July 03, 2006
Manna From Heaven
Oh, Dear Readers, Thursday and Friday were a mix of excruciatingly awful and, thanks to you, astonishingly wonderful.
As if we weren’t having enough fun, one of my painkillers decided to gnaw a hole in my stomach wall so I spent Thursday night back in the hospital attached, yet again, to various dripping saline solutions and liquid painkillers, and Friday being run through a gamut of tests which ultimately revealed painkiller, blahblahblah, stomach, blahblahblah, hole. (I have a cloudy recollection of doing at least one pantomime of the “the alien bursting out of the stomach” scene from “Alien” while lying on the hospital bed. Sure I was in severe pain, but a girl still needs her entertainment.)
I’ve been home for a few days now, headed, I hope, in the right direction healthwise since, at my worst, fresh Washington-grown cherries, perfectly toasted and buttered English muffins and even a surprise box of chocolates (more on that later) were paraded past me…and nothing. I just put my hand melodramatically on my forehead and turned my face toward the wall. For someone like moi, who can give Miss Piggy a run (or at least a slow, plodding, fat-jiggling jog) for her money, that was Not A Good Sign.
In the meantime, however, my spirits were kept way, way up by a continuous shower of the most amazing get-well wishes, cards, flowers, and surprises including, thanks to my last woeful entry and to Ginger, MaryB, Stalker Angie and Elaine, enough cotton yarn to knit a 747:
…some of which has already been turned into this…
and this:
(Do you think anyone would believe me if I told them that the Mongolians don’t need knitted clothing anymore but are, instead, in desperate need of thousands of cotton dishcloths?)
When I arrived home from the hospital, this “Easter basket in July” was waiting for me on the doorstep, containing some of the cotton yarn you see above, hand-knitted socks, chocolate, a handknit dishcloth, and a sweater for Dulaan 2007.
But, wait, there’s more.
See anything different?
I have not been the only lucky recipient of gifts. Dear Reader Gerlinde, dog-lover extraordinaire, has been carefully observing the standoff between us and The Obstinate Diva-Dawg and decided to resolve the problem by mailing Frankie her very own German down pillow, complete with removable, washable, zebra-themed cover. Gerlinde, thank you! The pillow is a very handsome addition to our household!
Thank you, everyone, for your kind wishes during the last 2.5 weeks. Three weeks and two days to go and I’ll be back to my insufferable old self, cross my heart.
Okay, everybody is allowed to read this section except MaryB. She knows why.
We got the latest update from F.I.R.E. today, and the magic number is now:
8,199!!!!!
Is anyone out there as stunned as I am?
The other good news is that July 1 still is/was the official deadline so gracias, danke, merci and thank you to everyone who went out of their way to get their items in on time. You are unquestionably the heart and soul of this project. However, because we are so close to 10,000, and because the volunteers will be sorting through the Dulaan items for a while yet, they told me today that they can still accept any onesy-twosy items you may still want to send their way. I wish I had known this earlier but I figure ultimately this'all just gives us a chance to help a few more children.
10,000. Just think of it.
Posted by Ryan at July 3, 2006 04:25 PMOh. My. God!!!! Here I was pushing for 10,000 for NEXT year only to find we've gotten seriously close to it already! My eyes(and heart) runneth over :)
Posted by: Robbyn on July 3, 2006 04:37 PMAging rebel that I am, guess what? I read that section anyway. HAH!! That's all I can think of to say. HAH! Just wait till they count EVERYTHING. Mary B
Posted by: Mary B on July 3, 2006 05:24 PMWOW!! Almost 10,000!! That's sooooo cool!
Love your dishcloths! That's what I've been making for the past couple of days for the store where I work. Got a few more to make, then I'm done.
Posted by: Sheri on July 3, 2006 05:32 PMWell, for cripe's sake, woman. Keep your stomach in one piece, will ya? Do I have to come over there?!
And this is such a hoot. Partly because of your latest obsession with the dishcloths, I knitted up two, which look alarmingly like your two here, just change the green for blue. Too funny. AND I ordered 20 balls of Sugar'n Cream yarn. I couldn't decide on the colors. Hee.
And damn if I don't have two scarves that I can send. I canNOT believe that total. Can they really take more? And what if, by asking for a few onesie-twosie items they end up with, say, TWELVE thousand???? Are there that many Mongolians to receive them, and will the distributors be ABLE to distribute them all??? Crazy!
Posted by: Norma on July 3, 2006 06:07 PMRyan, it's so good to hear from you again, you poor baby! Let's just let this little episode of surgery/sliced heel/hole-in-the-stomach pass quickly into the past, 'kay? Enough already of the shady side of life, tell your doctors Your Fans Have Spoken, and it's time for you To Get Better Fast.
The Dulaan number is amazing and astonishing and yet, not at all. You (and Cara -- have you seen how much money she raised for Heifer International? Zounds!) seemed to have tapped into a force previously only hinted-at, the power of knitters and spinners and people of fiber. The power for good was there, but it took someone strong and creative (that's youse guys!) to harness it for greatness. I am awed.
btw, what with all your power and stuff, there's this little situation in Washington that's been bugging me. Do you suppose you could do something...
Posted by: kmkat on July 3, 2006 06:14 PMI have 3 hats in the "Dulaan '07" box (I had 4 but my 5yo fell in love with the hot pink with purple stripes so it now resides under her pillow!). I'll stick them in an envelope and use the self-service machine so they'll go out first thing Wednesday morning.
Wow! You have almost as much cotton as I do! (It's a sickness!!!!) There are tons of free dishcloth patterns online (Mason-Dixon Kay and Ann have 2 in their sidebar I think) if you want to branch out. Dishcloths (or afghan squares?) are also a great test swatch for new stitch patterns from a stitch dictionary.
Glad to hear you are on the mend, I'm going now to look up those dishcloth patterns...
Posted by: Angie on July 3, 2006 08:06 PMSorry to hear your painkiller turned on you like that! What a great Dulaan number - thanks for the update :-)
Posted by: Sarah on July 4, 2006 04:17 AMHoles in the stomach!! gadzooks! I think if you wanna go putting holes in your stomach, margaritas and hawaiian chips are an entirely more fun way to go. kmkat, you hit it right on the head with the word *force*. I really love this project.
Posted by: marylee on July 4, 2006 04:33 AMOh, ouch. Especially on the refusal of chocolate.
And OH WOW!!!!
(Okay, what I *actually* said when I saw that number was a little less family friendly, but...)
HOLY (INSERT TYPICAL L.A. EXPRESSION OF GLEEFUL SHOCK HERE)!!!!
Posted by: Lee Ann on July 4, 2006 05:17 AMOh ouch--a few years ago naproxen did a number of my stomach, so I know how you feel! Very sorry! May the rest of your healing be much less dramatic! The Dulaan numbe is stunning--knitters of the world unite!
Posted by: Kristen on July 4, 2006 12:41 PMI think I might be a little bit verklempt, or something. 10,000. Good god. (four of them were mine)
So, how about 20,000 for next year? *g*
Yes, dear, I'll cast on tonight ...
Posted by: Rabbitch on July 4, 2006 02:47 PMWOW!! I just saw the number, and my jaw just came up off of the floor. Ladies, you ROCK! A tip of the 10 gallon hat to all of you! You can add two more to the total, I did two baby sweaters over the long weekend, all I need to do is put the buttons on. So I'll finish those tonight and send them to FIRE tomorrow morning, priority, so hopefully they will be there within a few days.
Posted by: Nancy on July 5, 2006 06:30 AMOh, and that adorable Frankie looks like the regal diva she is on her new bed! I think she won the standoff. :) A big hug to her and to you Ryan, hope you are feeling better! :)
Posted by: Nancy on July 5, 2006 06:55 AMGlad to hear that you are better.
WOW what a number. I have a couple more hats that I will get in the mail today. That is amazing. It makes 20,000 seem possible.
What an amazing turnout for Dulaan! That's just fantastic.
So sorry to hear that you had a rough time last week, but am glad that you feel as though you're back on the right road. And Frankie looks very happy with her new pillow.
Posted by: Ruth on July 5, 2006 10:05 AMso...Dulaan doesn't need dishcloths/facecloths - but Cloths for Crisis does! Come along and join us in preparing for the hurricane season to come?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClothsForCrisis/
SOOooo glad you're on the mend!
(((hugs)))
Oh, my! That is such great news. I sent my stuff out on the 1st (shame on me!) and was hoping it would still make it. I just read this and feel so much better...hopefully the package made it. :D
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Posted by: isel on July 10, 2006 06:32 AM