Spinning, Weaving and Psychology

The contractor we chose to do the work on our kitchen is here taking additional measurements for a half bay window.  This will add a lot more light and tiny bit more counter space.  It will also be a great place for the cats to hang out.

Because that's what I feel like.  The test this morning only took about 3 hours (I was there at 7:30).  Actually drinking the contrast wasn't as bad as having to drink the stuff for a colonoscopy but not by a whole lot. In spite not being able to take my meds, and my hips hurting, I did everything that I could help move the contrast liquid along.  Yoga, walking, knee bends with the support of a chair.  The more I moved the sooner I'd be done.  My Ipod helped pass the time because, while I can knit or spin while walking (yes I had both with me as well as a book) it was just easier because every 20 minutes a new x-ray was taken.  I had a couple of episodes of the Hometown Tales podcast that I hadn't listened to yet.  One of the things that I was advised to do was think about my favorite foods because supposedly that can help the contrast to move along.  The Hometown Tales guys didn't let me down!  In the first episode I listened to they talked about gourmet hot dogs!  Nom nom nom! The x-ray techs were great.  They let me see my films before they sent them off to where ever the films went next. 
After I got home I had a bowl of cereal (I still wanted one of those hots dogs!) and drank a couple of bottles of water and slept until 3:30.  The only reason I got up at all was I had to meet wingblaze  at our mechanics because his car needed to be looked at.  Hopefully I'll have my car back by tomorrow night.

I forgot that the dates for Pennsic had changed.  My test is the week after everyone gets home.  I'm still going to use the shuttle service so that wingblaze  doesn't have to take a day off so soon after vacation.

When I spoke to The BEST MIL EVAR! today she was actually a little mad at me that I had arranged to use the shuttle.  She insisted on being at the house when the shuttle drops me off so she could make sure for herself that I'm O.K..  Even though wingblaze  will most likely be home before me that day I'm sure B-MIL-E will still be at the house waiting for me.  I love my family!

Good news:  The Remicade is still mostly holding its own and I have been steadily decreasing my Vicodin each week.


Bad news:  Since I have reduced the Vicodin my stomach has been acting up, acid reflux and other things (don't ask).  The Vicodin was masking the pain.  Dr suspects its side effects of a couple of meds I'm on for RA (which I can't go off of) or possibly a different autoimmune problem.


Good news:  Tests to determine diagnosis and extent of damage are all scheduled.


Bad news: One is tomorrow (which is not so bad actually) No eating/drinking after midnight, be to the hospital by 7:30am, test will take anywhere from 4-6 hours.


Bad news: Other test is scheduled while y'all are at Pennsic.


Good news:  The testing center now has a shuttle service so I don't need to worry about needing to ask anyone to take care of me.


Good news:  I know that the Best MIL and FIL EVAR! would drop everything for me if I did need them to!


Bad news: One of the labs I need to have done is a take home test. Ewwwwww! I hate these.


I have to admit that I was a little freaked out that I was feeling better then I was feeling worse but in a different way.  I was given yet another script to add to my mix for the acid reflux and I should start to feel better on that front in a few days.  Perhaps soon I'll start sleeping thru the night again (that's only happened 2 or 3 times since some time last year) and getting back into a more regular routine, one that involves being awake during more day light hours.  In the mean time I'm going to go take a nap.

I've need to do another test weave for the liripipe hoods for a while.  There are several things that needed to be different this time.  First is the sett, it will be 24 EPI (the last test was 20 EPI) and second to try a different size mixture.  The size I'm using is a plain gelatin mixture.  This time I've soaked the warp in the mixture before the warp is wound.  That way if the threads stick together I can deal with it as I wind the yarn off the swift and into balls.  The yarn is hanging in the bathroom now to dry.   The last thing that different is that I was board spinning plain white merino so I spun 5oz of a space dyed merino to the same weight as the white.  I know this isn't a period dye technique but that's O.K. for this test.  For those that saw me last Saturday the yarn I'm using is the yarn I was spinning then.  One of the colors of merino (the darkest orange shade) that I dyed on Monday is the perfect color for the weft so I dyed up a second 2 oz to make sure I had enough and now I'm in the process of spinning that up.  For some reason I keep thinking of alysten  as I'm spinning the orange. I wonder why?  Now I just need to ask wingblaze help me put the air conditioner in the window of the studio .  Its getting a little to hot and humid to work in there.  I'll post some pictures when I've started to warp the loom.  If I can get this done I'll have all the samples with me at EK  War Practise in Eisental. 

I needed to dye some test colors forwingblaze  so he can see what he wants for the new champions baldrics and to see if I could mix the colorkatnboots  wants for her liripipe hood.  Some of the colors came out a little blotchy because I took a short cut and didn't soak the fiber before I dyed it but the samples tell me what I wanted to know.  The baldric colors, purple and gold came out fine (they just don't read well in this picture) but I'm going to have to order the periwinkle color Kat wants.  While I was at it  I decided to dye up samples of all the rest of the colors I have.  Each color is about 2 oz.  Eventually I'm going to spin the samples up and use the yarn to weave some tapestries with.  Right now though its nap time.

Minuette has never be one to carry her toys around the house.  I can only imagine that Dr. Schrodinger was just trying to be nice to his sister.

I posted about what has my little heart all a flutter here:

http://getaclew.blogspot.com/2009/06/be-still-my-textile-geek-heart.html

All I can say is that I really need to go to Canada at the end of September.

I know the Remicade is working.  You can see how I know here: http://www.getaclew.blogspot.com/

I feel a lot better this afternoon that I did yesterday afternoon.  I was still very tired and took a 4 hour nap after lunch but atleast my head didn't hurt.  I was able to get some weaving done and another spindle full of the yarn for the hood project off the spindle and twist set.  I've also been spinning a bit of some colorful fiber to break up all the white.  So all in all I think (knock on wood) things are on the up swing for a change.

The only thing I wish for now, that would improve my mood is a little less rain a lot more sun.

The side effects from this mornings infusion hit me like the proverbial truck.  I was just tired when I posted earlier in the day but I developed a killer headache.  I took my Vicodin and slept all afternoon.  Both cats came in periodically to sniff and paw at the blankets as if to say "Hey Momma!  You still alive?"  wingblaze  came home early because he had a few things to do around the house before it rained.  I got a little nap time with him too.  It always makes me feel so much better to know he's home when the pain gets as my headache did.  I'm on the downside of it now thank goodness.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post yesterday.  Thank you for lightening my load.  Getting down on myself the way I did happens far less often than it used to but when it does happen its comforting to know that my friends will give their perspective without being judgmental, condescending, or critcal.  I'm blessed to have you all.

I had my second infusion of Remicade today.  I'm happy to say that I'm no where near as bruised as I was after the first one.  Hopefully I'll start to feel some positive effects from it soon.  I have one more loading dose to go in two weeks and then I should be able to go to a maintenance dose every 4 weeks.  I'm pretty much wiped out for the rest of the day so I'm just going to take it easy and snuggle the cats.

and I'm not sure where I've gone wrong.  When did it become a bad thing to help someone out?  When you know someone is in a bad way and you have the means to help is it a bad thing to act?  To act in a "many hands lighten the load" sort of way.  With no thought of return, with no judgment on how someone got to where they are.  Just to act with compassion, because if I were in their place I'd want someone to help me.  Is that wrong? Am I living by an outdated set of ethics?  Really, I want someone to explain this to me because maybe then I can let the struggle go.

Dr. Schrodinger has a thing for hair ties.  Last night I pulled one out of my hair and put it around the neck of a water bottle I keep on my night stand.  This morning the bottle was gone and the hair tie was in the bowl.  I still don't know how he got the bottle off my night stand without waking me up or where the bottle is now.

I fianlly remembered to get this off the internal memory of my camera!

Dr. Schrodinger had misplaced his most favorite toy in the world, a furry mouse that lissa510  brought home from Pennsic for him last year.  He found it again!

http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/

www.Weavolution.com has opened its doors!  Its kind of like Ravelry except for weavers.

He makes me smile when he puts his toys in his kible bowl.

I really haven't had anything to say.