Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Have Gotten Some Work Done This Week!

Make no mistake, I've missed several writing, crochet, and art days this week. I have good excuses, I think - insomnia, feline interruptus, and just plain getting distracted (please note I started writing this blog at 7PM, if that gives you an idea) - but boy have I done a lot.

I have been working on a 3k by 3k pixel piece in Paint.net, and I'm maybe 1% finished with that.

I finished the shawl yesterday and started looking into my next pieces to crochet.

I experimented with polishing some of my rocks again (the weather was forgiving until yesterday/today)

And I wrote nearly 2100 words this week, bringing the total up to just over 15.7k words!

Yeah.

Heck of a chunk of writing. One of those writing chunks was a whole chapter!!!

All of this while only managing between 2-7hr of sleep a night.

And I've cut my caffeine consumption by 2/3.

I know. Crazy.

Regardless, this has been a super productive week, and I'm really hoping to keep up the hard work - possibly with some more art thrown in.

My plans for this week are, of course, to work on my art until Thursday, crochet until Monday, and then blab again on Tuesday.

If I write another 2100 words next week, that would also be incredible. I also hope to get one of the rocks I'm polishing smoothed out enough to showcase. Currently I'm still figuring out the various grinding wheels/sanding disks/etc that I have access to these days for my toolless Dremel.

I still struggle to understand what each element in my new kit does.

Regardless, I've got work to do this coming week, and I'm proud of what I accomplished in the last seven days, but for now, I'm very tired.

It's nearly midnight.

If you want to direct my art, you can recommend a category to draw from by sending me a coffee over on Ko-Fi with a message telling me which category you'd like (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Deadbert, Location, Geometric, Word), and I'll draw it up and add it to the blog!

That'll do it from me tonight!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Struggle With Timekeeping

I was supposed to write this blog post 12 hours ago, but uh... I didn't wake up until almost noon. I started writing tonight after 9:30PM (2130 in 24hr). I didn't sleep well, though. I kept waking up. Sometimes it was the wind (we had 35-40mph/56,3-64,4kph gusts), sometimes the rain (we got almost 1.5"/3,81cm of rain last night), and sometimes I just felt cold (it was only about 38℉/3,33℃).

tl;dr - I overslept in tiny, unsatisfying chunks all night because the weather sucked so now I'm mildly grumpy and my brain is lumpy.

In nicer news, tomorrow should be sunny, though it'll still be windy, so I might go do some errands to get outside for more than five minutes. Then I'll do my best to write some notes, do some crochet, sketch, etc.

I wish I'd finished something artistic last Thursday, but it wasn't gonna happen. The art project I was trying out just didn't work right, and none of my sketches looked even mildly presentable. Bleh. Just not having a very creative time lately.

I keep thinking I'd like to work on something like a clay sculpture, but let's be real, I'm not spending money on yet another art supply I'll get bored with in 3 weeks. And if you buy clay, you have to buy something to paint it with, and acrylics can be as pricey as watercolors. Bleh.

You know what, though...

I think it might be my bed.

See, usually, my bed only squeaks if I rock back and forth, but now it's freaking insane. It groans and squeals when I move even a little. Yes, I'm heavier than I was even a year ago, but... I'm pretty sure it did this last year, too. In fact, I think it did something similar in the fall...

I'm dumb.

Of course the bed makes noise. It's a transition period. Relative humidity, temperatures, and air pressure are in flux. My bed frame is over 70% wood (the only metal being the rails). Of course it's having issues!

I'm glad I've figured that one out!

Anywho, here's the plan for the next 7 days:

Tomorrow - go outside, touch grass, maybe do some sketches, some errands, etc.

Thursday - Art. I hope.

Friday-Sunday - catch up on crochet, maybe work on some of my book ideas.

Monday - Crochet!

Next Tuesday - Blather!

Alright. I think that'll do it for me. I am le pooped lol!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Am Frustrated A Bit
(But That's Okay!)

Creative types, is this you?

You wake up too late because you were up all night and into the dawn working on a fun new idea you had and you were super excited to be working on it, so you figured "this is fine, I'll just sleep when I'm tired!" Except then you realize you've woken up at lunch and you're still tired, but worse, your brain has way more ideas for you to work with, and you're even more wound up! And then it's suddenly night time because you couldn't do anything with all those ideas because they were all shouting over each other, but finally one hits you just so and you start working again, and you stay up too late again and you figure "This time I'll sleep, right?"

But you don't and it just keeps going...

No?

Just me?

Huh. Okay, maybe I should take a freakin chill pill lol.

So if you've been wondering what's up with me, it's that. I've been having an overabundance of creative energy, but only at the worst times, and only on projects that I know I don't need to be working on just now. Instead of finishing my Christmas Projects (again) I'm back on my nonsense of "What if I try this new thing?!".

Don't worry, I'm still getting plenty of work done!

It's just very difficult to focus on what I need to focus on and also get sleep.

It'd probably help matters if I wasn't so squirrel-brained...

Regardless, here's the plan for this week:

Tomorrow - work on projects

Thursday - hopefully the art goes smoother this week than it did last week

Friday - more projects

Saturday - still more projects, possibly (hopefully) light-gazing

Sunday - chill with partner & family

Monday - post progress on Mystery Project

Next Tuesday - projects & blather on here!

The weather this week has not helped my focus. We went from below-freezing with about an inch of snow to upper 40s-low 50s (around 7-11℃) and pouring rain. Sometimes I wonder if I'm part plant because I'm as easily distracted by rapidly changing weather systems as a delicate flower or something. I literally cannot focus if the weather isn't sensible!

Currently, I'm throwing red rounds onto the Mystery Project and hooking as fast as I can through some other projects for family. I hope I can do a supply run tomorrow at some point so I can finish some of the ideas I have!

That being said, it's probably gonna be an early night for me tonight. Several days of staying up past dawn and then getting up after 10AM (yes, that means I've only been getting between 4-6 hours of sleep the last few days) are really catching up with me.

I hope you're all doing well!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I May Be A Night Owl
But Insomnia is Definitely A Bear.

I have mentioned my struggles with insomnia but boy howdy have I not had a bout like this in a while. I got up at 5:30AM with sore ribs (from sitting or standing upright for over 20 hours) and eyes so dry and tired that I was constantly dodging what I thought was my cat darting in front of me but uh... it was absolutely not my cat. It was nothing. There wasn't anything there.

Yeah, I finally stayed up so long I started hallucinating.

Don't panic! (I didn't I was more annoyed than anything else) I took care of it and now I'm seeing the world normally. My brain is only slightly molasses-like, too!

How, you may ask, did I resume functionality after nigh-destructive insomnia?

I tried this thing I never do because my body hates me and won't let me:

I took...

A nap.

Seriously. From about 10:45AM-2PM, conked and then dozed off & on for most of the day. Is that a replacement for sleep? NO. Will I get sleep tonight? Hopefully, yes.

But probably no, because again, my body hates me.

We've been at war for the entire century so far.

Such is life.

But what have I been up to besides sleeping?!

I've been drawing (a Big Piece for my guy, a few sketches for me as a treat), watching Red Dead Redemption 2 Lore Videos (I have not played RDR2 nor am I likely to lol), eating Cup Noodle (chicken flavor - I added fried garlic which I heartily recommend), and crashing my iPad for the first time because it hated the new update for Pokemon Masters EX (it's fine now, just was a pain).

Also my mom took the cat out for exactly ten minutes because it is cold and poor kitty hates having cold toes. She has been on a kleptomaniacal hot-streak ever since, stealing my mother's seat whenever my mom tries to sit down. As though my mother is responsible for the changing seasons...

We saw deer this week! A buck and a doe, separately. Both did the sensible thing and ran away from the road lol. I also saw a big hawk and I'm grateful that it hasn't committed birdicide (yet).

Next week, I'll be adding more to the mystery crochet project (hopefully a lot more, but we'll see!), and then I'll have more art to show off.

I didn't do NaNoWriMo, but I hope to do some really good work this coming month on my book!

So many ideas! So little time!

I also may be just as herky-jerky as in October/November when it comes to blog consistency - I've got a bunch of gifts to finish and only... 23 days to complete them in.

That's probably gonna do it for me tonight!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

 

More Progress, though slow

So I'm very sleepy and this blog is very late. I'm sorry about that, but in my defense, I haven't had a decent night's sleep in a month. Blame anything you like - it really just boils down to "sometimes I don't sleep too good and nothing I do helps". I'm sure I'm near the end of this insomnia bout, though. I tend to start sleeping better and better as the temperature outside drops and the snow accumulates!

Speaking of which, yes, we had our first snowfall on Friday! It was a light coating that has mostly just made my deck icy and the yard look like it was lightly bussed by the Snow Fairy as she headed north for the winter lol. The squirrels are furiously hunting down food and it's all very quaint and very late fall/early winter.

But you're not here for insomnia or weather reports, you want to see the next part of the pattern! Here is where we're at for the pattern so far:

Round 1: sc 6 into magic ring (6 sc)

R2: 2sc around (12 sc)
R3: [2sc, sc] around (18 sc)
R4: [sc, 2sc, sc] (24 sc)
R5: [2sc, sc in next 3 sts] (30 sc)
R6: sc around (30 sc)
R7: [sc in next 2 sts, 2sc, sc in next 2 sts] around (36 sc)
R8: [2sc, sc in next 5 sts] around (42 sc)
R9: [sc in next 3 sts, 2sc, sc in next 3 sts] around (48 sc)
R10: [2sc, sc in next 7 sts] around (54 sts)
R11: [sc in next 4 sts, 2sc, sc in next 4 sts] around (60 sc)
R12-13: sc around (60 sc)
R14: [2sc, sc in next 9 sts] around (66 sc)
R15: [sc in next 5 sts, 2sc, sc in next 5 sts] around (72 sc)
R16: [2sc, sc in next 11 sts] around (78 sc)
R17: [sc in next 6 sts, 2sc, sc in next 6 sts] around (84 sc)
R18: [2sc, sc in next 13 sts] around (90 sc)
R19-21: sc around (90 sc)
R22: [sc in next 7 sts, 2sc, sc in next 7 sts] around (96 sc)
R23: [2sc, sc in next 15 sts] around (102 sc)
R24: [sc in next 8 sts, 2sc, sc in next 8 sts] around (108 sc)
R25: [2sc, sc in next 17 sts] around (114 sc)
R26: [sc in next 9 sts, 2sc, sc in next 9 sts] around (120 sc)
R27-30: sc around (120 sc)
R31: [2sc, sc in next 19 sts] around (126 sc)
R32: [sc in next 10 sts, 2sc, sc in next 10 sts] around (132 sc)
R33: [2sc, sc in next 21 sts] around (138 sc)
R34: [sc in next 11 sts, 2sc, sc in next 11 sts] around (144 sc)
R35: [2sc, sc in next 23 sts] around (150 sc)
R36-40: sc around (150 sc)
R41: [sc 2 together, sc 23] around (144 sc)
R42-47: sc around (144 sc)
R48: [sc 11, sc 2 together, sc 11] around (138 sc)
R49-55: sc around (138 sc)
R56: [sc 2 together, sc 21] around (132 sc)
R57-64: sc around (132sc)
R65: [sc 10, sc 2 tog, sc 10] around (126 sc)
R66-74: sc around (126 sc)
R75: [sc 2 tog, sc 19] around (120 sc)
R76-84: sc around (120 sc)
R85: sc around, sl st to first sc (120 sc)
R86: ch3 (counts as 1^st dc), dc in each sc around, sl st in top of ch3 (120 sc)
R87: ch3 (counts as 1^st dc), dc in next 10 dc; yarn over, insert hook into next dc, pull through 1 loop, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, pull through 2 loops (does not count as 1^st foundation dc), foundation dc next 96 stitches, then (being careful not to twist) dc in the 12^th dc from the end of the round, dc to the end of the round (24 dc, 96 foundation dc = 120 dc); sl st to top of ch3, fasten off.

You should now have something that looks like a hinged ring or a handle attached to an odd, pear-shaped pouch. Now we’ll begin the underside of the lid (this is going to be weird, I’m sorry).

Form a magic ring from the same color as you’ve been using. I use a double-magic-ring for added security but you can start this in the round however you like.

R1: ch3 (counts as 1^st dc here and throughout), dc 11 in ring, sl st to the top of the ch3 (12dc)
R2: ch3, fpdc in same dc, (dc in next dc, fpdc in same dc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (12dc, 12fpdc = 24st)
R3: ch3, dc in next st, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 2 st, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (24dc, 12fpdc = 36st)
R4: ch3, dc in next 2 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 3 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (36dc, 12fpdc = 48st)
R5: ch3, dc in next 3 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 4 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (48dc, 12fpdc = 60st)
R6: ch3, dc in next 4 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 5 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (60dc, 12fpdc = 72st)
R7: ch3, dc in next 5 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 6 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (72dc, 12fpdc = 84st)
R8: ch3, dc in next 6 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 7 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (84dc, 12fpdc = 96st)
R9: ch3, dc in next 7 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 8 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (96dc, 12fpdc = 108st)
R10: ch3, dc in next 8 sts, fpdc in fpdc (dc in next 9 sts, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st to top of ch3 (108dc, 12fpdc = 120st)

So here we are, at the start of the new pieces, and here's where it gets complicated.

Take your hook out of the disc you formed (which we will now refer to as the “Lid”), then choose a spot to attach it to on the weird flap/hinge part of the first piece (which we’ll now refer to as the “Body”). With the ridged pattern facing downward (towards the open mouth of the Body), insert your hook back through one stitch of the Body’s hinge/flap and back into the loop of the Lid. We will be making our stitches through the hinge/flap stitches and back into the Lid for this round.

R11: ch3 (pull the first loop all the way through the hinge/flap stitch to make your 1^st ch), dc in next 9 dc going through the corresponding flap/hinge stitches as you go; on the next stitch, do not go back through the hinge/flap stitch to make your fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 10 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around until the last fpdc, which is basically impossible (if you figure it out, great!) so just fake it til you make it; sl st in top of ch3. (120dc + 12fpdc = 132 sts)

You Want to put your hook through both the lid stitch & the hinge/flap stitch!

Congrats, the hardest part of the bottom of this lid is now complete and you should have something that looks a bit like a sand dollar stuck in a ring. We’re going to go back to normal chs, dcs, and fpdcs from now on!

R12: ch3, dc in next 10 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 11 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (132dc + 12fpdc = 144 sts)

R13: ch3, dc in next 11 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 12 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (144dc + 12fpdc = 156 sts)

R14: ch3, dc in next 12 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 13 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (156dc + 12fpdc = 168sts)
R15: ch3, dc in next 13 dc, fpdc in fpdc; (dc in next 14 dc, fpdc in fpdc) around, sl st in top of ch3 (168dc + 12fpdc = 180sts)

Top View

Interior View (with bonus hook oopsie I'll have to fix later...)

Now, you can take this as wide or narrow as you like, when you're making one on your own. This pattern is probably gonna be immensely customizable, but for now I'm going to try to make the Lid a couple inches wider than the mouth of the Body, which could take a few rounds. Yes, it's cupping a bit weirdly in places, but that will get straightened out with time (I hope).

Please note: I am making this up as we go along.

I am not a seasoned pro at patternmaking.

I am just as clueless about what this will really look like as you are.

Though you may be getting an idea by now what this is supposed to resemble ;)

With any luck we'll be done before Christmas at least lol!

Okay, it's time for this blogger to burrow under the fluffiest of blankets and conk the heck out, because I can barely stay awake lol.

Apologies for the lack of Thursday art, I'll talk about it tomorrow!

Er.. Today?

Yeah, sleep is good. I'll get some of that...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which Today Has Been Very Long

My day started at 5:30AM with the buzz of my laptop fan.

This was not a good thing to hear because it meant three things:

1. I had fallen asleep with the laptop on my lap again
2. I was awake at 5:30AM
3. Microsoft must've pushed the update and restarted my laptop...

Now, frustratingly enough, I was right about all three things, and it meant that Windows had oh-so-helpfully force-closed all the programs I was using in order to restart.

Which included the massive art project I've been working on since October first.

18 days of work were completely corrupted and unsalvageable.

So why wasn't I more than slightly annoyed?

That would be because the Project Resentment had already set in.

At a certain point in large projects, I realize that I haven't prepared thoroughly enough and my work starts to suffer. At that stage, I start to slowly come to despise the work itself, everything I've done, and everything I have left to do. The Resentment started some time last week, so as you can imagine, I was pretty pissed at every perceived mistake.

Often, if I don't finish the project quickly when I recognize the Project Resentment, I'll just destroy it myself. I'll delete the whole thing and all of my research and start over.

Now I didn't have to do that because my computer did it for me.

So instead I rolled my eyes, opened the programs I'd need and headed downstairs while things loaded up.

The cat needed her pill at 8AM, so I stayed downstairs drinking coffee and playing on my phone. Once the hour struck, I woke up the cat where she was draped over the back of a recliner and held her still while my mom jammed a pill into her mouth. She pouted for an hour, but was otherwise fine. She hasn't coughed in several days! She has the zoomies again! She played for a full 10 minutes this afternoon!

She spit her pill out tonight and we had to jam it in her face a second time and now she hates us!

Pretty sure she growled at me for the first time ever.

Sorry, lil brat, you need the pills so you will recover from this stupid infection we've known you had for years and yet the vet never wanted to do anything about it...

Anywho, it's been delightfully chilly the last couple of days - we had temps of about 51℉ (10.5℃) and while it has been drizzly and damp, it's also felt very fallish. I'm wearing a sweater, guys. A turtleneck sweater. I've got thick, fuzzy blankets on my bed.

And of course it's all going to end tomorrow and come back next weekend, but hey, we can't always get what we want, right...

I like chilly weather.

I will say there's two parts I don't enjoy about the shift from summer-to-autumn, though:

1. the effect rapidly shifting temps has on my sinuses
2. the effect rapidly shifting temps & humidity have on my window

I'm apparently allergic to change - every fall and spring I go through a phase where, around 7:30PM, I just start stuffing up and sneezing. This happens everywhere, not just at home, so it's something to do with my body and the world in general. Best guess? I inherited my mother's terrible sinuses which can't withstand anything at all and I'm super sensitive to the rapid temperature changes. The lining of my sinuses stretches and dries rapidly, triggering a sneeze.

As for the window, whenever the glass gets wet for several days and then dries out in cool temperatures, it makes these awful digestive noises. It seriously sounds like someone's having gurgling heartburn at the end of my bed with their mouth open, face pressed to the glass of the window. Wretched. Especially after mainlining all the seasons of Buzzfeed's Unsolved Supernatural shows.

Still writing that spooky ghost hunter story.

Still writing the wrestling story, too.

I think I've rambled enough, though, so I'll let you go with a warning that I may seem equally loopy and exhausted on Thursday since we're still pilling her until Friday or Saturday, so... early to rise for a few more days.

Thursday should contain art, however, and next Monday I'll have more shawl & secret project updates for Fiber Monday :)

That'll do it for me, tonight!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday - Where The Heck Was I?!

 

In Which I Explain Myself
Probably Poorly

It's somehow been since the end of April since I last blogged. Yikes! I hope I didn't worry anyone! I promise, there's not really anything wrong.

Time just kinda got away from me.

I've been working on some big projects for family (which is my fault - I am not yet at the stage where I can make clothing patterns on the fly, but I tried it anyway!), playing around with digital art, working on my novel again, and...

not sleeping.

At all.

Kind of.

Let me explain:

Sometimes I go through these cycles where, instead of sleeping like a normal human being, my body does everything in its power to keep me awake for several nights. Sometimes it's triggered by stress - say, the anxiety of getting an inoculation when I'm scared of needles, having to do things by myself instead of with a support buddy, frustration of trying to do paperwork, etc - and sometimes it's just natural.

This time, as you may have guessed by my super specific examples, it was stress. And it was my fault.

In order to get a vaccine for the 'rona, I needed a valid photo ID. I did not have a valid photo ID at the time of my setting up my appointment, and had not realized I'd need it when I signed up. I noticed after I'd confirmed both date & time, and... had to cancel. Then I had to go get my ID, which was an hour of my life wasted at the DMV, five dollars down the drain, and a moment of panic beforehand when I realized I didn't have any recent mail with my name & address on it. Which it turned out I didn't even need for the ID.

Then I had to wait a week for the ID, during which I was panic-making a birthday present that just wouldn't come together dammit. The birthday was missed. By nearly 2 weeks. Because I gave the gift on Sunday the 9th. Oops.

The ID arrived the day after my original appointment, which the system did not cancel when I cancelled it, so I had to call the helpline which... not very helpful the first two times I tried, as robots tend not to be. The third time was the charm and last week I got my first dose of Moderna! The guy at the door complimented my Creature from the Black Lagoon shirt, and I bought myself sushi and dumplings and it was actually a great day!

So you'd think I'd be able to sleep again, right?

Lol no.

Instead, I got to have very mild muscle aches in my left arm and neck for two days (normal! All normal!) and then my body was just so used to not sleeping that I still can't sleep!

In fact, on Sunday I was operating on maybe 5 hours for the last week and that is Not Alright.

So I cut back on caffeine.

Fun fact, caffeine headaches will also not let you sleep.

So I added caffeine back in.

And finally I started feeling sleepy last night...

Except now my room is about 75℉ (23.9℃) and my optimal sleeping temp is in the low 60s (16.7℃)... I was roasting. And my head hurt. And my neck was sore from pressing my head into my pillow to sleep. And then my jerkwad neighbor decided that 5:30AM was a great time to start revving the engine on his crappy Cutlass.

So I woke up pretty cranky.

At 11AM.

I'm a mess, basically, is what I'm saying.

But! There is hope for a nap!

If the New Pokemon Snap doesn't consume me alive lol!

But seriously, on the second day of Moderna soreness, my copy of Snap came in and I. am. addicted!

Even though the underwater level is going to terrify me at some point. And even if there are some really upsetting moments (that poor Corsola! That poor Pyukumuku!!!) so yeah...

Uh...

Posts may be sporadic for a while due to a combination of temporary insomnia and a shiny new game :P

I do want to start posting again, though it'll be tough on Thursday, since it's kinda my birthday that day.

I have plans for Thursday.

They consist of sitting on my ass and eating Thai food.

I'm exciting.

So aside from all that and the surprise hailstorm we had today (which the ducks next door loved, fighting over the hailstones like they were peas from heaven lol), that's pretty much all I have to say!

Sorry for the radio silence, but now you know that I'm half-vaccinated, sleepy, and obsessed with fictional photography?

Anywho, Go Enjoy Something!

FC

PS It's raining on my roof but not the road. The weather is freakin weird, yo.

Talk About Tuesday 321

In Which Birds Are Hella Loud

It's 5AM. The sun is rising slowly behind a damp slate gray wall of clouds towards the ocean. The road is drying from last night's rain. I just heard my mother go outside to feed the birds - a scoop of mixed seeds for the songbirds who woke me, a huge scoop of duck feed for the wild mallards who have decided our backyard is the finest diner in town, a brick of suet for the brazen woodpeckers, and if I'm being honest, probably some seeds for the chipmunk who lives near the steps.

I'll probably go grab some coffee soon, maybe some toast, and I'll start my day (grudgingly). I haven't been able to sleep lately. Not more than a few catnaps. I can't get comfortable. I should try bringing up a full water bottle tonight - it's been a while since I properly hydrated.

Sunday was Mother's Day, and I made a last minute doily for my mother. I can't remember which pattern I used, but I made it with pink thread and it has two 3d rows of petals on it like some strange flower. I'm pretty proud of it! It should've taken less than five hours to make, all told, but let's be real, I was skating on too little sleep even then.

I do worry sometimes that I've developed chronic insomnia or that weird brain condition where you stop being able to sleep and just... die slowly.

That's not at all likely.

I'm probably just dehydrated. That's what it always is.

But paranoia is easy (if exhausting), and I'm a suspicious-minded moron, so that's how things are sometimes lol.

I wrote over 800 words in the last two days. I'm pretty damn proud of that.

Aside from the doily for my mother, however, I haven't been crocheting enough. I just haven't had the focus. That's right, writing - the creation of entire worlds and narratives from sheer imagination and willpower - is easier for me to do tired than crocheting - a series of small muscle twitches and basic counting skills.

I'm looking forward to trying to play Pokemon SNAP like this today lol. It should be a blast. I don't remember all of the ways you're supposed to make things work, though, so I don't know if I can get past the first secret! Seriously, I've forgotten how to solve the hidden routes, where the signs were... I seem to recall being really good at the game, but the last time I played... I barely got that Voltorb to explode.

I think it's raining again. Ugh. I don't want to close my window. I like hearing the chickadees, sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, grackles, red winged blackbirds, woodpeckers, and ducks. I even like hearing the neighbors' silly chickens. And yeah, very little is funnier than watching a chicken in a vest jumping over another, bigger chicken.

And big news!

Tomorrow I turn 31. I already have my major gifts - a gorgeous bike from my parents, and hands-down the cutest mug I've ever owned from my partner! I legit don't know which I'm more excited for, because yeah, the bike is going to open up my possibilities over the summer, but... Tato mug! I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, maybe blathering about wrestling a tiny bit on here, but if the spirit moves me, tomorrow might just be a workathon on the novel.

The novel is, after all, about wrestling. It suits.

Yeah, I think that's what I'll do!

I'll wear the awesome Marty Scurrl t-shirt my partner gave me, I'll throw on a YouTube playlist or a music stream, and I'll work until the afternoon.

That actually sounds pretty nice :)

Yeah, the rain is coming in now.

I'll have to shut the window as the crows caw outside, huddled and dripping on the telephone wires. It's pretty pleasant, but the wet will ruin my woodwork, so... shut it must be.

Here's the week's plan real quick:

• Wrestling talk tomorrow? Maybe. Might just be a quick note and a smile from me.
• Art Thursday - hopefully unassisted
• Movie discussion on Friday - not sure what yet, but I'll think of something.
• Video game talk on Saturday - maybe I'll tell you how badly I sucked at a game for babies?
• Maybe food talk on Sunday - we'll see lol.
• Hopefully I'll have pics of stuff for Monday - I need to free up some space first
• See you back for blather next Tuesday!

I love you all.

Stay in if you can.

...

I really should close this window.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC