It's HERE!!!!

Yes, this weekend is the AVON WALK and I am ready as I will ever be. I will update you all as to what happens, of course! I am charging my camera battery at this very moment. To date I have raised $2175 which I am very proud of so the walking is just a bonus to me. As long as the money was raised thats what counts.

On the knitting front I completed another Boheme in a larger size for a patients niece born in July. I used Spud & Chloe's Sweater yarn in a beautiful turquoise color and followed the directions for the 18 month size. My gauge was off a bit but I figured so what if it was a little big. It came out to measure 25" around the chest which says should fit a 4-5 year old! I am not so sure about that. Maybe a 3-4 year old the way these kids get so big so fast these days! Here it is:






Don't you love the contrast of the buttons with the color of the sweater? I absolutely love it!



I have another baby to make something for now and I havent started yet! My kids school principal had a baby girl this summer and I didnt even know about it until the kids started school again last month. I am thinking of booties with a hat or something simple because I have a lot of baby knitting to do for my sister who is pregnant and due in March.

Things seem to be going well with her and I. I know there have been problems in the past but I am hoping thats where they will stay.

My husband seems to be doing well and healing from his surgery back 3 weeks ago. He is going to start PT in another couple of weeks and if all goes well will return to work early January.

October is one crazy month! Starting with the walk this weekend then my sons birthday next week, the NYS sheep and wool festival the following week and finally Stitches East the last weekend of October. WOW! Crazy right!

Gotta go. See you at the walk this weekend!!

Wonky II

This little knit was such a quick and easy, fun knit that I had to make another. I am not sure who this is for or I should say that I do know who it's for but I don't want to mention it as to give the surprise away. This Wonky cowl from the latest Knitty is made with Sheep Shop Two yarn which now is no longer available (which is sad because its a great yarn).






I am in the process of working on a gift for my Mom's birthday, a baby sweater for my best friends niece, a couple of pairs of socks, and the finishing touches on a crocheted shawl. I can't figure out what type of crocheted embellishments are needed on it because I don't want it to look to overdone. I have a load of gorgeous crocheted leaves and flowers but I am saving them for another idea I have.

The summer is almost coming to an end and I can't wait! I had a nice summer but it was crazy. I am definitely not a hot weather person. I LOVE the Fall and cant wait for school to start. My husband is scheduled for major surgery the middle of September and am going to be working a lot more to make up for the 3 months of work he is going to miss. He's going to be getting workmans comp but we all know how its not your full salary. Its 75% of your salary and I really hope they dont dick him around when it comes to giving him what he is due. I can't work as much as he does but I will be filling in for him on his other job and picking up his regular patients. Then I have jury duty in November which is going to suck ass because there is no way I can serve on a jury. Even though I would love to do my civic duty and serve it would be a severe burden on the family at this time. No one to watch the kids, no one to take hubs to physical therapy, no one to work per diem. You get the point. Well, last time I went to serve for jury duty I drove though an ice storm to get to the court house and waited there for the lawyers to show for 3 hours. After waiting all that time with 100+ others in the same boat as me, they told us we all served for the next however many years (cant remember) and sent us home. Thats because the lawyers didnt show on account of the ice storm. So it was OK for US to risk our lives to get there but the lawyers no, God forbid! What a joke. I hope that doesnt happen again.

Good News! I am almost at my goal for my AVON WALK!! I am at $1625 and my goal is $1800. My friend is sending a check for $100 so once that registers I am at $1725 and only $75 away from my goal. If you are interested in donating to my walk please click on my link in the sidebar thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Time to work on my Mom's birthday gift...

Never a Dull Moment

I should know already that there is never a dull moment in my life. A week before my daughters hand surgery which was the 28th of July, I had an episode with my blood pressure where I had to go to the ER.

I had a migraine for a few days and it just wasn't relenting. I started to have horrible dizzy spells and problems with my vision. My blood pressure (BP) usually runs extremely low and when I say extremely I mean VERY low like 90/50. When I took my BP it was 158/110. OK, don't panic, take it again, and again and again. Every time I took it the numbers were worse and worse. It got to 180/120. By that time my husband had come home from work and he had taken it and got worse then I was getting. I put in a call to my doctor who was on vacation for the week so he had an asshole filling in for him. She doesn't know me and she is a real jerk. I know my body well and I know when something isn't right. My doc listens when I talk because he always says, you turn your back on me for one second and the shit hits the fan with my health. Off to the ER we went and my husband drove while I popped one of the old BP pills I had left over from when I had issues with tachycardia from my Graves Disease (before I had my thyroid removed). I thought what harm could it do and at this point I thought I was having a stroke.

When we got to the ER they brought me right in when they heard what my symptoms were. They hooked me up to a monitor and my pressure was still high at 146/99 but much better than the last reading my husband got at home. The ER doc ordered a CAT Scan of my head to rule out a stroke and an EKG which was done within an hour of me being admitted to the ER. They started an IV to give me pain meds for my migraine and drew lots of blood for cardiac enzymes and other tests. All the tests were negative and my pressure was still hovering in the 150/90 something range. They were unsure if the Atenolol that I took before I left my house had anything to do with it going down. I definitely think it was lowering it. I almost forgot to mention that my Mom and Dad were away on vacation and my husband had no choice but to take the kids with us. You could imagine how much fun that was for them! They admitted me to the hospital and I stayed for a couple of days. They did a renal ultrasound to see if I had stenosis of the renal artery which would cause a hypertensive episode. There is also another condition of the kidneys that causes hypertensive episodes (complicated name that I can't remember) and the ultrasound ruled it out also. So after all that they couldn't find anything wrong which is comforting but aggravating also. I still don't feel right but they seem to think it might have been related to my thyroid levels being totally off.

A week later my daughter had her hand surgery. They initial thought it was an aneurysm of the artery or something vascular. When they got in there it wasn't vascular at all which turned out to be very good news. No reconstruction of the artery needed meaning no scary side effects and less healing time. Pathology hasn't come back yet but I am hopeful it's not serious.

The same day my daughter had her surgery I had my PET Scan which I go for every 4 months. Results were negative and I can breathe again.

During that time I knit a few rows on a couple of new socks and I COMPLETED the "Wonky" cowl from the Knitty Summer Issue. It was a very quick knit that was also very easy. I used Spud & Chloe yarn which was a dream to knit with. The first two pictures are pretty much true to color which is a natural brown color. I made it for my husband because he's not a scarf person. Here are some pics of the completed project.





I am planning on making a few more of these!

My Knitting Mojo is Back

I finally finished the sweater I was making for my son's teachers new baby girl who was born in March. I made sure to make it a 12-18 month size so she can get a lot of use out of it when the weather gets colder. The yarn used is Great Adirondack Handspunlike cotton with a #6 needle. I absolutely love this pattern because it's a seamless kimono so no seaming when you are done! I made one for my cousins baby with the lion on it. Enough talking here it is:





I know that I have told everyone that I wanted my hair to grow so I can wear it long like I used to but I changed my mind. The other day I decided that I liked the way my curls looked when I had it in a bob. So I went to a curly girl salon to my usual curly girl stylist and she did a great job. I'll try and get a pic up soon, I promise. Jesse, the stylist says that it definitely looks better on me than the style I had before because it suits my curly personality which is so true. Crazy curls, crazy me.

I have been working a lot to make money to pay bills and all that jazz but I am sure everyone is trying to do as much as possible these days to pay their bills. I haven't had a chance to work on jewelry or knit but since I finished the baby sweater I can feel my knitting mojo coming back. I ordered a couple of books on Amigurumi so I can use the scrap yarn I have collected these past few years for something productive like a knitted pumpkin pie to be exact. I also got my hands on the Sookie Stackhouse series of books that the HBO series "True Blood" is modeled after. Barnes and Noble had a few of them but not the whole series so I bought books 1 and 2 at the book store and books 3-7 (or 8 I cant remember but it was just the paperbacks and not the newest hardcover) from Amazon.

School is out for the summer on Tuesday and my kids are not doing camp this year. God help me! My son is going to do a summer school program for the month of July which is only until 12:30pm M-F. My daughter is having hand surgery the first week of July so she wont be attending the Y this summer. We promised them that we would still do things so they will still have a nice summer break.

A New Year

WOW, its been a while since I posted but I do have some good excuses as to why I havent been here. There was the holidays and every one in my family excluding me was sick on a holiday. My son, as you know from a previous post was sick on Thanksgiving and in the hospital. My husband then was very sick before Christmas and I actually started an IV on him at home because the weather was so bad we couldnt get to the hospital. See there is a benefit from having two RN's in the house! After he had a chance to recover on Christmas Eve night my son starts to puke again and my husband has a relapse so we stayed home on Christmas Day. That was fine with me because my sister pulled some stupid stunt on Christmas Eve and I really didnt want her to ruin my Christmas. I cant just leave it at that now can I? OK, I will tell you what happened but I will make it fast because I have a lot to cover here. Here goes...

On Christmas Eve my family opens presents and those presents are all put under the tree. When it comes time to open them we all grab the ones with our names on it and bring them to the sunroom and open them up. My son grabbed the ones with his name on them and of course he was able to feel that one of them was a train. He is totally and completely obsessed with Thomas since he was 2 and thats OK with me. It can be much worse in my opinion. We dont own a Wii yet or an XBox so yes, it can be worse. Anyway my sister gets mad not once, not twice, not three times (you get the point) but at least 4 times and said to my son, "You're not opening THAT present tonight and if you dont put it down I am going to give it to another little boy who deserves it more than you." She then said to me, "I am going to teach your son a lesson and not give him that present because he isnt behaving." Now, if she said this once I would not be mad. Its Christmas and the kid can feel the toy is a train so whats the difference if you give it to him tonight or tomorrow? There is no difference and you shouldnt have put it under the tree if you didnt want to give it to him until tomorrow. She said these things with such malice and hatred that I truly felt bad for my son and he didnt deserve that said to him from his aunt who never calls him (on his birthday and when he was in the hospital on Thanksgiving) spends time with him or comes to visit him. She was treating both my kids like shit and it really made me mad. Who the hell is she to say that he didnt deserve his gift? Does she think that she deserves hers? NO she certainly does not. If you have a beef with me and want to treat me like crap thats fine. I am a big girl and I can deal with it but mess with my children and your going to pay the piper bitch. At this point my son was crying and howling like he was in pain. I couldnt calm him down and he was just getting more and more hysterical by the minute. I will be the first to say that I am a strict disciplinarian and I dont let my kids get away their way when they act out BUT my son has issues and there are certain ways to deal with him and this spiteful way wasnt one of them. She wouldnt know how he is or how to deal with him because she is never with him. She never even inquires about him or my daughter. Hell, she doesnt give a shit about anyone and its quite obvious. So now he's hysterical and I am mad as hell. I said just to give it to him and let it be the end of it. She she starts screaming at me in front of my family and I am standing there not saying a word. I was trying to say, "Why are you yelling? Give me a minute to spit out what I was going to say" I confronted her about what she said and she lied and said she never said that. I told her that my husband heard her and that she said it to my face. Finally, she walked away in a huff saying that she did say it BEFORE. OH, you DID say it then but since you said it before it doesnt count? Where is the logic in this? My Mom said to her, "but you did say it." Apparently that made her furious and she stomped up the stairs calling me a F*cking c*nt. My husband and daughter were standing there and later my daughter asked me what that word meant. This is how I found out she called me names. Throughout our whole discussion I never once lowered myself and called her anything. It wasnt about that it was about how she treated my son like shit. I wasnt going to make this long but I did and I apologize. It was the only way to explain it. So thats why I am very upset AGAIN with her. Nothing new. I was so happy she did this in front of the whole family because you should have seen their faces. CLASSIC. She looked like the ass that she is.

Whew, I am glad thats over...

Now, on New Years Day my daughter started to vomit. We were supposed to go to my cousins but couldnt. I was a little upset but what are you going to do? You cant control when someone is going to get sick. I for one know this VERY well! LOL
I did take some pics over the break.

Our Christmas Tree


A Deer in our yard


This is a sign I put on a beam in my kitchen to always remind me of the train ride called life


Christmas morning


In front of the RC Christmas Tree


RC Christmas Tree


Swarovski Crystal Tree in Radio City Music Hall


My almost 14 year old doxie, the best in the world


I havent been able to do much knitting so there are no finished projects to post. I have to get back into my knitting groove. I am almost done with that baby sweater I am making for my friends brothers daughter. I had to frog the first one because I made a HUGE mistake in it. As soon as I am finished I will post it here. Its going to be cute and I hope it fits too. The baby was born in October and I am making the 3-6 month size so thats why I am rushing to get it done!

Back to knitting!

Better Late then Never

So I finally was able to get my pictures on the computer but my photo printer isnt working right. I tried to fix it and clean the nozzle on the heads and so on and nothing is working. I have to see if maybe the ink is bad. I bought a bunch of ink cartridges and had them in the closet for about 8 months, maybe a little more. What I didnt realize was the expiration dates on them. Who thought they had expiration dates? Not me. Well, I think I have to buy them when I need them and not ahead of time.

I am going to tackle each topic thats been going on that I havent blogged about one at a time. First, what made me crazy in the first place was preparing for my daughters communion which was the same weekend as Mother's Day and the same day as our cousins First Communion. We celebrated on Saturday and Sunday and I think I slept for 24 hours straight after it was all over. Here are some pics of my daughter that day:



This is my Dad the night of my cousin's Communion party taking pictures which he loves to do. The Mardi Gras mask makes the picture. We were all wearing them to surprise my Great Aunt who turned 90 that day.


During the last few weeks we were having big time transmission trouble with our 2002 Honda Mini-Van. We had it in the shop a few times and found out that it would cost $3,000 to fix with no guarantees. We researched different options and weighed getting a smaller car but realized that with the two kids we cant get into a smaller car at the moment. We do get good mileage on the van so we wound up leasing a 2008 Honda Odyssey. I love the Odyssey and since its a 3 year lease everything is under warranty. If something goes wrong we dont have to worry about it. I also highly recommend Courtney Honda in Milford, CT. We were treated with kindness and respect by a salesman named Robert Martin. If you go there ask for him and tell him I sent you.

My husband finally had his tonsils out last week and he's home from work for a few weeks. He's in a lot of pain but doing much better. He had to stay overnight in the hospital because his oxygen level dropped from the high 90's to somewhere in the 70's. He was given so much pain meds that it made him stop breathing for longer than a few seconds which caused the drop in his O2 levels. During his surgery I went to get my haircut around the corner from the hospital where the salon I frequent is located. I needed a general shaping so he didnt take any length off. He wanted to chop the back so badly and I didnt let him. I was getting the angled cut for awhile but I want to grow it and be able to put it in a ponytail or a clip for the summer.

A few days after my husband came home from having his surgery we went to Circuit City and bought the Garmin Nuvi GPS which is so cool! I was sick of going on MapQuest and getting directions. I also purchased a smaller pocket Canon digital camera with an awesome zoom and very cool features. I have the big Canon Rebel XT which I love but there are times when I dont want to lug all the camera equipment along with me. Its heavy and can be cumbersome in certain situations. I bought this camera for a steal! My Mom couldnt even believe what I paid for it. I cant even believe what I paid for it! LOL.

Right after I bought the camera I spilled something on my laptop and it stopped working. I bought my husband gelato since his surgery wouldnt let him eat normal foods. I decided to eat the remaining gelato in bed while I was on my computer and fell asleep causing a spillage to occur. Its fixed now with a new keyboard and a good cleaning of the insides. The tech told me that the spillage might cause problems to occur in the future but right now I cant afford a new computer. Hopefully this one with continue to work well. In the time being I need to learn how to back up info which I dont know how to do. Yeah, I know, pretty irresponsible of me.

I finished my Mom's scarf for Mother's Day. Here she is modeling it:


This past weekend I took a "Heel Options" class given by my LYS-Knitting Central and taught by the famous sock designer, Charlene Schurch. I learned a lot but it was an all day class and I was exhausted after it was over.

My son has been home sick since Tuesday with a killer viral/bacterial infection. We brought him to the Dr yesterday and got antibiotics. We started them yesterday after he spiked 105 fever. When my kids are sick they really dont fool around!

The puppy is still crazy and I will have some 'grown up' pics of him in the near future. He doesnt sit still enough to get a picture!

I'm Still Here

Its been a long time since I paid attention to my blog. There's a lot happening around here and I've neglected it, plain and simple. My daughter is receiving Communion in a few weeks so we are preparing for that. My dog just died and we got a new pup who demands a lot of attention. The weather has finally been warmer and we've been enjoying it. There are a million reasons why I haven't been here.

The kids have had the past week off for spring break and my husband has been using them to help fix things around the house and in the garden. I came home the other day to find my 5 year old son using the leaf blower. Good thing its an electric and not a gas powered one. My hair dryer is probably more powerful, LOL. Funny but true. Then the following day they fixed one of the steps that lead up to our house from the drive way. They got to help their Dad to mix the cement and make a mold for the step. It looks pretty good now and by doing it themselves and not having someone do it for us saved us a bunch of money. Even though the bag of cement wasn't cheap it probably still was cheaper. It pays to have a handy husband!

While they have been keeping busy with my husband and playing with the puppy I have been attempting to finish up the stitch markers that I am making for Woolgirl's Joe Cool Kit due to go out in May. She asked me if I would like to design a stitch marker for the club and I told her it would be an honor to do so. She sells some of my stitch markers in her online yarn shop. I cant wait to see how people like them. No secrets will be revealed here!

Speaking of Woolgirl, I received the first sock club shipment a couple of days ago and its fabulous! (Sorry no pics) She runs a fabulous sock club and the extras that she puts in the kits are awesome. Her sock club is right up there with Blue Moon's Rockin' Sock Club in my opinion, maybe even better because of all the little extras she puts in there. I haven't started the sock yet because I am currently working on the Rockin' Sock Club's March Kit, LEAFLING along with my LYS, Knitting Centrals January kit. I know I am a bit behind with the other clubs, even last years RSC but I promised myself that while trying to catch up with last years kits I will finish this years RSC kits first, before other clubs kits. Even though my LYS runs a fabulous sock club I dont think I am going to be joining again next year because its to much work to keep up and I do want to use up the sock yarn I have been accumulating over the past 2 years. I don't think I can ever use up all the sock yarn I have. Yup, there is a lot but I do think there are a lot of people who surpass me in that department. Plus, sock yarn doesn't count as stash. My Knit Picks order arrived the other day and I am in love with their Harmony Circs. I ordered the 2.25mm 40" and the 2.75mm 40" circs because Addi only makes 2.50mm and 3.00mm 40". Along with the circs I also got some yarn to dye with Kool Aid and some Felici which I started making a toe up sock with. Its very soft for a yarn with nylon in it. I am going to have to get more of that stuff (as soon as I use up what I bought). My Mom's Mother's Day gift is coming along but I cant really talk about it to much here.

I finally signed up for one of the classes my LYS is offering with Charlene Schurch. She is coming for two days to teach classes on sock design one day and heel design the next. I decided to take the heel one because I always change up the heels that are in a pattern. Knitting Central has been waiting over two years for her to come to teach a class. Charlene Schurch's books are my bibles for figuring the proper numbers and such to make a perfect sock.

One of the main reasons I haven't been around to write in my blog has been because of fear. I had my scheduled PET Scan a few days ago and am awaiting the results. The reason I am afraid of the results are because I have had a serious case of laryngitis the past 4-5 weeks. At first I though that maybe I was yelling to much and that was the reason for the loss of voice. Even with resting it and taking it easy my voice hasn't improved and every time I talk on the phone or to anyone they ask me if I have a cold or if I am sick. No, I am not sick and I don't have a cold. I wish it was that easy but I am afraid nothing is ever easy when it comes to my health. I think ultimately I have to see an ear, nose and throat surgeon. I happen to have a great one who has done surgery twice on me already. He removed my tonsils the first time and my thyroid the second. I think that maybe he is in a competition with my plastic surgeon to see who can do the most surgical procedures on me. No matter the winner would probably be my anesthesiologist. We are on a first name basis, even worse I call him by his nickname which is a shortened version of his last name. Yup, thats when you know you've had to many operations.

Pictures of something next time, I promise.

The Year in Review & Goals for 2008

I first wanted to comment on how Christmas went at my parents house. No major fights broke out with my sister but she did snub my husband and ignored him most of the night. Her boyfriend was with us on Christmas Eve and he blatantly snubbed both me my husband and the kids the entire evening. I wished him a Merry Christmas because he wasnt speaking to me and I wanted to be the better person. He didnt really respond. My husband went to shake his hand and he turned and walked away from him. Nice guy hey? Her boyfriend also was supposed to come over on Christmas night and called in the middle of dinner to tell her that he wasnt coming. My sister was obviously upset with him and left the room to talk with him on her cell phone. She later told my Mom that she didnt know what his problem was. I have an opinion about what I think is happening and allow me a moment to explain. My sister has been with him for almost 9.5 years and he is younger than her (he was born in Jan 1980 and she in Oct 1977). When my son was born in 2002 they were together and I thought they were going to be getting married and I chose them to be his Godparents when he was baptized. I talked to my sister before I did this to make sure they were serious about marriage otherwise I wouldnt have chosen him to be his Godfather. Now for the past few years all I have been hearing from my sister is how she doesnt want to get married or have kids. I thought the reason for this was because her boyfriends Dad was terminally ill and dying of prostate cancer. He recently died a few months ago and things have gotten worse between them. My theory is that he doesnt want to marry her because she is a narcissistic controlling person incapable of caring for anyone other than herself and he really got a chance to see her true colors when I was sick and what she did to me. Maybe he is saying to himself, "Do I want a wife who is going to treat people this way, the way she treated her own sister when she was going through cancer treatment, surgery and chemo?" Maybe my sister feels sorry for him that he has no parents anymore and is basically alone. I cant figure them out. They have had a strange relationship from the very beginning. What makes me mad is my Dad is always making fun of how my husband can love me and makes sarcastic comments on it all the time. For some reason he thinks that my husband is "whipped" which he most certainly is not. If anyone is whipped and needs to be made fun of its my sister and her "whipped" boyfriend. Why cant he make fun of them? I've been with my husband since 1996 and we got married in 1998. He has been through hell with me and we have had our share of challenges and bumps in our marriage but we got through them. Right now we are in a great place and I cant be happier. Well, if I had a nice vacation alone with him a few days then I could be a little bit happier! Anyway, I dont know whats up with my sister and her boyfriend but she should be thinking of how much she sacrificed to care for her boyfriends Dad when I needed her to help me (and she did offer to help because she was out of work at the time and continued to be out of work the entire summer I was going through chemo and had my surgeries) and how that is time not only wasted but in the process she destroyed our relationship for someone she isnt even going to marry? Yup, its a bit confusing to say the least but on to my review of 2007.

2007 for me started out OK. The anniversary or first Cancerversary as I call it, of my breast cancer diagnosis came on February 23rd along with leg pain that was bothering me near my sciatic nerve in my left leg. I didnt think to much of it because my pain specialist seems to think I have fibromialgia and I attribute a lot of my aches and pains to that. I had my nipple reconstruction in March that went really well and I couldnt be happier with the results, especially after the nipple tatoos were done. In May I had a PET Scan that showed I had a tumor growing on my sciatic nerve. I got the run around from a Dr that I was referred to who specialized in what I had. I later found out that he never did this type of surgery before and I had a blow up with him on the phone. He was an egotistical asshole that had a horrendous bedside manner and seemed to only care about the almighty dollar. After I found a well qualified Dr who had experience with these types of tumors and removing them I was pleased and set up a surgery day (why couldnt this asshole Dr tell me that there was another Dr in the SAME PRACTICE that did this surgery before???) for June. He told me that there were no guarantees when he removed the tumor and that it might be cancer. They wouldnt know until the biopsy and path reports after the tumor was removed. I was more than nervous but my knitting and beading were there to calm and center me. What I would have done if I didnt have it I dont know. I would definitely lose my mind to say the least if I wasnt able to knit or bead.

I had the surgery in June and the tumor removed wasnt what they thought. It was a tino-synovial giant cell tumor which is not normally found on a nerve. The best news was that it was benign and not cancerous. I was so happy about that but recovery from the surgery which severed my sciatic nerve in a few places was painful and difficult to say the least. I still have issues with spasming of the muscles around the incsision area and it has just been recently controlled with a new pain medication which makes it easier for me to get up in the morning and do activities of daily living.

After that surgery I continued to go to occupational therapy for my lymphedema. The lymphedema was under control but my hand and the pain I was experiencing was getting worse every day. There were times I was unable to knit or bead and would force myself because its how I kept sane. Finally, after months of pain and different treatments I went to see an orthopedic surgeon who told me that it was carpal tunnel (which I already knew since I had it in my right hand in 1999) and that he would do the surgery after Thanksgiving. I was so happy and never looked forward to a surgery as I looked forward to this one because it would give me the use of my hand back and I could do the things I loved again. I cried after leaving the surgeons out of pure happiness that it was going to get better.

After Thanksgiving I had my carpal tunnel release surgery and I knew right away that the surgery worked. I was able to feel my fingers when the anesthesia wore off and it was feeling without pins and needles! I started to crochet first because it was easier to do with a cast on and then I knitted. It was very difficult to get gauge because I was unable to hold adequate tension on the yarn but I was knitting without pain and thats all that mattered to me!

LAST YEARS GOALS

1) Start going to the gym again and losing the weight I gained during chemo. I DIDNT DO THIS BECAUSE OF MY LEG AND THE PAIN I WAS HAVING. AFTER MY SURGERY IT WAS DIFFICULT TO GO TO THE GYM. I AM NOT MAKING EXCUSES FOR MYSELF AND I DO INTEND TO HAVE A GOAL PERTAINING TO THIS IN THE GOALS FOR 2008.

2) Get a tatoo commemorating my journey through breast cancer this past year. I am still trying to decide what kind I want and find someone who will do it where I want it. I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT THE TATOO THING. I THINK ITS A FAD AND NOW EVERYONE HAS THEM. THE MORE I THINK ABOUT GETTING ONE THE MORE I DONT WANT TO GET ONE. I DONT WANT TO MARK UP MY BODY. MY SCARS ARE MY TATOOS

3) Take more knitting classes to expand my knowledge and skills in knitting. Starting in January I am taking a Dog Cabled Sweater class and I am so excited about it! I TOOK SOME CLASSES WHERE I LEARNED SOME NEW TECHNIQUES BUT I REALIZE THAT I LEARN WELL FROM VIDEOS AND BOOK INSTRUCTION JUST AS WELL AS A CLASS. THE CLASSES ARE GOOD BUT I THINK UNLESS ITS CAT BORDHI OR LUCY NEATBY TEACHING IT THEN I DONT NEED TO TAKE THE CLASS.

4) Go to the STITCHES EAST 2007 knitting conference with my knitting buddies. I DECIDED TO SAVE MY MONEY AND NOT GO. I HEARD FROM A FEW PEOPLE THAT ITS NOT WORTH IT AND TO SAVE MY MONEY TO SPEND ON YARN!

5) Join the BLUEMOON FIBER ARTS SOCK CLUB (which I am pre-registered for) and actually knit the sock patterns they send me even if they are challenging. If I get stuck I can go to my LYS and ask my sock guru (Sally) to help me out. Complete at least one pair a month, at least I said. I JOINED NOT ONLY BMFA BUT WOOLGIRLS SOCK CLUB AND MY LYS'S CLUB WHICH ARE ALL MAKING ME STEP UP MY SOCK KNITITNG. I LOVE TO KNIT SOCKS AND ITS NOT GOING TO CHANGE, EVER! I KNIT ABOUT 10 PAIRS IN 2007. I HAVE A FEW UNFINISHED SINGLES WHICH DONT COUNT BUT I WILL FINISH THEM SOON.

6) Learn to knit a sock toe-up I DID THIS ONE MANY TIMES THANKS TO BLUE MOON AND THE ROCKIN SOCK CLUB

7) Learn short rows in sock knitting. I ALSO DID THIS LEARNING HOW TO DO A SHORT ROW HEEL

8) Make a sweater for my husband and myself I DIDNT DO THIS (YET)

9) Be a kinder and more compassionate person. I ALWAYS TRY TO DO THIS

10) Still try to get a job at a yarn store no matter how many times they say, "we dont need anyone right now." STILL TRYING

11) Go to the dentist (havent been in over 2 years) I FINALLY DID THIS AND I AM SO HAPPY I DID. NO CAVITIES!

12) Garden more. I DIDNT GET TO DO THIS BECAUSE WHATEVER TIME I HAVE FREE I KNIT AND BEAD. MAYBE I AM NOT MEANT TO BE A HARDCORE GARDENER LIKE MY NEIGHBOR.

13) Try to pay bills ontime (this one is a losing battle) THIS HAS GOTTEN BETTER AND I AM DOING WELL WITH THIS

14) I am sure there are more but I cant think right now and I didnt want to end on #13, call me suspicious.

GOALS FOR 2008

1) GET IN SHAPE AND LOSE WEIGHT WITH A HEALTHY DIET AND LIFESTYLE.
2) MAKE A SWEATER FOR BOTH MY HUSBAND, MYSELF AND MY KIDS.
3) MAKE AS MANY SOCKS AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE OR AT LEAST BEAT 10 PAIR WHICH I DID IN 2007
4) HAVE MORE JEWELRY SHOWS AND SELL, SELL, SELL!
5) GO TO CHURCH AND BE A MORE SPIRITUAL PERSON (I KNOW CHURCH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING A SPIRITUAL PERSON BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH BOTH.
6) GO ON VACATION WITH MY FAMILY AND ALONE WITH MY HUSBAND. WE HAVENT BEEN ON ONE SINCE 2004 WHEN WE ALL WENT TO DISNEYWORLD WITH THE KIDS. WE HAVENT BEEN ON AN "ALONE" VACATION SINCE OUR HONEYMOON. SAD, I KNOW.
7) DATE NIGHT AT LEAST 2 TIMES A MONTH WITH MY HUSBAND.
8) I STILL WANT A JOB AT MY LYS AND I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THAT ONE!
9) WALK WITH MY MOM IN THE AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER IN OCT 2008 IN NYC AND RAISE MORE MONEY THAN THE YEARS BEFORE.
10) BE MORE INVOLVED WITH MY CHILDRENS SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND VOLUNTEERING
11) LETTING MY HAIR GROW LONG AGAIN (NOT SURE HOW LONG). IT LOOKS BETTER LONG, I CAN DO MORE WITH IT AND I MISS IT.

I think the main reason I had first decided to keep it short was because of a deep rooted fear I had that I would grow it out to the length I had it when I lost it (32"~yup, it was down to my waist) and I would lose it again. I still have this crazy yet real fear but I cant let that stop me from having my hair in the style I want. I need to be patient and allow it to do its thing. So limited haircuts just to trim the ends and thats it. Last haircut was around October 24th so I already have a jump on it. My daughter is receiving 2 sacraments this year (2008) and I have a couple of weddings to go to so grow hair, grow! Grow so you can cover my big ass! LOL

I'm sure I have more that I cant remember but I wanted to get them down before the end of this year. Sorry there are no pics but I am almost done with a WIP and I promise a few nice pics when I post again.

Hand me that Knitting! (and those beads)

I am officially suture free and able to knit!! I am wearing my brace at times that I need to protect my hand in public or when doing things where I feel I might hurt myself by inadvertently putting weight on it. The Dr said I can do anything that I feel comfortable doing with it except putting weight on my palm. I was able to crochet with the original cast on so thats what I did.

I started a couple of crochet projects. One is a rippleghan that I am making for my living room. The other is a scarf for myself. My husband took me to the yarn store yesterday and picked out yarn to make the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat. He picked Torino Bulky in Grey for himself and I picked out a variagated pink/red colorway. Everyone who is making them on Ravelry (like 300+ people are making them) say they are a fast knit. I wonder if I can make it using the Magic Loop method? I am not sure about that though.

Finally, there are some pictures for me to post:

My Daughter on Thanksgiving


My Old Man1


My Old Man 2


These are some pieces that I made today and a few that were made before my surgery.

This are two Cloisonne & Crystal Necklaces:


Green Star Necklace and Pink Glass and Crystal Necklace


Green Blown Glass Leaf Necklace


Leopardskin Jasper Fan Necklace


BMFA Mediumweght Yarn: Mesa, Christmas Balls & Count Cluckula


I would love to start a new project with one of these yarns but before I do I have to finish a few.

The other day my husband came with me to my regular Dr. While he was there he checked him out and drew some bloodwork. He was complaining that he wasnt feeling well and was falling asleep while standing up. Believe me, he is falling asleep all the time, even when there is a parents meeting for my daughters religious ed. I thought at first it was just him being overtired and not getting enough rest. He's been working a lot of overtime and his hours are crazy. The Dr called with the results a few days ago and I couldnt believe what he told me. His hematacrit level, which is red blood cell count, was 24 when normal values for a man are around 44. His hemaglobin was also dangerously low. These things mean that hes severely anemic. Anemic enough to warrant a transfusion but thats a last resort because they generally dont like to do that unless its totally necessary. He is scheduled for an upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy tomorrow to see where the bleeding is coming from. The Dr and gastroenterologist seem to think that its a bleeding ulcer. My mind is running through all the bad things it can be because God knows they always happen to us! Enough is enough already. My family deserves a break and I think that if God is testing me in some sort of way that I think I have passed the test by now. Please say a prayer that all goes well for him tomorrow. I will post news as soon as I get it.

Single Handed

My hand surgery went well on Monday and I am feeling better. The pain is intense when I put my hand into positions it doesnt want to be in. Its in cast with my fingers free to move but not use. Instead of having them use a local anesthetic with sedation we (the anesthesiologist, surgeon and myself) all decided that with my lymphedema the most important thing to do was to decrease turniquet time. The general anesthesia route offered the least amount of turniquet time at 5 minutes so I chose it. It took me longer to wake up but thats OK. The surgery itself lasted about 45 minutes (total time in the OR not operating time which was 20-25 minutes). My hand was totally numb when I awoke so it was impossible for me to tell if the surgery worked like the last time I had the surgery. So far from what I can tell, thr surgery worked because I dont have the numbness & tingling I did before. My thumb however is having issues but from what I hear its normal so soon after surgery. I think I am expecting to much to soon but I dont have any patience when it comes to something getting in my way of knitting, crocheting and beading.

I did attempt to crochet a washcloth in simple single crochet yesterday. I did a couple of rows then it started to hurt so I stopped. Some OT's actually make their patients do it for theraputic reasons. I am not sure if I have to go to therapy specifically for my hand but I do know I have to go back for my lymphedema drainage.

Tomorrow I am headed out with my Mom Christmas shopping. I hope it wont take all day because I dont have the energy for it.

While recouperating I read a book by Mark Levin called RESCUING SPRITE. I highly recommend it for any animal lover out there. Get the Kleenex ready though, its a tear jerker.

I am off to try and do something with my hair if thats at all possible with one hand, a blowdryer and a brush.

Talk to the Hand

Thanksgiving day went better than expected but for the reason that my sister cancelled the last minute. Her excuse was that her boyfrind, who just lost his father, didnt want to be around people. Hey, he never wants to be around people so I dont know what his problem is. I did have a less stressful day not worrying about if she was going to say something to me or not.

In less than 12 hours I will be having my surgery for carpal tunnel release. I am very nervous over the whole thing. Who wouldnt be right? But some think that because I have had so many surgeries that I should be used to this routine by now. Let me just say that you never get used to it and the best thing about the surgery is that I will be able to knit and bead without pain. My hand has been totally numb for the past month but over these last few days it has gotten progressively worse and I cant do a darn thing with it.

I am going to update the blog when I can and depending on how I feel.

Crap, crap and more Crap

Yesterday we had my son's birthday celebration over my parents house. My sister had to act like a 2 year old and insisted (to my Mom) that we have a cake for her too. I dont know why all of a sudden she cares about having a cake for herself because whenever we have a celebration for anyone else she never shows up. My Mom seems to forget that and thinks that my sister just wants what everyone else has. I know better. I know my sister wants gifts ($$) from the people who come to her party.

I know I did say that I wasnt going to bring up this issue unless my Mom brought it up and in a way I have no choice because at my jewelry party my sister had heard my Mom and I speaking about setting a date to have my son's cake. We had already agreed on this Sunday about 3 weeks ago because of the Sheep and Wool Festival, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the fact that my husband worked on the other weekends and couldnt do it then. My sister opened her big mouth and said, "Oh, you are going to just pass over my birthday and forget about me??" Just like a true narcissist to think of others! NOT. I couldnt believe all of a sudden she cared about having a cake for herself but like I said it was obvious the attention has to be on her and no one else. How dare my 5 year old son want to have a birthday party and she the 30 year old loser who still lives at home suddenly cares? I tell you she has not come to ONE OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS BIRTHDAY PARTY in I cant tell you how long.

My Mom suddenly comes to her defense on the phone today when I was talking about this and other complaints I'll bring up in just a minute. She says, "I dont think thats true, she's come to other family members birthdays." NO SHE HAS NOT. She was not at mine, nor my daughters or my son's last year or my Mom's or ANYONES!! I have no idea why my mother feels the need to defend her. Yesterday my husband also tried several times to speak to her and say hello and she ignored him. My Mom didnt believe me when I told her. My sister also disappeared for a good long time to her room. Yes, she did come out of her room but she spent most of her time in it. Thats no surprise to me. My Mom has decided to not get in the middle of my sister and I anymore and thats what I call taking the easy way out. I think that as a parent she has an obligation to because she had said to my sister (the night the big fight broke out and my husband apologized for name calling) that "this thing with your sister is going to end right, you're going to sit down with US 3, me, your sister and you, and all talk, right? She's the only sister you have (insert crying and sobs here) and you two have got to make it work (more crying here)" At that moment my sister LIED TO MY MOM AND SAID SHE WAS GOING TO APOLOGIZE TO ME. My husband took less than an hour to call her up and apologize because it was the right thing to do. BUT I WAS DIAGNOSES IN 2/06 and where has my apology been????? Yeah I thought my Mom forgot about that conversation so maybe this will refresh her memory.

When we arrived at my parents house yesterday my sister didnt even say hi to me! Lets not forget she has NEVER apologized to me for what she did to me when I was ill with cancer going through diagnosis, treatment and all my surgeries during this time and the surgeries I have had in the 8 years prior to my cancer diagnosis. But lets remember I am supposed to be the better person and forget all the nasty things that she has dont to me and "let it go" as my Mom says. My Mother is also an only child and has no idea what it feels like to have a sister who's chosen strangers over her own sister. My Dad is another one who doesnt understand because he's never been sick or spent time in the hospital for anything. My Nana was the only one who was always sick her whole life and she knew what it was like to be in the positions I've been in. Maybe thats why my Dad had so much empathy for her when she was alive (insert sarcasm here).

My Mom made a cake because my oven is broken and the first thing I noticed is that there was no decorations on it like a train or something, no writing and only two candle numbers were on it. A #3 and a #0 were on it. No #5 for my son mind you. I was livid that the 30 year old got her way over my Mom's grandson and it pissed me off immensely. My Mom admitted she was wrong for that. OK, maybe I shouldnt have said anything until it was time to sing happy birthday and my son would have exploded with anger at the fact that there was no #5 on the cake.

I am so upset at so many things and thats one of the reasons I havent really written in my blog. I didnt want to make it a complaint fest but this is my blog and its how I feel better. By talking about things I can work them out in my head and it makes me feel better.

Another thing I have to mention is that I am not going to be going to Camp Crows Feet (unless by some miracle of God happens). I decided that the small amount of money we can save from our tax return should go to a family vacation. Maybe a few days with my husband alone and then the rest with the kids. When I was going through chemo my Mom told anyone that would listen that she was taking us all on a cruise and you see how thats happend right? She wants to go away with all of us including my sister and I would rather get chemo again then go away with that bitch. Well, not exactly get chemo again but you get the point. No way in hell am I going on a vacation with her. Are my parents intending on giving her another vacation for free? I thought the trip that my Dad took her on to Vegas was a 'mistake' as my parents later admitted when I hit the roof that they rewarded her treatment of me with a free trip (because it was 'promised' to her for graduating and shit.) Give me a break. If my son or daughter did what she did to me when I was sick I would give them shit on a sitck and let me tell you they wouldnt even deserve that! So anyway, no way in God's good earth are they taking her anywhere with me and my family and gifting her with another vacation, no way its happening while I am alive.

All I want is to spend 1-2 nights a MONTH going out with my husband on a date, thats it. We dont even get to do that. Its sad it really is and I think I have discussed it before and I really dont want to go into it again. What brings this up is that my cousin has 20 sum odd tickets that a friend of hers gave her to give out for the Bon Jovi concert on Wed night. She invited me and my husband to go with her and her husband. The only person who is responsible enough to watch the kids (because my son is sick and my daugher has CCD on Wed nights) is my Mom. My Mom told me she couldnt do it because she is being audited this week at her job and if it was any other week she could. I didnt know you get audited at night. She didnt even ask me to find out the details of the concert and let her know and maybe she could work something out she immediately replied NO she wouldnt be able to do it. She keeps saying how she wants me to hang out with my cousin when I mention that we are trying to make plans together and then she cant watch the kids. My neighbors kids cant watch them because my daughters CCD class and they are not medically well and my son is sick. Their father doesnt want to risk them getting sick because they are all very fragile diabetics. They cant be around sick kids because of their medical issues plus even if they could its a school night and they only watched my son ONCE WITH THE MOTHER HERE. The girl that did watch my son one time wasnt even alone when she watched him. She was 11 years old at the time and her mother came with her. When I came home from the birthday party that I took my daughter to I cant even tell you the disaray the house was in after only 2 hours of me being out of it. I cant even imagine giving the responsibility of 2 children who need to be put to bed and have homework done to this girl and her mom. Dont get me wrong, they are wonderful people and I really like them all. They are always nice to me and my kids and their dad is always helping my husband out with the yard and advice on plants and such. I dont have the luxury of having my parents and my husbands parents at my beck and call like my parents did when I was little. I grew up with all 4 grandparents watching me all the time. Heck, we lived with my Mom's parents and I used to sleep over my Dad's parents all the time. This made it easy for my parents to establish a great relationship and marriage because they were allowed that valuable time together. My husband and I are lucky if we get a cup of coffee together on a school day when my son doesnt get out early. But who the heck can have a romantic dinner or a movie NIGHT in the daytime when the food shopping and everyday errands need to be run. When my husband is home from work he is working on the lawn, car mantainance, house chores and a million other things and I am also doing the things I cant get done when the kids are both home. Its not very romantic believe me.

My Mother doesnt realize that my kids also need someone they are going to listen to and another kid aint going to cut it. I bet if someone called her with Paul Anka or Barry Manilow tickets she would find a way to go and thats what bothers me. I get a little jealous of my cousins parents who take their grandkids EVERYWHERE with them. My Mom says well so and so doesnt work so they can do that. No thats not the point. My cousin and her husband always take vacations alone and her parents or his parents or his sister or her brother watch the kids. They have a million and one options for who can watch the kids. They even have friends that have taken on babysitting duty for them! I dont have any of those options. This has gone on since the kids were babies so they are used to it. My husband and I havent taken a vacation alone since our honeymoon 9 years ago. I think after all we have been through with my illnessed and such that we deserve that. We not only deserve it, we desperately need it. You hear about people who go through medical crisis and dont stay together because of the high stress it puts on the marriage. Well, my husband and I and even the kids have all gone through the same or more stresses than many of those families that are not together today. Do my parents realize this? I dont mean to sound like I am feeling sorry for myself but at this point I think I have the right to complain. All I want is to have some alone time with my husband and do some stuff alone together for my sanity and my husbands sanity and even my kids sanity. Most of my doctors say that I have had more medical problems then 10 of their patients put together and they cant believe the great attitude I have maintained throughout it all. Maybe some of them should talk to my father because you would think all I had was a bad cold to him and he cant understand why I am "so angry". Gee I dont know maybe its because for the past 8 years of my life have been spent in the operating room? Yet my sister gets the benefit of the doubt. I also try not to think of what can happen in the next 20 years because if I did it would destroy me. When things like this happen though I think "what do I have to look forward to?" If I had some private time with my husband to look forward to maybe it wouldnt look so bleak to me. My parents seem to forget that I had an extremly aggressive cancer that has a high probability of returning or metastasizing to another part of my body. Thats just a fact not a prediction by me mind you. If I knew this about one of my kids I wouldnt give them crap about their sister treating them like shit. I would treat that sister (who would be my daugher in this hypothetical situation) the way they have treated my child and see how they would like it. How would they feel going through the chemo and surgeries and the endless tests knowing that your own sister could care less if you lived or died? My parents dont realize the ONLY reason my sister and I ran into each other was because my Nana died and there was no other choice for my sister. She had to be there when I was there. She did avoid it as much as possible though and purposely avoided me at the hospital when my Nana was there and even mentioned it to a cousin of my Mom's that she didnt have to visit her own grandmother who was dying because me and my husband were with her. Nice, right? My Mother seems to forget that my sister not only treats me badly but she treated my Nana badly when she was dying. Even though I have 2 children and a husband thats working as many hours as possible to pay the bills we went to see her. I took the kids with me and my husband even called out from work so we could be with my Nana which is a thousand more things than my sister did to be with her. She wasnt in school yet (she's a teacher) and she could have been there but she chose (yet again) to be with her boyfriends father who was 'dying' at the time and she had to be there. By the way he is still 'dying' and my Nana died on Sept 1st. No offense to the man who is very sick and actually dying here but my sister also chose him over me when I was sick so its a sore point in my book. The 2 times I asked her for help she used the excuse that she had to help him instead and the other excuse was that she had a life to live and wasnt able to do that because she was 'stuck' helping my Nana (my parents were away at the time) and she NEVER can do anything. Did she realize who she was saying that to? Ok, enough, next topic to talk/bitch about. Sorry.

My Dad came up on Halloween to take us out to eat and I thought it was nice until he constantly complained about the food we ordered and then took the kids out trick or treating and couldnt wait to go back home after 15 minutes. Its either all or nothing and my kids want to spend time with them and they also want to know why my sister doesnt want to spend time with them. My daughter always asks why my parents dont spend more time with her. When I was little no one spent more time with me than my both sets of Grandparents. I was very lucky to have 4 grandparents. My kids only have my parents because my husbands are not in the picture.

With all these situations, I give up. I dont know what else to do. No one is on my side that can help and my husband is the only one that understands how I feel. Thank God for him.

Now my next surgery is in less than a month and my husband is taking time off (that he doesnt have) and helping me. I wont be able to use my left hand for at least a couple of weeks. My Mom has only 2 days left of her vacation time so thats why my husband has to take off. We are relying on his overtime to pay the bills and when he takes time off to help me he loses the overtime. You can see how this situation further stresses me out. Plus I wont be able to knit or bead to relieve stress so thats even worse. I am hoping that I can crochet though because it takes less to crochet than it does to knit and I can probably do it with one and a half hands! LOL.

This whole thing (with my sister) has me stressed again for the holidays because we are at my Mom's and she is there. Last year was the worst Christmas I have ever had and one would think that after having gone through medical hell someone would have guaranteed me a nice holiday but no such luck. My sister pulled a tantrum when my Mom tried to send me home with a tray of food. If you want to read the whole story its 2006's Christmas time entries and they are pathetic but my Mom forgets about the crap my sister pulled that day too. I guess no apology will ever come for that horrid treatment either. It was not only me either but my kids who practically begged and pleaded with my sister to come out of her room to play with them. Yup, you can take a guess and you'd be right in thinking that she didnt.

Another thing that I almost forgot was that my sister still hasnt given my 5 year old son his birthday present so he keeps asking me when we are going to Toys R Us to get him the new Thomas toys that he wants. How rude is that crap? Please dont keep telling him that you are going to get him his gift and then you dont! His birthday was Oct 15, the same day as hers and I made sure to mail her a card that she got before her birthday with a note in it that told her she could pick out whatever jewelry she wanted at the party I had. How much time does it take to get a kid a gift card? Heck, if you are going to give him a gift card why not just write him a check and call it a day. This is another thing that my parents look beyond and dont see a problem but let me tell you if I forgot to give her a birthday present they would want to know why I was "starting something with my sister by not giving her a gift" or something along the lines of that statement. Even last year when all the crap was happening with my surgery and stuff and she was ignoring me and didnt even come to see me or call me, I sent her a gift that I HAND MADE. We all know that she deserves nothing but as usual I do the right thing and it just comes back to bite me in the ass.

Here's some good news. I realized the curly haircut I got (after I washed it) was totally uneven and I went back to get it cut from the guy who usually cuts it to see if he could fix the mess created by this woman who claims to cut hair. I should have not strayed in the first place. He fixed it and it looks great. It looks like the May 2007 pics I posted of the first haircut he gave me and I wanted it like that again. It was difficult because the other woman really screwed it up so he did the best he could. My goal is to grow the sides long and keep the back short almost like a Victoria Beckham cut but not as severe.

In other good news my cousin wants to have a jewelry pary and hopefully I can do it before my surgery or even if its after my surgery someone can help me set up and I'll be fine.

I also made a promise to go to church once a week after I drop the kids off at school. Even though I dont agree with a lot of what the Catholic Church says it doesnt mean I cant go to mass. When my husband is off he is going to go with me.

Maybe next time we will get back to some knitting and jewelry conversation and pictures too. I had enough of this crap with my sister.

Rhinebeck Review & Some Crazy Sh*t Goin' On

Well first the good stuff. We all like to hear the good stuff. They suspended that kid at my daughters school that attacked her and threatened her. It was only for one day but at least they told me his parents are taking this seriously and are going to get help for him. Lets hope he doesnt do this to any one again because if he does it to my daughter I will press charges and get an order of protection. Then this kid will have a juvenille record and I dont think that his father, who is a cop, will like that one little bit. Right now my only concern is my daughter and her safety.

Second good thing is we all went to Rhinebeck and had a great time this past weekend and I have a few pics to prove it. I almost bought a wheel but decided to wait on it because I havent tried enough to know whats comfortable for me. I also came to the conclusion that I wont be happy with a drop spindle but I did buy the book TEACH YOURSELF VISUALLY HANDSPINNING.

Here are some awesome pics from Sunday:
This guy was standing with one leg on each horse and balancing while they trotted around the field:



The featured breed of this years festival the Bluefaced Leicester:

Another cute sheep:


More good things...
I finally got to meet Stephanie Pearl-McPhee!! After traveling up to WEBS and not being able to stand in line (due to the little leg issue I had) and then I missed her when she came to CT. I thought I wouldnt meet her, ever. But here we are and she is such a nice person and told me that I should have gone to the head of the line at WEBS when they announced anyone who couldnt wait long in line could do that. I didnt want to do that because on the outside I looked fine and I didnt want people to judge me and say, "Whats wrong with her, she looks fine to me."

My husband called me from the authors tent and told me to make my way over there because it was EMPTY! I ran across the fairgrounds and couldnt believe that I got to meet the Yarn Harlot, Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne of Mason-Dixon fame, Judith Durant whos books I love and StitchyMcYarnpants. Carol Cypher was also there but I didnt get a chance to talk to her because there were a bunch of people waiting for her to sign their books. I own her wonderful book, MASTERING BEADWORK, A GUIDE TO OFF LOOM TECHNIQUES.

Yesterday I had my appointment with the surgeon to see if we could set up a day for my surgery. He examined me and agreed that the only 2 choices I have are: live with the pain or have the surgery. He also made me feel better telling me that there have been several studies that showed there was no marked difference noted in women who had surgical procedures on a limb with lymphedema. Thats amazing news! It also makes me feel a lot better knowing that these were controlled studies and not just written with no facts or basis to back it up. My surgery will be in a month, the week after Thanksgiving to be exact and he told me that the restrictions that I have to follow will be the same as the last time I had carpal tunnel surgery in my right hand in 1999.

As you can see yesterday was a busy day for me as not only did I have 2 doctors appointments, a hair appointment and then finally the jewelry party in the evening. Here is a picture of my set up at my Mom's house:


I am so happy that everyone who came liked my stuff and bought a lot of it! I did really well for my first party. Actually, very well and I have several people that want to have their own jewelry parties in their homes. Sweet! Now all I have to do is get this damn hand fixed and I'll be in business.


When I got home late last night I found my Rockin' Socks Club October Colorway~Lenore


Here are the 2 socks I started on 1 circular using the magic loop method. I am anxiously awaiting the book about this subject coming out 12/1 by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. I might have to put these aside for a while due to my carpal tunnel surgery as I have been doing with most of my WIP's.


Yup, all nice things going on then today my husband comes home and he scared me to death. He narrowly escaped getting killed on the highway coming home from work. The guy in front of him hit a HUGE buck and the deer came flying over the car and headed straight into my husbands car. He swerved out of the way onto the median of the road where he destroyed the two left wheels and most likely the axels or frame on the car. He had to hold the steering wheel at a 90 degree angle to hold the car straight. I filed the claim with my insurance company and the tow truck is going to come tomorrow to pick it up and take it to the body shop. Then my husband and I have to go to rent a car because he needs a way to get to work and with the hours he works and the times the kids have to be at school taking the train would be a pain in the ass. I am hoping the cost will be covered by the insurance company because we have a huge deductable (Ugh!!). Why do all these things happen at once? I was planning to go to Sock Camp with the Blue Moon Rockin' Sock Club Gang but who knows whats going to happen with the car and my sock camp plans.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer 2007

Saturday and Sunday were the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in NYC. My Mom raised $4,370.00 this year. She did a great job and I would like to thank all those out there who made a donation. I was a little disappointed we didnt surpass last years huge amount raised of $8,000.00. I thought that giving the incentive of jewelry and prizes would attract more donations than the prevoius year but I dont think my blog gets the traffic that other, more famous bloggers do. I am not quite as famous as the Yarn Harlot or others out there. Dont worry, there is time for me yet! For a relatively new blogger/knitter/beader I have a nice fan base (waving to the readers out there!). You can all laugh, I am TRYING to be funny but failing miserably.

The pictures above were taken by me. My Mom snuck me into the crowd of walkers and I had a front and center view of what was happening. I was also wearing a Survivor shirt and they gave all the survivors pink and white pom-poms to wave so I fit right in. Another breast cancer survivor that was walking with my Mom gave me an extra shirt that she was able to obtain which was very nice of her to do. All in all this was the best walk that they have ever had in their history raising over 10 million dollars with money still coming in at the time of the walk. I will be walking in the 2008 walk with my Mom as the Pink Panthers.

In other health related news, I have been going to (OT) Occupational Therapy for my lymphedema and the pain I'm experiencing in my left hand. At first my OT thought that it was related to the lymphedema but now realizes that its my carpal tunnel coming back. In Sept 1999 I had carpal tunnel release surgery in my right hand. At the time I was almost 6 months pregnant with my daughter and frightened more for her than me. Now its so difficult because I cant do anything that involves my left hand which includes knitting and beading. I am trying not to get depressed over this because I know from the past experience with the surgery I had immediate relief (except for the surgical pain). The surgeon that did the surgery in 1999 has privilages at the hospital I use so I am even more hopeful that it will be a successful surgery. The only obstacle is my lymphedema and it scares me to think about it but there really is no choice if I want to use my hand again. My plans also include attending Camp Cockamamie in the Spring with the rest of the Blue Moon FIber Arts Rockin' Sock Club members.
My first jewelry party is next week and I hope I have a little relief by then. I also have a make up class for the Starry Night Shawl which I have been putting off for a very long time. The first class I took was sometime in the Spring. I am not in a rusht to finish it but I dont want to make it difficult for my LYS. They keep accomadating me and I cant thank them enough for that. There is always some reason or another that I keep putting off the class and the years almost over! Its not looking good for me in regards to finishing the Starry Night Shawl.

Even though I have limited use of my hand I have been able to do a little beading and knitting here and there. There are lots of rest periods in between the beads and stitches believe me! Its the two things that bring me joy and even though I am in pain I cant stop doing them. One day at a time, one stitch at a time, one bead at a time. On that note here are some pieces I have completed in the past week or so.

Metal and Satin Necklace


Kazuri Bead & Czech Crystal Necklace


Red Shell Necklace, Bracelet and Earrings Set


Blown Glass Flower Necklace


Red Crystal Necklace


Black & Gold Angel Necklace


Dichroic Glass & Swarovski Necklace


Czech Crystal & Shell Necklace


Rose Quartz Fan Choker


Lime Hearts Necklace


Black Diamond & Pearls Bracelet


Butterfly Trinity Necklace


In other knitting news I as surprised to find out that one of my LYS is going out of business! Its not my beloved Knitting Central, thank God! Its Knotty Girl Knit and Yarn Club. It is the first store I went to when I wanted to learn how to knit. I also tried to get a job there once which I wrote about in this blog. I found out about their closing when I went to their website to see what was happening in their store for the fall season. According to the owner, they werent making money. In my opinion, the owner was not a very good business woman and I predicted this a while ago to my husband who agreed with me. They couldnt hold a candle to Knitting Central and I am not just saying that because a few lovely ladies who work there read this blog. The owner of the store thats closing proved it when she recommended the closest yarn store to patronize in their place. She suggested the knitting community travel 35 minutes to a yarn store 4+ towns away instead of taking a 10 minute ride down the main road to Knitting Central! What nerve! I was in the store the other day to see if they had anything worth purchasing and actually heard the owner say this to a couple of shoppers in the store!! I had to hold myself back from going up to these people and telling them to take a ride over to Westport and see the best knitting store in the state. It WAS rated the Best of the Gold Coast so I am not BS-ing you here. When I got out to the car where my husband was waiting, I told him what I had just witnessed and he said that she probably wasnt recommending Knititng Central because it was her competition and probably the reason she went out of business. OK, he might be right but she is GOING OUT OF BUSINESS so why should she care at this point?? Pretty stupid right? I think so. Knitting Central is not the reason she went out of business, SHE IS THE REASON she went out of business. SHE has no one else to blame but herself and her lack of expertise in the business world. I can tell you that because I directly witnessed her laissez-faire attitude about her business. She didnt believe I was a good knitter because I wasnt knitting long enough to qualify in her book as a good knitter. She had said that to me when I wanted to work there. Can you tell I didnt really like her? LOL. I have certainly seen knitters who have knitted less than a year be better knitters than someone who has knitted 20. Enough said.