We had our Mayo day yesterday for Gerry’s Multiple Myeloma check up. Let me just say, Gerry’s pretty damned amazing. There was just a slight increase in protein and calcium in his test numbers, but otherwise he remain steady. YAY!
We got a HUGE thumbs up from the docs on our planned trip to Ireland. One of our docs, who’s had her own cancer adventure, was positively giddy for us. (Extra bonus – with just a small amount of begging I was complimented for my weight loss.)
The trip just about took it OUT of me entirely, though.
I’d been feeling so hotsy-totsy, feeling SO much better than a month ago, sticking my face up in fibromyalgia’s face and staring it down.
However, doing something like our round of tests and doctors visits at Mayo that I’ve done a dozen times before really highlights how diminished my strength is.
I’m getting stronger, getting better, but realism is a virtue as long as it’s married with hope. Days like yesterday keep me honest about the effects of the fibromyalgia on my daily energy and pain levels.
When I got home I was SO exhausted (I do the driving, Gerry’s concentration for long periods to drive isn’t as good as mine is – we’re a real pair!) and dear Hannah, who woman-ed the fort by getting Max up and ready for school (we’d left at 6:30 am), left a sink full of dishes, bowls and pans (she made pancakes for Max) which had to be cleaned up.
It seemed churlish to demand that she clean up the mess, especially when she’d been very responsible and had done exactly what we’d asked. (Besides, as any mom knows, we clean the pots and pans better…)
So a clean up of the dishes, a quick bite for dinner, then to my hour-long chat for the January Online Combo Class, which went beautifully. Sometimes we talk a lot about knitting, sometimes we just build our cohesion as a class, but it’s always fun.
Then the Prez’s speech (which I feel was exceptional – exactly what we needed to hear, with a masterful amount of push, stroke, admonishment and praise) and then to bed.
My reward? This morning I woke up with a clear idea for a new hat pattern and ideas for some other stuff. I was explaining to Gerry that sometimes taking a break from the designing is so good because then stuff will come to me without being forced. I can’t blog about the hat pattern because it’s for a magazine, but it’s crocheted and will involve embroidered flowers.
Part of today will also be dedicated to creating a FREE online “how to knit” class, covering the basics of knit and purl (from a Western and Combination perspective) AND casting on and binding off.
It will be free for 2 reasons: 1) to get more folks knitting, and 2) to give folks a chance to take one of my online classes and see if it would be right for them.
So stay tuned. If all goes well I may have the class up by the end of the weekend, then those of you whose interest has been piqued can sign up, take the class, and decide if my online style works for you.
And we could always use more knitters, right?
Great to hear that you are still coming to Ireland. Let me know if you are still thinking of holding some classes.
All the best.
How kind of Hannah to keep things moving at home! She sounds like a wonderful kid 🙂
And FWIW, it sounds like a day at the Mayo clinic would take it out of anyone, not just someone with fibromyalgia. Glad to hear you’re on the upswing, though!
I’m also eager to hear more about your free “how to knit” class – I’ve got a few far-flung friends who would be interested in learning! 🙂
I also have fibro and hate kitchen mess too and so I learned to keep a large stack of paper plates and to ask my teenager to place things that can’t be dealt with right away into the dishwasher and run rinse.
I look forward to your free class!
Glad to hear about Gerry! Hope to see you at the Stillwater group soon,
Barb Davis
Glad to hear that Gerry is holding on and your knitting muse is back. I almost always lurk, but somehow today’s comment about how good Hannah had been really touched my heart. Your children are amazing.
(love the blog, love your patterns, can’t wait to find a time to take one of your on-lines classes…)
Glad to hear Gerry is doing so well! And that you are getting better, baby steps are good steps.
I am looking forward to your how to knit class. I do knit, but am curious about the online aspect and your combo knitting since I’m not a lefty and continental takes me longer than what my grandmother taught me.
Will be looking forward to all the after stuff of that Ireland trip too.
Hi Annie, I’ve been following your blog for a little while now, pretty much since you were diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I’m going to get a bit rambly, but it’s worth it, I promise. 🙂
Through a weird quirk of fate (as these things happen), I was looking to restock my supply of this amazing stuff. I got it as a freebie from my local health food shop a while back, and only just checked out the manufacturer’s website, and lo and behold, there was a reference to the creator’s own struggle with fibromyalgia!
So I thought I’d drop you a line to let you know about this wonderful product (my boyfriend suffers from all sorts of aches and pains – slipped disc, dislocated joints, etc etc, – he adores the Achy Breaky rub, can’t get enough of it, begs me to rub it into his feet of an evening, and it smells divine), in the hopes that it might help you if you can get your hands on some. 🙂