The Kindness of People I Know in Real Life

Remember a few days ago when I wrote about the wonderful socks that my blog friend Lorraine knit for me?  That was the first post I wanted to write to let you know how lucky I felt - and feel - to have people who care and take the time to show it.  Personally, I long to be more like that, and really want to try to be.  But most creative things I do take me a long time to finish, and I usually spend more time wishing I'd make something than making it.

Anyway, I digress.

Someone I've known for a long time, since we met when working many years ago together at Rosie's, is Carol.  As a matter of fact, I saw the very first yarn she ever dyed and made into a scarf for a fundraiser at her kids' school.  Now of course she is a famous yarn dyer and knitting designer, and knitters all over the place know who she is.  We don't get to see each other all that often, but we are in touch a lot, and trade insults all of the time on Facebook.  Even if she was only an everyday knitter like I am, I would love her, because she is hilarious, caring, and shares a lot of the same social and political views that I do.

While I was recuperating from surgery, she posted a few pictures of square she had cut out to make a quilt, mentioning that she was making it for someone special.  The squares were so pretty, and some quite whimsical.  I've seen her quilts in pictures before, so I knew it would look amazing once it was finished.  I was also jealous of the person who would be receiving it.  A week or so later, she posted that it was in the mail to the recipient, and I thought "Oh that lucky person."

Never, ever, ever, did it even cross my mind that the person she was making the quilt for would be ME!  But a few days later, a nice, cushy package arrived.  The return address was Carol's, but I still didn't expect to find a quilt inside.  But I opened it up, and there was one of the best quilts I'd ever seen, and she had chosen fabrics that seemed to be made for me.

I've tried on more than one occasion to photograph all or parts of it, without any kind of success.  You can get the idea of it, but I have a dinky little digital camera and no real skills, so the things I wanted to be able to show you, I just could not capture no matter how much I tried.

Carol has been nice enough to grant me permission to use the photos she took and published on her blog when she wrote about making the quilt.  So now, you can see what it really looks like.  Take a look:

 Cut out squares

 Arranging the squares

 Look at the variety!

Finished quilt

 Folded quilt with awesome turquoise binding

 !!!

The back

I still cannot believe that someone made me a quilt - and as you can see, it's not a teeny tiny one, it's quilt-sized!  And as if that was not enough, she also enclosed a skein of her Black Bunny Fiber yarn and a hat pattern* - I mean it when I say that I was pretty overwhelmed by the contents of the package.   I see the quilt every single day, and it makes me smile, and feel so happy that I have a loving friend like Carol.  Everyone should be so lucky, you know?

But please don't tell her I've gotten all grateful and mushy here, because that might just ruin the whole relationship ... ;-)


*I will show you the yarn and hat pattern once I have rearranged my stash and it is safe.  Right now, the patterns and yarns are tucked deep into a closet, since the Koodle has recently decided that destroying both is the most fun thing on earth.

The Kindness of (Sorta) Strangers

I realized the other day - with a bit of shame to be honest - that I have been extremely remiss.  This past summer, when The Big Fall led to the Partial Kidney Removal, I was the recipient of some wonderful gifts from fellow knitters.  Some were friends and acquaintances who were local, but the things that surprised me the most were amazing packages that arrived from those I know only through my blog and theirs.

It's a surprisingly good feeling to come home from the hospital and find such things awaiting you.  You feel incredibly crappy, but even just getting the packages makes you smile.  Then you open said packages, and you realize that people can care a lot, even if you have never ever been in the same room with them.  At a time when I was wondering just what the h--- had happened and why, and felt like I just wanted to take pain meds, and go to bed forever, I received things that were unbelievable then, and appreciated even more, now.

One package was from Lorraine, in Toronto, Canada.  (International!  Canada! One of my favorite places in the universe!)  I was thrilled with them then, and even more so recently, during a pretty dramatic cold snap here in Philadelphia.

Look at the wonderfulness of these socks!  Lorraine took time to knit a pair of socks, and send them to me, hoping that their warmth and coziness would make a difference.  From the moment I opened the package, I loved them - the color, the squishiness of them, the fact that they are a little bit heavier than my usual socks, and therefore perfect for wearing when my feet are cold.  

I wore them a couple of times when I first got home, because even though it was hot outside, my feet got cold at night sometimes.  They fit perfectly, and are so cozy, I would happily never take them off.  In the past week, the temperature has dropped to single digits at night and early in the mornings, along with the ever-popular wind chill factor.  

But it doesn't matter to me, because my feet are cozy, warm, and comfortable, due to the kindness of Lorraine.  (And in case you were wondering, I'm not a complete Philistine, only getting around to thanking her now; I did write a her a thank-you note shortly after I was able to put a coherent sentence together.)

Even better than being the recipient was the reminder that it's not hard to do something that will brighten someone's day, even if you have never met them in real life.  I am trying and want to continue trying to keep this in mind, so that the next time someone I know could use some happy, I will actually think to act on it.

Thanks, Lorraine - you're the best!

One Month Later

Hello again!  Today marks the one-month anniversary of my surgery.  At this time a month ago, I'd been out of surgery for about three hours, and the nurses came into my room and MADE ME GET OUT OF BED AND SIT IN A CHAIR!  My brain knew it was a good thing, but my body was not convinced.  At. All.

I was in the hospital for four days, and though I didn't feel "good," I was more than happy to be able to come home.  It's been painful, difficult, and challenging, but compared to a month ago, I have made a ton of progress.  I walk every single day, twice a day, a little bit further (farther?  I can't remember) each time, which is pretty much the only physical stuff I'm allowed to do until the end of October (!).  I can shower and dress myself, I am no longer on the strong painkillers (though there are times when I wish I still had them), and though I'm not eating a lot, I do have an appetite.

Until recently, I wasn't able to read very much at all, since the words would swirl around on the page.  Fortunately, I was able to do basic (i.e., garter stitch) knitting, so I didn't completely go crazy.

And so, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who left kind comments, offered prayers, and kept a good thought for me.  I appreciate it more than you could possibly know, and I truly believe that kind of thing makes a difference in the universe.

I'll be back soon, but wanted to let all of you know that I'm doing OK.  I must warn you, there might be some stories about my surgery and recovery, but you are in no way obligated to read that stuff.  I can also promise though, lots of stories of the kindness of friends, both real and virtual.

So until next time, take care.  :-)

Quiet For a While

This post is the last you'll hear from me for a while, probably a couple of  weeks at a very minimum.

Remember The Big Fall in June?  Well, they did about a thousand different tests and scans on me during the two days I was in the hospital.  And though I didn't break any bones, and it was determined that the fall was not due to any cardiac problems, they did find a tumor on my right kidney that was determined to be cancer.  As it turns out, falling was a lucky thing, since the dr told me that by the time I had symptoms, there might be very little they could do for me.

So on Monday, July 28, I'm having surgery to remove the tumor.  Hopefully that will take care of it, but if not, I have every confidence in my doctors.  I've been told that there is a good chance that I'll be just fine, I just need time to recover.  I'll be off work for 6 weeks, and I'm hoping that soon I'll at least feel good enough to check in here, and read all of your blogs.

If you would, please keep a kind thought for me, and if you are the praying type, I would appreciate a prayer.  I'll be back as soon as I can be.

Have a good rest of the summer!