Are you all following the Stay-At-Home directives? I know I am. Just the thought of getting sick always gets me thinking about how determined I am to run out and buy something. Funny, eh? Not really. Since we live out in a rural area that used to be mostly farmland, running out to anywhere isn’t always a quick trip. So, since I quit working in July of 2016 I’ve learned the art of Online Ordering.

Oh, I had that pretty much mastered back in the days when catalogs would arrive in the mailbox down at the end of the driveway. Remember those order forms stapled in the middle? You could include a check for what you are ordering and often not even have to provide postage to mail it back to the retailer? Oh, yes, I remember those days real well. Lots of yarn and clothing arrived at my home that way.

Then, the internet happened.

Sickness didn’t evade me this wonderful March of 2020. Recently, I was bragging about how I couldn’t even remember the last time I had a common cold and that none of the colds that I’ve had in the past 15 years started with me. Yes, my husband is a germ transporter. I tell him that he’s like having toddlers. When my girls were little they would always find the germs and for years I swear we had a cold every fourth week for about three years.

March 24th was when our governor announced the Stay-At-Home order. The next day I started to experience a scratchy throat thinking it was from the leaf mold out in our woods where I walk my dog. No. Not from leaf mold. What day is today? Sunday. Friday morning I woke up with my throat feeling really beyond scratchy. I went into the kitchen for my usual cup of coffee and glass of water. The coffee pot was empty so as I was putting water in I suddenly felt really odd. So, into the bathroom I go where my knees buckled and I ended up laying on the floor sweating and freezing at the same time.

Where the heck did that come from? After looking into my throat using one of my handy little LED flashlights there it was. A set of the ugliest tonsils I’ve ever seen.

Yup. Tonsillitis. No way did I want to go to an urgent care. After taking several throat selfies I did get a good photo off to the virtual doctor, received a call back from the nurse practitioner and got myself a round of antibiotics. Today will be the second full day of treatment so I’m hoping to get back to normal again soon.

I’m telling you – it’s not worth going out there. Take advantage of the Order Online-Free Delivery or Curbside Pickup. Do it. But, be careful, you might find out how easy it is to shop from the comfort of your chair. You don’t even need to shower and dress before shopping and you can do it with your knitting on your lap.

Knitting in 2020 is becoming almost stressful. Not really. Just very time consuming. Again, not really. It’s what I do.

Now, if I could just keep myself out of eBay the yarn would stop showing up in my mailbox and at the door. More arrived over the weekend. It was a deal I couldn’t resist. How can you let 4408 yards of fingering weight wool slip away at $14 for all of it plus shipping? I couldn’t.

I’ve got lots of patterns saved in my Favorites on Ravelry. What will I knit with this first? I’m thinking the Olive Leaf Cardigan that I attempted to knit early in 2019 but tried a cotton/linen mix. That wasn’t working. Not only that, the color seems perfect.

The winding process began two days ago and I found out the hard way that my swift and winder aren’t going to get along with this massive amount of yarn. So, I’m winding balls off the swift by hand. There are two of these skeins so I’m hoping to keep focused so I don’t come across the second skein a hundred years from now. Right. Like that would happen.

Are you knitting?

Are you counting the days until the first day of spring? I know I am.