[OT] Tips for Coping

Jo Firey wrote:



If you fold the tablecloth and Napkins and put them away carefully under
other heavy stuff, they will "iron" themselves before next Thanksgiving. At
least that is what I tell myself.

Anyway, they'll just get wrinkled again (and spotted) when
you use them! When I buy stuff like that, it's either
plastic or perma-press. There are some very pretty plastic
tablecloths in holiday designs. Paper napkins, ditto (and
those don't require washing). Fortunately, I've never had
the kind of friends who were the sort to object (if they
were, they seldom stayed friends long).

Seanette Blaylock wrote:

"Monique Y. Mudama" had some very interesting
things to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:


Hey, it's all about the options. Forcing women to go for a career is no
better than forcing them into traditional roles. I'll admit that I don't
understand the lure of maintaining hearth and home


I'm the domestic type myself.

Wheareas I've always HATED housework! My mom used to tell
me "But you have to learn - what will you do when you have a
home of your own?" To which I'd blithely reply, "Oh I'll
have a maid to do it." Ah youth!!!

Of course, if the operatic career had materialized, who
knows? (But it didn't.)

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:


Just as long as you don't fall down laughing when you see me try to cook, or
fold laundry, or, well, do just about anything around the house.

Cooking I've always enjoyed - a lot of opera singers do, for
some reason (besides the fact they like to eat and enjoy
good food). The rest of housework I neglect as much as
possible. (I can't tell you how pleased I was when I
finally managed to include a cleaning person in my budget -
a few hours every two weeks may not be ideal, but it makes
all the difference between the house being "presentable" and
"not fit for visitors".)

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)"

snip

I think my
lack of energy is mostly age-related - I haven't yet found
myself avoiding any activities I'd normally WANT to do, or
putting off necessary appointments, etc. (If I'm tired much
of the time, it's largely because I can't make myself get to
bed at a reasonable hour.) But, with my friend's example
before me, I DO examine my "motives" from time to time. As
you say, one isn't necessarily AWARE of actually being
"depressed", but may still be suffering from "depression"
(in the clinical sense).

yeah, them's the "blahs".

Don't feel *depressed* as such, but just can't find the botheredness to go
do anything much. Its just sort of a numbness, lack of "joie de vivre"
*blah* sort of feeling. Just getting out of bed is a mental effort with the
blahs because *whats the point* etc etc. I tend to get the "blahs" once a
month (the cycle is not coincidental).

Yowie

Sheenah wrote:

When I saw this thread's subject line, I wondered whether it might be
a good idea to share my experiences. (g) I've decided it is :^)

{{{Shenah}}} Glad to see you posting again.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" had some very
interesting things to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:

I know where mine is, but don't anticipate using it for anything
except finished needlework projects any time soon. :-)
Yeah, that's what prompted my to buy another one - even if
you never iron the finished garment, when you're making one
it helps to press the seams as you go along!

I don't sew [sewing machines hate me], but do cross-stitch and such.
One of the perennial debates on rec.crafts.textiles.needlework is
about whether to wash a finished project. I'm firmly in the "wash all
finished work" camp. No matter how careful you are to wash your hands
before working on it, skin oils happen. Add to that dust, floating cat
hair, etc., and IMO, washing the finished project is a necessity.

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL

"Yowie" had some very interesting
things to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:

Do you check your gauge before you start? I usually have to adjust
needle size to get the correct number of stitches and rows to the inch
[I knit/crochet rather tightly].
Now why would I want to do something as logical and sensible as that? That
would spoil the whole surprise of how the garment eventually turns out :-)

[giggle]

Yowie
(Who knits loosely, but not as loose as my mother. Dunno about crocheting,
haven't got further than making queen-sized bed granny squares, but the
giant granny square look nice and serve as a blanket in its own right)

My mother did several blankets like that when I was younger. I didn't
think they worked terribly well as blankets [I prefer fewer air holes
in my covers :-)], but that's an individual taste thing, and those can
come out looking quite nice.

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL

"Seanette Blaylock" wrote in
message ...
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" had some very
interesting things to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:

I know where mine is, but don't anticipate using it for anything
except finished needlework projects any time soon. :-)
Yeah, that's what prompted my to buy another one - even if
you never iron the finished garment, when you're making one
it helps to press the seams as you go along!

I don't sew [sewing machines hate me], but do cross-stitch and such.
One of the perennial debates on rec.crafts.textiles.needlework is
about whether to wash a finished project. I'm firmly in the "wash all
finished work" camp. No matter how careful you are to wash your hands
before working on it, skin oils happen. Add to that dust, floating cat
hair, etc., and IMO, washing the finished project is a necessity.

aghast You mean you don't consider embedded cat hair a *feature*?
/aghast :-)

Yowie

"Seanette Blaylock" wrote in
message ...
"Yowie" had some very interesting
things to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:

Do you check your gauge before you start? I usually have to adjust
needle size to get the correct number of stitches and rows to the inch
[I knit/crochet rather tightly].
Now why would I want to do something as logical and sensible as that?
That
would spoil the whole surprise of how the garment eventually turns out
:-)

[giggle]

Yowie
(Who knits loosely, but not as loose as my mother. Dunno about
crocheting,
haven't got further than making queen-sized bed granny squares, but the
giant granny square look nice and serve as a blanket in its own right)

My mother did several blankets like that when I was younger. I didn't
think they worked terribly well as blankets [I prefer fewer air holes
in my covers :-)], but that's an individual taste thing, and those can
come out looking quite nice.

Granny-square blankets aren't the sort you use on a bed by themselves, but
they are great on nights when the doona doesn't quite have the warmth you'd
like, but know that adding a whole extra doona would leave you swimming a
pool of sweat.

They're also good for throw rugs over baby and cat "adjusted" furniture, and
a kinda nice to toss over your lap on a cool evening.

I made my first granny square blanket out of old knitted jumpers. At the
time my whole life had just gone a great upheavel, and just sitting there
crochetting away made the mourning of that which I had lost (ie, my former
life) that much easier to get through.

Its just kinda nice that something you are working on can wrap around and
hug you even whilst still being created.

Yowie

Yowie

"Sheenah" wrote in message
...

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2004-12-04, penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

Anyway, the really sad part to me is that, when I told my dad I
was going
to look for a therapist to talk some of my stress out, it really
bummed
him out... my father I guess is just a different generation and
a
different culture. He said something like, "Well, honey, when
you say
you're going to see a therapist ... that sounds like, you know,
you think
you 'need therapy.'"

Hi,

When I saw this thread's subject line, I wondered whether it might be
a good idea to share my experiences. (g) I've decided it is :^)

My husband is severely disabled (he's a quadraplegic) and for the past
22 years, I have been his sole housekeeper/chauffeur/carer and general
dogsbody most of the time. As the years have passed, his condition
has caused him to become dependent on assisted breathing apparatus
24/7 and also frailer. There have been times when I have not coped
well with the consequences of his condition and the additional health
problems he has had, one of which was a nervous breakdown.

gently cuddled for space

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the
courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the
difference".

Oh Sheenah! I'm so glad you have cats!

{{{{{Sheenah}}}}}

Yowie
(if this group doesn't have the bravest bunch of people I've met....)