Progress on the glide path to Friday and beyond. First, the follow up on my raised bed garden and my use of the sitting/kneeling bench.

Three types of marigolds, of graduated height and color; plus the survivor chives and a couple of basil plants to balance out the green of the chives. We also added a gerbera daisy to the front yard perennial patch. While those African-origin daisy like plants can overwinter down in Maryland where I grew them before I don’t think it will make it if we have a standard January/February here in our zone. I do plan to pull it before first frost, and (with luck) set it out again next spring. No clue what color it will bloom. I like an occasional surprise.

Progress continues on the Hungry Judges sampler. I’m more than half way done with the final partial repeat of the curious monster panel. My goal is to get that all laid in over the next day or so, and then turn to the voiding behind the lower half of the motto phrase, and the solid fill behind the monsters themselves. The lettering bit will be a matched inversion of the voiding I did on the top line – stepwise yellow, radiating from the center. The monsters get long armed cross stitch in the same purple as the foreground stitching. All of that may take at least ten days of work, probably more.

I really want to work on this piece with me to the hospital. Yes, I will have knitting there. Socks stop for nothing. But I do not stay sane by socks, alone.

Obviously I would not be bringing the Lowery floor stand. Too big, too heavy with the companion bricks needed to balance out the weight of my large frame, too much in the way. To preserve no-crush/no-hooping over the silk, I do want to keep the piece on my Millennium scroller. It only fits on my widest bars, so that will be a test. I do have a shorter set of side extenders. I used them earlier when I did the pomegranate panel, but swapped them out for the longer ones to stitch the wider monster bit. Remounting with those would help somewhat by reducing height. To stitch I could lean the frame against the over-bed utility table common in patient rooms, and work either in the bed itself or in the side lounge chair (leaving the bed to sit up is wildly encouraged). Moving the frame around and protecting it to accommodate meals and other messy things though will take some more thought. Managing the threads, tools and other supplies is easy. My pirate motif metal lunchbox is perfectly able to handle what I need, and being magnetic will hold oddments and tools at the ready.

Other goings on here at String Central are pretty low key. We did have a spot of fun on Sunday. Since the next two weekends will be rather constrained by my upcoming procedure, we went out for a Dim Sum brunch to celebrate my upcoming end of May birthday. A tasty treat, for sure and one of my favorites. Now it’s just resting up, gathering strength and resolve for tumor-reduction surgery at the end of this week.

Health thoughts

And to round out the health musings – some thoughts on steroids. I’m on a relatively low dose program of them right now to combat double vision caused by pressure on a cranial nerve. Not long term damage, just a bit of squeezing that has me seeing oddly at distance. For example, driving is right out because I see a third lane where only two actually exist. So far close work hasn’t been too taxing, but I am glad that I thought ahead and am not working on 40+ count linen for this piece.

Steroids have all sorts of side effects associated with them. Everyone has heard of ‘Roid Rage, where someone (usually an overconsuming athlete) goes off the rails due to medication abuse. And there are others – reports of metallic taste or a general diminution of the ability to taste food; hand tremors; unusual emotions; and the like.

I’m not someone who has ever taken a lot of meds so when something unusual crops up I do notice. I propose a metaphor for how steroids manifest for me. And if you are a long time Star Trek fan, you’ll recognize it. Remember – this isn’t a diagnosis, it’s just a metaphor. After all, fictitious ailments are totally fictitious.

Taking low dose steroids is like having Bendii Syndrome – the made-up malady experienced by Vulcans. It was used in several Trek series as a plot device to present a weakness of that usually hyper-competent people, by limiting their ability to control their emotions and disabling their ability to reason with logic. A Vulcan without logic or emotional stability was deeply troubled, and locked into a personal and societal shame in a way not unlike patients with advanced dementia are in our real world.

Normally I’m pretty stoic. I gloss over the small stuff, the minor annoyances and botherations of daily life. Dropping the toast butter side down. Hitting the wrong key as I type. Overly loud music from a car idling in front of my house. Little things that usually mean nothing. But right now it’s like an extra 15% vexation overage is slathered on top of all such things, so that I notice more than I usually do. No hot reactions, no gusts of anger or frustration; just a rasp of unfamiliar discomfort strange enough to stab a tiny needle into my serene mindset.

I am happy that this med will not be a permanent addition. Once the nerves calm down from the various planned interventions and the double vision is gone (or as a last ditch resort has been tamed by optical compensation) I will be quit of steroids, and all will return to equipoise.

In the mean time I will admire my flowers and plan out my Emotional Support Embroidery scenario as concrete steps to remain serene.

If you can know and name a challenge, you can deflect or defeat it. And I will do so.