COVID & Crafting

When you get covid, try to do something productive, if you can!

Time and tide wait for no man…or woman. In this instance, it was my time to deal with covid. *sigh* I truly believe that every human being will ultimately contract covid if they live long enough. Vaccinations, boosters, and isolation are all helpful, but not too many of us want to be hermits. Therein lies the rub; if we all become hermits, airborne diseases would become dormant or disappear. I’m no epidemiologist, in fact, I’m barely literate, so this is just talking hyperbole here, but it’s a thought.

As the disease coursed its way through my body, I was wracked with a mild headache and a slightly sore throat. Oh, and some sinus congestion. Ok – “wracked” is not the most appropriate verb there. “Annoyed” would be better. My husband, from whom I contracted this, had a really tough 24-hour period of severe cold symptoms. I’ve never seen so much mucous. I tried the isolation route, making sure he had everything he needed and using the phone for communications. I slept on the guest bed in another room. (Note: I deeply apologize for all the guests I’ve subjected to this torture device! A bed-topper is now a huge priority for me.)

Casa de Covid room service

After some rest, he was better, which was great, because by then it was my turn. I do have to admit the onset of the disease started alarmingly. I had an hour or so of convulsive shivering; I felt so cold. My teeth were chattering and clacking and my whole body was bent over. When I became aware of that, I would straighten up for a moment and that seemed to help….until the shivering started again. I took a hot shower and then went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I had a cold, so I checked, and there were the two lines.

Awww nertz!
At least I got to sleep in my comfortable bed again!

With some downtime in my immediate future, I used it to finish the Blue Jean Baby Poncho that I had started several months ago, but it was pushed to the side as the Bierwagens Pumpkin Patch month-long event was approaching. I was a bit optimistic in that post, as I thought it could be whipped out in no time. Well, it probably could have, however, I put it aside, and now it’s finished. Ta-da!

I sewed up the front a little higher than was suggested in the pattern. It felt more comfortable for
me that way.

And another little project that I’d so callously ignored made its way back to my attention and was finished. I love this pattern, but I need to work on my fair isle skills, in particular, hiding the floats and stretchability of the finished product. Not happy with this, but I’m keeping it anyway.

The Unbearable Hat by Les Garcons. I’ve got to figure out a better way to do my fair isle!

So even though I finally contracted the dreaded COVID-19, the variant I had must have been a mild one, or perhaps the vaccination and boosters helped. I didn’t lose my sense of smell or taste, I was just tired, but not too tired to get some crocheting and knitting in!

Have you got covid? How was it for you? Did you get vaccinated and/or boosted? If so, do you think it made a difference? Or do you think the subsequent variants are losing the “oomph”? Do you think that everyone will eventually get covid?

Until next time, dear readers, stay healthy.

So In Love; or, Another Project In The Works

As projects go, there are some that really motivate a person. You know, when you’re not actively knitting or crocheting on it, you’re thinking about it, and you just can’t wait to get back to it! Working, shopping, chores, writing a post on your blog, exercising your pets, socializing (online or in-person), or riding in a speeding ambulance to get emergency life-saving procedures – they’re all diversions that are keeping you from finishing this masterpiece. At least, you fervently hope it will be when it’s done. I have already posted so many pics on my Instagram account that I’m sure the knitters out there are already bored at my Look! Another round completed! photo ops.

I am referring to, of course, the Halibut sweater designed by the inimitable Caitlin Hunter of Boyland Knitworks. I love her stuff, and when I saw this whimsical design, I thought, “That halibut is good enough for Jehovah!” (for those of you who know…). If you missed my posts on Instagram or Facebook, here they are:

You may be wondering at this point what happened to my other, long-suffering knit pullover I was laboring on; I have put it aside to finish after completing the Halibut. The fingering weight yarnedness of k2 p2 for eternity felt more like purgatory instead of an enjoyable pastime! This happens to even the best of knitters (not implying that I am one of those!), and yes, it will be finished, but the difference between fingering weight and DK weight yarn means that one of them is going to work up way faster!

I have worked on it since this was taken, so it may be 1/4″ longer!

Meanwhile, I have finally broken down and purchased a new, better set of hearing aids. Heaven forbid that you ever need them, because most health insurance plans don’t really cover them, and they are expensive. My particular hearing loss is genetic and I’ve been gradually losing my hearing since my early 20s. It’s an unusual hearing loss pattern, and I have confused and amazed audio techs with my test results over the years. In any case, I kept telling myself that I was fine, I could hear with these knock-off devices, blah, blah, but when one of the aids just literally died, I realized that I was going to have to go into debt to get another set.

I’ve been dealing with this for quite a few years.

Oh. My. God.

I’m sitting right now, listening to the rain. Like really hearing it for the first time since I moved to this house eight years ago. I didn’t recognize the sound for what it was at first because I had never heard it in such detail. While I was walking my dogs this morning, I was annoyed by the hum of traffic whizzing by on I-80, and it didn’t dawn on me until after a few minutes that I was actually hearing it! LOL!

Ok. Enough about my infirmities. Here are some random pics of stuff – Enjoy!

A Fanny Pack Full of Feces; or, yes, I pick up after my dogs while walking them

Yes, it’s full of dog poop!

Sometimes when I’m out walking or hiking with my dogs, my mind is flooded with great subjects for this blog. The organized person would write these ideas down, or record them on their phone, or file them mentally for retrieval later on. Not being organized, all these Nobel prize-winning themes are lost to the ether, so at the end of the walk, instead of a bubbling cauldron of conceptualized gold bristling with thrills, chills, inspiration, and evocative content, I’m left with a fanny pack full of dog poop.

Which, I believe, is a great segue to the last few months and the state of things since my last post. I needed to scale back on the stressors in my life, so I quit my job. I do miss the friends I made, the structure of my week, and, the biggie – money. I feel a little guilt because people like me are partially causing the supply chain issues we’re all experiencing right now, but I had to think about my mental health, and working wasn’t working – literally and figuratively. I have to admit since quitting I feel better – not 100%, but we’re not cry-walking anymore, and that’s a good thing.

In the meantime, I’ve kept busy with my annual crafts show, hanging with good friends who buy me lunch, and continuing to knit the impossible pullover! I really want to wear it, so I’m persevering. Contrary to my calling it “impossible”, it’s not hard at all. I took this on knowing full well it would take a while. It’s just k2p2 in fingering weight yarn for what feels like eternity…but it’ll be beautiful.

Hardly any progress since the last mention!

And with the advent of torrential rain, the burn ban has been lifted, and “burn season” (not to be confused with “Fire Season”) has begun. Well, technically. I tried for 20 minutes to start a fire to help clear our yard. I brought out fire starting supplies to include shopping bags rolled into little logs that always work. Not today. And there’s rain forecast for tomorrow – LOL! It’s like this every year. By the time everything’s dry enough to burn properly, it’ll be near the end of burn season, and I’ll be rushed. wah.

I got happy here – thought we were on to something.

So, dear readers, I feel better and poorer, and I continue to walk my dogs here in Northern California. Glad you dropped by.

Time Out

When life gets overwhelming, take a walk.

It’s been three weeks since the fires near me were burning out of control. They have since been put out, but not before four more fires closer to me we’re started then contained…mostly. Good news for me is that I’m still here. It hasn’t been so lucky for other people. Again, there haven’t been any deaths related to all these fires but a lot of property loss. I feel so sorry for the people who have lost everything. They didn’t have time to go back to their houses to pack up anything… to include their beloved pets. 😢

With the fires, my husband constantly gone and me having to deal with all these urgent/emergency situations by myself, the pandemic, the continual underlying feeling of dread, and my personal health issues (which I do not discuss in detail here, because hey – it’s personal), I’ve been having trouble not crying out of context. I’m expecting at any moment to break down and not be able to recover. I can’t concentrate, I can’t remember things or habits I’ve known for years, I forget the new stuff, I’m snappy to the people I work with, – – and none of them deserve that – so I figured I’d better take a few days off. Hopefully I can get my head together, figure out a coping mechanism of some kind, because I know things aren’t going to change any time soon.

So life goes on. I still walk my dogs (when the smoke allows), still knit and crochet, still hang with this guy I’ve been married to for 38 years, and I still have hope for the future.

Here’s some pictures that will brighten the tone of this post. Enjoy!

This activity can help, but I have been known to “cry walk”. (No, not an obscure reference to “Home Movies!”)
Giggling with my husband at a restaurant during one of the few times he’s home
My furbabies canoodling on my lap
This happened 10 minutes after my husband left for work. Had to deal with it – and yes, I did!
My latest design. I’m calling it Jungle Creeper!
Working on my first “Shawl In A Ball” project while waiting to be swabbed