Betrayed

My body has betrayed me. Felled by a microscopic virus. Drowned in a river of snot. (sorry, but lack of sleep makes me grumpy). A waterfall of snot.

My throat is on fire. My eyes are watering. I am barely visible in the pile of crumpled tissues on the couch.

And worst of all, I don't even feel like knitting.

Call the paramedics. Call the knitting EMTs. Call the scientists who are too busy designing new erectile dysfunction drugs to be able to cure the common cold. I hope their penises fall off.

*cough cough*

Knitting Content

Thanks to all for their kind advice as to my knitting pains. I did a few things -- first, a deep tissue massage of the back and shoulders. Painful but the good kind of pain. Seems that I carry my stress (stress? what stress? she said between court appearances) in my upper back, and my muscles were more knotted than a skein of ribbon yarn wound around a cat. So the knots were broken up, and stretches suggested. Then, I did take a break from knitting for one whole day. Drove me nuts. Even the spouse said, "Uh oh, you'd better get that fixed," imagining me without my knitting. Then, I decided to knit this -- a sock on size 2 bamboos, of Knitpicks Memories handpaint. Nice light yarn, nice light needles, and it's going well. I've also been taking breaks every 20 minutes or so, and might get one of those elbow thingies. Bought a wrist support for the laptop, too.
I will prevail!


Here's an eye candy photo of one of my bird buddies on the deck window:

I love these guys! And so do the cats -- their own personal cat-tv. More snow this weekend; more knitting!

I Don't Play Tennis ...

but I have tennis elbow. Knitter's elbow. Aka an intense soreness in the outer muscle of my right forearm, with a knot of pain at the elbow.

I'm ready to go back to the city of my birth (Niagara Falls) and jump.

Everything I've read on the net says that the best treatment is to .... I can't type this .... I can't ....

stop knitting!

I don't think I can. I don't think anyone will want to be around me if I do.

My good friend Andrea (a non-knitting lawyer) who always seems to hit the nail right on the head describes knitting as my "comfort food" -- that each of us has an activity that helps us cope with the stresses of our lives -- the practice of law, worries about kids, petty annoyances of daily life -- and, as everytime she pops in my office she sees the basket of knitting on my desk -- mine is knitting.

What will I do? How will I cope? If I ignore the pain, or ice it and take lots and lots of anti-inflammatory drugs, can I still knit? What if I knit very very slowly?

I've tried knitting Continental style and that doesn't seem to make a difference, though learning how to do it has made my 2-color knitting alot easier.

I've tried a pillow under my arm.

I've tried cursing, lots.

Rats, the Falls is probably frozen over. I'd probably just slide down, and further hurt my elbow.

:(

*sniff*

What NOT to do in Below Zero Weather

Wear your I-pod up a 3700' mountain. Seriously. I thought, hey -- a little music will help me get motivated for the hike. Sure -- take my mind off the cold, the wind, block all thoughts of why I am crazy enough to hike up Hurricane Mountain in the Adirondacks in February. It isn't that I wasn't warm, or hadn't done hikes like this before, it was just that I thought tunes would be nice.

Not.

Well, yes, it was cool hiking up and up to Bob Marley, imagining Jamaica and palm trees. And it did get my mind off the brutal wind. But, later, much much later, I realized the evil result -- my ear canal froze! No shit. To spare you TMI, I started to get pains in my ear (only the left -- I had the other ear free to hear any cries for knitted I-Cord ropes from my friends). Followed by sinus pressure. Followed by (here's the gross part) blood oozing out of my ear onto my pillow.

A quick google search gave me comfort that my brains were not leaking out, but I still went to see the doc the next day. Swollen ear canal, with a tiny abrasion near the ear drum. From ... frozen I-pod earphones. Maybe I should email Bill Gates. No, wait! I'm a lawyer after all! I'll cut a deal with him to write the warning label on all future sales of I-gear: Warning! Do not use in temperatures below 20 degrees zero, and at altitudes above 3500 feet. Even if you love Bob Marley. And, if you do it anyway, you're f*&*&**g nuts and shouldn't be compensated, so don't bother to sue.

On a warmer note, I hit 2 yarn stores. Old Forge Hardware in Old Forge, NY, where there is so much more than hardware. And Adirondack Yarns in Lake Placid, where I blew twice my yarn budget on some sweater kits. My camera is still shivering, so no photos until next post, but both places were great -- lots of good fiber, books, and very friendly staff.

The forecast is calling for 18" + of snow for tonight in my backyard and I can't wait. I've cleared my calendar for tomorrow and am hoping for a snowday. Translation -- knitting day.

You know you're an addict when ...

you're up at 3:30 a.m. not because you haven't packed all your warm clothes, but because you're obsessing about which knitting projects to take on the trip. It can't be just one ... what if I get bored with it? Or snow-bound? Or trapped on the side of a mountain, and need enough yarn to knit us a giant I-Cord rope to rappel down the side to safety? Or tie up a bear or something?

You never know ...

Abra-Cadabra!

I haven’t vanished – just hibernated. It’s been frrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeezing here, and weather like this makes me want to plug in the electric blanket and huddle under the covers.

So between work (a “W” word I avoided in BarbP’s list!) and the weather, I’ve been basically – sleeping. Very little knitting, though I did finally finish these – thick socks from Lamb’s Pride Bulky for my son-in-law Kerry.

And I’m finishing these – more thick socks for Jack’s birthday (it was Monday, so I’m close!).

We’re going to the Adirondacks this weekend – the annual event for J’s birthday – it’s just not cold enough here to suit that Alabama-born boy. I plan to stop at the Old Forge Hardware Store which has a great selection of yarn and books, and Adirondack Yarns in Lake Placid. When we get back, I’m sure I’ll need a medical appointment to peel off my long underwear, since I won’t be taking it off the entire trip!

Why didn’t I marry a man who likes warm weather?

And ... at long last ... the Ribwarmer. Complete, edged ... after ripping apart when a kind fellow blogger looked at my photos and emailed me as follows:

"First, don't blame the messenger. Second, pour a glass of wine."

That's when I knew I was in trouble. I had sewn the fronts together instead of the back. Giant "duh"! (sound of forehead hitting desk) I've been knitting how many years? 41????????

But now it's done and I love it. Just the thing for throwing on over pjs or a flannel shirt, or under a coat in our frigid weather. Thank you, Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Well it's off to pick up Chinese take-out and to pack those long johns. Stay warm, knitting peeps!