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| Pictures! |
| Thursday, August 30, 2007 |
Finally got some pictures of things. First, of course, the knitting stuff:  Those are the two baby blankies I have been working on for friends, and two washcloths I made for the girls to wash up with since school is here. Speaking of school, here's the first day picture:  Don't they just look thrilled to death (I sure am...lol)? And, of course, bugs have to have a place in my blog:  Now for the storms that blew thru here, at 80 miles an hour, on the 20th:
On the way to take the kids to school, this tree was blocking the road. This is the trailer that tiger originated from. They've moved & it's for sale, but the porch blew off. This trailer down the road had a tree land on it, but no damage. 
It was like a mainland hurricane. More photos can be seen here. Ok, off to knit some more! |
posted by Rachel @ 12:13 PM   |
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| Irritable |
| Monday, August 20, 2007 |
Don't know why, but the last couple of days I've just been, well, pissy. Maybe when the kids start back tomorrow I'll be less stressed. Today is Kat's birthday, she's an old lady of seven. We all went up to the school to meet the new teachers the kids will be having, and to stop and say hi to their old teachers. We spotted the principal and both girls had to run up and hug him. Now, when I was I kid, I don't ever remember hugging a principal, as a matter of fact, he was to be avoided at all costs. Unless, of course, you were in trouble, then you slinked to his office with your head down just KNOWING you were going to get it! Theirs, however, just loves kids, you can tell, and he's very nice. I'm knitting the second baby blanket, then I have to knit a rug for the bathroom and maybe some afghans on the size 50's that Ariel sent me (thank you so much!!!). During one of the rains, the neighbor's cat found a frog, which I haven't seen in years around here. He's truly a frog, not a toad, with the little suckers on his feet. Anyway, so we went out and got him an aquarium and put water, plants, and sticks in it, and he seems pretty happy. And crickets are in a fish bowl with some screen on the top. Hubster keeps yelling at them to shut up but I kind of like their singing. I believe a lot of times the Chinese will cage crickets for their singing, and who am I to argue? Off to knit, can't wait for tomorrow & school! |
| posted by Rachel @ 12:05 PM |
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| Interest free living |
| Saturday, August 11, 2007 |
No, I am not referring to credit cards or debt. I'm referring to my life...lol The 'flatness' is here with a vengeance. I've been going up & down on the lithium, with my doctor's ok, so have recently upped to 300 mg. twice a day. I have absolutely no emotions. My friend called hubster up this morning and said, "Let's all jump in my van and go sixty miles away to Omaha to pick some stuff up from Bass Pro Shops!" Well, not exactly those words, but close enough. So we did. I felt like I was just there for the ride, nothing really got me all excited, even at BPS. And they even had a Starbucks! I bought a bottle of water and called it good. So, I'm thinking about cutting my 450 mg. in half again and take those twice a day instead. I'm so lazy lately! I really should clean my house, write out a pattern for you all and knit a swatch, and a host of other things, but I just don't wanna. I want my mania back, just not the anger that goes along with it! :P I refuse to go off of the Lithium because of the agoraphobia thing, though.
Ok, this really is a knitting blog, not a bipolar blog or a lithium blog. I have been knitting a baby blanket in a fan stitch pattern, in Simply Soft in a very nice light green. I think I'm almost done with it, and then I'll make another and some other cute baby things for a friend that went & got herself prego with twins...lol Not sure what else to make but I'll figure that out when the time comes. That's another thing. I seem to have project ADD lately also. I'll knit one repeat (eight rows), then go do the laundry or something, smoke a cigarette (when the kids go back to school, don't yell at me), wander around and find something else, play on the computer, then go do another eight rows. It seems like anything that requires my attention for more than fifteen minutes or so isn't going to happen. And I'm just not really motivated. Hopefully switching milligrams around will help.
And, nobody have a heart attack or try to get me struck down.....I dressed up the family (we were actually OVERdressed, it's been a loooooooooooooong time) last Sunday & we went to church. The ushers practically dragged me up to kneel & take communion, which was the first time in my life, even though I kept trying to tell them I haven't studied for it or however it goes. Anyway, it was really nice, the people were really nice, the pastor was actually funny, and the sermon was very short according to my recollection of thirty plus years ago. So, we're going to start going on a regular basis. Now, nobody yell at me, I knew a Catholic Wiccan a time ago, which, actually, makes sense because they're both very ritualized. So, yes, I can do both, although this is a Lutheran church, which is just a little different than the Catholic church.
Anyway, off to knit, have a good weekend everyone, and hopefully by the time I next post I'll have a few more emotions...lol
***Forgot to mention, someday when I get money I'm going to try the size 50 speed stix. Has anyone used them? I'd like to know your opinions on them!***
*^*I also forgot to mention, remember Tiger, from a previous post? Well, like three days ago, we were getting ready to get another huge storm, so I grabbed him and brought him in like I've done several times before. Then, hubster and I thought about it, and guess what? He's adjusting quite well to being an inside cat! So now I don't have to worry about him getting run over or eaten by the raccoon we've seen around!*^* |
| posted by Rachel @ 11:49 AM |
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| It's been so long |
| Thursday, August 09, 2007 |
And I have so many things I want to tell you, which is probably why I've been procrastinating so much. The lithium has done wonders. I no longer have too much of an agoraphobia, so I've been going out regularly. I've been knitting like crazy and hopefully will have some new patterns up soon. I've lost about ten pounds since going off the Seroquel and going to Ambien and Trazodone instead. The only bad thing about the lithium is that I seem to have lost most of my mania, so now I am getting lazy...lol I procrastinate a lot, like writing in my blog. Hopefully that will get better, although like I said, I'm gone a lot now so it may not be every day. Talk to everybody later! :) |
| posted by Rachel @ 1:05 PM |
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| Bipolar Entry |
| Saturday, June 16, 2007 |
I am slowly, but SURELY, coming back to life. I have the Lithium to thank for it. I swear, this drug has seriously changed my life. I've gone out more in the last month than in the last five years! It's amazing. It not only works on the manic phases, but also on the depressive ones. I can also tell what phase I'm in and which one is coming on. I'm currently a bit manic, although nowhere near as "high" as I usually am. I'm a teeny bit depressed too, but that could just be normal. If you're bipolar or think you might be, talk to your doctor about this stuff. I have seen several people say that it has literally saved their lives. It's the oldest mood stabilizer, the safest, and still prescribed a lot today. And it's the only one I know of that works on both moods, generally the part of your brain that makes you bipolar. That's pretty cool, in my opinion. Anyway, I'm off to play Freecell. I'm on myspace if anyone wants to add me. Happy Saturday all! |
| posted by Rachel @ 1:29 PM |
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| A new free pattern! |
| Friday, June 08, 2007 |
I showed the picture to my online friends, and they were all clamoring for the pattern, so I guess I'll post it...lol I specifically made this for us, um, LARGER folks, I made the slits so that it wouldn't be too tight around my tummy and maybe, just maybe, I could stop being accused of being prego. Especially since I'm NOT. Anyway, here goes, email me if you find a problem.
 Size 10.5 needles
Caron Simply Soft in your choice of color, approx. 3 skeins
Front:
Cast on 98 sts. Knit two rows.
K4, k2tog x 3, *(yo, k1) x 6, k2tog x 6, rpt from * across, end with k2tog x 3, k4.
K4, purl to last 4 sts, k4.
K across.
K4, purl to last 4 sts, k4.
Repeat these four rows 13 times for a total of 52 rows.
Knit.
K4, purl to last 4 sts, k4.
Repeat these two rows 11 times for a total of 22 rows.
K2tog twice, k to last 4 sts, k2tog twice.
K2, purl to last 2 sts, k2.
Repeat these two rows four times for a total of 8 rows.
Knit.
K2, purl to last 2 sts, k2.
Repeat these two rows 5 times for a total of 10 rows.
Next row:
K20, put on holder, k37, put on holder, k20. You are now working only with the 20 sts remaining on the needle.
K2, purl to last 2 sts, k2.
Knit.
Repeat these two rows 5 times for a total of 10 rows. Bind off. Pick up the 20 sts on the other arm and repeat. Bind off. Pick up and knit six sts along the neck of the last arm completed, then knit the 37 sts off of the holder, then pick up and knit six sts on the neck of the other arm. Knit the next row, bind off.
Back:
Cast on 98 sts. Knit two rows.
.K4, k2tog x 3, *(yo, k1) x 6, k2tog x 6, rpt from * across, end with k2tog x 3, k4.
K4, purl to last 4 sts, k4.
K across.
K4, purl to last 4 sts, k4.
Repeat these four rows 13 times for a total of 52 rows.
Knit.
K4, purl to last 4 sts, k4.
Repeat these two rows 11 times for a total of 22 rows.
K2tog twice, k to last 4 sts, k2tog twice.
K2, purl to last 2 sts, k2.
Repeat these two rows four times for a total of 8 rows.
Knit.
K2, purl to last 2 sts, k2.
Repeat these two rows 5 times for a total of 16 rows.
Next row:
K20, put on holder, k37, put on holder, k20. You are now working only with the 20 sts remaining on the needle.
K2, purl to last 2 sts, k2.
Knit.
Repeat these two rows 2 times for a total of 4 rows. Bind off. Pick up the 20 sts on the other arm and repeat. Bind off. Pick up and knit six sts along the neck of the last arm completed, then knit the 37 sts off of the holder, then pick up and knit six sts on the neck of the other arm. Knit the next row, bind off.
Sew tops of the arms together with shell inside out, then sew only the stockinette part of the sides together. Weave in ends, wash, and enjoy! ***Addendum 6/20*** I don't know the exact measurements of this tank, BUT, I usually wear an 18-20 womens and it's loose on me, so I would think it's at LEAST a 1X. |
| posted by Rachel @ 9:32 AM |
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| I've been tagged! |
| Saturday, May 26, 2007 |
Hope has tagged me with a "7 things" meme, so here goes! Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog. 1. I have never been able to blow bubbles with gum. 2. I have always loved to play with bugs, and still do. 3. I have really really weird dreams almost every night. 4. I don't remember ever having a nightmare. 5. I was a tomboy growing up. 6. I am still a Southern lady (yes, the combination is possible!). 7. Manners are very important to me, and are one of my pet peeves about customer service nowadays. I'm tagging: And, unfortunately, I can't think of anyone else right now. |
| posted by Rachel @ 9:09 AM |
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My friend and babysitter had a tree fall on her house. I loved that tree, it was huge and old. It seems lightening hit right down the middle of it and split it four ways with the wind blowing like it was. 
