Sleepy Sunday

It's been a long time since I've had an actual social life. I began to be able to count the times I did something just for fun out in the world (and I'm talking within about a ten-mile radius) on half of one hand. What I had was a life centered around and dependent upon my health (either my treatment schedule or my level of fatigue dictated all). All that is beginning to change.

After work yesterday I headed over to Judy's house to help celebrate her mother's 95th birthday. Yes, 95th. I love Louise like another mother, so this was a real family event. The Remarkable R's spent a good deal of time petting my new hair ("It's so soft! Like a puppy!"), and we all had a grand time talking and enjoying a good meal and watching Louise take it all in. By the time I got home I was done in, though. Boy, was I happy to turn out the lights.

This evening I'm heading back to Sag Harbor to celebrate my friend Sarah's birthday, but I'm ready for this one. I took a nap this afternoon!

It's been a perfect early fall day -- cool, breezy, nap-inducing. I did the laundry, got the grocery delivery, did the dishes, and knit a little on the second half of the second Rosy Hedgerow sock. I'd be finished by now, but at knitting group the other day I discovered that the heel was about four rows too shallow. Bah.

I'm pondering this new worldliness of mine. I'm pondering a lot these days. So many little things mean so much -- hurrying to cross the street (I can do it!), staying up past 9:00 (woo-hoo!), having the energy to spend time with the people I love (priceless).

Speaking of which, I'll be late if I don't get up from the computer right now.

Progress

I'm having such a good time knitting this Hedgerow that I think I'll finish it by tonight. I know the pattern by heart, so the knitting is easy and straightforward. I think I'll use the round toe this time. Then it's on to the second sock, and who knows, I might finish the pair this week.


Earlier in the summer I discovered that my Hedgerow Sock pattern had been chosen to be included in the Sock Museum's Iconic Socks Collection. What an honor! I only wish I could have knitted the pair that is on display, but I'm really pleased that we -- me and Knitter's Review -- are represented.

It's been rainy for the past few days, but by noon today the sun was out and a nice breeze began to make the humidity level drop. There are crickets in the grass, and the neighborhood is quiet, as if there's no one home. Just a week ago there was traffic and the sounds of lots of activity, but now all I hear is an occasional car, or a door closing, or a dog barking. It's nice.

I've been hearing an interesting bird call at night lately, and until this week I didn't know what it was. It's a soft, mournful call from up in the trees, almost like a far-off whinny. I googled around and found out that it's an Eastern Screech Owl. Now I have a way to thank him when he stops by my house in the evening -- I have always loved that sound (and there's nothing very "screechy" about it).

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I know a crazy knitter who wants to go to Antarctica. Eva is her name, and she blogs at Out of Yarn. The trip is sponsored by Quark Expeditions, which is looking for an Official Blogger. She should get to go, and we can help her by voting for her here.There's information about the trip and Eva's interest in it in her September 8 post. So go vote!

A sock toe is calling me, and I think I'll listen to it. It's been a good day off!

It's me again

"New" knitting
I decided what to knit next -- but it's not all that new, and it's not for me. I cast on a pair of Hedgerow socks for Cindy, the wonderful massage therapist who has been treating me for an annoying condition called lymphedema. It's not uncommon in cancer patients whose lymph nodes were removed or damaged during treatment. Thank goodness the treatment is non-invasive, and thank goodness that I found a skilled therapist who really knows her stuff. She deserves some comfy socks, don't you think?

Anyway, the yarn is (surprise!) Sundara Sock in one of her earlier colors called Terracotta over Rose. In person it's a little less pink, and not so bright. I think I'll work on them at knitting group, which resumes tomorrow after a summer break. I haven't been since last year, so I'm looking forward to it. If I can't get away from work a little early, I'll be sad.


Another passage
I'm really liking my hair. As soon as I had enough to cover my head I stopped wearing a scarf. I felt awfully bold on that first Saturday back in July! Now that it's getting fuller and longer, I don't feel like a cancer patient any more; I feel like a woman with really short hair. And I feel like Me. It will be fun to experiment with hair styles without fear, since I'm starting from scratch, and I think I'll keep it short for a while.

So far so good
Now that I've been on Facebook for a few days and it's become another room in my internet house, it's not so daunting. I've managed to resist an invitation from one of the Remarkable R's to join her in Farmville, and I got my sister Sarah to join the rest of the family (my brothers are the next to be recruited). My friend Judy has become friends with my friend Reya, which is a giggle and makes me reconsider the whole six degrees of separation thing, which I suppose is what Facebook is really all about. So it's all good, especially since it is inspiring me to write more.

Catching up

Endings and beginnings
Summer is almost over, at last. At long last. The days feel different -- it's still dark when I wake up in the morning, and by late afternoon the light has that amber tinge that signals a change in the season. It's time for a shift, away from the hectic and hot days of summer, and towards my favorite time of year. It's also time to get back to knitting.

I've been so busy that I haven't had the energy to do much besides work and sleep. I picked up this forlorn sock the other day, and realized that I need to knit as much as I want to knit. My hands have missed it, and my brain has missed it, too. So I'm plugging away, a few rows at a time, and dreaming of knitting something new. What it will be, I don't know. But it has to be new. All the projects that are in various states of completion will have to wait. I need to start something.

Farewell, Portia
About a year ago, when cancer was where I lived, I had to have a chest port implanted so I could begin chemotherapy. A few weeks ago I had the procedure to remove it. I was surprised to find that I had mixed feelings about it -- Portia, as I called her, was never an easy one to get along with. She pulled, she ached, she malfunctioned at the worst possible moments (just as I was about to receive the Big Bad Adriamycin, not once but twice). She made herself a nuisance. But on the other hand, Portia was a means to a good outcome. She made it possible for me to receive the drugs more safely and with less discomfort than if they had had to be infused through a vein. She did her job, most of the time.

So when I was officially done with chemo, I lobbied Dr. Pearl. I wanted to be rid of Portia as soon as possible. When he agreed, finally, and the date was set, I was so happy! I couldn't wait -- but there was something else, too. Portia had helped save me, and what would I do without that little plastic do-dad to reassure me? To be honest, I was scared. Having a port meant I could be treated, and being treated meant I could be well. What if...? It wasn't until I caught a glimpse of her as the radiologist was tossing her away that I knew I didn't need her any more. Goodbye, my fickle friend, and thank you.

Techno-grip
I joined Facebook today. Or rather, I joined and ducked for cover. It was a whim, indulged with a few clicks. What was I thinking? That I was missing something? That I need to be so casually connected with the whole world? That I will be willing to spend even more time tweaking and arranging yet another version of my public self? Yes, yes, and yes. Oh, well. Someone please tell me it will be fun.

Literary pursuits
At least I have been reading (it's part of my job, after all). Four books have had my attention in the past few weeks. Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall is a well-told story about a woman who tends to take care of everyone. There's a bit of a dramatic story there, too, but I liked the book because I liked the character.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is so wildly popular that I felt obliged to read it. I don't do suspense/thriller/mystery much; I want memorable words and characters, and this genre is usually heavy on plot and light on character development. But this time, the Girl pulled me in. She's fascinating, and I so wanted to see where she was heading that I read the book in just a few days. It's not for everyone, so don't think you have to read it just because everyone tells you it's fabulous. Reading is supposed to be pleasurable, after all.

Await your Reply by Dan Chaon is just brilliant. Are we who we think or say we are, and do we get to decide? I've never read anything like this book, and I don't want to do it an injustice by trying to tell you more about it.

The book I'm just finishing now is Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. It's a true story about a man who escaped the genocide in Burundi and Rwanda and made his way to New York, eventually becoming a doctor. I spent so much of the past year becoming aware of and testing my capabilities that I came to this story with what I thought was a little bit of understanding. I'll never know though, what it takes to simply survive through the night, what just being really means. I'm a piker.

On with it, then
The Internets are calling. There's this thing called a wall, and one of my nieces just friended me, and I think I'm supposed to think of things to actually write on the wall. Right?