One of my newest food obsessions is Tai Clam Chowder. Our local Tai restaurant changed hands last year and they added some new things to try to the menu. It was great before, but it is amazing now. So they added the clam chowder and I feel in love. Since I can not afford to eat out that often, I have been working on my own version and I think I got it pretty close. One of my issues is that this is one of the foods that I want it when I want it... like... RIGHT then. So I had to figure out how to make it quickly.
The ingredients:
2 cans clams
1 jar clam juice
1 can coconut milk
bacon
potato
lime juice to taste
spices to taste
celantro if wanted
Bacon - The first thing I do now is make up the bacon. It needs to be little bits of bacon. I tried making the bacon and crumbling it first, but I discovered that it is much quicker and easier to cut up the raw bacon (gloves and plastic cutting sheet make it easier) into small pieces and then cook them on low-medium heat. You only get a couple of cups from a pound of bacon, but I keep it in the freezer in one of the cool zip-lock plastic containers with the twist tops. From the last pound, I got two soup batches plus some extra for use on baked potatoes.
Potatoes - I cut one raw medium potato into small pieces. I like to use the golden yellow potato but any type will work. Boil the pieces until tender but not mushy. I used half in the first batch and froze the other half to use in a later batch... I am not sure how well that will work yet, but I will post update when I know.
Spices - At first I used fresh tai chili, lemon grass, ginger and celantro. I ended up either having to go get them when I wanted the soup or having them go bad because I bought them and then did not want the soup right then. I started buying the individual pastes, but my supermarket started carrying a tai spice mixed paste. It is good! I get two batches out of one tube and it stays good in the fridge for a while.
If the potatoes and bacon are already made, it takes very little time to put all the ingredients together. A quick simmer and it is ready to eat! Like almost everything else, the leftover soup is better the next day, so if you have the will power (I don't), make it up the day before and let it sit to meld.
It makes about a quart.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Crazy Month
This month I decided to make a big production about my decision to become more ... productive. Of course, the universe felt the need to react. This has been the most busy month at work I have had since I started back.
Most months, I get called out for 12-15 jobs. So far this month, I have been called 19 times... and it is only the 22nd! On my productivity plan (which I have changed a little as I have gone along), I decided that I have to do one thing off of each of my lists per day unless I get a work call. In that case, I just have to do something off of the chores list. What ended up happening is that nights like last night became typical... towards the end of the day, I looked at the 'board' to see what sort of jobs were pending. Nothing looked like it was going to go any time soon, so I went ahead and started dyeing some wool and cleaned the kitchen. Just as I was putting soap into the dishwasher (wool bundle steaming happily away), I get called out on a run. Hot, sweaty, ichy and with wool to cook, I get called out. Ha! ***shakes fist at The Universe!***
Not really a big deal... hop in the shower, change out the wool bundles, head out to work. When I got back, steamed a couple more bundles and finally fell asleep. It just makes me laugh a little at the timing... of course, as busy as it has been, my stamina and body have been taking some hard hits. After I got up yesterday, I went to the grocery store came home and took a 4 hour nap. Which ended up working out well when I got the call :)
So... I am behind on everything. I had finished processing all the apples and feeling proud of myself when my Dad dropped by and left me 3 more boxes! They are still sitting out on the porch... but hopefully will be turning into some yummy 'apple pie in a jar' this week.
I did manage to get the newly dyed yarn out to the railing... hopefully it will dry before the rain starts. We are supposed to get a week of rain, which will be nice.
The Blue, Teal and Green are going to be sent as roving to a new friend and the purple and yellow are going to be spun up to try a new shawl pattern for an old friend :)
So... between the spinning, knitting and weaving projects I have lined up, I think I am going to be able to keep well busy this winter. As much as I want to jump on these, if we get the rain we are supposed to, that is going to make it possible for me to get the weeding projects done outside... the first step in winterizing the various growing area. Rain to soften the earth, get the weeds cleared and then cover with the leaves that will be falling soon :) As much as I like the harvest growth of summer, I really do enjoy the gardening chores of fall.
Now all I need is time! :)
Most months, I get called out for 12-15 jobs. So far this month, I have been called 19 times... and it is only the 22nd! On my productivity plan (which I have changed a little as I have gone along), I decided that I have to do one thing off of each of my lists per day unless I get a work call. In that case, I just have to do something off of the chores list. What ended up happening is that nights like last night became typical... towards the end of the day, I looked at the 'board' to see what sort of jobs were pending. Nothing looked like it was going to go any time soon, so I went ahead and started dyeing some wool and cleaned the kitchen. Just as I was putting soap into the dishwasher (wool bundle steaming happily away), I get called out on a run. Hot, sweaty, ichy and with wool to cook, I get called out. Ha! ***shakes fist at The Universe!***
Not really a big deal... hop in the shower, change out the wool bundles, head out to work. When I got back, steamed a couple more bundles and finally fell asleep. It just makes me laugh a little at the timing... of course, as busy as it has been, my stamina and body have been taking some hard hits. After I got up yesterday, I went to the grocery store came home and took a 4 hour nap. Which ended up working out well when I got the call :)
So... I am behind on everything. I had finished processing all the apples and feeling proud of myself when my Dad dropped by and left me 3 more boxes! They are still sitting out on the porch... but hopefully will be turning into some yummy 'apple pie in a jar' this week.
The Blue, Teal and Green are going to be sent as roving to a new friend and the purple and yellow are going to be spun up to try a new shawl pattern for an old friend :)
So... between the spinning, knitting and weaving projects I have lined up, I think I am going to be able to keep well busy this winter. As much as I want to jump on these, if we get the rain we are supposed to, that is going to make it possible for me to get the weeding projects done outside... the first step in winterizing the various growing area. Rain to soften the earth, get the weeds cleared and then cover with the leaves that will be falling soon :) As much as I like the harvest growth of summer, I really do enjoy the gardening chores of fall.
Now all I need is time! :)
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Dyeing Process - 'Hand' painting, aka Squirt bottle painting
I was told to go forth and write more, so... here I am. :)
I have a new follower who (I think) is teaching herself how to dye, so I took some pictures of my process the last time through. All the usual disclaimers - I am NOT a pro and most of what I do, I figured out from trial and error. So... if someone has anything to suggest, PLEASE speak up. I don't take constructive advice as a criticism.
Ok... from the beginning. Well... really the beginning - here is a shot of my dye collection. Just a few thoughts going in:
A) Most of what I dye is wool, so my collection is are all acid dyes. These are good for protein-based fibers such as sheep wool, alpaca/llama wool, angora, dog and silks. Other fibers can hold some acid dyes to some degree, but you really need to test it. For example, during this dye session, I dyed some 'store bought' yarn as a favor for a friend. It was a wool/acrylic sock yarn blend. The wool took up the dye just fine while the acrylic took it up at a slower rate. It gave the yarn a really pretty heathered look. We did it intentionally, so it was all good, but if you are not expecting it, it might pose a problem.
B) Scrubbing Bubbles is your friend. It is the best thing I have found to clean up the inevitable spills, rings, drains, fleck, etc.
C) Mason jars are also your friend. I also have found that coffee creamer containers have a nice wide opening to pour dyes into and a nice spout to pour out of. Condiment squirt bottles are nice and cheap and are great for controlled painting. Juice containers are also great for larger amounts.
D) I love Cosco. I bought this industrial sized plastic wrap years ago and it is wonderful. It gives a larger width to work from, which allows me to dye larger batches. Dyeing is a messy, wet business (at least the way I do it). If you have a seam, the fluids will run out and make a bigger mess than you need. I am pretty sure this is an unending roll of plastic. I bought it about 10 years ago and have been dyeing for 3. I think it regenerates at night.
MOST IMPORTANT: These dyes may look pretty but they are highly toxic. The particles will float through the air no matter what you do, so act accordingly. For me, that means the following:
1) Use a dust mask when dealing with the powders.
2) Use ONLY dedicated spoons, dishes, jars, etc. Don't use normal eating utensils and mark your dye tools so they don't accidentally get mixed back into the household items. I am lucky enough to have a dedicated area, so it all stays there as much as possible. Long handled tea spoons are great for this and are relatively cheap at restaurant supply stores.
3) Try to limit the amount that goes down the drain, whether you are on sewer or septic. I treat my waste similar to old paint... I dump it into a disposable roaster pan and let it dry out. Water evaporates, solid wastes stay behind. I am not even close to it being full, but when it is, I will take it to a hazardous waste collection event. MAKE SURE TO SECURE THE TOP TO MAKE SURE NO ANIMALS (OR CHILDREN) CAN GET INTO IT. I use a metal screen on mine.
Ok... moving on.
I was lucky enough to find a 'no shipping' deal on some fiber when I was about to buy, so I bought more than usual. The roving came all rolled up, so the first thing I did was measure out bundles. I usually separate into 4 or 6 ounce bundles, depending on what I need. 6 ounces is the biggest bundle I can fit into my steamer, so that is as big as I go.
Once the bundles are weighed out, they go into a cold waterbath to soak. Always add the wool to the water, not the other way around. Supposedly, fiber takes up dye better in an acidic environment. I am not that fond of the smell of vinegar, so I bought a bag of citric acid powder. I typically throw a tablespoon into each gallon of water used to make my dyes and I throw 1/4-1/3 of a cup into a 'bin' of cold soak water. To be perfectly honest, I have forgotten the acid more than once in both of those items and have never really seen a huge difference... but since I have it, I use it. Who knows... maybe that accounts for some of the variability. I need to pay more attention to know.
I don't know what the minimum soak time needs to be, but I usually put them into soak in the late afternoon on one day and take them out late morning/early afternoon the next. I drain the water and then squeeze the excess out of each bundle. Keep in mind that wool felts easier when wet, so keep the friction as minimal as possible (squeeeeeeeze, don't wring). If I am not going to dye immediately, I put a towel over the bundles to keep them moist. If the wool is still drippy wet when you are ready to dye, I put into a towel and step on it to get the excess water out. The wool should still have moisture, but not be 'wet'. I am sorry I can not be more specific, but I think this is one of those things you just have to get a feeling for as you go.
When I am ready to get dyeing, I make up my dyes. The container depends on how much I am going to use. I typically use quart jars... most of my dyes take about 1/2 of the scoop of an ice tea spoon. I know... not very scientific or precise... you just have to get the 'feel'. Different dye brands - even different colors within the same brand - take different amounts. For this session, I made up a half-gallon jar of the violet. Since I was mixing color poweders, I did not want to have to make more, risking too much variation between batches. The others I just mix more as I need it.
When I am ready, I pull out the plastic I need (typically most of the length of my dyeing table. I forget to take that picture, but you will get the idea from upcoming pictures. I then lay out the wool in an up and back manner. This picture is of one long piece of roving.
This is where you look at it and decide how long you want your color repeats to be. Keep in mind that your ends (where the curves are) will be twice as long... the 'up' and the 'back'.
For this session, I wanted white, light blue, dark blue, violet, mauve and grey. For the white, I just left the ends alone. For the light blue, I diluted some of the dark blue. Here you see me applying the dark blue with the squirt bottle. In real life, I tend to just pour directly onto the wool from the mix jar and use the squirt bottle to apply it (where needed) to the bottom. It saves the hassle of re-filling the squirt bottle, but you loose some accuracy. Once you have what you think you need, you start 'squishing'.
And here I will share a personal foible... while I have not really noticed any difference when using fresh made dyes over one that have been sitting for a couple of days, I really do prefer using fresh made, only because I use warm water to make it. There is something much more pleasant for me to 'squish' a nice warm mass (mess?) than a cold (icky) one. Again on the health and safety - use gloves... this stuff can't be good for your skin and your skin and nails are made up of proteins, so this (protein) dye will LOVE it. More than once I have gone to work looking like I put my hand in a chemical toilet.
Squish... squish... squish... add more dye as needed.... squish...squish... squish... Once you THINK you have enough, look underneath... you will find that the wool on top will have bogarted most of the dye particles. This is where the squirt bottle really comes in handy. You can squirt directly where you need to add dye. You can also squirt the dye liquid onto the plastic which allows it to travel to other areas. Basically, do what you have to do to make sure that the underside gets an allotment of the color too. Unless you are looking for that white space... it too can be a neat effect when spinning it up.
Just keep going until you have all the colors you want. When deciding your color repeats, keep in mind you can control your yarn repeats when spinning as well... by splitting the roving into halves vs quarters you can make longer repeats, so your repeats are not necessarily limited by your dye repeats.
Also keep in mind that things will typically look darker at this point that they will come out. Again... no hard and fast rule... in this care, the blue stays about that blue, but the dark black at the end comes out a lighter grey and the mauve (next to the black) comes out very light.
The next series is a little picture heavy with not much to say, so I am going to put in smaller pictures... if anyone needs a larger version or clarification, just let me know.
Once all the dyes have been applied, I pull another sheet of plastic over the top and sort of press the edges to start a seal. I then pull the sides up, run my hands down the length to push out some air and then fold the ends up.
Fold the whole thing in half lenthwise. It is a little awkward, but it can be done. This is a good time to check to see if you have missed any big chunks on the bottom.
Once that is done, fold into thirds.
Pull another sheet of plastic and do another wrap. Since I wrapped the sides first on the first wrap, I wrap the ends first on the second.
Keep in mind that no matter how good you wrap it, these are bound to leak. I ended up making a nice mess this session... all it took was one.
Once wrapped to contain all the mess (good luck with that), it goes into the steamer. Again... please don't use for food... no matter how tempting it is when your wool steamer gives out on you unexpectedly. There are a lot of options... every thrift store around here has used steamers relatively cheap, but I found this new one on Amazon for about $5 more than the thrift store ones. I ended up going for it because none of the thrift store ones had the two baskets and I think it really helps to have your bundle elevated at least into the second level. This session I actually made the bundles a little too big and I was concerned about the steam not being able to circulate to the top wool enough, so I added some extra minutes. I usually steam for 45 minutes... this might be overkill, but it has worked for me. This was an all day processes since I had 8 bundles. I like the electric steamer because I can steam outdoors if it is hot.
I leave these bundles to cool overnight. It is hard not to be impatient, but it is not worth felting your roving by rinsing when the wool is still warm. Once cooled, unwrap and rinse. Keep in mind that while the dye should have been taken up by the wool, leaving only clear water, the fluid that has leaked into the other layers of plastic will still have dye in it, so I strongly suggest protecting your hands and clothing. I use a big white t-shirt for all dye-related activities so it can be bleached as needed. Once I dump the wool into the sink and get rid of the plastic, I submerge the wool into bins of cool water until it rinses clear.
It then gets hung on the railing (out of the sun) to dry and then braided up... and.... voila:
You can see how much the mauve and black have lightened. The violet, since it is two powders mixed tends to split. For some reason, this picture did not really show the colors that great. The darkest blue is actually shades of the violet.
And that is... all she wrote :)
I have a new follower who (I think) is teaching herself how to dye, so I took some pictures of my process the last time through. All the usual disclaimers - I am NOT a pro and most of what I do, I figured out from trial and error. So... if someone has anything to suggest, PLEASE speak up. I don't take constructive advice as a criticism.
Ok... from the beginning. Well... really the beginning - here is a shot of my dye collection. Just a few thoughts going in:
B) Scrubbing Bubbles is your friend. It is the best thing I have found to clean up the inevitable spills, rings, drains, fleck, etc.
C) Mason jars are also your friend. I also have found that coffee creamer containers have a nice wide opening to pour dyes into and a nice spout to pour out of. Condiment squirt bottles are nice and cheap and are great for controlled painting. Juice containers are also great for larger amounts.
D) I love Cosco. I bought this industrial sized plastic wrap years ago and it is wonderful. It gives a larger width to work from, which allows me to dye larger batches. Dyeing is a messy, wet business (at least the way I do it). If you have a seam, the fluids will run out and make a bigger mess than you need. I am pretty sure this is an unending roll of plastic. I bought it about 10 years ago and have been dyeing for 3. I think it regenerates at night.MOST IMPORTANT: These dyes may look pretty but they are highly toxic. The particles will float through the air no matter what you do, so act accordingly. For me, that means the following:
1) Use a dust mask when dealing with the powders.
2) Use ONLY dedicated spoons, dishes, jars, etc. Don't use normal eating utensils and mark your dye tools so they don't accidentally get mixed back into the household items. I am lucky enough to have a dedicated area, so it all stays there as much as possible. Long handled tea spoons are great for this and are relatively cheap at restaurant supply stores.
3) Try to limit the amount that goes down the drain, whether you are on sewer or septic. I treat my waste similar to old paint... I dump it into a disposable roaster pan and let it dry out. Water evaporates, solid wastes stay behind. I am not even close to it being full, but when it is, I will take it to a hazardous waste collection event. MAKE SURE TO SECURE THE TOP TO MAKE SURE NO ANIMALS (OR CHILDREN) CAN GET INTO IT. I use a metal screen on mine.
Ok... moving on.
I was lucky enough to find a 'no shipping' deal on some fiber when I was about to buy, so I bought more than usual. The roving came all rolled up, so the first thing I did was measure out bundles. I usually separate into 4 or 6 ounce bundles, depending on what I need. 6 ounces is the biggest bundle I can fit into my steamer, so that is as big as I go.Once the bundles are weighed out, they go into a cold waterbath to soak. Always add the wool to the water, not the other way around. Supposedly, fiber takes up dye better in an acidic environment. I am not that fond of the smell of vinegar, so I bought a bag of citric acid powder. I typically throw a tablespoon into each gallon of water used to make my dyes and I throw 1/4-1/3 of a cup into a 'bin' of cold soak water. To be perfectly honest, I have forgotten the acid more than once in both of those items and have never really seen a huge difference... but since I have it, I use it. Who knows... maybe that accounts for some of the variability. I need to pay more attention to know.I don't know what the minimum soak time needs to be, but I usually put them into soak in the late afternoon on one day and take them out late morning/early afternoon the next. I drain the water and then squeeze the excess out of each bundle. Keep in mind that wool felts easier when wet, so keep the friction as minimal as possible (squeeeeeeeze, don't wring). If I am not going to dye immediately, I put a towel over the bundles to keep them moist. If the wool is still drippy wet when you are ready to dye, I put into a towel and step on it to get the excess water out. The wool should still have moisture, but not be 'wet'. I am sorry I can not be more specific, but I think this is one of those things you just have to get a feeling for as you go.
When I am ready to get dyeing, I make up my dyes. The container depends on how much I am going to use. I typically use quart jars... most of my dyes take about 1/2 of the scoop of an ice tea spoon. I know... not very scientific or precise... you just have to get the 'feel'. Different dye brands - even different colors within the same brand - take different amounts. For this session, I made up a half-gallon jar of the violet. Since I was mixing color poweders, I did not want to have to make more, risking too much variation between batches. The others I just mix more as I need it.
When I am ready, I pull out the plastic I need (typically most of the length of my dyeing table. I forget to take that picture, but you will get the idea from upcoming pictures. I then lay out the wool in an up and back manner. This picture is of one long piece of roving.
This is where you look at it and decide how long you want your color repeats to be. Keep in mind that your ends (where the curves are) will be twice as long... the 'up' and the 'back'.
For this session, I wanted white, light blue, dark blue, violet, mauve and grey. For the white, I just left the ends alone. For the light blue, I diluted some of the dark blue. Here you see me applying the dark blue with the squirt bottle. In real life, I tend to just pour directly onto the wool from the mix jar and use the squirt bottle to apply it (where needed) to the bottom. It saves the hassle of re-filling the squirt bottle, but you loose some accuracy. Once you have what you think you need, you start 'squishing'.
Squish... squish... squish... add more dye as needed.... squish...squish... squish... Once you THINK you have enough, look underneath... you will find that the wool on top will have bogarted most of the dye particles. This is where the squirt bottle really comes in handy. You can squirt directly where you need to add dye. You can also squirt the dye liquid onto the plastic which allows it to travel to other areas. Basically, do what you have to do to make sure that the underside gets an allotment of the color too. Unless you are looking for that white space... it too can be a neat effect when spinning it up.Just keep going until you have all the colors you want. When deciding your color repeats, keep in mind you can control your yarn repeats when spinning as well... by splitting the roving into halves vs quarters you can make longer repeats, so your repeats are not necessarily limited by your dye repeats.Also keep in mind that things will typically look darker at this point that they will come out. Again... no hard and fast rule... in this care, the blue stays about that blue, but the dark black at the end comes out a lighter grey and the mauve (next to the black) comes out very light.
The next series is a little picture heavy with not much to say, so I am going to put in smaller pictures... if anyone needs a larger version or clarification, just let me know.
Once all the dyes have been applied, I pull another sheet of plastic over the top and sort of press the edges to start a seal. I then pull the sides up, run my hands down the length to push out some air and then fold the ends up. Fold the whole thing in half lenthwise. It is a little awkward, but it can be done. This is a good time to check to see if you have missed any big chunks on the bottom.Once that is done, fold into thirds.
Keep in mind that no matter how good you wrap it, these are bound to leak. I ended up making a nice mess this session... all it took was one.
I leave these bundles to cool overnight. It is hard not to be impatient, but it is not worth felting your roving by rinsing when the wool is still warm. Once cooled, unwrap and rinse. Keep in mind that while the dye should have been taken up by the wool, leaving only clear water, the fluid that has leaked into the other layers of plastic will still have dye in it, so I strongly suggest protecting your hands and clothing. I use a big white t-shirt for all dye-related activities so it can be bleached as needed. Once I dump the wool into the sink and get rid of the plastic, I submerge the wool into bins of cool water until it rinses clear.
It then gets hung on the railing (out of the sun) to dry and then braided up... and.... voila:
And that is... all she wrote :)
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Is it Tinker Toys or a Niddy-Noddy? The answer is YES!
I keep seeing discussions about niddy-noddy's on various spinning forums and groups, so I thought I would share mine. It is very versatile and useful. I wish I could remember who gave me this idea so I can give credit where it is due, but time (and other things) have obscured that particular memory, so if it is you, SPEAK UP! :) EDIT: It was Judith! :) Thank you!
I bought a small kit for about 8 dollars at our local general store. It is a neat employee-owned local chain that sells candles, kitchen ware, canned food, pet food, small apliances, videos, cards, guns, camping gear... I could go on and on so I will stop with the relevant part: They sell toys :)
The small kit had enough for what I needed to not only make a functional niddy-noddy, but to make it adjustable. Another bonus is that it can be taken apart and put back together very easily, which makes it easy to pack up and take it on the road.
Usually I use just the ends and the two green pieces connected in the middle. This gives me almost a perfect 60 inch skein. Wrap it off the bobbin, count the loops, multiply by 60 and divide the whole thing by 36... BANG! A pretty accurate yardage calculation.
The other day, I was getting ready to dye some sock yarn for a friend who wanted longer repeats. I added another green stick to the length and I got a perfect skein for my needs. I can add as much as I like and if I wanted (for some reason) a smaller skein, these old fashioned wood sticks are easy enough to cut to size.
Having used this for years, I did run into one small issue. The yellow arms have a lot of tension on them with prolonged use and it caused the holes in the 'wheel' to enlarge a little. I solved the problem on the fly by wrapping some masking tape around them, but I think if I were to do it again, I would probably glue them in from the beginning.
I bought a small kit for about 8 dollars at our local general store. It is a neat employee-owned local chain that sells candles, kitchen ware, canned food, pet food, small apliances, videos, cards, guns, camping gear... I could go on and on so I will stop with the relevant part: They sell toys :)The small kit had enough for what I needed to not only make a functional niddy-noddy, but to make it adjustable. Another bonus is that it can be taken apart and put back together very easily, which makes it easy to pack up and take it on the road.
Usually I use just the ends and the two green pieces connected in the middle. This gives me almost a perfect 60 inch skein. Wrap it off the bobbin, count the loops, multiply by 60 and divide the whole thing by 36... BANG! A pretty accurate yardage calculation.The other day, I was getting ready to dye some sock yarn for a friend who wanted longer repeats. I added another green stick to the length and I got a perfect skein for my needs. I can add as much as I like and if I wanted (for some reason) a smaller skein, these old fashioned wood sticks are easy enough to cut to size.
Having used this for years, I did run into one small issue. The yellow arms have a lot of tension on them with prolonged use and it caused the holes in the 'wheel' to enlarge a little. I solved the problem on the fly by wrapping some masking tape around them, but I think if I were to do it again, I would probably glue them in from the beginning.
Friday, September 05, 2014
Another try at de-confusing my life
Once again I find myself at a point in my life where I know I need to make some changes. Based on past history, I have to admit I am not brimming over with confidence that any changes I make will stick this time either, but I am going to give it an honest try. There are two things that do give me some hope... the first is pretty simple... this time, I am not going to try to make sweeping changes, but try to do it in baby steps. The second is a little more nebulous.
For many years I have had a secret monkey riding on my back. Something that has made me feel really crappy about myself for a long time. Last year, I came clean, so to speak, about that particular monkey and, although I still feel crappy about it (particularly about how it effected other people), it is open to the air instead of being a secret festering boil (gross imagery, but apt, I think). I am hoping that dealing with that shameful aspect will help me to continue making positive changes in my life. I am hoping that now I am ready.
So... what now...
My next biggest issue has always been procrastination. I know I have intelligence... I know I am capable. But so often I am just overwhelmed by... well... everything. I have so many things I want to/need to do that when it comes time to do them, thinking about it makes me so tired all I can do is take a nap on the couch. It does not help that it is so easy to spend an entire day diverting myself with Netflix, Facebook, Google+ and ... yes... Blog!
It also does not help to be fighting a resurgence of clinical depression and fibromyalgia symptoms which I think are an offshoot from the car accident that nearly killed me a year and a half ago. Not to mention dealing with the physical recovery from that. All of this together means I have basically done very little around the house and yard over the past year and have put myself in a position of having a LOT of things I need to do.
A friend of mine tried something I found kind of interesting. She decided to go the community shaming route. She posted her ToDo list online and asked her friends and family to give her a hard time if she went more than a day without accomplishing something on that list. I don't think I am ready to go that route (maybe next time!), but I did take her idea of the ToDo list. I remembered that there is a Task option in gmail and spent some time creating lists and adding things to it. I have a few lists... Outdoors, Indoors, Crafts and General. I am going to add a 'Chores' list for reoccurring items.
In the past, when I have decided it is time to change, I have, with all sincerity, planned grande sweeping changes. This time, I am going to try smaller steps. My goal for each day is to do ONE item from the outdoor list, ONE item from the chore OR indoor list and at least ONE step on a craft list item. I am going with the following rules:
- This goal is for 6 days a week. I get one day that, besides feeding the cats, I don't have to do anything.
- If I get a work call, the only list that counts is Chores.
- If there is nothing on a list, two items will be done from one of the other lists.
- I will actually log how I do to re-evaluate the plan at the end of each month.
I am going to give this a try. I would welcome any helpful comments on how other people deal with these issues or even community shaming when I slack off, as long as it is meant to be helpful...
And just one little note... this has actually already paid off. I was tempted to 'blow off' dyeing a batch of wool that I had already soaked until tomorrow. I had already soaked it, but dyeing it meant cleaning off my area and spending the time getting the dye mixes made up. I had told myself I would do it tomorrow afternoon, but a couple hours of seeing that task as I figured out the best way to make the lists made me just get up and go take care of that particular task... and since I had the dyes made up, I went ahead and dyed my friends sock yarn for her, so TWO tasks were checked off the Craft list! And then, I decided that since I have not officially started with the 'rules', I am going to count the mowing and pesticide spraying I did the past couple of days as my 'outdoor' item for today. Which makes me want to go do one item on the chores list, just so I can say I actually started the rules today.... :) Yeap... not even officially started and the justifications have already begun... heh.
For many years I have had a secret monkey riding on my back. Something that has made me feel really crappy about myself for a long time. Last year, I came clean, so to speak, about that particular monkey and, although I still feel crappy about it (particularly about how it effected other people), it is open to the air instead of being a secret festering boil (gross imagery, but apt, I think). I am hoping that dealing with that shameful aspect will help me to continue making positive changes in my life. I am hoping that now I am ready.
So... what now...
My next biggest issue has always been procrastination. I know I have intelligence... I know I am capable. But so often I am just overwhelmed by... well... everything. I have so many things I want to/need to do that when it comes time to do them, thinking about it makes me so tired all I can do is take a nap on the couch. It does not help that it is so easy to spend an entire day diverting myself with Netflix, Facebook, Google+ and ... yes... Blog!
It also does not help to be fighting a resurgence of clinical depression and fibromyalgia symptoms which I think are an offshoot from the car accident that nearly killed me a year and a half ago. Not to mention dealing with the physical recovery from that. All of this together means I have basically done very little around the house and yard over the past year and have put myself in a position of having a LOT of things I need to do.
A friend of mine tried something I found kind of interesting. She decided to go the community shaming route. She posted her ToDo list online and asked her friends and family to give her a hard time if she went more than a day without accomplishing something on that list. I don't think I am ready to go that route (maybe next time!), but I did take her idea of the ToDo list. I remembered that there is a Task option in gmail and spent some time creating lists and adding things to it. I have a few lists... Outdoors, Indoors, Crafts and General. I am going to add a 'Chores' list for reoccurring items.
In the past, when I have decided it is time to change, I have, with all sincerity, planned grande sweeping changes. This time, I am going to try smaller steps. My goal for each day is to do ONE item from the outdoor list, ONE item from the chore OR indoor list and at least ONE step on a craft list item. I am going with the following rules:
- This goal is for 6 days a week. I get one day that, besides feeding the cats, I don't have to do anything.
- If I get a work call, the only list that counts is Chores.
- If there is nothing on a list, two items will be done from one of the other lists.
- I will actually log how I do to re-evaluate the plan at the end of each month.
I am going to give this a try. I would welcome any helpful comments on how other people deal with these issues or even community shaming when I slack off, as long as it is meant to be helpful...
And just one little note... this has actually already paid off. I was tempted to 'blow off' dyeing a batch of wool that I had already soaked until tomorrow. I had already soaked it, but dyeing it meant cleaning off my area and spending the time getting the dye mixes made up. I had told myself I would do it tomorrow afternoon, but a couple hours of seeing that task as I figured out the best way to make the lists made me just get up and go take care of that particular task... and since I had the dyes made up, I went ahead and dyed my friends sock yarn for her, so TWO tasks were checked off the Craft list! And then, I decided that since I have not officially started with the 'rules', I am going to count the mowing and pesticide spraying I did the past couple of days as my 'outdoor' item for today. Which makes me want to go do one item on the chores list, just so I can say I actually started the rules today.... :) Yeap... not even officially started and the justifications have already begun... heh.
Monday, September 01, 2014
Another Dyeing and Spinning Experiment
I was playing around with some left-over blue and green dyes one day and decided to dye up what I have come to call a 'water color' motif. I dyed one blue, one green and then one with the left over blue and green mixed together. Each roving was done with a dilution sequence - I dyed a section with the darkest solution, diluted that by half, dyed another section... diluted that by half... and so on. The results:
I then spun up each of the three colors as very thin singles and plied all three together. Because all three had a multitude of different shades, the combinations were different throughout the whole yarn.
I used this yarn in a few different projects:
I really can not remember what this one was for. It may have just been a pattern test and/or sampler to see how the yarn looked knitted up. The color changes were really neat over the whole piece.The next experiment was to try a new pattern for toe socks. I ended up using my prototype as a spinning sock. I had worn some boots to a craft show where I ended up doing spinning exhibitions. I had planned to just take the boot off, but it was kind of cold, so this prototype actually came in handy. I loved the striping, but because the yarn was never the same I could never get a matching set.
I may try the same dye/spin pattern with some reds, yellow and orange.
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