Ravelry

I'm just now getting around to talking about Ravelry on my blog. Like many others I had no clue what it was. I just saw a lot of ladies chatting excitedly over being on the list and waiting for their invitation, so I headed over and did the same.

It took about a month and I got my invitation and am now a member under ChickMistress.

What can I say - I love the place. I can spend hours just looking at other peoples projects for inspiration. I've uploaded my yarn stash (nothing terribly exciting), done the same for my projects and I've joined three groups.

I love that I can be somewhat organized by using the site. It's wonderful. I've added a Ravelry button to the side bar that links you to Ravelry.

If you haven't joined, sign up for the invitation and come see what it's all about. There are a lot of beautiful items and patterns on this site and if that doesn't get your creative juices flowing, I don't know what will.

George's Sweater Is Done!

The sweater I was knitting for my sister as a gift to George (who is a girl by the way) is done. The skull was done using a duplicate stitch. I wasn't really thrilled with it to the point that I ripped it out 3 times before I accepted the final. I have a feeling the next two will be better. She wanted two originally and has now "commissioned" a third.

This was my very first sweater of any size and I'm just happy to have gotten through it without having any major disasters. Now on to the next one!

Happy holidays to everyone!

Sweater Update

The sweater is coming along well. I've finished the back, two front sides and am working on the sleeves which will be a breeze because the seed stitch is only used on five rows!

That's it for now. I'll put a picture of the components on when I block them (hopefully tomorrow night).

Lion Brand Eyelet Yoke Cardigan

This is the sweater that I am making at my sister's request for two little girls as Christmas presents. They are both in Cotton Ease Charcoal and will be embroidered with the a skull with a bow. She wants hip sweaters instead of cutesy.

Here's the sweater. If you click on the picture it will take you to the pattern. It is listed as easy and so far it has been. My only downer is the seed stitch which makes me nuts (K,P,K,P,K,P) but it is a pretty stitch. Fortunately it's not the entire sweater, just the bands:


So far I've done the first 5 rows of seed stitch and 5 rows of stockinette. I've got to do stockinette for quite a while so I'm going to get to work. This is the first sweater I've every done, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it comes out.

Currently on the needles

Today I started knitting House Mittens by Ruth Bendig. I'm only on the fifth row of the cuff but so far so good. These are for me, I need mittens pronto. We've got snow on the ground! Nothing like cold to spur you on with your knitting.

I've also started a bookmark using size 10 crochet thread. Such teeny tiny stitches, I love it.

My next project(s) will be two sweaters to get done in time for Christmas. I will be using the Eyelet Yoke Cardigan from Lion Brand and I'll be duplicate stitching a skull and cross bones motif on the front panel of each as requested by my sister who is giving them as gifts. She wants cool sweaters for the girls. I've found a skull motif with a bow that I think I'll use. I'll run it by the giver of the gifts first.

I picked up 5 books from the library yesterday. Four of them are Debbie Bliss baby and child books. That woman knows how to make some beautiful patterns. One of the books has patterns for adults as well and there's more than one sweater I've fallen in love with in that book. I've got a LOT of baby knitting to do. Just to do it. They are too beautiful to pass on. I just have to decide on which one to do first...and that's the hard part. Maybe I'll put them all in a hat and pull one out. Decisions, decisions.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I hope it is a joyful one.

We've gotten through another year of turkey deliveries. This one was a bit more stressful than others due to a theft of some of our turkeys and getting rear ended while out delivering others.

We still can't figure out why someone stole 6 turkeys from us, but I hope they bring a lot of joy to the people who ended up with them because they ruined Thanksgiving for 6 other families. As for the girl who rear ended us, I hope your cat is okay and that you have enough sense not to drive with it in your lap in the future. One thing we have learned is that we will not be delivering turkeys next year. Pick-ups only.

I haven't done much crafting. I did cast on and finish about 9 rows of a bookmark yesterday while we were out delivering. I had to do something to relax my mind. The yarn for a sweater I'm making as a Christmas gift is on the way. I know I'm cutting it close, but it is a child's sweater so it shouldn't be too hard to get done.

We are going out to eat, no cooking for me today. I'll probably throw a turkey in the oven tomorrow so we have some around, but I just couldn't do it today. I'm beat, it's been a long 6 days since we started getting turkeys ready for Thanksgiving.

I'm off to get ready for the day.

Knitting in LA

I did some knitting while I was on the plane and in LA. I did Saartje's Bootees, 2 dish cloths and started the Baby Bib from One Skein while on the plan back.

I need to put buttons on the booties and the I-Cord on the bib, but they are very cute in their interim stage.

Here are the baby bootees, I still need to add the buttons and block them:




I used the lime green self-striping Sugar and Cream yarn for the dish cloth which is very cool yarn:


Here is the baby bib sans I-Cord:


I'm missing a picture of the dish cloth I did in the self-striping red, white and blue cotton. My sister can't find it and thinks her cats have made off with it. But then again I may have given it to Shon when she took me to the airport. I can't remember, my mind is a like a sieve some days...just too much going through it.

I picked up a book today at the library on dying your own self-patterned yarns. They even have a watermelon self-striping pattern. I'm definitely going to work towards doing my own. It looks like a lot of fun. Well I've got to get some work done before I can have some fun knitting. So more later.

In LA

Got here around 11pm on Saturday night. I brought 7 dozen eggs with me and chicken. The chicken was frozen and got checked through with the baggage. No problem there. The eggs were in my carry on. No problem last year, but then it turns out that my first flight had a small plane that the larger carry-on's wouldn't fit into so they had to be "valet" checked. I explained that there were eggs in it and to be careful, but that didn't happen. Until I got onto the second flight and attempted to put the carry-on into the overhead did I realize there was a problem.
How did I find out you ask? Because it started leaking egg. I ran back up to the front, got some bags from the crew and cleaned them out. Salvaged about 3 dozen all together. Pissed me off to no end.

The weather here has been a bit overcast. Actually sprinkled a bit today. But I'll take that over the snow that's supposed to come this week in Michigan. Snow...already.

I started Saartje's Booties at the airport during the layover and finished them today. Well I still need to put the buttons on, but all of the ends have been weaved in and are done. I did them in black and white. The bottoms are black and the uppers are white. Now I'm doing the baby bolero from One Skein to match in black. This is at the request of my sister who is going to give them both as baby gifts.

The best part of the trip has been seeing my sister. The second best thing has been going to Joann's and finding the Sugar n Cream Super Size Cotton on sale for $1.99 each and the Sugar n Cream Stripes on sale for $1.99 each. I got five of the self-striping and seven solids in the super size. I a SO happy!!!! I also got a Lion Brand cotton in black. It wasn't on sale, but the difference was more than made up for with the Sugar n Cream sale.

And I picked up some notions that were 30% off. I'll try to get a picture of the booties and bolero. I forgot to bring my digital camera (and a couple of other things).

Heading out

Taking knitting with me to do on the plane and a couple of books to read. My Sissy is looking forward to buying some yarn and knitting when I get there. I've got to take chicken and eggs with me and other goodies for everyone.

I'll be back on Friday. I'm hoping the weather is fair there. It's been getting cold here. I don't know if I'm looking for a cold, cold winter. Well gotta go finish packing. Maybe I'll get to post some things while I'm there.

Going to see my Sissy tomorrow

Doing a million-kazillion things today in preparation for my trip to Los Angeles to see my little Sissy. She was recently in the hospital and is back home recovering. I was originally going out to help her recover from a hysterectomy because of fibroids, but she had an episode with her MS that preceded that so I'm still heading out.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her and a couple of friends. My main focus will be on getting her back on her feet and working out some other things. I'll be taking knitting with me as I have lay-overs (can't get the cheap tickets without lay-overs, but that's cool) Just have to figure out what knitting. As it is I'm taking about a dozen eggs, heritage garlic, homemade pickles, some locally made mustard and hot dogs for my God-sister Shon and if I get them made today, raspberry jam. I'd better get it made today or it's not happening. I'm hoping the raspberries are still okay. If not, then that's one less thing to do.

Did I mention laundry and packing? Nothing like leaving everything to the last minute...lol Gotta move, lots of things to do.

Finish number three for The Challenge

Well I finished the pin cushions. Here are 3 of them. They are Halloween/Fall themed. They were super easy to make. I found the instructions here.




Now I want to make a bunch more out of my scraps. I used flannel tops and felt bottoms on these, the next group will be all fabric. I have some batik scraps I want to use up.

I want to tackle something bigger knitting-wise other than dish cloths. I love knitting dish cloths, but I feel like I'm in a rut with them and when I try something bigger I end up frogging like crazy and then throwing the whole thing in the corner out of frustration. So now it's time to tackle something bigger. The funny thing is one of the very first things I knit after learning was a pair of socks. And I think I did a darned good job on them too. Got to get back to the bigger stuff. More later.

Books Read 2007

I've been keeping track of the books I'm reading this year. One to see how many I've read and two so I can remember which ones I've read when I check the library.

There are 68 so far, I will update as more are added. They are listed to the left.

Most are fiction. I've become addicted to Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton. The Evanovich books have me laughing out loud constantly. Laughter is a good thing. Surprisingly to me, I loved "Shadow Divers" which was actually checked out by my partner. I learned a lot about deep sea wreck diving. I would never have the courage to do it, but it is fascinating.

I haven't been adding any crafting books, but I guess they would count too. so I'll start listing them as well.

Challenge Finish

This is one from my Wagon 10 Challenge Finish. It's the Skull and Crossbones. Not the greatest picture, but it's finished! Nine more to go!

Proof that I have finished something

Only a day late in posting finishes. I've added a Flickr badge to the right of some dishcloths that I've finished recently. By finished I mean knitted. I still need to wash and block them.

Here is one that's on the needles to be finished:



I've got a bunch of others I want to do. They will get posted as I go.

Good things and not so good things

Good things - It's only Tuesday and it's been a doozy of a week so far. On the good end, our farm picked up an account at a new local grocery store to carry our pasture raised chicken, turkey and eggs. We made our first delivery last Thursday. We came home from market on Sunday to a message requesting more eggs and on Monday received a call for more chicken. On top of that they've ordered 50 or our turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Needless to say we are extremely happy that our product is selling at the store. We know that once people taste our chicken and eggs they tend to become loyal customers. It's just really nice to see it happen at a retail level.

So most of today was spent getting the second order prepped and out the door and we'll be making our third delivery on Thursday. If you want to check out the store here's the link: Plum Market

It's a really great store. I can wander around there for hours. I got an amazing 3 year old gouda cheese from them today. The flavor is incredible.

Needless to say, my crafting has very much been hit and miss. I get some knitting in while riding in the passenger seat to market. I've cut out several pieces for the pin cushions and now I need to sew, stuff and finish them. Then I need to wash and block all the dish cloths. I've promised myself that Thursday night is craft night so I plan to have some pictures to post on Friday of something...ANYTHING...craft related.

I've got to get something done on my Wagon Challenge list. I have actually knitted the skull and cross bones cloth, I just have to block it.

Not so good things - On the health front, I'm experiencing major "moon" face from the prednisone. I actually startled myself last night when I looked in the mirror. I didn't realize how pronounced it was this time around. It looks like I'll be on the prednisone for a while so I'll just have to get used to it.

My sister has been in the hospital since last Wednesday out in LA with numbness in her feet. She was diagnosed with MS about 5 years ago and after a bunch of tests and a spinal tap they have decided she is having a recurrence of the MS which is causing the numbness. They don't know if it will go back to normal or stay the way it is or partially go away, she'll have to wait and see. I'll be out in LA the first week of November to help her recuperate from surgery for something else...if she still has it. Her neurologist is worried that the surgery will be another level of physical stress on her body and make the MS worse. So we'll have to decide if she's going to have it. It seems that if it's not one thing, it's another for us as far as health is concerned lately. Time to do some positive visualization.

So that's it for the day. I'm turning in so I can get up at 4a.m. tomorrow and feed the chicks and turkeys and prep the next order for the store and farmers' markets. Then I'm going to craft something just to remind myself that I can get something finished.

Major Updating

I'll be working on adding links and stuff to the blog and getting some pictures in of finished work. I've added new header art (which I love) and will be working on the side bars soon.

Off to tend to the chicks now.

Evil Flare Up

As I wrote previously, I have Crohn's Disease. My first course of treatment was prednisone and Asacol to knock the inflammation down and keep it down. Well after finally being weaned from the prednisone and feeling like a million dollars after hovering around a penny for so long I started feeling the symptoms return and they returned with a vengeance.

I think it's a combination of not having the prednisone coursing through my system and a lack of firm diligence on my behalf towards keeping an eye on a proper diet. I have been avoiding preservatives, additives and such like the plague, but some things (chocolate, an occasional latte) started appearing on the scene too much and I'm now paying the price.

So now I have a wicked flare up of my Crohn's and I'm back on the prednisone until my new meds kick in. That will take a few months but they are supposed to have fewer nasty possible consequences that come from being on prednisone for too long of a time. This is something I'm going to be dealing with for the rest of my life and it is going to be a very difficult thing to maintain considering our culture of food. I love to cook so it's not a problem, the problem is planning ahead far enough to cover the bases if I'm out of the house too long. I've got some serious sorting out to do with this because I don't want the list of meds to continue to grow and I don't want a hospital stay and I don't want to be one of the many who end up having surgery as a result of this disease.

I also will have to take a calcium/Vitamin D supplement twice a day and have regular blood work done to make sure everything is balanced properly with the new med. And I do so love getting poked and having my blood drawn...NOT.

So expect the occasional rant about this. It's got to go somewhere...

My 10 Finish Challenge on The Wagon

Here's my list of items to finish for my challenge:

1. 12 Days of Christmas cloths
2. Bath Mitt
3. Ghost cloth
4. Bat cloth
5. Skull & Crossbones cloth
6. Weave in the ends, wash and block 8 finished cloths (separate from the above)
7. Pumpkin pin cushions (6)
8. Simplify cross stitch
9. Farm cross stitch
10. Eric's quilt (which is a little over due considering he's now 2 and I started it before he was born )


Okay, so far I've been weaving in ends. I've been a bit under the weather and with that and all the other work around here it's been hectic, but it's nice to have a list to work from. I'll update as I finish them.

It only seems like forever

Since I made my last post, that is. The summer has flown by. Most of my time has been spent tending to the chickens and selling at the markets which is how I make my living, hence the title of my blog ChickMistress Crafts.

As the chickens (and lately turkeys) have been taking up the vast majority of my time, my crafting has suffered greatly. Lately I've been knitting dish cloths, two for a fellow vendor at one of the markets I sell at. She requested that I make her a set of frog dish cloths to match the ones I gave her at Christmas. I have 1/2 of the final one to make, then I weave in the ends, wash and block and hand them over.

It's not so much that I lack inspiration, it's just a matter of finding the time. Summer is our prime season so everything else pretty much goes on the back burner.

However, in an attempt to rectify that I have joined "The Wagon." The Wagon is a board for crafters that has various groups and challenges to keep help keep you on track with project challenges, etc. I'll be starting a 10 finish challenge as soon as I figure out what 10 items I'd like to complete soon. Shouldn't be too hard to figure them out, it's the doing part. But I'm hoping the site will make me focus more. The also have a group that promises to only work from their stashes. I'll try that one after the 10 finish challenge, or maybe I'll go to a 25 challenge then.

There are some brave souls on there who list 100 finish challenges. I get dizzy just thinking about it.

For now it's off to bed, tomorrow I'll figure out the 10 and list them here as well as The Wagon board.

The Bloat

I have now been on my meds for 4 weeks. I have to admit that I am feeling nearly 100 percent better. I have my appetite back (almost too much of an appetite). I'm seriously going to have to watch my intake. But as of Friday I began retaining water. Retained to the tune of 29 pounds as of this morning. I know I haven't eaten enough to gain that amount of weight and it is definitely bloat because I didn't look like this Thursday night.

After a call to my gastroenterologist I was told that I should have been tapering off of the Prednisone by now. Only problem is they didn't give me any tapering instructions and the next appointment I have isn't until July. How the heck was I supposed to know to taper? Anyway, I'll be tapering down for the next few weeks at a rate of 1/2 pill per week. Maybe now the "moon face" that is typical of Prednisone use will begin to fade too.

Right now my legs look like stuffed sausages and my tummy jiggles from all of the water when I walk. I'll be going in to see my primary care physician tomorrow and hopefully I'll get a diuretic or something because it's painful around the legs right now.

But other than the weight gain, I'm feeling really good. I've been drinking kefir smoothies once a day. They are good and seem to be helping get the bacteria levels evened out. I'm still reading "Breaking The Vicious Cycle" and making notes. I'll be tackling that food plan in earnest once I fully understand what's expected. If it puts me into remission and keeps me there, I'm all for it.

Well that's it, I've gone from bony to bloated and from literally starving to can't get enough to eat. I need to find the happy medium already!

Presenting Nathan Christopher

Born on May 25, 2007 at 6:39pm, weight 7 pounds 14 ounces, length 21 inches and he's as gorgeous as his two big brothers Matthew and Eric.

New teapot set

I have a thing for tea pots. Love them, love them, love them. I had quite a collection going until it was taken out by the big quake in Los Angeles. I didn't quite have the heart to start collecting them again, but they've slowly been returning in various ways.

My most recent acquisition is from My Other Sissy Paula. My sissy Lory sent along some wonderful teas and honey that are supposed to be good for tummy ailments.


Paula found this at her mom's house and sent it along for me to have and take care of. I was blown away when I opened the box, it's absolutely beautiful. I don't want to use it, but I may have a feeling I'm going to have to so I can just sit and stare at it. Thank you very much Paula and Lory!!!

First goslings of the year

While sitting at my desk I glanced out the window and saw a group of little fuzzy yellow creatures sitting with their mom. Our first nest of goslings has hatched! We've got about 7 or 8 more nests to go. We got six with the first group. Last year we had a total of 21. We're going to be overrun by geese!! Anyone need any pet geese?

As you can see the security force is on alert to protect the babies. I love the social interaction the geese have. They really band together to protect the little ones.

Crohn's Disease

BE WARNED, THIS POST MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT HEALTH ISSUES AND MEDICAL PROCEDURES!!

Well how's that for a topic? For the past 9 or so (maybe more) years I have been having recurring problems with my intestinal tract and my eyes. The problem with my eyes was diagnosed as iritis and it would flair up on occasion and send me scurrying to my opthamologist for the necessary treatments (generally steroid drops).

My intestinal problems turned into a medical chart of epic proportions. One of the first doctors who treated me pretty much figured it was all in my head. Why? Because I'm female? Who knows, all I know is he referred me to a psychologist who based on the questions he asked seemed to think my sex life had something to do with my stomach issues.

Skipping ahead a little, one day my ankles were swollen beyond belief so I went in to have them looked at. After a swivel or two the same doctor who sent me to the shrink pronouced it arthritis and put me on Voltaren. BIG MISTAKE. I wound up in Urgent Care the next day with every joint in my body swollen. I moved at a snails pace. Once they got me inside and did the preliminary questions they asked me if I could stay to see the rheumotologist. Where else was I going? This doctor turned out to be sent from heaven. Not only did he get pissed off at the misdiagnosis (no I DON'T have arthritis) but after glancing at my two ton medical chart he asked what else was wrong. Upon telling him about my stomach issues he wrote a prescription for Pepcid. I swear to you the next day after I took it, the relief was almost immediate. I promptly made him my primary physician.

So skip ahead to 2004. In between I had the recurring iritis issues and some stomach spells, but nothing really bad. I moved from Los Angeles to Michigan. Big change. BIG CHANGE. A welcome change, one I wanted more than anything. I was tired of the city, the noise, the smog, the people, the concrete, hunting for parking, the hour long 12 mile drive to work on the freeway. It was time for blue skies, green grass and actual seasons again. The first year I got here, I was in heaven. I still am, but around mid-2005 the stomach problems started to creep up again. I wrote it off to stress from starting a new business venture. But it kept getting worse. Between working to get the farm ready for our business (raising chickens for meat and eggs and turkeys) I dropped 40 pounds. I was a big girl when I came here (277.5) so losing the weight was a very happy and good thing.

However, as my stomach ailments increased the weight began to melt away. Some people might think that is a good thing, but not when you lose 100 pounds in the course of a year because you cannot eat. It hurt so much that at one point eating was a chore and I didn't want to do it. I spent more time running to the bathroom and in the bathroom than I did working.

Now leaving a steady paying job to raise chickens also left me without medical insurance. No insurance, no visits to the doctor. After locating a local health plan I was placed on the waiting list. Once an opening came up I went in, completed the paperwork and was immediately sent to a doctor. By this time I had lost 120 pounds total.

My new doctor and her staff have been wonderful. Not having insurance is rough. Some things were covered on the plan and some things weren't (like hospitalization costs). In order to have the hospitalization covered I had to apply for another plan which I am very grateful to have been approved for and the hospital is picking up most, if not all, of any hospitalization costs.

Anyway, one ultrasound later I was referred for a colonoscopy. I was originally told I couldn't get in to see the doctor until July (this was in February). As my protein, iron and sodium numbers were steadily dropping my primary physician's office went a little nuts and after some demands got me in earlier.

Earlier turned out to be May 7 after a CAT scan to clarify some of the ultrasound pictures. I met with the doctor for the initial visit and the second I mentioned iritis he said "Has anyone ever said the words Crohn's Disease to you?" Well no, never. It turns out Crohn's can be a direct cause of iritis. He was baffled that no one had ever put the two together. After hearing that, so was I. He was pretty sure that's what I had, but he wanted the colonoscopy to verify it.

Enter into a bit of a nightmare. I was warned about the pre-cleansing, that it would be pretty horrible. And they were right. Boy were they right. I checked in to the clinic at 7:30am on May 7th, put on the backwards gown, had the blood pressure and pulse checked. The IV line was inserted (I can't begin to tell you how much I hate having needles of any kind poked into me, but how much I really HATE HAVING THEM POKED INTO MY HAND!!!) and I waited patiently to be rolled in for the procedure. About an hour later, I went in and all I remember is watching the nurse administer the first dose of sedative and that was all she wrote. No counting backwards or anything, just sweet oblivion.

The aftermath was anything but sweet. My colon was so swollen that they had to give me multiple doses of sedative to keep my out. When they rolled me into recovery, my partner and very good friend was told that I wouldn't be giving him any trouble today because they really had to knock me out. Good thing he was there because I vaguely remember seeing the doctor talk but I don't remember a word he was saying. I was told he said he didn't need to wait for biopsies to confirm that it was Crohn's and wrote me out two prescriptions. I got dressed, had a couple of Lorna Doone's and half a glass of juice and headed out the door. I then proceeded to throw up the entire trip home and afterwards.

During the colonoscopy they will use a little air to inflate the colon to enable the probe to move about more freely. They tell you there may be some cramping because of this but the air will pass. My colon was so irritated that they had to use extra. It was no joy ride, the pain was excruciating. So between worshipping the porcelain god, I had massive attacks of cramping and gas from the air leaving the area. At some point I managed to crawl into bed and pass out.

Only to wake up the next day feeling like I was on fire. Turns out I was. I had a temperature of 103.4. After a call into my doctor I left a message with the nurse and my partner was busy hosing me down with damp rags and ice to try and get the temp down. I missed the doctors call later that day because I was once again out of it in bed. When I woke up the next morning, the fever had broken and I and the bed were drenched in sweat. This is gross, but it was the most awful smell as well. Something wasn't right. I spoke to the doctor finally and he explained that the throwing up and high temperature came from the extra amounts of sedatives they had to give me. I wasn't up and running for a good 4 days. He asked me if I remembered any of the procedure and when I said no, he very quickly said "that's good!" It must have been a doozy is all I can say. I think every toxin in my body was released when that fever broke. I was having some trouble turning my head from side to side before (once again I was thinking stress related) but now I can darn near swivel it like an owl with no pain. Not to mention I haven't had a single Tylenol since the procedure. Like I said, some bad toxins must have been released.

I am now on a regimen of Prednisone and Asacol to treat the inflammation. I'm on my second week of the meds and the past two days have been the first where I feel like I'm finally firing on all pistons. My intestinal tract has greatly calmed down, but it's only the second week so i've still got a long way to go. There are days when I wake up perky and ready to go and then deflate like a balloon half way through the day.

Since the diagnosis I have met quite a few people who have the same disease. It's actually been really uplifiting to know that I'm haven't been losing my mind and I'm not the only one. One of my customers referred me to a wonderul lady who almost lost her life to this disease because they didn't diagnosis it properly and they have both steered me towards drinking kefir as part of my treatment to get the bacteria in my system back up to where they should be. I drank my first kefir smoothie (with berries, banana and honey) last night and despite my previous aversion to milk products because of the insuing gas and pain, I had no issues whatsover with the kefir. I make my own using the "grain" the customer gave me.

I was also referred to a book called "Breaking the Vicious Cycle - Intestinal Health through Diet" by Elaine Gottschall which gives you a diet to follow to get the Crohn's and other intestinal diseases under control. It arrived today (thanks Amazon!) and I'll be reading it thoroughly. It does call for eating homemade yogurt (again to get your healthy bacteria back up) so I'll be looking forward to that as well.

Basically it's all about eating clean, fresh foods. No additives, no preservatives, no MSG, etc. I had cut a lot of that out on my own trying to doctor myself. Now I'm going to be even stricter with it.

Needless to say, while I'm finally very happy to have a name to the condition I have, I still have the fears of having to live with this. There is no known cure. All you can do is try to bring it into remission and keep it there. Steroids are nasty little suckers that have their own set of problems tacked on (like the moon face I'm developing, possible cataracs, glaucoma, etc.) so you can't be on them forever. Not to mention my other med has a copay of $200 a refill. I've applied to the manufacturer to try to get that one at a lower cost or for free. I'm hoping like crazy to be accepted to the program. Right now I have a box full of samples from the doctor to get me through for the time being.

My weight right now is 132.5. That's up 4 pounds since the colonoscopy. I dropped 9 doing the cleansing for an all time low of 128.5. Which would bring my total weight loss to 149 pounds. I don't recommend it as a method to lose weight. Now my goal is to get some weight on. Being able to count your ribs is not fun. All those times I wanted to lose weight. Now I have and I'm miserable. I'm hoping to get up to about 150 (I'm 5' 10 1/2" with a smallish frame) I'm finally getting my appetite back so hopefully the weight will follow.

Whew, this has been some post, so I'm going to wrap it up. I know this has nothing to do with crafting, but in a way it does because dealing with this has put a serious damper on my creativity for pretty much the past year and half. Now that I know what I'm dealing with I'm feeling the juices start to turn again and will be getting back to work. I need to reduce stress levels so crafting will be my way to do it.

If anyone out there reads this and has Crohn's Disease and would like to share and/or commiserate with me, please feel free to drop me an email. Thanks for working your way through this post if you did. I hope I haven't bored anyone silly or grossed anyone out. It really helps to get it out of my head and that's what blogs are for!

New blog

This blog will combine my two older blogs "Getting Knitty With It" and "Too Crafty For My Own Good." I haven't been keeping those two up, things have changed, I'm consolidating for ease of upkeep.

I'll get to work on this one as I can.