So, what have you all been up to since last we spoke?  I have had a bit of dental work and am now finally recovering.

Last week, I noticed that the infection in my mouth wasn't better (wait, did I tell you I had an infection under my root canal?).  Hmm, well, I have (had) this tooth that had had two root canals (which meant two crowns) and was giving me twinges for a while.  The dentist told me the tooth underneath was cracked and that if it continued to give me pain, it would have to come out.

Fast forward to my 6 month checkup where I show the dentist the pustule that had developed on my gum right next to the tooth.  It turns out that there was a raging infection under the crown. (the smell was ugly)  We tried 10 days of antibiotic but no joy.  I had to have the tooth out.  I called the oral surgeon and they had an opening the next day. 

I took it because then I didn't have much time to brood over it.  I left work in the afternoon and Pk picked me up and off we went.  First came the panograph xray and then the doctor told me there was a good bit of infection in the gum and he would pull the tooth and then clean it out.

IV needle in my hand and before you know it, it was done.  They didn't stitch up the wound because the leftover infection needed a place to come out (the image is a pleasant one, isn't it?)  I was in a fog so Pk took me home and then went out to get my pain pills and more antibiotics.

When the novocaine wore off, I couldn't believe the pain!  I am fairly tolerant of pain but this was unlike anything I had ever felt.  The vicodin didn't touch it.  Fortunately, my dentist called to check up on me and told me I could take 2 (very low dose).  It was like the heavens opened up and sunbeams shone upon me.  When that pain went away, it felt soooo good.  I slept sitting up and woke up Friday morning with a blinding headache and nauseaus from the pain meds (really unfair that).  I stuck to acetaminophen for the rest of the time after that. 

I spent the weekend taking it easy and eating soft foods.  I have some bruising around the jaw line but not too bad and I can tell it's healing.  It will take some time before we can discuss what to do about the gaping hole in my teeth.

I was not able to do much knitting or spinning.  No concentration.  I mostly sat and dozed and held ice packs to my face.  And now I am back to work and feeling mostly back to normal.  Still eating mostly soft foods and being careful until the hole heals closed.  I don't want anything getting stuck in there and re infecting. 

Our planned trip to AC was postponed to this Friday and unless something else happens, we're heading down there Friday afternoon with Kylie in tow.  She came over Sunday and we ate bbq chicken and ribs and potato salad and coconut cake and watched the heartbreaking US/ Portugal game. 

The weather today is about as beautiful day as you could ask for.  The sun is out, there is a breeze and the humidity is low.  It's glorious.  I am getting ready to pack up my stuff and leave this overly a/c'd building and go out into the day.  Maybe we should take a picnic for dinner.......

(some nice, soft food of course)

We only thought it was humid last week.  It's like it's a competitive thing and this week has to beat out last week.  It's unbelievable and really uncomfortable.  I have not been able to sleep for the last two nights.  I might have dozed a bit but nothing really restful. (needless to say, I'm tired).  Pk is going to put the a/c in the bedroom window today so that tonight I can pull the covers on and sleep restfully.

Some random thoughts on a Wednesday.

I was standing on the train platform this morning waiting for the next train (the schedules are all a mess while they replace the track on the bridge.  One side is closed and all the trains are going over one side of the bridge.  Then it will reverse so it will be a mess for 2 years.  sigh.)  It's alway slightly breezy since it's an elevated platform.  In the morning, surrounded by all the freshly showered and scented commuters, it's hell on your sinuses.

Some people smell nice and light and clean.  Some people wear heavy, cloying wintery scents.  I will admit that I do not change my scent during the year.  I have one scent that I always wear (Jessica McClintock) and have worn for 25 years.  It's what I smell like.  But it's a fairly light fragrance so that in these warmer months, I won't bowl anyone over. 

More people are catching onto the fact that if you get up 10 minutes earlier, you can catch the earlier train and it's not as crowded as the one 25 minutes later.  Well, it wasn't as crowded.  Today it was mobbed.

 It was Father's Day last Sunday here in the US.  When I asked Peter Kevin what he wanted to do, he said "not much" so I let him have a day to do what he wanted.

I made him the breakfast he wanted, he watched some soccer and then he went outside and worked on some small wood projects.  Here he is using one of his large planes and making the top surface of a small worktable.  He loves working with his handtools.  There's a soothing rhythm to his work.



a pile of shawl



I pulled up a chair and sat in the shade and did some knitting until the ants got too bothersome.  I worked on my shawl.  It's become quite large.  There it is all in a pile.   I can stretch it out is a small section to see how the pattern is developing.  It's so unbelievable soft.  I am on the "second lace chart" and then there's an edging.  Unfortunately it's a bit too hot to sit with this on my lap until we get the a/c installed in the bedroom window.  This will be a warm winter wrap or a warm wrap for the very heavily a/c'd world we live in.



the pattern revealed



I have been forced to work on something small so I went and wound up my latest Artwalk Yarn and started a plain pair of socks.    I love these colors.  They have a depth and shine to them that is so appealing.  It's Les Petits Fleurs by Picasso, one of my all time favorite paintings.  But, the important part is that I don't have to have that large pile of yarn sitting on my lap.

We are going to Atlantic City on Friday so Kylie can see some more kitschy NJ.  I think Atlantic City is the Queen of Kitsch.  I'm looking forward to it a lot.  I love taking the train through the countryside.

Saturday Pete invited our nephew to come and watch the game.  I think he's more excited than Daniel (who is 7).  Sunday, Kylie will be over to eat some real food and watch the game.  So, it sounds like a soccer and friend filled weekend.  The weather should break and be relatively nice.

I hope wherever you are that your day is filled with peace and creativity and joy.





It isn't technically summer here until this coming Saturday but you couldn't prove that by walking outside today.  The air is so thick that you have to think about breathing.  On the train in the morning you can't see the tops of the buildings in Philadelphia.  They are all hiding their heads in the clouds.

And speaking of trains, my morning commute has gotten somewhat earlier due to much needed track repair for the PATCO train.  They've closed one half of the bridge so all the train traffic moves on the same track.  It means that the trains are fewer and further between.  This means I have to get up earlier and catch an earlier train and then catch an earlier one home in the afternoon.  There are later trains but they become so crowded and full of people breathing all the air.....

On the unemployment front, Peter Kevin had two interviews last week (one of which was an adventure involving a train ride into NY City) and now is the hard part.  He felt really good about both of the interviews and now has to wait to see if they felt really good about him. 

Kylie is here and we have spent some enjoyable time together showing her life in our area.  We went for a walk around the Berlin Farmer's Market on Friday (only one store sells produce of any kind, the rest are filled with tchatchkes) and then had pizza and wings.  And on Sunday, we took advantage of the nice weather and had a picnic on the Delaware River.  The nice part is that we were able to sit and talk about what makes our countries different and how we're the same.  We have a tentative trip to Atlantic City planned for next week. 

Work has been steadily busy.  We're doing research data collecting on adults with autism for a study and our part involves paperwork (it's always paperwork).  I don't mind because we get paid as an agency to participate and since we're running in the red, money is good.  Our part is just a bit boring as I fill out autism screening tools for all my clients (we're talking over a hundred individuals for just me).  I'm trying to do one or two a day.

My fir cone shawl is coming along beautifully.  It's going to be huge and lovely and soft and warm.  I like the way it's constructed and occasionally think it would make a gorgeous baby blanket-until the first time the baby threw up on it and it had to be washed and blocked.  Softly spun merino and silk are not what I would choose for a baby.

I took a pair of socks with me to a conference last week and knit a bit during one of the talks.  Of course the woman in front of me turned around and said "I want to learn to do that.  One day I'll have a chunk of time....."  you know how that goes.  I started to try to explain that it didn't take a lot of time but I could see right away that she was not really interested or she would know how already.  But such is life.