Baby Kimono In Progress (and a P.S. Finished Product)

I was going to wait until I was done, but I've had a request, so here's a picture of the kimono in progress. I'll still post when I'm done, too.



Is this not the cutest pattern EVAH? I love it.

P.S. Here's me wearing my completed Montego Bay silk scarf. I love it just as much as I thought I would. Pat, thanking you for taking the picture.

An Unexpected Bonus

A good friend of mine from chorus is a nurse anesthetist (goodness, what a word). She asked last night which surgeon I'd been referred to. When I told her, she informed me that she works with him all the time, and if I drive a few extra miles (perhaps 20 instead of 15), I could schedule at her hospital, and she could be in the operating room with me the entire time I'm having my thyroid removed. In addition, another lady that we sing with is a surgical nurse at the same hospital, and works with scheduling. They could work out the schedule so that they'd both be there and could take care of me in surgery. I checked with my insurance, and there's no reason I can't go to the hospital where they work.

That may seem like a silly thing to get excited about, but I can't tell you how comforting it would be to know two of the people in the operating room personally. Besides, they both said that my doctor is an excellent surgeon. The nurses always know.

I see the surgeon tomorrow morning, and I'm going to request that particular hospital and those particular nurses. They're both willing (excited, in fact) and so I don't see any reason he wouldn't accomodate me. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow I'll know when I'm having surgery and can start to get ready.

I cast on a Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono (don't laugh, that's the official pattern name) a couple of days ago, and that sucker is knitting up so quickly. It's lots of fun. I'll post a picture when I'm done, but in the meantime if you want to see what they look like, you can see someone else's finished kimono here. Mine is pink, because it's for a yet-to-be-born girl.

What I'd love to show you is all the pictures on Ravelry with the babies in the kimonos, but you have to be registered. They are so stinkin' cute! Some of the babies look happy, and those are great pictures, but I actually like the pics better where the babies are ticked off. I don't know why; it just cracks me up. Widdle baby in the cutest jacket ever, screaming her head off at the injustice of the world. (I hope that doesn't make me sound cruel. I know their mommies are only seconds away from picking them up and comforting them.)

I also started a baby blanket. I've not knit this pattern before, but I'm liking it a lot so far. It's very simple, but it ends up being semi-random blocks of color. I'm doing it in purple, tan, yellow, pink, blue, and green -- all pastels. My hope is that it will be a non-gender specific baby blanket, good for a gift at a later time. Someone's always having a baby, and it's best to be prepared.

Three Little Words

Not the ones anybody wants to hear, though.

I have cancer.

More specifically, I have a papillary tumor on my thyroid. (If you want to, you can find out more about that here.) It's very treatable, it's been diagnosed early, and I'm seeing a surgeon in only a week to discuss the course of treatment. The prognosis is excellent, and there is a lot to be thankful for.

But ...

I. Have. Cancer.

I don't think I've really wrapped my mind around it yet.

Hodgepodge

My birthday was a week ago. I saw my friend Jen yesterday for lunch, and she asked me how it was. My answer made her laugh out loud. Apparently I'm the first person of whom she's asked that question who said, "Honestly, it was pretty awful."

I started it off with a full-on argument with a nurse over the phone. I know that there are many medical professionals out there who are incredible, sensitive people. I am in fact related to several and friends with some others. This lady is not one of them. Then my darling took me away for the night to try and get my mind off everything that we have going on. Unfortunately, I was pretty sick and ended up with my breakfast in the sink. Bleah. On the way home, Paul asked what I'd like to do for Valentine's Day. I asked if we could just take a pass on the whole thing this year. He was agreeable. Even after my fever abated, I didn't regret the request. Saint Who?

In happier news, I'm working on a little cable-licious swatch, which is a sort of a prerequisite to a project we're going to start in the Wednesday knit group. Some of us in the group are going to be working on squares for Great American Aran Afghan. It's my most ambitious cast-on so far, and I'm a little skeered. But I think I'll learn a lot by attempting it, which is really my goal.

And the Girl Scout cookies have arrived. I will be eating all of them. Today. Seriously, what do they put in there?

Whatever

We had dinner with friends tonight, and had a lovely time. We hadn't had a chance to catch up with them for quite a long time, and it was good to do so. The chili was excellent, and I got the recipe for the cornbread. (No wonder it was good. The amount of butter in it would give a cardiologist hives. And then we added more on the outside. Mmmmmm.) Paul got to sample their hot sauce collection, too, which made him happy. I don't understand the drive to burn your tongue off as recreation, but whatever.

Speaking of whatever, I was just talking to my brother about that word. It's so useful. Think of all the things it can mean:

- I think torturing your tastebuds for fun is silly, but it's no skin off my nose.

- I don't care -- you pick.

- No, I don't know why he has a safety pin in his eyebrow. I wouldn't do it, but I'm sure he has a reason.

- I'm too tired to make a decision.

- I'm not sure why you just bit my head off, but I'm going to forget about it instead of either escalating or holding a grudge.

- Yes, that was the ugliest couch I've ever seen, but I don't have to live with your mother (or sister, or business partner), so I don't care.

- That's really messed up. But you're a big girl, and I can't fix you, and I can't tell you what to do. Look at me not having an ulcer about it.

Saying "whatever" doesn't mean not caring, but it means letting go of the illusion of control. It means cutting other people a little slack, and not forcing my opinions on them. It doesn't mean having no standards, but it means not expecting perfection from other people. Or from myself, which can be harder.

I think some people probably perceive it as rude.

Hey, whatever.

And for the record, my mother-in-law's couch is lovely.

P.S. I have completed a whole sock. I was so excited that I lost my head for a moment and made Paul admire it much longer than his initial interest warranted. He made all the right noises, though. What a guy. Here's a picture: