Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “hand.” Use it as a noun, use it as a verb, use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
When I was 16 I was a Candy Striper. I was lucky to get to work in a lot of the hospital wards and even the pharmacy.
At one point they put me in the part of the hospital dealing with folks who needed long term care but not high risk.
I met a patient, Frank, who was quadriplegic. When I first met him he was painting the most marvelous pictures. He held the brush in his mouth, dipping into the color, then directed to the spot on the picture.
I was in charge of feeding him. Another lesson. He insisted I stir it all together. I’m a purist. I don’t like my foods to touch. But he loved it and in huge bites.
I got to take him on long walks about the hospital grounds. He would talk about his life. So cheerful. He never said anything about his lack of mobility or inability to use his hands.
Frank was one of those people who taught me lessons for life. I learned that I didn’t want inability to stop my life. Or pain. Even when fibromyalgia or whatever it really was that put me to bed, I didn’t want to just lie there. So I read, or crocheted. When I couldn’t see well enough to read I listened to books. When I didn’t have enough money for yarn, I made plarn. I refused living in the pain. The more distractions I could dive into the better. Creativity kept me free.
When arthritis grabs my hands I think of Frank. I make lists of things I want to do when my hands feel better and picture my projects.
Now I’m better and handcrafts and piano fulfill those creative hands.
Rather than show you the progress of my projects today, I decided to share the places I am trying to learn from. I am tired of frogging (ripping the knitted fabric apart and starting over) and tinking (knitting backwards). There’s got to be ways to fix mistakes without going to all that. So here are videos I have found helpful. And now I won’t have to re-search the answer every time I need it.
Once I learned to turn off the annoying AI I had fun with this video. There are many more knitted yoga sock tutorials out there. But here’s the first one I looked at and learned from.
I mentioned Friday that I’m trying to make a pair of Yoga socks.
Here’s how far I’ve gotten along. This is the part that goes from the toe joints and getting into the instep. I ribbed the first few rows then knitted to the arch. Now I’m back to ribbing. But I wasn’t sure what to do with the heel. I could just do a Fleegle Heel but I’d rather leave it heelless. So I went searching.
Who would think leaving something out would make it harder? And maybe once I learn it will be simple. But for now I’m getting lost in yoga sock knitting YouTubes black hole. In fact, I found one in German that I thought might be fun. That one used short needles. Well, that neon flickering lightbulb in my head went off.
I pulled out my Hiya Hiya Flyers and casted on another test set.
Who knows how these will all turn out? Or will they be frogged into something else?
Because of Blood of My Blood (BOMB), the newest addition to the television series of Outlander, I decided to re-listen to the Outlander books. This one seemed the longest yet. I didn’t want to take forever reading it, so I listened during the days as well as the long hours at night. I carried my Fire around while doing chores, knitted, or played easy games while living in the Outlander world. I highly recommend these books and the show. Below is my previous review.
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Whew! These books are long. But good. This review is for the Audible version. After you get used to her, Davina Porter, the narrator, you will find her voice versatile and natural for this story. One of my reasons for using this method to read these books is pronunciation. There are words in Gaelic or French and a couple of other languages that I wouldn’t know how to say, and text-to-speech would garble.
I don’t usually like to read a book after watching the show. I like to form my ideas of the characters before I see a director’s point of view. But so far, this series translates nearly directly. It makes me proud of the show and the author of the book. It seems each of the scenes in the show was in the books. The only difference in this one is Gilly (not sure of the spelling–Audible doesn’t have written word.) I won’t spoil it for you. I actually like the book version over the show. But both work.
I can’t wait to listen to book four. And I’m looking forward to the next season of the show.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with ‘ho.’” Find a word that begins with the letters “ho” and use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
Ho fame. Sounds like a stage-struck sailor. It means, I’m hungry. Or rather I have hunger. In Italian.
I love words and languages. I find them fascinating.
Why do we personalize that growling noise in our tummies? I am not Hungry. But then I don’t have it in my hands. What would that look like.
Take all the gendered items in the world. Can you imagine a roomful of people deciding if the table is feminine or masculine. And sometimes the appearance of an object might imply one or the other, but when you get it wrong you learn shape or personal use doesn’t genderize.
And don’t get me started on word order. Spanish, Italian, etc. go one way but step over to German and the hole I fall into is of my own making.
The only saving grace I have is listening to the brave souls learning English. I can hear their mistakes in our word order and now get it right in theirs.
However lessor-heard languages like Navajo, Gaelic, Latin, Esperanzo are even more difficult.
Who decided how each language goes?
Now I’ve given myself a headache. I can think of nothing else to say but Ho, ho, ho. But let’s get through Halloween Eve, first.
Hopefully I’ll finish the Balloon Diamond Painting by next week. I like the pretty colors, but all the dark skies are hard on my eyes.I hope I have enough of this yarn for a full pair of at least anklets.Because my friend and I seem to go through our heels and sometimes toes, I found a pattern in A La Carte Toes -Up book.https://a.co/d/7XRqJGT
The thing is, there aren’t many YouTubes teaching open-toe cast-on for two at a time, magic loop, long cable needles. In this case Chiaogoo 40″. Still by casting on (long-tail) 1/2 of sock one, drop 1st sock yarn, pick up sock yarn 2. Long tail cast-on first half of sock two. I used a marker between front and back, then cast-on second half of sock two. Slide down sock two. Pinch and pull to divide front and back by magic loop. Now finish casting on second half of first sock.
It is fiddly at first, but now it’s coming together. The pattern calls for stockinette stitch between toes and heel. But I plan on an inch of stockinette then the arch ribbing that feels so good.
Another slipper sock pair. This is my favorite yarn.This is a fun yarn. But fine yarn and needles make it more difficult.Finally, Sammie wanted to be a part of the blog. He’s a small tiger now and so very confident.
I hope to add a Warts and All video next week. I have four songs that are working on me.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
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