Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

February Wrap Up!!

Slipped off the blogging radar again.  The whole month of February - just gone!  How does that happen.

Thankfully nothing negative was involved.  Just time getting away from me.  Lets see what I can do to catch up.

I finished the knitted blanket I made for my grand daughter - it is a blanket she will use here - should we ever get back to normal times and she can visit again.  I was glad to be done with it.  It was huge and easy to work on in a mindless fashion, but I had other stuff I was itching to get to!



Then we had a little scare with this old man “grand child,” my daughter’s dog Milo!  He had some breathing issues and she got an initial evaluation from her vet with an X-ray ... the vet thought he had lung tumors - probable cancer - and at his age, extensive testing was just not an option.  Quality of life care was the recommendation ... and maybe some steroids to slow down the tumor growth and make him comfortable.  Her vet wanted him seen by a vet internist to evaluate and make suggestions since he is already on pain meds for his back issues.  That visit provided a different opinion, thankfully and it is not cancer.  But without expensive testing and maybe some uncomfortable treatments involving anesthesia, (also not an option), a definitive diagnosis could not be given.  At present we are just content that it is not cancer. Making him comfortable in his very senior years is now the goal.



And after the scare of maybe losing him, I found this charming picture of him when he wasn’t so gray. Now his is the wall paper on my computer screen.  My daughter isn’t going to be the only one devastated by his passing.  We just need to enjoy him now.



This month my grand daughter turned 3.  We, of course, could not be with her so her parents held a virtual Birthday Party using Zoom.  All her family joined her on the computer and we enjoyed watching her open her presents and eat cake.  (Have I said recently just how much I HATE this pandemic?). I think I could tolerate it better if I had full access to my family.


And here I am in line (6 feet apart, of course) at CVS waiting to get my first Covid VAX shot just yesterday.  The effort required to get that appointment was just too much.  So many people and not enough vaccines.  But I am grateful I managed to get onto a schedule. I have had no reaction to this first shot, but I understand that the second shot does produce some fatigue. My second shot is scheduled for the end of the month.  Of course, now I start all over again trying to get my husband on a schedule for his shots.  I check the schedules for 3 pharmacies, 2 max vaccine mega sites and the health department when I wake before I even have coffee and about 6 more times during the day and last thing before I go to bed at night.  It just never ends.

I have started 2 more new projects - both are crochet.  The first picture is a sample of a technique called mosaic crochet.  This is new to me.  The pattern is from the Queen blanket (on Ravelry) that I plan to make very soon.  This Queen blanket was part of a CAL last fall and it has extensive video support on YouTube. For the sample I chose 2 light colored yarns - which was stupid.  The patterning would be so much more dramatic with more contrast. The yarn I have purchased for this pattern has plenty of contrast so it should be more fun - and the pictures will be better.


The second project is from Annie’s Craft Club.  I kept getting ads for this club in my Facebook feed.  I finally just gave up and started the club. The blanket is striped and each stripe is a different crochet stitch.  The acrylic yarn is called Premier Anti Pilling Everyday Worsted and it is my new favorite acrylic. It doesn’t split, the colors are really lovely (although my photos don’t do it justice) and it is very soft.  Feels nothing like typical crunchy acrylic.  This project, too, has video support which I follow very carefully.  I am mostly a knitter and I know the basic crochet stitches, but I have learned so much from watching both videos.  Being able to “read” your knitting or your crochet is so important.  I understand the structure of the knit stitch very well - and these projects with their video support are helping me understand the crochet stitch at a much better level.  I am really enjoying both very much.


Anyway, that is my February all summed up in a single post.  

Hope that all of you are doing well - and staying well.  We are so close to the “finish line” of this pandemic now that a vaccine is finally available.  Everyone, keep wearing your masks and stay 6 feet apart ... and if you are able, please get vaccinated so we can all return to a normal life with herd immunity in place.




12 comments:

A :-) said...

Such a cute photo of young Milo. It's so hard when beloved pets get old. Congratulations on getting your first shot!!!! This wonderful news :-)

Leftycrafter said...

Thank you for taking the vaccine. Hopefully you will be able to get your hubby in soon too. My second dose caused some fatigue and injection site reaction. The fatigue is gone but the injection site is still red and swollen. It has been a week since the injection. But I will take that over hospitalization anyway.

I learned the mosaic crochet too. But I started with the Havana Blanket pattern. I have the Queen printed off and will start it once I decide what colors I want to use or if I will just use my stash yarn up on it. I love her patterns and her videos.

The premier antipilling yarn is fabulous. I knitted myself a cardigan out of it and love the feel of it. What a great yarn to use for a blanket.

Michelle said...

I have never been tempted to make a blanket, so my hat is off to you; those are BIG projects! So glad you have your first shot – FINALLY – and hope your husband can get his soon, too. I'll admit to feeling a bit more relaxed now that we have both of ours. We had an outbreak among several families in our church and while no one needed hospitalization, several felt very ill. The more I learn about "long COVID," the more I'm convinced that I wouldn't want ANY version of this virus, even asymptomatic!

Marie Smith said...

Glad to hear all is well though time away from your little sweetie, especially on her birthday, has to be hard. Hope that is over soon, now you are vaccinated. Hope your husband is as lucky soon.

happyone said...

Wow 3 already!!! Time moves on. The blanket is beautiful.
Liz (David's girlfriend) was sick for 3 days after the second shot. Hope all goes well for you with the second.

Helen said...

Trying to get our shots lined up I went with location closest to us (in Tulsa, Ok) and somehow the place they sent me (I was looking at a city street map) didn't look at all familiar so I 'backed out' to see where I was...they were trying to hook me up with shots in Ogden, Utah! Don't know what I did, but fortunately I figured it out before 'booking' them there. lol We are down to my second shot and we will both be finished.

Becki said...

Well, I missed you. In fact, I came in to check just to see if I wasn't getting notifications. What a beautiful blanket you've knit for your granddaughter. I think I say this every time I see a knit blanket - I just can't imagine how long that takes. But knitted blankets sure are soft and pretty. Everyday yarn is one of my favorites. I don't know if it's living in a small town, but getting my first COVID vaccine was so simple. Made an appointment at the Kroger pharmacy, no line when I got there (could have just been good timing). Here's hoping the second shot is just as easy!

Lynne said...

Happy vaccine #1 has happened for you.
Oh my . . . I would have thought your husband would have been a candidate as well.
Take him with you when you go for your second, maybe they will squeeze him in.
It is happening that way here, in some cases.
In fact, exactly what happened with my “Mister Irish!”
I was signed up, he was in the hospital.
My appointment time came up, he had just arrived home from the hospital,
so I just took him along and they vaccinated him as well.

Knit or Crochet . . . both wonderful!

Susan said...

Zoom birthday parties (or Zoom anything) is just nowhere near fulfilling on any level. Let's hope you spend her fourth birthday with her. I am so glad I did not have to rely on getting the vaccine set up in NYS where I live. Since my doctors are in VT, I got to go through their well-organized system. I need some new and exciting knitting projects...

Paula said...

I am not going to worry about the vaccine right now. Things will quiet down and people will not be so desperate. I stay home all the time anyway. And rarely see my family so I should be okay. I've decided it its "my time" then its my time. Lovely projects you are working on!

Leigh said...

Aw, that pic of Milo on your computer is so sweet. I'm so sorry to hear about his health. It's always sad to see them grow old and beyond.

I'm happy for you being able to get the vaccination and I hope your 2nd is completely uneventful. It's a relief to have that checked off the list.

Thank you for sharing your granddaughter's birthday party. So cute. At least we have zoom, so the little ones have faces to go with voices. That's a good thing.

M.K. said...

You're doing so much beautiful yarn work! The blanket you finished is lovely - what a pretty pattern!
So sorry about the grand-pup. He's a sweetie. It's so hard when they age :(
I'm also struggling about vaccine schedules. I don't want to leap into that whole effort of trying to get an appointment for my daughter, and then for me (starting Wed.), but it's so important to me. Sigh. Good job getting your first shot!!!