Gifted Beanies

As predicted, I did not finish eldest nephew's sweater in time for Christmas. The next question is: will I finish it in January? 

I do not know. I have about half of one sleeve. So, maybe? 

As luck would have it, the family made the trip out to SoCal, so I could give presents in person. I brought along the work-in-progress so eldest nephew could see how it was coming along. He was impressed. Apparently, cables are impressive. Who knew? 

(Eldest nephew was also dealing with a miserable cold. On his birthday.) 

But I had finished some things. Like, the beanie for middle nephew in "Lakers colors". 

Yeah, he was wearing a Lakers t-shirt. Because, of course. 

And the beanie for my brother: 

Then the two of them took a selfie in their beanies:

I took a pic as they took their selfie. 

So, I will be continuing the Christmas knitting after Christmas. I knew this would happen, though, so I'm not terribly upset about it. 

The irony? When I referenced what they had asked me for in July, they had forgotten. So, the twins were quite content with the purchased long-sleeved sweatshirts (with Minecraft on them), and my sister-in-law wasn't upset that I hadn't started her sweater at all. 

And Then There Were Two

The Enderman is finished. 

Last week, I showed off the head. I had chosen a deadline of Thursday to get it finished. I'll explain...

First, I made the Creeper. (These are characters in the videogame Minecraft.) Because twins, I offered to make a second. They named a couple different characters. I found the pattern, but I didn't get much further than that because then my mother died. (I promise, this is related.) 

A week later, my brother said he was planning to visit our uncle (our father's brother), and would I like to come along? He wanted to check in on him after his wife passed away the same week as our mother. 

The plan was to fly up Friday, fly back Sunday. (Uncle lives in northern California. I live in southern California. Brother lives in Ohio, but he was going to be in southern California for work that week.) 

I realized that if I got Enderman finished in time, I could give it to my brother rather than mailing it to him. By doing a piece every day, I got to this point on Wednesday: 

And Thursday night I assembled it. It went into my luggage Friday morning, and I gave it to my brother at the airport: 

And as we puttered about with our uncle, we ended up at Goat Rock Beach:

Next up will be Zombie. If I can find a pattern. And yarn. And the time. But I might just pause and work on some other things for a while. 

Travel Not Knitting

I needn't have worried.

Last week I hemmed and hawed over what to take with me on my trip to Ohio to see my brother, sister-in-law, and niblings for Thanksgiving. And when I got there, I did practically nothing. 

I started a swatch:

But the most work I did was on my Mobius cowl, and that was all plane crocheting:

But, now I have new direction. While there, I gifted the Autonomy headscarf to my SIL. (And the Christmas lights.)

She liked it so much she wants it in several colors. Considering how easy of a knit it is, this is totally her Christmas present. Whew. Something to work on. 

(I had a nice trip. It was cold there. It actually snowed. It was nice to see the family as I hadn't seen the younger nephews since they moved. The last time I saw the twins, they were like 4. They're 11 now.)

All Out Podcast Episode

I'm changing things up today. My SIL did a podcast...

I've mentioned her struggles before (here, here, and here). If you've got about 43 minutes, go ahead and take a listen. The episode is here.

The Finished Mask (and SIL Update)

I finished the mask. And I gave it to my sister-in-law for her birthday...

...because, while I really wanted to make the mask, I have absolutely no use for it. It came out pretty cool, don't you think?

Some of you may remember the last time I mentioned her, a little over a month ago. Things were looking grim. Via her GoFundMe page:

 ***August 22nd update***
Here is the latest. Heather is currently on the road, driving with a nurse to Northwestern University near Chicago. Why is she doing this, you ask? Well, here is why. Her bone marrow is failing. Quickly.  

The clinical trial she was in at the Mayo Clinic was unsuccessful. Her trip to Panama was a major success in reversing damage but was not able to fix her bone marrow. Extensive blood and bone marrow tests came back positive for two things-- myleofibrosis and acute myeloid leukemia. The thing is, those two conditions can’t exist at the same time. The doctor who examined her blood and sent the results said that he has never seen results like this… ever. He classified the results “inconclusive.” (Go here for the full update.) 

Since, there's been another update:

***September 25 update - part 2 of 2***
(please see part 1 for details from the Chicago treatment)
So where are things now? Her immune system is back to 100%. The bone marrow is somewhere in the 75-85% range of being regenerated. Her body is producing good blood. She does needs to get blood and platelets every 4-6 days while the bone marrow spreads and grows. So much better than where she was before she left when she was going to the hospital every day for 6-8 hours of blood transplants and other various infusions. Things look to be moving towards a full recovery from this.  

The bad news is that while this was a complete success, scans of her brain and spine have shown that the lesions that had been healed from the last Panama trip have come back to life. Currently most are very small, but others are not... (For the full update, go here.) 

How to Distract a Sub (and SIL Update)

"Math is boring."

Okay, so I can't let that pass without comment.

Which somehow turned into a conversation about this video of two guys throwing a basketball off a dam...

(Don't ask. It was a rather meandering path our conversation took to here.)

After having gone this far afield from what he should have been doing--his math assignment--I figured it was time to end the conversation and remind him that he had work to do.

He took a look at the clock. He had managed to get me off topic for a good fifteen minutes. He considered that a win.

(Some students attempt to engage in conversation in an attempt to avoid doing work. Usually, they don't find a topic that'll keep me talking. This boy managed to do so. And didn't hide that that was his goal when the conversation finished.)

Ah well.

Now that it was clear I was on to his tricks, he turned his attention to the instructional aide (IA). He asked about her weekend. (It was a Monday.)

The IA had spent her Saturday shopping for a turquoise mid-century sofa. And a chair to go with it. The boy started searching out possibilities online for the matching chair. (The IA ordered the sofa but couldn't find a chair she liked.)

By the time the IA got wise, there were 10 minutes left in class.

Ah well. You win some. Some the students win.

* * *

There's a new update about my sister-in-law's condition. 

Previously I shared my sister-in-law's GoFundMe with you all. From that post:

Heather, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2012. She has an aggressive form of MS, and she needs help for her best treatment option... (Go here for the full post.) 

Three months ago there was another update. And just this week, things have gotten grim indeed...

 ***August 22nd update***
Here is the latest. Heather is currently on the road, driving with a nurse to Northwestern University near Chicago. Why is she doing this, you ask? Well, here is why. Her bone marrow is failing. Quickly.  

The clinical trial she was in at the Mayo Clinic was unsuccessful. Her trip to Panama was a major success in reversing damage but was not able to fix her bone marrow. Extensive blood and bone marrow tests came back positive for two things-- myleofibrosis and acute myeloid leukemia. The thing is, those two conditions can’t exist at the same time. The doctor who examined her blood and sent the results said that he has never seen results like this… ever. He classified the results “inconclusive.” (Go here for the full update.) 

If any of you have any Marriott rewards points, they could really use your help. Thank you.

Nothing New to See Here

So, um, yeah. As of this writing, I haven't done much of any work on the gloves from two weeks ago...

(I may have done more on Sunday, but it won't be done in time for me to post it before this post goes live.)

I don't have any good excuse for my lack of progress. Just life, I guess. Maybe next week?

* * *

Since last Monday was a holiday, some of my regular readers didn't see my post. So, I'm reposting from last week. (For those of you who were here last week, I made no significant changes to the rest of this post.)

One month short of a year ago, I shared my sister-in-law's GoFundMe with you all. From that post:

Heather, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2012. She has an aggressive form of MS, and she needs help for her best treatment option... (Go here for the full post.)

That took her to Panama in July of last year. Since then, I've been trying to get her to do another interview to update you all as to her progress, but with one thing and another...

The GoFundMe has been updated this weekend with what's going on right now...

Short version:
Heather’s health has rapidly declined over the past 4 months. She is currently back in Panama getting another round of stem cell treatments. She’s been there for a week and will be down there for a total of 3 weeks.  

Full update:
February was 6 months from the stem cell treatment in Panama. A routine MRI was scheduled to keep tabs on Heather’s progress. When she got a call from her doctor and was asked to come in for the results, we knew there was a problem.  

The MRI showed that she still only had the one lesion on her pituitary gland, but there were indications that something much worse was ahead. What her doctor saw was the precursor to something called Schilder’s disease. This is an extremely rare type of MS that has only been diagnosed in 99 people in 100 years. Heather became number 100... (Go here for the full update.)

If you could share Heather's story with your social networks, they would greatly appreciate it.

Unforeseen Complications

Last week, I showed you the trial glove for the request I had gotten... 

Today, I totally planned on having the final pair to show off. But things didn't go according to plan.

I bought snaps for the closure on the wrist as that's what the pattern called for. I had the bright idea to finish up both wrist bands and sew on the snaps before finishing off the rest of the glove. This was a brilliant move, but not for the reasons I expected.

See, the snaps did not work.

They looked sloppy...

And when you unsnap them, well, they work, but they feel like they're going to tear off.

It's really hard to show this in a picture, but if I could hand this to you and have you unsnap the snaps, you'd see what I mean.

I tried crocheting a bit more on the ends, but that didn't help. And while I started thinking about what to add to reinforce the snaps, I realized that this was way too much work for something that was supposed to be an afterthought at the end of the project.

This is why trying this now was brilliant. I would have lost my mind if I had finished two whole gloves and the snaps didn't work.

Using buttons was suggested. It meant I had to start over, because I would have to put a buttonhole in the wrist band. But as I hadn't gotten much further than the wrist band anyway...

Ah, much better! Of course, that means that I spent Saturday redoing wrist bands rather than finishing gloves. And that means I have no finished gloves to show you (as they haven't been finished yet). But there's always next week.

* * *

And finally, one month short of a year ago, I shared my sister-in-law's GoFundMe with you all. From that post:

Heather, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2012. She has an aggressive form of MS, and she needs help for her best treatment option... (Go here for the full post.)

That took her to Panama in July of last year. Since then, I've been trying to get her to do another interview to update you all as to her progress, but with one thing and another...

The GoFundMe has been updated this weekend with what's going on right now...

Short version:
Heather’s health has rapidly declined over the past 4 months. She is currently back in Panama getting another round of stem cell treatments. She’s been there for a week and will be down there for a total of 3 weeks.  

Full update:
February was 6 months from the stem cell treatment in Panama. A routine MRI was scheduled to keep tabs on Heather’s progress. When she got a call from her doctor and was asked to come in for the results, we knew there was a problem.  

The MRI showed that she still only had the one lesion on her pituitary gland, but there were indications that something much worse was ahead. What her doctor saw was the precursor to something called Schilder’s disease. This is an extremely rare type of MS that has only been diagnosed in 99 people in 100 years. Heather became number 100... (Go here for the full update.)

If you could share Heather's story with your social networks, they would greatly appreciate it.

Please Share and Support

Image by Donnee Spencer

I don't often talk about my family here. Now that I do a search, I find that I told some stories of when they moved four years ago and a story involving niece and eldest nephew (A.K.A. ArcherGirl and HapkidoKid). (I have four nephews in total: eldest, middle, and the twins.)

Oh, and I also show off the stuff I knit for them. Like last Christmas. Or for Heather's birthday last year. (So, I guess I do talk about them, albeit in a roundabout way.)

Well, the reason that I bring this up today is for a cause. Heather, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2012. She has an aggressive form of MS, and she needs help for her best treatment option. She's joined us today.

Hello, Heather

Hello to you, Liz!

To fund this treatment, Heather has a GoFundMe. But, Heather, you didn't start this yourself, did you? Who started it and why?

Actually, an acquaintance started the fundraising for me. Her name is Lori and I have gotten to know her a bit through my kids' archery practices and tournaments. She is a very kind lady that felt she could do this small thing to help me and my family. 

 This is not the first treatment you'll undergo. What were you doing this past Christmas?

On December 19, 2014, I began a treatment at UCLA Medical Center. I received eleven, eight hour chemotherapy treatments. It was equivalent to about nine months of chemo, compressed, in order to kill off my immune system. After that, I received stem cell therapy, as part of a clinical trial. 

I found out about a month ago that while the clinical trial is considering me a "success", I only received minimal benefits. In order to see more, long-term, improvement; I need more stem cells.

So, to get more stem cells, you need another treatment. Where do you have to go for this one?

The most affordable option that I have right now is the Panama University Hospital in Panama City, Panama. They are working in partnership with Johns Hopkins University Hospital to give people with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, the stem cell therapy that is my best option; but not yet FDA approved in the United States. 

Why hasn't the FDA approved it?

Sadly, due to misinformation, our country denies permission and funding for stem cell therapies; even though other countries have proven the effectiveness. 

I saw a bit of your travails on getting a passport on Facebook. Did you get your passport? What exactly happened there?

I was able to get all the forms approved and sent off, but it takes 2-3 weeks for processing. I've never had a passport before, and I had no idea how difficult it would be! Not due to the procedure, per se, mostly because the other 50 people applying 1) didn't fill out the forms properly, or 2) didn't bring the proper documents, or 3) didn't read the instructions. Then, they want to argue about their mistake and really solidify your belief that most people are really stupid. 

We all wish you well. Now, where can we go to help you out with all of this?

Here is the link to the GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/vr6sq2t

Please consider sharing on your social media pages! Thank you for taking the time to help me. 

Thanks for taking the time, Heather. Let us know how it goes.

And thank you for stopping by. I hope you can help, even if just by sharing this for your followers. Thanks.

Modern Games

It was Monday. Or Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday. Oh bother. This past week has completely run together. What day is this, anyway?

I was watching Blondie, Detritus, and the baby. I think I was watching the baby's show, or perhaps I was tracking the baby as he tried to get into anything that he wasn't supposed to have (because it would have been too easy if he only played with that he was allowed to have). Blondie and Detritus were keeping themselves busy, so it took a moment before I started listening to their game.

Blondie had her Nintendo DS. Detritus had a toy cell phone. Blondie pretended her DS was a cell phone, and she was getting a text from somebody or she was texting her mother or both. Then Detritus took off his shirt ("I'm hot"), and Blondie "snapped a picture" of him.

Blondie: "I just emailed that to all your friends. Now I'm putting it on Facebook."

Detritus: "I'm putting this on my Facebook." (I'm not sure how Blondie's appearance would have shamed her on Facebook, but Detritus phrased it as a threat.)

Blondie: "I'm deleting your pictures from Facebook and putting up this."

Blondie had "snapped" another shot of the shirtless Detritus. Before Detritus could figure out another threat, I told him that if he perhaps put his shirt back on, Blondie wouldn't have anything to threaten him with.

Threatening to put up embarrassing photos on Facebook. That's a game I didn't play as a kid.

Here We Go...Away

While we were packing, Nick Jr. was usually on in the background. I've mentioned my niece and nephew, but I haven't mentioned the other nephew, the youngest. He's 14-months-old. Yeah, so not so much with the helping of the packing.

Because that channel is aimed at the really young, I should have expected that certain segments get repeated over and over and over and... Yeah, it got bad. Not as bad as this, but annoying nonetheless. The worst offender... 

Imagine hearing that song every 15 minutes. (If you have a young child and already watch the channel, you don't have to.) Enough said.  

The Bright Side

The other day as I was helping my sister-in-law pack up her house (I don't recall which day this was), we found some unopened bubbles. These ended up on the counter as we continued to empty shelves. Then my nephew (who I'm going to call) Detritus came in and saw them.

(I should explain my choice of name. It's a literary reference. No, I don't think my nephew is a troll. But, he talks just like that character--every "th" sound comes out as a "d". And he is a five-year-old boy.)

Detritus loves bubbles. So, his mom gave them to him with the instruction that he was to play with them in the backyard. And off he went.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but it was long enough to get some packing done, when Blondie appeared in the house. She informed her mom that Detritus had spilled all of his bubbles.

My response: "Oh good. We don't have to pack them."

The Incredible Disappearing Gloves

This past weekend was an all-hands-on-deck affair at my brother's house. Their move was coming soon, and there was still a lot to pack (read: the kitchen).

Little brother (he's four years younger than me, but he's about six inches taller) spent the weekend going through the masses of stuff in the garage. Because he was doing a lot of heavy lifting and moving of boxes, he wisely was wearing work gloves. When he could find them.

The previous weekend, LB showed me a pair of mismatched gloves. He couldn't find their mates. As my sister-in-law went through some of those boxes from the garage (sorting), guess what we found?

Missing gloves have become a running joke.

On Saturday, LB was busily running around. He had a bed to disassemble. He had boxes to move. He was wearing the gloves. And then...

I attempted to help look for the missing gloves, but as I hadn't seen him put them down, I couldn't do much but offer suggestions ("Are they in the car?"). I thought he found them, but then on Sunday a new pair were purchased to replace the missing ones, so apparently not.

We finished emptying most of the cabinets in the kitchen, and so it was time to start on the drawers. I pulled out stuff while my mother put that stuff in boxes. I got to the drawer which contained aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and storage bags. In the midst of this I found the gloves.

I took the gloves outside. I held them up for LB. His reaction was priceless.

Finding Toys

Moving sucks.

No, I'm not going anywhere, but my brother and his family are. I have the honor and privilege of helping them pack up their house. (My brother and sister-in-law both read the blog.)

The first order of business was to sort through the kids' toys. We were to pare down their massive collection to a more manageable amount. I set us up with a trash bag for trash, a trash bag for giveaways, and boxes for those toys that were to be packed.

Some things in the room were already sorted. There was a Lite-Brite cube over near the closet. I asked my niece (who I'm going to call) Blondie about it. She said it was to be given away. I asked her where the rest of it was, as all that was sitting there was the cube--no instructions, no pegs, nothing. Blondie had no idea.

It took us three days to sort the toys (well, it might have been four...it's all starting to run together). The second day in that room, I concentrated on the various piles of clutter around the edges. There were a lot of pencils and pens. There was also a lot of junk and trash. I had Blondie go through it all (she's 10, so she can handle it). Most of it went in the trash. But somewhere in those piles we found the instruction packet for the Lite-Brite.

Score! I added that to the giveaways. But we were still missing the pegs.

The last day in the room, we tackled the closet. The less said about the Christmas candy we found in there, the better.

On the tippy-top shelf in the closet were several shoe boxes. I pulled them all down and found they were all empty. Easy trash. Then I noticed a plastic bag up there. It wasn't until I pulled it down did I figure out what it was. The pegs! The Lite-Brite was now complete.

I went to put the pegs in the giveaway trash bag, but Blondie stopped me. Now she wanted to keep it.

Naturally.

As she still had room in her allotted toy box, I pulled the thing out of the giveaways and put it in with her toys.

Oh, the things you find when you're packing.