Ahh well, the fun never stops.
Sunday, as I was getting ready to drop by dad’s - father’s day, you know - the phone rang. It was dad.
“You’ll never guess where I am!”, he said.
“Okay”, playing along, “Where are you?”
“I’m in the hospital. I’ve been throwing up blood.”
So I scraped myself off the ceiling and had him tell me the story. Turns out he’d been vomiting blood for two days and Sunday morning, around 3:30 AM, decided he should probably get himself to the emergency room. Not that he’d call me for assistance, heavens no! Kenyons don’t do anything as weak as asking for help… And he drove to the hospital. Not to the local one about 10 minutes away but to the VA in Boston - about an hour away.
Sigh…
He’s been keeping me at a distance (all very jolly and good natured of course) and not letting me come down to visit. He says I shouldn’t waste the gas and that it’s too hot for me to be driving around. That more or less translates into “I don’t want you to see me in the hospital but you can call every day if you like.” I know my father and since I still judge him to be of sound mind (if only barely sometimes) I decided to honor his wishes.
From what he tells me, the situation has cleared up - though he lost a significant amount of blood - and he expects to be home tomorrow. He has not told me what his physicians think caused the problem in the first place which makes me a bit jittery. Either they haven’t told him, he hasn’t understood what they have told him or they don’t know yet. Most likely he hasn’t understood what they have said; dad is a very poor listener. If you watch, you can see exactly when he tunes out and starts trying to think of a smart-ass response.
Stay tuned :)
I laboriously tinked the shawl back to the mistake (lifelines, I know...), got that fixed and proceeded with the next pattern repeat only to drop stitches another four rows down the line and have to tink it all back again. This shawl apparently hates me though I’ve never said an unkind word about it! Actually, I suspect my beloved Options needles. I think they’re probably too slick to be knitting lace with. I should probably go with wooden or bamboo needles for this - but I hate to give up those wonderful pointy tips. I suppose Knitpicks Harmony needles would be something to try too.
Anyway, I seem to be on my way again and hope to finish this later this week. Despite the jade green being a very unusual color for me, I have to admit it’s very pretty and I’m very pleased with the shawl - despite my apparent attempts to destroy it :)
Ev tagged me for a meme, so I’m playing along :)
The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.
1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I had just been promoted to IT (tech support) from the executive secretarial position I’d started in and I was thrilled out of my mind :) I loved that job and I loved my boss and I still miss them.
2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
1. Work on the shawl
2. Watch The Shootist - one of my extremely short list of things that’s a better movie than a book.
3. Try to decide if I can justify going to the mill shop to buy more yarn :)
4. Start trying to write out the pattern for the shawl.
5. Further develop my new Blood Elf Mage, Satsuki (World of Warcraft)
3) Snacks I enjoy:
Cheese and crackers, scones, shortbread cookies, cherries, anything with peanut butter on it :)
4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Set up yearly donations to my two favorite charities - one local, one international.
Buy or build a house with rooms, space and accoutrements to suit everybody - including the bazillion pets we would then probably acquire :)
Fulfill my fantasy of going into a yarn shop (a good one), coming in the door and announcing, “I’ll take one of everything!”.
Send my dad on the cruise of his dreams.
5) Places I have lived:
Massachusetts, Missouri and Illinois. I have yet to see the west coast.
6) Jobs I have had:
Technical Support
Cab driver
Bartender
Waitress
Distributor (dresses, lingerie, sportswear) for Marshall’s department stores
Executive Secretary
I won’t tag anyone, but please feel free to play along should the whim strike you!
The temperature got up to 100ºF this afternoon - a record in this area. We’re supposed to get some relief tomorrow which will be welcome. We do have the AC running, to be sure - but errands don’t run themselves. Really, I don’t think I’ve experienced this kind of temperature since I was going to college in Southern Illinois! I will not be sorry to see it moderate - bring on the thunderstorms!
No trackbacks yet.
EEK! I hope your Dad gets better soon and that he allows you to visit! *hugs*
Hugs to you and your Dad! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it turns out to be something simple and not much. And here’s to cooling thunderstorms - may they attack only the temperature.
Hoping your dad’s ok and the shawl cooperates. As always, best wishes from the we(s)t coast. Come visit!
Opal - Thanks, I hope so too. But he’s so ornery about letting anyone see him at what he perceives as a disadvantage that it’s unlikely he’d relent about visitors. I tell you though, if I call him tomorrow morning and he tells me it’s going to be another day, I’m going to go straight down there to the VA and wring his neck! LOL…
Chris - Thanks kindly :) We’ll be fine - we’re too stubborn to be otherwise!
And oh yeah - let’s hear it for incoming cold fronts! Come to think of it, when the weather’s been this hot, you usually do hear the incoming cold fronts…
Ev - Thanks for the good wishes and the invite. I don’t know if it would ever be possible but I’d love to visit :)
I worked on the shawl some this afternoon and it seems to be behaving. Probably just playing opossum…
Dads eh?! I hope you can get to the bottom of it and it’s not too bad news.
Such heat!
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I hope your father is okay. It could be something as simple as taking meds (including aspirin) on an empty stomach, which can wear through the protective lining.
Oh I hope your dad turns out ok. I hope the doctors are able to help him and that it’s nothing too serious. When it rains it pours eh? Good luck with that shawl. Perservere!
Abi - Especially dads who play both ends against the middle :) I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Tamar - He’s had a recent change in his meds so I’m hoping that’s all it is. Getting him to be anything but maddeningly vague is...well...maddening :)
Lisa - Yes, persevere indeed! Thanks for the good wishes.
get well wishes to your dad! i know what a cantankerous charmer he is and i’m sure he will have his female nurses and physicians eating from his hand there while you fume and stew (with mr. h i always have the ‘tmi’ card to play, and sometimes wish i knew less!!)
here’s hoping you have a respite from your heatwave there- geez, those are awful temps for this early in your ‘summer’- i always think we have the worst of it here in east texas forgetting that city temps there in yankeeland can be even more dreadful- at least we know we will have them frequently and don’t get blind-sided-
the cab driving must have been quite an experience- what an interesting list!!
stay happy-
Hey Barb :) Well, since dad has given me strict instructions that there is to be no religious service when he passes (whenever that might be - nothing imminent that I know of)), the thought occurs that I could threaten him with his Baptist mnister brother. It wouldn’t work, of course, but I could do it :)
As far as needles go I would suggest investing in an Addi lace needle. They have sharp points & some kind of (not noticeable) coating that makes them a bit less slippery than you’d expect. I love them. I have the Knitpicks Harmony needles & they are nice with sharp points but they seem awfully slippery to me (esp for wood needles). As far as the weather goes - I understand how you feel about the heat (I hate anything much above 80°) but watch out what you wish for. You do NOT want anything like what we’ve been experiencing in the upper midwest - the Wiscons Dells losst their lake!
DOnna - Thanks very much for your recommendations! I have read about the Addi lace needles and the folks who’ve tried them seem to think they’re pretty wonderful.
Odd about the Harmony needles, isn’t it? You don’t expect wood needles to be slick.
I went and looked up the news articles on the Wisconsin Dells - how unfortunate :( I’ll consider myself duly warned :)
Hope your dad gets better soon.
DD knits on KnitPicks Harmony needles - she kept dropping stiches from the Options. So maybe you should try them [they are pointy!]
Lynne - Nice to know that the Harmony needles are pointy - that was my real concern. The tips of the Options needles have completely spoiled me for anything else :) Looks like I’m going to have to give them a try!
