The websites for Patons, Cleckheaton, Panda and Shepherd yarns have just been updated and they look pretty good. There are some worthwhile free patterns and the Panda site has instructions on felting.
They’re all owned by the one company and this page links to them all.
One of the good things about having a stash of wool is that when I have a bit of time off and the inclination to knit I have plenty of wool to choose from.
When I ran out of yarn for my sister’s Clapotis I decided to knit a scarf for my littlest neice’s birthday. I used some Naturally Tibet yarn that I bought at the Wool Shop in Russell Street.
I fully intended to go to work today.
I got up, showered and had breakfast. And threw up.
I kept going, thinking that if I just kept moving I’d start to feel better and it’d all be fine.
I decided to get the Mazda out of the garage before I got Finn out of bed so there was one less thing to do as we were leaving.
Hopped in the car, key in the ignition, turned it. Click, click, click. Nothing.
My stomach did a little backflip.
I figured that was a sign that I really didn’t need to go to work today, so I’m not.
Mark has already posted about this, but here’s my bit.
We saw the ENT guy this afternoon.
The tumour is small, it’s about 1 cm long, and we’ve found it early.
He has refered me to another ENT guy based in Melbourne because they don’t do the operation in Geelong. I have to wait 2 weeks to see ENT #2 (who, by the way, fixed ENT #1 when he had the same type of tumour) and the timing of the operation will depend upon his schedule.
The operation needs to be done by a neurosurgeon as well as an ENT surgeon.
I’ll be in hospital for a week and then may be a bit wonky on my feet for up to 6 weeks.
It’s quite likely that I’ll lose some or all of the hearing in the ear and the balance nerve on that side will be destroyed. The 6 weeks is the time it may take for the balance nerve on the other side to compensate.
I won’t need to shave my head, possibly just a patch behind my ear. And I may need to have a shorter haircut for a while.
I will have to have an annual hearing test and MRI for at least a few years to make sure there’s no recurrence. The prospect of an annual MRI is a good incentive to start practicing meditation again.
I feel much less anxious about everything now that I know these things. Of course, I will be absolutely petrified when the day of the op arrives, but in the meantime I’m OK with it all.
Thank you everyone for the thoughts and wishes and all. It’s lovely to know that support is there at times like these.
I’ve been ‘working from home’ yesterday and today because I really didn’t think I could face going into the office.
I’m not sure if it was a good idea, though. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my head and a lot of time knitting. I don’t think the former is a particularly healthy thing to be doing really. The latter is has been surprisingly relaxing and meditative.
I did some work yesterday, but I’ve done none today - apart from answering a couple of emails - and I’m a bit annoyed with myself about that. It’s not that I feel guilty, well maybe just a little bit, but it’s more that there’s no real reason why I can’t work. I’m not sick! Well, no sicker than I have been for god-knows how long.
The thing I’m trying to remember is that finding out about the tumour hasn’t actually changed anything. It’s probably been there for ages while I worked and lived my life and it didn’t stop me then so I shouldn’t let it stop me now that I know about it. Easier said than done, I know, but that’s what I want to try to do.
I’m also trying to remind myself that there is an upside to this. It proves that the tinnitus and blocked feeling I have in my left ear is not my imagination, sinusitus, misalignment of my neck or jaw, or any of the other things I’ve blamed. There’s a real, tangible cause for it and that, in its way, is good to know. I can stop trying to pop my ears to clear it.
Now can someone remind me I said all of this when I forget?
I decided to knit the Clapotis pattern from knitty.com as my sister’s 50th birthday present.
Her birthday is in late May and the party’s not until some time in June, but I decided to start it early because (a) I wanted to make sure I had enough yarn and (b) I couldn’t wait to see how it knitted up.
I’ve spent today knitting away to keep my mind off things and have found the answer to (a). I don’t have enough yarn. It also seems to be knitting up quite nicely - I’m considering making another for myself.
It’s very, very close to being finished (I’m probably one ball short), so I’ve ordered some more of the Katia Twist online and crossed my fingers that I’ll get it in time. If not, I’ll give it to her for Christmas.
It turns out that I am one of, apparently, 300 people a year in Australia who are diagnosed with an Acoustic Neuroma.
I don’t know much about it at this stage, other than what I Googled. I’m going back to see the ENT guy on Tuesday.
It is scary and I am upset about it, but I’ve decided to reserve all major worrying and stressing for after Tuesday. For the next few days at least I’m going to do my best to ignore it (although the left side of my head has felt heavier since I found out).
While I’ve made the news rather public by blogging it, I don’t really want to talk about it at the moment. I’ll just get upset. I just wanted to let you all know and I’ll update you after Tuesday’s appointment.
