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....)

Contest Winners Chosen!

I want to thank each and every one of you who sent a donation for my Breast Cancer 3-Day walk fund. Your generosity was overwhelming and I was so grateful to be able to reach my goal so quickly with just a plea on my blog and a mention on Stephanie's blog. Knitters and bloggers are the best!

I decided to pick 3 winners instead of 1, and they have all been contacted. I have heard back from 2 of them, and as soon as I hear back from the last one, I'll post their names, and the prizes, right here!

Thanks again to all of you for your support....support comes in all shapes and sizes. I appreciate the words of encouragement and praise just as much as the monetary support that allowed me to reach my goal. Every bit of it touched my heart and I will remember this summer as a very special one.


Love,
Trish

These socks DO rock!

Some of the BeeGees (my Thursday night knitting group) went to Stitches Midwest in Chicago last month. I was not able to go because it was the same weekend of the 3-Day Walk. Tamara so graciously offered to bring me back some Socks That Rock sock yarn. I went to the website, picked out some colorways that I liked, and gave her the list. When she came back, she had one of the colorways I had picked out, but she also had this one, which I fell in love with. I started these socks about 2 weeks ago and finished them up Sunday evening.



I used Queen Kahuna's method, added a slip stitch underneath the heel as well as up the back of the heel. The cuff and top of the foot are done in a 2 x 2 twisted rib. It was a little fussy, but I love how they turned out. So far this is the best fitting pair of socks I've made. I always seem to make them a little too big. I used a size 1 needle this time and they are a nice thick, warm sock. I am looking forward to wearing them a lot this winter!

Read about our 3-Day journey...

Here is the link to the blog I wrote about my Breast Cancer 3-Day walk. My team consisted of me, my daughter, Kim and 3 of her co-workers... Lisa, Erin and Melissa. Lisa was with us on Friday and Sunday, but was standing up in a wedding on Saturday so missed that day of the walk.

It is a long entry, but I wanted to write as much of it down as possible so I could remember every detail. What an incredible weekend it was. Well, go read it...you'll see....

3-Day Walk

Only ONE blister!!!!

Well, the 3-Day Walk is behind me. Today I feel a bit of a letdown, after it being such a huge part of the past 6 months. With fundraising, training, gathering gear, and psyching myself up for so long...what will I do with myself now? (KNIT????)

This was such an INCREDIBLE experience. Here is a shot of us all starting out our long (often painful, always uplifting and definitely worth it) journey just past sunrise on Friday morning. I will be doing a separate blog about the entire journey, and will post a link to it here.I have lots of pictures!

I want to thank all of you, so much, for your donations to my (and Kim's) fundraising efforts. Also for the moral support offered. It really means a lot to both of us.

The Michigan 3-Day Walk has brought in 5.9 MILLION dollars so far....with still a month to go for funds to come in. AMAZING. We done good, huh?

Down to the Wire

Ok, people, here's the deal. I'm really not comfortable doing this, but I'm getting desperate. I'm going to start pleading and begging. No guilt trips, but just putting things into persepective a bit.

One week from today is the first day of the Michigan 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. We are scheduled to walk over 21 miles that first day. Same for Saturday. Sunday will be a mere 17 or so miles. Hopefully not in the scorching heat we've all been experiencing lately. (After walking all day, we sleep in 6'x6' pup tents lined up next to each other ...literally touching each other...on a football field somewhere along the route. )

Anyway.... a long walk ahead for me...my daughter Kim...our other 3 teammates, and thousands of others who will walk with us next weekend. And thousands of others walking several different weekends across the country.

We each have to raise $2,200 to walk. We started raising money back in February. Our team has had several large fundraisers and have done fairly well. But we still don't quite have all the money we need. We have another 4 weeks after the walk to come up with any donations we need to get to our $2200.00 goal. If we don't, we must donate the balance ourselves.

SO...I need about $400. I've noticed a very large amount of hits on my blog in the past week or so. LOTS more than 400 of you have come to visit. Perhaps to read about my exciting day listening to Stephanie/Yarn Harlot. Whatever brought you here, you're here now, and all I'm asking for is a dollar. One little dollar. From each of you. Really....that's all. *

That's about 1/20 of a pair of Addi Turbos
It's a couple dozen yards of really nice yarn
It's 1/4 of a coffee shop latte
It's 1/5 of a movie rental or 1/10 of a movie theater ticket

It's a drop in the bucket. I need about 400 more drops. Will you help? Please?

Is someone you know a breast cancer survivor?

Is someone you know battling breast cancer right now?

Have you lost someone to breast cancer?

Help me fight this horrible disease.
It touches all of us.
It threatens all of us.

So go on, click that pink ribbon over there on the top of my side bar. Just donate a dollar. *

*UPDATE: I didn't realize, when I wrote this post, that there is a $5.00 minimum online donation. I apologize. But I still could use your $5.00 donations. Maybe your dollar and a dollar from 4 of your friends. Whatever works for you. No pressure :-)
I thank you in advance...

and HEY!

As just a little added incentive...I'll make this into a contest. There will be a prize. Every person who donates from this time until Sept. 13 will be entered into a drawing. A $5.00 donation will get you an entry. Every dollar on top of that will get you another entry. OK? Is it a deal?

And spread the word...tell your friends and fellow bloggers. Post the link in your blog if you want. I won't mind...really :-)

PS. If you see that my total has gotten to $2,200.00 by the time you come to donate, please click on "MY TEAM PAGE" and then click on Kim's donation page and give your $5 to her fund. You will still be entered into the contest. (She actually has more money raised than is showing in her total right now, but still needs about $800...$400...and I wouldn't be totally opposed to you giving $5 to both of us...would that be asking too much? You decide. I'm not going to ask...but if you are inclined to do so.....)

(and if you donate to Kim, please drop me an email and let me know, and the amount, so you can get your entries for the contest!)


THANK YOU!
Come back in about 10 days to read about my journey. I expect this will be an incredible, life changing experience.

If you live in the Metro Detroit area, you really should think about showing up at Opening Ceremonies (Stoney Creek Metro Park), Closing Ceremonies (Metropolitan Beach park) or one of the cheering stations along the way. The cheering stations will be in Shelby and Sterling Heights on Friday, Roseville and Fraser on Saturday, Clinton Township and Mt. Clemens on Sunday. It will move you. You might be inspired to join the walk next year. If you happen to witness the sea of pink this weekend....honk and wave! Email me for the locations of the cheering stations if you're interested!

Yarn Harlot comes to Michigan

I must say that yesterday was high up on the list of exciting happenings in my knitterly world.

I travelled to Ann Arbor through construction, lane closures, & unannounced detours with Chris as my co-pilot, and with Rebecca and Jenny bantering back and forth in the back seat. Rebecca and Jenny have been friends since Kindergarten, and their relationship is so much fun to witness. We had a nice 90 minute ride (despite the aforementioned unpleasantries), arriving at the Ann Arbor library about an hour before Stephanie was to make us almost wet ourselves as we were forced into uncontrollable fits of laugher speak and sign books. There were already about 50 or so knitters in the room, so we decided to wait rather than find some lunch and take the chance of not getting a seat when we got back. I don't think I have ever been in the presence of this many knitters at once...what an awesome time! Everywhere you looked there were needles clicking away, mostly socks being knitted. And lots of interesting knitted items adorning the bodies of all the Harlot groupies.

The room soon filled up (about 150 I think) and then the overflow was taken upstairs where they were not able to be in the company of the lovely, hilarious Yarn Harlot. They had to watch on a big screen tv. I don't know how many more knitters were up there, but I'm glad we got to be downstairs (even though it was HOT down there) and experience Stephanie up close and personal. And what an experience she is. Non-stop giggles. Fun Fun FUN!

We waited close to an hour for autographs and pictures. That's me and Stephanie with our socks (just in case you hadn't figured that out....) Those are my Lodge Socks...started when we went to the Great Wolf Lodge for spring break. Now almost finished, thanks to "afterthought heel help" from Lynn. After photos, we walked a couple blocks over to Busy Hands Yarn and Gifts. There was some much appreciated punch and cookies waiting for us (we were parched and beyond hungry at this point...around 5pm) They also had offered coupons for those of us who were at the library for Stephanie's talk/book signing. Rebecca and Jenny found something to bring home, but Chris and I didn't. Oh well, we're all suffering from yarn overload after stocking our stash with bargains because of the closing of our shop.

After shopping we went to Cottage Inn for some Antipasto salad and pizza. Yummy. Then the long drive back home. We stopped for some relief from the sweltering heat frozen custard when we got back on our side of the state. There were so many people there with the same idea. I'm sure Erma's has been raking in the dollars hand over fist in this non-ending inferno. I know it's worse in other parts of the country, but hot is hot, no matter how you slice it.

I saw some familiar faces...Rae and LynnH. (who introduced me to Sarah Peasley, and a few others whose names unfortunately escape me at the moment...my apologies to those of you who were sitting and talking to Lynn and Sarah). I saw Jillian again (met her and Amy --of knitty.com fame-- at Threadbear in May) but didn't get to talk to her yesterday. I saw a few other familiar faces...people I haven't actually met, but must've seen at another knitting event or shopping at one of the LYSs around the state.

All in all it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday. Hell, any day of the week when you get to meet THE knitting guru, is a special day indeed.

Thanks for the laughs, Steph!

A couple FOs & Getting Back to Socks

Well, there is no picture of the first one (DUH) which was an afghan for my niece's bridal shower. I knit it in 15 days (all 25,000+ stitches of it!) in weather that was often in the 90s. Then I forgot to get a picture of it before I wrapped it up and presented it on Saturday. But I know where it's going to live and I'll get a picture of it in action next time I go to Jen and Donnie's house.

My sister was in town for just over a week, and we managed to hit 8 yarn stores. She got goodies at 6 out of the 8. Me? I controlled myself and didn't buy a darned thing, even when we visited Threadbear. Even though I had a gift certificate! I just can't imagine bringing another skein of yarn into this house right now. I'm sure you can understand that.
But when we were at Heritage, I got a bag of cotton terry cloth loops, already looped together and wound into big balls, and over the course of a couple of days I made this rug.

It is SO cushy and soft underfoot. I am hoping I have enough loops to do a couple more for the new trailer, but those I will dye a darker color or else they'll be trashed in no time. It wasn't the easiest knit (I could barely fit the 17 stitches on my size 35 needles) but I am happy with the results.

So now I'm going to go from one extreme to the other. From size 35 needles down to size 2. I am picking up my socks that I started during spring break and I am going to finish them! I put them aside months ago because I was planning on doing an afterthought heel on them, and I hadn't tried that method before.I was so nervous to continue.... I was afraid I was going to put the waste yarn in the wrong place. I read and researched the correct placement, and got several different answers. So I pondered it some more. Then I asked sock guru Lynn H. for her advice. I trust her, and she's got so much sock experience, so I am going to take the plunge and do afterthought heels. I'll let you know how it goes!

Wasabi Meets Yarnbox

This weekend we had a surprise party for my dad's 80th birthday. Part of the surprise was that my brother Dave drove from Boca Raton to my brother Brian's house in Savannah. The 2 of them drove from there and arrived here on Friday. My sister Diane also flew in with her friend Becky on Saturday. Dad was thrilled, and yesterday we surprised him more by inviting almost 3 dozen of his closest friends and family to celebrate with us. All 5 of us siblings were together for the first time in 12 years. It was great!

Brian has one of the other 2200 limited edition green xB cars too, and that's what he and Dave drove up in. Here are a few shots of us with our twin cars.

His license plate says WASABI. Hot, Green and Japanese....just like our cars!