Into the Out and Over-Doing...

So I'm getting more out-and-about and of course I over-did it. 

It started Friday, after PT. It was a later session than I'm used to, but it is what it is. I was feeling pretty good and I said to Hubby, "Let's take a walk; just a short one, about half a block." The new neighbors were having a party and we figured we'd walk by and wave. Well, a half block walk is actually a block if you consider there and back. 

Saturday, we went to the Sketcher's store and I took advantage of their Before School Sale, and got 2 pairs of shoes, with the 2nd one 50% off. One of them was the step-ins, which need a little more wear before they're easier to slip into. I wanted to get shoes which I could slip into myself without Hubby having to help tie them (it's bad enough that I still can't put my own sock onto the left foot yet), and without me having to bend too much to use a shoehorn. And another pair we picked up are these purple shoes that Hubby picked out. Hey, if he's going to pick out shoes, I'm all in! I wanted colorful shoes, and he knows me well. 

The slip-in shoes are a taupe color. I can get those on by myself, but for now, he has to tie these purple ones for me - at least the left foot. I still am not supposed to turn out my hip, nor bend fully forward. I mean, I do bend to pick up something once in a while, but it's not recommended. 

I love the purple because it's a pretty ombre colorway and they're also very comfy. 

So that's what I wore to church on Sunday (this is all part of the over-doing). It was great to be back; and we're Episcopalian, so there's "pew gymnastics" (thanks, Robin Williams) - stand, sit, kneel, repeat. Sat for a while in Coffee Hour, and visited. Lots of hugs, a very warm welcome. 

Then we went to return a walker we'd borrowed, and then home. 

I woke up Monday sore as heck. But I pushed through and did some cooking. Mind you, I haven't been able to stand long enough to do more than maybe fill a water bottle. But see below for what I made. On none of these occasions (aside from PT) did I bother using my ice pack. Dumb idea, I know, but we got busy. 

Tuesday's therapy was a little rough, though I did use the ice pack again. 

The Knitting...

The sock is moving right along. I'm finished with the gusset decreases, and I'm on the first few rows of the instep. It currently measures 4" from the heel to the needles, and I'm aiming for a 7.5" foot. 

The only problem I have is that I've been hearing some bad things about the Cascade Heritage Sock yarn -- when you knit socks with it. There are rumors that it pills and doesn't wear well, which is what I was sort of worried about, because it is so soft. I probably should have frogged the first sock and done what I believe might have been a better use: made a shawlette. 

I don't know if I've shared this before, but I've been writing it on every sock pattern I have, for the SSK decreases. Normally, a K2tog looks really neat, and the SSK side looks more sloppy. There are several theories and methods to make it neater, but the one I like, and which to me sort of matches the K2tog is where I take the first stitch of the SSK knitwise, and the second stitch purlwise. 

Now I just have to remember that for the heel turns. I can't quite get them to look smooth on the SSK side. At any rate, the sides of the gussets now look really neat and I like how it feels on my foot. 

I think that I've decided to do a 4x2 rib on the Other Blue Sock, and that's what I'll be working on once this is done. 

That will make a total of 3 pairs finished (singletons + mates) for this summer, and I'll take that as a win/win. 

After that, I may start the Long Sands again or I might work on a baby sweater for the little one, before she grows out of the size kit I have! Of course, I have to see if I can do the sweater; it seems odd, since I can knit socks, and I can follow a pattern, but sometimes, it also depends on how the pattern is written. 

We shall see. It's a beautiful rose colored boucle yarn, so I think it's going to be lovely. I just have to knit it up. 

Cooking...

I spent some time in the kitchen, also walking without the cane for a bit, as long as I had a counter to grab if I felt wobbly. 

I made Lentil Potato Carrot Patties. I used green lentils, because that's what I had. I figured I could use them for lunch, and I could use a little more plant-based protein in my diet anyway. 

It felt good to get back to cooking. I subbed shallots out for the yellow onion (had those in the freezer) and used 2 medium carrots and 2 medium potatoes. 

I feel like I could've used more flour to make it more "batter"-ish. The first few cakes fell apart. 

I ended up using a scoop, because when I tried to form them by hand, everything stuck to my hands. I'm not moving fast enough to make a pattie, plop it in a frying pan, wash my hands and then flip the thing. The scoop worked well, and I gently flattened the scooped batter and made them about 1/2" thick. 

The oil was an avocado-safflower blend I had, and I should have had it get a smidge hotter. And I'd like to play with adding more herbs, like maybe some chopped parsley. 

I will admit I got frustrated at the first 3-4 cakes. I was almost going to just plop the whole thing into the pan like a ginormous potato latke but then I realized I would be unable to flip it over... So I ended up, once I got my frying groove on, putting 4 cakes in the pan at a time. They only took 3-4 minutes per side - enough to soften the shallots and carrots a bit, and the potatoes and lentils were already cooked, so they have a nice al dente feel. 

Maybe next time I'll use sweet potato instead of white potato - it's mashed in my version, so while it's a rough mash, there's the fact that the spud and the flour are the "glue" that hold this vegan dish together. I guess if I wanted to un-vegan it, I'd add an egg as a binder, which would also work. 

Or I could make a flax egg and add that for even MORE fiber. I use flax eggs for my black bean brownies. 

I tried a couple of the patties - they're best warm, after you drain the excess oil off, and yeah, I broke "vegan code," because I used ranch dressing as my "sauce." You can use whatever condiment you want; that was just handy and I was hungry. 

Looking at this, I can tell you that I'm not a professional stager of photos... you can see my essential oils bottles just lying there. Oh well. Focus on the food, kids!

If you were to make a meal of these, you'd probably want to add a green salad and maybe some fruit. 

They're going to be easy to transport once I get back to work, and I can do that for lunch with an apple and be pretty happy. 

Update on Hip...

Well, today, I did remember to use the ice pack again after PT. And today, I did a solo flight... I walked the length of the clinic back and forth without the cane. That was a little weird. I felt a bit wobbly, but I did it. He said I could take "short trips" around the house, as long as I wasn't trying to dodge the dogs. So I'll probably walk solo in the bathroom and bedroom, for now. Though I'll still have a cane handy for after I shower, for a little bit. Not that I'm unsteady - just for safety's sake. 

The PT will continue to build my muscle, regain my balance and keep me walking without the cane (at least inside). We're also going to work on stairs. Still no walking outside on uneven ground without a cane. Or actually, ANY walking around outside without a cane, for now. 

And I'm waiting on a step stool so that I can get in and out of my car on the driver's side more safely. It's just a tad too high. 

Otherwise, I'm also hoping that a good night's sleep will soon be my reward for...something. 

Random Picture...

I dug into the archives for this one, kids.... It's a church (I don't know which one, because there wasn't a sign on it) in Lugano. There were so many magnificent pieces of artwork but I thought I'd focus on the altar. 

I think that of all the places we visited in 2021, Lugano is possibly the place where I feel like I could live, if ever I was going to move out of this country. 

A friend of mine and her husband lived their dream by moving out of the US to New Zealand.  On a recent visit "home" (back here), they said the difference is palpable. Which is sad. 

While we were in Lugano, we found that it was all walkable, and seemed like they would welcome visitors whether long- or short-term. But then, maybe since it's in Switzerland, they wouldn't take us!

We in the US are at the cusp of some sort of immense shift. The climate crisis is catching up with us. We are more polarized than ever politically, our Supreme Court is a blasted mess, and there's a larger percentage of people than you'd think (though not mathematically significant if every Democrat votes in the upcoming presidential election) who would willingly install a dictator-for-life who's a criminal and a con man. If the DOJ can't put him in prison first. Which we can only hope for, at this point. Hopefully, his teflon coating is wearing thin. 

Perhaps in the next few editions of this blog, I'll go into the archives more. Who knows what kinds of pictures I'll come up with!