8$ All U can eat Sushi!!

One of the best parts about my vacation to the East coast was the fresh fish!! 8 bucks for sushi buffett!!! You can't beat that! Twilight knows, that here in New Mexico, it's not unheard of for a couple to spend 100 bucks out at a nice Sushi restaurant!! So I took alot of these pics just for her, so I could make her jealous and hungry!!

The restaurant was really nice for having a buffet and the sushi cooks were making the stuff right behind the glass counter....so neat!

There's my buddy Jack!! Hi Jack!! (I love yelling that outloud! Get it? "Hi Jack")

I love love love the ponds of Koi. I am a piseces through and through.

Hanging Sun

Current pics of the Sun hanging in the Yurt. It's staying here until I can come back to it...which I will in a couple of months when stuff settles down.

Girl Time in Taos

So here is Twilight's gifted yarn from Virginia. We got to spend a few hours hanging at our favorite coffee shop, Wired, where we ate and talked and carried on. I can't really tell, but I think she likes it.

Maybe.

Then we went to visit Taos's Bent Street Yarn Shop, which is now owned by our friend Lorie.

Here is an example of "size really does matter", LOL.

Here is Twilight's Freedom Skirt in the store window!! Twi's got the pattern for sale in the shop too! I don't have the link, but you can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I love this scarf: the Clapotis. It's a fabulous lay. I can't figure out why Twilight never made one.

It was a great day.

Placemat Fever!

Okay!! Lupus Update: Cellcept treatment: phase one complete! Tonight I start taking a second pill at night (I've been taking 1 in the am)...then in 5 days, I'll take 3 pills a day, and then in 5 more days after that, I'll be up to 4 pills a day (full dose)
So far, so good! I haven't noticed too much of anything except an upset tummy. I have to take the pills on an empty stomache which seems ok. I only run into issues if I try eating too early, then the food just doesn't stay down. That used to happen sometimes with the chemo too, so no biggy. It's just an adjustment to get used to.

So onto to more important things!! Placemats!! I love having a table! Have I mentioned that??
Here's the latest one I finished! I think I'm going to do a set of peace signs next!!

My biggest trouble this summer is the joint pain in my fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Sewing with a needle and thread is very difficult, and I can only manage it for short times. Using a scissors for anymore than snipping a strand of yarn is extremely painful....so this needle felting is the easiest for me to do right now. And knitting is still going well!!

Della's LYS

Now that Twilight got her gift from my travels to Richmond, VA, it's safe to put up this post!! I'll have pics of her with her gift here shortly! The Yarn Lounge!! This was right around the corner from where Della lives, how awesome would that be?? To live so close?! I would never keep a dollar in my wallet!!

The owner of the shop goes to the Taos Wool Festival every year!! How cool is that?

This is the basket of local goodies that I picked from for Twi's gift. The owner of the store has parents with a sheep farm...so this is very local yarn indeed!! She spins it herself.

Della and Noralee!! Very supportive yarn shoppers!

When I saw this, I thought of Twilight and almost cried!! She knows why! Isn't it cool?? It was a wonderful yarn shop adventure! I also got a new knitting mag. for the plane ride!!

New Treatment: Day One

Well here we are, 8 months after my previous treatment stopped working. It's been 8 months of bloodtests, and high doses of Prednisone...and phone calls to groups, and paperwork being filled out, and faxed back and forth...mistakes being made and corrected. I was finally approved to recieve Cellcept for free by the Rausch company (misspelled I think). I've been praying and praying for this to come through for me.

Twilight took me into town last Saturday and we picked up the meds from my mailbox in town, a 6 week supply. The rest are being FedExed to the Dr.'s office in Los Alamos. I got the instructions on how to begin. It's a 20 day process of building up until I'm taking 4 pills a day.

Since Saturday I've been thinking it all over, and I've been way too chicken to begin. After all this time, I couldn't remember if I even wanted to be taking this stuff!! My anxiety level went up everytime I thought about it; I'm completely afraid of the unknown. I re-read everything about the drug, and possible side effects. Then I re-read all the statements on my Lupie board, both good and bad results. Seems like a 50/50 shot. Like life.

Here we go, Day One. I'll keep you posted. Some people have had excellent results for years with Cellcept, and I'm saying my prayers that I might be one of them.

Friends in Richmond Virginia

We didn't do as much sight-seeing as you may expect. This trip was really about the people, meeting them, getting to know them, adoring them, and making friends! For D it was about catching up and hanging out. Remembering old times, and celebrating the now. Here I am with Della! Della really rocks and I can't wait to see her again!!

Della, Noralee and me outside of a great little breakfast place. It had the best frenchtoast ever!

Big D with Della and Jack! Theses guys have been friends for 25 years now!! Maybe more!

Della and Daniel!

Little Noralee was one of the neatest, most well behaved, smartest kids I'd ever met! Really a superstar in the making!!

Virginia Beach

Traveling with Lupus wasn't all that bad. I followed all the rules, tons of sunscreen and full coverage clothes. I took plenty of time to rest. Ate way better than well thanks to my good friends. Took all my medications on time and waited until sunset to do outdoor fun stuff. You can't tell by all the pictures, but it is evening! Here I am on the boardwalk at Virginia Beach!

I just love this pic!! Yup! That's my man on the beach! He's one cool cat!

Being a Piseces, I couldn't visit the ocean without stepping into it. I did a special blessing/prayer while standing in, and feeling the power of, our Mother's water. It was wonderful!!

Random boring vacation pics!! It really was a neat fun place! I'd love to visit again someday with some spending money!!

Mary's 40th B-Day Party

There is a group of my husband's best childhood friends that all live out East in Maryland and Virginia. Now I had met Jack before once, but Mary and Della I had only gotten to know online through Facebook, and made friends with them quickly since they are all my kind of cool people!
So here is the crazy story! Mary and Della both turned 40 this year! As a big surprise for Mary's party, Jack bought us plane tickets and paid for us to show up and give everyone a major surprise!! I couldn't blog about it ahead of time because it might have blown the surprise, so my next few blog posts will be about our vacation trip out East! This is Mary! We partied all night and did the gift opening in the morning! So we all look pretty darn rough after staying up late talking, laughing, and carrying on.

Here are Jack and I playing with Mary's new gifts!

Here is Mary and Della, with Della's husband Jason in the background with his camera!

The girl playing the guitar is Annabelle, Mary's daughter, age 17. The little one is Noralee, Della's daughter, age 5? A very musical talented family and group!!

Day 2 of the weekend birthday bash was a pool party! The tempature there was 100 degrees with extreme humidity. I didn't actually mind it, but Daniel thought it was pretty rough!

Daniel and Noralee playing in the water. In the back are Jason and Chip(Mary's Husband)

These two were the two biggest pranksters in the water!! Afterwards, we had a BBQ with lots of grilled yummies and a huge bonfire in Mary and Chip's backyard.

My Lock Nest Hat

This is a picture of the Lock Nest Hat, design by Teri Barr, featured in Interweave Felt Magazine 2007 edition. Teri Barr designed this hat for one of her students dreadlocks! I fell in love with this hat immediately! The model they chose is just too cute, and I love the look with braids. I decided I had to have this hat to wear at this year's Taos Wool Fest.

Here is my finished hat before felting! I really needed a smooth knit on big needles project!

And here it is after it's finished!!

This hat is so awesome!! I get a good feeling while wearing it.

I can't wait to try it out with braids!! And hey! Just a side note of some excitement for me...I got chosen to be one of the featured artists on My Art Space this month!! Woot! Woot!