Lady Henevere: Year in review

[Lady Henevere]

Thanks! The tulips were amazing, and far bigger than the ones I see here. I think the colder weather there does them good.

Yesterday DD and I went to the Renaissance Faire with some friends. DD and her friend got their hair braided:

I love braided hair. I can braid okay, but I can't put ribbons in it like this, and I can't braid against gravity (making the braid lay nice and flat when the hair is being pulled away from the way it naturally wants to go). My favorite braid that I can do in DD's hair is the one called "French classic" on this page, which is really easy to do if you can french or dutch braid, and looks stunningly elegant. I'm willing my hair to grow fast so I can braid it myself and have it actually stay; so far my hair is not paying any attention and growing just as slow as it pleases.

The Renaissance Faire was a little wild, with all types of people using it as an excuse to dress and act crazy. I saw far more skin than I cared to (why would I want to see a naked beer gut hanging over an open-sided loincloth? Really guys?) but for the most part it was a lot of fun. Because of the group we were with, we didn't get a chance to pay attention to the crafts as I much as I would have liked (I love watching the candle-making, loom weaving, blackwork embroidery, wool carding, etc.). I think it was the last weekend for the faire here, so we'll have to wait until next year.

I'm off to mulch the garden with old hay from the chicken run in an effort to keep some moisture in the soil once the scorching summer sun is upon us. Have a good rest of the weekend!

 

[Denim Deb]

We used to go to the PA RF every year, but I got to where I didn't want to go any more. Basically, it was turning into nothing more than a big excuse for people to drink. There wasn't a thing there that I really enjoyed, so I told my family they could go if they wanted to, but I was going to stay home.

 

[Kala]

Love the hair!!!

We usually go to the Ren Fair here once every couple of years. They don't ever really add anything new so we stopped going every year. Although last year we found a stand where the girl was selling homemade lavender products. HEAVEN!! She had an entire acre of lavender at home. I wanted to buy one of everything she had!!

Yea, there certaintly are some "interesting" characters at some of the shows that leave very LITTLE to the imagination.

 

[Lady Henevere]

Ooh, I want an acre of lavender. I can't even keep a single lavender bush alive.

I started this journal so I could keep track of the SS stuff I'm doing, but how am I supposed to keep track if I don't even have time to post? I need to get with it.

I made yogurt Sunday night again. Didn't I learn not to do that last time, when I didn't have enough time to let the yogurt sit out and I had to take it to work with me Monday morning so I could put it in the fridge in the middle of the day? Apparently not. This time I meant to put it in the fridge in the morning and forgot, so it sat out all day, like 20 hours. I haven't even tasted it yet.

I forgot I signed up for home milk delivery and got a gallon delivered just after I bought a gallon. Duh. How do I use up a gallon of milk? (Aside from buying a big box of Cap'n Crunch, which would make that milk disappear the moment DD and DH walked through the kitchen.)

My kombucha scoby doesn't look like anything is changing. Not enough sugar to keep feeding it? Perhaps I'm being impatient.

I'm tired of being tired. I'm not physically tired, my brain is just not working right. I've had major fuzzy brain for like a month now and I don't know what's wrong with me. My job is really, really mentally challenging, and the fuzzy brain is interfering with my ability to work effectively. I got up early to take a walk this morning thinking exercise might help. I felt the same way a year ago when I quit gluten, and I thought it was diet related. This time I don't know. Sometimes I think it's Alzheimer's (I'm 38). Sometimes I think it's because my circadian rhythms are Spanish, made for siesta. Sometimes I think it's because I'm stuck in an office all day with no sunshine. Sometimes I think I'm just an idiot.

If anyone has ideas on the cause of the fuzzy brain, let me know. Thanks!

 

[Farmfresh]

Try taking an iron supplement for a few days.

I get "brain fuzz" when I am getting anemic. The doctor explained it to me like this, the iron in the blood carries the oxygen to the brain. With too little oxygen you have too much carbon dioxide in the blood.

A similar thing occurs when people drink alcohol. You get that same fuzzy drunken feeling.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Brain fuzz = anemic. B12 anemic. I had it baaaad years ago. to the point where it felt like my head was floating like a balloon above my shoulders. Had the bloodwork done, I was very deficient in B12.

 

[Lady Henevere]

Thanks! Anemia never occurred to me, but now that I think about it some other symptoms potentially match up as well. I ordered a more liquid iron supplement (which DD is already taking).

We have a little sailboat and were thinking of going out this weekend -- but then a high surf/wind warning was issued so we're staying home. I wouldn't mind going camping or something for the weekend but we didn't plan ahead and DD still has another final next week so it's garden work for me, drywall for DH (he's remodeling yet another room), and studying for DD. Hoping we get to do a good camping trip this summer. For now, I'm perfectly content with some down time at home.

I'm off to look up some questions about mulching with straw. (How do I get other stuff to break down in the soil using the composting-in-place method? Do I rake back the hay, put kitchen scraps, lawn trimmings, etc. down, and put the hay back?)

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

[Lady Henevere]

Recently DH screened in our balcony, and we have been loving having the doors thrown open wide all day long and sitting out there in the evenings, enjoying the view and the sounds of the neighborhood. We didn't have quite enough light at night though, and DH went on a candle-buying spree in an attempt to bring some additional light out there. It was really nice at first, but once the candles burned down a little bit the flame was lost within walls of wax and they would barely gave off light at all. I saw a simple olive oil lamp in a book I bought recently called Making It, which piqued my interest. I searched online and found this one from Mother Earth News and decided to try it.

It's really simple, requiring only a jar, olive oil, a wick (any natural fiber will do; I read that cut-up fabric or old rope mops work well), and some wire to hold the wick in place. Here's my handiwork:

It works great! I had no idea that olive oil was good for burning; it's doesn't smell weird and it doesn't smoke. We'll be trying the new jar lamp out tonight; if it gives off enough light, I will do others to replace some of the candles out there. I may need to adjust it to increase the wick size to give off more light, but we'll see. If we're really happy with it, I'll get more cheap olive oil for them. The oil for burning doesn't have to be high grade; the cheap stuff is fine.

I don't know why I get such a kick out of making and using homemade stuff, but I do!

 

[Wannabefree]

Recently DH screened in our balcony, and we have been loving having the doors thrown open wide all day long and sitting out there in the evenings, enjoying the view and the sounds of the neighborhood. We didn't have quite enough light though, and DH went on a candle-buying spree in an attempt to bring some additional light out there. It was really nice at first, but once the candles burned down a little bit the flame was lost within walls of wax and they would barely gave off light at all. I saw a simple olive oil lamp in a book I bought recently called Making It, which peaked my interest. I searched online and found this one from Mother Earth News and decided to try it.

It's really simple, requiring only a jar, olive oil, a wick (any natural fiber will do; I read that cut-up fabric or old rope mops work well), and some wire to hold the wick in place. Here's my handiwork:

http://sufficientself.com/forum/uploads/1119_olive_oil_lamp.jpg

It works great! I had no idea that olive oil was good for burning; it's doesn't smell weird and it doesn't smoke. We'll be trying the new jar lamp out tonight; if it gives off enough light, I will do others to replace some of the candles out there. I may need to adjust it to increase the wick size to give off more light, but we'll see. If we're really happy with it, I'll get more cheap olive oil for them. The oil for burning doesn't have to be high grade; the cheap stuff is fine.

I don't know why I get such a kick out of making and using homemade stuff, but I do!

Hey that is pretty cool! Thanks for sharing

 

[gettinaclue]

That is pretty cool. Thanks for putting that up. I may have to give that a try.