Big sigh...

That's how I feel about life right now. The past two weeks have not been good and it's not over yet.

On October 28th, Scott went for a heart catherization. He's been having some chest pains when he runs. He's a vegetarian, non-smoking runner who weighs about 150 lbs. He can walk for 6 miles and not be winded so we really figured it was asthma or maybe at the most, he would need a stent or two put into his arteries. Wrong! This Friday, he is going in for quintuple heart bypass. Absolutely everyone who hears this and knows him is shocked! Even the doctor that did the catherization was shocked. But, as he told us, you can't fight genetics. The prognosis is very good as his heart muscle is in fantastic shape. It's just the arteries that are diseased.

Then, as the family was reeling from this news, we received word a few days later that his oldest nephew (45) had taken his own life. While we weren't surprised because he's been having emotional problems the past couple of years, we were extremely upset. He was a very intelligent, charming man with a terrific smile who lost his fight with his demons.

Now on to me. I have a tooth that lost the filling and has been breaking off for quite some time now. Being the procrastinator that I am, I have been ignoring it as it didn't hurt. Well, the weekend of the funeral, it began to hurt so I finally went to the dentist. He said the nerve has been dead for a long time so we could pull it. Unfortunately, after numerous shots of Novacaine, we found that it has an infection at the root and it couldn't be pulled on Monday. So I've been on antibiotics and antibacterial rinse for a week and I am hoping it can be successfully pulled on Tuesday. If it can't be pulled then, it is going to have to wait until after Scott's surgery.

Oh, and tomorrow, Scott and I get to spend the entire day at the hospital for his pre-op session. We will meet with the surgeon, all his staff, be informed in depth about the surgery, and have lunch with people who have had bypass surgery at this hospital. They will do all his pre-op screening, too.

Are you still reading after this less than uplifting post? If you are, I am now going to talk about knitting. Which has been and will be the keeper-of-my-sanity.

The first picture is a progress picture of the Noro Striped Scarf I have been working on lately. I started it on 8/31/09 mainly because I wanted to see how the two colorways of Noro Kureyon would look together. It's now only a few inches from completion because it has been a great mindless knitting project. I may take it tomorrow for the pre-op screening.



Noro Kureyon in #95 and #148 on size 7 (4.5) needles. I apologize for the bad picture. I never should have taken it on that tablecloth. I'll take better photos when it's completed.

The next pattern I think I'm going to find a little obsessive. It's The Flap Cap by Lynda Gemmell (Cabin Fever #109). I bought the pattern and yarn at Adventures in Knitting in Harwichport, MA when we were there in September. It only took two days to knit and could definitely be knit in one day if I worked on it continuously.



Plymouth Encore Colorspun self-striping #7516
Size 7 (4.5mm) needles

I have another started using Bernat Berella 4 yarn. It will be pink with a white, green and pink stranded pattern. Very fun to knit!

And that's all for now. I'm sure you will understand if I don't post for a while. I do hope to have a more positive post after my dentist visit and Scott's surgery.