to try.  Today I am exhausted but I'm trying to do whatever I can.  I am making my husband a birthday cake.  I keep messing everything up but in the end there will be cake.  It won't be perfect but I know that will be okay.  Everyone around here likes yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  It will probably be gone by tomorrow.

My husband has been working a lot and he's very tired.  He's on call this week and there's a major thing going on. I hate to see him so tired but I'm also proud.  He's been working such long hours, sometimes going in at night and the working the next morning too.  He has stayed in a pretty good mood considering.  I am trying to prevent any extra stress by doing whatever I can around here.

I have not been making anything crafty-wise but I have all kinds of things I WANT to make.  I have beautiful new yarn and patterns and I just need to feel better.  I decided to come in here and write and see if that helps my mood at all.  

I have been reading whenever I can.  I am currently reading A Light in the Window by Jan Karon.  I have read it before so I know I love it.  I love the whole Mitford series and decided to read them all again. I always wish I could move to Mitford.  I know I would love it there. I want to sit in The Grill and chat with all the great characters.  I haven't read the last book in the series though.  I think it will actually be the final book and I'm a little nervous about what's going to happen.   I'll read it after I refresh my memory of the other books.  

I read the first book last month and decided to do something new.  I always end up googling a lot of details whenever I'm reading.  I look up quotes and authors mentioned, maps and look up photos of places, food, recipes etc. but I don't usually do anything with that information so it just gets lost.  This time, when I read At Home in Mitford, I decided to write down lines from the book I loved and any other info and slip it in the pages.  The next time I, or someone else reads that book that information will be right there.  

I read that Mitford was probably based on Blowing Rock, NC and that Miss Sadie's amazing home called Fernbank is most likely based on the real Flat Top Manor.  I found a postcard of that and put it in the book.  I collect postcards and I've done that with another book as well.  I plan to do that with all the books I keep, which is just a few, but I'll be collecting many more book related postcards.  That is something that brings me joy and I can use all the serotonin I can get.    

YOP update

I finally have something finished.  This WIP was almost 2 years old but now it's no longer a WIP!  My Peak Season Shawl is finally a FO.  This was one of my goals for YOP15

I do have another project that I finished and need to weave in ends and block and all that.  I don't really call it done until I can take the final pictures and post it finished on Ravelry.  I will wait until later to share more about that project and another small project I just started.  

There has been so much going on that I had to stop all crafting to get ready for the holidays and other things so now I'm trying to get back to finishing projects.  

The weather has been really special here lately.  We have had several days of -40 F weather and I totally forgot just how cold that is.  It has been a really long time since we've had that many days of really deep cold like that.  When it is colder than -40 the lightbulbs outside turn into strobe lights which is a bit alarming.  Even my thermometer on my porch gave up.  It was reading 80 degrees and now has shifted to about 75.  I believe it's time for a new one.  It has "warmed up" since then to where it snowed and even rained lightly and we had a short blast of some high winds.  It is now 17 degrees which seems almost tropical compared to -40.  

My body reacts to the changes in temperature or weather so I've been having a lot of pain and fatigue.  I'm really hoping for some more stable weather for a while.  

My youngest son's 29th birthday was the 19th so we all went out yesterday for his birthday dinner.  He actually wanted to just order pizza hut (and not leave the house) but we dragged him to a restaurant so the whole family could see him and chat.  

I forgot to get the stuff to make him a birthday cake so I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies.  I make the Original Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe and he loves those.  I made him a berry smoothie too.  He always says he doesn't need anything so I like to spoil him with food.  

On the mend

When I said I was getting better last time I was wrong.  I think I just try so hard to be optimistic and I also really hate going to First Care.  I did have to go though.  I did have a sinus infection and an asthma type reaction in my lungs.  I had to take a round of prednisone for the irritation in my lungs and it's still not totally better yet.  I hope I don't have to go back in there.  I am almost done with the antibiotic and cough stuff so I'm hoping I can get back to normal now.  

My niece just got the box of things for the baby and she loved them.  I just got pictures of the baby all dressed up in the little outfit.  I make things for babies all the time and it's not often I actually get a picture of them in it or with a baby blanket or whatever.  It really makes my day to see those pictures.  I'll be making more things for her in the future. I'm going to plan out projects in different sizes that I can hopefully get finished in time for her to use them.  I have some yarn I've been holding on to for making a baby dress that I just never found the right pattern for so I think I'll use it to make something for her.  I bought it a long time ago to make something for a different baby and almost used it many times.  I'm hoping I will finally be able to find the right project for that yarn.  

This past week I have slept a lot because of the meds they gave me but when I wasn't sleeping I spent some time going through my yarn.  My husband put together a cube shelf wall thing a while back and then put one of those wooden crates from the craft store in each one.  That way I can pull it out and go sit down with it.  He sorted all the yarn into those by color for me initally but I realized I wanted to keep some types of yarn together so I've been sorting that out.  

It is really good to go through all of the yarn again as I'm getting lots of inspiration.  I've got a bunch of patterns saved that I need to use and a lot of bookmarked patterns online and on youtube.  I did start something that I've been wanting to try but it's not really working out right.  I thought it  would be a great way to use up some stash.  This is called kaleidoscope granny.  I saw a youtube video by Fiber Spider but I must have done something wrong.  It isn't coming together right and has puckers.  I was going around the whole thing with black but at the corners of the blue square it doesn't lay flat.  There needs to be more open spaces there so it's too tight.  I was sick and out of it on meds when I was working on that so I'm sure I just messed up.  I'm going to have to take out the corner sections in the red and green and see if I can figure out what's wrong and fix it.  I am better at working with written patterns or charts than videos.  I wish I had instructions for the whole thing instead of just how to get the smaller center part started.  

I just finished reading The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst and that was a cute fantasy story.  Not amazing but it was cute.  Here's a quote I liked.  

"It wasn’t that she didn’t like people. It was only that she liked books more. They didn’t fuss or judge or mock or reject. They invited you in, fluffed up the pillows on the couch, offered you tea and toast, and shared their hearts with no expectation that you’d do anything more than absorb what they had to give."

I'm a sickie sicker - or I should saw WAS (YOP)

I have been so sick.  I was actually going to get up early this morning and go to the walk-in clinic the moment they open the doors to have them check out my lungs.  If I go early I can avoid waiting in a crowded room full of other sick people and crying children for HOURS in very uncomfortable chairs.

I've been putting off going because It seemed like I was getting better but I started to feel like when I have an asthma flare up situation which can get bad.  I don't have that all the time.  I have allergy induced asthma but most of the time I have no problem.  I just don't think there's an allergen now but maybe just inflamation.  Sunday will be 2 weeks from when I got sick and it's been *rough*.  Everyone here got sick but I got it a lot worse.  Other people stayed home from work a few days and then went back to work but it seems like a lot of people had a round 2 and had to take a few more days off before they were 100% better.  I think that's what happened but I had a very short period of feeling better - less than a day - and then started feeling bad again - twice.  Anyway, I woke up this morning feeling much improved so I took some more meds and went back to bed instead of going to the doctor.  I no longer sound like a 98 year old chronic smoker who started smoking at age 8.  

This past week I did make a few things.  I have this ball of pink baby yarn that I've been trying to use up and I finally remembered what the yarn is.  It is Bernat Baby Coordinates in Baby Pink.  That is what I made the baby converse sneakers in.  This is left over from a baby blanket I made for someone a long time ago.  So I'm trying to use that up.  I made this baby dress that was in my Q.  The flower is made with Caron Simply Soft Party in Snow Sparkle (same as the shoes).  That pattern also had a diaper cover and booties but I didn't like them.  I feel like the diaper cover wouldn't stay on/up and I already made shoes.  I decided it would be cute if she had some little leg warmers.  I found a ball of white Bernat Baby sport in my stash that was left over from another project.  I used up that whole ball to make two pair of the leg warmers.  The pattern doesn't say how long to make them so the first pair are way too long - maybe as long as the whole baby lol  She's pretty small.  I made a small pair to go with the little dress.  I'm thinking the dress could be worn over a solid onsie so the butt would be covered.  Then I made a Bunny Lovey to match the blanket I knit in the Loops & Threads Soft Ombre yarn.  I am trying to fill up a small flat rate priority box so I keep looking for something else to make for it.  Last night I remembered that she likes angels so I made this angel out of a small ball of left over who-knows-what baby yarn.  I think this is a nice little starter kit and I'm probably going to be making a lot more baby things.  

I am rooting for a good week next week.  I have a lot of things to do and books to read!  

-Donna

Fiber Festival & YOP update

I went to the Fairbanks Fiber Festival last weekend and it was pretty neat.  I love seeing all the crafty people all gathered together.  There were so many amazing yarn venders!  I wanted all of it!  There was a lot of gorgeous fall colors in yarn of all sizes and I was loving it.  I was walking around looking at yarn and trying to work out in my head what I'd make with it and how much I'd need.  I was looking for the right yarn to make my oldest son a new hat but I never did find the right colorway in the right size yarn.  He likes dark reds, grey or black and is pretty peticular.  The hat that he is wearing now is looking pretty worn out.  I found one colorway would have worked but it was fingering weight.  We live in Alaska and that would not be warm enough.  My son walks to and from work a lot so I probably need a worsted weight at least.  My husband tried so hard to be patient while I was browsing but he wasn't enjoying it at all.  Poor guy.  He mostly followed me and reminded me when I was forgetting something on a table. They had bunnies upstairs and I would have loved to go see them but I'm allergic and had to leave that area.  I could only peek at them from across the room.  They were so fluffy!

I wish I had taken some pictures while I was there because it was amazing but it was so crowded.  I tried very hard not to buy more yarn because I really have way too much already but here are some I couldn't pass up.  

These two are definitely related and have to go together.  I wonder what I should make with them.  I was first drawn to the yellow.  I picked it up and put it back and least 3 times.  Then I saw the other one.  I wanted there to be one with just the blue alone too but no luck.  What will this become in the future?  Hopefully not just pretty bundles of yarn in my stash.  

Here are some others I was attracted too.  I believe some socks will be happening.  The top one makes me think of army colors but there is a little yellow in the there.  I believe there are actually more toasty warm colors that are hiding in that one.  I should have turned it.  

I do believe all of these will be gifts for me, myself and I.  

This last one is actually small.  It's a box of minis.  I must think of a really great pattern for this!  

I don't think I mentioned here that I bought a new ball winder a while back.  I bought a nice sturdy one that can make bigger cakes.  I wanted to be able to cake up worsted weight yarn without having to separate into smaller cakes.  It's a Stanwood Needlecraft Large ball winder.  I got it on amazon and it's a really good one.  My husband helped me rearrange things so I can have it set up all the time.  I have my swift there too so I can just open it up if I need it.  I hated having to climb up and get that stuff down and set it up everytime I needed to use it.  So now I've been looking through my yarn for any messy partial balls that need to be caked up.  My buddy Stan and I are going to be busy.  I really enjoy caking up yarn.  I love how the neat cakes of yarn take up less room.  

I had this one messy bundle of pink baby yarn that I caked up and now I'm trying to use it up.  I have no idea what brand it is or how old but it's time for it to be used.  It has that little bit of pearl shine in it but you can't really tell in this photo.  So far I've made these little Converse baby sneakers.  They do have the converse circle thing with pink star but you can't see them in this picture.  There was a few things I did wrong or wish I did differently so I'm going to make some more and I want to make more colors of these.  The white yarn I used has sparkle and I think it is Simply Soft Party.  I want to make these in a lot more colors.  Oh and these were #5 in my ravelry queue which is ridiculously huge.  It's about time I made them.  

Now I'm sick with a nasty cold and can't really do much.  I've been sleeping a lot and my eyes are really blurry.  I keep thinking about making something but end up mindlessly watching TV.  I really hope I get better soon.

One thing I think is kind of cool.  There is this new show that came out on Apple TV called The Last Frontier.  It's set in Fairbanks, Alaska where I live.  I was watching the first episode and it shows the hospital were my husband works and I used to work.  Then it showed this swing set that is right across the street from my house.  This is my street.  If you look between those trees you can see a white car and a little bit of a house.  That's my neighbors house. My kids played T ball at those ballfields. You can see my reflection in this but I couldn't avoid that so HI.  I actually played at his same park when I was a kid but everything was different then.  The main character of the show, deputy marshall whatever of alaska, asked his wife if she wanted to have lunch with him at the Chowder House.  That is a small place down the road from my house.  It's just so weird to hear and see such familar things in a TV show.  I did have to look up where it was actually filmed because it didn't quite feel right.  It was filmed in Canada but they had some shots... maybe just still shots from here.  Still kinda cool.  

YOP Update - I'm still alive

I've been feeling bad a lot but I don't like to write about that stuff here.  I try to keep it positive.  I recently saw a new doctor that would increase one of the meds I was already taking.  My primary wouldn't increase it - period.  They were willing to put me on multiple drugs that cause side effects and then more drugs to help with the side effects when this ONE that I already take and tolerate fine can treat 3 different things I have at a higher dose.  This new doctor called them and took over that prescription and now I'm starting to feel better.  It never occured to me that the key person to have in my corner would be my pharmacist.  I've been using the same pharmacy for years and years!  When I was worried about the side effects of the drugs I called her and she stepped up.  I'm doing much better because of her helping me get in with the doctor I'm seeing now.  

I had a few days where I felt really good and actually got some things done around the house.  One day I actually drove and went somewhere by myself.  It hasn't been very long and it takes a little while to work so I'm excited about this.  It has to keep getting better, right?   I'm hopeful.  Keep your fingers crossed my brain cells come back to the party.  

I have been knitting on the baby blanket and steadily making progress.  It is slow going though because it's a challange for me and I don't want to mess it up.  The baby I'm making it for was born on Sept 19th and she is so precious.  Everyone is really loving her but I'm so so far away.  I want to go see her but that's a really long flight (more like 2 - 3 flights from AK to GA and I just can't handle that right now.  It's over 4,000 miles.  I can't believe I have 2 great niece, 2 others that are unofficially adopted, and 3 great nephews.  I ordered a personalized baby onsie for the new baby and my niece loved it.  The problem is I ordered a 3-6 month size and she's tiny so I won't be seeing her in it for a while.  I didn't see there was a newborn size because it was at the bottom of the dropdown list after the biggest sizes.  I am thinking about ordering it but she will probably grow so fast. My 2 boys were both close to 10 lbs so this little 6.7 lb baby looks super small.  They just gave her her first bath in one of those little baby bathtubs and she looks super tiny in it.  Everyone thought my boys were a few months old when they were newborns because they were so big and long.  They had big heads that's for sure.  

I do have to say, I like that now the baby is born I feel less pressure.  I still need to get the blanket finished (before she goes to college) but the deadline has passed.  Now I can just knit and try to do a good job.  

· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·

Update to update: It is finished! I feel like I leveled up with this one. I did so much tinking and tried to catch all the mistakes and fix them but I did forget the P in the psso a few times.  I am so P'd about that but I was several inches away by the time I noticed.  I did decide to end it a little early because I was running out of yarn (and patience).  It will be plenty big enough.  I did lose at yarn chicken though - on the bind off.  I was not happy but my husband is awesome!  I texted him since he was out and about.  I sent him a picture and he took his too-manly-self to the girly craft store and he bought the last ball of this colorway.  He even sent me a text with a picture asking, "This one?."  Yes, that one!  Guard it with your life!  I needed less than a yard.  I just wove in all the ends and washed it and it's ready to go transfer all my love and hugs to that baby girl.  

Update

I've been having a rough time lately.  It has been one thing after the other causing me pain so I haven't been doing anything fun.  I feel like things are starting to improve so my focus is on doing whatever I can to help keep that momentum going.  I started the day with some yin yoga and I feel like my body really needed that.  I feel like a got a nice adjustment for my posture that helped relieve some pain.  After spending a lot of time in bed or slumped in a recliner unable to focus on anything, the yoga really felt good.  Well, it was a little tough going at first and I had to adapt some poses with yoga blocks but then things loosened up. I need to keep doing that on a daily basis.  I let the habit of doing nightly yoga slip but I was doing 30 min on the treadmill instead.  I think I'll add in the yoga in the morning.  I use Yoga With Kassandra on youtube and she's great.  

I'm also playing music today instead of turning on the news or other TV.  That is helping to lift my mood.  

I picked a project to focus on and I decided to paint my little metal table with two chairs that goes in my yard since it is finally not raining or super wet from recent rain.  They are a little rusty so I'm trying to sand some of those spots and then get them painting today.  Winter is just around the corning and I can feel it in the air.  I haven't seen many yellow leaves yet but I am pretty sure fall will be short this year.  I hope I'm wrong.

I haven't been reading because I'm having trouble focusing on a book.  I recently listened to a few Alex Cross books.  I'm trying to catch up with that series.  I have finally read all the James Patterson books I have.  I am going to listen to a Clive Cussler book from the Isaac Bell series as soon as my brain reunites with my body.  

I have been knitting on the baby blanket occasionally but it is slow going.  I keep messing up or dropping stitches and having to tink back to fix it.  I am determined this blanket will not be full of mistakes.  I didn't take a picture because it really looks the same but just a little bigger.  

I did buy some new yarn for a new crochet project and I'm excited to start that.  My yarn ball winder broke about a year ago so I finally ordered a new one.  I should get it on Friday and I want to try to figure out a place to put it where I can leave it out.  I'm just not sure if that's going to be doable though.  Maybe my husband can figure out a way.  He's better at that.  I need to take a picture of the beautiful blue yarn I bought for it.  

Another one of my fish died and I have no idea why.  He wasn't really that old so I'm sad.  He was a little rubber pleco so one that doesn't get real big.  He crawled up in a hole in the bottom of a tank decoration and my son thinks he may have gotten stuck in there.  Maybe that's it.  My son pulled him out for me and I really appreciate him for that.  Maybe that decoration thing needs to go.  I'm bummed because he was such a character.  Also, the only pet store we have here is having trouble getting shipments of fish now.  The tanks have been nearly empty so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get another one.  I think I'll rearrange the tank and enjoy the fish I have right now.  I need to make sure no one else dies.  

And knittin', knittin'....

  "I am not the weather. I am the wide and open sky, and so I can let pain move through me and out of me." - Josie George

Let's get it started....  

song by the Black Eyed Peas  

I have not been feeling so hot lately but I am doing my best to do life.  I haven't been able to knit or read much for a while until last night.  I picked up the baby blanket I'm working on and got some done.  I've been knitting on it today in between household chores.  I have finally gotten the groove of this pattern.  I made so many mistakes when I first started and took it out several times but then I looked at the pattern repeat and counted the stitches.  I put in markers between where each repeat should be and that has helped a lot.  If I have extra or too few stitches I'll notice before I move on.  At first I was counting after each repeat to make sure I hadn't missed a yarn over or something.  Now I don't have to do that anymore.  There are 16 rows to the pattern but the even rows are easy (just knit the knits and purl the purls & yo's).  I think this will be a very pretty baby blanket and the yarn is so very soft.  I like that it is a light weight yarn because it can get hot in Alabama.  

• The pattern is Bernat #778 Cable and lace Blanket (intermediate level) 
• The yarn is Loops & Threads Soft Ombre in Plum/Periwinkle/White (light 3 weight)

I have gone on a few small adventures that I will have to post about later.  I did not go very far but found some interesting historical things close by.  A few of them I have seen before but didn't really explore in a thorough fashion until recently.  

I did listen to an audiobook although not the best.  It took a crazy long time to listen to an audiobook I would normally have finished in 1 or 2 days.  It was James Patterson's Cross My Heart (Alex Cross #21) James, I'm not thrilled.  It was really only half the story.  I'm continuing on with the next book, Hope to Die.  I hope it is better and less depressing.  I'm sure he didn't die though since the series has more books lol  

I've had a few medical adventures that were not nearly as fun.  I got a new med, it started working and then I had side effects so had to stop taking it.  I got a different new med and when I added it to my Samsung health app on my phone where I can set up reminders it popped up a warning about a serious interactions with another med I take.  It said it can cause heart rhythm problems among other issues. I called the clinic and the doctor was out of the office.  The nurse there did not seem to take me or my health app warning seriously.  While talking to her I just googled it and got the same exact warning.  She said, "oh but that's google.  You can find anything on google."  She wasn't interested when I said I could check the source (NIH).  I told her I would call my pharmacist then and my Rheumatologist who prescribes the other med I have been on for years.  My pharmacist is phenomenal and really went to work for me calling different doctors and other people.  Now I have a new doctor who is apparently skilled at figuring out the best meds for people that won't cause interactions and hopefully without side effects.  To be fair, I am a tricky patient but tricky patient does not want to die from a drug that is supposed to help.  

Off to another day...  hopefully full of fun adventures and chocolate.  

YOP update

I've been sick and having some other health issues so I didn't get as much done as I wanted.  I did get a lot of knitting practice in.  When I feel bad and try to knit anyway I usually mess up a lot and have to redo it.  I just call that knitting practice which I can always use.  I started knitting a baby blanket for my niece's new baby and it was more challenging than I expected.  I had to tink back and fix mistakes a lot and I improvised corrections in a few places.  I finally got irritated and tore the whole thing out.  I'll start over when I feel better.  I haven't knit for a while so I guess I'm pretty rusty.  I don't want to send her a blanket full of mistakes.  A hundred years from now my niece's family would be passing around my handiwork saying... God bless her, at least she tried.  

© Bernat

Cable and Lace Baby Blanket

I found a headband pattern (Wheat Headband) and made two with the green yarn.  I still have enough yarn to make one or two more.  Wouldn't you know that little skein is not enough yarn to make most things but when I finally find something it is suddenly way too much.  Well, now my sister and I will both have one of these and possibly a few nieces/cousins etc.  At least this pattern is easy.  I have been having a lot of dizziness and headaches or migraines (side effects of a new medication).  I can knit this pattern with a headache and while watching TV.  What's that Kelly Clarkson song?  What doesn't kill me makes me.... crazy?   

On a side note, I did win at Bingo a week ago.  I'd been going occasionally with my husband.  We tease each other about trying to steal the money from the old people even though we fit right in lol  We have both gotten so close with only 1 ball needed on multiple cards and someone else calls bingo every time.  This was the last game for the night and I was already checked out.  Then my husband said you got it about 3 times, nudging me, and I was confused...  I got what, looking at my hands.  He said, that's your ball.  I look up and was stunned.  I won a $1000 bingo and no one else called.  I'm still stunned.  

Well, there will be more fun to come.  I am hoping I will start feeling better so I can get some real work done.  

YOP Week 1

Premier Yarns: Deborah Norville
Serenity Garden Sport in Grass

My main goal for YOP (Year of Projects) is to use yarn that's been lingering in my stash forever.  If it is still there after many years, it is because I actually do love it but haven't found the right pattern yet.  What is this yarn going to be when it grows up?  I think it is at least 7 years old.  

I have a vague memory of seeing this yarn in the store.  I fell in love with it because I LOVE green.  I just didn't know what to make with it since it is a sport weight yarn.  I decided to just buy one...groan  and I could kick myself.  I used to do that a lot but now I've learned my lesson.  When I went to get more it was all gone and it was discontinued.  I even tried to buy some on ebay a couple of times but someone else outbid me.  I am determined to turn this into something and it has to be for me.  

Here is a link to my goal page which I will probably be adding to.

Meet Ms. Frizzle

Tradescantia Callisia repens 'Pink Panther'

This is a newish plant for me but it really makes me happy to see above my sink each day.  I think I got it in April and it has really filled in that container.  I really need to divide it and put it in a pot with better  drainage.  This is just an old canister that I removed the hardware that holds the lid.  I used the lid to put underneath a different plant.  I love that shade of green.  It is very close to the color of my kitchenaid mixer and tea kettle in pistachio. The lighting isn't very good so the colors are off.  There's more pink and the pot is lighter.  I tweaked the color a little but I can't lighten the color of the pot or get the pink to show like it really is without washing out the plant too much.

I had such a good Saturday.  I had looked through the Costco flyer and checked prices to see what items would be good to get and save us money.  I check the prices on the grocery store websites and compare.  I noticed there was a Ninja Deluxe Kitchen System (blender/food processor with 2 nutri ninja cups) for $40 off.  I got it for $139.  I added a link to it on Amazon but there's not a price for it there.  I really needed a new blender since mine old one was leaking. It was such perfect timing.  I was looking at another small blender on amazon and this thing with all the extras is somehow cheaper.  I've been making a lot of fruit/veggie smoothies and it's helping me lose weight.  It's also really good for when it's really hot outside too.  This thing can also shred cheese, grate/slice etc.  It shreds cheese better than the cumbersome attachment for my kitchenaid mixer.  I made a Frappuccino this morning for breakfast and added protein powder.  I'm super happy.  I think the sale runs through July 20 so if you have a Costco membership you might be able to still get the deal on this.  

Isn't it weird how we can get all excited about mundane things sometimes?  I'm mean, it's a blender.  I do remember my mom being super excited about getting a Kirby vacuum cleaner.  I thought she was crazy but I was a kid.  Now I get it.  I have so many plans for things to try out with this.  My main goal for today was to find it and all its parts new living quarters.  That's easier said than done.

I also went out for dinner with my husband and some friends Saturday.  We went to a sushi place and it was my first time trying it.  I had a california roll and it was good.  I really suck at using chopsticks but I kept trying.  Eventually I will get the hang of it.  

I need to go dig around in my yarn and find something I can make for next week for YOP week 1.  

~D

  

Latest book purchases

I bought the top two books when I was in Palmer, AK at Fireside Books. The first one is a book of short stories.  The other one is a twist on the Titanic story.  

The other two books I got at the farmer's market from a local author - Laurie G. Robertson.  I hope to enjoy all of these books.

Fun things I found in Denali

So here are the things I picked up when I was in Denali.  At Denali Rocks I picked up this butterfly that is made of carved Fruit Jasper.  If you google that and look at some more pictures of it you will probably realize, like I did, that it is named that because it resembles fruitcake.  I love butterflies and I thought this would look good with my fairy figurines.  There were so many neat things available in this store that it was a daunting task to pick what to buy.  They had guitars, ukuleles and other things covered in beautiful mosaic that were hung on the walls.  Those were expensive.  There were rings, necklaces bracelets and so many pretty display pieces.  I also bought a couple of cute mushrooms to go with my fairy figurines.  I love the one made of Lapis Lazuli.  I'm not sure what the green one is. 

I have a collection of trinket boxes so I like to have small things to tuck inside of them.  I picked out this tiny skull carved out of red gold stone.  It is so glittery in real life!  It is mesmerizing.  I also bought a couple fossils.  There were little baskets filled with them of all different types and sizes.  

 The woman that worked there, I'm not sure if she was the owner, was a cool lady.  She patiently told me what each thing was so I could learn more about them.  I wish all the people that worked in stores were so friendly and willing to supply information about things.  I enjoyed watching her work on assembling things to put out in the store.  Outside the store, around the corner a bit, there was a large block of concrete with some good sized pieces of pure white quartz that people had been breaking up into smaller pieces.  I picked up a few small pieces to take home.  I found one that kinda looks like a chicken and I'm going to paint a few details on it to look like an all white chicken.  My sister loves chickens.

The yarn store called Polychrome Fibers was also amazing.  There was a rainbow of beautiful yarns of all different sizes and types, kits, project bags, stitch markers. etc.  It was a small store but the selection was amazing.  I had such a hard time making a selection that I actually left with nothing.  I thought about the a few that caught my eyes and what I would want to make with it the whole time I was in Anchorage.  I made the decision just in time so I could swing in on our way back home.  I bought some beautiful yarn and I also bought a crochet hook that someone had crafted with a bamboo handle and glass beads on top.  I wish I knew who made it.  I got it in the size I use the most - H, which I think is 4.5mm.  A picture of the yarn I got is in the previous post. 

I also found these cute art prints in an art gallery in Denali.  They are painted by Christine Nethe.

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I had such a fabulous time on that trip and I can't wait to go on another adventure. Maybe I'll go to a different place in Alaska next time. ~D

Our Spring Trip to Anchorage

I had an appointment in Anchorage in May and we decided to drive.  It was so beautiful.  I stared out the window the entire time.  My husband drove the whole time so I could take pictures and enjoy the scenery.  I took a lot of pictures because I want to try painting some of them.  It was early spring when we left and the leaves were just starting to open and still small.  As we drove south we saw more and more green and fuller trees.  As we started going up into the mountains it got cooler again and the mountains were breathtaking.  I took so many pictures of them and what I call "mashed potato clouds".  I also want to try to paint those amazing clouds.  

Denali

We drove through Denali but didn't have time to check out Denali National park.  I have been through this way several times and have never gone into the park.  I definitely need to do that sometime.  I checked out some of the shops in Denali and founds some fun things.  There is a store there called Denali Rocks and they have a neat selection of neat rocks, fossils, minerals, crystals.... so many cool things.  I love rocks!  I bought a few things I'll have to show pictures of later.  

Another store I went into was called Polychrome Fibers.  I bought some beautiful yarn there that reminds me of the night sky.  It is finger weight sparkle yarn in black, blue & purple.  I can't wait to make something with it.  

In Anchorage, it feels like the mountains are so close.  It feels like they follow you wherever you go in the city.  They are looming all around and so huge and majestic.  They seem to curl around the city, except on the side where the cook inlet is.  We went to a few bookstores, coffee shops and just walked around checking out the different stores and restaurants we don't have where we live.  We ate at Applebee's and it was so good.  It was my first time going there.  It was so nice outside and I soaked up the sunshine that I'd missed all winter.

I really enjoyed Title Wave books & The Writer's Block Bookstore & Cafe.  I will be going back!

I had so much time I hated to go back.  On the drive back home, we decided to drive through Palmer.  I was looking on google and saw there was a cute bookstore there called Fireside Books.  I wish I had some pictures of the inside.  It was set up so cute.  The children's section was really a delight.  I did buy a couple of books there.  It looked like such a great little community and I'd love to go back.  I enjoyed reading about this old train engine #5.  It was a really fun trip and I hope I get to do it again sometime and explore some more.  

Sad day

Last night I had to say goodbye to an old fishy friend.  I've had Shade, a convict cichlid for 8 years.  I have been noticing since the beginning of the year that his color was fading and I wondered if he was okay.  He seemed okay otherwise though.  That is until he started to act lethargic and just wasn't his normal ornery self.  He wasn't chasing the other fish around and trying to eat them.  I had to put in various hidey-holes for the little fish to go to escape him and he was like a football player and seemed to use shoulders he didn't have to push heavy things around.  He would get so angry when he couldn't get the little fish and threw actual fishy tantrums.  Lately though, they could swim right by him and he didn't react at all.  I've watched him get steadily worse until last night he seemed to be stuffering too much.  Something in his side was hurting and he was flicking his body to the side like he was trying to get it off of him but there's nothing he can get off.  There's no wound, parasite or fungus although I did treat the water just in case.  I tried everything I could to help him and it didn't work.  I finally just had to help him die and it feels horrible.  He was a menace in the tank but I will miss his eyes following me around.  Bye buddy.

New goals for crafting

Spring is finally coming and it's time to come out of hibernation.  It is so nice to see the sun shining again.  I can't wait to see green grass again and get some flowers planted in my yard.  

I took a big break from every kind of crafting for a while so I want to get back into that.  I did make a few things recently so that's a start.  My husband fixed up a better area for my yarn in the garage so now I need to get in there and organize it.  I have too much for the space though so I need to use some of it up.  I am going to look at what I have and see what patterns I can find to make with it.  I'm thinking about doing YOP (Year of Projects) again.  I wish a had a little space for a chair or something in there but there's just not much space.  We have two exercise machines in there close to where my yarn is.  I did just donate a bunch of stuff so I'm going to try to find a little room there.  It just won't be anything really cosy.  

I have been reading a lot.  I have started to read more new books and mainly using kindle unlimited and books from the digital library.  In years past I've been really focused on reading the oldest books on my shelves and moving them out.  I still have a lot of books that I need to read though.  I really need to focus on finishing some series that I've started and just keep dragging around.  

I also started watching Doctor Who again starting from the very beginning (1963).  I love watching those old shows.  I even watched (or listened to) the missing episodes.  I'm now up to season 12 with the 4th doctor.  He is who I remember from when I was a kid and I love him and the crazy things he says and does.  

D

Murder on Marble Row by Victoria Thompson

I enjoyed this book but parts of it were weird and I thought it could have been better.  Sarah's mother didn't seem like the same character from the previous books.  She started acting just like Sarah and I felt like Sarah's character was just copied for her.  I do realize they are mother and daughter so could be very similar but in all the other books she disapproved of all the things Sarah was doing.  Now, all of a sudden she is out running around in the seeder parts of town with her daughter and interrogating people.  It just seemed odd.  

I do like her helping her daughter though and loved the sneaky ways she helped too.  

I love the parts about Malloy's son and how he is improving.  I hope the relationship between him and Sarah will start to move a bit faster.  

I'm torn now about what to read next.  Should I read another book in this series or move on to something different?  I have so many books to read.  

Murder on Marble Row by Victoria Thompson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This story was very convoluted and hard to figure out, although I did guess the ending pretty early. I just didn't know how it would work out. What a messed up family! I kept thinking they could have gone on some crazy talk show if it were a different time. I could just see that family talking to Dr. Phil. I have to say it was weird how Sarah and her mother suddenly seemed like the same character in this book when they have always been very different. Suddenly, Mrs. Dekker is out running around brazenly interrogating people in the sketchier parts of town with Sarah. It was a weird shift. I know they are mother and daughter but suddenly they are acting like twins. I did like the ending after the conclusion of the mystery.

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Affirmation for today

My pain only has as much power as I allow it to have. So today, I am giving it no power.

Murder on Mulberry Bend (Gaslight Mystery) by Victoria Thompson

I just finished this book and I already want to read the next one.  I haven't been writing reviews on the books I've read lately since I haven't been feeling so hot.  I felt like writing one this time though.  I am really liking this series and I definitely recommend it.  I don't like to write a summary of the books when I post on goodreads.com since it is at the top of the page already.  You can just click the link below to read it and more reviews by others who have read it.  If you don't use goodreads you should check it out.  It is very useful.  You can use it different ways.  I use it to track all the books I read and I always make a yearly reading goal on there.  You can also just use it to look up books to read the summaries and reviews, see all the books in the series and see the recommendations for other books you might like.

I also use https://booksontrack.net to keep track of my series books.  It lets you see which book is next in all the series you are following on one page.  It is very handy.  They are very responsive too if you can't find a series or if a book is missing.  You can just contact them and tell them what the problem is and they get it taken care of pretty quickly.  

Murder on Mulberry Bend by Victoria Thompson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love these books even though some of it makes me sad. It's horrible just thinking of children on the streets fending for themselves while also having to protect themselves from predators. I always want to read more into this time period and see how much of the details are true. I know it would be hard to read about. This story was a bit different and it seemed Sarah did more investigating. She went to some pretty sketchy places by herself and I couldn't decide if she was brave or crazy. The ending was not what I expected. Malloy was not just twiddling his thumbs though. He was looking into another case that involved Sarah and what he found out is very sad. I really hope there is a twist there and that it isn't really what it sounds like.

I want to gather up all the homeless boys and girls and give them love and whatever else they need.

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Affirmation for today: 

I Choose Happiness