One year later, some things do not change

I just read my last post and have to laugh at the similarities.

Same:
Last week I cleaned out the same bedroom! It did not look quite as bad as it had a year ago, but it was getting hard to walk into the room. Now it is difficult to remember where I put everything out of sight.

Before

After

I will be volunteering again this year at the fiber festival as a photographer and I am looking forward to that as I do every year. I will spend all day there on Saturday. I am considering taking a class on Saturday, and if I can, then I will take more photos on Sunday. But normally, I'm too tired after walking around all day and I do take so many photos, that it seems excessive to be there for two days. I will see what is on the schedule and seek feedback.

That reminds me, I recently had one of my photos published in the local paper. I believe the editor saw it on Facebook and asked for the original. It is a photo of my friend and massage therapist out on her paddleboard in the sunset on Higgins Lake. It was fun yelling out to her and her friend- directing them into the sunset so I could get the picture.

I'm still not working. It has been 8 1/2 months of job searching. I learned from a classmate in December, when I was stressed and desperate, that it was possible to obtain a hardship withdrawal from a 401K. The skies opened up and the sun shone brightly and I heard the sounds of angels singing! I was saved.  Not the best situation, but I am so glad it was there when I needed it.

Still have my treasured companion, Sadie. Last week she rolled in turkey poo and had to have a bath. Today, I leash walked her down to the lake. She rolled in the sand instead. Much nicer! She still runs constantly when I let her off leash at our usual walking area.

She was 11 years old this April 1st.  That and the fact I will be going back to work are making me think it may be time to get another dog as a companion.  I can't really afford it, so it is still in the "thinking about it" stages.

Different:
I am knitting again - with my own homespun.  The quality of the yarn is all over the board. I can see I was actually better at plying in the beginning. I really struggle with plying. I did enjoy playing with core spinning and other methods. I think I am not spinning enough energy in my singles to hold up during plying. I will be signing up for Spinzilla shortly and will be switching to spinning (the opposite of a year ago). Hopefully, I will find an opportunity to work on plying again.

I decided to make an afghan with my homespun yarn. It's a weird mishmash of my original traditional work and my journey into art yarn. Like Joseph's coat of many colors? LOL

Not with Mitch. Things pretty much fell apart once he went off medication. Not sure if there will be another chance there.

Going to start working on improving the way I feel with diet and nutrition.  Going to start a public blog for that so I can share my circumstances with others so everyone can learn together.  There is a lot of information out there and only one of me.

I had some trouble sleeping over the weekend and I think that is the reason for my irritability. However, because I am not working, I have to be mindful I don't start getting depressed. Yes, I know it takes a long time to get a job, but the day to day dealing with it gets overwhelming occasionally. I think this week was one of those times. I stepped back, isolated myself, and tried to rest and evaluate the cause and figure out how I could fix this so I could "get back to work" at finding a job. :)

The diet and nutrition route I think will be a long term solution. It will take time, but I think it will be the most beneficial.

Now, I better go hide some Dingo spirals for Sadie, she expects her treasure hunts nightly. Yes, she is spoiled and that hasn't changed. :)