a new diagnosis

Last month, I blogged about an awesome Christmas gift -- an early biopsy found my dad was cancer-free (after a mass was found during a colonoscopy). He had surgery on Jan. 5, and, weeeeeelllllll.....

The more comprehensive post-surgery biopsy found that he actually has/had colon cancer. The surgeon is confident she got all of it out and that he won't need chemo, but we will see what's next after he meets with an oncologist next week. Tests of the lymph nodes came back negative for cancer, which is very, very good. So we are very hopeful here.

My boyfriend and I came to Ohio to visit my parents this week -- we found out the cancer news two days before our departure, so I am extra-glad we could make this trip! My dad is recovering well from the surgery. He and I have gone to the gym twice to walk a few laps, and he's feeling more like himself each day. We are hanging out and watching season 1 of "Modern Family" and having a nice time.



I delivered my dad's latest socks (which I dubbed "the hopeful socks" in person Saturday. Dad was willing to model them:





They're 2x2 rib socks, knit from two balls of Jojoland Melody.

I started another pair for him this week and knit an entire sock in 2.5 days. TWO AND A HALF DAYS. This is insanity, folks, even for me, because he has ha-yoog feet. I have not taken a picture of the finished sock, but I'm knitting them out of this yarn:


It's Socks that Rock mediumweight in Crabby McHappypants. I have dubbed them Crabby McCancerpants socks (what with the latest health news -- clearly we can find humor in even the toughest of diagnoses). Dad calls them Dr. Seuss socks. I have cast on the mate, but it won't be done before we head back to Virginia in a few days.

In the car on the way here, I turned the heel on the second sock in a pair for myself. I also knit nearly all of the leg. I finished it up in my spare time this week, so I have the second finished pair of socks in 2011:



I know I won't keep this frantic pace up forever, but I'm enjoying the swell of FOs right now!

Tomorrow is our last full day here, and we are going to lunch in Columbus and possibly seeing "True Grit," too. At the start of the week, my mom and I agreed we didn't need to go to any yarn stores, but, um, somehow our line of thinking changed. So we might sneak into Knitters' Mercantile tomorrow. We'll see if anything is purchased ... hmm ...

first FO of the year

These are some 2x2 rib socks for my dad -- he just got a pair at Christmas, but after I heard how cold he's been from his anemia, I had to make him another pair right away. The yarn is Jojoland Melody. It certainly looks lovely knit up, but the lack of nylon content leaves me a little worried about how they'll hold up. The twist on the yarn just isn't as tight as I'd like it. So we'll see ...

In other news on my dad, he had his surgery six days ago and he's home recovering. He's doing really, really well. I'm so thankful that he's had few complications. All really, really good news.