what you think on grows

Well, it's over. I have lots of observances but have taken some pain medication and probably wouldn't be coherent. For now, I'll just say that everything went well and I am home. For some reason I'm surprised at the pain. Traditional pain meds make me sick so I am taking tylenol with codeine. It works ok.

Here is the "too distracted to concentrate on the day before surgery sock" I worked on yesterday. It's Sockotta (cotton, wool and nylon) and had enough pattern to keep me amused. I really like it and at 9 dollars a ball, a bargain as far as sock yarns go. I have given it a short row heel, my first without a pattern. It even looks pretty decent. This will be good for me for the next few days until I don't need the pain meds. Thanks so much for all the good wishes. I appreciated all the good wishes. Now, I think I will go back to sleep. I'm not sure I have a choice.

6 AM Monday morning. That's my scheduled surgery time. I'm glad it's scheduled early in the day. I don't think I could sit around and wait. The operation is supposed to take about 2 hours so with the two hours or so in the recovery room, if all goes well, we could be home by lunch time. That's what I'm hoping for anyway. I could be optimistic here.

Peter Kevin took me to the lys that sells spinning wheels and accessories today to look for a book and some friendly advice. The owner is awfully nice and gave me some advice on which book to buy. She also told me if I bring the wheel up there she will sit with me and help me get started. The book is called The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning. It looks like a textbook but reads friendly. I have already found out things that I was doing wrong and using his direction, I've gotten the wheel to work. Of course, the yarn is, um, not pretty. I'm not sure we can even call it yarn. But, I look forwa…

Kate sent me a photo at work today. A package had arrived. From New Zealand. Saraspunda! I left work as quickly as I safely could. I was surprised because the NZ track and trace link said the package was still being "cleared". We figured they were searching it for weapons of mass destruction or some such.


This is what was in the box. Lots of pieces and bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts. We quickly unpacked the lot and were trying to figure out which piece went where (the directions were a bit sketchy) when Peter Kevin rode up on his bike and rescued us. He is really good at putting things together. He and Kate figured the whole thing out and Voila! There she was. After much poking and prodding we figured out where some pieces were in wrong and then PK glued on the legs. We stopped long enough to eat some sandwiches for dinner and then pulled out some roving we just happened to have lying around.
Because the wheel is not new, there are some adjustments we'll need to make …

A quick update as I wait to leave for the hospital for some "pre-admission testing". I'm having an EKG today because I am "over 50". I guess they're afraid I'll expire on the table. Tomorrow I'm having an ultrasound at 7:30 am. And then I'll be all set. The insurance company has approved my "procedure" so it's a go on Monday morning unless the EKG says otherwise.

I love/hate the tracking feature when you're waiting for a package. I keep checking. Saraspunda left NZ at 7:24 am their time and is on her way to the states!! It's almost as exciting as waiting for a long loved relative to fly in.

Time to go get hooked up to the machines. Have a good Tuesday!

Don't you love these things? I wish I were all the good things it says!

You Are An INFJ
The Protector

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.
You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them.

In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow.
You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation.

At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support.
You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable
What's" Your Personality Type?

Today was the day Kate, Em and I went to be photographed for Franklin's book. In typical Wood fashion, it was an adventure. Kate and I left the house at 8:30 and headed for the Commodore Barry Bridge into Pennsylvania. This crosses the Delaware River. We were heading to Wool Gathering in Kennet Square. This is a quaint, small town. All of the streets are one way and very small. We found the store right off and then went to find some parking. This is the front of the store with some knitters outside doing their thing.We found public parking lots but they were closed off. Something about a Spanish film crew being in town for the weekend. We used all of our parking karma and found a spot right out front. We were amazed and almost kept going because how could an open spot be there right out in front? We chalked it up to clean living and got out. Emily was stuck in traffic and told us to go ahead and sign in. I was number 49 and Kate was number 50. We found chairs and sat outside i…

First off, I want to announce the winner of theBlogiversary Contest. Here is the appropriate knitted container to put all of the names into: (i.e., the sock monkey hat I made for Kate). Here are the names all neatly written on pieces of paper and put into the hat. And here is the name that Kate pulled out of the hat: So, Amy Lane, if you email me your address, I will send a prize package your way! And thank you all for taking the time to think about what you have learned about yourself from blogging. I think the most interesting thing is that we all learn that we are not alone and there is always someone who understands and empathizes no matter how stupid/dumb/awkward we think we are!
I met with the surgeon today. He came into the room and looking over my paperwork, commented that I had had an appendectomy in 1972. "Good year 1972. That's when I was born". I wanted to poke him with the knitting needles. I said, "Yea, well I was in 8th grade then". The good news i…

Isn't this a beautiful spinning wheel? I think so. She's mine. Well, she will be when paypal releases my funds and puts them into Kate's account and she pays the ebay seller. I call her Saraspunda and she's still in New Zealand.My family has heard me contemplate a spinning wheel for a long time now. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and discover I hated spinning and then be left with an expensive tchachka. So, at Peter Kevin's urging, (he's such an enabler), I searched ebay and found this one for 99 dollars. It's used but I am ok with that. It's being sold by a person who reconditions used wheels and helps them find new homes. I am so excited. I transferred the funds but because it was after 5 on Friday, the transaction will not go through until Monday. Sigh. Through this process I have learned that the ebay style of bidding for things is definitely not for me. When we saw the wheel on Thursday night and placed our bid, there was an…

The taxes are done! Yay! I had a great sense of satisfaction hitting that "submit" button. (I have visions of my tax forms going out into space!) And I think we are even getting some back this year. I'm not really sure because after all these years of doing the taxes, I am still afraid I am doing something wrong. So, I hold my breath and tell the IRS what I think they owe me and they tell me what they really owe me. And we all know who wins that disagreement. At least I don't think we owe them but they'll let me know.... I thought I was late this year but when I looked at last year's printout, I saw that I waited until the 12th. So, I'm ahead of myself!

Thank you everyone who sent hugs and strength for the biopsy. As I sat there waiting for the doctor I thought of you all in the room and it made me laugh. I was feeling nervous and it made things a little better.

And sometime this month, my blog is one year old. When I started last April I wasn't sure …

Well, it's done. It was really quick and weirdly painful. (I took 800 mg ibuprofen, tylenol with codeine and .25 mg of xanax so I was ready!) The doctor and I talked about exactly what was going to happen and she told me when it would be "hard". It was more like cramps than pain but what are cramps but pain? The results should be back in a week. That will give me some idea what I will need to do (if anything) before I meet the surgeon to talk about the gall bladder. The gall bladder has to come out. It wakes me up at night and there is no rhyme or reason for the attacks. I would avoid certain foods if I could identify what they were.
But enough of that. I am crampy but I can deal with it. Kate is making dinner and I am going to share some signs of spring that we are seeing around here. First, we have some hyacinths. These were all given to me as gifts at one time or another and we planted them out front. They take a few years to become large flowers and this year they ha…

Here it is Saturday morning and I am indulging in a bit of vanity. Hello, my name is Donna Lee and it's been three weeks since my last dye job. I have no intention at this time of stopping. I like it when people are surprised that I am 50. I am not ready for all the grey that is lurking under the L'Oreal Dark Auburn (no. 4R). Someday, but not today. So, while I sit here engulfed in lovely chemical smells, (aren't you glad we don't have "smell-o-vision"?), I'll show you Peter Kevin's Spey Valley socks.
Those are his feet perched on the messy computer desk. The socks came out great. He wore them to work yesterday and reminded me not to put them in the washer today when I do the laundry. Like I'd forget. They used much less yarn than I expected. It is thick and warm and he probably won't wear them much this year although he doesn't wear thin dress socks. He likes thick ones. It was an easy pattern and I would use it again. I am now work…

Well, after 13 days I finally got to talk to the gyn. I left messages every day and I am sure they were sick to death of me. Last night she and I finally connected and I got some answers. It seems that I have some small cysts on both ovaries but I'm not supposed to worry about them and they will probably go away. What I do need to worry about is the "something" that seems to be taking up space inside my uterus. She's not sure whether it's a thickening of the lining or a polyp or something else. So, we are going to do a biopsy on Monday afternoon. Oh goodie. Another gynocological procedure without anaesthetic. They will pry the cervix open (ouch) and take a piece of whatever is in there to look at it. She told me to take 800 mg of ibuprofen beforehand to help with the intense cramping this will cause. "It will hurt a lot for 15 seconds or so and then be really bad cramps for a while". Makes you all want to run right out and have it done, righ…

A letter for my daughter.

My dearest Emily Jane,

22 years ago from now (at 1:30 pm) Dad was bringing you and I home from the hospital. You were only 12 hours old and I felt fine so they sent us home. I was amazed at how wide open your eyes were as you seemed to look all around you. Elanor was waiting at home and she just loved having you there (until you got old enough to mess with her and her things!). You were a loving, sweet tempered child who didn't want to nap in the day but didn't want to sleep through the night until you were almost two. I figured you were waking up because you needed something so I got up. Every Night. Eventually, you settled down and slept. I was grateful.

You didn't babble like most babies. You just watched the world with those big ,blue eyes. In fact, you didn't make much noise until you were about 18 months old when you talked in mini sentences. "Nurse me mommy" being your favorite. Even then you couldn't get enough m…