Comforts of Handmade

I'm sick again. Last week, I spent five days with norovirus, had a few days of feeling ok, and then by Wednesday, I felt myself coming down with a cold. Once again, I find myself unable to do much, brain peering through a thick fog, and so sore I can barely sleep. It's awful. I have multiple chronic illnesses, but I'm lucky in that I don't get sick with acute illnesses very often, so this double whammy on top of one of the worst times of the year for my chronic pain (damp winter air ugh) has felled me.

It's frustrating, beyond the physical pain and discomfort, because I have so much that I want to do. I'm gearing up for InCoWriMo, and I've joined the League of Extraordinary Penpals, so I am eager to get myself organized for letter writing, but, alas, I didn't feel well enough to do much.

What I could do, however, was knit. I find knitting so comforting. Lately I've been knitting very easy, super chunky projects that involve nothing more complicated than knitting and purling, and knitting and watching TV was a nice way to spend a sick day.

I watched One Day at A Time on Netflix, a sitcom about a Cuban-American family headed by a single mother who's a nurse and a veteran, raising her two teen kids along with help from her mother and their friendly landlord. It contains a lesbian character, and every issue addressed is handled so damn well. I highly recommend this show.

So I knitted a pussy hat from Loopy Mango, because I was sad that my first effort did not fit. Sadly the LM hat is a little tight and short.

I also finished a basic garter stitch scarf in gorgeous dark teal from Wool and the Gang. tomorrow I'm hoping to finish another scarf, and/or some slippers.

It's been very cold here, and I knitting feels like the best self care on a day when all I can do is watch the news in horror and moan in pain. There is so much comfort in the handmade.

It's nearly two in the morning, and I've been trying to sleep, but lying down makes me cough, and I can't take cold medicine because most of the ingredients interact with another med I'm on daily, so I'm writing this blog post, buying "Refugees Welcome" pins on Etsy, and listening to the Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcast.

Most of my students are Muslim immigrants and refugees from countries that are now on the list of banned countries, and I am aghast. I'm making lists of organizations to support, poems to read to my students, and taking comfort in how many people showed up to airports to show support for our Muslim brothers and sisters, and to resist this unacceptable ban.

I don't have anything intelligent to say about anything. The cold is overtaking me, but I am paying attention, and I'm making plans for what actions I can take when I recover, including finding knitting projects I can donate to worthy and needy causes.