A Rest Day

 Do to yesterday’s over use of my right hand it was a rest day.  It was also very cold by Tucson standards so we decided not to go out to lunch in 50f weather.  We still only do outdoor dining and I thought it was a little too cold, even with a heavy coat, mittens and a blanket for my lap.  We did wait until it warmed up this afternoon to the mid 50’s to dash out and resupply my fresh fruit and vegetables.  It’s supposed to be even colder tomorrow, with a chance of snow depending on where you live.

Even my small looms have not been warped. I was voted down 2 to 1 on starting a weaving project. Knitting will have to wait until I can hold a U.S. size 19 knitting needle in my right hand.  Spinning is going very slowly.  

Basically I am bored out of my mind and in pain.  Not a very good combination.  I am trying to keep an even keel, but I don’t think that I am succeeding in the effort.  

TTFN

Right on Schedule

 My recovery from this latest round of hand surgery is right on schedule.  It is always slower than I want.  I am doing the usual post surgery hand therapy several times a day.  Now that the stitches have healed, I am also working on minimizing the scar tissue. 

I am at the stage where I have big plans for the day.  These plans go as scheduled until my hand gets tired, sore or both.  That usually means stopping progress dead in its tracks for a rest until my hand feels better.  John and I used team work to make an awesome turkey chili for dinner.  I love how the onion is cut in perfect squares.  He is also on opening cans and bottles right now.  The best part is we only made 1/2 a pot so it’s a 2 night meal.  

I also managed to wash and fold almost 2 loads of laundry and get it put away. I say almost because I ran out of bend in my hand to finish folding the socks.  I put off load 3 until tomorrow. 

Tomorrow I plan on warping the loom before every chore but starting laundry.  If I wait until I finish my chores, my hand is too tired for precision work.  That way if my hand is too tired to spin, I can always weave while watching television.  

Time for a Change

 Tomorrow I am going to do things differently.  Instead of starting with chores and finding my left hand to tired and sore to do anything but ice it and be bored for the rest of the day, I am going to start out by setting up the loom for tea towels and doing some spinning. Only then will I do chores.  After John is done for the day he will help with the rolling of the warp.   On my 24 inch wide loom it’s a 2 person job.  

I know it’s only been 3 weeks but, my hand being to tired and sore after only 3 loads of laundry.  I Know last week it was 2 loads of laundry.  So very slow progress is being made. I did not even fold the last load today.  The last load is going to fall under “Laundry is like fine wine, no laundry shall be folded before it’s time.  

Laundry

 Folding laundry is very difficult for some reason. Just one load can send me running for an ice pack.  Also forget about spinning or anything fun for the rest of the day.  Thank you for listening to the worlds worst patient. Only 2 months and 11 days until I can try to knit.  This probably is not helping, because knitting is how I have found most of my relaxing time for over 20 years. I might have to find a worry stone to see if that helps.  

I can’t decide which is worse, the stresses of not knitting or the recovery from the hand surgery.  Perhaps is is this COVID19 pandemic that has upturned our lives.  Maybe it is a perfect storm of everything.  Only time will tell.  

Better

 I am feeling better today, although I have very little energy.  If I were racing a snail, the snail would win by a mile.  Please join me in the chant, I hate arthritis.  

 No progress on hand recovery.  It’s going to be a very long 2 1/2 months until knitting.  My left hand gets tired very fast.  My right hand does not like the cold.  I can handle the cold with good gloves.  The tired hand is more bothersome.  

A Very Bad Body Day.

 I had a very bad body day.  I slept a lot but finally got most of the pain in control by bed time.  I am hoping for a better day tomorrow.  

A Recovery Rant

Three weeks down 9 weeks to go before I can start knitting again, hopefully.  I am bored out of my mind.  Trapped at home because of COVID19 and in addition no knitting.  We are running out of tv shows. I have 2 books going right now. I can’t spin as long as I want to.  I still can’t use my left hand to eat a full meal.  The pain is waking me up at night and I am grumpy.  I am a better caretaker than a patient. 

I Am Getting Restless

I still can’t knit following surgery.  My hand was too sore to do much spinning today, or any spinning for that matter. So I did a lot of pacing around the house and racked up 5 3/4 miles which is 13,652 steps.  I have to honestly say my hand is doing a lot better. I can do more, but no knitting yet.  Hopefully soon.  

Gone Buggy

We welcomed an unwelcome visitor at the house last night. Even with Eric getting the flu shot, he got the flu. He is miserable. We are wearing procedure masks when we are around Eric. We are washing our hands after each contact with Eric in hopes that we do not get the flu. To the point that the skin around the scar tissue on my right hand is sore. This evening I started using lotion after each hand washing to keep my skin from drying out too much. Yes, I am washing my hands that much.

This is not surprising to anyone who knows Eric, but he is making more laundry than usual. So we are going to the phase of “Laundry is like fine wine. No laundry shall be folded before it’s time.” As long as the laundry gets washed is all that matters now.

So as not to spread this yucky flu bug and the fact that my hand is not up to par yet, John and I are working in tandem to get Eric back on his feet. I am cancelling every outside activity on my schedule until Monday. This may be a little over kill, but we do not like to share some things. Also at the moment Eric is a 2 person job.

This week will be a real challenge for me as I am not up to knitting yet.
Spinning for any length of time is still iffy. I might get some weaving done if only to test a new design from John’s new 3-D printer. John is trying to come up with a modern twist on the rigid heddle for my loom to make it easier to warp. If all that fails I will put ruts in the tile by walking around the house to relieve stress. Wish us all luck.