Spinnin' Yarns

Copied from knittyboard

my boobie hurts.

It was an altogether annoying experience. I had to wait an HOUR, and they put me in a "segregated" waiting room (everyone else is in a big room, I got my own). I had learned from my mammogram that this place often makes you wait forever, so I didn't listen when they told me to leave everything in the locker, and I brought my knitting bag with me. I got about 6 rows of sock done (before I gave up, ribbing went slowly with teensy needles and arthritis so I switched to a boooring scarf with silk (which I love and am gritting my teeth thru because it's such a lovely color). THEN I read some Yarn Harlot, which made me feel better. I was about to switch to my indigo ripples skirt when finally it was my turn (yippee?)

So I've had eleven fibroadenomas. Eleven. Now, the four they could measure (they didn't bother with the smaller ones) that makes FIFTEEN. I think I about have a Ph.D in boobie. Mine usually grow, so they take them out, but this time I stopped all hormones (bye bye pill...) and am hopeful they won't grow. The thing they use for a core biopsy is a smaller version of the KT core sampler I've seen on the science channel... it really felt (and sounded) like getting your ears pierced (or a staple gun). The first three cores weren't bad, but then there were four... and you know that skit on SNL where Amy Pohler (or however you spell it) and others are doing a "commercial" for a product to get rid of their "really cool lower back tatoos" because they are moms now, and they say "that burning means it's working!" because it's acid? And Amy shouts "Mother ------! That hurts!" I had to bite my tongue to not shout that.

Then the whole bumpy ride home (seattle taxpayers, can't you please put in an extra dime for road repair? Please?) including one particularly bad choice of a turn by dh over cobblestones, I just kept having a "reel" play in my head of Conan O'Brien's impression of Clinton when he says in a Clinton voice "mmm boobie!"

I'm going to get some sleep and take some drugs.

(and uvula, if you are reading, I wish you were here so we could field trip to littleknits, it won't be the same without you, but I will console myself with some sea silk in your honor)

Posted by tracy at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Leftovers, that is...

well I *finally* got in to see the breast surgeon (her nurse admired my moebius wrap)

(this post copied from my post on knitty)

Anyway, so she agreed we should do something to figure out if they are "good" lumps or not. So tomorrow :( I have a core biopsy... which makes me feel like archeologists are going to be determining my KT boundary-- process is basically similar)

Don't know how long till we get results back, but if they are "clear" then I have to decide to a) keep them and name them b) get them vacuumed out (really! Seriously!) or c) freeze them until such a time as they, along with Walt Disney, can be revived. Or, maybe, just absorbed back into the ole body.

Funny thing is that the freezing thing, which is supposedly "nearly painless" (hah) isn't done in my very large city, instead I'd have to nearly hop the border (just barely not). Gives new meaning to "colder than a witch's tit" huh?

So any votes for what to do? If they are bad (and we agree that it's probably not likely) then I get no choices, really. Well, different, less fun choices :(

Best case scenario, I name them and have a reduction and the surgeon likely will take out the biggest anyway because of where it is.

If the insurance says no, I'll be collecting pink stash leftovers from everyone I know, and knitting the world's biggest tit and sending it to them. Stuffed with Bricks. COD.

Posted by tracy at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

in worsted, baby socks (nobody get excited, they are the "test" socks in Cat Bordhi's new book )

I made the little blue sky socks, and will upload a pic shortly. Whoops...one wound up with about 2 rows more...

Then, feeling triumphant, I attempted a toe-up Judy's magic cast-on.

Whoa. College graduate (with honors)? M.A.? Mostly PhD? Um, doesn't mean crap. You have been humbled by the magic cast-on.

I did, after about 5 million tries, sort of do it. With a couple mistakes. Thanks to a knittyhead who showed me this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhBIS0AhhQY

Posted by tracy at 02:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No pic yet... pink stretch panne velvet shrug for dd :-)

Posted by tracy at 02:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, I called up my very cool spinning knitting genius of a friend and I say, let's get my hubby to watch the kids and we'll go see the Harlot.

Guess what the major concern was in that statement? Nope, not that our husbands would think we were insane (or perhaps they'd be hopeful that some harlot-esque behaviors would rub off on us)... it was the "leave the kids with..." since I have a special needs kid, and sometimes my son and his friend are a bit like pouring gasoline on a fire.

Yet, arrangements were made to put fairy princess across the street to play with her friend (trios are bad, you know). Food was put out so that said young people and male people wouldn't starve. Arrangements were made to get books to have signed...and one husband was bribed with chocolate chip cookies and off we went!

We got there later than we'd have liked due to brokering an arms deal at home and tending an injury (sigh).

Still, we got this close:

You might have an idea of how truly close we were if you knew that a) the bookstore guestimated that there were 400-500 people there and b) I had remembered my good camera instead of my crappy phone one

So we laughed, we cried, we enjoyed, we starved... we finished up and had wine... and two total *strangers* were absolutely fabulous (and not in a BBC way) and stood in line promising to call me if the line got down to the end so I wouldn't miss her (I'd left my friend and wine while I stood in line, and I wanted my books signed).

Here she is being kind and signing my two books:

and here, probably because I"d just explained that I was the one with a particularly lengthy explanation of statistics on her blog, she's got a "you *are* nuts, and not in a good way" look on her face. But there is, intermingled with her "nut" expression, the glorifyingly satistifed expression of yarn fondling--this was camel yarn I bought at the zoo (yes, the zoo! They have yarn there! And I put up a good show of pretending to my kids that it was for THEM that I went today).

Of course all of this made me so excited that I soon accidentally took a picture of my hand, which Steph agreed must appear here:

If I am ever blown to bits (probably could happen if, for instance, I buy silk and cashmere yarn at an astonishingly mind blowing price or, dare I suggest, get it FREE) you can identify me by my hand. So look closely.

And then, she was kind enough to appear in a picture with me, doubtless to help the police investigation of attempted homicide via statistics later. I swear officer, it was all just a misunderstanding. One mention of outliers and I couldn't help myself, but I swear I didn't mean any harm...

Hey look, I'm taller. See? See everyone (children) who mocks me? I'm taller than someone *famous* so there!

Posted by tracy at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My lovely sweet friend, whom I miss dearly. I tried to call and tell her just one last time that I love her and they took the phone out of her room, and it breaks my heart.

My last email from her was just months ago. I tried to find a time I could talk to her about something important, but as usual my son self-destructed and then my health got effed up, and before I could blink she was *gone*

I miss you sweetie. I will look in on your daughter when I can, and I will let her know how much her mama was loved.

Posted by tracy at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now I have just a bit more sewing (kind of like the Titanic sort of sunk) before I can do anything medical that will put me out of commission. Which is fine, since I can't seem to get an appointment with the surgeon...

I used purple very soft fleece I bought with a gift card my aunt gave me last year for xmas, and some purple crepe backed satin trim I just got. I need to finish a neck pillow, a headband, and some spa gloves with flax seed so if I have a post op thing, I can be more comfortable. I think I'll buy slippers though, those new memory foam ones look good!

Oh and my sleeve is not too long (mom); I had my hand curled up inside it.

Posted by tracy at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's sort of amazing that such a primitive thing is still the thing to do for lymphedema. I got many "ooh sexy" comments on my stocking, but here is the "final" result

Almost normal... my thigh was 1" bigger around than my normal leg and now it's smaller, I still have "weird toes" as they said, because there is still fluid pooling there that they can't get out, but it's much better.

Bad news is I have a new stocking (which is still better than wrapping) that goes all the way up to Nebraska... and it is driving me nuts behind my knee after all day. Ugh.

Anyway, much better. Here's a blurry shot of the fronts:

Posted by tracy at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)