Jill's World: Random Ramblings

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Random Ramblings

Welp. I bought a new car. Woo hoo!! My little red Focus was good to me for exactly seven years, but I was ready to trade her in. That said, I was dreading the process. I just remember it being extremely stressful the last time, and I was not looking forward to going through that again. (Granted, my Rav 4 at the time was literally dying so I was under pressure, I was not very well off financially, and it was less than a year after my dad passed away. We were still navigating life without him, and he was always a big part of car shopping in our family, so... it kind of sucked.)
This time around: totally different story. I walked into our local Ford dealership, discussed what I was interested in, and within an hour of starting the conversation, they had found something that worked for me. A week later, this past Friday, I picked up my new 2019 Ford Escape. It has more bells and whistles than I normally could afford, but because it was last year's model, it was discounted. So far, I'm loving it. Having this done so smoothly & painlessly is such a relief!!
Last week, I finished crocheting what I had come to call "The Beast". It was a Cosy Stripe afghan pattern that I loved the look of. I started it last winter, but as it progressed, I realized the starting chain was massive and that this blanket was going to be WAY bigger than the "throw" I intended it to be. It was more like the size of a double bed. Eventually, I grew sick of it, and put it aside for other projects. But over the holidays, I dug it back out, determined to finish it off. And finally - after weaving in 8 million ends, which are my absolute LEAST favourite part about crocheting - I finished it. Phewf. And I love it, despite the tedious time it took to complete it. It is now set aside, ready for Shawville Fair!
After finishing The Beast, I moved on to probably the strangest project I have ever tackled: crocheting a boob. Literally. A friend of mine is taking a course to become a lactation consultant, and apparently they use crocheted or knitted breasts in the course. They already had some, but not enough for the whole class. So I crocheted her a boob. I still can't believe I was able to find a pattern - but there are lots of them out there, and most specify that it's for lactation consultants, so I guess it's a thing!
THEN I moved on to crocheting a toque pattern that I've had for a long time and really wanted to try. I made some severe crochet rookie mistakes, though. The yarn I'd picked out to match my coat was a much bulkier yarn than what the pattern called for. I went ahead with it anyways. Also, this yarn was not only bulky, but it was also a dark colour with a silver thread running through it - a total bitch to work with. It was a pain to crochet with, and if you had to tear it back, it would get snagged and the yarn would rip. UGH. And then, in the end, I decided my head just does not look right with a slouchy toque. It just doesn't suit me, no matter how much I wish it did. *sigh* They can't all be winners. On to the next project...
It's the time of year when I let my creative juices flow. This past Saturday, I attended an alcohol ink workshop at my neighbour artist friend Shannon's. I absolutely adored this technique. So much so that I've been pricing and considering buying my own supplies ever since. The afternoon was so relaxing and enjoyable!!
I have been watching SO. MUCH. NETFLIX. Over the past week or so, I started and finished You. I didn't love it. I wanted to, but it ended up just being mostly background noise while I crocheted or worked on my puzzle. Then this past Saturday evening, I dove into Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez. I was SO intrigued by this docu-series. I mean, I don't pay a lot of attention to the NFL, but if I did, I could see myself having been a fan of the guy. He was pretty handsome. I imagined being a fan of his, and then having to see him as a murderer... it would have been hard. Anyways, it was really interesting to watch, and to try and figure out what exactly made the guy tick. Then, of course, came his sad demise, as he hung himself in prison. Such a tragic story of a guy who had it all.
I've also been back into listening to podcasts while I crochet, since I find it too difficult to try and follow a pattern while also paying attention to TV. I've been listening to Dr. Death while I crochet, and it is great. Almost makes me wonder if I should look into audio books. I could kill two birds with one stone - "reading" while I crochet.
I'm currently reading Into the Abyss by Carol Shaben, which is one of our book club reads, and I'm really enjoying it. It is based on the true story of a plane crash that happened in northern Alberta in 1984. I was only a year old at the time, so I have absolutely no recollection of the event, but apparently it was a big story across the country at the time. It's been a very interesting read.
On Monday, I forced myself out into the crisp clear cold to go snowshoeing for the first time this year. I know. How sad is that? One of my favourite activities, and I hadn't been out even once yet! But we really haven't had enough snow until the dumping we got this past weekend. Conditions on Monday were PERFECT. Not too deep, just enough snow, and the wind wasn't too bad in the field behind my mom's house. (It can be extremely windy back there). I felt GREAT. Until I pulled a muscle. The more I shoed, the more I kept feeling this tweak, and it progressively got worse, and I was so frigging mad. Here I am, TRYING to be active, and the universe just won't co-operate. How am I supposed to lose weight when every time I try to be active, my back tweaks or I pull a muscle? Frustrating. Thankfully, the tweak already seems better, so hopefully it wasn't as big a deal as I initially thought. I might even try to get back out there snowshoeing tonight.