Since I can't sleep...

Crochet, jewelry and general windging....
It's that time of year. The trees are starting to turn color, the nights are getting cooler, and my allergies are trying to kill me.

So I'm typing this on my phone while the breeze outside makes the wind chimes sing and my fuzzy kitty sleeps in my lap. I'm trying!

What I've been working on lately is three circular sweaters for my three youngest neices - ages 6, 1 1/2, and 6 months. As I mentioned in the previous post, I had major surgery on my ankle. My sister, in a bout of pity, bought me some lovely cakes of Lion Brand's Mandala in a purple and pink colorway. "Wood nymph" to  be precise (I just dragged my bag up here to look). It's nice, soft acrylic, washable and well-suited for little girls as the colors are bright and pretty without being garish. These cakes of long-verigation yarn are a thing right now and all the yarn companies have some form of them out. One of the biggest complaints I've heard people have is that the color changes are too abrupt. I can see that point, some colors more than others. I get around this with the pattern I've chosen and some creative cutting. The circular sweaters are well suited to multiple colors and if I find that the color will be changing mid-circle, I cut it before starting the round, thereby avoiding mid-row changes. I think that these 'cakes-du-jour" offer well coordinated color changes, without the necessity of buying six skeins that you will only partially use. When I figure out how to add pictures to this app I will include the finished and partially finished sweaters.

The other things I've been itching to do (obsessively look up stuff on Pinterest and YouTube? Me? Noooo) is start a Nalbinding project and try out Viking wire knitting. This may be due to me recently being asked to join a group of Norse reinactors... Though I had been itching for some Nalbinding before that (and left all my stuff at my house... I'm recovering from surgery at my Mum's). What the hell is Nalbinding you ask? It's another whole post... That's what. So is Viking wire knitting for that matter.

The jewelry making itch I think is probably due in part to my inability to go to my silversmithing class this session. My sister, brother in-law and I have been learning silversmithing from this very talented gentleman for the last couple of years. His studio is amazing, and you use the tools and patterns that have been accumulated over several generations. His studio is also up three flights of external stairs. So..no silver for Cyn. I will be lucky to be able to go up stairs by the time the classes are done.
Anyway... Allergies calmed down... Cyn is tired... pictures later..

     It boggles the mind how long it has been since I updated this.  How much my life has changed since my 'oh I'm going to write what makes me happy' blog. My life was torn apart and I have spent the last several years trying to put it back together again, with varying amounts of success.

     My friend Gayla and I had SomethingShiney.com with the intention of linking it to my Etsy shop. We had grand plans of posting lessons and how -to posts, and  setting up an Etsy shop with all our beautiful creations.

    As is so often the case with grand plans, something always gets in the way.  Her cancer, my... oh hell who can pick one thing... my LIFE... it never got beyond the basic planning stages.

    I lost my dear friend a week ago. I am still not completely adjusted to the world without her in it. So often I go to text her something, show her some interesting article.... and realize that I can't.  When my ex-husband took off to 'find himself',  or whatever the excuse for dumping 25 years together without so much as an actual discussion is this year, I found that she and he..... well lets just say they were closer than I realized.  But as so much of the last year or 2 of my marriage turned out to be, it was all a lie. He lied to her as much as he lied to me.  So I found it in myself to forgive her. It was hard, but ultimately worth it. Gayla came to say that she got the better side of the deal, though I don't think she thought so at first. What does this have to do with anything? I don't know. But as I was working  from home today (I had major ankle surgery and am still recovering) I suddenly had the need to find our website, and continue what we got interrupted doing. Grief does weird things to a person. I have found that out the hard way time and again the last few years.

So I'm going to start with blogging again. Hopefully it won't get sabotaged like my LiveJournal did. I don't think the ex remembers this blog so its probably safe. No one is reading it anyway :)

So look here for yarning, and crafting and jewelry and what ever else pops into my brain.

As for why my avatar is Alice and the Cheshire Cat? Well one of my high school nicknames was Alice.... and I have been down the damn rabbit hole since 2010...

Im back

Well it has been a very long time since I wrote anything - mostly because I have not had the heart to write. But I am going to get back to writing about the happy and trying to forget about the sad.
Today was a lot of fun. My husband and I went out to lunch with our dear friends and their 4 children for their 2nd oldest's birthday. Unfortunately poor Aaron was sick as a dog - he couldn't even eat which makes you know he is sick - he'd eat an ox entirely if it had enough ketchup! So our dinner didn't last long - but it was fun none the less. My darling goddaughter spent most of the dinner on my lap. I cannot believe how big she is getting! They are some of my favorite people and it is always a joy to spend time with them.

In other news - my parents have a new puppy! They lost their wonderful dog Shadow back in December - it broke all our hearts she was such a member of the family! Sophie has taken it very hard since that was her best friend. But as these 'meant to be' things happen - they fell into a beautiful purebred little girl who they have named Layla (which means Dark Beauty in Gaelic) she is 9 weeks old yesterday. She is so adorable and looks just like her big aunt Sophie did at her age. Sophie is not quite sure what to make of this noisy baby yet - especially since she wants to follow her everywhere! I think they will come to be friends though.

Pampered toes and other fun stuff

The past two days have been pretty good :) I got loads of laundry done and errands. While doing errands I opened the moonroof on my car - it makes me happy to have the wind in my hair and be able to stick my hand out! I have been doing that a lot lately and between that, a good book on the mp3 player and a car-happy dog my errands fly by. Of course the only down side is my "freckle headband " as my mum calls it - despite the sunscreen I apply daily, I end up with a line of freckles across my hairline.
While I was out buying presents for a certain mummy I know (wink to Lizzie- unfortunately I have been so sick I didn't have the energy to make the boys anything - but they will get special blankies for Christmas :) ) my Mum called and asked me to join her for a pedicure and manicure!! This is a fairly new experience for both of us. Courtney has always been the girly girl of the family (despite my waist length hair and love of skirts I'm not that girly) I had my first pedicure right before Courtney's wedding a year and a half ago. Since then my Mum has taken to it and it is her one indulgence for herself. The bonus being she doesn't like to go alone. So I met her at the place - its this little shop run by 3 Asian ladies who are very sweet and very very good! (its extremely clean too- they are almost neurotic about cleaning things which I find comforting!) I walked in and the older lady says " You pick you colour - Mommy already pay! You have pedicure an maicure - Mommy luuuves you!! " So despite my protests that I could pay for myself, into the masagey chair I went to have my feet soaked. I picked out a bright, slightly sparkly blue - a bit on the wild side but it makes me smile and matches my purple Birkenstock quite well! It was heavenly - I never thought I would ever like someone messing around with my feet - but it is extremely relaxing. I also got my nails done though there is not much nail there to work on - I had nice nails but then went on vacation with my nephews and niece - 4 rambunctious kids expecting me to be the 5th is not good for ones nails LOL.

Yesterday when I went out to finish the errands I didn't do while getting pampered with Mum, I noticed a detour sign in my road. This was not particularly odd since there is roadwork being done further up... what was odd is that they were detouring people down a dead end street! One of my neighbors and dear friends was walking by and I pointed it out to him - so he went and turned the sign to go into my blueberry bushes!! It made as much sense according to him! So I laughingly called dispatch and told them of the road crews mistake (since there was no one around to tell in person) When I came back the sign had been changed.... to once again face down the dead end street instead of my blueberries! STILL going nowhere! LOL

Well - I have a washer machine full of fabric for a project and need to get lots done around the house! We'll see how long my energy lasts :)

Something Shiney - or myself as happy ....

Today I talked to my dear friend and Kindred Spirit Lizzie who just had her second set of twins after years and years of infertility. We met through our shared misery and became friends not only through the pain we both felt at what we were going through - but also because of all the other things that we shared. I realized, as I looked at her blog to see pictures of the new babies while we talked... that it was those happy things we shared that made us friends for the past years -good lord - nearly 10 years now that I think of it. I realized that though I haven't talked to her much the past year (she has been a LOT busy!) that it wasn't the long discussions about this treatment or that, but the shared love of simply joys like tea and old black and white movies, dear old novels and lacy curtains that I missed about neither of us having the online time we used to. I realized that I want to be the old me... the happy me... the me that still takes delight in the small things that fascinate me .. as my darling husband says, my "oooh something shiney" moments. When the light of a bright star or the colour of a leaf or the curve of a cloud sparks my imagination. Hence the name of my new blog... and the attempt to recapture the happiness in my life. I have a Livejournal... but it had become the place where I poured all the bitterness and pain in my life. Well I want this to be the opposite. We will see how it works out.
Cynthia