Breathing -- Is It Too Much To Ask For?

I have some fairly serious sinus troubles. I have had 4 sinus surgeries for my nasal polyps. It's a painful business and to add insult to injury, surgery gives only temporary relief. My last surgery was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN on June 1, 2006.

I was doing pretty well until the middle of September, even though I lost my sense of smell last summer. At first I thought my misery was allergy related. Although I'm not really allergic to anything except mold and cats, it was a bad allergy season and my ENT once told me that I was probably sensitive to various things. In October I was using my albuterol inhaler 4 or 5 times a day. I was coughing loud enough to wake the dead. My nasal passages are swollen shut. Every now and then I blow a large, dark thick wad of something disgusting out. What fun. My head hurt. My throat was sore. Well, when I called my GP to make an appointment I found out she is going to another clinic and won't be seeing anyone there until the 1st week of November. So I went to another doctor at the clinic and she said it didn't look like a sinus infection. I asked for a Kenalog shot and she said she didn't give out steroids for any reason. She perscribed Singulair for my wheezing. Well, that was really good. I don't wheeze much anymore. But it cost a lot and did nothing for anything else. Now my gums ache and I just want to be able to breathe through my nose. Really, I'm pretty sure it's a sinus infection. After 15 years and $75,000 I consider myself an expert. I called my ENT for an appointment. The earliest opening is Dember 13. Good grief.

So next payday, when I can afford it, I'm going to see if I can get in to see my regular doctor and get taken care of. She'll give me a kenalog shot and some antibiotics that might help.

Sometimes life just sucks, ya know?

Autumn Carolina

I just LOVE this knitting pattern. It looks so intricate, but it's so easy! This is from the Socktopia page, and the pattern is called Carolina, the last Queen of Naples. I'm using JoJoLand Quartette, a merino and cashmere blend, and boy, can you say soft? These are yummy! I hope to have these done by the end of the month. But I have signed up for yet another project which will demand overtime. I'm not going crazy this time. I'm limiting myself to only 4-5 hours a week. And only one saturday a month. I won;t be beginning this until next week. This morning at work I started having a scratchy throat and a headache. When I got home I took my temperature and it's up a little over 100. So I'm cancelling my plans to attend the japanese event in Minneapolis and will stay home and rest. Fortunately I'm not too sick to be able to knit.

Oh, and hey, look! Masuka and Magic are getting along pretty well now!

I've Been Busy!

I know, that's no excuse for not posting for over a month. But really, I've been busy! I finished knitting the hat for my Castel Rouge friend's niece, so I was finally able to start knitting the socks I've been dying to make. (of course, I still have Landra's baby sweater to finish, plus my mom's sweater, and the socks for Susan and the shawl for myself. Oh, and I have the purple yarn to start Ceri's shawl too, but these socks must be started now!) These are called "Carolina, the Last Queen of Naples" and the pattern was designed by the gal at Socktopia. Since my grandmother was born just outside Naples, I figured I had a direct connection to this pattern. The yarn is a lovely cashmere blend by JoJoland called Quartette that I received as part of a swap. At first I had planned this yarn for Lusche. The colors are perfect for her. But she said she wanted thick, warm socks. These will probably be warm, but the yarn is fingering weight, so they will probably be too thin for her. So instead these will go to Mairghead. I've just barely finished the cuff, so you can't tell what the pattern will be but I promise to post another photo soon, so you can see if the yarn will show off the pattern or hide it.

Another thing I've been really busy with is my new friend. Her name is Koneko no Masuku. It means (maybe) the Masked Kitten. I don't actually speak japanese, but a friend who went to college there told me that was how it would be said. I call her Masuka, although it has begun to be shortened to Sukey. One of her parents may have been Siamese. Her ears and tail are darker than the rest of her. But she has a white blaze right over her nose and mouth. It seperates the dark mask on her face so that she looks like a raccoon or like she's wearing a mask. She's very striking in appearance. She's probably about 10 weeks old now. She and 3 siblings were rescued from a state park about 70 miles east of here and brought to a pet rescue group called PAAWS. I went to volunteer to pet the kitties and help socialize them one day and took her home a week later. I fell in love with her. She's very shy with me, but it's funny the way she won't let Merry and Magic boss her around. She's cautious with them, but still does what she wants. I brought her home 3 days ago and they're already beginning to tolerate each other.

I had to put all my yarn safely away in rubbermaid tubs. It's frustrating not to be able to just reach into the hanging netted containers I used to have, but almost certainly not as frustating as it would be to come home from work and find the yarn all over the floor, unravelled and shredded buy tiny kitten claws.

I've been pretty sick the last month or so. I was hoping to get another Kenalog shot, but my doctor has left Fargo to practice in Whapeton. So I have a new doctor and she doen't give out steroids in any form unless it's absolutely necessary. So tonight I'm going to start Singulair. I hope it works. I'm awfully tired of wheezing and not being able to breathe through my nose...

And I had some friends crash with me on their way from Winnipeg to Crown and one of them had a nasty cold, and I think I'm getting it. I only worked for 3.5 hours today instead of the 8 I needed to make up time because I felt so miserable. But now that I've finished my to-do list i can go sit down with a cup of hot peppermint tea and go back to knitting. yay!