What a week!

Hmm.  Now I’m pondering that exclamation point.  I suppose the week has stood out as very different, but not for the reasons that one generally associates with the excitement of an exclamation point.  Perhaps the punctuation is my hope to put a finish on it and move on to something totally different?  I’ve spent a great deal of time outdoors this week.  Yes, I have lots and lots to do indoors, but I’ve been off pondering the cosmos more than usual.  The loss of a sweet friend, the tragedy in Boston, weirdness of my family (is that ever anything new?), and stupid medical issues have me in a more meditative state.  I have, in the evenings, sat and worked on my Wicked Witch socks – really, Hilda’s Basic Ribbed Sock in Knit Picks Imagination, Wicked Witch color:

I just adore these socks – they are so me.  My sister who still lives on the east coast calls herself the Wicked Witch of the East and I have always been known as the Wicked Witch of the West.  While once a confirmed Catholic Girl, I some years ago realized that organized religion is fraught with peril, and I prefer to let nature be my chapel.  So, a life of simple paganism is more suited to my needs.  No, I’m not a devil worshipper (like that would make any sense), but I am a witch (as so many have called me) and I can, at times, be very wicked.  These socks have been very fun to knit.  It’s been a while since I had to turn a heel and, I have to say, it was a lot easier than I was afraid it would be.  I suppose that’s because I cheated by putting Ann Budd‘s DVD from her excellent Sock Knitting Master Class into the computer and watching her re-join a billion times.  Granted, the angle of the camera could have been so much better on the DVD, but one does catch the drift and, if you’ve ever knitted socks, you know that Ann Budd is great. I was gonna say da bomb, but thought better of that.  Then I thought I should most likely share that.

On the quilting front, I have been diligently working on the SID of a beautiful star quilt sent to me by an on-line longarm friend from Georgia.  I’ll share some photos later on after I’ve gotten more designs into it and, of course, after I’ve asked her permission.  I really like this quilt, so I’m going to make sure it comes out beautifully.  Her only request was that I put feathers in the setting triangles, so we’ll see what else I’ll come up with.  I have changed my mind on the ideas a couple of times now, but I probably have until this evening or tomorrow morning to decide, as that’s when the SID will finish up.

On the stupid medical issues, I’ve been to see my internist and a couple of endocrinologists, and it appears that reversal or revision of my gastric bypass will probably be the only thing that will help the hypoglycemia and severe hyperinsulinism.  Kind of hard to burn off any weight when your body is gushingly full of insulin that is busy socking away all those calories into your fat cells.  Damn it.  I’ll probably have a fight with the insurance company to get them to help me pay for this and I really, really don’t want to have surgery, but I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.  For those of you who eat a lot of sugar, I have to ask you to please step away from that stuff.  I’ve learned the hard way, over the past few years, just what a dangerous substance that is.  I’m anxious for my body not to freak out so badly when it gets a teeny bit of it riding along in something like Italian salad dressing or something you think would not contain any.  I’ve always had perfect bloodwork, which is, in itself, fairly abnormal, but this time, I seem to have a rather elevated parathyroid hormone level.  Will have to wait a few months and have it tested again, but this is what can cause fatigue, joint and muscle aches and pains, dry skin, and (heaven forbid) kidney stones.  I’m really pumping the water through my body as having had one kidney stone once, I don’t want to go there again.  I’ve noticed small tinges in that regard (pain in the back, etc.) lately, and I really do not want that to happen.  So – on we go.

Anyway!  It’s a rainy, drizzly morning here but the showers will end this afternoon.  Ozzie and I are going for our six-miler with my sister and her dog this afternoon, and the weather will change over night to sunshine and increasingly warmer temperatures, culminating with temps around 80° by the end of next week.  I’m going to keep enjoying the glorious outdoors, get some beautiful designs laid into that quilt, and then I’ll finish my Wicked Witch socks and hope they help me fly higher and keep my feet warm!