Emily M. DeArdo's Blog, page 30

Emily Knits a Cardigan--the back is done!

Other entries in this series :

UPDATE!

Emily Knits A Cardigan—first post

So, as you can see, the back is done! This is probably the biggest “piece” of the cardigan puzzle, so I’m glad to have this bit finished!

One of the hardest things for me in knitting this is knowing how many repeats to do. The pattern isn’t always clear—for example, in this case, the pattern said X number of repeats, but at the end, there should be 52 stitches on the needle. It took me about 11 more rows to get to the 52 stitches mark, so…..

Here are some detail shots:

Some of the decreasing toward the neck.

More decreasing!

The rest of the cardigan is as follows:

Left Front

Right Front

Sleeves

Collar

So I’m on the left front now, which is simple, except for the pesky repeats. Fortunately if I’m wrong and I have to frog, I don’t have to frog too badly. Unlike the back, which starts with 125 stitches on the needle, this only starts with two, and somehow that makes frogging more palatable to me!

And, cardigan love in the news….

Seven Quick Takes--ApMaJu 301651

-1-

Do we know what month or day it is? It’s hard to remember at this point, but in June I have a bazillion doctor appointments so I’ll probably start to remember what day it is!

-2-

Around the blog this week:

Wednesday Notebook #11

Review of Living Memento Mori in the Catholic Times!

Also, book club every Tuesday at 3:00 EST on my facebook page! If you want to jump in now, you can! All the past episodes are on the FB page under the “video” tab.

-3-

This sketchbook challenge kicks off on Monday and I am totally into it.

-4-

The cardigan GROWS!!!!! I am so excited to update you on it—that’ll be happening on Wednesday, monthly yarn along day, so keep a look out. Here are all the posts about it so far.

a little tease for you……

-5-

I have a bunch of doctor appointments in June, and I’m nervous about them. Some of them because they’re new people, and I have to break them in. Some of them, because I don’t know what the masking protocol is. Normally I tell people to take off their masks so I can lip read—and they do it. Will they do it now? I have no idea. So that is making me nervous, big time.

Yes, I want people to be protected. But I also want to understand what people are saying. I don’t think you can really grasp how frustrating and upsetting it is until you’ve experienced it yourself—to not be able to really communicate. It’s hard and frustrating and sometimes it’s actually scary, like if I’m in an ER alone.

So—nervous.

-6-

I haven’t been reading and I need to get back to that. There are so many books to read and I want to read but also part of me just wants to veg out—even though I know that’s not the way to be. That’s really been the roughest part of quarantine for me, how different every single day is. And of course my sleep schedule is shot to hell.

-7-

I have (or will have had, by the time this is live) a telehealth appointment with my endocrinologist. Hopefully we can….discuss things? Like, where should my blood glucose levels be? Why are they sometimes wacky and sometimes not? Do I need “rescue” insulin? Do I need to test ketones? Etc. etc. Since it’s a telehealth appt. we can’t test my A1c ( a helpful little number in treating diabetes and gauging how well current treatment is going), so….I guess we’ll get it when I see my (new) transplant team? NO IDEA, because we don’t have a blood draw scheduled then. And blood draws with me are just so fraught anyway. Normally A1c is just a finger stick.

Living Memento Mori in the Catholic Times! (D. of Columbus)

I am really excited to share with you that my friend Sarah Reinhard wrote a lovely review of Living Memento Morif for our diocesan newspaper!

I also like being compared to whiskey. :) Makes my Scots/Irish heart happy!

Wednesday Notebook #11

Making

Mrs. Bug’s Buttermilk Biscuits—SO GOOD.

Peanut Butter Power Bars

Also planted my herb garden! I have a little container garden on my porch. This year I’m growing parsley, mint, and thyme.

The cardigan makes progress! I’m almost done with the back piece!

Reading

Penguins and Golden Calves (finished)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (finished) —SO GOOD!!!!!

Lark Rise to Candleford

Joan of Arc, by Mark Twain (struggling with this one, going to be honest) There are two volumes—the link is for volume 2.

Written In My Own Heart’s Blood, by Diana Gabaldon (finished)

Ignite:Read the Bible Like Never Before, by Sonja Corbitt

Watching

Faust, Met Opera production

Catholicism: The Pivotal Players

Links & Such

A beautiful love story 

Take a Tech Sabbath

Seven Quick Takes--Live Like Me!

-1-

OK, so my friend Andrea gave me a great idea for this post: About HOW TO LIVE LIKE ME in this time of virus nuttiness! :) So after some book business I will share!

-2-

BOOK BUSINESS :)

The Living Memento Mori book club has kicked off!

You can watch the previous two installments on my facebook page! I’d love to see you at our next meeting on Tuesday, when we’ll talk about chapter three.

Also, my book is on sale at Amazon, so you can get it at a reduced price! Yay!

Also, Ave Maria Press is having a sale!

So you can pick up the book there too!

-3-

OK so, living like me.

One of the things I’ve said in this crazy virus time is that immunosuppressed people like moi actually know how to protect themselves from viruses and things, because we do it all the time.

So now, I shall share my tips with you!

Let’s talk about crowds in general. About people. The first year after my transplant, my team was strict about certain things—no malls in the winter, things like that. I couldn’t go to Mass for the first three or four months post-transplant. Since I’m not almost 15 years out, a lot of those restrictions have eased.

I still don’t really like to fly during flu season and avoid it if possible. But I go to the movies and the mall and all sorts of places. I take precautions. Things like eating from a salad bar, I still don’t do. I try to avoid buffets as much as possible, or, if possible, I try to serve myself first so that I avoid most of the people’s germs getting on the food. These are things I and my family think about. You might not have to think about it, but if you’re worried about the virus, it might behoove you to start thinking about these things and deciding what you are comfortable with—as in, your personal level of risk.

I know people, for example, who, post-transplant, change their clothes if they' are in the hospital for any period of time. I never did that. First off, it would’ve been insanely impractical; I often went from clinic appointments to work. But also, because I was comfortable with that level of “exposure” or “risk.”

So, deciding on your personal risk level is important. And realize that not everyone shares your feelings—and I don’t expect everyone else to live like me! :) But if you want to know my tips, here we go.

-4-

Carry hand sanitizer. Get one of those little key chain things from Bath and Body Works and put hand sanitizer in it. Grab sanitizer whenever you’re in there to stock up on body wash or whatever—it’s almost always on some sort of sale. Then you have a stockpile! I keep one in my desk and also in my purse.

NOW: Here is how you use it.

When you touch things, you use the sanitizer. Touch money? Sanitizer. Use the pen at the credit card kiosk thing at the store? Sanitize. Use the gas pump? Sanitize. Just do it. It becomes a habit. In the hospital rooms at the resort there is a sign that says GEL IN, GEL OUT. That means use the sanitizer gel when you come into a patient’s room, and when you leave it. So think of that. Gel in. Gel out. Clean hands! (You don’t have to use it EVERY TIME YOU TOUCH SOMETHING. You’d go nuts. But use it at various times when you’re in a store. Definitely use it when you leave. Things like that.)

-5-

BRING YOUR OWN WHATEVER

Carry your own pens in your purse, so they’re “clean”, and no one else uses it but you! If you use the pen at the doctor’s office, sanitize your hands after you use it! (Also clean off your cell phone, don’t let other people touch it, and if they do, clean it again. Normally I’m not fanatical about this, but right now, it can’t hurt!)

I have my own Magnificat for a few reasons—because I wanted all the prayers to help me know what the priest is saying at Mass, but now, it’s so I don’t use the communal pew missal! It’s clean! It’s mine! No one else messes with it! Only germs on it are mine. :)

Have tissues in your purse, so that if you have to blow your nose, you can and there you go. :) (Also useful for spitting when you have productive cough—isn’t CF elegant? :-P)

When I fly, I bring wipes, and I wipe down the tray, the seat back, the seat rests, and anything else I’m likely to touch. I am really germaphobic when I fly. Now, who knows, I might be that way at a restaurant.

-6-

Don’t open doors with your hands. Use the handicapped switch plate, if there is one—just bang it with your elbow. Push against doors to open them. Also, if you’re wearing gloves (like regular winter gloves), you’re OK. Basically you want to avoid “high touch surfaces”—if you can’t, then, sanitize and go.

In the bathroom you can try to use a paper towel to open the door after you wash your hands, or just sanitize when you get back to your seat. (B/c not every place has paper towels, but they need to bring them back, since they’re MUCH more effective at removing germs from hands after you wash them than the “air dryer” thing.)

-7-

Demonstrate good germ hygiene. Cough into your elbow. Blow your nose once and toss the tissue. IF YOU ARE SICK STAY HOME PLEASE. This, really, is key. I can do all sorts of things to protect myself, but if you come to church/work/whatever, sick, you are putting people at risk. Please do not be stupid. If you MUST come to work sick, then do whatever you can to avoid infecting others. Don’t sit at he communal lunch table! Cover your cough! Etc.

I am not perfect about all this—ask my mom! :) But I’m still alive 15 years post-transplant so I must be doing something right.

Did I wear masks out and about before? No. Not unless I was on a plane or in a hospital (and even in a hospital under SEVERE duress. I hate wearing them). I do have them—as in, real surgical masks. (I also have cloth ones, thanks to my friend Elizabeth!) I will be wearing them when I go out and I’ll keep a stash in my purse, just like I do with tissues and hand sanitizer.

The whole point of a transplant is to have a life after transplant. I know people who are SERIOUS germaphobes post. They don’t open their windows when someone is cutting grass outside. They don’t open car windows if there’s construction. They’re terrified of leaving their house.

That was never me. The point is to live, but not live stupidly. I try not to do stupid things.

Like I said above, I’m not perfect. But a lot of people are freaking out about being in public with anyone, with touching anything, and I’m going to tell you that there are ways to do it and be safe. There really are. I know because I do it, every day, year in and year out, that don’t involve shutting everything down and never leaving your hobbit hole again. I went to the pool. I went to hockey games. I went to amusement parks.

In short, I had a life.

You can too!

Wednesday Notebook #10

Making

From Outlander Kitchen—North African Rice Pilaf from Claire’s Apothecary Cabinet (makes a TON.Take out the chili pepper or use plain sausage if you want less spicy!)

Chicken wings (or drumsticks!) Provencal (This is REALLY easy. It takes awhile to make but that’s mostly hands-off time, so you can do other things while the drumsticks marinate and bake!)

Reading

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Finished)

An Echo In The Bone

Penguins and Golden Calves, by Madeleine L’Engle

The Dark Night of the Soul (finished)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snake—the Hunger Games prequel!

Watching

Lark Rise to Candleford on Hulu—British Drama! Yay! (I’m also moving slowly through the book.)

Links & Such

10 easy breakfast-for-dinner recipes

The oldest continually operating university in the Americas was founded by a Dominican. (OP Power!)

Peek inside cook Patricia Wells’s Paris Atelier (So sunny and pretty!)

Rogation Days!

Why Satan Is So Scared of St. John Paul II (OK, it’s a click bait title, but it’s a good story! St. John Paul II, PRAY FOR US!)

Things St. John Paul II might tell us during this pandemic

Book Sale at Amazon!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that my book is currently discounted on Amazon. I have no idea how long this will last, but if you’ve been wanting to get a copy (or a few more!), this is a great time to do it!

Also, be sure to join the book club! We kicked off last week on my Facebook page, and you can catch that recording, and join us for the next installment tomorrow! We kick off at 3:00 EST (so noon for you West Coasters). This week we’ll be talking about Chapter Two—Jesus Receives the Cross. (Or picks up his cross, or carries his cross—this station has a lot of names!)

I’d love to see you there!

Wednesday Notebook #9

Fifth Wednesday of Easter

“The Coronation of the Virgin”, Fra Angelico

The book club for Living Memento Mori has started on my Facebook author page—come join us! Every Tuesday at 2:00!

Making

Boothbay Cardigan

Elementary Wrap

Playing around with my pretty yarn and pondering casting on just a BUNCH of projects….

Reading

The Fiery Cross (finished)

A Breath of Snow and Ashes

A Stash of One’s Own

The Dark Night of the Soul

Joan of Arc, Mark Twain (FINALLY started this!)

Angle of Repose

Watching

The Last Dance (ESPN)

Rogue One

Star Wars

The Empire Strikes Back

The Notebook

Return of the Jedi

Links & Such

For my hockey people: NHL All-Star John Scott joins the Catholic Church

Book Club Starts Tomorrow!!

3:00! Head over to my Facebook page and join us! I’m so excited to do this and I hope you enjoy it.

We’ll do this every Tuesday—one chapter a week. Jump in at any time.

Purchase a copy of the book here.

Seven Quick Takes--Fourth Friday of Easter (with a hospital trip but don't panic)

-1-

Happy Fourth Friday of Easter!

This isn’t a resurrection painting; it’s Raphael’s “Transfiguration”, but it’s one of my favorites so I thought I’d share!

-2-

On the blog this week:

A Little Bit Stuck?

Yarn Along: Emily Knits a Cardigan Part two!

Wednesday Notebook #8

-3-

OK, so hospital. That was actually last week but I realized I didn’t write about it, so here we go.

My gallbladder was being stupid and it went on for awhile—like, five days of pain and not-niceness. So my doctor wanted me to go to the New Resort to get it all checked out. So, dad and I did. We needed Dad because he had to push me in a wheelchair. Yes, this was a ruse. I’m sorry. But they wouldn’t allow anyone else with me otherwise, and I needed dad to translate for me, so…..yes. I got to ride.

I just needed bloodwork and an ultrasound, but since this is the NEW RESORT (NR), I didn’t know where everything was, so Dad and I navigated it all right. The signs at NR SUCK. I’m sorry, but they do. We had to ask a few people. Again, thank goodness for dad, because everyone had masks on, so I would’ve been so confused. And also, with six feet, I can’t get close to hear what you’re saying, so that makes it even harder! Anyway!

We got blood, got the ultrasound, came home, and I slept for basically two days. Bliss, let me tell you. (Especially after a week of no sleep!)

The hospital was very quiet, and efficient. There were cordons everywhere so you had to ‘stay on the path’ and at every entrance there were stations where nurses took your temp and gave you a sticker saying you’d ‘passed’, and you got to move on.

The places where I went will soon become quite familiar to me, I felt like I should be introducing myself to these people, saying, “Hi, you’re gonna get to know me well.” I did not. But I did dress nicely! I mean in an outfit!

So that was my big Emily’s Day Out. Everything was fine—I have stones and “sludge”—yes, that is the technical word!—in my gallbladder but whatever. It’s not emergent. So it stays for now.

-4-

Good things about NR: Excellent parking.

Bad things: Signs. They suck. And there’s no paths, like at Current Resort. Where are my green paths and yellow paths and PURPLE PATHS, DANG IT. Where are my wayfinding animals?!

-5-

BOOK CLUB starts next week!

If you need a copy of the book, go here and select your retailer of choice!

The plan for the book club is that we’ll go through each chapter—one chapter a week. I’ll expound on some themes, answer your questions, and give you some behind the scenes goodies, if there are any that are applicable!

Also, if you have read the book, please leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads? Thank you!

Oh, and if you’re on Goodreads, add the book to your shelves also!!!! Thank you! :)

-6-

Let’s see what else….how about fun yarn?

Quince and Co. Crane in Aquilla

-7-

I just read A Circle of Quiet, one of Madeleine L’Engle’s journals, and I highly highly highly recommend. Go get it!