hand eye crafts

As often as I look through all the ESPN-adjacent channels on a given football day, I have seen some things that are, just kind of unexpected and weird.  There is a  professional pickleball league .  (Yes, there's merch!) There is a  cornhole league .  (Or you can spend some money here!) There are serious axe-throwing competitions .  I suppose anything having to do with throwing an axe should be taken seriously.  (And no t-shirts in that shop.  Only, well, axes.) Today, I found out about  professional pillow fighting .  (And, yes, you can buy your very own  official, sanctioned pillow .) Nearest to my heart, though,  pro kickball .  I LOVED kickball.  That red ball, the sound it makes when you kick it, the sound it makes when you throw it at someone for an out...  (Interestingly, no shopping available.) I get to dive into the Advent calendars tomorrow!  Watch this space.

 

The day before Thanksgiving, and I am so, so craving Mexican food!  There are some really good Mexican restaurants in town;  my favorite is  Sr. Sol , though  Dos Palmas  has out of this world chicken tortilla soup.  As long as there's flan, I'm good. Do you remember the little match box cross-stitch Advent project I told you about?  Well, turns out I had ordered another Advent box long enough ago that I had forgotten about it.  (The wonder of pre-order.)   This is from  The Plucky Knitter .  And here is Day One: Looks like fabric to me... Whatever your menus and plans the next couple of days, I hope you are happy and safe.

 In the back is The Great Slog.  Can you tell how much more I've gotten done?  It's been all white, so probably not.  In the front, the beginning of a Christmas tree.  It's upside down here, by the way.  There's also a healthy snack;  I should get credit for that. Psychiatrist, pharmacy, and bank today.  There were lots of semi-empty parking lots, which surprised me.  I guess UGA and the county schools are out, or maybe folks are leaving for Thanksgiving weirdly early.  We are going to Hannah's Thursday, to return to  Kura .  I've taken it upon myself to provide dessert, so there'll be sushi followed by sweet potato and/or pecan pies.

Regarding the meaning of my name post: things like that have always fascinated me: astrological signs, numerology numbers, anything that is or can be  personalized.  I should point out that my name's meaning is different from the meaning of  Twinnie's .  "Kim" and "Kimberly" aren't the same.  No, I'm not a "Kimberly," and for the umpteenth time here, I point out that not only am I "just" "Kim," I have no middle name.  Somewhere back in my memories, I recall being told that that was the case because my parents didn't want to name me something they weren't going to call me, but Mama didn't remember that, nor did she remember why they chose "Kim."  If you knew my mother, you'd know that's not the kind of thing she'd forget, but I had to take her at her word. As if there weren't enough boxes scattered around this house, one more has entered the fray: Granted, it's only a little box, ...

These  or, in a better (stock) photo are EVERYWHERE.  And I would put one up against any Lego brick for causing pain when stepped on. They are seed pods of the Sweetgum tree.  They stick in Tap's hair when we walk, if I hit one, it wobbles me.  They can also cause you to roll an ankle, which I don't need right now. Today was grocery day.  😧  I hate grocery shopping with a flaming passion, but it was necessary.  Everyone was buying Thanksgiving fixings except me.  I've turned holiday planning completely over to my children, and have received no instructions regarding food.  I've pulled everything together for over 25 years --- it's their turn now.

Look at all of these cross-stitch Christmas ornaments! Well, the ones you can see without glare.  They're from which I picked up yesterday.  Oh, I  wanna make so many of them! Among all the magazines on offer, these: Four magazines about soup!  And stews --- I don't want the stew lobbyists on my case.  There are, in case you didn't know, magazines published on practically any and every topic.  EXTREME niches.  If you're curious about your fellow humans' interests, visit a newsstand. I've been trying to cull through things around the house lately.  Tucked into the back corner of a closet was this: This bag is from the long-gone knit shop that my mother used to knit for.  It was a charming little place, and I was sorry to see it go.  But there is this to remind me of it, and of all those pleated skirts Mama made.  SO many pleated skirts.  Handknit pleated skirts were apparently the way to go in Nashville for a while.

So there's Hard Mountain Dew now?  Advent puzzles were mentioned in the last set of comments.  There are some nice ones out there.  Some build to a large puzzle, others are individual small ones. My collage (kitchen) table is being cleaned off as I am in the mood to do puzzles myself. Am I the only one who's sick of "Wicked"?  And it hasn't even come out. The other day, I looked up at a jet flying over, and instead of thinking "That's a plane" like usual, I realized that that was something with dozens of people in it.  Why that had never struck me before, who can say.  But there are people in those things, reading, adjusting their headphones, hoping there's Dr Pepper on the drink cart. . .  Oops, that's maybe just me. Went to Barnes & Noble after therapy today.  Are your bookstores really light on knitting books all of a sudden? Crochet seems to be taking over the shelf space.   Cross-stitching creeps in this petty pace from day to d...

You know I like an advent calendar.  Look what got here today:   Notice the "in a matchbox."  Here's why:  5 1/2 inches wide, 3 and maybe 1/4 inches wide. Now, consider that there are 24 patterns, and fabric and floss for them in this box.  I am going to be a brave girl, though, and not open it until December 1st.  You will see when I see.

My "marathon piece," as it shall now be known, is on 18-count fabric.  I think that's as high a count as I've ever worked with.  22 seems ridiculous to me, but kudos to those who take it on.

 This is the piece I wrote about the other day: You can see that it's going to be a nightmare. Honestly, though, my aim is to get some stitches in each day.  It will take forever  to finish at that rate, but maybe it will keep my concentration high and my frustration low. My ankle is still in good shape.  Fingers crossed.  One thing I cannot do yet is go down stairs "normally."  That flexibility without pain isn't there yet.  If that's the biggest issue, though, I can certainly deal with it.

Okay, ankle news.   Wednesday night, I was frantic.  The swelling hadn't gone down, the coloring looked worse, the pain was no better.  I was going back to the doctor Thursday. Except when I woke up yesterday, the swelling was way, way down.  I could walk pretty well.  The coloring was better.  My last doses of doxycycline were for today, so I took a deep breath and decided to wait one more day.  And this morning, my two ankles looked very much the same!  There's still some discoloration, but that, I've learned, can last even after all the other symptoms are gone.  SO, one doxycycline left, and we'll see where things go. Big game here tomorrow.  Lots and lots of traffic outside.  Time to hunker down.  Not this but this Hope your weekend is comfy and cozy, too!

Have you noticed that sometimes when people say,  "On 'three,'" they actually do it on what would be "four?" I'm down to my last Creamy Coconut Dr Pepper, and I am guarding it with (practically) my life.  Why, oh why, do they have to be in such short supply? I have started a cross-stitch piece that will not be any fun, but will be beautiful if I can get through it. And, yes, in answer to my gripe the other day, it is kind of chilly tonight.  My little wren friend drives the point home. Granted, (s)he usually takes up residence at the other end of the porch, but (s)he is a lovely, welcome sight.

Well, I found a pattern for my "Oregon" yarn. It's "I Just Want to Knit," from my friend  Kelli Slack .  It's a pattern even I could memorize, and it's coming along.  Yes, there are eyelets at the bottom;  I just didn't pull down far enough. The heat has been turned on for a protracted period today.  Was the Universe reading my post from yesterday?

So today is my 4th day on the doxycycline, and I think it makes me extremely nauseated if I don't have something in my stomach when I take it.  The ankle does look better, though.  Maybe this is going to do the trick.  Knowing where the really angry colors were, I can see an area of discoloration, but nobody else would notice, I suspect. No embroidery or cross-stitch to show today, but my banana silk scarf is growing nicely. I'm going to just knit until the yarn runs out.  It may be Dr. Who-ish, but that is fine with me. IF I ever get a chance to wear it.  Mid-November here, and you can still get comfortably by in a t-shirt. You should not need ceiling fans at this point in the year!  You should be wrapping scarves and shawls around yourself, and lining up your handknit sweaters to wear.

 Tap just woke up from a nap, and is beginning to grow a Santa beard?

Well, I couldn't wait out the weekend. With the pain in and around my ankle still being sharp, and what little swelling there is, I knew it was best not to wait to see the same doctor Monday. . .  I was the second patient in the door this morning.  I couldn't imagine that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. The doctor seem puzzled by the continuing symptoms, but stuck with the cellulitis diagnosis.  Gout is another option, but he thinks that's fairly unlikely.  He prescribed doxycycline, another antibiotic, so my upcoming week will be on that. The urgent care office I went to is split between pediatrics and not pediatrics.  I was in the waiting room with three sniffling, coughing, sleepy little boys.  Two of them were in their fathers' arms, just laid against their chests, pretty worn out.  One had a very well-loved If You Give a Mouse a Cookie   mouse clutched in his hand.  I remember those days. A while back, I bought myself so...

I'm about to take the last Keflex, and what happens next is sort of up in the air.  My ankle is still sore, and there's just a bit of swelling and discoloration, so...  I guess I'll give it the weekend? I'm working on another bobby/anklet sock, and wondering why the sparkly isn't showing up in the photo. Really, it sparkles.  I do like sparkly yarn, and of course the purple pleases me.

I know it's because my circle is, well, my circle, but I am surrounded by people in life and online who are as shellshocked as me.  Even my therapist and I spent half my session commiserating.  I'm refusing news on TV and online, only looking at, watching, and listening to things that will not make me sadder or angrier.  "Just because you lost doesn't mean you're wrong."  Helpful. "We might not want to admit it, but this IS the America we live in now."  Oddly semi-soothing. My choice is to stay small and stay quiet until this can all be dealt with.  I have it in me to deal with it, and so do you.  We have to stand, at least for each other.  Hard fights are good fights. Whatever I find right in front of me, I will do my utmost to meet it with calm, kindness, intentionality and strength.   I will find at least one thing every day to be thankful for, and at least one thing that makes me genuinely happy. Like crafting and crafters.

Well,  what now? 

What is this?  A brandy snifter?  A hi-top Chuck holding a crescent moon?  Half the face of a cat with a teeny ear on said Chuck?  It's a cross-stitch piece that intrigues me. Speaking of which,  a Tiny Needle Tuesday piece.  Another kit that shorted me on floss (look at the balloon's side stripe on the left.)  I wasn't sure about Santa's face, but it's cute, huh? I don't expect to get much sleep tonight;  how about you?  All that time should be perfect crafting time, but I think I'll be too nervous.  When tomorrow comes, will we still be living in a democracy?  

 My Knitting Across America Oregon yarn is being extremely ornery.  The pattern that came with the yarn and the tote won't cooperate with my fingers or my brain.  The weekend was full of casting on and ripping out.  The yarn is wearing thin from being looped and unlooped.  Let's hope I can find a pattern that will work. In the meantime, swollen ankle and all, I will imagine what it would be like to be beautiful Ava Gardner, in a fantastically full dress, sitting in the shade and reading.

My ankle is coming along, I suppose.  I can walk in a fairly normal way for 10 to 15 feet.  The blue line disappeared, of course, and there is still redness and pain, but things are improving?   Apparently, cellulitis does not call for elevating and icing, it calls for elevating and warm compression.  They both feel good, but I'm sticking with the warmth.  Thank goodness I have a  Warmies  horse wrap.

Sometimes, you have to spend money sillily* to give yourself some Happy.  Hence, a set of square needles and  a square needle gauge! *"silly" + "ly."  It made not properly exist, but it's fun to say and I like the way it looks.