October 28, 2009
And today's daytime high in hades: 32 degrees
Hold on to your hats, folks. You're about to see a finished project that has been languishing for, well, forever. Thanks to a serious case of inspiration (and some seriously lousy weather), I present the finally completed Great American Afghan!
I put the blocks together with single crochet, then did a half-double crochet edging. There are a couple of blocks that are a bit wonky from a fitting standpoint (generally, they're green in color and a bit larger than the others), but I really could care less at this point.
The damn thing is no longer in pieces parts sitting in front of my TV!!!!
Not sure where I'm putting it. Doesn't that just figure? I'm sure Grady will use it as a bed wherever it goes.
And, frighteningly enough, I will be working on another afghan in the not-so-distant future. Just waiting to see where my nephew winds up going to college. Thankfully, KnitPicks has an array of superwash yarns to fit any university's colors!
I also managed to crank out another vest in the past two weeks:
This is a simple ribbed pullover vest done in Crystal Palace Merino 5, which is the nicest superwash wool I have ever used. The top half is done in a K1/P1 broken rib, the bottom in a K1/P1 broken rib. Best part of all: no blocking! Of course, now that it's done, the temperatures have been in the 60's, and I'm wearing short sleeve shirts to work.
I'm not worried. This is Northeast Ohio. In late October. Grossness is inevitable.
October 21, 2009
Oink
Yes, it has been a while. Why so long? Couple of reasons...
1. I haven't done that much.
2. My health has returned to normal.
3. Dad's doing pretty well
4. I have been busy with swine.
First and foremost, it seems as though the health issues around here are heading in a positive direction. My annoying left-sided pain was never officially diagnosed, but it's gone. I had initially thought it was a kidney stone, so when it lasted for two weeks, I called my urologist, aka Doogie (I'm just getting old--even my doctors are children now). He ordered a dye study of the kidneys.
There's nothing more fun than lying on an uncushioned x-ray table for an hour when your back hurts. Just sayin'.
Anyhow, the study showed no large stones (which I guess is good, since there were a couple in there the last time the kidneys were irradiated), but Doogie couldn't rule out a small stone just being annoying. He suggested calling my surgeon (another Doogie) if the pain persisted for another week. Well, the pain got better after about a week, so I didn't call him.
Soon after that, I saw something floating down to the bottom of the commode when bidding farewell to my morning Diet Coke. No pain since. Hmmmmm. Looks like the mystery was solved.
As for Dad, he started chemo for his lymphoma a couple of weeks ago. He's had a few rotten side effects (aches, fever, fatigue) which have ticked him off, but so far, so good. He thinks it's already working, because the lump in his armpit is gone. I just would love for him to start putting some weight back on. This whole experience has taken a toll on his body. Mom's doing her best to get him bulked up, but nothing tastes right thanks to the chemo. According to the docs, these side effects should improve with each round of that poison, so that's a positive. He has five rounds to go in the next 3 1/2 months. Plus one extra little oompf of chemo for his pancreas. Then hopefully, he's done with this.
Then there's the swine.
I hate the swine.
I hate the media turning it into the next Black Plague.
Trust me, it isn't.
In the past two weeks, I have diagnosed about 2 dozen kids with swine flu. All of them have felt pretty crummy, but all of them have got better. If you watch the news, you'd think every kid out there is on a ventilator. Every news network has wound up in an ICU somewhere talking about an unfortunate kid who is really sick. There are some out there who get seriously ill, but...
IT'S THE FLU, DAMMIT!!!
The clincher is that in every ICU feature, the news guy does admit that severe disease happens in "much less than 1 percent of all cases." This is something that should be said more often. I have lost count of the look of terror on a parent's face when I tell them that their kid has swine flu. If I told them that their kid had "some virus that's going around the schools," which is essentially what H1N1 is, they would have no issue.
Interesting, huh?
Bottom line: wash your hands, if you can find a vaccine, get one, and don't panic. We'll all get through this. LeBron did.
And if you do get it, get plenty of rest, take your ibuprofen, and drink plenty of fluids. Stock up on chicken soup (our Giant Eagle had a big sale on Progresso last week--I thought that was pretty nice). Again, we'll all get through this.
OK, I'm done ranting. This swine stuff gets my dander up. Thanks to my not wanting to get off the couch these past few weeks because my feet are killing me after work, some knitting has been done. I finished the Equilateral Vest:
This is a wonderful thing. The Plymouth Kudo yarn blocks beautifully. I even had some folks at work marvel on how well it drapes on my body. Go figure.
Speaking of Kudo, the cardigan is done, too:
The pattern called for hook fasteners at the front, but in my experience, those things come undone too often for my liking (I move around too much at work). The tie worked perfectly. as for the Kudo, once again, it's great stuff.
I made a mistake and surfed the net. I now have this:
It's a necklace braided from three strands of wire and bead crochet. There's a YouTube video out there that shows how to do it. Very, very easy. And really pretty with that pink wire!
It may take a few years, but I also have another insane sweater in the works:
This is about half of the back of Ornamental Celtic from Knitter's Magazine's Arans & Celtics book. I'm using wool from Brooks Farm Yarns in Texas--it's purple. I love this pattern, but it is slllooooooowwwww working. It may be done this winter, but I'm not holding my breath. Remember, I still have the Red Rocks Pullover to finish up, and it's in sleeve purgatory.
Too bad I have to work. That's eight more hours per day I could really use!