Haunting

Most days, I drop Kate off at the sitter, drop Cam off downtown, and continue on to work.  

I have the earliest start time, so I'm usually the one that is worried about our time.  

I would like Kate to get out quickly, but I don't always get what I want.  

I've taken lately to (humorously!) telling her, "Get out!  Get out!" in my most creepy voice.  Yesterday, Cam added, "The car is possessed by the ghost of your mother.  

And she's not even dead yet."

I Can't Weave it Alone

I Can't Weave it Alone

or

Take That, Arthritis!

I used to crochet.  And knit.  A lot.  Then RA took away my ability to do fine motions with my fingers for an extended amount of time, so I had to pretty much give them up.  And that was sad.

But then my wonderful husband bought me this!

And I have been very happy since.  It's an Ashford Knitter's Loom.  It's collapsible and portable, and I can make projects up to 20" wide.

Recently, my sister was diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer.  (Stage zero meaning that it was caught at the precancerous stage.  Radiation treatments suck, but she's gonna be fine.)  And with it being breast cancer awareness month, I made her a pink scarf.

These are the yarns that I used:

All of them were at Joann's.  (Moonlight Madness sale!  Woot!)

The fuzzies near the bottom are fun fur and sparkly fun fur.  The Pound of love is lighter than the rest, and I used it for my weft.  I liked the contrast in the finished product.

Work in progress:

And the finished scarf:

I'm very happy with this project (my selvedges are actually even!) but there are a few things I learned.  Fun fur looks like it would be a good idea, but the weaving process makes all of the threads lay down and you can barely tell that it's there.  The sparkly yarn, however, is a big yes!  I thought it added greatly to the overall scarf.  It's hard to see in the picture, but it's there.

So what colors should I try next?

I'm (still) on Drugs

I'm (still) on Drugs

It's been a while since I've done this, and my meds have changed in the last year, so I thought I'd give this another go.  In order of when I take them:

5:00 am (right when I first wake up)

A single teeny-tiny 88mcg Levothyroxine.  It's a thyroid hormone, to keep up with my sluggish thyroid.  Cause - Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

6:00 am

A single slightly-less-teeny 400mg Gabapentin.  It's a fun one, for my tingling, numb, oversensitive feet.  Cause - Peripheral Neuropathy (non-Diabetic).  Apparently, this one's got a decent street value.

6:30 am (with Breakfast)

Can you believe I can take all of these in one go with a sip of water?  But they say it's not a problem until I'm chewing the painkillers...

Top row - Supplements.  Iron, Multi-Vitamin, B-Complex, and Flax Oil.
Bottom row - 600mg Ibuprofen (and that's it for painkillers, folks!), 120mg Propranolol (for the Essential Tremors caused by the next one), 200mg Plaquenil (an anti-rheumatic for my RA), 20mg Paxil (guess what - chronic illness can cause depression and anxiety), 5mg Prednisone (for the RA), and a Claritin.

2:00 pm

Another 400mg Gabapentin.

6:00 pm (Dinnertime)

Top row - Supplements.  Calcium, Fish Oil, Feverfew (for headaches), Align Probiotic.

Bottom Row - 600mg Ibuprofen, 200mg Plaquenil, 50mg Hydrochlorothiozide (which I just spelled from memory...and is my blood pressure pill).

9:00 pmish - 10:00 pmish (Bedtime)

50mg Elavil (for the Neuropathy and headaches), the last Gabapentin, 750mg Robaxin (whee!...muscle relaxers!), and 50mg Desyrel (sleeping pill).

That makes 12 meds (11 prescription and Claritin) from four different doctors plus supplements for a grand total of 28 pills daily.

Oh, and let's not forget this:

Every six weeks.  I'm at 4mg per kg, but he's bumping it up for my next dose.  This is an immune suppressant (in the hopes of getting my overactive immune system to stop attacking my joints).  So, if you see me use Purell after shaking your hand or refuse a bite of whatever yummy food you have, don't be insulted.  I'm just trying to keep from getting Every. Single. Germ. that is going around.

 

Breakfast with the Critters

On weekend mornings, when I have more time, I like to share breakfast with the rats.  I sit down on the couch, open the cage door, and let them come to me.  Breakfast this morning was Fiber One Raisin Bran.  Yum.

Truffles, being a typical Rattus Norvegicus, likes the grains.  In her case, it's the bran flakes.

Our newest girl, Creme, is very skittish.  She will eventually come out, but only after Truffles has shown that it is safe.  She prefers the oat clusters or the raisins, but she'll scamper back to the cage to eat her prize.

Butterscotch is my clown.  Not only will she dive in headfirst, but she prefers the milk.  I was concerned at first, knowing that rats are lactose intolerant.  Then I remembered that it's almond milk, since I'm lactose intolerant.

After all of the flakes are gone and it's just milk, Creme loses interest.  Butterscotch keeps on drinking, and Truffles starts in on milk, too.  Cam commented that Butterscotch can join Gideon's army, since she laps at the milk.  Truffles can't, since she sticks a paw in and licks the milk off.

The Hair

Oh, the hair.  If you know me personally, you probably remember me having more hair than this at some time.  It was once down to my hips, and red.  Well, it's still red (at least the bottom half), but it's not so long anymore.  I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in the fall of 2010, and I flipped.  "My life is over!  My hands will get all shriveled and useless!  I can't have long hair with shriveled hands!"  So I cut it short.  And you know what?  It's a year and a half later, and my life is not over.  My hands are in better shape than they were (Yay drugs!) and I can do a whole lot of things, including having long hair.
I got a haircut today to get rid of the last of my layers, and I hereby declare that I'm growing it long again.  I'm also growing out the last of my henna, if I have the patience.  I might do one last big chop in a year or so to get rid of it.  Other than that, I'm sticking with my routine of 1/4" trims every three months.  It's currently 17" long measured from my hairline in front, over the top of my head, and down my back.
If you're interested in growing your hair long, this forum was a great help to me: The Long Hair Community

I've got WP Skillet.

Saw this online the other day.  My first thought was "I sooo want one!"  My second thought was "Hmm.  I don't think that hilt is oven-safe."

I love my old cast-iron skillet.  Words cannot describe my love for it.  Except these words. 

Cam and I had a conversation once upon a time that the absolute worst place in our apartment that an intruder could startle me would be the kitchen.  I've got my trusty skillet.  Anyone seen Tangled?  Who knew?  Plus, if I'm actually cooking, the skillet is hot.  Ouch.

Then there's my knives.  I have a set of moderately-priced knives, and I keep them sharpened.  (Oh, the life skills my brother Scott has taught me.)  I once shamed a CutCo salesman when my knives cut better than theirs.

Back to the skillet.  I first got a cast-iron one when my doctor recommended it as a way to help fight my anemia.  If I'm going to have tiny flakes of stuff come off my skillet and into my food, iron at least is good for me.  Non-stick coating, not so much.

I love that a well-seasoned skillet is non-stick all by itself.  I love that I can make grilled cheese without added butter. (When I'm in a healthy mood.  When I'm not... I'm Paula Deen.)  I love that I can take it from stovetop to oven.  (Now I want pineapple upside-down cake.)