Lucky me, I seem to have started on the next phase of "the change." Night sweats. Yeah. Fun. Last night, I don't think I actually slept till about 1 a.m. or so. And I woke up soaking wet.
Now I know what mom was talking about. I need to work on some techniques to quell the hot flashes, since they've been getting pretty horrid. So, I'm a year out from the beginning of menopause. I've had hot flashes off and on, but now they're coming daily - I sat and counted one morning, and in the space of 2 hours, I had something like 8 "flashes." They don't last long, you know. But it feels like they last forever!
The definition of "menopause" means 12 consecutive months without a period. I've done that time, and it's been another year. So...24 months down. What the heck?
Perhaps meditation and some breathing techniques? Definitely not going the HRT route. No interest in that. But I thought I was sailing along kind of nicely.
Then this. Urgh.
Oh, the Danskos... Nobody showed up for my a.m. garden yoga class. I wasn't sure, honestly, if anyone would. See, it rained like crazy yesterday afternoon and through the night. The area where we practice is kind of low, and sometimes, it can be a little "swampy." I didn't cancel the class because the rain today was going to happen (and did) in the afternoon. So I did dither. I was thinking about how wet it might be. I was wondering if anyone would think to come out. Would they think, "Oh, it's October, so we're done" even though I hadn't put anything out on the website or social media? Would we have new folks since we did the demonstration last week at the Fall Fest? Maybe new folks would come out to see for themselves... Or maybe they wouldn't and it would be too cold, or too wet, or the area we're in would be mushy and muddy...
But I figured I needed to be there. I'm 5 minutes away anyhow. It was a gorgeous morning, albeit a bit cloudy. You could tell that rain was moving in, but it was a bit breezy and it wasn't humid at all.
As I was waiting, I wandered in the space and took some pics. The fall colors obviously haven't peaked yet, and I'm not sure how or if they will. Fall is tricksy, you know...(Hobbit reference) Sometimes, when you least expect it, there's an extravaganza of color. And other times? Not.
Anyway, as I was wandering, I thought, "Heck, I'm wearing fall colors!
The Fields is going to be open through Thanksgiving, but they're beginning their "closing up shop" maintenance in terms of dismantling the larger fountains and cleaning them up, shutting off the smaller ones, trimming up the more "tropical" plants, like some of the large potted ferns...that kind of thing. Mums are all over the place, and the breeze was whipping the water in the fountains that were still running (click on this picture, and you should see it). The large grasses are turning gold and the sedum is getting red.
You can see that Autumn is progressing and while many people think of this season as one of "dying," I actually think of it as a beginning.
Think about it. In the spring and summer, the trees are green. But in the fall, they're brilliantly colored. This seems to me to be the true nature of the tree: to be colorful. To give us something to look at while the time changes, and the days get shorter. To give us beauty before the long winter season.
So that's my take on Fall. With the brightly colored Danskos as comic relief.
Knitting...
So the other sock of the self-patterning Plain Vanilla ones is in the works. I closed the gusset and I'm about 5.5" on the foot. I have to get to 7" to start the toe decreases, so I think in a week or so, I'll have a pair. I've got to grab the next bag out of the "Twelve Months of Socks" that I started what? THREE years ago? I think this will be the 3rd or 4th pair of that 12-pair journey. I'm not sure what I'll pick out next. Hubby did the bags. So I'll see what happens, and go from there in regard to pattern.
I'm still working on the shawl; haven't touched the February Lady Sweater recently. I really should get back to that soon, since I wanted to wear it.
I was wondering about starting some wash cloths for my yoga teachers - not sure if there's enough time for them to be done for Christmas. I'm a little stumped as to what to do for them for Christmas. I would normally just bake, but too many of them are gluten or sugar-free (which isn't a bad thing; just puts a crimp in a baker's style for the holiday!).
I do have a problem though. It's the SSK. I'm really having a time with it. For the past few pairs of socks, the SSK decrease has left me with "loops" along the one side. The K2tog side is nice and crisp. But the other side has these little things that look loose to me. (You may have to click on the picture. I can see it, but to me it's glaringly obvious!)I tried to slip the first stitch knit-wise, second stitch purlwise. Then I tried slipping both of them knitwise. I can't seem to figure out how to do it, and honestly, when I've checked YouTube, I get seven zillion opinions.
Sock knitting is like that. Want to start a war? Walk into a room of sock knitters and say something like, "Magic Loop is stupid." Or "why do you even bother with toe up construction?" You'll be skewered.
As a matter of fact, on a FB page, someone complained that they were "not treated nicely" by someone who commented on a post. Well, knitters have opinions, and sharp sticks! Seriously, if you're going to ask an opinion on social media, you really do have to have a little bit of a thick skin. You can't hear "tone" - any more than you can hear my tone, though if you've read this blog long enough, you can kind of hear my voice.
So, if someone gives you an opinion, you may take it as "snotty" or "condescending" because you can't see or hear the person. But I'd still be careful with those of us who play with sticks and string!
Anyway - anyone that has an opinion on my SSK problem, I'd be glad to try it on the next pair of socks.
And I'll let you know about the decision on the dishcloths.
Young Living...
So today I had another essential oils class. I had a lot of fun with the group that showed up. And you know - if you can't get to me, I can come to you! I put on this big thing at the studio because I have room. But I can help with your discovery of the best essential oils on the planet - in the comfort of your own living room! I've been working on building the business here, and I think it's a good company to align with. The Seed-to-Seal policy the company abides by is what differentiates it from the other oil companies. And I like having access to science - that's important to me.
When I was looking to get into oils, I did do the "grocery store" oils. But after doing the research, I've begun to see the difference. Oil that's 100% oil - that's so much more healthy than oil that's part carrier oil.
I've "ditched and switched" for the most part. I don't use candles in the house (unless the power is out - we keep a box of tapers around just in case, and we have several flashlights). I don't use those scent thingies you put in your outlets. I went through my personal care products and whittled everything out that had stuff in it that was potentially irritating my skin.
I mean, I'm no purist. I kept the perfume that Hubby gave me. And there's a facial wash I'm partial to that doesn't irritate my skin. That being said, I was having some issues as I went through menopause where my system was apparently changing. I find that I'm more sensitive.
Either that, or as we get older, we do become a bit "overrun" with toxins. So making this change has been something positive. I want people to understand that this isn't "the latest fad." These oils have been around since ancient times. The pendulum seems to be swinging back. Not that I'm giving up on medicine.
I'm not crazy.
I'm trying to attune myself to what my body needs and trying to cut the toxic load on my body. And I can help you do the same. We don't even have to be in the same city or state. Let me know.
Random Picture...
I was nominated for the "7 day black & white challenge" on Facebook - which I'm sure you've seen. It's a nice change from some of the garbage, right?
What I did was pull 7 different pictures. It's your life in black & white, so I thought I'd dig around and see what I thought would work.
I really want to talk about the latest tweets from the twit, but I also want to get some sleep tonight, so this picture came to my mind as something that's beautiful and worth talking about. At least before World War 3 gets started...
This is the pediment from the Customs House building in Charleston, South Carolina. Kid #2 was big into Nathaniel Hawthorne the year my mom and I took that trip, and if you recall your "Scarlet Letter," you remember that in the beginning of the book, there's this whole thing about the Customs House. Well, the one in Charleston was quite grand. And I had to grab this shot. I used the "real" camera, and this is the B&W version. That being said, it was a grey-ish day that day, and the pediment was white, as was the pillar, as was the fascia on the overhang... So the "color" version of this one is quite similar.
Actually, the B&W one brings out more detail. And as usual, click on the picture to get more of a peek at it. I can't for the life of me figure out what those wires are that encircle the acanthus leaves. Any ideas?
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