Granny Circle Placemats

In June the Craft blog brought to my attention this neat pattern found over at The Purl Bee.

I knew I had some weddings coming up and thought that a set would make an excellent gift.  I headed over to my favorite yarn shop and then saved the pattern onto my Kindle.

They were easy and quick to make.  The pattern was certainly well written.  I chose a slightly heftier cotton yarn than what is recommended, but I think that a lighter weight yarn would make them just as nice.  I chose a color combination that is fairly neutral and inverted the colors, making the darker the primary color as to hide inevitable stains.

I didn't finish the set of four before the wedding, only because I'm a procrastinator, but the first two came out great!  I plan on mailing the rest of the set when I get them finished.  I totally recommend you trying out this pattern.

Summer Photos

Summer, a set on Flickr.

Last summer I wrapped everything up with one post of pictures from the summer.

This summer I've been busy and my blogging has taken a back seat. Mostly because I'm trying to live a little. All part of the embracing life with chronic pain thing.

So I wanted to send you my photo set from Flickr.

These are some great things that have been going on in my life.

View from the house

View from the house, a photo by thepinkwoobie on Flickr.

I am vacationing at my parents' house. Not too exciting, but restful.

Embracing Life with Chronic Pain: UPDATE

This is an update on a series I wrote in February.  You can find  them here. 

Several months ago I wrote about how I was embracing my life with chronic pain. This update is to tell you that this change in perspective has become a positive change. Shortly after writing in February I did struggle with pain and fatigue. The rainy gray days of spring, with monstrous storms and unpredictable patterns all across the US made themselves known with large amounts of pain in my entire body.

March and April may have been rough, but it seemed to go by quickly, and I really didn’t do much of anything to speak of. And now, with the sun shining, and the weather warm and slightly more predictable I am certainly feeling much better. I have been able to exercise and get out and about with friends.

Assisting with my determination to enjoy this life I have has been my trusty “30 Things” list. I’ve accomplished several (and will be updating about them soon), and have plans for many more. There is no shortage of people who have been participating in these things with me.

I’m writing this from one of my favorite places to come during the day time, Stauf’s Coffee Roasters. It’s an amazing place to people watch, get work done, eat a healthy salad, but mostly I just goof off. I rode my bike over here after visiting the library for a book on bicycle repair. My bike doesn’t need any repairs but I’m sure that if I keep riding, it will. Also, Ryan picked up a bike at the recycling center this spring, so I’m planning on attempting to fix that up. New hobbies can be fun!!

So is living life in chronic pain possible and enjoyable? Absolutely!  Is it easy?  No, but I keep trucking anyways. There is a certain kind of person I want to be. And I’m working to get there.

15. Participate in the Crawl for Cancer

Last weekend I participated in the Crawl for Cancer and it was a phenomenal success.

Crawl for Cancer is an event that raises money for life saving cancer research while having fun in a controlled and safe environment.  My team (we were pink and never really came up with a good name) visited 5 bars in 4 hours, socialized with other teams, and caused a general ruckus.

My main goal, besides donating some money to a great cause, was to spend time with some really great girls and have a fantastic weekend.  Those goals were achieved.

I totally stole this picture from Lina, I hope she doesn't mind. :)

Here is some of my team with our friend Linda (in red).  This was at the end of the tour while I was waiting for Ry to come pick me up and the other girls were heading out for some more fun.