Thursday, February 28, 2008

This and That

  20608 2/06/08

Are you tired of snow pictures yet? This was a beautiful snow. We have had a couple more snows since but none this pretty. This is my front porch and I like how the snow deepens as you move away from the porch. This would have been a perfect day to stay home and knit but since I have that pesky thing called a job/career I had to leave this lovely scene and drive to work.

 

2/18/08

I enjoy knitting dishcloths. I'm not sure why. I have a difficult time using the ones I make or the ones I exchange for as dishcloths but I just like knitting them. I like to try out new stitches, ideas and colors and sometimes I just want something that will knit up quickly to break up the monotony of another project. This particular dishcloth was sent to me by my exchange partner this month and it is a lovely log cabin pattern. This first photo is my Ravelry Project 365 photo but the others are just eye candy. Enjoy.

Stay tuned for; What Was Inside Those Packages Anyway and I Have Been Gifted With More Yarn.21808 IMG_0586IMG_0592

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Where Have I Been

In a fog I think. Time seems to just fly by and I have little to show for it.

I did receive two lovely gifts this week. One is from a dishcloth exchange, stay tuned for photos. The other was a Holiday Exchange in which my partner didn't hold up her end of the bargain. I wasn't too upset by it and had moved on. Then I received a package in the mail. It was from one of the organizers who knew about the problem. She had taken it upon herself to send me a very lovely package of goodies. I had a great time opening everything and as soon as my camera is up and running again I will share pictures of the contents of all these pretty packages.

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Saturday, February 9, 2008

The rest of the story

I DO NOT HAVE CANCER! Of course I knew in my gut I didn't have cancer but it was wonderful to hear it said out loud by the doctor. I went back to work on Wednesday the 6th but have just kind of drug through the days. I have had such a terrible cold the surgery was really no big deal. That is until my incision became infected. So I started antibiotics on Sunday and finally today, two weeks since surgery I finally feel good. It is an amazing feeling.
Of course My Man got some kind of bug also and he is finally on the end of it but still not feeling back to normal. We have decided we are done being sick for the remainder of the winter. Enough is enough already.
Stay tuned for my irregularly scheduled blogging and some eye candy as well I hope.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

A story but no fiction

This is the Reader's Digest version of the last week give or take a few days. My brain is still under the influence of cold medicine but I am coming out of the fog.
Have you ever known beyond a shadow of a doubt, deep in your gut, that everything is OK, there is nothing wrong but no one will believe you? Every thing sensible knows you are doing the right thing but it is pointless and throwing away good money that could pay other bills or even better, buy yarn?
My gut knows that lump in my breast is not cancer, my brain knows that lump is not cancer and that is good enough for me. Of course we all know that until something medically tells me that lump is not cancer we must push on for that answer. Two rounds of mammograms read by no less than some cancer detecting piece of software, one radiologist, one medical doctor and one surgeon and I am headed for surgery. No big deal. A nice nap, 20 minutes, a larger than I thought incision and the feeling that my left breast has been run over by a rather large herd of horses and I still won't know until Tuesday that it IS NOT CANCER.
I have never had surgery before and have never been "put under". I apparently "go under" very easily as one Valium made me sooooo relaxed and the half syringe of sleepy stuff left me totally out. I was so looking forward to counting backward from 100 as they put the mask over my face like they do on TV. The last I remember is the back of the rather handsome anesthesiologist leaving the holding area before I ever even went to the surgical suite. I do feel cheated in that respect.
I did get one question answered though. How would I look as a D cup? It really is hard to tell when the dressing is quite lumpy and the other side is considerably less than a D but I think I will pass. Especially since I am pretty sure it would take a much larger herd of horses to equal the pain of increasing to a D.
Then there is the head cold. It actually started the night before surgery but I wasn't sure if I was reacting to chemical smells from work or if I was actually getting sick. I was getting sick and it is a doosy of a head cold. I hear my own heart beating in my ears at times and when I cough I don't know what will hurt the worst, my breast, my throat or my head. Thank goodness they are all sharing the experience so none feels left out. In reality I think if it weren't for the cold I would really be enjoying this time off from work. I can't go back until after my appointment on Tuesday but I really have not enjoyed much of anything so far. I have gotten some knitting done, watched a fair amount of TV often through closed eyes and slept rather fitfully at night. I don't plan to take anymore pain meds at night. I should be writing science fiction from the dreams I have been having.
Is there an upside to all of this? Well, you find out who your friends are. Food has been delivered, numerous phone calls inquiring about my recovery were made and more prayers than I will ever know about have been said. I have talked to my children, parents and sister every day. My children who have little money sent me a beautiful little bouquet of flowers. My sister brought a goodie bag with magazines, chocolate and flavored teas. She knows me well. We curled up on my bed and chatted for a while. I'm afraid I may have fallen asleep but then she didn't mind. Then there is My Man. What a jewel. He has cooked, helped me change dressings, reassured me and nearly had to be kicked out of the house to go hang with his buddies today to play poker and watch the Super Bowl.
The pictures below are the only two taken in the last week. The first is from Knit Night and the second is of the third heart dishcloth I have made. I love variegated yarn in the ball but not much when there is a design in the knitting. Believe me, there are five hearts in that dishcloth.
I hope to return to my regularly scheduled life by tomorrow but I have been up a little too long now. The couch and the Super Bowl commercials are calling my name. I wonder who is playing?

1/28/08




















2/3/08