Voila, The Highland Triangle Shawl April 12, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Knitting , 1 comment so farI’m so glad I did a shawl in worsted weight, as I was so burnt out on lace weight shawls. Plus, this hearty piece is sure to be more than shoulder-candy. It is generously sized and toasty, done in Noro Kuryeon, Shade 212.
I’ll need to block it so the border presents well. I hope Mom loves it as much as I do. I’d like to do another in worsted weight again; it calls for a really special yarn, so I am keeping my eyes open.
I finally found the perfect pattern, the Lace Ponchette, for the lovely Color Me: Softly Mohair yarn I’ve had since the Taos Wool Fest last October. Color Me hand paints their yarns and I must say, I can be pretty picky about hand painted yarns. However, I am really impressed with this. It is knitting up beautifully and is lovely to work with.
Shawl & Sweater April 10, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Knitting , 1 comment so farI am nearly done on the Highland Triangle Shawl from Folk Shawls. I have immensely enjoyed this pattern. It was originally made for my mother’s birthday, with the caveat that she must love it like crazy or I’m keeping it. That’s because I’ve become way to attached to this to gift it if she doesn’t absolutely love it. I fully intend to make one for myself it she does. I can imagine so many different yarns being perfect for this pattern, I don’t think there will be a problem.
I’m finishing the knitted on edging which is taking a long time, but easy enough to be very relaxing. Actually the whole pattern was easy enough to be relaxing but interesting enough to not be boring. A perfect pattern.
I used Noro Kureyon, which was originally intended for a felted bag. I’ll probably use up most of the 1100 yds I had available.
I also had on hand a ton of Handmaiden Angel Hair - a mohair & nylon laceweight yarn which I decided to make into the Whisper Cardigan as shown in the recent edition of Interweave Knits (Spring 09). It is easy, but slow going because of the weight of the yarn, and the knitted fabric is lovely.
10 pair o’ socks in 3 months April 5, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Socks, Knitting , 1 comment so farI think it was my feeling of not having knitted enough socks towards the end of last year. Well, 10 socks in 3 months and I’m back on track. 
Take a puppy break… March 18, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Dogs , add a commentOne of the coolest things about being at the clinic is getting puppy face time and seeing dogs that I wouldn’t normally see. This is a young shar-pei mix and is wonderfully soft & wrinkly:
This is my new favorite breed - a bullmastiff puppy. He has head wrinkles that makes him look like Rio:
The owner of this German Shepard puppy wanted her ears to stand up - they kept flopping down. She must stay taped up for a few weeks, which doesn’t guarantee that it will work. Plus, other dogs may mock her.
Not a puppy, but a Basenji. Basenjis do not bark.
This is Donia, one of the techs and Smokey, the clinic cat, who just received a bath because he was a very smelly cat. He took it rather well.
Tuesday’s Dog Fight March 12, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Dogs , 1 comment so farThe Pack has gotten snarky at times, but this was pretty scary. Paul calls me up at the clinic and sounds frantic. He tells me he had to pull Bobo and Didi (to a lesser extent) off of Rio this past Tuesday. What was different than other scraps is that Bobo was at a 10, completely in the red zone and Paul had to pound on him to release Rio.
Rio arrived at the clinic with puncture wounds over his legs. A couple were very deep. A pain shot and some antibiotics and then we put him in a kennel to relax for the rest of the day.
Paul doesn’t get shaken too easily, but this stuff really rocks his world. He immediately wanted to surrender Bobo back to the shelter. Being that I think Bobo is unadoptable at this point of the game, I could not give him up to what would essentially be a death sentence. So I called Jane Gerard of The Complete Pet Ranch for a consult. Check out her site, she is amazing. After a 1/2 hour call it was so clear, the many things we have been doing wrong. It may not have been an issue with ‘non-damanged’ psyches of normal dogs, but rescues are always special and have a different set of baggage.
The first new house rule is no dogs in the bedroom. So - I called up Stray Hearts Animal Shelter - I have a couple of friends there, and they loaned me 2 extra crates. All 3 crates are now set up in the living room; that’s where they will sleep and eat. They can still go on the couch if they are all behaving. Time outs will also be in the crates.
I had them in there for ‘quiet time’ to get them used to it - Bobo has been sleeping in his crate at night for a number of months now & Rio was comfortable with being in a crate. I had a blissful, drama free whole hour yesterday afternoon. This might not be such a bad thing here.
Next house rule, coming up and being cute does not get one affection. A “Sit/Stay” must be accomplished before any petting occurs. The hardest shift for us is to stop seeing them as 3 individual dogs with 3 distinct personalities and start seeing them as a unit, as one pack. Therefore, what happens, happens to the pack. (Bobo is trying to sneak up for a head pat while I’m typing this).
Next rule is their doggie jobs; that’s where I come in. Walks and training sessions. I haven’t figured out the schedule yet, but I have been most remiss on these two especially over the winter.
So last night was our first ‘dog free’ night. Didi whimpered all night long like a 4 month old puppy. It truly broked my heart (and ruined my sleep), especially in the morning After feeding they used to come up for snuggle time before we got out of bed. It’s hard being a good parent.
Paul is still not happy with Bobo - of all the relationships, that may be the most damaged one and I don’t know if he is willing to repair it. For now, the jury is still out, and all 3 dogs are safe.
9 Days Post Op March 1, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Parotid Tumor Surgery , 2 commentsJust wanted to share the lastest pic - there is nothing there!!!! That bit of a dimple I think will fill out when the swelling goes down. Not too shabby. I worked 4 hours Sat 2/28 and was pretty tired all day Sunday. I’m working full 10-hour shifts Mon & Tues which should pretty much take me out all day Wed, but so far the recovery is pretty tame.
Still numb on the earlobe and surrounding area, which is normal. Found out why I’m supposed to avoid tart foods for 2 weeks - Oouch!!
Pathology results are in…Benign!!! February 23, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Parotid Tumor Surgery , 4 comments…and margins are clean & clear~ So ends this amazing journey. Now I just hope to to share my experience with others. The most important things I will take with me:
- Don’t ever let geography dictate medical decisions;
- The wisdom in picking the right health insurance; which allowed me to travel and be covered by doctors out of state (BC/BS);
- Reaching out and finding online resources to help find answers and find community;
- The power of prayer - I thank all the people who prayed for me in all their various ways;
- The power of family - nothing can replace loving, supportive family. My unending gratitude to my husband, my mother, and my dad & stepmom. I could not have gotten through this without them;
- Learning who my friends are: My fabulous friends in my knitting circle - my loving cousins Cappy & Dee - my wonderful co-workers - again, amazing gratitude;
- My amazing medical team of Drs. Osborne & Hamilton. This is medical care as it should be. Period.
The benefit of experiencing something like this has opened my heart and allowed me to truly feel the abundance in my life. It is a very small price to pay for such a great gift.
For anyone finding this blog in their search for answers to this condition, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Post op update
Posted by Laura in : Parotid Tumor Surgery , 1 comment so farI’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: Geography *cannot* be a deciding factor in determining medical care.
Thursday, 2/19: I had my preop with Drs. Osborne & Hamilton on Thursday afternoon, after my mother & I got into LA. First Dr. Hamilton explained his approach to removing tumors and the type of incision he would be making. He also explained why he does not need to create very large incisions.
After, Dr. Osborne came in to complete the preop consult and check my tonsils, so there would be no suprises when intubating me.
Friday, 2/20: The surgery took 3 hours. My tumor was 3 cm, not 1.4 cm as the CT report from my local hospital reported. The tumor was laying on 2 nerves and came up without much fuss. The doctors were able to clear margins around the remainder of the tumor and believed to have gotten all the tumor off of the nerves. Pathology should come back by the end of this week.
The IV went in painlessly - I didn’t even feel it. I remember nothing after that until sitting in the waiting room, waiting for a cab to take us back to the hotel room after the surgery. I had a drain in.
That night (Friday) I had no adverse reactions to the anesthesia and ate my heart out!
Saturday 2/21: Dr. Osborne came to my hotel to remove the drain and re-bandage me. I didn’t even feel the drain come out. Really. Nothing. He rebandaged me as so:
Monday 2/23: So far the most painful thing of this whole surgery was the bandage rubbing me under the chin. My husband cut it off me today and voila, this is my incision after 3 days:
Dr. Osborne said to get a good look at it because it won’t be there for long. I first said it was about 1 inch, I may be off a bit - it’s probably more like 3-3.5 cm.
There’s some swelling and some numbness on my ear and jaw, but no paralysis - I can smile and all that good stuff.
I attribute the success of my experience to the extensive expertise of this medical team. On top of that, their interpersonal skills far surpass any medical practitioner I have encountered. Drs. Osborne & Hamilton exceeded my expectations on every level. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of putting geography aside to find the very best and the very brightest as these two doctors are.
I should be getting pics taken during surgery soon, which I will post as well.
Leaving’ on a jet plane February 19, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Parotid Tumor Surgery , add a commentHere I go - The weather is LA is actually cold enough for knitted accessories - which is a good thing! I will blog in detail when I get back…
Puppy-palooza February 11, 2009
Posted by Laura in : Dogs , add a commentI made my husband a promise. I would not bring random dogs home under the guise of fostering anymore. However, that promise does not limit me from taking pictures of random dogs:
This is a sweet little Pembroke Corgi that came in the other day:
Actually, I’m posting this just to make David & Tara drool~.
These are 3 English Spaniels that were very wee~
…and this is the clinic cat, Smokey and Didi figuring out their pack order:
and in the name of too much cuteness, as it is very infrequent that the dogs’ paws are clean enough to see, we discovered this little gem on Didi’s right paw: Oh no - Mr. Bill!
