Spring Has Sprung...

Well....I haven't been to TOPS for several weeks now. It just made for too long of a day on Mondays, which is the busiest and most stressful day at work - and I just wasn't developing close enough relationships with the others that would keep me there. I may look into transferring to the online version of TOPS. I also have continued to not really make an effort to cut back on the foods I crave, and have decided to not beat myself up about it. I will get restarted with my efforts, as I want SO badly to reach my goal weight, but have just not been ready yet. I have resumed walking to and from the ferry dock most weekdays, and though I have been afraid to weigh myself since leaving TOPS, I doubt I have gained much if any weight thanks to all the walking. But I continue to have chronic insomnia, have headaches more days than not, and feel much more sluggish than I should. I am on the verge of trying a brand of liquid vitamins I have read glowing reviews of, and which I understand were developed by a Christian. The vitamin pills I have been taking have done nothing for the way I feel and tend to get stuck in my esophagus half the time, ouch. I've also read that pills only have a 10 - 15% absorption rate and liquid have a 98% absorption rate. So I'm hoping this will be the answer to my regaining the energy I need, and to be able to sleep better, have less headaches and get back on track with weight loss. I had also been quite stressed by my job, but things have been better there now the last couple of weeks since we added a couple of new staff to take some of the pressure off me. I still am shifting gears all day, sometimes every few minutes, which often is very mentally tiring. But I suppose most office jobs are like that to one degree or another. Though I've updated my resume and sent out a few (and went on one interview last week, on a day I happened to be off work anyway), I don't feel I should jump ship just yet (at least not till I have my annual review later this month, LOL). I feel I need a higher salary in the long run to help us keep up with our mortgage (which will remain a challenge despite the recent refinancing). But it will take quite an increase in salary to cause me to want to do the longer commute to and from Seattle (and the hour earlier rising that will come with that) again........

I was very excited to find my lovely new blog graphics today on the web site pyzam.com. I have not been satisfied with the limited choices of blog templates available on my blog host, and pyzam.com has a huge choice of designs with literally something for everyone. When I found this one, called Natural Paint I knew I didn't have to look any further. Now I feel my blog really fits in perfectly with my home page evergreenrefuge.org. I also chose another template from pyzam.com, called "Just Meant", for my other blog, The Evergreen Refuge Home Chronicle (My Dream Realized), and it looks great also. I highly recommend pyzam.com to ANYONE that has a blog and wants to personalize and update its look. They have hundreds of choices, so you will find the perfect choice for your own blog. All I had to do was copy and paste the HTML for the new template where the old template HTML used to be, and ta daaaaa!!

Since posting last, I've made an additional beaded doily using the pattern "Shimmering Pineapple Doily", which is available free at epatterns.com. I'd bought a bag of very pretty beads in variegated shades of blue, purple and green, and was surprised that the package contained enough for three doilies. The funny-looking beading needles I bought, which are literally not much thicker than a human hair, were finally the answer for threading beads onto #10 thread with no muss and fuss. I made one with sage Opera thread, one with hunter Opera thread, and one with purple Royale thread, and the beads looked equally nice on all three. I will keep one (probably the sage one) and use the other two for future exchanges. Then I made a doily for an online exchange using #10 Clea thread, in a pretty variegated pastel, for the first time. I LOVE Clea thread! I bought it from an eBay seller in Paraguay, of all places, who sells 1,000 yard spools at reasonable prices and with FREE shipping. The 1,000 yard spools of Clea take up no more space than 400 yard spools of other #10 thread, since they don't use the cardboard roll in the middle. It is smooth, very soft and works up beautifully. I think Cebelia is still my favorite thread, and I have a lot of it on hand to use before I buy more thread. But Clea is right up there and may eventually become my main thread of choice. Lovely stuff!

I'm now finally making my first ghan using the luscious Bernat Satin, which I consider the gold standard of yarn. It is SO soft, comes in gorgeous colors (though I wish it came in more colors than it does) and has a beautiful sheen. The pattern I'm using is called "Diagonal Blocks". I'm using the colors admiral (dark blue), sapphire (lighter blue) and sable (golden beige) for a "sand and sea" look. It's 17" squares worked on the diagonal in brick stitch, which form a geometric squares pattern when combined. The squares are fun and relaxing to make, and the ghan will be very pretty and warm. The only drawback is, because it's all diagonal dc with no lacy areas, it uses a LOT of yarn. I will run out of the sapphire and sable before I get all the squares made. So I'll probably have to set the ghan aside halfway through till I can buy more....

I still haven't gotten around to learning to use my new camera to take pictures of my more recent crochet projects (OR my house OR my pets) and I really NEED to do that. But it always seems like other duties get in the way. Hopefully I'll get this accomplished this year, LOL.