Allotment · Knitting · My other ramblings

A Week Of Firsts 

MrsCraft

We’ve had a very busy week here, in terms of managing everything whilst Mr C is ‘out of action’. Some days have been very stressful, but other days have pushed me put of my comfort zone and made me try new things (some felt like great achievements; others I never wish to repeat!) I thought it’d be nice to sum up my week of firsts, partly just for me to look back on in the future. (Items 1 and 2 are a little gory so skip them if you’re squeamish!)

  1. This week was the first time I’ve seen the inside of a person’s body. Mr C’s dressings came off before the wounds had healed and I was both fascinated and horrified by seeing the inside of his arm. (They weren’t large wounds as it was keyhole surgery but I still rang the hospital for advice, since I’m not a nurse and don’t even have a first aid certificate!)
  2. As a result of 1, this week was the first time I have steri stripped someone back together. The kind nurse on the phone talked me through the process, and I think my craft experience helped quite a lot with neat joining. I did feel a little funny when doing this, and also worried in case I wasn’t doing it well enough. It definitely put the ‘in sickness and in health’ part of our marriage vows into practice.
  3. A knock on effect of Mr C only being able to use one arm was that I have had to take over care of the allotment too. The weeds were multiplying, so my 5 year old and I decided to mow it. This meant that, for the first time ever I started up and used the petrol mower on my own. (My son went slug hunting and fed them to the chickens whilst I tried not to look too amateur as I failed to start it. Then I found the priming button and I was away-luckily no one else was nearby to laugh at my many unsuccessful attempts that only resulted in a faint splutter rather than a roar from the engine.)
  4. Thanks to not wearing gloves, this was the first time I have given myself a blister from using a lawnmower. I was so focused on my mission that didn’t notice until it had popped and the top had come off so I was pretty sore when I got home.
  5. When not nursing or allotmenteering, I’ve squeezed in a bit of knitting. It was the first time I’ve used sock weight yarn, and it was strangely thin after the yarn I’m used to.
  6. Because I was using such thin yarn, I had to use small needles. I ordered a set of 2.5mm sock needles with my birthday money. They are very smooth and lovely but it feels a bit like trying to knit with cocktail sticks!
  7. As part of my sock project, I tried a new cast on-the stretchy cast on method. I have no idea what the method is called that I usually use, I’ll call it the Nanny method as it’s how she showed me when she taught me at the age of 5. Anyway, after watching a lot of YouTube videos I got the hang of it!

It’s been a good week for learning in this house, I don’t think I’m cut out to be a surgeon though, or a nurse, or a landscape gardener (I think I mowed ‘one or two’ things that shouldn’t have been lawnmowered!)

Have you tried anything new this week?

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40 thoughts on “A Week Of Firsts ”

  1. Damn that’s a lot of things but you conquered it all. Does the gross stuff interest you haha I remember seeing inside of my leg and bone when I felt as a kid and Its like Damn that’s all inside 😂

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  2. I’ve been working with.crochett thread a lot lately, so I hear you with the small needles. I didn’t think the tiny hook I’m using would actually catch the thread, but thankfully it does!

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  4. I must confess you had me laughing on your list! I read the first couple to my husband as I had to play nurse, also, when he had hip replacement surgery last year. We still laugh cause when it came time to change the dressing, I told him I was going to sit down just in case it looked terrible and I felt “funny”. Fortunately it didn’t look bad or seepy at all. We also commented about the “in sickness and in health” line of our marriage vows.
    Hopefully you show photos of what you are doing with your sock yarn??? My sister in law gave me a couple skeins and I haven’t been brave enough to try socks…..yet.

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    1. Glad it made you laugh, you never quite know what you’ll end up doing next. I must admit to feeling a bit funny when I first saw the wounds! I will post pics once there is something worth seeing, I’ve only managed a few rows (and frogged the lot twice!)

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  7. I am a nurse, and dressing wounds still turns my stomach! (I’m a learning disability nurse, I work in challenging behaviour, very seldom deal with more than a cut finger or superficial scratches). Hope Mr C is picking up and that you’re not getting too stressed

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  8. You are a wonderful wife!! I don’t know if I have the right stuff for any first aidish things. I did chuckle a little about you calling on your crafting skills to get you through it!! Just pretend that Mr. C is a lovely greeting card made of skin! LOL I almost made myself woozy just typing that. I love mowing the lawn! It is one of my favorite outdoor chores! I used to grip the handle way too hard and would end up with a blister at the base of my thumb. Not fun. Now I wear gloves and don’t have a death grip on the mower handle. Hope he has a speedy recovery and that the firsts you face in the coming days are more pleasant!! 😀

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  9. The learning never stops for us, does it? I hope your husband continues to heal and gets back to all he enjoys doing real soon. Congratulations on the sock knitting! Warning: some find it very addicting even though it is like knitting with toothpicks. 😉

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  14. You had me chuckle a few times 😁 The lawnmower thing sounds very familiar…I can’t get that thing started. Maybe I should start lifting some weights, so I’ll have the strength to pull it harder 😜 Kudos to you for completing your nursing duties without fainting 😊 When I had to tend to hubby’s hip replacement wound I was so grateful that it was all sewn up 😂
    I hope your husband has a speedy recovery…and you can leave the weeds for him and you can get back to your socks 😁 Tina xoxo

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  15. Wow, you have had a busy week. I totally understand feeling squeamish over you nurse duties – when my son was about 2 years old the holiday home we stayed in had a full length mirror rather badly attached to the wall. One morning it came crashing down on his big toe. After two trips to a & e it was down to me to redress his toe every morning (it had literally burst open at the end). It still turns my stomach to think of it. Hope Mr C recovers quickly. Hannah x

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  16. Sending good vibes your way again, hope that everything gets sorted out. I think that you’ll love making socks, they are just so squishy and nice on your feet when they are done 😊

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  17. A lot of firsts for you. I commend you at your surgical skills and keeping “down your cookies” whilst looking inside of Mr. C’s arm. Sounds like you did a great job putting him back together. I have not used small needles in years. I do hope you can get used to stitching with “cocktail sticks”. LOL I have not tried anything new this week…that I can remember anyway. It has been a busy, busy month and I must admit, most has been a blur. I’m sure the allotment looks wonderful without the weeds even though a few things may be missing. You are doing great!

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