WIP: Granny Squares On Hold!

We stopped by Spotlight on Saturday morning and in the discontinued yarn bin I found some beautiful crochet cotton. From $7.00 each they became $1.50, and I bought 8 balls. I'm kicking myself now because I should have scooped them all up. With the cotton, I've been making some granny squares, which in the end will combine to form a throw.

In the middle of last year my wrist and thumb began to hurt, the Dr ordered an X-ray and ruled out any problem with the bone, saying it was the tendon. A physio that my Mom works with said that it was de Quervain's Tenosynovitis. All I needed to do was rest it and if I wanted, I would have a cortisone injection to relieve the pain. Well, it is months later and it still hurts, I have limited movement in my thumb and whenever it is bumped, a sharp, ripping pain travels through my thumb and up my forearm, it's really terrible. I haven't been able to rest it because I have so much to do around the house and since DH works 6 full days a week, I have little help. It seems unfair that I have to sacrifice my hand just because he expects things to be perfectly in order and spick and span. It doesn't help that I have a little one (the physio said that the condition is common among mothers because of the lifting they do) and that I have to carry most of the shopping bags etc because DH has a back problem (self-inflicted because he started lifting weights at 13 - craziness). Last night, DH accidentally bent my thumb by knocking it (which I demonstated to him the day before, is impossible for me to do) and the pain was like no other, I honestly thought that I had torn the tendon. I'm back at square one, not having any movement at all. So I can't do anything, not even crochet. Argh, I guess I just have to take care, wear a support and hope that it gets better without the need for surgery. I have the healthiest lifestyle of any one I know and I have so many things wrong with me.

bright,
squishy
foam letters
&
chubby
soft hands

help get me through the day...

Patchwork Society

The first half of the year always seems to crawl by. Still recovering from Christmas and realising that another year has slipped by, we tend to forget the hope that the New Year brings. A New Year gives us second chance to correct the wrongs, live a better life and more importantly, allows us the opportunity to do the things we love, to spend more time with those we love.

This second half of the year, is the time to reflect. July onward has past in the blink of an eye. In this time, I can say that I have become a more socially, ecologically, economically aware person. Mainly, I have been influenced by the blogs that I have stumbled upon. You know how it is, you follow link after link and realise that people like you do exist! I never fitted in with the modern and 'too cool for cool' crowd, having my children at a young age and the responsibility that comes with having a family and keeping a house is something that people my age don't tend to understand. We have differing priorities and it seems that they think I am always missing out on something, but I wouldn't have my life any other way. You realise the significance of life, the meaning of life when you have children, and that makes you a better person.

Our tree. My dad bought us this plastic one when we moved out last year. A department store was having an opening sale and these were only $20. It's not bad, not as lush as other trees but I like it because it reminds me of when we lived in that tiny unit, our first taste of Independence. Last year, I decorated the tree with large artificial roses. When my mother-in-law saw it she said that it needed 'real' decorations and bought us 2 packs of hideous plastic decorations (baubles, garland and tinsel) in green and gold. It should be a crime to manufacture them I tell you! All that I kept was the gold bead garland. This year I decided to make stars, I used vintage fabric and stuffed them. I picked up the ornaments at the end of year clearance sales, and I intend to buy 4 each year for each member of our family. I scored the snowflakes for $2.49 for a pack of 12.

Our tree last year. Our unit was really dark and gloomy. The roses kept on falling off because I didn't have time to fix them up properly. I put up some of the gold decorations in case MIL came over. See the tinsel along the bottom? That's what happens when you enlist the decorating help of a 3 year old! And yes that's our little chubby 3 month old.

Our christmas lights. We only turn them on for an hour at night.

When Cami was born last year, I promised myself to cherish every moment I had with the kids, but cherish as I might it still isn't enough. Is it like that for everyone? I'm just scared that when I wake up tomorrow the kids will be grown up, with families of their own. It's just so scary - you want to spend all your time with the ones you love. There's so much violence around us now and there's only so much you can do to protect them. As the world zooms by outside my window, I can rest assured that all is right in my little square of this patchwork society that is slowly falling apart at the seams.