Over on the HGTV Quilting/Needlework board, someone started a thread titled "Where Did We Go Wrong". It's about the fact that the older generations have failed to teach the younger generations how to sew. A lot of people added their thoughts on the subject, including me. I am concerned that the hand-made crafts may become a thing of the past unless we take steps now to prevent their loss.
One of the things that was mentioned a lot in that thread was the fact that many/most schools have eliminated what used to be called "Home Ec" from their curriculums. Girls are no longer required to learn the basic homemaking skills that we were back in the 50s and 60s. As a result, we now have a generation or two who lack basic sewing skills like sewing on a button or repairing a ripped seam. Most of these young people are so used to going to the store to buy new items, that they fail to understand that those items are being made somewhere by someone. Most of the time, by children and adults working in foreign sweatshops and only making a few pennies for each piece they produce. How many of our young people have given an expensive piece of clothing away simply because it was missing a button, or it didn't fit just exactly right. How much money are they wasting by not knowing how to sew.
I think that it's time that all of us who have the knowledge should be passing it on. I have been thinking about doing some beginning crochet classes for youngsters and adults. When I'm at my craft shows, I am almost always asked how I made something. While I try to explain in the simplest terms possible, a craft show is not really the proper venue for teaching someone to crochet. Trying to show someone how to do a crochet stitch in a busy, crowded and loud place is totally impossible!
I've also decided to check with our local schools about what kinds of sewing, knitting and crochet classes they are currently offering and seeing what I can do to help them out. If I can do a beginning class on crochet at the school, it just might get me started with teaching on a more regular basis.
I really do believe that we are on the verge of a new era for the old fiber crafts. Just as there was the resurgence of young people taking basic cooking classes about a decade ago, now those young people are starting to look at ways to save money, and being able to repair a seam on an expensive piece of clothing and continue to use it instead of throwing that piece out and buying a new one is one way they can do that. So, come on, all of you older fiber artists. It's time for you to teach the next generation the really good utilitarian aspects of your crafts! Each one, teach one!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
New Crochet Hat Pattern
I have been crocheting hats for the past month. Hats for kids and hats for adults. I'm not crazy (at least, I don't think crocheting hats makes me that). I've just been creating inventory for my upcoming craft shows. After making a couple dozen of the simple skull caps, I decided to change things up and created a new pattern for what I'm calling a "Simple Slouch Hat". It's sort of a loose beret that can be worn a couple of different ways. Anyway, when I got home from my craft show on Saturday, I finished up the hat that I was working on and realized that I needed to actually write down my pattern for the new design, which I did today. I've decided to publish the pattern here. So here it is:
Crochet Hook: Size G (4.25 mm for our friends using the metric system)
And, so there it is. My first published design pattern. And, hopefully, here is a photo of the finished product.
Can you tell that I like to use colorful yarns? I love using multi-colored yarns and creating things with them.
And so, that's all for tonight. It's nearly 2:30am and time for me to go to bed.
SIMPLE SLOUCH CAP (BERET)
Designed by Linda Mathy
Materials: Loops & Threads “Impeccable” worsted weight yarn – 1 ball (actually only uses about half of the ball – approx. 96 yds/87.5m)
Crochet Hook: Size G (4.25 mm for our friends using the metric system)
Stitch explanation: dc2tog (dc decrease) – yo, pull up a loop, yo, through 2 loops, yo pull up a loop in next dc, yo, through all 3 loops on hook
To begin: ch 4, slst to form a ring
Round 1: ch 3 (counts as 1st dc throughout), dc in ring (11 times), slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (12 dc)
Round 2: ch 3, dc in same space as ch 3, two dc in each dc of previous row, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (24 dc)
Round 3: ch 3, dc in same space as ch 3, dc in next dc, *two dc in next dc, dc in next dc, repeat from * around, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (36 dc)
Round 4: ch 3, dc in same space as ch 3, dc in next 2 dc, *two dc in next dc, dc in next 2 dc, repeat from * around, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (48 dc)
Round 5: ch 3, dc in same space as ch 3, dc in next 3 dc, *two dc in next dc, dc in next 3 dc, repeat from * around, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (60 dc)
Rounds 6-8: ch 3, dc in each dc around, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (60 dc)
Round 9: ch 3, dc in next 4 dc, *dc2tog, dc in next 8 dc, repeat 4 times, dc2tog, dc in remaining 3 dcs, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (54 dc)
Round 10: ch 3, dc in each dc around, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (54 dc)
Round 11: ch 3, dc in next 3 dc, *dc2tog, dc in next 7 dc, repeat 4 more times, dc2tog, dc in remaining 3 dcs, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (48 dc)
Round 12: ch 3, dc in each dc around, slst in top chain of ch 3 to join (48 dc)
Edging: ch 1, sc and hdc in same dc as ch 1, sk next dc, sc and hdc in next dc, repeat around to end, slst to beginning ch1, fasten off.
And, so there it is. My first published design pattern. And, hopefully, here is a photo of the finished product.
Can you tell that I like to use colorful yarns? I love using multi-colored yarns and creating things with them.
Here's another example. It's a flower hotpad crocheted with cotton yarn. And I have mixed and matched colors as I pleased.
And so, that's all for tonight. It's nearly 2:30am and time for me to go to bed.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Big Family Weekend
Well, Halloween has come and gone. It marked the end of a very busy weekend for me. On Saturday, my Uncle Ed, the youngest of the five brothers, turned 80 years old. He is the only brother to make it to that grand old age. Uncle Donald was killed in Germany at the age of 22 during World War II. My dad, Duane, died from congestive heart failure two months after his 58th birthday. Three years later, Uncle Lavern died at the age of 59, three weeks after his wife of over 35 years passed away. Several years passed before the oldest son, Uncle Russ, passed at the age of 74. But this weekend, the youngest son made it to the age of 80. As a milestone birthday, it called for a family celebration, so we had a big party on Saturday, the 29th.
Family came in from all over for Uncle Ed's birthday, including my Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill who flew in from California. Uncle Ed's son, Donnie and his family came up from Tennessee and brought his half sisters with him. When Uncle Ed got married back in the 70's, his new wife Bonnie came with four children: one boy and three girls. An instant family. And those kids, especially the girls, just loved Uncle Ed. Ed and Bonnie had a baby boy about two years later, and were divorced after about eight years. She moved down to Tennessee to be near some of her family members and took all her kids with her (except for Jess, who was in the Navy and married). Donnie is now all grown up (he'll be 41 on January 1, 2012) and has an absolutely beautiful soon-to-be 16 year old daughter. He still lives in Tennessee, so Uncle Ed doesn't get to see him and his family as often as he would like. But Donnie and family spent several days here in Illinois last week and came to his dad's big birthday party.
Uncle Ed's party was like a mini-family reunion. It was an open house from 2-4pm on Saturday, but I left at 4:15 and folks were still sitting around and visiting. I had cousins up from Bloomington and Quincy. My cousin Lana and her family were down from Michigan and Lynnette and her husband Duane had come up from Florida. There was cake and punch and coffee and everyone was having a blast catching up with everyone else. The two hours just seemed to fly by. While it was a little sad to be saying goodbye to everyone, we knew it wouldn't be long until we saw each other all again. The next day, my cousin Pat and her husband, Gary were celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary!
That's right. Pat and Gary had been married in 1961 and this year is their 50th anniversary. So everyone who came to Uncle Ed's 80th birthday party on Saturday came back to the same place on Sunday to celebrate the 50th anniversary party. The open house portion of the day was scheduled from 2-4 pm, but it was followed by a catered dinner for the family afterward. I'm not sure, but I would estimate that there were about 60 people or so for dinner. Pat's kids had put together a cd from Pat and Gary's photo collection, starting with them right out of high school and coming forward by decade (60s, 70s, 80s, etc.). They had set up a big television and played the cd throughout the afternoon. After the reception was over, Pat's sister Rita switched the cd for one that she had created from all of the folks' photos. We all sat around watching the pictures flash by on the screen. It brought back many good memories for all of us.
The only sad part of the weekend came about 6:00 on Sunday, when Aunt Mary, Uncle Bill, Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Harold (Uncle Ed's youngest two sisters and their husbands) got up to say goodbye. They were driving back to Quincy that evening and they wanted to get on the road before it got totally dark. After the rounds of goodbyes, a couple of us noticed Uncle Ed sitting off by himself in tears. So Rita sat on one side of him and I took the other. All he kept saying was "I'm never going to see my sister again." You see, Aunt Mary, who is the youngest of the original eleven, lives in California and hasn't really been too well for the past few years. When she was giving hugs, she said that this was probably going to be her last trip back to Illinois, and it suddenly dawned on Uncle Ed that he had just said his final goodbye to Aunt Mary, and it upset him a whole lot.
After spending all of last week in getting ready for his party, Uncle Ed had gotten overwhelmed with everything that was happening. As a matter of fact, on Monday, Aunt Dorothy (who is the oldest of the living children at 82+) and her daughter Lori had to take him to the Emergency Room. He was hospitalized for an acute case of nerves and depression. Once the let down of the weekend hit, his blood pressure dropped and he was not doing too well. Aunt Dorothy thought he had had a stroke, but after a bunch of tests, they kept him overnight to try and get his numbers back to normal.
Uncle Ed wasn't the only one thinking about this being the last time we might all be together. A lot of us cousins, now that we're getting up there in age, were thinking and talking about it, too. We didn't dwell on it too long, though. We had so many wonderful things to think about and share instead. My sister Karen said it correctly on Saturday afternoon. It was really nice to be getting together for something so happy for a change. The past couple of years, it seemed that we usually only got together at funerals. Having a happy occasion, actually two, as a reason for getting together was a real blessing for all of us. Our next full family reunion isn't scheduled until 2014, which would have been my grandparents' 100th wedding anniversary. In the meantime, let's hope we don't have too many of those sad gatherings before then.
Family came in from all over for Uncle Ed's birthday, including my Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill who flew in from California. Uncle Ed's son, Donnie and his family came up from Tennessee and brought his half sisters with him. When Uncle Ed got married back in the 70's, his new wife Bonnie came with four children: one boy and three girls. An instant family. And those kids, especially the girls, just loved Uncle Ed. Ed and Bonnie had a baby boy about two years later, and were divorced after about eight years. She moved down to Tennessee to be near some of her family members and took all her kids with her (except for Jess, who was in the Navy and married). Donnie is now all grown up (he'll be 41 on January 1, 2012) and has an absolutely beautiful soon-to-be 16 year old daughter. He still lives in Tennessee, so Uncle Ed doesn't get to see him and his family as often as he would like. But Donnie and family spent several days here in Illinois last week and came to his dad's big birthday party.
Uncle Ed's party was like a mini-family reunion. It was an open house from 2-4pm on Saturday, but I left at 4:15 and folks were still sitting around and visiting. I had cousins up from Bloomington and Quincy. My cousin Lana and her family were down from Michigan and Lynnette and her husband Duane had come up from Florida. There was cake and punch and coffee and everyone was having a blast catching up with everyone else. The two hours just seemed to fly by. While it was a little sad to be saying goodbye to everyone, we knew it wouldn't be long until we saw each other all again. The next day, my cousin Pat and her husband, Gary were celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary!
That's right. Pat and Gary had been married in 1961 and this year is their 50th anniversary. So everyone who came to Uncle Ed's 80th birthday party on Saturday came back to the same place on Sunday to celebrate the 50th anniversary party. The open house portion of the day was scheduled from 2-4 pm, but it was followed by a catered dinner for the family afterward. I'm not sure, but I would estimate that there were about 60 people or so for dinner. Pat's kids had put together a cd from Pat and Gary's photo collection, starting with them right out of high school and coming forward by decade (60s, 70s, 80s, etc.). They had set up a big television and played the cd throughout the afternoon. After the reception was over, Pat's sister Rita switched the cd for one that she had created from all of the folks' photos. We all sat around watching the pictures flash by on the screen. It brought back many good memories for all of us.
The only sad part of the weekend came about 6:00 on Sunday, when Aunt Mary, Uncle Bill, Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Harold (Uncle Ed's youngest two sisters and their husbands) got up to say goodbye. They were driving back to Quincy that evening and they wanted to get on the road before it got totally dark. After the rounds of goodbyes, a couple of us noticed Uncle Ed sitting off by himself in tears. So Rita sat on one side of him and I took the other. All he kept saying was "I'm never going to see my sister again." You see, Aunt Mary, who is the youngest of the original eleven, lives in California and hasn't really been too well for the past few years. When she was giving hugs, she said that this was probably going to be her last trip back to Illinois, and it suddenly dawned on Uncle Ed that he had just said his final goodbye to Aunt Mary, and it upset him a whole lot.
After spending all of last week in getting ready for his party, Uncle Ed had gotten overwhelmed with everything that was happening. As a matter of fact, on Monday, Aunt Dorothy (who is the oldest of the living children at 82+) and her daughter Lori had to take him to the Emergency Room. He was hospitalized for an acute case of nerves and depression. Once the let down of the weekend hit, his blood pressure dropped and he was not doing too well. Aunt Dorothy thought he had had a stroke, but after a bunch of tests, they kept him overnight to try and get his numbers back to normal.
Uncle Ed wasn't the only one thinking about this being the last time we might all be together. A lot of us cousins, now that we're getting up there in age, were thinking and talking about it, too. We didn't dwell on it too long, though. We had so many wonderful things to think about and share instead. My sister Karen said it correctly on Saturday afternoon. It was really nice to be getting together for something so happy for a change. The past couple of years, it seemed that we usually only got together at funerals. Having a happy occasion, actually two, as a reason for getting together was a real blessing for all of us. Our next full family reunion isn't scheduled until 2014, which would have been my grandparents' 100th wedding anniversary. In the meantime, let's hope we don't have too many of those sad gatherings before then.
Monday, June 20, 2011
My Newest Creative Fad
For the past couple of weeks, I've been resurrecting an old fad - beaded/crocheted jewelry. I don't know what exactly set off this current binge of making necklaces and bracelets, but I've completed two necklaces and three bracelets so far, and I have three more necklaces in the works. This type of jewelry was first popular back in the 70s and there were some pretty spectacular pieces made up. The ones I'm making right now aren't anything really special, just simple ropes with beads winding up the sides. I have a cyber-friend who has the patterns for some of the more difficult floral pieces that she is going to send to me soon. Once I get those patterns, I will be moving onto the more complex pieces.
In the meantime, I am happily crocheting my little lariats and bracelets. I will be taking them with me this week to the Momence Farmers' Market in hope of a few quick sales. The Momence market will be held every Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 6 starting this week and running through October. They are trying to expand the market to include arts and crafts this year. As a result, they are offering spaces to crafters/artisans for free this year. If we can get a big enough turnout due to the crafts, next year we may have to pay for the space, but for now, since it's free, I'm going to try it out. I'll be taking my jewelry, some baby things and my table linens, to start. I hope to add things as time goes on.
Anyway, because I'd decided to do the farmers' market, I needed to expand my jewelry inventory. That is why I started making the crocheted jewelry. I'm hoping that it's still popular enough to generate some sales. Here's a photo of one of my bracelets. It's made of multi-colored E beads on a purple crochet thread. I just made a simple tube and sewed it into a ring. There is no clasp. It simply has enough stretch to slip on and off over your hand.
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I'm also working on a 1-1/2 inch wide peyote stitch bracelet made of aqua colored glass E beads, a half inch dark purple peyote bracelet, a white rope necklace with lavendar seed beads, a white lariat with white pearls and a green lariat with green seed beads. If I'm a good little girl, I should have almost all of them finished before the farmers' market. And if I'm going to actually do that, I have to get off the computer now. I'll let you know how it all turns out in my next post.
In the meantime, I am happily crocheting my little lariats and bracelets. I will be taking them with me this week to the Momence Farmers' Market in hope of a few quick sales. The Momence market will be held every Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 6 starting this week and running through October. They are trying to expand the market to include arts and crafts this year. As a result, they are offering spaces to crafters/artisans for free this year. If we can get a big enough turnout due to the crafts, next year we may have to pay for the space, but for now, since it's free, I'm going to try it out. I'll be taking my jewelry, some baby things and my table linens, to start. I hope to add things as time goes on.
Anyway, because I'd decided to do the farmers' market, I needed to expand my jewelry inventory. That is why I started making the crocheted jewelry. I'm hoping that it's still popular enough to generate some sales. Here's a photo of one of my bracelets. It's made of multi-colored E beads on a purple crochet thread. I just made a simple tube and sewed it into a ring. There is no clasp. It simply has enough stretch to slip on and off over your hand.
I'm also working on a 1-1/2 inch wide peyote stitch bracelet made of aqua colored glass E beads, a half inch dark purple peyote bracelet, a white rope necklace with lavendar seed beads, a white lariat with white pearls and a green lariat with green seed beads. If I'm a good little girl, I should have almost all of them finished before the farmers' market. And if I'm going to actually do that, I have to get off the computer now. I'll let you know how it all turns out in my next post.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Today is the First Day of Spring?!
Today is the officially the first day of spring - on the calendar, that is. I'm not really sure if Mother Nature agrees, though. While our forecast here in Illinois is for temps in the low 60's with a lot of clouds, there is also a winter storm front just to the west of us that is predicted to drop another load of snow. So for now, I am cautiously optimistic that spring has indeed come. At the end of my entry last August, I mentioned that the squirrels' tails were getting really bushy, which meant a long, hard winter with a lot of snow. Looks like Grandpa was right again. After that major snow storm we had in February, I think this past winter qualifies as long and hard. The only really good thing that came from all of that snow is that the fields will be plenty moist for the spring planting. Hopefully, the farmers will have better crop yields this year after the horrible heat and dryness of last year. Anyway, enough about the weather. Let's talk crafting!
I found out last week that there will be a Fairy Fest at Pilcher Park again this year. Our Head Fairy Darla, though, will not be with us anymore. She took a new job and has left the organization of the FF to the rest of the staff at the Nature Center. Since I know early enough that there will be an FF, I have already started making my beaded/beribboned fairy headbands. I want to make sure that I have a lot more of them this year than I had in 2010. I went to last year's FF with about three dozen headbands, two dozen flower and star wands, and about 50 pieces of Fairy Bling (jewelry made using beads and stretchy cord), and I sold out of everything but one wand and a couple of bracelets by noon. Unfortunately, the FF lasts until 2:00, so I had to pack up early and go home.
Don't get me wrong. Last year's FF was a huge financial success. It's just that I could have sold a whole lot more if I had made more stock. So this year, I'm starting early. At this writing, I have already made five headband bases. I need to do a run to Michaels for some supplies, though. I need more 1/4" dowels for my wands, some sparkle felt for the stars, and I used up most of my ribbon supply last year, so I have to replenish that, too. I should be able to get everything I need for about $30. I'll make that back easily. Nothing on my table is marked more than $4, and I think that's why I sell so much. The headbands, wands and Fairy Bling are shiny enough to attract the attention of the little girls and priced low enough that the parents/grandparents don't mind spending a few dollars at my table.
Anyway, the FF will be my first craft show of 2011 and I am really looking forward to it. I also am working with my class reunion committee. The Central High Class of 65 (along with the classes of 66 and 67) will be holding their 45th class reunions in July. We started doing the joint reunions five years ago. It seems that none of our classes can get enough folks to come in order to make it financially feasible. Joining the other two classes lets us enjoy the company of people who were at school with us, while keeping the overall costs down, which in turn gets more folks to come. That will be something to look forward to during the summer and I can't wait to see everyone. But in the meantime, I'll be here working on my Fairy Bling for the Fairy Fest in May. Happy crafting, everyone!
I found out last week that there will be a Fairy Fest at Pilcher Park again this year. Our Head Fairy Darla, though, will not be with us anymore. She took a new job and has left the organization of the FF to the rest of the staff at the Nature Center. Since I know early enough that there will be an FF, I have already started making my beaded/beribboned fairy headbands. I want to make sure that I have a lot more of them this year than I had in 2010. I went to last year's FF with about three dozen headbands, two dozen flower and star wands, and about 50 pieces of Fairy Bling (jewelry made using beads and stretchy cord), and I sold out of everything but one wand and a couple of bracelets by noon. Unfortunately, the FF lasts until 2:00, so I had to pack up early and go home.
Don't get me wrong. Last year's FF was a huge financial success. It's just that I could have sold a whole lot more if I had made more stock. So this year, I'm starting early. At this writing, I have already made five headband bases. I need to do a run to Michaels for some supplies, though. I need more 1/4" dowels for my wands, some sparkle felt for the stars, and I used up most of my ribbon supply last year, so I have to replenish that, too. I should be able to get everything I need for about $30. I'll make that back easily. Nothing on my table is marked more than $4, and I think that's why I sell so much. The headbands, wands and Fairy Bling are shiny enough to attract the attention of the little girls and priced low enough that the parents/grandparents don't mind spending a few dollars at my table.
Anyway, the FF will be my first craft show of 2011 and I am really looking forward to it. I also am working with my class reunion committee. The Central High Class of 65 (along with the classes of 66 and 67) will be holding their 45th class reunions in July. We started doing the joint reunions five years ago. It seems that none of our classes can get enough folks to come in order to make it financially feasible. Joining the other two classes lets us enjoy the company of people who were at school with us, while keeping the overall costs down, which in turn gets more folks to come. That will be something to look forward to during the summer and I can't wait to see everyone. But in the meantime, I'll be here working on my Fairy Bling for the Fairy Fest in May. Happy crafting, everyone!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Bad Start to a New Year
It's been a while since I posted anything here. Primarily because I had a really bad December and January. You see, I caught a cold right after Thanksgiving and it hung on for a while. I was starting to feel a lot better by Christmas, but that changed really quickly the last week of the year.
It was a very cold Monday and I got dressed and went to the post office for the mail. I was wearing my hat, gloves, and winter coat. I didn't realize just how cold the air was or I would have also added my scarf. But I didn't have it on, and my first breath in of the frigid, icy air started my sinuses dripping big time. It was like someone had turned the faucet on high and I was not only constantly blowing my nose, but I was always coughing, too. I had a miserable Monday and when I got up on Tuesday, my temperature was over 100. I took whatever cold meds I had in the house and hunkered down to try to get rid of what I believed at the time was a major cold.
New Year's Eve came and went, and I was still running a high fever. I was only eating soup and some bread and jelly once in a while. I felt so bad. I went out on Friday to get more OTC cold meds and cough syrup and drops as well as more tissues (I had gone through two full boxes in four days). I also stopped to pick up a few groceries and headed back home. I was coughing so hard that I started getting traces of blood in my phlegm.
On January 4, I called my doctor and told them what was happening, or at least I was trying to tell them. By that time, I had lost my voice and was barely able to say anything. Anyway, the doctor called in a script for an antibiotic for me and, for the first time in 2011, I left my house and went to Walgreen's to pick up the medicine. The doctor also wanted to see me the following week as a follow-up. I called Walgreen's two hours after the doctor's office called in the script, but it wasn't ready yet. They told me it would be another 20 to 30 minutes. I told them that I would be there.
I got dressed and drove the 12 miles to the Walgreen's. I waited in line for about 5 minutes and got to the window and asked for my script. Guess what? It wasn't ready. I croaked out that I had been told that it would be ready in about 30 minutes and that had been an hour earlier. I asked them to please get it done soon and went to sit down. At first, the lady said it would probably be another hour, and since I couldn't yell because of my throat, I started to cry. I told her that I didn't think I could last an hour and they had already promised it to me earlier, so she should push the pharmacist to get it done quickly. After all, I was running a temperature and was very contagious. So I sat there coughing and coughing and coughing. No one would come near me and I'm sure that a few folks complained to the pharmacy staff about me sitting there. The result was that they had my script ready in 15 minutes and I was finally able to head back home.
The doctor had given me Clindamyacin which I started taking twice a day as soon as I got home. I was still going through a lot of cough medicine and tissue. At one point, I pulled out a roll of toilet paper to use for tissue since I was once again out of the tissue. Anyway, the antibiotic did help a little during that week and on the following Monday, the 11th, I went out of my house for only the second time that month and headed for the doctor's office. My appointment was late in the afternoon and I was late getting there, so they made me wait until everyone else was taken care of before they got around to me. I just sat there in a corner of the office, coughing and blowing. At one point, I was coughing so hard that I couldn't catch my breath, but eventually it eased up, and I was finally taken to an examine room.
They did the usual routine - took my weight, did my blood pressure and asked me if there were any changes in my medication. They also asked what brought me in to see the doctor. I just looked at the nurse and started coughing and blowing my nose and croaked, "I have this really bad cold which I think has gone into bronchitis and my left ear is now blocked and I'm having trouble hearing." She said, "I'm sorry, I can't understand you." I just shook my head and looked at her. She was a pissy little bitch and was set on teaching me a lesson because I had been late. I let it go 'cause I was just too sick to really care. Anyway, she left me alone in the room and said that the doctor would be right in.
Forty-five minutes later, I opened the door and asked one of the nurses if I had been forgotten. She seemed to be surprised to see me, but said that doctor would be with me shortly, and he was there within 5 minutes. I can't prove it, but I think PLB put me in the room and failed to let the doctor know that I was there. If I could prove it, I'd have her fired. Anyway, the doctor came in and checked me out. He said that he didn't think I had a cold, but that is was a severe sinus infection. He changed the antibiotic to one he thought would be better (bactrim ds) and referred me to an ENT for the ear problem. His office couldn't set up an appointment for me with the ENT right then since they had kept me until after 5:30 and the ENT's office was closed. So they called the next day and set me up with an appointment that Friday with the ENT's audiologist.
I went into the ENT's office on Friday, where they tested my hearing and made me repeat words (I still had no real voice) for 30 minutes. The audiologist said that the doctor would have to see me, so she took me to an exam room where I waited for almost an hour (55 minutes) for the doctor to come in. My original appointment started at 8:45 and the doctor finally came in to see me at 10:55. He told me that he was going to put a spray in both nostrils to numb them and then he would be able to use a camera through the nostril to examine my throat. When the numbing agent was put into my nose, I started having a panic attack 'cause it was also numbing my vocal chords and throat. It took me about 5 minutes or so to get myself back under control and the doctor was able to feed the camera up and see my vocal chords. The upshot was that all of the coughing had indeed done some damage. He gave me some aerosol saline to shoot up my nose several times a day and told me to buy a 12-hour Afrin, too. He wanted to see me back in two weeks. It was almost noon when I left his office (three hour appointment).
I headed over to the Walgreens to pick up the second antibiotic and the Afrin, more tissue, cough syrup and cough drops. Then it was back home for more sleep and some food, and, of course, more meds. The following morning, Saturday, I got up for the first time in three weeks without a temperature. Of course, it went up during the day and was back over 100 by the time I went to bed that night, but I felt that I had finally turned the corner. The saline spray seemed to be helping a lot and the Afrin was drying up the sinuses nicely. Once I stopped the sinuses, I didn't cough as much and that led to my throat feeling better. By the time I returned to see the ENT on Feb. 4, I was pretty much over the worst and on my way to finally getting better. That appointment was only the 4th time this year that I had been out of the house.
I am now pretty much back to normal and have made it a priority to get out of the house three or four times a week. I'm working with my high shool reunion committee and that has given me a reason to really get moving again. It is surprising how much muscle tone you can lose when you don't get out of the house and move for a month. Here's hoping that the rest of the year continues in a much better vein than January. I really do have to look into moving somewhere with warmer winters. It's apparent that my body will no longer tolerate those sub-zero temperatures without rebelling. Maybe next year.
It was a very cold Monday and I got dressed and went to the post office for the mail. I was wearing my hat, gloves, and winter coat. I didn't realize just how cold the air was or I would have also added my scarf. But I didn't have it on, and my first breath in of the frigid, icy air started my sinuses dripping big time. It was like someone had turned the faucet on high and I was not only constantly blowing my nose, but I was always coughing, too. I had a miserable Monday and when I got up on Tuesday, my temperature was over 100. I took whatever cold meds I had in the house and hunkered down to try to get rid of what I believed at the time was a major cold.
New Year's Eve came and went, and I was still running a high fever. I was only eating soup and some bread and jelly once in a while. I felt so bad. I went out on Friday to get more OTC cold meds and cough syrup and drops as well as more tissues (I had gone through two full boxes in four days). I also stopped to pick up a few groceries and headed back home. I was coughing so hard that I started getting traces of blood in my phlegm.
On January 4, I called my doctor and told them what was happening, or at least I was trying to tell them. By that time, I had lost my voice and was barely able to say anything. Anyway, the doctor called in a script for an antibiotic for me and, for the first time in 2011, I left my house and went to Walgreen's to pick up the medicine. The doctor also wanted to see me the following week as a follow-up. I called Walgreen's two hours after the doctor's office called in the script, but it wasn't ready yet. They told me it would be another 20 to 30 minutes. I told them that I would be there.
I got dressed and drove the 12 miles to the Walgreen's. I waited in line for about 5 minutes and got to the window and asked for my script. Guess what? It wasn't ready. I croaked out that I had been told that it would be ready in about 30 minutes and that had been an hour earlier. I asked them to please get it done soon and went to sit down. At first, the lady said it would probably be another hour, and since I couldn't yell because of my throat, I started to cry. I told her that I didn't think I could last an hour and they had already promised it to me earlier, so she should push the pharmacist to get it done quickly. After all, I was running a temperature and was very contagious. So I sat there coughing and coughing and coughing. No one would come near me and I'm sure that a few folks complained to the pharmacy staff about me sitting there. The result was that they had my script ready in 15 minutes and I was finally able to head back home.
The doctor had given me Clindamyacin which I started taking twice a day as soon as I got home. I was still going through a lot of cough medicine and tissue. At one point, I pulled out a roll of toilet paper to use for tissue since I was once again out of the tissue. Anyway, the antibiotic did help a little during that week and on the following Monday, the 11th, I went out of my house for only the second time that month and headed for the doctor's office. My appointment was late in the afternoon and I was late getting there, so they made me wait until everyone else was taken care of before they got around to me. I just sat there in a corner of the office, coughing and blowing. At one point, I was coughing so hard that I couldn't catch my breath, but eventually it eased up, and I was finally taken to an examine room.
They did the usual routine - took my weight, did my blood pressure and asked me if there were any changes in my medication. They also asked what brought me in to see the doctor. I just looked at the nurse and started coughing and blowing my nose and croaked, "I have this really bad cold which I think has gone into bronchitis and my left ear is now blocked and I'm having trouble hearing." She said, "I'm sorry, I can't understand you." I just shook my head and looked at her. She was a pissy little bitch and was set on teaching me a lesson because I had been late. I let it go 'cause I was just too sick to really care. Anyway, she left me alone in the room and said that the doctor would be right in.
Forty-five minutes later, I opened the door and asked one of the nurses if I had been forgotten. She seemed to be surprised to see me, but said that doctor would be with me shortly, and he was there within 5 minutes. I can't prove it, but I think PLB put me in the room and failed to let the doctor know that I was there. If I could prove it, I'd have her fired. Anyway, the doctor came in and checked me out. He said that he didn't think I had a cold, but that is was a severe sinus infection. He changed the antibiotic to one he thought would be better (bactrim ds) and referred me to an ENT for the ear problem. His office couldn't set up an appointment for me with the ENT right then since they had kept me until after 5:30 and the ENT's office was closed. So they called the next day and set me up with an appointment that Friday with the ENT's audiologist.
I went into the ENT's office on Friday, where they tested my hearing and made me repeat words (I still had no real voice) for 30 minutes. The audiologist said that the doctor would have to see me, so she took me to an exam room where I waited for almost an hour (55 minutes) for the doctor to come in. My original appointment started at 8:45 and the doctor finally came in to see me at 10:55. He told me that he was going to put a spray in both nostrils to numb them and then he would be able to use a camera through the nostril to examine my throat. When the numbing agent was put into my nose, I started having a panic attack 'cause it was also numbing my vocal chords and throat. It took me about 5 minutes or so to get myself back under control and the doctor was able to feed the camera up and see my vocal chords. The upshot was that all of the coughing had indeed done some damage. He gave me some aerosol saline to shoot up my nose several times a day and told me to buy a 12-hour Afrin, too. He wanted to see me back in two weeks. It was almost noon when I left his office (three hour appointment).
I headed over to the Walgreens to pick up the second antibiotic and the Afrin, more tissue, cough syrup and cough drops. Then it was back home for more sleep and some food, and, of course, more meds. The following morning, Saturday, I got up for the first time in three weeks without a temperature. Of course, it went up during the day and was back over 100 by the time I went to bed that night, but I felt that I had finally turned the corner. The saline spray seemed to be helping a lot and the Afrin was drying up the sinuses nicely. Once I stopped the sinuses, I didn't cough as much and that led to my throat feeling better. By the time I returned to see the ENT on Feb. 4, I was pretty much over the worst and on my way to finally getting better. That appointment was only the 4th time this year that I had been out of the house.
I am now pretty much back to normal and have made it a priority to get out of the house three or four times a week. I'm working with my high shool reunion committee and that has given me a reason to really get moving again. It is surprising how much muscle tone you can lose when you don't get out of the house and move for a month. Here's hoping that the rest of the year continues in a much better vein than January. I really do have to look into moving somewhere with warmer winters. It's apparent that my body will no longer tolerate those sub-zero temperatures without rebelling. Maybe next year.
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