laranettle

A mental health day

Apparently, it’s called grief. A feeling of helplessness, sorrow, pain, and loss. I am not depressed and in need of medication, I am grieving.

Makes a lot of sense. Now if only I can pass through the guilt stage and get into anger and depression….. Acceptance and hope will be right around the corner.

(1) Shock or Disbelief that the loss has occured. (2) Denial is the stage in which the person refuses to accept the loss has occured. (3) In the Bargaining stage, the person attempts to reconcile the loss by making deals with other people, sometimes also with Diety. (4) Guilt is marked by statements of “if only I had done/been . . . “. (5) Anger is a natural stage everyone must pass. Anger may be directed toward the loss, the person lost, or even Diety. (6) Depression is a stage that comes and goes throughout the grief process. Resignation at the end of the depression indicates that the truth of the loss has been accepted and the person is ready to move on. (7) Acceptance and Hope means that you understand your life will never be the same but it will go on with meaning and hope.

An Unveiling

Lee is a few months old now, and it was before she was born that the Courthouse knitters decided to knit her a blanket. Some idiot (me) thought that 10cm squares would share the workload the most fairly. But of course, I have never done that much seaming in my life, let alone seaming randomly sized swatches, in extremely random gauges, fibres, and construction. There is knitting, modular knitting, crochet, and tricot. There is cotton, polyester, wool, acrylic, eyelash (though the knitters referred to those squares as pubes..), there is baby yarn, there is handspun (my first), there is mystery yarn from Argentina, and even a square that looks like scrambled egg.

So it is only thanks to Mijal, Emma and Christophe that this project was finally completed. I crocheted a border (sounds impressive, but it was a LOT easier than all that seaming and weaving in ends), and blocked it, and we finally were able to present it to Chris and Karen this afternoon. It was still damp, but hey, all the ends were woven in (thanks Kellie).
It’s roughly 70cmx80cm, and there will never be another one like it.

And this is the gorgeous Lee, modelling an umbillical cord hat I knit for her before we knew that she was going to be a female type person. Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton. Lovely stuff, but sadly discontinued (I think).

Tomorow will see another unveiling. Stay tuned!

Byron Bay Markets/Presents for the new baby

Byron markets were on the morning of the wedding, so I got up early and went to check them out. Mostly I bought baby stuff, and a card (for the happy couple) by a local photographer.

These singlets are the ultimate baby souvenir from Byron, so of course I had to get a couple (the kid may turn into a hippy even if we shelter him/her from the evil influence of tie-die)…

And the socks….. $5 a pair. Pretty reasonable until you consider that EVERY DAMN STITCH IS HAND KNIT!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought 4 pairs. Would have bought more but the money ran out, and the bank of Mark wasn’t as impressed as I was.

P.S. Have decided not to feel sorry for myself. It may not work, but it’s the only strategy I have right now.

Bunnycam is back!

Click HERE. Thank you to my darling husband for fixing it!

UnBearable

Just when I thought it was safe to talk to people again, I was loosing sight of my deep despair, and my Dad has to have surgery again. “No problem”, says our plucky heroine, “he’ll be right as rain in no time, and it surely won’t be cancer”. I was given flowers by a lovely man, good Aussie “Premium Non Vintage Cuvée” by a lovely woman. I asked my boss if I could work part time (so far so good), Custard bunny seems to be keeping up his weight (if not actually gaining a whole lot), and life in general doesn’t suck as much as it could. I am even making good progress on another Swallowtail Shawl for someone who could possibly read this blog, so I have to be a little ‘neaky.

And now two more crappy things have happened to my nearest and dearest. My great aunt Patsy (George‘s sister, is dying. And Marguerite, my mother’s sister broke her pelvis in a cycling incident. I told her that knitting is a much less risky sport, but she has this thing about keeping fit.

Mag is in surgery now, and I waiting to hear if she is up for visitors tonight.

P.S. I have pictures of the bears face, but they aren’t pretty. I have sent them to the local koala rescue service, along with details about where I saw him, but his eyes were in a pretty sad state – not for the weak of stomach. I will get around to posting holiday pics very soon, there are some wildlife shots that I can show people who have delicate digestion.

Champagne, and flowers – on the same day!

Today I was given a gorgeous bunch of orange tulips, and a bottle of Jansz champagne, from two different customers. I feel special.

On the down side, Dad has to have surgery again. His allergist referred him to an ear, nose and throat specialist, who found a lump. It’s unlikely to be malignant, but it has to come out just in case.

Feeling slightly brighter though – thanks everyone for your kind words.

A Knitting Post!

Check out this excellent short row heel tutorial.

Though I prefer the fit (so far) of top down, proper heel flap socks, I much prefer to knit toe up. Something about the logic of knitting in the same direction the sock goes on the foot, that I can shape as I go, trying it on, and I’ll never run out of yarn at a crucial moment. Unfortunately, I have never had the foggiest idea how to follow the instructions in Wendy’s Generic Toe Up Sock Pattern.

Now I feel confident to start again on my Wildfoote socks with the yarn I got from the excellent Yarns Online.

Self Portrait Thursday

Eerily accurate. Red eyes included 😉

Furry People

BBC News has published an article that discusses the Question “Are chimps people?”. At Chez Lara and Mark (AKA “Club Denistone”), I’ve been referring to the non-human members of the household as “furry people” for quite some time, and it is natural for me to think of them as differently abled, and differently motivated people. They are definitely part of our little family, their comfort is as important to me as my own – more so, because they rely on me utterly for everything they have. In a way, their reliance on me makes the obligation more important than other concerns, and I try to make sure they have everyhting they need for happy, furry little lives.

But are they PEOPLE? Hmmmm…..

They are individuals. They learn. They communicate. They have emotions. None of this I doubt – but what is it that defines personhood? I think it is a mistake to consider personhood in terms of worth, or value (as in “it’s not worth the money for life saving surgery, it’s only a rabbit”), but this is often thrown at me when strangers find out how much I care for my creatures. I have been told more than once that I am a bad person because I have spent money on vet care instead of … (whatever it is they think is more worthy).

So lacking a concrete definition of what a person is, I am inclined to err on the side of caution, and treat them with respect. Ultimately, I don’t need a definition. Your mileage may vary. 😉

Thanks to Kris for this link. Imitation is sincere flattery;)

And some people are really thoughtful

Last week I read that the widow of the man who killed the Amish school girls was invited to one of the funerals. Of course, this is the side of humanity that I want to see. Generous, thoughtful, considerate, open hearted. Given that I am such a pillow at the moment, it made me cry.

And now this.