Talk about the end of an era ... tonight's my last night at the Mel-O-Dee. Wow am I going to miss the Tuesday night post-modern knitting circle.
Yesterday was my last day in the office, which means I should be furiously packing up my house. In a related story, I've observed the following:
(1) I have an amazing ability to find ways to waste time when I should be packing.
(2) Packing up an antique steamer trunk full of wool and roving really makes you feel like a pioneer wife.
(3) I want my shoulder to heal so I can spin/knit/dye/etc. (But not so I can pack/move boxes....)
(4) I love i-tunes more than almost anything today.
Remember me? Boy is there a lot to report from Chez Purl, Interrupted. First of all, the surgery went very well and recovery is also going well so far. The doctor said I had a lot of nasty scar tissue and a new rotator cuff tear that were causing all the pain. So he was able to repair all of that and predicted (correct thus far) that I'd be able to tell the difference almost immediately.
Unfortunately, the long-term prognosis is a little bleak: he also found that I have really bad arthritis in my shoulder -- essentially, almost all of the cartilege is gone, and I'm probably going to need a total shoulder replacement. Shitty.
The frustrating part (okay, besides being 30, on my second shoulder surgery and now needing shoulder replacement surgery) is that he's not able to tell me how long the recent surgery will alleviate my pain. In other words, I might not need the big surgery for 10 years. Or I might need it in 3 months. Nice.
However, I'm trying not to dwell on all that. The recovery is going a lot better than with my first rotator cuff surgery -- for the most part, I feel great. The problem with feeling great so early, however, is that there is a huge temptation to overuse the shoulder.
Which brings me to my other bit of HUGE NEWS. I am extra-tempted to over-use my shoulder because there's a lot to due around the house these days ... since Mr. Purl,Interrupted and I have decided to take the plunge and move back to Alaska!!!!!!!! In three weeks!!! Musk Ox farming, here we come! (Well, by "musk ox farming" I mean "practicing labor law" and "teaching at the University"....)
We've both had a special place in our hearts for Alaska ever since I lived up there during 2001-2002. I'd accepted a post-law school one-year clerkship in October '00, and in February 2001, three months before I was due to move up there, I met T and fell madly in love. (The kind of thing that only happens when you're about to move 3,200 miles away).
He was teaching at CSU Hayward, so after my one-year position ended I returned to San Francisco to be with him. But we've both felt the strong pull to get back there, and a job opportunity arose for me that made us start thinking seriously about it. We went up to visit the weekend before my surgery, and knew as soon as we got there that we wanted to stay.
Best of all (for those folks who like living in the same state as their spouse), T was able to secure a leave of absence from CSU, and a teaching opportunity at the University in Anchorage.
So ... we're going for it! We're moving at the end of June, which is hard to believe (especially when you look around at all the unpacked crap in our house).
I'll be really sad to leave my wonderful knitting and spinning friends from the Mel-O-Dee and Alameda Stitch-n-Bitch. Getting to know them has been one of the real highlights of my time in the Bay Area. And I can't believe I'm going to miss my chance to be in sheep-to-shawl!! But hopefully the lure of the great outdoors ... and musk oxen ... will entice a few visitors!
Meanwhile, it looks like Anchorage has at least 3 yarn stores, and I'm going to try to hook up with the folks in the Anchorage Stitch 'n' Bitch. I'm looking forward to long winter days (or nights, as it were) knitting and spinning by the fire.
So ... that's the news from Benton Street. Lots and lots to think about, but very exciting times!