Drug Underdose

I think one of the mistakes some people make with anti depressants is to think you can just take them when you're not feeling right - like asprin. In fact they take a long time - usually at least three weeks - to build up and really make their positive presence felt. And they also have a short half-life so if you forget to take a dose you can get withdrawal symptoms. Hence why you should never stop taking them suddenly unless your Doctor is very insistent on the point.

When I moved from my old to my new ones the Doctor did mention that I should take them every day as otherwise "you will really notice it". I didn't pay much attention because they always say things like that and why would I miss a dose anyway. And then I forgot to take them. Simply forgot - thought about it, forgot to take them, remembered later, thought that my previously thinking about it must have meant I'd acted on it, took no further action. It was only after a rather uncomfortable night and a look in the mirror the following morning that I realised what must have happened. This is always a dead give away.

The ol'saucer eyes. Looks kind of spooky huh? It doesn't hurt - although of course I'm more sensitive to bright light - but it does make it harder to focus and so makes you feel a bit spacey. It wears off after a while as well. Just one of those things - but I thought I'd capture it on camera this time.

Back in the real world I have finished the Whippoorwill Shawl.

I stand by my previous comments about this yarn being no good for the biggest size. It does become too much like stripes rather than a gradual change. But having said that I still like it and I think the recipient will too.

This leaves me with a decision about what to knit next. I'm rather enjoying knitting things for others so perhaps I'll continue in that vein. I have in mind some socks for the lovely person who gave me the "Around the World in Knitted Socks" book I reviewed in my last list of reviews. And then there is always Christmas to think about because after all it is May and to a knitter that is practically 1st December.

Don't tell me you've not started knitting for it yet? 

Finished!

One bunting duvet cover and matching pillows, as started on the bank holiday.

I'm now like the small child on christmas eve - waiting for nightime to come so I can get into bed (and so xmas can come all the sooner except that's where my simile stops). Clean cotton sheets are soooo lovely and a duvet cover you've made yourself makes it all the sweeter.

On the topic of sweetness I ate my first bowl of Strasberries yesterday. I came across them in Asda while looking for normal raspberries.

Taking the stalks out was a bit tedious as I didn't have a straw but it was worth it. They were quite sweet with the texture of raspberries and taste between the two. They would make a mean berry mojito. Mmmm, mojito.....

Knitwise I am still plugging away on the stripy shawl. Each row is now about 550 stitches so I'm not loving it as much now as I like to see a bit of progress. Meanwhile though I have joined the P/hop Ravelypics Team and adjusted my ravatar accordingly.

I have been looking at the list of events and can see a few I could enter.

• Frogging Trampoline: rule: only deep hibernation projects (1+yrs on needles); only projects you made; project can't cross compete in other events
• Mitten Medley: Cranfords in my case. I never did finish mine from the KAL.
• Sock Put: Not sure which pair to knit but there's always room for more. 
• WIPs Wrestling: rule: not touched since May 15 2012 to qualify; projects can't cross-compete in other events

I went to the Open Day at the London Buddhist Centre yesterday. I've been doing a Mindfulness for Depression Course on Tuesday nights and have found it really interesting and wanted to find out more. I still think the Mindfulness thing is the the bees knees (it's not Buddhist - it's a mainstream therapy technique - but it fits in well with meditation) but the rest of it is not for me. 

It's a shame as I like the idea but I simply can't believe any of it. I also got quite annoyed in the last talk I went to on Science and Religion. I should have known better from experience but those talks are a bit pointless unless you've either got one speaker who knows about both or two speakers, one for each perspective. Plus there is always the assumption that the two subjects are incompatible. 

It's such a pity there isn't a better understanding of scientific methods - never mind the details of the subjects. Scientists will rarely (never?) say something is a definitive answer as there is always the possibility further discoveries may be made that improve our knowledge of a topic. Religious fanatics insist they have definitive answers and that scientists' failure to insist that they are equally right is a sign that they are wrong. It would be so much easier if everything was black and white, but then also, I suspect, rather boring.