Oh to be Useful Again

I'll tell you, having a job again really makes me feel better. There's a reason to get up in the morning. It's like the brain turns on the 'Git up & Go' hormone when you have something to do other than cater to your own needs. I sleep better, feel more rested & actually look forward to pounding on the old keyboard once more. I put the word out that I was back in business in the Home Office a few months ago & it seems people have finally got off their asses. It's a month before Tax Season of course, but I suppose it's better late than never. And I'm loving it. I think my sight & hearing have even sharpened up a little too. Stop laughing out there - just wait until you've been written off as 'No Longer Needed' 'But you're almost 64, why do you want a job' or my favorite 'Retire, you deserve it.' Yeah, Okay. But, I've worked all my life & am not ready to quit just yet!! And I still NEED the money.

To celebrate, I visited my doctor about my painful thumbs. I wanted information on & samples of medicinal cremes that I could rub in instead of taking more & stronger pills. I worry about my Liver. In the past, I tried a couple of them but wasn't impressed. And I just don't have the money to spend on sampling. I was told not to bother. Apparently the over-the-counter analgesic cremes don't have enough of the analgesic for anything other than minor aches but he could give me a prescription for one to be made up. And the cost would be about the same as the one on the shelf.

I should've known better. I ended up with a nice large tub of beige muck, the look & consistency of axle grease. It doesn't smell, thank gawd, but it takes forever to rub in - sort of like rubbing heavy Vaseline into your skin. The Pharmacist assured me that it mostly penetrates the skin but may take several applications before it's effective. I must apply it twice a day.

Let me tell you, you don't just dip a finger in, rub it on & go about your business. It's get a cup of tea, sit down, rub it in for 15 minutes per spot until it's gone, drink the tea & then go about your business after you wipe or wash the remainder from between your fingers. I must've spent at least an hour that first day rubbing it in!!! But you know, the darned stuff works. It takes a while but it works so well that I rubbed it into my whole knee - both sides & below & had the first painless knee since I tore that cartilage!! I'm still working on the thumbs.

And this is why I have no knitting to show & no projects to discuss. Instead, I'm reading Sylvia Olsen's book - Working with Wool. It's an extremely interesting history of the Native women who gathered the fibres, wove the blankets & knitted the sweaters that kept their families warm & fed over the years on the Coast of B.C.  It's a History book & a Sociology book & a Story book about the Women who work with wool.