"Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either." ~ Elizabeth Zimmerman

10/30/08

Couldn't Let the 'O' Go

I am participating in the Sock A Month 6 knitalong. The goal is to knit at least one pair of socks per month. I wasn't going to do an entry for October because of the problems I've been having healthwise, and the lack of desire to knit anything. However, the more I thought about not having that 'O' next to my name in the sidebar of the SAM6KAL blog, the more it bothered me. Besides, I'm feeling the knitting fever now. So I made some baby socks.



Pattern: I modified Ann Budds Better Than Booties Baby Socks pattern a bit.

Yarn: Opal Petticoat in color #1296

Needles: Size 2 Addi Turbo Lace Circular.

Cast On: October 29, 2008
Completed: October 30, 2008

Now for an insignificant bird story. Just after I got home from the hospital after my surgery I noticed that my bird feeders were empty. However, I really couldn't do anything about it, and I didn't want to ask Sweet Hubby to take care of it cos he had his hands full enough dealing with me. Consequently, the feeders stayed empty for a few weeks. Early last week I finally got to fill the feeders. But, there were no birds. Not even the usual chattering in the trees in the morning. Where did they all go? I was afraid they were gone for good (or at least until next spring).

I called my sister-in-law Diane and found out her feeders have been full all along, but she wasn't getting any birds either. We speculated that, perhaps, because it was fall, and there was a large quantity of wild seeds to be eaten on the Parkarosa, that maybe that was where they all went.

Monday morning one Chickadee showed up at the feeders.

Tuesday morning two Chickadees came to the feeders.

Wednesday morning a whole FLOCK of chickadees invaded the tree my feeder hangs in and had a party.

This morning the whole flock came and brought friends-Nuthatches.

All is well again.

Have a great day.

10/29/08

WIP Wednesday 10/29/08


Since I have to put my leg up on pillows on a regular basis, and I'm feeling much better, the creative juices have begun to flow and I'm getting things done.

Yesterday I started assembling Pierre the Pirate. He has turned out to be quite a challenge to assemble too. The little pile of black beside him is his pirate hat and an eye patch. The instructions for the hat are hazy at best, so I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna do it. I hope Ravelry can give me some tips. Anyway, I want to get him done before next Wednesday so I can take him to the Knitwits meeting.


I started the sky on Dogwood & Hummingbirds.


And this is where I am on an ornament cover I started a couple weeks ago. I just have to finish the fringe and it's done.


I also knit a couple inches on the Deep Forest sock last night, and I started a pair of baby socks this morning. I've decided I can not go without my letter 'O' for October in the Sock A Month knitalong. Baby socks just take a couple hours or so to knit.

Today it's supposed to get up into the 60's. I see deck knitting in my immediate future.

Have a great day.

10/28/08

WOW! Entry for October 08

It's time for the October WOW! entry. I thought I'd taken a picture of this yarn in the skein last year when I bought it, but I can't find such a thing so I must be mistaken. Anyway, Sunday evening I started knitting with it before I realized I didn't have that supposed photo. Oh well.



This is a skein of Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock yarn in the Deep Forest colorway. As you can see, I am knitting socks again. These are to be a Christmas gift, to be precise (yes, it's that time again). I'm doing my own pattern.

You know I'm feeling better when I start knitting again. The Panic Attacks have stopped. I don't even need to take the Clonazepam anymore. What a relief! I still feel a little 'weird', but each day it gets a little better. I'm getting more energy each day too. I also did quite a bit of walking over the weekend. On Sunday my daughter Ruth went with me for a walk on the Parkarosa. We did almost a whole mile. Unfortunately my leg swelled right up afterward. I may have overdone it just a bit cos walking in the woods is harder than walking on pavement. There's lots of pine cones, branches, and weeds to wade through and over.

While on our walk we saw a grouse, and we found 3 wild apple trees with apples on them. Ruth took a whole bag of them back to school with her.

Now for a bit of nature. This tree is in my back yard. It is called a Tamarack tree. It is one of the few conifer trees that turn color in the fall and drop all their needles, like deciduous trees do. We don't have a lot of them on the Parkarosa, but a few miles drive from here are whole mountain loads of them.


They turn such a wonderfully bright shade of golden yellow that I had to share it with my readers. Here's a close up of the same tree.


That's all for now. Have a great evening.

10/24/08

Doing the Right Thing

I was losing my battle with the Panic Attack Anxiety Disorder. It took a turn for the worse and I found myself vomiting several times a day, unable to sleep, and feeling miserable. I wake up in the morning and before I've even had a chance to think of anything my brain starts pumping those nasty fight or flight chemicals into my blood stream. By the time I got up I was a basket case.

So, I was sitting in my chair on Wednesday morning, feeling absolutely wretched, and asked myself "Why am I sitting here suffering when all I need to do is go see my doctor?" I picked up the phone and made the call. 2 hours later he was checking me out. I did the right thing. His diagnosis-my body has been under a great deal of stress of late. Thus, triggering the Panic Attacks. He has upped my daily Prozac dose.

Then he started talking about Xanax because it takes Prozac anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks to start working. Xanax is a tranquilizer that stops the brain from pumping those nasty chemicals. Brings it to a screeching halt in my case. It helps with the anxiety until the Prozac kicks in. However, it also makes me very very apathetic and sleepy. I can hardly function when I take it. I expressed my misgivings and the doctor suggested I try something new. So I did, and I love it. Within an hour of taking the first dose I started to feel more normal. The anxiety just dissipated, and I was not drowsy. I was hungry-for lunch. My appetite came back. I will only need to take it for a week or two until the Prozac kicks in, and it's not addictive. So I am a happy camper. The last two evenings I have eaten dinner with enthusiasm (I even cooked them!) and I didn't get nauseous afterwards and throw up. Hurray! I'm still waking up and getting hit with the attacks first thing, but that will decrease over the next couple weeks until it stops all together.

Since I've been feeling better the last couple days, I've been going out on little adventures. I have been looking for an appropriate thread to use for stitching the background of Dogwood & Hummingbird. I ordered the thread the pattern lists, but when it arrived on Wednesday it was way too light. It's a hand painted silk thread called Waterlillies and apparently there is no consistency in it's color from dyed batch to dyed batch. Mine is almost white it's so pale (supposed to be light blue with bits of pink).

I was given several suggestions for threads that might be suitable substitutions. So yesterday afternoon I got in the car and took off for Coeur d'Alene, where I drove from store to store looking for a thread that would work. I was unsuccessful. So, after carefully and thoroughly thinking about it, I'm gonna just use plain blue thread. It's not that important to me that the background MUST be pink and blue. Just blue is fine. As long as it looks more or less like sky. I've dug in the stash and found 2 different threads I'm pleased with. Now, to choose which one.......

This mornings adventure was a bit more strenuous. First I went in for a blood test. After that I decided to go to Walmart. Sweet Hubby has been making comments about picking up the latest Indiana Jones movie that's now out on DVD. So I thought I'd pop in and get it for him. Our Walmart is HUGE! And while I was there, I picked up a few other things we needed-which required wandering from one end of the store to the other, and back again. In other words, I did a lot of walking this morning. I'd say I did a mile, easily. All be it, at a leasurely pace while I looked for the specific items I wanted, but a mile none the less. My leg hardly hurt at all. I got very very tired, but I sure feel good about it. My recovery is speeding up. Once I've got this Panic Attack situation conquered, I'll be set.

Had a moose sighting Wednesday night. Tommy was fast asleep under a pile of blankets on the couch. We know he was asleep cos he was snoring. All the windows and doors were closed cos it was freezing cold outside (frost was forming on the grass). Suddenly, without warning he went absolutely bonkers. Started barking and racing and throwing himself against the back door. I opened it up and sure enough, there was a moose. We have a gate at the bottom of the steps so Tommy could not chase after the moose, but he sure barked his head off at it. I grabbed my paint ball pistol and planted a nice bright yellow one right on the mooses rear end. Boy, did she run!!! Moose can go pretty fast if they want to. What I wanna know is how did Tommy know? We didn't hear anything. Dogs are amazing sometimes.

My daughter, Ruth, is coming home from school for the weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing her. Maybe we can talk knitting.

Well, the washer has sounded it's buzzer. Time to throw the load into the dryer. So I will sign off.

Have a great day.

10/21/08

Major Elements are Done

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pretend there are no wrinkles, creases, or dirty spots in this picture.

(click to enlarge)

I have finished stitching all the major elements of Dogwood & Hummingbirds. I am quite excited about it too seeing as I started this project over 2 years ago. I still have 2 major things left to do before I can get it ready for framing. The background needs to be stitched in. It requires a color of Caron Waterlilies that I do not have. I've called a shop in Spokane this morning and ordered it. They are going to send it off to me tomorrow. There's a lot of background to stitch. It's all half stitches of one color, single strand. It will probably take some time.

The other thing is the backstitching-which puts in the outlines and whatnot. Backstitching is loathed by most cross stitchers. I, however, love it the most. It makes the picture come to life. In this case, it will add veins to the leaves, definition to the feathers in the wings, and finish the centers of the flowers. While I am waiting for my Waterlilies thread to come I am doing some of the backstitching that doesn't touch the background.

I had a good weekend. Especially on Sunday. I got to sit out on the deck in the sun for awhile. It's been so cold, I took advantage of the opportunity for a little warmth while I could. Winter draws closer each day. I read a novel while I was out there, and listened to the birds twittering and the gun shots banging. One of our neighbors has his own shooting range, and he clearly is practicing for hunting season. He must have had some friends over because there was definitely more than one gun being shot at a time. Ah, the joys of living the rural life.

Yesterday was dark, cold, and wet. It got so dark around 2:30 pm I actually had to turn the lights on in the house! I did do a bit of housework, but mostly I stitched hummingbird wings.

Today is another beautiful warm sunny day. So I puttered in the yard a bit-putting things away for winter. I put away the hummingbird feeder (no sense having it out all winter since the Hummers have all gone south), and I cleaned and filled the bird feeders. I also sat on the deck and soaked some sun.

For some reason I am absolutely dreading winter. We're hoping we don't get as much snow as we did last year. Sweet Hubby thinks we won't because our tractor is all fixed and running better than it ever has since we bought it. My nephew Shawn and his friend Don did all the repair work for us-for beer, and the chance to use it when needed. I'm so grateful to them for that because just paying for the parts was hard enough. Anyway, we're ready for snow if it comes. So SH figures it won't. Heh heh.

Have a great day.

10/18/08

Still Fighting the Battle

I have not given up. I had 2 really bad days in a row, but I carried on with the battle.

I think I've mentioned some time ago in this blog that I have Panic Attack Anxiety Disorder. Usually, it's kept under control with medication. However, with all the stress my body has been under the last few weeks, the panic attacks have returned. This is a disease I would not wish on my worst enemy. My brain starts releasing all of those chemicals that cause the flight or fight response-in other words, panic.

Ordinarily, when a human is under our common every day stress, the brain will release these chemicals, and then we think "oh, there's nothing to worry about." Immediately, the brain then releases chemicals which counter act the panic chemicals. They're called Re-uptake inhibitors (or something like that). Unfortunately, my brain doesn't make those chemicals. There isn't anything I'm afraid of. The brains chemical manufacturer is just malfunctioning because it's been under too much stress. So, I have all the physical symptoms of sheer terror, even though intellectually I know there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. It's a painful thing for me to go through.

Usually when this happens I call my doctor, he prescribes heavy duty tranquilizers to stop the release of the panic chemicals. I'm a doped blob until my meds (that supply the re-uptake inhibitors my body isn't making) kick back in, and life goes on. This time, though, I do not want the tranquilizers. They knock me down so hard. I'm so lathargic, and dopy when I'm on them, and I usually have to take them long enough that I end up addicted and have to wean off of them. My body has enough medication coursing through it right now. So I am dealing with it in a different way. Oddly enough, it's working. I'm actually feeling better today.

Despite yesterday being really hard for me, I made myself drive me to my appointment for yet another blood test (we're down to having them once a week now). Yes, my first time driving since the surgery. Then I ran a couple errands. I went to the drug store for a prescription refill, and the bank to deposit a couple checks. It was a warm sunny day (compared to what we've been having) and it felt good to be out and about.

After I got home I took a little rest, cos I was exhausted, then I set about cleaning my kitchen. I stood at the sink for a good 20 minutes washing dishes and my leg did not bother me. Now, THAT is great! I also did a couple small loads of laundry, and straightened things up around here because we were having company. My brother-in-law and his wife came over after work, bringing dinner with them. They brought chinese style food from Panda Express. We had a great time visiting with each other, and my appetite came back enough that I was able to eat some of the delicious food too. All in all, the day ended far better than it started.

Since my last post I have been stitching away on Dogwood & Hummingbird. I've got this much done on the last bird now.


I started the wings yesterday afternoon, after I was done with my housework. It's all I have left to do on this little birdy. Then, I start stitching the background color. Stitching really is helping me with the panic attacks, anxiety, and negative thoughts that have been plaguing me. I have to concentrate on counting and what color goes where. There is no room for bad thoughts. I'm so glad I know how to do counted cross stitch. It's my therapy of choice right now.

Have a good weekend.

10/16/08

There are Good Days and Bad Days

Today I'm having a bad day. I woke up nauseous and achy all over and I've felt that way all day. So I haven't done much.

Yesterday was such a good day. I walked to the mailbox and back, vacuumed the living room and dining room, and folded all the laundry and put it away. I was feeling pretty chipper and all. Not today though. Today I feel like lying down and giving up.

Sometimes it's hard to be a human.

Have a good day.

10/13/08

Feet and an Arm

Thank you so much to those of you who left comments in my last post. I really appreciate it. Your answers to my question, "Why do you read my blog?", surprised me. I feel honored and humbled that my knitting and bead work are an inspiration to folks. I am also glad to hear folks enjoy my moose stories.

Speaking of moose, I haven't seen any for a few weeks. Lots of deer, but no moose. Not even a sign they've been around during the night. However, my brother-in-law, who lives a mile from us on the creek that runs through the Parkarosa, is seeing them. So I suspect they have moved over to his house for the winter since that is what they did last year. Of course, after posting this, there will be a dozen or so of them strolling on the back lawn this evening.

Winter. Wow. It's on it's way here. We shouldn't actually be getting any snow until mid November, but it's been so chilly lately. Right now, as I write this, a large quantity of grey clouds has moved in, and it smells like snow. No snow in the weather prediction, but I'm starting to wonder.

Yesterday Sweet Hubby mowed the lawn for the last time this year. That led him to decide to blow out the sprinklers. Then to empty and roll up the garden hoses-which were full of ice! He had to thaw them out. Then he decided, since he was at it, he better winterize our little camping trailer. Some of the pipes were already frozen! (Thankfully, none were damaged.) So it took him awhile to get all the water out of it. He made a little pile of ice on the front lawn. It was still there this morning. Even though the sun has been shining, and the thermometer says 54F, it hasn't been what I would call warm.

Over the weekend I got just a bit of knitting done. Pirate Pierre has 2 feet and an arm.


I also made good progress on Dogwood & Hummingbirds. I finished the last flower, and I'm now working on the last Hummingbird.


Yesterday I went grocery shopping with Sweet Hubby. My leg was feeling pretty decent, so I decided to find out where it's at on the recovery gauge. I got through about 3/4ths of the grocery list, then I had to hand it over to SH and go out to the car. The leg starting throbbing in a most painful way, but mostly I got dizzy. Really really dizzy. Almost didn't make it to the car. A lady saw me staggering in the parking lot and helped me the rest of the way (I didn't let SH help me cos I thought I was gonna be just fine). Once I sat down, I started feeling better immediately. SH thinks maybe my blood pressure dropped because I was getting exercise for the first time after almost a month of laying around. The store was just a bit too much for me. Well, now I know. I need to build myself up a bit before I try that again.

The swelling in my leg is almost gone, and I have minimal pain when it's up on pillows. Standing and walking is still painful, but the pain is definitely decreasing each day. Now, if we could get my digestive system back in good order. I suspect exercise will help with that.

That's all the news for today. I am in the mood to make Pierre another arm, so I think I'll dig out the knitting needles.

Have a great day!

10/11/08

Random Whinings

Wasn't able to get online yesterday, not that I had anything to say anyway. Our wireless router (that's what SH called it) went kaput. He picked up a new one on the way home from work. So all is right with cyberworld again.

Has the world gone crazy or what? Stock markets falling like rocks off a cliff all over the world, banks going bankrupt, our government giving money to companies who spent theirs foolishly and are unapologetic about it (I spent the money for my failed yarn business wisely and you can bet if I'd asked for help they'd have laughed at me), presidential candidates not worthy of the office. Ah! No wonder I'm feeling so down of late. Trying to be positive about things, but the world is not making it easy for me.

Why do you read this blog? I have 18 subscribers. That's 18 people who care enough about what I'm writing to actually subscribe to it. Why? What is it about my blog that has your interest? I'm just wondering, because I am so surprised. Please tell me in the comments why you read my blog?

The last couple days have been very hard for me. I shot right into withdrawal symptoms, most likely from the prescription pain killers. Normally, the length of time I took them would not cause such a reaction in others, but my body is super sensitive to these things, so it's been punishing me. I've been dealing with the shakes, sweating hot then shivering cold, complete loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and emotional basketcase. (I cried like the world was coming to an end when the router toasted-even though I didn't really care one way or the other.) Oh yes, and the floating head-which is the way my head has been feeling, like it's not actually attached to my neck. So much fun!

The good news is, my ankle is back! The swelling is going down faster. The grapefruit lump on my thigh is now the size of a tangerine, and the pain has eased up quite a bit. I am still walking to the mailbox each day, and yesterday I made myself load the dishwasher. Standing for any length of time is excruciating, but each time I do it, it makes it easier the next time. I am determined to get over this situation.

Television has become unbearable. It's October. Nothin' but horror movies on now. I'm not a horror movie fan, so I've been seeking other things to watch, or at least have on as background noise, during the day, and I am so disappointed. I mean...who watches Bridezilla? Celebrity Hair Secrets? Phantom Gourmet? (I tried watching Judge Judy. Are people really that stupid?) And just how many channels can show 100's of Law and Order reruns at the same time? I'm not saying these are bad shows, necessarily. I'm just wondering why they are repeated over and over and over ad nauseum each day? I think of all the tv series that were on 20 years ago that are never rerun that I would so enjoy seeing again, and wonder why they aren't shown. I'd love to see the Ellery Queen Series with Jim Hutton again. Chico and the Man, Welcome Back Kotter, Remington Steele-just to name a couple. How many have I forgotten about that would be fun to see? Sigh.

Still stitching. I've got the flower almost done. Working on the leaves around it now. I'm thinking about starting a pair of socks. I really need to get serious about some Christmas knitting. It's already October. Goodness, where has the year gone?

Did I mention the problem we've been having with the dogs? Ever since I got back from the hospital, they have been peeing in the house all over the place-even though the doggy door has been open 24 hours a day. I have, until recently, been unable to clean it up, which leaves SH with the icky task. He has not been happy. I have not been happy. What in the heck is wrong with these guys? Why are they doing this? Anyway, 3 days ago I started opening the door to let them outside on occasion instead of SH (making myself walk to the door and back is a good task) or just depending on the doggy door. Suddenly, the indoor peeing has stopped. DON'T tell me that's the answer. They must have ME open the door, instead of Dad? Oh, for Petes sake! Give me a break! I am so wishing I didn't have dogs at the moment. This will pass though, I'm sure.

When one is confined to laying around with their leg up on pillows for days on end, one tends to think about things. I need to declutter my house. That is all there is to it. We have so much stuff sitting around that we once used regularly but don't even look at now. Like the manuals to the software that I had on my old 386 PC. I don't even have that PC anymore. Why do I need to hold onto the manuals? And the color laser printer sitting on the floor by the piano. It's been sitting there for 2 years-because I don't know where else to put it. It doesn't work, but could easily be repaired. So my thrifty recycling self wants me to keep it for some reason even though I have NO intention of getting it repaired. I see trips to the Goodwill and dump in our future-once I'm well enough to do it.

Enough of this. Have a great day.

10/9/08

Dogwood and Hummingbirds

I had intended to post this yesterday, but obviously didn't manage to do it. So I will post it today.

In my last post I talked about getting out one of my unfinished counted cross stitch projects and working on it. I have done that. I'm just not in the mood for knitting and beading this week. The hardest battle I've been fighting since becoming afflicted with the blood clot of doom is the mental battle. Trying to stay positive is hard for me because I'm naturally a half glass empty kinda girl. Counted cross stitch is the ultimate stress releaser for me. I have to concentrate totally on it, whereas with knitting and beading my thoughts can wander all over the place. So, I need to focus the thoughts away from the bad things, and this is how I'm doing it. It's working.


This picture is called Dogwood & Hummingbird. It's based on a painting by Canadian artist Sue Coleman. I love her paintings. Most of them feature Pacific Northwest animals, and have the northwest Indian symbol for that animal in them.


The cross stitch patterns are available through her own stitching business called The Stitching Studio. As you can see above, I only have part of one flower and one bird left to do, and the blue background. I'm stitching the picture on a piece of 28 count evenweave Lugana fabric in a butter yellow. I'm stitching over 2 threads, and using DMC cotton floss. I started this picture a couple years ago. I really need to finish it.

The weather prediction for today is 20% possible snow showers. I don't think it's going to go that far, but it is pretty chilly outside. There are grey clouds scudding across the sky, but we get bits of sunshine every so often. We got a hard frost last night, so the flowers are done for the year.

I walked to the mailbox and back yesterday afternoon. That is quite an accomplishment. And I did it without painkillers. Yes, I have taken myself off the brain muddling meds. I'm not without pain now, but it's at a level I can put up with. I can't stand the prescription pain killers. They so mess up my brain, and they give me bad dreams. I had a very peaceful nights sleep last night. I see light at the end of the dark tunnel I've been in. Now, to make sure I don't OVER do it!

Have a great day!

10/7/08

Blackberry Jam and Lemonade

When I was a little girl blackberries grew wild by the tons around where I lived. Every summer my sisters and I would pick buckets of these large black juicy sweet berries for my Mom and she would make the best blackberry jam in the universe. I miss that jam of hers so much. Like I said, it was the best in the universe.

I have finished making a beaded Christmas ornament cover.


The colors I chose for this cover remind me of lemonade and my mothers blackberry jam. I used gold lined matte pale yellow seed beads in sizes 8 and 11, silver lined dark red violet seed beads in sizes 8 and 11, some 3mm round gold beads, 4mm yellow a/b fire polished crystals, and some small daggers.

The techniques used in this pattern are right angle weave, netting, and loop fringe. Here's a detail close up.


Here's a close up of the fringe. I tend to be a little tight on my fringe, and I see I still have this problem.


This is not an original design on my part. It's a pattern by Cathy Lampole called Faith Victorian Ornament Cover. It can be purchased as a PDF file on her web site. I did do a couple substitutes on the beads. I don't have any 3mm crystals in an appropriate color, so I substituted the size 8 seed beads instead. I also did not have enough 4mm crystals, so I used the daggers in the fringe instead.

Aside from finishing this project, I have not been beading or knitting. I needed to find something that really occupies my mind in order to deal with the frustration of being so limited in my movement and whatnot, so I have dug out a counted cross stitch project that I started a couple years ago or so and I'm working on finishing that. I plan to take photos and post them tomorrow.

I learned how to do counted cross stitch when I owned my shop, the House of Needlecraft. When I bought the shop it was already very well stocked with the supplies for this craft. In fact, it was about 1/3rd of my business. So I learned how to do it so I could more accurately understand the needs of my cross stitching customers. My employee, Sally, was an excellent stitcher and taught me very well (Actually, she still is an excellent stitcher). I ended up getting totally hooked on the craft. Haven't done much of it the last couple years though. I've got about half a dozen unfinished projects that I really should attempt to finish some time.

I am still healing-v e r y s l o w l y. I can walk a bit more. They have my blood thinned to where it's supposed to be now, so I don't have to go in for blood tests quite as often. But the darn swelling is still there. I'm getting impatient waiting for it to go away.

It rained all night last night, but now it is a very windy, but sunny day today. The wind is just howling out there, 30 to 40 mph. Kind of scary. It's also kind of chilly around here. I finally broke down and turned the furnace on yesterday. Summer is over. Autumn is here.

Have a great day.

10/1/08

Update on Me.

I thought I'd post an update on how I'm doing.

Improving even as I speak. My leg is still twice as big as it should be, but I can walk on it a bit now, and the pain levels are decreasing. I am no longer using the wheelchair when I go in for my blood tests. I walked this morning. Boy, did it feel good-even though it hurt like hell. So the treatment they've got me on must be working.

Had my follow up check up with Dr. Holman, my surgeon, yesterday. His comment was "The surgery was a success, but the patient died." Hee hee! Glad to see he can keep his sense of humor. He really is an awesome person. I'd recommend him to anyone who finds themselves needing some general surgery.

The fact is, the blood clot thing had nothing to do with him. I'm prone to clots, the evidence has been there pointing out that fact for a few years, my regular doctor missed the symptoms. If I had known 3 weeks ago what I know now, this would not have happened. We could have taken the steps to prevent it before the surgery ever took place.

Now, I'd like to address a couple of questions that have been asked in the comments.

Blogger Kate/Massachusetts said...

Your socks are gorgeous! How do you match them so perfectly? Mine always seem to be "off" a bit. Glad your feeling better.

Well, I'm really picky about how I start my socks. I tend to waste a bit of yarn at the start of the ball looking for a good place to start that first stitch.

When I start the first sock, I make note of where I'm casting on the first stitch in the color repeat pattern of the yarn. For instance, in the recently finished Opal socks, I noticed a distinct point in the yarn where it changed from white to brown. I cast on the first stitch at that point. I did the same on the second sock. It's a matter of paying attention to how the colors are striping-in what order, and whatnot, and taking advantage of that knowledge.

Blogger Kate/Massachusetts said...

I'm glad to hear you're on the upswing. Hopefully you will feel a bit better every day. Will you have to take anticoagulants for the next six months?

Not the anticoagulants. I'm done with them. I will have to take the blood thinners for a few months though. I can handle that. It's just a pill or two. No needles. Well, even that isn't accurate because I have to get blood tests 3 times a week while I'm on this stuff. But I'm not poking the needle into me. Someone else is. That seems to make a difference in my outlook on life.

Is anyone else as excited as I am that the Season Premier of Pushing Daisies is on tonight? WOOT!

Have a great day.