Two acres of Echoes

           

Our beautiful front yard...

door squeeks

Hello? Echo

Anybody still here?  Hellooooooo?

I don’t really know where to start, other than, Hello.  I’ll catch you up by saying we have (finally) moved successfully, and have been living in our own home for about 6 weeks or so.  My goodness was this an adventure, in the truest sense of the word.  I will be exceptionally happy if I never go through buying a house again.  It’s a lot of work.  And at this point, it was all completely worth it. 

my favorite tree...ever.  It's soooo pretty!

            Our house is beautiful – if a little empty.  We are still working at tracking down some furniture for our “Library” and we are in desperate need of area rugs what with entire house being floored in 12”x12” white tile!  It’s cold and somewhat sterile at the moment.  Although slowly and surely it is becoming a true (gigantic) home for the two of us.  Jon has been busy pretty much every single weekend with yard work.  Fortunately, for him, my dad lives two doors down, and has been able to walk him through the process quite well.  That, and he’s been able to lend Jon all the tools we don’t have quite yet.  Like a lawnmower and pruning shears – just to name a couple.

            And fortunately for me, my mom is also two doors down – because you know, they’re married – and she has been able to give me a hand unpacking boxes and getting various rooms set up.  I have oddly not gotten around to setting up my sewing studio, which would be really odd, if I weren’t doing a metric crap-ton of knitting currently.  Which – you like my segue here? – brings us to one of the main reasons for this welcome-back post.

            My giveaway.  Saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t really express my feelings.  I feel horrible about walking away from (yet another) unfinished project.  That is not at all how I wanted that idea to end.  And, because I am no longer allowing myself to “burn bridges” I have returned to make it right.  For you.  But also for myself.  Because acomplishing things is important to me in a way it never has been.  And I promised myself when I started this blog that I would not just abruptly leave it hanging. 

            So, here I am.  Wanna get some free stuff??  Do you?  Come on!  Of course you do!  We all do.  I do!  So, here is how this is going to work.  I am going to randomly pick a number between one and twenty-one (the number of comments on the giveaway post).  There is absolutely NO scientific method to the picking of this number, I’m just picking.  So, with without further ado:

            drum roll, please

Aaaaaand, the winner is –

Contestant Number Four.  That’s right folks!  Number 4.  Pickle, is our winner!  Come on up and claim your prize! 

            You can refer back to the original post to see all the amazing stuff you have won.  It’s honestly pretty exciting, if I do say so myself.  I hope all of my darling readers aren’t so frustrated with me that you’ve walked away to never ever return.  That would make me very sad.  And I accept it if you have.  Because sometimes that’s just life.  We clean up the messes left behind.  And, on the good days, we give awesome yarn to a complete (lovely) stranger.

            I am going to contact you, Pickle.  I am also going to see if Jamie over at Scissors and Steam – who also just came back to her blog) will put a blurb in a post to help let Pickle know.  When I can get ahold of you, I will be sending you an email with all the pertinent info.  Once again, contratulations my dear!

Happy happy Friday!

~j.b.


Oh, p.s.

I will honestly be back...very soon.  I have two+ months of stuff to talk about, people!  You really didn't expect me to stay quiet forever did you?!?  Ha!

Breakfast of Champions...

Greetings, my lovelies, on this nearly bright Tuesday morning!  This is what I had for breakfast.  It was meant to be my dessert last night, but I had a migraine, in its place.  Go me!  I think it may have been worth the wait, though...because I think I may not have snapped a picture of it last night.  And I would be sadly unable to blog about it.  And what would my life be then? And yours?  Lacking, for certain.

Anyway, while this may seem highly inappropriate for breakfast, this is from the woman who would gladly eat pie or ice cream in place of more common breakfast goods.  Such as cereal or *gasp* toast!  But, before you cry "but it's whipped cream" at me, know that it actually isn't.  It's home-made greek honey yogurt.  I'd like to claim I made the yogurt -- which is on my to-do list -- but I bought it at Whole Pay Check (tm).  I did however mix in Honey, a teeny tiny bit of agave and some vanilla extract.  It's a much cheaper way of getting the yogurt we love without having to spend as much or visit multiple grocery stores.

As far as the fruit goes.  *giggles maniacally*  This is soooo good!  I cored and sliced strawberries.  Macerated them with sugar, a splash of orange juice, some vanilla extract and some orange zest!  They are ridiculous, and should be illegal.  In fact, I'm sure they are in like three counties.  But I don't care.  Because they're delicious.  Very.

At any rate, I am loving all the comments my giveaway post is receiving.  This makes me a happy person.  Which is what you want.  Well, it's what I want in any case.  There's just a couple more days left to sign up, so go...leave a comment.  I promise I won't bite.  Mostly.  On a good day.  Haha!

Happy Tuesday!
~j.b.

Worse for Wear...

This whole house-buying...thing...can be, at times, irritating and exhausting.  I recently received an email from the Under Writer wanting "satisfactory" explanations of things I didn't think anybody knew let alone needed explained.  Everything from why my Husband has two last names -- we both hyphenated when we got married -- to an explanation as to why Jon lived at my parents' house at one point.  Which, by the way, he never did, so I don't know why they think he did.

My initial reaction to these "requests", which read more like demands, was shock.  Then fear!  It felt like a trap.  As though if I answered any of these incorrectly, the possibility of the house would be yanked out from under us.  So, lots and lots of pressure was being heaped onto my shoulders.  But, I was putting it there.  Which is quite common for me to do when I'm already stressed.

Then, after speaking with our Loan Officer, and hearing her explain that it seemed a lot worse than it actually was, and even she was confused as to why they needed some of the info they are asking for, I feel much lighter and not quite so stressed out.  Basically, they just need us to prove we are who we say we are, and let them know we don't have any unaccounted-for debt they don't know about.  Basic stuff, honestly.  I've just never bought a house, and I was young enough when my parents bought their current house that I wasn't privy to everything they had to sign and seal.  Thank god!  If it freaks me out this much now, I can't imagine what it'd have done at 17 years old!  Good grief! 

Wow, I feel so much better getting all these feelings out in the world.  It's much nicer than leaving them cooped up in my head.  They're much less powerful, now.  Which is good.  I really think the feelings we hold onto, and the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, can be very powerful in terms of manifesting things, situations, and events in our lives.  We so completely want this house.  It will be such a good move for us, and fulfill a good number of dreams we've had.  And I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize our ability to obtain this house.  This is why I write.  To lighten my mood, and release stress.  So I don't carry it with me day after day.  It can get very heavy, very quickly.

Alright.  Thank you for listening.  I am so (!) happy to see everyone popping over to say hello.  It means the world to me.  Thank you all.

Happy Stress-Free Thursday Night,
~j.b.

Reveling in Ravelry

Greetings fellow knitters.  I am having a wonderfully peaceful Sunday "morning".  I use quotations, because it's nearly noon, and I've only been awake for about an hour.  Busy day yesterday, and the fibro kicked in along with the tail end of my chest cold.

Part of the reason yesterday was so busy is because I began rearranging my soon-to-be Knitting Knook.  We got the over-stuffed chair my mom so graciously donated into the room, and I stored the sewing machines.  Turns out, I didn't have to break down the table the machines were on, so I can use that as a crafting table, if the mood strikes.  I'll also be able to pull out the machines if/when I want to use them.  There's still quite a bit of work that needs to be done, but it's more than usable -- I'm sitting down here as I type -- and it's quite comfortable.

I've spent the "morning" sifting through Ravelry.  My login is TheFiberNerd, for those interested in befriending me.  The woman whom I hired to clean my house just -- a month ago! -- had a new baby boy, and I want to do something for her.  So, I'm thinking of knitting him a pair of tiny little booties.  December/January babies -- all babies, in fact -- need warm feet, so I thought I'd start there.  Oddly enough, I'm not finding "the perfect" pattern.  Does any one have a perfect baby bootie or baby sock pattern that is their go-to?  I'd love to see them.  I'd like it to be DK or Sport, if that helps/hinders any.

I haven't forgotten about my tutorial.  I just have a few more pics to take of the process, then I'll write it up.  Probably tomorrow or Tuesday.  I know, I know, I keep pushing it out.  Cope.  It'll get here when it gets here.  Hehehe...

Alright, Happy Sunday,
~j.b.

Attack!

I'd post a picture of what's been attacking, but I feel that if I don't visually acknowledge them, then they might go away and not exist any longer.  So, you ask, what's been attacking? 

Moths.

Tons and mega tons of moths.  I believe we brought them into the house in a box of wood we purchased from Whole Foods a couple weeks ago.  We haven't used the wood for fires because it's been so warm lately -- 70+ degrees today -- which is part of the reason they HATCHED!  I mean, eww.  I've been slowly killing off their family-members for the last two+ weeks.  And I'm still finding them.  It's so bad, I ran away to my mom's house for the week ( I can't get Terminix in until Monday!).  I just couldn't handle them any longer.  Especially on top of having a nasty cold this week -- by the way, I'm in love with DayQuil.

But as a God-send, the Moths have been graciously avoiding my fiber and fabric perfectly.  I haven't see even one in my yarn, fiber or fabric since this all started.  Not even in my clothing.  Thank GOD!  I'd have run away from home, screaming if this was not the case.  I really dislike hate insects of any shape or size.  Mostly it's spiders I hate -- yes I know they're technically arachnids, thank you -- but even flying "bugs" make my short list of things I would rather not have in my house.  I'm honestly fine with them outside.  But once they venture in to my domain, I kill them.  Repeatedly, if need be.  I'm an equal-opportunity bug murderer.  But, I believe it's justified.  They don't pay the rent.

Enough about bugs.  I have this waiting for you:

 

These will be available two ways.  One) I will have a limited supply of them for sale in my Etsy Shoppe (I'll edit with a link when updated) and Two) I am going to be posting a tutorial on how I made these for those who would rather do the work for themselves.  

Sound good?  I can't hear you!  Heh.  So, keep a look-out the next couple days for the tutorial to make an appearance.  Might be as late as Monday, too.  Might not.  You never know.  Ever.  

Alright, that's it for  tonight. 

Praying for no Moths,

~j.b.

First Swatch is a Disaster!

Well, I managed to "finish" the first swatch for the Master Hand Knitting Course I'm taking.  I knit 2" of K2P2 (knit 2 purl 2, for those who aren't "up" on the lingo) ribbing, increasing by five stitches "unobtrusively" on the last row of ribbing, then knitting what I thought was four inches of garter stitch.  But no.  Not.  Four.  Inches.  I should have knit four and a half inches in Garter Stitch.  Ack!  So, I get to knit this stupid cute little swatch all over again.

~the wrong size swatch~

I guess it could be worse.  But, not all was lost.  Just the length.  And I don't actually mind re-knitting the whole thing.  It truly is good practice.  And I've already learned something I didn't know at the outset.  I learned how to unobtrusively increase at the end of ribbing.  

(for those of you interested: it's a k1fb in the last knit stitch of how ever many repeats it takes to get the correct number of stitches)

So, I'm fairly thrilled, actually.  And I'm only a few weeks days behind on my "Complete this Course in a Year" Plan.  I have also learned that there is a group of knitters that meet every Wednesday at the local Yarn Shop (YarnDogs) who are all doing this Course.  So, health holding up, I plan on going this Wednesday.  I'm pretty excited.  It will be nice to meet others who are fighting with loving these swatches.

That's about it for tonight.  Hopefully I will have some more to write tomorrow or the next day about my class.  For now, I will leave you with ~

~ Some Beautiful New Yarn ~

So ogle, covet and plan away.  This picture doesn't really do the color justice, sorry.  The color name is Garnet, and it's a fairly accurate description.  I believe this will be turning into mittens to keep my freezing fingers warm this winter when I take walks with the Husbie.  

Have a wonderful night, I'll talk to you all soon.

Happy Crafting,

~j.b.

A quick hello...and a book review.

So, it's been a while.  And it's been a while since I've needed to write that pesky little sentence.  It's been a fairly crappy couple of days weeks here.  And while I have been trying to live them gracefully, I am worn the heck out doing so.  I've been getting migraines basically everyday for the past...well, nearly 8 years, if you must know, and the last six months have been really taxing.

Because of this health-forced hiatus from all things crafty, I have resorted to reading and watching TV.  I hate TV.  Let me be a little more clear.  I hate commercials.  I yell at them, bad mouth them, and pretty much make watching any sort of program with me very uncomfortable for any and all innocent bystanders.  I don't mean to.  But because of this, we don't have cable.  I watch TV with Netflix and Hulu.  I know, Hulu does have commercials.  I can deal much better with one to two commercials per break than six or seven.  The anger scale stays within tolerable levels.  As does the yelling.  And my marriage is saved.  Which is good.  I like being married.  Specifically to Jon.  But he only likes me when I'm not yelling at commercials.

So, watching TV, I have discovered Downton Abbey.  It's a great period piece set in turn-of-the-century England.  The costumes are amazing, and the acting isn't bad, either.  I'm also not allowed to watch period piece with other people, but that a different story, all together...

I've also been reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's book Knitting Rules.  It's hysterical.  She does an amazing job of making me feel creative even while I'm wasting away hours watching Netfilx.  I highly recommend her blog as well.  The Yarn Harlot.  Her writing is amazing, and her sense of humor seems to be what gets her through her roughest times.  Which is very familiar to me.  If it weren't for my sense of humor, the past eight years would have ended me.  Or, I'd have ended me.  Either way, not so good for the crafting.

Speaking of crafting, I recently found The Master Hand Knitting Level I correspondence course over at TKGA.com.  I found this a couple of weeks ago, and just signed up for it two days ago.  I'm so excited I could run around the house like an amped up on sugar two year old singing at the top of my lungs.  Fortunately -- for my marriage, and sanity -- this is not possible given the current fibro-flare.  Maybe this is a blessing in disguise?  I'm going with that.  Yeah.  That's it.  A blessing.

So, I received the course requirements via email yesterday, printed them all out -- after searching for twenty minutes for the ream of paper I knew we had -- and ever-so-gently put them in a binder I had lying around from my college-days.  Now, the task is to create daily/weekly goals so as to actually finish this program in the year I'm given.  Sixteen swatches.  In one year.  Plus loads of other fun stuff.  I believe I can manage.  Yup.  Can't wait!!  Now, back to the running and singing.  Even if it is all in my head.

Happy Crafting,
~j.b.

Suck it up? Really, is that necessary?

I spend entirely too much a bit of time on Pinterest (link opens in new window).  And I have noticed a sad, sad trend recently -- beside the stupid silly bucklist pins.  I have been seeing a lot of pins suggesting that the only way to loose weight and get in shape is to be not only hard on yourself, but down right mean to yourself.  This is something I don't particularly like, and it's something I have been working very hard at not doing to myself.  This pin is what inspired me to write this post today.  The person who created this photo, I imagine is a very angry person.  Either angry at her/himself or just angry at the world and all its people in general. 

As the New Year is well under way, and reducing the amount of anger I feel toward myself is one my primary goals this year, this really makes me sad.  Anger is not the motivation I want to use to accomplish things in my life.  All this does is leave me feeling wiped out before I even begin, and in the end.  Then, even if my goal is accomplished I still feel like crap about myself.  So I ask you, what is the point of this?

To shame oneself into action?  Does this really work for any length of time?  It might get you to act in the moment, but action will become increasingly difficult to achieve without also increasing the damage you're doing to your self esteem. 

As I begin to climb down from my soap box, here, I will leave my readers with one final thought.  Having been on both sides of the thin vs. fat battle (120lbs and 190lbs) yes, being thin is nice.  Being able to fit into just about anything at the store is wonderful.  Being thin makes shopping (which I hate doing) much easier.  But sacrificing your sense of self and your self-love in order to become thin?  Totally NOT worth it for even a second.  Because the truth is, no matter how thin you become, it will never be enough for you if don't love and respect yourself to begin with.  Accept where you are now.  Love yourself as you are now.  Learn to make you enough.  And the rest will come and go as it's supposed to.

Alright, off my soap box, for now.

Happy Thursday,

~j.b.

darling finished projects...

I have had this finished Needle Book languishing in a drawer for a couple years, and I finally got up the courage to put it up for sale on Etsy this morning.  There are a few more waiting to be finished, so depending on this first one, I'll get the others up for sale, too.

I had a ton of fun making this, and why I never finished the lot of them is completely beyond me.  Other than the fact that I get very ADD with crafting/sewing/making things.  I do not seem able to complete a group of items.

My ultimate goal is to have a replenishing supply of hand crafted items for sale in my Etsy shoppe.  It's a fun and relatively simple way to pay for my crafting/yarn/fabric/etc. addictions.  Yes, I have tons of grand ideas about become interweb-famous for my crafts and my writing.  Unfortunately, I let these ideas of grandeur affect my ability to actually do the crafting and the writing.  Well, in this New Year I really want to change that.  I want to be able to set a goal and follow through with it.  Let the dreams fly, and then come back down to Earth and do the work.

Happy Tuesday,
~j.b.

number 18

Being that it is New Years Eve -- and New Years, in some countries -- I thought I'd look back and look forward a bit here.  This has been a trying year.  Lots of medical crap to figure out, and lots of emotional...err, stuff to sort through.  I've mended bridges between friends and myself, and have truly begun down a path of figuring out what is really important to me.  I've severed ties with people who are no good for me or my health, and tightened attachments to people who help me soar.  When the whole story is considered, this has been a wonderful year, as many of them are in retrospect.  This being said, I think my main goal for the coming year to keep this state of mind during the year.  To hold on to the tiny moments that make the year worthwhile when looking back on it.

I just found this article (link opens in new window) and a couple of key points really struck home with me.  As the title of my entry suggests, number 18 really hit home.  For as long as I can remember, the past has plagued me.  As has my anger toward people from my past for things done and said.  I have already begun working toward letting this anger go.  I believe my work for 2012 is to continue releasing this and to live an anger-free existence.  Not free of feelings of anger and frustration about the present, but free...

Let's see here.  I wrote the rest of this post here this morning while apparently the interwebs were behaving terribly, and the remainder of my post was lost.  I was a good ending, too.  C'est la vie.  It happens.  Guess this sort of just plays into my whole theme for the New Year, doesn't it?  And if I can't let this go...wow, am I in for a terrible year!  Haha!

It's about an hour from the "Ball Drop", which I won't be watching, because we do not have cable -- because I'm not allowed to watch commercials (they make me mad).  So, for all of you reading this tonight, have a wonderful end to 2011!  And for those who will not be reading this until tomorrow or the next day, I hope your ending to 2011 was as epic or relaxed as you wanted it to be.

Happy New Years!
~j.b. 

I'm not much for listing or even really commenting on gifts I've received for X-mas.  No particular reason, I just don't see the purpose.  I'm not five any longer.  This being said, I received a few gifts yesterday that are really special.  This first one is a necklace and ring from my parents. 

Not the best picture, but they're fire opal.  Which I've never even seen before.  They were made locally where my parents live and are beautiful on.  I don't know if my parents have ever purchased me jewelery, and it meant the world to me.  My dad was just as excited as my mom about it.  Plus 5,000 points for the parents!

I also received a necklace from my Sister-in-Law.  I don't actually have a picture of it, but it is beautiful.  It's from her shop on Etsy.  She's away -- visiting us -- currently, but check back and love her jewelery.  I know I do.  <3

This last gift is also wonderful!  It's from Jamie over at...well, the blog seems to have vanished, I'll edit back in when I can find it again.  I've known her for 20 years, and this was a super sweet gift, considering we don't usually do presents.

Okay, found her.  Good grief, can you say panic?  For no reason what-so-ever?

Anyway, this is by-far the prettiest book, let alone food-type book I've ever seen.  Plus, it was wrapped in fabric -- does she know me, or what?  AND there's this inside:

Sooooo pretty.  She does some book-binding for fun, and decided to do something magical to mine.  I love it.  Soooo much.  Plus, the book itself is really awesome.  Talks about various ingredients and why certain ones work well with others.  Scientifically!  It's very cool. 

It was actually a very kitchen themed X-mas, too.  Gave Jon a book on cheese making and a set of cheese knives.  And the two of us even recieved an ice cream maker!  We're very excited.  Found this recipe for Brown Butter ice cream.  I think it will be our first experiment. 

Alright, that's about it for now.  I hope everyone had a wonderful X-mas with their loved-ones, or without...either way.  Now, it's time to recover from the last month of crazy.  Nap time.

Merry, Happy Everything,
~j.b.

A day behind.

Good grief, I seem to be seriously lagging on my Gratitude list for the past day or so.  I'm behind a day, so tonight I will combine last night's list with the list for tonight.  That way, come tomorrow night, I'll be back on track.  Guess I've had a busy weekend.  It happens.

Today has been a wonderfully relaxing Sunday for Jon and I.  We spent some time this morning sitting at our respective computers reading and surfing.  Me on Pinterest and Jon on...well, where ever it is he goes when he's online.  More than likely, Reddit.  Although, I have to admit, I do spend time there, too.  They have knitting, crochet and sewing sub-reddits that are tons of fun.  You get to see other peoples' projects and visit new and fun blogs.  So...there's that.

We didn't actually leave the house until around noon.  At that time, we met some friends for Pho in Santa Clara.  I haven't had it in a long time, and it was YUMMY!  I really need a recipe for it.  I have heard it takes all day to make.  Which is perfectly okay me.  Because it's totally worth it for delicious soup.

After lunch, we headed out for a little shopping.  We looked for a gift for Jon's brother and sister, then headed over to R.E.I. to look for some winter-type clothes for Jon and I.  I came out with a pair of pants and a cute knit skirt.  Jon found nothing.  That's the problem with being 6'6".  Things are either long enough in the arms and huge in the torso.  Or they fit in the torso but they're super short in the arms.  So, I think we're just going to need to start doing our shopping for him online.  Does anyone have any suggestions of where to shop for super tall, slim men?  Anyone?  Please?

So, even though our shopping adventure didn't pan out completely, we still had a nice time.  The day in total, was a huge success.  We relaxed.  It was needed.  Now we feel ready to tackle this up-coming week.  I have lots of presents to wrap, and a house to decorate -- not mine though, my mom's.  And Jon will be busy at work, as always.

Now, on to my list:

*  Having my mom over here for most of the day yesterday.  It was nice spending the day with her.  We even got into my sewing room for a while and did some crafting.  Until I needed a nap, anyway!

*  Actually being able to nap yesterday afternoon.  Sleeping during the day has become nearly impossible for me lately.  I'll doze, a tiny bit, but very rarely will I actually sleep.  It can be quite frustrating.

*  Dinner with my parents last night.  It was fun.  My mom and I had crab -- of course! -- and the men had steaks.  Jon doesn't care for sea-food -- which is nearly a deal breaker -- and my dad is allergic to shellfish.  So, all the more crab for mom and me!  Yay!

*  A wonderfully relaxing Sunday with my husband.  We should make this a mandatory way of spending at least one day every weekend.

*  A wonderfully patient brother-in-law.  Thank you so much for understanding my silliness with the password!  Totally figures I finally got it.

Alright...that's it 'til tomorrow night.

Happy, Relaxing Sunday,
~j.b.

Day five...with pretty nails.

I am typing this tonight while diligently trying not to ruin my freshly painted manicure. 

Home-done French-tip!

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow night is Jon's company's X-mas party.  So, I decided to actually paint my finger nails.  I was going to go with super bright X-mas(y) Red.  Turns out, though, that I neglected to bring it with me, and the only Red my mom has is very shimmery.  Plus, it's more of a magenta, not the true blue Red I love.  This being the case, I went with super classic French-tipped.  Fortunately, I'm also going for a super classic look with my dress and jewelery tomorrow night, as well.  Unfortunately, I already have to redo three out of five nails on my right hand.  Which is funny, because I'm left handed.  How, you might be asking, did I manage to mangle three fingers already?  To this I have no answer other than, "sigh."  It's because I'm a huge klutz, and I managed to forget I just painted my nails within moments of finishing them.  As in, while I'm cleaning up from having just painted them.  Can I please blame the fibro for this memory lapse?  Please?  Good.

The dress I'll be wearing -- because I silently heard you wondering what it looks like -- is actually my mom's.  She bought it from Nordstrom three or four years ago for a wedding we went to in The City.  (FYI: I've been informed that I may no longer refer to San Francisco as either "San Fran" or "Frisco".  Apparently only tourists do this, and it's anti-Northern Californian to do so)

Anyway...back to the dress.  It's absolutely stunning. 100% black.  Very low cut neck line, that wraps ever-so-slightly at the under-bust area.  A slim black patent leather belt cinches a tiny bit above my natural waist, and a chemical pleated stretch chiffon skirt hits just below my knee.  IT has elbow length stretch chiffon sleeves, and is also beautifully lined.  In other words...YUM.  I have coveted this dress since she purchased it, and the fact that I now get to wear it for an evening out with my husband makes my head spin. 

The dress has a decidedly '50's look to it.  And for jewelery, I have opted to keep to this scheme and wear my grandmother's pearls.  They were falling apart and we had the expertly re-strung and knotted as I wanted to wear them for my wedding.  They are a double stranded, and fall just under the hollow of my throat.  Sort of a gorgeous champagne color to them that goes beautifully with black.  I will also be wearing a pearl bracelet and faux-pearl post earrings. 

For make-up I have decided on a light smoky eye -- something rather subtle -- and a dark red lip.  I have this amazing Red from M.A.C. called Doubonette (not positive of the spelling).  It's the perfect rich berry red with out a hint of orange or pink to be seen.  And having been trained as a make-up artist since...well, birth, I suspect, I know how to apply it so it should stay put most of the evening without feathering into my nose and chin.  A lovely sight, you know?

I will attempt to force my husband into taking at least one good picture of the two of us tomorrow night before we leave so I may post it here.  That way you can see us in all our dressed-up-glory.  It happens so very rarely, both of us being dressed up at the same time, that I absolutely must capture it for our eventual children to see.  Otherwise they might live their entire lives believing we go out in our jeans and t-shirts.  Which is sadly true enough.

Wow, I believe I am quite excited about dressing up and going out tomorrow night.  It's been a while since we've been out together, let alone out while dressed up all glamorous-like.  Jon will even be wearing a shirt that might will need ironing.  I personally can't wait to see him all dressed up.  It's always fun pretending we're an elegant couple going to a fancy party.  I think we'll have a fun evening.  I will post all about it tomorrow night after we get home.  Promise.

Whew!  What a wall of text that was!  I hope most of you made it far enough to finally read my gratitude list tonight.  If you did, thank you for putting up with my rambling.  If you didn't, well...you're not reading this anyway, so I have nothing to say to you!  Hehehe...just kidding.

What I am grateful for tonight:

*  Finding the perfect dress in my mom's closet.  Not only is it exactly what I had pictured in my head for tomorrow night, it's allowed me to not go shopping and wipe myself out before the party.

*  Sitting up with my mom while I painted my nails at the kitchen table.  It reminded me of when I was a little girl/teenager, and we would stay up late and paint our nails and chat.  I must say, the chatting part is much more fun today than it ever used to be!

*  Knowing my dad is going to be able to get me to my Dr. appointment tomorrow afternoon.  It's a huge weight off my shoulders not having to figure out how I was going to get there.  Come mid to late afternoon, I am usually too tired to drive anywhere for a few hours.

*  Being able to find the knitting needles I need to make my friend's blanket.  Finally found them on Amazon.com and purchased them.  Now I just have to wait to get them before I start knitting...and knitting...and knitting! 

Wow, today was actually harder than I thought it would be.  It was rough day, pain-wise.  And while I definitely came through it just fine, it was taxing and I am tired.  Hopefully I will sleep well tonight and wake feeling somewhat refreshed come morning.  Here's hoping, at least!

Sleep well, my lovelies
~j.b.

X-mas Elves...

My goodness, it's been forever since I've written.  Sorry about that, but I've been going through some pretty hefty health issues the past few months.  And I plan to be honest about that.  Because not only do I want to write a blog about my fiber addiction, I want to write about my health issues, as well.  And if people have an issue with that, well...they don't have to read my blog then, do they?  No one is forcing anyone to read this.  And, if someone is forcing you...Shame on them.  Hehe..

So, about three months ago, I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  Which, by the way, I just had to add to my dictionary.  Just thought I'd share.  It's been a long road.  I started showing symptoms over seven years ago.  But the doctors had no idea what was wrong until I started showing very Fibro-specific symptoms about four/five months ago.  It's still took three doctors to finally get a diagnosis, though.

I won't say it's been easy.  Even though with finally figuring out what's going on, the honeymoon period lasted about a month.  I've been dealing with denial, anger, depression, and every other emotion in the book.  I may have finally hit on acceptance, though.  I am finally able to look at the future with some semblance of hope and not only despair.  It's a good feeling.

My husband has been a wonderful support.  As has my mom -- who also happens to have Fibro and Lupus -- and my dad.  So has my mother-in-law.  She's been a huge support these last few months.    I think, though, what has gotten me through the most has been my unfailing addiction to all things fiber-related.  While I haven't finished much recently, my knitting and sewing have both kept me somewhat sane through all this.  Even just being able to start a new project as helped on days where the pain is horrible.  Fiber is an amazing therapy.  It has truly given me new insight into why crafts are so important in peoples' lives.  So, in this way -- and really only this way right now -- I am grateful for my experience with this condition.

Alright, enough of the serious.  It's time to get down to the fun!  I am currently -- finally!! -- working on a Fibonacci Scarf for my husband.  I found this pattern -- it's a freebe -- on Ravelry -- you may have to register to view the link I posted -- over a year ago, purchased the yarn, and started it.  I hated the way it was turning out.  My stripes were horrible.  They jogged all over the place.  And I didn't really like the idea of knitting it in the round.  A) It used a ton of yarn, and B) My husband doesn't really need a reversible scarf, does he?  No.

So, about three or four days ago, I frogged the original project and started over.  I don't know that I'll have time to finish it before X-mas this year, but I'm going to try.  I started with six rows of 3x2 ribbing.  Then, when it's a length I am happy with (husband is 6'6", so long is a good thing) I am going to pick up the stitches on both sides of the scarf and add in a 3x2 ribbing going horizontally.  I was going to knit that in as I went, but I didn't want the ribbing running vertically.  I think horizontal ribbing will look fantastically better.   Here it is, thus far:

The little dark line -- the one you can barely see -- is the first of the stripes in the dark color.  I'll knit 34 rows of the light, then add two dark stripes, and so on.  The other end of the scarf will be mostly dark, with some light stripes.  It's a really nerdy, really fun scarf.  In fact, right before I found this pattern, the husband and I had just been talking about Fibonacci number sequences.  So, I thought the timing was great, and I just had to make it.

I'll try and finish it before X-mas, and I'll post some pics as I work on it.  Hope everyone of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving -- I certainly did.  What projects are you trying desperately to finish before X-mas?  Want to share pictures??

Happy Tuesday,
~j.b.