I Meant to do so Much

The summer is half over & I haven't accomplished much. My new-to-me computer still hasn't been set up in my office, the office is still only partially cleaned up, the old fridge is still in the kitchen & I'm still unemployed. 

I finally saw Specialist #2 for my vocal chord problem & was refered on to the Surgeon. I will see him in 3 to 6 months. The final remark made by Specialist #2 was - 'it's too bad you waited so long to come to me.' I was a little stunned to say the least. It's been just under a year since I got the appointment for Specialist #1 - for August 2014. Lucky for me, I was able to get sqeezed in, in only 6 months because he was convinced I had cancer. Lucky for me that he made the appointment with Specialist #2 in only 4 months because my family Doctor couldn't even get a response from Specialist #2 when he tried to get me an appointment before I went to Specialist #1. With our Medical system??? Come in Sooner?? How?? Not that I'm complaining since I still get treated even though I'm broke. But by the time a patient  makes it through the wait list to see who can diagnose the problem & how to treat it, it's become permanent, got better on it's own or you're terminal. It's a good thing I didn't have cancer.

In the meantime, living with a sloppy vocal chord is hell on earth. So you can't talk??? Snicker, big deal .  .  .   well, you can't swallow properly either. This means drink less, drink thick liquids or drink through a straw. It means that you can't have that coarse ground pepper anymore. It means you can't have shaved meat in your beef dip sandwich or bacon bits on your baked potato. Anything with bits or seeds or whole grains or multiple ends could start a coughing/choking attack. What happens?? You can't go out for dinner any more because you might have a coughing/choking attack & leave part of your dinner on everyone at the table.

You're short of breath all the time. You have to take three breaths to finish a sentence. You hyperventillate every time you have a conversation. Most people can't understand you on the phone. A lot of people can't understand you face to face. Safeway checkers call you "Dear". You can't walk fast or far - no more shopping at the Mall. You have to think about where everything is because you may not be able to park, walk all the way there & then make it back without exhausting yourself. You spend a lot of time coughing, which takes a lot of energy. No more walks in the Park with your buddy's dawg.  And don't get a cold or allergy attack. Gawd, forbid, the shortness of breath makes your cough whimpy already, just wait till you have to clear a clogged lung .  .  .  .  

You can't knit with 100% wool yarns that are minimally processed. I have the makings for four different sweaters in my livingroom. I even started one in a lovely Purple Heather from the Briggs & Little mill back east. It's lovely wool but sheds bits as you knit & there's the Vegetable Matter that you have to pick out occasionally - it just lets you know it hasn't been overprocessed in chemicals. All those little fibres make me wheeze something terrible when I knit indoors .  .  .  .   

And so what is a wounded knitter to do??? Well, I DO have that lovely Wheatsheaves pattern & that magenta acrylic from KnitPicks in the bag  .   .   .   .   it's a hellofa thing to do to Wheatsheaves but I guess its definitely gonna be acrylic yarn to the rescue this time. That is unless I start getting up really early in the morning & knitting outside at my patio table with a big mug of tea before the skunks come to visit.