Point of Clarification

I thought it was ironic that the most recent issues of Time and National Geographic both had cover articles about medical marijuana at the same time my application for a medical marijuana card arrived.  And since I've received several questions I thought I'd clarify where I am in my recovery right now.

On September 29th it will be two years since I broke my neck.  I was put into physical therapy a couple months later while I was still wearing the neck brace, and I left physical in January with decreased mobility.  I tried yoga and massage therapy without change.  Last October I received a epidural cortisone shot in my neck which finally decreased the discomfort and improved my mobility - slightly.  I began acupuncture on November 4th and after weekly visits, I finally began to experience improvement, while all the time beginning each day with a microwavable heated pillow to  warm my neck muscles.

From the beginning both my GP and neurosurgeon have supported the use of medical marijuana to reduce the inflammation in my neck.  Dr Blake, the pain specialist who gave me the epidural last year, talked to me about the nature of inflamed neck muscles, saying that it's very difficult to turn that around since you really can never rest your neck.  It's not like you can take your head off.

 I purchased this cream on Etsy.  It's cannabis without THC and is made in Washington from hemp seed oil, however this small amount was $50 with shipping.  I've never smoked so that's not an option.  I tried my friend's pot Rx and experienced no relief but my lungs ached for the next week.  My docs think my best bet is an "edible" but there's a wide variety in cannabis strains and since no research has been permitted by the federal government, it's a crap shoot on how much to take - at bedtime, I'm assuming.  I'd also like to make my own topical cream.  There are recipes all over the Internet.  I've thrown away my Rx muscle relaxants because while they worked, they completely knocked me out.  Advil and ibuprofen killed my stomach.  

So that's why I'm applying for the card.  It's expensive!  I had to send a $25 check just to get the packet and have to send a $75 check when I return it.  Plus I have to visit my doctor which isn't covered by insurance, and I have to get it notarized.  And it must be renewed annually.

Ian and I jokingly call Maddie Nurse Kitty.  While I was in the hospital I asked Ian if I could have a kitty and that's how we can to have her.  She stayed right with me on the sofa for the six weeks before I was able to sleep in our bed again.

She still provides me endless amusement.  I've saved this box for her.  She's the one who turned in on its side and it's a much better fort this way.  She likes to give it a workout in the mornings and then ignores it the rest of the day.

This is what came in the box.  I'm a member of the Yarn Barn yarn club and couldn't resist this 8/2 unmercerized cotton priced at $8 a pound.

My plan is to use up my yarn ends, unifying them with these two colors. 

My plants were looking pretty peaked yesterday and since the rain has stopped, I spent the morning cleaning out beds and planting them.  They all seem to be going fine but it's the 13th and final plant that I'm worried about.  This tiny little thing inside the rabbit-guard cage is a butterfly bush that I ordered because it takes partial shade.

It's supposed to be 12' tall x 8' wide at maturity.  They warn you to give it room because it will be huge.  I can't imagine what I was thinking.  We live on the side of a mountain and the area that was cut out for the house and yard doesn't have much space left.  The plant will be fine for now but I may have to move it later.  I'm leaving for Grass Valley this morning and will be there for a couple of days, and then when I get back, we're going to Oregon for a week so I just needed to get it in the ground or lose it altogether. 

These are my most recent towels.  I'm staying with my friend Sue who has invited me to attend her guild meeting tomorrow evening and participate in a tailgate sale prior to that.  I am really looking forward to this visit and the chance with visit with friends.

Into Each Life.....

This is how my plants arrived over a week ago.  I've learned the hard way that the most successful plants in our garden are the ones I ordered through High Country Gardens.

I put the little guys from this order in the garage after I opened them up and let them breathe, and this is where they still are.

These shade-tolerant plants are to replace sun-loving plants that didn't survive the shade from our growing trees.  Using the physical catalog it took me forever to select them for the right size, color, rabbit resistance and shade tolerance.  Then I'd go into their online catalog to see what was available.  Since I was ordering a month after they started shipping plants, just about half of what I selected was sold out.

The problem is that it started raining right after the plants arrived and has rained for over a week.  The ground is completely saturated and it's not possible to put anything in the ground.  I thought it would be a good time to divide the day lilies but I sank into the mud.  Ian says the bottom of our driveway looks like an alluvial fan, but it's faring better than many others and some are impassable.

I've lived here for 40 years and have ever seen anything like this.  It's raining in the Sierras too so I suspect that's the end of what snow pack there was.  Although it's a week of rain, I doubt it's going to affect the drought significantly.  It's cool enough for a woodstove fire but we've gone through all our dry wood and now have to run the furnace, which doesn't produce the same kind of satisfying heat.

I chose these colors to chase away the gloomy day blues and used the my blocks and stripes pattern in turned taquete.  They're pretty but don't have the Mission-style look of the jewel-tone towels I submitted to the magazine contest.

My application for a medical marijuana card came yesterday.  The application process alone is a $100 so I hope this is worth it.  The application is about seven pages long, sad a page for my doctor to fill out and must be notarized.  The dispensaries don't open until August but I guess I had better get cracking in the meantime.

Ta Ta January

This is the flax pillow that Ian ordered for me online.  It's been more valuable than a heating pad and better than the muscle relaxant Robaxin.  I heat it in the microwave and then scrunch it around my neck.  I can really press it into the sore spots.  In case you want to check this out for yourself, he ordered it from these people.

I finally got my loom warped and wanted to show you how I check for threading errors.  By the time I've slipped four slats through in alternating sheds, I can see if I've made a mistake or not.  Then I remove the slats, because that's a huge waste of warp, and get ready for the header with packing material.  In this case, I used old strips I had cut for a rag rug.

I'm really surprised at the pastel colors, certainly the lightest I've ever woven.  I was tired of cold gray days when I picked out the cones for this set of dish towels and was looking for colors of spring.  I wondered how I had picked such Eastery colors when I realized that these colors are associated with Easter for the same reason I picked them - in anticipation of spring flowers.  And I thought I was being original.

I've been spinning the blended batts for the guild conference and need to get mailed off soon.  I plied the single with a space-dyed 60/2 silk from Just Our Yarn.  I know it's not brilliant spinning so I'll be interested to hear what the judges have to say about this as warp.

The next thing I need to get ready for the conference is a bag.  Guilds are challenged to pick a unifying theme so our theme is winter.  I've made a Kumihimo braid for the strap and want to make a small cross-body bag to wear when I'm working a craft fair.  I only need my phone, the Square, cash and a small notepad.  We've all purchased the same pin of a deciduous tree in winter - the unifier.  I'm stumped on what closure to use.  I bought a zipper but now the reality of using it, open, close, open, close - not thinking that's such a brilliant idea.  Guess I'll go phish on Etsy.

Speaking of winter, it snowed last night for the time in January and today's the last day of the month - just in time.  It's been over a month since we've had any snow so I'm pleased the temps are cold enough that it won't melt for a while.  I had planned to go to town today, but this persuaded me to stay home.

Wednesday was the four-month anniversary of my fall and broken neck.  I was released from physical therapy two weeks ago and have been doing a little light yoga here at home.  I know I need an instructor since mine moved back to PA but when I looked online, I discovered that there are a ton of yoga studios.  I selected one, partly based on location and parking, and went for a self-study session Wednesday morning.  Time got away from me and the next thing I knew I had spent an hour.

I  felt great when I left, but when I woke up yesterday morning, every muscle complained.  And here's the irony.  On the list of classes, the self-study class is entitled "Mysore."  And howdy!  It's obnoxious but at the same time it's a wholesome kind of pain - it says I'm on the path to recovery.  And last night I slept clear through for the first time.  That more than anything says I'm doing the right thing.