Just When You Think...

Just when you start getting cocky about life going your way, something comes along to f*#@ you up....

My father, who has been winning the battle with stage 4 (incurable) metastatic lung cancer, suffered a major stroke on Tuesday last week. As of this morning, he is holding his own in the University of Alberta Hospital. He is mostly paralyzed on his left side and is frequently groggy and confused, but the biggest threat right now is pneumonia. He cannot swallow and has severe chest congestion from the cancer--and the fact that he continued to smoke heavily right up until last Tuesday morning. We have been told that once he is stabilized, the best we can hope for is palliative care. A rather sad, slow close to an otherwise active and interesting life.

I spent the larger part of last week with my Mom at his bedside. I did get a fair bit of spindling and knitting done, since he sleeps most of the time, but I am wondering how I will feel about the association of his illness with the end project. Right now, there is great comfort in the work, a sense of stability even as things are spiralling out of control around me. Much as I do on any other day, actually!

I have been laying low lately to get my in-depth study done, and it looks like low is a good place to lie for a little while longer.

Sock It To Me, Baby!

The in-depth study socks are all spun, knit, washed, and on the feet of my testers!!!



Yep, that's one happy spinster!

Now all that's left is to finish mounting my sample squares and await the test results. I am proof-reading the written work for the 4th or 5th time today--and still finding typos!--and washing a few of the socks for redistribution. But mostly, I'm finished. Oh, I have no doubt my marker will have changes for me, but the bulk of the work is done and I can move on.

And move on I have--with a vengeance. This week, I have carded, documented and spun two samples for a Powerpoint talk on recyling waste fibres, then designed and knit up a soon-to-be-felted bag. Today, I am spinning for fun! What a concept!

Here they are again in all their glory!



Yay for handspun socks!