Category: Life Happens

Uh-Oh, There Goes The Yarn Budget

This year’s house project is going to be the deck overlooking the lake. We’ve known that there were some problems lurking underneath the deck surface, and had scheduled the guys to come out this past week to start work. We knew that it would be more than just a resurfacing project, as the beam under the railing has progressively become more warped and twisted, leading us all to believe that there was some major water damage underneath.

The guys started by taking off the railing, then started to peel off the stucco. Here’s what they found, in a photo essay.

If there was a soundtrack to this post, I think there would be puking noises accompanying that last photo.

The damage extends at least under the bay windows of the kitchen, which means that it’s not just a deck project any more. They are coming back Monday with reinforcements to peel more stucco and find out just how far this goes.

We decided to drink martinis that night. Lots of them. And every night since. Needless to say, we’re not sitting on the deck to drink them.

And I’m not just on a yarn buying freeze anymore. Horrors, the wine budget might have to get slashed, too. Good thing I have a decent stash of both.

I’m a bit too queasy after that pictorial essay to post any knitting pictures. Maybe next time.

On Google searches:

Now this is the best google search that got someone here in a very long time. “Knitting related tattoos”. If you type that into Google, I’m the first thing that comes up. Makes a nearly-fifty year old girl proud.

I Forgot

It happens, it’s probably all that bourbon. I intended to add these two items to the last post, then screwing around trying to get that stupid quiz thing to fit into the blog window distracted me.

First, Washington (the state) has finally arrived at another major turning point in civilization. It only took them 29 years to do it, but we’ve extended civil rights to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination. The right wing promises to fight this one by a ballot initiative, but hopefully common sense will prevail. (Though as my mother always said, “common sense isn’t all that common”.)

Second, the Yarn Harlot’s TSF campaign has topped $100,000 in the past year. Think about it, people. $100,000 is a lot of money from any one group. I plan on making this an annual donation. I can spare a little yarn money, how about you??

Last Photo…..

…with my old camera, that is.

Because today is my BIRTHDAY!!!!

And here’s what I got from my sweetie…

And another…

It’s a Canon Digital Rebel XT, which I’ve been coveting but couldn’t quite justify just to take photos of yarn. My sweetheart knew that I needed a great camera to take pictures for the blog, so there you have it. What can I say, he spoils me.

Now I have to go knit some good stuff, so I can take some swell pictures to justify this baby.

And Dena, (new and improved-i.e.-correct spelling!) if you’re reading this; say “hi” in the comments! I was in the hospital deli this morning with a mouth full of donut when a woman came up to me and asked, “”Are you Lorette? I read your blog; I’m a knitter, too.”  I was so surprised that I truly acted like a dork. I hope we run into each other again! Say “hi” if you see me again…maybe I’ll have the presence of mind to actually have a conversation!

New Project Monday

It is Monday, right? I’m never quite sure unless I’m at work and have to write the date nine hundred times.

The kids are all back home, and the house is mostly cleaned up. It’s awfully quiet around here, is all I have to say. They were here for 5 days, and I think we ran fifteen loads of dishes and ten loads of laundry, at least, while they were here. I have a new respect for my grandmothers. My mother’s mother had nine children, and fed and raised all of them along with the usual collection of shirt-tail relatives who lived at her house off and on over the years. She helped my grandfather run a farm out in the middle of nowhere, with no running water, and no conveniences of any kind. She made all their meals from scratch, and grew or raised most of the ingredients herself. She washed all the laundry by hand, and hung it out on a clothesline to dry, summer and winter. And here I am, bamboozled by four small children, with all the conveniences in the world! The one thing that they did leave behind was an unwelcome viral visitor. I estimate that the incubation period of that cold virus was less than 36 hours, given how fast it moved from one kid to nearly the whole family.

I appreciate all the comments on my last few posts. I have discovered the secret to getting lots of comments: just post a picture or two of cute babies, and you’re all set!

Here’s what’s happening in my knitting world. Rogue is still drying. That yarn is so heavy that it is taking forever to dry. I didn’t just steam it lightly to block it, as it’s been all over the place in the last several months, and I figured it needed a good washing. I’ll be out of town for the rest of the week, so it won’t get put together at least until I get back.

Here is what the Peace Fleece looks like now:

That color is just wrong. In real life it is much greener. This is going to be my Not-Really-An-Everyday-Cardigan cardigan. (Scroll down the page on that link to see it.) I purchased this as a kit a long time ago, but don’t really like the pattern that comes with it. It’s a bit too cropped for me, and the sleeve shaping has some issues, and I don’t like the way that those dropped sleeves look. And I don’t really like the roll neck, either. So I am using a pattern designed with Sweater Wizard software instead. It is a plain cardigan, crew neck, with set-in sleeves. It’s as basic as it gets, and I bet I will wear it to death. It’s also a pretty quick knit, given the heavy worsted weight and plain stockinette stitch.

We’re off to Georgia to visit John’s sister for the rest of the week. It’s been in the nineties there, so I’m not sure I’ll even bother to take the heavy wool with me to knit. Am I the only sick person out there, or do you all also think “I’ve got x number of hours just to sit on an airplane and knit”, when you contemplate a vacation?

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I keep forgetting to mention this in a post, but I separated out the “knitting medical types” in my “Blogs I Read” section. If you are a “knitting medical type” with a blog, and I’ve missed you, leave me a comment and I’ll get you listed over there.

Overdue

That baby, that is. This is a good thing for me, not so good for the mom-to-be. If your name is Jen, and you are about to give birth any minute, now is the time to step away from the computer. You should be off packing your bag to go to the hospital. The rest of you can read on.

I have finished all the pieces to the baby sweater:

Now I just have to sew them all together, and do the collar finishing. This is Stephanie’s Daisy pattern from Knitty. I have plenty of yarn left over, so I think I will put the hood on as well. I am making this in the middle size, to fit a larger baby. I figure all new babies get a ton of cute infant outfits that they wear once before they grow out of them. This one will fit him when he’s more like 8 months old. With the sleeves rolled up, he can wear it while it’s too big, and the wearing season can be stretched for at least a couple of months.

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I’m off to watch the Weather Channel. With the weather being so calm and lovely here today, it’s hard to fathom that New Orleans is about to get pummeled to the ground. My thoughts are with all the people of the Gulf Coast region; here’s one way we can all help:

Donate to the Disaster Relief Fund. Here’s the deal: I’m not going to volunteer to keep track of knit bloggers’ donations, Harlot-style, because, well, I can’t even balance my checkbook.  But I challenge you all to donate to the RC, and to put that button on your blog when you do (save it to your server first, of course). You are on your honor, and you don’t have to blog the amount that you have given. $5, or $5000; it will all help.

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Addendum:
Go here. Margene and Susan have set up an official blog page to inspire you to donate to the Red Cross. If the Red Cross doesn’t suit you, Angela has a list of other ideas for charities to send your money to. Give what you can.

Katrinareliefthankyou

Hand Update, Again

Today I’m at 7 weeks post-op. I’m still going to therapy twice a week. Today was the first day that my spouse took the camera (he still comes with me, as I can’t drive yet). Amy, my OT, suggested that I bring my knitting needles with me today so she could watch me knit in order to determine if it was safe to try it yet. Ever thinking of my blog readers, I had John take pictures to document the event. I knew you guys would not want to miss this.

The most fun thing I do in therapy is the corn husk machine. It is filled with ground up corn husks, and is heated. After you stick your arms in it, the fan comes on and blows the corn around your hands while you do exercises. It feels really good, and enables me to do a lot more with my fingers than I can do without it. I think it’s partly the heat, and partly the tactile stimulus of the husks that helps. Here is a picture of me in the machine.

And a closeup of the corn.

After my splint came off at six weeks, I noticed that my hand is extremely hypersensitive. This is partly from having it in a splint for that long, with the resulting sensory deprivation, and I suspect partly from having all the skin peel off my entire hand about a month into this. It’s getting better as I am able to use it more, but the weird sensation in that hand has been very disconcerting. Amy assures me that this is normal and that using it will help.

I’ve started doing manual tasks with my hand. She has told me that it is OK to type, though my hand is very awkward, and I can’t type for long without getting very tired. Here’s the other gadget that I started using this week at OT.

I have to pick up the pegs, turn them over in my hand, and put them back in, while curling my wayward fingers around the peg. It’s harder than it looks. Here’s another view, with Amy supervising and cheerleading.

And now the picture that you have all been waiting for.

I’M KNITTING!!! After carefully watching me knit a whole row, Amy said “Those are just the movements I want you to be working on”. I showed her how I could knit continental style to take the work off my index finger, and she said that she would rather I use that right hand so I start getting some dexterity back. (This is a very good thing, as I am a thrower by nature, not a picker.)

HOORAY!!

I had some serious doubts the past several weeks whether I would ever be posting knitting pictures again on this blog. Here’s a closeup of what I’m making.

The color is actually more amethyst , more like the first picture. I started this before my injury; it will be a simple 1X1 rib scarf.  The yarn is Beaverslide Dry Goods fisherman weight, in a color named Prairie Aster. I intended this to be for the Dulaan project, started by Ryan, of Mossy Cottage Knits. Ryan, this might not get done by the deadline, but it WILL get done and sent eventually! I’m not going to win any speed races any time soon, but I’M KNITTING!! Did I already mention that?

I Passed!

My tendons passed, that is. Thursday I had the tendons tested, which was a hell of an excitement, let me tell you. I actually had a dream about it the night before. In my dream I had taken my splint off to show somebody how it worked, then couldn’t get it back on correctly. I showed up at my “test” and Amy was none too happy with me. Any of you who have been through “higher education” would probably recognize this as a variant of the dream where you realize that the final is today and you forgot to go to class all semester.

The actual test took about ten seconds, then I was on my way to doing active exercises. This has been a rather distressing few days. I’ve lost a lot more power and range of motion in my hand and wrist than I would have thought possible in a month. I need to keep reminding myself that I’m not supposed to be at full strength for another two months.

The real surprise was that my splint was revised yet again. Amy replaced the tape that straps it to my wrist with velcro straps so I can TAKE IT OFF to do exercises, and to wash my hand to get the gunk off. Hooray! In case you think this less than thrilling, let me just say that a lot of gunk builds up when you can’t wash your hand for a month. I’m exfoliating the skin off my whole hand and leaving my DNA all over the house. Guess I can’t commit any crimes for awhile; Gil on CSI would identify me in a minute.

I got a great surprise package in the mail this week from Kristen. Check out her blog here. Here is a picture.

Though I can’t knit, she figured I could manage Kool-Aid dyeing. There is a ball of Patons wool, which she skeined and tied for me so it’s ready to go. She included the Kool-Aid as well as gloves; a regular one for my regular hand, and a plastic bag to go over the splint. There are treats as well: chocolate for me, a knit catnip mouse for the cats, and a cookie for Riley. Here’s Willie’s verdict. He’s been trying to kill that mouse ever since he got it.

And Riley’s thoughts on the matter:

The chocolate is long gone, so no pictures. Thanks Kristen!

One more tip for any of you who unexpectedly find yourself unable to wash your own hair for three months. I got a little tired of looking like Phyllis Diller after the first week and went to my salon for a shampoo and style. It was wonderful, but a little spendy to do very often. John called his barber to see what they charge. The barber that owns the shop is a woman, and she charges $8 for a wash and dry. So I’m splurging and going every week.

3 Weeks Down,

Only 9 more to go. This week has been about maintaining my sense of humor. The first two weeks I was all gung ho, with an “I can lick this” attitude. I think the reality hit this week. I’m better now, but at the beginning of this week I wasn’t a happy camper about any part of this experience. Then to add insult to injury, I was in my surgeon’s office yesterday morning. He looked at my hand and said “you’re missing one of the stones from your ring”. This would be my wedding ring he was referring to, and neither I or John had noticed it. The ring has one larger diamond in the center with a smaller one on each side, and it was one of the smaller ones that was gone.

I managed to keep it together until we got to the car and then burst into tears, crying all the way home. I figured we’d look all over and never find it. I reached down to unhook the seat belt, and whacked my hand yet again on the center console, as I have been doing every time because it’s so f-ing awkward to do the seat belt with your left hand. Just for the heck of it I looked down between the seats to see if by some miracle it was there, and it WAS. So now the ring is at the jeweler’s to get fixed, and I’ve got three weeks of this under my belt, and I feel much better, thank you.

After this week, if all is going well with the tendons, I get to start doing what Amy my OT calls “baby bird” exercises. It apparently goes something like this: I passively move my fingers into my palm, then let them go and pretend like I’m holding a baby bird. I have to hold tight enough to cradle the bird in my hand, but not hard enough to squish it. I’ve never been so excited to start an exercise program in my life. Not this week though. That would be next week, if all goes well. This week is still another of the boring passive-range-of-motion-exercises weeks.

I can’t thank all of you enough for the kind words of support. Ryan, of Mossy Cottage Knits, and Margene, of Zeneedle, think I’m an inspiration. And Dorothy of Missouri Star fame sent me this after I whined about having trouble holding paperback books open.

Very cool. And it works amazingly well! Thanks, Dorothy! This might mean no more books lobbed across the room in frustration.

 

 

Happy Blogiversary To Me!

Today is the first anniversary of The Knitting Doctor. Unfortunately I won’t be doing any knitting to celebrate. It’s been a fun year. I started this as a way to document what I’m knitting, but it has turned into a wonderful way to “meet” a lot of other knitters. I’ve learned a few things about computers, and a lot of things about knitting. I like to look at anniversaries as opportunities for reflection; a time to set new goals, perhaps drop old ones that are no longer useful.

Julia from Moth Heaven wrote an interesting post last week about what she chooses to knit and why. I think one of the few disadvantages of blogging, and reading other blogs, is that I get very distracted from my knitting. “Oooohhh, I want to knit THAT!” “No no, THAT needs to be next.” Once my fingers get working again, I want to finish up some old projects that have been languishing, then work on some of the projects buried in those eight tubs of yarn lurking behind me. (OK, ten.) So much yarn, so little time.

I promised a list of the positive benefits of my hand injury. I have combined this with a list of things I can and can’t do with one hand, as well as just a few random things I’ve discovered. In no particular order, here goes. Some of these might qualify as “too much information” for some of you. Consider yourself warned.

I’ve learned that “they” make dental floss thingies that can be used with one hand.

I am able to wash my right armpit with ease.

I need assistance with the left armpit.

I’ve mastered one-handed makeup.

I can take my bra off with one hand.

I can’t get it back on.

Let me just say that “feminine hygiene products” can indeed be managed with one hand when one has to do so.

I’ve learned to butter toast with one hand. (If you are thinking “Ha, I can do that”, just try it.)

I can still drink a glass of wine with one hand. I can’t get the bottle open alone, but once it’s open, I’m set.

I have a lot of free time to read books. I’ve even gotten caught up on some medical reading.

Paperbacks are harder to read with one hand. Hardback books stay open better by themselves. Fortunately there is no shortage of books in this house.

I have lots of time to play on the computer.

My husband and I have had lots of time together. As long as he remembers that he has to help me wash my left armpit and then hook my bra before he goes anyplace, we’ll get along fine.

Life is much easier when people leave my bathroom counter the way I have it. Especially people who seem to think it’s funny to go in and put the caps and lids back on everything.

I finally will have time to read through June Hiatt’s Principles of Knitting. Of course, it’s a big enough book that I might not be able to balance it one-handed.

I’m able to go to the park with John to walk the dog a lot more than I ever was before.

You learn the value of little milestones. My stitches came out this week.

I’m learning the value of patience when you are a patient. I’ve only lobbed a couple of things across the room in frustration this week because I couldn’t get them open.

My splint has a rubber band that hooks one part to another part. Cats appear to find this endlessly fascinating. I’ve discovered that it’s just better if I don’t fall asleep with my splint exposed while Willie is pretending to sleep on my chest.

I can pet the cat with one hand. I can just as easily knock him four feet across the room one-handed.

That’s enough for one day. I’m sure I’ll think of more later, with all the free time on my hands. Well, hand, I guess.

Hand Update

I had my first hand therapy session yesterday. Let me just say that occupational therapists are way under-appreciated. I knew that they were going to put me in a different splint; I had this vision of the OT picking one off a shelf and strapping it on my hand. Not so. She built it from scratch based on my hand measurements and my specific injury.  It ended up being made out of a moldable plastic material, velcro, fishing line, Barge cement, and a rubber band. Here’s a photo. Click on it to get an appreciation for the fishing line part.


I also have to start exercises hourly while I’m not asleep. I’m sure it’s the exercises and not just the splint, but the pain in my hand has gotten kicked up a notch.

I also found out yesterday just how limited I will be with the use of my hand for the next 3 months. Basically all the exercises are passive stretching, and she said that I won’t be allowed to do any active movements of any of my right hand fingers for that time frame. Obviously that means no knitting, but more significantly, no work for the next three months.  That means there won’t be any yarn deliveries around here for awhile. The UPS man might just forget where I live in three months. He’ll probably think I died or something.

I did buy myself one little self-pitying girlie item yesterday. Nothing cheers you up like springy makeup colors. The eyeliner might be a little optimistic, though. I have been able to get my makeup on with one hand otherwise.

I’ve decided I’ll still be blogging. Obviously it won’t be about new knitting, and I’m not quite sure just what this space will hold for the next few months. I will get back to knitting eventually!

I WANNA KNIT!!

First, I would like to thank everybody who sent good wishes about my hand. I can’t type well enough to respond to each of you individually, so this will have to do for now. Things seem to be going as well as I’d expect, though I’m still relatively drugged up on narcotics for the pain, so who knows.

Damn it. DAMN IT, I said. You just don’t realize all the things that require two hands until you lose the use of one of them. I am fortunate to have a husband who is quite accustomed already to waiting on me, so he hasn’t really had to act much differently. I have learned how to brush my teeth with my left hand, and managed to eat spaghetti last night, after a fashion. Try buttering your toast with one hand, and see how that goes. Getting a bra on turns out to be a two person job, and I have to say that John was quite a good sport about trying to wield the flatiron and tame my hair this morning.

I dreamed about knitting last night. Looking at knitting books and patterns is no help, I just get more frustrated. I have my first physical/occupational therapy appointment on Tuesday, and should have a better idea at that point how long this will all take.

I did get a little package in the mail yesterday:

Go to Patternworks if you want your very own.

Back to reading. I’m trying very hard not to behave like a spoiled two-year old with a temper tantrum.

Things Could Be Worse…

I guess I won’t be knitting for awhile. I did one of those “wide world of sports” falls two nights ago, and trashed my hand. We were going across the yard to the neighbors after dinner to socialize for a bit. We had part of a bottle of wine left, and I was carrying that and my wine glass. I miscalculated where the rock retaining wall was, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground with a bloody hand, and the broken off stem of the wine glass sticking out of my palm. I couldn’t flex my index finger so I was pretty sure that I’d either gotten a nerve or a tendon, or both. After a couple of hours in ER, it appeared to be tendon. I had semi-emergency surgery last night, and spent the night in the hospital afterwards. The good news is that the plastic/hand surgeon was able to repair the two severed tendons, and if all goes well I should have a good chance of regaining full function.

I’ll spare you the bloody hand photos…actually we didn’t wait around long enough to take them before racing off to the ER. Here’s what it looks like this morning.

Yes, it’s my right hand, and yes, I’m very right hand dominant. I’m not much of a one-hand typist, either.

To add insult to injury, our trip to Spain is postponed for the time being. We may try to reschedule for the fall, but the surgeon didn’t think leaving the country for three weeks was a very good idea. It’s a good thing I have lots of audio books on my Ipod.

Oh yes, though I broke the wine glass, I did manage to save the bottle of wine. I have my priorities, after all.

Rogue, Real Life.

I have been knitting on Rogue. I even took pictures of my progress. Unfortunately they all turned out to be crap, and I am not posting crappy photos today, even though I have done so in the past with impunity. It’s one of those famously gray western Washington days, and not very photo friendly. I suppose I could have fixed it, but I’m way too lazy. So you’ll have to take my word on it. I’m not making speedy progress due to the intervention of work this past week, but have gotten into the spirally cables up the side. This is really a hypnotic project to knit, as many others have found. Ei and Dorothy are making much better progress than I am. Go look at their pictures. Mine looks like that, only not as far along, and mine is pink. They also evidently know how to take good pictures.

I do have a picture of the pets doing what they do best. Daisie the Corgi was here visiting again, and I guess somebody must have tired them out at the park:

Note that Willie is on the dog bed too. My husband took that photo, which explains why it is not blurry.

I was going through my site stats and found a couple of things that amused me (it doesn’t take much to amuse me, really). I always look at the search strings in Google that got people to my blog. My favorite for the week is “graph paper knitting alien”. Right up there is “flannel sheets at Costco”. I was the fifth hit on that one. My flannel sheets are from Costco, actually, though I don’t remember ever mentioning it in my blog.

Work this week just plain over-ran me. I didn’t get much done except work, eat, and sleep, and not that much of the latter. I have a work schedule that most people would find nuts. I work 7 days in a row, then get a week off, which sounds great. The 7 days on basically put two and a half weeks worth of work in one week, and I sleep for the first 2 days I have off. Then about 4 days into my week off, I’m pretty excited about my work schedule again, and by Monday (my last vacation day), I’m all pumped up to get back at it again.  It sounds crazy, but it has its moments.  Anyway, I’m still in my jammies at 10:30 this morning, and would have no intention of changing that if I didn’t have a couple of meetings this afternoon. It probably wouldn’t do to go in my bathrobe. Though I might just take my knitting with me.

War President

Check out the American Leftist, and Kerstin’s post from the 19th to find out what this picture means.

And then go here, to the Washington Post Faces of the Fallen.
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(Added at 10AM)

If you want to support the troops while protesting our president’s actions, go to Jean’s post today. She has compiled a list of links in her left sidebar. It’s good to be reminded that these men and women in uniform are just doing their job. Every one of them is somebody’s son or daughter, and most of them are young kids away from home for the first time.