Colorado Autumn
Oct. 12th, 2009 11:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liralenIt snowed. It got down to 17° F (-8° C) at night on Saturday. It was 48° F this afternoon and should reach 60° by Thursday. This is slow for October in Colorado, it should have been 60 today. *laughs*
But part of a Colorado Autumn is Elk Season and having friends that know friends who go bow hunting for elk yields the pleasantry of a dozen one-pound packages marked "Elk Hamburger -- Do NOT Sell for Profit". So we've been having Silton elk hamburgers, elk Stovies (onions, potatoes, ground meat, and peas served with Brown Sauce), and today we had elk chili. It's quite tasty.
I was busy today. Wrote from 9-12, had lunch, made chili, and then went on errands with John to Michael's for an "as seen on TV!!" iSlice. It's an interesting version of the single-sheet cutter that Levenger has sold for decades, but Levenger sells them at 2 for $14, but these were only $5 a piece at Michael's. That is AFTER we took nearly half an hour trying to find them. They were back in the sewing section, which made no sense whatsoever, as they can't cut fabric. They should have been in scrapbooking.
We dropped by my favorite store, the Cheese Importers here in town to get some Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged cheddar, and mascarpone. I have this strange desire to put mascarpone (a sweet Italian double-cream cheese) in my oatmeal. We did grocery shopping after that, and then I just lost steam, and didn't get a damned thing else done. I've been fighting off a depression since the retreat, and it's won quite a few times. Writing this morning helped a great deal, and I was really happy for quite some time after that; but I just feel really awful and have been grumpy and snappy and snarling when I really don't want to be. And, yeah, being hormonal now isn't helping.
Doing things helps. Trying to stop thinking helps, and the easiest way is to play quick reaction games where I can't think. It's mildly zen when I can really get going, but it takes a terrible toll on my upper body. Better to write, I think, as that's a way to channel my brain into something else too.
Knitting is useful as well.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
incandescens gave me a beautiful book on modular knitting that Jet really loved, too, as it's all about building sweaters out of little bitty blocks from any kind of yarn. He could do all the knitting needed to make some of the blocks, so he's very excited. We measured him, did the math, together, to figure out the size of all the pieces.
I let him use any of my leftover bits from all the socks I've ever made, there's nearly a two-gallon bucket's worth of little tail-end balls I kept for no good reason. Handspun, hand-dyed, multicolor, most of them, there's also Kool-Aide dyed stuff, and commercial stuff, ragtag ends of KPPPM, and bits of silk as well. I asked him to direct me at the color for each block I knit, and he's been having fun telling me. I've been churning out the bits and pieces, and he's working steadily through his first triangle, and having a lot of fun marking his progress. He loves the idea that he'll be able to put it all together, like a puzzle, at the end. I'm less thrilled with all the sewing, but we're leaving long enough tails on all the pieces to do that.
He likes it that I knit pieces of his sweater while we play video games together. We got to play the Fire book of the video game, and it's been cool to see how the story goes. That's soothing.
I guess I'll keep taking each day as it comes and maybe I'll feel better tomorrow. There's been a flu with high fever going around, mowed down nearly all the kids but Jet from the retreat, and John even got it earlier this week. I'm still bemused that I haven't. Maybe my hyper immune system, besides giving me allergies, is actually doing a kick-ass job of keeping me well... I dunno, but I'll hope and take some Airborne besides.
But part of a Colorado Autumn is Elk Season and having friends that know friends who go bow hunting for elk yields the pleasantry of a dozen one-pound packages marked "Elk Hamburger -- Do NOT Sell for Profit". So we've been having Silton elk hamburgers, elk Stovies (onions, potatoes, ground meat, and peas served with Brown Sauce), and today we had elk chili. It's quite tasty.
I was busy today. Wrote from 9-12, had lunch, made chili, and then went on errands with John to Michael's for an "as seen on TV!!" iSlice. It's an interesting version of the single-sheet cutter that Levenger has sold for decades, but Levenger sells them at 2 for $14, but these were only $5 a piece at Michael's. That is AFTER we took nearly half an hour trying to find them. They were back in the sewing section, which made no sense whatsoever, as they can't cut fabric. They should have been in scrapbooking.
We dropped by my favorite store, the Cheese Importers here in town to get some Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged cheddar, and mascarpone. I have this strange desire to put mascarpone (a sweet Italian double-cream cheese) in my oatmeal. We did grocery shopping after that, and then I just lost steam, and didn't get a damned thing else done. I've been fighting off a depression since the retreat, and it's won quite a few times. Writing this morning helped a great deal, and I was really happy for quite some time after that; but I just feel really awful and have been grumpy and snappy and snarling when I really don't want to be. And, yeah, being hormonal now isn't helping.
Doing things helps. Trying to stop thinking helps, and the easiest way is to play quick reaction games where I can't think. It's mildly zen when I can really get going, but it takes a terrible toll on my upper body. Better to write, I think, as that's a way to channel my brain into something else too.
Knitting is useful as well.
incandescens gave me a beautiful book on modular knitting that Jet really loved, too, as it's all about building sweaters out of little bitty blocks from any kind of yarn. He could do all the knitting needed to make some of the blocks, so he's very excited. We measured him, did the math, together, to figure out the size of all the pieces. I let him use any of my leftover bits from all the socks I've ever made, there's nearly a two-gallon bucket's worth of little tail-end balls I kept for no good reason. Handspun, hand-dyed, multicolor, most of them, there's also Kool-Aide dyed stuff, and commercial stuff, ragtag ends of KPPPM, and bits of silk as well. I asked him to direct me at the color for each block I knit, and he's been having fun telling me. I've been churning out the bits and pieces, and he's working steadily through his first triangle, and having a lot of fun marking his progress. He loves the idea that he'll be able to put it all together, like a puzzle, at the end. I'm less thrilled with all the sewing, but we're leaving long enough tails on all the pieces to do that.
He likes it that I knit pieces of his sweater while we play video games together. We got to play the Fire book of the video game, and it's been cool to see how the story goes. That's soothing.
I guess I'll keep taking each day as it comes and maybe I'll feel better tomorrow. There's been a flu with high fever going around, mowed down nearly all the kids but Jet from the retreat, and John even got it earlier this week. I'm still bemused that I haven't. Maybe my hyper immune system, besides giving me allergies, is actually doing a kick-ass job of keeping me well... I dunno, but I'll hope and take some Airborne besides.
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no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 05:26 am (UTC)Not strange. Tasty. I've done it, but I prefer to put mascarpone on pinhead oats or still-nicely-chewy old fashioned oats to yer common smooth creamy oatmeal. I like the texture contrast.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 07:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 08:53 am (UTC)I hate the sewing up, too.
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Date: 2009-10-13 10:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 11:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 12:03 pm (UTC)You kept all those little balls of yarn because you are a knitter and "some day I'll find a use for it". I used to have quite a bit of those tiny balls, but since I got my dolls... they're just right for that sort of thing *grins*.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 02:38 pm (UTC)What a wonderful thing for the two of you to share. Even better than the video games cause the knitting will be around as permanent reminder. ;)
Also writing for 3 hours yeah!
Sending you good vibes for feeling better.
Still haven't measure the kiddies. Wasn't feeling well enough to wrangle them this weekend. I'll try and remember tonight.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 04:54 pm (UTC)Thanks for the confirmation!
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Date: 2009-10-13 04:54 pm (UTC)Yeah, the dopamine hit does really help, too. Feeling victorious is good.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 04:55 pm (UTC)Talking with you always helps, too. Thank you.
And, yeah, I think, with these patchwork items, though, it might well be fun given that it's *like* a puzzle. Plus, Jet may get to learn how to sew. *laughs* THAT's a learning experience.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 04:57 pm (UTC)And I was missing half and half on my oatmeal, which is why the impulse. I think you're right, though, it would be even better if the cheese is cool. I'll have a chance tomorrow, had to make Banana, sour cherry, chocolate chip, and almond muffins this morning. *laughs*
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 04:57 pm (UTC)*hugs you warmly*
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 04:59 pm (UTC)The nice thing about these little one pound packs is that the hubby or I can just dig one out for ourselves if we like, too. I really love making my own red chili, and the hubby likes making green chili stew with potatoes and all that. So we can do our own dishes as we like, sometimes.
YES! You're absolutely right. *laughs* And we have!! I think that only makes it easier to keep all the scraps, though. I love that you do knit for your dolls.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 05:01 pm (UTC)Yeah, the knitting will be around, though he'll outgrow it faster than I would. I was tempted to ask him to do patches for a sweater for me. *grins* We may end up doing that, too, sometime.
Thank you for the vibes! And, yeah, I should be able to write more today and tomorrow, too.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 05:09 pm (UTC)the first thing that pops into my head is a cobweb lace wedding gown and veil...
*laughs and laughs*
It would be so much fun to do that small scale and NOT spend a decade of my life doing it!
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 06:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 07:02 pm (UTC)People are always after others to make for them what they can't do for themselves doll-wise (me included). I'm fortunate in that I can knit and sew rather well, but some stuff... you just need to suck it up and ask somebody else to do so when all your attempts fail.
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Date: 2009-10-13 09:16 pm (UTC)I'm good at knitting. Hee.
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Date: 2009-10-13 10:40 pm (UTC)I remember my uncle teaching me how to iron. That was a learning experience, too, though one I didn't really want . . .
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Date: 2009-10-13 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-14 06:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-14 04:25 pm (UTC)