Getting better and better

What a great xmas we had! (At least, from my standpoint.) My daughter cleaned, my son's girl friend cooked, all I had to do was sit and eat and enjoy family. I think I am going to retire from hosting holidays.

Knitting: This is about all I am doing, as I race toward the sock deadline. Usually, I knit a color band on each sock each day, but I've had to double my output in order to reach the deadline. I should be hitting the cuffs around Jan 1, plenty of time for a Jan 6 delivery date.
Needle felting: I placed an order with Living Felt, so once that arrives, progress on Dill will continue.

My son and his girl friend gifted me with the best ugly sweater ever!

I plan to wear it to January fiber meetings, as I don't want to save it until next xmas.

Like a turtle

The first week of recovery is going a bit more slowly than I expected. I slept a lot for a couple of days before realizing I was running a low grade fever. The phone nurse assured me this was normal. I quit the rx pain meds and switched to Tylenol, in case they were contributing to my grogginess. I am getting around better, putting more weight on my "bad" leg, but still have a ways to go. Thank goodness for great caregivers!

Knitting: That is all I have felt up to doing. The L-Bag drags on (and on and on). Can't wait for that to be done. The socks are trucking along, too.

Xmas will be at my house, primarily because neither of my kids has a bathroom on the main floor of their houses. But I don't have to do anything but relax in the (elevated) recliner. Temps are going to be in the 50's - not very xmas-like, but at least travel should be clear and dry.

Enjoy your holidays, however you celebrate!

Quick update

I'm home. Yesterday's surgery went well, despite my hip being worse than expected. In recovery, I was crying because my hip hurt so much, but after several doses of morphine, things were under control and just got better. Today the PT and OT people thought I was ready to go home, the doctor not so much. However, I talked him into it.

Parkview has a reputation for collecting the most money from insurance companies, despite being a not-for-profit hospital system in an area where the cost of living is relatively low. The extra money goes into several foundations that funnel money back into the community. I feel I received excellent care BUT I'm sure they could pay their employees better, especially those lower on the scale. They could provide more benefits, too.

I did absolutely NO knitting while there. Since I have a sock deadline, I will have to include them in my daily knitting rotation. I don't think I will be able to spin for a while, so that should work out fine.

Two more days

Two days from now I should be feeling... different. The hip pain should be gone, replaced by surgery pain and hopefully some good drugs. I've been a good patient, following all the rules and doing my exercises, etc. My general philosophy is "Hope for the best, plan for the worst" but when I think that things could get worse instead of better, I start sobbing. So best not to think like that!

Knitting: Still plowing ahead on the L-Bag. The shaping part is longer than I realized, but at least the stitch counts are still okay.
Spinning: Still spinning that luscious light gray Shetland top. The wool looks almost white but once it is spun and plied, it looks very gray. I plan to overdye it... with purple?
Weaving: Struggling a bit with the online weaving class, partly because I don't have the same equipment, partly because I don't have a good work area set up where I can view the videos AND work on the loom. My SO moved a table into my studio where the light is better, so hopefully that will help.
Needle felting: My granddaughter and I tried using my drum carder to blend some of the needle felting wool to create a yellow green for Dill's skin, BUT the fibers are so short they pilled a lot. Also, we are not very satisfied with the color. I am going to order some in the right color from Living Felt. While looking at their web site, I noticed some 2-D needle felting kits. I think one of those will be finding its way here as well.

I've been ruminating on how bad habits are broken and good ones made. It comes down to friction. To erase a bad habit, one increases the friction. For example, if you want to cut down on junk food, make a "rule" that it may be eaten but only if it is homemade (by you, of course). The opposite applies to good habits: reduce the friction. When I am done spinning for the day, I make sure the wheel is set up so that the next time, all I have to do is sit down and start; that has worked well for me. One bad habit I would like to erase is how I tend to get out a project to work on, then leave it out until pretty soon all the horizontal surfaces in my living areas are cluttered with half finished projects. A corollary to this bad habit is the necessity for the projects to be easily accessible in order to continue to work on them. THAT will take some organization!

Hanging in there... barely

Pre-op prep for hip replacement surgery includes a 10-day moratorium on any useful pain reliever one has found. In other words, I'm down to Tylenol and Icy Hot, which quite frankly is not enough. My daughter came over today to vacuum and mop, clean litter boxes and pick up dog poop, but I keep finding little extra things she did along the way. Tomorrow my SO will help me prep the house and run a few errands. I'm so thankful to have help!

Knitting: I am back to the shaping bit for the L-Bag, and with the correct number of stitches this time. Whoo-hoo!
Spinning: I'm continuing to spin the light grey Shetland and have 3-plied two skeins. It is turning out nice but I need a LOT more to do the Main Squeeze Cardigan.

Needle felting: Dill has four legs now, needs just a tail. Then my granddaughter will add the green skin and markings.

Weaving: I decided to treat myself to an online tapestry weaving class, to distract myself while I recover from the surgery. This particular class has three parts, but I purchased only part 1, to see if I like it. I also refrained from investing in a Mirrix loom ($$$) and from purchasing the recommended fiber. Instead, I will use the PVC pipe loom from the tapestry class I took at the Michigan Fiber Festival and fiber I already have on hand (and there is PLENTY of that!)

Besides fiber arts, I have been reading a lot and watching some Netflix. I highly recommend Abstract: The Art of Design. It is very inspiring.