COVID & Crafting

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.

Temp Blanket Finished or: Happy New Year!

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  The bag couldn’t make it through the year – torn. And of course, my ubiquitous doggos investigating everything I put on the floor!

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  I should have taken a better pic, but when the husband is involved, it’s catch as catch can!

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  The simple design of moss stitch ensured that I finished the project!

I finished the temperature blanket!!!! For those of you suffering from insomnia, browsing the internet late at night and have stumbled, accidentally, I’m sure, on this entry, a temperature blanket is a project that takes a year to make. The designs can be inventive, quirky, or in my case, as simple as possible, and each row represents the temperature of the day you worked it. For me, the pics represent 365 days of temperature readings. Once again, here are the colors for the temps I used so you can see what kind of year we had climate-wise here in the Sierra Nevadas in 2020. Way cooler to see this chart and have a finished blanket to view and nod, “Oh!”

Which brings me to the new year. I hope to God, Allah, Hare Krishna, Buddha, WHOEVER, that we have a better year. Unfortunately, nipping on the heels of hope after vaccinations are becoming more widely available, there is now a new variant of this fucking virus that is especially contagious. Just as we’re all rounding third base and getting ready to slide into home, it appears the catcher has the ball and we may have to do some fancy footwork. The current thinking among the experts is that the vaccine will work even on the mutation. We need prayers, healing vibes – hell, even crossed fingers, to help with the juju on this one.

2020 FUCK YOU!

In the meantime, keep wearing that mask and social distance when possible. Happy New Year and, God willing, I’ll see on the other side of this!

Viva Las Vegas and a Knit Freebie

I must admit, dear readers, that this year may be a banner year for me as far travel is concerned. I think I’ve been fleeing my fears rather than staying put – like we’re supposed to do. But sitting here on my couch, all alone on a dark, rainy day in a house in the forest does nothing more than inspire me to find bright lights, people (who are wearing masks!), and fun. The heebie-jeebies have kicked in yet again.

As my niece and husband share a birthday in December, it only seemed natural that we plan something for this time. Actually, it was my niece, Crystal, who made the suggestion of Las Vegas. So, tickets acquired, dog-sitter set up, and away we go – on another freakin’ airplane!

I know I’m very fortunate to have the resources to travel like this, but those are running out and next year I may be visiting my backyard deck instead of going anywhere. Such is life. If the heebie-jeebies set in again, I’ll make my visit more local. (I’m already thinking of where to next!)

I’m also aware that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and maybe traveling is not the prescription we’ve been handed, but I’m following the rules of mask-wearing and/or social distancing and it appears to be working. If I get COVID19 and survive it, I’m sure I’ll write about it. Hopefully, that never comes to pass. Seriously.

In the meantime, I am continuing to walk my dogs and lose weight at an extremely slow rate *sigh*. I know that’s the way you’re supposed to do it so good habits can become routine and the yo-yo dieting that I’ve done for the better part of my life will be replaced with a level, healthy weight, and lifestyle. It’s the dog-walking part that motivated me to knit up some mitts specifically for that task.

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  My dog requires a strong hold, and that means a lot of friction.

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Here’s the link, if you’re so inclined, and have fun with it! Do bear in mind that this is snug fit, so you may want to make adjustments included in the pattern. Let me know what you think and what modifications you make!

Enjoy!

Remembering the Before Time

It feels like a long time since March happened and life around the globe changed. The fact that everything started closing down while we were in Hawaii made the transition for me even more dramatic. Even though we’ve all made adjustments, some things still hit me right between the eyes. Like, where have I been? For example, while walking around in Cost Plus World Market the other day, the piped-in music was interrupted by a recorded, soothing, female voice gently reminding us to wear our masks and keep social distancing. I turned to my friend and said “This feels like Logan’s Run!” She agreed. We also agreed that it was surreal. Sometimes, life imitates art, and when it does, it can be some weird shit.

Vicki trying on the cool wraps at Cost Plus

It wasn’t until I saw a Bass Pro tv promo advertising that Santa was going to be in the shop that I realized just how much this fucking pandemic is changing everything about the upcoming holiday seasons. I mean, the little ones don’t know, but for those of us who remember “the before time”, it brought tears to my eyes. I mean, Santa behind plexiglass? I almost cried. Then, I remind myself, it’s for the children. Act like nothing is different, that everything hasn’t changed, and life goes on. It’s for them. For us who remember, it may never return to our halcyon tinted memories of what was. But what’s really trippy, at least to me, is when the little ones grow older and we’re long gone. They’ll remember these visits to Santa behind the sanitized plexiglass divider and face shield with nostalgia and warm feelings and long for the “good old days”.

image courtesy of http://www.pennlive.com

Post #276

Note: this little vignette was written while airborne in an attempt to calm myself. Enjoy!

As I write this,  we’re at FL390 somewhere over OK or TX.  Flat, dun colored geography, punctuated by the occasional green circle created by huge ag sprinklers. The plane shimmies and shakes on a fairly regular basis with the occasional dip to mix things up. An hour into the flight and the captain has not turned off the seat belt sign once. I chose a window seat so I would have a place to rest my head, yet it sizzles from the heat of the constant sun – even with the shade down.

🔥 hot shade

If any of you have read my previous flying entries, you must be wondering why I bother. Seems like I’m always experiencing turbulence coupled with my fear of flying. My life is not exceptionally exciting, but traveling long distances that require air travel does keep popping up. One cool thing about traveling in the age of COVID-19, you get plenty of arm room even in the economy section.

The xanax I took has calmed me down considerably, but the dreams have been strange and I wakeup every 15 minutes anyway. I hope the dizziness is something I can tolerate once we land.

Speaking of which, the captain has just announced we’ll be landing in about 25 minutes. Can’t wait. Terra firma. No recycled air…well, southwest airlines says they refresh their air every 3 – 4 minutes. No unexpected dips that make your stomach turn. And no crappy headaches when the plane starts descending!

Flaps down – yay! Landing!

Oregon Here We Come!

The heebie-jeebies are still haunting me, but my cousin who lives in Oregon has told me to hie my butt up to her place for knitting and crocheting and dog walking. Don’t worry – I was tested for Covid last week and it came back negative, so I feel fairly comfortable with the visit.

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Drive-thru COVID-19 testing – woohoo! I give the tech kudos because she was gentle. The panicked look in my eyes was before the test. It wasn’t the traumatic experience everyone else seems to endure. I felt the tickle, but I didn’t sneeze, my eyes didn’t water and it was over very quickly.

So what will I do while refuging in Oregon? My cousin and I share the crafting bug – yea! And that fits in nicely with what I just learned yesterday – my October vendor gig is on…and my inventory is sorely lacking. So, this will be like any other year, with me frantically trying to create a decent look for my mobile store LOL! That, and since I’m taking my dogs, I expect we’ll be doing a lot of dog-walking.

Nala says “hello”!

As for my online stores, as you may know – or not – Nittin’ Ninja: Graphic Designs For The Yarn Obsessed had to close up. Not enough interest, the graphics weren’t that compelling, wrong timing – take your pick. In any case, I was losing money, so there we are. Kinda sad, but not an original scenario. My other shop, olla podrida, is doing better. I’ll take this time to make a quick plug! Don’t let a perfectly fine link wither- click here!

As for the park meeting I had scheduled, one person, my bestie, showed up! And to top it off, we had to change the venue because the park was closed, so maybe it was a good thing it was just two of us.

Where we ended up. Was a better place, actually!

Not easily daunted, I suggested a meeting at my place. Everyone behaved as far as social distancing, and we all had masks if an item or question about technique needed to be examined more closely. We will be doing this again!

Nala, the chihuahua, fell in love with Diana’s purse and rummaged through there during the entire gathering! I was mortified…😆

So how has life been treating you?

COVID-19 and the Heebie-Jeebies

Finally!

Hey, everyone! How’s it hangin’? Since the pandemic has kicked in for what would appear to be a long time, I’ve been through a number of phases. After what seems like an eternity, I have finally picked up my socks and finished those and I’ve started on another pair of socks. In that respect I’m slowly returning to a normal state of mind.

Traveling buddies

Other aspects? I’ve got major wanderlust. So much so that I may be doing a road trip with my dogs. I don’t quite know where or when or if I’m going alone or with my husband – I just have the need to go. I understand that I’m probably trying to escape the insanity of what’s happening with the pandemic, and I’m aware that’s a physical impossibility, but it doesn’t stop the want. Call it cabin fever or stir crazy – I call it the heebie-jeebies (heebus-jeebus\ [ hee-bus-jee-bus ]: n. a malady known to afflict late middle-aged women riding out a pandemic; a condition of extreme nervousness caused by fear, worry, strain, etc.; the jitters; the willies (usually preceded by the)).

So where should I go?

In other news, I am awaiting some very expensive yarn to begin a sweater that may or may not be finished by winter, and my husband and I are trying to squeeze in another trip to – yup, you guessed it – Hawai’i.