Just thought I'd post a little something about why I've been gone so long.. There are two main reasons. One is that I've become completely hooked on tatting since this summer, so I started a
tatting blog to have a place to show off the things I make and buy (there has been some serious shuttle shopping this fall!) because there is just so much of it, and I didn't want to clutter up this blog completely
:) This place is mainly for crochet, hedgehogs (of course!), some random craftiness and bits of my life.
(Warning: Long story ahead! Skip to the last paragraph if you're not interested...)
The other reason is that I've been sick for a while. I think I mentioned in the
Pumpkin post that I had some wrist pains a few weeks ago, so I stopped crocheting and tatting for a few days as soon as the pumpkins were done, and the pain went away. A few days later my right breast started feeling really warm and sore, and then I found some lumps, so I immediately went to the doctor to check it out. I figured it was an infection of some sort, and I really thought it would be easy enough to get a prescription of antibiotics and be done with it. But nooo... The doctor examined me for about four seconds and told me I had something called Fibrocystic breast disease/disorder (or something), which was fairly common and harmless. And there was nothing to be done about it other than wait until it went away. I was sceptical at first, but then another doctor came and took a blood test to check for infections and the test came back negative, so I finally believed the doctor. He gave me a referral to get a mammogram and/or an ultrasound to confirm what he suspected, and then I went home, happy that it was nothing serious.
Curious me went home and looked up the condition online and read all about it. Pain was normal... So when the pain started getting worse, I didn't think much of it - I was going to get it looked at soon anyway. Or so I thought... The clinic that received my referral managed to lose it in a pile of papers or something, so I didn't get an appointment until two weeks later. By then my breast was swollen and red (the redness appeared the last two or three days before), and there was no way I was going to let them squish it in the mammogram machine of horror! The doctor took one look at it and said I didn't need to :) He did the ultrasound and said it was an infection that needed immediate treatment, and he made an appointment for me at the hospital the next morning.
I don't want to get too graphic with the rest of the story - let's just say it includes getting stabbed with a VERY large needle (twice!), and then a scalpel when the needles didn't work... The first treatment only made things worse, despite me chewing antibiotics like candy, and the second treatment just wasn't enough. Now I've been to the hospital five times in the past week, and finally it seems to be healing up nicely. Got a week left of Penicillin and going back for a check-up next Thursday, and that's it :) Crossing fingers...
Whew! Long rant. Hope I didn't make you queasy... Now onto something more pleasant: I've done some yarn shopping today! Feeling that much better :) Got more yarn to make some new Great Big Bugs. Progress is slow with the one I'm currently working on - I've lost count of how many times I unraveled it - so perhaps it is best to do something else in between. After my wrist started acting up I've been taking it slow with the crocheting - only doing a few rounds a day - so if you get bored with the silence in this place and want to see what I've been up to you could always check out my tatting place :)
