Yesterday i had a fairly extreme migraine, mostly a result of that night's insomnia. (I've had about 6 hours of sleep in the past 60 hours.) Dr. Geske & i were both busy so i didn't have him do an adjustment. When i finished with my last client at 7 PM i was sorely tempted to take meds for the migraine. (Except the recent trip to ER, i've not had meds since last December.) Instead, i stopped by the grocery with the intent of buying "Pepsi Natural" that has sugar & some other things but not all the nasties in regular Pepsi. The store didn't have it. (Most don't carry it.)
I ended up grabbing a Starbuck's Frappacino (12 oz) - without reading the label! - & downed that. Within about 20 minutes the headache was gone. Good thing 'cause we ended up watching an obnoxious show on TV with the ILs. But it has now occurred to me that since i'm not really used to caffeine, that might have caused my night of trouble.
Last night i tried & tried & tried to do what looked like a simple pattern for the 5th scarf. (No not done with #3 or #4 yet, but i've the yarn & felt like starting this one. I figure i'll leave it down the hill to work on when i'm in OC.) This yarn is a really soft bamboo/acrylic mix by "Spa" by Naturally Caron. The color is green sheen which is a pale green, not quite apple green & not quite lime, but something like that. This particular yarn would do well with a pattern. The ones i tried yesterday were a "baby cable" & a faux cable. I couldn't do either. Or rather, i could have done them, probably, but it felt unnatural & would take a lot of time. Four or 5 times i did cast on & knitted about 6 rows of 40 stitches, took them out & tried again.
I've decided to go with something i know. I'm doing a horseshoe pattern. It is a bit more lacey than i intended. And it has 8 repeating rows, 4 of which are counted. But it is full of YOs, SL1, K2TOG, & PSSOs, all of which i understand & can do easily. This will be much faster than the 4 repeating rows, only one of which was counted but i couldn't do it well. I'll delay learning cables & some of the other stitches until after i finish the Christmas gifts. Maybe sometime after Christmas i'll buy a chunky yarn & learn to do a chunky cable. I found several patterns of them. I now have about 30 patterns bookmarked. (Also videos of instruction of how to do them.) Here is the horseshoe pattern, 16 rows completed:
After all 5 sets of scarves & hats are finished i plan to buy the stuff for Sis #2. I found some silk/bamboo that is so very soft (& rather expensive) in a deep royal purple. (Sis loves purple & lavender.) I plan to do that set in a lovely lace pattern. But we will see how much i get done. I'm not going to let myself start that one until all the others are finished.
Ok, speaking of lavender - i've a question. I see a physical therapist, Kim, about once a month to have CranioSacral work done (which is why i no longer have to have meds for migraines). She works outside of the realm in which most PTs work. She is very intuitive & i'm much impressed with her. I refer folks outside my ability to her.
Kim is very sweet & caring. But she is also professional - she doesn't "give away" things usually. However, recently i told her about the rash that was bothering me & she told me about this wonderful spray she uses on rashes. She ordered it for me & gave it to me, she was that excited to share it & help me. I used it a couple of times without reading the label (i know, i wasn't being vigilant). I reacted to it with a lot of discomfort. I finally read the label & learned that it has lavender in it. I'm somewhat allergic to lavender. I can tolerate the scent - i sometimes use it in my practice - & it doesn't seem to bother my hands. But if i use it elsewhere on my skin i break out.
Now, my question - i only used it a time or two. I will not be able to use it because of the way i react. Kim is sure to ask about it when i next see her. Should i return it? It was a very gracious & generous gift & if i'm unable to use it in this context is it proper to return it to her? If not what should i do with it & what should i say to her?
Now, on to polite fiction. I finally fell asleep about 4.30 or 5 AM. At about 7.15 Duane, who had gone to sleep about 11, woke. He must have known i hadn't slept much last night. He tried, oh so quietly, to be up & dressed without waking me. When i opened my eyes he had left this note for me.
Should i have told him/should i tell him i was actually awake when he was being so sweet, or preserve the polite fiction that i didn't wake when he got up?
The other things i mentioned can wait until another day. I've scattered a couple of pics from our drive down the hill Tuesday. These were taken at the bottom of the hill, outside of Mentone - practically in flatland!
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7 comments:
That's TWICE you've used the phrase "polite fiction". Not sure why it's niggling at my brain, but I say NO to fiction - polite or otherwise.
Which might explain why I'm basically friendless except the blogosphere. ;)
Truthfully, Husband - I could never fake sleep anyway and it's still thoughtful even if he knows you were awake and trying to stay in the "I can fall back asleep state"
Friend - sigh. Honesty really is the best policy. As if you can regift and you just discovered you're allergic. (See, I fib. Right there I did)
Hi Kathryn, I hope you are able to sleep more. It happens to me too, I just read...or surf.
Your scarf looks nice. My mother did loads of knitting when her eyes were good.
Maybe you should tell Kim about your Lavender allergy and ask her if would like her spray back. Maybe he can use it herelf.
Caffeine doesn't seem to affect me. I can drink it directly before getting into bed! My sister says, "I'm a freak of nature", because MOST people - normal people - can't do that. You poor thing.
I would definitely tell the lady who gave you the spray that you are allergic to lavender. It's no big deal - she'll understand. Plus, that way, she won't ask you later (and put you in an awkward situation! ha). I'm sure she'll just use it.
Your hubby is way too sweet. That was adorable.
Hey Kathryn, how do you do with green tea? If you can drink it, try keeping some in the house. Green tea does have caffeine and a lot of people find it really helps with migraines. Caffeine helps constrict blood vessels and all that. Yup, if you aren't used to caffeine, it can cause sleeplessness but migraines involve debilitating pain...so it's kind of a toss up, I'd pick sleeplessness.
You know, one of the recommendations on insomnia is to train yourself to get up when you can't sleep. Get up, read, clean, do laundry, watch TV. Only use your bed for sleeping (and other obvious things that I won't detail since you're a grown woman!) ...not reading, lounging, etc.
As for "polite fiction" ...if he asks, tell him the truth. In fact, I'd just go ahead and tell him the truth anyway. This isn't the kind of area where you have to worry about hurting his feelings. He tried to do something kind and thoughtful. You don't have to say, "YOU woke me up." just, "I was awake."
Or let it go if he doesn't bring it up. I don't think there is any marital well-being imperative at play here. You're having trouble sleeping, which isn't his fault, he's trying to be considerate, but you woke anyway, which isn't your fault.
Sometimes we all have to guild the lily a bit, "What do you think of my dress, I made it myself!" "It's lovely!!" you answer, and SHOULD even if you think it's a derelict pile of a sack. Polite fictions come into play to spare the feelings of others, and that's okay. There's nothing admirable in being brutal, and unfeeling with truth.
What else, what else, what else?
Oooooh, the spray. Yeah, take it back to her, explain the allergy, and Kathryn, I'd offer to pay for it...she will almost certainly turn you down...but that's the polite thing to do. The polite thing on her part will be to say, "Oh no, don't you worry about that! I use this too." Thank her for her thoughtfulness, tell her how much you appreciated it (all true stuff).
You have to tell her, because she's likely to see the rash. All gifts should be received graciously, we all know that, but you can still be gracious while letting her know it didn't work out.
As for the offering to pay -- it's just a way to let her know you don't want her to be out of pocket, and truly appreciated her thoughtfulness.
It is funny the societal dances we do when it comes to courtesy, isn't it?
As a health professional, I need to know when someone can't tolerate something. That is how I learn and help patients. I would let her know.
You might help someone else:)
I love hubbie's note! And I envy your knitting skills. I have too many creative hobbies already to take it up!!
Glad your head is feeling better, and that you get good sleep tonight!
Beautiful, beautiful pics! Caffeine is one of my necessary evils. :(
Jessie at Blog Schmog
p.s. new address same ol' me
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