Sew Wot Tuesday and Medical Stuff

 Our Sew Wot Tuesday rolled around again, and rather than have us all drive way out into the country to her rural home, Helen arranged for us to meet at the LQS Fox's Cottage again.  Only five of us could make it this time.  We gathered in the class room at the back of the shop, and Helen had brought morning tea for us and to share with the shop staff - no wonder they are always so happy to see us.  

There wasn't so much show and tell this time, although Helen stunned us with her glorious black and white top, with just a sprinkling of colour throughout.  This was started during Covid lockdown, she told us.

Helen's black and white quilt top

Jude had completed one sock, and was just starting the second,  this was a new to her method knitting socks on two needles, usually she whizzes them up on four tiny double pointed needles.

Jude's new sock with self striping yarn

And I had brought along my recently completed Thomas and Friends cot quilt.

Thomas and Friends

I had to leave the ladies early to drive home, have a quick lunch, then take the Health Shuttle up to Palmerston North Hospital for my oncologist appointment.  I had plenty of time to wait, so settled down in the staff cafe with a coffee and my knitting.

Sock knitting at the hospital

My appointment went well, the results from my mammogram are excellent, and Dr Claire is happy with everything.  Because I took part in a drug trial I get to see the oncologist for 10 years after my diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer, instead of the usual 5 years.  So I can't complain about that, it means an extra 5 years of care.  I boarded the 5.00pm Health Shuttle and we drove home in darkness in the pouring rain, it had been a long afternoon indeed.

Today was Gemma's turn for medical care.  She was bundled into her carry cage and off to the Vet for a check up and vaccinations.  No, she was not happy about the change to her usual quiet day, but tolerated the poking and prodding very well.  The vet, a young woman who came out from Canada pronounced Gemma fit and healthy, with a beautiful coat, and gorgeous eyes!

Where are you taking me?

Both of us have a clear bill of health, so that is good to know.

Knitting, a New Knee, and Quilts

It’s been quite a week.   The date for  Robin’s second knee replacement had finally rolled around, and on the day prior he needed blood tests done, and we were both asked to take a RAT test each, to prove we were Covid free.  Luckily the tests were negative, always a bit of a worry as we had one friend who had his surgery deferred for quite some weeks as he had caught Covid.  The alarm clock was set on Tuesday morning for 5.00am, and we were out the door and driving at 6.00am to Palmy in the dark.  So many people were milling around the admissions desk when we arrived, we did wonder how far down the operating list Robin would be.  What we did find out was that there are four operating theatres in Crest Hospital, and Robin was first on his surgeon’s list that morning. As well as dealing with new knees and hips, the hospital also performs other surgeries including eye surgery and cancer surgery.

Entrance to Crest Hospital

Crest Hospital is a private hospital and has contracts with the DHB to perform surgeries, which is helping to whittle down the public list, a great idea after Covid stopped elective surgery for some time.  Robin was shown to his room, extra forms filled in, the anesthetist came calling, and he was whisked away down the corridor just after 8.00am.  I departed for a coffee fix and to await the call that it was all over.  He was back in his room by midday, bright and perky.  Sadly it was a different story the next day, when he had a reaction to the pain pump, and was feeling rather seedy indeed.  But he still needed to get out of bed, move around a little, and get used to the crutches, once again.   Traveling up each day in the Health Shuttle, a wonderful local service for those with hospital appointments, or like me, visiting a relative in hospital, I made sure I took some knitting with me.  I arrived at midday on the shuttle and left at 3.00pm, a nice long time for a hospital visit.  I sat and knitted while he dozed, or chatted, depending on how he was feeling.  I started another pair of socks, using up more of my left over zauberball sock yarn, as my other socks were up to the tricky heels and I didn't want to cope with counting rows while visiting.

New sock project and back from surgery with a new knee

While wandering up and down the corridor to make myself a cuppa, I spotted a quilt hanging up in one of the offices.  So of course I had to pop in and say “hello, I’m a quilter too”!  She was very friendly and chatty and as it turns out, her Mother used to be President of my local quilt club, what a small world!  She was quite happy for me to take a photo or two, and I’m always thrilled when I discover quilts in unexpected places.  The dress form quilt features  fabric collage blossoms, and the beautiful little purple quilt has a real Kiwi Pacific theme.  Both lovely, and how nice that she (sorry, should have written her name down) could bring her quilts in and enjoy them in her workspace.

Quilts discovered in Crest Hospital

The menus at Crest are amazing, it was just a shame that he didn't feel well enough to enjoy his Filet Mignon when it was served.  I was able to take advantage of the menu too, and ordered a hot lunch on one of the days I was visiting.  Robin slowly came right and Friday was discharge day.  He managed to maneuver his leg into the small car and home we went.  All patients feel better at home, their own comfy chair and bed, Gemma there to check you out, maid service and home cooked meals, although Filet Mignon is not on the menu!  As this is his second knee replacement we know that things will slowly improve, and although he knee is sore when he moves it,  interesting enough it is not quite as painful as last time. 

Happy to be home

We already have an appointment to get the staples removed. There will be a stint of rehab needed to get that knee flexible again, a clearance to finally drive again, about 6-8 weeks we think, then life can get back to normal again.  In the meantime I will perform my duties as the nominated driver.

A Busy Morning

What could be busier than a 5.00am wake-up call?  Just as well we set the alarm on the cell phones to get us up early one day last week, now we are retired our mornings are no longer ruled by alarm clocks.  Robin was having a procedure done at the hospital and we had to be up, showered, dressed and on our way bright and early.  Driving to the hospital takes about 50 minutes but we like to allow about an hour, just in case.  And just in case it was, when we came to a complete standstill behind a long line of cars, with the road closed for a collision further along the road.  Luckily we had room to turn around and take the alternative route, so we weren't late for our check in time.

 

We made it in time

There is always a lot of waiting around, but Robin was eventually assessed, forms filled in and was finally whisked away.  I took myself off to the hospital cafe for a much needed cup of coffee and to relax with my book for a while.  And a rather stodgy cheese scone, but it filled the gap after our very early morning departure. I’m really enjoying Philippa Gregory’s version of “The Other Queen” telling the story of Mary Queen of Scots time as a prisoner in England.  Although I know the story quite well, I just cant get enough of these Tudor tales, and this author writes them extremely well.

 

Morning Tea

I had plenty of time to wait, so sat and did some knitting for a while.  This is secret sock knitting for a gift.  A young woman came and joined me at my table, and chatted about knitting.  She commented that I use my hands to knit much differently than she does.  Guess it is the way we were taught, but I’m certainly no expert. 

Secret Socks

After several hours waiting the call came through, Robin was ready to be collected.  The doctor came and talked to us, the procedure went well, but he will have a follow-up in several months time.  Time to get dressed and head for home.  On the way out of the hospital we came across a big pile of Covid tests, take some home, we were encouraged.  Sure enough we did, it’s always handy to have a couple of these at the ready, both at home and in the caravan.

Free test kits, to help ourselves

Once home, we both went for an afternoon nap to recover from our busy morning.  It had been a bit stressful too, of course, so I think that added to our feelings of fatigue.  No cooking duties for me that evening, we ordered in pizzas for a change.

Autumn is here

Autumn has well and truly arrived.  Cool mornings and evenings, the sun is rising later and setting earlier, but we are still enjoying nice crisp sunny days.  It’s time to ring the changes and hang my Autumn quilt up.  I love the rich golden colours in this quilt.  The centre baskets came in a kit sent to me from my pen friend  in South Dakota.  I wanted to make it bigger so put the baskets on point and added borders to make it a wall hanging size.  This was the first time I tried circular spiral machine quilting.

Baskets of Blessings, made in 2015

Autumn is a time of plenty, with feijoas and apples in abundance.  We have been gifted bags of feijoas, which I love, but Robin is not keen at all.  There are some left over, so I’ll probably use them in baking, perhaps some muffins and fruit loaf.  And Mary gave all the Sew Wot ladies a bag of super sized wonderful cooking apples from her own garden, thanks so much Mary.  These have been put to good use and enjoyed.

Feijoas and cooking apples

So what else have we been doing?  We had a busy day of medical appointments last week.  First, we had a 10.00am appointment at the hospital, and you can imagine the scarcity of parking at that time of day.  The car park was full to bursting with everyone attending a multitude of clinics, so round and round we drove.  Finally we spotted a spare car park, thank goodness for that. Inside the hospital it was a matter of masks on, sanitize hands,  and follow the orange line on the floor. 

 

We were here to see the orthopaedic surgeon who had done Robin’s knee replacement.  But first  Robin was whisked away for a couple of knee x-rays, then  we were ushered in to a consultation room and the surgeon breezed in.  The x-rays are fine, we were told, Robin’s previous knee replacement has healed well, and the surgeon could see the up-to-date state of the other knee.  Mmmm, that needs replacing too, we were told, probably get done in a few months time.  Documents will be sent out shortly with all the details.  So that was great news all round.  One knee done,  one to go.

Leaving the hospital we went to find the Covid drop-in clinic where we could get both the flu jab and the Covid booster at the same time.  Giving our details we sat and waited our turn, and before we knew it, a friendly and very informative nurse took us into her room.  There she went over details, answered questions, and delivered the flu jab, followed by the Covid vaccine.  All done quickly and efficiently, and we hardly felt a thing.  Such excellent service indeed.

Vaccinations done

With the medical business taken care of, we went for a quick lunch before traveling back home,  we’ve got a weekend caravan rally to attend.  The caravan was packed and ready, and we set off to Shannon School, not too far away from home.  When we arrived and were set up, Gemma found the caravan wardrobe door open.  Just the place to explore, she thought.  She loves little hidey holes like this to settle down and peep out of.

Can you see me hiding in here?

On Saturday afternoon of the rally Robin and I had planned a mystery tiki tour of the local area, to conclude with a BYO afternoon tea.  Cars were shared and off we went.  First stop was quite a marvel of engineering, the Moutoa Sluice Gates.  These were built in 1962 as a flood protection measure.  The Manawatu River here runs very sluggishly, and when in flood the river would overwhelm the stop banks and flood farmland.  The sluice gates cause much of the river flow to take a short cut, bypassing 30km of low capacity river channel, directing the flow down the 10km Moutoa Floodway.  The holding area in front of the gates was very wet and muddy and the gates had been in opened earlier in the  week.

Moutoa Sluice Gates

Continuing on our mystery trip we back tracked down the road to stop at the site of the WW11 Whitaunui Military Defaulters Camp, one of two in the area.  Sadly, nothing to see now, but in it’s time the two camps housed 250 conscientious objectors. The huts used to house the men were built by the Public Works Dept., mostly two men huts measuring 8ft by 10ft together with some single men huts.  The unheated huts were furnished with beds and straw mattresses, a pillow, and old army blankets.  The men were also provided with a small table and stool.  You could imaging how cold the winter conditions would be.  The men were required to work in wet conditions, cutting flax.  One of the more famous detainees was Rex Hillary, brother of Sir Edmund Hillary, hero of New Zealand.  On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Housing for conscientious objectors

Back in the cars again we headed up to the hills for our final stop, the Mangahao National White Water Centre.  No races down the river this day, of course, but we could see the overhead rails all in place.   Over the years the park has been upgraded to international standards, and training takes place here by locals and international teams.  We have watched competitors battle the river at another venue, paddling hard as they maneuvered the coloured hanging poles - green (downstream) or red (upstream).  There were handy picnic tables on the river bank so we settled down to enjoy our afternoon tea.  Out came the thermoses, the coffee and biscuits, and we all soaked up the peaceful atmosphere.

The river looks calm today

I took a short walk up the road and over the bridge to the nearby power station.  The Mangahao Power Station was opened in 1924 and although very small by todays standards is still operational and continues to provide power to the National grid.

Mangahao Power Station

That was the conclusion of our mystery trip so we made our way back to the school.  Although some of our caravan friends who live locally were aware of one or two of the attractions where we stopped, not a single one were aware of the Military Defaulters Camp, and some had not been to the other two sites either.  It’s always interesting, I think, of how much history there is to be discovered as we travel around. 

Last sunset of the weekend

Fall Back

Don't worry, I haven't had a fall.  This is how we remember to alter our clocks when daylight saving comes to an end.  It’s “Spring Forward” at the start, and “Fall Back” at the completion.  This important job belongs to Robin, he is the clock fixer-upper in our home.  I must say that I'm always most impressed that the computers and cell phones can do this task all by themselves!

We've had a busy week.  Robin had his procedure on Saturday morning so we had a drive up to Palmerston North Hospital.  I was well prepared for all the waiting around, and took my knitting along on my hospital bag, a gift from Jean of https://jeanmckinstry.blogspot.com/.  Jean made me this lovely batik bag several years ago when I was having health issues, and it traveled to many a hospital appointment with me, so I always think of it as Jean’s hospital bag.  A lady walked by and told me that she wished she had packed her knitting too, while she was doing her own share of waiting.

I've got my knitting with me

Eventually Robin was processed and whisked away so I made my way to the hospital café for a late lunch.  Being a Saturday it wasn't too crowded with visitors, so I chose some lunch, found a seat and made myself comfy while I ate my lunch.  Then I waited, and waited until I received the phone call to come back and collect Robin.

Lunch, hot coffee,and a good book

So back I walked along seemingly miles of corridors to find Robin sitting up having a sandwich and a cuppa.  He was given a printed report, everything seemed well, then it was home time.  After a week of being on a restricted diet, he was happy to resume our Sunday Morning cooked breakfast tradition the following day.

Sunday morning breakfast

Some time was spent at the sewing machine during the week.  I stitched up eight neutral string blocks for a new project, more about that later when I move this further along.  These blocks will be sliced diagonally.  All these strings came from an overflowing bag which i hardly made a dent in, and I stitched them on some tracing Vilene I found lurking about.

Neutral string blocks

Easter is coming up quickly, and we are going away in the caravan again.  You can be sure we are taking some hot cross buns and Easter Eggs away with us.  Sadly, no animals are allowed at this particular venue, so we have booked Gemma into a cattery, for only the second time in her life.  She didn't have a happy experience last time, much too noisy for here, so we are hoping that with trying a different cattery it will be easier for her. 

The ladies have been requested to bring something for supper at the caravan rally, and I thought of just the thing.  Robin's usual breakfast cereal wasn't allowed the week prior to his procedure, but he could eat rice bubbles instead.  There were such a lot left over so I made some Chocolate Crackles.  These chocolatey treats were always such a hit with my children at birthday parties, so I’m sure all the caravanners will remember them.  I’m not sure if this recipe is just an Aussie and Kiwi thing, or if these are known in other countries too?

I’ve made two containers of Chocolate Crackles to take away

Wishing everyone a happy Easter break, however you plan to celebrate it.  Safe travels for those who will be travelling during the long weekend.

Borders, Bindings, and Physio

I’m getting there with my baby quilt, using up some of those multitude of flag blocks I made a while ago.  This week I’ve been assembling the blocks, adding borders  and making some scrappy binding.  I keep pieces of leftover binding in a basket, and found a length of pink which will go nicely.  Being Murphy’s Law, not nearly long enough of course,.  But I could work with that,  I chopped it into smaller lengths and added various pieces of pink to make it a long scrappy binding..

Dark blue floral borders

The weekly physio sessions are ongoing, and Robin’s knee is continuing to show small gains each time with flexibility.  I drive him down for his appointment, then have a plan to fill in the hour while I wait.  He certainly doesn't want me in there with him while he is put through his paces, and other patients are doing exercises as well, so their privacy must be respected.  The hospital café is open, so I order a coffee, sip away and catch up on some quilting posts.

Morning coffee time

Then I make my way back to the Physio Department, sit in the waiting room out of sight of the exercise class, and do a few rows of knitting.  This lovely batik bag was a gift from  Jean who blogs at All Points of the Compass several years ago to cheer me up while I was undergoing radiation treatment.  I look upon it as my “hospital bag” and use it to take documents, knitting, phone, camera, book, or anything else I might need during my hospital appointments.  Or in this case, being Robin’s support person and driver.  Many thanks Jean, I love my batik hospital bag!  As you can see, I’ve just started a new knitting project – my socks are almost at the toe stage so I have to read the pattern carefully and count rows, it’s better to do that at home.

A few rows of hospital knitting

When we return home from the physio class, Robin needs to sit a while with the icepack wrapped around his knee.  That knee certainly knows it has had a workout.

So what else have we been doing?  Our local strawberry farm “Shirley’s” are now picking the first of their crop.  We came back with two large punnets, one to eat now, and the other one Robin hulled, halved, and froze.  Shirley’s now has a “real fruit ice-cream” cart, so I’m sure we will buy one of these each next time we come calling.  We like to have strawberries for breakfast with our cereal, and strawberries for dessert too occasionally.

Freshly picked strawberries for breakfast

Robin was the BBQ king on Saturday night, and cooked a rolled stuffed lamb shoulder, it was a good size so I’m guessing it was actually a hogget (next size up from lamb).  All that tasty stuffing was trying to escape!  There's nothing like a roast on the BBQ,  it smelt and tasted delicious. The probe tells us when the meat is cooked, somehow or other it magically relates this information to Robin’s cell phone.  How does that work, I wonder, but I’m sure there is a logical explanation.

BBQ lamb roast for dinner

So that’s what has been happening at our place this week.  I’m still the designated driver so things are a bit busy for me, out and about with appointments and shopping.  I’m sure Robin can hardly wait to be cleared to drive again.

In on Tuesday, Home on Friday

It was an early morning start on Tuesday with the alarm clock set to 5.00am.  After Covid had disrupted the hospital surgery lists for the last two years, the day had arrived at last.  We departed from home at 6.00am, arrived at the hospital at 7.00am, and Robin was soon settled into his room.  Questions asked, tests taken, including the ever important RAT test, and then he was changed into his hospital gown.

Several weeks earlier the surgeon had told us, “Don't get Covid”, and remarked that several patients on the theatre list had to be sent home due to having Covid and their surgery rescheduled some months later.  Whew – luckily Robin passed the test so we were good to go.  The anesthetist came for a chat and tell us of possible side effects, horrible things which we didn't really want to hear.  Then the surgeon popped in with his marker pen and drew an arrow on the correct leg.

Ready and waiting

The operation went well, and I got a call to say he was back in his room.  The next day he had been helped out of bed several times, shown how to use the crutches, walked around a little, and spent some time sitting up in the chair.  Then back to bed again till the next time.  And yes, he does feel much better wearing his own pajamas, instead of that hospital gown.

Crutches at the ready

I travelled up to Crest Hospital  on the Health Shuttle on Wednesday and Thursday, a wonderful service indeed.  I got my knitting out, and one of the passengers related how his mother used to knit when the family were young, and asked what I was making.  It’s a dish cloth, I told him.  Never heard of knitting them, he replied.

Taking the Health Shuttle for a couple of days gave me three hours at the hospital with Robin before it was time to leave again.  Plenty of time to see how he was getting on, catch up with recovery news, read the paper which each patient is given in the morning, and help him with his menu choices for the next day.  As every patient knows, the highlight of every hospital stay is choosing from the menu for the next day.  The food here seems great, his mains have been a choice of lamb shanks and gravy, fresh salmon, coq a vin, sausages and mash, all very tasty indeed.  I had time to do a little more on my knitting when he wanted a rest after doing his exercises and going for a short walk in the corridor.

Working on a dish cloth

And before we knew it, Friday came around and it was time to depart for home.  Once he was able to attend to bathroom ablutions, and walk up and down a few steps with confidence, he was cleared for discharge.  I packed his bag, collected the prescription and the nurse helped him get into the car, that was rather painful for the first time, but will surely improve in time.

Dressed and waiting to go home

After being absent from home for the last three nights, Gemma showed no inclination at all to welcome him home.  She was much too comfy tucked up inside her cat tower.  She is not too sure of those crutches, I think.

I’m keeping well clear of those big sticks!

Things always seem better when you are back in your own home, don't they.  With gentle exercises to do, ice packs for his knee, and pain killers, we will just take things one day at a time.  And there will be plenty of TLC too, of course.

X-ray of the new knee joint

Early Evening Appointment

You may recall that I had a spinal operation last year, and I have been waiting for a follow-up MRI to check things out.  My appointment at the hospital was scheduled for 6.00pm the other night – and these procedures can take an hour or so.  When I expressed my surprise at the lateness of my booking, I was told that they have appointments from 5.00am in the morning right through till 9.00pm at night!  Guess they have a big backlog of appointments to get through.  But first, I had to take a Rat test at home.   Luckily it was negative, so I was free to attend the appointment.

So off we went to the hospital, and I was whisked away, put into a gown and a canula inserted in my arm for the contrast dye.   Questions were asked, and answers noted  If you have had a MRI before you will know that they are very noisy indeed, with loud bangs, clicks, and buzzes merrily going on the whole time.  No wonder the patient is given ear plugs and hearing protectors. 

An hour later it was all over and we were free to go.  Time for a late dinner somewhere before we drive home, but where should we go?  We called into a hotel in town but it was very busy with no available seating except bar stools, not for me and my back, I told Robin,  let’s try somewhere else.  So we ended up back at China Town for a a buffet dinner – we had been there just a couple of weeks ago.

Dinner at China Town

By the time we arrived back home we were shattered, it had been a big afternoon, and more than a little stressful so it a time for bed.  But not before we had taken care of Gemma, she had been home alone, it was way past her dinner time, she was saying “Feed me Now!”

Pussy Cats, Pussy Cats, Where have you Been?

No, they haven't been to London to see the Queen, as the rhyme goes?  I found them all rolled up and hiding in the wardrobe!  This small cat quilt was layered and safety pinned together, ready for machine quilting.  Obviously, I had a tidy up, and put them away, so I'm pleased I found them.  Although I searched high and low through the photo albums I can’t find out when I started this project.  What I do remember is that the pussy cats came as a small panel, I sliced them apart, then sewed the sashing strips as leader and enders while stitching other projects.   I took it outside one day to enjoy the wintry sunshine under the archgola and added extra pins to my quilting lines. 

More pins, I just cant help myself

A few afternoons of quilting and I was well on the way to the finish line.

A quilting we will go

I like to make sure the binding is all ready and waiting, so I made that too.  All ready now for the next step.

Binding  done

In other news, I had a trip to the hospital last week, nothing serious, just a regular follow up appointment with my oncologist.  Before we could enter the waiting room there was a nurse all set up to give people  a RAT test, (rapid antigen test).  While we were waiting for the results, the nurse commented that these clinics at the hospital were catching several positive Covid cases each day, so of course these people cannot go ahead with their appointments are are turned away.  Better to be safe than sorry, especially when mixing with people getting cancer treatments as they are in this particular area.  Luckily both Robin and I returned negative results and were free to continue, complete with a dinky little sticker to show we were cleared.

Me, with mask and sticker to show my RAT test results

But the drama wasn’t over yet.  On fronting up to reception desk to book in, I was told my specialist wasn’t in Palmerston North Hospital today, she was holding a clinic at Levin.  Oh dear, don’t tell me I had misread my appointment letter, surely not?  What had happened was that my appointment document was printed out on the incorrect letter head.  The staff member concerned came to see us, and was terribly apologetic for the error, rang through to the doctor, who added me to her afternoon appointment list.  I'm so pleased that was sorted out.  So we went for an early lunch, then drove back to Levin in time for my 2.00pm appointment.  It was quite a day, I can tell you.  The appointment went well, with a follow up ultra scan booked to follow.