Saying No to the Culture of Death

What a wonderful feeling!  At last my oldest son, Geoffrey has married his fiancee Mary-Anne. The day finally arrived on March 17. We had to travel from Sydney to Melbourne for the wedding, and quite frankly I had a very full week with all of the activities.

One of the highlights of my week was the trip on Puffing Billy. We went with the Mainland family and it was such a delight to go with a child because his delight became our pleasure. The staff were truly wonderful to James and yes we all had fun.

There was a down side to the festivities when Alison, a friend of Mary, had a fall and fractured her jaw. Allie has MS and it was as if her legs went from underneath her. I was right beside Alison when the fall happened. We were leaving the restaurant and she was not being supported at the time. I asked if she was ok and she said yes, but her legs did their own thing. Allie fell to the footpath and she was unconscious for several minutes. We had to call an ambulance to take her to hospital. She fractured her upper jaw, and the operation to wire the jaw took place last Friday.

One good thing about Melbourne is the embracing of the Direct Factory Outlets or DFOs. We went to one at Cheltenham, and I managed to buy two pair of Speedo chlorine resistant swimmers at the price of 2 for $30. The swimmers are just racers but they are adequate for the hydrotherapy pool. We then went to Smith Street Collingwood, where we found the Brooks, Helly Hansen Outlet. I was successful in finding a supportive pair of shoe at a good price. The best part of this purchase? My husband paid for the shoes and he purchased a pair for himself.

The wedding went very smoothly and the bride looked absolutely beautiful. Geoffrey fell in love with Mary at the first meeting. It seems that Geoffrey has followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. My dad fell in love with my mother in the same way. The same goes between David and myself.

There are many benefits that come from being able to knit and crochet. Amongst those benefits is the relaxation and the satisfaction that comes from finishing a project. I have discovered that knitting is also good for turning around depression and it also helps with cognition and brain fog issues. There is another less well known benefit because knitting and crochet are good for weight control. 

My recent surge and return to knitting came about because it is summer here in Australia.It has been too hot to do much in the way of housework. My husband had been nagging me about my stash of yarns. He wants me to get rid of my stash, and I am not going to throw it out so I have been knitting. However, I cannot knit or crochet for long periods at a time because of pain issues. So, I started to knit for a bit, whilst sitting on a chair under the pergola, and then I go for a walk around the pool. I am using a pedometer and I am making sure that I go for the 10,000 steps as often as possible. My pedometer also records aerobic activity and I have to walk for 10 minutes before the activity is recorded. This is added incentive to try and do at least the 10 minutes of aerobic activity during the day. As an added bonus I have brought the dog into the act, popped on her leash and walked her around the pool. She now demands her walk, but she is a slacker and she only goes a few rounds. 

Since November when I first began to walk around the pool, after getting my new orthotics, I have managed to begin the task of controlling my weight. It is not an easy task and when I see the way that my weight spikes I could easily become discouraged. However, I am not discouraged because there is a downward trend in the weight spikes, that is the highest weight that I reach in a week is tracking downwards. This is good news and it is proof that walking in a confined space is beneficial for my health.

Since I have some serious health issues, especially since my cholesterol levels have gone seriously out of whack and it is for this reason that my doctor is encouraging me to walk despite the other pain issues, such as enthesitis and bursitis that have arisen my legs and feet. I had some serious hip pain issues but the new x-rays were fine and showed no signs of the sacroiliitis. My doctor thinks that it is hip bursitis, but I am not sure. Either way, I am working through the pain and continuing to walk. The walking is paying dividends and the knitting is also paying dividends.

 I have been knitting baby booties because they are a self contained small project and to date I have knitted over 40 pair. I need some new shoes and my husband will not pay for them because they are worth more than $200 and he does not spend that much on his own shoes, but he does not have my foot problems. I have arthritis in my feet and in summer they tend to swell in the heat and the humidity. I have wide feet and that means that average shoes are out of the question. I am determined that I will purchase those shoes. I am selling my booties for $10.00 per pair.