Here We Go Again!

It's been one adventure after another for me since I last posted in March. April 29th was suppose to be my Independence Day! I was going to have the cast removed from my leg that morning and be able to walk again. That went smoothly and I got fitted for a walking boot and got the MD's note to go back to work part-time. Boy, did I have an ugly looking leg! Big, red, angry looking scars and dry, scaly 'reptile' skin. For the next week I left a trail of flaked off skin whenever I moved. I was wrong about the location of the brake. It was just above the ankle through both leg bones. The ligaments in the foot were torn up pretty bad. The orthopedic surgeon wasn't kidding when he said I really did a job on my leg! I've been exercising faithfully and have regained a lot of the range of motion already.

The 2nd appointment of the day was with the cardiac surgeon who again had to cancel, so I saw his PA. She ordered blood work when I felt the office and promised to call me with the results. About 1/2 hour after I got home I received a phone call from the surgeon telling me to get to an ER ASAP. It seemed the dose of Coumadin I had been taking wasn't large enough. The clotting factors in my blood were wrong and I was in danger of developing a clot on the artificial heart valve, having a major stoke and dying. So it was back to the hospital in Cooperstown where I was admitted, an IV with Heparin started and increasing large doses of Coumadin given, and where I stayed until Tuesday, May 5th when my INR (a clotting factor) finally edged up into the therapeutic range and I was released. All of this could have been avoided if someone had ordered blood work 6 weeks ago when I asked if it was necessary. Anyway, my clotting factors, now being monitored, are right where they're suppose to be and the surgeon recommended a new cardiologist. The moral of this adventure is to always ask questions!

My next adventure wasn't medical. It was mechanical, automotive in fact. I am the proud owner of an 1998 Subaru Outback with a wacky factory-installed security system that can be activated by any key-less entry remote except the one that came with it (oh, yes, it can!). While I was in the hospital this last time my cousin checked out my car so it would be ready to be driven again and it wouldn't start it. He assumed the battery was dead and decided to recharge it. But it still wouldn't start. He started talking about a new battery and I started wondering what was happening. When I got home on Tuesday, the charger was hooked up to the battery and the parking lights and dashboard lights were flashing. I knew immediately that the security system had been activated! (There wasn't an audio alarm going off coz the maintenance man at the library had cut that wire one day when we couldn't get the system to shut up/off!) After a couple of phone calls a very smart mechanic at the local Ford/Subaru dealership gave us the solution that was so easy I'm surprised no one told me about it before! Now I just need to be sure there is a pair of pliers in my bag. I drove the car up and down the driveway a couple of times to see how it felt. No problems I could tell except it wasn't easy to drive with a support boot on your right foot! I had thought I could drive myself to the Coumadin clinic at the hospital the next morning for blood work but quickly changed my mind.

It's great being home and sleeping in my own bed. I do (not) miss the lab techs who woke me up between 5 & 6 am most mornings for blood and the nurses who came at 7am for blood pressure and temperature and, of course, all of the 4 various roommates (old and young) who snored, snorted and talked in their sleep most of the night and who will remain thankfully nameless.

While I was in the hospital the staff kept coming in to watch me working on baby socks using Happy Feet from Plymouth Yarn and Melody from Jojoland. The pattern is from the Summer 2005 issue of Interweave Knits. It calls for size 0 dp needles but I use 2 16" size 0 circulars needles. Both yarns are self-stripping and because the socks are so small, the designs I get don't match but the socks are cute! I usually have a pair on needles in a ziplock bag with me for when I get stuck in traffic or waiting rooms. I had wanted to take the cardigan I was working on with me but I was having trouble getting the pattern established and besides, I didn't think I'd be in the hospital more than overnight, let alone for almost a week! When I got home the pattern seemed to just fall into place and I finished the sweater in a couple of days. The pattern, Spring Flowers Cardigan, is in the May 2009 issue of Creative Knitting. I used Shine Worsted from KnitPicks, a Pima Cotton and Modal blend, on 24" size 4 and 6 circulars. Now I've got an adult sock started on 2 16" size 1 circulars using Maizy, a corn fiber blend that has a nice soft feel to it and I just ordered more Happy Feet for 2 pairs of socks. I found a basic formula for men's socks on the internet at www.knitlist.com that I like and works up nice in self-stripping yarns.

While I was recuperating from my heart valve operation and with my cast keeping me from walking much or driving myself anywhere, a lot of family and friends pitched in to help. My mom came up with a great idea on how to thank the ones who checked in on us nearly every day and I started knitting thank you gifts. The cardigan is for our next-door neighbor and the socks will go to 3 of my co-workers who raked our 3/4 acre yard one Saturday. Another co-worker got an Aran sleeveless pullover from the Best of Worsted by White Birches in her favorite color. Since they gave their time, the least I could do was the same and knit something for them.

Today was my 1st day back at work at the library and I enjoyed it! Not all our patrons knew what had happened to me and I was surprised with a lot of different reactions to the (40 lbs) thinner me and the walking boot. One woman even assumed when I wasn't there for over 2 months that I had gone to China to visit Fred! Now, that would have been a heck of a lot more enjoyable that my adventures! I still have to have a screw removed from my ankle and while I'm not looking forward to that, that shouldn't be a problem. My short-term problem will continue to be getting yarn since right now, the only local store that carries yarn that I feel comfortable driving to is Wal-Mart. Oh, well, think of all the money I'm saving! Since I can no longer sit up half the night knitting, it's time to get back to my sock. I'm sure there is another adventure in store for me!

Me, myself & I-update

Well, folks, it only took 2 weeks home to have me climbing the walls! There is just so much knitting (3 pairs of baby socks and the front of an adult sleeveless Aran vest) , reading (Barbara Walter's memoirs and a MC Beaton murder mystery), playing cards on-line, watching old tv shows & movies and napping that I can do. I've even started cleaning what I can reach from the wheelchair. Our lower kitchen cabinets have never been so clean! I went to my 1st MD appointment Thursday & saw my regular cardiologist who said ok, you're doing fine, see you in 3 months. When I asked if there were limits on my activities due to the artificial heart valve, he said no, I no longer had a heart condition. This coming Tuesday I have appointments for lab works, etc with the cardiac surgeon in Cooperstown. Hopefully, he'll just say Bye. Today I got a card in the mail registering my artificial heart valve! That'll leave the orthopedic surgeon...who's really in control of my life right now...to see at the end of April when the cast is scheduled to be changed and the screw that's holding the ligament in place across the front of my ankle is removed. I wonder if I could ask for it as a keepsake? Oh, that card actually identified when the valve was replaced. Seems I've lost another week of my life...it all happened a week earlier than I remembered (2/25). Hey, I just thought of something: when should I now celebrate my birthday 2/25 or 4/9? More next week. Mary T

Me, Myself & I-update

The rehab center didn't want me to leave so I had to sign myself out against medical advise. By the time I made it to my appointments in Cooperstown the sealed envelopes they had given me to pass on to my doctors had opened and I could see their point of view clearly. When I explained my attitude re rehab both my doctors questioned why I had gone there instead of straight home...never posed as an choice to me. (Sitrin wanted me to keep the appointments w/Bassett but return to them for a few more days, too.) Anyway, I now have a red walking cast and a brand new walker... sold to me by Sitrin that Bassett's ortho MD doesn't want me using too much. He wants me 'walking' while seated in a wheelchair as much as I can. Everything's looking good except the ligament on my right instep that was torn in the fall and is being held in place by one of the screws for another month. The ortho-man told me I did a damn good job on my foot! But the heart valve replacement looks good. My next cardio check up is next week in Herkimer and the big one with all the tests is at the end of the month in C'town. The foot is my big problem right now. It's going to keep me home for at least 10 more weeks! But it's great to be home! Last night was the lst night I slept all night in a week! Nursing homes are very noisy at night! Mary T

Me, Myself & I-update

Well, I got out of rehab on 3/16! I had an appointment at Bassett with the cardiac NP at 1pm and then another at 2pm to have a walking cast put on my foot and then I headed home! I thought that I'd continue with PT coming to the house a couple of times a week for a month or so. I am so happy to be going home! I haven't slept all night in almost a week. (I've been here, what 9-10 days?) What's worse, I've only knitted 1 1/2 baby socks in that time! The lighting is awful. And the public pc is dial-up! What could be worse? (Talk about being spoiled!) I want to thanks everyone for their good wishes. I promise to keep you posted! Mary T

Me, Myself & I

I just want everyone to know that I'm back in the land of the semi-living. Around Feb. 23rd, I had a 'cardiac' moment in our kitchen. When I came to, I was on my back and my right foot hurt like hell. I couldn't put any weight on it so we called 911 and I went to LFH/ER for the evening. Later that night I went to Bassett Hospital in Coooperstown. The next day I had a plate, 2 pins and 2 screws put in my right ankel and my metric heart valve replaced. I spent 2 weeks in Cooperstown and then was transferred to the Sitirin home in Utica. I still had a no-weight bearing cast on my right foot for another week and an appointment to get my cast changed and a cardiac eval and hopefully sent home. To make matters worse, our dog died while I was hospitalized and Mom got stuck taking care of that. John Fiore helped her with the dog and while we're both sad, Teddi was almost 16 years old and we knew this was going to happen anytime. Thanks to John, Teddi got buried with our other dogs...something I might not have been able to do myself.

Mom is doing very well at home with the help of some family, neighbors and friends.
Not much else new from me.Hope to hear from all of you. Mary T

A Long Weekend

A long weekend comes in handy once and awhile and this one was no different. I got ambitious and cleaned the den...moving furniture, scattering dust and generally aggravating my allergies. (I knew I was allergic to cleaning!) By the end of Saturday I had a clean den, a nice tidy stack of patterns and magazines, and swollen itchy eyes. That didn't stop me from working on my Avon Lady's baby sweater...a vintage sachet with alternate purl-knit stripes done on size 1 needles posted here, and a pair of fingerless mitts to send to a friend in China. (No, not Fred. He's one of those who says 'no one wears them'.) With those projects finished I'm looking for another sweater to make for myself. Maybe in sport yarn this time. There were a couple in the new Interweave Knits that came on Saturday that looked good. Decisions. Decisions. Oh well, while I ponder I guess I'll make another baby set for the shop.

Fbruary Lady Sweater

Well, it's done and I'm wearing it today! I thought I'd never get my February Lady Sweater finished but between the dvd Mamma Mia and my knitting group last night I finished it! I decided to wear it today and have a photo taken that I can post here. And, maybe, a co-worker will like it so much she'll offer to buy it! Naw, I'm not that lucky!

I'm finishing a baby sweater for my Avon Lady that someone else had started and then I'm going to make some baby socks to use up left over yarn. I'm still knitting from my stash and I have a lot of leftover sock yarn so that should keep me busy for awhile!

No word if that slow boat to China has docked yet with Fred's Vest. School officially opened on Monday and the package was to be delivered to the headmaster's office. If the first days of school over there are anything like it is here, I'll give them a couple of days to get organized before I expect a reply. I've been looking at patterns for briefcase-type bags for his next package and found a Monk's Bag that I think he'll like. He's always been interested in Tibet and Buddhism and he's planning to visit Lhasa in the spring.

Time to get working. We're doing the annual patron count here at the library this week and yesterday we had 215+ people come in. Not bad for a small town library.

Winter Doldrums

I've got a bad case of the winter knitting doldrums. I'm tired of working on my February Lady Sweater eventho I'm more than half way finished with the body and the end's in sight! I got 2 books thru the library--Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop and One Ball Knits Accessories by Fatema Habibur-Rahman-and found a moebius pattern in the One Ball Knits that I'd like to do. How would a ribbon yarn on size 11 needles work for the moebius? I wear a lot of black and the ribbon yarn I have is quite colorful. I've also got a pair baby socks on the needles trying to use up some of the left-over yarn from the baby sweaters already in the 'finished bag'. One of the girls at my Tuesday Knitting Group showed me how to use 2 circular needles instead of 4 dp and I love the method!

This is Day 21 of Fred's Vest's trip to China and that's adding to my restlessness. I want to see a photo of him wearing it!! He spent 21 days of his 48 day vacation in the warm south of China at Nanning...near Vietman...doing 1 & 2 day trips around the area. But in near silence...few emails. (And that may have added to my restlessness, too!) Anyway, he's in Luzhou ready to get back to teaching again. He keeps telling me...and his parents... that he's safer in China than in the USA but a 6'2, 240#, blond, blue-eyed man who doesn't speak Chinese in a land of 5'5' black-haired people who don't speak English tends to stand out and we worry...and that really infuriates his 58-yr-old ego! Oh, well, at least he knows we care. Now what should I knit for him next? So far he's gotten 2 pairs of socks and the vest. It doesn't snow in Luzhou, so there's no need for gloves or mittens or scarves. I'm open to suggestions.

Got to get back to work, the book delivery just got here and there's things to do! Mary T

Fingerless Mitts

I had decided after Christmas to do some fingerless mitts for Fred and some of his friends in China because of the heat issue (lack of it) but stopped working on them when he said no one would wear them. Well, he's on a 2-week vacation thru the south of China and a lot of 'no ones' are wearing them in the photos he's sent me! I started a pair for a Chinese teacher last night in Sensations Soles & More from JoAnn's and I really like they way they are growing! I have one mitt finished in Essential Tweeds from Knitpicks that'll be for Fred, and that just leaves a pair for a Filipino teacher but I need to get something girly for her. Oh, well, I can always break my New Year's resolution and go shopping for yarn!

I want to get these fingerless mitts done quickly so I can mail the package (it takes about 20 days to get there) and go back to knitting baby sweaters to build my stock for the late April reopening of the shop in Cooperstown. I've done 2 baby sets in Bernat Baby Jacquard, a self stripping, that works up very nice and quite quickly. (But, after working on Fred's XL vest, any thing smaller seems to work up quickly!) I can't remember the last time I had 2 sets in the finished bag this early in winter!

My First of 2009

I finished my first 2 projects of 2009 last night: 1st was Fred's vest. It made up very nicely, the cable around the neck and down the fronts make it just a little dressy. However, it did re-enforce a couple of pet peeves of mine: I do not like to k1p1 rib for long lengths, I do not like to pick up stitches for a band that must be ribbed, and I do not like to bind off in ribbing. I have to take and post a photo of it before I send it, and I'll ask for a photo of him in it, too!

My 2nd project was a baby hat that was on the back of Bernat Baby Jacquards label. I did it in the pink and yellow jacquard and really liked how it worked up. The yardage was very good and I went back to Walmart and got another skein so I can do a sweater to go with it. I like working on baby things because they knit up so fast! Especially after knitting a man's XL vest!

Christmas is over...at last!

I did not finish all my projects on time for Christmas. I knew that was going to happen so it didn't upset me too much. I took the 2nd mitt of the 3rd pair of fingerless mitts intended for gifting with me on the needles to Christmas dinner. My cousin's tweenie daughter loved hers and my cousin was trying them on and asking if she could borrow them. That sounded like a hint to me, so I whipped out the pair I had intended for her. Just had to work in a couple of ends, and viola, another pair was gifted. About then the indented recipient of the remaining unfinished mitts walked into the room and said "oh, what's that?" in a not very interested voice. Explanation did not change her attitude so pair #3 remained unfinished in my bag. (They went to my computer tech, saving me time and yarn, who immediately put them on and wore them the entire day at work raving about how much warmer her hands were. Now, that's gratitude!)

I finally finished the back of Fred's vest yesterday. I had to rip it out because the gauge was off. I changed needles and did a swatch that came out about 1/2 stitch big per inch. I thought that was close enough, but when I worked on 120 stitches the back was enormous! So I ended up doing it in size large but with x-l length. That worked! (When will I learn to take the time to make the swatch? I've often used Red Heart acrylic yarn for children's sweaters without a problem and didn't expect the gauge to be off. Oh, well.) The left front is about half finished. I went to JoAnn's yesterday for their New Year's Day sale and got buttons that match the burgandy yarn perfectly. And at half price! I also got several balls of Sensation sock yarn to make more mitts. I finished the 1st mitt of Fred's fingerless mitts in Blue Ox Tweed Essential, a superwash merino blend from Knitpicks. I want to do a pair for his friend, Joe, a Chinese elementary teacher and for Lily, a young teacher from the Phillipines that I email. I hope to have everything ready to mail by the middle of January. According to the USPS, the package should make it to LuZhou by Chinese New Year, Jan. 26th. I'm betting on Ground Hog's Day, Feb 2nd. Or for the first day of classes, Feb. 6th. We'll just have to wait and see.