Hooray!

This morning I finally finished a sweater/jacket I've been knitting off and on for nearly a year!  *happy dance*  Now I can start my Christmas knitting....*LOL*

(If any of you are interested in my knitting projects, I keep a separate blog for those.  You'll find a link over on the right side of the page for it.  If you're not interested in knitting, feel free to skip it.  I promise I won't be offended.)

Once more it's race weekend in my little corner of the world.  Our city is filled to the brim with NASCAR fans.  While I am grateful to the monetary contributions they make to our fair city, I'll be more grateful when they go back home.  I handling the race crowds the way I usually do:  I'm staying home and out of their way!  I always make sure I have all necessary supplies (aka Diet Coke and coffee), then just plan to hole up for the weekend.

I had a week at the office that can only be described as "crappy", so I felt the need for comfort food today.  My solution was to cook a big pot of bean soup.  I love the smell of bean soup cooked slowly on top of the stove!  It's done, but I've not sampled it yet.  I'll have dinner out of it today and tomorrow, then I'll freeze the leftovers to enjoy later.  *yum*

I won't describe my work week, because it'll just make me mad all over again to talk about it.  Take my word for it, it was crappy.  The good news is that I don't have to deal with any of the things that irritated me again until Monday.

I've been reading a lot lately (I ADORE my Kindle); in the wee hours this morning I finished a Kurt Wallander mystery, "Dogs of Riga", which was very good.  Next on the reading list is the 9th installment of James Patterson's "Women's Murder Club" series.  After that is another Wallander mystery, then a reread of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe".  It's so great to be able to check out books electronically from my local library and download them to my Kindle.  I can keep new reading material available at all times and never have to go to the library.  I'm a woman of simple pleasures.  *LOL*

On that happy note, I will now peruse my yarn stash and cast on some Christmas gift knitting.  That always makes me happy!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A New Doctor

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. This isn't usually a big deal, but this is a little different. Tomorrow I'll be going to a new primary care physician (PCP) for the first time. That always makes me a little edgy. Someone new will have to be told all about my health issues through the years. Someone new will have to hear the details of my family medical history. Someone new will have to be told which drugs I'm allergic to, which ones work better for me, and which ones I choose not to take because of the huge, depressing, and frightening list of possible side effects involved. Someone new will have to be told that even though I'm currently overweight, I'm not as overweight as I was a year ago. Yuck, yuck, YUCK.

I don't like talking about my health. It's not as good as it was 10 years ago, so I find it boring as a topic of conversation. I especially hate to deal with it at the moment, as I'm still battling leg pain. (I'm seeing another doctor, an orthopedic surgeon, about that on Monday.)

But, I must go see this new doctor tomorrow. You see, I haven't had a PCP in several years; I came to a parting of the ways with my old PCP and just quit going to see him. I'd been seeing an endocrinologist for my diabetes and actually hadn't needed a PCP until this problem with my leg (actually a problem with my back that makes my leg hurt) came up. So over the past few days I've been compiling a list of information and questions for my new doctor. I'll be relieved to get this initial visit out of the way.

I'm so relieved that I've felt well enough lately to get some knitting done. I wore my newly-finished sweater to work Monday and received many compliments. Now I'm working on a couple of gifts, then I want to work on the cushion cover I promised Mom. Then I need to start my holiday knitting. Can you believe it? HOLIDAY KNITTING? But if I don't get started soon, I won't get it finished in time.

I'm working on a baby blanket right now, and I expect to get a lot of work done on it while sitting in waiting rooms tomorrow and Monday. I used to resent the time I spent in waiting rooms; now I look on it as a chance to knit a few rows. *LOL*

I Finished My Sweater!

I finished my sweater yesterday and couldn't be more pleased. I was even happier when it still fit after I washed it! *LOL* I'm going to wear it to work today. I'll try to post a photo of it in the next few days.

I have a few other projects I MUST finish first (not the least of which is a cushion cover for Mom), but hope to cast on a winter-weight sweater soon. I just love this stuff.

A Presidential Visit and Sweater Progress

There was a real flurry of excitement in my neck of the woods yesterday....President Obama held a town meeting in a Kroger supermarket in Bristol. Above is an image of Air Force One that I captured from the webcam at our local airport. Only Kroger employees were invited to the town meeting, but lots of folks gathered along the route to welcome the President. Some, of course, took the opportunity to voice their opinions about the proposed health care reform. All in all, things seemed to go well. I expected delays getting home since my usual route was closed for security purposes, but the alternate route I used was fine. I got home at my usual time.

Mom and Dad saw Air Force One fly over their house on the way to the airport. Pretty neat, huh?

My leg is still hurting, but the pain is now manageable. I am looking forward to getting it FIXED though.

Last night I was able to knit for awhile before bedtime and got my sweater up to the point of the neck ribbing! Real progress! Now all I have to do is knit the neck ribbing, do the underarm grafting, and hide the ends. If all goes well, I should be able to finish it this weekend! *keeping fingers crossed*

Gray Monday

Back to work this morning after the holiday weekend. I woke with quite a bit of pain, but took a pain pill after I drove to work, so now I feel much better. I'd like to think that I might hear from the doctor today about my MRI results, but really don't expect to hear anything until tomorrow.

Friday was a rough day; I was in a lot of pain when I got up that day, too. Mom came and did the sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and changing my bed, bless her heart. I'm still just not able to do that for myself. Even though she's very glad to do it for me and I really appreciate it, it just makes me nuts that I'm still not well enough to do it for myself. Hopefully that will change soon.

I'd improved enough Saturday that I went to Mom and Dad's to visit. Mom fixed a wonderful lunch with peanut butter pie for dessert. She hadn't made one of those in a long time, so it was a lovely treat. Our friends Joey and Beth dropped by late that afternoon for a visit on their way to their camper down on Cherokee Lake for the evening. It's always fun to see them. I've not been able to see them much lately because we usually get together for camping, and camping hasn't been an option yet this season. Phooey.

Yesterday I spent the bulk of the day in the recliner with my knitting. My knitting has fallen behind because some days I hurt too badly to sit upright, and I haven't figured out a way to knit while laying on my side. I did make some progress yesterday on a sweater I started a couple of months ago. I finished knitting the sleeves and joined them to the body. I knit about 1/2" more around the body. Another inch and I begin the decreases for the yoke. Hey, I might finish this sweater YET!!

Lunch break's nearly over, so I'd better get back to it. Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth!

Monday, Monday

And so, after a good weekend, I return to the land of the office with no windows and fluorescent lighting. *sigh* Oh well. At least it's been relatively quiet this morning. I was very happy to see lunch time roll around though so I could lock my door and hide from humanity for 30 minutes. Anti-social? Me? Naaaaaah.

I'm still suffering a little leg pain (tendonitis is the pits), but it's much better than it's been at least. It really gave me a fit Friday night; I'd gone to Wal-Mart that morning, so I guess I just walked too much. Bummer. I spent some time at Mom & Dad's Saturday, then just stayed home with The Infamous MeggieDog yesterday. We spent a lovely afternoon napping, knitting, napping a little more, and watching the second DVD of Season Two of "Dexter". I really like that show. Not enough to subscribe to Showtime, but I really like it. I always liked Michael C. Hall in "Six Feet Under", so that's the reason I started watching "Dexter" on DVD. Fun stuff....quirky, which I love.

I'm only a couple of inches away from starting knitting sleeves for the sweater I'm knitting for myself. If I could stay awake, I'd be much farther along, but the knitting relaxes me so much that I doze off from time to time. Luckily I'm not under a deadline.

Well, time to unlock the office door and face the public once more....lunch break's over.

Yorkie Sweaters

I finally felt well enough today (after a migraine yesterday) to unpin the Yorkie sweaters from the ironing board (I'd pinned them there to dry after I washed them) and photograph them. I was pleased with the way they turned out....sure hope they fit! The sweetie pie Yorkies I knit them for are Haley (top left), Heidi (top right), Holly (bottom left) and O'Reilly (bottom right).

I'm almost afraid to say it, but my leg feels better than it's felt in over 2 weeks. I've only taken 2 ibuprofen so far today. I want to try to wait until bedtime for another dose if I can. I think the migraine yesterday was aftereffects of having so much leg pain for so long. That was a real drag!

I'm getting excited about the upcoming camping trip now. The weather here today was HOT (high 80s); I hope it's warm when we're in the mountain. Last year the May trip was cold and rainy. We'll have to wait and see what happens this year. I'll take along both shorts and sweats...have to be ready for anything!

Knitting and Healing

It just dawned on me this morning how far behind I am in blogging.....I do have an excuse, though, honest. Some friends of mine have four adorable little Yorkies, and I've been knitting sweaters for them. I still need to sew buttons on two of them, then I need to wash and block them, and I'll be done.

They actually turned out really cute. When I get all the buttons on, I'll take a photo and post it here.

I spent most of the weekend in the recliner, trying to ease up some pain in my right leg that just won't seem to go away. I've taken so much ibuprofen in the past couple of weeks that my tummy's upset, but every time I try to back off the dosage, my leg pain flares up. Yuck. Yesterday Mom suggested a heating pad, and that seems to have made quite a difference. Hopefully the sun will come out soon; I think seeing some warm sunshine would help a lot.

Well, I'd better get off here and get ready for work. More later.

Happy Easter, Everyone!

This has been a good weekend so far. The office was closed a half-day Friday (a leftover holiday from last Christmas), so I took the other half-day as personal time. I went to Kingsport, returned a sweater (too-short sleeves), went to Michaels (crafting heaven), and went to Hobby Lobby (SOCK YARN!!).

Then I had lunch with a good friend that I hadn't seen in years. *waves to David in case he's reading* *LOL* It was a wonderful visit; it's so good to catch up with old friends. On the way back to Bristol I stopped at Mom and Dad's to drop off some paperwork I'd faxed for them earlier in the week and to pick up some yummy Amish bread that our friends had dropped off for me there.

This morning I had an appointment to trim up my suddenly-out-of-control hair, then had lunch with Mom and Dad. Then I piled up on their couch to knit awhile. I took the photo above this morning to show how much progress I'd made on my latest knitting project. I made great progress at Mom and Dad's this afternoon and should finish this one up tonight, I think. This project is a sweater for our friends' adorable little Yorkie, Heidi. They have three more Yorkies (O'Reilly, Haley, and Holly), and I'm going to knit sweaters for them, as well. Every time I look at this tiny little sweater I'm amazed at how much smaller it is than the sweaters I've knitted for Meggie!

I'd ordered a pattern for the Mother Bear Project (click here to learn more), and it arrived a couple of days ago. I'm anxious to start that, too. And I want to knit a sweater. And more socks. *ROTF* So many projects, so little time!

Mom and Dad are going to a family gathering over in Scott County tomorrow, but I've begged off. I want to stay home and watch a Netflix movie and knit. This weekend has been fun so far, but I admit that I'm looking forward to a quiet, uneventful day tomorrow.

Meggie's Second Sweater

I finished Meggie's second sweater this evening, sewed the buttons on it, and tried it on her....it fits! She's very pleased. :-)

Yikes! What a week....

Well, I'd actually intended to do a whole lot of nothing last weekend, but it didn't quite work out that way. On Saturday, Mom's sister and her family came up from North Carolina for a visit, so I spent most of the day with them. It was good to see them; I hadn't seen them since late last spring, so I was glad to have the opportunity to catch up.

Sunday morning, Mom called to say that she and Daddy were going to visit our friends in Marion, Joey, Beth & Amy, and wanted to know if I'd like to go, too. So I tossed my knitting in a bag (so I could show Beth & Amy the doggie sweater I'm knitting for Meggie) and away we went. We had a really lovely day. Mom & I visited with Beth & Amy while Dad & Joey worked on Joey's boat motor.

They have four of the most adorable little Yorkies you've ever seen. Amy helped me measure them so that I can knit little sweaters for them, as well. I only have a couple of rows left to knit on Meg's sweater. After I get the buttons sewn on, I'll be finished. Hopefully I'll have that completed this evening. I'll post a photo when I get finished.

I've cast on another pair of socks. I really like working on them because it's so different from everything else I've done. Knitting helps relieve the stress from work; in fact it relaxes me so much I sometimes doze off with the knitting (and Meggie) in my lap!

Meggie's Sweater

I just realized that I never posted a picture of the sweater I knitted for Meggie! It turned out really cute. She seems proud of it. *G*