I’m still hurty, but I’ve managed to get a lot of knitting done. I finished the black socks, and started my next pair.

One down, one to go. Not doing both at once, because this particular pattern doesn’t play well that way. They’re flying along, mostly because they’re on size 2s (which I rarely use).

The pattern is Broken Cable Rib (ha! No, wait, on second thought, not ha. Laughing makes the hurt come back.)

And the yarn? Is WoeCake from Dizzy Blonde Studios.  As in “I’m having a pity party, who’s bringing the WoeCake?”

Nice, huh?

And, yeah, broken ribs still suck ass.

Seriously?  All I’m about to do is whine here. I suggest you move along. I’d keep all this to myself, but I need a place to vent.

It’s 3:52, and I’m awake. Totally braindead, but awake. The good drugs, fortunately, knocked me out. Unfortunately, they’re not as good as the really good drugs (which make me super nauseus), since I’m awake 6 hours after taking it. Bleh.

The pain comes and goes. The actual point of breakage – I can tell where it is because of the extreme external bruise – fortunately didn’t hurt at all yesterday. Right now it’s become a dull, constant ache.  The real pain is on the side and front, I’m assuming because the rib is floating around and pulling the cartilage from the surrounding ribs.  Whatever it is, it hurts like a nothing I’ve ever felt (and with RA, I’ve felt some pretty awful pain).

Fortunately, if I sit still enough and prop up my right arm a little, it doesn’t hurt quite as bad.  Unfortunately, that gets really boring really fast, and doesn’t solve my need to breathe in and out every few seconds.

Here, enjoy this little picture that I stole from here, and enhanced. Pink shows the broken one. The red splotch is approximately where it’s fractured. It’s a little rough, but my photoshop skills aren’t at their peak at 4:15 am (which it now is).

Apparently the 8th rib is called a “false rib”. I can’t quite grasp why, but that article I linked to above has a brief explanation. It’s somewhere between a true rib and a floating rib. Whatever. It hurts.

Back to whining.

Sleeping wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, except that I have to sleep propped up on the couch, since I can’t completely lay down.

And have I mentioned the bruise on my face yet? Because it’s starting to look really lovely.

And I need to get up and go to the bathroom, except the good meds have left me feeling a little dizzy, so I’m a little leery to stand up right now in case I fall over or pass out again. Which, if I recall, is what caused this little problem in the first place. And S is in the bedroom, on the other side of the house, sleeping, and I don’t want to wake him to come and help me. Guess I don’t need to get up that bad.

Maybe I’ll use my quality nighttime hours to catch up on some of the blog reading I’ve been neglecting.

1. I’m supposed to drive to my grandma’s today.  Actually, I was supposed to go yesterday, but the snow (more snow!  Arrgh!) delayed me.  It was probably for the best, though it’s going to snow more (aargh!) today.  I’ve done the 100-mile drive in the snow before, and, let me tell you, it’s NOT fun.

2. My grandma came home from the hospital yesterday.  She seems to be OK, up and about.  The pneumonia is gone, and the rehab work did her some good.  But she’ll still never be over the underlying condition.  And she’ll never again be the grandma I remember.

3. Some days, it’s no fun being married to a railroader.  Most days I don’t notice.  But days like today, when he’s technically on duty, they could call him in at any time to work, even though none of the trains in his depot are running today.  They may need help elsewhere, which is, unfortunately, 50 miles north of here.  Kind of makes it difficult to make plans.  Needless to say, we’re bringing all of his gear along just in case he gets called in and has to drive home.

4. Snow, snow, and more snow.  I’m nervous about getting to the airport safely on Saturday, and being able to fly out.  TONS of flights have been cancelled here in the last few days and weeks due to the snow.

5. No snow tomorrow, fortunately.  That makes the drive home a little better.

6. We’ll be spending Christmas without either of my uncles.  I’m hoping my aunt will join us tonight.  She’s the one married to the uncle that recently died.  It’s going to be awful to have Christmas without him.

7. The other uncle is stuck Up North where he lives – they’re apparently expecting blizzard conditions today, and he’s not willing to make the drive today.  He and my cousins will be at my grandma’s tomorrow, but we’ll be leaving, so we’ll miss them.

Why, yes, I AM back in therapy.  Good thing too.  This is getting to be too much to deal with.

Yes, the Christmas knitting is done!

Let’s recap what I had planned:

1. A pair of socks for a young friend in grad school in Scotland.  Finished!!  I loved making these.  They’re a basic 3×3 rib with a 6-stitch cable running up the side of each sock.  Nothing too complex, but I loved the yarn, and they came out great.



2. A bathmat for my great-aunt.  Finished!  Six strands of kitchen cotton held together, knit with size 15 needles.  3 strands of green, 1 pink, and 1 off-white with flecks of color.  Nicely done!



3. A pair of mittens for my grandma.  These went fast.  I used Wool-Ease, so they’re washable.  Not the easiest pattern, but still a quick knit.  Love how they came out!  Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph both mittens after I finished them (but before I wrapped them), so I’ll have to get a picture of them on grandma!



4. A Santa and Mrs. Claus in the style of the Creepy Cute Crochet figures for my aunt.  This was my vaguest idea and least likely to get done, but I did find a pattern, made a few modifications to suit my tastes, and here they are!

So I? Am totally done with the Christmas knitting and can get back to knitting for my favorite recipient – me!

Yes, I kinneared my ballot.

Day 3 update:  Plugging along.

I’ve gotten a few more of the 576 rows done on the pi shawl, and made some progress on the Deathly Hallows socks.  Definitely getting shit done!

Apparently, S took this while I was in the shower this morning. I guess this would qualify as her last photo. I found it a little while ago, when I was getting some other photos off of my camera.

It went as well as could be expected. It was fast, and then she was at peace. I spent some time with my face buried in her fur, taking in her smell for the last time, and absorbing her residual warmth.

It’s hard to think that I will never hear her purr, her little chirps and meows again. I miss her already, terribly. I don’t want to go to bed, because she won’t be there.