I got out last night and went to character creation for a new LARP I'm going to be playing in. It is based off of the Dresden Files' universe. I have created yet another LARP character that is a cognate for myself. This one is a bit more of a direct cognate then the others I have played. It is my hope that I don't find myself having the stress of reality bleeding into the character's 'life'.
I just got back from taking a walk with a couple of light hand weights. It wasn't a long walk. And yet I came back with a sheen of sweat. I think I need to make a point of walking with those weights every day rather then when I think of it. My weight is currently holding around 190 lbs. That is about 40 lbs over where I want to be. I hope to manage to drop a good amount of that weight by the end of the summer. This means a bit of exercise every day that I am able to do it.
I have been bad about sticking to my vegetarian breakfast and lunch routine over the last few weeks. With the beginning of summer here, however, there are going to be a lot more fresh veggies available. The farm markets will be starting up soon. My hope is to get stuff to do things like make homemade strawberry jam and such. My fermented cucumber pickles were a loss. I'm not terribly busted up about that because my sauerkraut is a success.
I plan to put up another batch of cucumber pickles next month. I am seriously considering getting the things together to do a waterbath canned version. While fermented pickles are dead simple to make, the vinegar ones sure are tasty too. I am sad to report that my gardening efforts have not been filled with success. I hope to make up for this by way of purchasing produce on the cheap to preserve.
I am looking forward to doing tutoring with Cuddle Bear's friend this summer. I have missed the work of educating in a more formal aspect. She is something of a problem student and it will require a bit of planning, but I think it may go well. I'm going to apply FLYLady's approach to the problem. We start up with the tutoring when Snuggle Bug starts up his summer session of preschool. The plan is to bring Cuddle Bear down and he gets to do some school work with his friend's mom while I do school work with his friend.
We'll see how well that works out.
roses
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Monday, June 09, 2014
Random Latin quote & thoughts.
Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.
~ translation from Latin ~
I'll either find a way or make one.
~ Anon.
This seems to be my motto. Maybe I will embroider it on a sampler. I have been busy at work with some non-fiction writing. It is pre-writing for the next Camp Nano project I'll be doing. I haven't decided if I am going to attempt to publish it or not. After years of people telling me that I really should write down my memoirs, I'm going to do it. I'm not entirely pleased with what I'm writing at the moment but I am still getting used to writing non-fiction.
I have been trying to get some more spinning done. Unfortunately, my most recent distaff wasn't working very well with the fiber that I have. I will be transitioning to using a different one. I had forgotten how much faster I was at spinning with a distaff. I am optimistic that I will have enough spun to finish up this crochet version of that popular Wingspan shawl before the end of the summer. I had to give the fiber that was a blend of Merino wool and Angora back to my Mother-in-law. I had progressed from getting itchy while handling it to having my sinuses bother me to starting to wheeze a little while working with it. I was really disappointed with having to return it to her because the color really was fantastic and it would have gone perfectly with this shawl that I'm working on.
I have been having an interesting time with my handcrafts. My half hearted shawl from knitted squares makes me think I'll just have a huge pile of washcloths when I get done with this. I'm still not decided on how I'll piece it together or anything else like that. I'm an eighth of the way through my book of patterns. I hate to say this, but I am a little bit bored with knitting right now. If I let it, the boredom may result in this thing not getting done by the end of the summer, as I had initially planned. My crochet socks are working up well. I have one 90% done. The second is almost half finished. Since I am making them with afterthought heels, I am waiting to work on the heel of the first sock until I finish the main part of the second sock. This way, if I have to use different yarn to make the heels, I can do that.
I have been thinking about making snowflakes again. There is that giant snowflake that can be used as a shawl that I have been thinking about making. I have also been thinking about doing one or two from the Snowcatcher blog with worsted weight yarn and large hooks, rather then thread weight and tiny crochet hooks. I keep trying to work up my courage to make lace but I just can't bring myself to do it yet. I am, however, looking at a lot of it and admiring how pretty it is.
~ translation from Latin ~
I'll either find a way or make one.
~ Anon.
This seems to be my motto. Maybe I will embroider it on a sampler. I have been busy at work with some non-fiction writing. It is pre-writing for the next Camp Nano project I'll be doing. I haven't decided if I am going to attempt to publish it or not. After years of people telling me that I really should write down my memoirs, I'm going to do it. I'm not entirely pleased with what I'm writing at the moment but I am still getting used to writing non-fiction.
I have been trying to get some more spinning done. Unfortunately, my most recent distaff wasn't working very well with the fiber that I have. I will be transitioning to using a different one. I had forgotten how much faster I was at spinning with a distaff. I am optimistic that I will have enough spun to finish up this crochet version of that popular Wingspan shawl before the end of the summer. I had to give the fiber that was a blend of Merino wool and Angora back to my Mother-in-law. I had progressed from getting itchy while handling it to having my sinuses bother me to starting to wheeze a little while working with it. I was really disappointed with having to return it to her because the color really was fantastic and it would have gone perfectly with this shawl that I'm working on.
I have been having an interesting time with my handcrafts. My half hearted shawl from knitted squares makes me think I'll just have a huge pile of washcloths when I get done with this. I'm still not decided on how I'll piece it together or anything else like that. I'm an eighth of the way through my book of patterns. I hate to say this, but I am a little bit bored with knitting right now. If I let it, the boredom may result in this thing not getting done by the end of the summer, as I had initially planned. My crochet socks are working up well. I have one 90% done. The second is almost half finished. Since I am making them with afterthought heels, I am waiting to work on the heel of the first sock until I finish the main part of the second sock. This way, if I have to use different yarn to make the heels, I can do that.
I have been thinking about making snowflakes again. There is that giant snowflake that can be used as a shawl that I have been thinking about making. I have also been thinking about doing one or two from the Snowcatcher blog with worsted weight yarn and large hooks, rather then thread weight and tiny crochet hooks. I keep trying to work up my courage to make lace but I just can't bring myself to do it yet. I am, however, looking at a lot of it and admiring how pretty it is.
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
Rambling post about nothing.
I haven't posted in here a few days. Nothing momentous has happened in that time. I just forgot to post. I will try to post more often going forward. I know I keep saying that and then I forget again.
I am making progress in getting my mental health stuff taken care of. I will be applying for disability again. I think that I may be able to get it this time. I feel a bit apprehensive about the process but I think that my most recent bout of severe depression served as a wake up call to me. I can't just go about ignoring when I have something wrong or assuming that it will just get better on its own. My will may be strong but the flesh is weak, and that includes my brain chemistry stuff.
I got back on the FLYwagon. The living room is cleaner then it has been in a little over a month. It's kinda funny. I literally had to use a shovel (a toy one, that is) to clean up some of the toys. Between having some difficulty reaching into the space where stuff was accumulated and there being such a large volume of stuff, the toy snow shovel turned out to be really useful. It was, however, a very odd experience.
I have finished the blanket for Moo. I am making good progress on the one for Sophia. It has gotten large enough, however, to be just plain awkward to work on. The recent heat hasn't exactly been friendly towards working on this big ol' thing either. I have been using a small box to hold the blanket up off my lap so I don't overheat quite so much. It seems to be working out well, with the exception of the corners of the box catching the blanket from time to time.
The sparrows nesting in the overhang above the stoop have mixed feelings about all this time the kids have been spending outside. The male sparrow get all puffed up and chirps agitatedly at us. The female, however, has no qualms about going to the feeder or even hopping on the ground when we're out there. She won't do it when the boys are near the feeder or the end of the walkway by the house, but if they're a good six feet away, she will hop on the ground from time to time. I think she, at least, has decided that we're not a threat to her or her young.
Beloved has been talking about learning what the names of the birds that we have visiting our feeders are. Today, I have seen a few cardinals, three or four starlings, and the sparrows. A male and a female Baltimore Oriole have been pretty frequent visitors over the last few weeks. It makes me wonder if they are nesting nearby.
The suet feeder seems to be more popular then the seed one. We go through a block of suet every few days. Fortunately, the suet is fairly inexpensive. The net bag of Easter grass that I put up just didn't get touched by the birds when they were busy making nests. It just confirms that the stuff is abhorrent. I briefly contemplated attempting to spin it and then cast the thought aside, along with the stuff. I do think, however, that next spring, I will put up another suet feeder cage but for a little while it will be filled with cut ends of yarn from my projects. I saw someone else had done this for the birds to use in their nesting supplies with some success.
It is amazing the things you will find on Pinterest. Just today, I was looking at ideas for how to live in a tiny house. The tiny house movement just amazes me. I know that if we moved into one, we simply wouldn't have space for all our books and that would be... painful to part with. I think, however, that I can use some of those tricks to make things like my kitchen more efficient. Some of the ideas were really useful in managing all the kids' toys.
I am seriously thinking about acquiring some underbed storage for the kids room and for my room. Beloved and I have a lot of stuff just piled up in our room because we have no where to put it. I think if I put the bed upon risers and put some storage stuff under there, it would make it easier to finally put everything away in there. The project room on the other hand...
Well, I think I need to do a complete overhaul of how I have things put away in there. I have tons of kid stuff just littering the floor. Then there is all of my project stuff. Some of it, I haven't touched in months. I did, however, get out my stuff and did some painting last weekend. When Beloved has the software for the camera updated on here, I will try to snap a few pictures and share them. I am not entirely sure what more to add. I suppose this means my post has come to a conclusion. I'll try to come up with something more interesting next time.
I am making progress in getting my mental health stuff taken care of. I will be applying for disability again. I think that I may be able to get it this time. I feel a bit apprehensive about the process but I think that my most recent bout of severe depression served as a wake up call to me. I can't just go about ignoring when I have something wrong or assuming that it will just get better on its own. My will may be strong but the flesh is weak, and that includes my brain chemistry stuff.
I got back on the FLYwagon. The living room is cleaner then it has been in a little over a month. It's kinda funny. I literally had to use a shovel (a toy one, that is) to clean up some of the toys. Between having some difficulty reaching into the space where stuff was accumulated and there being such a large volume of stuff, the toy snow shovel turned out to be really useful. It was, however, a very odd experience.
I have finished the blanket for Moo. I am making good progress on the one for Sophia. It has gotten large enough, however, to be just plain awkward to work on. The recent heat hasn't exactly been friendly towards working on this big ol' thing either. I have been using a small box to hold the blanket up off my lap so I don't overheat quite so much. It seems to be working out well, with the exception of the corners of the box catching the blanket from time to time.
The sparrows nesting in the overhang above the stoop have mixed feelings about all this time the kids have been spending outside. The male sparrow get all puffed up and chirps agitatedly at us. The female, however, has no qualms about going to the feeder or even hopping on the ground when we're out there. She won't do it when the boys are near the feeder or the end of the walkway by the house, but if they're a good six feet away, she will hop on the ground from time to time. I think she, at least, has decided that we're not a threat to her or her young.
Beloved has been talking about learning what the names of the birds that we have visiting our feeders are. Today, I have seen a few cardinals, three or four starlings, and the sparrows. A male and a female Baltimore Oriole have been pretty frequent visitors over the last few weeks. It makes me wonder if they are nesting nearby.
The suet feeder seems to be more popular then the seed one. We go through a block of suet every few days. Fortunately, the suet is fairly inexpensive. The net bag of Easter grass that I put up just didn't get touched by the birds when they were busy making nests. It just confirms that the stuff is abhorrent. I briefly contemplated attempting to spin it and then cast the thought aside, along with the stuff. I do think, however, that next spring, I will put up another suet feeder cage but for a little while it will be filled with cut ends of yarn from my projects. I saw someone else had done this for the birds to use in their nesting supplies with some success.
It is amazing the things you will find on Pinterest. Just today, I was looking at ideas for how to live in a tiny house. The tiny house movement just amazes me. I know that if we moved into one, we simply wouldn't have space for all our books and that would be... painful to part with. I think, however, that I can use some of those tricks to make things like my kitchen more efficient. Some of the ideas were really useful in managing all the kids' toys.
I am seriously thinking about acquiring some underbed storage for the kids room and for my room. Beloved and I have a lot of stuff just piled up in our room because we have no where to put it. I think if I put the bed upon risers and put some storage stuff under there, it would make it easier to finally put everything away in there. The project room on the other hand...
Well, I think I need to do a complete overhaul of how I have things put away in there. I have tons of kid stuff just littering the floor. Then there is all of my project stuff. Some of it, I haven't touched in months. I did, however, get out my stuff and did some painting last weekend. When Beloved has the software for the camera updated on here, I will try to snap a few pictures and share them. I am not entirely sure what more to add. I suppose this means my post has come to a conclusion. I'll try to come up with something more interesting next time.
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