Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I did it. I forced myself to start a project. I cast on 57 stitches of a slubby cotton yarn on size 10 circular needles, joined in the round by knitting the two end stitches together and started knitting.

The yarn I'm using is called Cotton Candy by Feza, it's a natural off white or cream color. What am I making? It's another scarf, but knit in a tube. I wanted to do something simple and I wanted stockinette stitch for it, but I didn't want the rolling or the purling, so in the round it is. I've only done a few rounds, but the nature of the yarn, from very thin to very thick, makes for a very interesting texture in stockinette. Almost lacy and looks almost ruffly.

Whatever the case is, it feels good to be knitting. I was just sitting here thinking, I need to vacuum and do the dishes and I need a shower.... and thinking I really don't want to move from this spot, and I'm not sleepy enough to take a nap. SO.... casting on was the answer and it feels nice.

So I'll eventually have a pretty Summery scarf, maybe I can have it done in a few days to wear to my Convention that starts on Friday. Is that too much pressure? We'll see. I'm sure it will help, knitting almost always helps, especially knitting in the round (for me). I probably would have started sooner, but I couldn't think of what to start. So YAAY.

It's been raining here for weeks! I know that was random, but it just started raining again. You know, as much as I don't enjoy the intense heat, and I love the rain, it's just that cloudy thing that sort of gets in your brain. The chemical thing that happens with lack of sun. The Canadians know, right? =) S.A.D.D. It has been a very unusual Summer so far. At least I don't have to water the lawn yet. Some of the areas not too far from here though, have had serious rain. One area in Central Texas got 18 inches of rain between midnight and morning last night. YIKES! Hopefully nothing like that will happen around here, I'm not sure any neighborhood could deal with that much water at once. How sad is this? I'm blogging about the weather, well, I better get back to knitting before I bore you to tears. =0)

I've Been Thinking

Thinking, because that's one of the things I do when the funk sets in. Thinking about blogging and comments and email and all the people we contact in those types of formats. I've been thinking about it because even with blogging, and email and Instant Messenger, I still find myself feeling lonely and isolated, devoid of adult human contact. As much as I really appreciate these means of communication, it's just not the same as sitting across from another person and talking and laughing. Half the time when I type "lol" I'm not really laughing out loud, I'm laughing in my head. Even though I can hear it in my head it's still sort of a stifled response. Don't get me wrong, like I said, I'm thankful for email, Instant Messenger and the blogsphere because it does help somewhat. The problem is that I need to get out and do something besides grocery shopping and going to the local WalMart. (I really dislike that anyway, and speaking of which, I running low on a few things and need to go anyway - blah)

As Funks go, this one seems to be wrapping up because I feel a little better every day, so that's good at least. Oh, guess what? My main medication says, "May cause drowsiness, exercise caution while operating an automobile" I didn't notice that until 2 days ago and I've been on it since early April. Wouldn't it be nice if our doctors told us the side effects before they prescribe something like that to a person who has to drive everyday? No wonder that I'm struggling with just doing what's normal, dishes, cleaning,.... etc, my medication is out to get me! hahahaha (and no I didn't SAY, "hahahaha" out loud just then, either, maybe I snickered a bit) Anyway, hopefully I'll have less belly aching and more knitterly stuff to display soon. I just have to climb up this hill a little further before I reach the summit and get to see the view, both behind and in front.

One more thing. Now Blogger saves your drafts automatically! Isn't that nice? I thought so, since many a time my computer has crashed or died mid-blog and I've lost everything because I didn't save it. So that's one thing I'm grateful for. I'm also grateful for my children, because without them I probably wouldn't leave my bed. I'm grateful for a good therapist, of course working through some of this stuff can be funk inducing, but it'll all the worth it in the long run. I'm grateful for an understanding and supportive husband. This grateful list thing is something I'm supposed to do every day, but don't. =) It helps though and I should really do it more since it makes you look on the bright side and focus on what you have, which takes the focus OFF what you don't have. Would anyone else like to share 4 or 5 things you are grateful for? (you know, that human contact thing.... )

Still Not Knitting

Sorry I have no knitting to show you, but one of these days I'll get up the nerve to model the Hearts Vest. My current funk got worse then better then leveled off to somewhere above depressed but not quite to feeling good. I think I need a real vacation that doesn't end in spinning out. Like a nice one with a happy ending, is that so much to ask? I don't think it is. Maybe soonish.

So what I have to show you has nothing to do with knitting or the above subject, but it relates to something you've seen before.

Remember the succulent rosette things I have? Well, the real name for them is Hen and Chicks, which I thought was a spectacularly weird thing to call a plant that looks like a cactus rose, like why in the world would it be named Hen and Chicks? It looks nothing like chickens. So I wondered about that a few days and shrugged it off. Well.....ask and you shall receive, check this out!

Just like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, this plant grows it's babies under it's petals. Maybe I don't suck at growing these! How cool is that? I wonder if the babies come off? Sometimes those types of things will have little roots and you can just plant them. Whatever the case is, I think it's cool.















































Another of my cacti has babies, too, it must be the year for it. See the little Aloe Vera babies? My brother said that after it makes babies then it blooms about a year or two later. That'll be cool to see, I've never seen an Aloe Vera bloom before.





And last, but not least: ART from my DD who is now 6, this is a portrait of me sitting in my chair watching TV in media of spaghetti.

I think it looks like me.








Well when DS who is now 3 saw hers, he of course had to make one as well. This is his self portrait, as he said in his husky little voice, "Me, no legs, hehehehe" and then he ate it and there was interesting narration during that process. "Ha ha, Mamma, me no arms, ha ha, Mamma, me no mouth....etc all the way to "Ha ha Mamma, me no head"

Kids. Always good for a smile.

Distractions Work, Right?

To take your attention away from the sheer magnitude of the non-knitting due to being a bit down in the dumps, I give you sky pics. Yeah, more of those, but these clouds were way cool.