Checking In

I slept through S'n'B again this morning.  I'm still sick, though with a new cold, and I've been sleeping a lot on the weekends and barely dragging myself through the week days.  TypePad ate the original of this post, which I just did not need to have happen today, but I'll try to remember what I wrote. . . I was mostly checking back in with updates on things from recent posts.

My memory does seem to be failing me, or at least I've noticed it more ever since I read about Mad Cow Disease.  I have thought of a way that I could get around the blood donation restriction -- I might be able to donate blood in another country, probably one where the Red Cross says they have Mad Cow problems.  I won't be able to donate four times a year like I used to, but I think it's worth looking into, just for the peace of mind it will give me.

Now that DH and I can't donate blood, chocolate dog is now too old, and the cats don't meet the requirements (Orange is too small and black & white has health issues.), so we're all going to have to live vicariously through yellow dog, our hero.  I got a call the other day to see if he could come in on Monday to donate, so I said yes.  Then I got a call to see if it would be okay if he was on TV, because a camera crew is going to visit the hospital to film a donation.  Of course I said yes -- this is a wonderful program and it should be publicized.  If you get Boston TV, you might see the yellow dog on the new Monday evening.  (I do not know what station/time or whether he'll definitely be on TV.)  *** Update: Photo shoot has been postponed (due to snow?) so no yellow dog on TV.***

I have found time to knit, and the yarn that I ordered so that I could finish the secret surprise item arrived.  It was the same lot as the yarn I already had, so I was very, very pleased that disaster was averted.  I'm knitting with Debbie Bliss Baby Alpaca Silk, which I love.  It's so soft and so warm.  I do usually use Blue Sky Alpaca Knitter's Helper on my hands before knitting with it, because it does tend to snag on rough, dry skin, or make your skin feel rough and dry in comparison.  I've had one skein with an incredible number of knots, but that seems to be an anomaly.  However, I have noticed that these skeins seem to completely fall apart for no reason.  Has this ever happened to any of you?  I even received one of the new skeins with a rubber band around it to keep it together.  It's frustrating to be knitting along, then look down and see that your skein has turned into a birds' nest.  Today I figured out how to combat that problem.  A Ziploc bag, unzipped enough to let each strand of yarn out, has been keeping my yarn untangled, contained, and safe from the elements.  As you can see, the gray skein is getting ready to explode, despite having been contained in this bag since I started using it.  Does anyone else have any novel ideas on how to combat this problem?  I'm happy with the Ziploc, but I'd be willing to try something else.

Finally, I wanted to respond to some comments about my hair.  I completely forgot (Mad Cow?) that when my hair gets long it gets heavy and gives me headaches, but Monica's comment jogged my memory.  I'm hoping that my hair will be long enough to cut for Locks of Love before I get to that point.  I also think that after I get it cut off I will give DH a say in what happens to my hair next.  He has lived with me through the worst of my hair disasters and has earned the right to have an opinion that I will seriously consider.  (Notice I did not say that I would absolutely do what he wants.)

Annette commented that her three year old son laughed when he saw the photo of me with the Mohawk, but she wanted to emphasize that he was not laughing *at* me.  I don't mind if he was.  Walking around with hair like that for years definitely exposed me to a wide variety of reactions.  My favorite was at the grocery store, right after I'd dyed my hair hot pink.   I was standing in the checkout line and there was a woman in her 60's in the next line over.  She burst out laughing when she saw my hair.  She had her hand over her mouth and was trying to compose herself when I looked at her.  She said, "I'm sorry, I can't help myself."  I smiled at her and said, "I can't either," and we both laughed.  I loved the honesty and pureness of her reaction.

Interestingly, I've had an exodus of people unsubscribing to the Bloglines feed for this blog ever since I posted that photo.  I don't know whether it was the photo or whether I'm just boring.  I hesitated before posting that photo, wondering what the reaction would be.  I'm not sorry I did it, though, and I appreciate all of you who have hung in there with me.

Comments

[Emma.]

People un-subbed because of a hairstyle you once had ? Blimey !
I think you looked great.Nothing wrong with individualism.

[Lynn]

Is yellow dog donating where Jack (the chow/goldie who's been on Channel7 news recently) is? That poor dog, he looks like such a love, I just can't imagine what the assholes who shot him were thinking. Can't. Wrap. Brain. Around. It.

My vet used to have a cat who came from the local humane society. His name was Hero because he was such a trooper for donations that he was used when he could or it was needed. :-D

And this hot-pink highlighted thirtysomething mama thinks your mowhawk is/was really cool. I hope people aren't unsubbing because of that. (or because you're afraid they think you're boring) Sheesh.

[sUsAn]

Go, yellow dog, go! I wish I lived in Boston so I could see him on the telly! Don't let the Blogline unsubbers get you down either, Susan. Hope your cold goes away quickly!

[Rossana]

I hope your cold leaves you soon! And please let us know when yellow dog is on-air--maybe the TV station will post a web story and then those of us not in the viewing area could still see the hero!

P.S. I'm itching for a haircut, too--have been growing out my hair since last year to donate, and I think I have about 3-4 more months of growing to go! Shoulda heard the bf's scared voice coming down the stairs, "WHY is there a bottle of pre-natal vitamins in the fridge?!?!?!?" Hee hee hee! (To encourage strong and quick hair/nail growth...DUH!)

[Christina]

I can't believe that people would unsubscribe because of old hair-do's.

I had thought of donating my hair to Locks for Love, but I dye it.

[jessica~]

I'm hoping that the un-subscribes were just a coincendence -not because of your hair. There couldn't be that many boring people out there, could there?

I'm sorry you're sick. Hope you recover soon, that Mad Cow Disease is a bitch. Heh heh...

Oh - and no, that wasn't me at the vet. You'd be surprised at how many people see me at various different places. You should have said "hi" anyway, maybe you would have met a new friend! Or maybe you could have looked like a whacko. :)

[Eva]

Oh, I hope get better soon :)

[Renee]

If you haven't tried yarn bras, they work really well with slippery yarn. You can also make your own yarn bras with nylon stockings - just cut them into a tube the size of your ball of yarn and slip it over the yarn - it'll contract as your ball gets smaller and keep it all relatively in place. Hope you're feeling better!