Friday, November 27, 2009

My gallbladder is trying to kill me.

Sorry for the silence. I think the pressure was too much for me and I choked. I am back to report that my parts are in rebellion, however: This is an image from the Mayo Clinic of what is a close approximation of what I got to see last week in my very own ultrasound. The ultrasound, as an aside, was one of the coolest things I have ever gotten to do! Elizabeth, the best ultrasound tech ever, narrated the whole thing and was the one to tell me that my very small ovaries and uterus look great, but my gallbladder is filled with little stones. There seemed to be more in mine than in the image above.... Looked like about a dozen or more, all lined up like peas in a tiny pod. Strange how my relationship with my insides has changed now that I have seen them....

The original complaint that sent me to the doctor's office was pain in the extreme lower right hand side of my abdomen and awful nausea. I can tolerate many, many things better than nausea, so that is what really sent me running to the copay factory! The pain has mostly been at a four out of ten kind of level, coming up a little higher and going down to nothing off and on, for about the last week, now. Today, after the pig out that was Thanksgiving, it is hurting like crazy, though. I meet with a surgeon on Tuesday, Dec 1, and the nurse at the world's best doctor's office believes that gallbladder removal is in my future. Sigh.

And by the way, ultrasounds are fun, but I highly recommend against recreational or educational CT scans. Wait for medical necessity. Two words: barium milkshake.

There has been knitting news, but since it is almost all Christmas knitting and everyone who is getting a present from me could conceivably read this, the less said the better. I shall share after the gifts are all given. Let me say, though, that I am having a blast knitting the few presents that I have undertaken, and I am optimistic about their completion....

I DID try to finish the lovely olive green Cosima.... (Pardon the blurry picture. You would never guess that I had a degree in the art of photography would you???) There is a reason that one should not put a sweater aside for nine months and then pick it up and start knitting again.... I seriously believed that I was following directions correctly. I had the back and one front piece already finished, so I started with the other side and happily zipped through that and the sleeves. It is a raglan construction, so I sewed both sleeves to the back with visions of showing off at Thanksgiving dancing in my head. THEN.... I got out the front pieces to determine which went on which side.... And they were both the same side. No kidding. I knitted two right front sides. I have no idea how I managed that, especially when it is the dreaded "reverse all shaping for left side" kind of pattern. I have put it aside to let it think about what it has done. WOW, that was silly!!
Ok, back to work. Yes, it is true, I am at work the day after Thanksgiving. There are only four of us in the entire building, and the people I know and love are at the movies right now. I am so loyal....

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Apparently I suck at this.

Either that or I am exhibiting a strange rebellion against authority.... Even though I am the one who decided to post every day! Day two and I forgot. I toyed briefly with ideas for travelling back in time or possibly setting the date back on my computer.... I decided, however to just go ahead and 'fess up instead. Indeed, I am crap at blogging consistency!

Sadly, I still have no photos. So I shall knit instead! I may be able to start the stripes on Daybreak tonight!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

November: National Blog Post Month

Well, I didn't make it all the way through Blogtoberfest.... It was pretty exciting to post so much, though! And I apparently have a chance to redeem myself in November during National Blog Post Month. I didn't make that up, either.... Found it on the internets....

And I am aware that I owe another SAFF post, but I am going to TRY to finagle a way to get the yarn purchases uploaded so there will be pictures.... Give me a couple of days!

I stopped posting this past week because, honest to goodness, I have been too busy knitting. I can't believe it, but its true! I finished the Christmas present socks. Thank goodness, because they were starting to get on my last nerve. They just went on too long....

Then I started another present, the Bird in Hand Mittens. May I say, worsted weight yarn on size one needles is nothing to trifle with! My poor fingers, so sore.... They are so, so, so beautiful, though! Kate Gilbert is another genius!! I got through one with only grafting and the thumb left, so even with frequent breaks for finger resting they are going quickly!

As a reward to myself for working so hard on Christmas presents, I started some easy, mindless knitting, the Daybreak Shawl. I saw it on another blog and fell in love. The yarn for that one is one of my SAFF purchases, so there SHOULD be pictures sometime this week... :-)

Other than knitting there has been passive entertainment. I read the cutest book: Soulless by Gail Carriger. She has the best voice I have encountered in a very long time in a formerly-unknown-to-me author, and you gotta love laughing out loud in a book about a victorian miss totally missing her soul.... Loved it!! Also saw The Brothers Bloom and enjoyed it thoroughly. Matt thinks that Rachel Weiss' eyes are too far apart, but it didn't hurt my enjoyment one little bit!

Ok, gotta go! Time for Amazing Race!