Christmas Cheer

Last summer my brother and I walked by a construction site that had been “yarn-bombed” (aka yarn graffiti), and I loved it.  I started collecting flowers knit or crocheted by friends (or myself) and today Kurt and I yarn-bombed my own backyard fence.  I love it.  It’s a beautiful reminder of so many wonderful friends and the visit from my brother.

Gift-o-rama

I made LOTS of holiday gifts this year!  I’d love to say it was because I was full of cheer and good will and whatnot… but honestly, a large motivation was the need to feel I was doing SOMETHING productive while laying around home sick and recovering from surgery.  So, I made a huge “gift list” and made something for everyone on it – as well as a few items I intend to gift or donate to charity.

Most of my gifts were “kitchen sets” consisting of a potholder and a tawashi (a cotton puff great for washing dishes, cleaning, etc.)

"Skull" set for my niece and her husband (who loves skulls and served in the military)

Bringing up the rear

The end of another year is fast approaching. A new year always causes me to pause and reflect, thinking about what direction I’d like to take in the year ahead.

The Big Screen

I’ve been watching a lot of movies and TV shows instantly through NetFlix. My tastes run toward the suspense, thriller, and horror genres. I’ve made a lot of poor choices. Several of the shows I deleted after a few minutes, as they weren’t worth watching to the end.  However, I did stumble across a couple of surprises.

Off the Hook

Finished a HUGE project!  I started this afghan for my living room back in April.  I hate motif projects (where you make lots of little squares/rectangles/circles/whatever and join them together).  However, this one was join-as-you go, which made it a little more tolerable, and I loved the pattern (“Asian Beauty”).

Asian Beauty Afghan

Time Sink

I haven’t gone into the office for weeks. I’m not surprised at how little I’ve accomplished while I’ve been home. If I was feeling well enough to be productive, I’d be at work. However, I am surprised at how quickly the days have flown by. Typically, I’d spend over eight hours a day in the office – and another two hours commuting to and from work. So, I should have ten extra hours each day. Ten hours seems like a lot of time to fill.

Hooking up

More crocheted creations completed since July:

A coworker saw the horrible Yoda and Princess Leia I made, and asked me to make a set of Star Wars softies. She gave them as a birthday gift:

Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Yoda

Silver Lining

I confess, I’m not good at seeing the “silver lining”.  I’m much better at seeing the dark gloomy clouds, especially when it comes to my health.  I don’t spend time being grateful I don’t have a rare hereditary disease or flesh-eating bacteria. Instead, I focus on what IS wrong with my health, not on what isn’t.

Slasher flick

Halloween is a time of tricks, treats, costumes, candy, and horror slasher movies.  So, it seems the perfect day for my surgery.

One “trick”, in my case, is that the surgery has nothing to do with my symptoms. I’ve been complaining for a year now of nausea. The nausea hasn’t gone away, but it’s been joined by acid reflux, abdominal pain, and chest pain. The doctors ran tests and still have no idea why I have most of these symptoms, but they did discover a tumor on my appendix.

Medical Drama

The popularity of television shows revolving around doctors and hospitals is understandable. I think it’s because most of us can relate on some level. It seems anything related to our health is emotionally exhausting, even if it’s not a life-threatening issue.