Feeling better

I never got the massive sinus infection that always accompanies my annual cold so the allergy meds are doing their job.  I'm still run down and have a headache that pops up in the middle of the night but mostly I'm on the road to recovery.  Unless it bites me in the ass later, but I'll cross that bridge when/if I come to it.

I'm making progress on the blanket but haven't worked on the blue sweater for a couple of days.  I'm trying to figure out the placket on the shoulder and how to attach the sleeve to it once I've put in on there.  Not fond of the instructions and may have to make some modifications so it's a match to the other shoulder.  Otherwise, if I do it as per the instructions, the shoulder with the placket will be bigger than the other one.

I do love the baby blanket though.  It's my favorite pattern because it looks so soft and comfy.  I'm too tired to dig up the pattern on the internet right now but I'll get to it tomorrow.  I hope.

I should also get back to the other things I'm working on except that swing-type sweater I might have to modify.  I really hate the sleeves.  I think I can put regular sleeves in place but I don't know how it will look.  Just have to experiment, I suppose.

I think I'm going to crawl back into bed. Zach is cooking supper once again.  I think he's cooked all week so far.  And done a fine job of it, too.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures to add soon.  Just have to get myself back in gear.

TTFN

My annual cold

I have a deadline now.  Well, not exactly a cut off date but at least a goal to strive for.  My cousin's daughter (who is also my cousin but once removed sort of thing) is expecting any day now, is having a boy...a rather good sized boy and my mother wants me to knit something for him.  I've been working on a boy's sweater (everything I've finished so far has been for a girl) and am at the finishing stage so I started a blanket as well.  I couldn't find my crochet hooks so I ended up buying more today.  I hated to but I have looked in every conceivable location and can't find them.  These I will keep better track of.  I won't replace everything since I don't crochet a lot but these are the major hooks I would use.

I spent yesterday in bed.  Didn't even go online and didn't bother trying to catch up online either.  I'm coming down with a sinus infection or a head cold or something. I got more echinacea today since we were nearly out.  I swear by that stuff.  Works amazingly well.  That and the cold tablets.  In addition to the allergy meds I'm on.  I'm not feeling at all well today so I got beef stew for our supper and pizza for Zach's.  He's going to cook both and I'm going back to bed.  I had to hit the library today or I wouldn't have gone out at all.  Some things just can't be renewed, unfortunately.

I still intend to get some pictures of my finished projects, even though I haven't put any buttons on them yet.  I can't seem to decide what to do about buttons on baby clothes.  I'll probably got with conventional buttons and maybe find some really cute ones.

I took True Blood back to the library and am watching Buffy season 1.  Nearly done with it.  I might go on to season 2 or watch something else in my inventory.  I have so many tv show in my possession.  I only get them on sale even though sometimes that sale still isn't cheap but I got Farscape for Christmas so that worked out well.

Off to crawl into bed and knit on the blanket for a while. I don't have the brain cells to figure out the placket on the sweater right now.  Maybe tomorrow.

TTFN

Catching up...on sleep

I'm feeling a bit better today.  I had a bad night Thursday and lost all my momentum Friday.  I didn't get to sleep as well as I had hoped last night but I did sleep long.  Unfortunately Professor had diarrhea and I had to let him out several times.  It's his eating habits, not a bug or anything.  I've got to be more diligent in keeping him away from treats.

My rheumatologist tole me to stay in bed if I wasn't getting enough sleep and not to worry about what time of day I got up until I was finally getting rest and could then rearrange my sleeping habits.  It's making such a difference.  Tom is doing what he can to let me sleep but Professor really hates me staying in bed once it's day time and tries to wake me up from about 8 a.m. on.  I'm hoping that ignoring him will help except when he's got to go out because of his tummy.  Then I can't ignore that.

Still not much knitting happening but I've got to get back to it.  My cousin's daughter is in labor and expecting a boy so I need to finish up the blue sweater I was knitting.  And my daughter is due, I think next month.  We don't know what the baby is because they always wait to be surprised.  So I will either wait or just make something for a boy since I already have some girls' sweaters done.  They're on the East Coast now, where they have winter so I get to knit for the grandchildren finally.  That will keep me busy!

I'm going to tackle my bedroom tonight.  It gets cluttered from knitting, reading and everyone coming in to watch tv, which I don't mind at all.  I just need to keep up with it better.  Maybe as I get sleep and start resting my body, I'll start having energy again.  I know I feel much better today after 4 nights of sleep.  Not in a row, but...

Don't know about supper tonight.  I'm inclined not to fix anything but then Zach and grabbed a bite while we were out.  I had some coupons so we got two sandwiches off the value menu, value fries (free), a side salad and two value drinks (one free) for around $5.  We try to keep our meals at that price from now on.  And we're only eating out a couple of times a week from now on.  This was the second time this week.

Well, off to work on my room for a while, then knit and watch Buffy, season 1.  I got bored with True Blood because the books are so amazing and the tv show just pales in comparison.  But I got in the vampire mood and Buffy is the best where vampires are concerned.

Oh, and I talked to my mother today.  She's doing well; her numbers are good but the dementia is still there.  She had an episode the other night where she got confused but at least it's not as frequent as it used to be and doesn't seem to be accelerating.  My dad has turned out to be quite the nurturer.

TTFN

No knitting lately

I thought I was coming down with a summer cold or something but after a good night's sleep, I felt fine the next day.  But that night I felt like crap.  Of course, "fine" is a relative term for me, meaning I felt as good as I ever feel, which is never really "fine."

I haven't been knitting the past few days because I've just been so tired.  In fact, nothing is getting done except me taking lots of naps and sleeping until 2 p.m.  One day I slept until 4 p.m.  When I sleep that late, nothing gets done, of course.  And there are nights when I see the sun rise and that's the reason I'm sleeping until the afternoon, but at least I'm sleeping.  And I can feel the difference in me when I do get that sleep.

I'm filling up the inventory on my dvr box again but I've only got about 6% so far.  I haven't been watching the True Blood episodes, though, and I should get back to that before they're due back at the library.  I have been doing a lot of reading though.  The Sookie Stackhouse mysteries are very addictive and I just can't seem to put them down.  Great literature?  Nah, but I love them anyway.

I have to do laundry tomorrow and hopefully hang them out on the line. I'm trying to get back into tightwad mode as I just brought the checkbook up to date and while things aren't dire, they're close.  Plus Tom has a trip up north coming up soon and we'll need to account for that in the monthly expenses somehow.  Not to mention the family picnic where we'll have to chip in for the meat and cost of the shelter rental.  Not out of reach, but it must be accounted for somehow.

I need to go fix supper and then I'm going back to bed.  Hopefully I'll get to bed sooner tonight.  I managed to get to bed by about 4 a.m. this morning.  That's about 3 hours earlier than I've managed all week.  It would be nice to have a regular bedtime but as long as Tom is on 2nd shift, the dog will go apeshit whenever he comes home and I'll just have to wake up anyway.

I have no idea what normal even looks like, to be honest.

TTFN

When summer resumes I'll be so upset

I'm not writing as much as I used to.  My resolve not to write until something interesting happens is that I end up not writing.

The dvr box went out sometime Sunday morning and I was without sound until this afternoon when the cable guy came to replace it.  So I lost everything on my dvr box sadly.  I had one episode of Inspector Lewis I hadn't watched yet but watching it with just the closed captioning didn't work for me.  If I can't hear the accents, I don't want to watch it.  I'll catch it when they do a rerun of it.  Most other stuff wasn't critical to me although Zach was unhappy that his cartoon series...all 52 episodes...got lost.  I guess we'll have to start all over again and hope they continuously rerun it.

Now I'm waiting for the box to load up all the information so I can start programming all the shows I had set to record.  Some of which won't be on again for quite some time.  I'll just have to be alert and keep track of them.

Fortunately I had True Blood, season 3 to watch and the other tv in my room which only gets the lower cable channels.  I did miss Vets in Practice today because the cable guy was here while it was on.  I just wish the box would smarten up so I can get to programming.  I should be cooking supper right now but I'm tired.  And tired of being tired.  Especially this time of night when I need to fix supper and finish up chores.

The minivan is losing antifreeze at an alarming rate.  I put some cardboard under the car to see if it's leaking.  I'm sure it is because Tom just filled it up on Saturday and it was empty again when I got back from the store today.  We'll probably have to take it in to find the leak.  I hope it's only the reservoir and not the radiator.  Or if it is the radiator, can be fixed cheaply.  We're bleeding money at an alarming rate as well.  Stuff keeps breaking down.

I'll send Zach down to the basement to get the clothes out of the dryer.  My knees hurt so much on the stairs, especially when carrying a load of clothes down or up.  And my dodgy hip has been hurting even while walking through the store lately.  I don't think it's the change in weather although I won't complain about this fall-like weather we're having.  Low 70s and high 60s in the day and low 50s at night.  Tonight will be in the high 40s.  Yay!  Great sleeping weather.  Plus we're not even using fans right now so saving money.  Every little bit helps.

Okay I'm off to start supper.  Spaghetti and garlic bread.  It's like fast food only cheaper.

TTFN

It's always something

It never fails.  We get down to one vehicle and something goes wrong.  I was halfway to town when the dash started dinging and I saw the car had overheated.  I pulled over quickly, let it sit for a while, then opened the hood to nearly all the fluid in the antifreeze reservoir gone.  I waited until the car cooled off a little more, turned the heat up full blast and drove the rest of the way to the store while Zach watched the needle like a hawk.  We made it there, fine, with no further overheating.  I checked the oil and we were down a quart so I got oil and two jugs of antifreeze, filled up to the requisite levels and we were fine.

Still, it was a scary thing since we were out in the country, miles from any stores or anything.  I had tried to call Tom but he wasn't answering his page.

The book I was trying to find in the library is eluding me. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time locating the books in this series.  That's the third book that hasn't been shelved where it's supposed to be.  I know some people of the religious right persuasion think they're doing their god a favor by keeping others from reading certain books and I would consider this just a case of mis-shelving if I hadn't had to do this for the third time.  So I'm stuck and can't read anymore Sookie Stackhouse books until the next one shows up.  I really don't want to make a trip back to town since it cost me nearly $60 to fill up the minivan.

I finished up the back of the sport yarn cardigan and got going on the front. I should get back to the other two sweaters as well, but the worsted weight is hard on my hands because it's cheap yarn and I just don't love the sleeves on the other one.  I resisted buying a pound of Caron Simply Soft at the store because I have to use up my stash for a while.  Plus...tightwadding, remember?

I'm completely wiped out in spite of not doing a lot today.  Damned fatigue!  Supper tonight will be breakfast for Zach and me and beef stew in a can for Tom.  Just too tired to do anything more.  Especially as Zach is cooking "breakfast."

Off to go put my feet up and do some knitting.

TTFN

Can't believe this weather

I had to put my fuzzy housecoat on this morning because it was so cool.  And I loved it!  The weather is warming up now and I expect the temps will be back to normal by tomorrow but this weekend of temps in the low 70s has been amazing.  Especially with nighttime temps in the 50s.

We are back down to 2 vehicles again.  Tom and I took the Concorde to the salvage yard today and actually got some money for it.  Last vehicle we scrapped we had to pay them to take it but since this one was drivable and had good parts on it, we got a couple hundred for it.  Better than we expected.  Tom got the truck up and running.  Turns out it was the computer but we didn't have to replace it.  It was in slumber mode so all he had to do was disconnect the battery and reconnect it.  Just reboot the computer and everything is up and running again.  Transferred the insurance to the truck and he's good to go.  He took the truck to get a new battery a little while ago. 

We are in super tightwad lockdown in spite of having to purchase things that keep falling apart and it's showing, finally.  I guess we'll have to live like this the rest of our lives though as I don't anticipate a time when our income will be greater than our outgo.

Just when they got some Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in at the store.  I've been lusting and fondling every time I go but I've been good.  Although I think in the fall I'll pick up a couple of skeins (at $7 for 8 oz) to knit some winter socks.  Wool lasts so much better than acrylic and I had socks getting holes within months of knitting them last winter.  But my wool socks are still intact after 3 years.  Just can't wash them in the washer.  Have to be washed by hand.

I need to get busy on my fleece and dyeing my singles so I can ply them.  I don't want to scour my fleece in the colder months since it will take so long to dry while now is the perfect time.  I just have to find the energy and get to it.  I've decided to dye my Welsh top with coffee instead of kool aid.  I like earth tones better and if it doesn't turn out too scratchy, I can use that to knit socks for the winter.  And then just continue to lust after the Fisherman's Wool.

Speaking of knitting...I finished up the cardigan but I hate the button band.  It elongated the length making one side longer than the other so putting buttons on will be difficult.  Even though these are for charity I do want them to look nice and it is helping me work on my finishing skills, which is my weak point.  Good finishing is what makes a project look handmade as opposed to homemade.

I started another sweater but I'm adjusting the pattern and just knitting stockinette because I didn't like pattern in sport yarn.  It didn't look "tight" enough so I'm just knitting the pullover plain.  It has a placket on the shoulder, which is good, since it's for a year old.  I'm still plugging away at the worsted size 6 sweater and the sport yarn "swing" sweater.  Just not enjoying the sleeves on the swing sweater.  I've also done a bit of knitting on the Greek Key afghan while it's been cool but that will probably end after tonight...until fall.

I hope to get some pictures taken next week of my projects.  Zach is going to tutor me on the camera,  Besides I need to start polishing my photography skills as well.  And then some work on my drawing and writing.  Who knows if I can do anything with them, but I can at least try.

Supper is done and so am I.

TTFN

Change in the weather

Wow!  It didn't even get up to 70 today.  And it rained off and on all day long with overcast skies.  I loved it!  I even wore jeans today instead of shorts.

But I had to get up early to get to the store since we only have one vehicle right now.  Tom isn't going up north this weekend so he'll have all weekend to fix the truck.  I hope.  He plans on sleeping all day tomorrow though.  I might just take the car and go someplace just to get out of the house.  I get cabin fever from not being able to go anywhere.

And I ended up sleeping most of the afternoon because Professor has started waking me up at around 6:30 every morning wanting to go sit out on the porch.  And again an hour later.  And an hour after that.  I would ignore him but the one time I did would be the time he really needed to go outside.  Much like the little boy who cried wolf.

So I hope I sleep tonight but I got absolutely nothing done today.  Zach even had to fix supper and clean the kitchen.

Maybe tomorrow I will be functional again.

TTFN

Fatigue and pain

I talked to the rheumatologist about both my pain levels and the fatigue (and fog that goes along with fibromyalgia.)  It was the first time I felt comfortable talking with her about it as freely as I did.  I admitted that sometimes the pain pills aren't enough, that I end up spending the night tossing and turning or getting up to walk about because the pain is so bad but that I knew I didn't want to go on anything stronger.  She really listened and asked me how many nights a week that happened.  When I got to thinking about it, it was really only five or six times a month so she told me to remind myself when I'm in that much pain, that it won't last and that I will have relief.  Mind, I'm not in excruciating pain.  It's not a stabbing, throbbing pain.  It's more a burning ache and inability to find a position that is comfortable.  But it's still very debilitating all the same.

I appreciated that she listened and offered up some advice.  She is very good with pain management and gives me more than I actually use in a month because she knows that not having enough pain meds leads to hoarding.  Which I do anyway because I lived for over 10 years with no pain relief at all and only a pat on the head and a warning that it was all in my mind and wasn't real pain.  So yeah...love that I can take a pill and get some relief even if it isn't always enough but I worry that I'll run out or that I won't have the money to go to the dr to get more.  She did warn me to stop hoarding though and to take them when I'm in pain and not wait until I'm in PAIN.

She also addressed the fatigue, which I had been reluctant to talk about since my gp always tells me it's depression and if I would just take anti-depressants (I would have to go off my pain meds for that) I could sleep again.  The rheumatologist agreed with me that lack of sleep most likely is why I'm depressed, not the other way around.  She had no answers medically but told me to stop being so hard on myself if I can't function because of lack of sleep and to quit fretting on those days I am too tired to do anything.  She did suggest I look into non-medical ways to change my sleep habits if possible, like maybe not waiting up for Tom anymore, asking him to be more quiet when he comes in and getting help with the pets.  I guess I will try that although I don't think it will work all that well.  But I will try.

So today I'm all achy but haven't taken anything for it and I don't know why.  I don't know why I sit here in pain and don't take at least ibuprofen for it.  I guess I'm still saving up for when it's PAIN.

Supper is in the oven and as soon as it's done I'll eat and then go to bed.  I took a nap today but got woken up three times in the space of an hour.  Much like last night...got woken up at least 6 times from either Professor barking or the phone ringing.  I really do need a proper bedroom instead of a living room converted into one.

TTFN

Bi-annual appointments are a bother

I hate driving all the way up to Fond du Lac for fifteen minutes of doctor time in order to get my pain pills refilled but if it's a choice between no pain relief and the trip up there, I'm going.  Still, they wear me out.  And of course once I get there, I feel fine so there is nothing to report.  Except this time she noticed my right knee was swollen.  It almost never is when I'm there so in a way, that's good.  I told her about my dodgy hip and getting a cane and she said I was smart to do that because a lot of women won't for vanity reasons.  No point in getting any testing of it since we know from years ago that the bone density test showed I have arthritis in that hip.  My family doctor would have insisted I get another test to see if it has gotten worse.  Since it doesn't feel any worse, I don't see the need.

I wish my rheumatologist was my family doctor sometimes.  Don't get me wrong, I do love my family doctor.   We get on well and have good rapport but she is nuts about tests and wants me to get them every time I'm in.  Well, she used to.  Now she understands I'm just not going to do that because I can't afford our share of them AND there is no way of knowing until after the fact whether the insurance company will even pay for them.  They won't let me know beforehand.

I didn't knit much last night because I wanted to fall asleep soon enough to get some sleep so I could wake up early enough to get ready for the trip.  Didn't work.  I had to stay up to tell Tom about the condition of the car, which he had planned to take up north this weekend.  It's not going to make it up there and back.  And we can't afford to abandon it by the side of the road or get it fixed up there.  I suggested he and his brother drive up there together since they're going to the same place and since gas is nearly $4 a gallon now, but he's not really keen on that.  I don't know what it is about guys not wanting to share rides.  Well, I don't know what it is about him since his brother seemed okay with it.  So the only thing that's going to happen is we're going to be without transportation for four days while he's gone.  We live in a very tiny city with no shopping at all so I'd better get everything I need before he leaves.  If we run out of anything we'll just have to do without.

I"m making progress on the child's sweater mostly because it's worsted weight and goes more quickly.  I'm working on the sleeves on both sport weight baby sweaters so I alternate the projects so nothing gets put aside for any length of time.  I'd like to get back to my Greek Key afghan but it's too heavy for this weather.  Hot, that is.  Not sweltering but hot.

Pizza in the oven but that will probably be the last one for a while as we are under super tightwad measures from now on.  We've got so many extras that keep popping up, especially this month with co-pays and the minivan's license due for renewal.  Plus Tom's hunting and fishing license and his trip up there.  But I don't begrudge him the trip.  He's so tired from working 70 hour weeks every week of the year for at least the past 12 years.

Poor guy.

TTFN

Damned sciatica

And just in time for my appointment with the rheumatologist on Tuesday.  I was walking around with my cane last night but have been able to go without today.  But shopping has exacerbated it and my whole left side from the waist down feels like it's on fire.  Particularly my left butt.

If it's not one thing, it's another.

I got something in a can for Tom's supper tonight and Zach has opted for eggs and bacon for his supper so I don't have to cook.  Just go to bed and become best friends with my tube of Aspercreme.  I have to wait a bit before I can take some tramadol because I took some tylenol earlier, hoping it would work better than the ibuprofen, which I think it did.  But if two tramadol won't lessen the pain, neither will two tylenol.

I didn't sleep through the night, darn it.  I kept waking up and then this morning Professor kept barking at me to get up.  I thought he wanted out but apparently he just wanted me up because when I went back to bed he was in my place.  There is room for him in front of the fan but he wanted me out of bed.  No idea why.

I could go back down now, but I would be awake in 20 minutes and then up until 4 a.m. again.

Still, I might not make it much longer.

I checked my library account to make sure I didn't have anything in before we went to town and I didn't.  As soon as we walked in the door the phone rang.  It was the library.  I'm not going back today.  I might not go tomorrow either.  I'll get it Monday at the latest.

Tom won't have time to work on the truck this weekend because he hasn't gotten the part number for the computer so I wasn't able to get a new one.  I don't know what he's going to do because I need the minivan on Tuesday.  My trip is further than his and I'm not taking the car all the way up to Fond du Lac.

And his lead man is back in the hospital so he's having to do his job on the brake press as well as foreman.  And the responsibilities his lead man has as well.  He's exhausted.

Well, I"m going to crawl into bed and hopefully find some relief from the pain.

TTFN

Being productive

...really does make me feel much better.  I slept until 1:30 p.m. today.  Not sure what time I got to sleep but I went to bed at 9 p.m., tossed and turned, slept intermittently (as in...five minutes at a time) and was asleep when Tom got home but woke up in pain and saw him in the dining room.  I resisted the urge to pick up my knitting and instead picked up a book instead and read until I finished up The Deathly Hallows.  My eyes were closing on the last few pages but I forced myself to finish the book.  I'm starting on the Sookie Stackhouse books now.  They had the first one in the library but the next two were nowhere to be found in spite of showing up on the inventory as being there.  I put them on hold so either they will find them or they'll order them from another library.  I've read the first three books before and seen the first two seasons of the show but since I'm in the mood for book series, I thought I would give them a go.  I might do the Inheritance books after that.  We've got them all but have only read the first 3.  You know...Eragon, etc.

But anyway, since I had taken 2 sleeping pills, I had the next morning sleeping pill hangover.  Or next afternoon, as it turned out.

I picked up my knitting first thing and while having my morning afternoon coffee, watched another episode of True Blood and then had a lunch of a peanut butter sandwich.  No jelly.  After that I went out and put the new weed whacker together and tackled the waist high weeds we have in the yard.  ( I exaggerate...but not by much) I didn't finish and had to take a few breaks but it looks better.  Especially after Zach mowed the front and side yard.  I'll do more tomorrow or maybe even more tonight but my back is hurting, especially the sciatic area and I don't want to push it.

I hope to get some pictures taken soon of my projects.  I have one sweater done but it needs buttons on the neck placket.  I'm pondering the use of buttons on baby clothes so I might come up with something different or maybe buttons made of yarn.  I could crochet buttons but a lump of yarn could just as easily choke a baby as a plastic button so I don't know what I will do.  The buttons on the placket are pretty much out of read of a baby so I'm not too worried about them, but the buttons on a cardigan...another story.  I'll figure it out, maybe do some research.

I'm going to have to take some ibuprofen because my fibromyalgia just woke up so I'm going to do that and go lie down for a bit...maybe knit some more and watch some more True Blood.

TTFN

I would have a meltdown if I weren't so tired

Not a bit of sleep last night, after two nights of 10 hour sleep that brought me nearly back to normal.  And it's too hot to nap today so I'm really dragging.  I tried knitting and watching tv but I end up dozing only to wake up a few minutes later drenched in sweat.  And it's really not that hot today compared to the heat wave we had.  Hasn't even hit 90.  It will tomorrow though so I hope I get sleep tonight. Even if I have to turn the a/c on to get it.

I'm waiting for it to cool off enough to take the car to town to the library and pick up something for supper.  The car doesn't have air conditioning and the front windows don't roll back up once you roll them down.  Plus the engine light is on and it takes two efforts to get it started.

And the truck will take another few hundred to fix.

We just can't get ahead.

I think I"m going to take Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and go to Zach's room where there is a/c and read until it cools off enough to venture out.

TTFN