Housework Can Be Good

I do believe that the laundry mated while we were away. I would complain, but I am just grateful that the dishes behaved themselves. Actually, the housework is helping me get back on track. I find that I am a bit more emotionally fragile than I would have expected. In fact, the 10 on Tuesday topic left me overwhelmed. This stuff just takes time, and I will even out again soon.

Lest you think I do not realize that our absence affected others, I share this picture with you all. This was the stray cat greeting us on our front porch when we got home. It was actually quite loose, but maybe not something the cat could get rid of on its own. I was able to remove the ground beef wrapper so long as I promised to refrain from threatening actions such as petting. By this evening, the cat had recovered enough to resume its assistant gardener activities.

Now it is time to get out the wheel and ply like the wind. Actually, I will enjoy taking my time and enjoying each treadle. Getting those dishes out of the way earlier today means I will be able to soak the new skein tonight. Yay, Doing Chores First!

Back Home

We are home from the hospital, and being home is so good. After extensive testing, poking, prodding, analyzing, imaging, injecting, and observing, all doctors are in agreement with a high level of confidence, that the problem which brought Brucie to the hospital is not going to cause him to expire in the immediate future. Beyond that, they have differing opinions. Although we do not have all the answers, we did gain important information, and some of it is even positive. It was a real roller coaster of an adventure and emotion. We are keeping the focus on thankfulness for being home and doing well.

Only three doctors annoyed me, and of those, just one is on my avoidance list. The three other doctors were great. All of the nurses and patient care techs were beyond fabulous, and they took quite a liking to him. When it was time to leave, the charge nurse was the one to bring him downstairs in the wheelchair.

I have had such a wonderful outpouring of support and love during this ordeal, and I cannot begin to express how much it helped. It means so much to me, and I am so very grateful. All of this powerful love is almost overwhelming. I learned much more over these past few days then I thought possible. Thank you.

Winging It

If I compete in Sock Madness next year, I think I might become quite nervous at round three. Last year, it was the daughter's turn for a trip to the hospital. This year, it is the husband in the hospital. He is doing fine. They are running tests. This happens sometimes. He has cardiovascular troubles. We try our best to take it easy as the waiting game does its thing. It is good to have knitting.

I was glad to have knitting when my coughing would not let me sleep last night. Knitting kept me company in the ER this morning. That was where I finished the latest Sock Madness socks (Talia's Wings). Now it is time for lace to be my companion.

Spinning My Wheels

It has been a high fiber week, but there is not much to show for it. I have reached the halfway point on spinning some singles. I do not know what kind of wool this is, but I like it. The bundle of fiber was more than a little compacted, and I was concerned this would not be an enjoyable spinning experienced. However, once I spent a bit more time with it, the fiber agreed to be friendly. After that, it seemed like it did not take long before I had finished spinning the first half.

I suppose the wheel got a bit more time because my knitting takes so long per row. Ene's Scarf starts with 375 stitches, and then the rows get shorter. With all the stitches bunched together, it took a little more effort to read the lace. The long rows have also made me think before picking up the piece. If there was not time to knit at least a full row, I just let it sit. Now that I have made my way through the first chart, I feel like my speed is going to pick up considerably. Someone did the math, and according to her, I am already 25% done. The second chart looks to be quite light, with most rows being mainly plain.

Now that I have spinning and lace underway, perhaps I should open April's psc package. I had better hurry, as the second round of SM3 is over.

It Sounds Worse Than It Really Is

For today, that is in reference to my voice. Seriously, I unintentionally scared someone on the phone.

OT: What's going on?
me: Not much, how are you?
OT: What is happening?
me: Easter is tomorrow. Be at Nana's at one.
OT: Sarah, what is wrong?!?!
me: Oh, I have the crud.
OT: You scared the #%$@ out of me.

We will skip a physician rant and just say that I am having difficulty feeling the love for them. I probably just need to suck it up and find a different one. Also, my regular doctor was not even the one I saw on Friday. I still find myself a bit annoyed when I think back on it. It makes me hope even more that I am recovering because I just do not want to see any of them.

The answer to the dessert question was coconut cake, and it was wonderful. It had been a long time since I had baked a cake not from a mix. I mostly followed this recipe, with a little tweaking. Additionally, I substituted her frosting with stabilized whipped cream. I baked and filled the cake Friday evening, and then frosted it Sunday morning. It all worked so much better than I had expected. The secret was timing the doses of medications just right so I could be in a state to bake.

As for my tale of knitting fail, it was, of course, my most recent attempt at a Swallowtail shawl. I ran out of yarn. Again. I ripped and re-skeined the yarn. I took the opportunity to re-check my yardage. It would seem my initial calculation was off by about 150 yards. That would explain why none of the three attempts with this yarn has worked. I still do not have an explanation on how I made such a serious miscalculation. Once I found my error, it was so obvious that the initial yardage estimation was way off, and I can only suppose denial wishful thinking is what kept me believing the lie.

Token(a) Madness

Reaching amongst the collection of brown paper bags for the psc intimidates me right now. I just finished the second round of SM3, and that was an involved pair of socks. Please, do not misunderstand. I like my new socks. They were worth the effort. It just took me a while to find my rhythm. My niece helped me pick out the colors, and now I have the perfect pair for Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday, I have been assigned the dessert. So far, the suggestions have been Red Velvet Cake, Boston Cream Pie, and Coconut Cake. I still have not decided. The menu for the day has been changed around so many times, and I am not even sure where we are getting together. I only know that it will not be at my home.

Pattern: Tokena
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette Lilac & Blush
Needles: US0 & US1
Knit When: April 4-8

Speaking of home, that is where I stayed Monday night. I wanted to get out to knit with people, but I am a bit under the weather. One of the Skanks is scheduled for heart surgery next Monday, and I decided to play it safe. I miss knitting with everyone.

Next time, perhaps I will share a tale of knitting fail.

Feed Me!

The feed troubles are getting on my nerves a bit. I was so busy with my routine that I missed that some friends' feeds were having problems. When I first thought about it, I hoped they were enjoying wonderful life adventures and did not have time to blog. So oblivious was I, that I did not notice that my feed was broken. It looks like it still is.

It's weird. I have been blogging for over four years now. When I started, I did not know what I was doing or what I hoped to get out of the experience. Then I reached out and found my place. I feel honored that people read what I post, but by far, get more out of what others are writing. With the broken feed, it is almost like being back at the beginning of my blogging. I say almost because it is different. It feels pointless and lonely now without you all. I hope everything is fixed by the time I post this.

It is a good thing I have my knitting. I have been working on a Swallowtail Shawl. It is a tiny one, and I think it is going to be for me. It is tiny because I used my handspun. It was this skein's third chance at becoming something besides a skein of yarn. I made yardage miscalculation after spinning it, and that is why other patterns have not worked, and why I thought this one would. I am not entirely disappointed that I have had to frog this yarn twice already. I like knitting with it, and I love the colors.

Anyway, I decided to knit the budding lace repeat until I had about half of the yarn left, and then I moved on to the Lily of the Valley charts. I put in a lifeline after the budding lace in case I had enough yarn left at the end to rip back and add more repeats of that lace. I tell you, I am enjoying this yarn.

Then my knitting came to a standstill. It was a combination of an odd wrist pain and a surprise out-of-town guest. The wrist pain had me a bit worried, and I did not pick up the needles lest I aggravate it. After a very long day, I decided to try, and it turns out that knitting does not bother the wrist. Brushing my teeth or fishing change out of my pocket was difficult, but not knitting. I wish I had known that earlier. Wednesday was definitely a day that needed the comforts of knitting. As far as that situation goes, I will just say that I now wish what would have been a bad April Fool's joke had been a joke.