Greetings from the shockingly frigid mid-Hudson valley of New York! My return trip to (relatively balmy) North Carolina was unexpectedly postponed from the 6th to the 13th. And, can you guess who left home without all the necessary cords and wires to plug in the laptop and so is working on the very last bit of battery energy? Oy!
I'll be back in touch - and sending out Prudence patterns - after the 14th; until then, I hope you're all warmer than I am!
It's hard to believe how quickly the last three months have gone. I suppose I could hold the back of my (carefully manicured) hand to my forehead and claim that "Ah jes' don' know *wheah* the tahm has gahn" but it would be a lie - and not nearly as entertaining - I hope - as the truth. So, for your edification and amusement, I offer a brief round-up of the highlights - and lowlights - of what has been keeping Faylene busy enough to keep from posting.
1) As I have written before, I have had the opportunity to "stunt knit" for Jennifer Hansen of Stitch Diva Studios. Since my last post, my tasks have expanded somewhat to include some tech editing and plenty of copy editing. I'm proud to have played one part or another with respect to the Curiously Clever Clogs, Sahara, Lotus and Goddess, as well as two new designs which had their public debut at Stitches West and will appear on the website shortly. If you're interested in designs that are fashion forward, with patterns that are well written and technically interesting, I urge you to take a look.
2) Thanks to a somewhat overzealous radiologist, I spent much of the month of December on a medical wild goose chase, trying to confirm that in fact, I DON'T have cancer in any of a number possible sites. For those who like medical details, tests included, but were not limited to, a CT of the chest, a pelvic ultrasound, a D&C and a PET scan. Obviously, it was high anxiety time chez Faylene and the many appointments took way too much time - and money. In the end, of course, it *was* worth it - but I can think of better ways to allocate my resources.
3) Keeping to the medical theme, after a week at my brother's house, Grandma Selma "signed herself out," insisting that she had no pain and would feel more comfortable at home. Perhaps so - like many elderly people of the less adventurous sort, she clings to the fantasy that her house has uniquely "magical" properties - but her home situation does little to alleviate the anxiety of her children. She's certainly not senile or disabled, but she definitely has a hard time with facts - admittedly never her forte - and she's a classically frail "little old lady" - at even greater risk since she had to discontinue Fosamax in deference to her ulcer. Nor will she acknowledge the danger of her situation - she refuses to consider even a "lifeline button" - but, while making bad decisions on a daily basis, insists not only that she's quite capable of caring for herself properly but also that her death will be sudden and immediate. Oy! In the meanwhile, she and I play "Medical Groundhog Day" - every day we have the same conversation about the specifics of her health and every day she gives me different answers! (End of rant.)
4) And while we're on a roll here, by Christmas my knee had healed sufficiently for me to hit the exercise floor again. And, in fact, my knee was fine. But, after the very first workout, I had excruciating pain in my upper arm. So, back I went to Dr. Knee, who confirmed rotator cuff problems - not an actual tear but a wearing out - the analogy was to what happens to the cloth at the knees of our pants. No surgery this time - just a big shot of cortisone - ouch! - and threats of the possibility of surgery if the pain recurs. So I hit the exercise floor again a few days ago and so far so good.
5) Finally, lest you think my talents are limited to knitting and whining, you should know that I actually cooked big, fancy meals for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day - and this year, I actually managed to prepare and serve all of these meals without either cutting or burning myself! Yes, I do still have scars from the second/third degree burns I received the year before when attacked by a vicious sweet potato pie as it was being removed from the oven but, thanks to the excellent care at Faylene's Burns Clinic, as well as heavily freckled hands and arms, most people would just assume minor pigmentation glitches of the kind so common among those of us with "spots."
BUT WHAT ABOUT QUEENIE SISTERS DESIGNS?
I do have tons of news but I'm running out of time - and probably your patience - and will offer QSD news in the next post. In the meanwhile, to whet your appetite, I offer a photo of the (very large) Prudence shawl, knitted in Lisa Souza's fingering weight yarn in Little Devil. As you may remember, our pattern includes instructions for both the scarf and the shawl.
Which reminds me . . . one of the benefits of knitting the shawl, which was displayed at Stitches West, is that in so doing we discovered several grievous errors, prompting the immediate generation of errata slips. So, those of you who participated in the "Name that Yarn" contest can be assured of complete - and accurate - directions. Now that we're catching up - a relative term - we'll be in touch to obtain mailing addresses.
I'll be out of town from the 1st through the 6th; patterns probably won't be mailed until my return. However, I will have my laptop with me and look forward to receiving your comments.
Well, it looks like GS has a dudodenal ulcer, period. After an endoscopy yesterday afternoon, she was discharged and is busy agitating to go home and, generally speaking, driving my Bro and SIL crazy. (Having spent 6 weeks with her last year when she had surgery - pre-operatively at her house and post-operatively at mine, I know from personal experience that driving people crazy is one of her talents.) For the moment, at least, things are stable but, since (despite continuous urging during the past few years) she has refused to explore any options for her future, I'm afraid that the time for an intervention - which, by its very nature, will be confrontational - regarding her living situation is drawing ever closer. It's sad to say but I'm afraid she is less and less able to care for herself, not to mention her house and property, in an appropriate manner. Oy! In any case, I appreciate your good wishes, etc. for her and request that you continue to focus some positive energy in her direction as your time and energy allow.
To put some closure on another adventure . . . since, indeed, you all were "bad guessers" with respect to the yarn used for Prudence, I was going to extend the deadline for the contest. However, upon her return home, our dear Lisa immediately took a beatiful picture of Prudence and posted it on her website, which you can see here. So, although none of you won the ultra-grand prize of a complete kit, we wish to thank all contest participants - Caroline, Sam, Angela, Helle, June and Vanessa - and hope that a copy of the pattern will adequately show our appreciation. I'll be in touch with each of you to obtain your mailing address.
Although the weather here is absolutely awful - cold and pouring rain - I'm glad to be home with Don and the resident felines - Embers, Zoe, Mindl, Mariem and Iris - and look forward to lots of knitting and college basketball, as well as celebrating a quite Thanksgiving with some old friends whom we don't get to see as often as we would like. I promise a full - albeit belated - report about Stitches East and the QSD design-a-thon soon. In the meanwhile, whether or not you observe Thanksgiving, I wish you a time of joy, good food, good friends and peace.
When my oldest nephew (who is now a college senior and probably wouldn't appreciate this reference) was too young to pronounce the letter "L" clearly, he called my mother GammaSemma. Over the years, the nickname has stuck in various forms, including, of course, "Grandma Selma" and, for those of us - like me - who like to abbreviate everything, GS.
So, apparently upon arrival in the Hyannis area - no, they didn't see Teddy - my brother immediately headed to the Emergency Room of the local hospital with GS in tow. To say that she is not exactly is serene presence would be the understatement of the century; in any case, she immediately began to exhibit signs of the high blood pressure and irregular heartbeat which are usually well controlled by medication. After she was stabilized, examined, poked and prodded, she was sent off for a CT scan. Apparently, her gallbladder - and other nearby parts - are fine but her small intestine is not. Thus, current suspicions lean toward duodenal ulcers, to be confirmed tomorrow by endoscopy (like a colonoscopy except from the other end).
Until those results come in, travel plans are on hold - with plenty of knitting to fill in the gaps.
Keep those good wishes coming please! I forgot to mention that GS is 81 years old and quite literally a little old lady, with little experience of ill health and even less experience of the flow and routine of hospitals. So, while you're at it, please direct some of that positive energy toward the hospital staff that has to deal with her! <g>
TTYS.
