I finally dove into my leftover sock yarn stash. I've long admired Shelly's project (Rav link). Then Trek started her own version and monkey see, monkey do, voila! My own memory blankie is underway!
No rhyme or reason at this point for the bottom row (other than semi solid) however, the light blue at the far left is leftover yarn from the very first sock I ever knit seven years ago. Seven...it's been seven years of knitting and four years of blogging. Time surely DOES fly.
Just like the coming week. Tomorrow is good, but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday nights all have something going on after work. Thank goodness for next weekend...Super International Pajama Day!!! Blame Thank Celia. Guess we all could use a little help from our friends!!!
...or so they say. So, no posts for two weeks and then, when there finally is a new post, my "Getting Married" post doesn't show up on Bloglines or Facebook Notes. What's up with that!?! Did something change in the ether-net that I missed the memo on!?!
In any case, it seems that posting isn't the only thing that's been missing from life for the past couple of months. Sock knitting has been absent since NOVEMBER!!! No socks in process. No socks in my purse. No socks for waiting rooms. No socks. Period.
There is a new sock design bouncing around my head at the moment. I've been putting off socks in order to dive into the design work. However, I desperately miss having a sock project in the works for some "brainless" knitting. So, "Brainless" (Rav link) is what the doctor ordered. (There have been enough doctors this month that a pair of socks could be finished already!)
Socks. I love you even more now than two months ago. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.
Sadly, the Cipro that I thought was going to do the trick actually played a trick on me. Within a few hours of my first dose I broke out in hives. It was nearly midnight when I headed for bed that night only to discover that my occasional tendency to itch was for a deadly reason. What's a girl to do when it's nearly midnight and she realizes she's in the midst of an allergic reaction!?!
I took an antihistamine and hoped that the mild itching would NOT be accompanied by a restricted airway. I didn't want to wake the kids and head into the ER unless absolutely necessary. I REALLY wished that I would've had someone (in house) who could take one look and definitively tell me whether to head in right away or safely wait till morning. It was one of the loneliest nights I've had since my husband ran away. I really missed my mate that night...someone who knew my body, almost as well as I did, and could give me an opinion based not only on facts but on emotion...the desire to make sure your companion is okay.
Deep breath.
I didn't sleep much that night, always on the edge of making sure I was still breathing. As soon as Urgent Care was open, I went in. Now before any of you leave comments about taking care of myself, don't worry...I have a 12 year old who is on top of that. She has moments where she is terrified that something terrible might happen to me. She watches me like a hawk and is the number one reason that I won't take any chances with my health and safety...or at least not until she's 18! We joke about skydiving once she's of legal age...both girls, me, three parachutes, and a plane...five years from now.
BUT...you're still wondering about the title of my post.
Like I said, a lot has happened in the past two weeks.
Panda was home from college
We had a couple of Wii challenge nights with friends
We had a couple of game nights with more friends
I was taken off all antibiotics with the hope that I'd had enough to battle whatever was coursing through my veins
The infection healed out enough that I could finally rehab my knee from the ice fall
Other than the knee that still has problems doing stairs and the fingernail that is deformed and falling off, my health seems to be back on track. (Much to my daughter's relief!)
I was reminded that it's nice to have health insurance compared to a year ago when, because of the ex's stupid choices, the girls and I were without...scary that was!
We had a four legged visitor...the barking kind...though he didn't bark and was the best little guy. It was nice to have a critter in the house for four days.
Panda went back to college (FIVE weeks of non-stop enjoyment and hugs!), but
Tina was under the weather...only to reveal that her marriage was over after 23 years...it instantly reminded me of those early days, when just saying, "we're getting divorced" was hard.
BUT...time does heal all wounds. My knee is getting better. My infected fingernail and knee will be alright. AND, as of today, it is once again legal for me to get married.
How about a spring wedding?
Summer?
Maybe winter?
In any case, just because my husband made some terrible choices that had an impact on the girls and me, it hasn't changed my view on marriage...just on my choices (and my girls' choices) of what an appropriate mate values. We call it getting "F's": Family, Faith, Friendships, Fun, Feelings, Forgiveness, Financial stability (aka work ethic)...to name a few of the things we feel are important. Flowers aren't the only thing I've considered. (BTW these are photos from the street market in Amsterdam last summer.)
The best part, my girls have a clear understanding that marriage is not about romance but about the values that make up the relationship. They'll do well.
AND...in case you're still wondering...NO...there is no one new on the radar. Maybe someday. But, for the time being, let's sell the house. Besides, I'm not ready to date until the house is sold. It would be too weird to get a good-night kiss at the front door of the house I shared with my ex (not like he ever kissed me there anyway).
BUT, it is legal for me to once again marry...that's something.
Fresh year requires a fresh project. Thanks to Kris, the pattern is available for free on her blog. It knit up quickly...so quickly that I made two of them on Saturday night. And if you ask me how or why I ended up with the hanging tag on opposite corners, I'll just blame it on the sulfa tablets...
...along with the nausea
...and headaches
...and fevers
...and insomnia (it would be TMI to mention anything about certain bodily discharges.)
Hmmmm, insomnia...the last time I had insomnia was when I was roomed with Terry at Knit Camp in 2005 (pre-blogging days) during the first few days of taking sulfa for a staph infection. (Poor Terry was worried that she had caused me to lose sleep at night.)
A consultation with my doctor today confirmed that penicillin isn't the only drug that I should avoid. No more sulfa. Time for something new.
Hello Ciprofloxacin aka Cipro. Sadly, I was assured that since I experience nausea with sulfa that nearly guarantees nausea with Cipro. Unlike sulfa, no yogurt doses for the nausea...must avoid dairy for within two hours of taking Cipro. But, the good news is that this is also the drug they prescribe for people exposed to anthrax...hard core!!! At least I have that going for me!
Another Sunday, another Open House. One day, very soon we hope, we will no longer need to clean and prep for such things. Everything is on hold until that day arrives and we will be SO very happy for SO many reasons...including the possibility of a new appliance; a dryer.
For awhile now, it's been "squealing"...a high pitched, obnoxious squealing noise that makes us want to silence the thing. We decided that attempting to clean any lint from the interior might be an option. So, I did what any good novice would do (after all, WHAT do I know about taking apart a dryer!?!) and pulled out the owner's manual.
See that bit circled in white? The plastic tab that the drum rests on is broken. While vacuuming out the lint from around the drum, the piece got caught in the suction...turns out it is one of the drum stabilizers. Since it had snapped off, the drum was rubbing on the pad...hence the rust areas...friction, moisture and heat...not a great combo.
A bit of Krazy Glue on the broken tab (notice how the part that was still attached was rubbed to much smaller!?!), a bit more cleaning and we reassembled the dryer. Fingers crossed, we loaded some laundry...crap...it started squealing louder than before...for the first three minutes...and then it stopped squealing.
The first load just finished. Bonus:a separate problem related to the dryer sensor was fixed with the cleaning. However, the handle has long since been broken. Pliers work just fine...and when there's an open house we slap on the old handle "for show". We'll see if the squeal is still gone with the next load.
For now, it's time for some peppermint tea. Thanks to Dutch Knitter Willemtje for leaving a comment about using peppermint tea for the sulfa nausea. There's always peppermint tea on hand here for a nasty cold, but it also helps abate the nausea...thanks for the tip!
If only the dryer situation were as easy! Too bad hiring someone to look at it is so blasted expensive...just to have them walk in the door!!! Hence, once the house sells, we'll be looking at a new dryer...probably cheaper than a repairman!
I HATE Sulfa tablets! In the Green Mile, Tom Hanks’ character doesn’t want to see the doctor because “he’ll only going to put me on those sulfa tablets!”, he says with disgust. I agree.
They make me nauseous. Really nauseous. I imagine it’s a lot like morning sickness. Though I wouldn’t know since during neither of my pregnancies did I even come close to anything remotely resembling morning sickness. (Though there was one evening that a seafood chimi nearly made me lose it…maybe the pregnancy was just a coincidence in that case!) Every time I even open the pill bottle my stomach lunges in revolt.
Turns out my leg is recovering nicely, but the gash on my knee was infected…and the hangnail from 4 weeks ago…and, well, obviously some nasty bug had decided to take up residence in my bloodstream. Penicillin is out of the question unless I don’t mind occupying space in a hospital or six feet under. So sulfa tabs it is…icky, disgusting sulfa tabs…think Willy Wonka and the green goo the Oompa Loompas offer him when he discovers them…think the mashed bugs that Indiana Jones tells Willie Scott to eat because the people are starving(Temple of Doom is chock FULL of gross food options)…icky, disgusting…sure hope you’re not having breakfast while reading this.
However, yogurt seems to be the cure for my particular nausea. As soon as I feel the twinge, I peel back the sealing label on one of those little lovelies and within no time at all my tummy is smooth and calm. In fact, my body seems to be craving the stuff…much like pregnancy…hmmmm…before you even suggest it, there haven’t been any immaculate conceptions in over 2000 years and that would currently be THE ONLY way possible!
Okay, so I went to the doctor today. Nope, still no knitting in my purse. However, this morning I decided to pack a few note cards to write a few thank you notes as an alternative way to pass the time waiting.
Yeah, that’s it, write thank you notes instead of knitting while waiting
…like a “normal” person
...except a “normal” person would probably read the waiting room magazines
People ask about my knee and, each time I respond, I hear the Beatles song play in my head (“myTunes”: the internal music “player”). Though, as a child of the 80’s, “myTunes” plays the BeeGees, Frampton version of the song from the Sgt. Pepper movie soundtrack! (Which I don't seem to be able to find to share with you!!!)
However, it's been a week and there are still a couple of issues that cause me concern so I'll pay the doctor a visit tomorrow to ensure I don't do any additional damage. Though, overall, it IS getting better all the time.
Strangely enough, I'm headed into a waiting room tomorrow and there are no socks occupying space in my purse to take along. In fact, there haven't been in a VERY LONG time. Not a single pair in December...
though there are now photos of the finished two at a time socks for some lucky baby boy...
and a pair for my college freshman "baby girl". Sadly you can't see much of the detail here...but these are toe-up from Wendy's book...Trilobite socks. Sadly, I did a very poor job of recording my needles/yarn/sizes etc...seems that not only did I not spend much time on my blog, but my Ravelry account was also neglected.
If I count the two pair of baby socks as "one pair" and then these purple Trilobites as another pair, that brings the count of completed socks for 2009 to 15 pair. Not nearly as many pairs in a year as in previous years. However, it does push me that much closer to 100 completed pairs since I began this blog four years ago. (Though there were many "unrecorded" socks before that point...but who's counting!?!)
For 2010 it'll be interesting to see how many pairs grow from my needles. My guess would be that the count will end up somewhere between 20 and 10 for 2010. (But, of course, that will only happen if I cast on a first pair for the year...any chance it'll happen before tomorrow's appointment...only time will tell!)
I slipped on the ice and landed on my knee. No, the doctor has not been consulted. Yes, I can bear weight and flex and bend and all kinds of things that lead me to believe that it is not broken but will need time to heal...I'm calling it "forced relaxation".
With all the home improvements of late, the laundry room is the last one on the first floor that could use the paintbrush and roller's attention. Sadly, my knee doesn't allow for standing upright for long periods of time. So instead, I've picked up old knitting.
Remember the Red Vest? It's been more than a year since I got to the point where knitting in the round needed to split for knitting the front and the back upper chest portions. SO CLOSE to being finished and it's lingered in my footstool for a year.
Putting it down (or away, in this case) was because I'd hit a brick wall as to how to finish the rewrite of my adaptation of the pattern to working in the round. Often I'd thought of working on it, but didn't think I had the brain power to concentrate on the rewrite. Amazingly, once I pulled it back out, the rewrite seemed SO simple. In no time, the back has been finished and the front is nearly so...it was elementary...
Yes, that is RDjr making sure that I rest comfortably. Of course, we went to see Sherlock Holmes Christmas weekend. Fabulous! Then again, RDjr is one of those who rarely lets me down. He always manages to provide me with a couple of hours of pleasure in the dark...never fails! Fan I am...to the point that a friend provided me not only with one of the actual theatre posters from opening day but also the reel of theatre previews. Frame by frame of RDjr goodness is mine...it's been suggested/considered to snip frame by frame of the trailer reel and fashion it into something functional...perhaps a shower curtain...could be fun, especially for the new house. Hmmm, in the meantime, a girl can dream...or at least sit and knit and mend.
Krafty1 at Etsy
