Saturday, January 31, 2009

Blog eyecandy

I love this blog: Susan Hinckley, I've never commented ('cept in my mind) but she makes me laugh and she's got great wool eyecandy. I'm a lurker and can admit I am addicted to lurking really good craft blogs and it's a bonus if they can write well. She fits the bill perfectly.

I look at her stuff and realize I have some old wool sweaters all felted up...all I would need to do is purchase some floss. I have fought buying anything to add to my giant collection of craft stuff. Somewhere (in the barn maybe?) I have a giant bag of floss but I haven't seen it in years so maybe I tossed it or something?

Her art appeals to me because it's clever, it's tactile (wish I could hold one in my hands), it's design is exactly enough (always).

My bead journal project is 4 months behind...but almost always on my mind. Last years stuff was almost all solid beading and the 2 (of 6 so far) of this years are more multi-media. I need to put up photos of the 2 I have completed. I've thought about adding beads to some knitted piece and using that but I've been too engrossed (obsessed really) with knitting better and making things that are not bead related.

But Hinckley's format is very comfortable to me. Felting pictorially and then beading borders or enhancing portions of it. Faster than knitting (because I'm such a slow knitter) and frankly I can't do the fair isle knitting I'd like to do so using felted pieces cuts out a whole bunch of work for me.

I mean, I can totally see something like this piece I did last April in a felt version. Grrrr, I tried to upload the photo but Blogger wouldn't let me! Ok, NOW blogger lets me thru a different browser.



Hinckley tells a good story and I love her taking the time to scan and upload photos to emphasis her thoughts. Great creativity and very entertaining.

So hat's off to people who inspire me to do new things. I might be dragging on this years BJP but I think it's because I'm stuck because I so want to get some floss and play and can't justify the money I know I'd spend to get many different colors.

Maybe today I'll venture into the barn and see if I can find that floss. Wish me luck if I do! LOL, but first I have to go to lace knitting class. I'm so happy I completed one panel of cat's paw.

New Topic:
This last week was character building. My evidence (and I should mention I work full-time too):
* Wed last week: Threw up bile all day long, suspect gall bladder. Had to reschedule colonoscopy test.
* Sat: Decided to take BEGINNER lace knitting class. Yarn as big as embroidery floss. OMG.
* Sun: Ripped out the 3 inches of lace knitting - too many errors and it was just plain bad.
* Mon night: Knitted 2 inches and kept losing place in the chart, also kept dropping stitches til I could no longer figure out where they were dropped and how to fix it. Medium frustration level.
* Tue night: Completed 4 inches when I lost a bunch of stitches and it all ran to almost the bottom of the piece. Nearly cried and almost admitted lace was kicking my ass. High frustration level.
* Wed night: Broke down and bought lace knitting needles. Much easier to deal with the splitting teeny yarn that I suspect is really floss. Knitted 3 inches without problems.
* Thurs: started drinking vile concoction to start the poop purging for the rescheduled colonoscopy. Gagging, vomiting it back up, cramping something awful. Headache, cried, pooped, vomited, pooped, more hysterical crying. Totally defeated and got no knitting done.
* Fri: Procedure done! No polyps this time (was a little worried about that all week). Was put out during procedure, came home and slept until 4:30 p.m. Knitted like a fiend last night and got the entire cat's paw panel done. I think it's about 8 inches in length and maybe 12 inches in width. 53 stitches across.
* This morning: Counted the last row and am missing a stitch. Find the missing stitch where I missed a yarnover 2 rows down.

Am not unknitting it. Will ask the teacher to help me fix it when I go to class. Mad at myself for knitting too late in the night last night. If I'd waited til I was fresher this morning (and maybe less affected by the drug they gave me) I might not have this little problem. Or, hahaha, maybe I would.

Enough for this morning. Gotta run.

Friday, January 30, 2009

MIL chat

Now that my shitty ordeal is over (mostly) I'm feeling a lot better. I basically slept the day away waking at 4:30. I got up once or twice but not for long.

I think I dropped some weight from not eating and releasing everything in my body. I'm sure it will all come back when I can keep food in my belly. So far food has no appeal to me...thought it would but no.

I chatted with the MIL tonight. She's asking me to paint something for her door. Maybe a mural or something with a theme. I'm not sure if she wants the door painted or wants something to hang on the door. I don't know if she wants the outside done or the inside. She won't pick a theme either. She wants me to pick a theme. And then she will decorate the place with whatever theme I choose. Not sure how she will do that unless one of us goes out and buys her "theme" items to put all over.

You guys have any suggestions?

She wants to send out invitations to all of us to get us to spend 3 or 4 hours decorating her place. she also thinks she wants one of her bookcases in her room. I don't think there is room but she says there is. She also wanted to know what furniture we had that we were not using...I'm not sure why because she can't fit much in there.

During our conversation I laughed and she told me: Ohhhh, that's a dirty laugh. She's said that before to Donita and I associate that with her being out of her mind. She was mostly with it, she sounded thick tongued but she didn't go off into lala land so I am just kind of going with it.

I'm a little worried because she told me that she was making (or wanting to make?) something but she's sliding downhill and doesn't have the interest. she said, I used to love doing things like this and now I don't. I'm not sure what that means, sliding downhill. It could mean she's not with it enough to do those things again and when she tries she can't. Or it could mean she's lost interest in doing anything. I don't know.

Well, I am going back in to finish up my cat's paw lace panel. I'm almost done with that little portion.

High and bye, going to bed

I don't think I'll every drink Lemon Crystal Light ever again. Mixing it with salt water does not make poison any more palatable.

I went and it was fine. They gve me the meds and it was finer. But it hurt so they gave me even more finer and I was asleep which was totally fine 'cept I didn't know Iwent to sleep til I woke up.

Now I have a burger, that I can't quite bring myself to eat yet. and a latte and now I am going to bed because I don't feel quite so fine now even tho i am high.

g'night.

12:20 P.M. Awake and feeling better. Not so groggy. See all my typos and sorta bad sentences up there? Maybe this portion will be written better (but maybe not since I'm not really a writer).

I thought I'd just mention that I have just over half a gallon jug of Golytely for anyone who'd like a liquid poison laxative. You could experiment on whether you could chug it down and be ready for your own colonoscopy! I also have 1/2 a bottle of citrite of magnesium. Not quite so bad but fizzy! I threw that up too in case you were wondering.

I don't know how long I was asleep in recovery before they woke me up. The huband was sitting right next to me all that time. I don't think it was very long if I use my deductive reasoning. I was home before 9:30 a.m.

My blood pressure was 107/90 after they prepped me. Kinda high. I guess I was a little stressed. My heart rate was at 77. So I tried to slow my heart rate down to 60. I got it down to 55 and it stayed there, it jumped up and down a couple of times to 57 or so but settled in at 55. I was working on lowering my BP when they came in to start the procedure. I know that sounds freaky but I conciously try to slow my BP and heart rate and know I can affect it.

I did not like that I could feel my insides hurting. My body moaned without me telling it to do so.

The nurse cracked me up (this was before I went into the procedure room). I told her I'd started and she said, "Oh, we don't care. We're concerned only about the other hole." Ok then.

The nice hub drove to get me a hamburger and I couldn't eat it. I went to sleep and ate about 1/3 of it when I woke up. Oddly I am not hungry.

I might go back to bed for a while.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Golytely gag reflex

I am having a lot of trouble drinking that golytely stuff. It tastes bad and my throat is closing and I'm gagging. I've already thrown it up once as well.

I called the doc office and they said I could mix it with lemon Crystal Light. I sent the son. It's barely helping, I am still gagging.

They are not giving me any alternatives. Just to drink it and I'm really not sure I can.

July 2009: Thought I'd update this because I get a lot of hits on this post. To those of you who've googled Golytely there IS an alternative to that nasty stuff. Magnesium Citrate. It's pretty bad too but you drink less than the entire gallon of Golytely. There is also Halflytly; it's a half gallon of the Golytely. I didn't think it was *fair* that a friend of mine got the halflytely when just 4 months prior I had to have the whole freaking gallon.

Good luck, I hope whatever you have to drink it goes down easy (some people do find it easier than I did) and that the docs don't find any horrible stuff when you have your procedure. btw, the procedure is a breeze compared to the prep.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I drink a lot of coffee

Lowering your dementia risk article.

Pretty interesting, glad I drink copious amounts of coffee.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Creative juice with no money

In the old days, you know when I was growing up...it was cheaper to make your own clothes. Cheaper to knit a blanket (although I do remember it was acrylic - shudder) and I had very mixed feelings about that.

My mom was a seamstress. My sister and I wore matching dresses for years as 1 year apart toddlers. By the time I was in first grade, my sister in kindergarten and my brother 4 she stopped making those giant frilly dresses. Similar to these only with a whole lotta organza or tulle underneath so they practically stood at right angles from your body.



Pretty soon we had play clothes that were shorts and little simple tops instead.

We didn't have a lot of money. If my dad went to the PX we got name brand canned food. Ooooooooo! "If you've got libbys libbys libbys on your table table table
You will like it like it like it - if your able able able
When you've got libbys libbys libbys on yourr table table table"

We were treated to McDonalds after church...maybe. Not always but sometimes. Sometimes we (me and my sister) went to the Plaza with my mom and she treated us to a Der Weinerschnitzel hot dog. The hot dog was not as fascinating as the sparkly bits of something in the pavement at the Plaza. I loved shopping there because of the sparkly floors.

These are things I remember as I try to figure out cheaper ways to do things. Like make things. But what I've found is it's NOT cheaper to make things.

Yarn, OMG, expensive. $25.00 hanks and you need 4 of them. So a cool 100.00 to make a sweater. Hello Target? I recently got a all cotton knit turtleneck with cables for $7.98, on sale. No, it was $6.24!

Plain cotton print fabric at Joannes? 9.99 dollars a yard. I mean, look at this link. So lets say a yard and a half for a button down shirt. Fabric: 14.50. Thread: 2.95, 6 buttons: 6.00 for 2 packages of 3. We're at about 24.00 right now. Not including interfacing, not including a few hours making it and for gawds sake the pattern: Vogue shirt pattern 20.00, on sale for 16.00!

40.00 for a shirt. A shirt I can buy for probably 15.00 at Sears, Pennys, Kohls.

I wanted to make an apron for a 12 year old chef in training. I DID buy the fabric, cost me close to 20.00 for just the fabric. No notions. I can figure out my own pattern on this one.

Sometimes I stop in at Goodwill. Mostly to see if there are wool sweaters for cheap. I've found some when I was on my make felted purses kick. Now that was a deal. Too bad they're usually mens sweaters and are too large to wear and too small if you felt them.

But I LOVE making things. Hard to keep me from doing something that entails me creating something. I'm just going to have to get more creative on on how I obtain those things. I wish that yarn store down the street wasn't so danged expensive.

Oh and it was chilly today too

The budget crisis here in California is scaring people. 2 furlough days a month can really eat into your $$$. 2 days doesn't seem like much unless you realize you only work 20 days out of each month. It's the talk of my place of employment.

It could leave you morose.

Today someone brought in these teeny avocados. A few of them were even ripe. I took a ripe one and ate it with the chili that the daughter made last night. It was yummy.

Speaking of chili. Last night I spent 31.00 on chili makings (a huge thing of ground beef) and stuff the daughter wanted to make...like brownies. She and the girls made a big pot of it. Since I'd already eaten some Creme of Rice for dinner (I know, how weird is that?) I only took about a half portion of chili.

I got up this morning thinking I could take some for lunch and have some for dinner too when I saw there wasn't very much chili left. How could this be? I looked back:

All three girls ate chili, I ate 1/2 a portion. There should be enough for our entire family to have dinner....no but the daughter gave the girls 1/2 of the chili in the pan. So I fed 2 families last night. Hmmmmmm. I guess the daughter doesn't know she used up all my money for the week with her feeding the neighborhood. Oh well. Later this week I can't eat anything (cuz of that damned test) so I guess I just chalk it up to feeding kids that made me a dinner, even if it was sort of expensive for my 1.5 portions. I was happy I had a homemade meal today for lunch.

But seeing what I spent of dinner, this video makes me really think. We have 1/2 an acre, maybe we could become farmers? We already have a lemon tree, an orange tree and our neighbor behind us allows her avocado tree to hang over into our yard.

I'm boring myself so I'm going to go do something.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Technically we've been legal for 23

Anniversary day. Today is 23 years. In June it will be 30 years together. It doesn't feel like I'm old enough to have spent almost 30 years with one person. How can that be?

The husband got me a little box of dark chocolate, some of my favorite ginger crackers and a bouquet of iris (one of my fave flowers and in my wedding bouquet). How sweet is that?

I didn't go shopping yesterday, engrossed in that damned lace knitting and then I was complaining about snot and blowing my nose every 5 mins. And that took over my world.

Speaking of taking over my world...tissues. We have some 7th generation tissue which makes me feel like we're going our part. From the website: Buying products made from recycled paper helps reduce the need for virgin wood pulp, which means more trees are left standing. Made from 100% recycled paper and whitened with an environmentally safe process, never with chemicals containing chlorine. No added dyes or fragrances.

100% recycled paper. Great. But it rips up my face, rips up the flesh around my nose if you have to blow your nose more than once a week. If you blow your nose 10 times in an HOUR you're gonna feel like you have blood dripping down your face not snot. It feels like you're reaming your face with an entire tree that has not been sanded. Exfoliation anyone?

So I resort to Kleenex with Aloe. To sooth my poor nose and face. AND I can get it in 3, yes 3 chic design colors!

Pink!


Blue!


Green!


Wow, those ARE designer colors!

Who knew that almost 30 years later the husband would still be nice enough to get gifts for the woman who echews recyling for designer colored boxes containing paper to wipe the snot off of her face?

Good times.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Snot, snot, snot is unraveling me

I cannot believe I have SNOT AGAIN! My nose is running and I am almost out of tissues. I think this is the 3rd time since just before Christmas that I have snot. No, no, I just checked this is the 4th time I've had snot since Dec 7th, 2008.

Sigh. Shouldn't one bout of snot a year be enough?

Or is this an evil plan to keep me from having my procedure?

On another note: I am unknitting almost as much as I am knitting. Earlier tonight I ripped out everything I did in class and redid it. Yes, redid it. Just call me crazy!

But I wanted it to be right. And it was, until a row ago when I purled across the last knitted row that all of a sudden the right side was the wrong side. Which is wrong. So I unknitted.

Hard to unknit. But unknitting and finding out you knitted the back on the front is a very good teacher.

So maybe I am paying too much attention to the snot falling out of my nose that I cannot concentrate on the damned chart and what row I'm supposed to be on.

Yeah, that's it.

I'm not sure I can master this...maybe I need to go back to thinking about knitting socks

I took a knitting class today. Eeeeek. It was hard. I can knit, I can purl, I can do yarnovers...but can I count? Can I read a chart with my wiggy eyes?

It's a mixed lace scarf, with 3 or 4 different lace patterns in it. the beginning of it is Cat's Paw. Go here to see what some woman named Jen has done with Cats Paw.

Pretty huh? Well, the one I'm doing is different, it's got 3 cats paws in a row by 3 cats paws in each column.

And it's 53 stitches across with this Louet linen/merino yarn. Right now I am not liking the yarn. I've never worked with anything this little and it splits so I'm having a tough time. How many times did I think "FUCK" during the hours I was there? If you guess about 500 million you'd be in the ballpark. I didn't say it tho.

The teacher didn't really give me a choice of what yarn to use, just pointed me to the Louet yarn and said choose one of those there.

Here's the other thing I don't like. The scarf is wide, it'll probably be more like a wrap than a scarf on me. I like my scarves about 5 inches wide, my neck isn't that big. This is probably going to be about 12 inches wide maybe more after blocking.

So this class isn't really Beginning Lace, it's more like Make a Lace Scarf class. And Let Me Give You A Chart To Stare At While I'm At It - I'm sure the lace is a beginning stitch but I was expecting more of a here is how you make the pattern and you must use 12 stitches plus 1 for each paw. More paws, more repeats.

The good thing is there is lots of purling in between rows of slipping, knitting, yarnovers and knit 2 togethers. At least purling is easy to read on the chart. Cuz, hahahaha, the chart doesn't show purling! That's right every other row is not shown and every other row is purling.

Can't I have a chart with every row shown?

My eyes had a field day with the slashes, some go this way /. Others go this way \. Remembering which is slip,knit,passover and which is knit 2 together is terrible for me.

And I call this fun. Hmmmm.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Whatta ya gonna do?

The office is pretty empty today. A couple out sick, others out at meetings so I am just sitting here having no work. I tried to watch some tv but I don't have the most recent version of flash so I can't. bummer. Have to get a damned tech out here just to install a stupid program. Unbelievable.

You'd think they'd let us have our own administrator in this office to sneak in a download or two.



I mean really, having no work and nothing to do is driving me play with Photoshop.
btw, the image is not mine it's drawn by an artist (if I knew his name I'd post it). I hope I don't get in trouble for using it.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

The next day

Today no sign of any belly ache. No cramping. Gone. I ate some oatmeal for lunch and it was fine.

There is a part of me that is deathly afraid of eating anything fatty cuz what if it really is gall bladder and I get that pain again? On the other hand, if I eat some fatty food maybe I'll know for sure.

I think I'll stay away from anything fatty. That was just a bad, bad deal yesterday.

Yesterday I basically slept from noon until 5:30 a.m. today. I'd get up only to puke into a bag and then fall back asleep. Let me tell you, a bag of green puke is simply lovely. I used to like the color green, now it makes me green around the gills.

I swear next time (if there is a next time) I am going straight to Urgent Care.

I got a new appt for my procedure: next Friday. And dang it, I have to get a new 'script cuz I added water to the stuff yesterday and apparently it does not keep.

Bile, cramping all the day long

I was so sick yesterday it wasn't even funny. I threw up BILE! All day long. Into the night. I even had a fever. I had to call the doc to find out what I should do. I couldn't drink anything without throwing up.

Either I had food poisoning or some kind of gall bladder attack. I don't know, all I know is I was in a lot of pain because my belly (above my belly button, up by my ribs) was cramping something awful. And then I'd throw up. The husband asked me a few times if I wanted to go to Urgent Care but I felt so badly I told him no. I probably should have gone.

So far this morning I've had 3 sips of liquid and it's ok. Barely any cramping. No throwing up...yet.

I'm going to cancel my appt this morning. Since I didn't drink any of that Golytely I don't know if there is any stuff in my body or not. I haven't eaten since Tuesday and I did throw up everything that was in my belly but who knows what might be in my digestive tract.

But now I am pissed because I'm going to have to do the no eating thing again when I reschedule.

Yesterday I thought maybe I had food poisoning, last night I realized I had the same pain as I've been having on and off for the last few years only this was 100 times worse.

On a much brighter note: I got a call from the Derm. (in between throwing up sessions) and my mole is a benign mass. Yay.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Someone twisted, that's who

What kind of sick person names the stuff that you have to drink the day before a colonoscopy "Golytely"?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Bad patient

Should you forget that you have a colonoscopy scheduled til 6 days before and should you forget that you were supposed to call them 7 days in advance to get instructions and your perscription for the gawdawful stuff you have to drink you might still have to go to your scheduled appt.

Dang it. I forgot to call on Monday because it FELT like Sunday. My test is on Thurs so I figured if I called today no problem.

I called at 1:00 ish. First the appt setter argued with me about whether my appt was tomorrow or Thurs. My appt is the 22nd, Thurs. No, that is tomorrow. No, Thursday. No tomorrow, the 22nd is tomorrow. Oh wait, no you are right Thursday is the 22nd...my calendar is wacky.

I beg to differ, there is nothing wrong with the calendar. It's the operator that is wacky.

So then she berates me for not calling in sooner because I'm supposed to be on a *special* diet today. Since I've only eaten about 10 potato chips and had coffee I'm sure I am still in the running. She says I'm supposed to not have any meat, and nothing *cloudy*. No cloudy 2 days before? Wait, she'll get the nurse on the line. Good, because she's not very convincing that she knows exactly what my special diet is supposed to be. She puts me on hold (she thinks).

I hear her on the phone telling someone that she's got a woman on the phone who has a colonoscopy on Thurs and she's eaten and OMG, she forgot to call in. I hear silence for a few seconds and I say: Hello? Ohhhh, sorry, I thought I called the nurse. Duh. Good thing she wasn't really unprofessional.

The nurse gets on the line and I tell her what I've eaten today and she tells me what I cannot eat for today. No red meat, no fried meat, no raw fruit or veggies, no wheat, no roughage. Ok, no problem for today.

Tomorrow no solid food. And no asprin.

Oh oh, I took 2 Advil this morning. Oh no! No, no you can't take asprin only Tylenol. I have to ask the doc about that. I'll call you back because you might have to reschedule. No, I don't take them regularly (although I am supposed to), just if arthritis is really bugging me.

Sigh.

I get no call from the doc or nurse. But they allowed the hub to pick up my 'scrip and instructions. So I assume I'm scheduled even tho I took 2 Advil.

Oh yeah and I have to start drinking the icky stuff (a whole gallon) at noon tomorrow. My question of, "Ummmm, will this affect my ability to be at work?" was met with "ahhhhh, yeah."

Lovely.

I am one of the younger of my group, almost everyone else is 2 year or older than I am. So why aren't they getting scheduled? grrrr. All you people over 50 ought to be calling your docs to join this party.

Oh yeah, and the hub and daughter? They called me to ask if I wanted to meet them at Chipotle for dinner. But then they realized I couldn't eat anything there so if I WANTED to go there and meet them I could.

I think I'll stay home and have some tomato soup.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Stat update

Ya know, I'm wondering why I have to wait 2 wks to get my stitches out but the daughter (who has a worse wound) gets hers out in a week?

The daughters hand is all swollen and now you can see marks that were not there the night before. Places where the dog clamped down but didn't break the skin. She's got some discomfort that she didn't have last night. I can tell she is worried and I know she's in pain because she rarely complains about pain.

I'm sure it will get better and better every day. She has to go in tomorrow to have them check for infection. It's required, not because we think she has an infection.

I'm not sure how exactly she is going to do her 2 academic finals tomorrow. She can't write. Hopefully they will let her use a computer and peck for the letters. Maybe even give her some extra time.

Tomorrow is Barack O! yay.

Placid 3 day weekend

I haven't left the house except for once today during the last 3 days. There really wasn't a reason* for me to go out, everything that I'd want to do costs money so why go out?

I had that Noro yarn that I wanted to make a scarf from, so I did. I haven't bound it off yet, I can't decide if I should get another skein and add another foot to it or block it and hope I get another 6 inches out of it. I'm not sure how much it will stretch and still retain it's width at its current size. It's only 4.5 inches wide so I don't want to lose that. I only cast on 22 stitches because I was afraid I wouldn't have enough yarn. It's barely long enough as it is at 60 inches. Yesterday I decided to go by the yarn shop to find out if the yarn lady knew the potential stretch factor but figured she was closed on Sundays.

Wrong. I found out today when I DID venture out. She's closed on Mondays. D'oh! I drove out to Joannes (stupid bad selection of yarn, it sucks) and was able to find a neutral brown to make a 1.1 rib scarf for the son...who has been begging me for one. Spent 4.99. Hey, when you're on a budget ya do what you can.

I started the scarf today and I hope there is enough yarn! It was the only skein so I'm not exactly sure what I'll do if it's not enough.

My eyes wig out if I knit too long. I think it's fixing my eyes on one spot for a long time that tires them out and gives me weird double vision. So I mix it up with 20 mins of knitting, check the computer, go read some of my book, go back to knitting, repeat.

I'm so happy I had 3 days off. Wish I had 200.00 to go shopping or out to a nice lunch or something but I'll take being at home hanging out.

btw, Happy Inaguration Day Eve!

*Ok, I lied. I went out to Urgent Care last night for the daughters stitches. But that doesn't really count.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Stat again!

First off I was not there for the actual incident.  I called to find out if the daughter had gotten her hair cut (she had) but they were on their way to Urgent Care.  

Urgent Care?  Why? I asked.  Because the daugher got bit by a dog in the parking lot of the local TJ's.  The hub was going to drop her off and then go back to the parking lot to find the guy and his vehicle full of dalmations.

Evidently she was next to the cab of the (small) truck that had 2 dalmations in the cab.  There were 4 in the back of the truck.  She was talking to her dad and her friend Jenny when the dog stuck his head out the open window and grabbed her hand.  No, she was not trying to pet or touch the dog.  Totally unprovoked.

She pulled back and has a good deep puncture wound right above the ring and middle finger of her right hand.  A tetnus shot and 4 stitches.  Antibiotics and no PE for a week.  

The hub didn't find the guy (although he does know the guys name but does not know where he lives).  I drove down to Urgent Care because the hub didn't leave a way for the daughter to pay for treatment and I thought they'd think it was weird to leave her there, even tho it's probably understandable.  It wasn't flowing blood but I could tell it was going to be stitches.

She was calm the entire time we were at Urgent Care.  Held in hand in betadine for 30 or so mins.  Got the tetnus shot, not even a flinch.  A little flinch as they gave her the shots to numb the hand.  She did not watch them stitch it, although I did.  Pretty interesting to see how to stich with a teeny curved needle and a hemostat.

Here she is as the doc is beginning to stitch her.  Taken by my cell.  

Kinda funny that both of us have stitches.  I have a measy 2 stitches and she has 4.  Lets hope nobody else in the family has to get stitches.  

Junuary

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it supposed to be January?  Winter, coldish.  Freezing ass coldish if I remember my weather facts correctly.  It's been in the 80's for the last 2 weeks.  Really.

I would use the word "seriously" in place of "really" but it's soooo over done by anyone who watches Greys Anatomy so I cannot on principle use the word.

I'm renaming this month Junary.  I woke up at 5:30 a.m. (no idea why) and checked to see if the son was home from LA because if he was I had to check to see if the gate was open or closed because that one time he forgot and I let the dogs out and had to run 100 yards in my pj's and wild hair to close the gate before the boy dogs discovered the open gate to freedom.  

It was hard to see the gate because of the fog.  Yes, June gloom fog.  The gate was closed so the dogs went out to their captive freedom.  They disappeared into the fog at about 30 feet.  

As I cruised the internet the window right behind this monitor brightened with sunlight.  And it warmed up the room. I'm sitting in this room in the early morning hours and the heater is not turned on.  And it's supposed to be January.

But it's more like June in January.  At the moment the front door is open to let the weather in....something I normally detest in January.  

So I'm renaming the month.  I wonder if it'd catch on?

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Wally Lamb book, "The Hour I First Believed"

I finished the Wally Lamb book, "The Hour I First Believed".  Hmmmmm...some of it I loved.  Some of it I was bored.  All of it was well written.

The subject matter(s) is big.  Huge.  Lamb tackles a lot of stuff.  I think he would have been better off staying with the plot of his broken wife, his broken self and how the echo's of the Columbine shootings kept reverberating until it dissipated (or not). 

There was enough material to write 2 books.  The first story (see above) and a second story about his family history.  Using the Katrina couple,  Janis and Moze as the vehicle to explore the womens prison, fallen women, and the strength and weaknesses of women at the time (which I assume is a subject dear to his heart since he's written a few books about women in prison leaving victimhood behind) just made me a little crazy.  The two characters did nothing for the story.  

I think all families have hidden skeletons but this one had multitudes in every generation.  Big ones.  Too many, too many causes, too many psychological threads that all get tied up towards the end by Caelum.   

I was bored through a lot of the manuscript portions.  I really didn't care that much about Caelums grand-relatives.  I only cared about the choices they made as it pertained to their family, not who they met, who they had dinner with (invaribly a famous historic figure) or how they asked benefactors for money for their cause.  

Neal Stephenson (Cryptonomican, Quicksilver, etc) does that kind of thing better.  I thought it was odd that I'm reading Quicksilver at the same time as "Hour I First.." and found some comparions (reading about Papists and the relatives of Caelum running into famous people: Twain, Stowe, various others).

Lamb is always big.  He tackles big personalities, big feelings and he does it extremely well.  This time I think he just chose to try and put a reason behind every choice instead of letting minor characters stay minor he gave them voices and stories that rivaled the main characters which I think distracted and diluted the main plot.  

Dangerous results

At work I have this young friend.  She's 21.  A really good girl who is quirkly, funny, smart and generally when she is angst-ridden or has good news she comes to me to talk about it.  We chat about a lot of different subjects.  

Yesterday my phone was on my desk, sitting out for all the world to see the chewed up countenence.  She picked it up to examine it (laughing and pretty much in awe of the puppy who chews thru metal and could crack the glass of the screen).    My screen is slowly being erased like an Etch-a-Sketch screen.  Portions are completely blacked out.  It affects all views.  

This is sort of how I must read my messages:

To: VO

From: The daughter

Hey, I'd would like to go to p//k/////jus/////

and don't worry.  I will be fi//.//

That message could say anything!  I might be giving her permission to do something shocking if I just reply with OK.  You see how I might think missing text is dangerous. 

On a related note the photo I have on my phone desktop is a photo of my daughters henna tattoo on her belly.  Now as the black eats up the colored bytes of the desktop you cannot tell the girl in the photo is wearing clothes.  So it looks like porn on my phone.  Note to self: Change desktop photo.  

She offered up her old cell phone for me to use so I didn't have to keep trying to guess what letters are supposed to be in the message.  And she suggested my daughter might not want to look like porn on the phone desktop.  

See, my friend is generous and smart.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Off and alone for the evening

3 days off, I have 3 days off, nanner, nanner, nanner.  I am so happy my work gives us this holiday.

The family is out and about, the son is off to see a band in LA, the daughter is at a girlfriends and the hub is going to go play ukes.  (He was going to drive into OC but that plan went awry).  I thought I could knit and/or read with no distractions.  But lol, here I am posting, which technically is reading.  I don't get much home time all by myself so it's kind of nice when I do.  

My incision doesn't really hurt today.  It did yesterday.  Not bad just if I sat down on a chair that had no cushion it pulled the incision and hurt.  Or when I got in or out of the hubs truck, it's kind of tall for me.  Either I learned where not to sit today or it's just way better today...I'm just happy I didn't have any moments of Owie, owie, owie, damnit like I did yesterday. 

Ok, off to knit or something

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Stat!

I had no idea I had a derm appt today...til I got to work and the reminder popped up.  Crap.  The derm needed to check a mole on my leg.

I got there and the exam room was burning hot.  Like 100 degrees with no air movement.  I brought wool knitting with me and no book.  Sweat began dripping down my face.  Not due to stress but that I was sitting in the precursor to hell office.  Is Purgatory hot?

The nice (young) female doctor came in and said, "So you have a mole I need to look at?"  "Yes, it's on my upper left leg."  

"Ok, go ahead and show me."

"Show you?  Right now?"

"Yes, go ahead pull down your pants and show me, come over here."

"Pull down my pants."

"Yes."

"Ok."  So I did even tho I felt kind of awkward that I didn't have a gown on so I could only show a bit of my body at a time.  And I felt lucky that I stood there not quite pulling down my pants til I got over to her.  Otherwise I'd have to walk that crabby walk when your pants are down around your knees. 

"Oh, that needs a biopsy."

(I pull up my pants)

"A biopsy?"

"Yes, right now."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

Just call me Polly the parrot because everything she says I am repeating after her.  

"Oh,ok.  It's just that I wasn't expecting...."

"I know but it has to be done.  It won't hurt much, it's like a bad shaving accident.  I'll just shave it off."

"A bad shaving accident huh?  I hate shaving accidents.  You're gonna shave it off?"

"Yes."

She leaves after telling me the nurse will be in to set things up.  I think "Whew, maybe now I'll get a drape.  The nurse comes in with a lot of hustle and bustle setting things up.  Like syringes and little bottles.  But no drape.  Hmmmmm.

Doc comes back in and says, "Go ahead, take your pants down and get up on the table."

"Pants down, on the table?"

"Yes."  (you'd think by now she'd be getting irritated by the echo that seems to be the punishment in this hot purgatory).

I undo my pants and hop up on the table.  

"Turn over."

"Turn over?"

"Yes, on your belly."

"On my belly?"

(Even I am, at this point hearing how idiotic I sound repeating everything.  Why she isn't asking me if I want a cracker is something I will never understand.)

 I turn over and she gives me a shot to numb the pain.  I am very self concious that my ass is showing, my pants are around my ankles, I'm wearing knee high leather boots and I have no drape and I decide to converse with her about hmmmmm, the possible results of a biopsy.

I say, "So what kind of cancers...."

"Oh, I think this will come back as benign.  I can usually tell by the feeling of the mass and this one feels benign.  Melonoma feels different."

At the moment I'm not all that concerned that it's melonoma but ya know there is always that possiblity, especially since she was soooo quick to say "BIOPSY! Stat!.  Ok, I made up the Stat part.

She asks the nurse for a *punch*.

"A punch?" I asked.

"Yes, we're gonna do a punch biopsy."  Hmmm, what happened to shaving it off?

She punches it.  "Owwiiieeeee.:  I yipe. 

"hmmmm, you feel that?"  Since my leg is jumping around with twitches you'd think she'd know I could feel it.

"Yes, I feel that."

"Ok, another shot for you."

Immediately she gives me another and I still feel the second punch.  Neither of them were enough to bring tears to my eyes but I expect if I deal with the pain of a numbing shot (or two) I shouldn't feel anything after that. 

"All done."

"All done?"

"Well, you're getting some stitches, 2 or 3."

"Stitches?"

"Yep, stitches."

She stitches it up, by now there is no pain just tugging.  I hop off the table pulling up my pants.  

The doc leaves.  The nurse hands me a paper with instructions about stitches and tells me the results will be back in 2 weeks.  I am to come back in two weeks to have the stitches removed as well.  I leave.

It takes maybe 30 mins all told.  Fast.  I walk out to my car and while I am walking the side of my leg feels wet.  I thought it was from the numbing stuff.

I'm driving back to work and I feel my pants and it feel wet.  Not like water but wet.  I look down and there is blood on the seat.  Crap.  I'm bleeding.  I pull over onto a side street. 

Now I might have just pulled my pants down for a couple of strangers but I am not about to pull down down my pants on the side of the road, even if I am in my car.  I call my work to tell them I am going home to inspect what I think is an unholy bloody mess and would call them from home.

I get home and yes, I was bleeding.  My black (lined) pants got soaked with blood...although it was maybe a 4 inch patch of blood that seemed to have stopped by the time I got home.  I sent a photo to my boss. LOL. She told me to stay home and she'd see me tomorrow.  

The bandaid they used is one of those circular ones.  It's small.  There is not enough gauzy stuff on that thing to soak up more than a drop of blood and I had more than just a drop.  I mean I wasn't bleeding to death but I know if my pants hadn't soaked up most of it I'd really been freaking out.  

So here is the lesson here: If you are going to get a mole looked at, just expect them to ask you to pull down your pants right now.  Yes, now.  No honeymoon phase.  Now.  If you didn't shave your legs too bad.  I tell you this because if you react like I did...become a repeating parrot, it will be your own fault for not learning from my mistake.  I'm just saying. 

I'm gonna post a photo so if you don't like that kind of thing don't look.  But really, it's not that bad.  Funny how I'm fine showing the wound but am not fine about pulling down my pants at the drop of a hat. 

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Keep scrolling, it's there. 

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Here is a photo of the 2 stitches and the teeny bandage.  

Temp swings

Hmmm, for the last 2 days I've gotten up when the clock starts with numero 5.  5:08 a.m. yesterday and 5:31 a.m. this morning. 

Maybe it's because it's hot here.  Yesterday it was 67 degrees at 6:00 a.m. in JANUARY.  By the time I drove to work it felt like it was 80 kajillion degrees.

ha!  I just checked the weather for today and it says: 

Clear - 66°F

Feels Like 66°F

A month ago it was in the early 30's at nighttime.  Cold enough to snow. (and it did).  The little mountain by my work was topped off with white stuff.  And as if yesterday it was covered in springtime green fuzz.

Mother Nature has changed her dress from rocky beige to fuzzy green.  In the span of about 2 wks.  

The change in temps have made every office enviroment a sauna in the afternoon.  The heater comes on at noonish because it's 80+ degrees but everyone is geared up in wintery clothes.  Someone turns the air on and by 4 when the sun is going down the office turns wintery cold.  

It's enough to make you think you're hotflashing when you aren't.

Speaking of which, I haven't had any hot flashes in a couple of months now.  I so appreciate the normalization of my internal guage. No headaches and no nausea either.  So any crankiness is just normal crankiness.  Yay.

Ok, must get dressed for work. 



Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I am suffering (a tad dramatic I think)

Today I saw a black SUV that had pulled someone over.  Had police lights in the back and a spotlight on the front side.  Never seen an undercover SUV before.  (duh, it's undercover!)

At lunch I saw a gray SUV crash into a white compact.  They got out, looked at the dent, agreed to leave it alone and both drove away in different directions.

The girls are in the kitchen making fried rice for dinner.  Yum.  Love those cooking girls.  Nice to have a cooked meal!

I'm 1/2 way thru the newest Wally Lamb book.  I'm reading it too fast.  Book club isn't til the 3rd week in Feb (I think).  I need something else to read so I don't read it too early and forget the plot and characters.  

My mind is like a sieve.  See how I jumped from one thing to another? And none of it important either. 

Maybe it's because I'm bored?  I don't want to knit, I can't read Wally Lamb, I'm bored with Quicksilver at the moment.  Here's another random thing:  Both the Wally Lamb book and Quicksilver mention Papists.  How many books lately have you read that has the word Papist in it?  I know I should be working on my Nov bead journal page but nah, no inspiration and now I'm almost 3 months behind.

I need to sew up an apron for Olivia - a xmas gift. 

I want to make hairpin lace but I STILL haven't figured out what I can use for a loom.  I think of it and the thought goes out the window.

I must be suffering from ADD or something.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Lunch and exchanging gifts for the family

Speaking of the MIL...today she was totally coherent.  Not a single whacky moment in all the hours we were with her.  I figured she'd just taken her meds when we got there and she got a second dose a few hours later.  Nothing, no hallucinations or slurriness.

We got to see Em.  A rare occurance.  A few weeks ago the MIL said to me (when I said we hadn't seen Em in months)  "Oh you know Em really depends on you guys."  Me and the daughter laughed and said, "No, she doesn't, she's very independent and she never calls us for help."  I guess the MIL thought we were hurt by that so she tried to make us feel better by saying, "Well, you know she knows you are always there for her so she is dependant upon you if she needs you."

Bwhahahaha.  I'm proud of the fact that my niece is so independent.  We're not hurt by her having her life.  When she has time or the inclination she joins us for dinner.  Usually tho she has concerts or (I assume) other things to do.  I do hope tho that if she ever does want company that she calls us.

Anywhooo, it was great seeing her even if it was only for a short while (she had a performance).  She ate lunch with us and we traded quick Christmas gifts.

The MIL seemed to like her gifts.  Probably the one that commanded the most attention was the large size font book (Fried Green Tomatos) that we gave her.  Mostly it commanded her attention because all of her other gifts went to her room in a bag, it didn't fit so she carried it on her lap until we sat in the library and she started reading it.  She also got a Starbucks card, 2 outfits, a puccini cd and a light up telephone that verbally announces calls.  

Oh, something else that piqued her interest....the movie theater room.  There is a big screen tv in there to watch movies.  She kept asking if we thought it was for the public (like families, etc) or if she decided to bring in a movie did we think she could come in there and watch?  I hope she does ask someone to help her get a movie started.  I can tell she misses a large screen tv.  

Perhaps daytime is better for her than nighttime?  She might be more rested during the day.

She was eager to get to dinner (even tho we ate lunch at about 2:30-3:00).  We left her at the dinner table waiting for Bulah.  Also, if she complains about the quietness of the dining room, don't believe it. It's loud and boisterous but she thinks it's quiet as a library and you can hear a pin drop (not that she can).  Today I also noticed that she had no idea there was a woman vaccuming right behind her, I could barely hear her over the vacumn.    The daughter turned to me and said "I don't think she can hear the vacumn."  The MIL kept telling me the story and frowned at me when I told her to speak louder.

That's the MIL report. 

Sad me

I'm so bummed.  I lost my Christmas gift.  Today we spent time with the MIL and each of us got a card with a gift card inside.  Mine was in a card with the hubs card.  I was knitting so when the hub handed me the card I told him to open it.  I saw there were 2 cards and I kept knitting (although I did thank the BIL).

Then I went outside while everyone cleaned up the table so we could take the MIL upstairs.

I didn't think twice about the gift until we were driving home.  Asked the hub if he picked it up.  Nope he says.

I think it got thrown out with the trash.  I am so bummed.  I LIVE off of lattes so a gift card can buy me a few pounds of coffee.  I never (hardly ever) buy single drinks there, too expensive.  But pounds of coffee?  Yes, I absolutely must have that and purchase it as part of my diet.

So I'm really, really, really, really bummed.  

But I do thank the BIL for the gift and my family who offered up theirs to me.  (I declined them).  

What's funny is earlier in the day I said to the hub: "I'd hate to go somewhere where they were trading gifts and I was the only one who didn't get one."

Well, I got one, I just didn't get to take it home with me.  

Friend whores

I don't get the whole collecting "friends" on Facebook.  Every one my FB is actually someone I know.  Or knew.  All except one person.

She requested to be my friend and I asked if I knew her.  I googled her and found her to be the wife of a guy who's published a number of books about yoga/buddhism.  She also "knows" some of my yoga buds.  So I added her (she also wrote me and told me she was trying to hook up with like-minded people).  

About every day she posts a status that is inspirational.  My status posts are rarely inspirational (ok, so far, have never been inspirational).  I would not call them yogic either.  But then my life isn't focused on "yogic".  Unless you count just living my life.  

And I realized this woman is actually doing it as a way to market herself.  I fnd that distasteful.

A person I know on FB has actually added some of my friends that there is no way she knows.  She might know who they are but they're not really her friends.  Some of my real life friends (who I see or talk to all the time) added her becaue they thought they might know her and then realized the only thing they have in common is me or my husband.  They don't know her and aren't likely to ever meet her in person.

I have a horrible allergy to people who sidle up to you too quickly and pretend they're your friend who can easily joke with you, etc.  Unless there is instant two-way connection (and there is always that certain something when both of you are totally in sync) I start getting claustrophobic.  Usually those friend whores invade your personal space.  I step back, they step forward, I step back again, they move even closer.  I want to run from them.  I start to itch and I want to dose them with Benedryl.

I'm not desperate for friends or for friendship.  I have plenty of friends and those are the ones I keep in contact with.  Either in real life or online via FB, my blog or email.

Networking is a fine idea for those who want to collect faces.  But it's also a fine idea to keep your friends your friends and not people you know by face.  I choose not to be a friend whore.  

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Errands

Around noonish I did my errands.  I thought about going earlier, I had every intention of going earlier but my I managed to find other less productive things to do...like surf the internet and drink lattes.

I got a hot tip that Wally Lambs new book, "The Hour I First Believed" was on sale at Target for 20.00!  Now notice how the link I just posted has the book on sale for $17.97!  And it's eligible for SuperSaver shipping IF you spend 25.00! I am a smart shopper, I did not fall for that deal.  

My plan:

Get gas - (before it goes over 2.00 again).  Whew, I squeeked under at 1.97.

Get coffee - Requires me to go into the store to grind it myself.  Barista's (nice but not always the most attentive).  I hand the bag of espresso beans to them and tell them "I need a grind for an espresso machine."  They chat to their coworkers and grind it for a drip machine.  Almost every time.  I think they must hear me say: "I need my espresso beans ground for a machine."  Grrrrr.  Maybe they just don't believe I have an espresso machine.

Get book - Gotta get it before the price goes up to 29.00!  And because it's 752 pages and I'm also reading "Quicksilver: Volume One of The Baroque Cycle" by Neal Stephenson, a whopping 960 pages, I need to get started for the next book club.

The day is sunny and I am on my way.  I get 3 blocks from the house and realize I haven't stopped by the Little Yarn Store the hub told me about.  It's very close to the house and right on the way to the grocery store if I go a way that I don't normally go...so I go that way.  That's how I roll...shopping?  I'm sure it's on the way. 

It's a smallish store but there are 5 ladies sitting at a table knitting.  One gets up, introduces herself as Kathy.  She asks about my knitting experience (I say beginner even tho I've been knitting for many years).  

I've knit (not purled mind you) just knitted rectangles for decades.  And I didn't knit something every decade, I just knew how to knit during some of those decades.  And I struggle thru pattern reading and more importantly cannot carry a pattern around with me and remember what row I'm on which is important if you want something to fit.  I eyeball.  Scary eh?  That is also why those 3 giant hats I knit are considering a second life as toilet seat covers.  What's next?  Toilet paper roll dolls? 

Recently I've forced myself to learn how to purl.  Painful.  Backassward knitting.  Awkward, and I have no control and no speed - you should see me flying thru a plain old knit stitch!

I learned Norwegian purl.  Convoluted but nice because the yarn is held to the back instead of the front.  But there are extra steps to it so my slow purling is even slower.

Must s p e e d   u p.   If you know me, you know speed is my middle name.  Why drive 45 when 55 is faster?

I find a pattern for Mistake Rib (groups of 4 + 3) knit 2, purl 2, purl the last single stitch).  It give me a lot of purling to do, only 2 at a time and knit stitches to speed thru.

The beginning of my scarf is loose but as I practiced purling off my thumb I finally got the tension right and I was able to purl as purls are supposed to be purled (without the thumb).  I've sped up.  Only took me about 4 inches of the length of the scarf (only 4 inches wide).  Not so bad.  But still I'm a beginner...I barely made it thru the one sock (with help) so I am not a true knitter...yet.

Kathy left me to browse the yarn.  Ohhhh, fun.  A lot of luxury yarn.  Pah-patooie, on Joannes and Michaels!  Wool, silk, soy, bamboo, cotton...nary a skein of yukky acrylic.  However, the prices are as luxurious as the yarn.  I bought some Noro Kureyon 212 yarn.  I didn't want to do it but I had to.  I'm just going to make a scarf out of it.  I can't afford to buy really nice yarn for something large.  One skein doesn't go very far. Or I suppose I could make a tube top for my daughter, because I certainly wouldn't wear a tube top!  

Kathy interupts my browsing with a question:  "Hey VO, I'm ordering pizza, would you like to sit with us knit and eat pizza with us?"

A lunch invite from strangers.  How strange.  How weird.  How fun is that?

I declined but was tickled that the people in the store were genuinely nice and want to help a beginner become a true knitter (and yes, there is the fact that I'd buy all my knitting needs at her store), but still.  

I read on their website they will give you a 10% discount if you sign up for a class and purchase your materials there.  I want to take a sock class so I could get the sock yarn there...I can get needles from Susan who has a bonanza of sock needles from her gramma.

Maybe 2009 is the year I'll become a real knitter?

Oh and yes, I got all my other stuff done! 

The essence

Love this video about meditation!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

I read most of it last night and finished it up this morning.  I loved the book, mostly the writing.

The story is odd...but good.  A coming of age story.  

Charlie is at the end of his middle school year and is just entering high school.  The narrative is in letter form (to an unknown recipient).  The character of Charlie is interesting because his voice is stilted, young and there is something odd about his thought process.  Is he autistic?  He sounds autistic or in some chapters too young to be the age portrayed or in some cases too old.  He sounds damaged.  The level of detachment is high, very high. 

As a freshman he is befriended by seniors.  Implausible to me.  But I hung in there because Charlie is such a mystery.

There is suicide, drug use, psychiatrists, alcohol, sex, sex abuse, violence, teenage angst and gay issues in this book.  

I really liked the book despite the feeling that the group of friends were far too old to be so nice and accomodating to someone so young and odd. 

A very fast read. 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Friday, January 9, 2009

A weekend goal and chili!

I have a plan for this weekend.  (gasp)

The old computer which used to die on a regular basis stopped dying on a regular basis AFTER I figured out the back side of it was clogged with dust.  There was no air exchange from the vent.  So it was turning itself off when it got too hot.

Smart computer - dumb operator.

Admittedly the old computer is slower than the new computer...but if I clean it off, get rid of a bunch of old stuff it should load faster.  And that would mean that 2 people could be on computers at the very same time.  Novel idea since we have wireless networking now.

I also have to hook up that second monitor and do all the networking AND then more than one person can be online.  

New topic: Chili

The husband has been saying he was going to make chili.  It never materialized.  He bought the stuff but never made it.

The most fabulous daughter and her girlfriends made chili tonight and it's yummy.  I would have liked some green chilis in it but a decision was made not to get chilis.  I love those green chilis.  My MIL used to make the best albondigas soup with those chilis.  No heat, just great flavor.  

They also made corn muffins.  Yum.

We all sat/stood in the kitchen eating chili.  Fun with the girls.

All 4 girls have been doing a lot of baking/cooking in the last few weeks.  I am loving it.  Mostly because they are having a lot of fun (I don't eat much of their baking, too sweet) but it's way fun to listen to them coordinate their efforts.  AND they clean up after themselves too!

I am so happy the kitchen has stayed CLEAN.  Everyone is doing their dishes after they use them.  Nothing in the sink!  Ok, so I washed the frying pan in the morning (they made dinner the night before).  It didn't get done for some reason so I just washed it so it didn't start a trend...one dirty thing in the sink filled with scummy water starts another.  No sirree.

And it's the weekend now! Yay.

Say, I remember that!

Today while I was at lunch I heard (over the speakers) a song I haven't heard in decades.  Hot Child in the City by Nick Gilder.  OMG.  That song is from 1978, when I was a wee lass of 19.  A year or two later I saw Nick Gilder sing that song somewhere?  Maybe at Squeeze?  I don't remember.

Funny to hear it.  Because it's one of those songs you never hear. 

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Earthquake!

Tonight at the grocery store I hear this rumbling.  It sounded like someone with a really big metal cart and it was rumbling fast thru the store.  I could hear items falling off of it.  Then I started feeling it.  

I realized we were having an earthquake and items were falling off shelves.  I walked over to the checkstand where there were 3 or so people in line and everyone was talking.  

I told the checker there was stuff that had fallen, I'd heard things falling off shelves.

Oh, there was an aftershock (8:48) just now.  Hang on, have to let the daughter online.

(edited to add: A minor earthquake occurred at 8:47:40 PM (PST) on Thursday, January 8, 2009.
The magnitude 3.3 event occurred 3 km (2 miles) S of San Bernardino, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 14 km ( 9 miles).)

Ok, so I'm back and it's 10:54.

As all of us in line laughed and talked (and I called the daughter who reports it woke up the hub and scared the Mocha dog).  The checker was telling the guy in front of me that she's never been in a big place during an earthquake.  And she asked if he heard her cuss.

He took a second and solomnly said, "Yes."  Pretty funny exchange.  Then all of a sudden I hear over the loudspeaker: "Cleanup in aisles 2,3,4,5,6 and 8."

Made me laugh aloud. 

The earthquake was downgraded from a 5.0 to a 4.5. (edited to add: A light earthquake occurred at 7:49:46 PM (PST) on Thursday, January 8, 2009.
The magnitude 4.5 event occurred 3 km (2 miles) SSW of San Bernardino, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 14 km ( 9 miles).)

Good smells

Good food smells:

Onions, garlic and mushrooms sizzling in a pan. 

Cinnamon/cloves - pies, yams, tea anything with that combo.

Turkey dinners

Coffee

Grilled anything: bbq

Citrus (all)

Black licorice

Chili and lime

Things that are not food related:

The scent of spicy roses and/or carnations.

Fresh laundry

puppies

Dittos (from the way back machine!)

Alka-selzer (that's a funny one huh?)

The air after a rain when it's hot.

Citrus leaves when you crush them.

Lavender

Bad smells

Cilantro: ookie food. No, really, I think it's a horrible food. It's not even food, not fit to eat.

I know I'm in the minority here, seems like most people love it. The more the merrier is basically the sound I hear when I hear someone say, "Yummmm, cilantro."

For me it permeates any food item. That's all I can taste and the taste lingers. Unless it is very small amounts I have to pick it out of my food or not order the item. I never buy it and never cook with it. It's like green rot to me.

I don't think I'm a supertaster as in the link above. But there are certain scents I cannot abide. I can't abide cilantro, although luckily I can't necessarily smell it unless it's in my food.

Here are a few food/drink scents I cannot stand:
     Old fish and sometimes fish markets.
     Any alcohol on someones breath. Wine and beer are the worst and I can smell them across the room. Basically I have to leave the room.
     Strong brocolli. I used to love brocolli. But when I was pregnant it made me ill. Now I can barely tolerate it cooking. If it is fresh, it's not so much of a problem but if it's a few days old I can smell the difference.

I think those are the big offenders, there might be one other but I can't think of it.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Target customer service

I had to run an errand for work today and I had to go to Target. I knew what I needed to buy and since I know that store like the back of my hand I knew where it was and what I might want to cruise by as I went to and from.

4 times I was asked if I'd found what I was looking for, or asked if I needed help finding anything.

4 times in maybe 10 mins.

Odd. I mean, I love Target. (although I hate that I can't spend more money there). I like it because there is usually someone around if I DO need help but usually they're not in your face greeting you or bugging you as you shop. I love the mostly hands off approach.

4 times when I'm walking purposely and not wandering around with that "hmmmm, I wonder if I'd find tools over here in this aisle, no , maybe that aisle" look on my face.

Maybe their management thinks because sales are down (I assume) they need to pump up the customer service.

No, please don't. Please don't ask every clerk to talk to me. I hate that. Be there if I need you but don't approach me for no darned reason.

Let me shop or browse in peace.

Nice things

Nice things I like:

Giving someone my place in line.

Being able to answer a question for someone.

Being the lead car with wide open road in front of me.

Neat, well-groomed yards.

Seeing the glow of peoples homes at nighttime - lights illuminating beautiful living rooms usually.

Puppies.

My daughter totally taken with some project she's creating.

A gift with real thought behind it.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Foraging

It's hard to be at work. After 2 wks of not going I was all happy to be my own boss. Unfortunately that doesn't pay well enough.

And now I am hungry. Must forage for food.

Monday, January 5, 2009

the MIL?



That photo looks a lot like the MIL. But I just can't say for sure. That woman looks a lot fatter than the MIL has been in some number of years. Her glasses look to be a different shape as well. And I don't recognize the clothes.

But the shape of her hands is almost identical. You can see her hair looks similar (the shape) but I do remember almost always the Dominatrix always had the MIL's hair in a Dear Abbey updo. It was never down like that. But I can admit that it's not like she got her hair done every single day...but her caregiver always had her looking impeccable.



It's the glasses that don't make sense to me. She doesn't have that shape glasses and her face doesn't look quite right.

But it COULD be her.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

MIL visit, the Gnawer and Cupcakes

We went to visit the MIL. Odd visit. Here she is eating a burrito sort of. She was prior to this pretty normal.



This is a photo of the dining room, although we did not eat there.

It became increasely clear that she was going into an alternate universe. First I noticed her getting slurry with her words, then some of the things she was saying didn't make sense to the conversations around her (although they did sort of make sense but did not jive with what we were talking about) and then she picked up this vase of fake flowers and tried to drink out of one of the flowers like it was a straw.

The BIL said: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" and she sort of came out of it, saw she had a vase of flowers and sort of shook her head and said, "hmmmm, I must have been daydreaming."



Those are the flowers in the vase. The daughter was quite taken with the flowers (prior to the straw incident). She knew they were plastic but didn't know the "water" wasn't real. She loved turning them upside down and seeing the "water" not flow out. The MIL kept telling her to stop it because we were going to get in trouble.

Right in front of her we started discussing her drugs and her schedule. She didn't really pay any attention to our conversation. She was focussing on her hearing thingy. Totally absorbed in that.

By the time we left she was acting/speaking a bit more normally. We found out she'd been given her levadopa about an hour and a half before we saw the odd behaviour so I'm thinking it's the drugs.

She might also be more subject to these hallucinations since she is stressed. Even tho this place is fairly big with a lot of residents (it seems that most of them are more mobile than she is and younger too) she hasn't (that I can get out of her) made many new friends yet. She's talking to some of the residents from her old place (there are about 10-15) and I know she's not doing any activities yet.

There were groups of women who were coming in from somewhere and they weren't being escorted like at the Towers. Maybe they were doing classes or came in from being out or something. It's much, much less insitutionalized there. But true to form the MIL was afraid we'd get in trouble for certain behaviours. She kept shushing us. I hate being shushed. We even cleared whatlittle noise we were making. The aide told us not to worry, we were not close enough to rooms to make a difference.

She'll adjust, I know she will. But she keeps saying how good she had it at the Towers. Hmmmmmm.

New topic: Here is a photo of the Gnawer aka Zoms or Zomba. See those giant ears? Other than his wild reflective eyes he looks perfectly nice doesn't he? He's a gnawer. Don't ever forget that.



New topic again: The daughter made these cupcakes for my book club dessert.

A new monitor for us! yay

Yay! I got a flat screen monitor for 20.00! It's only 16 inches but how can you beat that deal? Best of all the guy's office is 2 blocks away! I get to pick it up around 11 a.m. tomorrow!

Craigslist is a fab invention.

The husband and some woman

hahaha, lookit what I found.



The husband in 1986 as Adam in 7 Brides. The year we got married, this was taken about 6 months afterwards. Young isn't he?

Book club: easy night

Book club was good. The last 3 or so were a little tense because at one point or another someone got cranky. Some stress going on for a couple of peeps. Seems to have all smoothed out now.

Generally the book: The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan was rated so-so. So bleak, so disjointed, so depressing, etc. You get the picture.

Food was good, nothing overcooked or undercooked. Always a plus. I didn't go all out on the food this time. Salad, Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread and the fabulous cupcakes. Terry and Susan came early with a bottle of wine. I drank 1/2 of 1/2 a glass. It was really good wine too.

Everyone was gone by 11, the place cleaned up by midnight. The daugher and her friends stayed the night here. I was in bed by 1 a.m.

Today is the last day of my time off (boooo).

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Sat resting before book club

I could not have gotten the house done in time without the help of the daughter and her friends. And now they are making the dinner. They made the dessert, I have to get a picture of it. It's too cool and works great with the food.

Susan and Terry are coming over early to have a glass of wine. Terry got Susan a really nice wine so she's bring it by so we can all bogart the wine. Ok, I probably won't have more than 1/2 a glass but it's the sharing that counts.

Right now I am so happy because I've got 2 hours to not do anything. Yay. Maybe I'll knit or read that stupid book I'm reading.

Speaking of which...a girl at work bought the newest Piers Anthony book. I read most of his stuff years and years ago. I can't remember the last one I read but it was probably this one, With a Tangled Skein. That was published in '85 so it's been a long time since I've read him. I used to buy all his books as they came out. I started reading the Adept series that started in maybe '81 and stopped reading those about 8 years later. I didn't finish the series.

I got bored with him. It doesn't matter what series you pick up of his, they all have the same exact flavor to them. Characters always speak the same and the solutions to everthing is presented the same every sentence.

So the girl at work knew I'd read him and she was all excited about his new book, Under a Velvet Cloak. She bought it, evidently read it and had Kim give it to me to read while I was on vacation.

I started it last night. I hate it. I mean really hate it. The subject matter is basically sex. The characters speak of sex so casually and do it so casually that there is nothing sexy or intriguing about it. And Piers Anthony uses any excuse for his characters to have sex. Answer a question and the main character will do the answerer. And frankly it's just bad sex.

He also has characters that are gay (so far only men tho) and one character is a pedophile. A gay pedophile. Who does boys between 6 and 8. And the characters are ok with it. For gawds sake the main female character is 14 when she begins having regular sex.

It feels as if Piers Anthony is a pedophile himself and is exploring his relationship with it. I hate this book for the pedophlia and the idiotic sex. I'd give it a F-. Don't read this book and certainly don't purchase it.

Cleaning and dogs, not clean dogs

Finishing up the house for book club tonight. My back hurt from all the heavy lifting (sweeping, mopping, bending, moving heavy items).

Zoms is funny. Last night he'd sit in one place, just sit. Once he stood with his head butted up against a shelf and just stood there. The e-collar is turning him into a Zen dog.

Zen dog sat next to me and put his head by my hands so I could pet him. I'm petting his head and he starts to fall asleep sitting up. I could feel his head getting heavy. He was so sweet. It's funny because he's not on any drugs to make him sleepy, it's just that he's tired I think.

The e-collar is all bent and whacky looking now. Yesterday when he was brough home the big dog sniffed him and the Zoms snapped at him and they got into a tussle. I don't know how big the fight was but we kept them seperate all night long. I hope today they can get along so I don't worry and I can take the e-collar off of him (if it's not ripped off by now.

Ok, off to do the last minute stuff.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Elizabethan Collar for the Gnawer

Only Sat and Sun left before I have to return to work. Luckily I took today off cuz I knew I'd be all mad at myself if I had to go in for one day.

Mostly I cleaned the house. I did get a new shower curtain for the bathroom. Yay. 'Cept it's so opaque it makes the small room dark. Oh well.

The Gnawer aka Zoms got fixed today. They said (or so I heard) that if he started licking his wound to get him an Elizabethan Collar or e-collar. You know one of those cone things.

He licked. I made him a cone by using very thin poster board, covering it in clear packing tape and cutting a circle and slit to accomodate his head. So far so good. He's not really fighting it and he's not trying to get it off.

You see, crafty! And much better than spending 15 or 20 dollars on one. Hmmmm, I should have decorated it.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Cruising art

The husband swears he told me about going to see a friends photo show at a local gallery. He didn't. We talked about this friend no longer working at his longtime job but nothing about going to see his work.

So he calls me to tell me to change clothes so we can go. I was waiting for him to come home and make chili. I waited all day for chili and he never made it. :-(

I think we are going to a gallery. So I change into appropriate clothing.

We are not going to "that" kind of gallery. It's a guerilla type gallery. Very casual. So I am overdressed and it's basically because I'm wearing heels rather than my uggs. It was a easy night out. We walked to a couple of places, saw some old friends (who I haven't seen in probably over 10 yrs).

One gallery had stuff I could do. Me and Donita talked about doing stuff like that. Both of us do things like that because it's cheaper to do things on our own if we want them.

So why aren't I doing things and submitting them? The other day Eileen said she was suprised I wasn't doing something with my art.

My response was my art is mostly craft rather than art. Yet whenever I go to gallery's downtown I realize I could do some of what I see out there.

I have to think about that. Most of my friends at work now have no idea that I create things. They know I have an artistic eye (kind of) but they don't know me that way. I have to think about that too.

Good to question what I'm not doing and what I am doing.

New Year's party

Last night we went to K & J's for the usual New Year Eve party. It was, as usual smallish and a lot of kids.

I wasn't feeling particularly party-ish. Mostly I sat talking to Susan. After about 2 hours my eyes began to burn and hurt and that double vision thing started happening.

The bigger kids all played video games/computer games. The little kids ran around like banshees.

We celebrated twice, once at 9 for east coast, again at midnight for west coast. I was tired, my eyes totally wiggy.

We toasted with 7Up (there was wine and champagne but ehhhh) and that was pretty much the night.

We were home by 12:20. Pretty quiet.