The Verdict and The Vacation

The Verdict is in from the Magic Man Dr. Lowery.... he reviewed the results of the arthrogram and the MRI (by the way, if you've never enjoyed large needles being inserted into your shoulder while you're awake....well... I don't really recommend it), and evidently I really did it up this time. While I had suspected there was a rotator cuff tear, I didn't think it was as bad as it turned out to be. So, the Magic Man will fix it on December 13. He says he'll probably have to anchor it down to the bone due to the extent of the tear, altho he won't know for sure till he gets in there, and if that's the case, I'll be in a sling for 5 weeks after the surgery. Definitely on injured reserve as far as stitching and knitting goes. With, may I add, the extra bonus of turning 50 in a sling in January.

Oh well..... at least it's something that can be fixed. And after a small pity party, I'm counting my blessings. There's a lot of folks in a lot worse shape than I'm in. So I just learn to work and blog one handed for awhile. Frustrating, but do-able. :)

So we went up to Rome the day before Thanksgiving to have a big dinner cooked by my mom, and on Thanksgiving day we headed for Pigeon Forge, TN for a couple of days of vacation. If you're not familiar with Pigeon Forge, it used to be a bump in the road on the way to Gatlinburg, which was the area tourist trap. Then Dolly Parton decided to develop the area, and now it's an unbelievable mix of shows, goofy golf, and outlet shopping.

We were there for hard core shopping on Black Friday. Altho the outlets opened at midnight, we decided to forego that and started our day around 5:30 AM. Certain members of our party weren't exactly thrilled:


Richard and Oscar had other ideas of ways to spend their morning.... namely sleeping, but good sports that they are (well, they really had no choice in the matter), they bundled up and got out in the cold with us to go shopping. And it was cold. And windy. And crowded. Tons of people were out there. Evidently folks had started lining up waaaay before midnight when the outlets opened.

We bundled up Oscar in his stroller (or as Jill refers to it, "his royal carriage"), but as it turns out, he wasn't the only dachshund in a stroller there. There was a wiener dog summit in the Polo outlet when we met a 3 year old black & tan who was making his first-ever outing in his new stroller. Evidently this little guy wasn't as easy going as Oscar, because he actually *barked* at Oscar. And we heard that there was a Pekinese in a stroller around the outlets, but we didn't actually encounter him.

To give you an idea of how crowded the town was, I snapped this picture of traffic out the window of the van:(I tried to get a picture of my mom, but she threatened me in a tone I haven't heard since I was a little girl if I took her picture, so I didn't.)

We ended up shopping from about 7 (after all, we had to have breakfast and get all ready to go out, then actually fight traffic over to the outlets) until about 6 on Friday, and we were all pooped puppies. Headed back home on Saturday. A short trip, but just long enough.

Richard and I did actual Christmas shopping for his family on Sunday afternoon after church. We were surprised to see that the mall wasn't that crowded. Maybe everyone got it out of their system on Friday. :)

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We're just not going to talk about the Tech-Georgia game, ok???

Things I'm Thankful For

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, I thought I'd take a few minutes to remind myself of things for which I'm thankful:

--my husband..... he makes my life absolutely whole with his love, his respect, and his wonderful sense of humor

--my parents.... who gave me a great start in life and the courage to try anything. My dad's in heaven now watching over me, and my mom is still taking care of me here.

--all my stitching buddies.... I find it amazing that because of my hobby I've met so many people around the country who share my interest and I've made some of the best friends I've ever had.

--my business partner Bob.... we pick at each other like we were brother and sister, which is kinda neat considering I have no siblings

--my church

--the fact that I have a warm, comfortable home and plenty of food to eat

--my country and the troops that defend my freedom to say what I want, do what I want, and worship how I want.

I hope that all of you have a great Thanksgiving with plenty of turkey and plenty of friends and family around you. And keep in mind that sometimes our family is not those related to us by blood, but is those people we've chosen to be special in our lives.

Be grateful for everything you have, and remember to be generous with what you have to help those less fortunate if you can.

Fortuitous Hopping

Went up to The Whole Nine Yarns this afternoon to complete my shop hopping. Wasn't really in the market for anything, considering my stash, as most of you know, is quite substantial, but ya never know what might jump out at you.... At any rate, I had decided that Debi's shop would be my last stop, because I'd dragged Richard to all the shops I think he could stand last Saturday, and I didn't want to push my luck (although, bless his heart, he's never ever complained. I married a good man).

So I'm trolling through the shop when lo and behold, in comes The Magic That Is Heather, who was also shop hopping for the afternoon! Merriment and lunch ensued! She and I were going to hop together last Saturday, but plans didn't work out, so it was good to get to browse together and lunch together for a little while at least. I scored some Koigu that has "sock" written all over it, while Heather got some Koigu that is destined to be made into the Heart Sachets that were the freebie pattern from Knitting Daily.

Unexpected time with a good friend is always the best. :)

A little quiz

Found this link this morning and took the test. Evidently Miss Hilda, my geography teacher, would be proud that I retained this much after so long... :) (BTW, that's 17 out of 20, not 50, so it's a better score than it looks....)

You Really Know Your State Capitols

You Got 17 State Capitols Correct You're either a geography buff... or you have an excellent memory.

Do You Know Your State Capitols?

A bit of catch up

So it's been a week since I complained about my lack of mojo. To be honest, not a lot has changed. But I've been contemplating it, and I think I may have an answer.

My arm hurts.

I think the whole rotator cuff thing is seriously cutting into the enjoyment of stitching/knitting/singing/breathing/eating..... you get the picture. On Tuesday, the magic man Dr. Lowery is sending me for an arthrogram and MRI to determine the scope of the damage. On the 19th I go back to him to determine the plan of action. So, if you're reading this, I ask that you please keep me, and especially Richard, my mom, and HRL Oscar in your prayers, as they have to put up with me through all this. And for all of you who have listened to me whine, I thank you and bless you for your patience.

In a bit of estate news... we're heading down the home stretch. On Thursday, the attorney and I got the checks written to the charities, and I signed the paperwork to transfer Lynne's mom's house back to her mom. Now it goes to her mother's attorney to handle, and after that paperwork is signed, the house will be back in her mother's name where it should have been in the first place. This has been a long road, and I'm glad it's nearing an end.

On to other more pleasant things. Last Sunday I took a reversible cables class with Lily Chin at The Whole Nine Yarns. I'd show you pics, but while I did manage to remember my camera, the CRS kicked in again and I neglected to put the memory card in. Technology works well when it's all in one place. :) At any rate, Lily was very entertaining, and her explanation of how you can do cables so that they're attractive on both sides of the knitted fabric is surprisingly simple and beautiful at the same time.

On Tuesday I traveled to Knitch for an all day class on socks with Cat Bordhi. If you haven't gotten her new book on sock knitting, quit reading this silly blog and immediately head to your bookseller of choice to obtain it. Cat's ideas on sock construction are absolutely mind bending in the way they function... I don't know how she came up with them, but they're once again simple, elegant, and incredibly functional. Plus, there's a kewl cast on in there that will give your toe up socks a wonderfully smooth toe. And, even tho Cat's known for her two-circular sock knitting, the book is written for two circs, double points, and even the magic loop method. In class we worked on the little practice socks she has in the book and created the instep increases and heel turn she uses *without* the annoying pickup of stitches on the gusset that you find on most traditional top down sock patterns.

I did manage to take the memory card to this class, so here's a pic of Cat teaching:Cat, of course, is the one with the Borg-like headset... I got a chance to talk to her (explaining why I had quit knitting halfway through class since the shoulder was killing me), and she was incredibly sweet. I very much enjoyed our brief conversation, and I really wish I could have fit the more advanced class she taught the next day into my schedule. Alas, I do kinda have to work to support my habit.

Only one thing she said gave me pause..... Cat was talking about what a good thing knitting was as far as keeping us young.... how it makes us think, makes the brain work and exercises the thought processes to help fend off the aging process. I'm totally on board with that. But then she said that it wasn't paint by numbers... it wasn't... cross stitch.

I don't know what kind of cross stitch she's doing, but it sure as heck ain't the kind I'm doing. As I'm sitting there, all I could think was: "Cat Bordhi, meet Rae Iverson....." Of course Rae would argue that she's not doing cross stitch either. I've started describing what I work on as "counted thread embroidery" anyway to distinguish it from a lot of the junk I'm seeing out in the market place.

Yesterday Richard and I participated in the First Annual Knitting Shop Hop here in Atlanta. Fun, but expensive. :) Shops we visited were Only Ewe and Cotton Too in Alpharetta, The Needlenook (where, curiously enough, I bought my very first cross stitch pattern back in the late 70s when I was a student at Emory. They're just about 100% knitting now and frankly, they're an awesome store), Strings and Strands, and Why Knot Knit. The Hop lasts all week, but I know I'm not going to make it to all the stores. I'll finish up with a trip to The Whole Nine Yarns sometime this week and then turn in my passport for a prize drawing.

We also to HRL to the v-e-t yesterday for his pedicure, and we found out that the wonderful Dr. Weaver is making another addition to her human family. She and her husband are adopting a baby girl this month! Sounds like a pair of booties are in order to me. :)

Trying to get my mojo back

(with apologies to Austin Powers)

I've been in a slump. Just haven't felt like doing much stitching or knitting. Teresa and Jill attribute it to too much going on. First there was the tax deadline with crazy people; now Lynne's estate has cranked up again (Did I mention that one particular charity is exceedingly greedy and thinks it's due more money than it actually is out of the estate?? And if I mention its name here, is it considered slander or libel, although it's true and I can prove it?? And have I said that they'll be chucking snowballs in Hades before I give to that charity ever again? Not that I'm bitter or anything.).

On top of that, I seem to have a terrible case of CRS (all of you women over 40 know what that is; if you don't, Google it and I'm sure you can find a definition). It's so bad I forgot to do payroll reports for my biggest client until the day before they were due. This upset me horribly, to the point where I was sure I was going to be in the corner drooling or something, having completely lost my mind. I forgot to pay the phone bill, and AT&T took exception with it. I forgot to fill out the form for the ornament exchange (fortunately, The Magic That Is Heather is exceedingly kind and understanding).

So I'm trying to get my stitching/knitting mojo back, hoping that'll be calming and that I can use it to help get rid of the CRS (that and my kewl new Levenger notebook that's coming via FedEx and living in my purse).

I'm taking a class with Lily Chin at The Whole Nine Yarns on Sunday afternoon on reversible cables. There was homework, which took all of about 20 minutes today:And last night, between watching the celebrity version of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" (and I freely admit that Clay Aiken was smarter than I thought) and the debacle that was the Georgia Tech/Virginia Tech game (we won't discuss it), I managed to put in a few stitches on the Eileen Bennett sampler from ASG:Yeah, that's a lot of backstitching.

But I still don't officially feel the return of the stitching/knitting mojo. I thought the weekend at ASG would do it, but I'm still in a funk. I'm up for suggestions. Anybody got anything????