Well DANG it's been a long time:)!
Honestly, I don't know where to begin! When I last posted a year and three quarters ago, I was grieving for what our country had become - and I still have those worries and concerns. I'm still an older person with a bad attitude, but a few things have happened in the past year and a half, none of which have softened my bad attitude at all, LOL:)!
When last I left you, I was working on a bunch of projects, trying to keep afloat while working virtually, and dealing with a few relatively minor health issues. Unfortunately those health issues took center stage last November when I was diagnosed with uterine cancer.
Oh well, one deals. It was not particularly horrible. I have the incredible good fortune to live in Maryland, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. As a result, by mid-December I spent a night at Johns Hopkins Hospital and parted company with my reproductive organs with ZERO pain. Yes, I mean it - zero pain. And minimal opioids. I never took so much as a tylenol (and that was for a headache) in the weeks following. Opioids really don't do much for pain anyway - at least not for me. The doc told me she used a lot of local anesthetic. She's in a teaching institution, so I believe she will be publishing a paper shortly - as she should!
A biopsy of the lymph nodes indicated the cancer had spread, so chemo was necessary. Even chemo was not that bad. The nausea meds worked well, I had some bone pain and a lot of tiredness due to low blood cell counts of all kinds, necessitating a few blood transfusions and treatment with some drug called neulasta. I also found out I'm allergic to one of the chemo meds - a bit scary in the moment of discovery, but easily fixed with a shot of Benadryl. I lost my hair of course, but dealt with that by getting a buzz cut before starting chemo and wearing hats and scarves during the cold weather. Even the bone pain was treatable with, of all things, Claritin - who knew?
Work remained virtual throughout the winter and into the spring, which made life a lot easier for immuno-compromised and exhausted me. People were so kind at work and in my family. John, the DH, newly retired due to the downturn in the hotel industry, was my "Uber" to chemo when I was in the thick of it. There were some days that were tougher than others, but overall, I am just grateful to have gone through it with the kindest people surrounding me and an incredibly competent and kind medical staff. The people who provided the chemo were wonderful.
I even had a funny experience. When one is undergoing chemotherapy, the doctors generally do not want you to lose weight. If you've read this blog over the years, you would know that weight lose has never been my forte. Well.... during one of my low blood cell count time frames the doctor decided to hold off a week for the next chemo dose. This ended up happening every month - my rounds of chemo took place every four weeks instead of every three. Anyway, she said with this sort of frown on her face, "Well, you know... you have lost weight." I, mirroring her expression, responded with a sigh, "Yes, I know... HEY WAIT A MINUTE!" and we both started laughing. Ya hadda be there...
When summer hit, we finally began seeing our clients in person - with masks on - and are still doing that now, but our court dates, with few exceptions, remain online. I have NO problem with that because, hey, no traffic or parking needed. It has created some interesting circumstances, though. When we are in court in person, there is usually a bailiff - sometimes more - in the courtroom. All of our bailiffs are wonderful law enforcement officers who very competently ensure the safety of the public, the judiciary, and the courthouse employees. They also enforce courtroom decorum. When one practices child welfare law, one encounters angry people - people who believe they are being treated unfairly - and sometimes these same people have mental health or addiction issues and as a result do not have the same "brakes" on their behavior that society generally expects of adults. I am not saying they do not have a right to their anger, but they do not have a right to express that anger in an inappropriate or dangerous manner. This is where the bailiff can sometimes step in. However, when one is online, while the chance of physical danger is far less, the opportunity for inappropriate behavior abounds. Let's just say it's been interesting:)! And no, I have never been a cat;)! But you never know.
While all this was happening, I decided I needed yet another hobby. I have always wanted to learn how to spin. My stepmother had an antique spinning wheel in the living room that had always fascinated me. When I found a spinning wheel on Ebay for a really good price, I requested one for my birthday. Said wish was granted. (Thank you, John.) I took a couple of lessons and of course now know how very much more I need to learn - and practice! It's a matter of getting the right muscle memory going. At least that's what I tell myself....
But I have a bit of fiber to work with:
Knitting:
I lost a bit of knitting mojo between March and July, but did at least start a few projects. I did finish something I've wanted to knit for a long time: Andrea Mowry's Night Shift Shawl. It is now in the possession of my youngest daughter and sorry no photo, but it was a LOT of fun to knit. I do have a pic of the leftover yarns from this project from which I will likely make a cowl. That is the pic at the top of this blog post. Aren't the colors divine?
I'm going to make a Shift cowl, also by Andrea Mowry, with these yarns:
I'm using laceweight yarn doubled to get gauge for fingering weight. It's yarn I purchased at School House Products during a visit to NYC some 13 years ago or so. The project is slow going on such a small gauge, but it will be worth it.
This is the Camille Eternity Scarf by Sweater Babe. Hoping to get it done this month and gifting it to the youngest daughter's wife:).
Cross Stitch: I haven't done much of that - have been working somewhat monogamously on a piece called Alice Merrifield by Pineberry Lane. It is full of serious errors and I don't care - am having fun stitching it. Pics when I have more to show.
There are a bunch more projects I have waiting in the wings and a few more on top of that on the proverbial radar. But this is getting to be too long. If you are back, thanks for reading this.
peace out and God be with you 'til we meet again+
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