SSS Part 2

The shop had been a gratifying experience and turned me on to knitting. I had just had a pattern accepted for the next Stitch 'N Bitch book (Superstar Knitting) and was excited about whiling away the days in my new knitting studio designing more patterns. This was going to be my ideal retirement, or so I thought...

Unfortunately, fate had another plan. My husband was diagnosed with malignant melanoma with about a 50/50 chance of surviving the next 5 years. He had surgery to remove the original tumor and no melanoma cells were found in his sentinel lymph nodes, which was the good news. The bad news was our private health insurance wanted rid of us a soon as possible with that diagnosis. No other private insurance companies would accept someone with that pre existing condition, either. I was forced to return to Edward Jones in Tyler, TX as an office administrator to qualify for the group health insurance since Mike was having countless CT scans, MRI's, biopsies and removal of other suspicious skin growths.

Back to a 45 hour a week job (long commute) I barely had time to knit anything, much less devote any significant time to designing new patterns. I managed to do that almost a year before getting re-licensed as a financial advisor and hitting the road as a Transition Rep. I figured the constant travelling and weeks at a time in hotels would give me more design time and a better paycheck.

I covered 18 offices without a financial advisor in the almost two years I travelled all over the US. I got to visit some awesome yarn shops everywhere I went and churned out more knitting than I had while parked in east Texas. Fortunately, my husband has remained melanoma-free and beaten the odds. He stayed in Texas while my youngest daughter finishes high school this year.

A combination of events brought me back to the Portland, Oregon area. Since my two older daughters and Spuds (my grandson) live in the area, I was spending more and more "weekends home" here. I came in from the road, moved to a really great loft in the Hillsboro area and Edward Jones friends needed an office administrator a mere 5 minute walk from my current place (no commute). Fortunately I have been able to go to a 4 day work week and focus the other 3 days a week on my knitting and designing.