Happy Happy Birthday to Me!

Okay, so I'll admit that it's a bit of a drag having a broken rib on your birthday. In fact, thanks to the drugs, I can't even celebrate with a nice glass of wine. But this year, I'm just happy for the out-of-the-ordinary birthday gifts I got this week. For instance, last night I actually slept in an actual bed for the first time in three weeks. I picked up a foam wedge thing at Bed Bath & Beyond last night, and that did the trick. Yea! I also drove once on Wednesday, which was also a huge relief. But the cool thing is where I drove to...

On Wednesday, I drove down to the studio to record my first-ever radio appearance -- which, incidentally, is airing today, on my birthday, thank you very much. Is that a wicked cool birthday gift, or what?

The appearance is on the award-winning public radio show, "It's Movie Time," with two of my favorite people, Drs. John DeSando and Clay Lowe. A month or so ago, they invited me into the studio to sit in on their taping -- and then they invited me back this week to give a review of the new Woody Allen movie, Scoop. Despite the insanity of the last three weeks, I was determined not to let my accident get in the way of such a great opportunity -- so I got up on Wednesday and rearranged my meds so I'd be a little more coherent than usual for the taping. And despite that I am and always will be my greatest critic -- and thus I'm not completely satisfied with my performance -- it actually turned out better than I expected. And, more importantly, I had a great time. During the taping, Clay told me that there's just something about radio -- once you do it, you can't wait to get back in front of the mic. And he's right.

If you're in the Columbus area, you can hear the show today on WCBE (90.5). If not, you can listen online.

In actual knitting news, the summer cardi is just flying off the needles. See?


I think I've got a few inches of the body left -- then the sleeves (which I'm going to make smaller than the pattern suggests) and the button bands.

I got plenty of time to work on it yesterday. Chandra picked me up in the afternoon, and we went to Starbucks to knit and get caught up. Poor Chandra has been working around the clock at her new job, and she was afraid that she'd forgotten how to knit. If you ask me, any job that keeps you from knitting for a couple of months is not a good job. Fortunately, though, knitting is like riding a bike -- and we sat there for ages and worked on the very same sweater (hers is a gift for her mother-in-law). It was wonderful to get out and have a much-needed Frappuccino and some much-needed hanging-out time. Thanks, Chandra. :)

I'm feeling seriously unmotivated to work today. So you know what I think I'm going to do? I think I'm going to give myself a little birthday treat -- and I might just allow myself to do a little lace knitting. Happy birthday to me! :)

Two Weeks Down...

I've made it through the first two weeks of recovery, and I've learned a very valuable lesson. I'm not a patient person. When someone tells me it's going to take me 4-6 weeks to recover, I figure I'll be better in a week. And when it doesn't go that way, I get a little cranky. But while I'm still medicated, and I still occasionally feel like I've been hit by a bus, I get a little better every day. And I can actually knit for more than a couple minutes at a time now. So I'm happy.

Over the weekend, I got all kinds of brainless knitting done. First, I finished my latest baby sweater:



The bottom one is the one I did earlier in the spring -- just two big skeins of Simply Soft, and I've got two cute baby cardis. Now I'm ready for *two* friends' babies. Bring 'em on!

After I finished, I almost started yet another baby sweater. I blame that on the drugs. But while doing my giddy post-FO dig through my stash, I came to my senses, and I decided that I might as well start another sweater for me. Why the heck not? I deserve it, don't you think? So I started my summery cardi (#221). I'm making it out of a buttery yellow CottonTots that I got for cheap at the Uber Yarn Outlet -- and I'm totally loving it. It feels like buttah. Every once in a while, I stop knitting and make Paul feel how soft it is. And since I'm so pathetic, he humors me. I can't tell you how many times the poor guy has had to feel my sweater, but he hasn't complained once. What a guy.

This afternoon, I had an appointment with the doc (who isn't quite sure what's going on inside me, but she's pretty sure I'm on the right track). Afterwards, I had my chauffeur drop me off at the Merc, so I could knit with the girls. But, as it turns out, there were no girls. Or at least no little girls. So I hung out with the big girls. And Jerry. It was wonderful to get out -- and to see everyone again. And, well, to be around yarn. Yarn, my friends, can cure anything. I'm sure of it.

Slowly but Surely...

I'm finally getting back to the needles. On Monday night, I picked up the baby sweater that I'd started on the way to the cottage -- just the sleeves and the button bands to go:



Actually, I'm closer to being finished than the picture suggests. I took the picture before I picked it up again last night. Now I'm almost finished with Sleeve #1. I have to tell you -- it feels wonderful to knit again. I missed it. And this is a good project to work on -- it's just a bunch of knitting, with the occasional decreases. I can handle that.

This, however, has been put on hold:



I'm just a few repeats into my new lace stole, and it's *killing me* not to work on it. But I'm still in no shape to knit lace. So I just stare at it a lot. I'm not exactly liking the way it's striping on me, but it may just grow on me. I love the way the lace pattern is knitting up, though. It's so simple that it works with the crazy striping yarn.

So I got an email yesterday from the Uber Yarn Outlet, and that reminded me that the tent sale is just around the corner. If you're interested in road-tripping it, let me know, so we can pick our days to go.

Substitute Knitter...

Thanks so much for all your get-well comments! I made it through the first week, and I'm sure it'll be much easier to handle from here on out. The bruises are finally fading, and the scrapes no longer need their daily bandaging rituals. Now I just have to get this darn rib to fix itself. I'm still sleeping in the recliner -- the novelty of which has totally worn off -- and I'm still on mind-numbing meds, but at least I'm able to get out a little bit every once in a while. On Friday, I was finally able to leave the house for my first non-doctor-visit excursion -- to JoAnn's. :)

Mom and Dad came down for the week to hang out with me, so even though I was too out of it to knit (though I did manage to knit a single dishcloth), there was still plenty of knitting going on in the house. Over the weekend, Mom finished her very first felted bag!



With the leftovers, she's working on a drop-stitch scarf. She did a couple feet of it last night -- but then she apparently frogged the whole thing this afternoon in the car and started over.

Mom's turning out to be quite the little knitter. Every time I see her, she picks up at least one new technique. Over the week she was here, I taught her the drop-stitch pattern -- and she learned how to do I-cord. I'm so proud of her!

Breaking the Silence

I apologize for the extended silence. Believe it or not, it's been four whole days since I picked up a pair of needles. But I have a good reason. Really.

So we had a wonderful vacation, for the most part. Well, it didn't start out all that great, since I tried on my Picovoli before I left and discovered that it was a little too tight in the armpit region. So Picovoli is taking a little vacation for a while until I decide what to do with it.

Other than that, though, it was wonderful. The weather was perfect -- warm and sunny, with just a little bit of rain (but only at night). We had a great time with my niece and nephew and sister-in-law, who were there for a day or so, and with Mom and Dad (who got up on skis, the crazy old coot -- pictures to come), and with Paul's little brother, who came up for last weekend. I did tons of reading, played all kinds of games, and knitted like a fiend. I made great progress on the Muppet Wrap (since I only knit that outside, due to shedding), have a baby sweater that just needs sleeves, and started some new lace (pictures of that to come, too).

But then came Saturday. On Saturday, I had a little accident. There's a whole long story that isn't all that interesting (though, if anyone asks, I was *bungee jumping*), but I took an unexpected fall into the cottage's crawl space -- a four-foot drop, landing on my side on a cement block or two. It was terrifying, and I still try not to think about it. While Paul and Dad helped me out of the hole, the neighbors got online and found directions to the nearest hospital -- about a half hour away. Fortunately, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I have some hideous bruises, a giant scrape on my leg, and a broken rib. (I also broke a nail.) And I'm on drugs so potent that they required a background check.

So that's where I've been. On the couch -- or, more likely, crashed out in the recliner, which Paul set up for me in the bedroom. Mom and Dad showed up yesterday to keep me from killing myself from boredom (and to make sure I don't do something stupid, like try to pick something up off the floor -- though I've found that my toes are pretty good for that). I went to the doctor today, and apparently everything's as normal as can be expected. They tell me it could take 4-6 weeks to heal, but I have every intention of getting out of the house and getting back to screenings next week. And I think I'm going to gradually start working on dishcloths again -- since I can screw them up without really caring too much.

But now Mom tells me that my lunch is ready. And then I think I'll take another nap...