An update on life in general

Thanks to the Queen of Kammebornia, who left a comment on my last post, I came back and read my last entry. An update is in order!
Physically, I'm still working at the same ward as a year ago, but the patient category has changed completely. Turns out, the hospital needed more beds devoted to acute internal medicin and infection, so all of my colleagues moved to another facility with the medically completed patients. I couldn't commute there, so I chose to stay and see what will happen here. We started the "new" ward on 16th of September, so everything is still in the works and no routines have set yet. All of my co-workers are new at the ward, a couple are brand new nurses who graduated in June, and we can't ask the older and wiser nurse because she doesn't work here.
I am now a "section leader" which means I am the boss' right hand. It also means I am always on the run, helping people with everything and nothing - drawing blood, finding pillows, ordering drugs, cleaning book-cases and organizing in general. I try to help out on the floor as much as possible, but so far I've been far too busy making sure we have all the supplies we need. I enjoy it immensely, but I am as dead as a shot duck when I get home in the afternoon. Even so, I've managed to knit quite a lot in september - or perhaps it's because I needed it to relax?

I had fun making this collage, and I know I enjoy "end of the month"-collages when they end up on other blogs, so I'll see if I will do this again. I'm not making any promises though, I know myself well enough to know it might not happen...

Officially a sleeping blog

I haven't updated this blog in SOOOOO long, it feels almost wrong to go here. I think I'll officially call it asleep, and just keep it in case I find a use for it again some day.

I don't have time for much these days, I changed jobs to a different hospital a bit further down the road, and working full time there takes up all my days and evenings. I'm not sure I like it either, the ward has serious problems with staffing and doctors, so actually caring for patients is hard. We're constantly understaffed and the phone keeps ringing off the hook without anyone having the time to answer it. Yeah, it feels like I ended up *way* south when I couldn't get a position at the stroke unit. I really miss them! I miss the organization, the doctors were mostly great and there were routines for things. I miss the people too, the nurses there were great, compassionate, knowing and professional ALL THE TIME. That's harder than it sounds, people!

The ward I'm working at now is for "medically finished" patients - they're there because they are waiting for a different accomodation, for home services to get started or to have their planning meeting. (That's at least one thing good about the Swedish system; hospitals don't just ship people home without knowing what happens next.) BUT we don't have our own doctors, we depend on the ward next door for that. Often the dr doesn't even know he's supposed to help us, and we have to page the on-call doctor for help. Like he/she doesn't have better things to do at the emergency unit... We usually only need the dr for easy stuff like prescription renewals and such, but that's important! If the dr doesn't do that, we don't get to give the patients their meds - which is why they're in hospital, I believe?

So, I'm beat after every single shift. I come home, make dinner, knit a little and then go to bed, dead tired. The graveyard shifts are the worst, when I'm at home and in bed at 23.30 pm and have to get up at 5 am the next day. I don't get paid nearly enough to keep it up like this for long, so after one month in the new job I've started looking for an other... Preferably one with enough staff to keep things running, and ways to get hold of the people you need to talk to.

It's fall, and I've been a bad blogger

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I am not the most diligent blogger around. If you're reading this, I'm guessing you've already discovered that, but still find it interesting to see what I'm up to occasionally.

Since January I've graduated (I am now a RN, with the diploma to prove it), started working as a nurse at a stroke unit at the local hospital, and I've been knitting like I'm obsessed. Which usually is how my crafting works; for the past 7 years I've been an obsessed cross-stitcher, but now I don't cross any stitches at all. I'm pretty sure I will be stitching again, but for now I am completely at peace with knitting. My yarn and knitting needles make stuff that I can use, my husband doesn't think it's too small and fiddly (which he usually said about the things I stitched) and my daughter can make a wish for a new hat and have it only a week later. I can even bring it to work and pick it up on my lunch and actually see results when I come home! Yes, I will probably make a summary with pics of my FO's sometime this fall :)

I must admit to throwing out a lot of xs magazines - I did flip through them first, and took out any charts I might want to do in the future, although I was very picky doing it. Not many charts survived, most have now been turned into milk or egg cartons I believe... I've even sorted out my RSS feeds, deleting a lot of the blogs I used to follow fervently when I was a stitcher. Instead, there are knitting blogs. And ravelry, of course. The know-it-all forum for people who enjoy yarn and chat about it, and plan what to knit next... I love it there!
But then again, I used to follow the EMS Cross Stitch Forum diligently, and when I checked the link now, I hadn't been there since May. And I know for a fact that I didn't do much there then either.

I hope this finds you well; I have a mini-teen to pick up from school in 10 minutes. We're going shopping for winter boots, and they "have to have a heel" according to H. She's got serious issues with clothes and hair these days, and she's not even 8 yet. And the temper on that girl! Oh boy, will I have my hands full when she's a proper teen...

Love and cherish the day,
Anne

HPKCHC

The dreaded thesis has been sent in. So, I suddenly found myself with time on my hands again! What a marvellous feeling, I got all fiddly and nervous and started fondling ALL of my stash. And believe me, there is some stash to fondle here in my office...

I ended up in the yarn box, with a couple of knitting needles at the ready, but with absolutely no idea what to knit. Ravelry to the rescue! And, speaking of Harry Potter's new adventures on the silver screen, there incidentally exists such a thing as a group of people on Ravelry that are all "wizarding and witching" about, you even get sorted into a house, and there's Quidditch and Potions classes and, and, and... Of course I had to join the madness, and I am proud to say my local yarn shop has seen me twice in the past 13 days, and I have used the yarn as well. I've turned in homework for two classes (Flying and Transfiguration) so far, I have a third homework done (Defense against the Dark Arts, or DADA for short) and I don't think I've had it yet for this month. After all, we're only halfway through!

I seriously hope this DOESN'T mean I have lost the xs-mojo, but that I will find it again one day. I have way too much xs stash to stitch from before giving it up, but I also know that I am a serial crafter - I spend a certain amount of time with one craft, and when I have had it for now, I move on to another craft. And it's a circle, seeing as I don't do much crafting other than knit, stitch, sew and think. Yes, I have a bunch of beads and jewellery stuff as well, but that was a very quick phase. I didn't like it that much, I like jewellery but not the fiddling.

Do you want pictures, you say? Oh well, you don't have to twist my arm, I'll show you. (One of the requirements at the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup = HPKCHC is that you turn in your homework with a picture, so I actually have to take pics of my stuff. Neat.)

A hat for my friend's son, beautifully modeled by my dear daughter - she decided a tiny smile was in order when the subject wasn't her, but the hat she was wearing. Try to get a decent photo of _her_, and you will fail.

A strange, google-eyed picture of me modeling Renesmees hat, so called because the cable on it is the same one used on Bella's mittens (google it, and you will, amongst other things, find a knitting pattern). I have no idea why the pic ended up sideways, it looked alright in my computer... I don't know who will wear it, so wishes will be accepted ;)

I'll probably be knitting quite a lot for a while, we're on the last 6 months of nursing school now - I can't believe I will be a registered nurse this summer! The mere idea of letting me out into the world on unsuspecting patients is a little daunting - what if I don't get a job? What if noone wants me and I end up unemployed? What if I screw this up?

To be continued...

Birthday party!

So, my daughter turned 7 today. And even though I know everyone says this, I can't believe how fast the years go by! It doesn't seem like that long ago I was watching her first steps and her first tooth, and here she is, all big and can read her own birthday cards. Happy birthday, little one!

It was quite a surprise to learn that ALL of the folks on her dad's side could come today - I don't think that has happened since she was born. There's always someone working or sick, but this time we actually got to celebrate her on the day with everyone in attendance. Lots of cake and cookies (most of it homemade) and then a huge "smörgåstårta" before everyone was so full they had to move slowly to their cars and go home. (For those not in the know, a smörgåstårta is best described as white bread sandwiches in a big cake, with whipped cream and decorated with shrimps, hard-boiled eggs, lettuce, smoked ham thinly sliced and such. The whole point is that it looks like a cake, and should have the best of everything you'd usually put on a sandwich. In layers. And lots of it.)

I'm so full I don't think I'll have to eat anything until lunch tomorrow. Nah, who am I trying to fool, of course I'll be hungry again tomorrow for breakfast, a little cake fest has never destroyed my morning appetite ;)

Lots of love!


P.s: Forgot to say that we have plenty of snow - H took her bobsleigh out yesterday and played in our garden. I have to admit, having a large parking lot at the front of the house isn't so appealing when you have to get rid of all the snow on it... I'm of course freezing, and will be seen wearing my well-used wool socks my grandma made me every chance I get. :)