Almost there

While I'm feeling much better than I was a week ago, I'm still not 100%. But I'm getting there...
I learned along the way that doing too much too soon is never a good idea. I also was surprised to find that sitting and knitting was not really on my mind much early on in the recouperation. I think my mind was a little too fuzzy from the drugs, and I was better just being a blob on the couch or in my bed...watching TV, reading, or browsing around online.

My birthday was good. I got some great gifts. Jake gave me a Detroit Tigers T-shirt (and bought a hat for himself at the same time) We're down 2-1 in the World Series right now, but still hoping we can pull it off. It's been a long time comin'......

Mike, Kaitlyn, Kim and Drew pitched in a bought me a new bread machine. My old one gave out a few years ago and I have really missed having freshly baked bread in the house. This is the one I got. It arrived on Friday, and I have already made 4 loaves of bread and Mike made pizza dough on Saturday. Since it makes a 2 lb. loaf, I could see we were going to go through a lot of bread flour, so we went to Costco last night and bought a 50 lb. bag! Gotta find a good way to store it now. Anyway, so far I've made a basic white bread, cinnamon/raisin, Italian Herb, and Apple Oat.

Mike also got me a pair of tickets to see STOMP on Thursday. It was our third time going, and it was just as enjoyable as the other times. I wish we could have taken the kids, but tix were a bit expensive. Maybe next time.

Diane sent me an awesome felted angora nuno scarf. It's truly a work of art. The base fabic is kind of a sparkly irridescent mesh. Hard to describe, and the photo doesn't really do it justice, but here it is! (the fabric shows through more on one side than the other, so I made sure to show both sides in the photo.)



My friend Jane sent me the Spin to Knit book, which is perfect...given I am just learning to spin. She also sent me some beautiful roving that I can't wait to spin, once I get a little bit better at it. It would be a shame to ruin it (which is what I would do if I tried to spin it now!)

My dear friend, Maria, sent me gift cards to Borders, which I can't wait to go browse the knitting books and see what I can find.

My mom and dad gave me a subscription to Spin Off...yeah!

So, it was a good birthday, holes in my belly and all...

The claims adjuster came to check out my car this morning. He said the check will be in the mail in a few days and then I can take her to the dealership to get fixed. I sure hope they do a good job. I want her back, good as new!!! Poor Yarnbox.....



That's $3000.00 worth of damage! They are going to replace the hatch, bumper and quarter panel. I'm glad, because I was worried about how it would look if they tried to bump it out. I hope the paint matches perfectly. I'll be glad when the boo-boos are fixed.

Good Riddance to Bad Company

So my gall bladder is gone. Hopefully it was indeed what was causing all the problems over the past 10 months and as soon as my (4) incisions heal, I will be feeling much better.

I got to the surgery center at 8:30 as requested for my 10:00 surgery. I didn't actually get to the OR until 11:45. Hurry up and wait, ya know? The procedure took just an hour, and after a short time in recovery, I was on my way just after 2 pm.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed, got up for some soup around 6 pm, and then went back to bed. I didn't feel like knitting, so just caught up on some email, watched tv, and read.

This morning I am feeling a bit more pain than yesterday. It's a gloomy, rainy morning, so I think I will be going back to sleep for a bit, and then see how I feel. I did bring my knitting back up to the bedroom, so maybe I'll be inspired later.

My mom made me a big batch of cinnamon rolls to bring home with me yesterday (YUMMY!! Thanks Mom!) She and my dad came and sat with me (and Kim) yesterday before surgery, brought Kim some lunch while she waited, and then stayed until I was ready to go home. My sister (and her friend Becky) sent me a chocolate-themed box of goodies...Look!



The candle is "white chocolate mint" and smells really good. There are some of those new Hershey sticks in dark chocolate, some cocoa mixes, chocolate lotion, and then a Soduko book and some thank you notes. Thanks Diane and Becky!

Sunday it was sunny so I was able to get a picture of the yarn I bought from Lynn. Isn't it lovely?



Ok, back to bed for me....I want to feel better for "my day" tomorrow! (though I think any celebration will wait until the weekend....)

Happenings

Some good, some not so good.

I'll start with Thursday night. My beloved Yarnbox (my special edition Scion xB for those of you who are not aware of my obsession with my car) suffered a rear end boo-boo. I won't go into details. Hopefully she'll be good as new soon. I couldn't even bear to look at her yesterday let alone drive her. Poor Yarnie. I did drive her today though....LOTS.... because....

I drove to Lansing and back. Lots of fun in between. My day started VERY early since I needed to be at Threadbear by 9:30 am. It's just about a 2 hour drive. I had to get up around 5:30. Sorry, but 5:30 and I do not get along well at all. But it was worth it. They were having their "Fall Fling", with several vendors set up around the shop. I was asked to be one of them. Thanks Rob and Matt! I had a great time!

Lynn H. set up right next to me. What fun we had chatting all day long. I just love Lynn. I just love looking at Lynn's handdyed yarns. Today I finally bought a skein. The last of this colorway, ever. I said if it was still on her display at the end of the day, then it was meant to be mine. It was, and it is! Yeah! Well I just tried to get a good picture of it, but flash is not doing it justice. If it's sunny tomorrow I'll get one and show you. It's soooo purdy.

I had a great time, and got home just a few minutes ago. Just in time to see the home run that clinched the Detroit Tigers' place in the World Series. YEAH TIGERS!

Next week should be interesting. I am having surgery on Monday to remove my gallbladder. I have been having symptoms for just about 10 months now. After MANY tests (and MANY dollars that the less-than-wonderful insurance didn't cover) finally they are going to do something about it (costing many MORE dollars that the aforementioned insurance won't cover...ugh) Anyway, even though it's not about the money, it's just a lot of expense at a time when we are still trying to catch up after Mike's layoff this summer.

Be that as it may, please think good thoughts for me Monday around 10 am to noon (EST). Hopefully all will go well and this procedure will indeed cure what ails me. I'm pretty tired of dealing with it by this time.

Wednesday is my birthday. Here's hoping that I am feeling better by then. If not, I'm not going to push it. I'll recover as long as I have to. God knows I have enough yarn to keep me busy for as long as I'm on the couch, ya know? And yes, I will remember the fact that pain meds and fancy-schmancy knitting do NOT mix, unless you love the frog pond.

Contest Winners Announced

I've been waiting to hear back from my third place winner but so far...nothing. So I am going to announce my 2 other winners. If I don't hear from the other winner soon, I will be randomly sending the last prize to one of my contributors, without any further announcement here. It'll be a complete surprise if something shows up in your mailbox from me!

I've decided not to post a picture of the loot at this time...I want it to be a surprise when the winners get their package. Perhaps they will post photos on their blogs when the prizes arrive. If not, I will post a picture after I know they have received their goodies.

The first winner is Jenn. Her blog is That Girl Who Knits.

The second winner is Christine. You can read her blog here---->> Shteeni's Knits.

Thanks to both of you, and once again, to everyone who helped me reach my goal for the 3-Day Walk!

I couldn't hold out any longer....

Well, I've tried for years to resist. I did pretty well, I think....putting the thoughts of spinning out of my mind for this long...insisting that I didn't need another obsession in my life. Recently someone asked me if I was a spinner. I said no. She corrected me and said "No, not yet". She was right.

My resolve has been weakening. The thought has been tickling the outer edges of my brain. I stopped trying so hard to push it aside. Then, a couple weeks ago, I mentioned in passing that I might want to get a wheel. Delphine, who I worked with at the shop, said she had a wheel that she didn't use any more. She thought she might be interested in selling it to me.

No more was said, and I let it go to the outer edges of my brain again.

Saturday night I played some poker and won some money. When we got home that night, I took the money out of my pocket and put it on the dresser and said "maybe this will be a downpayment on my new spinning wheel" and I went to bed.

Things started to come together in my brain. The HUGE bag of roving I have started telling me "I want to be yarn already, darnit!" So I got in touch with Delphine, asked her if she was serious, and how much she wanted for her wheel. She gave me a price, and it was one I could live with, so today I became the proud owner of this:

An Ashford Traveller...I am clueless as to how to use it. I know it needs to be dusted off, oiled, and needs a drive band. My friends Chris and Rebecca both got wheels when the shop went out of business. Neither of them has learned to spin yet. Jenny (who also worked at the shop) is going to teach the 3 of us....hopefully SOON!

I brought home a book and a video from the library. Maybe I'll see if I can play around with it a little bit. I know I have a LOT to learn. But I guess I'm going to become a spinner!

(it looks so "at home" next to the fireplace, huh? Coco thoroughly checked it out when I brought it in....)