It's amazing what a week will do. I'm still a little afraid of the Orange puffer but I think I've got the Blue one down perfectly! And I feel a lot better. I can breathe again without coughing. I can even take several DEEP breaths without coughing & best of all, I can lay down to sleep without coughing. No more getting back up & sitting on the side of the bed until I stopped, either. My ribs & shoulders are still sore but the rest feels a whole lot better!!

Back to the new doc again today to talk about my X-rays & how I feel. Both of us are happy with how I feel but I have to stay on the puffers for another month. Sometimes you just don't understand HOW BAD you are until you feel better!! The poor woman didn't get to talk about my cardiogram or cholesterol but asked about my walking instead. Are you kidding??? I told her I could walk about 2000 steps on a good day before my knee became unstable. So she promptly sent me back for knee X-rays. And I have another appointment in 10 days.
And I was feeling good enough to get my flu shot today - the new pharmacist was so good I never even felt it!! But, no Barbie bandaids dammit.

Knitting Content

Finished the second scrappy blue sock last night - well, I still have to tuck in ends but otherwise, it is DONE. I've been asked for some wrist warmers so they're next on the needles. I fell down the sock yarn hole & ordered a few balls of sock yarn for ME from Knit Picks called Goth Kitty. It's Hot Pink, Grey & Black - soooo me!!! I loved it on sight & had to have it. Bad Sharon. And I made sure I have enough for some wrist warmers for me as well. I intend to cast them on the moment the yarn arrives!!
The Giant Shawl/Blanket for my niece is finished but for the tucking in of all those ends. Not looking forward to that job.
I ordered yarn for three shawl/scarves for elderly  old friends last spring - they were to be Summer Knitting but didn't get done. Hopefully, I'll be able to do the most important one before the Big Day.

Another Day at the Doctor

I finally found a new Family Doctor - mine retired after 46 years as my doc - & I've been going thru all the tests the new doc wants - what a pain in the ass. I also have to admit I haven't really BEEN to the old doctor much in my lifetime except when I got really sick or needed stitching up. It was more convenient to hit the nearest clinic after I dislocated my wrist & tore the meniscus in my knee than wait 3 hours in my doctor's waiting room.

My new doctor will only talk about 2 things per appointment no matter what which is also a pain & she always looks a bit frazzled by the time our appointment is over. That's what she gets for ordering a massive amount of tests. Friday, at our last semi-monthly meeting, I told her NO, we aren't discussing my cardiogram & cholesterol levels today - her plans, we're discussing my constant cough & the fact that I strained my neck, pinched a nerve & couldn't raise my right arm above my hip while struggling to birth an alien from my lungs last weekend. My ribs, shoulders & back  are all sore from coughing. By the time I dress, shower & run to the garbage bin in the mornings, I could cheerfully crawl back into bed. Then I started to cough. I was tight as a drum.

So she listened to my lungs. And tapped my back. And ordered chest xrays. Oh Gawd, what now?? She told me I sounded like I have pneumonia. And from the sounds of my symptoms, I'd probably been walking around with pneumonia since the the summer. Figures. Next thing I knew, I was armed with two puffers & another appointment to talk about my cardiogram & cholesterol. That woman just won't give up.

Knitting/Spinning

Nada. Nothing. I've got FLC(feeling like crap) soooo bad that I just wanna stay under the warm covers until I have to pee. Or cough.

Leaves are Falling Everywhere

I'm not much of a coffee drinker even though I used to meet my buddies at Starbucks almost every day - I did like several of their tea blends & I could knit like mad while I sat there. Most of my coffee buddies laughed because my coffee maker had never had anything but tea in it's basket. I still do love a coffee once in a while so I always go OUT for mine. I have a couple of spots to sit outside - even in my car with the windows down - this time of year when the trees are turning color & the little birds are flocking together in the tops. It's sweater weather with piles of multi-colored leaves on the ground to roll in but still plenty left in the trees to brighten up the days. I love warm summer days & fresh berries but crisp fall days with colored leaves everywhere are still my favorite times of the year. I think of new apples, bales of sweet alfalfa hay & Brussels Sprouts after the first kiss of frost. Wool weather. For Sure.

Yesterday I brought in the Christmas/Easter cactus, the Jade plant & two little Jade cuttings. Oooops, yes, I know, it has been cold but they were tucked under the patio table against the interior wall & haven't been watered in two or more weeks so they could take a little cold!! And just look at what the cactus did overnight. It's actually TWO cacti, one with smooth segments & the other with 'hooked' segments & they're named for the season in which they normally bloom. Well, guess what, mine bloom any time they please & usually at the same time!! They like to set buds when they get nice long nights & equal days - & always after a summer outside. I figure this one liked it's stay outside again this year. PS - Since the camera is still lost, you're getting a shot of a previous blooming, just in case you wondered.


The camera is still lost although I'm sure it will be found soon - I'm in the process of recycling all the plastic pencil/paper/file/disc holders I have that I don't use & shredding all paperwork over 10 years old. Good Gawd, is that a bag in the bottom of the closet with a fleece in it???? Once you get started, you just can't stop .   .   .   .  

November Already

I can't believe it's November 05 already!! If it weren't for the firecrackers & the unseasonable cold - that is for US on the Wet Coast & even more unseasonable SNOW, I wouldn't believe it. Today dawned cool, crisp & blue skied. 
The perfect day to wear a Cowichan sweater!! And I have three fleece jackets .  .  .  .   Yup, good thing my car has a good, fast heater. My aging internal 'Granny Thermometer' won't let me sit outside with my buddy & his pooch at Starbucks in this weather anymore because I can't stay warm enough. I don't feel too bad because the pooch doesn't want to sit outside either.

Every year my landlord & I have this unacknowledged contest about who will holler "uncle" first & crank on the furnace. Yesterday I woke from an afternoon nap to a warm bedroom - I was gonna give up & get him to turn it on yesterday too. I think the furnace has been running more or less steadily since then. It will be so nice to shower in a warm room again!!

With all this cold air about, I've been seriously rethinking my wardrobe lately. I no longer need dress clothing. Or dress shoes. In the summer I live in shorts & tee shirts except for two pairs of long, floral pants that go with most of my tees. I even have a pair of jeans hanging in the closet. In the winter I've been wearing men's sweat pants - they come with pockets!!!!!! & keep me warmer, my tee shirts & a sweater at home or fleece jacket when I go out. 
As a result, I'm thinking of chucking all the pants that have no pockets, a couple of dress shirts I don't wear anymore & going back to fleece all the time for winter. Or at least fleece pants with long sleeve shirts & a vest - with pockets. In my part of the world, it's not always safe to carry a purse - especially if you're old. I like my keys in my right pocket so I can press the emergency button or lock my car fast. I'd like my phone in the opposite pocket & my thin wallet zipped into my vest/jacket pocket. That way I can carry my cane in the winter & a knitting bag too. And no one would try to steal my knitting bag - it has Knitting Chickens on it.

On the Knitting Scene - the Blue Scrappy Socks remain out in the car for waiting time knitting - next week I have two appointments with the Ex so they might get finished. The Purple & Pink socks are next to my TV watching chair where I've been ripping out one of the sweaters I started for myself. I tried something different, it didn't work & the thing wound up being 6 inches too big in the bust. So I'm ripping it back to the part where I screwed it up & will do what I should've done in the first place. The woolly blanket/shawl is HUGE & just about finished. Although I'd like to see it with fringe, I'm not sure how much yarn/time/effort would be involved or if it would be worth it.