Living in Tucson

 There are a lot of great things about living inTucson besides the nice spring and summer weather.  One of them is Bookman’s.  Bookman’s is an old favorite. It was the place to exchange things like books, music and a whole assortment of fun things. It was fully linked to the sustainability issue long before it became an issue.  It was a place I took the kids to exchange their books for new to them books. If they got an album that they did not like they could exchange it for something else.  I even pick up the odd arts and crafts supplies.  

For the last several years I have been using Bookman’s as a part of my house decluttering efforts.  I bring Bookman’s things like books, old jewelry, and other things.  In return I take store credit.  I pick up the occasional book, but mainly I get cool socks for the children’s clothing bank that I knit for.  The picture below is from the store credit I got from today’s trade. 

The other thing that is really special about Tucson is the yearly Gem and Mineral Showcase.  It takes place from late January to mid February.  It is one of the largest shows of this kind in the world.  Some of the shows are wholesale only. Others are open to the public.   We occasionally go to the public shows.  We get to see all kinds of all things lapidary. From raw rocks to highly facilitated gems.  

I occasionally get supplies for stitch markers and earrings. Sometimes jewelry findings.  Yesterday I got 5 charms to make one of a kind stitch markers for myself.  I pretty sure these won’t be at Joann’s or Michael’s anytime soon. I have even been know to buy some earrings. 

Now it’s time to go do some knitting.  

Cleaning Out The Cobwebs

 Today I decided to clean out one of Eric’s boxes. I kept the yearbooks and the pictures.  Threw out the yearly journals.  Also a lot of awards for the best smile and friend.  Birth certificates for his stuffed friends. I did some crying too.  In the end I expected to reuse the box for yarn, but that did not happen.  There were several big cracks on the bottom of the box.  The net result was that I reclaimed 2 square feet of space. I also threw 4 bags of recycling into the recycling bin. That is something to be proud of.  The yarn will have to find another home.

The journals that I save because I thought that they would bring me joy, only made me cry.  The loss can still be raw all these years later.   It still amazes me that a child and later a young man with so many physical and medical issues could bring so much joy to so many people.  

I know all my family grieves him in their own way. No form of grief is bad.  We all move forward at different speeds.  

Out of Balance

 My spoons were out of balance this weekend. I spent too many spoons on Saturday with a day full of activities. I do have to say in my own defense , that I had a great day. I also was keenly aware when my spoons ran out on Saturday. I violated my one activity per day rule.  So today I paid for it.  My plan was to have a quiet cup of tea and then knit afterwards.  Instead I had my cup of tea and took a 3 hour nap.  There is a cost to everything in life. 

We did manage to go out to lunch and thank goodness I took my knitting with me.  We ordered as soon as the waitress came to offer us water and then waited an hour for lunch to arrive.  This is not unusual for this restaurant chain, it has been going on for years.  

It was then off to a local art collectives show.  It is being to seem redundant with the same people and identical work shown 3 times a year. Don’t get me wrong, there was some really nice art work there. However they seem to lack the ability to attract new members and expand the breath of their shows.  With a town like Tucson that takes real work to do. We seem to get a fresh crop of retirees each and every year. There must be an artist or 2 in each crop.  

We even managed to get to dinner early enough to miss the yearly crowd from the gem and mineral show in town for the next 3 weeks. We planned our dinner to start before the shows ended for the day.  

All in all we had a great weekend.  

*Spoons are units of energy. I have only so many spoons a day to use. If I use less that ok. If I use more it can wreck havoc with me for the next day or 2.  

Allergies the Final Chapter

 I have found a solution to the very highly scented hand lotion that I was using.  I have used it for 2 days with no problems.  In fact my hands started looking better by day 2.  I have gone to a local store run by a woman who formulates everything herself. I have been using her bar soap for years. I highly recommend the soap if you have a tendency towards dry skin.

Tracy at Artemesia also makes a Cocoa Butter Body Creme that is unscented.  Although there is a slight natural cocoa scent.  For this chocoholic that is not a problem. The cream is very rich and a dab goes a long way.  Now I need to rinse a smaller tin out with boiling water so I can carry a small amount in my purse.  

If you live in Tucson or are visiting you can find Artemesia at 6538 E Tanque Verde #170, this is right across the street from Trail Dust Town.  If you are not in Tucson and would like to try this fabulous body creme, hand crafted soap made in small batches or anything else please go to Artemesia . You can order anything listed. Everything is packaged nicely for shipping. I have had gifts mailed. 

This is a store that I like very much.  I have never had a bad experience with any of Tracy’s products. To keep everything upfront and honest I would like to say that I paid for everything myself and am not being paid for this blog post. I also like to support small woman owned businesses.  

Allergies Part 3

 I was not able to get the perfume residue out of 2 pairs of my sleeping gloves aka my design,  Maxi Fingerless Gloves.  Also victim to this perfume problem was my sleeping sweater.  I tried everything until it was suggested that I make new sleeping gloves. I have a pair that needs to be seamed up. I have also pulled some worsted weight yarn from Misti Cotton, a beautiful cotton and silk blend. Then a special collaboration between Lola Bean Yarn and Spin Cycle Yarn in a worsted weight wool yarn.  

I have a solution for the sweater too  I have lost enough weight and inches to pull an older but still very nice sweater from my closet. Which means that everything old is new again at some point in time.  The only thing the sweater from my closet does not have is visible mending.  Maybe a few years down the road this will happen to this sweater too..

The decision was made tonight to put the charity knitting aside until I finish the new gloves and a couple of shawls that are works in progress for me.  The shawls will come with new patterns for you.  

It has been raining here for 2 days so far.  We have gotten 1 1/2 inches at the house so far. So instead of errands I spent the time finishing up my closet.  Today I found a bunch of earrings. I sorted them out to keepers and Bookman’s trade.  Since I don’t want to overwhelm them I will take in 6 pairs at a time.  I say this because I went through 50+ years of earrings.  I bet that you are not surprised that most of the earrings that I got in Junior High and High School did not make the keep pile. In fact a lot of really retro earrings are going to be leaving the house slowly for the next couple of months.  

Allergies Part 2

 Well it turns out that I should have washed the mattress protector too.  Now it’s time to go wash my sheets again. I woke up stuffy, but not like it has been.  So if I start the wash now everything should be finished before lunch.  I am so glad that I do not have to run out to a laundromat to wash everything, well almost everything again.  I was so wrong about this.  The mattress protector took most of the day to dry   I made my bed after dinner. 

I needed some retail therapy today. It was really nice. I have been short enough for the petite sizes but have been to heavy. Well today I got into a petite size large in pants.  Even better they were on sale for 40% off. Yes they came home with me along with a new sweater at 40% off in a regular size medium. Yes, down a size there too.  I like my sweaters on the long side. Yes, I know cropped sweaters are all the rage. I personally think that is due to the rising cost of yarn.  

Before dinner I even tackled another section of my closet. The end result is that I have more going to Bookman’s and 2 boxes and 1 trash bag for Goodwill. I ran out of boxes so the trash bags will have to do.  I have a bit to sort out and then the shelves are next.  Oh, did I mention that John will make the Goodwill run this weekend for me.  I think I will try to overstuff his car again.  

Allergies Suck

 Today we finally figured out why I was not sleeping and so miserable lately.  It was my new hand lotion and perfume.  So we washed everything including my sleeping gloves and sweater. They are still drying because we are having a rare rainy day today. I also took down my spare pillow and am starting the night with a perfume free pillow. 

This whole thing left me completely bummed out  I really liked the scent of the new lotion and perfume. However I like my sinuses and sleep more.  

I will have to check my other sweaters for perfume residual. If they have any, they will be washed one at a time. When that sweater is completely dry, I will wash the next one. I only really need 2 winter sweaters in Tucson.  

So I am 12 hours lotion and perfume free.  I already feel better.