Long Time No See

What a long week - I raced through my visits and actually managed to get it done by 12;30 and got home in plenty of time for Mom and Fred to arrive. I had made a lasanga and strawberry short cake the night before so we would have a nice dinner with a minimum of fuss and dishes. David and Fred have been yakking nonstop since they arrived, the water in the pool cleared and Pearl is having a great time. Jackson had Graduation Practice today in which they spent a great deal of time marching around the collisium, David went shooting with Cecil and Mom, Fred and I did the grand tour of Pricketts fort,circa 1750's. When Mom was here the last time it was being renovated so we didn't get to go, but today we did, although we spent some time dodging the Fourth Grade Class. They have 3 Historically Accurate People, but two of them are teenagers so the Pioneers in WV apparently wore bandanas, dock shoes and no pants. Fred complimented the Indian on his nose ring which made Mom want to give him a little smack - we were debating on whether it was part of the costume (Fred and I think it was) or just a teenage thing that Should Not Be Mentioned (mom's opinion). Anyhoo, the sheep were already sheared so there was no Crafty Thieving on my part and the weather was very nice today so we had a good time. We did Cracker Barrel for lunch and then took the back roads to Gabes so Fred could see something other than the highway. We were going to  BBQ but the $50 grill finally gasped it's last so it was a fry up for now. The graduation thing is quickly getting out of control, we started off with a table for 7, we're currently up to TEN and there might be a couple other guests slipping in here and there. ARRGH. Oh well, you only graduate once. Janet and Diane are set to arrive around 9 pm and the graduate and the Hostess are eagerly awaiting thier arrival. So everyone is having a good time, I hope the weather holds!

Crabapples Inc

I am just a walking Crabapple this morning, everything is exploding in a hundred different directions and having little sleep is not helping. My poison ivy has spread to all over  status which was okay as it gave me something to do other than lie there half the night all stressed out. I have a ton of patients that have to be squeezed in a small frame of time and since half of them are from the nurse who left, I don't know them. My foot is killing me - as I was moving stuff  back upstairs Vincent and Pearl were trying to push past me and I accidently stepped on a tack strip ripping my foot open so that's all nice and sore. Jackson and Becky are supposedly officially breaking up today so that should be stressful for everyone - I told David that I'm not sure if WE'RE ready to break up with Becky either. We opened the pool the other day (since we don't already have enough to do, why the hell not) and I can't get the water to clear. I know I had this problem last year but I can't remember what it was I did about it. It'll come to me at some point, probably after I've spent over a hundred on chemicals, none of which are the correct ones. And yes, I know I've been whining for the past two weeks and it will all settle down, but it just always seems to come at once, doesn't it? And then I'm most likely going to start shopping for another job soon, I'm in no hurry so I can afford to take my time and see what's really out there - or wait to see if our house sells quickly and take some time off to go look elsewhere. And did I mention it started raining again?

Prom Pictures

It's too bad you can't spend the rest of your life dressed up for the prom, isn't it? Becky's mother had portraits done and they both look so nice. Graduation is now zooming towards us - it was so far away now it's staring us in the face. The carpet guys are here today so the whole house is turned upsidedown, the living room is stripped down to nothing and the entire contents of the upstairs bedrooms are piled into one room. Since we are expecting company Thrusday there's nothing like waiting until the last minute is there? Don't worry Future Occupants, all will be well when you arrive - and you'll have new carpeting!! I took pictures of the bare floor, Yuck-O is all I have to say - the Former Occupants had mastiffs who all apparently had bladder problems, it is way gross. However I will not be posting the pictures until tomorrow as I just cannot bring myself to post them with the prom pictures. I am currently feeling exceptionally crabby, since the carpet guys are here we are only able to swoop around the kitchen (due to the couches and dining room funiture stackpiled in there) so I've been pretty much eating Sugar and Lard Based Crap and drinking water all day which is making me a bit meaner and short tempered than usual. (I heard that - SHUT UP RIGHT NOW). I also have poison ivy, but after the beginning of May there is very little time that I don't have poison ivy. I was weedwhacking it the other day so I managed to get a nice even layer of it, I must've even gotten some down my shirt as I have it on my stomach and some across my back. Oh well, I have to go eat some more crap - Happy Memorial Day!

Never Come Between A Woman And Her WeedWhacker

I have managed to keep the super heavy duty string on  my weed whacker for a total of THREE days which is a world record for me at this point - my old record is 20 minutes. I've been whacking a section at a time of the lower part of the yard so you can at least see through the foliage which manages to be quite beautiful and yet quite painful (thorns are always lurking) at the same time. David just groans at the mere mention of the yard at this point, it's rained just about every day this month so everyone's yard is out of control. As you can see from the pictures I've posted not only is very green it's extremely thick, it's alot of fun to play on when it's mowed. This morning I turned my attention to the beds, bathrooms and tiled areas as there isn't that much time left between now and company. I have tomorrow off,  but the carpet people are coming so David and Jackson have spent the morning lugging the larger furniture to the back room and I've stripped all the beds in the guest rooms and have put it up until after the carpet is done tomorrow. We have most of the shopping done - more or less and David is finished with his latest job for now so he'll be home for the week finishing up our roof and what not. Jackson  brought home is prom pictures so I'll try to scan them later or when ever I have time, which ever comes first. We're going to see Indiana Jones today at lunch time and then off to Sam's Club to finish up.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Work has been busy, I've been doing a lot of driving due to the fact that we are trying to divide up the territory of the nurse that left and I'm the only nurse with two licenses that can work both states. We have the Bridgeport nurse part time and then are patching up the rest with a couple of per diems. It is hard though because I'm not familar with any of the patients and most of them are at the midstream point of care. And then, even though I try to get them in as straight a line as possible, it's still a lot of miles between point A and point B.Thank goodness my car stereo is working because I'd go nuts without that! I have tons to do this weekend and as you can see since I'm on the computer and am planning on seeing Indiana Jones this weekend I am maybe not being all that I can be. We've all been busy with the yard, all this rain the past month has stepped up the Jungle Effect, I've been cutting paths through the lower acres just so we can get through them. David does NOT like my weed whacking, or my mowing for that matter, he generally runs around yelling You're Breaking The Weed Whacker! Look Out For The Stumps! Didn't I tell You Not To Put Gas In The Little Lawn Mower! ACK! ACK! I try to ignore him best as I can, but sometimes he can get a bit noisy. We have to start packing up stuff for the carpet guys, they'll move a reasonable amount of furniture I've been told, but that doesn't include my shoes, yarn or knitting books. I'm still on the fence about keeping the hutch, we got rid the enourmous kitchen table so we no longer have anything that matches the giant hutch, but I'm not sure where we would store all the flotsom that is currently hiding in it. Jackson is done with school, he officially graduates on May 31st, I sort of forgot to include that in the graduation announcements. I made my own because I have all this nifty printing stuff, but by the time I managed to figure out the program(after the 29th attempt) I was a bit stressed and I guess I forgot to put that back in - but it came out pretty good, didn't it?

No News Is No News.

Yes this is going to be one of those entries where I just blather on a bit about there nothing going on. That's alright, too much excitement isn't good for you anyhow. Call was busy, I ended up pretty much working all weekend and then diving right back into it Monday. I did get to go to AC Moores, but there really wasn't anything good on sale so I trotted over to Big Lots and bought yarn there - whoo hoo is all I hve  to say. Today things finally slowed down a bit and I'm home early - but only because I started off at 7 am this morning for a Vanco peak and trough. Jackson and Becky are spending yet another afternoon together, as the year draws to an end I think they're both realizing how much they'll miss each other. I'll miss Becky too, she's been in our lives for the past few years and it's going to be hard not seeing her and Jackson. I  sent out the graduation pictures so you should all be getting one in the mail, please note the Senior picked out the Ninja Monkies T-shirt, not the the mother of the graduate who obviously would have picked something else. Right now we in the Other Shoe To Drop Mode, everything is just about to happen, but not yet. Adam has calmed down about being sent to "Hillybilly Hell" (aka Norfolk,Va), he'll live once he gets over not being sent back to Japan. The carpet guys will be here Sunday which will give Miss Pants something to do, we had the house made wireless today and the printer looked at AGAIN (don't ask, it turned out it doesn't work if Jackson's F drive is hooked up, go figure)so she got to hang out with the computer guy for the day. Then Thursday the guests will be arriving so she'll be Hostessing for a few days, busy girl!

The Calm Before The Storm

I think I have a pinched nerve in my neck - and I think it might be stress. There's so much going on and hanging in the air lately - everyone at work is in high gear too so there just seems to be no relief anywhere these days. The other nurse had her last day on Friday - why is it when one person quits everyone else seems to follow? Even I've been peeking through the classifieds, as much as I love my job I've been feeling a bit burned out lately. I'm not going crazy looking ,but if I find something that looks interesting I'll pursue it is the attitiude I'm taking this month. I have to send out graduation announcements, they're all done and all they need is stamps so I suppose I've got no excuse. I guess a lot of my stress is so much is going to change so soon and I'm not sure I'm ready for it, but are you ever? When Adam left it was traumatic, we went from having a teenager in the house to an adult so far away we only see him once a year. Now Jackson is going and that will be it, no more children, no more teens, no one to ride shotgun to the mall. In one way it will be nice for it to be just me and David, but it will be so strange not having Jackson here. And David keeps vacillatating between selling the house now and selling it next  year - and it's back and forth, back and forth. On one hand selling the house and moving will keep us occupied, but I don't know about going through all that at the same time Jackson is leaving, it might be too much. And then there's the stay or go question - ARRGH!

That Inbetween Age

Victoria's Secret is having thier  big sale (they have two a year) so I was paging through that last  night as that's my stock up time. It was making me laugh though as just yesterday I was in CVS buying denture tablets (for me) and epsom salts (for David) - I guess I'm just at that awkward stage again! It's sort of like being twelve all over again except I've got more wrinkles and I'm not as boy crazy. Jackson and Adam are both going through it too - Adam called last night in high gear as he got his orders and he is NOT happy. He's being sent to Norfolk Va and according to him he is being assigned to Hillbilly Hell. David and I cannot convince him Norfolk is a city since there's a large base so we're just letting him spin his wheels until he can calm down. I know alot of it is he had his sights set on going back overseas and now he'll have to wait. Jackson teeters back and  forth between being very excited and very sad between leaving - he's got time as he doesn't go until Sept but with graduation looming it seems like it's coming up all at once. We've got tons to do this weekend and I'm oncall so I'm sure we'll be busy bees. It's raining AGAIN which is holding up the works on some of our projects - arrgh. The pool cover is again covered with rain water but I am not touching that due to what happened the last time I helped. David got the lawn mowed yesterday thank goodness. He has to put the rest of the fence up on the lower part of the yard as we've been having a little problem with the ATVs - one neighbor in particular. David put up a fence and he went around it - then David went down and spoke to him and he was like "oh, you don't want me riding my ATV in your yard?"( you would think the fence would be a big enough hint, wouldn't you?).  Aside from the fact it makes the dog nuts, the tires on those things tear up the ground and leave ruts - I noticed he didn't offer to repair any of the damage he's done so far, apparently we don't mind that either!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

It's been super grey and gloomy lately, we have not seen the sun in days. It's supposed to clear up today, I hope and the tempeture is supposed to be up in the 60's - "supposed to" being the operative word. The rain has made everything chillier - we run for the heat in the morning! I finally finished the second row of houses on the blanket even though I bought all sorts of new yarn and needles which sit taunting me with their Super Nifty-Ness and looking like they would like to make a Monkey Hat. Bastards. The carpet guy is coming on the 26th, that's cutting it a little close to Jackson's graduation but there's not much we can do about it. Jackson had a great time at the prom, Becky's mom had professional portraits done so we'll be getting copies of them I was told. David went to pick Jackson up and told me Becky's mom was still a bit giddy about the whole thing - she really REALLY likes this stuff. Jackson's been a bit stressed as of late, I don't think he realized how much his life is changing and it's coming all at once - the fat lady is about to sing and I don't think he's as ready for it as he thought he was.

Happy Mother's Day

As you can see from David's comment on yesterday's blog he forgot again  - he usually does so it's an ongoing thing with us. I just happen to like celebrating anything that involves a gift for me and he doesn't - I guess it's just one of those things. In other news I FINALLY got my radio reset - we had to take it to Honda on Saturday which was an added bonus as we didn't realize they were open on Saturdays so now we can bring the CRV there instead of hopping from garage to garage. The problem with being a visit nurse is I can't do without my car and the only time I can bring it in is if I take a vacation day or drop it off on Saturday. So that was a good thing and they also wrote down the code on the bill so if it ever happens again we can reset it ourselves. We are off to Home Depot this morning to take a last minute peek at carpet prices there before we pay for the carpet at Lowes just to make sure we're  getting a good deal. Jackson stayed over  Becky's yesterday, we dropped him, the tux and the flowers off around two - I was so mad that I didn't have my camera with me as Becky came out to show off her dress and hairdo. She looked beautiful and a bit giddy - doesn't everyone though? She had the traditional appointment at the hairdressers so her hair was all curled and the dress was  a floor length apple green, the flowers matched perfectly! They're having pictures taken so I'm sure we'll get some. I took my vacation days for Jackson's graduation so that's all set - that's the next thing on our plate!

It's All I Have!

We're getting new carpet next week finally, we had set aside money for this earlier this year but getting a reasonable estimate was a bit difficult. Lowe's will be doing the carpeting next week so David has been harrassing me about packing up the books in the hutch so he can move it. THEN he thought I should put them in the attic since they're cookbooks. I said no they're not - they're knitting books and It's All I Have (David swears everytime he asks me to get rid of anything or put it away I start announcing It's All I Have even if I have several hundred of whatever item is under scrutiny this week...).  He was astonished they were ALL knitting books and then he started that lecture - how much can you knit, how many can you use, blah blah blah - but I don't really think a hutch full is so many. It's not like a room full - which then brought us to his favorite subject of How Much Yarn Do You Really Have - I said just what's in the dresser and the closet in the guest room. Oh, and the little basket...and there might be a few skeins in the entertainment center.... do you know he actually accused me of HIDING YARN?? Like I would do that! He has such a little black heart sometimes. The other sensitive subject is the little lawn mower which suddenly quit working the other day. Just like that. David asked me if I put gas in it and I said why and he said because you have to use a mixture of gas and oil and then he said did you put gas from the big can in it and I said I don't remember. I'm sticking to that. Anyhoo, my car is off to the Honda shop again today - they have to pull the radio because when AidsAuto changed the battery they screwed up the connection to the radio and it needs reset. But  because my car is an older one they have to pull the radio to get the code, otherwise it will just say Error E until I die. When we drop off my car we might go to a gun auction while we wait in Kirby. Jackson picked up his tux yesterday and we have to pick up the flowers this morning. Arrgh - busy busy day!

I Should Be Orientated By Now.

Yes, I have yet another orientee riding shotgun today - it's getting discouraging. It's not that home care is such a bad racket - especially since I manage to get all my shopping done during the day and still get home in time for dinner - but it's hard to find someone with the skills and that enjoys the driving which freaks people out. This RN is a per diem but I guess the agency is hoping after we get her situated she'll come over to the dark side. It's pouring rain today which isn't the best - it'll be muddy to put it mildly. The grass which is already super thick around our house is going to be crazy by next week as they're predicting rain for the entire week. David is taking Jackson for his tux today and we pick up the flowers tomorrow, Jackson is feeling a bit better but still stressing. Since Adam is now in Mississippi at A school he doesn't have him to talk to as much so that's sort of adding to it. School gets out on the 20th this year and then graduation is the 31rst. I have to call the school and find out who I tell the number of guests attending the graduation soon or we'll all be sitting in the parking lot! It's one of those things, you think you have all this time and then BOOM there it is a day away. I have to start mucking out the guest rooms and David is still doing his projects although this rain is holding up a few things.

The Big Fifty

Yes, David finally turned the Big 5-0 - he's the first to do it in our little group (Stephen, Kim and Liz - you ARE NOT that far behind so stop dancing around and gloating). He has been feeling that foot drifting closer to the grave as he's been getting bombarded by the AARP and far more hilarious - the local Ghouls and Mausoleum People looking to sell him Subterranean Digs. Apparently he is up for a discount. It would be cheaper if we just put him under here, after all we do have 6 acres so we could just park him in the corner near Velma's property - although she might object. There was a guy in Clarksburg that went to court over that subject - he wanted to be buried in his yard and his neighbors, well, they just weren't that neighborly about it. The final verdict was a big NO, because he was located in town and I think they though he would interfer with the septic system or something. I myself would be a little uncomfortable with the neighbor interred next to my patio personally. Anyhoo, we are not going to get that involved over David's 50th, we were going to go out to dinner but it's during the week and everyone is tired so we'll be going out on Sunday as Jackson's prom is Saturday. The tux is ready, the flowers are ordered and the photographer will be at Becky's house so that's all ready to roll. So we're just having cake tonight and hanging out.

From Russia With Love

Yes, my set of hand painted russian knitting needles from Maine came yesterday - and they are very cool. They are from Russia, but are distributed by Peece Fleece in  Maine so it didn't take so long to get here. I have another order into KnitPicks and then I'm done for now. Well of course that excludes Clearance Bins and Anything I See That I Want. I'm still slaving away on that blanket but making good progress - it's still VERY hard to take a decent picture of and really get the detail. Anyhoo, Jackson and I saw Iron Man on Sunday afternoon, it was very good - especially if you enjoy explosions and all sorts of running around stuff. There was a 10 year old boy about two rows behind us that was hilarious, he was on the edge of his seat the whole time and he wowed his way through the movie. Jackson was a little annoyed but I reminded him it was the afternoon movie so it was alright to talk a little. When my kids were younger that was one of the reasons I took them in the afternoon, because it's less crowded and they can make a little noise without annoying anyone. The other reason was I worked nights and it was a good way to spend time with the kids without having to exert any energy. I still prefer the afternoons, it's so much less crowded and you can go shopping afterwards. We didn't this time as Jackson just wanted to go home.  Jackson is really starting to stress out with school ending and the ultimate end of his relationship with his girlfriend, leaving home for the navy- it's alot  to handle all at once. I think it's starting to sink in that this is it - the end of his childhood and the beginning of being on his own. As much as it's exciting it's also very overwhelming - and not only for him.

Ho. Hum.

Yes I know that's an old picture - I have some on my camera but just too lazy to download them. I've been rather occupied with other activites, we got a new laptop a few weeks ago so I spend time surfing about on that - it's a lot different than the computer and I've had to call for help twice so far. For some reason I can't do entries on my journal from that computer - I have no idea why. We should get the house done for wireless, but it requires someone being home during the week and that's just not possible now. I'm working like mad on the blanket, I'm almost done with the second row of houses and then there's one more row, then the sides..... I'm trying desperately not to get distracted even though there's a Baby Cape and a Sock Monkey Hat trying to lure me away. My russian knitting needles should hopefully be here next week - it would figure the week I order is the same exact week everyone at Peece Fleece goes on hiatus. On the yarn front I hit a total bonanza - the Big Lots in Waynesburg has a yarn bin - full of Lions Brand, Paton, etc... I went through the whole thing and got about 15 skeins of yarn - lace weight for a dollar apiece! The same yarn in Michaels is $5 a skein so it really made my day. On the work front we have an orientee on Friday - hopefully I'll have my radio straightened out by then - I hate being without it. I got a new battery last week, David had Aids Auto put it in - but when I went to drive it the next day the CD player and radio wouldn't work at all - and it said Code E. David took it back to the store - and they had no idea what to do either despite the fact that they had done it. We called Honda in Mt Morris and they said I could stop by - but they're not open on Saturday and with my schedule lately there's no way I can get there before 5. David's taking my car to University this morning to have the oil done so he said he'd ask them to look at it. All this trouble over a stupid radio - but when you spend 8 hours a day in your car, it's a big problem.