The Days Are A Little Better.

Our visit with Ray was a welcome relief despite my having to work. He finally got a digital camera - he's been flirting with the idea for a couple of months but was hanging onto his Nikon which had about one hundred different parts and weighed about 30 pounds. He got a sooped up Canon with all the bells and whistles and has been having a ball with it. The next time he comes out I'll try to make sure we go somewhere photographic. But he managed to amuse himself by taking pictures of the flowers, old buildings and clouds around the yard. Work was a tiny bit better, I think with everyone back from vacation and my boss appointing someone to help me out the week should be better. I'm taking off half a day and will get my oil changed and stuff. Not too sure what will happen this weekend as it's a holiday and I don't know if any of the staff will volunteer. If not it's time and a half so I don't want to do it, but at least it will pay well. But all the hard work has paid off as my salary has been increased and I got a bonus too!! I was out in Milford yesterday so I celebrated by going to  the yarn shop and buying some pretty swanky yarn. It's nice to be appreciated. David has been busy too,  he is enjoying being an armed guard and has been getting to know his co-workers. Not much else going on, we heard from Jackson - he was assigned to driving the van and was pretty nervous about it, he hasn't driven since he joined the navy and having to ferry passengers around in unfamiliar territory was a bit scary. He did well except he banged the bumper and put a wee little dent in it, but other than that it went well. He should be in WV by tomorrow and will be there for about a week or so, then back to Mississippi and then around September should be shipping out. Adam continues to sail around too. 

Sunday Musings

Did you ever go through a period when everything seems, well, stupid? Books are the same old, just different characters in different settings, one day just races into another, what are you doing? Work is on and on, dinner is dinner, nothing great on that score. Cookbooks - vegetarian ones are the greatest offenders. I mean who has ghee, coriander seeds or a teaspoon of tahini paste on the top shelf for crying out loud? Never less than 15 ingredients and when you're done, either you don't recognize it - or you don't want to. The dog goes in, the dog goes out. TV? Same as the books, what's the point, what's the interest? I have managed to enjoy some of  the weekend between the work phone ringing and the paperwork piling up, even though it's the weekend. Nothing is easy. We went to Stroudsburg today, Ray and I had coupons so we saved money again, went to look at a few houses, ouch! No wonder nothing is selling. We did see one house we liked, little brick place for sale by owner, they can keep it. If I'm spending $300,000 0n a house it had better be off the road, have a pool and updated in the past 30 years.  Dinner will be out and David isn't working tomorrow so he said he'd do the grocery shopping, food is too much money. "Farm fresh' is off the charts cost wise, a zucchini is a zucchini, isn't it? Running running. Knitting is still fun, love that and always will - rolling along with the shawl.  Great to see Ray, so glad he's close to see us more. Fourth of July this weekend, hate it, can't stand the noise. No breaks, no time.

Gas Light

Pearl had the most horrific gas last night, David demanded she leave the room. She got so upset she hid under the bed and continued to break wind, the only improvement there was a 20 second delay between sound and smell. David's next line of defense was to sneak out of the room and go sleep in the guest room leaving me holding the (wind) bag. Bastards. I'm leaving in a little while to admit that patient I hope - I haven't heard from them so my luck they will want to wait until this afternoon or something thereby wasting my whole day. The weather has FINALLY cleared up, this morning was wonderful,  I sat out and knit while Puttering Pearl gassed the local wildlife. Ray should be here later on this morning - he and David will most likely goof around for the day. I'm not sure if they're going to visit Roman or not - his new activity is smoking meat and he's forever scouting around for various kinds of wood lately. Ray has had a tiny bit of issue with Roman after he cheerfully announced one afternoon he doesn't particularly like Poles as "they steal everything" - we usually remind Ray of this at least once a visit.  We are good hosts. The shawl I've started knitting is rolling right along, I have the base more than halfway done, at this point it's an easy knit while watching TV, the complicated part is a bit down the road. I'm oncall again this weekend, I think next week will be easier, we will have plenty of staff which is a relief to the Sole Survivor.

On And On

What a week. I could have dealt with my co-worker leaving with no notice. I could have dealt with ALL the nurses on vacation this week. Both at once was a trick and a half. Not to mention mopping up all the things that were not done by others, nor were they mentioned before departing. The staff at Pittston helped where they could, the financial office co-ordinated and went the extra mile and in the end all the patients were seen, the bills were paid and the timesheets were done. I have a patient to admit tomorrow but hopefully that will be it.  I did enjoy doing visits, I miss it sometimes but it would have been more fun had I not been also manning the office at the same time. I had to laugh because Georgia asked me if I had staffed a patient and I just looked at her and said " I AM the staff!" Ray is coming out tomorrow so he and David will have to amuse themselves for the day. David has put in a long week too so he's ready to relax. In other news Pearl developed a lump under her front leg - it was mobile but David took her to the vet's just to make sure . The vet didn't think it was much either but thought it might want to come off - the estimate was FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS. Ack!! But when we looked at it this morning it is much deflated and looking better so I guess we'll be owing Pearl some money.  My feet are up though for the moment and Bones is on the TV so I guess I'll relax - for the moment

Socks. Done.

Yes the socks are done, thank you for asking! They've actually been done for a few days now but given the way my week is going I haven't had time to post the pictures. They're already gone too, I mailed them out yesterday - now I'm working on a shawl which is a little complicated, but not much. I had wanted to go all out on this next project but I just don't have the time or attention span at this point in time. Work has gotten crazy, with the main person in my office leaving suddenly and all the nurses on vacation I've been frantically mopping up and racing around. We already have someone interviewing for the position (and he has experience!) and everyone will be back next week so this is just a bump in the road but it's a big one. So I'm just chugging along and hoping I make to Monday. David's work has picked up also so we have had to reshuffle things - we pretty much do all the errands and shopping on one day because by the time we get home it's late to start with, stopping at the store just makes it later. And since we both pack a lunch we have to make sure we have enough to make it to the end of the week. I'm still the ONLY person in the office that brings a lunch - I have thought about buying it as I don't think I save that much money but I know me. I won't like what they have, it will be too much of a bother and I'll put it off all afternoon and before you know it's time to go home. The dog maintains her petsitter, we have just resigned ourselves to that - it's an expense but I have to admit it's nice to walk in the door and not be torpedoed by the dog who's been trapped in the house all day. We've heard from Adam a few times via email, he's doing well and is out at sea for awhile.  I should start moving, I have a very busy day today - I just hope it doesn't get too busy over the weekend. 

The People Under The Stairs

Due to all the rain we've had, I've moved some of our deck chairs, well, under the deck. It's the only dry place to sit outside so the dog can get some exercise and the rest of us can get fresh air. So I sit and read, the cats sit in the extra chairs or bounce around under the stairs and Pearl harasses the local wildlife.  The rain has been pretty much everyday, the sun makes occasional and rare appearances but for the most part our part of the universe is a soggy one indeed. I did end up working all weekend but it wasn't a total wash. On Saturday I was out near Milford and finally got to hit the yarn shop out there. Excellent! I got sock yarn imported from Australia and a few little skeins imported from Italy, not to mention a pair of rosewood needles to take for a spin someday. Sunday I was out again, but managed to finish up in good time and back home to go out shopping and take David to lunch for Father's Day. Both boys called - well, one emailed as he is currently shipped out but it was lovely of them to remember. Jackson will be heading back to WV in the next week or so to see Becky and then the following month he ships out for the long tour which, he is quite excited about.  We did our food shopping which we've gotten under control finally and then out to lunch. The rest of the afternoon we just pottered around and I spent part of the afternoon lurking under the deck again. It's a new and novel thing to do, but I hope the rain stops soon and we can sit in the sunshine again. 

What A Week!!

First off I had  scary experience while taking the back way home from the main office. I was toodling along when I got to the trailer park - a state trooper appeared pulling out! I very nonchalantly stood on my brakes, desperate to get somewhere near the speed limit and as I passed him by, he pulled out and immediately flipped on his lights. I thought I would barf! I pulled over right away because if you don't, they use the bull horn and no one likes that (ask me how I know....) and ...... he sped up and kept going.  It took me a few minutes to get my heart rate down, I have learned my lesson about obeying the speed limit, well, at least for the week. The other thing is we hired a phyiscial therapist who is wonderful at her job, sweet and has to hold the world record for getting lost. Last night on her way to yet another patient she called me - from another state having taken a bit of a wrong turn. I reprogrammed her GPS over the phone and sent her back in the direction of the patient. I also agreed it was a good idea that she take a couple of weeks off and learn the area and then we will go on from there.  But the kicker to the week was the other employee in the office quit without notice leaving me as high and dry as can be. There's nothing like that to liven the office up since you don't know what needs to be done or what wasn't done at all. But I and a few other in the office got things straight and the other employees from the main office will be taking turns up in my office until we can find a replacement. In between all of this I'm seeing patients and orientating the nurse who will be starting in East Stroudsburg when she comes back from vacation as we will be officially open on the 28th! Whoo Hoo!

The Sun Came Back.

It finally stopped raining the other day, it could be a little warmer but I'm not complaining. Much. I was watching Ghoulies last night, one of my favorite 80's B Movies - you know all the songs sound vaguely familiar because they couldn't afford anyone recognizable for the sound track, the actors are no one you would know and you'll probably never see again. My favorite is the robes for the Evil Ritual which are made out of polyester and taffeta with the Generic Mysterious Symbol pasted on the front. I seriously wished I owned one. I'm almost done with the second sock and then it will be on to the next project - I have an idea in mind but have not quite decided. Office-wise I'm spending more time in East Stroudsburg, so much to keep track of! David is busy with his job, he likes the job and isn't too crazy about the paycheck, but as far as I'm concerned this is a starting point and a resume builder not to mention when we eventually move he'll have to find another one anyway.  But that is at a standstill these days, we have stopped looking for a house for now out that way due to the fact no houses are selling at the moment and quite frankly, we have found nothing we like - the one we did fell through and we had a few scary moments in which they were not giving our down payment back, I have no desire to repeat that experience. I have to catch up with our new physical therapist today and see how she made out - she's new to the area and when I called the patient to ask him a question he told me our mutual friend was lost again.  I truly sympathize with her as I clearly remember when we moved to WV and I spent most of my free time sitting under the bridge in downtown Morgantown hysterically wondering how I ended up there. I also orientated the new nurse yesterday and she will be orientating with our other nurse up in Stroudsburg today. I suppose I should get up. 

Where's That Ark When You Need It?

I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling a bit damp and squishy these days, the rain is an unending saga at this point. Yesterday it was overcast, drizzled, rained, poured, thunder, lightening, etc. throughout the day. But at one point during the afternoon the clouds moved on, the sun came shining, the temps became instant summer and we got to out out for a big half an hour.  The clouds then promptly moved back in and things returned to status quo. Sigh.  David and  I finally got the grocery shopping done yesterday, we went to Borders and AC Moores, it was just nice having the time to do  these things and not have to sprint through it. We were going to have lunch at Wegmans but they were having some sort of event which involved a very long line so we decided to just head home. We are heading back out today to finish up.I still have not gotten my oil changed, we went to the place we always go in Dickson City and it was shut down, another victim of the economy I suppose - we were both pretty sorry about that though. The guy that ran the shop was really nice and very good at his job, I was very surprised.  Last night was a Torchwood Marathon, yes I've seen them all but I love that show and I was knitting socks so I sat through about 2 hours of it. Then I watched Primeval and caught up on that.  Sometimes a nice quiet evening is the best.

My Feet Are Up

Yes, that is it for the Washington pictures - they are lovely, though aren't they? I am currently parked in bed with the TV, Pearl, laptop and  coffee so my world is the way I like it for at least the next ten minutes. My office is picking up at an alarming speed - we have been discovered. We're in a Holding The Fort pattern, due to the time of the year we have staff all lurking in the wings as they have all just been hired and due to the season, have previously planned vacations. So in a couple of week I will be the staff for a week. But for this weekend hopefully nothing will go on and I'll be able to get some things done. My car needs it's oil changed desperately, the house needs cleaning, we are out of food, I have things to buy and things to mail. And I could use a little bit of Just Laying About time - I'm glad I'm knitting socks since you can easily pick them up and put them down and even if I can only get a couple of rows in here and there, they go pretty fast. I finally made an appointment with the local gyn - I have not been to one since we moved and yes, with my family history and personal history I DO know better. I admit though, I just don't like going - I'm always having some lump or bump taken out and the last one was pretty rough.  On the upside all of the incisions healed very nicely (I have 4 - I can't believe it either), but my retirement career of Exotic Dancing will probably not happen.  But I am going and that is that.  On the way home last night I finally stopped at the little farm stand on the way home - I keep meaning to but usually shoot by. They have a very cool dog named Dixie, the strawberries were few and expensive, but the rest of the vegetables were wonderful and not too badly priced. 

Past Hump Day

Boy, I sure do have a lot of pictures from Washington, don't I? It sure beats the hell out of pictures around here, it is Crap-pi-o-so day in and day out. If it's not raining it just sits around looking like it might rain. Every once in awhile it clears up for like 10 minutes in order to raise hopes so we don't all dash ourselves against the rocks. I worked in Stroudsburg today - the ride there and back is a rather slow these days due to the deer lingering on the sides of the road. If you see one you slow down because they always travel with other deer and are bent on boinking off your bumper. I almost boinked one today because not only was it lightly raining it was also very foggy giving the deer a very unfair advantage. Arrgh is all I have to say. I am half way through sock #2, hopefully I can get them about done. Father's Day is either this weekend or next, I've completely lost track of time. If  it's this weekend I'm sorry - if not I'm ahead of the game, I suppose a calendar would be in order. 

Workie Workie!

I spent yesterday in one office and today in another - it has gotten to be a bit of a pain because half of what I'm doing is there and the other half is conveniently located in whatever office I am inconveniently not located. Bastards. I'm still a bit tired, Sunday I just slept and slept, last night was a bit of nonsleeper due to the terrific thunderstorms we had all night. Pearl has developed a deep and abiding fear of them recently which lead to her hanging out in the shower with me this morning. Don't ask. She is still enjoying the attentions of the pet sitter which David and I have no clue what we will do about that. When David took this job it was supposed to be the afternoon shift but that dried up immediately and we are both working during the day - no one is home from 7:30 until about 6:30, 7 pm at night and we can't even be sure we'll be home then so for now, the dog retains her much beloved babysitter to romp around the yard with. I'm halfway through the second sock - I thought I'd lost the first one on our trip to Washington,  but it turned out it got caught up in my pajama pants, whew, yeah I can sleep better too.  They're a little big but they're pretty spanky if I must say so myself. Whoo hoo.

Hanging On The Gaylord

We got out of work a little early - I have to admit I thought Washington DC was a lot closer than it actually is, then I remembered we moved. Dammit. It's almost 300 miles from here so we left at 4 and arrived at 9, but given the traffic not so tragic. The Gaylord Recreation and Convention center is HUGE,  you can wander around all day and never leave the place, they have thier own restaurants, shops, a pool, etc. The Bayada awards is a huge deal, 1200 employees were all the guests of Bayada!! - most of the time it was employees only, so spouses and families had to amuse themselves all day - but it's right next to DC  so that's not hard. David chose to just spend the day at the hotel, he said between the art festival, the harbor, the exhibits there was plenty to do. The second picture here I took from our balcony- that's actually INSIDE the hotel, during the day you can see Washington DC and the harbor.  I went to seminars all day and then they had the cocktail party - I got to meet the president of the company (I've actually met him before) and then they had the big dinner. After that the bar opened and everyone that had come along came down for drinks and dancing.  David and I danced until midnight - and a word here since everyone knows we never dance - the last party I went to I sat and watched and realized that 97% of the population can't dance well either - they just don't care. So we didn't care and had a great time. We didn't end up going to the zoo, David' s foot has been bothering him and it's a very long drive back, they had a breakfast buffet for everyone so David and I sat with one of the managers from Florida (at the dinner I sat with Ohio and Virginia) and walked the boardwalk along the harbor edge before heading back. Pearl will stay in prison until tomorrow and the cats were very happy to see us. I'm very tired, it was a fun but long weekend but I have work tomorrow. I'll post more pictures tomorrow.

Getting There. Not Really, But I Like To Stay Positive.

Well, yesterday I was sick ALL DAY. You read that right all stinkin' day. I woke up at 2:30 am with a headache. It was one of those bad ones where it feels like a red hot wire is wrapped around your head. So I squinted my way to the Powder Room and took a little more Tylenol than I should have. But I'm a professional so it's alright. I woke back up about 5 am - still pounding. This continued through the day and various doses of whatever I thought would help. It didn't. I just worked the day steady, but  my head continued to pound and my stomach was feeling not so hot, I thought from the various things I had taken and decided to eat dinner to settle it. It didn't. I then felt a wee bit like I Should Like To Die Now Please - and then a bout of diarrhea that left me glad I work out on an ellipse and therefore can dash very VERY quickly. I have no idea and neither do you. I was actually impressed with how bad it was - and how long it continued - I was surprised I didn't look like a super model in the morning it was so bad. Anyhoo, but the aforementioned morning it was over and done with - thank goodness, there is only so much of that I can take. We have everything set for our big adventure this weekend, Poor Pearl will be going to prison but she usually survives it. David and I are thinking of going to the movies next weekend - I would like to see Drag Me To Hell which looks STELLAR with an excellent cast and wonderful plot (dead things with big drippy teeth chase people around - and catch them) - David wants to see some dumb Clint Eastwood movie, eewww. Double eeewww.

Alone Again, Naturally

If Pearl could have someone here 24/7, just to stand next to - she would have a perfect life in her estimation. I on the other hand, need a little alone time. So after we get back from Washington, we will be shutting our doors, at least for one weekend as we need a little time to regroup. And swamp out the bathroom. It has been fun though seeing everyone after not really seeing anyone for the past 5 years or so. Work has been a bit so-so lately, not bad but not great either. I'm kind of trying to figure out if I'm cut out for management, or do I prefer to be an indian to the chief? The responsibility is a killer and I'm keeping up, but I feel like I have no time left. I know I know!! But maybe I don't want to live in the real world! We are busy getting ready for yet another weekend and I'm very much looking foward to it - we have just about everything planned. In the house dept not much to report, they are advertising our house and we might drop the price a little bit but I think we'll be here a little longer than originally planned. It's not a huge deal of course, but it's one more draggy thing to deal with.