Add the Foundation & Walls and You've Got a House
Poor DH has shingles! Fortunately, it's a mild case, but painful nonetheless. We learned more about shingles this weekend than the average bear. For instance, did you know that shingles: 1) are a reactivation of chicken pox suffered as a child; 2) are brought on by emotional or physical stress (DH's triathlon training); and 3) the word "shingles" is derived from Latin and means "girdle," referring to the reddened blisters that erupt in a band around the torso. We had a really savvy Urgent Care doctor who is attacking this with a multi-pronged approach of five different medications (thank God for health insurance): 2 antivirals (oral & topical), a steroid, and 2 painkillers (oral & topical). Two days of these meds and lotsa attention from moi, and DH is already feeling better. But there's no way he's putting on a neoprene rubber wetsuit for at least another week :-)

Amy's Affliction
ennui (noun) Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom: “The servants relieved their ennui with gambling and gossip about their masters” (John Barth).

At the risk of incurring the Wrath of Webster, I'm adding a new word to the Knitting Lexicon. It's one that accurately describes my current state. I'm calling it Knitui -- a state of listlessness and dissatisfaction due to a severe lack of interest and boredom with my knitting projects.

I've been suffering from Knitui for over a month now. With my (and Marcia's) bloggiversary coming up I've been reading my initial blog entries. The tone of these early entries was quite peppy and chipper, compared to recent mundane missives.

There is no single cause for this state of Knitui -- it's more the natural cycle that has always occurred with my crafting. When I focus on a craft, I focus on it wholeheartedly. Knitting was my passion about 20 years ago. This period lasted about five years, and died a natural death as I discovered other crafts (sewing, embroidery, quilting, silversmithing). Each of these new crafts generated a period of single-minded focus, resulting in many lovely finished projects. During periods of "non-crafting" (one craft dying a natural death; another yet to make itself known), I would simply read more to fill the void.

About a year ago, I rediscovered knitting and dove in head first, madly building a stash and churning out a number of nice knitted stuff for lucky relatives. The first project chronicled on my blog was the Must Have Cardigan knit for my mother's birthday last July. It's ironic that the most current project is the Neckdown Summer Cardi for Mom's birthday this year.

During the ensuing year I blogged about a lot more than just knitting content. I shared my joy and bared my pain, and received so many wonderful comments from readers. The advice, input, feedback, and humor kept me going on many a trying day.

I don't want to abandon my blog, but I also don't want to bore anyone (including myself). I need to make a decision, soon.

Happy Monday, everyone.