Home....

Hi all. I got home from the hospital around 1:30. The surgery went well and I'm recovering normally. I was suppose to come home yesterday, but I got really nauseaed and they gave me some medication and I stayed one more night. It is good to be home. The nurses and nursing assistants were great. I was very thankful for the kindness. I tried to knit on a sock Friday night, but I really screwed it up. Vicodin and knitting just don't go well together:)

I need to go take a nap. Happy knitting!

No bread or pasta....

I had a good conversation today with the pre-op nurse. She had this same surgery a year ago, so in between asking me all the required questions, I'd interject a little question of my own. She told me that I wouldn't be eating any bread or pasta for at least a month if not longer. Boy, do I love bread and pasta. Also, no soda pop for a long time. In the end this will all be worth it. We all know that soda isn't very good for a body, so this may be just the thing I need to give it up. A good side effect of this will be some much needed weight loss. Tom called me earlier and asked if I was packed and ready to go. I let him know that my knitting was all ready. He said, "Yeah, who needs clean underwear when you've got knitting." Too funny!

Okay, Miss Maggie and I are off to confirmation. I'll update as soon as I feel better. Happy knitting!

All done....
Another pair of socks for me! I started this pair in June when I got the yarn from Shelly. I don't know why I suffered from second sock syndrome with this pair. I'm glad they are finished and I plan on wearing them today!! I may even wash them up tonight to take to the hospital with me.

Shelly and her beautiful girls met us last Monday when we were up in the cities. We went to a Vietnamese resturant and it was fabulous. I can't remember the name of the soup we all got, but it was delicious. My boys were not the best behaved and I was embarrassed, but it was wonderful to see Shelly again. Her girls were fantastic and they are only 2 and 4! Next time I go meet her I will be alone. (Or I may take Maggie with me, she was wonderful) Shelly brought me a gift of this hand spun yarn. I was going to make mittens for myself, but changed my mind. I think I will make a scarf. One can never have too many scarves when you live in Wisconsin!
I was remiss in posting a picture of my yarn I got with my cute sheep. Chris said the bag was making lots of noise and when she looked in it, there was yarn!:) Too funny. She spoils me.
I am meeting with my knitting group today. Chris, Jane, Susan, and I started a little group last fall and we try to meet up once a month. I enjoy it very much. Tonight is our group at church, Purly Gates Knitters, so I'm going to that as well. Today is just a good day for knitting!
I'm off to try and get some work done before my "playdate" with my friends. Happy knitting!!!

A Sheepy Friend and new yarn....

My friend, Chris, gave me this big, fluffy sheep on Thursday. Isn't it cute? Very soft and cuddly.

Here are some new skeins of yarn I received in the last week or so. On the left is Cherry Tree Hill from my Loopy Ewe sock club package, middle is Wollmeise (also from The Loopy Ewe) andon the right is my Yarn Pirate sock club yarn. I really love them all.
We had a nice Easter yesterday. We went to church then to see Tom's mom. The afternoon was spent relaxing and then we had a nice dinner with ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and the ever so nummy snickers salad. (Snickers, green apples, mandarin oranges, cool whip and vanilla pudding) Last night I finished up the last pair of mittens I'm making this year for Maggie's friends. We still have a lot of snow and more is predicted tomorrow! I am so ready for spring!!!

I will have a finished pair of socks to show tomorrow. The first one was done in June!!! I had a bit of second sock syndrome. Happy knitting!!

Surgery...

On Thursday I will be having a procedure called a Nissan Fundoplication as described here. I have been dealing with acid reflux since I was pregnant with Grant. It got worse with each pregnancy and I've been taking Nexium twice a day for a long time. I'm still having problems and they can't increase the medication so this is the next step. Since November I've had ultrasounds, CT scans, endoscopy, and manometry done. I will be in the hospital 2-3 days and on a liquid diet for 2 weeks. I hope to get a lot of knitting done. The only concern I have is the nausea after surgery. I hope they give me lots of drugs to counteract this.

I'll try to update my blog again before Thursday and hopefully will be feeling better by the following Monday. Happy Easter!

1000 Knitters...

Yesterday at Yellow Dog Knitting I had my picture taken by Franklin Habit for his book project to photograph 1000 knitters. It was very nice to meet him. He is so friendly and I wasn't nervous at all. I was the first one for the day and I'm not sure what number I was exactly. I believe he photographed approx. 50 knitters yesterday. Our local newspaper even wrote an article about the event. Knitters rule! Go read Franklin's blog. It is wonderful.

In the afternoon I went up to Woodbury for a gathering of my high school friends. We have been having a Christmas party every year since our senior year. It has been hard to gather in December, so in the past five years or so, it has been in January. Well, somehow we didn't get our acts together and found ourselves gathering in March this year. There are about 25 or so of us, but only 13 were able to attend yesterday. It was so much fun catching up with everyone. Most of us have children and the ages range from 25 to 3 1/2. One of my friend's is planning her daughter's wedding. I think this is the first wedding for our group. So far no one is a grandma. Ugh! I can't believe I even wrote that. Am I really old enough to have high school friend's who could be grandmas. Scary!! We stayed up until 3:00 a.m talking and laughing. I had to take a nap this afternoon! :)

Tomorrow the kids and I head out for our mini-vacation to the Mall of America. I am looking forward to it and so are the kids. Happy knitting!!!

NEW FAMILY MEMBER....
Here is Sadie Lynn. We got her on Saturday from the Eau Claire County Humane Association. She is a doll. I didn't think I was ready, and I do still miss Gracie a lot, but Sadie is so fun. She is six months old. The dogs are getting along well with her. Richie a.k.a. Fat Cat is still adjusting. He was trying to play with her today, so that is a good sign.

Blankie Pictures

Here are some updated pictures of my blankie. Shelly has completed her blankie and that inspired me to get mine out and work on it. I really do enjoy this project. I can do a few squares and feel like I've accomplished something.

Kids are on spring break next week, so we are going to the Mall of America on Monday and Tuesday. We haven't spent a lot of time at the mall in awhile, so I thought it would be a nice time to do this. A lot of people we know are heading to warmer climates and wonderful vacations, but this will have to do for now. The kids wish we were going somewhere tropical, but it is a very busy time for Tom at work and it is too hard for him to get away. I really didn't feel like going on a vacation with the kids myself. I did that once in 2001 and we had fun, but I want Tom to be able to go with us. We may take the kids to Florida this fall.

I need to get some work done. Have a good day!! Happy knitting!

A SAD DAY IN PACKERLAND.......

Well it is official, Brett retired. I was in denial up until the news conference this morning. I cried a lot, but so did the other women I was with today. I went to a friend's house for scrapbooking and we all sat on the couch and cried while Brett said his goodbye. I know he is a human being just like the rest of us, but he was so much fun to watch. I thought it was interesting how he stated that he knows what it is like to be dead. Watching all the sports coverage about his career must be pretty weird because it seems like we all are eulogizing him. Like he said, "All good things must come to an end."

Maggie, Patrick, and I went to the Chippewa County Humane Association to look at some kittens today. I thought I was ready to get another cat, but I'm not. Both of the kitties we were looking at are adorable, but it just didn't feel right in my heart. I guess I need more time.

I'll stop for now to go knit and watch the Eau Claire North High School boys basketball team play in the state tournament. Happy Knitting!!

We had my friend's daughter take pictures of Gracie last August since we weren't sure how long we would have her in our lives. This one is probably my favorite. I am so thankful that I have this one. I have set it to be my background on the computer screen. I wanted to share it with all of you. It really shows what a sweetie she was and how much fun we had watching her. I love how you can see her pretty pink nose and tongue. I'm missing her a lot and have been a bit emotional the past few days about her. Adding to the mood is stress over dealing with teenagers. I know that the decisions Tom and I make are in the best interests of the kids, but d@mn, it is hard. Someday the kids will know we did our best and hopefully with see that we just wanted to help shape them into wonderful members of society. We are trying to find the balance between being too strict yet giving limits that are appropriate for them. If they get to do whatever they want at 15 and 13 1/2 what do they have to look forward too? Is it ever going to be enough? Well, I hope you all enjoy my picture of Gracie. She gave me a lot of unconditional love, and I guess I'm missing that. Teenagers don't quite get that yet:(

More volleyball...

We had another tournament today. The good part was that it was here in Eau Claire, the bad part is that Maggie's team didn't play very good. She is frustrated and I don't blame her. She is very competitive and some girls on her team just don't take it seriously. They have one more tournament next Sunday in Rochester, MN and then they are done. I hate to admit it, but I'm glad. This has been a learning experience for all of us. She wants to try out for the club team again next year and I hope she makes it and has a more postive experience.

I have been knitting, just not blogging or taking pictures. I seem to have starteritis. Yes, I believe that is a made up name. I have started a sweater and frogged it, am working on my Diva sweater, have a mitten done and one more to go, started a scarf, and began designing a fair isle sweater. My ADD must be in full swing! :)

I'm tired and the dogs are looking for a lap to cuddle with. I'm going over to Ravelry then I'll hit the couch. Happy knitting.