Month: May 2024

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Cross stitching as a hobby is a bit difficult for me to admit. Somehow it feels more geriatric than my knitting. But it’s one of the first crafting hobbies I had as a child, and recently when I needed a knitting break I went in search of a project that interested me. It had been so long that my first instinct was to go to Joann’s to look for kits and patterns, and I was surprised how limited the selections were these days. Then I got a clue and looked on Etsy, where apparently there is a cross stitch pattern for anything you could possibly think of. OK, well that’s not true because I have a dark and inappropriate imagination. But there are some good ones…

Alas I did not succumb to my basest instincts, and instead found a wonderful seller with patterns for every single US National Park. Score.

I purchased the Mt. Rainier pattern from their “Mini” (6″x6″ on 14 count) collection in January, then went to Joann’s (or was it Michael’s?) for the hoop, aida, and floss. I tend to be a pattern follower so I attempted to buy all of the prescribed DMC colors from the pattern, but when they were out of some I made substitutions of similar colors. I didn’t feel good about that, but that was pre-medicated ADHD-brained Stacy so I had to get everything immediately in order to get started on my new dopamine fix now, right now. #impulsecontrol #allornothingthinking

I just finished the project and am happy overall with the process and outcome. I’ve brightened this photo, but left contrast, color saturation, etc. without edits.

The aspects I’m not 100% in love with are the fabric, the thread saturation (that might not be the right word), and all of the color choices. I went ahead and did some YouTube viewing and ordered linen for my next project, which will be a first for me. I’m also going to experiment with 3 strands instead of 2 on the next one to hopefully get more color density (that seems like a better word). And for sure I will not automatically go with the pattern-prescribed DMC choices for the entire project.

I ordered the patterns for Olympic National Park and North Cascades National Park, and as soon as the linen is delivered I’ll be doing some floss shopping.

I could see us a few decades from now, when we return to a home base with walls, framing a whole collection of these as mementos from our many, many years on the road.

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Some life updates… neurodiversity, retirement planning, summer plans, travel plans (x2):

The Trendy Diagnosis

My suspected ADHD brain actually let me follow through on a goal I’ve had for awhile now. I got evaluated and officially diagnosed, so I am now a confirmed ADHDer! I also worked with a nurse practitioner to figure out the right medication and dosage for me.

Can I tell you that Adderall is a game changer for me? To folks unfamiliar with the ADHD brain this is going to make me sound unwell, but Adderall makes the voices in my head go away. I no longer have a continuous narrative loop in my mind telling me everything I should be doing and that I’m a loser for not doing all of the things. I also sleep a lot less, which has been a bit of an emotional adjustment since I really loved excess sleep. I think I loved it because it was the only time I couldn’t hear my narrator. But now when my mind turns on at 6:00 or 7:00 am I’m learning to accept it and not fight it.

And being on Adderall reminds me of when I first got on Bupropion (aka Wellbutrin) for depression – it didn’t cure my disorder, but gave me the mental room I needed make the life changes necessary to squash my ever-imposing chronic depression, and eventually get off the medication. Not a quick solution at all – I started that medication in 2011 or 2012, and stopped it just last year. So far with the Adderall support I’m learning about time blindness, and managing ebbs and flows of energy, and creating routines, and learning how to work through an all-or-nothing mindset. Maybe someday I can do these things without the pharmaceutical support, but I’m not in a rush.

FIRE-ing

Thanks to Uncle Joe a bunch more months counted towards my student loan forgiveness and moved up that timeline.

And the accounts keep growing. It’s starting to feel real that we are going to be able to start that full-time travel thing in the next couple/few years. So we have followed through and hired a fee-only financial planning company to help us sort out some details and learn some nuts and bolts. Scott has been sending them our information and was told he might have the best spreadsheet they’ve ever seen. That made Scott’s year, I think. We have a big 4-hour session in a couple of weeks to see what advice they have.

Summer Side Hustle

I will be “working” for a few days at the start of summer break. It’s 5 days. It includes field trips, and a baseball game, and two meals at a couple of Seattle’s best restaurants. I get to hang out with international visitors. I’ll be getting a paycheck. This seems too good to be true.

Another Country

We have a trip to Japan booked for July. Even though we aren’t full-time travelers yet, we still prefer slow travels on our trips. So instead of following a typical recommendation for a two week itinerary to catch a train to a new overnight stay every 2-3 nights, we are spending 7 nights in Tokyo and 9 nights in Kyoto. Those two locations have a lifetime of things to see in and of themselves, plus there are lots of day trip options from each. We know we will love Japan and want to return, so why try to cram everything into one trip? We shall move slow and smell the tea. Except when we are driving these.

I Prefer to Call Them Boats, I Don’t Care What People Say

A stranger (maybe a cruise employee I can’t remember) actually verbally corrected me when I called the vessel we were on last summer a “boat”. Cruise people are so weird. They get offended when you don’t call it a “ship”. Get over yourselves. Plus, when you have a (copied) Midwest accent it’s way more fun to say “boat” than “ship”.

We have an Alaska cruise booked for a week in August. I’ve only been to Anchorage on a short work trip before. Scott has been on three cruises before, including one last year that he did without me. First of all, we are not codependent and know how to enjoy ourselves apart. Second, he had vacation time he had to use up and I couldn’t take time off at the beginning of the school year. Third, he brought me home souvenir stickers and scouted yarn shops for me. So, anyway, this year I am going on one with him. It’s a week, and we don’t have to fly anywhere to catch it. We can take the bus or even walk if we want. Scott is treating me by paying for an upgrade to a balcony cabin AND we are going to buy thermal suite passes. This will not be a repeat of my bad attitude on the cruise last summer.