A Crazy Week!

Wow!  It's been over a week since I posted and what a crazy week it's been!!!

Penelope was off to a good start for the first night after her surgery.  We just had to take her back to the vet the next day to have a staple fixed that had come out on one side.  But, other than that she seemed fairly okay.  I did ask if they had a pain/itch relieving spray or something that could numb the incision a bit though because I noticed that she was starting to scratch it a little with her back feet.  They said there wasn't really anything that would work and recommended putting baby socks on her feet and wrapping them to keep them on.  It seemed crazy because cats don't put up with stuff like that.  We tried it the next morning and I was right.  There was NO way we were going to get them to stay on.  Then, we tried another thing they recommended, a baby shirt.  That made it worse because it pressed on her staples.

The itching and pain became so bad that she wouldn't leave it alone.  She was so upset that she'd look at us and complain and hiss.  She ended up making it bleed and she completely freaked out!  She was screaming in pain!  We took her back to the vet and they wrapped both feet, put a cone on her, and sold me a spray that stopped itching.  I with they'd sold me that spray the day before because it would have saved her a lot of pain and an additional vet bill!  Sheesh!  Luckily, it worked!

She got one foot unwrapped by the next morning but hubby was able to re-wrap it.  We kept her feet wrapped through the weekend and kept applying the spray.  By Sunday evening both wraps were off and she refused to let us put them back on.  But, luckily, the swelling and itching had gotten a LOT better.  Whew!  We've been keeping a close eye on her all week and she's doing better and better.

Here she is with the last wrap that stayed on.  It was just enough to throw her off balance if she tried to scratch and kept her safe a little longer.  But, as you can tell by the look on her face, she was DONE with all this craziness!

When both wraps were gone, she was so happy and finally started getting some sleep.

A friend of mine surprised me last night with hand knitted and felted mouse she'd made as a get well gift for Penelope.  That's SO sweet!  Penelope loved it so much that we had to hide it for the night so we could all get some sleep.

We got the results of Penelope's tumor and it's benign.  YAY!  Such a relief.  It was, however, an unusual (for cats) fatty tumor that was right next to her microchip.  So, I can't help but wonder if the microchip may have caused it.  I'm happy the tumor is gone and the microchip.  She now has a cute, flowery collar, and a shiny ID tag with our phone numbers.  Hopefully, she'll never get lost to need it though.  I'll put it on her after her staples are removed next week.

My daughter came home for a couple of weeks to escape the extreme heat in Arizona.  I was so happy to see her and to have her company through the Penelope ordeal!  We also enjoyed some craft time together.  She even went to stitch night with me last week!  :-D  

While I was there, I finished up my fourth gnome!  Yay!  This one was a gift and I made sure to snap a picture that night before I sent him off to his new home.

I also did a little more work this last week on a free form crochet project I started a few weeks ago...a bikini top.  It's challenging but fun.  I added the bottom band.  I still have straps and the t-back to figure out.

My daughter crocheted a free form halter top while she was here.  It's super cute!  We didn't get any pics yet though.  And, she headed home this morning to take care of some things before she heads back here again in a few weeks.  She was going to stay a few more days but it made sense to travel before it gets really hot this next week.

Stay cool!  Stay Safe!  And, have a wonderful weekend!

Gnomes!

I just finished knitting another gnome!

So, now I have two!

I love these little guys!  Aren't they adorable?!

They're made from the "Yuletide Gmome" pattern I found on Ravelry.  The pattern is written to knit them on straight needles and sew each section closed.  Way too much work, too much purling, and too much time. Luckily, other Ravelers have posted directions for knitting them in the round.  That's a lot more fun and I think they look a lot better that way.

Sorry for so few posts lately.  Life has been crazy busy.  That seems to be the norm lately.  Whew!  But, I'm still working on trying to post more.

Here's a little of what's been going on....

My husband's grandfather had just passed away on my most recent life update.  Since then, we've all helped grandma go through things and get grandpa's things out.  She wanted to do that quickly as she felt it would help her.  She has tough days and that's so understandable since they were together for 75 years.  But, she's so incredibly strong too.  She's been keeping busy and moving forward.  She's an amazing woman that I find myself becoming more and more impressed with and inspired by everyday.  I love her so much!

My parents came to the funeral and my mom was doing really well that day.  She was a LOT less negative and repetitive that day and very pleasant to be with.  I really cherished time with her that day.  It gave me hope.  However, she has a lot of bad days.  My dad says that she can change like the flip of a switch.  It's becoming increasingly difficult for him and we are all trying to figure out the best way to handle it all.  When we go over, it upsets her.  And, when we stay away, it upsets her.  She usually doesn't show that anger and upset when we are there but after we leave and every day in between.  My dad says she just goes on and on with negativity of things that aren't true.  She thinks my brother and I hate her.  SO not true!!! She goes on and on that I don't call her.  But, when I do, she doesn't answer her phone.  When I do talk to her on the phone by calling my dad, she doesn't remember.

She passed the driving test but wasn't able to get a doctor to sign off for her to drive.  So, she lost her license.  That has upset her a lot.  But, it's given her a reason to go to the doctor...something we were having a very hard time getting her to do.  She's had one gerontology appointment so far and a brain scan.  She still needs to go see a psychiatrist and go back to the gerontologist for results on everything.  To get her license back, she'll need to get approval from the doctor and start the license process from the beginning...driving test, written test, etc.

I feel for her.  I understand that this must be SO frustrating and difficult.  But, she just won't let us support her and love her through it.  That's what we SO want to do.  Shes pushes us away, leaves when we go over so she won't have to see us, and won't allow us to go to the doctor with her.

She's angry that my brother and his wife keep bringing food over too.  But, she doesn't cook and they need to eat!  My dad is getting stronger and doing better and better (except this stress which isn't good for him) but my mom continues to lose weight.  She's so tiny now and it has us worried.  She's lost close to 50 pounds since last summer.  I hope the doctor can get to the bottom of everything that's been going on.

After the funeral, my husband and I went on a trip to Utah for a week.  He did a mountain bike race, we did a little shopping and exploring, we ate great food, we did a little hiking, and we relaxed.  We really needed a little get-away!  I'll try to post about that soon.

Have a great weekend!  :-)

I Did It!

I finished my gnome today!

I think it turned out great!  He's adorable!

This is the first knit project like this that I've ever done.  It was a bit scary and challenging at times but fun to make.  I learned a few new knitting skills along the way too.

I couldn't wait to show him off!  Now, I'd better head on over to my Ravelry project page to make more notes about it in case I make another one.