After being pretty sure Dad had Lyme Disease, the doctors were very confused when the confirmation test came back negative just after I posted that last entry. It took a day or two, but they finally have a 100% accurate, triple-tested answer: cryptococcal menengitis. It's a soil-borne fungal infection in his brain/CSF. The fungus is extremely common, but not usually strong enough to attack someone who isn't immunocompromised (most people with this infection also have AIDS or another immunodeficiency). We think Dad picked it up over the winter while he was sorting through his mineral collection -- covered in dirt and kept in a humid cellar. He's such an unusual case that the doctors are going to write a paper about him.
The meds are working great, he's almost back to his old self, and he should be transferred to rehab next week, assuming the Infectious Disease doctors are satisfied with his progress. Then rehab will get him walking and writing like normal, and he ought to be home by the end of August.
While we're talking about good things, one of the perks of my job (loading trailers for UPS in New Hampshire) is that I get to load outgoing shipments from Harrisville Designs. Last night we got a bunch of big boxes from them going to another familiar name (which I will not reveal, because I don't know whether this shipment is secret or not), and I couldn't keep from scribbling a little note on one of the boxes. I get such a kick out of knowing a bit about both the shipper and the recipient of the packages I load!
Now if only I could make friends with some of the recipients of the boxes from North Country Smokehouse that make my trailer smell like delicious meat on warm nights... hmm.
20 July 2013
08 July 2013
One little tick, one big problem.
It's 2am on a Monday, and I'm in a dark hospital room, tapping away on my laptop. I just took my sister's place at our father's bedside so she can go home and get some sleep. Let me tell you how we got here.
Three months ago, Dad was hiking, writing a book, working on research projects, and sorting through his massive mineral collection to see what he could get rid of. He had a touch of high blood pressure, had been on an injected B12 supplement for years, was having memory lapses more-or-less normal for a 75-year-old, and was largely oblivious to the fact that he probably has Asperger's Syndrome, but was otherwise fairly healthy and active.
At the end of April, something happened. Overnight his gait changed, his word-finding ability took a nosedive, he had balance problems, his stamina plummeted, his memory issues became noticeably worse, and he had trouble keeping food down. It took us three days to convince him that he wasn't just tired, and that he should let us take him to the doctor. The doc, in the course of examining all the other symptoms, listened to his heart, discovered an irregularity, and since it was 5pm on a Friday and he wasn't a cardiologist, told us to take him to the emergency room.
Six hours in the ER, half a bag of saline, two all-purpose doctors, one neurologist, and one med student later, they told us he had neuropathy in his feet and was dehydrated, and that we should take him home and follow up with his regular doctor. Nothing about his heart, nothing about his mental symptoms, and it turned out when we went back to his regular doctor that the neurologist had diagnosed him with vascular dementia and not bothered to tell us.
(Thank you, Hartford Hospital, for being so eager to get rid of him. We'll never bother you again.)
We got referrals to a cardiologist, a neurologist, and a gastrointerologist, and his symptoms remained steady for the next month. We figured, with the sudden onset, that it was probably a stroke or something similar, so spending months following up with specialists seemed a suitable solution.
...until a few weeks ago.
Dad and my sister took their annual trip to Maine, and his symptoms suddenly got worse. He started falling getting out of the car and on stairs, his sense of time became muddled, he couldn't get through a sentence without pausing for minutes to find the right word, and we got scared. I took him grocery shopping when they got back from Maine and ended up having to get a motorized cart for him, and also having to drive it for him because his cognitive abilities and exective functions were suddenly not up to the task that had been easy enough for him two weeks prior.
We called the doctor, said we were taking him directly to the ER (at a different hospital), and expected to spend a couple of days figuring out what was wrong with him.
That was a week and a half ago.
Today, he can't walk without two people holding him. He can't hold himself in a sitting position. More often than not, he can't tell me what my name is. He can't swallow solid food. He thinks he's in a mental hospital. He sometimes thinks we "put [him] in here on purpose." He sleeps about 14 hours a day, in short bursts. He alternates between thinking the doctors are nice people and thinking they're prison wardens or actors in a television production where he's the only "real" person.
My father has Lyme Disease.
One bite from an infected tick did all of this. It turned him from a reasonably functional, very active senior into a delusional, bedridden, confused patient who often doesn't recognize his own family.
Fortunately, antibiotics should clear up most of the symptoms over the next month, but because it took two months from the onset of symptoms to the beginning of treatment, there's potential for some permanent loss of function, and we'll have no idea how much or in what areas until he finishes the course of treatment. He's going to stay in hospital until he's physically and mentally capable of being transferred to a rehab facility (anywhere from a few days to another week or two) where they'll get him walking again, and then he can come home.
So that, friends, is what has me sitting in a hospital room this morning, trying to figure out how to balance my duties and needs as a daughter, sister, caregiver, employee, business owner, friend, girlfriend, and human being without completely burning out. Any and all suggestions/well-wishes/stories welcome, and supportive/healing energy sent in our direction would be much appreciated.
And please, if you go outside, use a tick repellant and check yourself (and your kids/pets, if applicable) for ticks afterwards. Nobody should have to go through this.
***Update: After almost a week of assuming it was Lyme, the confirmation test just came back negative. So we're back to no diagnosis, confused doctors, and no treatment plan. Time to buy a weekly parking pass for the hospital garage.
Three months ago, Dad was hiking, writing a book, working on research projects, and sorting through his massive mineral collection to see what he could get rid of. He had a touch of high blood pressure, had been on an injected B12 supplement for years, was having memory lapses more-or-less normal for a 75-year-old, and was largely oblivious to the fact that he probably has Asperger's Syndrome, but was otherwise fairly healthy and active.
At the end of April, something happened. Overnight his gait changed, his word-finding ability took a nosedive, he had balance problems, his stamina plummeted, his memory issues became noticeably worse, and he had trouble keeping food down. It took us three days to convince him that he wasn't just tired, and that he should let us take him to the doctor. The doc, in the course of examining all the other symptoms, listened to his heart, discovered an irregularity, and since it was 5pm on a Friday and he wasn't a cardiologist, told us to take him to the emergency room.
Six hours in the ER, half a bag of saline, two all-purpose doctors, one neurologist, and one med student later, they told us he had neuropathy in his feet and was dehydrated, and that we should take him home and follow up with his regular doctor. Nothing about his heart, nothing about his mental symptoms, and it turned out when we went back to his regular doctor that the neurologist had diagnosed him with vascular dementia and not bothered to tell us.
(Thank you, Hartford Hospital, for being so eager to get rid of him. We'll never bother you again.)
We got referrals to a cardiologist, a neurologist, and a gastrointerologist, and his symptoms remained steady for the next month. We figured, with the sudden onset, that it was probably a stroke or something similar, so spending months following up with specialists seemed a suitable solution.
...until a few weeks ago.
Dad and my sister took their annual trip to Maine, and his symptoms suddenly got worse. He started falling getting out of the car and on stairs, his sense of time became muddled, he couldn't get through a sentence without pausing for minutes to find the right word, and we got scared. I took him grocery shopping when they got back from Maine and ended up having to get a motorized cart for him, and also having to drive it for him because his cognitive abilities and exective functions were suddenly not up to the task that had been easy enough for him two weeks prior.
We called the doctor, said we were taking him directly to the ER (at a different hospital), and expected to spend a couple of days figuring out what was wrong with him.
That was a week and a half ago.
Today, he can't walk without two people holding him. He can't hold himself in a sitting position. More often than not, he can't tell me what my name is. He can't swallow solid food. He thinks he's in a mental hospital. He sometimes thinks we "put [him] in here on purpose." He sleeps about 14 hours a day, in short bursts. He alternates between thinking the doctors are nice people and thinking they're prison wardens or actors in a television production where he's the only "real" person.
My father has Lyme Disease.
One bite from an infected tick did all of this. It turned him from a reasonably functional, very active senior into a delusional, bedridden, confused patient who often doesn't recognize his own family.
Fortunately, antibiotics should clear up most of the symptoms over the next month, but because it took two months from the onset of symptoms to the beginning of treatment, there's potential for some permanent loss of function, and we'll have no idea how much or in what areas until he finishes the course of treatment. He's going to stay in hospital until he's physically and mentally capable of being transferred to a rehab facility (anywhere from a few days to another week or two) where they'll get him walking again, and then he can come home.
So that, friends, is what has me sitting in a hospital room this morning, trying to figure out how to balance my duties and needs as a daughter, sister, caregiver, employee, business owner, friend, girlfriend, and human being without completely burning out. Any and all suggestions/well-wishes/stories welcome, and supportive/healing energy sent in our direction would be much appreciated.
And please, if you go outside, use a tick repellant and check yourself (and your kids/pets, if applicable) for ticks afterwards. Nobody should have to go through this.
***Update: After almost a week of assuming it was Lyme, the confirmation test just came back negative. So we're back to no diagnosis, confused doctors, and no treatment plan. Time to buy a weekly parking pass for the hospital garage.
15 May 2013
Spring Update
Well, so much for a new post going up before Thanksgiving. Although, it's only May, and Thanksgiving isn't until November, so technically I am posting this before Thanksgiving... just not the one I meant to be posting before.
Anywho...
Things! And stuff! This is what my life has been full of lately. Knitting, spinning, traveling, starting a business, working, preparing for yet another move across state lines, bringing old sewing machines back from the dead... so I sort of have an excuse for not posting. Sort of.
Allow me to distract y'all with a few pictures from NH Sheep & Wool, where I spent a chunk of last weekend!
This sweet little Icelandic sheep was good enough to pose for a picture -- its pen-mate was more of a blur machine.
Shorn alpacas are such silly-looking creatures, but this one managed to bring a little dignity to the show. Check out that delicious mahogany color!
I was a bad girl and spent my lunch money on fiber (it was silk!), so I have something to work on while I'm vending or visiting at various renfaires and SCA events this summer. Totally worth it.
Meanwhile, life goes on. I have some merino/buffalo calling my name, so I'm going to pop in a movie and get spinning. Happy spring/summer, y'all!
Anywho...
Things! And stuff! This is what my life has been full of lately. Knitting, spinning, traveling, starting a business, working, preparing for yet another move across state lines, bringing old sewing machines back from the dead... so I sort of have an excuse for not posting. Sort of.
Allow me to distract y'all with a few pictures from NH Sheep & Wool, where I spent a chunk of last weekend!
This sweet little Icelandic sheep was good enough to pose for a picture -- its pen-mate was more of a blur machine.
Shorn alpacas are such silly-looking creatures, but this one managed to bring a little dignity to the show. Check out that delicious mahogany color!
I was a bad girl and spent my lunch money on fiber (it was silk!), so I have something to work on while I'm vending or visiting at various renfaires and SCA events this summer. Totally worth it.
Meanwhile, life goes on. I have some merino/buffalo calling my name, so I'm going to pop in a movie and get spinning. Happy spring/summer, y'all!
24 October 2012
It's almost November, already!
So there was this big sheep and wool festival last weekend...
I didn't buy any fiber. I didn't buy any yarn. I didn't buy any sheep (though there were a pair of Soay sheep that would totally have fit in my car). I did buy soap and a mug (which I can't show you right now because I'm not at home), had some fantastic falafel, scarfed down samples of all the amazing cheeses, watched gourds being hurled through the air by siege weapons, and had a marvelous time with excellent people.
Rhinebeck has ceased to be a huge deal to me, but it's still a lot of fun. I know when I want to get there, who I want to walk around with, what I want to buy, and how exhausted I'm going to be by the end of the day (and, thus, how big a milkshake I need to order at the Eveready Diner to recharge myself enough to drive home). I skip things I know will be too draining (like the Ravelry meetup) and make time for the things that make me happy (like Punkin' Chuckin').
It also helped that the weather was absolutely perfect this year: just chilly enough for displaying lots of knitwear, but not so cold that sweaters had to be covered by coats, and lots of sunshine to keep the brains happy.
The next post will have pictures of the things I bought/made at/for Rhinebeck, and maybe some of my other projects, as well. Hopefully this will happen sometime before Thanksgiving.
I didn't buy any fiber. I didn't buy any yarn. I didn't buy any sheep (though there were a pair of Soay sheep that would totally have fit in my car). I did buy soap and a mug (which I can't show you right now because I'm not at home), had some fantastic falafel, scarfed down samples of all the amazing cheeses, watched gourds being hurled through the air by siege weapons, and had a marvelous time with excellent people.
Rhinebeck has ceased to be a huge deal to me, but it's still a lot of fun. I know when I want to get there, who I want to walk around with, what I want to buy, and how exhausted I'm going to be by the end of the day (and, thus, how big a milkshake I need to order at the Eveready Diner to recharge myself enough to drive home). I skip things I know will be too draining (like the Ravelry meetup) and make time for the things that make me happy (like Punkin' Chuckin').
It also helped that the weather was absolutely perfect this year: just chilly enough for displaying lots of knitwear, but not so cold that sweaters had to be covered by coats, and lots of sunshine to keep the brains happy.
The next post will have pictures of the things I bought/made at/for Rhinebeck, and maybe some of my other projects, as well. Hopefully this will happen sometime before Thanksgiving.
20 September 2012
Bias(ed)
Holy carp, busy girl is busy. I'd forgotten how much there is to do down here in the flatlands. I've been hanging out with Jenny a lot, doing spinning demonstrations and being a booth babe, and completely forgetting about this little blog. Let me fix that by telling you about a project that I finished a while back but haven't really shared yet.
Back when I was working at Green Mountain Spinnery, I spun some Simply Fine (fine wool and mohair) that was too heavy or light to pass quality control, so it was put in the reject bin and eventually found its way into my stash. I didn't have much, so I looked for a pattern that had a lot of visual interest in a small amount of yardage, but without being too complicated. I found Bias (Ravelry link) and fell in love with it, so I knit it up.
I loved the shape, the length, the stitch pattern... but the color? Not so much. As beautiful as undyed wool is, it just didn't work for me for this project. So I grabbed a gallon zip-top bag, some vinegar, a little bottle of green food coloring, and had some fun.
Now it's a lovely mottled green, and just long enough to be pinned around my neck, which is what I did yesterday...
...when I did a spinning demo with Jenny at the Big E! Look, it even matches my mug! (Thank you, Jenny, for taking the picture!)
I have a few days to relax, and then I'm going to be crazy busy again for the next week and a bit. Saturday is another spinning demo, but this time it's at the Northwest Park Country Fair, which is inexpensive and easy to get to, so all of you Connecticut and Western Mass folks should come. Then I have a few days of visiting friends before I'm off to Vermont for a roller derby tournament, and by the time I get back from that it'll be next month, which leaves me with just one question...
Who all's going to Rhinebeck? ;-D (I'll only be there on Saturday, and my phone doesn't get reliable service on site, so if you want to meet up, tell me beforehand.)
Back when I was working at Green Mountain Spinnery, I spun some Simply Fine (fine wool and mohair) that was too heavy or light to pass quality control, so it was put in the reject bin and eventually found its way into my stash. I didn't have much, so I looked for a pattern that had a lot of visual interest in a small amount of yardage, but without being too complicated. I found Bias (Ravelry link) and fell in love with it, so I knit it up.
I loved the shape, the length, the stitch pattern... but the color? Not so much. As beautiful as undyed wool is, it just didn't work for me for this project. So I grabbed a gallon zip-top bag, some vinegar, a little bottle of green food coloring, and had some fun.
Now it's a lovely mottled green, and just long enough to be pinned around my neck, which is what I did yesterday...
...when I did a spinning demo with Jenny at the Big E! Look, it even matches my mug! (Thank you, Jenny, for taking the picture!)
I have a few days to relax, and then I'm going to be crazy busy again for the next week and a bit. Saturday is another spinning demo, but this time it's at the Northwest Park Country Fair, which is inexpensive and easy to get to, so all of you Connecticut and Western Mass folks should come. Then I have a few days of visiting friends before I'm off to Vermont for a roller derby tournament, and by the time I get back from that it'll be next month, which leaves me with just one question...
Who all's going to Rhinebeck? ;-D (I'll only be there on Saturday, and my phone doesn't get reliable service on site, so if you want to meet up, tell me beforehand.)
26 June 2012
42
You know it's going to be an interesting day when your horoscope begins with, "don't panic."
Now, where did I put my towel?
Now, where did I put my towel?
10 June 2012
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Well, folks, the great Vermont experiment is at an end. I have returned to the land of jobs (and I know those of you here are saying, "what jobs?!?" but trust me, there are more here than there) and stuff-within-walking-distance to put my life back on track. I'm busy unpacking, trying to get used to having roommates, and spending time with friends and family again.
I've learned some lessons in the last three years, and I hope they'll make the sailing a bit smoother. Some are fiber lessons, some are relationship lessons, and some are life-in-general lessons.
1. Do background checks on potential partners. If someone is known for being a liar, cheat, and womanizer, don't think you can fix him, no matter how different he seems when he's with you. Also, allow partners' exes to get in touch with you, because while they may be whackadoos, they may also have sound warnings that, if acted upon, could save you from heartbreak.
2. Swatches lie, especially in cotton. Expect to re-knit that one stupid hat four times before you finally get the cast-on count correct.
3. Trust your instincts. They're usually right. Don't mistake hope for gut feeling, though... they're decidedly different. (This applies to everything from knitting to cooking, from relationships to jobs.)
4. Unless you're a self-sufficient artist, a teacher, you live in Burlington, or you know the right people, there are no decent jobs in Vermont.
5. Online job applications are stupid.
6. As Marilyn said, if you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best. That's your problem, not mine.
7. People don't run out of compassion or sympathy, they run out of maturity. Big difference.
8. If the situation is life-threatening, move out quickly. If it's just uncomfortable, take your time, and have the yard sale before you pack the truck!
9. Don't live a certain way just because other people think you should. It's your life. If they have a problem with it, then they shouldn't be part of it, because they're clearly not your friends.
10. Blocking is magic. Seriously.
PS. I'm having a yard sale on the 16th. Email lilithparker at gmail for more info. There will be furniture, kitchenware, and some random bits and pieces.
I've learned some lessons in the last three years, and I hope they'll make the sailing a bit smoother. Some are fiber lessons, some are relationship lessons, and some are life-in-general lessons.
1. Do background checks on potential partners. If someone is known for being a liar, cheat, and womanizer, don't think you can fix him, no matter how different he seems when he's with you. Also, allow partners' exes to get in touch with you, because while they may be whackadoos, they may also have sound warnings that, if acted upon, could save you from heartbreak.
2. Swatches lie, especially in cotton. Expect to re-knit that one stupid hat four times before you finally get the cast-on count correct.
3. Trust your instincts. They're usually right. Don't mistake hope for gut feeling, though... they're decidedly different. (This applies to everything from knitting to cooking, from relationships to jobs.)
4. Unless you're a self-sufficient artist, a teacher, you live in Burlington, or you know the right people, there are no decent jobs in Vermont.
5. Online job applications are stupid.
6. As Marilyn said, if you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best. That's your problem, not mine.
7. People don't run out of compassion or sympathy, they run out of maturity. Big difference.
8. If the situation is life-threatening, move out quickly. If it's just uncomfortable, take your time, and have the yard sale before you pack the truck!
9. Don't live a certain way just because other people think you should. It's your life. If they have a problem with it, then they shouldn't be part of it, because they're clearly not your friends.
10. Blocking is magic. Seriously.
PS. I'm having a yard sale on the 16th. Email lilithparker at gmail for more info. There will be furniture, kitchenware, and some random bits and pieces.
18 May 2012
Up To Speed
I live! Apologies for the long lull. I've been entertaining the drama llama who has become a frequent visitor in my life, and I'm just now waving it off so I can get some work done. It'll return, I'm sure, but I'll make good use of the break and positively spam y'all with fiber-related pics. Here we go!
I've spent most of the chilly season wrapped up in my favorite scarf, the reversible Irish hiking scarf that I made a few years ago. When I went to visit a friend last month, though, I left it behind by accident. This was all the excuse I needed to knit a new scarf! I flipped through a stitch dictionary, found a pretty cable, swatched, cast on, knit a few rows, frogged back, started over, made tons of progress, and... then I hit the black hole section. I go long enough between knitting scarves that I somehow forget that there's this chunk between the first foot and the last few rows on a scarf that takes forever but feels like it's going nowhere. The scarf still isn't finished, and I've got the old one back now, but I want these needles for other things, so it's going to be finished soon, whether it likes it or not.
At least it's pretty! The yarn is a former sweater (100% cotton) that my wonderful mother unraveled for me. I make my daily-wear scarves out of cotton because I'm sensitive to mammal fiber, and for something I'm going to be wearing all day, it needs to not irritate my skin.
Remember these needles? These are the Suzanne ebony needles I got at Webs ages and ages ago, and even though they're showing some wear, I still love them. I do need to re-point them, though... this scarf has shown me how dull they've become, so they'll meet some super-fine sandpaper very soon.
If you saw me at NH S&W last year, you may remember this cute little slouchy beret. It's also made of recycled cotton, and the flowers are some scraps of Green Mountain Spinnery's Mountain Mohair in Edelweiss and Pink Pink. The whole thing is crocheted, and the pattern (minus the flowers) is Brooke's Slouchy Hat (Ravelry link). To get the unusual texture, DCs are worked under all the bars, instead of just through the top two.
Let's see, what else... oh! One of the nice ladies at the knit night I've been going to lately gave me a mini batt of some fiber she's been dyeing and carding. It's a little crunchier than what I usually spin, but the color is gorgeous.
I think it's a wool-mohair blend, and I've turned it into less than a hundred yards of 3-ply DK. I have no idea yet what I'll do with it, but it sure is pretty.
Speaking of yarn I didn't know what to do with, I finally found a use for Red Heart Super Saver! I had this green kicking around from a vest I'd made for a friend who wanted to dress up as Wallace from Wallace & Gromit, so when I decided to knit something to express my love of the Green Mountain Derby Dames, it was handy. Add some white acrylic for the star and some scraps of white wool for the felted mohawk (able to be easily re-felted without ruining the rest of the hat), and boom, I'm a superfan.
Remember when I was musing that one knows one's a knitter when one pulls unnaturally-colored hairs out of one's tea?
I wasn't kidding about how bright the blue was. And, by the way, this is what a reticule looks like. I made it to go with the runway outfit I wore for a fashion show back in February, and while it may not get any more use, it's still very cute and was a fun, quick knit.
And now, for the pièce de résistance: Rose of England is finally finished! Darned thing only took me two years.
There's one huge, glaring mistake that I'm doing my best to ignore, and it's a little smaller than I expected (about 38" diameter), but I'm quite happy with it. Remind me never to do a complicated shawl on #2 needles again, though. I'm so thrilled to be finished with the bloody thing.
Okay, I think that catches things up for a bit. I'll try not to leave it so long next time!
I've spent most of the chilly season wrapped up in my favorite scarf, the reversible Irish hiking scarf that I made a few years ago. When I went to visit a friend last month, though, I left it behind by accident. This was all the excuse I needed to knit a new scarf! I flipped through a stitch dictionary, found a pretty cable, swatched, cast on, knit a few rows, frogged back, started over, made tons of progress, and... then I hit the black hole section. I go long enough between knitting scarves that I somehow forget that there's this chunk between the first foot and the last few rows on a scarf that takes forever but feels like it's going nowhere. The scarf still isn't finished, and I've got the old one back now, but I want these needles for other things, so it's going to be finished soon, whether it likes it or not.
At least it's pretty! The yarn is a former sweater (100% cotton) that my wonderful mother unraveled for me. I make my daily-wear scarves out of cotton because I'm sensitive to mammal fiber, and for something I'm going to be wearing all day, it needs to not irritate my skin.
Remember these needles? These are the Suzanne ebony needles I got at Webs ages and ages ago, and even though they're showing some wear, I still love them. I do need to re-point them, though... this scarf has shown me how dull they've become, so they'll meet some super-fine sandpaper very soon.
If you saw me at NH S&W last year, you may remember this cute little slouchy beret. It's also made of recycled cotton, and the flowers are some scraps of Green Mountain Spinnery's Mountain Mohair in Edelweiss and Pink Pink. The whole thing is crocheted, and the pattern (minus the flowers) is Brooke's Slouchy Hat (Ravelry link). To get the unusual texture, DCs are worked under all the bars, instead of just through the top two.
Let's see, what else... oh! One of the nice ladies at the knit night I've been going to lately gave me a mini batt of some fiber she's been dyeing and carding. It's a little crunchier than what I usually spin, but the color is gorgeous.
I think it's a wool-mohair blend, and I've turned it into less than a hundred yards of 3-ply DK. I have no idea yet what I'll do with it, but it sure is pretty.
Speaking of yarn I didn't know what to do with, I finally found a use for Red Heart Super Saver! I had this green kicking around from a vest I'd made for a friend who wanted to dress up as Wallace from Wallace & Gromit, so when I decided to knit something to express my love of the Green Mountain Derby Dames, it was handy. Add some white acrylic for the star and some scraps of white wool for the felted mohawk (able to be easily re-felted without ruining the rest of the hat), and boom, I'm a superfan.
Remember when I was musing that one knows one's a knitter when one pulls unnaturally-colored hairs out of one's tea?
I wasn't kidding about how bright the blue was. And, by the way, this is what a reticule looks like. I made it to go with the runway outfit I wore for a fashion show back in February, and while it may not get any more use, it's still very cute and was a fun, quick knit.
And now, for the pièce de résistance: Rose of England is finally finished! Darned thing only took me two years.
There's one huge, glaring mistake that I'm doing my best to ignore, and it's a little smaller than I expected (about 38" diameter), but I'm quite happy with it. Remind me never to do a complicated shawl on #2 needles again, though. I'm so thrilled to be finished with the bloody thing.
Okay, I think that catches things up for a bit. I'll try not to leave it so long next time!
08 March 2012
Jobbage: I Has It!
I'm almost done with my first week at the new job, and I found myself thinking today that almost every aspect of this job counters every bad thing about my last regular job, and makes my decision to leave that position completely justified.
Every day, I give the same stock answer to the same stock question, and nobody accuses me of being grumpy. Every day, I work my little butt off, and every day, the plant manager leaves his office to tell me that he's hearing very good things about the quality and quantity of my work, and he thanks me. Every day, I have a supervisor who tells me what I'm going to be doing, doesn't talk down to me if I don't understand something, quickly corrects me if I'm doing something wrong, and appreciates my input if I think there might be a better way of completing a task. Every day, no matter what mood I'm in when I start my shift, one or another of my coworkers makes me laugh.
I don't worry about whether or not I'm going to get a paycheck on time. I don't worry about whether my boss is going to yell at me, because my boss is professional and never takes out his personal issues on anyone at work. I don't have to be cheerful or pretend that I love coming in every day, I just have to put in a solid day's labor. I don't worry about my health and safety, because the company has it covered. I don't worry about whether or not there will be something for me to do, because the management plans ahead and always has work for everyone. In short, I don't worry. There's nothing to worry about.
There is one downside to this job, aside from the exhaustion and soreness at the end of the day: I'm not knitting anymore. I'm too greasy at work and too tired when I get home to even think about picking up sticks and string.
I guess that's what weekends are for. Hurry up, Saturday, I have a sock I want to work on!
Every day, I give the same stock answer to the same stock question, and nobody accuses me of being grumpy. Every day, I work my little butt off, and every day, the plant manager leaves his office to tell me that he's hearing very good things about the quality and quantity of my work, and he thanks me. Every day, I have a supervisor who tells me what I'm going to be doing, doesn't talk down to me if I don't understand something, quickly corrects me if I'm doing something wrong, and appreciates my input if I think there might be a better way of completing a task. Every day, no matter what mood I'm in when I start my shift, one or another of my coworkers makes me laugh.
I don't worry about whether or not I'm going to get a paycheck on time. I don't worry about whether my boss is going to yell at me, because my boss is professional and never takes out his personal issues on anyone at work. I don't have to be cheerful or pretend that I love coming in every day, I just have to put in a solid day's labor. I don't worry about my health and safety, because the company has it covered. I don't worry about whether or not there will be something for me to do, because the management plans ahead and always has work for everyone. In short, I don't worry. There's nothing to worry about.
There is one downside to this job, aside from the exhaustion and soreness at the end of the day: I'm not knitting anymore. I'm too greasy at work and too tired when I get home to even think about picking up sticks and string.
I guess that's what weekends are for. Hurry up, Saturday, I have a sock I want to work on!
02 March 2012
Happy Birthday To Me
I woke up this morning trying to figure out how to write a post that would cover life over the last month or two without sounding whiny or depressed, which is how I've been feeling. My birthday, as I've probably said before, is usually not something I feel like celebrating, so being positive on this day is a tall order even when things are going well, and things have been going decidedly not well lately.
But then I got a phone call.
I start my new job on Monday, and have to go in this afternoon for orientation.
What a birthday present, eh? :)
But then I got a phone call.
I start my new job on Monday, and have to go in this afternoon for orientation.
What a birthday present, eh? :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)