This is from the Brown Sheep mill ends. It's a three ply yarn using two strands of the dark and one of the light. Before I go all out on this, I wanted to make a small batch to see if I'm happy with the result. And I am. These photos were taken while it was still wet, hanging on the clothesline. Tomorrow I'll get a few more of the dry skein. The mohair in this yarn definitely wants to fuzz out, which is ok with me.
I hadn't done much spinning in the last week because my left hand and wrist were acting up and I've been working on the Fair Isle cardigan some and also in the throes of the late summer miseries.
As you probably know, if you read the newspaper or catch the news, it's been a rainy time here in Wisconsin. I haven't personally been affected by flooding, since my house sits on a little high spot in my neighborhood. But I have been affected by the unrelenting rain, grey skies, mud, humidity, and being cooped up with my kids while counting down until the school year starts. Today, thankfully, the weather finally shifted and The Big Blue H*, as I call it, came sailing in from Canada bringing nice cool, dry, high pressure system air. We've opened the windows and we're airing out.
During the monsoon, I managed to get school supplies for the boys, handle both of their school registrations, and buy them each a new pair of shoes. The school registration was a royal pain, especially the middle school one. The parents were required to wait in a line which (not exaggerating here) took about 50 minutes just to pay the fees for the coming year ($222), so they could claim their receipts and move through the rest of the process. No receipt, no schedule. When I am in charge of the universe, there will be a better way to handle this. I would put the info online in a password protected account, and let each parent look up the number they owe before appearing for registration. Then, motivated parents could mail the payment ahead of time, have a receipt and a schedule mailed back and skip the whole waiting in line part. Middle school registration took me about 1.5 hours (again, not an exaggeration) for the sole purpose of correcting one phone number, paying my $222, and signing a few forms. There's got to be a better way.
So, Thursday afternoon I was feeling down and I've been wondering if I'm hovering around the edge of depression this summer. I have a history of depression, though not recently. But I'm always aware of that potential: that I could again lose 5 months of my life because I have my head under a pillow, wishing I didn't have to get up and face life. So, Thursday afternoon, I found a depression screening quiz online. I took it and came up with the recommendation that I seek psychiatric help for my depressive symptoms. Today, the sun is shining, the air is not so heavy, and I feel fine.
But, in regards to that screening test, I found this amusing:
7. Do you feel that it takes you longer than before to make decisions or unable to concentrate?
A. Never
B. Rarely
C. Sometimes
D. Very Often
E. Most of the time
I sat staring at question #7 for about 10 minutes, trying to decide if I was finding it harder to make decisions than before. I just couldn't decide which answer seemed accurate. Finally, I saw the irony in my predicament and went with C. Sometimes. But, as I say, today with a shift in the weather, I feel miraculously better. Go figure. If the pharmaceutical companies of the world could figure out how to bottle and sell nice weather, maybe no one would need Prozac again.
Last Saturday Knitting met this afternoon. It was absolutely delightful company. Molly Bee, Baxter Knits, Mousey Blog, and Molly Bee's friend Ann were there. We missed having Laura/Yarn Thrower with us, but we hope she'll make it in September.
*The Big Blue H refers to the standard weather map way of denoting a high pressure system, otherwise known as the Canadian High.
16 comments:
Elizabeth, I'm sorry you're not feeling well. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees and I'm very glad you're able to recognize what's going on. I spent many years "in the trees" While I'm likely going to have to stay on meds permanently, it's worth it to be able to enjoy my kids.
I hope it is the weather. You're such a shining star of support for others, I hate thinking that you're needing it yourself. Here's a hug if you need it. (((HUG)))
I feel for ya. I've been feelin a bit down too. But it was finally sunny here today. Unfortunately, I was at work. But we did have the overhead doors open. So I did get to stare out the door at the pretty blue sky. I'm half tempted to talk that test of yours, but I don't think one should take that sort of test when PMSing. They would probably suggest institutionalization. Shoot, I know I spelled that wrong but it's been a long day. LOL
Sure hope your mood picks up hun.
Uggh, I hear you. I was about ready to throw in the towel yesterday, when the rain started coming down at 3:15 pm, just like every other day since last Saturday. Today, with the sun shining and actual dry air, I was motivated to clean and reorganize. Fall's almost here. It's always better in fall.
Hey, I want some of that bottled weather, too! It's appallingly hot, humid, pollen-laden, and sticky-muggy here, and I can't wait for September skies. Add in the baby-knitting slogging and I'm ready to scream. I haven't touched my wheel in a month or more (your yarn looks great, btw!) and I have the urge to buy some new yarn, but nothing appeals to me. Bleagh, or whatever that word should be. I think I'll go find some air-conditioning to sit in today.
Hate to say it, but the weather was one big reason we moved to Florida from the midwest. For me, it was winter that hit the hardest, with gray skies almost every day.
Had to gasp at the school fees - wow, that's a chunk of money! In Indiana we had big book fees, but I don't remember them being that high.
Furthermore, I am severely jealous of your knitting group - every single one of them has a blog worth reading! And I can't find a group to knit with that both talks and keeps going. Grump.
Have you tried a daylight lamp? I have a bad case of SAD (very happy when it's sunny, very depressed and anxious when it's not). Light helps.
Your spinning is beautiful. I just love the black/white/brownish combination.
You and I really need to get together and solve the public school system's inadequacies. Yours ended a little nicer than mine on your part ;) I'm the same way, though inherited bites just as much. I agree weather has much to do with the blues. I also tend to think creative minds seems to be more perplexed than factual types. I could be wrong, just seems that way. Hope you get some cool air and sunshine, "the blues" never show in your great works!
Sue, I'm getting the "Fall Cleaning" bug too (never did get the Spring Cleaning thing). And Elizabeth? First - will you let me know when the September Knit is? I'd really be honored to come if I can; second, I've been blue too during the bad weather and local news; third, *haaaaaalp!* :grin:; fourth, holy man that's expensive for school. Sheesh.
Your spinning is lovely - I look forward to seeing knit up.
The school system sounds labourious - do you have to do this every year or just when they change schools? Here mostly you register kids at 4.5 yrs at 1st school and then again at 11 for senior/high school and that's about it.
I'm the opposite hot/sunny weather really gets me down - I adore wet, windy, misty, dull days. I love winter and the shorter days.....must be my latent weirdo emerging.
$222 in fees? Screw the cloudy weather, that would be enough to depress me!
Amazing what that Canadian air mass will do for a mood, huh? I love the Big Blue H too.
It's absolutely perfect here today thanks to their fantastic air masses. I would kiss Canada right on the mouth if I could!
Pretty spinning, by the way. And that fair isle a few posts back...well, I'm still speechless.
I missed all of you, too, and thought about you during the day, picturing you all knitting your hearts out and laughing together! Things should even out now for a while, so I expect to be at last Saturday knitting in September.
Sorry to hear you're going through a rough patch. I'm so glad you're aware of what might be going on so that you can get help/meds, if those are helpful to you. I have a friend who experiences something similar, and I just think it must be very difficult. And, I look out the window right now, and I see that it is no help at all. We just got back from a visit with my 2nd grader's new teacher, and I thought we would be blown away by the wind! Trash buckets are strewn about the neighborhood, and it is so dark...
Your spinning looks so lovely!!
"If the pharmaceutical companies of the world could figure out how to bottle and sell nice weather, maybe no one would need Prozac again."
Amen to that! I have SAD and have really been hating this summer, we get sun during the week when I have to be inside a freezing cold office, then on the weekend when I could be out and about it's been cloudy cool and rainy. I'm just going to snap one of these days!
Take care... oh, and I'm listening to CC right now (Recovering the Satellites though) - zuma
Your quandary over #7 is hilarious. I too wonder about that one...for far too long. :-)
Day in and day out of sunshine isn't always a recipe for a healthy mood. There's plenty of depression to go around in the desert. I've known people to go to the trouble of blacking out their windows in order to avoid the omnipresent sunshine in the face of their serious funk. We're 'housebound' or hiding out indoors here in summer like you are in winter. It makes for a bit of A/C deliriums or cabin fever.
I've been saying it all summer: autumn will help all our moods. It's been a pisser of a summer.
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