The new year has started and I’m feeling so much better than I had all of last year. At the writing of this blog post, a month early like usual (12/10/24) I’m exactly two weeks post surgery. My life has changed a lot. First, I should tell you what about the ‘series of unfortunate events’ I’d dealt with. Three days before surgery, I fell down my steps and tore stuff in my knee. So I got into surgery all gimpy. We get home and I’m all stuffy. Mr V. had come back from a funeral a week before with a head cold.

Thanksgiving was a blur. Our adult son (who I’ll call S.V.) who also lives with us made the dinner with Mr. V. We had ham and some sides, including my favorite brussel sprouts. I slept a lot. S.V. had also caught Mr. V’s head cold and was suffering as well. In the meantime, I’m taking more medication than I’ve ever had. (I’ve never really had to take any medication regularly. I don’t even take vitamins.)

It took probably a week before I felt somewhat normal again and then I dialed in my new schedule. I discovered I was messing up the absorption of my thyroid medication by taking it with other meds or with drinks other than water. You can’t eat either for a period of time before or after you take the medication.

I needed a new schedule. It turned out to be easier than I thought it would be through. I was already sleeping better, as my insomnia seemed to be related to my thyroid issues. I had always thought this might be the case, but the docs said my thyroid was functioning at a low normal. However, the switch to medication seemed to make a difference. I was getting tired at a reasonable hour, so I went to bed.

Now I get up early and take my medication. I give myself permission to go back to bed if I’m tired, but that only happened once when I was still recovering from the head cold. This has the effect of giving me regular hours. Which is amazing after so long of dealing with insomnia and odd sleeping hours.

My knee is still messed up and not 100% percent yet, but I’m about 70% and that’s pretty darn good.

In knitting projects, it won’t seem like I’ve done much, but I started the Barley Field Vest after swatching and it’s huge. I’ve written my frustration on my Ravelry page about this project. To make a long story short, a lace-weight yarn and a worsted weight yarn held together do not make a bulky. I don’t care what the pattern says. The pattern was swatched in stockinette stitch in the round (which I did) and had to go from a size 5mm needle to a 6.5 mm needle to get their gauge. However, the vest itself was stockinette on the back and a pattern stitch on the front. The sweater came out about 8 inches too big. I check the stockinette part of the pattern and I was on gauge. It just didn’t feel right and I plan to frog it. It was bottom up and I did about 12 inches on it.

After that failure I felt I like needed something to make me happy. So I cast on the Day and Night Cowl by Andrea Mowry.

I’ve done a sample for a wrap i want to design.

I hope this year to publish again. I have three books ready for editing and several new ideas.