tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88024144417701944412024-03-13T16:34:46.321-04:00Creative And Thoughtfully Hopeful SeekerI seek, not to know, but to discover.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-12416284068519729612022-05-26T14:26:00.002-04:002022-05-26T14:26:41.946-04:00A poem, about my mom, content warning, has mention of death and violence from guns and stuff like that <p> Her heart was broken,</p><p>She had pushed him away,</p><p>Said, yelled really, “ I hate you!“</p><p>She hated him drinking, the depression and anxiety that weighed on him, and then the rest of her family when he drank.</p><p>He fixed that.</p><p>He made it so his little girl, the apple of his eye, would never have to see him like this again.</p><p>His life was in shambles anyway. 1967, he was divorced, and back with his parents.</p><p>The railroad job was getting harder on his body, so he drank. He wasn’t going to last much longer, and what skills did he have besides drinking wasting his pay on booze.</p><p>He was losing his teeth like his father, and his ex-wife was grossed out by the way his dad ate. He didn’t want to end up like that for his little one.</p><p>He put the gun to his temple.</p><p>Pulled the trigger.</p><p>Her heart was broken.</p><p>—————————-</p><p>To her dying day, my mother refused to allow my soldier father to keep his service revolver in their home. I remember her frantically screeching, “No guns in the house,” when we lived on post in 1985, or so., and she had found my dad’s safely stored gun in the cabinet above the refrigerator where no one could get at it. It disappeared from the home, and I don’t know what happened with dad’s work life for it. </p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-87793980817073316262021-08-24T13:34:00.002-04:002021-08-24T13:34:35.202-04:00Moving through grief<p> Today is near the beginning of the third week of the passing of my mom. I have traveled to see my family and saw nearly everyone, well all who let me see them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, I am just going through the process of getting things done for living life after. I go back and forth between feeling like she’s just a phone call away, or in our case a text away, or then being a numb zombie, or then crying like I am trying to stop the droughts of the world. I am told that this is all valid ways to be, and that it will settle down eventually. </p><p>In my more active times, I verbally tell myself what to do next. Today it was to get dressed for the day, sweep the floors, take my morning meds (even though it was after noon), stack and soak some dishes, and mop the floors. </p><p><br /></p><p>To mop the floors, I used a rag made from an old towel cut down to fit in a stick mop (swiffer is the brand I have), and then wet the rag with hot tap water, and then dribble some nice almond scented soap on the floor and spread it around with the mop. It does the job well enough, smells good, and is simple to do. The rag is washable until it falls apart and so it lasts a lot longer than the one time use pads made for the mop, and the soap has a milder scent than the pre-made pads, which helps with keeping the migraine threshold happy. </p><p>I have some fans going through the house to help dry the floors. After they dry, the rag will go into the rags bucket in the pantry/ laundry room, which I need to add a bucket to the “buy someday” list on the fridge white board, as that bucket is cracked on the bottom and leaks if it has wet things in it. </p><p>Then, I will tidy up the bathroom by making sure that the washcloths on the counter are fresh, clean the sink and toilet, polish the mirror, and check in the shower that everything is neatly ready for the next time it’s needed. The trash was already removed for it being trash day today, and I swept it as mentioned above. I might mop it later, but not sure yet. It doesn’t get dirty on the floor too much, and spills are cleaned up on the fly. </p><p>Then I will deposit the washcloths from yesterday to the hamper for towels in the laundry/ pantry room on my way to the kitchen. There I will wash my hands and start the dishes that have been soaking for a while now. I did clean the skillet that was used earlier by soaking it with hot water and vinegar to loosen the grim and baked on bits from some pork chops, then used a long handled brush to scrub it until the icky bits come up. It still needs to go through the soapy water though. </p><p>After the dishes are done, or as a break from them, I also want to vacuum the living room rug. For that I need to move a pile of things from the floor to onto the sofa, and pick up some dog toys to clear space on the floor. Then I might sprinkle the rug with either baking soda, baby powder, or salt, all freshen rugs and make the room smell good too. I use non talc baby powder too because talc is not good for folks to use and we know that now. </p><p>Throughout the whole process, I take breaks when my body feels stress in the lower back, or I feel tired, or so and I don’t get too tired from doing anything too much in the process. This is the most intense day in my weekly process, and it takes a good part of the morning with interruptions from pup and neighbors as they happily happen to go through the whole process. On the rest of the week it’s less than a half hour or so to sweep the kitchen and hallway since they share flooring, put away the dishes, do the dishes throughout the day, do at least one 5 minute pick up in a common area, and tidy the bathroom. Well, doing dishes throughout the day might add up to more than a half hour for the whole day, but each moment isn’t that much time. </p><p>And now that I have written this blog post, my floors have dried. I can get back to work and stop taking a break. Pacing is good, and working is good too. </p><p>What do you do to get through tough times?</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-57216590641576161682021-05-24T13:01:00.001-04:002021-05-24T13:01:52.997-04:00Splash Pad Party 2021: What is it, and Why I’m a Sponsor<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Splash Pad Party is a Craft Along that runs from May 28 through July 31, 2021. The eligible crafts are knitting, crocheting, spinning, and machine knitting (though machine knitting is counted at half the grams for FOs as the other crafts). There’s a sign up form on Jen Lassonde’s Ravelry group for the host of the Down Cellar Studio Podcast or her </span><a href="http://www.downcellarstudio.com/splashpad21/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3631a89e-7fff-3dab-0613-19ad1cccbf98"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m a sponsor for the Splash Pad Party 2021, because I want to have even more fun with the craft-along, allow folks to get to know me a bit better, and allow more folks an introduction to my patterns. I’m getting really excited about this event. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The projects I’m planning for the Splash Pad Party 2021 include knitting some socks, knitting a gnome or two, spinning some yarn, and making some blanket squares to hopefully finish a long standing work in progress.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you think you might enjoy the Splash Pad Party, head on over to Jen’s website or Ravelry group and sign up on the Sign Up Form. The more the merrier, for sure!</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-71137567602410440682021-04-22T11:22:00.004-04:002021-04-22T11:22:39.632-04:00Open Communication<p> Dear Readers,</p><p>It started innocently enough. Someone liked some of the posts I have written on here, and sent some comments to one of my social media platforms dm boxes. It's neat hearing from readers, even though I would have preferred the comments be on the posts, so everyone could participate in the conversation, if wanted. </p><p>Then, the person read the post where I describe not standing up for the pledge of allegiance to the flag, let me remind you readers, that happened once out of my dad's 22-year career, and was an allowed response to the standing time. I remained quiet and respectful during that time. I was exercising one of the rights that I was allowed in my life as a 4th or 5th grade child in the 1980s in a way that valued the time and experience of others. They got restimulated about a time their child didn't stand for the pledge of allegiance at some fireworks demonstration, I'm being vague on purpose here, and described shaming their child into standing up by reminding them of others they know who had served. </p><p>That shame may have worked that day for their child, but it didn't change the internal desire to love the flag, or to want to not peacefully demonstrate against it. It was just a child forcefully compiling with a parent. Just as their anger at me didn't change my history, just my willingness to have them in my space. I feel sorry for their child, whether that person is now an adult, or still under the age of majority and required to be with the person who communicated with me.</p><p>From now on, all dm communications about this blog will be deleted without being read. I'm only going to pay attention to open communication through comments on here. I delete the spam messages that occur too. </p><p>I'm just tired of the entitlement of others to feel like they can tell me what to do with my own stuff, my own life, my memories, and so on. It has no impact on your life. Even if it reminds you of something within your history, it's not anything to do with me, not really. My life has no impact on your life, we're so far apart my ripples don't touch yours. Especially this past year and a bit, with me staying in my home and with the folks in my home, I haven't been able to ripple as much as I would like. </p><p>If you want to express an opinion about this, reply to this post if you want me to see it, or talk with your family or friends if you don't want me to see it. I'd like to know what you think about folks dropping into others dm's, or about the flag (even though that's only a tangent here), or whatever this reminds you of here. It's alll good, in the comments.</p><p>Later,<br />Jen</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-74020978801281186402021-02-01T15:43:00.000-05:002021-02-01T15:43:01.098-05:00Dancing through January<p> Hi y'all!</p><p>I was raised my first 8 years mostly in North Carolina in and around Ft. Bragg, and even though we had neighbors with international heritages, I still have southern vocal patterns. Oh well, it is what it is. My parents are from the front range of Colorado and the midwestern part of South Dakota, so they don't really have southern ways, and their parents weren't southern either. It's just something I picked up over time. </p><p>Anyways, I liked having the word of the season being Dancing. I had a section of my habit tracker in the bullet journal for it with the quote from myself discovery work, "Dancing the dance of life brings me joy." In that section, I also doodled some eighth-notes, a dragonfly, and a five-petal flower. I like the look of it, and it was visible every-ish day when I checked in about whether or not I had done the 22 things I was tracking for the month.</p><p>I used a lot of music through the month. There were the weekly zoom meetings with other crafters on Sunday afternoons that the local fiber store owner hosted where the first two-thirds is music jams supplied by the participants in a Spotify playlist we all listen to as we craft along where we happen to be located, then last third is us sharing our names, locations, and what we crafted that day (sometimes, since the last meeting, but not often). </p><p>I also have been listening to the Daily Wellness on Spotify to get some music and some meditation and just have a happy start to the day. That lead to liking lots of songs, and then finding songs and artist from when I was younger and liking their music on there. Now, I listen to hip-hop women artists when I do a lot of my typing as I like the lyrics and the pace for focusing.</p><p>I've also been Dancing through my crafting. I thought I'd be lucky to craft 500 yards when the month started. Then, maybe 1,000 yards. Not even 1,500 yards would be a stretch. Nope, I Danced my way all the way to 1642.1 yards crafted, and 1478 yards out of stash through a skein of yarn that hadn't been removed when I got rid of it a while ago, so that's 3201.1 yards out of stash for the month of January. I'll do a separate post of the projects and their details later.</p><p>I've also been enjoying the scent of a vanilla and sugar candle. It's not Dancing exactly, and not quite hip-hop style, but it's been helping me to feel happy with the passing of the colder days of winter. There had been a mulberry colored candle that had a spicy scent, and it gave me a headache. This one is nice, and warm, and floaty, like Queen Latifah singing a mellow ballad. </p><p>I just like all the joys of Dancing has brought to me this month. No, it's not in club, mostly in my living room, jamming as I bee bop along through life, and that's cool. It's nice to add some pep and some joy to your steps, some rhythm to your days, beyond the routines of getting up, some music to your cardio. It's all good stuff, and that's very good for my soul.</p><p>Take care, y'all, I'll write more later,<br />Jen</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-45314436316582323832021-01-20T13:53:00.000-05:002021-01-20T13:53:31.523-05:00The Power of Yet<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hey there, everyone!</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a1fe794b-7fff-e1e4-382d-7f5f904cb9da"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently, I listened to the podcast, ADHD ReWired, and it was the episode 357 “Accept the Brain You Have with Terry Huff.” In that episode, Terry mentioned something about goals not getting done, and the host, Eric Tivers, made the distinction that a goal hadn’t been done yet. And, that small, three-letter word got stuck in my head. Yet.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We folks who have ADHD, or a sub-type, have lots of goals that haven’t been accomplished. Yet.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am empowered by that little word. Yet gives me the hope that it will happen someday. Yet means I still have time to get the work done. Yet makes it possible for “done” to happen. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, how do you feel about the power of the word Yet? Is it a new thought, or, something that you’ve heard before? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let me know in the comments, and we can keep the conversation going.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, with that, have a good day/night as the case may be!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay safe out there,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jen</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-30080572134352633712021-01-11T15:10:00.003-05:002021-01-11T15:10:28.964-05:00Thoughts on Non Attachment<p> A while ago, I learned of the idea of non attachment to physical pain. I ignored that idea for a while. Then, I got ill with bacterial meningitis in 2011, and as an after effect experienced tremendously strong migraines and tension headaches, such that I thought my skull breaking open would be a blessing. </p><p>During the midst of the bad headaches, I was trying to read Jon Kabat-Zinn's book, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. I still haven't made my way through the whole thing, yet. But, I got to the part about his program for mindfulness-based stress reduction to help those with bad health outcomes reduce the badness of those outcomes through mindfulness meditation taught to them in specific ways. A big part of the program, from what I was able to understand, was accepting the pain as just a process your body is going through, that you are observing. It's about not identifying with the physical pain as a part of you.</p><p>I figured, what the heck, I have nothing to lose from trying this myself, and if it works... then I won't hurt as much. So, I started trying to meditate while going through a migraine. I didn't see immediate results, but it didn't make things worse. I tried some more. </p><p>I remembered the studies I had read, and presented to the class about, where folks who were meditators of various times from less than a year to longer than a few decades were prodded with something like a mild heat stimuli. The ones who had been meditating for just a bit were easily distracted from the meditation by the heat thing. Those who had the most practice meditating never seemed to notice the heat thing, even when turned up a bit more. And, when asked about it, were unaware it had happened. </p><p>I knew meditation could work, empirically, and, yet, could it work for me to modulate the pain? </p><p>A week into my process, I decided to stop curling myself into a ball whenever the migraines struck. Instead, I would lie quietly on the bed, and not make a fuss over going through the process of the migraine. It helped a little bit more.</p><p>Eventually, I found I was able to go to my room, lie down, and be quiet for the duration of a short migraine. Taking the struggle and frustration at the situation out of the situation lessened my distress in the migraine overall. Now, I only get frustrated with the long migraines. The multiple day ones that tend to last for longer than half a month. I'm going through that now.</p><p>The stresses of the past week doesn't help. My theory as to why a lot of others and myself have migraines that last a while in January is because December is usually a stressful month. This past December was different than in years prior, which is a different kind of stress, so even though there were fewer folks to deal with, loved though they are, there was still a different set of stressors. So, January came in with it's usual migraine storm. And, now, with the stressor of the rioters in the nation's capitol, and the fear that induces, it's no wonder the migraine is continuing despite the medication that increases fears and yet breaks up migraines. </p><p>So, now, I'm trying to recognize that even the fears are thoughts that deserve to not be attached to and so then I won't suffer because of the frustration between how things are and how things appear in my mind's eye. My mantra when going through the non-attachment to physical pain was, and still is, "Pain is just a mental event." My mantra for this non-attachment to mental pain will be, "Not going to get attached." If it needs adjusting, then tweaks will happen. The physical pain mantra without the word, "just," wasn't as effective for me. Some folks swear by the mantra, "Jesus heals all." If that works for you, so be it. It's not what works for all, and that's okay too.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-41846944454626193852021-01-07T16:17:00.038-05:002021-01-13T18:09:45.037-05:00Church, My Way<p> Growing up, I lived on Army bases in the United States of America. My dad was an enlisted soldier, now he is a retired veteran. The Army had us living in homes around the country from North Carolina, to Alaska, to Virginia, to Colorado. I liked it so much, I even signed up for an enlistment, but I didn't make it very far in the attrition process. Anyways, recent events in our nation's capitol have me feeling jumbled up inside.</p><p>Recently, Joe Biden has called the Capitol Building the Citadel of Democracy, and Nancy Pelosi called it the Temple of our Democracy as well. I got to thinking about how seeing churches broken up in the past has made me deeply saddened, and yet, not felt like it was my church that got attacked. This does.</p><p>Growing up, we heard Reveille played by bugles at 7 in the morning as the flag was raised over the base headquarters every single day. Then, we heard Taps every single day at 6 in the evening as the flag was lowered. These songs bookended our days. They were the songs that opened our services and closed our services. Life on the posts for a school child started with Reveille and ended with Taps. One woke you. One told you to go inside for the end of the day.</p><p>Then, when the Mayor of the District of Columbia announced a curfew at 6 in the evening on the day white supremacists tried to dismantle the big church of my churches? That reminded me of the curfews that were enacted on the Army bases during the fighting in Kuwait and folks being angry at the military and soldiers and we had to be on base every single night during that time by 6 in the evening. It was just how it was. </p><p>So, folks being mean to those fighting for liberty and the American way in the Capitol Building, and a 6 pm curfew enacted? It was a bit much to be reminded of tough times. </p><p>Then, today, when Joe Biden was announcing his nominees to head the Justice Department, and Nancy Pelosi when responding to questions of what next because our incumbent president had instigated the domestic rioters and white supremacists that attacked the Capitol Building referred to the Capitol Building as the Church of Democracy, essentially. And, it came together for me.</p><p>We didn't go to any churches on post, or off post in the surrounding communities, when I was growing up. I like to say that my folks are hippies who raised us, their four children, on military communes. It confuses folks, but once they get to know my history a bit, it makes sense too. The post was everything for us. It was extended family, friends were made hard and fast, you never knew when someone might move (either them or you), and it was where you got your food, medicine, clothes, just everything on the post. </p><p>This was how it was designed to be. The military brass wanted the soldiers to be dependent on the post for everything from necessities to fun, so that the soldiers could be a more cohesive unit. And, if the soldiers were cohesive, then the families could be too. </p><p>That's why yesterday's attack is visceral and felt like an attack on <i>my church</i>. Even though we didn't do church. I only went to church as a social experiment with friends and later other family. But, my family of origin, nature is our church, and nature is always on the post. Of course, it's always everywhere. </p><p>I'm still broken up by the feelings in my chest and my eyes. I am trying to be comfortable with these feelings, as all feelings are valid. It's what you do with them that matters. What the white supremacists did yesterday is not moral and not awesome and not a cool way to treat other people. I am upset, but I'm not going to go be physically stringent with any incumbent residents of any addresses on Pennsylvania Avenue. That's not my way, that's not what <i>my church</i> taught me.</p><p><i>My church</i> values Loyalty to the Constitution and the Nation (meaning all the others here), Duty to do what we say we will, Respect for others by treating them as they should be treated, Selfless Service putting the needs of the nation above your own (which those white supremacists didn't do, and their instigator hasn't ever seemed to do in his public persona), Honor to live your values daily no matter whether you're being watched or not, Integrity to do what's right legally and morally, and, Personal Courage to face fear, danger, or adversity and still do the right things. </p><p>A while ago, I was asked why I didn't like the incumbent president. I couldn't put into words at the time why because I was upset at the time. It's because he's disrespectful of those that are lower in station than himself, he's not loyal to our nation and prefers the company of our international adversaries, he's never shown a bit of selfless service and only seems to be selfish, he doesn't show much integrity in his dealings with the law of man or in relation to women, and, he doesn't have personal courage to led others in dangerous situations, but has to have peaceful protestors cleared for photo ops with symbols of religious power that he doesn't even pretend to care enough about to hold the right way up. He doesn't fulfill the values of my church.</p><p>I hope he gets what he doesn't deserve. By that I mean, more love, and I mean honest, soul deep love, than he's given most people. I can't do that right now for him, but surely someone, somewhere can give him the love he needs. I can at least, wish him to not hurt himself, and not hurt the rest of us in the process.</p><p>Edited on 13 January to change the language from "terrorists" to "white supremacists" as I've learned from Black folx on various social media that calling the ones that defiled the Capitol of the United States on 6 January 2021 terrorists only increases attacks and racial profiling on those who are Black, Brown, or Indigenous Peoples of Color, and that they will bear the burden of a word choice that can be made more clear in this post. Words matter. Clarity matters. Black lives matter because life matters. </p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-78943306586588749372021-01-06T09:15:00.004-05:002021-01-06T09:15:51.229-05:00Word of the Year, Personal Review, 2020 ~ Manage<p> My Word of the Year for 2020 was Manage. This came from a larger quote, by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Inter Hinted", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px;">“One who can learn to flow with the current as well as manage the current is the successful one.”</span></p><p>I think I focused on the wrong part of the quote, but the season before last year had been one of floating a lot, and I wanted a little more direction. By the end of the year, I had come to dislike the word Manage for my word, but not enough to change it.</p><p>The year began simply enough. January, was it's usual beast with 100% of the days being full of migraines. (I have a new theory about this for a future blog post, so watch for that! It's not earth shattering, just mind expanding for me with implications for future changes.) The migraines continued into February with some other things going on in the personal world to Manage. March, what can I say that hasn't already been said before? </p><p>We in the US, not sure about the rest of the world, began the month of March much the same as any other month in the rest of the 21st century. Then the weekend around the Ides of March in the middle of the month came (for those that don't know their Julius Caesar history, the Ides of March are the 15th of March, the date to settle debts, which Caesar did with his life, as did a great many people in this century from that date forward, but I'm getting ahead of myself). And, my household went into a holding pattern, as many in the world did. Would we go to work on Monday? Would we be able to go to the grocery stores? The hospitals? What exactly was closing and when? So many questions. So much misinformation. So much confusion that looking back could have been avoided. But it wasn't and so we are still digging out from the mess that was started first by those in leadership saying it was a "flu" and then because of that not providing adequate care and information for the masses needing an unprecedented amount of both.</p><p>April passed in a blur of Managing expectations and wearing masks when out of the house. Because whether or not they did anything, what if they did do something. And, they showed as a sign of respect that I respect your health, so I'm wearing my mask to protect you in case I'm asymptomatic and don't know it. That's the simple thing that showed up a lot in the Spring and Summer months was the sheer entitlement of folks not respecting each other. Folks deciding that their anger at the situation was more important in grocery store videos that went viral than the government and store rules that we wore masks. </p><p>May came and went with more time outside. My pup and I took some time in our neighborhood to take socially distanced walks around. Our neighborhood is semi-rural and so we walk on the roads. I carry a mask in my pocket, to pop on my face if I happened to come across a person who wanted to come closer than 7-8 feet even though the distance for masks at the time was 6 feet. I have had some weird health things in the past, so was and still am acting from a very cautious place with this. </p><p>June the world learned the name George Floyd. Managing my own internal biases and learning which family members were being ignorant on purpose and so were trying to pull me into discussions about whether it was possible for black people to have the same prejudices with white people, which for the record, it's not, was an interesting exercise in patience, which I don't have a lot of. There's not a 400 year history of black oppression of white people by black people with the rules of one drop of whiteness in your blood making you white so there's more white people, so there's more enslaved people to work the plantations and homes of the black oppressors for free. Sounds kind of ridiculous when you change the positions of the races. To paraphrase Dr. Jaiya John from a podcast I heard in October, through the Good Ancestor podcast by Layla F. Saad, white supremacy is a virus that we have lived with and don't know what it would be like to live without. I want to live in that world. </p><p>July was more Managing. This time internal as well, as I had asked for an assessment for distractibility and memory issues. I had been noticing that I couldn't settle my mind to much of anything. I had been putting it down to the pandemic for the last few months, but thinking on my life, I noticed that this was how I just was. Always mentally curious and able to do deep dives into subjects that are interesting, but hardly able to do anything that wasn't at all somehow motivating to me. I had to know why it was important, agree it was important, and like doing it, to maybe even want to do it. Or, I'd find an excuse not to do it. Doing it because of making other people happy doesn't work because that's manipulating them, if I don't want to do the thing. So, at the end of the month I was evaluated for adhd. </p><p>August was more Managing. Still internal, but with others too. In early August, I got the diagnosis of a type of adhd. Then, I did deep dives into what that was. I took a dedicated break from a crafting group I'm part of to figure out my place in the world with this new information. Also, my pup was beginning to do poorly, and I didn't want to deal with a lot of questions, so a break would give some space for whatever happened in the next few months.</p><p>September came with some hard conversations to Manage. We talked with the vet about the process for euthanizing our dog because he was doing so poorly. As a last option, we took him to a specialist vet on the off chance that something might be easier for him in the last days of life. The first appointment was in October, so we Managed to wait for a while, did I mention I don't have a lot of patience? The new school year brought a new pattern to the schedule of the weeks. Since March through June the weeks had been fully remote through the computer. Then the summer was it's usual break. Summer school had been thought about, but dismissed in this time. So, the county had been in the yellow for most of the summer with occasional bursts into the other two colors. (out of a red, yellow, and green system, with red being fully remote, yellow being hybrid, and green being fully in person allowed.) The school district chose to do a yellow hybrid system for the school year, until and unless they had to go red - fully remote, even if the county went into a green zone to better protect the students and staff. That means our days have had a different pattern than ever before with two days in person, a remote day, and then two days in person. Getting used to the pattern of days has taken a bit of effort, but it's happened and now feels normal.</p><p>October came with more chances to Manage. Early in the month my pup met the specialist vet. I have only ever heard her voice over the phone as the visits have been curbside the whole time of knowing her. She did some tests, used her vast knowledge and care, and developed a plan to try to turn around the bad bacterial infection he had had for a long time that was resisting other antibiotics he had tried. She started him on an antibiotic that required wearing gloves, washing hands before and after administering the medicine, and making sure not to touch it to anything we would ever use for human consumption. While he was using that medicine, we couldn't let him lick us or touch his nose or face to us at all. He did sleep on the bed, but that was too much of a battle to fight at the time. In October, I also went to the orthopedic to see what was going on with my shoulder that was really sore and weaker than it should be, and had been since the summer. He took some xrays, gave me a shot of steroids and lidocaine, and sent me to regular pt. I started pt and loved going there, as the people were great and it felt good.</p><p>November, I also Managed expectations. I was still going to pt and wasn't progressing like I felt I should be. At the end of about 2 months, I was still at what felt like the beginning of the process. I requested another appointment with the doctor to see why. Until then, pt was the only time the shoulder felt good naturally, so I continued appointments until the day before the doctor's appointment in mid December. I also Managed handling the scary medicine for my pup. The medicine could cause a weird kind of anemia in those that touch it and ingest it. I also Managed writing about 37,000 words for the month in NaNoWriMo, an international writing competition to write a novel in a month. It was the first time I tracked my words written in a month.</p><p>December was a month to Mange lots of things. Near the beginning of the month I said good bye to a new friend as they left their internship at the pt clinic. I Managed to show my love in tangible ways thanks to the beneficence of the year. I Managed to write 8,000 words without the help of the daily check ins and sprints of the writing community. which is still pretty good. I have a simple bank book system that has columns for date, document name, starting word count, total word count, running balance (resets monthly, manually), and then time in minutes and a words per minute column where the word count for document is divided by the minutes. Oh, and there might be a comments column, I usually have one of those in most spreadsheets. The math columns are formulas, so I don't have to do the math mentally, and I have them filled in for about 20 rows at a time until I get to the bottom of the filled in rows and then pull down the formulas another 20 or so rows. (All this in case you want to duplicate your own spreadsheet.)</p><p>So, towards the end of December I participated in Susannah Conway's process to find your Word of the Year. I had the idea before beginning that I wanted something funner than Managing, and I wanted something more active and external as well. Dancing was running through my mind, but I had heard that this process would help solidify the Word of the Year for folks that were a bit vague on it at the moment. </p><p>I went through the process of the first two days about a week after receiving all the emails. Then, I set it aside for about a week. Found it again and finished the day's work that I had been doing. Then, continued on through the process, just not always giving it the time that the process had intended. By the end of the process, I had solidified that Dancing was a good word for me in 2021. To support Dancing, I selected Energy, flexibility, Vibrant, and Ease as these are the feelings that Dancing creates in me. </p><p>In hard times, our attitudes can make or break our spirits. May yours make your spirit sing, and if it isn't change it. </p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-67441408154132595982020-11-13T15:27:00.002-05:002020-11-13T15:29:19.214-05:00Letter to You, Readers<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Readers,</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-8903a841-7fff-59ca-3928-d719c372ffe7"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You are all really neat people. There’s been over 41,5</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">00 of you to visit this blog. That’s breathtaking! To think that so many of you came on this journey with me from my entry into the Catholic Church, my book interests, and my crafting updates, all colored by the overlaying of my chronic illnesses too. Thank you for staying around for the fun!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nearly half of you are from the United States. Just over 4,300 of you are from Russia. About 2,000 of you are from the United Kingdom. And, around 1,500 of you are Canadian. There’s around 1,00 from France and Germany each. Then, China, Ukraine, Romania, and the rest of the world make up the remainder of you. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By far most of you are here for the Mermaid Tail pattern blog post, over 9,200 of you. The next most popular blog post among you is the Open House @ Engine with Photos Post that about 660 of you liked. About 180 of you liked my sharing my Appendicitis story. The remaining most popular stories are scattered among organizational ideas, pattern pages, odes to seasons and patterns, anti-oppression pieces, 2 stories about being beyond bacterial meningitis, and two book reviews. The books are Children of Bone and Blood, a fantastical African story with anti-oppression themes, and Unstoppable, a memoir about living without limbs. Yeah, I like a variety of books.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I won’t share the operating system information that the stats collection gives me because I don’t know if anyone could use that to harm you in some way, and don’t want to be a part of that.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You have liked looking at the pages about equally, each got 200-250 views, except the one with my contact information, which only got 65 views. That’s cool. It’s mostly there for those who want me to review their own books, which is cool. I should double check the google sheet for that for new items.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, yes, thank you for reading this blog and stopping by during your free time from wherever you are in the world. I appreciate you and your time.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take care and stay safe out there,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jen</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-79981536520397557892020-11-01T12:57:00.003-05:002020-11-01T14:19:36.037-05:00By the Grace, A Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c9YcZF-QRI8/X5707cWoRpI/AAAAAAAAWQo/FxClY9SdHoUXtm_PAm5VegOchjJbNVGtACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/by%2Bthe%2Bgrace%2Bcover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="337" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c9YcZF-QRI8/X5707cWoRpI/AAAAAAAAWQo/FxClY9SdHoUXtm_PAm5VegOchjJbNVGtACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/by%2Bthe%2Bgrace%2Bcover.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">cover art from author's page</span></div> <p></p><p>By the Grace written by Sine Peril is the story of Julia Grace, a young lady in 1918 who is a bit different. If she lived in our time, she might have been diagnosed as having Autism, but she lived before the diagnosis existed. Like the pandemic we are living through, Julia deals with masks and germs and cleanliness. There is a paranormal element to the story, which is really well done. There are a few elements that seem too easily accepted towards the end of the story, but without getting into spoilers, I can't share them. </p><p>I received my copy of the book as an advanced reader copy from the author. Opinions are my own.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-50573647652416387922020-07-26T20:16:00.000-04:002020-07-26T20:16:23.992-04:00Twisted Stitches, without and on Purpose<span id="docs-internal-guid-5e063143-7fff-59d7-c802-a09f9ccd59ff"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">When I came back to knitting after my divorce in 2000, I walked into a local yarn store. I asked the male presenting clerk about the various options for knitting socks. Now, I had never knitted a pair of socks, and, I had forgotten everything except how to knit and purl. I had access to lots of knitting books at the Portland, Maine, public library about knitting and so knew that the cast on I’d been taught at 8 years old was called “long tail cast on” and that I didn’t like it.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit"><br /></font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">The books had a ton of options, but I had no idea of where to go next. So, after he sold me some yarn, a pattern and two sizes of needles, I asked the clerk about a cast on other than the long tail cast on to start the socks with that didn’t leave you guessing at how much yarn to use for the tail. </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">He suggested the cable cast on. I don’t remember him showing me how to do the cable cast on, but he did say it was like knitting but going between the stitches to draw through a loop to put onto the needle. I had some books at home that showed various options for how to do the cable cast on, along with a few other cast on. This was way before the days of Ravelry and YouTube. If YouTube existed, it didn’t have much in the way of being a knitting resource. Yahoo groups had email lists that you could join and email into the listservs and share information that way. Some folks had blogs, with a few static pictures to show the information, but not many.</font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Anyways, I looked at the books, figured out what the pictures were showing me and got started pretty well. The pictures did a good job of defining the difference between the cable cast on and the knitted cast on, so I didn’t make that mistake. I did the ribbing, and then read the heel instructions. What was that saying?!?! I figured that I would understand when I got there, and decided to trust the pattern. Not for the first time in my life when it comes to sock knitting.</font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">I got through the heel turn and gusset pick up and down through the toe and grafting of the first toe. Then, I put the project aside for a while as one does and got to know someone special over the summer. It was quite nice and is still fun!</font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Then, I got to wanting to actually wear the socks, so got back to knitting them. I got to the middle of the foot. Then, my new sweetie’s sister-in-law mentioned liking to knit, so it was okay to bring over my project if I wanted to share some knitting time with her. I did, and so did. She had a strange look on her face while looking at the sock and a half I’d completed by that point. She asked to see how I did my stitches. </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">I showed her a few stitches and she stopped me. I asked what was up? She replied, “You’re twisting your stitches! See how mine lie so nice and flat, and your’s have a twist to them?” </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Reader, you know what, she was right. My socks were twisting of their own accord!</font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">I asked how to make stitches like she did. She showed me in the project she was working, and I did the same movements in the project I was doing. She was knitting English, and I was knitting Continental, so that added some fun. But, I just watched what the yarn was doing, like I had in the pictures in those books for the cast on. </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Neither one of us thought to say or ask about frogging the socks and starting over. I just changed the way I knit in the middle of the project and that’s something I recommend folks don’t do, unless they want obviously different parts. For you know what, dear reader? </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Those socks still exist and are the weirdest pair I ever made. One and half of the pair twists around my foot like it’s a fruit loop doing a pole dance, and the other half is a typical sock. But, I love them both. I just typically wear them in shoes so that they don’t twist too much and drive me batty with the textures changing and the heels ending up on top of my ankles.</font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">So, that’s the story of the Twisted Stitches, without a purpose. Now, to move on to the Twisted Stitches, with a Purpose, part.</font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Sometime in the mid-2010s, I would look at the Craftsy website and look at the classes list to see if anything was worth paying for, or more likely, if they had any new classes in topics I liked. While searching for ergonomic knitting, someone was offering a class in combination knitting. Looking at the description of the class, I knew the term and techniques described would be better found t a basic level elsewhere on the Internet.</font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">I searched for combination knitting, and found out it was using Eastern mounted purls and Western mounted knits. But, like with those twisted stitches earlier, not to be played with while in the middle of a project. So, I finished or frogged all my projects in knitting. </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Not all my projects, there were still crochet and embroidery and painting projects going, of course. I can’t have no wips! </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Then, I got to work learning how to do these stitches when desired. It eventually made lace fly, as you're able to set up for an ssk on the row or round before it happens, just by the way the yarn is wrapped around the stitch. Then, also, I learned to knit backwards through that experimentation period. And, by setting up an Eastern mounted stitch on one round, and working it as though it’s Western mounted on the next round, it results in a Twisted Stitch, on Purpose, with a lot more ease. </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">In one of the first knitting books I had ever read, I’d seen a reference to this way of purling. But because of the author’s lack of understanding and judgement, she called it a ‘lazy purl’ and so that’d kept me away from doing it for a long time. It was in Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I love her chatty writing style and her way of talking about yarns and patterns. But, this is one point I disagree with her about. It’s a different way of purling, it is faster for continental picker style knitters, and is easier for some of us with stress or rheumatoid arthritis injuries, but lazy, not really. I know she’s not here to hear my complaint, but others who uphold her way of thinking are, and like me, need their minds opened a bit. </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Anyways, that’s how I came from Twisted Stitches without a Purpose, to Twisted Stitches with a Purpose. </font></span></p><font face="inherit"><br /></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="inherit">Caveats for those who decide to experiment with the way you knit that might have an impact on your knitting gauge, Finish All Your Knitting WIPS First!! It’s best to practice on a fresh project rather than an in progress project because it will change the intersection of your hands, yarn, and needles known as your gauge. On a dishrag this could be funny, on a sweater this could be anger inducing! Ask me how I know!!! Those socks weren’t my only experiment in changing how I knit mid-project. They are the only ones still existing, though. Some things just needed to be cut and trashed. Hence why I don’t use semi-precious or super expensive yarns.</font></span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-51655627085660790922020-07-24T19:13:00.001-04:002020-07-24T19:13:10.993-04:00Current Projects, an UpdateHi Folks!<div><br /></div><div>With all the changes over at Ravelry and my own inability to use the classic version without getting a migraine quickly, I'm deciding to update projects here again. I had gotten out of the habit with the ease of Ravelry, but that's no longer an easy place to do stuff. So, here we are!</div><div><br /></div><div>I plan to be doing these on a semi-regularly basis going forwards, every to every other week, depending on frequently I get to doing some projects.</div><div><br /></div><div>First up this month is the first of the <a href="http://dreamsinfiber.blogspot.com/2009/07/hermoines-everyday-socks-free-pattern.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hermione's Everyday Socks</a> (link is to the Dreams in Fiber website for this free pattern). I am using Knit Picks Stroll in Pucker, a hot pink color. I adapted the pattern using Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel and making them toe-up, instead of cuff down as directed in the pattern. I adapted the Sweet Tomato Heel by making it over only half the stitches, it works in this instance, but you should experiment in your own sock knitting if adjusting patterns. I didn't use a lifeline, but it would have been a good idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a picture of one of the socks. I'm still in knitting the leg of the other sock. I need to count how many pattern repeats I did in this one to make the current one match before working the ribbing.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wlbG8ex5I4A/Xxtnd276fII/AAAAAAAAWKQ/820lVr_KdnsPe5N4M2AQYyiZqIPyIcM6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/hermiones%2Bed%2Bsock%2Bs1%2Bpucker.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wlbG8ex5I4A/Xxtnd276fII/AAAAAAAAWKQ/820lVr_KdnsPe5N4M2AQYyiZqIPyIcM6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/hermiones%2Bed%2Bsock%2Bs1%2Bpucker.jpeg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I also made a <a href="https://tinyowlknits.wordpress.com/the-beekeepers-quilt/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beekeeper's Quilt</a> (link is to the Tiny Owl Knits blog post about the pattern, there's a link to buy the pattern through Ravelry at the bottom of the page) motif known as a hexipuff, but since it's not stuffed, also known as a hexi-flat. Lots of knitters all over the world make these, some stuff them, and then sew them together to make coverlets of varying sizes. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hii9aqoxpKg/XxtphkaQOtI/AAAAAAAAWKc/up5tO_jRHQg6joNSyB77NNNRxut8ITA6QCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/hexipuff%2Bjuly%2B2020.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hii9aqoxpKg/XxtphkaQOtI/AAAAAAAAWKc/up5tO_jRHQg6joNSyB77NNNRxut8ITA6QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/hexipuff%2Bjuly%2B2020.jpeg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>That's it so far this month. I am doing well living through the pandemic mostly. It's a good time to listen to podcasts and learn more about how my brain works. <br /><br /></div><div>I hope y'all have a good crafting month.</div><div><br /></div><div>Later,</div><div>Jen</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-629874204834418852020-07-07T22:00:00.004-04:002020-07-24T19:46:37.864-04:00Index of Patterns with Etsy and Blog LInks, and note about Ravelry<div>A note about Ravelry:</div><div>Ravelry has been causing seizures, eye strain, migraines, and vertigo to users of the new version and the old version has been problematic for some folks as well. I know because I am one of them too. With that said, I encourage you to use the Etsy links rather than the Ravelry shop. I am not going to link directly to my designs on Ravelry anymore. If you want to find them there, they can be found under my user name: MKmaineknitter</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Stash Busting Scarf<div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/835538021/stash-busting-scarf-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_1">https://www.etsy.com/listing/835538021/stash-busting-scarf-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_1</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ribbed for my pleasure socks</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/821636222/ribbed-for-my-pleasure-socks-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_2">https://www.etsy.com/listing/821636222/ribbed-for-my-pleasure-socks-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_2</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Love's depth cabled socks</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/835509277/loves-depth-cabled-socks-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_4">https://www.etsy.com/listing/835509277/loves-depth-cabled-socks-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_4</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Irish Kate Market Bag</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/821604702/irish-kate-market-bag-crochet-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_5">https://www.etsy.com/listing/821604702/irish-kate-market-bag-crochet-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_5</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Granny's love mitts</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/835493443/grannys-love-mitts-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_6">https://www.etsy.com/listing/835493443/grannys-love-mitts-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_6</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>hourglass crochet scarf</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/821581878/hourglass-crochet-scarf-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_7">https://www.etsy.com/listing/821581878/hourglass-crochet-scarf-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_7</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>+</div><div>+</div><div>+</div><div>+</div><div><br /></div><div>Patterns with Blog Posts</div><div><br /></div><div>Vest or Waistcoat for 18-inch Dolls</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/815740612/vest-or-waistcoat-for-18-inch-doll?ref=shop_home_active_9">https://www.etsy.com/listing/815740612/vest-or-waistcoat-for-18-inch-doll?ref=shop_home_active_9</a></div><div><a href="https://cathseeker.blogspot.com/2013/10/vest-or-waistcoat-for-18-dolls.html">https://cathseeker.blogspot.com/2013/10/vest-or-waistcoat-for-18-dolls.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Mermaid Tail for 18-inch Dolls</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/815732690/pattern-mermaid-tail-18-inch-doll?ref=shop_home_active_8">https://www.etsy.com/listing/815732690/pattern-mermaid-tail-18-inch-doll?ref=shop_home_active_8</a></div><div><a href="https://cathseeker.blogspot.com/2012/08/mermaid-tail-for-18-doll.html">https://cathseeker.blogspot.com/2012/08/mermaid-tail-for-18-doll.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Curly Mitts</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/835516897/curly-mitts-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_3">https://www.etsy.com/listing/835516897/curly-mitts-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_3</a></div><div><a href="https://cathseeker.blogspot.com/2011/11/melonberry-curly-mits.html">https://cathseeker.blogspot.com/2011/11/melonberry-curly-mits.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-75035938835960378622020-06-30T21:05:00.000-04:002020-06-30T21:08:34.691-04:00RavelryOn 16 June 2020, Ravelry rolled out a new look. The aesthetic is their choice to do with as they see fit. However, they also broke some of the screen reader access they had in doing so. Folks have reported seizures, migraines, vertigo, eye strain, and other symptoms from spending a bit of time on the new version.<br />
<br />
Two days later, Ravelry released a way to access the older version of the website, but one had to go through the new version to get to the older version to do so. This still leaves out those who cannot access the site because of the broken screen reader access or other symptoms. Plus, the fact that one had to know that the access to the older version was even available.<br />
<br />
Throughout the time since Ravelry has released their new look, they have posted two blog posts. Both posts are super cheerful and encouraging about the changes. Neither post mentions the hardship some members have in accessing the site, just a small reference to a set of users using the older version. Not that that is an indication of anything when all the former users are not able to access the site, and what does it mean anyways. Percentages were given, but percentages of what numbers, from what time and what kind of snapshot is that. Statistics are always manipulations of data.<br />
<br />
There's been a lot of new accounts from folks logging in to see how things are to see how the code works and offer how to help adjust it for better practices to make it accessible to all users. Some new accounts are also journalists and others looking for interesting things to stir up trouble. And, a few are valid accounts of new folks actually interested in the crafts Ravelry represents. A 103% increase over a time when account sign ups were closed isn't hard to explain away.<br />
<br />
In the past, the owners of Ravelry have been transparent and hands on with users. In the time since the change, Ravelry has only posted twice on social media outlets to share the blog posts already mentioned. This feels like ghosting from the owners.<br />
<br />
The forums have always been open to a variety of topics. In particular forums, everyone can ask questions of the management of Ravelry and have a discussion. Since the change, the moderators of the forums in question have been locking threads and hiding posts by folks asking valid questions of the management. When that happens and folks ask more questions, those are hidden and the questioners are banned from asking questions. This is why folks with disabilities and their friends feel like the management of Ravelry is being ablest and gas lighting and demeaning us.<br />
<br />
We just want an open discussion with the ability to fix this snafu. It can be fixed. Alt text for screen readers is not hard to add to the log in screen. A choice to log in to the old or new version at the log in screen is not a hard thing, why make folks go through the adverse reaction website to get to the better website (even if it's not the best it could be).<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-78841691103407617962019-05-23T10:32:00.001-04:002019-05-23T10:32:32.486-04:00Frustration ... AcceptanceFrustration leads to suffering.<br />
Acceptance leads to peace.<br />
Existentially.<br />
<br />
Let me break that down.<br />
<br />
I used to get really frustrated when I had migraines. Sometimes, I still do. I'm human. That frustration at having the migraines led to the suffering from the pain.<br />
<br />
You can be in pain and not suffer.<br />
<br />
I have been in pain and not suffered.<br />
<br />
The secret, not-so-secret-secret, is to not resist the pain and therefore not get frustrated and just radically accept that yes, there is going to be pain, now how am I going to deal with it?<br />
<br />
Am I going to rest, and let my body have a break?<br />
<br />
Am I going to take some medication to assist my body in getting through the time?<br />
<br />
Am I going to use ice or heat to reduce the pain?<br />
<br />
All of those things require acknowledging that I am in pain an accepting that it is happening.<br />
<br />
Pushing through the pain, creating more pain, and making things worse leads to frustration.<br />
<br />
Frustration from not being able to do what I want when I want.<br />
<br />
Frustration from my body being not as strong as I want in the moment.<br />
<br />
Frustration from not accepting life as it is.<br />
<br />
That's the simple definition of radical acceptance.<br />
<br />
I'm human, so it's a continual lesson. I do learn it again when frustration sneaks in.<br />
<br />
Acceptance is self-care.<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-78392968727319396392019-02-21T23:50:00.001-05:002019-02-21T23:50:38.278-05:00Children of Bone and Blood, A Review<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hgiaysWP2pI/XG91cznIE4I/AAAAAAAATCo/_ItTV7KBi2YBgIERLV4X2wkBpVvwQ7pFACLcBGAs/s1600/Children%252Bof%252BBlood%252Band%252BBone.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1141" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hgiaysWP2pI/XG91cznIE4I/AAAAAAAATCo/_ItTV7KBi2YBgIERLV4X2wkBpVvwQ7pFACLcBGAs/s200/Children%252Bof%252BBlood%252Band%252BBone.png" width="131" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.tomiadeyemi.com/books</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<u><br /></u>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Children of Blood and Bone</u> by Tomi Adeyemi is a great fantasy novel with a dystopian story line about a totalitarian patriarchy that is at a tipping point in the life of a set of teens and the kingdom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Zelie has a chance to bring back an utopian state and strike down the monarchy. She has help along the way, but must survive many dangers to get through the harshness of life on the way to fighting the good fight.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of my favorite parts in this book start at the beginning with the training sessions with Mama Agba, the language, the sparing between Zelie and Amari until they begin to trust each other, and Amari's memories of Binta. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There's a few ways oppression is manifest in this story. There's classism between the have's and the have-not's. Diviners are the lowest class, if that word can be used, can be born into any family, and, appear in the strangest places. Then there's the kosidan class, who are distinguished from the diviners by not having white/grey hair. Then there's the oloyes class, who are distinguished from the kosidan and diviners because they are the nobility and </span>courtesans<span style="font-family: inherit;">. Then there's the royals, who are able to command anything and the king has command over everything from life and death for everyone under him within the realm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I used to think that I understood the all encompassing fear that women live with. But, being white, I don't have that fear all the time anymore. I used to, but healing has removed it from me. But, I am not one who has to fear that my life is in danger all.of.the.time now. Zelie experiences fear all.of.the.time and you experience that in the chapters written from her perspective. I now know that I am not having the same experience of most black and </span>indigenous<span style="font-family: inherit;"> women of color in fearing their lives every single moment. Now, I will do what I can to lessen that fear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think this is a great book and it can change your life if you let it. Ms. Adeyemi wrote it to emphasize the blackness of the characters and reading the book, you cannot miss that everyone, almost, is black. There's a couple, out of the many hundreds of characters shown, who might not be black, but everyone else unabashedly, unashamedly black. You can read this book and be a racist at the beginning, but I don't think you will be the same at the end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am reviewing this book from my own library of books I have the </span>privilege<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of owning. I give it five stars, out of five stars. </span><div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-88718854804786247102019-01-14T12:00:00.000-05:002019-01-14T12:07:51.372-05:002018 Creative ReviewLast year, I kept records on my crafting primarily in my Ravelry profile.<br />
<br />
I processed 19,626 yards in 53 projects of knitting or crochet projects.<br />
<br />
Some were tiny projects that were for babies of others, household items, and winter clothes, along with a bunch of socks.<br />
<br />
* 10 pairs of socks<br />
* 3 sweaters<br />
* 5 blankets<br />
* 12 hats<br />
* 11 neck things (cowls, scarves, shawls)<br />
* 3 pairs of mittens or fingerless mittens<br />
* 3 baby things<br />
<br />
What did you create last year?<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-90893741165750570492018-06-03T14:53:00.002-04:002018-06-03T14:53:07.123-04:00Blooming CrownsToday, I went to the launch party for the newest edition of Taproot: Bloom. It was great fun!<br />
<br />
I made a blooming crown from flowers and supplies provided by Broadturn Farm, in Scarborough, Maine, that used to be on my commute to and from work most days. It's been a long time since I traveled there, so it was nice to think on and talk with others about flowers.<br />
<br />
This is the crown that I made! It's sitting around my summer hat I wear to combat icky lights, which wasn't needed at the party, but it's better to be prepared.<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_1605003261"></span><span id="goog_1605003262"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lzzPGz9M0DA/WxQ35LwpgBI/AAAAAAAASv4/nAUUeYargvoanQP6QZnj1iV8HJll81eMQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_2950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lzzPGz9M0DA/WxQ35LwpgBI/AAAAAAAASv4/nAUUeYargvoanQP6QZnj1iV8HJll81eMQCK4BGAYYCw/s320/IMG_2950.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I hope to have more fun at the next release party in a while.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
To find out more about Taproot, you can find their online store <a href="https://taprootmag.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Until next time, enjoy your walks and have fun!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Portland, ME 04103, USA43.6892051 -70.27200419999996943.597359100000006 -70.433365699999968 43.7810511 -70.110642699999971tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-32115012591103267092017-11-18T15:12:00.001-05:002017-11-18T15:12:25.833-05:00Guilds and Fairs, Oh My!Last Saturday was the Craft Fair at the local grange building. Granges are community builders that promote togetherness and agriculture in the US. There were 2,100 communities with 160,000 members in 36 states as of 2005 in the US. The Grange is a fraternal order that was founded after the Civil War in 1867. There's usually one local to many Mainers. Anyways, the town I live in has a fairly active one, and they held a craft fair last weekend.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I bought a few items. One was to support a local cheer team, and the other was to support a painter from the area. Both are going to be for Christmas gifts this year. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Today, I attended the Guild meeting for the Southern Maine Spinners and Weavers Guild, which meets at the Dorothy Stevens Community Center in Kennebunk, Maine. We had a great time describing what we have been learning and setting up for our holiday party next month.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I volunteered to set up the Facebook page and maintain it for a while to see how it goes. I already have a fairly low key Facebook page for this blog, and, so feel comfortable with the Facebook side of things. I also have been the Public Relations officer for various groups in the past, so am excited to be initiating this outlet for the group.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anyways, I learned that there's the ability to add editors to pages on Facebook, so will see how that works and go from there. I'm also looking forward to finding out more about the group and how it can change through this mighty step forward.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-63496039701600042252017-09-24T13:04:00.001-04:002017-09-24T13:04:27.772-04:00What I love about Autumnal Fall, This Year!<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding: 0px;">
Equinox! Mabon! The days and nights are equal! <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />Pretty colors in nature that are full of vibrancy! <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />Life gets into a routine again after the lazy days of unstructured summers! <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />Though not this year… <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />Life changes and the wheel of time moves forward, <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />ever onwards. <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />I won’t end the wheel’s movement, <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />I can’t, but there are times of sadness so great currently. <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />Crups guarding and seeing through the veil of life and death, <br style="font-size: 0em; line-height: 0px;" />letting me know she is near.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding: 0px;">
~~~</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding: 0px;">
My gma has gone on to the next grand adventure, so the wheel of time moves forwards.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding: 0px;">
Hug your loved ones, and, if not near them, hug your self and be gentle with your self.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding: 0px;">
Now, that it’s getting dusty in here, where’s some pumpkin spice latte? ;)</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-71234270436476876472017-07-04T21:32:00.001-04:002017-07-04T22:15:11.226-04:00Blessings of the Migraines, an updateSo, why would I post about the benefits of migraines? Grandma prays continually for a cure, but I don't think that will happen. It may, but, I'm not holding my breath.<br />
<br />
So, what are the benefits of migraines? Let me count them....<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Greater gratitude for life and simple things.</li>
<ol>
<li>Walks with my dog in the crisp winter sunny days, the sharp scent of snow enveloping my entire being</li>
<li>Summertime walks at night and getting to see inside the neighbors houses'. Thankfully, they're all decent folks.</li>
</ol>
<li>Noticing the changes of when birds start to sing in the morning from the insomnia the various medications cause.</li>
<li>Understanding how to communicate without words about stuff with folks who don't talk.</li>
<li>Getting more knowledge and connection with others in the extended family and friends circles.</li>
<li>Growing in a sense of who I am, and what I'm not going to put up with anymore.</li>
<li>Less caring about what folks think of me since I have to wear sunglasses at night in the winter to go into stores.</li>
<li>Getting to know the quieter people in my neighborhood a bit more.</li>
</ol>
<div>
It's not all roses. There's days when I can barely keep anything in me due to the ongoing nausea, and days when I can barely get out of bed due to the head hurting to move, and the great inconvenience of it all being random. But, I also look at the silver linings.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-76946607218152963762017-07-04T21:19:00.001-04:002017-07-04T21:19:15.723-04:00How to love yourself ... some thoughtsConfidence, love for self, feeling great about you and your abilities comes from actions.<br />
<br />
Do you want to be a person who does x? Then, do it.<br />
<br />
I want to be a person who travels the world. Then, I need to do it.<br />
<br />
Need a shower? Take one, use a shower chair if you need to. No one cares, but you, whether you do or don't, and what does it matter as long as you get clean?<br />
<br />
Have weight gain from steroids for a multi-week migraine? Go for walks after dark when the light isn't so bad, and do things by handto have less noise in your environment.<br />
<br />
Have a butt ton of crafting supplies from before yogot sick? Use them. Enjoy what you can, and make something pretty or practical.<br />
<br />
Make.<br />
<br />
Do.<br />
<br />
Live.<br />
<br />
Rest when needed.<br />
<br />
Take care of you and your body as there is no one else who cares as much about your stuff as you do.<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-16062091409661546782017-07-04T21:12:00.004-04:002020-07-24T19:48:17.446-04:00Updated Patterns!Hey, All!<br />
<br />
I updated all of the patterns I have available on Ravelry. There's seven available plus one that is not available at this time.<br />
<br />
Here's the list!<br />
<ul>
<li>American Girl Waistcoat</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<li>Granny's Love Mitts</li>
<li>Irish Kate Market Bag</li>
<li>Melonberry Curly Mitts</li>
<li>Mermaid Tail for American Girl Dolls</li>
<li>Ribbed for My Pleasure Socks</li>
<li>Stash Busting Scarf</li>
</ul>
<div>
I hope to get the sweater pattern written by the end of the year. I need to dig out my notes and convert them to an actual pattern. No one wants my chicken scratch to read.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Hope you have a grand time exploring the patterns!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Oh, and, Ravelry does require a free account to have a profile.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Enjoy!</div>
<div>
Jen</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="MsoNormal">Ravelry has been causing folks to experience seizures, migraines, and vertigo, among other problems, so I'm providing other options for folks to purchase my patterns through.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">These patterns are also available on <a href="www.JenCragen.Etsy.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Etsy</a>. I never did get that sweater into a pattern format.</div></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802414441770194441.post-49422241307122543732017-05-04T12:50:00.000-04:002017-07-04T22:21:46.489-04:00January 2017 Projects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images4-cdn.ravelrycache.com/uploads/MKmaineknitter/427506306/IMG_20170203_2125328_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images4-cdn.ravelrycache.com/uploads/MKmaineknitter/427506306/IMG_20170203_2125328_rewind.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
1723 yards<br />
Center is 15 granny squares in a 3x5 grid<br />
This was turned in for Detention, January 2017, HPKCHC on Ravelry<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/MKmaineknitter/429932486/IMG_1498_medium2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/MKmaineknitter/429932486/IMG_1498_medium2.JPG" width="318" /></a></div>
<br />
1756.4 yards<br />
Ironheart Pattern, Test Knit for Tin Can Knits<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">I seek, not to know, but to discover</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0