Time to get on

Valentino Cat has been knitted, sewn together and put in the post. He was a delight to make and I really enjoyed the little details in the knitting like the W&T in the tail to get the perfect shape. Here he is:

He's from the fabulous Sue Stratford's latest book 'Knitted Cats and Kittens'.

Today I returned to the gym after about an 8 week absence. It wasn't easy to make myself go but once there it was fine and I enjoyed training. I'm going to get some advice on the best sort of training I can do in order to get back into something resembling shape whilst avoiding impact and not overloading my body with weights. It's going to be hard work but once I'm back in the routine of training on set days it will get easier. Eventually I'll be in better shape too. Really important just in case I have to have a hip replacement.

On the suggestion of a friend I tuned in to the Sewing Bee program on iplayer the other evening. I have always been terrible at sewing (although as enthusiastic as I am terrible!) but now I am inspired to try a bit more than cobbling together costumes for whatever theme day is happening at my children's school. Yesterday I went and bought some lovely cotton fabric and I shall settle down this evening to make a couple of simple skirts. It's not cheaper than buying from the shops, but these days it's getting harder to find things I like or things I think are suitable for the children. I'll keep you posted on my sewing exploits!

...and then I made this. Found the instructions for this on the great interweb- from a blog entitled Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom. There are some great things out there on blogs by mums in the USA. I don't think I did too badly for a first attempt!

Of Cats and Chickens

It's a busy time for knitting. Unexpected weddings and thank yous require gifts. The chicken tea cosy is completed and so is a wine bottle cosy. A delightfully fluffy cat is in progress.



The bottle cosy is the perfect project for a lone ball of Noro. I just love making the chicken and will do another one just as soon as the cat is finished.

Out walking today suddenly there are violets and shepherd purse in the grass. Perhaps spring has finally arrived!

Onwards

We're back again after a few days with my parents by the sea. It was good to walk on the cliffs and feel space around me.  Although I dislike being in water I need to be around it; I was born on the coast and until adulthood always lived near the sea so it must be in my blood. One of the most difficult things about the visit was seeing all the runners. The coastal walk I go into the habit of doing makes the most wonderful short run and of course I can't run any more. Walking is great but I can easily disengage from it- running is utterly absorbing and the movement becomes a kind of meditation. As runners passed me I felt caged and irrationally angry.

I have discovered how dependent I've become on regular yoga practice. Being unable to practice whilst away even for a few days I've lost so much mobility in my back and hips. Of course I'm trying not to attribute this to a sudden increase in osteoporitic problems- it's almost certainly the result of almost 13 hours of driving in just 5 days and my current episode of insomnia. But I'm doing a little yoga each day again repeating the mantra of start from where you are not where you think you ought to be. Yoga is never about ought or should. Some days will be flowing, others a struggle- just like days are in other respects.

As if seeking comfort I have returned to an old favourite of a knitting pattern. I have been using it for several years now and the current one is turning into the best I've made yet. As they used to say on TV- here's one I made earlier:

This was knitted a couple of years ago for a wedding present. Received with bemusement I think! Thanks to Sue of http://shop.theknittinghut.co.uk/index.asp for the pattern.

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams

I've trodden on my own dreams, it would seem. On Thursday I was told that I have osteoporosis and that I have to stop running. Devasation, shock and incredulity scarcely begin to describe my feelings since then. It's ben snowing since about midnight and looks like snow has set in for the whole weekend- I'm too scared to leave the house in case I fall. Suddenly old age has hit me yet I'm only 41.

I was never much of a one for WB Yeats, but I looked at this earlier this morning and changed my mind. I think it has much of the simple directness of Seamus Heaney- a poet I very much admire.

Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.



Baby Steps

My new resolution is to manage a fast walk for at least 30 minutes every day. Today I went out for a bit longer as I badly needed to get away from never-ending housework (it still hasn't all got done but I've now given up for the day). I was out for an hour and three times managed very short bursts of a gentle jog. By my standards a pretty poor effort at jogging but compared to so many people I see out, not so bad. But the main thing is I could go faster than a walk! It wasn't pain free but the discomfort was minimal as long as I didn't push it for more than 30-60 seconds. Sometimes I tried it and really couldn't, but it is progress.

And it bodes well for helping me get back in shape. Although the worst pain has been gone for a while now, I still haven't been able to completely get rid of the lurgy. It's not too bad now though so hopefully I can get back to the gym at last, too! The absence of training means I've had to put away some of my favourite Metalicus things because right now they feel just a little bit too clingy :-(

In other news: Far too many knitting projects vying for my time right now, with the unsurprising result being nothing is actually getting finished.

Efforts

So, physio has discharged me because he has fixed the problem he found in my back but it hasn't fixed my running injury in my hip. Maybe the bone scan results will shed some light on what's going on there. In the meantime I can manage a 30 minute fast walk now with a hill or two, and I'm trying very hard to do that each day. It's not easy to be motivated because to me going for a walk just doesn't feel like 'proper' exercise even though I do walk pretty fast. I'm continuing with daily yoga too. Often just 20 minutes but I guess that even a short session of something very gentle and restorative can only be a Good Thing.

I am distracted with LOTS of knitting projects I want to do as well as things I've promised people I'll do. I really have to get started on the bridal meerkat and this weekend need to do some knitted cupcakes for work (we're doing a unit on healthy living). Currently making a large green spider and I just found a really splendid pattern for a fly on that most fabulous site ravelry.com

But this is what I found and bought yesterday:

There are the cutest dinosaurs imaginable and I just want to make them all!

Complications

Well, running remains off the agenda. I have  tried to look for small mercies; today was the MK half marathon and it snowed much of the morning so I'm glad I wasn't running in that!

Earlier in the week I went for a bone scan and from what the radiographer let on I have osteopenia. That was very surprising since I've been keeping fit regularly for years and always included some kind of bone-stressing activity. I guess I haven't been eating as much dairy recently and I do drink alcohol (but not to any kind of excess) so maybe my diet is to blame. And the lack of sun here in the miserably cold and wet and gloomy UK. Whatever the cause I have an uncomfortable 10 day wait now to see my GP to get the results of the scan.

It's hard not to feel completely beaten by this. My mood is low because of the lack of exercise and the associated changes in my figure, and it just feels like one set back after another.