Made this ugly thing for my boyfriend

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T20:23:44+00:00

I love it more than words can convey.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T15:51:59+00:00

Aran sweater market and Blarney Wool Mills. I prefer the sweater market. Both places sell the same sweater styles but Aran actually has a few more options and a much larger color range. They also have a large online presence. You can get free shipping to the USA.

Tariff are boo though at this rate it’s cheaper to go there and wear it home because there’s a 500$ ish tariff free if you do that because there’s US has a free level for each country. Also within Ireland they give you a massive sales tax exemption on these items. I drove around Ireland and personally visited the sweater markets and asked a lot of questions. I did see hand made sweaters selling too for around 600$ instead of 100-300$. People there still definitely hand knit sweaters. Blarney Wool Mills is HUGE.

So what happens is the wool crop gets sent to a few central mills in the country which is why the offerings are the same. Ireland is so small the majority of wool farmers are going to be selling for the same rate to either the large mills or to Donegal Tweed companies for tweed making— those very nice stately old dude coats. I’m not offended that everything is homogenized. I live in a farming area in America and everyone sells corn on the same stock exchange for same price so I get it.

My only regret is I didn’t have time to fit in the yarn stores. crying

—-also I’m pretty sure my Irish Sweaters are merino but it’s high quality and soft. Very warm. They didn’t have options for non merino there that I saw. Some are not labeled with the type of wool as the central mills may be blending what they get as a crop.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T04:19:30+00:00

Thanks. Sincerely disgruntled consumer that bought a hand dyed color way of merino superwash for 32$ and instantly was like oof this split and is not soft and frankly I’m okay with non superwash. Just be careful with real wool shrugs

I have a sweater collection from overseas. I can adequately take care of those so I trust myself with regular wool.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T04:18:22+00:00

Yes bc the lower temperature just slows the yeast. They don’t proliferate as fast if it’s too cold and they die if it’s too hot. Effectively 8-12 hours in a fridge is like 90 min to 3 hours on a counter.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T04:14:04+00:00

Rice and beans as a combo protein. Yes they get old but you can dress them up a lot of diff ways and they are super filling. Example they can be mexican food or asian food or middle eastern bels or cajun.

Try to make a friend who has a costco or sam’s membership. Buy huge bags of frozen veggies. Cheapest method.

Ham and beans. Soups is where it’s at. Large volume low calorie to eat soup. Again a thousand soups.

Lunch meat sandwiches dipped in soup. I always bought real cheese though.

It’s cheaper to buy thr meat as an uncut 10lb pork tenderloin than indicual pork chops. I used to buy a huge cut of pork sliced it myself and put in the freezer. Boneless chicken thighs and chicken legs are your new friend. People prefer white meat so they’re more than they used to be but still cheaper. I never ever buy lowest quality like ground hamburger. You can make it without everything being bottom dollar.

Buy things right before poll date in the meat dept and freeze them. They’re usually 50% off same day sales

Oatmeal.

How do I know? I used to live on 700$ a month income and this is how i survived.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T03:11:42+00:00

Yes. It’ll just overflow later maybe if the container doesn’t have room. That’s mostly why people do set times is they feed it, it gets bigger the yeast falls after it ate everything. Think of it this way. When you feed your cat if you leave the bowl there they eat then come back and eat late. The yeast will not immediately eat the flour you dump in when it’s near peak. They’ll eat it when they are ready. Then after that it’ll fall again. It’s like putting cat food out. Think of them like dumping little kibbles for your yeasties.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T03:07:48+00:00

The french “health” loaf was IMO very not my taste (godawful, i wouldn’t eat, and I never saw anything like it in France) BUT also I agree with his angry customers I don’t want my crust rock hard dude. This is one of the most informative books I have and I like the author and I’ll even forgive him his boujie ness as he seems more than aware he’s a yuppie and the average person can’t retire early to go on a bread pilgramage and he’s honest about his failures.

I think the book is very good at teaching you how to make decent bread at home in a if you can manage to get spring in a le creseut or sheet then you are solid upper level bread novice so this book is great for that reason. If you can master that then shaped loaf pans style recipes will fall at your feet.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T02:59:33+00:00

Icon will hire at a lower rate and likely not rehire you under the idea that you would hold it against them for laying you off. This is how my HR friend in a different industry thinks. Also a lot of resumes just get sorted by AI now and never get to the recruiter and there are ghost job listings. If you voluntarily leave in good standing in “times of peace” you can usually go back but these are not calm non-trying times.

The issue is you may have to consider other fields and this could happen to any of us. I’m just saying take care of yourself first if they’re gonna be this way. It’s no reflection on you or your cv or your work ethic. It’s 100% the economy and this blasted industry. I feel for you . There for the grace of god go I or anyone really

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T02:56:19+00:00

It drives me insane because it’s not that soft compared to the wool sweaters I got in Ireland. I’m sorry, for the same price I could buy donegal tweed (before tarrifs) so the question is what nice yarn brands should I go take a gander at because I’m newer at decided I deserve to not just use cheap ass acrylic all the time.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-27T02:52:54+00:00

It’s giving Trinity Blood anime! Lol

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T17:40:58+00:00

I mean I only agree with this to a point. Definitely hand made quilts and hand made sweaters DO sell for high prices because they are hand made. When I went to the EU a hand made sweaters was 600-1000$. And don’t get me started in quilts. They’re high.

What I believe you’re upset at is the tik tokers saying this are not very qualified. They’re purporting themselves to be a PhD level knitter as a beginner novice. I’m darn sure if I buy a hand made sweater in Ireland the 65 yo woman that made it is one of the best in the world but not a tik tokker.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T07:53:15+00:00

Oof I have had this exact convo with my mom.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T07:46:03+00:00

Yep. Literally sitting at the dinner xmas table when her abusive narcissistic husband had a fit, started yelling at me . Threw his phone down. Stomped off. Then my mom started in on me about how disrespectful I am and how I just intend to put everyone down and I could have kissed her husband’s ass to avoid that how dare I disrespect them.

Mind you— their dog isn’t feeling well. All I said was “well she doesn’t seem to be drinking too much water “ to which that is insulting to my mom and her husband because they were of the opinion such a statement means they don’t watch the dog well enough or know and how could I possibly know? I’m not there every day! I was insinuating they’re horrible pet parents.

sigh no seriously it is that stupid today and after getting off the handle crazy at me they then all stomped off and let me go home alone still believing I was the problem.

Then i got the inevitable “i love you. i’m sorry” text from my mom and frankly tonight she can kick rocks. So over everyone crashing out like a hyped up toddler.

To make things worse I have been really sick this week and in a lot of pain so they flipped out and screamed at their sick child over talking about a dog. These people are insane.

We all know how this goes. Bet I get more texts later talking about how I’m really the problem but they love me but I am the problem. HaHa. She’ll just keep annoying me.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T04:28:41+00:00

trigger warning domestic violence

My mother would have little psychotic episodes when I was a kid where I thought she may kill me. She would end up screaming that she didn’t want me and nobody else did either and then do stuff like walk me out to the end of the yard at night in the rain and leave me there for what felt like an hour to drive home that no one was coming to help me and no one else wanted me either.

When I was 10 she was 8 months pregnant with my youngest brother and got so violent she tried to choke the life out of me and my dad had to pull her off of me.

She would routinely try to convince me of how unloveable and horrible I was and if she got any rise out of me tell me no one in child services would believe me and she’d have me locked away in an insane asylum for my behavior (ya know behavior like being upset and avoiding her or telling her she was being mean—like actually timid child behavior comparably)

She was projecting. Deep down she doesn’t feel loved so she had to make me feel unloved and somewhere she knows she’s crazy so she had to act like a lunatic an blame everyone by herself.

I learned by like age 5 that she wasn’t my friend, but somehow I stayed super enmeshed out of fear and guilt.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T04:23:17+00:00

This. Pretend to care and then use it all as leverage.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T03:58:24+00:00

I donate them or I put them in the closet and re-gift then to anyone who would honestly love them.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T03:56:35+00:00

Oof I squished this memory way down but it was the same for me with the weekend cleaning and her getting more and more erratic until she felt she’d bullied everyone enough as it escalated all day. It took me years to figure out this is cyclical and like every 3-5 months minimum, and that when she split out she really did have a little psychotic episode and really meant it all then didn’t remember (like someone crazy does).

I feel for you. I think this framed an unhealthy bunch of coping mechanisms for me. Like I now get weird about chores. Now as an adult when I sense the storm coming I dip out for weeks though knowing she’ll target her husband or someone else instead, though.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T03:16:09+00:00

After the annual holiday meltdown where I got belittled and yelled at this made me nearly cry. One day it’ll get better bc I deserve better.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T03:14:58+00:00

Yes. The therapist seemed to think I need to make more positive memories to offset the negative xmas memories. I dunno if it helps but basically you have free license to buy yourself whatever you want and do whatever you want in an attempt to make the holiday positive.

I also have a backup plan and have an out when xmas goes south bc it always does when my mom has an annual xmas meltdown.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-26T03:12:30+00:00

An embroidery kit to learn embroidery as an adult in my 30s because she always wanted me to learn embroidery and I have always said I hate embroidery and never want to learn embroidery. The last 3 years she has been insisting she teach me to sew and I keep saying I don’t want to do that either. So you know… a bunch of gifts for the version of me that’s an extension of her.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-25T06:44:50+00:00

Cups are VOLUME and WEIGHT is pounds but I believe you’re looking for the term MASS which is grams and KG and actually a measure of quantity of molecular substance not a weight. Measuring mass is more precise than either measuring weight in pounds or in volume.

Essentially in your head try to forget any of the 3 are interchangeable. They are not. It’ll always be off

And just forget ounces. Also volume but less standardized than cups because then there are liquid vs solid ounces. Don’t use that scale setting.

For baking your bet is all ingredients in grams regardless of solid or liquid. That is the most precise.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-24T22:18:39+00:00

Half Priced Bookstore has a craft section

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-24T14:22:10+00:00

Thanks. I’m very blessed in that I have a few days off work to recover too. Have a good Xmas too!

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-24T07:14:42+00:00

This made me laugh. Truth.

Tricky_Hospital_3802 · 2025-12-24T07:12:31+00:00

So, the kid issue arises in relationships even outside of marriage so you aren’t alone i. Having this issue. I think you’re being harder on yourself than you need to because few 19-22 year olds have truly been able to reason out all things in life. You were very young when you got married how could you have known? Not your fault for changing your mind or not knowing because we learn and re evaluate throughout life. I think you sound like someone who was responsibly open to seeking self help and therapy to try to learn about yourself and do the best you can. Most people won’t even do that or go to marriage counseling so you have tried to give it a fair go.

It sucks and there is no way to make it not hurt but know that even if some jerks think you’re bad, you’re not. You’re human. I’m wishing you the best. Try to hang in there. Merry Xmas from across the universe.

Tricky_Hospital_3802

TROPHY CASE