From Absolutely Gorgeous Doilies, by Patricia Kristoffersen.

Pineapples and Webs

I have made two of these, I love them! From Pineapple Parade, by Yalanda Wiese.

Crochet Carnations

Pattern from Maggie's Crochet.

Snowflake

Made with larger size yarn than the pattern called for (pattern by Snowcatcher). Snowcatcher makes AWESOME snowflakes.

Groovy wall art

I made this to hang above my bed. I don't have a headboard, so wanted something cozy and fun. The pattern is Krochet Krystal's, a charity blog that gives out the pattern if you donate a few squares to make charity blankets.

Crochet cupcake

Based on some free patterns I saw on the internet. I just winged it and didn't write down what I did.

Columbia scarf

Pattern by Robin Chachula. I didn't want to order a $30 skein of yarn for the main color so I bought some on ebay that was hand-dyed for only $12.00.

Oversize Sunglasses Case

My mother has a pair of those oversize sunglasses (that fit over your prescription lenses). She had a case but lost it and now can't find another one. So she asked if I would make her one (and her twin sister too). This is what I came up with. All my own pattern too!

Mari the dog

I don't write much on this blog anymore. With my Facebook page, that is pretty much where I am most of the time!

I was looking on this blog and realized I never put up a post about my dog Mari. I got Mari when I saw him on Petfinder.com (just like how I found Treif). I had also seen a lot of other dogs I liked, but Mari's foster mom was the only one that responded right away and with regularity. I took that as a sign he was the dog for me (I tend to think the easier things turn out to be, the more it was meant to be).

So I picked him up in Toledo in November, the weekend before Thanksgiving. And now it is April already, and I can't remember what life was like without him. He is so entertaining. He is still having trouble getting along with my cat Cricket, but it isn't too bad. He also has a problem with peeing on the carpet occasionally. It is few and far between, but I am not good at discovering it until it is almost too late. So I bought a blacklight and regularly check the carpet for any "new" problems.

Is sometimes wonder why someone gave him up. Maybe they couldn't afford him anymore, maybe they didn't want even one accident on their rugs, maybe he ran away... I will never know. But I am glad he is in my life.

Footstool cover

I finally finished it. I had bought the yarn way before xmas of 2009. It was not fun to make, that is why it took so long. The footstool was one of those vinyl blue-colored flexible ones, and I had had it for years and it never did match anything. I just decided one day to dress it up a bit.

Stupid Lupron shots!

It has been awhile since I posted on my blog. Back in late August, my doctor wanted to start giving me monthly Lupron injections, in an effort to "starve" the endometrial tissue and kill it. Since then, I have had a hell of a time. I have had all the side effects (hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, worsening depression, hair loss, weight gain, etc. etc.). Each month I would tell him that I couldn't take it anymore, and he would want me to press on, so I did. Well this month was the last straw. It was my fourth injection, and I've decided enough is enough. The worst part of the whole experience is my inexplicable absent-mindedness, to the point where I don't even remember what I was doing or did. I have made numerous mistakes at work, and have been suffering for it (by having to work overtime and come in on weekends).

At my last visit I tried to tell him the problems I am having, and he was so very condescending towards me. First he accused me of forgetting to take my Aygestin pills (used to counter-act the side effects) and then he said that he has "never heard of" anyone with my problems. So in effect, I must be just imagining everything. I felt like it was the 1950's again.

So that is that. I am taking charge of my treatment. I say four shots are enough, and I am putting my foot down. I will not let any doctor make me feel insignficant and ignorant. He called me today "concerned" that I am discontinuing treatment and I told him how I felt about how he treated me. He said he did not mean to come off that way - well.... he did! He then proceeded to list all his credentials and why he is an "expert" in his field. He's been working with Lupron for over 10 years...blah blah blah. Sounds to me like he's got his hand in Big Pharma's pocket! No wonder he doesn't want me to stop treatment.

Crocheted Hydrangea

This is for a friend of mine's birthday. Her favorite flower is a Hydrangea and her favorite color is blue (I think, lol), but I couldn't find a pattern anywhere so I just made my own. I found a picture of a blue Hydrangea on google.com and just tried to copy it. I might have gone overboard with the bleach (used to whiten the centers of the flower), but I like how it turned out.

Doll bed cushion and blanket

I made this for my niece Kelly. She had gotten a doll bed at a garage sale for a few bucks but it didn't have a cushion, pillows, or blanket. So she gave me the dimensions and asked if I would make her one. I was delighted. It won't be much longer when she won't want anything like this anymore (she is 9 on Tuesday), so it was great!

For the cushions, I had an old pillow case that I cut out the little pillows for, and the bed cushion as well, then used my sewing machine to sew to size. Stuff with poly-fil, sewed up, and then added crocheted cover!

Another pet?

So it is just Cricket and I now. We live in a two-bedroom apartment on the ground floor, that has mostly carpeting. Cricket is doing fine, but I feel like she needs something to do, or someone else around to play with.

So... dog or cat? I have been searching for a few days for a small dog on Petfinder.com. I find myself looking for a dog that looks just like Treif. God, I miss him. I tear up just thinking about him. And not only am I doing that, but I am thinking of other things, like having to leave the dog alone for 9 hours every day, feeling like I need to rush home because of the dog, etc. I would have to take him everywhere with me, like when I go up to Michigan. So maybe having a dog is not such a good idea right now.

So I went back to Petfinder and searched for cats. There are so many! Again, I find myself looking for one that looks like Ladybug, whom I also still miss very much.

How can I choose between so many of them? How can I just take one? A lot of the postings plead for you to take the cats' companion as well. So I would have three cats! That is a lot in an apartment. And then I worry that Cricket would hate the cat, and would start peeing all over the apartment. My parents had a cat that hated the other cats, and started peeing in corners all over the house. Soon they were all doing it! And they were all females too! It wasn't a spraying issue like male cats have. I have seen Cricket pee on towels that have been left on the bathroom floor. Granted, the towel was right next to her litter box, but still... would she start doing it on carpet if she was unhappy?

Sigh, what to do... what to do....

More projects

I stayed home today, recovering from laparoscopic surgery to remove some endometrial tissue inside my abdomen (endometriosis). So I am just lying around and thought it would be a good time to post some projects I have done in the past few months:

It has been awhile

I moved into an apartment on July 1st. Previous to that, I was busy packing and planning the move, so I haven't posted anything on here for a long time. I have been working on some crochet projects, but haven't posted any pictures yet. I am still unpacking! But as soon as I can, I will post some projects I have finished. I haven't even checked my ravelry page in over a month.

Seat belts really work!!

I have never been in a serious accident before, but I was on Monday, May 25. I was driving home from visiting my parents in Michigan. I was only one hour from home. I was driving 70mph in the passing lane (passing a truck) and it was raining. Suddenly, my car hydro-planed, spun numerous times and somehow ended up crashing into the guardrail on the shoulder of the right lane, facing towards oncoming traffic! I don't know how I managed to walk away with only bruises and a mild concussion, because there was a lot of traffic and it seems like a miracle that I did not collide with others.

As the crash was occuring, I could feel the seat belt holding my body to the seat, as the rest of my stuff in the car went flying around. It was when the back end of my car, and then the front end, crashed into the guardrail that my head hit the side of the car. It was my only injury.

I have had a hell of a year so far: my dog died, my marriage is ending, my dad has cancer, I have a cyst on my ovary that I need to get checked out, and then I totaled my car that I had just paid off in February and had just paid for a $700 repair to the hub bearings. I don't know what else is going to happen, but I will try to prepare myself for whatever it is!

It's May already

Time flies so quickly! I have had so many things going on in my life, that I lost track of time. I am still grieving my dog Treif, then my husband and I decided to divorce, then I found out my father has prostate cancer. Everything is happening at once.

We are hoping they caught my father's cancer early. His MRI and bone scan did not show the cancer had spread. Now he is taking drugs to block testosterone receptors in his prostate, and then will begin radiation. He will be 79 this year, so I hope that this treatment doesn't weaken him too much. He is already weak!

My husband and I decided that our differences are just too great to stay together. Originally it worked, but then we realized we were drifting further apart... and neither one of us wants to come back. So now I need to find a new place to live. I want to rent a house (maybe rent-to-buy???), but I can't afford the rent - at least in houses that are in good shape and in good neighborhoods. There is one I looked at that I liked, but it was in bad shape. Not sure if I want to take that on.

In the meantime, I am still living in the same house with my husband, but I sleep in another room (and have my crochet stuff in there too).

Life lessons

Life is just a learning process, isn't it?  No matter how old you are, there is always something new that you learn about yourself and other people.  At 42 years old, I am learning that I have always been "too nice" - to the point of being taken advantage of.  I have always been a peace-loving person who will willingly cedes to others in order to make them happy or "keep the peace".   But I never really gave a good hard thought about what would make ME happy.  I just didn't want to be selfish, I guess.  I suppose there is a fine line... learning how to walk it is the trick.

So for the next phase of my life, I will try to figure out what it is that makes me happy.  I am suspecting already that I will be much happier if I devote more of my time to volunteering and other pursuits that help make the world a better place.  Or at least my part of the world.

Recent projects.

I guess I have been bored lately.