Pajama Party -- Day 4

Last Friday morning I awoke at 3 am with a stomach-ache. I was able to sleep some more, finally, but when I awoke for good at 7:30, the ache was still there. Nothing serious, mind you, but still there. I had breakfast and trooped into my wonderful wool shop. All morning long, my stomach ached. I finally stopped trying to pretend that the coffee tasted good and dumped it by 10:00.

At noon, my tuna-fish sandwich didn't sound remotely good, but chicken noodle soup did. I called home to request my wonderful husband bring me some, but he didn't answer the phone. When he called me back (note that I did not say "finally") at 2:30, even chicken noodle soup didn't sound good. In fact, a trip to the doctor sounded good.

He was not able to reach the doctor's office. Who knew that they would stop answering the phones so early on a Friday afternoon? (Note to self: Must check into this.) Doug dutifully called the after-hours clinic to which our doctor belongs, only to discover that not only was the clinic not answering phones (it was before 5:00 pm), it wasn't open on Friday.

Doug called me back to report his findings. I didn't care. I needed to see a doctor. My stomach really hurt. Folks who know me will realize that I don't get to this point often. Usually I am the equivalent of a dead body before I consent to visit the doctor for an illness. I don't run fevers, and I had been having chills and chattering teeth all day.

Doug raced in and met me at the shop. The next question became which hospital emergency room to visit--the dreaded Port Perry (that's a very long story which I'll save for later), the much-reviled Oshawa General (which is likewise a long story), or traipse into one of the Toronto hospitals at which my doctor has privileges. Besides not wanting to ponder such decisions (and also because I had self-diagnosed appendix issues), I told him to just get me to the nearest hospital.

Port Perry saw me at 4:10. By 4:30 the surgeon had called in the team and a time of 5:30 was decreed. She decided that an ultrasound would be torturous beyond belief and a CT scan a waste of time, especially since it was a Friday evening and my condition was worsening. She could tell best by a quick peek into said offending belly ... and went at it.

I was correct in that my appendix had decided it was time to leave this body. Fortunately, there was no rupture and recovery has been uneventful. I have spared you all the delight of reviewing the incisions and bruising--but if you are a family member, just let me know and I'll send you photos. (For the uninitiated, we are a strange bunch and regularly have discussions over who has the biggest owie {that would be the Daughter, since she has visibly missing body parts}, who has the most impressive scars {Mom was the leader here, but in her absence it is the Eldest out in Missouri currently} and the like. Apparently, it is a badge of honor to have multiple broken bones at the same time {Andy and Jason}. As I said, we are a strange bunch.)

Kudos to Dr. Karolyn Dobbin and the nursing staff at Port Perry Hospital. They were awesome!

During my recovery, I finished the Sea Silk scarf. Viola!This iteration of the scarf is 71 stitches wide--a 3-stitch garter border, 65 stitches of Fishtail Lace and another 3-stitch garter border. It is approximately 4 feet long, so will be just right for the keeping the evening chill off my delicate shoulders this summer. I must admit that I absolutely LOVE how the colours make those gorgeous diamonds along the length of the scarf. Seen here, the scarf is not yet blocked as I am not really able to crawl around on the floor much yet. Even in its unblocked state, however, the finished project is fabulous. This yarn is truly a delight with which to knit and a joy to watch as the stitches flow past. I highly recommend everyone try even one project with this yarn, even though it is expensive. After all, everyone is worth one very expensive project.

Having completed the scarf, it was time for another project. An amazing discovery ensued--hold on to your hats, folks, because this is momentous!

I have grown bored with plain-jane socks using self-patterning yarn.

Yes, you did read that correctly. I have grown bored just going round and round and watching the yarn do all the work. Since I am prohibited from lifting (and that includes darn near any and all weight) and all my yarn is stored in stacking tubs, I was relegated to using these poor, lonely balls of sock yarn which have been sitting, abandoned, on top of the stack. But how to make them more interesting? I had been planning on the Jaywalker socks, but am tired of trying to make the diagonals work (there's a store project sitting in the bottom of a workbasket because I'm frustrated with it!), and besides I'd heard that the socks don't fit all that nicely.

In my drug-induced haze, it made perfect sense that I should attempt to figure out the 2-Socks-1-Circular technique. I'd tried it before, and given up. So with less than full capacity in the mental area, this should be a real challenge.

It was and is. It does, however, make the plain-Jane sock pattern far more interesting.