November 4, 2011

Lots to Tell - The Good, Bad and Ugly

Well, it has been an interesting week here in our corner of the Northeast. I'll try not to belabor it too much but I will tell you it has affected my knitting. I was wide awake from 3-4am today and had a clever post all written in my head - I don't know that now at 9:40 I'll be able to replicate it.

First of all - I finished this Corrugated Capelet - they must have liked my version as it is now one of the featured photos on the Ravelry page. I made it out of Ecological Wool which I dyed a few weeks ago - LOVE it and love color. My father took one look at it and told my mother it looked like I was wearing a fitted lampshade...now you need to know that when my mom first met my dad he was wearing a striped polo shirt and madras shorts at the same time...enough said. Okay that's "the good".

















The "bad" hit on Friday afternoon when my husband came home unusually early which sent of alarms in my head. His company was recently acquired and he was told that he was no longer needed as all the marketing would be handled out their Chicago office. No warning, no severance - nothing - don't let the door hit you on the way out. It's hard to be happy and optimistic in this current economy with 2 college tuition bills looming in the future. I just don't have words or a picture so we 'll cut to a cute dog shot.

The October Snowstorm hit on Saturday - it hit fast and furious and really did a huge amount of damage to our home state of Connecticut. We went out mid-storm to get the snow off the branches as best possible and our sweet dog decided it was a good time to lie down in the snow (she does have a bit of Chow in her). We were one of the lucky 50% in our town that did not lose power - I maintain the guy upstairs new that with our Friday fiasco it was the last thing we could handle.















This is just one of the 4 trees on our property that came crashing down. Our Japanese Maple took quite a hit too but survived. On Sunday morning, we had to spend 2 hours clearing our driveway just so the plow could get in. Okay - here's the "ugly" - there was a large dangling limb on a tree (8 inches in diameter easily). I went to pull it down and didn't move fast enough and it slammed into might right forearm. After trying not to pass out from the pain, I got back to work.














Monday morning dawned and I was on the phone with the doctor (making the most of the few months of insurance we have left before they cut that too). Xrays were ordered and showed up negative. No school Monday or Tuesday but I worked on Wednesday and by Thursday morning the pain was still so bad I couldn't do anything - tears ensued, knitting had halted...not good.

Net/net I was sent to a orthopedic hand specialist who quickly diagnosed "intersection syndrome" where the tendons start grating on each other. You could almost hear them grate. A cortisone shot and a wrist brace have made the pain go away and gentle knitting can begin. Unfortunately the brace has the DREADED Velcro so no hand knits can be worn right now. But this too shall pass. He said this could be from repetitive motions and I admitted I'm "an obsessive knitter" but he deemed it was the accident and not the obsession that cause this.

So for now I'm glad to be free of pain and in a warm home - as for the "bad" only time and patience will take care of that.

5 comments:

Robin said...

Love the capelet! Very pretty. Love the snow, too, but don't like snow damage. It's makes such beautiful pictures. So sorry about your husband's job. We moved to Ohio from VA 2 years ago because my husband's company (of 39 years) was going to close the VA plant and gave him the choice to keep his job and move to OH. Well, they announced on 10/18 that his OH plant will close on 11/18. No mention of severance, etc. They do want him to move back to VA to the plant that they never closed. But, I won't have a job and we have a house here in OH. Life just shouldn't be this difficult. Hope something turns up for both of our husbands soon! Take care!

Kristen Rettig said...

I can see why you and your capelet are on a cover for the pattern, very flattering and so very very cute! Love these little capelets. As for your other news, I wish you and your family the best and hope you hear good news soon.

Geri said...

Wonderful capelet displayed nicely in your classic pose. So very sorry to hear about your husband's job. Such a scary time in this economy. And the storm is beyond belief!

bmom said...

That capelet looks cozy! I'm sorry to hear about the job...positive thoughts are winging their way to you.

Jennifer said...

Estella - I'm so sorry to belatedly hear about the job. I was completely off the blogging radar and am just catching up. I feel like a heel for missing this. I am sending you tons of positive thoughts and good wishes. Let's get together for knitting and hugs.