Pic sent via phone

Success finally!!!

I've been trying and trying to post this photo from my new phone with no success - until now. Yeah! This is the brick cover I've been working on for a while. Since I took the picture, I've actually gotten a lot more done

Me fox & hounds brick cover.

I'm Back - I Think

Since Cecilia and Janine are now updating the 3 Kittens Needle Arts blog , I thought maybe I should try to update my blog again. We'll see how that works...

Current projects I'm working on:

Needlepoint
A brick cover with a comic fox and hounds
A pillow or wall hanging with a stick figure and quote that says "I'm in shape...round is a shape"

Crochet
A Babette afghan
A pleated skirt out of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
A 3/4 sleeve drapey cardigan out of Berroco Origami
A cap sleeve summer top out of Tahki Superior

Knitting
A open front cardigan with empire waist out of Noro Silk Garden Light
A pair of Flutterby socks out of K1C2 Crock-o-Dye

I'm sure there are other projects out there that are languishing, but that's all I can think of right now.

Portland II

On Wednesday, Christian and I decided to go for a hike - despite the wind and rain - at Cape Lookout along the Oregon coast. It was rainy (um... did I already mention that?) and muddy and I couldn't help laughing silently at how many times Christian had to pull up his pants that he normally wears around his butt cheeks in order to hike. Overall, it was a really great day (despite the rain, rain, rain). (I am continually amazed by my size in photos - I don't feel that big!) Here's a pic of Christian, once again, pulling up his pants...

Portland I

I arrived in Portland, OR yesterday. I spent the day with my son, Christian, who moved here last month. We walked around downtown Portland - lots of homeless people. Had lunch at the Pita Pit - kind of like a Subway, except with pita bread, plus you can get hot things (not warmed in the microwave...). Then went to Powell's book store which takes up a whole block in downtown. I only made it into 3 of the many rooms - overwhelming! Then, we went and saw The Soloist which was excellent.

By the way, if you haven't tried it yet, you should check out Priceline for great travel deals. I stayed last night at the Silver Cloud Inn just outside of downtown - 2 1/2 star hotel (according to Priceline) and by naming my price I got the room for only $60. The next few nights I'll be staying at the Doubletree Inn at Lloyd Center where the Knit and Crochet Show is being held, so I didn't get any special deals for that, but on my last night in Portland, I'm staying at a 3-star hotel near the airport for only $45! Crazy!

Here's a photo from my current hotel room (at the Silver Cloud Inn):

Not much to look at (except my rental car on the left), but very adequate.

Today we're hiking to a waterfall. It's supposed to rain this afternoon, but that's o.k. I don't mind getting wet. Before we go there, I'll be visiting Knit/Purl in downtown and the needlepoint store that's next door.

By the way, I'm reading a very funny book about losing weight: Jen Lancaster's Such a Pretty Fat.

No Weight Loss

No weight loss to report. I've had really no success in staying on WW. Maybe I was sabotaging myself from the beginning. I don't know. All I know is that I haven't lost anything, I'm still completely tired ALL THE TIME, and I haven't found the energy or the time to exercise. I did go back to the doctor's office this week and demanded some further testing to try to get to the bottom of the tiredness issue. I haven't received the results yet...

Still knitting, crocheting and needlepointing as much as possible (DUH!).

I'm looking forward to heading to Portland, Oregon in a week and half to visit my son and to attend the Knit and Crochet Show. I'm taking a couple of hairpin lace classes (with Hansen? the Stitch Diva) as well as a crochet class with Lily Chin. I'm looking forward to it!

Difficulties

O.K. so here's the situation. The weight loss plan (WLP) is not going great. I have lost 2 lbs since I started two weeks ago, but I'm really having a difficult time with it. Here are the important factors:

1. I like food. Really! I especially like sweet things. And salty things. Sweet and salty together is extra special. I think I should stop eating sugar, but it's really hard. I have done it before, but it wasn't fun and I missed it too much!
2. I work too much. I love my job. I love owning 3 Kittens. But the truth is that it's really hard to eat well when I spend so much time at work.
3. I don't get enough exercise - or any right now for that matter. I realized recently that in order to exercise, I really need to have a goal. When I am training for a marathon, I at least get in a few training sessions a week. When I was working towards my black belt in karate, it was easy to get motivated. I would like to go back to karate, but see #2 above. And, I'm not planning on starting to train for another marathon until May.
4. I have a gluten intolerance. It's not too hard to eat gluten-free, but it does make it more difficult to eat quick and easy things. And fast food is almost impossible.
5. I think I may have a thyroid issue. I've had my thyroid tested and it keeps coming back in the normal range, but I'm not convinced. My biggest symptom (other than my weight gain) is that I am tired all the time. I've even gone in for a sleep study, after which the doctor told me I just needed to get more sleep. Unfortunately, even if I get 8-9 hours of sleep a night, I'm as tired as if I get 6.5-7.5 hours per night. SIGH!

Anyway, those are the issues that are plaguing me. That said, I am still going to keep trying!

Lorenz Manifold

I finished crocheting the Lorenz Manifold last week, and I finally got around to trying to mount it. First, the instructions for the positive z-axis seem to be off. When I inserted the central unbendable wire, it was a little wonky - no a lot wonky. So, I ended up folding the Lorenz Manifold in half according to the photo in the instructions and then re-inserted the wire. Then I did the outer bendable wires which worked great - but I realized that the central wire is way too short.



My DH says he can get a longer wire, but not tempered - in other words it will bend. He'll have to heat-treat it in order to make it unbendable. So the project is on hold until sometime next week...

WLP: Much better today... Not perfect, but better.