Recovery and Rambling

So it's surprising how much you can get done when you will be incapacitated for a bit. For weeks I've been rushing around weeding, planting, hacking, mowing, cutting, painting, dyeing, cleaning, organizing, blah, blah, blah, getting ready for D-date....June 25th. That was the date that my knee was going to be scoped, to figure out what the problem was for the last 2 years. I know I'm old, Arthur-itis has moved in, I've played too much Ultimate frisbee and fallen too many times mountain biking. But dammit, I can't bend my leg most of the time, and it's crimping my style! So my 4th ortho doc finally agreed to go in and look.

Anyway, beforehand, I wanted to get some things done because I knew I'd be crazy if I couldn't check some of these things off. I've had this darling little child's cabinet for decades. It was made by an old man named Angel in my hometown, a small prairie town in South Dakota. I remember as a child I would go over to his house, step down into his dark basement and be enchanted with all the wood and tools and projects in the works. After all the furniture I've painted, I can't believe I hadn't tackled this one.  

So I primed it...

and painted it  a crispy white with a robin egg's blue top and inside.

Put on some cute teal ceramic knobs and 

I'm in love! Soooooo much better!

I also have had this cabinet for awhile and did a quick redo on it. I needed more storage in the kitchen (like for the last 25 years!) and remembered that I had this hutch in the basement. Spices have a new home...boo yah!

So  the doc went in to scope the knee, and found a big chunk of floating bone (5/8"!!!). I told them 2 years ago that I thought something was in there and it would get locked into a bad place so I couldn't bend my knee without crying in pain. But 2 mri's and 3 x-rays didn't show a grape sized piece of bone floating around?! WTF?! I'll bet doctors love finding things like that in people. Looking around with their little ortho scopes, and coming up against a big ol' obstruction.  "Oh now, there's the problem! Let's just get that hunkajunk outta there!

After surgery I had all sorts of projects lined up, literally, by my couch with all the pillows. I got my ice, my coffee, my 125 pillows, my computer, and all my projects right next to me. I hunkered in for two days (ok, I did get out there to paint some boards for the studio on day two) and then took breaks thereafter to elevate and ice.

It was kind of like a little vacation (with pain meds!). I really did feel fine, not sick or anything, just a bit of pain in the knee. I got a pass from doing too much, got waited on, and even had wine delivered to my little fort. I also made a 'nest' for myself outside as the living room was getting a tad boring.

I finished a bunch of these brooches and got lots of knitting done.

I completed this shawl. Knit with one of my 'Biggies'.

and am still working on this slubby cardigan. Nearly done.

Knitting away on this Sawtelle child's sweater out of my sheep's yarn that was spun in Prince Edward's Island last year. But my best friend (besides my husband) while recuperating relaxing, was my trusty computer. I'd be knitting away and would think of something I just had to look up, then be lost in the interwebs for an hour. I did get a lot of computery stuff done though. 

When I felt like I could climb steps, I got out to the studio

and put together some re-imagined vintage jewelry.

For all of you who have seen me hobbling around for the last couple years, that's over! I'm on the mend, gotta get my quads back on that left leg as they're jello right now, but I'm glad the surgery is behind me cuz I got things to do, people to see and places to go!