A Change Would Do You Good

So.  I was looking around a couple weeks ago and realized that my "online presence" is pretty scattered.  I regularly use about four different handles, which is kind of ridiculous.  So now I'm consolidating.  Everything else has been shifted to "fibrobabe", but I've been dragging my feet about the blog.  I was able to get http://fibrobabe.blogspot.com/, and now I'm going to attempt to move all the old bektold stuff to the new blog.  This may or may not be successful.  My tech skills aren't exactly top notch.  If something weird happens, nobody panic!  I'll figure it out eventually.  But in the meantime, feel free to send a few extra FGBVs my way!

Grrr again

It's been less than a week since I finished my second round of antibiotics, and my boob is all red and swollen again. I had a massage yesterday, and after a while lying on my stomach was agony. I'm going to have to go back to the doctor this week. In amongst all the chores and errands I need to complete next week so I can go to RT the week after.

Damn it, boob. Not cool.

experiment

I'm just playing around, trying to see if I can blog from my little device thingie. If you're seeing this,it worked! Good news for any attempted blogging at RT in a few weeks.

Sock Problems

Nothing much to see here.  I just need to post a couple of pictures so I can in turn post them on my knitting forum.  Unless of course someone knows how to repair this.  It's my mom's first pair of handknit socks, and she's very sad.  :(

What are you doing, lady?

Update- Sorry Everybody!

Sorry, everyone!  Didn't mean to leave you hanging.  The mammogram went very well.  It didn't hurt at all.  So no excuses-- get the girls checked!

The report came back clear, with nothing to report.  I'm almost finished with my course of antibiotics, and I've got a call in to my doctor to get a refill.  I'm still a little pink, a little swollen, a little tender, but nothing like I was.  Hopefully, a few more days on the antibiotic and I'll be back to normal.

And on the positive side, I now have a baseline mammogram.  That could be helpful in the future, considering I have a family history of breast cancer.

Nervous Update

I had my appointment today with my doctor.  There's definitely something going on in there.  She thinks it might be a cyst or mastitis.  She sent me home with a prescription for antibiotics, and I have an appointment for Tuesday afternoon for a mammogram and an ultrasound if necessary.  Her office should get the results within 24 hours, so hopefully I'll have some answers Wednesday afternoon.  In the meantime, if it's an infection the antibiotic should have it on the mend.

Nervous

Just a heads up-- this is going to be weird and filled with Too Much Information.  Continue at your own risk.

I need to call the doctor tomorrow.  There is something strange going on with my left breast.  The nipple and areola are swollen and sore.  Every once in a while I'll move and feel a sharp, tearing pain.  Any pressure against the breast causes a slightly duller, aching pain.  There's no discoloration or discharge.  It's not warm to the touch the way you might expect from infection or inflammation.

So I did the dumbest thing a person can do-- I googled.  My first thought, a yeast infection, sounds unlikely.  If it were bacterial it sounds like I'd probably be having a systemic reaction, which I'm not.  The thing that's left is inflammatory breast cancer, one of the most sudden and aggressive forms of breast cancer.

That's right, folks.  I've diagnosed myself with breast cancer off the internet.  To be fair, I have a family history of breast cancer, and the medications I've been on for Crohn's give me an increased risk of all kinds of cancer.  And no, I don't really think I have breast cancer based on a few web pages.  But it is concerning.  Also, it really fucking hurts.  So I'm calling my doctor tomorrow and getting it checked out.

FGBVs, please.

Update: I have an appointment to see my doctor on Friday at 12:30.

Because I Really Needed Another Project

Look what arrived on my doorstep today!  Lots and lots of yarn.  I've been feeling the need to knit for charity for a few months now.  But not just any charity.  I've been wanting to knit for homeless LGBT youth.

Did you know that somewhere between 5 and 10% of youth in the US identify as LGBT, but 20-40% of homeless youth are LGBT?  Approximately 26% of LGBT kids are kicked out of their homes when they come out.  They are also significantly more likely to be sexually assaulted, become addicted to drugs, to be forced to turn to sex work for survival, or to attempt suicide.  They're even more at risk for abuse from shelter staff than their heterosexual counterparts.  (That there is any abuse of anyone by shelter staff makes me sick to my stomach.)

These are kids who need help.  They need to know that there are people out there who care about them.  And they need to be warm.  So I'm knitting for them.  Right now I'm positively obsessed with hats.  I've knit two in the last two days, and I have two more that I knit in January with the intention to donate.  All that yarn in the picture above will be hats soon.  After that there will be scarves and cowls and fingerless mitts.

So far I have one place identified to send these items-- Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco.  There's a woman who collects knit and crochet donations all year long to go into holiday gift packages for the kids.  I've also contacted an LGBT youth center here in Indianapolis to see if they have a need for hats and scarves for their clients, or know of a program in the area that does.  (I'd really like to keep at least some of this local.)  And I've found programs in Iowa, Michigan, New York, and Nevada that look like they could use handknits.  I'll have to contact them and see if they have any specific needs or guidelines for donations.

If you know of any LGBT programs in your area that could use handknits, please let me know and I'll add them to my list to contact.  And please, consider making a few yourself if you're crafty, or finding other ways to support this population.  They sure as hell need all the kindness and support they can get.

And now, I'm going to cast on for another hat.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Frog in a Party Hat

I finished a new knitting project tonight.  Don't adjust your screens, it really is this bright.

OK, maybe the color doesn't come through really well in this picture, but trust me, it's BRIGHT.

The pattern is Sockhead, and the name of the colorway is Frog in a Party Dress, so I've named this Frog in a Party Hat.  It's nice and cozy, but not so heavy that I couldn't wear it in spring or fall as a fashion statement.  (You know me, I'm all about the fashion statement.)  I'm quite satisfied with this hat, and I expect that there will be more Sockheads to come.  And I already have plans for the leftover yarn, of which there is a fair bit.  A book of sock patterns came in the mail today, and there's a really cute one that calls for just a little bit of a contrasting color.  This pink and green yarn should be almost a shock of color against a black yarn.  Or maybe  it will work against some deep purple I have in my stash.  We'll see.

My brother and sister-in-law came for dinner tonight.  Jer's birthday is in mid-February, and he very humbly requested another pair of heavy house socks.  He asked for a pair for Christmas, and he loves them so much that he hasn't been willing to skip wearing them around the house long enough to get them washed!  Clearly, this is a guy who needs at least one more warm pair of handknit socks.

Lip Balm of the Day: Pink Cake