Interesting Weekend

Nancy arrived here right on schedule - got a bit turned around but managed to find the house on her own. I did offer David's services but Nancy stated that since she' d been all over the world it would be an embarrassment to be rescued at McDonald's. We had dinner at Friendlies later that night and pie for dessert. Saturday of course didn't go according to plan - the loan finally went through and I had to drive all the way back to Lake Ariel to sign my half of the papers. I took Nancy with me so we could head out to the mall right after. Then one of the nurse's called to ask me if I could send a face sheet for the admit today since she'd accidentally shredded her copy - this was a few phone calls and texting as I was hurtling along route 447. Everything was straight by the time we got out of the bank and went slinging back to the mall - on Saturday this time of year it's a madhouse by 1 so we needed to be in and out. Nancy did well - she wears an odd shoe size so I worked the racks while she tried them on and she not only found two pair that fit - but they were on sale. We had our first BBQ of the season which was fun and then after dinner David headed out to the emergency room. He no longer has a pilonoidal cyst, now he has a large boil. Which of course he needed to deal with Saturday after 8 pm. He went by himself as it wasn't as bad as the cyst even though I offered to go. He phone tagged with Dr. Paul, got it lanced and is back on antibiotics again - he's getting pretty discouraged but is a bit better today. I finally finished my shawl, I have to say it came out a lot bigger than it was intended - you would have thought when I added in the 4rth or 5th skein I would've maybe thought about it then , but no I just kept on until I ran out of yarn. Nancy brought me her mother's old knitting needles from England and the odds and ends of yarn she's kept. I've looked through it and will most likely keep it all - the needles are wonderful of course and they'll get added to my collection.

Mud. And Lots Of It.

This is a much better view than the one we're currently having - it's been raining since we got home and the mud here is horrendous. Sinky, slick and staining, the car drags up the slope of the driveway leaving huge ruts, my feet sink as I walk through the yard. With the snow gone it's a relief but it's hard to figure out what we'll be doing with the yard looking over the sea of slop that faces us now. I'd like to have a garden this year maybe, but the usual problem is where to put it. Being in the woods of course there are trees and then there's the massive population of those Sneaky Deer - you can just sense them starting to lurk about the yard looking for things to destroy while you're not home. Hateful, sly creatures at best. The pets did fine - the cats were in charge of the house and Pearl went to prison. She's happy to be home - the place we take her give the dogs a bath before you come get them so she's very shiny. She barks constantly while she's there so she's a bit hoarse but that will pass. Nancy is coming out this weekend so I have to get the guest room ready - we'll be shopping for the weekend of course. Pearl will be using her hostessing skills all weekend - it's one of her favorite activities and the appreciation varies. This week is going a little faster because I got back to work on Tuesday but of course that just means you have to squeeze 5 days into 4.

Weekend At Disney

This year the annual Bayada party was held in Disney to celebrate the 35th anniversary - what a great weekend! We arrived around 11 on Friday, the whole day Saturday was Bayada business. David had no problems finding a friend, not only did we run into the retired post master from Wilkes Barre BUT everyone brought their spouses. David met a guy from NC that's been here before and brought his own cooler of beer. Anyone that hasn't been to Disney (that would be us)(well, I went once when I was 11) - the food is outrageous - when we got here we split a tuna wrap, two beers and two cookies - $29!! So, David starts talking to this guy in the hotel courtyard and he hauls out his cooler of beer and the two of them spend the afternoon talking cars. This year the party was for family too which was fun - they had a big buffet and then dancing until 12. David and I headed out to Epcot for the day yesterday - we had a great time - the ride Soarin was spectacular and we had dinner in China after watching the acrobats. We've spoken to both the boys, Jackson called first and he's made E 3 and is getting over his broken engagement. I hadn't said anything before because you know how those things go, but I think it's truly over. Jackson had a hard time but we're very proud of him - instead of wallowing he's stopped smoking, started concentrating on his future and is eating better, not to mention advancing in rank. Adam is doing fine also, he's still in port but is making the most of it and is signed up for another college course. David and I are headed home, Pearl will be sprung from prison tomorrow and Nancy is gracing up with her presence on Friday. But it's been a great weekend!

One Man's Feast is Another's Man's Poison

I've been posting articles on the catholic church lately on facebook - it's certainly not hard to find them. In fact, if you look for say, 20 seconds you can find at least a few horrifying rundowns of the what these priests have been doing. I think the thing I find the most fascinating is how this institution continues to frantically try to cover up or act like they didn't know it was wrong - or happening. The sad thing is that everyone is being hurt by this small section of people - I can't imagine finding out after being raised in the catholic religion, that it's a sham - just a hunting ground for pedophiles and sadists - what do you do now? And there are true believers - those who did live their religion. I did know a member of clergy quite well and admired him. It had nothing to do with his religious beliefs, he was truly a good soul that lived by the vows he'd taken as a young man. His grace, kindness and desire to help. Visiting the sick when he was dying himself, always there for whoever needed him. And when he needed others, they abandoned him - it never made him angry, he just moved on. And yes, he would have loved for me to convert, he did try and I was asked if it bothered me - it didn't. Because he wasn't doing it for himself, I think he would have liked for me to share in what he felt, the true glory and power of his lord. But I already have that and like many things in life, either you do. Or you don't. There was a time when I would have converted gladly, but even looking back at that time in my life, I loved the catholic church for it's beauty and astounding artwork, I still consider their churches and statues amazing in structure and detail - but I can have that without the god stuff. I have no problems with other people's religions, as far as I'm concerned your religious beliefs should give you a sense of community, of peace - somewhere to go when things get bad and rules to follow when you need to be good. But when a religion is repeatedly shown to be full of criminals, sadists, committing crimes freely and then expecting us all to turn the other way in the face of it - is it really a religion?

The Things You Can Knit

I know that's a fuzzy picture and doesn't do the actual garment justice. I'm currently looming around looking for a sweater pattern - you would think with the millions of patterns it would be easy. I need a simple cardigan with bell sleeves. But it's like the pear pie recipes - you have to sift through the silt to find the good stuff. There is a surplus of weirdness out there - that picture is an "asymmetrical" poncho - with sleeves. Since it's asymmetrical, it has one big sleeve and one wee little sleeve. It also billows out on one side - so I have the power to make you an outfit that will make you look a big Quasimodo-ish. WHY? Why would anyone purposely make something uneven, especially since I've done that on more than one occasion without trying? Does that make me a cutting edge designer? I still remember finding this great yarn in a deep rose - I started knitting a women's cardigan, waist length, without gauging it first. It grew at an alarming rate, but since I was into it, I soldiered on. Kim became the recipient of the Knitted Bathrobe. She sent me a picture of her 6'4" father wearing it - and it hung past his knees. I've advanced since then, at least I hope so. Although the shawl I'm knitting currently is making me a bit nervous - it's still balled up on the needles but it looking a bit big. But shawls have no size so it's ok.

Pear Pie

I'm making another Pear Pie tomorrow - David has become addicted I think. The reason I made one in the first place is, well, I had a lot of pears. I bought them at BJs here in town, waited for them to get ripe - and then all two dozen of them got ripe all at once. I'm a pretty strict vegetarian and willing to go that extra mile when need be, but even I have my limits. So I googled "pear pie" and I must not be the only one stuck with a large amount of pears from BJs because there are a ton of recipes. The fun thing about the Internet is I no longer have to drag out all my cookbooks in search for a good recipe - within seconds I have thousands to pick from - I think if I had a surplus of mouse feet or cat hair I would be able to google a good recipe for it. The downside of course is within seconds I have thousands of recipes to pick from, five of which I'll like, a few hundred that are questionable and then the rest that can be downright scary as there seems to be a large amount of self taught chefs that toss everything in from beets to mouse feet in order to stand out from the crowd. Then there is the What The Hell Is That list of ingredients so I just scanned the first few and picked the one that seemed the simplest and the easiest to make. Pear pie has a lot of the same ingredients as apple, but if you use very ripe pears - it's super good, a little sweeter and much different, but something I would make again. David was very adventurous this month because besides trying the pie, he also tried a Boca burger - his verdict was it was OK, but not to his liking as it didn't taste a bit like meat. And they don't, they're hamburger shaped so you can put cheese and buns on them but that is where the similarities end - but that doesn't make it bad to eat. Chocolate doesn't taste like meat either but most people eat plenty of that. I guess it's just an acquired taste (like Pear pie!!)

Is That The Sun?

The temperatures continue to sneak up and fall down, its 45, down to 20, snow, rain. The driveway is a mess, I wish we'd taken the time to find someone to plow it. Not only can't the gas company get up here, the entire driveway is a mired mess of mud and bound to get worse as the snow melts. We finally got the TV cable upgraded so I can have my BBC America on Saturday nights - I don't watch a lot of TV but the package we had didn't include any of my favorites (the Chiller Channel also!). We only had the living room TV done, it was much more expensive than I thought it would be. David has been finishing the house for the past week, looking back on my journal I was surprised at long he'd been sick this winter. He goes for his follow up appointment next week and then hopefully we're past all of this. I''m starting to get back to exercising, most of my problem is I don't have time in the morning and after dinner, I just don't feel like it. If Pearl could behave I could start walking and just might start going without her. Once it gets warm it seems silly to be on the exercise equipment while the sun is shining outside.

Why We Don't Own More Pets

I was thinking that Pearl could use a friend. I mentioned this to David who made his usual face but we have never had just one dog. Then I remembered we are planning the trip to Disney - we have to find a kennel first, then make sure she has all of her shots. Next find someone to come and feed the cats and clean out their litter pan. That usually adds at least between $100 and $200 to any adventure we take. Not to mention I'm planning on taking a vacation in June too so there will be that. So for now we will have to be Friends Of Pearl. Pets can be so expensive. I did my shopping the other day and will finish up - the sales up here are great this time of year so I'm really loading up. AND I'm finally getting more channels for my TV set which I'm very excited about, thank you very much. The man is coming today to put a different box on so I can join the 20th century and stop reliving my childhood days of Only Four Channels. I will be watching TV all weekend if you need me.