Radio silence! Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly as we thought they would with our little trip, and when we did finally get down time, I was trying to sleep, not type on a tiny touch-screen keyboard. And we got bad news when we got home: my grandmother felt really awful last Friday night--with all those nebulous signs of a woman having a heart attack--and because it was snowing, hard, my aunt called for an ambulance. There's no scarring or blockage, and the doctors are referring to it as a "minor cardiac event"; they are focusing their attention on a problem she's been having for a long time with horrible leg cramps. Leg cramps are par for the course with diabetes, but all the tonic water she was drinking really hadn't been making a difference. They think the problem is with one of her medications messing up her electrolytes, so they've taken that away in addition to prescribing sodium pills. I spoke with her a few minutes ago, and she was hoping to go home today after a stress test, but they hadn't gotten back to her about the results yet so it will probably be tomorrow. (She also mentioned that my father's cousin is currently in the same hospital after his blood pressure spiked--oh, and did I mention that another one of my cousins, this guy's sister, had a mini-stroke or aneurysm about a month ago? What the hell is happening in my family?!)
Now, if you know me, you know that my grandmother and I are tight. She did just turn eighty, and she has typical health problems for an octogenarian--she may be better than average, given that she never smoked and has had good carpenters' union insurance for more than fifty years--but she never really seemed "old" to me until a few years ago, when she did start to slow down a bit. (She's
never been a good driver, though. Wow, seriously.) Anyway, I just want to keep her around as long as possible, and obviously can't imagine a world in which she no longer exists... I have been very spoiled, and partially as a result of my parents having kids crazy early, there hasn't been a death in my immediate family since 1996 (my grandmother's mother, of a stroke at 88). My grandfather turns 85 next month, and he hasn't been doing well for a while (small strokes, body that was worked too hard and no longer contains cartilage), but he's kind of stabilized. I dunno. Mark's parents, in addition to being quite a bit older (his mother is nine months younger than my grandmother), both died pretty young--and with teenagers living at home (his father died when he was 16, his mother when he was 22). His grandparents have all been gone for thirty years as well. I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a parent very suddenly while in high school, but I know it has really shaped Mark. Ugh, anyway, I'm getting all philosophical, and the holidays don't help, but I am definitely hoping to get up to New York as soon as the threat of snow is over. I want Rosina to know her great-grandparents, since she's so lucky to have them. I know it won't be the same as it was for me, when I stayed with my mother's grandmother for a few weeks every summer (she was in her mid-70s at the time!)--and thank goodness for modern technology, so we can record stories and songs and interactions so easily--but I really want her to remember them. And not just because they have stories about the old country, and their wild immigrations, and about my father and his siblings growing up!
Blargh. Anyway, Ocean City was kind of a bust. My parents got stuck in traffic and didn't arrive until after ten o'clock Friday. It rained all day Saturday, and we didn't even get to the damn Winterfest of Lights! (I know, my disappointment even surprises me.) We did get some great pictures of the kids at a mall photo studio, but said mall was 45 minutes from the hotel. Also, the proofs were supposed to take under an hour, but they took two-and-a-half hours. My mother, SIL and I waited in the stupid studio for more than half that time. When it was finally our turn to check the proofs, that and the printing took another hour. We spent almost eight hours that day either on the road, in a mall waiting around, or at an Olive Garden across the parking lot from that mall. Insanity. So it was great to see my nieces and the rest of my family, but there was such wasted time... Oh, also, we were on the first floor of the hotel, and unbeknownst to us the hotel had an indoor ice rink, ten feet from our door, that didn't close until ten. There was drunk karaoke going on, and very young cheerleaders were in town for an event, and kids who were up WAY TOO LATE. It was not a good scene. Next year Mark and I would like to go to the mountains for Christmas. Like, any mountains.
Speaking of insanity, I got to go to the post office today! It was actually not that bad--they were very efficient at our large local office, and I should've known to just go there first instead of trying the little office I thought nobody knew existed (no parking there!). Most of the holiday cards are mailed (at least mine are--Mark needs to get his act together), and while I ran out of Scotch tape AND packing tape today--and we're low on wrapping paper--there really isn't that much more to do, other than shop for food and clean. (I did clean the grody master bath on Tuesday, TYVM. I do need to scrub the floor, another day.) Oh, and I haven't bought anything for Mark yet. O_o I have about four inches left on the second damn sock, which is totally doable and they don't need to be blocked or anything, but there will be another gift. He has been hinting hardcore about the new Anti-Steam Ove Glove (for barbecuing), and I was also thinking about a beermaking store gift certificate. I haven't decided yet!
In other crafting news, I am quite close to finishing Rosina's doll--all that's left are the embellishments, really. I don't know how long it's going to take to root the hair, though. I may regret this... I also got through the first of a pair of stranded mittens (minus thumb) while on the trip. I am half-wondering whether I ought to frog the whole thing back to the cuff and start on larger needles. Honestly, I love stranded knitting, but I don't really do it enough to have consistent gauge from piece to piece--so maybe my second mitten would have different gauge from the first anyway! If I remember, the pattern called for worsted-weight yarn and size 3 or 4 needles, but I'm using bulky yarn and size 7s (I have big hands, so resizing was in order anyway). I may need to go up to size 8s. Hell, I should just start the second mitten on 8s and see how it goes. But first: this ridiculously boring sock.
