Wow. Just wow.

You won't believe this, because we barely can: HE'S HOME! I know. Wow.

They performed a surgery that can only be used in very specific circumstances of colon cancer type and location; he has no external incision and no pain meds. Think about how science fiction that sounds: major colon cancer surgery with no external incision, very little pain, done in less than 2 hours, you get to eat immediately after, you go home the next day, and no restrictions on activity except to eat a low-fiber diet for the next week. It hardly sounds possible, does it?

He ate a leftover meatloaf sandwich when we got home and now he's stretched out in the recliner watching college football. Like it never happened. Wow.

I do! I really, really, do!

Have a perfectly wonderful post all ready for you, that is. A really nice one that is all about World Wide Spin In Public Day last weekend. And I have lovely pictures of some very generous spinners and really nice knitters and colorful fiber samples and squishy yarn and all kinds of spinning wheels and Turkish drop spindles and cuddly babies in hand knits (I know) and vexed adults trying out drop spindles and beautiful children trying out spinning wheels and multicolored farm fresh eggs and even some knitting in progress that is almost a Finished Object. Really, I do! Except stoopid Blogger won't let me show you any of those things.

Same song, second verse . . .

ToolMan and I went to see the surgeon again and have more testing done today. The good news is that the cancer is higher up than we previously thought, which makes surgery a little easier and the outcome a lot better. He still has to have an ultrasound next week, just to make sure the cancer hasn't gone through the wall of the colon, but the surgeon is pretty sure that hasn't happened. The surgery is scheduled for September 25th, will take two surgeons, and last anywhere from 2 to 6 hours, depending on how invasive they have to be to get all of it out. He's glad he wore his "lucky bamboo" socks.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . . .

First, the update on ToolMan: The results of the endoscope were good. The colonoscopy, not so much; it showed colorectal cancer, in two locations. These are not the normal mushroom-shaped polyps that can be easily snipped off; rather, they are flat, growing directly on the wall of the colon and rectum, which means they'll have to take out sections of each. But the prognosis is pretty good; they think we caught it early. He had a CT scan last Saturday and met with our Internist on Monday. We meet with the surgeon on Thursday; believe me, if we could have gotten an earlier appointment, we would have. Both of us are anxious to get the surgery done, even though we know chemo and radiation will likely follow. Right now, all we want is to get that stuff out.

The last couple of weeks have been so tumultuous, that all I could do was knit simple patterns that didn't require thought. I finished up the Bamboo & Ewe socks for ToolMan, just in time for him to wear to the CT scan for good luck.

I used two balls of Sensations Bamboo & Ewe, size 1 dpns, Judy's Magic Cast-On, a stitch pattern based on this picture of Lifestyle Socks , and the no-wrap short-row heel from the same pattern. ToolMan doesn't like long socks, but he did say these could have had longer cuffs. I used two balls of yarn, but had plenty left over. The yarn was a little stiff to knit, but it sure softened up nicely after washing. I think I'll use the leftovers to make footees for me.

I also started, and finished another pair of socks for him this week.

These are the same basic toe-up and short-row heel recipe, in Kroy FX with a stitch pattern from the Gentleman's Fancy Sock pattern in Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. The yardage is a little skimpy in Kroy, so I had to buy extra balls of yarn. I probably could have gotten by with one ball for each sock if I had skipped one repeat in the cuff. But I have almost two full balls left over. The colors are really nicely heathered, so I might use the leftovers in a faux isle project.

And just to make my plate a little more full this week, my office moved from downtown to the burbs. The commute is not as easy, but the new digs are definitely much nicer than what we had downtown. Here's my little corner of the big company:

Now, if we could just get all the computer systems to work . . .