Big Sur

Knowing I might be laid up for a while, we escaped up to Big Sur a few weeks ago. I am behind on the blog posts, so with time on my hands I can catch up a bit. Who knew wild boars were such a problem in Carmel? The little one is cute, huh?

We stayed at a sweet little spot right on Hwy 1, the Carmel River Inn, and when we weren't on the beach or hanging out with the young elephant seals, we took naps and soaked up the view at Nepenthe.










It was a great trip with a great guy and we can't wait to get back!

Who knew it could be so hard?

When Carrie was here post-PTE, I tried to shave my legs. I am not supposed to use razors because I am so anti-coagulated and there is all this worry about bleeding. So I had ventured into the world of things that smell awful and *dissolve* hair. I know -- eewww! It was on that day that I managed to shoot myself in the eye with the foam of death. Luckily Carrie and O were her to let me know how bad the stuff smells, and to save my eyesight. This time I was on my own.

In honor of Memorial Day I decided it was time to take a shower. I was sick of washing my hair in the kitchen sink and even though I am an anthropologist and can go for weeks without showers, I was ready to feel clean and smell good. Because my wound was still dressed I had to keep it dry. When I left the hospital the nurse explained that to take a shower I just needed to wrap the area in plastic to keep the area dry. Armed with plastic wrap and tape I headed for the bathroom.

Now keep in mind that the wound is along the crease along my groin, that line at the top of the leg. [this is why there are no pics!] Not an easy place to wrap. Kind of like wrapping a big wheel. So I had myself encased in plastic. ...I was reminded of this Halloween costume when I used blue saran wrap to make a "dress" -- I was the ocean and I layered in plastic fish and aqua-plants. It was cute and kept me warm.... There must have been a hole somewhere in my protective coating because I hadn't even rinsed my hair and I found myself in a plastic diaper full of water. Needless to say, nothing was spared from getting wet. It was kind of a nightmare. I started writing this entry in the midst of my mess.

Ok, that was the highlight of my week.
Just wait until next week.....

purple shorts & a recovery sweater

I came through the surgery with flying colors -- literally.
Let it suffice to say that for a week I have looked like I am wearing purple shorts. Well, shorts on one leg anyway. The bruising seems to be the worst part, and it looks more painful than it is. This doesn't come close to the discomfort and impact of the last recovery (thankgodthankgodrhankgod). It has been great to have my family around, and again Orion has proved himself to be an absolute gem. Give me another week, a bunch of naps, some good cable movies, and I'll be good as new!
In the meantime, I started a project to pass the time. The Knit Cafe is on Melrose and it might just be the most beautiful yarn shop ever conceived.

The idea is that by the time I finish this sweater I'll be back. It is my recovery sweater. So far I have sleeves, a back, a hood, and part of the front. Almost there...

hello...?

Guys? You around?
I am afraid I have lost the three readers who were checking this with some regularity.

So it is already the middle of May and at the end of the week I am going back into Cedars for another surgery. This one is not really related to the PTE, except that the need might have come about during the PTE bypass on the heart/lung machine. This one, I am assured will be a piece of cake after the last experience "under the knife" -- yikes! Sorry to the weak of stomach. For all my feminist friends, you will be happy to know that I have been told I will still be able to wear a bikini after this one. Yup. That is still the measure of surgical impact on some level. I guess the giant chest scar and the small upper-abdomen "dots" couldn't be seen at the time of this assessment...and like a couple of scars would keep me out of a bikini. hahaha!

So this is my attempt to do a bunch of catch-up and then check out until June. Where to start....

For the knitters in my life, let me give you a sampling of what has been "on the needles" as they say. But first, there is the insane sale at Black Sheep Knittery in Hollywood; I'm talking 75% off everything in the store. Look at this.



After buying this morning I was like a junkie after a score. The nurses would talk about how people tend to shop when their health is stressful. Yup, makes sense to me. Did I mention that everything was 75% off?

This is my most recent finish, a tea cosy for my aunt's birthday.



Pi sweater vest for Lexi's birthday...

ok, turn your head.

A scarf for Margery
I am trying to embrace lace work. I liked that this pattern is called Rabbit Proof Fence.

A sweater for Orion. You know this is true love...



Babies, babies, and sweaters.





More (non-knitting) soon...

Where did April come from??

I have been looking for a good air quality report this morning, but so far have had to go with my lungs' assessment: not great.

It makes sense, there was a fire in the Hollywood Hills on Friday (not far from where we live as far as smoke is concerned), and socal is behind on rainfall so far this year. All I know is that my lungs hurt. It happens from time to time, and I feel more sensitive since surgery. Nothing serious, it is just what is on my mind this morning. The really important thing is that we didn't lose the Hollywood sign! Click on the photos sent in by viewers.

Crazy. And not an April Fool's Day joke.

Watch the slime!

I am closing out March by working the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2007. It has turned out to be a really enjoyable week; I had no idea how big this event is before taking this job. I am working with talent for the days leading up to the main event -- photo ops, autograph sessions, etc. I have to admit that a part of me finds this pretty cool even if I am not up on the latest trends in kids' tv...that is to say, even if I wasn't before now. I have found that I am really more of a Nick Jr. kind of girl. I connect with the Backyardigans and know Dora & Diego. I have even learned that childhood books now come in a tv format...




[thanks Google Image]

I know Brandy is out there waiting for more Oscar pics, but I am so far behind in posting that I may just have to come visit and bring some over! There has been knitting too...
This is the down-side of feeling better and getting busier (relatively speaking). Actually, as down-sides go, I'll take it! March was the month to get through where I was concerned. I marked all of the anniversaries -- into surgery, out of ICU, out of hospital, home to Los Angeles, last ER visit -- and with a year behind me I am ready to be back in the world.

Hey, I am finding there are still jobs to do (and the diss to write)!

And the winner is...

The Oscars was my first job in fifteen months, and it was f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c. I am too tired to say much now, but I will post a couple of pictures tomorrow. promise. This is a particularly intense time for me because I am coming up on the one year anniversay since my PTE surgery. Last year I watched the Oscars from the Cedars-Sinai ICU, so this exactly where I had hoped to be at this moment.

commitment

When I was doing fieldwork I could always justify going to the movies. Then I abruptly stopped when I got sick (however going to see KING KONG was one of my first non-doctor outings after the first hospitalization).

Last week the Golden Globes snuck up on me and I became acutely aware of how much I had not seen in the previous year. Orion was in the same boat, and we committed to a couple days of catching up. If I have not returned a call or answered an email, it is because I was at the movies.

In two days we saw: BABEL, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, and THE DEPARTED. Then over the weekend I saw: THE GOOD SHEPHERD, NOTES ON A SCANDAL, and DREAMGIRLS.

Thank goodness for economy hours and vouchers! Now with almost a month until the Oscars I am feeling pretty good. The nominees are announced tomorrow, and you can bet that at 5:30 a.m. pst, I will be sounds asleep.

same but different

I was back at the hospital this morning; it was this third time in less than a week. It was the first time that I have had pulmonarythromboendarerectomy roll of my tongue before I had a chance to think about it. In the beginning I didn't know what I was saying and I would have to read the words in order to say them. For months I would picture the words in my mind broken down into pieces and go step by step -- brain, mouth, brain, mouth. Today I said it and then had to pause and wonder if I'd gotten it right, or close. It was like saying your phone number without thinking about it. If you stop in the middle you can't figure out what you are saying and the mind goes blank; so you just keep going and trust your body.

Once again I am having to trust my body. It is not as easy as it sounds or as easy as it was a couple years ago, but I am trying. I know for the most part I use this site for snapshot updates of whatever I have taken a picture of. I tend to be (at least) a few weeks behind -- Christmas IS coming -- and there isn't much critical evaluation or emotion in the posts. It still feels a bit strange in a public forum to do more, but I will take the observations that have been offered into consideration. In the same way that I don't feel I have sorted out what I am doing, and my body is evidently not yet ready to accept a new *normal*, this blog is still in the stage of early development. I, for one, am interested to see where it all ends up.

So as not to worry anyone, I have decided that no news is good news on this most recent round of tests. Things aren't quite what they were in September (I am told), but in my mind I am seeing all of this as a blip, like a cold, something that is on its way out so I can get back to taking long walks. Hopefully that last time I will have to hear, "just try to stay as still as possible," before my next birthday.

succulents rule

For the holidays I found this wreath made of succulents. The whole thing is alive and I figure that it can survive year-round since this is southern california. It is one of my new favoriate things. Ah, the ways to create a garden without any semblance of a yard.
I spent another day at Cedars-Sinai checking in with doctors and undergoing tests. My hope for this year is to reconnect with a sense of health and feel like myself a bit more than I do today.
Until that happens, I take comfort in watching small plants grow and feeling ok about reading fiction.

Ready, Set, 2007!

Happy New Year!
This is what Los Angeles looks like when you move while taking a picture.
Like most years, I wake up with an ambitious list of things to do -- resolutions, cleaning my desk for a fresh start, etc. I did go out to get a paper so I could do the crossword, and then I watched football and took a nap. So far the year is off to a good start.

new year...new blog?

I got sucked into the **new** fancy blog-o-rama that is no longer beta. Needless to say, I have no idea what I have gotten myself into, but I have managed to make things disappear, reappear, and feel generally out of my control. As soon as I figure out what I am doing (or get back to my old and trusy blog) I'll try to fill in some of the news since November (!!).

This is why I resisted all things blog for so long. I am really not cut out for it.
That being the case, I'll post more soon.

Happy New Year.
2007 has to be better than 2006.
[no surgery. no surgery. good health. good health.]
xo, s.

here's to the turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!
It looks like I am slipping as a blogger. Is it because...
a) I am off jet setting
b) For weeks I have been busy writing my dissertation
c) I have fallen ill and taken to bed
or
d) Doctors have banned blogging
Well, it is a bit of "a" since mademoiselle lexi hosted me in Boston for a couple of weeks (you may remember her as the incredible email-updater when I was going through surgery). And, alas, a bit of "c" -- really just a bug I picked up out east where it is cold and people get sick. I have started thinking about my diss again, and as soon as winter settles in over Los Angeles I am sure I'll hole up with some cocoa and my computer ;)
Since the docs haven't outlawed blogging, I'll see what I can do to get some updates posted.
Hope the holiday was happy. Ours was just about perfect...except that Time Warner dropped the NFL channel that was showing the Chiefs' game, tsk tsk tsk. stupid time warner cable monopoly. We had a "young" turkey, which we believe is code for small, and I over estimated on the stuffing/dressing, so life is good and the leftovers are all starches. mmmmmmmm.
enjoy your naps and ignore the dishes.

feels like fall

Where is October going??
We are home from the bay area and while it was great to be away and see everyone, it is also nice to come home. I'll try to get some photos up soon. In the meantime, it has cooled off here and the overcast skies make me believe it is really fall. San Francisco was the perfect weather. I do love this time of year.

cute dress makes day

It's not a great photo, but trust me, the dress is cute. On a crummy day it has made all the difference. I am continually reassured that my friends know what I need before I get it figured out. thank you.

"nothing gold can stay" -r. frost

Let's just say that I am better with plants than goldfish.

six months

This week marks six months since I returned to LA following my surgery and hospital stay in San Diego. As promised, it has been slower and more challenging than I had anticipated. Orion continues to be an incredible support, as are my parents, friends, and extended "family". My fingers are crossed that the series of six month evaluative tests all check out ok. I still go to 3-5 appointments a week, and walk, walk, walk in place of formal physical therapy. PT is a great thing and now it up to me to maintain and continue to improve. Thanks for the new walking shoes, mom & dad!

county fairs aren't just for Iowa

Welcome to the LA County Fair 2006 -- woo hoo!



The first tip is to pay the extra five bucks for VIP parking, at the end of the day it is the best $5 you'll have spent. The draw on this particular day was the Pat Benatar show, but before that there was much to do...

There were the prize winning baked goods, crafts, and livestock (sorry, no photos of the ewe giving birth to twins who were greeted by a million flash bulbs. Those poor lil sheepies thought they were being born on the red carpet).
Does this look familiar?


I do believe I have the very same homage in my Iowa storage unit, one of the grad school greats that I, evidently, am not doing nearly enough to showcase -- notice the color the of the ribbon. I guess all I need is a frame...humph!

I actually thought this was the best thing I saw in the wide world of textiles



Lili was true to her word and made me understand the beauty and science involved in a porkchop on a stick.



For the first time in my life I won at a carnival game. The magic of colored water and a ping pong ball made me the happy owner of three adorable goldfish (*aquarium* included).



For those of you who don't know, I have been wanting a goldfish for a very long time. So not only did I win something, but I took home valued friends...after carrying them around for the next six hours.



I actually only won two of the fishies, Corn Dog & Funnel Cake (a.k.a. Monique). One was given to me by Shaz, who you can kind of see -- Luke is the one with the beer, Shaz has the great ring. I promised to give her fish, Pat Benatar, a good home.

None of the Pat B. photos turned out, but all in all it was a Sunday well spent.



Until next year........

thursday

I know I promised county fair photos (they are coming), but this week has been full of doctors and tests and spending my days on hold with receptionists. Yesterday was a rough one. After a morning of trying to get my head sorted out, I spent the afternoon back at the hospital re-taking the big tests (CT angiogram and nuclear med scan). It shouldn't have been any worse than expected, but after 90 minutes, 6 nurses, and equally as many attempts to start an IV, I was pretty broken. Last night I nursed my arms with ice and arnica, so today the bruising and soreness is almost ignorable. It is just my spirit that needs some nurturing. All of this is leading up to the six months since I left San Diego on Saturday.

Funniest encounter, the UPS guy this morning who goes, "wow, have you always had that scar?!...so, are you going to be ok?...whoa! what happened to your arms?...I had no idea."

I'm off to get my Coumadin levels checked. I'll leave you with a more hopeful thought...there was a green sighting today.

september is the 9th month

I know concerns have been expressed that I have not been posting. Things are fine. fine, fine, fine. I am making some med changes, so every other day I alternate between feeling pretty darn good and pretty darn awful. In another week I can celebrate six months since leaving the hospital in San Diego. woo-hoo! Until then, what can I really expect??

On my good days I have been trying to cram in the fun.
Orion took me out on the town to check out an Iowa gal who is rockin' Hollywood with her unique rap style and campaign to save the gem sweaters from lonely lives in thrift stores and attics. You should check out her website (especially if your name is Lili) -- the gateway to the world of Leslie Hall. To view the gem sweater collection start here. We missed her when she was at Amoeba, so tonight was a must see!





















[thanks for the photos erincaruso.com]
Once I recover from my big night out, I'll be back to share some images of the LA County Fair.........good times!