a tiny distraction...

in which our plucky heroine is surprised by the recent past...

back before everything went south, I ordered some yarn from Knit Picks, as a minor treat for myself in support of projects planned for autumn and winter. Had rather forgotten all about it, when it arrived on my doorstep this morning!

These mini skeins of fingering yarn, lying on the linen gauze, are destined to become tassels on the cowl scarf I mentioned in my post yesterday...

These balls of DK/worsted weight wool are destined to become stripey sleeves on a winter cardigan. I'll probably combine them with some of the random balls of yarn in my "textile resource center" and have very polychrome sleeves in my favorite colors. I picked these for adding in some of my newly beloved turquoise/teal into the mixture of grey/indigo/black/brown that I have aplenty. I'm thinking about using the diamond twill handwoven fabric, with its subtle variageted color, for the body of a cardigan jacket, and some more exciting sleeves handknit. Is just a vague concept so far, (inspired by this bolero), but I can certainly begin on the sleeves, which could always end up as part of a knit cardigan instead. I just want to start turning some of the beautiful fabrics I have into wearable garments instead of shelf decorations.

pain makes me stupid and sad

in which our plucky heroine has no spoons at all...

I am having a hard time walking back and forth to the backyard several times a day to take care of my two hens, and wondering if anyone would like them on a temporary or permanent basis. I did have a friend give me a ride to and from acupuncture today, with another ride set up for later this week... I just don't want to impose on my neighbors for dealing with the hens while I am HOME, since I have to ask them whenever I go away to visit friends or go to events

Pain is making me stupid and sad, and I don't know how long it will be before I am not in this level of pain, which is about as intense as when I was first home from hospital after my cancer surgery. I am doing good self care, and my acupuncture treatment this morning helped noticeably, until I lay down to take a nap this afternoon, and then tried to get up out of bed. There was screaming. Back to square zero. I have been trying to consciously relax the area that is in pain, and that helps a bit while I am standing, or sitting, but getting in and out of bed is agonizing. I am actually rather afraid to go back to bed tonight.

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wham bam!

in which our plucky heroine suffers rather more of a setback...

But first, I want to thank all who have written me encouraging words, it helps me remember that I am not actually living in a vaccum

and I also want to start by sharing a bit of bright beauty to take the edge off... here are some Very Pretty Indeed sidewalk chalk decorations, and a particularly charming glowy chalk bug:

 

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After Wednesdays Very Bad News of blood sugar levels needing addressed, Thursday was my second intake exam at the dental school, and after three hours in the chair being poked and prodded, my slightly good news that there might be a chance to save my cracked tooth was overwhelmed by the surprise bad news that my gums are, in places, beyond simple help and I have been referred out of that clinic to the "graduate-perio clinic", where they do Very Scary Very Spendy Things. I tried both ice and clove oil on my gums, but the whole left side of my mouth took almost three days to recover from the exam.

And alas, this very morning, when I woke up today feeling okay, resigned and resolute about dealing with the terrible dental foo, things took another turn for the worse. Did morning chores, took meds, ate breakfast, and when I stood up from the breakfast table my back gave a mighty spasm and is now in excruciating pain. There were screams. I can barely stand, and walking is agony. I have tried gentle passive stretching to no avail. have applied topical medication with no real result...

As much as I was dreading the perio exam tomorrow, this running away in tearful pain was not my idea of how to deal with it. Not sure I can No way can I even walk to the bus stop, much less be stuck in the dental chair for hours... And, this is a new different part of my back to become unhappy, not my usual familiar SI joint. So annoyed (in addition to pain), since up till this, the pain I was struggling with was mental/emotional... adding in intense physical pain just seems unfair, though I know that in truth life is inherently unfair and random.

I have canceled my perio exam tomorrow, will be calling to reschedule that, and instead will be going for an appointment with "Tullia and her Magic Needles" aka my Acupuncturist. Today is about remembering to breathe, trying not to cry, and repetitive hourly applications of ice to my back... "in the end, it will all be okay, so just remember, if it isn't okay, it isn't the end..."

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Not doing anything with it right away, but Very Nice indeed, the IL030 linen "gauze" that I ordered from fabrics-store.com... I ordered a yard each of both indigo and grey (when that weight went on sale recently) to see what it was like. The grey in particular is almost silky, the indigo a bit rougher. Both washed up without excessive lint or alarming shrinkage... I would consider the fabric as useable for undergowns, as well as my intended use as scarves or headwraps.

My plan is to make at least another one of the linen gauze cowl scarves, similar to the one I made back in 2012, which has turned out to be a very favored addition to my wardrobe... I am feeling inspired by this designer scarf with multicolor pom poms, but am considering trying tiny multicolor tassels instead, like the ones in this knitted shawl pattern, since they would be somewhat easier to construct

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Gradually, over the course of a week or so, the woolen tablet woven trim was carefully stitched to the upper edge of my Viking Age apron dress. I rather like the combination of colors, and how the silk edge binding coordinates with the brown in the woven trim.

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It wasn't an ideal activity for today, but the salsa verde I started yesterday needed to be bottled, and between times having a lie down on ice, I managed to get ten small jars processed. Dropping the big bowl of tomatillo goo on the floor when transferring it from the fridge (where I put it yesterday until I'd have time to do the actual canning) to the counter (fortunately it landed upright, unfortunately there was sloshing) rather cut into my quantity. Still, more jars for the pantry are all to the good

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	85" tablet weaving	overdye dress	bag to Goodwill
2	Byzantine scroll	bathrobe buttons	shelf and fan
3	salsa verde	bathrobe pockets	yard waste bin
4	charter #9	pruning Yakima plum	dead rake head
5	moar salsa verde	Tullia dress	-
6	x	Viking smokkr trim	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x