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Saturday, August 16, 2014

Catharsis: It's there.

I seriously think that there are times when the rituals that were once to help engage in that process, were deliberately discouraged and banned.  Not because they were a competing religion but because such rites make it harder to control a human.  Because that human wasn't distracted by emotional constraints and they had dealt with their shit to an extent that allowed to take of care of themselves and those around them that they cared about.

Rituals and catharsis... they go hand in hand.  With so much lost of the Old Knowledge, such rites to deal with grief, lose, etc are much more spontaneous, less structured and more personal.  It's a blessing curse, because what works for one person... will not work entirely for another person.

Here a few weeks ago, I had another miscarriage.  It'd been... four or five years since the last one, and it was until halfway through bleeding like a stuck pig that I realized it what that was going on.  Kinda hard to mistake to that ache honestly.

One of the things I love making is toys.  It's been almost impossible to crochet for any decent length of time since the miscarriage, but I am managing. I wasn't expecting to end up with these three let alone more than one, but it would seem that this had been my catharsis.  I don't dare do anything that would ensure a full term baby yet, because we need out of California first.  Give it a few months in Phoenix, and then... well, we'll see what the universe holds us, won't we?





Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Hmphagrump

I have no idea what to write.
I have no idea what to write.
I have no idea what to write....!

Here I am sitting, staring at a computer screen and trying to figure out what in Avalon I want to write...

I have no idea what to write about....
I have no idea what to write about...

I have books I want to read and throw reviews up here on...
I have things that need crocheted and knit...
I have classwork that needs done....

I have a damn schedule that I need to iron for classwork...
For blogging...

I'm trying to get myself to write at least twice a week on here....
Am I successful... well, ya'll can see that for yourself...

I've been biting my lip since a certain celebrities death a lot.  I honestly didn't need those old questions drumming their way through my head again. I honestly didn't. For 16 years I worked, fought and almost lost several times over my fight with depression.  Several times over several hours after attempt of looking around going "well... that time didn't work."

Robin taking his life is a mixed bag.  He's inadvertently brought an incredibly large amount of attention to mental illness.  He's also unintentionally told only the Gods know how many people, that giving up and killing yourself is okay.  I'll lay afghans to dolls that the suicide rates and attempted suicide rates will spike for a short time.

There's this out lash at people who are calling suicide selfish.  That's because it is.  You're turning everyone, whose ever known you into a victim.  When you kill yourself, you take a small part of everyone whose ever been your family and friend with you. You've now actually made them suffer.

Suicide is permanent.  And it doesn't fix anything. Just removes you from the equation and now you'll never know what it was that was causing your depression.  Trying to say suicide is okay is... vile.  Cruel.  Evil.

Depression is not a choice.  The causes for depression are almost infinite as are the other illnesses that depression is a symptom of or that go hand in hand with it.

Suicide is a choice. Giving up is a choice and there is no excusing making that choice.

Hell for all anyone knows, maybe this whole "it's not selfish!" that I keep seeing from otherwise rational people, might be leftist vileprog "tolerance and acceptance" bullshit that's leaking from wherever folks have to repress that kind of propaganda too.  

People are making excuses for Williams that otherwise, when 22 veterans a day are committing suicide, don't give a flying fuck.

There's that whole bullshit cropping from the "let's medicate everything!" crowd.  Just not going to go there because I'd like to not have hurting jaw muscles tonight when I go to bed.

People are trying to say "He died from depression."

No, he didn't.

So what did Tempest Smith die from?
So what did these folks and these folks die from?

Robin, should have kept fighting on... he didn't.  I don't agree with his choice to kill himself.
HOWEVER, it's lit quiet the fire underneath of people's asses.  It's been dropped in front of hundreds of millions of people and it can't ignored or forgotten easily.

It's a wake-up call that shouldn't have happened nor should it have shaken as many people as what it did...
Humans aren't widgets.  We all respond to exact same things in patently different ways, it changes from individual to individual.

Pretty certain that there are folks, whose only purpose in this lifetime was just be themselves, go as long as they could then die.  Their death was what they were here to do.  Because from death, comes life.  From death, comes re-birth.

What all kind of other fall out will this create?

Neither you or I know.



  


Thursday, August 7, 2014

Combining Passions

It's actually incredibly hard for me to write.  No seriously it is.  It gets incredibly frustrating when I can't describe what I want to relate to another person. Doesn't really matter what the topic is. It could be the prepping. It could be me relating new insights into what works for dealing with my PTSD.  It could be talking about Witchcraft or crocheting...

It just doesn't happen as easily as what I would like.

I have found though that if I'm doing two things I enjoy at once like listening to music while crocheting or watching college lectures while knitting, its much easier for me to get through my days...but writer's block tends to happen more frequently than I'd like.

I have one story at over 30k words total and the sequel is starting to form itself into a semblance of outline.  I have one trilogy of stories that are starting to online themselves in my head, I haven't been able to write those down yet.  I have a one outline began to what promises to be a massive novel. (Think Deathly Hollows massive.)  The past few weeks though... I go to pick up the pen and my mind blanks.  I set it down and the worlds that have become a reality of sort in my brain come dancing right back.

Okay, so I won't force myself to work on those.  I'm not a deadline, I don't have a contract to fulfill (though ya never know) and I don't need to stress myself out over it.

So my friend G, gets me interested enough in something called Pinterest... oh boy... I should have plugged my ears.  Don't get me wrong, that site is a wonderful resource but geez is it a rabbit hole. So many wonderful ideas and pieces of inspiration...

Which reminded me of a prior attempt to combine my passions.  Ever since I started practicing Witchcraft, not just studying (there was a good three years there before I felt I knew enough to even to a daily affirmation properly. ...it's a long story.) I wanted to combine my Craft with my craft.  I wanted to figure out and design crocheted and knit things that were beautiful.  That were elegant. That a fellow Witch would go "OH! That is the perfect altar cloth for (Lammas, Mabon etc)".

Take a wild guess as how well that's going....

I would, as they say "Head desk" however I don't have a desk.

Is it because I just don't have enough motivation?
Nah.  You should see some of my sketchbooks.

 I have the ideas, I have the skills to put the ideas together... I just don't know how to present them to other Witches and pagans and Asatrau and Wiccans as something they'd enjoy.  So I let the ideas keep simmering.  I have made rune bags and tarot card bags.  Those turn out just lovely every time too!

So... back I bounce to my writing.  Many times (when the muses aren't in what would appear to be a damn cat fight) I can sit and have the story out in front of me and be letting my mind wander over the scene that's open while I'm crocheting away.  Here in the past month or so... that's not been happening.  I start messing up big time with my stitches or nothing comes to mind, and I end putting the writing away.

I've even been struggling to maintain a pace with my yarn working, I can get about two hours in right now... when normally it's 6-9 hours.  I know it'll spring back to normal, it's just when and what it's going to take to blow out this block I'm having.  FEH I say my good person!

Oh and then's there's awesomeness like this...



"WHOA... what?"

She broke her arm.  Not being able to be crafty, was driving her nuts so... she'd figured out a way around it.  Hell if she can do that, I can certainly find ways to improve my passions.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Crochet Pattern: Re-Usable Women's Pads

I've been using these for over two months and decided it was nigh time to share the pattern I had gotten figured out.

This is a free pattern, that I'm sharing with you.  Please do not post this pattern as your own. If this looks a lot like a pattern you've seen before online, I'd like a link to that please.  I went hunting for a pattern like this back on this article and never found anything. If you decide to make and sell, please credit me.

If there are any problems with this pattern, please comment so that I can update either terminology or stitch count etc.

For your yarn I recommend using Lily Sugar'n Creme cotton and an F/3.75 hook.

Re-Usable Pads -
For heavy flows, make 2 ovals and one filler.
For medium flows, make 1 oval and one filler.
For light flows, make 1 oval.

Chain 24 foundation single crochet.

Row 1:
Chain 2 (does not count as hdc), 2 hdc in same stitch.  *1 hdc in next 22 stitches.*
In last stitch, 5 hdc to form the end. Repeat **.  3hdc in last stitch, slip stitch in first hdc to join.

Row 2:
Chain 2.
1 hdc in joining stitch. 2 hdc in next stitch.  *1 hdc in next 22 stitches*
On the end:
2 hdc in next stitch.  1 hdc in next stitch.  3 hdc in next stitch.  1 hdc in next stitch.  2 hdc in next stitch.
Repeat **.
On starting end: 
2 hdc in next stitch.  1hdc in next stitch.  3 hdc in next stitch.  Slip stitch join in first hdc.

Row 3:
Chain 2.  1 hdc in joining stitch and next stitch.  2 hdc in next stitch.  * 1 hdc in next 23 stitches*
On the end:
2 hdc in next stitch. 1 hdc in next three stitches. 3hdc in next stitch. 1 hdc in next three stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch.
Repeat **.
On starting end:
2 hdc in next stitch.  1 hdc in next 3 stitches. 3 hdc in next stitch. 1 hdc in next stitch. Slip stitch join into first hdc.

Last Row:
Chain 1, sc in each stitch all the way around, slip stitch join in first sc, fasten off and weave in ends.

Filler layer:
Chain 21 single crochet foundation

Row 1:
Chain 1, 1 sc in all stitches to end, chain 1 and turn.

Row 2:
Repeat row 1 until same width as ovals.

Assembly Notes:
Use a yarn needle and put two lines of stitching in the middle of the center stitch and edges.  Do not sew the edges shut as when you wash them, they won't be able to dry properly without the air flow.

"How does it stay it place?"
You can crochet simple ties using chain stitch, or even make wings. Fastening them with buttons or snaps.  That's up to you.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Toy Story...er... Emporium?

Written in conjunction with a future Blue Collar Prepping article, this is just me pulling together links of several dozen crocheted and knit toy patterns.  So feel free to share away if you'd like.











Thursday, June 26, 2014

That elephant has been in the room so long....

....it's turned into a damn skeleton.  And trust me, if you've seen what elephant skeletons look like you agree with me that they are the freakiest of the skeletons in the animal kingdom.  No holds bar even.

I'm going to dive head first into something here, that's been bugging me for awhile.  It cropped up, maybe a week ago.  It reminded me of a lot of anger I had, and still have in some small chunk that is chained up in a corner and that gets periodically taken out to do some serious exercise so that it keeps losing weight.  It's a little known demon of mine, that I've been working on starving to death.  However, when you know these kind of demons like I do... you know they take forever to die.

Well start with the friends conversation (and darling, I know you'll probably look this over, if you beat yourself up over having caused me some pain, I'm going to hex your computer again. I've been needing to nail this to the wall for awhile now). He messaged me on facebook and launched himself in a massive apology.  He'd been going over old photos from when I used to Science Fiction/Fantasy cons (Hey I've been a geek girl for a long ass time!) and started to compare the pics of me to pics of me now.

I thought he was going to weep.  He finally noticed, after 4ish years.... how sick I had been.  I was in hell,
This is only one of two pics I have from
the con he was talking about.  
and thought I was hiding well enough to where no one was going to be to notice.  This picture was one of only two and the other one has a couple of things in it that if I ever find those items, they'll be smashed with a sledgehammer and burned promptly afterwards.  (And yes, that's a turquoise duct tape corset. I SAID this was a geek event, k?)

This was back in late 2009 I think.  I was still involved with a dipshit, that I'm only just able to even admit to myself that I was nothing more than a bed warmer and...well, yeah.  I'll let you choose a word.  He was smart enough to never lay a hand on me and never did much in public besides tolerate me.  In private, he was an incredibly fucked up individual.  And that, is as far as I'm going when it's about him.  Pictures of me from 2010 are probably just as bad.  I try to avoid looking at them honestly.

This friend... has been the only person to notice and then say something to me about it.  THE ONLY DAMN ONE!  I was balling my eyes out.  He had
Me and the fiance finally had our first cookout here in the
past month.  Bout damn time too.
noticed the difference finally.... out how many folks that claimed to be my friends?  It was surreal at how much it felt like I had just lost some kind of burden.  Yeah, that's me.  I'm a rather thin individual (and for those of you want to say too thin, go fuck yourself.  Genetics can and does play a huge role it.) but even my mom I think has noticed that I'm happier.

Salt Wash Utah area, from along the I-70 (IIRC).
That tends to happen when you have a good partner.  One that you don't try and change.  That you leave alone and respect them, respect their choices in job (as best you can, there are times some of his work is absolutely infuriating, but I'm doing my best to not nag him over it.  Do I fail? I think I do sometimes.)

It wasn't until about January 2012, when I finally got out of that last funk of depression that I start seriously looking at several of my relationships (as plural as in friends not just romantic).  HOLY FUCK!  I was friends with some highly abusive folks.  I looked at myself and saw where my own faults and things that I hadn't taken care of yet, had attracted that kind of low quality person.

I'd like to think I have shaken all the folks that weren't good for me at this point.  Maybe some of them found they didn't feel like we were compatible as friends anymore, I don't know.  I stopped talking to a massive chunk of the folks I used to hang out, shoved them away.  And I've done my best to keep it cordial and friendly at times, and yet again here, I admit there's been failures at this. I haven't had any kind of abusive relationship with anyone in about 2 years now.  Most folks will not understand how huge that is, but the Fiance knows and I know, and that's good enough for me.

Another part of the anger that got pulled up has been this whole bruhahaha over MZB, author and turns out according to her daughter finally being able to talk about, child rapist.

... I greatly enjoyed Mists of Avalon, I will admit that but there is a serious reluctance now to read anymore of her own books.  The reports of her activities have come out a time when I've been finding myself forced to deal with another unsavory fact about my own life again.

I'll keep it short: the church I grew up in, had a problem with some of the teenagers molesting and being sexually active with many of the younger kids.  I'm talking three, four five years of age.  And that didn't stop just because the kids got older.  These teens had in turn, probably been molested by teens when they been at that age.  I never really said anything to anyone, but I thought it was also normal.  (shudder)
A few weeks ago, I find out such things are not isolated incidences. They are pandemic apparently.  It was weird feeling relieved that I was not the only one.

"Damnit Evelyn, can't you catch a break?"

I did. Two years ago.  There's a lot more work to be done.  I want to have kids someday AND there's a part of me going "Look at this!  Fuck you evil pieces of shit!  Look at me, being a mom and not taking my past out on my kids.  Look at me using my past lessons, keep them from getting hurt like I did.  I am doing and I'm going to keep doing it!"

All right Anger demon, back in your chains in the corner.  I do believe you've lost a good several pounds.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Little things

Car update: Close to a 700 dollar repair.  Timing chain and they went ahead and replaced the water pump while they were in there.  It didn't wipe us out completely, but damn close.

As for personal things going on... I am liking these re-usable pads I've crocheted up.  I gotta be honest though, part of this down I've been feeling here the past few days, has me wondering if maybe it's a bit of a withdrawal from the chemicals in the pads...???  Such things really make me wonder at times.

"Isn't crochet to hole-y?"

Nope not really.  The 100% cotton is what I used and no problems so far.  Don't think I'll have any big ones either, but you never know.

Oh yeah that down I'm feeling... I have no idea.
  It could be frustration that it seems like we're stagnating on getting out of California...
 Missing folks I used to see frequently....
Concerned for friends who seem to have something bothering them... or that I know what's going on and they've had as much progress as we have...

I really hate plateau's.  At least when you have an up or down, you know where you're going.

And the geocaching we're started doing helps with the restlessness.  Though we need to do it a bit more and I need to get my damn shorts out of shortage.  It gets too hot here to rough it in jeans.  I'm sure a couple more years would have me acclimated .... but I don't plan on being here longer than past September/October.