A busy week.....

Well DD1 has done magnificantly this week, and Round One of Bone Marrow Transplant chemo is over, and nary a VomiBag* was used! (we had quite the giggle over the "hipped up" trade name - I mean who thinks up this stuff, really?! Can you just imagine the commercials?!)

Her perm-cath was put in on Monday, Tuesday was spent in the ER for low blood pressure which is being attributed to an over-stimulated flight or fight response (gee, I can't imagine why that's happening! My body would wanna run like hell too), and Thursday and Friday were 10 and 12 hour days of DHAP chemo.

So far the nausea has been well controlled, thanks in part to a new drug called Emend (we are saying Amen to Emend! - which by the way is considered a luxury drug and is not covered by OHIP - imagine that! Like anything to do with cancer is a luxury! Grrrrr!! Don't get me started!) and her portable hydration pump (we call it the hydration spa!) from the Homecare nurses who are in everyday at the moment. Tomorrow most of the heavy duty nausea drugs are done so we'll see how she fairs with plain old Gravol.

Step two - today we start the Neupogen shots again - same as last year, but twice the dose and twice as long to build up those stem cells for collection (step three) next week - the localized, stabbing joint and bone pain associated with super rapidly growing stem cells is not fun, so heavy duty pain-killers will be introduced. I am becoming quite good with giving injections.

My lovely sister-in-law arrives shortly to provide some much needed support, and baring any complications I'm back to work tomorrow. It will seem very restful in comparision I think!

I am knitting in between despensing meds, doing laundry, disenfecting everything in the house every day thanks to H1N1, making toast and soy smoothies, helping with baths and washing hair, and recording everything swallowed! My 2nd beret and scowl in cream and muddied brown tones are done, and I'm working on the set commissioned by a work collegue in a lovely soft heathered grey.

Knit on....

I needed them.... really....

I needed another scarf and hat - an actual set, for the fall. Really. I did. If you can imagine, I didn't have a matched set to my name. Shameful really, for someone who calls themselves a knitter. I needed something for those 6 a.m. forays across the parking lot at work which is the size of a couple of football fields.

And I saw a scarf, more like a scowl (scarf morphing as a long cowl, hence a scowl) at the local department store for ridiculous prices, and since one of the things I like to do is try to re-create run-way looks for next to nothing I got these whipped up in no time:



My beret is standard issue, no fancy work this time. The pattern is Taos Beret - google, you'll find it.


The scowl is really just a long (6ft x 10in) retangular scarf join at the ends, but not a mobius join (don't twist). Just a straight end to end join. Had I been on the ball I would have done a provisional cast on and grafted the two ends together, but now with the cheesy seem, it looks store bought, which was the point of it all!














Lightweight for Fall, made from 4 skeins of inexpensive Bernat Satin at 2 skiens for the price of 1, my cost, with yarn left over for mitts maybe, was about $7.50 for the set.

And to cinch the deal, the very same scarf/scawl and beret style were featured on Oprah as this seasons must haves for fashionistas everywhere!

And now I'm back to my Patons Cardigan, back and fronts done, sleeves and turtleneck to go.

Knit on............

postscript: that Susan asked about the yarn which completely an economical purchase, so only 100% acrylic and was as cheap and cheesy as they come, so not so warm for our Ottawa winters, but lovely and comfortable for a lightweight fall set. I'll do a more practical woolly set for the January freeze. And yes, I own a stupid number of scarves with no hats - I shunned hats until recently, but age has a way of reminding you that suffering for vanity sake is ridiculous - and when warmth looks this good, I say bring it on! Funnily enough I wore my set this morning in the nippy 2*C , and was all but accosted by a collegue (who literally ran across the parking lot) from another building demanding to know where I got them! Happily I confessed my accomplishment, and when she expressed her sadness in knowing she couldn't get a set, I did what any knitter would do when confronted with copious expressions of admiration - I caved and offered to make her a set too! Good thing I like this knitting stuff!!!