Good News!

...I got my braces off!! A few days shy of a full year, I'm going tomorrow to get my retainers (the top one doubles as a bite guard, since I'm a "clencher" as opposed to a "grinder.") and I'm now free of wiring! 

I'm trying to discern the wisdom of my orthodontist giving me a large "sippy" cup which is filled with chewy candy. 

First off, I usually don't eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I don't like them; I prefer Justin's - the dark chocolate, thanks. The peanut butter is creamier and the dark chocolate? Well, I have no real vices (except a wicked yarn addiction). I don't drink. I don't smoke. I have never done drugs. I don't even swear. So. Dark chocolate... 

Second off, "Skittles"?? Really?? Yuck. Just yuck. Now, the KitKat I might eat. But I have never liked Skittles. M & Ms, yes. But not Skittles. Too gritty, too sweet/sour. When I eat candy, I'm craving sweets. If I want sweet and sour, I'll eat Chinese. 

Finally, it's a great marketing gimmick. The cup is a nice size and I'll certainly use it. And it's branded with his name and logo. I still don't fathom the candy, though... 

But anyway, it was very odd having them taken off. The technician, a lovely woman named Winnie, did the basic removal, and my teeth hurt for a few days. I'm getting used to chewing again. And I'm happy to be using my whitening toothpaste again. 

Essential Oils and Cats...

There's been a FB post making the rounds, where a woman claims that her cat was poisoned by "essential oils" that she bought off Amazon and diffused for "4 days straight." Well, there's a bit of Swiss cheese in her post and there's a LOT of misinformation. 

I use and distribute Young Living Essential Oils. I use them on me, in my home and on my dogs - well, on 2 of my dogs. See, the thing with animals is, they're either ok with them or not. And the husky is not. Of course, some don't care either way, but Raisa definitely is not a fan of oils applied to her. So she does get exposure because I wear them, and because I diffuse them, but I don't apply them directly. And anyway, the reason I use them on the elkhounds is mainly because they get a little freaked out at thunderstorms and fireworks. The husky? She's all, "What's the deal, people??" 

So - the issues in this woman's story:

---"I bought them off Amazon." You can get lots of stuff off Amazon. And sometimes, the Young Living products you find there are counterfeit. I'm not blaming Amazon or accusing. I'm telling the truth. Some folks can re-bottle the oils and re-cap them. You can tell a "real" YL oil by the label (which shows that it was manufactured in Utah, not Asia!), and the cap with the "teeth" on it. 

And she doesn't specify which brand she bought. Young Living has a "Seed-to-Seal" program encompassing sourcing, science and safety. We have specific protocols for making the purest therapeutic-grade oils on the planet. We are stewards of our planet. We make sure everything produced is safe and pure - no fillers, no adulterated materials. 

That being said, there's a lot of product out there that's not what it purports to be. You can buy oils in the supermarket and at specialty stores. Doesn't mean they're pure. When I was buying oils that weren't Young Living, I noticed, for example, that every "Lavender" smelled different - even though the label always said "Lavender." Hmmmmmmmm. That's an issue. 

With Young Living, I have a Lot Number. I can call the main office and say, "You know, Lot number XYW123 is not right..." and they'll replace it. They'll investigate what I send them back and make sure that it's not a quality issue. And if it IS a quality issue? They fix it. 

---"I diffused the oil for 4 days straight, day and night." Well - that's a problem in itself. Oils need to be diffused properly. Four solid 24-hour periods? That's a lot. And she doesn't mention the number of drops she used - how concentrated was the oil she was diffusing? 

If, as she claims, it was in a closed room and her 16-year-old cat was sleeping in there, that's a lot of oil for one little cat. Cats have a peculiar physiology - they can't metabolize certain chemicals. This cat WAS over-exposed. And regardless of which oil, it was too much for the cat. 

And there are oils which cats can't tolerate. She didn't know that the oil she was diffusing was harmful when diffused where the cat was exposed to what seems to be a pretty high concentration. Because she didn't do her research and she didn't ask anyone. 

I took a course with a vet in Chenoa, IL, and she posted a video about how she uses oils in her clinic. There's a link here which I encourage you to watch. Dr. Susan knows her stuff. 

---The cat was 16 years old. Now, I'm not saying anything about how this woman kept her cat, but a 16 year old cat is old. And when you bring something new into the home, like a diffuser, you need to know what to do with it when you have animals - regardless if they're kittens or elder-cats. Or kids or elder-humans! 

Seriously, my mom has emphysema. I would only diffuse certain oils around her. Others could be harmful. It's called common sense. I've already researched oils that are ok for her to be around, so if I know she's coming to the house, I have a choice: I can choose to diffuse the stuff that's ok for her, or I simply shut it off while she's at my house. 

Anyhow, watch the video. Ask questions. Contact me if you have any questions and I'll either answer or find someone who knows the answer if I don't. 

Get the best for your pets and yourself. You both deserve it. 

Christmas again...

So I got this lovely pot for Christmas. I needed an in-between size, and this is it. I took this picture, very proud of my new pot, and I was, at the time, making steel-cut oats. 

About 5 minutes later, the entire thing boiled over and nearly drowned the burner... My "new" pot wasn't so new anymore! 

I quickly turned off the burner, moved the pot to the trivet alongside the stove, and sopped up about a cup of water + oats... Dang it, I was looking forward to those oats!!

Hubby was kind enough, after giving me a little crap, to help me clean it up. 

This weekend, I'll try the steel-cut oats again - and this time, it'll be the "watched pot that never boils" so I don't ruin them again! 

This pot will be very useful for small batches of jam or preserves. Maybe even marmalade. I'd like to try a marmalade soon. I love orange marmalade. 

WTForecast app...

So I've been looking at the funniest posts of weather. As you may know, many of us are getting clobbered. Either dumping snow, freezing weather, ice storms...It's all happening this winter in various areas. And folks have been using this app, which can be decidedly "work unfriendly" by the way, because of its witty and snarky comments about the weather in your area. 

I put it on the studio phone, because of course it's not available as a Windows app...I swear, I love my Windows phone but I wish it wasn't treated like a cootie!! 

I haven't figure out how to "dial down" the snark setting, but this is at least mild enough to share at work with those who have the appropriate sense of humor. Some of what's been posted on FB has been downright foul! 

We're in the midst of a "fog storm," and the temperature, within 24 hours has gone from -10 or so up to about 50 degrees. Yeah, with flu peaking and temperatures fluctuating, it's definitely "pneumonia weather."

And then it's going to freeze again. Frankly, I'll take snow any time. I can walk in it and I can drive on it. Ice? Not so much. And everyone here forgets any basic driving skill they ever had. 

I mean, even this morning, in a rather pea-soup fog, people were driving without lights on. At 7 a.m., when it's still kind of dark out. 

I can't wait to see what it says about tomorrow...

THIS is a yarn-bomb...

Crochet gone amok... I saw this and posted it to our knitting page. All of our Knitsters were pretty agog at this work of, ummmm, "art" I guess??

I suppose, if you were inclined to use up your "spare bits" of yarn, and you lived in one of those climates now experiencing the dire cold, this seat arrangement would warm up your body's "spare bits" nicely. 

But I wonder how far down the toilet cover goes. And I wonder if, when the seat is lifted, the rim is also covered in crochet. And I wonder if, just in case your aim is off, guys, you can get the crochet off to wash it. And I wonder how you then get it back on. And I wonder why you'd have crocheted the covers for the flusher and the pipes. Unless, of course, you do live in that cold area and you want your pipes AND your tooshie kept warm while you're doing your business...

Lots of wondering along with the sheer curiosity of where this might be and who did the needlework... 

Birdhaven Greenhouse...

The other day, I was on the way to lunch with a friend, and I had some time to spare. I was hoping that the Birdhaven Greenhouse would still have their Christmas display up. They did, but someone was having pictures taken. 

I couldn't get to the part where I wanted to take pictures so I wandered through to the back where they keep the succulents. The cacti looked sad. Which you can imagine since it was all of about 24 degrees on Sunday!! And it was ice-raining, which made it even more fun. 

As I was going through, I stopped at the koi pond and waterfall. There were some beautiful Bird of Paradise flowers, but the only way I could've shot them would have been to include the water pumps...not the image I wanted. So I came around to the front of the waterfall and caught the koi. They thought that I might have food, so they all started heading my way. I was just taking pictures, fishies!! Sorry about that! 

Birdhaven has a beautiful wildflower garden alongside the greenhouse, which borders a walking path. In the summer, the place is absolutely overrun with birds: chickadees, finches, hummingbirds, cardinals, jays... And of course, the occasional hawk swooping in to filtch a finch off a feeder. It's the circle of life, folks!

Random Picture...

No, I didn't make this. But I'd sure like to! Obviously, the skein of yarn is fondant, but thankfully, the rest of it is just plain frosting. And I think I'd use a real crochet hook. And a real yarn label, for that matter. 

I haven't done many cakes lately, though I did do one for our pastor's retirement and cupcakes for my mom's 80th birthday. 

There's not much call for home-made cakes. Most wedding venues have just about tromped us out of the market. We have to have a health department licensed kitchen and even then - for my nephew's wedding, the caterer, who had a deal with the hall, said they'd "throw in" the cake if they booked a certain number of people. 

"Throw in" was about the quality of his wedding cake. He had wanted my mom and I to do it, but they wouldn't allow an "outsider" to bring in the cake. 

Anyway, I'll still bake for birthdays, when people want them! 

OH SNAP!

Yeah, no - that's not the slang version of the word. 

I was eating, and one of the rubber bands on my braces snapped. That wasn't cool. It didn't hurt or anything, but I was worried I'd swallow the blasted thing! And my jaw felt strangely out-of-kilter. So I stuck a new one on, even though I'm changing them tonight when I brush my teeth. 

Speaking of which, I'm having more migraines. And I'm not sure what it is, but Doc says I'm experiencing some strain with the rubber bands as they're pulling my jaws. Since I have TMJ anyway - that makes sense. Now, if I can at least get adjusted enough so that it starts to subside...

How My Garden Grows...

So the wildflowers are, in their 3rd or 4th year, now coming into their own. The "shade" garden is going nuts - lots of brown-eyed Susan, and some pink stuff which I can't recall  
(UPDATE: it's phlox). I mean, I remember planting it, but I can't remember its name. There's also bee balm, columbine (which is done for now), and foxglove in there. 

I saw a Monarch butterfly hanging around, and he enjoyed the flowers. I was really excited, even though the camera was beyond my reach. And the hummingbirds are visiting. So, it's a win. 

And in the "sunny-side" part? I have 2 milkweed plants, something that Hubby swears is a flower and I swear equally vehemently is merely a weed (and yes, there's a big difference between a wildflower and a weed), coneflower, lavender, salvia, gallardia, dill and purple bee balm. The foxglove and poppy are done for now. Oh, and the Prairie Blazing Star is blooming - so it survived its surgery where I split it this year to send half of it to my friend in the UP. I hope hers is thriving... Just now, there was a big old bumblebee on the Blazing Star just kind of gorging himself. Good for him! 

I'm trying to figure out where to plant the milkweed seeds my UP friend gave me. Those will be stuck in there in the late fall, before the first frost. I have to mark the two that we have, so that we get them planted in a similar spot. The ones at the rectory are really tall, so I also have to think about that - this garden does get a northwest cross-wind sometimes; one of the phlox bits is pushed over. So I wonder if I have to stake the taller flowers. 

I'm not staking the weed... 

Looks like a wooly worm!

This is odd... At first, I thought I had a wooly-worm on the flower, but I realized it was the center of the flower that kind of warped. I've never seen that before. Kind of cool, though!

We really have done well with this space, and even need to thin out the Brown-Eyed Susan. I might take some of it out and plant it at the Rectory to cover some of the bare spots in the garden. It'll spread. They seem to be hardy enough to tolerate being dug up now and stuck somewhere else. And the rectory has a nice little garden area right at the front door. It'll look sweet. Especially since it's another maintenance-free(ish) plant. I'll get the hostas from Church Lady Across the Street and by the time we have a new vicar, he or she will have a low-maintenance garden. 

I haven't seen any caterpillars on the dill yet. I need to get some of the heads in the freezer, and some of the fronds, so that we have them for later this year. 

Not to shabby for a shabby garden... Or maybe I call it "shabby-chic" natural landscaping. Now, to get Hubby to get rid of the ENTIRE lawn on the one side. Hmmmm...

Mother Nature's Glory...

On the way home from yoga last Sunday night, I saw this coming out of the studio. I haven't seen a thunderhead like this in a while. 

It just kept building and the way the light was hitting it - it was beautiful! I knew it was a portend of storms later that night (and I was right - about 10:30 or so), but it was still stunning. 

I live in a suburb. We do have farms around us, so there's a lot more "open" than most people appreciate. But there's not as much open as when I was a kid. And there's no where near enough "open" for me right now! So to see this, it was pretty spectacular. 

I've been noticing the sky and we of course noticed the full moon on Sunday. It was a "buck moon" - the moon in the month where the male deer are supposed to have finally grown their full rack. I've also heard it referred to as a "blessing moon," so I guess you could go either way. It turned into a lovely creamy gold on the way home, and I was able to pull into the middle of the street (no, I don't live in Mayberry, but it's close!) and snap this through the windshield. I thought it would be really creepy if I just got out of the car. Though the folks on this block are kind of used to me slowing down to snap a full moon. This is a block with some amazing old trees and in the fall? A harvest moon through the bare branches? Yes, I'm stopping. 

At any rate, I was up late with the dogs, and I was knitting (as usual) and thinking about how, lately, I've got time to notice things. I mean, I've always been a bit of a sky-gazer. Love cloud formations. Love to see what the weather is doing. But lately, I do seem to have time to breathe. And it feels good. 

Knitting...

I've turned the heel and I've closed the gusset. Now I'm doing the gusset decrease. Unless you're the Yarn Harlot and prefer matching socks, it gets a little weird with the self-patterning yarns around this spot. The grey and light-grey stripes, as you can see, are much larger, and the white/black, and grey/blue patterned areas are going to be a bit wonky. 

But I don't care. They're usually going to be fraternal-ish when it patterns like this. And it's close enough. 

Actually, with a 7" leg and a foot length of about 9", there's enough yarn to make them match. Maybe one day I'll do that. But at this point, I just want to plow through them and get them done. I may do another star toe. I like that. Though that usually works better with a variegated yarn rather than with this kind of a bold pattern. 

After this, I get back to the Sole-to-Sole sock, to finish that one, and then get back to the sweater. 

Socks are awesome because they're portable. As long as it's a fairly simple pattern, it's great lunch-time knitting and great "wind down from your day" knitting. And you make quick progress, even though sometimes ribbing takes FOR. EVER. For 2" or so. Like the last 2" before you decrease for the toe! (Sock humor - just trust me on this...)


Reading...

And then there's this. I'm going to be snarky now. 

How in the name of Heaven do some people get published? She thanks her proof-readers. Who must've been family. Because I've found a half-dozen errors. And I'm not liking the formatting. 

It's a crime novel. Please. No footnotes. Ever. 

And by the way: Italicize the titles of TV shows -- since your main character is a TV addict, you might've wanted to check that little rule. Or your publishing house editor should have caught it. 

I might need to bring this one to church. I know several folks who'll get a kick out of it. 

I mean, so far, it's engaging, but the mistakes? They're driving me nuts. Maybe this is another reason for me to email these authors and say, "Hey, I'm a totally anal proof-reader and I'd love to make you look 100 times better than what this looks like."

Too much?