I HIDE YARN

Happy Holidays

Thank you all for your comments and emails.  They have meant so much to me during this trying time.  We finally have some good news to report on DH.  He is doing very well, and will get to come home for Christmas for a few hours tomorrow, assuming we can get him in a vehicle with the big cast on his leg.  The amputation surgery itself went very well, but due to some medical mistakes and a rehab facility from hell - we have been living a nightmare.  I will tell you all about it in a future post.  Thankfully now he is in the great rehab hospital he was originally supposed to go to, and progressing very well.  We enjoyed a wonderful anniversary dinner together on Saturday.  Each staff member made a point to come by and wish us a happy anniversary, and gave us a card signed by everyone.

Wishing each of you many blessings this holiday season!

Dogs on Thursday

Thanks for all the birthday wishes - it's been a great birthday.  I forgot to mention that yesterday was Remy's birthday - he's two.  Winton's birthday is coming up December 10th.

Exceptional Customer Service

Y'all know I rarely advertise on my blog, but I do like to endorse people who are going above and beyond the call of duty with the business practices.  This person is not in the knitting/yarn industry, however someone who works with him is an obsessive knitter so that counts right?

I recently ordered something to go with Kiddo's new Verizon krzr phone.  I purchased a kit from this eBay store.  I have been shopping online now for about 10 years.  This gentleman's customer service is the best I have ever seen, bar none.

As a disabled, homebound person the past 6 years, I appreciate more and more the wonderful online vendors, including some on eBay, that I have done business with over the years.  If I want to personally shop for anything, it has to be done online.  When I find a good yarn vendor, or other that I can depend on for quality goods and service - I return to them frequently.

Go visit Steve at Verizon Music Kits, Sandisk Memory on eBay - you won't be sorry!

A Heartfelt Thank You & an Updated WIP

First let me say how touched and blessed I am by the outpouring of love toward me in my post about my situation.  I have read each and every comment, each and every private email several times.  You lift me up.  You give me hope.  You also give great suggestions and advice.

I promise each of you will get a private email from me.  I am making a list of every suggestion, even those I had previously thought of and discarded.  I want to look at everything anew without preconceived ideas.

I also appreciate the righteous anger on my behalf.  I do feel that it is only right that I tell you, although my DH may be lacking in the husband/caretaker department, he is a wonderful father, was a good step-father and is probably the best friend any person could have.  Why that doesn't translate over to husband, I'm not totally sure.  I am wife #3.  The others lasted about 4 years each.  I have been here 22 1/2 years.

I will write more at a later date, but I will say I am reaching out to more people, agencies and my state and federal representatives and senators.  I am making sure it is not a secret any longer.

So thank you, each and every one.  There are no words to express how grateful I am for your abundance of love, concern and caring.  I knew I had some wonderful readers, and I should have known you would rally with advice, suggestions and what feels like an endless, warm hug.
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The knitting of the Kauni Forest Path Shawl is completed!

Here is a cursory unwashed, unblocked shot.  I already love it, and can't wait to see it blocked properly.  I will probably need some assistance with that as I am not very mobile - so be patient.  All proper linkage will return with the finished post.

I could never have made it to the very end without my chart reading assistant...Winston.

I'm In! I'm In!

The last time I had checked Ravelry for my place in the queue, I was somewhere in the 3000+.  I would check every time I read a blog where someone had just gotten his or her invite, and I would get my pout on because I would have jumped up about all of 10 places.

Imagine my surprise when I checked my email a little while ago and I had an INVITE!  Of course I have no clue what I am doing.  Most of my stash is in my yarn room, which I can no longer access (thanks to a wheelchair that doesn't do stairs.)  So I imagine it will take awhile before I manage to get all of my stash photographed for Ravelry.  Falls over laughing at the thought of...

1. admitting the full scope of my stash
2. photographing all of it
3. I might be finished in the next decade

If you want to look for me on you can find me under Blissfulknitter.

Last week I took my first few steps in about 3 years.  Today I get my Ravelry invite.  What's next?  World peace?

In other news, there has not been much knitting.  I have had a lot of little things to take care of that manage to stretch out over the parts of the day I'm not on the phone, reading posts in Bloglines, being cared for by my daily caregivers, laying prostrate on the bed between two fans because the Midwest is still on "bake in hot oven until done."  We have central air conditioning, but the wall of windows in my bedroom defeat it easily with the amount of sunshine that comes in.  Our bedroom is about 25 degrees hotter than any other room in the house.

Somewhere during all that fanning and sighing, I lost my danged mind and signed up for this:   I know!  I have not completed the easy shawl I am knitting, but have managed in the past couple of weeks to purchase the pattern and yarn for the Bee Fields Shawl (can we say WAY over our skills?) and now I have signed up for the Secret of the Stole, like I am going to be able to keep up with the clues and the knitting and beads and the chart.   Feel free to start laughing.  Okay enough with the hysterical wheezing, spitting and knee slapping... I can hear you.

Speaking of which, I don't think I have suitable yarn or stash, unless I filch the beaUtiful yarn that Kim dyed for me (you can get some too) called Tupelo Honey.  I see it might be a tad short in yardage.  Darn.  That could mean I need to buy yarn and beads.

Kauni Progress & an Amazing Event

The Kauni shawl has progressed.  Maybe not as fast I would like her to, but she is getting more difficult to photograph.  Someone mentioned on a blog I read (I don't remember who, sorry) that they thought their Kauni yarn was more muted than other Kauni they had seen.  They speculated that perhaps theirs had been overdyed from a gray-based yarn.  I have begun to wonder the same thing about mine.  Although I still love the color progression, it is not as bright as some I have seen.

I am getting into the dark red - purple progression.  I wish it showed better in the picture.  I have actually knitted the amount of rows the pattern calls for before beginning the border.  However since I am knitting on smaller needles, I need to add a few more pattern repeats to make it the right size.

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Okay, this is where we would have a drum roll, or special music to introduce the amazing event in my life.

I CAN WALK

I know!  This is so amazing it is difficult to fully comprehend.  Now it is only a few steps at a time, and as I told my MS specialist this week - "I have something to show you...it isn't pretty, but it's amazing."  Then I scooted to the edge of my wheelchair, and he began to get visibly nervous.

"You're not going to try to get up are you?" he asked alarmed.  I think his career may have flashed in front of his eyes, as we were alone in the room, and I was about to do something that could turn out very, very bad.

I assured him it would be alright, then I got up and walked my funny little walk, that looks like a bouncing frog, about 6 steps to the window and back again.  I sat down and he gaped in amazement.  He wanted to know what had happened to cause this.  How long had it been since I had actually walked? 

Not counting a few months ago when I reported being able to walk a few steps - which apparently was some kind of fluke that did not reoccur - it has been at least 2 1/2  possibly 3 years.  Not only that, but I have not been able to walk unassisted without canes or crutches since 2001.  I did this walking without aid or assistance.  Now it has always been a small amount of walking.  In 2001, I could walk or stand a total of about 6-8 minutes.  That dwindled down to a few steps, and then stopped all together.

The probable cause of this event (next to lots of prayer) is a small thing called a dose pack of Prednisone (steroids) I had to take for another condition.  Now this is almost impossible to believe, because when a person with MS progresses and cannot walk or has other major setback issues, it is medical standard to put the person on megadoses of steroids.  You receive 1000 mg of solumedrol by IV for a 3-5 day course.  The side effects are horrendous.  I have endured this three different times without success.  The only thing I reap are the side-effects like the headache from hell, insomnia, mood swings that are like turbo-charged PMS, acne, and insatiable hunger just to name a few.

A dose pack of steroids is made up of 21 - 4 mg. pills taken over the course of 6 days.  Six pills are taken the first day, then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  I asked him if he had ever seen such a thing before, and he said never.

We discussed the possibility of me staying on a daily low dose of Prednisone.  It is not without risk.  Steroids leach the calcium out of your bones, and can cause osteoporosis.  There are other problems associated with steroids - especially when taken long term.  Weight gain (oh joy I REALLY need that - not), acne, mood swings. 

The dose has to stay minimal to keep the adrenal gland from shutting off natural cortisone to the body.  This supplies your "fight or flight" syndrome and keeps you from going into shock during surgery or a trauma.  Sometimes shutting it down cannot be avoided when steroids are needed to save a life (like when I have taken daily injections for acute asthma), or when they are taken as part of anti-rejection drugs following organ transplant.

We decided it was worth the risk considering the trade off I am receiving.  May it continue and do so on the least amount of steroids possible.  I am still in shock and awe.  This will not get me out of my wheelchair, but even a few steps makes everything easier from transfer to daily care.  I also hope my knees regain the ability to straighten and flex, so I no longer continue walking like a bouncing frog.  But who am I to look a gift horse frog in the mouth?

I may actually get out of solitary confinement being trapped in my bedroom.  Look out family room, I have my sights set on you next!

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Should I be concerned that Winston likes to wear my clothes?  He can never resist lying on whatever I am about to put on, or whatever I have just taken off.  I snapped this after I had just unpackaged two new lounge wear gowns I had received in the mail.  They were lying on the bed to be added to the laundry for washing before wearing.

As you can see, Winston takes the words lounge wear literally.

Why Yes...

...that is a dog butt on my keyboard.

Winston is always quite content to lie at my feet, unless I am knitting or blogging.  I haven't figured out how to hold him and knit, but I can hold him and type with one hand.  I can also hold him while reading knitting blogs.

Bunny was tuckable, (oh look, I invented a word) to knit, read, etc.  She was quite content to lie on my chest, or tucked inside my shirt.  Winston is not tuckable.  His hefty 7 lbs has to be held.

Now if I WANT to hold him, he will have none of it.  He only wants to be held when he knows my attention is elsewhere.  Spoiled?  You think?

Keep those good thoughts coming...I think DH is getting to come home from the hospital today.  Yay!

Rant removed - issue of my emergency hours resolved

Update:  DH is home - yippee!  Thanks for all your good thoughts and prayers!

Woohoo! No More Dialup

This here rural gal has gone all "citified" and gotten fast internet.  I know!  Believe me I would have had it years ago if it had been available.  Now I can surf Bloglines and actually make some headway on the eleventy million blogs I have saved to read.  No more waiting 20 minutes for some blogs to load, clicking repeatedly on the little red x's to see the pictures.

What's in it for you?  I'm so glad you asked!  Now that I can actually download a YouTube video in less than thirty minutes...I might occasionally bring you sterling examples of the comedy kind like the following...

Evolution of Dance.

You're welcome.

For those actually reading this and commenting...there will be a PRIZE for the person leaving comment #3000.  It could be YOU.  It will most likely be sock yarn, since I have a skein or two in my stash. (snort)  Unless you are opposed to knitting socks, and them I'm sure I can find something else to make you smile.  Winner will get a list of choices from which to choose.

 

Oh You Lucky Girl!

That would be me!  My sockapalooza4 socks came yesterday from Ashley!  I'm not sure if Ashley has a blog.  If she does I will update and link to her.

A few weeks ago I even emailed Deb to ask how difficult Cookie A's Pomatomus socks were, as the chart looked a little confusing.  She assured me it would make sense once I started knitting the socks.  I filed that information away for future reference in my memory to-do list.

Well...tada! 

Thanks to my wonderful sockapalooza pal Ashley, I have my very own Pomatomus socks.  I wish my photography did not suck.  These socks are beautiful.  The yarn looks like gemstones.  It is Mountain Colors bearfoot in Mountain Tango  Mmmmmm.  Soft, squooshy and stretchy - just what I need. 

Most people in a wheelchair can be prone to swelling in the feet and legs, and I am no exception.  Mine can be a different size every day, or even from morning to evening.  A pattern with stretch is a must.

I love jewel tones of red, blue green, gold, green, and purple.  This yarn has all of them.  I tried to find a better picture online, but it is a hard yarn to photograph and do it justice.

Here is a picture of them on my feet & ankles, which look enormous because I am wearing two layers of tubigrip (a sort of industrial strength compression.)

There is something so exciting about receiving a pair of socks knitted just for you by another sock knitter.  I hit the jackpot by getting the very pattern I had been most interested in, and knitted with wonderful yarn.  I am one blessed Bliss!  (say that 5 times - heh)

Hopefully I can get someone to take pictures outside so the pattern will actually show up.  You can't really see it in my pictures, but is there anyone left who hasn't seen the famous P socks?

Ashley, you hit the ball out of the park with these.  I love them so much, and I thank you for making these very special socks just for me.

UPDATE:  Ashley does have a blog - you can find her here.

Sockapalooza Sigh

If you recall, I had completed one sockaplooza 4 sock.  I had a good amount of the second cuff knitted when I had to rip back to the ribbing.  Wah!

Ringing phone...

Bliss:    Hello?

Caller:  Is this Head up your Hind-end Knitting?

Bliss:    I beg your pardon?

Caller:  IS THIS HEAD UP YOUR HIND-END KNITTING?

Bliss:    Well, yes - I suppose - I mean...

Caller:  Did you just rip out a sock cuff because you had discovered the amount of ribbing rows were different between the two socks?

Bliss:     Yes.

Caller:  I thought you had a fancy, schmancy leather diary where you keep all your sock knitting information - like size, rows or repeats of pattern and modifications.

Bliss:     Yes - I do...it would be this one...

Caller:  So what's the problem?  You open up the diary and find the number of ribbing rows completed.

Bliss:    mumble...mumble...mumble...

Caller:  I'm sorry, you are going to have to speak up.  I can't hear you.

Bliss:    I didn't write it down in there.

Caller:  (with incredulous tone)  You have a special red leather diary to store all of your sock knitting information inside and you didn't write down that important bit of information?  Did you write it down ANYWHERE?

Bliss:   Well as a matter of fact I did write it down somewhere else.

Caller:  It seems like I am repeating myself here, so what was the problem?

Bliss:    I couldn't remember where I wrote it down.  I looked through my stack of post it notes, and my steno pad where I keep daily to-do lists and other useful information.  It wasn't in any of them.

Caller:  Couldn't you simply have counted the rows on the first sock?

Bliss:    Well I thought I could, and I eyeballed them by holding them up side by side and they looked the same.  So I finished what I thought was the right amount of ribbing and began the pattern.  Something just kept niggling at my brain...

Caller:  Did you stop knitting until this er "niggling" went away?

Bliss:    Well no - I just kept knitting because I wanted to get the socks finished.

Caller:  So let me get this straight.  You thought if you just kept knitting that somehow the sock ribbings would magically match?

Bliss:    Um, yes?

Caller:  So how did you finally discover the truth?

Bliss:    I found where I had written my modification of rows.

Caller:  And where was that?

Bliss:    On my copy of the pattern.  I type out instructions, pattern repeats or charts because I can't hold a book in my lap and knit, and sometimes cannot read the print if the pattern book is lying on a table nearby.

Caller:  How in the world did you not SEE this when you began the second sock?

Bliss:    By then I had already memorized the pattern, and I was not referring to the notes any more.

Caller:  Well I hope you have learned your lesson!

Bliss:     I hope so, too!

I have ripped back to the ribbing, added the two additional rows and started knitting the pattern again.  That deadline seems to be zooming closer.  Knit faster Bliss, knit faster!

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Hubby has been back in the hospital since Monday with another infection.  (They decided they stopped the IV antibiotics too soon.)  He will need a little additional surgery on the bone where they amputated his toe.  They are sending him home to me today, I will do IV antibiotic therapy on him and wound care.  He will go back in the hospital on Sunday night July 29, have surgery early Monday and either come home that day or the next.  Once again, there has to be a delay in doing surgery because he is on a strong blood thinner.  The Plavix needs to be out of his system at least a week, preferably 10 days before doing surgery.

The doctor sets it up this way because Dave feels better at home, and it is much cheaper for the insurance company.  We had a similar set up with his surgery in May.  The insurance company thanked us by refusing to pay the initial hospital stay as unnecessary!   The doctor called them and straightened that out very quickly.  He told them normally he would have to keep a patient in the hospital the entire time so he could receive the care he needed around the clock from nurses.  This was a rare situation where the patient's wife was able to provide around the clock care for free.  Of course if they would rather he kept the patient in the hospital until surgery this time, he would be happy to comply.  They couldn't rescind their earlier assessment fast enough!  They assured him this arrangement would be just fine.

One of the residents on the team came around to see DH yesterday, and saw the notes where they were preparing to send him home.  He asked DH how he could go home when he needed IV antibiotics several times a day, plus wound care.  DH told him his wife would be doing it.  The resident asked if I was a nurse.  DH said no, not exactly.  Is she a doctor?  Well, no not that either.  The resident shook his head and said I'm confused.  When my boss called me on Monday and said I must see you immediately and admit you to the hospital, I asked him if he had seen you?  My boss said no, "(the patient's) doctor at home spoke to me on the phone about the urgency of the situation, and I assured her the clinic would see him today.  Does he think your wife is a doctor?

DH laughed and said that is a private joke.  My wife is exceptionally smart, and has vast medical knowledge - plus 10 years of on the job training with my constant wound care/surgeries/antibiotics, etc.  Dr. A. trusts her to know what to do, and to call if something is wrong.  When I come in to see him, he always asks what "my doctor at home" says about my situation.

Young resident says, so you wife is NOT a nurse or a doctor yet she goes to all this trouble to get up around the clock to take care of you?  She doesn't freak out doing packings and wound care for amputations?

DH says, that's not all.  She has Secondary Progressive MS, and is in a wheelchair.  She still manages to do everything I need.  I know it's a big aggravation, but she does it because she loves me.

(Awww...and I didn't think he noticed.  An aside, I called the clinic first to get an emergency appointment for DH on Monday and they flat refused, so I said I would call Dr. A - the big boss.  They said it wouldn't do any good to call him, that I should just take DH to the emergency room.  Going through the ER is a nightmare, because they never recognize the situation for what it is and will give him a dose of meds and send him home.  One call to Dr. A and within 15 minutes the clinic was finding out they would have an emergency patient coming in at 3:45 p.m.  He knows I NEVER call unless it is a real emergency, and DH needs to be assessed and/or admitted.  Twenty minutes after DH arrived at the clinic, he called to say he was being admitted into the hospital.)

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I will leave you with a happier note.  My special friend in DC knew I was under a lot of stress at the moment, and he sent me the following.  It was just the calming influence I needed.  May you be blessed as well!

(So as not to offend any readers, I will tell you it is a beautiful musical and pictorial tribute to what Jesus does in our lives.)

http://www.andiesisle.com/He-Will-Be.html