Knitting time out

Well the cardinal hat may be my only FO in October.
Last Thursday gravity won the day & I now have a broken radius.
For the next 5 to 6 weeks I will be sporting a bright pink arm cast.
Life goes on.

Cardinal hat

Since I had to spend most of the day Thursday in hard chairs waiting for my car to be repaired, I actually got a knitting project finished.  It's a hat for a young lady who is now a college freshman in a region that truly has a winter. 

The college's colors are red and black. I have enough of the fuzzy  yarn left to trim a matching scarf.

I

Off the needles.

Finally the Pink Princess shawl is off the needles.
Pattern was Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West.
I still have to block it out. 
The yarn is Baby Bee "Little Princess."
I used all of one ball and less than a quarter of a second ball. 
Very intense color and feels soft to the touch. 

I still need to decide whether I will keep it or gift it.

Monday morning moments

This morning began with the destruction of the new dog toy and a gesture of a possible future friendship.

Rhea's revamp

Hi There,
I'm Rhea. I talked to Purlpaw and she is letting me borrow the blog to send some love to my peeps.

I am doing my best to keep the gray house safe and sound. No unknown visitors (2 or 4 legged) have been allowed in.

There was some excitement on Thursday. A very strong wind blew off a limb that landed in the back yard. But no worries the grill is safe.

I am missing you a lot. Even the new toy isn't much fun without you.
Sending all my best. Time for the afternoon nap.

                                     

Love - Rhea.

Front yard flock.

As I drove to Dad's this morning I drove round the corner and came across this.:)

First week of July 2012

Still no luck on the job front. I keep revamping my resume and searching online listings.
The 4th was very nice.

Red, White, and Blue at the gray house.

Once again my DS did a great job in celebrating the holiday.
 

Volunteering at HPL went well.  
Downtown was nearly empty on July 5th.
I had lunch by the City Hall, overlooking Tranquility park 

Planting at City Hall

                                           

Water feature across form City Hall

I tried out a new bus route, it gives me the bonus of adding in some walking time too. This is very good since I am having to deal with high blood sugars again. Actually got a few more rows done on the Boneyard shawl.

Celebrating the pursuit of happiness

Red-blue & cheesecake

Lunch at City Hall Plaza

The plaza is just across the street and the weather was pleasant. It was a bit like being in a nature sanctuary. I spotted jays, mocking birds, grackle & a cardinal! But the most up close was a very focused squirrel

Shake those pots & pans

Tonight I cooked dinner. Marinated chicken thighs and tomato/zucchini skillet dish.
My DSiL had 2nds.

Berry, berry, nice

Fresh baked blueberry muffins. My dear sister is a marvel.
The sweet summer berries came from Dad.

Breakfast in the garden

With the weather actually livable I am taking breakfast out to the deck. A nice way to enjoy my DS's garden before hitting the Internet for possible job openings.

Lunch downtown

Currently I am volunteering twice a week at HPL's central library. It is very chilly inside so I take my sack lunch outside to warm up. 
I have been dining either at the small pocket courtyard by the Ivenson 

or by the Sam Houston park, just across the street.

There is also a nice planting at the corner of Bagby and Lamar.

Of course when a Houston summer shower shows up at lunch time, it means just wrapping up a little tighter in my sweater. 

On the needles

Currently I have 2 knitting projects in the works.
The first is a pair of socks out of Lion Brand Sock-Ease in the Sour Ball colorway. I am using the magic loop technique with square Kollage circular needles(US 1 - 2.25 mm). The cuff is a 2x2 rib and straight knitting for the body. I choose the round heel and star toe option. Unfortunately I believe I will have to finish the second sock with the Green Apple colorway. This is because the first sock grew a bit too long in the leg. I have finished the first sock but am taking a break on starting the second sock.

The second project is my warm up for the lace shawl I want to do this year. It is the Boneyard shawl by Stephen West. I am using US 6 circular needles. The yarn is Baby Bee Sweet Delight Baby in the pink Princess colorway. It is basically straight knit & purl with 4 yarn overs (YO) every other row.

So far it has been an easy project although I have messed up a few times on edges. Ah well, it now has character.

Sheet music and knitting stiches

 I have been volunteering at Houston Public Library. I am helping to convert the sheet music collection from the card catalog records to a digitized format. This means first entering the card catalog record to a spread sheet and then checking the actual sheet music to see if the records & the sheet music matches and to discover what is missing or not currently in the catalog. It has been very interesting in the range of music. Classics to disco, dating from the 1880s to the 1990s. Since I have to check each item physically I get to see the cover illustrations.
One that really got my attention was "The Knitting Song" It is all about knitting to help soldiers in WWI.

New year month 2

CURRENT GOOD NEWS
Well at least the general state of health is improving.

CURRENT BAD NEWS
 Last month I lost my dear car due to flooding streets. So a lot of dealing with the insurance company.

In medical insurance I am now dealing with a very $$$ plan, I owe my family so much in the ways they have helped out.

Job hunting is not very promising. This week while volunteering with a library system I sent in a resume to, I was told by one of the librarians told me the position I had applied for was being re-posted "because the administration was not happy with any of the applicants." It is hard to hear this second hand and in a rather tossed off manner. Topping off the job searching effort was getting an email from a different library informing me I was not being considered for a part time reference job. I just wish I could have been good enough to have been asked for at least one interview.

All in all not a cheerful start to 2012.

A time for graditude

During this week I plan to focus on being thankful for family, friends, and yes returning back to a healthier life. I have been alert & pain free enough to start sending out resumes & cover letters. I am using all the tools I can, Linkedin, Monster.com, WorkinTexas, and the TLA Jobline. Given the current financial times librarian jobs are not very plentiful. But I am still putting my name out where ever possible.
After this week it is time to climb back on the medical merry-go-round. Scheduled for my amusement are a CTscan, a MRI, & a MRA(what ever that is). At least I will have time in various waiting rooms for knitting up some yuletide gifts.
Wishing one & all a joyful Thanksgiving.

Still bogged down in the medical swamp

    This week was not very fun. Had to have another colonoscopy on Thursday. This of course made Wednesday a real challenge. You would think someone could figure out how to make the preparation fluid more palatable. It is currently like drinking from a toxic waste site. Although I REALLY like the medication that puts me in dreamland during the procedure, I always come out of it weeping and confused. Today I went to my oncologist at 10:30 & because my potassium was so low he needed me to have an immediate intravenous drip of the stuff. This had me finally leaving for home at 4 pm. During the visit with him he did state that I am in remission but because of the on-going problems with my liver & spleen I will need to be checked over on a regular basis for sometime to come. I have this sinking feeling that I will never be free and clear of the medical profession again.
     I am knitting again on a more regular basis. I've finish 2 scarfs and just about done with a pair of socks. Besides Xmas gifts, a friend recently told me she is expecting twins so soft baby yarns are in my future.

Still moving forward

Lots of changes since February:

• There have been a few more stays in the hospital due to fevers and infections.
• The removal of my direct port and the end of the liquid feedings that went with it.
• My weight is now fairly stable.
•  I can now go up and down stairs on my own as well as walk without my legs shaking.
• The latest twist was dealing with kidney stones. One large stone was in a very bad position that required me to undergo a hospital procedure to have it pulled out of me.

I am hoping that I will soon be strong enough to focus on getting a new job. Currently I am not really up to facing an all out effort of job searching and interviewing. I just don't have the energy level needed for these activities.

Day by day

The title of this entry has become my life motto.

   Since last June life has been piling up a wide selection of challenges. One of the saddest is that the job in Laredo slipped away.  I had been approved by the city and even passed the pre-employment tests. But I did not count on dealing with a real nasty challenge.
   Before heading for the lower part of Texas I had decided to take advantage of the medical coverage I currently had and went in for all my yearly checkups. This went from top to bottom literally.  When one of the test showed I was very anemic I then got to have "scopes" go down my throat and up the colon. This is when life changed. A very nasty cancer was found just below my stomach. Very quickly I was scheduled for surgery. So quickly that I was actually between jobs when the surgery took place.  No need for a blow by blow account but due to  3 different infections and problems with chemo, my job in Laredo could not be held. This is something I completely understood.
   Life just keep happening. I had to give up my apartment, and store most of my things. I have been very lucky as well. My dear sister has taken me into her home and has been my source of strength when dealing with all things medical.  My father has helped me through some unplanned for expenses and my brother and sister-in-law turned out to be wonderful cheerleaders
    Next week I go for another scan and I am hoping for good news, although the last visit with a doctor was not a source of happy news. 
     I was very happy to see the end of 2010, and I still hold on to the hope that 2011 will be better.