Extreme Knitting Redhead: May I present Turbohaler

Thursday, June 7, 2012

May I present Turbohaler

Turbohaler in all his glory

Well, here's a photo I never dreamt I'd be posting, that's for sure! The previous inhaler I'd been given to help me breath did very little and I've felt really grotty for 2 weeks. Unable to run up hills I had to run the flat bits and downhill bits of my routes and then walk up the hills as I simply couldn't get my breath at all.

So off I trotted back to the quack who said that although my spirometry test had been inconclusive, my breath-flow chart did suggest that I have asthma. Deep joy. Enter Turbohaler, an inhaler containing a delightful mix of steroid and something to help open my airways. I also have a follow-up appointment at the asthma management clinic. Poo. Although this is a blow it makes sense of some of the breathing problems I've had over the years and have just carried on without worrying. It's just that now it has a name and I am feeling somewhat under the weather.

Turbohaler is certainly more effective than the previous one and I managed a good run the other day but, and it is a big 'but', I have a marathon scheduled for this weekend. It is a tough one (why do I always pick tough off-road marathons?!) across the South Downs and there are many hills to traverse. I would probably walk a lot of the steep uphills anyway but am I in good enough shape to last the distance? - I'm not too sure. I have 2 more days to make my decision and if I do decide not to do it then I shall have to find another marathon in the autumn to make up my total of 5.

My Harlequin shawlette is finished and I am very pleased with the result. I've made several modifications to the pattern to suit my yarn and how I wanted it to look.

Untidy edges

I felt the finished edges looked rather untidy and it's not just because of the yarn I used - I checked out the photos in the book and all the edges look decidedly wavy, even in the thick yarn that was used.

Tidy edges

My solution was simple - a row of double crochet all the way round. It really has made it so much neater and unified the colours.

My first attempt at entrelac

You will notice that it is not just a rectangle like a scarf as in the pattern. I wanted a more fitted shape that would sit comfortably on my shoulders. So I used 5mm needles for the bottom half and then went down to 4.5mm for the rest and it's worked out really well.

Possible fasteners

As a closure, the pattern uses a button with a crocheted loop so I had a rummage in my button collection and found this lovely old floral button (left). Although I love it I think I prefer the square brooch on the right. It's from the 1950s and belonged to my mum and I think it looks good with the squares of the entrelac. The bonus is it has matching earrings.

I'll take a photo of me wearing it when I'm feeling better as it's so pretty that I want to do it justice.

Allium Christophii

As I wandered round the front garden this morning I couldn't resist snapping this beautiful allium. The metallic purple star-shaped flowers are so lovely.

Plebejus argus (aka the Silver-studded Blue)

They are also very popular with butterflies and this Silver-studded Blue gave me a wonderful display of the underside of its wings. I actually thought it was a Common Blue until I checked in my butterfly book.

Sunset 7/6/12

I'm loving the dusky mauves against the apricot glow in this sky photo.

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.