Another Monday - I Think ... Right?

As if keeping track of the days of the week wasn't enough of a challenge these days, I ended up with a partially lost weekend.  So I actually had to check to make sure what day it was and what was happening.  I hate hate hate it when something happens on any day, weekend or not, that means one or more days feel like they never happened.

Friday I had finished the pair of socks I was knitting (photos to come) and I had designated Saturday as the day I wanted to attempt to sew some face masks for The Tim and myself.  I got started nice and early, and since I'm not a fast or amazing sewist, it took all morning and into early afternoon.  I finished two that are fine - not great, but better than nothing.  I figured that I would make at least two more on Sunday and go from there.  Then I sat down for a while and started a new knitting project, until I decided to just zone out for a while.  The rest of the afternoon was uneventful.  Around dinner time, I started to feel really sleepy, the way you do when you have gotten up earlier than usual and just kept going.  I figured since I had actually "done" something with my brain (i.e., made the masks), I was just tired for a change, but I was really so very sleepy that I went to bed extremely early, and feel asleep quickly.

Fast forward to ~ 1 a.m., when I woke up because my neck hurt.  I went to sit up, and SEARING pain came from the back of my head.  I finally managed to sit up, and I promise I am not being dramatic, but every time I moved any part of my body, I would scream out in pain.  The Tim helped me get upstairs very slowly to sit in a chair and found one of those neck rings like you wear on a plane to sleep without getting a stiff neck (we actually used to travel quite a bit).  He found some Tylenol, and I took it.  I was in misery, sitting very still in the dark for hours.  But finally the Tylenol kicked in, and the pain started to lessen.  Between the neck pillow, a heating pad, and more Tylenol, I finally got to the point where I could move without the searing pain.  But the day was spent just doing that and nothing else.  I was able to go to bed and lie down with a minimum of discomfort, and had a pretty decent sleep.

Today I feel a lot better, and have very little pain.  But I am exhausted.  In my panic during the night on Saturday/Sunday, I was actually worried that I was having a stroke, but was with it enough to know that none of the BE FAST signs were there.

I have decided that what it was in fact was a migraine.  Normally I get the ones that are in the front of the head, where everything seems to have an aura around it.  But other than location, this had all of the same kinds of things going on, both during and after.  I was also extremely grateful that I didn't have to go to the ER, not because I was afraid I had Covid-19, but because they have so much else to worry about right now.

And now, here we are on another Monday, back to the grind, right??? 😄

Take care, friends!

Well Hello, Land of the Living!

Yes, I finally feel like I might live and rejoin the world where people can function - phew!  I started getting a headache shortly after waking up on Friday.  I took some of my migraine medicine because though it wasn't really underway, I just felt like it wasn't a regular short-lived headache, and wanted to see if I could get it under control before it really took off.  Alas, I was too late, as by the middle of the morning I was in agony.  I ended up missing most of Friday and all of yesterday.  And I hate that, especially when it happens on a weekend.  I mean, who wants to be sick on their own time??

Anyway, today will be extremely low-key to say the least, but I didn't have any specific plans so it's just as well.  My main activity will be putting a couple of our quilts in the washer and the dryer.  I would hang them on the clothesline to dry, but the last time I did that on a really humid day, the stuff ended up in the dryer after all.  I'm just gonna skip the middle part, so to speak.

Unfortunately, one of the things that suffered from me being out of commission yesterday was that I didn't make it to the post office to mail the Christmas in July packages.  So for those who won a giveaway, please be patient a bit longer - I may not have another chance to get there until next Saturday, but you'll be the first to know when I have mailed them. 

And that's it for today.  I don't want to spend too much time on the computer until I am 100% certain that the headache is in the past.  Enjoy the rest of your day, and I'll check in again soon.

To give you a smile, here is a picture of Hamlet as a tiny puppy, sent to me by the woman who raised him for the Seeing Eye Foundation.  That face!!!

Some things can ALWAYS make you feel better. :-)

Slow Saturday

Finally it is Saturday.  This past week was a long one, and it really shouldn't have been, but there you go.  I woke up on Thursday morning with the beginnings of a migraine.  I managed to keep it at bay - meaning it didn't go away, but didn't get worse - and made it to work on Thursday and Friday, but by last night, I just really needed to get into bed and rest/sleep for a while.  Which would be fine, except that for once, we actually had plans.  The Tim had bought tickets to a jazz concert for us as a Valentine's gift, and I had been looking forward to going.  But it just wasn't gonna happen.  So he went on his own, and apparently it was great, as we expected it would be.  I stayed at home in bed for the most part.  This morning I woke up, and though it's not completely gone, I think it may finally be on its way.  I sure hope so.  The good news is that I did keep it at bay.  I just wish I could have banished it altogether, but such is life.  Migraines suck.

I've been having a slow Saturday and plan to keep it that way.  Other than taking Dug for his morning walk, I've just been letting the morning unfold with no plan.  My big plan for the day is to make a crockpot dinner and to start sorting through my stash, since I haven't done that for a while, and I like to try and keep it under control.  A friend of mine is starting a learn-to-knit class in the Gayborhood** here, and put out a call for yarn and needle donations.  I have a feeling I'll be able to provide him with some good starting materials, and that makes me happy.  If I can give the stuff I no longer want to keep to someone or some organization that will be thrilled to have it, that makes me happy.

I have a few things I want to post about, but until my new laptop can process photos, I want to wait on that.  So let me just tell you about my co-worker and her knitting.

I don't remember if I mentioned that before Christmas, one of my co-workers said she wanted to learn to knit, and I offered to teach her.  She caught on right away, and was really motivated.  She wanted to make a pair of fingerless mitts for her mother as a Christmas gift.  We found a free pattern on Ravelry (which she immediately joined - "Wow, have you known about this for long?") and she got started.  Her finished mitts were Absolutely. Perfect.  I mean, just beautiful.  Yes, the pattern was simple and basic, but her stitches were perfect, as was her tension.  Apparently her mother loved them, and has requested another pair, this time with cables.

In the meantime, five of her friends and/or her husband's co-workers have announced that they are having babies.  She wanted to knit something for each of them.  I suggested hats, since a) they are relatively easy, b) they are small and quick, and c) she could become comfortable with knitting in the round and using double pointed needles.  (The aforementioned fingerless mitts were knit flat and seamed.)  I loaned her my Susan B. Anderson Itty-Bitty Hats book, which has wonderful patterns all based on a basic hat.

As of Friday, she has one hat completed, needing only a pompom to be ready to gift, and is halfway through her second one!  She is having so much fun with her knitting, and though she was a little intimidated at first by the double-points, now it's like she's a pro.  I think she has an aptitude as well as being motivated, but she was clearly meant to be a knitter!  I'm so glad I was the one to get her started.

It's always interesting to see how quickly some people take to knitting, and how others need more time.  I was a person who was motivated, but it took a while before I had enough control to make even stitches and get a consistent tension.  I still struggle with gauge (which may be why I usually make things where it is not a complete deal breaker), but I think that is not terribly uncommon.

What about you?  Did you struggle, learning to knit?  Have you taught anyone else to knit?  I'm just curious.

And in what might be the best news of all, today marks five years since we officially adopted this kitten:

When we adopted Pip, his foster mom said she thought he was a little over a year old.  The vet though, said he was likely 4-5 months, and I think she was correct because he grew quite a bit.  He's still not a large cat physically, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for in personality!  He is truly one of the sweetest kitties we have ever known, and he never misses the chance to comment on anything.  I'm pretty sure it never occurs to him that having only three legs should make him any less able to run, jump, leap, etc.  He really puts things into perspective when you are feeling sorry for yourself.  :-)

That's it for now.  Hopefully I'll be able to show you some new pictures next time!

**Please note that I am not being facetious using the term "Gayborhood."  It's an area in Philadelphia where the bulk of the residents are LGBT, and that's what the area is unofficially called.  It was originated by the residents, and if you live anywhere in the city, you have heard the term and probably been there.