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Knitting and Crochet Links News

This is crap!

Children’s knitting group turfed from library under new craft ban

Pamela Haley, manager of library services for the united counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, said the ban on crafts was put on place because the municipality is revamping its 18 library branches in an effort to attract more people and needs to be more literacy-focused to achieve that end.

She said the library’s new fall lineup includes teen book clubs and Scrabble nights. The library will also be holding some events not focused on literacy, such as video game nights, to attract a younger crowd.

Seriously?? Video games?!! WTF is wrong with these people?!

A post about nothing

It’s been a very long time since my last post–so long that I’m not even looking to see how long it was. Nothing has changed with regard to my ability to knit and crochet. I still have tendonitis and have been banned from all hobbies requiring fine motor skills. Fortunately I’m still allowed to type, otherwise my programming job would be in jeopardy.

I’ve been occupying my overabundance of free time with reading (Abby Cooper books by Victoria Laurie–two thumbs up!), riding my bike (weekends and short distances only, otherwise it irritates the elbow)ย and, this week at least, watching the Olympics (go Phelps!). I’m having knee surgery two weeks from today, and hopefully the ban will be lifted by then so I’ll have something to do while sitting on my butt recovering.

That’s really all I’ve got to report, unless you’re interested in hearing about the $50 I misplaced this morning…but I doubt it. ๐Ÿ˜€

Still can't knit

It’s been awhile since my last update, I see. Thanks to my elbow injury (which I suspect was caused by lifting a 30-lb box of cat litter the totally wrong way), I’m still not allowed to knit or crochet, and it’s taking more of a toll than I’d expected.ย  The boredom, the fidgeting, the “what the hell do I do with my time?” of it all, I kinda saw coming. I underestimated the extent of it, but it was expected.

However, I’m also finding myself cranky, bitchy, and overreacting to the tiniest of annoyances, and I’m wondering if it’s a consequence of losing my “zen” time, those moments when it’s just me and my yarn and my thoughts, when I’m most comfortable with being with myself.

Yes, not being able to knit or crochet is slowly driving me crazy. I asked my PT if I could pleeeeeease just knit something small, and he said, “Read a book.” Yeah, thanks. That’s actually what I’ve been doing (ten books so far, it’s like the old days!), but it’s not enough. I’m not even comfortable watching dvds anymore, without something to occupy my hands. It feels like such a waste of time.

The injury is healing, but slooooowly, and I don’t see me picking up a skein anytime in the next two (*sob*) months. The doc even went so far as to mention the S word (<small>surgery</small>), which would translate even longer to yarn.

Why does my body hate me so?

Biker babe

I did it–I bought a bike! Last Saturday, after my WW meeting, I headed over to my friend Lori’s to test ride her bikes. Then we decided to go to REI to test ride more bikes, and of course I fell in love with this one. So now I’m a biker, complete with all the accessories (except a mirror and a trunk rack, but I’ll be remedying those soon).

So far I’ve taken it grocery shopping, to this week’s WW meeting, and down to the local mall for some books and vegetables (the Farmer’s Market is in the same location). The street riding is going to take getting used to–I still panic a little when I’m on the street with actual moving cars–but otherwise it’s been a joy. I’m still trying to figure out a storage solution, though–I’m not ready to leave it locked in the garage where anyone can touch it, but I’m thrilled with parking it in my living room, either.

ION, I still have no updates in the knitting/crochet arena. I don’t want to inadvertently slow the healing process by working on anything right now, but I might change my mind in the coming weeks, as I’ll be travelling and nothing combats the horrors of flying coach like focussing on a project.

That’s it for now. My screen is doing a weird flashy thing while I type, so I think I’ll go figure out wtf is going on.

Categories
Shopping Whining

Well, it's happened.

I have a bulky black brace on my left wrist/forearm, thanks to a nasty case of tendonitis in my elbow. And yes, this means no knitting or crochet for the time being. This is very unhappy making, not to mention painful. I’ll confess I did pick up a crochet hook, just to see if it was possible to manipulate it around the brace. The attempt, had you seen it, was laughable. Heck, I couldn’t even pick up a little hot dog wrapped in a pastry puff at the Sex and the City event I went to on Sunday–it made a hilarious series of bounces off my brace, my right hand, and my friend Kristen’s hand before rolling across the floor towards the bar. (Smart blanket-wrapped-piggy!)

So what should I talk about instead, during this enforced separation period between me and my hooks and needles?

Well, my latest obsession involves bicycles. I recently rejoined Weight Watchers, and this time I signed up with a group near my home instead of near my office, which is going to force me out of the house on Saturday mornings (a period I usually reserve for quality time with my couch). The meeting is about a mile too far for me to walk without my bum knee collapsing, yet close enough to make me mourn the gas usage. The answer? I must buy a bicycle! I’m not sure why I’m possessed with this sudden desire to ride a bike–many bikes have languished in many garages in my past–but really, I can barely restrain myself from running to Target and buying whatever I can afford.  I haven’t done this yet, because my friends have convinced me to test-ride one of their bikes first (which I hope to do this weekend) before committing to anything. Instead, I’ve been relentlessly combing the internets, researching bikes and frames and gears and customer reviews. Ideally I hope to find something on craigslist, because I can’t afford the $400 beauties I’ve fallen in love with, but so far no dice. I can no longer grab the first $50 comfort bike I find–I now know it needs to be aluminum framed and have at least seven speeds, or I risk becoming discouraged by trying to get a heavy bike up even a modest incline.

Also, I have returned to PT (did I mention this already? I can’t remember, and am too lazy to go check) in an attempt to cure my stupid knee once and for all. This includes making an appointment with a new doctor who will take new xrays and MRIs, and this time I picked someone *in* my insurance network, so I won’t still be paying off visits three years later. (I’m two payments away from being free of the last doctor, woot!) Here’s hoping they’ll find something concrete this time, something that can be fixed with more than a vague, “Physical therapy should fix that right up.” Give me more! I need an actual diagnosis this time, dammit!

Ahem. Anyway…. Work is hellish, but it’s of my own making. I really must get over my jealousy and possessiveness. Of course, I’ve had those traits for about 38 years now, so I don’t see how I’ll be divesting myself of them anytime soon. Yay. At least my review went well.

Ok, that’s all I’ve got. Nice to see the brace isn’t getting in the way of my typing skills, at least. ๐Ÿ˜€