So....the political crap is over. No, let's say the first chapter. 'Cause you know this book is going to go on for a very lonnnnngggggg time. I just hope some idiot doesn't get the idea to turn it into a mini (maxi?) series! Enough.
Finally got all the outside work done...perennials cut back, yard paraphernalia put away. Just gotta get the storm windows up. But the weather lately has been fantastic!!! Warm, breezy, sunny. Who wants to think of storm windows??
About 6 weeks ago, I started having some trouble. Thought my gall bladder was on the fritz. "Go to the doctor" was BH's mantra. Well, I had to find a new doctor, at a new-to-me clinic. Which I did. A female. I was very happy. She's thorough, kind and listens! She set up all kinds of tests for me, being I haven't seen a P.A or N.A in over 3 years. All the usual female things, plus the bloodwork, xrays, CTscans, etc. After listening to my chest, she asked if I've ever been told I have a heart murmur. "NO....never!" "Well.....you do". And she advised that she would set me up with a cardiologist.
Yada, yada, yada. Went for the echocardiogram....they called with an appt.; went to see him.....and, yeah.....it's there. And then some. Turns out there are 2 problems...and I was born with one which caused the other. So....this week it's off to have another CTscan with dye injected to get a better picture of the damage. Then it will be regular monitoring of the situation until such time as they deem surgery is imperative. I just hope it's not before the end of the year!!
To put it simply....he tells me it's the same heart condition that John Ritter died from...that was undetected in him. So now I'm a little stressed.
No heavy lifting, no pushing, pulling for the time being. At a time when we were supposed to be helping son-who-bought-his-first-house do some renovating. Crap.
So....on to planning for Thanksgiving. I intend to do all the cooking and baking next week, including the turkey breasts and gravy. Into the freezer it goes. On T. Day....all that needs to be done is the mashed potatoes and another vegetable (green beans or peas/carrots). Everything else gets warmed up....and "Bob's your uncle!!"
Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner??? OMG!!! This is going to be a very poor Christmas, as far as hand made gifts and home baked goodies go. I am definitely not in the mood. Right now I'm knitting some small tree ornaments for our new DIL. A tiny hat, socks, mittens, scarf and sweater. Because I'm winging it, with no written patterns, it's taking me forever to get the right size needles, number of cast-ons, etc. I ripped out a scarf....A SCARF....of 10 stitches...about 8 times till I finally got it right. Geezzzz.....
Oh, and I FINALLY finished the grey Aran cardigan!!! Can I get an AMEN??!!! It's only been on the needles since early last Spring! It sat in the closet, waiting to be sewn together for about a month or 2. And then sat again for another month until the buttons got sewn on; another 2 weeks to finish knitting the collar; another week before it got washed and blocked. Even when I took the pictures, I didn't have the energy to pull out the mannequin for a proper staging. So here it is......
I bought the buttons, especially for it. Pewter, hand crafted, stamped with the Celtic Knot. The sweater fits beautifully, but it's as heavy as a jacket. I don't care; I love it.
Then a couple weeks ago, I had a bright idea that I'd like to knit a "Poor Boy" cap...or as I want to call it....an "Irish Walking Cap". Well, that took a bit. But it's a prototype, knit from a wool/acrylic commercial yarn. I bought it years and years ago to make a sweater(BSA.....before spinning addiction) and never liked it. Too "splitty", too thin, too soft, no body. I like the way it turned out, but I will knit the next one with my own handspun 100% wool yarn. And I might have to add more decreases to the crown than the pattern calls for. All in all, I do like the pattern. Gotta sew a snap on the brim to hold the front of the crown pleat down.
When I was a little kid, my grandpa used to wear this kind of cap all the time. I loved seeing him in it. He was a rough-n-tumble, dashing 2nd generation Irishman, who would scare the Beejeesus out of us kids with his deep, rough voice. But his heart was made of butter! And he had a sense of humor and a gleam in his eyes.
Well, that's all the news from Wherethehellisthesnow for now. Wishing you all a peaceful, thankful, blesse'd Thanksgiving! Till we meet again......
