Not a lot happening around here, as you might have gathered. I am resting, and pottering, and generally moving along quietly with the general objective of getting back to normality. I'm a bit tired this morning, and the pain level was up because we had a busy day yesterday, but the CES is sorting it out.
It is now nine days since the surgery, and I'm feeling so much more well in myself than before the surgery. The effect of having this repair finally sorted out turns out to be immeasurable. Ok, I knew I wasn't exactly happy about it beforehand - it is pretty hard to feel good about yourself when you've got something like that hidden, as it were, about your person, unhealed and causing problems. But now that it is all done and also (hopefully) done with, I feel so much better about myself that it is quite a surprise.
The pain issue from the nerve damage is still with me, but I no longer feel helpless in the face of it. It is under control. We know what works, and we have reached the stage of tinkering with dosages and intervals between treatments, to find a maintenance level that includes the minimum of pharmaceuticals.
My little CES unit is, I think, my main help, together with the pain medication. I'm down to just one medication now, which makes things much more straightforward. Acupuncture and acupressure are useful, too. I have a couple more acupuncture treatments to come - thankyou, NHS! - and after that I will be taking part in a trial of indwelling needles that the Pain Clinic are running, which ought to be interesting. I am open to trying pretty much anything that might help with this, really I am.
Knitting has been minimal. I've finished the most recent travel socks in Regia Galaxy, for my husband. The Trekking XXL ones for me have taken their place in my handbag instead. Here we are, finished socks.
Incredibly cheap Regia Galaxy from the wonderful Kemps, this yarn is now discontinued I think. 2.5mm dpns, and my usual pattern for socks to fit my husband. All good.
Citron hasn't been picked up at all over the last week. I have instead been working on Dusk, and very much enjoying it - Felted Tweed is so nice to work with. I am about halfway up the last sleeve at the moment. I really ought to join the shoulder seams and get the neckband finished off properly, it is formed by extensions of the two fronts - shall I graft it? - or shall I work a three needle cast-off? Decisions, decisions.
Or shall I be very daring and work a Russian graft for the first time in an actual project? I think that may end up as my final choice - it makes a flat join, you see, and I don't like the ridge of a three needle cast-off inside the back of the neck. And it is next to impossible to get an ordinary graft in moss stitch to look right. Anyway, I shall see.
More regarding our new puppy.
Last week, we met the breeder and her other dogs, and we like her very much. (And the other dogs too.) She likes to meet all prospective owners before she agrees to sell them a puppy, you see - she doesn't want them to go to anywhere unsuitable. It seems that she approves of us, too, fortunately.
We haven't seen the puppies yet, they were only 8 days old when we visited, and still completely with their mother of course. The mother had had a hard time with the birth and ended up needing a caesarian, poor little thing, and there can be problems with bonding after this - so all the more important that she isn't disturbed whilst she is looking after them.
We'll be able to meet them when they are old enough to come downstairs - currently they are in a whelping pen in a large wardrobe, where the mother feels very safe. They will be moved downstairs to a larger area when they start climbing out of the whelping pen - usually at about 4 to 5 weeks of age, apparently. We are really looking forward to seeing them. There are two boys and two girls - the girls are now both spoken for, and one of them is to be ours.
The names for this litter are being taken from The Winter's Tale, and our puppy will be called Mopsa on her pedigree - the two girls are to be Mopsa and Dorcas, who are shepherdesses in the play. We could choose which name we preferred, which was unexpected. And Mopsa is rather a nice name for a sweet little puppy, we think, and will still be a nice name when she grows up.
My husband says he is sure that he will be calling her Lucy all the time - but we'll see. I think she will be Mopsa, or Little Miss.