Tempus Fugit

The sum of days since I last posted has taken me by surprise! The best laid plans of women, especially ones who knit, oft go askew (to paraphrase Robert Burns)! 2009 was to be a year of much knitting, spinning, weaving, creating. I gathered yarns, patterns, ideas, tuned up the Gilmore loom, inventoried fiber and warp threads, made sure the Lendrum was in good order. I planned, plotted and dreamed of beautiful handmade gifts and treasures sure to delight the maker (me) and the lucky recipients (too numerous to list).

My trip to Sacramento in February of '09 wherein I began the Great Adult Surprise Jacket Adventure, ended with me having my first ever case of sciatica (childbirth labor is less painful), followed closely by bursitis of the hip, which then segueway-ed into a low back episode that required spinal injections, and finally a total knee replacement surgery in September plus a bonus - the manipulation of said knee in November that was more painful than the surgery.

Now, I consider myself to be a healthy person. I can count the number of times (pre-sciatica) that I had taken so much as an aspirin since August 19, 1984 (my sobriety date). I was determined to get through the post surgery and rehabilitation process without narcotic pain relievers. HA!!!! Total knee replacement surgery is no walk in the park (pun intended)! So oxycodone and oxyconton saw me through the first 3 weeks, (there was to be no knitting or anything else that required focus or attention). Then there was Tylenol 3 for a couple of months, still not much in the way of focus, as a matter of fact I began to worry about my lack of ability to concentrate. I think I understand how people with ADD/ADHD might feel.

I also went off of the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy protocol I had been on for several years, so I was thrown into instant menopause; the brain-to-mush and emotional yo-yoing that lack of estrogen on the neuroreceptors causes had Jekyll/Hyde propensities that were terrifying to my DH and me! No one died!!!

Can anyone say imbecile?

Enough whining.

I'm back to knitting with a vengeance. I've completed the cashmere sweater from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, as well as the cashmere booties and a hat adapted from the Ann Norling Kid's Fruit Caps pattern for my new great nephew, Owen. I'm knitting the Cider House Rules vest from Interweave Knits Fall 2000 for my DH, and I'm making my grandson Malakai a sweater for his birthday in April. I've been needing an earflap cap to weather the weather (well below freezing), so I'm designing one to knit it out of alpaca that's been stashed.

Time and my fingers are finally flying together again. Thank God!

D.D.