Looking over my unfinished projects, it strikes me how suddenly and completely I stopped knitting when it became too painful (when was that anyway? a year or so ago? I’ve lost track). Here they are:

1. A striped tank top for my son…yes, the front and back are complete! I just need to weave in a few ends, seam up the sides and knit the collar and armbands. That’s it.
2. A recycled silk scarf that only required trimming of the fringe. I took care of that this afternoon.
3. Half of a cabled hat (the pattern suggests that a person could knit the whole thing in a weekend).
4. One Opal lollipop sock, with half of the heel flap knit.
5. One-and-a-half feather and fan socks (if I manage to finish them, they’ll be the prettiest socks I’ve ever knit. I LOVE the Lorna’s Laces sock yarn.)
6. The bottom of a felted bag.

There are a few other unfinished projects hiding away in my upstairs closet, but I’m not going to mention them since I became utterly disenchanted with them and plan on reclaiming the yarn for more interesting projects.

What’s nice about having all of these nearly complete items is that I can experience the gratification of finishing something without overly straining my recouperating body. When I’m stronger, I’ll be ready to tackle fresh projects from casting on to casting off.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be knitting again. I missed the meditative process of wrapping beautiful fiber around my needles and stitching up something special. Other crafts just don’t satisfy my soul in the same way this one does. I enjoy my photography. I like to make beaded jewelry and I enjoy baking…but I LOVE knitting.

Exercise Log

I took it easy yesterday to allow my tired muscles a day to recouperate. Today, I’ve done some stretching and did my Basic Moves Bellydancing video. My arm and neck are a little tender, but not nearly as bad as yesterday.

The benefits to walking during my lunchbreak outweigh the negatives; however, the negatives outnumber the benefits.

Benefits:

• Walking boosts my energy level throughout the afternoon;
• Walking helps me work out the soreness from sitting hunched over a computer most of the day;
• I get a chance to breathe some fresh air.

Negatives:

• I always seem to end up going somewhere where I end up spending money. Yesterday, I found myself at the LYS, where I ended up with several skeins of yarn and a book in my bag. Today, I ended up in the bookstore and carried off two more cherished tomes. Cha-ching.
• It’s cold outside, which causes my nose to run like a leaky faucet.
• The wind is blowing and my hair looks like something the cat spat up.
• I eat my lunch in a hurry and end up with indigestion.
• I notice the shoddy state of my shoes more often and start dreaming of expensive and comfy footwear…

Physical Inventory:

This is the kind of thing most people in my family are sick of hearing about, but it’s important for me to keep track of this because I need to gauge whether I’m progressing or experiencing some sort of set-back. I need to make sure I’m not injuring myself further by all of my excercising.

• My right shoulder feels as if it’s pulled forward by tight pectoral and trapezius muscles.
• I feel a burning pain along my ulnar nerve pathway, most acutely in my elbow and fingers.
• My forearm feels very tight.
• I feel occasional pain/tingling from impingement of the median nerve.
• My upper back and neck occaisonally snap, crackle and pop when I adjust my posture.

Excercise Log:

• Lunchtime walk (approx. 5 minutes of actual walking–lame!)
• Frequent stretches (arm circles, shoulder rolls, head rolls, elbow curls, overhead extension, forearm stretch…)
• 25 minutes of Fat Burning Bellydancing video with Neena and Veena (had to cut it short)
• 2 sets of 8 upward rows with 5lb weights
• 2 sets of 8 overhead presses with 3lb weights
• 2 sets of 8 seated arm lifts with 3lb weights
• 2 sets of 8 arm/leg backward extensions – each side
• 2 sets of 8 pelvic lifts
• 2 sets of 8 crunches
• 2 sets of 8 oblique crunches – each side
• 2 sets of 8 push-ups

Robert thinks I’m overdoing it.

Last year, I vowed to drink more water and to exercise regularly. I’m proud to say I stuck with both of those things. While I haven’t completely beaten my chronic pain issue, I’m experiencing some relief due to improved posture and stronger muscles. In the year to come, I’m hoping days like this will become just a bad memory:

My goals for 2007 are basically the same, although I have more specific ideas about what kinds of exercise work for me and what’s basically a lot of flailing around with little gain. I’m lifting weights every other day, walking during lunch breaks whenever I can, stretching frequently throughout the day (using stretches prescribed by my physical therapist and some found in Pete Egoscue’s book, Pain Free), and doing yoga at least once a week. I’m also squeezing in some belly dancing with the Neena and Veena (my husband likes watching these sessions–haha!) and occassionally punishing myself with pilates. I’m managing to do all of this now, so I know this isn’t too tall of an order for me.

I’m convinced that drinking water is important to continued health and am trying to swill down as much of that each day as I can. This is a harder challenge for me, since I’ve suppressed my thirst for so long I don’t really recognize when I’m actually thirsty

If I exercise on a given day, I’ll allow myself to knit for a maximum of 30-45 minutes. These short sessions don’t seem to contribute to any pain I’m experiencing and are a great reward for sticking to my plan. I’ve managed to make some progress on a sock I abandoned way back when I gave up knitting. I think I may make it to the heel in the next day or so!

Excercise Log:

• Lunchtime walk (approx. 30 minutes of actual walking)
• Frequent stretches (arm circles, shoulder rolls, head rolls, elbow curls, overhead extension, wall clock, forearm stretch…)
• 3 sets of 10 resistance band rows
• Beginning Pilates Mat Workout
• One set per leg of 8 leg lifts on exercise ball (I’m REALLY proud of this. When I first started this a couple of months ago, I could not lift my legs up at all.)