Another cup cozy...

Here's another cup cozy. I realized after I made the last one that I hadn't followed the pattern. It still made a nice cozy, but this is the correct design.  :)

Knitting in the round...

So, here's my first go at knitting in the round, using double pointed needles.  It's gonna take some practice to get used to working such a cramped space. You really have to pay closer attention to what you're doing.  I consider it a win.  :)

Long battle back from Grave's disease...

Good afternoon!

Hope you're all doing well today! As I mentioned before, I've been battling Grave's disease and the insanity that goes with it. It took several months to figure out what was wrong. Once diagnosed, it was a six month long trial and error to get my numbers back under control. Good news is, I don't have a huge lump in my throat anymore! Bad news is, the medicine caused me to gain back all of the weight I had lost to hyperthyroidism, plus 30 pounds! I am now the Poofy chick. ;)

Here's a photo of the huge "hot nodule" in my throat before treatment:

A year later. Not gone, but better. :)

Boy has that been a battle! When you gain weight from medication or illness, it's nearly impossible to get it off again. When you're used to weighing 105 pounds and suddenly you weigh 135 pounds? It can be quite depressing! I refused numerous attempts by my doctor to force me to have radiation therapy. I told her each time that I don't want to be obese in my elder years of life. First off, I can't afford to buy new clothes and it's unhealthy to be 50+ pounds overweight in your 50s and 60s! Seriously?! She's a doctor, she should know better! She kept trying to insist weight gain wasn't a side affect. I said: "When I came in here? I weighed 89 pounds! After treatment just with medication to reverse things, I'm 135 pounds! My normal weight is 105 pounds! I am NOT going to kill my thyroid and be a slave to medication the rest of my life!" She's not happy with me.  Too bad! She's not the one dieting and working out and seeing zero results! (I am finding some cute clothes at Goodwill, to get me through until I'm back to normal!) :)

I haven't been on medication for over a year now. My Grave's disease is in remission. So why am I still 30 pounds heavier??? I have searched high and low for a solution. So far, what seems to be working is eating vegetarian (no meat, but some cheese, eggs and dairy, still.) I'm also limiting my calorie intake, gave up late night snacks for Lent and started nothing but the treadmill at the gym. I figure if someone like Kevin Smith can lose hundreds of pounds walking 5 miles a day? Why can't I lose 30 pounds? I'm tracking everything I eat and drink and my exercise on a neat little app called: Nutritionix. You can also track it online and make your own recipes so it's just one entry to make instead of 5 or six for one meal: www.nutritionix.com

A few days ago, I remembered that when losing weight, you're supposed to "lose" and then "build". So I changed my strategy to nothing but walking on the treadmill every day. I'm up to 3 miles now and I'm increasing it a half a mile a day until I get up to 5 miles each day. I also remembered, that I'm not supposed to walk any faster than I can walk and talk at the same time. To my surprise? I lost 3 pounds last week. So...onto the 5 mile mark!

I'm learning French while walking too. I keep my iPod charged and sit it up on the treadmill so I can listen and watch the videos while I walk, hands free. This guy is really good and has a LOT of videos. You could even learn French while sleeping. :)  Learn French While Walking

The "poofy chick" will keep you posted! :)

Learning new knitting techniques...

Good morning!

I started to work on my knitting again. I recently made this for a teapot. It still needs some bumblebees. So I'll take some new photos when they arrive.

Now I'm learning to knit in the round. I'm making some cup cozies. It will teach me a new stitch and I'll do one to learn how to make cables, too.

Here's the teapot cozy.

Let's play catch up...

Soooo...it's been a long time since I was here, I know. The last couple of years have really given me a beat down. I went through an awful bout with my thyroid and was diagnosed with Grave's Disease. I've also been dealing with losing my home to foreclosure and the aftermath of sharing a place with a family member and his girlfriend who seem to think I'm made of money and they don't need to pay their way. My depression is the worst it's been in a long time.

It's really hard to suddenly realize that the reason you lost your home and are now living in a 30 year old, rented mobile home is because your own children down give a damn. It's hard trying to wrap your mind around finding out that the very people you gave your heart and soul to make sure they had what they needed, just don't give a damn about what happens to you now. It makes me feel like a complete failure as a parent to know I raised such selfish people.

People often ask "do you have any regrets?" Yes, I have a LOT of regrets. I regret that I did so many things for people I never matter to, ever. I regret being so naive and kind that I didn't see that almost everyone who ever mattered to me, used me. I look back and I don't think anyone ever loved me. All they ever saw me as was someone easy to take advantage of and manipulate into what they wanted.

What can you do? You can't go back and change it. So the only thing to do at this point is figure out how to move on without them. How do you walk away and never look back at your own children and their children? The only time I exist to them is when they need money. Sometimes, I wish I would hit my head so hard I don't remember any of this life...none of it.

For the last year or so, I've basically removed myself from their every day lives. I stay in my room and watch TV or make things for people. My crocheting has really come a long way. I'm working on my knitting skills again, too. I made some liqueurs last year and gave them away as gifts for the holidays. Also some yummy food gifts.  I don't think I'm going to do that anymore. Two years in a row I haven't even received even a Christmas card from any of these people. So, I don't know why I continue to go to the trouble. Either they don't like what I send and they're too nice to say so. Or, they just don't care enough to send a thank you note. Do people even teach their children how to write thank you notes anymore? My guess would be "no".

So many things have happened over the last few years, I feel like I'm going to burst wide open. I can't talk to anyone about how I really feel. I need to get out of this place and on my own. I had a plan for the last two years to move to the West coast. Turns out that was just a pipe dream. I don't think they ever really wanted me there. They were just too nice to say so. I wish I knew what the hell is wrong with me! I can't sleep at night trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

So many times I see where someone who was very loved, dies. It makes me so sad, because so many people will miss them. I can't tell you how I wish I could trade places with them, so they can stay. I know I won't be missed. That's hard to admit, because I know I'm a good person and would do anything in my power for someone in need. Maybe I'm just one of those people who go through life, invisible. Many of us are, I guess.

Back in the summer of 1979, I tried to commit suicide. I never could understand (and still don't) why good people get treated badly, while horrible people seem to have it all. It seems so unfair that if there is a God, that he allows that to happen. When I couldn't take it anymore, I tried to leave this life. That day, the phone rang, it was my mother calling. I don't remember why and it doesn't matter. All I know is that if I could go back and tell myself one thing? It would be: don't answer the phone.

Hello! Sorry I've been away so long...

Hello again! Sorry I've been away for so long. I've been going through a lot of difficult things. Someone suggested perhaps I need to start a journal. Then I remembered that I have a blog I've been neglecting for some time now. So...I'll try to do better. I know there aren't many that follow my blog, but maybe that will get better, too.

I'm off to the gym for now (another thing I've been dealing with, Grave's disease)...so I'll be back soon... ♥

Best way to shoot videos? I need advice! :)

Oh look! I've been up to something!! :)

Oh look! I've been up to something, again!! Vanilla extract and vanilla sugar has commenced! Begin the countdown! :) (due to the time it takes to mature, some may ship prior to completion!)

 

Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans from France...I got 30 on eBay for $17 including shipping... :)

 

Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans from France...they smell yummy!

My base is 80 proof vodka...for some reason the "cheap" stuff seems to make the best extracts... :)

Made it right in the little bottles...I think these are 6oz... :)

Vanilla sugar...the bean will remain when complete, so it can be used to make more by the recipients... :)

I put a bean, cut in half and sliced down the middle (not all the way through) in each bottle, so when it's empty, it can be refilled and started again by the recipients...I'll give them a shake every few days...I made a couple extra for myself and for my son's house...and also so I can see the progress... :)

Made a couple extra for myself and my son's house, too! :)

Finished product, will give them a shake every few days... :)

 I'll post more pictures as they progress over the next few weeks! :)

PEACH BRANDY STARTED TODAY!! :)

TODAY IS THE DAY!!...I'm starting my Peach Brandy today!!...28 days from now, I'll have some yummy goodness for Christmas gifts!!...gotta find some nice bottles for this and the Kahlua, too!
(See?! I'm not ALL mascara and makeup!) :)

PEACH BRANDY

2 GALLONS + 3 QUARTS WATER (44 cups)
3QTS PEACHES, EXTREMELY RIPE PLUS SEEDS (I'm using 18 large peaches)
3 LEMONS CUT IN SLICE
2 SMALL PKGS. YEAST
10LBS SUGAR
4 LBS. DARK RAISINS
Place peaches and seeds, lemons and sugar in crock.
Dissolve yeast in water (must not be too hot). Stir thoroughly.
stir daily for 7 days.
keep crock or vessel covered with cheesecloth
On the 7th day, add the raisins and stir.
Let mixture sit UNTOUCHED for 21 days, then strain through cheesecloth three times, then bottle or jar it.

*Notes: I'm going to dissolve the sugar in the water, dissolve the yeast in some warm water then add to the sugar water, then I'll add the peaches/seeds (sliced) and lemon slices. It will be much easier to stir that way. I'm using a 5 gallon, #2, food grade bucket, covered with flour sack cloth and a bungee cord to keep it on tight, but still easy to open to stir. I'll keep you posted! (Big THANK YOU! Goes to my friend Dianna for the recipe!)

Added 40 cups of water warm (not hot!) water to a 5 gallon, #2 food grade bucket...I saved 4 cups to dissolve the yeast...I have a 4 cup measuring cup, so it went pretty quick...so it's 44 cups total...

Added two packets of yeast to 4 cups of warm (not hot!) water, let it sit while I sliced the lemons, then stirred to dissolve completely...

Added 10 pounds of sugar to the bucket of water and stirred until it was dissolved completely...

Got three pretty good sized lemons to use...

Sliced lemons and added to the bucket with the sugar and yeast...the water isn't really brown...just the lighting I guess... LOL!

Went and got my peaches, which have been ripening for a week, sitting on and draped with flour sack cloth...worked like a charm by the way, these peaches were hard as a rock last weekend...

Cut the peaches off the seeds, right into the bucket, so no mess to clean up...as you can see, the peaches are very ripe from using the little trick I found...I'm curious if this would work with pears, too...

All stirred up...you can see that I have plenty of room left in this bucket...so this was a perfect choice over a crock...which are quite expensive, if you don't have one...

A little better angle on how full the bucket is now that everything has been added and stirred well...

Covered with the flour sack cloth and secured tightly with a bungee cord...we don't want to cover it tightly, due to the gases it will produce (My son Travis says "It's going to stink!" LOL!), but we don't want any unwanted visitors getting in there...and still need to be able to open it easily for our daily stir...we'll add 4 pounds of dark raisins next Sunday and then let it do it's magic for the next 21 days...gives me plenty of time to get some pretty bottles for gifting! :)

Day 2...it smells like lemony beer! :)

Day 7, before and after stirring...still smells like beer, LOL! This is the last day of stirring...tomorrow, we add the raisins...then we'll let it rest and do it's magic for 21 days! I can't wait!!

Day 8! Raisins go in today! That's a LOT of raisins!

This will give you an idea how many raisins are going into the mix.

Raisins are in!

Raisins are in, of course they sunk to the bottom. Now...we wait, 21 days for them to work their magic! I can't wait!!

Here's what it looked like when finished and bottled. It's pretty good for a first try. :)

Today's food projects are all done! YAY!

I started some cream cheese, sour cream and yogurt before bed last night...now they're all done and into the fridge!...how cool is that?!...I can make homemade food products for my family! :)