All Quiet on the Western Front*

All's pretty quiet over here:

Still waiting to hear from Knitty.

WE STILL NEED MORE CROCHET PATTERNS FOR DEFARGE DOES SHERLOCK.

Andrew got ordained so that he can officiate his co-worker's
wedding in May and have it be legit.

I banged out a little cardigan because our friends Martin and Jynette
just added an adorable seven-month-old daughter named Erika to their family.

I finished this garter stitch shawl, which I started in the car a few weeks ago
on a long road trip for my Aunt Ann's funeral in NV.
I'd show you a better picture, but I think I'm going to write up
the pattern (with some tweaks) for publishing.

I FINALLY started the blanket I promised Abby for Christmas 2014.
As you can see, I have a LONG way to go.

Speaking of Abby...the poor kid has mono.  She had basically been sick since before Christmas, getting 85% better, then getting sick again continually.  Finally, when she got sicker again and got a fever this time, I had had enough and took her to the doctor.  She thought it was probably a sinus infection and gave her a five-day course of hefty antibiotic.  A week later, I had her back at the doctor's office because she still had a fever.  Doctor decided it must be virus, so we just had to ride it out.  By this point, the kid had missed more days of school in January than she had attended.  That night, we called the advice nurse because in a matter of a few hours, one of the lymph nodes in her neck had swollen to the size of a small fig, and she had developed several white blobs on her tonsils.  The doctor was surprised to see her back in the office the next morning, but called the swollen gland "impressive" and did blood work to see what the heck was up.  Verdict?  Mono.  What does this mean?  It means we just have to ride it out till she's better, unsure of when she'll be back at school.  Her teachers have been sending work home with her friends, who have also brought her assorted junk food snacks.  Meanwhile, she's sleeping till noon, and we've watched the first four "Paranormal Activity" movies.  Local peeps, she'd appreciate calls, texts, and any encouraging cards or snacks you can drop by.  (Boba!  Chai tea lattes!)  She feels like dirt, but she appreciates any human contact she can get.


*with apologies to Erich Maria Remarque