Hello World, it's me again . . .

I've sustained a major injury to my right thumb. Dunno what in hell you call it, maybe thumbitis - anything with major inflammation has 'itis' added onto it's end as in appendicitis, bursitis etc Maybe it's actually tendinitis, now that I think about it. It's the base of my thumb where it actually joins onto my hand that's killing me. I can't knit, sew, screw, swivel, press, write, use the mouse or do much that requires the cooperation of that opposible digit that separates Me from an Ape. I'm thinking the Ape is probably more intelligent since he wouldn't have done this to himself!
I bought a new gizmo to exercise my shoulders, arms, chest & upper back. I have a weakness in this area due to bursitis in my right shoulder. I saw this neat little gizmo advertised & thought I'd try it. Recognize it?? It's the old button on a string that we used to play with as kids. Well, a CERTAIN generation used to play with it as kids. It was all the rage when I was in Primary school back in the 50s. We would get the biggest, brightest, fanciest coat button we could find, thread nylon twine through it - fishnet mending twine was the best - wind that thing up & pull on it all day. THIS one comes in cast aluminum & gives you about a 20 pound resistance. THAT should've been the hint. TWENTY POUNDS. The thing proved to be light, easy to operate & fun! You should've felt my Triceps - those muscles under the flappers on the back & underside of your arms - burning!! I didn't use it too much. They recommend no more than FIVE minutes a couple of times a day. Well, after the first couple of weeks, I started using it SEVERAL times a day for a couple of minutes. I felt it in my forearms & shoulders. But I wanted to give an extra 'burn' to my triceps. So I hooked my thumbs through the rings & worked my triceps for FIVE FULL MINUTES four days ago. Oh they burned alright. My thumbs hurt the next day. My right thumb was swollen & hot the second day & excruciating by evening. Still sore as hell. Funny how the left thumb is just fine. Is this Nature's way of telling me that pulling on that button is just for kids???

I managed to finish the latest Hoodie before I damaged my thumb so at least all is not lost. When the thumb is back in shape, I'll start the next one since the yarn is already picked out & I have a couple of dozen more balls of this variegated yarn.
The next one will be a larger size since kids come in all sizes. People love to knit small sizes - yeah, I know it's faster - but big kids are cold too. AND I have 8 more balls of this color! This hoodie will fit a 3 to 5 year old & took just under 3, 100gm balls of worsted weight acrylic. Cheap & easy! I may make the next a size 12 so it can work for a small teen or large kid. The Wonderful Wallaby is really a simple, fun project that takes no time to knit. Although I hate sewing things up, this one only requires a few stitches under the arms & a three needles bind-off across the hood - even I can do it.

Had my second strawberry this afternoon from my very own strawberry plants!! Here's a pic of the spot. I know, you can't see the plants too well - the hen & chicks have taken over the pot - but if you look carefully at the top, right hand corner, you can see the strawberries poking up above the chicks. This was once a strawberry pot that a single chick was tucked into because the squirrel kicked it out of its basket while trying to bury a Hershey's bar. I tossed the Hershey's bar - gawd knows where the squirrel got the thing - and planted the chick in some fertile soil next to the strawberries. It grew to a gigantic size before it started populating the garden with offspring. I have several pots overflowing with them now & have sent a couple of pots off with new owners.