400 Knitting Stitches by Potter Craft

Dear Readers:

I'm fairly new to knitting and, as with all crafts, I realize practice makes perfect! Finding the cover of 400 Knitting Stitches by Potter Craft to be so inviting and the examples inside so intriguing, I've decided to make sample squares to advance my skills. Getting all 400 stitches sampled is a lofty goal and I doubt attainable however, it all starts with one stitch right?

Hummmmm, and it just so happens that one if tomorrow's errands will have me right next a Joann's Fabrics Store! Hummmm, and their yarn is on sale too.  Hummmm, and it just so happens that I've wanted to try Vanna's yarn for some time now. Golly, I think I'll posting progress in no time.

And readers, I haven't forgotten about the Craftsy self-challenge or my Christmas-starting-in-July ornaments for 2013 either. It's just that my attention span is so narrow that I have to give myself plenty of options. Don't be surprised if I throw in some jewelry and journal writing too.

Wish me luck and see you back soon,

Loss

The purpose of my blog was and still is to become a springboard for my crafting inspiration but sometimes it just doesn't work that way. A few weeks ago a bright, beautiful young man's life expired. Sudden and unexpected. He was 23 and my kid's best friend. I think of the loss daily. I watch my son's sadness and know that soon his emotions will turn. He will tuck his friend's spirit in that special space in his heart. Every joy, success, and failure will be shared with the memory of him. His friend will smile, comfort, and cajole while telling him it's all good. There will be the day when only one glass is present but they'll  be toasting each other lives. He'll always be here. A good kid and wonderful young man.

Then there is the loss of a family member going away. His life is a mess of organic and inorganic chemical imbalances. The cards were stacked against him at birth. The older her got the more troubles popped up. More and more that developed inside him until he became a different boy and then a different man.

But today, for just a moment he was that kid I love so much. One hug brought that vulnerable boy to the surface as he whispered he loved me. I love him so much but circumstances have gone too far and there's no turning them around. He pulled away cause he had to leave and I watched that genius boy, that sensitive, talented, loving boy walk away to pay for what he had become. Some by his own choice but the majority that was never his choice but most certain his burden.

Turning 52, Chicken & Broccoli, Depression, and Vitamins

Dear Readers:
Golly readers, turning 52 was a rough ride for me. Around Christmas I started to feel really depressed, didn't want to do a thing, and every time I exercised my legs felt like lead. I couldn't go more than a few minutes without a tingly pain around my calves and ankles. Understanding why I was dropping deeper and deeper into a listless funk escaped me. I couldn't sleep and was sooo beyond tired. Then 52 came along and I seemed to drop down to an even lower state gloom and doom. Was I really so typical that age would cause me to freak out?

However, an amazing thing happened. All by accident. Due to moving to a new city I needed to find a new primary care physician a little closer to home. I did and while going over my history I complained about my continued low but not necessarily abnormal red blood count. The Doc ordered some blood tests for iron and vitamin D deficiency. I didn't think too much of it since I was sure I was in a losing battle with depression but boy, was I wrong!

Both tests came back with surprisingly low results. Like ... they couldn't get much lower type of results. The Doc immediately put me on iron and a prescription strength dose of vitamin D. Then I started doing some research and discovered that many of my symptoms were related to the low D and iron. It's only been a week but I'm feeling better already and my skin has changed from pasty to peaches.

So, what does all this have to do with chicken & broccoli? Well, today was the first day in months that I felt like cooking a real dinner. Something from scratch instead of tossing junk into a pan directly from the freezer. The recipe, Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole, came from The Best Simple Recipes by America's Test Kitchen. Doesn't it look Delicious? Just look at that picture.

The chicken was tender and juicy because of the dry sherry and cream sauce.

You can see how moist the chicken is in the picture. 

Tomorrow, I'm trying out Stir-Fried Beef with Snow Peas and Cashews from the same book. Boy, I can't wait.

I thought I'd add this view from my apartment. Lovely, clear, beautiful. Those dots on the water are ducks. I feel so lucky to be living where I do. It's a little slice of heaven in a semi-urban area.

Anywho, count your blessings cause I sure am counting mine!

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Work in Progress

I"m working on the design of my blog. Hang in there.

Rules are Made to be Broken

Dear Readers:

The main purpose I had when creating this blog was two-fold. First is a place to share my crafts and second are my thoughts on life as a divorcee in her 50's. Ups and downs as well as good and bad. I want to keep it real however, in keeping it real, I have to admit I don't know what real is.

I've always lived a life of rules while living in the grayness between black and white. I'm adult enough to know there are no absolutes but childish enough to wish there were. Not wish but actually believe. Due to this childish belief, disappointment is a single constant in my life. It's also the reason others feel confident in me due to my high level of personal ethics. The rules I selfishly impose on others are also the set I live by. 

The problem with rules is when they are broken, they are broken. You can try to repair it but there will always be a crack no matter how minor the fissure. Let me tell you, after 50 years of rules, life gets tough and I'm getting tired. So, I need to lighten up a bit. Live in the gray instead of navigating it. 

Living in the gray. I'm not sure I know how to do it. I've lived by the rules for so long that I'm out of touch. It's difficult to leave the straight and narrow even though it might be fun and exciting. I guess the only way I'll know is to push against my self-imposed boundaries and see what happens.

Wish me luck,

Craftsy Sewing Challenge

Dear Readers:

I love the Craftsy website. Have you ever been there? If not, click the link and you'll fall in love too. Crafrsy has tons of how- to online classes ranging from cakes to quilts. I've signed up for numerous classes, watched them, but have I ever finished one? The answer is nooooooo!

So earlier today, I found myself thinking about how it's already the month of February, it's my birthday month, it's my 52nd birthday, and I'm in need of nice fitting clothes for work and home. I also want clothes that have a little style. It's not like I can run out to the store cause my body type is anything but typical RTW. I'm that much too tall for off-the-rack pants but that much too short for talls. Because my bust,waist, and hips are only fractions of an inch apart, I'm  that much too big for misses and waaaaaay not curvy and busty enough for women's. Don't even ask me about my shoe size. What to do, what to do ...

Well, it's Craftsy to the rescue! I have a talent for sewing but due to the a fore mentioned oddities I've been less than successful. Baggy crotch, too tight waist, wrinkled behind, saggy blouse fronts, and tightness around my upper back. I was on the Craftsy website when I found the Sew the Perfect Fit and Plus-Size Pattern Fitting courses:

I immediately signed up the classes and issued myself a Friday Night Challenge! Anybody else can join in however few read my blogs so, uhhh .... well, anywho, the invite it there. Fridays will be my watch, learn, and sew night. I'll then have the week to complete the lesson and post my results. I do have a couple of weekends where family fun will postpone the learning process but there is more to life then sewing, isn't there?

See you all next week with my first Craftsy Update!

WIP - Crochet Snowflake Afghan

Dear Readers:

The other day I was rearranging my apartment in order to make a spot for my new exercise bike and stumbled on a forgotten crochet project. It was my beautiful Snowflake Afghan that I had started after seeing the picture below on the blog site art of tangle. Isn't is beautiful?

As usual, I made a few minor changes but in color choices only. Instead of two colors I decided on three and used winter white and green. The yarn I chose was Plymouth's Encore in Winter White, Pale Greenhouse, and Fall Green.

The snowflake unit is a hexagon made of eight rounds. Rounds one through five create the snowflake where I used Winter White (duh). The next two rounds shape the hexagon and I switched from Winter White to Pale Greenhouse. Row eight is the unit's last row and where I switched yarn to Fall Green. I'll also use this color to connect the units together.

This is the stash I found! I had fourteen snowflake units, one center, the pattern, and all the yarn. It was like Christmas. I immediately dumped all my other projects and started hooking!

How long do you think I'll continue before something else captures my attention? Ugh, I so wish I had more discipline!

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