Shouldering on...I mean, soldiering on

I was given an assessment of my shoulder today by the very nice physical therapist. She seems to think that I could have a partial tear in my rotator cuff. Now, when I have heard things like this about other people, I have winced and imagined them walking around in constant pain. But I first hurt my shoulder in 1998, then several more times since. Last fall I hurt it once again...somehow. Can't remember. (Casey hurt his shoulder around the same time playing racquetball.) Since then it has not been the same and has progressively gotten worse.

However, the physical therapist told Casey and I that women tend to wait until the very last minute to have something like this taken care of. My fellow women, why do we do this? Seriously, it has been seven years since I messed up my shoulder, and it took me being in pain almost every time I moved the thing to see someone about it. I also had gall bladder pain on and off for three years before I had it seen to -- then again, I was literally hobbling around in pain when I "decided" to go to the emergency room. I have been irritated in the past when one or both of my parents would not go to a doctor, but it seems as though I do the same thing!

Oops, supposed to be working on my posture right now and already I'm slipping. I was given "homework" exercises for my shoulder, and I really can't get out of those since Casey was there to witness the whole thing. I should only have to see the physical therapist about six times in all over the next few weeks. By then she said I should be noticing improvement.

I'm just ready to be able to wash my hair without making a face.

Photo Friday: Glow

I wasn't going to submit this week for Photo Friday's challenge, but at the last minute I could not resist. Unfortunately, there were some computer bloopers, and consequently some tense moments trying to get connected and get my link submitted. Whew! I enjoyed this one very much, although it was difficult knowing which pic really said "glow" to me. Still, lots of fun!

The 2005 Photobloggies

I've recently finished voting on the 2005 Photoblog Awards. Wow, so many categories! Best Black & White Photography, Animal, Landscape, Abstract, Photojournalism...the list is quite extensive. Thankfully, there are only about five nominees per category (except "Photoblog of the Year"), and as I had only become familiar with a couple of the photoblogs in the last few days or weeks, it was much harder to make a quick vote.

Now, different kinds of photographic art will appeal to different kinds of people. I am going to give you some links of some favorites I'm sure I'll visit again and again, but that doesn't mean you will be drawn to them in the same way. Daily Dose of Imagery is, well, very good. Make sure to look back through the archives because you don't want to miss anything, especially the time-lapsed photos! I've been looking through this one for the past couple of weeks.

One that I recently discovered, in just the past day or two, is A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania. There are some beautiful landscapes here! And today I discovered a photoblog (on the awards site) that I just couldn't get enough of, and that is Jinky Art. I love the design, the portraits, the colors...it's all so incredible. Started wondering, "Should I turn my blog into a photoblog?" Hmm...not sure. I guess it has been one a little bit lately, maybe because of the inspiration from these and other photoblogs.

Those are my random musings for today, folks. Hope everyone has a wonderful and joyous weekend. Travel safe!

Edited later to add: Ooh, look at my name at the very bottom of the page...you can do that here.

Time to stop and smell the roses

White rose

Thought I would share one of the many, many photos I took of the absolutely gorgeous roses Casey gave me for Valentine's Day. I wanted to preserve them much longer than nature would allow. Thank you again to my sweet husband Casey -- now we will enjoy the roses for as long as we live!

Update on my NLW...it's a very long scarf, people. It will be four inches taller than me! So basically, it's getting longer, but I'm not even halfway yet. I will consider posting updated photos, then I'll probably put it off, and by that time it will be done. So, I'm guessing you'll see the finished product...later.

Later!

Edited to include this: My "Faces" photo was not chosen as one of the top "noteworthy" pics, but thank you to all who voted anyway!

Something new and better, please!

A little birdie nudged me about posting, so here I am...I won't name names, but you know who you are (don't you love the magic of links?). Okay, so what she said was very nice -- that she missed reading my blog and wanted something new. Aww, thanks! =)

What's new, you ask? Not much in the "new house" world, just waiting on that end-of-April closing date, then we'll move on in, Lord willing, at the beginning of June.

Meanwhile, Casey told me today that the car -- the one we use most all the time anyway -- will need a little work on the air conditioner, and I will soon be setting an appointment to get some physical therapy work done on my wayward shoulder. Oh, don't ask...it's an old football injury. Just kidding, it's actually an old, old, many-times strained kind of thing that I just can't ignore any longer. When it gets hard to wash your hair or sign a piece of paper, something needs to be done, people! I don't necessarily want to do the physical therapy thing partly because I know that will involve more pain, but in the long run it will be much better for me (and I'm sure Casey will enjoy less complaining!). Hope you're all doing well.

Photo Friday: Faces

My submission to Photo Friday's weekly challenge, this one being "Faces". Taken with my Nikon 5700. I basically just set the camera up a little higher than my head (while I was sitting), swiveled the screen around so I could know exactly where I was starting, and shot a 16-frame at 1/30 speed -- maybe once at 1/15 which accounts for the blurring. This was harder to do than I thought it would be. I ended up with about twenty to choose from, and these three were my favorites. I thought the black and white gave it a better touch. The middle one makes me think of mirrors, the top one is my ultimate fave because of the disorderliness (I think I look better with my eyes and mouth closer together, don't you?). I also need to give Casey the credit for giving me the idea of getting different facial features in different sections...at first I was just making all kinds of faces, but the hair-eyes-mouth-nose thing was a much more appealing idea to me.

Cute little Junebug

Whoa, just kidding! Cats look so evil when you catch them mid-yawn! I took a ton of photos one day of Junebug enjoying the sunlight. Just had to get her yawning because it always looks so funny, but this really turned out to be more scary than funny!

This is another of my favorites. It's fun to play with shadows!

I think I pulled something

What do you do on those days when it seems as though you've been given an extra dose of energy? Me, I want to do a lot, and sometimes I end up exercising in hopes that the routine will stick whether I have enough energy or not.

Okay, I am a fairly thin person, but I don't know why people automatically assume that means I am in shape. I suppose I was, at one time in my life, in shape. I lifted weights three or four times a week, plus I rollerbladed and I played racquetball each at least once a week. I was also a college student at the time. And about eight years younger.

Are you with me here? I am not in shape anymore, but I know I can be if I really try!

Anyway, Casey and I both find ourselves wanting to exercise and yet that nasty winter weather combined with afterwork fatigue can be such a hindrance. But all those fitness magazines that tell you to find an "exercise buddy" are on to something, because when Casey starts getting back on the fitness track, it's easier for me to follow suit, and vice versa I believe. And fortunately, we enjoy doing a lot of the same things exercise-wise, like walking and racquetball. When the weather is warmer we'll also be playing more ultimate frisbee, but I really do miss my rollerblading...maybe when we move to our new house I can get back into it. I think I'm fairly good at it, but when it's been a while I tend to be more self-conscious. We'll see.

So, is anyone else getting the exercise bug? Can you feel the burn?!? Woohoo!

A Letter to Spring

Dear Spring,

I see you! You keep on peeking around the corner of Winter's skirts, and then quickly hiding again. Don't be like that! I can't speak for everyone here, but I truly have missed you. I know that I appreciate you more only because you are not here for the whole 365, but this year I promise to savor your beauty, to stop and smell the flowers you share with all of us, and to be thankful to God for sending you our way. You are such a joy to be around, so stop being bashful! You do know that your official day is almost here, right? So c'mon, Spring, I welcome you with open arms!

All the best,

tracey

Sing it, sister!

My sister is coming for a visit, and she'll be here today! Casey and I will pick her up this afternoon, then it's off to...probably home. Maybe we'll show her some of the sights along the way. Both Casey and I will have Thursday off, so that's the day we'll show her around more. I am excited for this visit. It will be the first time since we moved that my side of the family has come to visit. I promise I'm not trying to get sympathy, just stating the facts. Anyway, this week will hopefully prove to be a fun time for all...oh, and she doesn't know it, but Kerry (that's her name) has a little bit of a surprise in store for her at the end of the week! I talked with Casey about it the other day, and we agreed this would be something really nice for her before she goes back home. Fun!

Meanwhile, back in my knitting totebag, the NLW is slowly making itself known. I think I made it clear, but in case I didn't, the most recent photo posted of the gauge is not actually what the scarf looks like. That was just a little swatch I did to test the pattern, and it was only 4 inches. What I'm dealing with now is 12 inches wide, and will eventually be 70 inches long (that's without the fringe, mind you). So I have a bit of knitting to go.

Saturday -- beautiful day -- the Case and I met others from the campus ministry (I would say students, but we weren't all students!) for some ultimate frisbee. Casey calls it just plain "ultimate" but I didn't know if all reading would know what I was talking about. So I really had quite the workout, not having exercised in a long time. Being that there were only six of us, three on each team, we were having to constantly run here and there. Whew! I was worn out after the first game, but did we stop there? No way! I think we played about four games in all. The best part of all was that there were three guys and three girls, so our first two games were, of course, guys vs. girls. I had so much fun with my teammates Heather and Courtney! We amused the guys by forming a huddle before every "kickoff". We did discuss strategy, but once or twice we didn't have anything to huddle about, and so I would tell them about my knitting (which I had worked on in the car on the way there) and how pretty the yarns were. Yes, we lost both games, but we still did alright I think. Then came odds and evens to change up the teams, and basically the teams just traded Casey and I. Wouldn't you know it, the guys' team suddenly got a little worse, and the girls' team got better! How could that be? But let me just say that I think it was because Casey is very good, and not because I'm very bad. Yes, we'll just say that.

Knit-picky

I thought I would go ahead and show the swatch I knitted to check my gauge. Since I have only ever done two simple knitting projects, I have never made a swatch. It is almost always recommended in a pattern, and it is just so you will know that the brand of needles you have and the way you knit, etc. will produce the finished product the pattern says you will produce. And when I say "the way you knit", I am mostly talking about how tight or loose the stitches are. As a beginning knitter, I am trying not to make my stitches so tight. I was really bad about that when I first started out. I just wanted it to look really nice and clean, but tight stitches can lead to a lot of frustration. So, that being said, I am making the effort to keep my NLW (Northern Lights Wrap) stitches a little loose but still clean. Below you will see the swatch I made. After I measured it and found it to be the correct size, it was getting pretty late, so I was only able to cast on and knit the first row. This morning I quickly knit a second row after breakfast. I have found when I start something like this (I'm also working on some cross-stitch at the moment) I want to work on it every moment that I can! Have a wonderful weekend!

No knitting news is...no news (let's face it, even knitting news is still no news)

Really. You would think that after going on and on about how pretty my new yarns are that I would be halfway done with the scarf. But then on Tuesday evening I discovered that I don't even have the right-sized needles for the job! I have sizes 4, 6, 8, 10 and 13...but no size 11. Shameful. But don't worry, I bought some last night and actually cast on 13 stitches. Now don't get excited -- I'm only checking the gauge first, and then I'll start the actual project. But I have learned that knitting with two yarns together is not so hard, so yay!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, this next sentence will sound weird: I missed my Unkymoods! For those of you not in the know, take a look at my sidebar above my Weather Pixie and you'll get it pretty quick. Where did Unkymoods go? Not sure. All I know is, they were there one day and gone the next. And now they're back, woohoo! The phrase that keeps running through my head is a quote from housekeeper Verbena in the original Parent Trap (hate that I have to say "original" -- why remake something that's already perfect?): "You didn't know what you had 'til you had it!" But really, shouldn't she have said, "...'til you didn't have it"? But then it wouldn't have sounded so funny I suppose. Hey folks, for those of you who don't know me all that well, I know you are thinking that I am jumping all over the place here, but this is truly how my thoughts tend to run. Lots of tangents. I have been trying to be a good and articulate blogger, but let's face it, that isn't always going to happen.

On the "house" front, Casey and I have officially signed papers (my signature is not so pretty) and will, Lord willing, close at the end of April. God continues to bless us in so many, many ways.

Pretty, pretty yarns!

Here are my two yarns for the Northern Lights Wrap! They are both Lion Brand, and apparently pretty new, especially the Trellis yarn. I kept on seeing it described as a "ladder yarn" and didn't truly understand what that meant until I saw it. I just love it! This will be my first knitting project in which I knit with two yarns at one time, meaning that I have to hold both yarns together all throughout. Hopefully this won't be difficult to get used to. I will try and keep updating as the project moves along.


Moonlight Mohair Glacier Bay


Trellis Ocean