I'm just counting the days until my doctor's appointment on 9 July. *sigh* I need to sit down and count out my remaining meds and see how many more days I need to go half-dose on. My pain levels are up, I'm not sleeping well, and the house looks like hell. Mentally, I've got a list of things I'd like to get done, but physically I'm just kaput.

The ferrets are out and about right now---and they are wild. I'm worried about how much Theodore is getting picked on, so I'm trying to keep an eye out for him. I found a neat new toy I want to buy the ferrets. Take a look:

If you click the image, it'll take you to the site that sells them. I want one of these for the ferrets. Aren't they awesome? And from my reading, it is good for their mental stimulation and for their muscles.

I'm still knitting. I'm mostly working on lace right now. I do have a couple pairs of socks on the needles (most of them are hibernating). I'm about half done with the second sock in a pair for Randy. As for the lace, I've got to finish the previous clue for GoddessKnits Spring Mystery Shawl and then do the clue which came out on Saturday. I'm also struggling to cast-on and begin GoddessKnits Anniversary Shawl---it's a pi-shawl and the center start is a bit fiddly. I've already changed from the KnitPicks yarn I'd purchased specifically for this shawl, to some gorgeous 10/2 Tencel I bought from Yarntopia Treasures on Etsy.

That's about all the update I've got for today. I need to attempt to get some laundry done and maybe kitchen clean-up too.

I started to write a post, just to get rid of the snail egg pictures at the top of the page every time I load the site. Ugh. But the act of creating this entry reminded me that I do have something to share!

I've completed the main portion of the pattern for Mom's Trinity Wedding Stole! Yes, I have pictures....sorta. See, so far, it's just a pattern. I grabbed some screenshots from OpenOffice and worked them up in Gimp. There are three panels:

This is the center panel. It's viewed on its side (knit from the bottom of the image to the top, but worn with either the left or right side "up"). The center design is of Borromean rings, which evokes the Trinity. I also use it here to represent another trinity: that of husband, wife, God in the marriage, based on the Christian tenets I'm familiar with.

This panel is placed below and above (upside down) the Borromean rings. The idea for this is Mom's love of the overlapping/interlocking rings design. I'd hoped to do multiple rings overlapping, but it would have begun to rival the train on Princess Diana's wedding gown at that point!

The final panels in the main portion are at either end of the stole. This is perhaps the most familiar motif, the Claddagh, usually seen as a ring. I'm tickled I could bring this into the design and connect to Mom's Irish heritage.

All that remains (from a design perspective) is the creation of a border. I'm putting that off as I'm in a KAL where I think a border will be added last---and I want to understand how they work before trying to design one.

I'm already talking to Susie about the colorway to use. I decided on Jaggerspun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18, so that has simplified things a lot. As soon as I'm done with the GoddessKnits Spring Mystery KAL, I'm hoping to cast on for this, using more of the "bottle green" Zephyr as my test-knit.

In other news, I'm counting the days until my doctor's appointment for my fibromyalgia. See, I forgot about the three-month wait to get in for new patients---and I've been gone long enough that I count as a new patient, darn it! I've already called my SC doctor for a refill, which he graciously called in. But it was only for 30 days. And since I'm rather scared of going completely off the Cymbalta, I've been taking only half my dose 2 out of 3 days. I need to count out my remaining meds and see if I can go back up to the full dose again.

And here I was wondering if I'd be able to go back to the 90mg/day, instead of the 120mg! Not bloody likely, I'll say!

So the house is less clean than I'd like. The kitchen isn't staying immaculate and the two rooms with carpet aren't getting the once-a-week I'd like them to get. With the gate blocking the path into the laundry (we're afraid of the ferrets getting outside via the laundry vent), I've been asking Nick to help with hauling laundry to and fro and having him play with my brand-new machines. *sigh*

And I've been knitting a lot of lace. *huge grin* Let me just say this: if you dye yarn (especially Zephyr) but don't/can't knit lace, then contact me and we'll make...arrangements *knowing nod* Mmhmm. That's what I'm saying.

I've been listening to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series via audiobook/Audible. Davina Porter narrates this series---and she's doing a bang-up job of it too! Half the time, I'm walking around with a thick Scottish brogue in my head, talking to the "wee bairns" in the fish tank, calling the ferrets, "wee lassies and laddies", and thinking, "Och, aye" to everything around me. Mmhmm. Hehehe.

If you're at all interested in historical/romance/time-travel fiction, you've got to check this series out! It's listed in the science-fiction section on Audible, but I think it's more "historical romance"---though not a "bodice ripper". And it's loonnnnggggg! I think the books are up to 40-some-odd hours. *contented sigh*

Which brings me to my schedule-flipping. See, I settle down to knit on my lace around 2 or 3am (earlier if I can). I was doing a good job of just knitting for an hour and then going to sleep. Then I started this series and that's all gone to pot. Now, I'm knitting until the sun comes up. Or rather, I'm knitting for a couple of hours, tired enough I'm afraid I'll screw it up but I can't stop listening, so I'll pick up my sudoku book and work several of *those*....while the sun comes up! So insane.

On Tuesday morning, I finally went to bed at around 8:30am. I slept until 8:30 that same evening. Around 12:30 Wednesday morning, I went to bed, still exhausted and slept fitfully. I finally got up around 4:30...or was it 5:30?...with the headache from hell. I was hurting so bad I was crying. Two Excedrin and two mugs of Earl Grey tea later, I wasn't quite so miserable, but defnitely not ready to dance a jig. I managed to almost repeat Monday night's stupidity again, but finally just hit the pause button and turned my light out. *sigh* How old am I? I should know better!

Maybe I should just go knit now and get my fix in before bedtime!

Have you seen this article? I've had information coming at me from various sources recently, regarding this "wonder sweetener" called Aspartame. I'm now officially weaning myself of this sweetener. I've switched to Diet Riet Pure Zero for the moment. It's got an odd aftertaste I'm not overly fond of, which leads me to believe I'll be heading away from colas totally very soon.

I don't like to forward or give any credence to those emails which are the email equivalent of chain mail. Especially when they have no sources listed and are not credited to the author. But one claim in an email I recently received on this topic stands out: "Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product that actually makes you crave carbohydrates. It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!"

Now, I believe I am responsible for my weight, but why add anything to my body that makes that task more difficult?

Nick noticed this:

Uh, a little "health hazard" with your coffee anyone?

There are claims being made out there that Aspartame is causing people to appear to have multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, lupus, and a variety of other problems. Now, I can't speak for others, but if I can do something as simple as changing my drink of choice to reduce and/or eliminate my symptoms of fibromyalgia, then so be it.

I'd love to hear some suggestions for alternates to Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi and other Aspartame-containing drinks. I've always loved the "fizz" of colas, but I'm open to trying something new. I just wish I was more fond of plain water or unsweetened tea!

I've committed myself to complete a pair of glittens and a bomber hat for Nick before he goes to visit Grandma and Grandpa Kaelber in Indiana for his birthday. So, for the month where many people will be writing their heads off, I'll be knitting my head off!

Oh, wait...I also agreed to knit an exo-skeleton for Bear, who was sadly mauled by our dogs several years ago. I don't think I have a digital picture of Bear before the mauling....I'll hunt around tomorrow and add one, if I find one. The idea is to place Bear's old shell inside the new shell (aka exo-skeleton) and then it will still be Bear, just with some....improvements. I just received the woolly bits of fleece (unsuitable for spinning) that I will use to stuff him. *grin* Now, I just need to find some pellets to "weight" his butt with...oh, and knit like crazy!

Tell me...how sweet is it that my soon-to-be 15 year old son wants his old teddy bear "fixed" like this?

Of course, I had to place an order to Knitpicks for more needles (sizes I don't normally use) and added some new yarn (instead of using something from my stash! Argh!!!) because I couldn't resist (a)trying out a new yarn---Wool of the Andes---and (b)at $2 a skein, I could totally afford it! His bomber hat only needed 2 skeins. Cool.

I'm up too late, again tonight. I need to hit the hay before this fibro flare gets worse instead of better. Updates and photos soon, I promise.