We're Having a Heat Wave...

...and it's going to be obnoxious by Thursday. August has decided to just be itself all in one week, seeing as last week, it was 67 degrees at night.  What's a girl to do, except hunker down in front of the fan and knit. Small stuff, of course. By Thursday, the temps will be 105-ish. Not the "feels like," but the actual temperature of the area. 

The Knitting...

I needed a break from the sock. I was knitting along on it and just finding myself dreading it. I mean, it's not like I haven't been knocking out socks like crazy - at least for me. I figured I needed a break, so I figured I'd whack out a wash cloth. 

It just seems like that 5 1/2" leg is taking FOR. EVER. I knit a bunch of rows, and measure. And it's still not there. So I do it again. And it's still not there! 

That's when I knew that I had to do something, because otherwise, that sock would go into Time-Out, and I'd be left with a finished singleton that I whacked out and a partial of its mate, ruining my streak. 

I have at least 2 singletons left, at my count. I just have to figure out where I stashed them. 

My friend K is trying to quit smoking, so I toddled off to Michael's and got some cotton yarn, knitting needles, and a little bag for her. If you're going to set someone up to knit, do it up right, I think. I have a project bag, her needles, a little workbag, and I'll find one of my 16 tape measures and give it to her, along with folding scissors and a tapestry needle, and crochet hook. 

I find that what discourages me from knitting or any other craft is not having tools to hand when I need them. So starting something then finding that I need X -- and having to go hunt for it, or realizing that I actually need to go buy it? That's a pain in the rear, and it's frustrating. 

I would imagine that quitting smoking is equally as frustrating. I saw my dad try at least 8 times, and I'm not exaggerating. He tried everything. He tried the tools available to him, because it was so long ago, there were no nicotine patches or pills. He tried a rubber band which he snapped at his wrist. He tried a staple in his ear (acupuncture-ish). He tried crocheting - seriously, he was pretty good at it. He tried cold turkey - which was the thing that eventually worked. 

But once he got cancer, 8 years after he quit, he found that smoking was somethign that actually helped the nausea from the chemo. Drove my mom nuts, but as the doctor said, "That's not what's going to kill him."

So for K, I want to set her up for success. If nothing else, maybe she'll knit up a few wash cloths. 

As you know, I use them on my face. The knitted ones are really nice for exfoliation. The crocheted ones, in my opinion, are better for dishes, but Hubby likes those for after he shaves. 

What I did was a diagonal pattern, sometimes called "Grandma's Dish Cloth," though in my mind, it's "Sister Albert Marie's Dish Cloth" because that was one that this nun could whip out in a day. Technically, I probably could too, but I'd have to have been knitting with larger needles. 

It's hard for me to transition from size 1 to size 8. Technically, the Sugar & Cream yarn calls for size 7 needles, but I had a set of 8s handy, and I knew I was going to knit tighter, having just been knitting socks. So that's what I used. The yarn was what I had in stash, sothat's what we have. And I have at least 4 cloths that are beyond repair now, so this is just a replenishing mission here. 

My top and bottom finishing isn't great, but it's a wash cloth. I did go to Betsy's to pick up some Butterfly Pea Flower tea, and I bought out their stash of light blue. My mission is going to be to do cloths for my yoga teachers, and I've got some lovely charcoal soap, and that's what they're getting for Christmas. It took me a weekend to do this cloth, and even if I do a different pattern for each one, they do go quickly. 

I prefer to do a wash cloth for new knitters. Even though cotton yarn is pretty unforgiving in terms of its stretch (it doesn't), I think it can take a beating if you need to frog it a couple times. I know a scarf is the thing most of us learned to knit, but to me, that can be mind-numbing. This diagonal pattern teaches useful techniques, and it's far enough apart for you to get the hang of just straight knitting for a bit. 

End of An Era...

Well, I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to finally ditch my old Birkenstocks. The footbeds were just done. The one pair was so old that they're not made anymore. And the other pair was quickly following. And the soles were getting too slippery for me. New hip, can't afford any mis-steps or slips. So out they went. 

I ended up buying a pair of the Arizona style (which is what I usually wear, and that's how I show off my socks), and then I got a pair of clogs, which would look like a loafter with long pants. Works for me. 

The Arizona (yes, I have weird feet) are unoiled leather, so they'll end up with a nice patina on them. It's different to feel these "new" ones, as opposed to ones that just literally molded themselves to my feet. The break-in is annoying but you do have to take it slowly. Blisters are no fun. 

The clogs are really comfortable, and I can wear them around the house since it's too stinking hot to wear regular house slippers, and I don't want to go barefoot (!) because it's Shed-mageddon here in the house. Doggo floof the size of bunnies coming from both dogs. It's everywhere. 

The clogs are a light lilac, you almost don't notice the color. I went by shoe size. Back in the day, I was European 39 which is 8-8.5... My feet have grown a bit, as they are wont to do as you get older. I'm a size 9 now, so they sent me European size 40. A little room at the back of the heel, but when I wear them with socks, it'll be fine. 

I'll wear these sandals clear through till the snow flies. They're really comfortable and supportive, and as you can tell - they do last. My brown ones were at least 30 years old, and the black ones nearly 25. Not too bad - I really got my money out of them. 

I wore my Boston clogs for the hip replacement and the nurse refused to let me wear them home - she was afraid I'd trip. I get it, but those things are molded to my feet. I wore them at home just fine. 

Pedicure Time...

So the other problem with the hip is that for now, I can't externally rotate my hip, which means I can't take care of my left foot. I use a long scrubby brush to wash the foot, but otherwise, I am just getting to where SOMETIMES I can put a sock on. 

Once I got more mobile and felt comfortable, I got out to Diva's, my usual spot for a pedicure. I had the tech use my color; I feel better just bringing my own, though the summer colors (aside from a crap-ton of Barbie pink...) were cute. I had a "Metallic Blend," which is a nice neutral. And sparkly. 

I wore my "remedial flip flops," a pair of Sanuk sandals. As you can see, there's a strap around the back, which actually helps me walk in the things! So after a pedicure, your feet are usually really, really smooth with lotion, and I had regular Sanuk flip flops, and they just didn't work. Especially with that left foot, with the wonky toe that wants to cross over the big toe? I was a mess walking to the parking lot. No way I was doing it with a healing hip. 

The part of the sandal that goes thru the toes is the part that goes round the back of the foot. At Diva's, once they get you to the polish point, you get your sandals back on, so you're already set and your toes don't smudge. The fabric that wraps around the instep is lovely, too. These are just a tiny wedge, and they're very easy to wear. I feel stable in them, which is a huge deal. At that point, I was still using a cane. 

The hardest thing, once I got in there, was putting my left leg up and into the tub, and then lifting it on to the shelf where the tech can work on my foot. Of course I told her the issue, and she was more than careful, which made me feel comfortable. And it felt soooooooo good. Not only the pampering, but just knowing that I was able to do this bit of care for my feet. 

I asked her about those "foot masks" that you see at the drug store and she emphatically told me NOPE. She said that my feet were really soft (I thought I had calluses, but apparently, not as bad as some folks), and that the masks had the potential to burn softer tissue. Thanks, but I really don't need that, right? My feet were dry, however, and so are my legs. I still have to work on folding over to get to my ankles. 

I'm looking forward to the next trip to Diva's and picking out which color I want next. Maybe a lovely blue? I'll have to go shopping in my bathroom cabinet. See what hasn't been used in a while. 

Otherwise, the hip is doing quite nicely, almost as if things are slotting into place in the correct order. I can do a few yoga poses (VERY few), and I am forgetting my cane every so often in the house. I'm set to come back to the office full time in September, and today at PT, I was told that while I still had some ways to go, my stride is more fluid than it was and my strength is building in the way it should. Yay!

Random Picture...

Monday was my first trip to the grocery store. In almost 18 months. Seriously, I had stopped going because it was so hard to get around. I went to the Fresh Thyme, and I stuck to my list. Crap, though - they moved a lot of stuff around! I couldn't find things! And you can tell there are shortages in some things. But it was nice to get out and do my own shopping. 

I haven't gone to a bigger store yet. And seriously, the first few times that I went even to a CVS, I needed a nap!

But it was good to see the progress; the fact that I could go shopping (sorry, dear!). The fact that I could walk a ways longer than I could the week before. I'm trying to not compare with anyone else. My journey to being whole again is my own. Nobody else's.

I anticipate further progress. I anticipate that someone, somewhere, may say that I'm "babying" my leg. And I anticipate that, if that's said to my face, the person saying it will probably regret that they said it. I'm a big girl and not afraid to tell someone to buzz off.