I’m not sure how long I will continue using Ravelry as once I am forced to give up the legacy design, I fear it will be unusable for me in its present format, but that aside, it is useful for keeping track of projects, yarn, patterns etc.
As for goals for 2021… I have 30 items on the needles if I include the test-kit sweater and socks I am casting on today. A few of these 30 will simply be frogged. Several are half-completed pairs of socks and I would like to finish them. 5 are projects I cast on in 2020 and I can see myself completing all of these. Ideally, I would like to have fewer items on the needles at the end of the year than at the start- that shouldn’t be that difficult to achieve, despite me being in a positive balance at the end of 2020!
For absolute goals, I’d like to complete a fingering colourwork sweater or at least one with short sleeves. I’d also like to spin more- I have the same bump of fibre on the wheel that was on for all of last year. It is hard with my back at times, but I will just need to break it down to manageable chunks. I’m starting the Desert Vista Dyeworks monthly sock challenge again and would like to complete at least 6 months. Perhaps this will also be the year I will start some of the items that have been in my queue for years and years!
So not that many goals, only to craft more. One can hope!
I have been filling this in for so many years now and I do wonder if it’s time is nearing an end, after all, it is the only post on fifikins.com this year. It has been a challenging year for many, including me, but I have endured and 2021 is literally just around the corner. Oh well, here goes nothing…
1. What did you do in 2020 that you’d never done before?
Woke up in ICU intubated- basically a tube was shoved down my throat that was breathing for me. This was after almost 14 hours of spinal surgery.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I honestly cn’t remember. Not making any.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Colleagues and friends.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My lovely father-in-law, Tony, adorable colleague, Alison and several people who succumbed to complications arising from SARS-CoV2.
5. What countries/states did you visit?
None! Not even before lockdowns and too scared to travel interstate now. I will not be able to sit for 2 weeks in hotel isolation because of my back.
I did spend a week on the Sunshine Coast with my mother in February and it was lovely to catch up with Tess.
6. What would you like to have in 2021 that you lacked in 2020
Mobility, but with 13 fused vertebrae, this will probably be challenging. I am mobile in the sense I can walk (short distances still at present) but things like getting out of bed is really hard.
7. What dates from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Specific things happened on different days- return to work, deaths and further surgery.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Returning to work was huge, even though it was only for 3 days, 3 ours per day. I also completed my Grad Cert in Infection Prevention.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I still don’t think I believe in failures.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
You could say that!
11. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
The way MIML™ has cared for me post accident has been beautiful and has really shown us both how much we mean to each other and what an amazing team we are. (Same goes for this year!)
22. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
The usual suspects…
13. Where did most of your money go?
Bills
14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Being able to walk the length of The Esplanade without stopping. It seems a long way off again now.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:?
a) happier or sadder? Happiness is a state of mind I’ve chosen for sometime now.
b)thinner or fatter? I think I found some Coved kilos, but I am back to healthier eating patterns and hydrotherapy and physiotherapy as tolerated.
c) richer or poorer? Compared to many I’ve been fortunate to have a guaranteed income through Workcover.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Cooking- it’s still hard, but I’m finding workarounds- preparing veggies early afternoon before a rest and the like.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Of all things- sleeping. Although I know my body needs it, I am still sleeping 10-12 hours/night.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
Just Crawford and I grazing on oysters and prawns. It was lovely!
19. What was your favourite TV program?
Just finished Bridgerton which I loved!
20. Did you make a friend with anyone that you didn’t know this time last year?
Probably
21. What was the best book you read?
I got multifocal and reading glasses this year so have been able to read more. The best book I read by far was Fourteen: My year of darkness and the light that followed, by the amazing Shannon Molloy.
The kids- only saw Immy yesterday for the first time this year.
33. Who was the best new person you met?
A new psychologist has been helpful. I also did some psychometric testing which surprised me.
34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2020.
It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen, probably…
35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Monty Python
Some things in life are bad They can really make you mad Other things just make you swear and curse When you’re chewing on life’s gristle Don’t grumble, give a whistle And this’ll help things turn out for the best And
Always look on the bright side of life Always look on the light side of life
If life seems jolly rotten There’s something you’ve forgotten And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing When you’re feeling in the dumps Don’t be silly chumps Just purse your lips and whistle, that’s the thing And
Always look on the bright side of life (Come on) Always look on the right side of life
For life is quite absurd And death’s the final word You must always face the curtain with a bow Forget about your sin Give the audience a grin Enjoy it, it’s your last chance anyhow
So always look on the bright side of death A just before you draw your terminal breath
Life’s a piece of shit When you look at it Life’s a laugh and death’s a joke, it’s true You’ll see it’s all a show Keep ’em laughin’ as you go Just remember that the last laugh is on you And
Always look on the bright side of life Always look on the right side of life (C’mon Brian, cheer up) Always look on the bright side of life Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the bright side of life
I mean, what have you got to lose? You know, you come from nothing You’re going back to nothing What have you lost? NothingAlways look on the right side of life
Nothing will come from nothing, ya know what they say Cheer up ya old bugga c’mon give us a grin (Always look on the right side of life) There ya are, see It’s the end of the film Incidentally this record’s available in the foyer (Always look on the right side of life)
Some of us got to live as well, you know (Always look on the right side of life) Who do you think pays for all this rubbish (Always look on the right side of life) They’re not gonna make their money back, you know I told them, I said to him, Bernie, I said they’ll never make their money back (Always look on the right side of life)
I’m not sure if this is the best way of chronicling the year that was. It was definitely a year in two halves- before and after accident. I look back on the videos I did daily whilst in hospital and can see how far I’ve come and yet I have a long way to go still. My brain is still experiencing Post Concussion Syndrome meaning I have issues finding words at times and I’m perhaps not as sharp as I used to be. I keep being assured this will heal give it time. Time. Sigh.
1. What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before?
Spent two months in hospital as an impatient inpatient.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I will update the craftolusions after this. I’m not a big one for resolutions, preferring to take each day as a new day and am willing to start changes when I see they need to be made.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Colleagues and friends.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Aunt Esther, my last remaining close relation on my mother’s side. She was my Step-Great-Grandmother’s niece and my mother’s godmother. I was unable to get to the funeral and still ponder how the year would have been different if I had made it down as I would not have been travelling to work the following day…
Aunt Esther and I when my mother and I went to see her in February when I was down for Jasper’s induction into Trinity College.
5. What countries/states did you visit?
I went to Melbourne three times in the end- to settle Jasper into college in February, to go to the Dean’s Dinner in April and then for Imogen’s graduation in December. I’m still sad I missed Bendigo, but was totally spoilt by the ladies and still cry when I see my blanket!
6. What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019?
More endurance so I can walk more than 100m without needing to sit down and can get back to work.
7. What dates from 2019 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June was a month of highs and lows- A and A’s wedding at the start and the accident at the end.
For those unaware, on 29 June I was travelling to work at a small Emergency Department in an Aboriginal Community near home. As I came around a bend, I lost control of my motorbike- it was slightly damp and I probably hit some oil or gravel, and I came a cropper- I fractured 7 vertebrae, my right radius and my left shoulder we think became dislocated and I tore ligaments and tendons requiring a lot of physiotherapy. My back has metal rods in two places and my wrist has pins and a plate.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving. I literally came about 2mm from death. If I had rolled down the embankment after my accident I would almost certainly have severed my spinal cord either at my neck or lower end of my ribs.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I don’t believe in failures.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just a bit! See above!
11. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
The way MIML™ has cared for me post accident has been beautiful and has really shown us both how much we mean to each other and what an amazing team we are.
22. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
The usual suspects…
13. Where did most of your money go?
Bills
14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I really loved the varied nature of my job in the first half of the year. I adored working all around the local hospital and out at the Aboriginal Community.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:?
a) happier or sadder? Happiness is a state of mind I’ve chosen for sometime now.
b)thinner or fatter? After the accident I have focussed on becoming healthier and with a damaged back that has meant shedding some fat. I still have a bit to go, but am proud of how far I’ve come so far (over 42kg).
c) richer or poorer? It’s been a challenge not getting penalty rates, however I am grateful for WorkCover and receiving at least part of my wage.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Knitting
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I’m not sure on this one…
18. How did you spend Christmas?
Jasper was home and we ate very well out on the deck.
19. What was your favourite TV program?
Game of Thrones was slightly disappointing, but I still liked it!
Also found some gems on Netflix- Umbrella Academy, Brooklyn 99, The Good Place…
20. Did you make a friend with anyone that you didn’t know this time last year?
Lots of new colleagues and friends in special Facebook groups.
21. What was the best book you read?
I have not been able to read since the accident- I have trouble focussing on large portions of text. I have been enjoying Audible books though and loved ‘Embrace Yourself’ by Taryn Brumfitt and ‘Any Ordinary Day’ by Leigh Sales, especially in the light of my accident.
22. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Not sure really on this…
23. What did you want and get?
Discharged from hospital
24. What did you want and not get?
To return to work
25. What was your favourite film of this year?
I doI haven’t been to the cinema this year- I don’t know if I could physically sit through a movie, but have enjoyed watching all sorts of films on Netflix.
26. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 47 and I was in hospital in excruciating pain from a pseudo-blockage in my intestine. Liquid diets meant no birthday cake!
27. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I would love to have travelled more
28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2019?
Nighties and PJs
29. What kept you sane?
MIML™ and mindfulness and talking with friends.
30. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I’ve still got a soft spot for Colin Firth!
31. What political issue stirred you the most?
So many! I am trying to sit back though and act in a way I would like others to act- practicing kindness.
32. Who did you miss?
It’s strange being empty nesters, but I still miss I&J!
33. Who was the best new person you met?
My back surgeon?
34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019.
You are not invincible!
35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Time, time time, see what’s become of me While I looked around for my possibilities
I was so hard to please Don’t look around The leaves are brown And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Hear the Salvation Army band Down by the riverside’s, there’s bound to be a better ride Than what you’ve got planned
Carry your cup in your hand And look around Leaves are brown, now And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Hang on to your hopes, my friend That’s an easy thing to say But if your hopes should pass away Simply pretend that you can build them again Look around The grass is high The fields are ripe It’s the springtime of my life
Seasons change with the scenery Weaving time in a tapestry Won’t you stop and remember me At any convenient time? Funny how my memory skips while looking over manuscripts Of unpublished rhyme Drinking my vodka and lime I look around Leaves are brown, now And the sky is a hazy shade of winter Look around Leaves are brown There’s a patch of snow on the ground Look around Leaves are brown There’s a patch of snow on the ground Look around Leaves are brown There’s a patch of snow on the ground
Sadly in the frogpond after the cats attacked the start of it. Might cast on again sometime…
Spin the Bin
So close! 2 bumps to go!
Get to Spendigo!
Oh yes and I had the bestest time, even if that is the wine talking and I do need to get going on my Schlongalong project!
So for 2019…
End the year with less than 15 WsIP- I have 19 on the needles at the start of the year (plus my January socks!) and might need to head to the frog pond…
Spin 6 bumps of fibre
Knit one fingering weight sweater for me
Knit two other sweaters
3 projects for other people
Knit 6 pairs of socks
Get to Bendigo (flights are booked so that is a go!)
Blog more frequently with progress…
I also made a collage of projects I’d like to complete…
A substantive position with Queensland Health and a partner visa for MIML™
24. What did you want and not get?
Full time hours, but I’m getting close!
25. What was your favourite film of this year?
I don’t think I went to the cinema at all this year, but I did binge on several Netflix movies and new to me movies. May have evaluated a couple of Marvel films from the comfort of the living room…
26. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 46. I worked!
27. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Travel!
28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2019?
Scrubs and uniforms!
29. What kept you sane?
Knitting and spinning and mindfulness
30. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
It used to always be Ewan, but he’s not so nice anymore… Jason Momoa is hot and Justin Trudeau is a dish!
31. What political issue stirred you the most?
Growing inequality hurts me deeply. I am trying to ignore US politics and don’t get me started on Brexit!
32. Who did you miss?
I miss Immy being in Melbourne but am so proud of her heading to the States this week on scholarship!
33. Who was the best new person you met?
Buffy would tell me it has to be her
34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018.
So twelve months ago I set some goals. For the last couple of months I had this feeling I had failed miserable, but in essence I achieved more than I thought I had!
I wanted to produce 6 garments, and if I include the 4 baby Milo vests I knit then I did achieve that goal. Of course that wasn’t the premise of the goal, but I still finished a cardigan in fingering weight for me and a sweater. And I have the sleeves left on another sweater so I think I can possibly say I got half way!
Next up was 12 bumps of fibre. I am really proud of my Tour de Fleece efforts and that I spun 10 bumps in 3 weeks as a combo spin. I exceeded this goal, but the funny thing is I didn’t finish Spin the Bin! This year I will combine a combo spin and Spin the Bin I think!
12 self-striping items didn’t happen. Again I finished 7 items and have two pairs of self-striping socks on the needles. Likewise Camp Loopy- I finished the first month, finished the second month in the third month and never started the project for the third month!
I wanted to try four new sock patterns. I did two and have another on the needles, so almost! Sadly, I did not get to Spendigo as I had my final residential school (and a distinct lack of finances!) but there is always 2018…
So the goals for this year…
4 adult garments including knitting up my Combo Spin
At least 6 months of The Fourth Desert Vista Dyeworks Sock Challenge (I made 3 months in 2017)
It’s back! I have neglected my blog in 2017, but I can’t give this meme up! 2017 has been a challenging year, but I am glad with the way I have handled things. Here’s to 2018 and beyond!
1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?
Held the S8 keys for a shift!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I made craftolusions that I failed miserably in! I can recognise over the last few years I have totally changed my mindset and that has assisted me in dealing with setbacks however.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes- online friends who have been friends for over 10 years now!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not close, close, but close enough.
5. What countries/states did you visit?
My only trip was to Melbourne for Immy’s birthday, but the less said about that the better.
6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
A steady income (but that actually looks like happening!)
7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Finishing my degree- handing in that last assignment, release of grades and certification were all great days! As was the day I found out I have a grad position at the hospital and the day I found out I had a permanent job at an aged care facility!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Finishing my degree and getting jobs!
9. What was your biggest failure?
I can’t think of any that stand out to be honest.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really, no!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I managed to put food on the table every night, even if a lot of the time it was 2 minute noodles and baked beans!
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
The way MIML™ has handled this year has been great.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
The usual suspects…
14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Graduating
16. What song will always remind you of 2017?
I think I have reached an age where I could not tell you any song that was released this year!
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:?
a) happier or sadder?
happier
b)thinner or fatter?
probably fatter
c) richer or poorer?
poorer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercise
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastinating
20. How did you spend Christmas?
I worked a late shift Christmas Eve, had the kids home, ate seafood (and walnut and mushroom paté for the vegan) then was called into work for 5 hours (other job!) then came home and slept!
21. Did you fall in love in 2017?
Over and over again with the gorgeous MIML™
22. How many one-night stands?
This question needs to go!
23. What was your favourite TV program?
Game of Thrones! Also loving rewatching The West WIng along with The West Wing Weekly podcast!
24. Did you make a friend with anyone that you didn’t know this time last year?
I’ve met so many amazing people this year!
25. What was the best book you read?
I loved being part of an online book club this year. Adored both Their Brilliant Careers for it’s satirical look at Australian literature and Lincoln in the Bardo for its experimental amazingness!
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
That I can listen to such an eclectic range of music and find satisfaction from so many different genres.
27. What did you want and get?
A grad position and a RN job!
28. What did you want and not get?
A partner visa for MIML™- well it is on the way and he is now on a bridging visa! Now to get him work rights…
29. What was your favourite film of this year?
I don’t think I went to the cinema at all this year (lack of disposable income) however I enjoyed Wonder Woman.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 45. I think we went out for dinner, but I can’t remember!
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Travel!
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?
Scrubs and uniforms!
33. What kept you sane?
Knitting and spinning
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I have always said Ewan, but he appears to be a bit of a cad these days!
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Penalty rates. US politics
36. Who did you miss?
I miss contact with the US group of friends from several years ago.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
I can’t single any one person out.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017.
Things have been a little quiet around these parts. Truth is, with uni and work I have been flat out like a lizard drinking. And on top of that we are organising a Partner Visa for MIML™ so he can stay in Australia which is pretty high on my list of priorities! Even my knitting and spinning has been less than usual.
I have two weeks until the final day of term. Well one week and 6 days now. And one assignment to hand in in that time. Before then however, I have my interview for a place in the grad program at the hospital. I obviously wrote an ok application because it has me being interviewed and I know I have a pretty decent grade point average (GPA). But now I will have to sit in front of a panel and possibly also in a group situation with my peers and show people why I want to be a novice practitioner.
Throughout my schooling I chopped and changed between wanting to work as a teacher and wanting to work in the health field. I never thought I would get the grades necessary to study medicine (plus I was never that excited by advanced maths and chemistry, even though I am loving chemistry more and more as I grow older!) I did work experience as a physiotherapist and remember enjoying it, but my feedback was that I didn’t ask enough questions. I think I have overcome that in the intervening years! In my conservative family of origin, nurses didn’t rate highly. I was in my senior years of school when the Victorian nurses strike occurred and I had never had very much to do with nurses.
Fast forward and I decided I was going to be a teacher. Except I realised after finishing 3.5 years of a 4 year degree that I really didn’t like the idea of dealing with parents and teaching children the basics and also how to critically appraise the world they live in was not really my passion. Even after finishing my first year of education I went to information sessions on the new Bachelor of Midwifery degree at Flinders, however with young children I couldn’t commit to full time study. It wasn’t until 2.5 years ago when I was again between jobs that a friend who has been a nurse for many years told me that I should study nursing as I “deal well with people, am used to arguing with doctors and because you will be good and never out of a job.” I thought back to midwifery and did some research and found I would need to complete a Bachelor of Nursing first as nowhere up here offered direct entry midwifery.
The last two and a half years have shown me that my friend was right! I am a kind, caring and compassionate nurse who values the individual in a holistic manner, not just for the reason they are seeking medical attention. I enjoy working in fast paced environments as part of a multidisciplinary team that also recognises the patient and their carers if applicable are part of the team. I am always willing to take personal responsibility for my role in the team. One of the reasons I believe I deal well under pressure is I am a reflective nurse and believe I will only grow in my practice through reflection.
I have enjoyed every one of my placements and whilst I still wonder if I might pursue midwifery at a later stage, I am becoming more and more drawn to cementing my skills in ward based nursing that may lead to working in ED. I really enjoy working with patients experiencing mental health crises, however I do not really think that a career as a mental health nurse is what I really want. Whilst I can see my passion for education influencing my nursing, in the future I would like to investigate nurse education either with patients or with undergraduate nurses. Regardless of where I end up, I know I will always stick to my philosophy of treating patients in the way I would like my family members treated.
I look forward to starting my career as a registered nurse and have been counting down the weeks and months for some time! Whilst I hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is a beautiful lookout where I will be able to survey where I have come from and what I have learnt throughout my degree, I also recognise I am at the beginning of a new journey and look forward to where that will lead me.
So today in Melbourne a man, who apparently was disgruntled with the legal system, mowed down people in the centre of Melbourne with his car. Apart from the fact that I am glad he did not have access to firearms, I find the discourse surrounding the incident intriguing.
The calls predominantly seem to be around tougher sentencing laws, ‘doing something about the ice epidemic’ and domestic violence. To me, the most baffling is that also today we see reported a man gaoled for four months for raping a women. Not a lot of discourse about this case- I would hate to think it was because it involves an Aboriginal woman. Last year we saw Eddy McGuire in lukewarm water for laughing at a colleague who suggested a female journalist should be drowned. We still see men receive lenient sentences for crime because of the way a woman was dressed, how much alcohol she had consumed or how alluring she looked to a perpetrator. And women speak out about this and are labelled misandrist and told they should shut up and they don’t really understand what is going on.
It was abhorrent that a man ploughed through busy footpaths today trying to run down people in order to exact some personal revenge for a court matter that didn’t go his way and it is right that we are calling for justice, however I also feel we need to remember that until we can identify examples of everyday sexism and call them out then we are fighting a losing battle. Eddy Everywhere laughing at comments that a colleague should be drowned does not show respect to women in the same way men who abuse partners, girlfriends and wives with their fists and words does not show respect. And if you question whether or not something is sexist, substitute Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, someone who identifies with being LGBTI or any number of religions. If it is racist then it is probably sexist too. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
