As I type I’m listening to the rain that will soon be muted to snow in a few hours. I’ve been watching this storm on the weather channel for about a week. Initially, I dismissed the forecast of snow because so far this year those predictions have been wrong. I just thought, Eh, more rain. About six days ago the word “advisory” popped up in highlighted yellow on the weather channel online, and then it quickly changed to a more ominous “watch”. I began checking the forecast more frequently, expecting to see the dark red winter “warning”. But nope. Weather protocol was skipped and it went straight to a Blizzard Warning. Yikes. I don’t believe I’ve even been in a blizzard before, but I’m going to by tomorrow. And apparently, we’ll be able to use that snowblower we thought we weren’t going to need this year after all!
On a more somber note, last week I went to visit my mother who was in a rehab center after having one of the bones in her shoulder area replaced. I believe it was the clavicle. I can’t get any information out of my mother and I haven’t been able to see any doctors involved with this. Living 350 miles from your elderly mother is not the ideal situation here. Her scar was in the front, on her chest, so I’m sticking with the clavicle. Her surgery and recovery from that went well, but while in rehab, she was having trouble with nausea and vomiting. I understand a rehab center is not a hospital and the staff and treatment given are focused only on the reason why she was in there, but I can’t believe that the medical staff just kept giving her anti-emetics for two and a half weeks? I also understand that sometimes a person can have this kind of reaction after surgery due to the anesthesia. That’s some powerful stuff we don’t fully understand. Really. That’s why I think surgery should not be an elective thing. People die. But come on! Anyway, after being home for four days, I just found out two hours ago she’s now being re-admitted to the hospital for her stomach concerns. And I’m stuck here in a freak blizzard.
And more hospitals. On the first night after arriving home from the distressing visit with my mother, my daughter went into diabetic ketoacidosis for a second time. It happened so fast. She was sick and vomiting, and we all knew she had to be super careful with monitoring her sugar levels because as a diabetic, this is bad. I mean, it’s not great for the rest of us, but we generally don’t have to realistically worry about going into a coma and dying. In the evening she was fine and she went to bed early, but in the middle of the night, everything kind of unraveled. Because she knew what was happening, she was able to convey to the triage nurse in the ER exactly what was going on and they had her in the back area toute de suite. From there she went directly to the ICU where she got her own room because she had the flu. There were a few ups and downs but after only three days she was discharged and is now doing fine. During her time there, though, it was discovered she had been misdiagnosed five years ago with type 2 diabetes; she’s actually type 1.5. Yes, it’s new. Look it up. Hopefully, this information will help with any future episodes…like avoiding them altogether.
In the meantime, I have finished the Stagecoach pullover by Boyland Knitworks. I was pleased that the fit turned out so well, considering I had to use Lion Brand Heartland Yarn, a worsted weight, instead of the prescribed DK weight, and a size 7 needle instead of 6, but it worked. Huzzah!
I also finished The Scrappy Little Sweater by Katrina Wilson. I especially loved this project because it took me about a week from start to finish – booyah for super bulky weight yarn! I used Lion Brand Thick ‘n Quick in various colors. The preparation for this was a little more involved in that the pattern does not have any color schematic because it was created to use up your scraps. I happen to have a lot of scraps, so I wanted a specific design. That was fun.
I am now working on Pagan Sky by Zanete Knits. It’s going slower than the rest of the projects I’ve worked on this year because it is DK weight. I’m using Berroco Vintage DK for the main color and Malabrigo Dos Tierras for the contrast. I am a bit disappointed with this effort because I’m seeing way too much of the contrast color poking out. Hopefully the main color “blooms” to help cover up the show through. I’m sure after a wash or two it won’t be so obvious…or I’m just tripping like most knitters are regarding their own work!
The Interstitial Cystic-friendly cookbook has been coming along very slowly. I now have 51 solid recipes written down and ideas that I need to follow up on for another 25 or so. The work involved with each, the double checking, ensuring the ease of reading the text, deciding on the format and sticking with it, the little tweaks to make it perfect – how many recipes do you think should be in a self-published, independent cookbook? I’ve been told 130 is a good number. This will be a long-term project indeed!
And finally, I have to confess to another bad case of the heebie-jeebies recently. I’ve been feeling restless again and decided I need to work. That, and it would be nice to have a little breathing room as far as finances are concerned. With the cost of living so high these days, I feel it would be better to take the strain off a little. Amazingly, I was able to get an interview yesterday, but there isn’t anything else on the horizon. Hopefully, it went well. It feels like it did. We’ll see.
Now, dear reader, I hope you have been feeling well, chuffing along with your life, and in general feeling joyful. Until the next time!
Nittin' Ninja 