Bits of Anxiety

It has been a bit fragmented around the old camp... on Tuesday, DH went for his annual work physical, and the nurse practitioner (my boss at the clinic where I work) spent a long time looking at one of his eyes, before making him an emergency appointment with an opthamologist. He was afraid that DH, a Type I diabetic for almost 20 years now, had developed retinopathy, which can very quickly cause blindness. There was also concern over his blood pressure, which has usually been stable, but is often elevated by the disease state.

We both lost sleep overnight, and headed to the appointment yesterday worried about the outcome, and whether treatment (usually by laser surgery) would be immediate. Lucky for me I had CeCe to work on during the hour wait. The opthamologist spent a long time looking, but determined that there was no retinopathy (what a relief!), but that there were gradual changes taking place. Diabetes can lead to glaucoma as well, so it was agreed to set up a schedule for more frequent monitoring, about every six months now. We also hit the drug store and purchased a blood pressure cuff, as well as talked about needing to get him eating more fruits and veggies... his blood pressure readings have been within normal ranges, and lower than mine (although I think mine returned to a more normal figure after getting the news that he is ok).

I also got a request to submit an application to our regional Headstart, where they are making plans for next fall, so spent the rest of the afternoon preparing my application packet to mail today. When I tiredly decided I was done and could knit a bit, I foolishly picked up Mountain Peaks and proceeded to knit one row right, one row wrong, rip back, and then realize I had violated Margene's 9 PM rule (as in, don't try to knit lace when you are tired).

I read instead... although only a few pages. I am reading Gaia's Garden, by Toby Hemenway, which is an overview of permaculture on a backyard scale. I took the design course back in 2000, and even hosted a design workshop here for our property as part of my work on my Masters degree, but this book is serving as both a review and a refinement, being much more accessible than Bill Mollison's Permaculture: A Designer's Manual (sometimes there is just too much information to process).

I also managed to write up a post about fresh strawberries for the Eat Local Challenge blog; even though May is over, the great content will continue on the site, so check for updates.

My biggest accomplishment still cannot be posted in pictures; I have finished my dye project for Dye-O-Rama, packaged the yarn with a suitable label and a little gift, and have it ready for tomorrow's mail!

I also managed to find that there are more shawls I want to make, the Shapely Shawlette that Carole just finished, and Truly Tasha, by Nancy Bush, being high on the list of future wraps. So many shawls, so little time.... I think I need a bumper sticker. If you get tired of knitted ones, check these woven ones out, all by members of my guild, Foothill Fibers.

Our guild is planning to join Worldwide Knit in Public Day on June 10th by knitting in front of the Nevada County public library on Saturday morning from 10-12, then proceeding with the usual Spinning Saturday plans, at the meeting room in air-conditioned comfort. If you are anywhere nearby and want to join us, bring a chair, sunscreen and lunch, and give me a shout if you need more information.