Doctors and worry

I had a follow-up doctor's appointment on Friday. It's a good thing I had taken the day off work. After the two-hour appointment I got some new books from the library and went home. By that time, discouraged and overwhelmed with information, I was ready to have a big day of doing nothing except feeling sorry for myself.

So, my new illness management strategy got a test drive: This sucks. What next?

I went home, paged through a book, then decided to make a pot of chili. It's the first time I took out the crock pot this year, and I had fun making something nutritous for my and my sweetie. While it simmered, I went into the TV room and took out the still-unfinished satchel, and got to work. For the five hours I knit. Back and forth, black and gray, knit then purl. I wasn't thinking about the doctor, or the incredibly expensive medications I may need in the future. It was good to work on this gift for a good friend.

After lunch, the gray cat came to visit. Usually happy to be left to herself, she climbed up on my lap and snuggled for quite some time. She did this all the time when she was the only cat and I was the only human in the house, but has withdrawn a little since the addition of one more person and one more cat. The black cat came in after a little while, and curled up on the back of the couch, right behind my head.

What is there to worry about when there's knitting on the needles and cats surrounding you with warmth and purr?

When my sweetie came home, the worry came back with the retelling of the appointment, but he put me back on track with a hug and an echo: This sucks. What next?

Pizza. Love. Hope. A list of questions that will help us figure out where to go from here.

Airport security blues

So I've got an in-progress project (the felted satchel) and several lovely balls of cotton that are dying to be cast on, but I'm afraid to even try to bring my knitting kneedles on the plane to Washington, D.C. I brought a project with me to Ireland a few months ago, which was fine (and useful during layovers) on the way out, but coming back in, the Irish rules were different and I had to check my knitting. All well and good because I asked before I got to the gate security check.

With the new security rules here, I'm not sure if I should even risk it, especially on a flight to D.C. If I don't find out I can't bring the needles until it's too late, I'll lose my bamboo needles and my yarn. And who wants that? I'll stick with a book, ginger candy and some tissues in my carryon, I think.