My Happy Place When I Have COVID

Oof. Felt Comfort Happy Place COVID edition, here we go! 😬

Yeah. I finally caught it. Most likely. My husband tested positive, and now I’m sick. I should probably go get a test too, but that might require moving my head more than I’m strictly happy with at the moment? No, it’s fine. I’m feeling better and I can go do that Monday.

I’ve got it pretty mild, no reason to complain. (Except for the fun of it.) Mostly just tired. And when I stand up (fast or not, I think) it’s not just the lightheadedness, it’s that slight touch of nausea. Okay, okay, body, I’ll go lie down again. You’ve made yourself clear!

I was a lot more wiped out yesterday. I’m getting better! Woo!

Tea I’m Drinking

No. 😔 I really prefer caffeinated tea over any other kind, and I had some this morning. Extra servings of caffeinated beverages may work well if you’re just tired, but with the sick kind of tired… Well, I definitely don’t want to make myself feel shaky, too. No, thanks.

Hot apple cider, it is!

Mmm. That’s good, that is.

What I’m Reading

I’m going to talk about this book some more tomorrow in Saving My Life, but there’s one particular spot that seems worth quoting here:

“This extends what we know from the neurogenesis research: that aerobic exercise and complex activity have different beneficial effects on the brain. The good news is they’re complementary. ‘It’s important to take both into account,’ says Greenough. ‘The evidence isn’t perfect, but really, your regimen has to include skill acquisition and aerobic exercise.’

“What I would suggest, then, is to either choose a sport that simultaneously taxes the cardiovascular system and the brain—tennis is a good example—or do a ten-minute aerobic warm-up before something nonaerobic and skill-based, such as rock climbing or balance drills. While aerobic exercise elevates neurotransmitters, creates new blood vessels that pipe in growth factors, and spawns new cells, complex activities put all that material to use by strengthening and expanding networks. The more complex the movements, the more complex the synaptic connections. And even though these circuits are created through movement, they can be recruited by other areas and used for thinking. This is why learning how to play the piano makes it easier for kids to learn math. The prefrontal cortex will co-opt the mental power of the physical skills and apply it to other situations.”

So, what I think is really cool about this is that it highlights the value of some really fun forms of exercise, like English Country Dancing, but not only that. The mention of piano made me think of other nonaerobic and skill-based forms of movement that are… not exercise at all. Maybe you’re not moving your whole body, but if you go for a run around the block, then come back and craft something, maybe knit a challenging pattern, will that prime your brain almost as well for a mentally demanding task as playing tennis or going for a run and then doing balance drills?

I would think something like spinning on a spinning wheel (a drop spindle would be good too, but not use as much of your body) would be especially good, since you need to coordinate movements and rhythms between both hands and one foot. And the foot part isn’t as easy as it looks. In order to have a very simple treadle mechanism that can move the wheel either clockwise or counterclockwise, so that yarn singles can be spun clockwise and plied together counterclockwise, if you push the treadle at the wrong moment it may stop the wheel and send it back the wrong direction. If you do it very wrong you may even send the wheel rocking back and forth like a pendulum, not spinning around at all. That will not work.

So earlier this week (before getting sick) I tried going for a jog and then plying some yarn. Unfortunately I spent the little bit of time plying doing a lot of untangling, but still. A little more yarn down. And I passed my transcription “mid-term!” 🤷‍♀️ Hey, I probably would have either way, but whatever. I felt good!

What’s on My Spinning Wheel

I’ve started plying… Bother. I was going to include a picture, but it's late. (Pardon me if any of this formatting is messed up. I used up my laptop's battery and now I'm finishing up this post on my phone, because my desktop would wake people. A person. So would taking pictures of the spinning wheel.) Maybe next week. I'll try to take a picture of the tangle that I'm plying before I finish and it's all nice and neat again!

What’s on My Needles Hook

Okay, I knitted the one swatch. I have one other mini-skein I haven’t used for anything, I guess I could swatch it as well. 🤷‍♀️

And then I caught COVID (as I said, most likely) and I crocheted a macaron, because when you’re mostly feeling pretty good but whenever you move your head much it’s kind of woozy, OF COURSE what you should do next is crochet a macaron. *blink blink*

I mean. I had this book, a mini-skein I hadn't used yet, and plenty of time while resting in bed! OF COURSE.

Really, I shoulda seen that coming.

Oh! And the alpaca portion of this yarn? It's from a local alpaca named Sure Sweet! 🤦 So there you have it!

Sneak Peek

Guess what this is going to say when I’m done? It’s not going to be the sort of thing that people generally put on their walls, I don’t think. That’s okay. Actually, I think I like it that way.

My Life Outside of the Felt Comfort Shop

As I work on this ahead of time, I’m hoping to say I’ve passed my transcription midterm! 😊 Yep! Yes, I did! Whee! Now for lots and lots of practice.

Your Turn

What's keeping you sane? What's something happy and relaxing that you do when you're sick, if you can? (Do you unexpectedly find yourself crocheting macarons??)

Happy Weekend!

Marcy