The second sleeve

Started the second sleeve of Rosedale. I'm glad I made the decision to not try to match these; I found a knot in the second ball of yarn. (Noro, why so many knots? I love you but I do not love your knots.)

I'm done with the corrugated ribbing, which is the most tedious part.

This is going to be a good wintertime sweater, I think. As I said, I really love Noro's crazy striping habits and its intense colors, but I also love its wooliness. It's like the combination of the best of the "old" yarns (the rustic feel) and the "new" yarns (intense colors, though I guess some of the older yarns could be intensely colored - I think we think of "old timey" colors as being pale because so many of the dyes in that day would fade. In fact, I seem to remember that you can date quilt fabric based on whether the greens in a quilt are "fugitive" or not....that the chemical dyes tended to be more fast than the plant based dyes)

I don't think I'm going to bother with a zipper in my Rosedale. I'm more prone to wear sweaters like it as "indoor jackets" (and really, if it's cold enough out I'd need to zip up a sweater....I'd be wearing a heavier coat). Also I don't always like how zippers sometimes make the fronts of cardigans stiffer.

***

The "celebratory yarn" turned out to be more than I originally planned. I thought about how I was getting paid today, and how, except for the day in Longview I hadn't spent much this past month....and I got to thinking about the big bulky sweater in the Jane Brocket book, so I searched around a bit (the original yarn she specified is either discontinued, or is not widely available in the US). I wound up ordering KnitPicks "Cadena" (which seems comparable) in a color called "Mochi" (a pale, yellowish-greyish-green. Yes, I tend to stick to green/brown/purple for my sweaters, but those are colors I LIKE, and I also think I look good in).

I debated between "Turmeric" and "Admiral" for a while - sort of resisting the green, going, "But you already have a number of green outfits" but in the end, deciding the green was what I really wanted. 

I think a simple, calming sweater to knit, in a nice calm green color, is a good reward for good health, and hopes that my blood pressure will come down. (It was lower again last evening when I took it at home. I definitely have white-coat hypertension.)

***

Coming home last night after my night class, walking up to my house from my garage, I stopped, looked up at the sky, and quietly said, "Thank You. If I didn't say it earlier, Thank You."

I'm not good at asking for stuff for myself - I can pray for other people but I have a hard time doing it for myself - but I have to say that Sunday evening, lying in bed, I did wind up praying for myself. Partly for good results, even though I know that some view asking for specific things as theologically unsound, but also praying for the strength to deal with whatever.

And Lydia, I bet the prayer beads are a good idea. Years ago I was looking into the idea of "a rosary for Protestants" which I know is out there and I can look for it again. Or I should order one of those smooth wooden Prayer Crosses I see in the SERRV catalogs.

I'm not good at traditional meditation - I find it incredibly hard to sit still. But that's probably something to work on, I mean, not feeling like the world is going to come to an end, or I'm not going to finish my work on time, or something, if I'm not constantly going, going, going.

I used to do yoga and if I had more time I'd take it up again, I do think the focusing on breathing and how your muscles felt and the whole being-in-the-moment-and-not-thinking-about-what-you-have-to-do-in-the-next-three-hours was good for me. 

***

I was also down six more pounds this week at the doctor's. Weighed on the same scale as before (and it is an electronic one) so I don't suspect it's off. I'm guessing most of that was water - I've noticed one side effect of the newer, lower-sodium diet for sure! (Luckily, there is a restroom just down the hall from my office. And I suspect it will stop as my body equilibrates)

But I also do think changing my diet is helping. I don't get the OMB HUNGRY feeling when I get home at the end of the day, and I really haven't been snacking - I think making a conscious effort to eat more fruits and vegetables is doing that (partly the fiber, partly, who knows? Maybe I was kind of starved for some nutrients I am getting now and my body was pushing me to eat more, but I wasn't eating the right things. I don't know).

I will make two observations: yesterday, thinking about lunch while I proctored my exam, I thought, "I can go home today. I'll heat up some of those frozen green beans I got; those would taste good." And my inner six-year-old looked at me, and poutily said, "I don't even KNOW you any more."

Also, I'm doing my interpretation of the DASH diet ("Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension") - lots of fruits and vegetables, low salt, careful amounts of lean protein, moderate amounts of whole grain, limit sugars and less-healthy fats. But I'm thinking of it as the "Rainbow Dash diet" instead. Because that amuses me a lot more. And most of the stuff I eat (oats, vegetables, sweet potatoes, stuff like apples) is probably stuff Rainbow Dash would eat. And it makes me feel better about "diet" to think of it as "Rainbow Dash diet." Brains are funny things.

(I also think I can stick to this one because I see it as being immediately positive, or preventing serious negatives - wanting to lower my blood pressure. Weight loss diets I could never stick to because it always felt like the main psychology was one of limitation - eat less so you get smaller. With this one, it's more "eat differently so you get/stay healthy." And I realize a lot of weight loss diets have that as a side feature, but it's often not held up as the main reason. And for some reason, that makes me resist them. But I'm more willing to accept a "get healthy" diet.)

And, who knows? It was partly heavily upping his fruit and vegetable intake (and cutting salt, and cutting out convenience foods) that helped my brother get off of blood pressure meds. I don't expect to get OFF them, but maybe at some future time I can decrease the dosage.