I got home on Friday.  I confess, when I saw Mt Tam from the East Bay, I got a bit misty-eyed – it’s been five weeks, but it has also been a lifetime of highs and lows.

Yesterday, I took a photo of my balcony to remind myself what a beautiful place I live in.

Things I like about home:

1. it’s where my stuff is –  like kitchen, food, clothes, yarn stash
2. it’s also where my kitties are – you provide lots of entertainment – maybe I don’t really need cable TV
3. I wake up, and everything I need is right here
4. my bed – it’s not perfect, but I sleep very well here
5. my community – just outside the door
6. friends who leave you food after a long journey away – they are the best!
7. friends who will help me figure out the next steps of my life and my mom’s – they are the best too!
8. Reviving a gift knitting project – Poplar and Elm – the lighter color of the Eden 3-ply yarn will be much better for the recipient:

Yes, I’m still dealing with Mom issues, but I have knitting to report.

First, I used up some of the scraps from the Afghans for Afghans socks, added in a Kaffe Fassett Regia colorway, and came up with some anklet socks that I wear instead of slippers around the house.  I love the colors, and had fun with the picot hem:

I also started a camisole/tank for me — Soliel pattern from Knitty.  My gauge is a little different, so I changed the math, and I added some short rows at the bust, so it’ll not ride up on me hopefully.  So far, so good.

And I think I’ll be reunited with my kitties and stash quite soon!

Well, this has been a very “interesting” few weeks, filled with highs, lows, drama and laughs (and thank goodness for the last one).

The short version:  Mom is doing better, and I’m planning to come back on Friday.

The long version:  Mom was doing her best to get well in the skilled nursing facility, but I could tell she felt like crap.   Worryingly so.  Her stomach was a mess, and even though I got the doc to add something to help.  It didn’t.  Then one day she didn’t keep her breakfast down, the next, the other end looked suspicious.  So I called her doc and left a message that I thought she had an ulcer.  he calls me back on my cell phone (which of course did not work in her room), and he hung up while I was racing to the front of the building where it worked.  Then, walking back to the nurses’ station, there was a freak-out happening because her doc told them to call 9-1-1.  I told them I had called the doc, and they immediately wanted to know that I told him.  So  I did, and told them that I had only wanted to talk with the doctor, not anything else.

In the end, Mom went back to the hospital and got blood (good), a test that showed she did have ulcers, and new meds (very good).  The bonus is that in going back to the skilled nursing place is that I got her a room transfer in which she has a. a TV, b. a window view, and c. a quiet compatible roommate.  And no bleeding, and the ability to eat now means she is much, much stronger.  yay!

So, I can finally contemplate a return to my house, my cats, and my life, while looking for a place to bring a healing mom.

There has been more knitting – I knit a small Ishbel for a family friend, but I haven’t gotten a photo yet.  I’m doing a pair of footie socks for me, and Soliel tank in Tahki Cotton Classic.  Thank goodness for the iTouch, wireless, laptops and knitting!

The last three weeks have been pretty draining. The good news: Mom is getting stronger. The less good news: she’s now well-enough to be very unhappy about her situation. At the moment she’s in a rehab nursing unit, and not happy that she is dependant on others for so much – this is a total shock for her.

I’m staying at her house, which means a lot of my life is neglected at the moment:

• my job at the church – there are folks covering pastoral care and preaching, but everything else is not covered
• my kitties – I miss the petting and cuddling
• the blog – obviously
• my job at the YMCA – I miss teaching my class for water aerobics
• teaching at Bluebird – all my plans for teaching evening classes there are out of the window.

I’m sure there is more to the list that I am blocking out.

It feels a bit like the movie Ground Hog Day – each day is a lot like the last one, with a bit of improvement to keep you going, punctuated by bad moments that you have to breathe through for sanity.

Oh, and the knitting, not so neglected.  There is a lot of time for that sitting in the room (thank God it has wifi!) I finished the socks, and the sweater.

Now I’m realizing that I need to send them from down here, and hopefully ask my knitting-cat sitter to find the socks that I knit up there and mail them off to Afghans for Afghans.

Now I’m finishing up another pair of socks, and in the middle of my 3rd Ishbel:

(No photos of Isbhel yet)

Thanks for the all comments, and stay tuned for further details.