noxcat | Entries tagged with creativity

I'm waiting on a call from a nurse to call and set up my actual telemedicing call from my Kidney Specialist. No ncticable new symptoms,but it's been a year or so since my last appointment, so it's overdue. The nurse did tell me my Prograf levels were elevated, and if true, we'll need to discuss lowering them. The drug is toxic to kidneys at higher levels, so it definitely is concerning.

My biopsy results are in, and I have skin cancer again. This makes it a total of5 spots I'vehad to have removed, but these last 2 are basal cell carcinoma. So 2 different cancers. Yay me? Since it'sa step down from what I had before, I'm using the term "nuisance cancer". Or more accurately: "fucking nuisance cancer".

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Not a lot new going on. Of course not, I'm still in lock down! But it does seem like locally we've crested the first wave of COVID,since hospitalization numbers are going down. The death rate is still heart breakingly high, though Especially now that it includes children.

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I did not join any official or unofficial protests. I wished I could have, and I do miss the days when I was healthy enough (and didn't live next door to hell0 to do so. And the security camera footage of a few assholes using the protests as an opportunity to commit crimes made me furious! All I gotta say is "crime knows no skin color, so WHY are prison populations so disproportionately high?? Oh right- White Privilege. I hate the existence of that concept.

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And the urge to be cretive right now is quite high. But that urge is also highly frustrating, because, AS USUAL,my space to do so is quite limited. And I'm not finding any creative ways (heh) to improve my space situation.

I don't know why, but I've been feeling the urge to not only coan size my crap, but clean as well. And I don't just mean the monotonous day to day cleaning of laundry and dishes, but the more deep stuff - like cleaning out the cat hair that accumulates between the carpet and baseboard. (So much cat hair, so much back discomfort, repeat ad nauseum)

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I've been playing with some old Rit dye I've had for years. Easiest way to get rid of it, right? Well not really because now I want to play even more, which might involve buying more dye if I'm not careful. I'm currently distracted into wanting to try the shibori technique, abd I certainly have plenty of white cotton fabric to play with...

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I may have gotten past the issues I was having with my current knitting project - I actually watched a beginning knitting video on YouTube, and downgraded my casting on method to a much simpler method than what I was using, and made myself loosen my yarn tension. But npw my right radial nerve won't play nice. Within the first 10 stitches it starts tingling, and if I try to keep doing it only takes a couple more stitches to make my thumb and forefinger go completely numb. RAR. I've been trying to address the issue on my own with nerve stretches, glides, and being more mindful of my natural slouch, but I keep wondering if it would calm down faster if I had another visit with a Physical Therapist. Cuz it doesn't just happen while knitting, but at it's worst it'll happen at night and it does wake me up until I roll over onto my left side and the pain goes away. Yay for growing up in a battle zone where one is afraid to relax...

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And the wind has been howling att day because of another cold front coming down. It may only be in the 50s, but the gusts maje it feel much much colder than that. I miss the days ofcold but beautiful weather...

I've been playing with fabric dye this week. I mean - I own it, so I might as well use some of it up. And if I can get a color clors to a blue/green instead of white, I'll eventually turn the fabric into a 'do rag for summer sun protection.

I've also got some black gye (or course), and I'm tempted to refresh my memory on how to tie-dye and use it on a white t-shirt...

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Not much knitting going on. Something about the way I'm sleeping when on my right side has really been aggravating my radial nerve, and having my thumb, forefinher, and message finger go numb after only a couple stitches does not make knitting enjoyavle.The last 2 nights I've slept with a heat wrap on my neck/shoulder, and it has seemed to calm things down a bit.

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But the bid thing is last weekend I finally (FINALLY) got off my ass and tried Lydt! And it's so much less expensive than the other ridesharing (non-profit) company I tried before! YAY for a greater measure of independence! OK, so after years of being dependant on other for rides, I've adjusted, but it was not easy or smooth and it sometimes still bothers me. Especially when people make jokes about being so introverted they'd happily never leave the house again. Uh, no. I used to think that, until I could no longer go places on my own.

So I can now knock out a couple long pending things that have been impossible to schedule late enough for Himself to pick me up on his way home from work, instead of him taking off early. He'll do it for a doctor's appt, but I've hated every. single. time. I've had to ask. Now I'll get myself there again.

We had a cold front blow in yesterday morning. It only put us down into the low 50s, but the wind - omg that damn North wind! - clocked in at a sustained 12-29 mph, so it actually feels almost 20 degrees colder.

But the first 2 days of winter are predicted to be back up in the 70s. *sigh&

Staying in the 50s would really be nice, as long as someone turns off that damned wind machine.

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The past several months have seen me doing a bit more downsizing than usual. Along with the deep fabric stash dive I did during NoNEWSew, I've made a noticeable dent in my books. This is a bigger deal than it looks simply typed out on a screen. For me, anyway. I have books I've never read, but bought when the opportunity presented itself in hopes of one day reading them, and seeing them again reminds me of that. So I stop and go looking to see if there's an ebook version on Kindle or Overdrive (the library's ebook service), and if there is, it goes on a wislist and the print version goes. Bit a few aren't currently available, or maybe I haven't dug deep enough yet, so they stay.

Himself does NOT "get it". He does not see the appeal of books. To him, they're boring and should all just Go Away.

But he doesn't bring it up - probably because there are interests he has that I could bring up in "retaliation" that I feel the exact same way abou - guns and ammo being top of the list. Yeah, I just don't see the appeal there.

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I finally upgraded my Holiday wreath! Years ago, back in the dark days of marriage, my then husband and I bought an undecorated wreath at spme craft store in the hopes we'd decorate it together. Well, we put one thing on it, and then he was traveling so much for work that he never had time, and I didn't want to do it myself. Mainly because I knew he's whine about how I did it without him, and that was "mean".

He didn't take it with him when he left, and for a few years I would come across it, remember the "story" that went with it, and toss it asid. But then, at some point, the topic came up with Himself. I was thinking of getting rid of it and getting a completely different one, but he encouraged me to keep it and do what *I* wanted with it.

This past weekend, I finally took some gold tinsel garland and wrapped it several times around it. Still thinking it could use something more, but I no longer look at it and think "that's a pathetic excuse for a wreath". So YAY MW!

The first week of fall has gone by, and we're still experiencing summertime heat. That's not too unusual for this part of Texas, but the local meteorologist is saying things like "hottest September on record", and this "this September is shaping up to be hotter than July was". Don't let ANYONE tell you this is "Texas normal" - the data proves them wrong.

And then there was Tropical Storm Imelda - we didn't even get an inch of rain from it, but over by Beaumont and Houston, people died from the flooding caused by the record rainfall.

Climate change in action, ya'll.

Today would have been my father's birthday. Never mind the fact that he'd be almost 100 at this point - my life would have been a lot different if he had been able to hold on for another year or two. Maybe better, maybe worse, but definitely different. I might never have come to Texas, which means I might never have met Himself, which would be a negative. But on the other hand, I would have had a loving parent for a few more years, and who knows how that would have benefited me?

It's not something I think about every day anymore, but it does sneak into my thoughts on noteworthy days like this.

Been feeling like I wanna Art and Craft lately, but workspace is scarce. Like it always is. So I've been turning my attention to decluttering, putting things away, and getting rid of stuff. Went through my boxes of books and found more books to get rid of than container to lug them off in. What a horrible problem to have! LOL But I almost have enough space cleared on my sewing table to do something, if not actually sew.

I did actually sit down at the machine and figure out it WILL sew a straight line, but the tension is seriously off. The scrap I was using was a very lightweight linen, so I need to try with a more sturdy cotton before I start hunting for the owner's manual again.

And it almost sounds like there' water falling from the sky! That's neem incredibly rare lately, so I'm going out to witness it!

Heh - apparently it's been so long since I was a regular eBay user that my account disappeared. I had to recreate one to buy a size P bamboo crochet hook.:) But I did get one, and it is on it's way as I type. Now for the sheets, which will require some thrift store shopping.

I was 'playing with some yellow wool yarn earlier to practice my crochet, but I kept taking out the chains and redoing them so many times that the yarn degraded enough I could no longer do that. So I decided I needed to stop 'playing' with it and work it up into something before it was wasted. I ended up casting it on knitting needles where I'm a little more experienced with that technique.

This past weekend was pretty, but hot and humid (for here, anyway.). I think the damn meteorologist we watch was born in the desert the way he whines about the humidity!but it's nothing compared to East of here - we are on the dry side of the Mississippi, after all.

We stayed pretty low key, which was nice for a change. Didn't get to the housework I had wanted to do: the floor still needs vacuumed, the towels still need changing. *sigh* I am so NOR an exemplary Hausfrau. Not that I ming what others think, but I'd like to owwp it more sanitary for my own sake. Not that we're dirty people - but the sinks don't get cleaned until *I* notice the soap and shaving cream build up, the toilets don't get cleaned til *I* see that they're gross. And *I'm* the bling one! Rar.

I did not sleep well Friday into Saturday. My Fitbit says I got less than 6 total hours. So Saturday was mainly just running errands. But that pillow felt soo good when I went to bed Saturday night!

I had blood drawn sat morning - had to go to a new location since the old place isn't open on the weekends. The new place is in the Women's Center at the hospital nearest me. Yay. I got up in time to be there when the doors opened, but was late because we had no clue where it was once in the building. The waiting room was full when we finally walked in, and it took them over an hour to get to me. Not sure if the bloodwork will be very accurate because of that, but at least it got done. They called me on the way home saying my urine sample wasn't enough to run the tests they needed to run, could I come back before they closed at noon?? Ahahaha...no. The super efficient nature of the transplanted kidney means I wake up every morning slightly dehydrated, and I'm recovering all day. It's amazing I was able to produce that much, even after drinking water on the drive over. Going back later today to try again.

But Sunday was completely different. I went back to the Blue Genie building to hang out with an amazing local artist who was kind enough to teach me crochet while we were at her booth for the West Austin Studio Tour. She's a photographer - go check out her work at www.annwoodallstudios.com It was so satisfying to be handing out with Creative Types once again I need to rekindle that aspect of my life - reconnect with old friends, cultivate new ones who will encourage and support that side of me.

Fortunately a lot of the hand/thumb/wrist/forearm issues I used to have seem to have disappeared after the transplant. :)

Yesterday was Mom's 80th birthday. I called her that evening. I was going to invite her out to dinner tonight to celebrate, but I called furing a late dinner (for them, anyway). She was going to call me back after she was done to discuss it further, but never did. Still haven't heard from her today, either. Makes me feel incredibly unimportant to my own mother when she does this sort of thing. :(

We happened to catch part of the movie Split on TV yesterday. (Not sure when we came in, but we watched to the end.) Last night I was dreaming about it - I was 'the one who got away', being chased, and interspersed with the running were images of my father in hit hospital bed in his bedroom at home - where he spent his last months dying of lung cancer. The white of the sheets and his t-shirt, eith only the sickly blue-white of his skin breaking it up was so clear and memorable.

Why did I have to remember that dream?? I rarely remember my dreams after waking up, but I'm afraid that one will stick around for a while.

The West Austin Studio Tour is this weekend and next weekend. We went after doing my Daughterly Duty on Mother's Day (deliberately, so we could keep the visit short), and it was so fun. and inspiring. :) One artist was sitting in her booth with a large crochet hook and an even larger ball of 'yarn' that was actually cut up strips of old sheets. We chatted for quite a while about what she was doing (making rag rugs), where she got the materials (Goodwill Blue Hanger), and the crochet process specifically. She even offered to teach me how to crochet if I came by next weekend! So I'm trying to figutr out something Himself can do while I'm there so he isn't hanging around being bored while I learn a new trick. LOL

There was another artist, who goes by Deadly Creative on the Internets, who specializws in photographs of old, abandoned buildings (and a few other muy interesante things. Amazing stuff - www.deadeadlycreative.com - go there or on FB to see her work and be amazed. AMAZED I tell you! Nest part? She was wearing the cutest dress from Hot Topic - a light colored fit and flare, sleeveless and laced up the back, with spiders and scorpions printed all over in black. LOVED it.

I came home feeling inspired, and full of so many ideas, and itching to get back into creating things. Hope I can actually translate that into movement.

After Danabren's (dammit - I went looking for the tags to link to her account and couldn't find them!) insightful comment about NNreSewMonth, I'm gonns five it a go this year. So here's my To-Do List...

1) Hem green kichen towel.

2) Repair binding on neck of grey tank.

3)There is a button that came of the waistband of a piece of clothing, not sure which one. But I need to find out and re-attach it.

4) Hem blue shirt.

Those are just off the top of my head. I'm sure I will have more once I start thinking/looking more. My mending pile alone if bigger than that!

In that vein - I had a quick 'brainstorm' session with Himself's fried about the lighting I want/need over the sewing table, and how being in an apartment means I can't simply install something in the ceiling. I'm now thinking a collapiable hutch with the lighting on the underside is the way to go - we break it down when we move, and put it back together when we get to a new place.

Yay. A new project to spend my money on. LOL.

Any place in Central Texas that gets it's water supply from the City of Austin is now being advised to stop drinking the tap water and use bottled water for drinking and cooking. (And to be on the safe side, use boiled water for washing dishes.) Bo lawn watering or car washing either until further notice.

We've even been asked to reduce our shower times.

All because of the historic flooding upstream and the debris and silt it's put into the water supply that becomes our drinking water. The water processing plant is still working, but it's taking longer to process the water and the equipment needs to taken offline more often for cleaning and maintenance.

We've been lucky the past 2 days because it hasn't rained, but the forecast shows an increasing chance of rain for the next 3 days, and it wouldn't tale ,uch to cause even more flooding. Here's hoping Hurricane Willa will go much further S than it currently looks.

Been pondering the NONEWSEWMO challenge the past couple of days. I certainly have enough UFOs to join in! U could even put the pieces that need repair work at the top of the list and reduce the appearance of clutter around here too! It might even fet me back into a creative headspace again - I've been missing that a lot lately.

Hmm...I've got a week to think/ponder...