I have some health items to share, a couple positive and one not-so-positive. I also have some celebrating to do as I have another finished object to share!

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

First off, I finished my tee for the August segment of Camp Loopy! I managed to complete it with three of the four balls of yarn I bought, so the fourth will go towards something new, once I decide what that is. I haven’t blocked the top yet, but that’s on my list to do this week so that I can wear it next weekend.

I also made great progress on my second sock this week. I worked on the leg during a performance on Friday (more about this later). Ideally, I’ll continue on this sock during meetings and movies.

My shawl is closing in on completion as I finished the main garter stitch section and started on the lace chart with a new yarn. I have a few grams of the main color remaining, so I may use it at the end of the garter stitch border. Still thinking about it.

At last, I pulled out the Freedom Cowl to work on. The beaded rows are the only place I need to pay close attention, but after working a couple more repeats of the pattern, I can proceed now without referencing the pattern. My goal here is to finish this before the Pigskin Party kicks off in about three weeks.

Cast-on Conversations

I’m being very intentional with my yarn purchases this year as I’m determined to finish with a net loss, using more yarn in my projects than I bring in. As of this moment, I’ve used 869 grams more than I’ve brought in. That’s huge for me! And yet, I still gain yarn from time to time, lol. This week Laura Nelkin released a previously exclusive design from her N Club: Scarfscape, designed to highlight this gradient yarn both in its structure and with the beads she’s added. Her kits make this a no-brainer, so I opted for that. I’m thinking of gifting the shawl when I’ve finished it, but then I’ll own the pattern so I can make more if I choose.

Fiber Fun

I did not manage to do any spinning last week, and I didn’t remember until late on Monday evening to take a picture of my progress from the 30 minutes of spinning I did the week before. I actually managed 30 minutes last night, and I plan to do a bit more this week. So here’s my starting point for reference.

My spinning goal in the short term is to fill this bobbin (four ounces) before the Pigskin Party starts. My fiber from Fibernymph Dye Works arrived last week, and this I will spin for the party. My goal will be to spin and chain-ply by the end of the year. Then I can knit it into something at the start of the new year.

Environment Evolution

ED: I was apparently very tired today, or just too busy, as I published this post before revisiting this section. Finished now!

Last week I posted while my house was dark thanks to a power outage. More than 75,000 homes in central Ohio were without power for some time. Mine was restored just after midnight that night, so in total we were dark for nearly fourteen hours. My ice cream melted, sigh. But otherwise, it wasn’t terrible. Thankfully it wasn’t a hot day, but it was quite dark as waves of storms blew across the state. Tornado? The answer, per the National Weather Service is yes: an EF1 tornado touched down near campus (tOSU) and lifted within five miles of my house. The NWS also reports that there was a possible derecho (a car on the freeway was flipped on its axis while driving north!)

On Saturday night we had another wave of storms. Shortly before 11pm, the tornado sirens started blaring. I checked a local channel for updates, and the path of concern was south of me, heading further southeast. There were two tornados that touched down in Ohio west of us.

Health Highlights

Introducing a new segment, it’s possible I’ll have more to share as time goes on. You know, the whole aging thing, lol. I’ll start here with the positive news. First, I had shared recently about my doctor recommending more whole foods and less processed stuff. I had the opportunity to sign up for a meat delivery service. I’m trying it out, and I opted for an eight-week cycle, so I have a while to determine what works best. They provide a mix of single-serving items packed together (e.g., filet mignon, chicken breast) as well as some bulk packaged foods (e.g., shrimp, pre-made meatballs). I do have to sort out what I can prepare easily from the frozen packages vs what needs to be defrosted the night before, and then there’s the actual food prep. The first shipment took up slightly less than half of my freezer, so that’s quite manageable. So far the only thing I cooked up was a serving of breaded chicken strips.

I’m a little hesitant to claim victory over my sleep apnea, but I’m finally seeing good results from the Daybreak device. It’s been twenty days since I began using the device which uses two trays that fit on my teeth, upper and lower, connected by a couple plastic bands. The lower tray has been problematic until very recently, and as a result, I wasn’t seeing enough improvement from Apple Health concerning the Elevated Breathing Disturbances. The numbers DID drop, but they were still considered elevated according to the guidelines for the app. But starting Friday night, they dropped considerably, falling into the Not Elevated level, suggesting that the device is working as intended. To give you examples, the highest value I see in my data is 69 in late April. Last night scored under two! It’s still too early to call this a true success, but I’m hopeful. I’ve also noticed that I’m not waking up with a dry, swollen tongue, which has been a tad too common in recent weeks. I’m still about ten days away from the follow-up sleep study. Hopefully this trend continues!

Now, the not-so-great news: the poison ivy in my yard has returned. And I failed to recognize it. Last year I dealt with the rash on my arms, but this year I had the new experience of it spreading to my face. Ugh! I first noticed it when I woke up Saturday morning, and my right eyelid was swollen enough to disrupt my field of vision. I also had redness on the bottom half of my face. Yesterday it got worse, and the entire space between my eyebrow and upper eyelashes was severely swollen, and the redness in my face started to spread down my chin to my neck.

Before going to church, I stopped at the pharmacy for some medication to treat the itching and swelling. It improved my conditions tremendously, but they didn’t subside completely, and I had to be vigilant to take the medication every four hours. Not ideal. Today I had a telehealth appointment with a doctor who prescribed steroids. I’m feeling a little better, but I’m confident this should address the underlying condition and not just the symptoms. I’m also looking at options to remove the doggone plants from my garden!

Grandson Glimpses

The munchkin has been quite antsy lately, and when we’re not dealing with the waves of storms, he’s eager to go outside to play. I’ve gone out with him a couple times, but when I wouldn’t play with him, running around the yard, he pouted.

On Saturday, I took him to Lowe’s for their DIY Workshop event for kids. The registration information doesn’t give ANY age guidance, but the kit we were provided, specifically promoting the Paw Patrol movie that opened last week, suggests 4+. Still, I was hopeful he could participate and enjoy the experience. He certainly had fun, and he likes the finished project. But I think I’ll wait a few years before trying this again.

The kiddo was quite entertaining, as usual, calling any adult he encountered “sir.” He also took to playing with the kit parts that I wasn’t actively using as I had to put the thing together in truth. I had him hold the hammer with me as much as I could, but sometimes it was just too tricky. Still, he remarked that a small disc in the kit looked like a melatonin; then he stacked it on another small piece of wood and said it looks like a cookie. No shortage of imagination here!

He was also very intrigued by the Halloween decorations for sale in a display near us. I don’t think we’ll be taking any of them home though. He did say he’d like a skeleton though, hee hee.

I’m somewhat verklempt, realizing that my grandson has grown from a toddler into more of a preschooler. Sigh. This has become most obvious since he rarely has tantrums or full-blown meltdowns unless he’s too tired. Instead, when he doesn’t get his way, he sulks. I went outside with him the other day, and he wanted me to run around the yard with him, but I did not have the energy. He ambled down the walkway and plopped down on the step… looking back to be sure I knew he wasn’t happy. Of course, he smiled and waved at a neighbor, and called out “Hello, sir!” But then he looked back at me with that pouty face. LOL

Tail Talk

We had a small celebration on Friday in recognition of River’s “Gotcha Day.” It’s wild to think she’s been with us for a year. I’m impressed with how far she’s come in that time. Last week she even got brave enough to walk on a towel on the couch to get to where I was sitting because she wanted me to pet her. I still can’t touch her paws though and picking her up is never desirable. I’ll be scheduling her check-up soon.

Soundscape Sessions

I mentioned earlier that I attended a performance on Friday, but it wasn’t a theatrical production or concert like I usually share. Instead, this was “Miracles and Magic,” an evening of entertainment including a number of magicians, but the finale act was a duo of jugglers. I heard about the event from a comedic magician I know, Michael Kent. Others on stage were mentalist Jonathan Levit, host Jon Petz, and the headliners are billed as The Passing Zone, Owen Morse and Jon Wee (America’s Got Talent finalists), and their juggling was impressive. The event was to benefit A Kid Again in Central Ohio. It was a fun evening, supporting a worthy cause, and I managed more than twenty rounds on my sock. All good!

Knit on. 🧶