Have to laugh ...

found my way back here after a long hiatus. Guess you could say the knitting bug took over me! I've gone way beyond a couple sets of needles and couple balls of cotton yarn. I have what is considered a STASH! and find myself consumed by all things knitting on a daily basis.

That said, the Sheep and Wool (or Sheep and Wolf as my kids say) Festival is the first weekend in May. My SIL and I are going, sans kids, and I can't wait to really get my hands on some product. I have a new appreciation of the festival as a knitter and think I will get some much more out of it than previous years. EVery day I contemplate which project I should focus on: a baby blanket for my nephew due in the fall, some felting wood to make a felted knitting bag (and work a new technique) or the hooded scarf, which I also covet.

I need to set myself a budget and project/s. I'm thinking maybe the blanket and scarf. However, after working some personal cloths from a Purl Bee pattern, using a chunky bamboo blend, I'm thinking this would be a wonderful wool to use but rather pricey. Lots of thinking to do on that one. So just a small update because I thought it was funny how far I've fallen in such a short period of time ... not even a year.

OH and if you happen by the festival, be sure and stop by my friend's shop: Cloverhill Yarn Shop. Last year they were in the large exhibit hall. Wonderful vendor with lovely products :)

Knit 1, Purl 2

My newest endeavor this summer was learning to knit. I thought it might be fun for Madison to learn to keep her hands busy. One Sunday my SIL came over and we traded craft assistance. I helped her make a stepping stone (that my 2-year old promptly destroyed necessitating a do-over) and she taught us how to knit.

I didn't intend to learn but thought if I learned also I could help Madison if she needed help. My SIL cast on for each of us and I was hooked, instantly! I LOVE knitting. It's very soothing and appeals to the task/goal-oriented side of my brain. Plus, I can pick it up and put it down as needed, unlike using the sewing machine.

I spent two weeks practicing on a ball of yarn until it was almost gone. Mentally I lined up two projects; dish cloths for myself and a gift for someone else. Since my SIL wasn't available at 10p to help me with a pattern, I turned to Ravelry.com to look for free patterns. SIL was kind enough to send me the link to this website. It's great! I even downloaded Ewe Stash app on my iPhone to keep track of my stuff! I told you I was hooked!

So, now I have two sets of needles, 5 balls of new yarn and projects in my head. I checked out about 20 books trying to figure out how to cast on since I taught myself to cast off. I couldn't get the casting on to save my life. I turned to the internet hoping there would be a self-help somewhere and I found one! I figured out what I was doing wrong when casting on and managed to figure it out. Go me!

So, my first project is now complete. I think it took almost a week. I can't remember which day I started it but I finished it this morning. I had to refigure out how to cast off. I used Bernat Cotn Corn yarn in a Peach Tree ombre. It's very pretty peaches, tans and browns and *very* soft. I'd love to make a scarf or something with something similar. I chose this over my cotton yarn because it was softer but that also made it difficult to work with. It was very splitty.

So my final work is not perfect by any stretch of the means, but since it's just a dishcloth not that big of a deal. I can't wait to start the next one. That will be my practice to get ready for the gift I'm making. I bought my SIL a book for Christmas last year called Mason Dixon Knitting or something like that. It didn't appeal to me at the time but I think I'd like to read it now. I also want to crochet some little animals, shapes and knit some bean bags for the kids. One of the kids' knitting books had a project for making your own knitting needles and I think if Madison sticks with it, I'll make her some for Christmas. I LOVE my bamboo knitting needles from JoAnn's. They are nice to work with, smooth and feel nice in my hands. I love how the ends got smoother and shiney as I worked the yarn. Can't wait to get to Cloverhill Yarn store one of these days!

Guess I'd better do some chores and take care of some kids before I start my next project! Perhaps I should also brush my teeth.

Spring come now

Signs of Spring --

Flocking geese honking their song
Little Robin Red Breast hopping about
Forsythia slowing unveiling it's beautiful golden show
Pussywillows unfurling their soft little buds
Enough sunshine left in the day to take an after-supper stroll.

Spring -- we welcome you back!

Week 1: Birthday, PT and pedometer

So today is 3/3/09. I keep wanting to write 3/3/99 because that's the date my son was born. Hats off to you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW! I can't believe he's ten already. My I feel old and how much faster could a decade go? Even though he's a typical brother, he's growing into a fine young man. I'm so proud of him.

So I made it through surgery. I must say, I really enjoyed the afternoon/evening after my surgery and the three days following that I got to lay around and be waited on. It was a bummer that the laptop crashed a week beforehand so I couldn't use the internet while resting. Maybe we'll pick up a cheap one at the holidays instead of gifts.

The surgery went well and 1/3 of the cartilage was removed. The stitches were removed on 2/25 and today was my first PT appointment. It went well and in general I liked the therapist. He addressed my back issues as well as my knee so that was a plus. Two for one deal LOL! He manipulated my knee, back, etc., gave me some recommendations and exercises and I'm supposed to go back on Friday morning. I wish it was a woman but that's just my idiosyncrasy LOL! I think I have appointments schedule for the next several weeks, although, the doctor said three weeks but I guess we'll see how things are going after three weeks. At least it's only 2x a week instead of three.

They started a "walking" program at church. The goal is to walk from our area to Loma Linda, CA by June, I think. I signed up two weeks before my surgery. So I bought my pedometer today and walked at least 1000 steps just from 1:00 on. I noticed it counts "steps" when I move the meter too much or bump in or my clothes move. Also, if I'm stationary too long I believe it resets to zero so I need to keep an eye on it. Perhaps there's other, more sophisticated models out there but I'll see how this works for now. The goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day. I know as my knee mends, I'll be able to do more walking.

So to keep track, I'll mark Week 1, Day 1 as 1000 steps.

Surgery Nightmares

I knew it had been quite some time since posting to my blog, but I didn't realize just how long! Every few days I think of an entry to type up and never get to it.

My knee has healed okay since I tore the cartilege but I went ahead and scheduled the surgery anyhow. It's on 2/19. I have a lot of scheduling to do to get the kids sorted out. My knee feels much better but when I get too ambitious it definately creaks and snaps a lot. And sometimes it's just plain achey. I'll be glad to get the surgery over with.

This week I began having nightmares about the surgery.

Dream A:
I dreamt I was actually having two separate surgeries; one for my nose/ear or some such thing and the knee surgery. I was nervous about having two surgeries so close together. My dh took me to the surgery and I was terrified of going under the anesthia so my body was fighting it. The surgeon tried three times to get it to work.

On the flip side of being nervous about going under, I was also scared of the anestheia not working and I was going to feel everything and not be able to respond. Thankfully, I made it through the surgery okay and there are some hazy parts here. On the end note, my dh went to work and left me home all bandaged up by myself with the kids. Shortly after he left, Mia began throwing up and I remember trying to find a bucket for her while not dislodging the bandaging. I had to call dh back home to take care of us all LOL!

Dream B:
Last night was even worse. It was only the one surgery this time but instead of knee surgery I needed brain surgery. It all happened very quickly as I went to the doctor for something or other and she started talking about admitting me around 8. I freaked out thinking it was 8 the next morning when, in fact, it was 8 that night!

So I went in to this big, archaic inner-city hospital. Lots of stone and rudimentary architecture. It was gigantic and sprawling with wings and off-shoots everywhere. I was assigned to this one nurse. There were several nurses and they each had their own set of patients that were plotted out on this sheet of paper with names, diagnoses, meds, etc.

I got checked in and decided to take a walk in the hospital gown. I rambled all over and on my way back realized that the rooms were way old-fashioned and didn't have TV's. However, I believe the reason for this is that it was too expensive or else people were stealing them. I can't recall. But in any event, they had a space where they lined up those fold-out hospital chairs and had a bank of TV's. Weird.

It was around this point that I realized I was somewhat lost and couldn't remember my room number or where it was. Kind of like the dreams I have where I'm in school and can't remember my locker combination or which class I'm supposed to be in. I finally found the nurses desk with all the assignment sheets but I didn't want to read them because it was confidential information. I kept asking nurses where my room was and they were indifferent. I was getting really angry and started yelling. About this time my nurse appeared and dh showed up to rescue me. My knight in shining armour!

I hope I don't have any more of these dreams because they really increase my anxiety level; as if it wasn't high enough already. Will be glad to get this done and over with.

Torn Meniscus

Boy, it sure does stink getting old. I always feel like I'm falling apart or something's getting injured or something aches for no apparent reason.

When I was pregnant with C I twisted my knee on the stairs. I chalked it up to loose ligmanets due to pregnancy. It hurt quite a bit but eventually healed. I probably should have had it seen by a doctor but never got around to it. After some time the pain went away even though every once in a while I would step wrong and it would get out of whack for a short period of time.

I did not realize it would come back to bite me.

Last weekend I came up with this bright idea that we should have a family raking the leaves day on Sunday. Did I even get pictures? NO. I remember when I was a kid I loved leaf raking time. It was tons of fun so I just assumed my kids would love it as well.

Not! I bought bags and we all trooped out. D asked why we were wasting our time doing this because he wanted to reorganize the basement LOL! I told him it would be good for the kids and we didn't have money to pay someone else double LOL!!! The kids just whined. They were cold, they were hungry, they were tired, their legs hurt, it was boring. On and on and on. They perked up when some friend stopped by and they had contests as to who could bag the most leaves or have the biggest twig pile.

I kept tripping over stuff and it was making me mad. I seemed to find every little hole in the ground, stick to trip on or stumble on the raised tree roots. At one point I tripped on a root and felt a searing pain in my knee. Stupid me kept raking because I really wanted to get the leaves done. Finally I quit and went in to ice my knee. I figured the next day it would be better. Unfortunately, it hurt worse so off to the doctors I went.

After a brief exam and an x-ray the doctor decided I tore the cartilege on the inside of my knee, called the meniscus (sp?). He sent me for an MRI which I had done later that night. Really icky. Luckily, I didn't have to go all the way in. My follow up appointment is Tuesday, which I actually need to reschedule. Better go do that now. It's feeling so much better. I took the kids to my dad's so I can rest. It's been rather relaxing. I pick them up tomorrow. Crossing my fingers that I don't need surgery!!

This and That

Wow, what a week! I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at the turnout of the presidential election but so be it. Now, let's see where this change takes us and if we really do benefit. It was interesting on election day as a lot of people walked to the polls, including families. I don't ever recall seeing that but I'm not sure I drove around in the morning either. It started raining when I voted.

So, dh is worried I could be pg. I've been trying to get to bed earlier in hopes of getting up earlier. I seem to be more productive in the morning once I actually wake up. Plus it would be nice to be dressed, fed, etc. before DN comes for the day. So far I've been getting in bed earlier but not going to sleep much earlier. Plus I'm tired all the time from C's sleeping habits.

So dh asked if I was pg LOL! I said I hope to heaven not!!! And if I was then certain activities would be abolished from our household. HAHA! I guess I didn't make matters any better when I bought a jar of pickles the other day. However, we had them for our dinner "party" Friday evening and I wanted more. It's been so long but I grew up with sweet gherkins and sometimes you just like that good old comfort food.

Mia's making strides in school/ballet. She's been nodding in answer to questions and walking in on her own. That's some progress. She says she's going to talk when she turns four. We shall see.

Instead of trick or treating this year, the kids invited some friends over for dinner and games. For lack of a better word I called it a dinner "party" but it wasn't meant to be a Halloween party. Several families came, we had spaghetti dinner and the kids had a FAB-O time! They said it was better than trick or treating and asked if we could do that every year.

My DN has been really sick. He was in the hospital last weekend with either RSV or viral pnemonia. He was out all this week as the dr. thinks he's still contagious since he's chest congested and wheezing. I talked with my SIL today and the baby's dr. seemed to think he'll be contagious all next week as well. Oy! I feel badly that I cannot take him but as we agreed it would be a nightmare if it started going through out house. Mia seems to be at the tail end of some sort of cold virus and now Madison's starting. Hopefully it'll pass soon. My DN is feeling better with more energy and eating so that is good news. We do miss the little bugger but I'm trying to get some things done while I'm down one. Still not so easy with two little ones. I was thinking of having someone come watch them for a couple hours, dropping C off somewhere when Mia's in school or taking C to my dad's to spend one night. Can't really decide but I'm uber frustrated at not getting anything done around here and just following C around while she destroys one thing after another.

I attended an interesting LLL conference this past Sunday that was actually held at my church. I attended the seminars for newbies and hope to make some progress on my stuff. Tomorrow's the Friday meeting so we'll probably go to that. Oh, my friend with the new baby came to the LLL thing. He was soooooooooo small and sweet. I did want to hold him but was afraid of infecting him with anything. I feel melancholy about having a newborn around but know in my heart that our quiver is full. Life is good and God has greatly blessed us.