June 23, 2023

Well. It had to happen, and so it did. My hip is, according to one doctor, "trashed," and to the surgeon, "really, really bad." 

So surgery has been set up. Coincidentally, on a date which is important to me and which will be easy to remember. And, it's about 3 weeks away, which doesn't give me a lot of time to freak out. 

Unfortunately, I was so shocked at the xrays that I didn't snap a picture. Let's put it this way: First of all, it's been TWO years, not one, which I thought. And second, I went, in TWO years, from "ok, but arthritic," to "the head of your femur is destroyed." I couldn't tell where the socket ended and the femur began. In a way, it's nice confirmation that it is indeed as bad as it feels. But in another way, it's freaking shocking. 

"Do you have any questions?" said the doctor. Yeah. How soon can I get this done! They did say they'd "expedite" it, but you never know. Lo and behold, I was asked which hospital I wanted, and they gave me the date. 

They needed more x-rays, including one standing up, which wasn't pretty. That being said, when the techs had to help me swing my left leg back over the table to get down, it went into quite the "snap, crackle, pop, and lock" routine. They were so sympathetic, but it wasn't exactly painful - it was more noisy and uncomfortable. It's when I have to walk or stand where it kills me. 

I'm chuffed, because it's been horrible. But I'm also scared. But I'm also looking forward to getting my life back. 

I've been using a TENS unit on my knee. Yeah, the hip is shot, but you know the old "knee bone connected to the hip bone" jingle. My knee took the brunt of being unable to bear weight, so the TENS unit has been helping me keep the pain within range. 

One of the gals at work gave me a walker, which you'd think was a great idea. It is, and it isn't. I tend to baby the left leg more with a walker, and I need to make sure that I'm not making it worse. And I do need to bring the walker to the hospital for therapy/rehab, but from what I understand, they'll want to get a patient off all assistive aids as soon as possible. The doctor said that I would not feel the arthritic pain, but since my leg has lost a lot of muscle tone, the new joint is going to want to move, but the muscles will be out of whack. That sounds like fun. 

The Knitting...

I'm on the foot of the second sock. I've just been working away at this, figuring that I'd have my "hip replacement socks" done. Then I can move on. 

I have a kit of a baby sweater that I want to do; I've had it in stash for a few years; the original recipient is now 12 years old. But I have a Little Bug to knit for again, so if I can get my act together, this sweater will be out of stash and ON A BABY! It's a beautiful dusty rose boucle yarn. I don't think the kit includes buttons, but I can get those. That's the least of my worries. I think the kit has a button band, which is a first for me. Lucky, the Little Bug is still...little. 

Except for a few blips, which seem to be in every thing I knit, this sock is definitely going smoother than the last one. Of course, the last one sat for 10 years wayyyyyyyyyyyy too long and my brain was mushy from baby knitting. No excuse, but it was like I had completely forgotten how to knit a sock. 

I believe I can finish this one by the date of surgery. I'm not teaching, having subbed all my classes. So my evenings are free...

I have to get myself back on the Long Sands Tee, otherwise that will sit for another 10 years wayyyyy too long. And I do want to wear that sometime this year. 

I also bought another shawl pattern because I do have a few single skeins of sock yarn in the stash which I really don't want to use for socks. I bought them specifically for a shawl or shawlette. 

As far as I know, there are no more babies in the pipeline, so I can now concentrate on some of the projects that I had had to set aside due to said baby knitting. Not that I mind it - I love knitting for babies, and I really do want to do a "Baby Surprise Jacket" just to do it. You can always stash one of those, right? And I'd like to learn the EZ method without having to be on a baby deadline. 

The Postcards...

The squeaky wheel ministry continues. I wrote a batch to the Supreme Court with that perfect quote from Thomas Paine: "A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody." I asked some if they would get the heat put under other justices to actually effect meaningful ethics reform, and I asked the other ones if they wanted their legacies to be as unethical losers... You can guess which is which. 

I've also been working on postcards to the various committees and generally to legislators letting them know how I feel. 

The postcards were from an online printer, and so the investment was relatively small. It's an easy way to make an impact and a point. Not sure who's listening, but I'm contacting them and making myself a pest, so there's that. 

You can write to compliment. You can write to complain. It's an easy way to get your voice heard. 

Random Picture...

Now you know I'm not any kind of "influencer," and I don't get any compensation fromanyone for anything, but I do have to rave about a new product I found. It's called "Tablespoon Chai" from The Republic of Tea. It's so super easy, it's spicy, and not too sweet. I just love it. 

I tried to make my own blend, and I really couldn't get the hang of it. There are some great recipes, but for some reason, they never tasted right.

I was dedicated to Tazo's brand, till it got to be too sweet for my taste. This isn't. There's a nice after-bite that I appreciate. 

If you are so inclined, try it! I find chai a nice alternative to the matcha I usually drink, and I make mine with oat milk. Hot or iced, it's really delicious. It's black tea, so unless you're related to Hubby, this is a morning-to-early-afternoon drink. Anytime, for me, after 3 p.m., and I'm counting sheep. And counting sheep. And counting sheep....