Allergy Season

 I don't know what's in the air just now but I've been sneezing myself blind & coughing more too. Coughing is sort of normal but all the sneezing is not! My nose gets that tickle with a slight burn in it that sets me off. Then my eyes start to water. Not much fun in trying to knit with all that going on!!! I guess the second ALLERGY part of the year has begun. 

When I was 4 my parents bought their first home on the fringes of Cloverdale - really down the bottom of Murphy Road - 172 St in future, just off Townline - 96 Ave in future - in the Skunk Cabbage swamp. It was 2 acres, surrounded by woods on one side & a farmer's field on the other. It had a small, two bedroom house, a well house & a small barn. A small stream ran through it close to the house where ducks hung out. My mother used to 'collect' animals at the Cloverdale auction so we had a collection of everything from goats, piglets, cow, rabbits & poultry. We aren't going to talk about birds . . . she had everything from pigeons - a pink, ruffled one was my fav - to pheasants with the chickens. I loved everything about the farm except for weeding & my nose ran from late spring until freeze up. I sneezed my way through summer. I itched my way through hay season. I had the red measles for a week before anyone realized it at school because I was always wiping, sneezing & scratching .  .  .  .

But I loved that place as a kid! We had the freedom to run wild & discovered Hazelnuts & Huckleberries in the woods. We made trails through the tall grass & climbed all the trees. We made pets out of the chickens - mine rode on my shoulder & made nests in the hay loft, yeah, I sneezed & coughed the whole way. Funny how I remember bouncing from branch to branch through the vine Maple bush like a  monkey as I try to bend over to pick something off the floor!!

That little Farm was a great place to be a kid even though I guess I was allergic to most of it. No one knew or paid much attention until we moved to the edge of a subdivision - still had bush on one side & some of our friends lived in shacks with outhouses, but it wasn't a farm with fields, animals & a barn. A lot of my allergies disappeared.

Knitting - I'm having trouble with it. I sneeze & sneeze. I've ordered a box of masks from Amazon. I need those Wristers & that Cowl right now.

Changes

 Just had my last weekly blood test!! It isn't my last test, just changed to monthly now instead of weekly. I am rather glad since they always seem to manage to start the day with me! I admit it isn't as bad as the early ones in hospital - one morning they woke me at 4:45 to take my blood!!! - but I still have to be up, dressed, washed & civil to someone at 8:00 AM when I don't often go to bed until 2:00 & still manage to get up to pee before 6:00. I can't go back to bed after because I'm UP with eyes Wide Open. I'll probably end up passing out in the recliner after lunch .  .  . So, I guess it's time to start a pot of soup.

The Soup of the Day will be Italian Soup with Tortellini. Baby Spinach chopped coarsely will be the green veg & I might sneak in a handful of Beluga Lentils for fun. I love this tomato based soup because it's easy to make, can be 'brothy' with less pasta & fewer greens or 'thick' with more. It's a great way to use up zucchini or that bag of greens that has to be used NOW. And it fills the house with fragrance as it simmers all afternoon.

The weather is changing & I'll have to turn on the furnace soon. I almost miss the heat. Time to dig the long pants out of the closet & get my butt into the car once more. I've missed my Coffee with three milk .  .  . 

Knitting - decided I needed some wristers or Cuffs to keep my hands warm. They actually DO work. Dug out my old Bamboo Skewer needles - I've made a lot of socks on those - and a stray ball of "Sock It To Me" to make them ASAP. My fingers have been hurting & do so even more when they get cold so I'm hoping these will solve the problem for now. Then I'm knitting a cowl that covers my shoulders. More on that later.

I Got a Rat

Yup, I got a Rat. Ron came by with some 'Sticky Feet' pads for rats. They're HUGE. They're the size of a small bathmat! While I'm not crazy about the sticky pads, they do work when the rodents get too smart for traps. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Apparently they're now also armed with something really enticing to rodents in a patch in the middle too. It only took one night to get results. Rattie was firmly attached & became even more so when I rolled that mat up with him inside. Ron came by, took everything away & left a new pad. 

Catching a rodent is a lot of excitement in my world these days!! I've been working on more mundane things like getting up & down more often, standing longer, getting up out of my chair more often & trying to move more. At least until I start to get short of breath! It's not the moving that I'm bad at, it's the drop in O2 that gets me. 

Today I want to start walking up & down the ramp in front of my house. My house O2 line reaches almost to the bottom of the ramp so I don't have to haul a tank & cart just to go outside. I don't want to kill myself!! But, I do want to drive again. It's just too damned inconvenient trying to get to a medical appointment when I have to juggle O2, a walker & quickly running out of air. Since I have to move the equipment myself even in a taxi, I might just as well drive myself. It also lets me bring an extra tank which is impossible with a taxi. You should see the 'Official' Gobbledegook I have to sign & submit to get transport with oxygen to an appointment!!! I don't know what I'll do if I can't drive anymore!! But I won't worry about that just yet. I'm pretty damned feeble these days but hopefully I can improve that somewhat .  .  .  .

Knitting - Still knitting some cotton washcloths. I decided to knit them for the boys for Christmas this year. I bought a hellova lot of cones on sale some time ago in variegated light green/white & yellow/white - I love both color combos because they're so fresh. And I like my washcloths BIG. I always have. So, I thought I'd make everyone a couple of them this year. I'm also making Wrist Warmers for myself out of some of my sock leftovers. I love them & they really DO keep hands warmer!! I need that. As long as my hands, feet & knees are warm, the rest of me is just fine.