I Really Should be Knitting...

Calendars... Ugh!

For some reason, I had it in my head that the shower was March 19. It's the 12th. Yikes...

So far, I've got the afghan done, the sweater, and a baby-sized hat. Working now on the Toddler hat, just because the sweater is big enough for perhaps a 12-month old. I figured I'd do a 2-row pattern on that - a little more sophisticated, and maybe just do the tan pompoms. 

I biggened the pattern, and I'm mostly ok with how it turned out. It needs refinement, which I will do at another time, with no deadline! I'm doing a "Dagwood." One big button. Funny enough, I don't have a picture of the sweater - yet. I think I'll do the picture of the whole layette soon. As soon as I get my fingers flying to finish the last hat!

I did tassles on the baby hat, and they were cute, but tiny (as befits a baby hat). I have enough yarn and a decent pompom maker device to do bigger ones on the bigger hat, which makes sense. I love this pattern, "Easiest Baby Hat" available on Ravelry. Sorry, there's no link, it's in my library as a download. It's basically a rectangle. You can do two colors, with the contrasting color at the crown. I did that on the baby hat, and it was a bit of a miscalculation, but as I think of it: now it can be worn 2-sided with a larger stripe in front, or a smaller one. The one above is stripes, and I've calculated how long the 2-row repeats need to be before I can finish with the same 4-row swaths and the back cuff. Then, just knit it up the sides. 

The baby hat is in the Baby Softee. The toddler hat is in the Cascade 220 Superwash. The sweater is in the Cascade, so I figure that was a good choice.  

Then there's the packaging. I haven't even gotten the stuff I need to put together the gift, but I can get that next week. I don't have to go "baby," especially if what I find is all gendered. My mom said that at Party City it was all either boy or girl - which is kind of silly, because there are those rare birds like my nephew and his wife. They didn't want to find out the gender "unless it was blatantly obvious on the ultrasound," and even if THEY know, we don't. Which is kind of cool. 

There aren't enough good surprises in this life, right? 

The Saga of the Hip...

Well. I went for my 3rd PRP shot. I'm now scheduled for PT, which I'm taking at a place a few doors down from my studio. It's a unique set-up: instead of a batch of patients assigned to the PT, this person spends the hour on you alone. For those of us who are hyper-mobile, we need supervision! I'm really glad to be able to not only have a place close-by, but also -- let's be honest -- not be exposed to a batch of strangers. I have a mom to be aware of. 

I took a picture of the device that spins the blood down. For some reason, it reminded me of something out of Star Trek: one of those "I'm growing nanobytes" kind of pods. 

The doc was very happy, because I once again was able to produce a large amount of plasma. 

I have to say that while I notice some improvements, this treatment is not for the impatient folks. The changes are incremental, some are pretty subtle, and it's going to take a long time to get to a plateau where I'll be more stable. 

I have some goals: Get back to a yoga practice that's not in a chair; ditch the cane; get back to the stable to muck out stalls; ride my bike. Not feel pain when I get up off a chair, or try to sit in one. Just the basic stuff. Oh, put my own socks on. That would be nice. 

The PT and the doctor assure me that those are indeed reasonable goals, and that I can expect to get near 100% of achieving them in some fashion. Of course, I'll never be "before arthritis." But that's to be expected. 

It seems also that they're more concerned with the arthritis than the torn labrum. I did ask about "blasting the bone spurs," and the doc said, "Yes, but no." In other words, yes, there's technology. And no, it won't fit my situation. Fair enough. I'd rather he be honest instead of just doing something that would mean I'd be back time and again to repeat the process. 

So today is my second PT treatment. I was sore after the evaluation, so this could be interesting!

It's Supposed to Snow...Or Not...

As per usual this winter, it's all weather hysteria all the time. Two school districts cancelled school today, because we were supposed to get "whalloped" with snow - up to 8" if you followed certain weather info. 

Mind you, yesterday, it was 50 degrees and sunny. Today is grey. And not a flake in sight. I'm really not sure what it's going to do today. Snow? Rain? Both? Neither? 

I mean, 10 years ago, we were sub-sub-zero and had 2 feet of snow on the ground. Today, I'm looking at my hyacinths starting to break through the ground, and whispering, "Go back! It's not time yet!!" 

And of course, we could be in California, suffering with feet and feet of snow, in areas where they never usually get snow. I have a friend in Tucson who was posting pictures of the 2" of snow on her car. I honestly have no idea if it has ever snowed in Tucson, but apparently, this was news. 

The weather is totally jacked up, but what's going on in DC? They're banning (or trying to) everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community because they can. They're also trying to ban free speech. They're also destroying legitimate safety nets as fast as they can. Because who needs them? Only the marginalized, and if the marginalized aren't rich donors? Pffffffffth.... be-gone!

And Then There's Flori-DUH...

Seriously. Wanna watch a slide into fascism, let's go to the Land of the Mouse. Dirtbag DeStoopid is hurtling down that road quickly and apparently, there's not much to stop him. Their latest is an attempt to ban the Democratic party. I'm not kidding and it's not on some erzatz "news" channel. 

Digging into the history they're wanting to ban (because we don't want to upset the feelings of little white kids...), they've realized that once upon a time, the Democratic party was the conservative party. The Whigs (a/k/a the present-day Republicans - though not quite as crazy as this bunch) were the liberals. 

So, they decided to ban "any political party which, at any time, had ties to slavery." Neat trick - use the history you deem to "offensive" to teach our kids, to virtually eliminate your biggest political rivalry. THAT is offensive, folks. DeStoopid is making a kingdom. He's paving the way to the biggest opportunity there is, and if he can finagle his way into the White House, we're in big trouble as a country. 

Where are the folks who can do something about this? I'm honestly asking, because if this is allowed to prevail, then our country as we know it will eventually cease to exist. 

And people wonder why I'm actually happy to have no grandkids...

Random Picture...

A student handed this to me. "I know you make your own, but..." -- it's Mexican Vanilla. Hubby says it smells really strong, in a good way. Can't wait to bake something with this. 

I feel humbled to have students who are friends. They've hung in there with me with this hip thing, and they're dedicated to their practice. 

We're hoping to increase our student population. We've got workshops scheduled for March, April, and May. Hoping to get more students to decide that a regular yoga practice is a good idea. 

Covid has been rough. Small businesses are still struggling. If you have a local shop, whether it's a book store, yarn store, coffee place, pub or restaurant -- do them and yourself a favor and patronize them. 

Small businesses are indeed the backbone of communities. We are invested in the area, we want to be able to serve you and your family. And we need your support. 

Often, I hear, "I can get yoga free at my gym." Yes. You can. But can you get personalized attention, do you know your teachers and their qualifications, and do you understand the time we spend making sure that the classes we have fit you and your fellow yogis? Do you know the money we've spent on training - because it's a lot, for sure. And we use that to ensure that our classes are safe, effective, and helpful to each student. Learning about modifications, adapting a sequence on the fly for students, holding specialized workshops for your benefit. 

It's a lot, and we do it for you. So please support us!