Catherine Hudson's IB CAS Blog

Almost two months ago, I tore both ligaments in my ankle after an accident at the rock climbing gym. I had to be on crutches and then in a boot for several weeks but now I am in the rehabilitation process. I go to physical therapy twice a week and have daily exercises that I have to do in between. Strengthening my ankle and getting to where I can climb, run, hike, etc. takes time and commitment. At therapy, I have been working with some really cool equipment such as the AlterG Anti-Gravity treadmill and Blood Flow Restriction cuffs. Side effects of wearing an orthopedic boot for an extended period of time are muscle loss and overall stiffness from lack of use so most of the work I do at therapy is to strengthen my calf muscle and regain mobility in my ankle.

I have been knitting on and off for a little over a year and now and have mastered the basic purl and knit stitches. I have been trying to branch out from the basic garter and stockinette pattern though and challenge myself with learning new patterns/stitches. I found a website online that uses variations of purl and knit stitches to create intricate patterns. The pattern looks overwhelming at first but really it's just repeating a certain amount of purl and knit stitches over and over again. I also taught myself how to do a slip stitch for the pattern. A slip stitch just involves sliding the yarn loop from the left side to the right side without working it. The tricky part is keeping the tension right after you slipped the stitch. Through lots of practice, I have gotten good at keeping a nice tension and creating neat stitches, however, I struggle with counting stitches and keeping track of what row I am on.

The lengthy power outages created by winter storm Uri meant online work was out of the picture. I had to find new ways to keep busy. After raiding the crafts drawer, I selected leftover wire from an old science project, some assorted beads from long ago, and the wire cutter and pliers from a jewelry kit and decided to attempt to make the wire rings that have populated Pinterest and TikTok feeds as of late. I had access only to the screenshot of finished rings as a model and the various materials I had managed to find in my house. After testing glue sticks, knitting needles, and pens, I found that a large expo marker was sufficient as an actual ring measurer. After analyzing the picture and trying to recall the odd video tutorial I had glanced at previously, I cut some wire and began twisting it into a ring-like shape. With no sure course of action and limited wire experience, I faced many initial challenges like making the ring too small or too big, not finishing the ring neatly, or ma...

Today I made chocolate cookie dough cupcakes in a virtual baking class hosted by a Post Oak Student. I am a huge fan of baking and have made all kinds of cookies, cakes, and pies but haven’t made many cupcakes before. Because these cupcakes were stuffed with cookie dough and iced, I had to essentially make three different components and each required several different bowls. I first made the cookie dough filling and even had extra to bake into actual cookies. I then made the cupcake batter and lastly the frosting. I consider myself a pretty good baker, but this definitely involved more steps than my usual bakes. However, the final product was delicious! cupcakes before the icing

Today is the last day of my CAS project. I went to the climbing gym as usual and started with several easier warm-up climbs. I then went to a new V5 climb that I had started yesterday with my sister. This route was newly set last week so there were many people crowding around it. I watched a few people try it from afar and even tried it myself once but there were so many people then that I didn't get a real shot at it. I came alone and really early in the morning so I was very happy to find that the wall was open for me to climb. Because the start of this climb is so high up, I have to prop my right feet on the hold almost at my shoulder height and slowly push upwards and into the wall to straighten my leg without accidentally pushing off the wall. This climb requires a lot of slow and controlled movements and also a lot of trust in your feet for the finish. The sticking point on this climb for me was the big reach from the hold on the far left to the hold on the far right. To get ...

Today is Day 22 of my CAS Project. I have been going to the climbing gym consistently every weekend and climb for about 2 hours each time. During the school week, when I don't have time to go to the climbing gym, I work on strength training and fitness in other ways. I try to do a mix of hang board exercises, pull-ups, and workout videos. I finally sent the V5 that I have been working on for the past few weeks and have since repeated it two more times! I honestly don't know how many times I tried the climb but it was definitely a project wall for me. Once I figured out the hand crossover move, the next was a huge step to the left and then another push up from there to the final holds which were also angled, far apart, and tiny. The extreme reaches were scary at first because I was not sure if I would be able to make it but once I trusted myself and went for it, I found that I could do it. Once I knew the beta and knew I could do it, I was able to repeat the climb without too mu...

I was very excited to go climbing again and try a move that I had seen another girl do yesterday on the V5 route I was working on last week. When I was at the climbing gym yesterday, another girl was attempting to climb this same route and was getting stuck at the same point. We took turns trying out the climb and also observing each other’s climbs to see if we could either learn anything or offer tips to the other person. I noticed that I had been grabbing onto the nearest tiny hold with my right hand and then matching the other tiny hold with my left hand while the girl grabbed the first hold with her left hand and then crossed her right arm under her left and grabbed the other hold. In this crossed position she was able to control her body from swinging off the wall and had a tighter grip. I immediately tried her way after and was able to hold on for longer than before. What I really like about the climbing community at Momentum is that everyone is so willing to help each other and ...