Crochet Diaries: Surgery, Cabin Life & Christmas Crochet

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Recovering from carpal tunnel surgery, off-grid cabin updates, Christmas ornaments, and winter cycling training—come catch up with my latest Crochet Diaries.

Welcome back to another Crochet Diaries entry! This week has been a whirlwind — I had carpal tunnel surgery, I’m adjusting to life with one working hand, and my husband and I finally tackled some long-overdue updates in our off-grid cabin. Plus, I managed to get my Christmas tree up (with all 48 crochet ornaments!), and I’m still keeping up with my winter cycling training, even if it looks a little different right now. Grab a cozy drink and come hang out with me while I share what’s been going on behind the scenes.

Carpal Tunnel Surgery… and a Plot Twist

Well… let’s start with the fact that I had carpal tunnel surgery this week.

Honestly, I’ve known I’ve needed it for a while — nine years, to be exact. I was diagnosed forever ago and, of course, we tried the whole “conservative treatment” route. But after nearly a decade of numb hands, pain, dropping things, and not being able to crochet like I want to? It was time.

The wild part? My surgery date came about very quickly.

During my consultation, we were going over possible dates and I casually said, “Oh, I actually have a breast reduction coming up in January — does that matter?”
And immediately the nurse was like, “Oh yes, it matters a LOT.”

Apparently that whole post-surgery bra deal plays into recovery, so she looked at me and said, “How does this Monday sound?”

So boom — a few days later I was getting the right hand done, and I’ll be getting the left one done a week before Christmas.

Crocheting? Yeah… out for the foreseeable future.

When You Can’t Crochet… Your Yarn Arrives Lightning Fast

And OF COURSE — because the universe has a sense of humor — I had just made a Lion Brand order. Their shipping is usually slow, but the one time I can’t crochet? My yarn showed up in three days.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Life With One Working Hand

I knew not being able to crochet would be hard — but I didn’t expect it to hit like this.
Everyday life is just… more effort.

My husband has to do my hair every morning.
He’s keeping the woodstove fed around the clock.
He’s doing the stuff I usually handle, and I’m so grateful… but I also feel bad not being able to contribute.

But we’re getting through it together — like we always do.

My New Walking Pad Obsession

On the bright side, I did treat myself to a walking pad, and I’m basically obsessed. I’m literally walking on it right now as I type this. It feels amazing to move while I work or while I watch a show, especially since the weather can’t make up its mind lately.

And since I’ve got multiple surgeries happening close together, we also decided it was time to put my bike on the indoor trainer. I much prefer riding outside — nothing beats cycling along the lake — but hands-free cycling indoors is better than nothing.

I’m training for the Empire State Ride in July (500 miles across New York!), so I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got.

A Little Christmas Cheer

On a much more festive note… I got my Christmas tree up!
I put it up the day before surgery and THANK GOODNESS I did.

Last year, I hosted my Crochet Countdown to Christmas — designing one ornament every day from Dec. 1–24. It was so much fun, and now I have a tree full of handmade ornaments. Actually… 48 of them, since I made a prototype and a final version for filming.

It’s honestly magical to unwrap them all again.

Cabin Life: The Long-Awaited Update

If you’ve been following along, you know we’ve been in our cabin for about 2.5 years. People keep asking for updates, and honestly? I haven’t had any to share!

We insulated most of it. We put the woodstove in. We put up a little shiplap. That’s… pretty much it.

We’ve just been living with “bare minimum livable,” mainly because:

We have a camper with a full kitchen, shower, comfy recliners, etc.
My husband unexpectedly ended up working nonstop this year caring for lake houses and Airbnbs for families down on the lake.

He barely had time to mow our own property, let alone remodel a cabin.

But that is all about to change.

I finally ordered the rest of the flooring. We’re finishing the walls soon. And we just did a massive, much-needed clean-out. Since this is a shed conversion, it really did feel like I was sleeping in half a shed while the other half was one giant storage pit.

But not anymore!
We cleared out everything that won’t be staying once the renovations begin.

I even have a tiny little temporary kitchen setup with counter space and room for pantry items. The fridge is outside (classic off-grid life), and I wash dishes at our water tank for now. Not ideal — but it works.

And the flooring we picked out? I’m so excited to show you. It’s actually different from the one I bought last year — that one was a tile that can be used on either the floor or the walls. We decided to return half of that original tile and keep the rest to use as the kitchen backsplash instead. The new flooring we chose for the cabin is absolutely perfect, and I can’t wait for you to see it.

Wrapping It Up

So that’s where life is at right now — healing from surgery, learning how to function with one hand, walking while I work, training for my big ride as creatively as possible, and slowly turning our shed-cabin into something that feels more like a home.

It’s a weird, busy, slightly chaotic season… but also a hopeful one.

I’m grateful, I’m healing, and I’m trying my best to keep moving forward — even if that means typing a blog post while walking in place like a determined little hamster.

Thanks for hanging out with me today.
And if you’re crocheting something cozy… crochet a few stitches for me, okay?

:) Christine