I HIDE YARN

Losing the Battle

One battle lost, but not the war.  My DH has had a perpetual diagnosis haunting him through the past 10 years of serious foot problems, and more surgeries than I can count. 

He goes into the hospital tomorrow morning, and on Wednesday morning early - they will be amputating his leg at mid-calf.  We have known for about 10 days, and it has been a little grim here.  DH did everything he could, including taking off work to stay off of it since the first week of November.  He is accepting it as well as anyone could I guess under the circumstances.  He is resigned that it is necessary, but is taking the news hard.

They called in a trauma specialist to actually do the surgery.  If it goes as planned, he will actually come out of surgery with a cast on his leg with a tripod attached.  They will have him up walking the next day.  He will transition from the hospital to rehab - with 4 days or so expected in the hospital, and approximately 3 weeks in rehab.  We don't know if he will be able to come home for Christmas.  Once the swelling goes down, they expect to fit him with a prosthesis, and have him up walking and doing what he wants in 6-8 weeks.

I have not been doing much knitting, I think that will change once he goes to the hospital.  There are many unknowns.  Your prayers and good wishes are welcome and needed.  I will update when I can.

WIP's

There has been some knitting...


I liked this sock pattern so much, I am knitting it again.





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Medical update.  Dh is doing better.  I took my first shot of Avonex (for MS) on Monday night.  (To new readers, I am not new to MS - just new to this drug.)  This drug has many listed side effects like flu-like symptoms, fever & chills as well as others.  I was blessed to have very minimal side effects.  I had a headache, that went away with Tylenol, and a rapid heart beat that only lasted about 20 minutes.  The next day was a lower energy day, but I have those any way.  The nurse practitioner  who came up from Louisville was an awesome trainer.  I'm an old hand at giving myself shots, but I had not done an intramuscular one before.  Piece of cake.

clickable

One of Those Weeks...

Sigh.

Things have not gone exactly my way this week.  Here is a partial list of events:

• Dh came home from the hospital grouchy and unbearable to be around
• The coordinator from the local MS Society called, listened and basically told me I was very well informed.  Then offered no help.  None.  Nada.
• I get replies to some of my email to state or federal senators/representatives who refer me to the HUD website to find accessible housing.  That would be a great idea if the website WORKED.  You put in your area, and then it comes up with no responses.  Every time, in any area.
• I have not finished Hint 1 of the Secret of the Stole, and Hint 2 has already been given.  I am already behind.
• The Monkey Socks were screaming for attention.  So I got them out to knit on them.  Now I realized they were screaming because the yarn cake was being eaten by MOTHS.  MOTHS!  I keep all of my yarn in sealed bags, with lots of lavender or cedar.  How did this happen?

I've been knocked down a bit, but I'm not out of it by any means.  Even if my head is itching like crazy, because now I am sure I have cooties.  If I shave my head of its waist-length hair, will you still love me?

Too Much Going On...

Too much going on to post it all.  DH had emergency surgery on his foot AGAIN today.  All is well at the moment.  So not wanting to talk about everything - I know some of you are SHOCKED, because you know what a blabbermouth I am...how 'bout some cute Winston pics?

Winston has a fascination with getting inside the pillowcase with the pillow.  This time I captured it frame by frame...


OOh look...my PILLOW...


I wonder if Mommy hid any treats in here...


No...guess not...

Oh drat...she's got the camera again... i still have bed pillow head!

More Kauni - More Colors

The Kauni shawl continues to keep me entertained.  The knitting is addictive, because you keep knitting to see the next color change.  Or maybe it's just me, and I have been shut in for so long - it takes very little to entertain me.

I should be further along on this shawl, but I couldn't resist the urge to BRAG, in my last post, about how easy this pattern is.  The Forest Canopy Shawl is a well-written pattern, and Susan is a great person (even if she is a Red Sox fan - heh.)  However I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with lace.  I love lace, and lace hates me.

So after my bragadocious post, the lace felt compelled to smack me around a bit.  I knitted 8 rows and tinked 7.  This does not bode well for progress.  For the newbies, tink is knit backwards.  It is essentially what you are doing when you unknit each stitch, until you have progressed back to an error free zone.  This is opposed to ripping or frogging, where one rips out rows with great abandon.  Something one cannot do when one has not put in a lifeline, or at least not do easily with lace.  It can be difficult to get all those little yarn overs back in their correct places, once they are taken off the needles.  I managed to make some mistake-free progress this evening.  Umm...lace goddess...not bragging here, okay?  Just stating the facts.

So progress was a bit hindered by my klutziness or inability to count to eight perhaps.  Add to that one useless doctor's visit to a doctor I did not need to see, and a urgent call to another doctor for assistance with bleeding thighs, and the effects of that particular ailment and the steroids necessary to bring it to heel.  Ugh.  The reader's digest version...

I got a new computer chair a few months ago, and promptly broke out in an unsightly rash - apparently allergic to the fabric.  This didn't seem all that odd as I am allergic to some of the strangest things - like each and every adhesive known in the medical world - every tape (no matter how hypo-allergenic it purports to be) - up to and including the lowly bandaid.  See exhibit A taken 9 days after I had blood drawn and forgot to remove the bandaid until the next day.

So we covered the chair with a sheet and thought all would be okay.  My sucky immune system kicked in and made a little rash a big deal.  It doesn't help that I sit all day long (the inability to walk bites the big one sometimes), and I hate staying in bed just because I should.  I can't knit in bed.  The super smart power wheelchair I have that tilts and reclines to keep things like this from occurring is too big to maneuver in our bedroom.  Oh how we need a house makeover with accessibility - sigh.

So I was not as good about "resting" the area (i.e. lying on my side in bed) as I should have been.  I sought medical attention when it got bad, and we thought we had it under control and almost healed.  Then it went from bad to worse, and when I was leaving bloody thigh prints everywhere - the urgent call was made which resulted in the dreaded steroids.  That explains what I am doing up at 3:00 a.m. typing a blog post.  I will spare y'all the gruesome sight of the back of my thighs.  You're welcome.

Since I can't knit when I am in bed, and the time I am most awake is in the middle of the night when my husband is in bed - I can't knit then either.  That has seriously crimped my knitting progress, because I WANT to knit this shawl, I need to knit the Kauni yarn just to see the next color appear.

Okay - enough about bandaid irritations and bloody thighs.  I know you really come here for the dog pics.  There has been some serious dog talk lately about a certain blog-hogging dog, and the lack of pictures of other, equally loved dogs in the household.  It just happens that a certain Yorkie is always available to have his picture taken because I am his full-time day job - heh.  The others come and go too quickly to get pictures very often.  But today, we have three of the four household dogs on parade...in alphabetical order...except for Molly who disappeared under the bed when the camera appeared.

Remy - a.k.a. the snuggle hugger awakened by the flash.

Miss Sachi who looks bigger than she is in this picture.  Three pounds of holy terror who stalks every room just looking for something to get into, especially paper that is waiting to be shredded into a million tiny pieces.  She was also awakened by the flash.

Remy & Sachi with the dog whisperer, M, who asked me to cut her head out of the picture because she has been working some very long hours.  Yes, she is holding two dogs at a time.  When she is on the love seat, she has four dogs at a time.  They all love her dearly.

Last but not least...the blog hog himself...Winston.

Caught napping on the job again.  My dogs are champion nappers for sure.

Hey Mom, enough with the flash already.  Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?

How Winston deals with the paparazzi.

And The Winner IS...

Hayley of knittyauntie!  Congratulations Haley. 

After a quick email exchange, I found out Haley is a girl after my own heart.  She loves to knit socks, she loves superwash yarn, and she loves bright colors.  When you look in my sock yarn stash, that is admittedly gnormous, you will find lots of superwash yarn and eye-searing colors.

So here you go, Haley, pick your favorite...

From left to right:

Sunshine Yarns - 100% superwash, in Lemon Lime, approx. 450 yards of fingering weight yarn.  Machine wash - dry flat.  (I think my particular skein is all lemon and no lime, but I love the bright yellow.)

Twisted Fiber Art - 100% superwash in Pinks/Purples Organic Stripe, approx 480 yards of fingering weight yarn.  Machine wash - hang or dry flat.

Duet Sock Yarn from A Swell Yarn Shop  100% superwash in Leprechaun (with solid yarn for matching heels and toes) - approx. 360 yards total in a Dk weight yarn.  Machine wash, gentle cycle - tumble dry, low heat.

This is my personal opinion on 100% merino superwash yarn that has no nylon added; it is best hand washed in a wool wash like Eucalan and dried flat. The socks usually stay nice looking longer.   I don't mind hand washing socks.  Why should I?  I have caregivers to do it for me - heh!  I never minded when I did everything myself either.  I love individual artist's handpainted yarn, and it worth the little bit of extra effort to me.

However sometimes I am totally in the mood for easy care socks.  These are a must when given to other members of my family, friends, etc. who are not knitters.  Regardless of instructions - they are going to throw them in the washer and dryer.  Sometimes their adult-sized socks will come out child sized - heh.

Haley if you are interested in truly superwash yarn (as in machine wash and dry), here are some more choices from commercial yarns with nylon added for durability:

From left to right:

Lang Jaywoll Color, (self striping) 75% superwash wool/25% nylon, aprox 459 yards.  Machine wash and dry.  (Sorry, there is a bit of the glare from the plastic wrapped skein.)

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in color River, 80% superwash wool/20% nylon, approx 215 yards per skein - 2 skeins.  Machine wash and dry.  This one is beautiful, but not quite as bright in case you want to save our corneas from severe scorching - heh.

Regia Goal Color (self-striping), 75% superwash wool/25% nylon, aprox 459 yards.  Machine wash and dry.

There you have it Haley.  The colors appear fairly accurate on my monitor for once.  I hope you find something you like among the choices.  Please email me your choice, and I will get it out to you next week.

Thanks to everyone who left comments!

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THIS ENDS THE KNITTING/YARN PORTION OF THE POST - FEEL FREE TO CLICK AWAY KNITTING FANS ONLY
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In other news...

I have not gotten any knitting done since getting fast internet!  I thought I would get more knitting done, because I would be able to get most of my blogs, mail, etc. read and move on to other pursuits.  Hopefully that will become a reality once the "new" has worn off being able to download anything fast.

My DH is back in the hospital AGAIN.  Sigh.  He went in last Thursday, because the IV antibiotics were not doing the job this time.  After 10 years, I suppose it should not come as any surprise that he has grown immune to some of them.  They hit him with three different IV antibiotics, and it seems to be working.  He is getting lots of time in the whirlpool - at least his foot is.  The rest of him gets a lot of time in bed, which he hates.  Hopefully he will be home by the first of the week.

Later gators...
 

All Winston - All The Time

Long time, no post - I know.  Things got a bit chaotic around here for awhile.  First Sachi was in heat.  Oh boy.  I had never heard a dog yodel before, and I wouldn't care if I never heard it again.  Winston wore his little paws down.

• Circle newly mesh wire wrapped, and covered playpen (Sachi's jail cell) 300 times looking for an opening
• Run back in to see if Mommy is okay, lay by her feet for 2 minutes
• Jump back up when Sachi yodels and add to the chorus with whining at the side of the playpen
• Run back to Mommy...then back to Sachi
• Rinse and repeat until Mommy is frazzled from the yodeling and whining and Winston is prone from exhaustion

I told my husband I would know we were in trouble when we saw Winston by the playpen with a pair of tin snips.  Yodeling and whining sometimes continued into the night.  We tried putting their crates in separate rooms and the noise only got worse.  Please, may we get Winston's complicated neutering surgery over and done with before she goes into heat again.  If not, I am moving to a hotel for 2 weeks.

For the first time EVER, I have missed a sock knitting deadline.  I feel so terrible not to have my sockaplooza socks finished yet.  I emailed my sock pal to let her know, and she was very gracious to say not to worry.  But I still do - worry and fret, which doesn't make for smooth knitting.

DH is home from his last surgery hospitalization.  He went in on Sunday night for early Monday morning surgery.  He was supposed to come home on Tuesday, but they delayed it until Thursday.

So while I am busy knitting, knitting, knitting...you get some Winston pictures.  Why Winston only?  Because he is the one who babysits me all day long.  The others come and go, but he takes me on like a full-time job.  He doesn't clock out until someone else is home, and he feels it is safe to leave me (plus he wants to greet them like he has just been waiting by the door for them to come home - heh.)

Winston supervising the refilling of the weekly - 4 times per day - pill case.  Yes I take a truckload of meds, but not as many as I used to thanks to Congress privatizing the Medicare prescription plan so these companies can change the rules, the prices, etc. at whim.  The word "contract' doesn't faze them.  They "accidentally" have charged the wrong co-pay on at least one drug every month since I started - always double or more than what I should be paying.  It practically takes an act of Congress to get it appealed and refunded.  Now I am in what is referred to as the "gap" or "donut hole" which means I must pay full price for all of my drugs until I meet $3800 out of pocket.  Does anyone care that all of the hospital and medical bills have beat them to the pocket?  Not to mention the frivlous things like food, house payment and utility bills.  But that is a story for another day...or should I say never-ending nightmare.

This is Winston "helping" to make the bed.  His idea of the perfectly made bed is, pulling the comforter around with his mouth until it is in a big soft pile he can lie on like the first picture.  If I discourage that, then he gets under the blanket and tunnels underneath from the head of the bed to the foot, and back again.  Blankets like the lavender one on the edge of the bed can either seem very attractive or utterly unnecessary to him depending on his mood.  When it is the latter, he nudges it off the bed onto the floor.

Of course no day is complete without several times of playing "Where's Winnie?"  He has a new hiding place, under the bed.  Usually he hides under pillows or blankets because under the bed is Molly's domain (the old grouchy dog.)  He never gets tired of popping out from somewhere when he hears "Where's Winnie" as if he totally surprised you that time.

Supervising Mommy, bed making and hide and seek can totally tucker out little Yorkie boys.

Thankfully Sachi is back to normal, and so is Winston.

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

Bye Bye Birdy

Our feathered visitors went home finally.  Before they left, they came to my room to visit once they were in their traveling cages.

This is Maggie - a blue and gold macaw.  I wish I had gotten a picture of her from behind with her wings partially open so you could see her glorious dark turquoise color.  Maggie is very entertaining, and came close to me when I started singing to her, which she loved.  I put on a song about dancing and she began to dance.  She hangs from the top of her cage and rocks her body between her feet to the beat of the music.

Maggie laughed several times when I talked to her - "Ha, Ha, Ha!"  Apparently I am very funny.  She is the one that calls my DH Margaret, which we all think is hilarious.  Especially since it had been his intention to have the birds say, "(his name) is a stud!"  Instead he gets "Hi Margaret!"  I called him on his cellphone so he could tell her goodbye, and got his voice mail.  I had my phone on speaker phone, and as soon as she heard his voice she said, "Hi Margaret!" 

She told my noisy dogs to shut up.  When in the garage, and she would see them standing in the open doorway she would alternate between saying, "No, no!" (don't come out here) or "Wanna go outside?"  I asked her if she was coming back to visit, and she said "I doubt it."  I can't speak for all birds, parrots, etc. but these two do not just repeat what they hear.  They respond appropriately to questions and situations at times, which is a little eerie.

This is Applejack who is a double yellow headed Amazon.  As he ages, the yellow on his head will continue down to his shoulders.  I was quite relieved that Applejack did not use his traditional greeting when he saw me, which is "Hello fat girl!"  My sister used to have a dog she called fat girl, and that is where he picked it up.  However, he also knows when to use it.  If my sister won't give him something he wants, he says "All right fat girl!"

Applejack wolf whistled at me 3 different times while we were visiting.  He asked me "Whazzup?"  (Thanks DH.)  He also loves music, and enjoyed when I sang to him - but he did not join in as I hoped.  Applejack sings country music with a operatic vibrato.  I didn't get to spend as much time with Applejack, so he did not talk as much as usual.

If they weren't so messy, and it wasn't so difficult to get them into their traveling cages - I would have really enjoyed having them in my room on occasion.  Applejack is small enough to spend some extended time in his travel cage.  Maggie however is quite limited in her travel cage, and cannot open her wings fully.

The latest on the medical front...

Kiddo has strep throat and mono!  She was diagnosed with strep throat early last week, but she wasn't getting any better.  Today she went to a convenient care and they also tested her for mono, which was positive.  She has been working this year in an amusement park in one of their restaurants.  She cannot handle any food or be involved in contact sports for 3 weeks.  She will be off work for a few days, and then will be reassessed to see if she feels well enough to return to work (with non-food related duties.)  She has band camp coming up in a couple of weeks.  She is a member of the color guard, but they don't think she will be able to practice in the extreme humid heat we experience here in July.  Preparing for whiney teen...poor baby.

Thank You Friends

DH is home and feeling much better.  I am also doing better, but have been too busy with other things to knit.  Thank you all for your prayers and birthday wishes.  We appreciate your kindness to us always.

Winston is relieved to be off day AND night duty.  One night while DH was still in the hospital, M got called to a crisis on her job, where she had to suspend 4 people.  She left the hospital taking kiddo with her, who went into her sister's office to sleep.  It was a long ordeal, and they didn't get home until 2:00 a.m.  Winston and I were asleep in my bed.  As soon as he heard them come in, he got up and put himself to bed in his crate - still wearing his puppy wrap!  Poor little desperate dog.