Yarns and Tall Tails

A Week.

2012-01-26T15:15:00.000-08:00

What's left of Adam's ride.

Things are still rather delightfully skewed - nothing is going right, every phone call is a hammer driving the next nail. Yet - not so bad. Adam's car troubles are just beginning but he'll get past it and move on. It happens to everyone. I got a speeding ticket this week - much to my horror!! But thank goodness I was able to slow down to 85 before he saw me. He gave me a break too so even though it's a lot of money it will be no point on my license and I'll have to be a Good Citizen for awhile. The shawl is coming along beautifully - I LOVE this pattern and its way easier than it looks. Shawl knitting is wonderful if you've got some stress rolling by, just enough to be interesting, not enough to be hard. I also have the new ereader up and running without an issue - way easier than I thought it would be. Everything downloaded smoothly and I even bought a couple new books just to give it a test run. I'm currently reading Debbie Macomber - the comfort food of books. Pearl is finally out of heat, Vincent is now being the trouble. David took him to the vet today for a bladder infection - he won't ride in a carrier so David did the usual - flipped his little cat butt in the truck and then off they went. He got an a fluid infusion while there were there and started on antibiotics, etc. Claw is still freaking alive OF COURSE - too mean to die. We have been crazy busy at work, every nutty thing that could happen has - twice at least. I am very much looking towards the weekend this week, covers will be firmly pulled over my head.

Forward......March!

2012-01-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

Me and my Vincent

The ice was pretty cool

My poor ereader!

It's only 8 more weeks til spring, we're on the countdown around here. It has not been too bad - we had a big freeze the other day which turned our yard into a super sparkly place, it was so pretty you couldn't mind it at all. I've started a new knitting project, I wound all the yarn this weekend an already on chart two. Pearl continues to be in heat and is still a major trollop - I'll be glad when she's done. Things are settling at work, when all of this happened David was a bit despairing, he did the usual Why Can't Things Ever Run Smoothly Around Here? I had to ask him - what had NOT run smoothly lately? We were able to sell our house in one of the worst foreclosure areas in the country, we were able to buy this house free and clear. And to add to it this was the first house we've bought that I wasn't afraid to turn out the lights at night - no mice, no bugs no cat pee. We are getting a puppy. I think we tend to take it for granted when everything is running well and we have no strife in our lives - then when something does happen we hit the Why Me mode right away. Why NOT you? This week has been a bit suck ass I'll admit - my ereader was smashed beyond repair, the computer died and Adam was in a car accident this morning. But I was able to get a new ereader right away and everything from the computer downloaded so well - right down to where I was in the book I was reading. The computer? It's ten years old! Who gets ten years out of a computer? And we only had to replace the tower, not the whole thing. Adam's car is going to need some major repair - he hydroplaned this morning on the way to work, but no one was hurt and he has insurance. I've had accidents too, they're very upsetting but usually not as bad as you think they will be. David has been shooting on Sunday with friends every weekend. We do the shopping and going out on Saturday , Sunday morning we both clean the house for the week in the morning and then he's out the door to the gun club. I either go walking, shopping or lately just enjoy watching tv and relaxing. David has been doing very well lately, he got his WV license and has been busy for weeks with more work coming up - and my job? My job is like a listing ship in a storm - it'll ride the wave and eventually straighten up. If not, I'll find another port. We have a puppy coming in the spring and I have more yarn than someone without an official psycho diagnosis should have. We've heard from Jackson a couple of times, he's sleeping and playing video games, he said that more than enough vacation for him right now. So yes, we have some things going on, the only way you ever not have things going on is for about 10 minutes in the morning before you get out of bed - and even then you're not safe all the time. But that's the way things go, the sun will come up no matter what you do.

The lastest project Madalinetosh Gilded and I'm knitting Jared Flood's Girasole

A Blast Of Fresh Air

2012-01-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

These are the kitten hats I made the other day

Today was a better day after the past week, first of all it REALLY was Friday so that was a step in the right direction. I spent the entire day out of the office seeing my group up near Wheeling - not that the office is a bad place but I needed a change of scenery. The visits all went well even though I had to start out at 6:30 am - in snow. But the it was light and I made great time. While I was going to one my phone rang and it was the Horrible Child Jackson who has been in California since Monday and was too busy to call his mother - he actually was faster than the Navy Family Specialist who was still waiting for the form to see if he was still on the planet. Feel free to sigh. I feel better though knowing he's OK and safe - I couldn't talk too long as I was getting late for my appointment but he will call again. And I called the Navy so they could stop submitting forms and get back to......I guess submitting different forms. I got done a little early and stopped off at Target in Tridelphia on the way home and scored the LAST Kobo ereader - apparently they are not a popular choice. But I do know at least two have been sold.... I had thought about getting a more advanced one but really - what I use it for it's fine and one of the reason I like the Kobo is because it's super small. The only thing I'm dreading is if I have a problem downloading the books to the new one as when I called last night to make sure I'd be able to do that I found they'd been outsourced to India. And we all know how much I love that! I stopped at Little Cesar's on the way home and picked up Not Good For You Food - I don't care even a teeny tiny bit. I got home, took the Trollop out (on a new retractable leash!), threw on my pj's and here I sit. I've started winding the yarn for the next project, I have one skein done and two to go. This weekend will be very low key I think.

Aren't they cute?

After Hump Day It's All Downhill.

2012-01-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

This week has been off kilter since I accidently got a day ahead of myself. It's been snowballing all week starting with my thinking it was hump day and it was actually Tuesday. Bastards,That also means I've been a day ahead all week which is annoying especially since it's not Friday as I have thought multiple times today. My boss resigned this week - another story another time - some happy some not, but the whole office slanting left. I had a good week weight and yarn wise, I managed to maintain my weight so I was not dethroned my first week out of the box as a lifetime member - wouldn't that be embarrassing to be sent back to the bleachers the first week!. I also knit up two kitten hats, one for Angelea's daughter and one for Maryann's soon to be granddaughter. I know some people love to be surprised but I love being able to make stuff ahead of time that is not yellow,green and generic. We got news our puppy was born so in a couple of months we will have two vizlas - watch out. Speaking of vizlas Pearl is still in heat. David told me he thought she was done and that black dog had been hanging around was gone. David was incorrect on both counts. Our walk in the yard turned into a wild thing - Pearl darting the black dog dodging and me screaming at the top of my lungs for David. I have discovered if there is a psychotic black hearted killer in the yard I will be on my own, unless I'm fatally attacked in the garage or on the porch. David didn't hear me until we were AT the back door, me kicking wildly at the black door, Miss Pants being base and my poor ereader smashed beyond repair. I somehow managed to destroy the screen so there goes my morning reads in the yard. I did call Kobo and I can download the books on my account to a new one so not a complete disaster. I have to do my Wheeling clients tomorrow so I'll stop at Best Buy or Target on the way home and see what I can do. In other news I cannot find Jackson - he was going on leave and called me last week on Friday from Kuwait or Beirut - and that is the last I've heard from him. I'm assuming if something dire had happened I would be informed but I'm not really thrilled with the Navy specialist that's been assigned for me. Not only can she not locate him but has informed me it may take up to a week or so before she can even access his itinerary. I would also be on my own apparently if a black hearted killer attacked me there, they would have to submit a form and wait for a week to see if they could help me. I'm not freaking out quite yet, but I'm getting there.

The Winter Of Our Sort Of Discontent.

2012-01-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

This is not really the winter of our discontent - it's more like the season of "eh". It has not been winter like as of yet I might add, the news has been threatening all day that the temps will drop, the snow will fly and it will finally be winter. I'm not overly worried, after all we're mid stride into January and spring is now 9 weeks away. That translates into 2 months one week. More or less. The backyard is a quagmire at this point, it may not have snowed but it certainly has been raining. Off and on, lately more on than off. I amuse myself by working, knitting and watching reality TV that David does not like. I like to watch morbidly obese people lose weight that only someone without a job and with a personal trainer can, I like people that hoard, tattooists, people that dress badly until their friends surprise them with a professional stylist and everyone is sort of mean but in a beneficial way. I like to watch cake making, Martha Stewart when every I can! and people that eat weird things - depending on what they eat of course. The girl that ate sofa cushions was far more interesting than the one that drank like 30 cans of coke a day - her I wanted to slap. I will watch a house transformation, a cupcake maker and how to put in a retaining wall. In other news I ended up making a surprise trip to the yarn shop - always fun. I've been picking up accessories and so forth, I'm hopefully visiting another yarn shop next week - one I have not shopped. I've earned a 10% off at Blooming Yarns but I'm saving it for after my birthday when I can spend some real hardcore money. When I take the dog out I plot and plan where everything will go in the spring, I want to plant flowers and maybe - finally! - have a real garden, I think I would be good at it, don't you? I heard from Jackson today, he is starting his vacation and is in transit - hopefully. He's not coming here but heading out to San Diego to get stuff done. His tour is up in a few months and then he'll come here to visit us. I cannot wait for spring.

Finished. Ta. Da.

2012-01-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

I actually knit this faster than I thought I would - it's not overly big of course and the pattern wasn't too complicated so I guess that's why it went so fast. I have to do a little bit of minor repair here and there, I've found with lace weight and lace knitting it's easy to slip a stitch and until you really look and block it out you can tell where the missed stitches are. I've also learned not to pull any loose or suspicious bits because you can rather cheerfully and quickly end up with a hole the size of your head that you apparently don't use much or you would not have pulled that bit in the first place. I have no idea why I love to knit shawls so much - circular lace shawls in particular. They are not useful, they're work - but they are pretty, aren't they? I've only kept two that I've made as opposed to sweaters. I keep most of the sweaters I make because quite frankly, I'm not very good at it and when one comes out right I usually give it away out of sheer surprise. The rest I've given away I suspect they're sneaky donated (or burned) when I'm not looking - a few are kept. I know I made one for my cousin that I think she recently rediscovered - it was a funky pattern I found with skull and cross bone intarsia on the sleeves. Given the fact she lives in the suburbs and has a degree in accounting a bit of strange choice. I think I gave it to her to rake leaves and scare her neighbors. But she did tell me once it's a very warm comfortable sweater to wear, skulls and all. I'm making a hat right now as a break, then socks then back to the shawls - one of the things I'm asked most frequently is if I'll sell my shawls. I've been asked to custom make one and that person will buy the yarn. Yes, it's still no. First of all, anyone offering to buy ME yarn will have to get that one past the Yarn Hater, you won't get far. Second of all if I'm having someone else pick out the yarn, pick out the pattern and then expect me to produce an exact replica - then it becomes Work. Most people that know me will tell you I don't spend an inordinate time looking for more work, as a matter of fact I have more than enough of it. If YOU want some work I'll be happy to share some with you. You can start with the bathtub. I prefer to knit what I find appealing, the owner will make themselves known eventually - it will look like them. Or I'll suddenly be inspired just to fling it out to see what the reaction will be. So I will happily knit away for no one - it's sort of like taking the less traveled path - I have no idea where I'm headed but it's fun finding out.

Fulfilling My Resolutions

2012-01-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

The Shawl is finished

Pearl and the new Namaste Bag

As you can see I'm working on my resolutions, I visit a yarn shop at least once every two weeks, I am knitting as much as possible - life is good right now. I finally posted the new knitting bag I bought last week at Blooming Yarns in McMurray PA - there is so much in that little shop, you don't know which way to look! I have one other Namaste and a Jordon Paige so I think that's enough of that. For now. In other news I finished the shawl I've been making - I know it's hard to see the pattern on the blanket I'm blocking it on but I'll retake it in a couple of days when it's done. I'm going to do a few small projects for now, but I have a shawl pattern I bought by Jared Flood that I cannot wait to get started on! But I hate to knit one shawl after the other as I'll end up bored in the middle. David and I went shopping again this weekend, we did the Tanger Outlets in Washington PA which was fun - this time of year is the best time to get all the deals, it's hard to stop buying. We had lunch at Loafers - they do an amazing vegetarian sandwich and the bread is all made there. I went to the natural food store after which is right next door and then off we went again. Like I said, we're pretty much done with the end of year shopping but it's crazy how expensive everything is right before Christmas and then you can get it 80% off two weeks later. But I have enough clothes, shoes and of course after 3 trips to Victoria's Secret in the past week I'm not lacking for underwear! The weather has been super wonderful all week - in the upper 40's to 50's not quite sweater weather but I'll take it. The only bad thing is I have to keep reminding myself that winter is still here for another 10 weeks, but that's not really that long, is it? I have Weight Watchers this week - it's my last week before I become a Lifetime Member which will be very nice as I won't have to pay for my membership. Unless of course I regain all that weight which would Be Bad. Yes, that would suck. This time of year is hard but I'm making sure to keep exercising and not go off my diet. Too much. In other news rat fink Pearl is in heat for some strange reason, we've decided to have her fixed. We've discussed off and on breeding her but we either never have enough time or we're unable to - and we're getting a puppy in the spring so I think it's time.

Yarn On Yarn.

Resolutions For 2012

2011-12-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

I resolve to continue in my quest to own a sheep

I don't believe that resolutions should be hard, annoying or not fun at all - who made up that stupid rule anyhow? Why is it when we want to improve ourselves - it always has to something strenuous or unpleasant - why can't we resolve to do something we WANT to? Why does improvement mean No Fun At All? So in the spirit of 2012 here are my resolutions:

I resolve to knit as much as humanly possible. Every minute that is not to devoted to work, sleep or other necessary endeavors will be nothing but nonstop knitting.
I resolve to get my own personal sheep, two in fact. David has said no because he states this would be his life "David, have you seen the sheep? Do you know where they are? I think they ran off again David, can you help me look for them? ACCK! They pooped in the yard. David, can you help me feed the sheep? Does this one look alright to you, I think he's sick David!"...... that is the reason I have been told there will be no woolly citizens darkening my doorway. Bastards.
But that's OK because I resolve to continue buying all the fun yarn I see, that I'll visit a yarn shop at least once every two weeks for an assortment of yarn and of course bags and accessories.
I'll keep my weight stable and continue with Weight Watchers - these past few weeks have been hard! with the holidays and all but I didn't do too badly. I gained two pounds over the holidays but I'm still below my goal weight so hopefully I can continue and become a Life time member. I make myself get up and exercise every day - thank goodness for Hulu these days. I take my laptop down with me and catch up on TV programs - I've watched the entire season of the Biggest Loser, Being Human and Bones, to name a few. It makes it much easier and with the reduced commercials the shows last almost exactly 40 minutes.
I'll continue to hike and walk as much as the weather and time will allow - I'm so looking forward to the spring so we can really go on some long jaunts.
And that's it for the resolutions! Not too painful I might add. David and I went out today to spend our Christmas money - I bought a new Namaste knitting bag so I now have them ALL - the one I bought was purple and is very swanky. VERY swanky. I'll post pictures when I get a chance. We did Gabe's but I only got one pair of pants (for $1.75 I might add). Sam's Club for a handful of groceries then to the mall. David did Gander Mountain and I went to Victoria's Secret since they're starting their clearance sales - I might hit the one in Morgantown too. I also went to Macy's and bought new sheets and stuff - the rest I'll get as I see. I try to hold off til mid January because that's when the real sales start, don't they?

To share even though I don't want to

To work hard keeping my weight down where it should be

And to never be too old to play in the mud.

Christmas Of Days Gone By

2011-12-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

Most people I know during the Christmas season or shortly thereafter, will wish Christmas of their childhood back. They'll remark it's not as special, that you'll never possess that special joy of a childlike quality you had - of course you won't. Because you most likely have acquired things like I have - what I have now that I did not have as a 10 year old are: in-laws, bills, a job, a car, a spouse, - there is nothing childlike or sparkly about most of that. I tend to be more of a giver these days as opposed to being a sole recipient and when I get something I don't just take it for granted I am entitled to it - I worry that my gift should have been bigger or more personal as if I could somehow instantly think of the perfect gift despite the fact that weeks of heavy thought failed to produce anything past a gift card. And the things I wanted as 10 year old me seemed far out of reach and yet somehow most of it appeared - but in reality what I viewed as exotic and desirable always came in at well under the $100 mark. Even the year I scored big and got the coveted puppy - I was warned and told if I got the puppy I would get Nothing Else Just The Puppy. It was repeated with the same serious tone that one would use for a Life And Death Decision - I had to be sure I REALLY wanted that puppy as I would be sitting gift-less, enduring watching everyone opening packages - what a test of courage - I braved it and agreed that I would get Just The Puppy And Nothing Else. And needless to say Schnitzel and I spent most of the morning opening gifts together (I actually got the puppy prior to Christmas). Getting the puppy was a big coup as it is for most kids - the size of the animal requested is usually inverse to the chances of you getting it - asking for a hamster or a gerbil has about an 80% chance of happening, kitten - hmm. 30%. Puppy is a definite crap shoot and a pony or a horse - you're chances are about the same as spontaneous combustion. So, needless to say Christmas does sort of lose it's magic - but just because things are different doesn't mean they're not as good. Waiting for Adam to come home - and then him being here! Christmas driving around and ending up at the Chinese buffet like we did for years, David and I taking a day to spend our Christmas money at the endless clearance sales where you can buy about 10 times as much for 10 times less - maybe the magic isn't gone, it just gets a little thinner.

Still Having Fun

2011-12-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

What a fun few days we've been having. On Wednesday I took Adam on the promised sightseeing mission. The first stop was the Golden Palace in Cameron WV - it's one of the main compounds of the Hare Krishas - it's in a tiny tiny town, 4 miles off the main road on a twisting, potholded road passing farms and trailers. All of the sudden you come around the corner and there it is! We took the tour - all two of us - apparently on a pouring rain day in December it's not a hot tourist spot. But the guy was a good sport and turned on the lights and gave the tour. After we went the 1/4 mile down the road to the main temple and compound - and took tons of pictures including the 40 foot statues. It was nothing short of amazing. After that we headed off to Moundsville - the prison is closed for the season but we toured the indian mound and museum. We climbed the mound - it's about 70 feet high and you can see Ohio from the top! More pictures of course and then off to Triadelphia to do a little shopping and lunch. We had lunch at a mexican restaurant - I'm trying to stay on my diet but not making myself miserable. I am 4 pounds under my goal weight so I have a little leeway. Yesterday it was hiking in Coopers Rock out near Bruceton. I got my dog, backpack and off we went. The park is closed this time of year for the hunters but the one trail that goes to the look out is still open and Pearl wore her blaze orange harness so hunters would not mistake her for a small neurotic deer. We ended up doing about 6 miles and it turned out to be a perfect day for it - not too cold but not too warm. We passed rock formations, a lake and of course the overlook that Pearl is NOT allowed on - she would go hopping over the rail in a heartbeat. It would add a bit of drama to our walk but not in a good way. Today we finished up shopping and went to see Sherlock Holmes 2 - it was just as good as the first one and I had just popcorn a- a medium with just a tiny bit of butter - and a water. I'm making stew for Christmas Eve and we are going to try our luck at finding a restaurant tomorrow - we either end up somewhere great or in a diner -but it's been family tradition forever!

Staycation!

2011-12-21T05:35:00.000-08:00

It seems like the past few years we've managed to have either one boy or the other home - last year was like a rare leap year that we had BOTH of them home at the same time. But Jackson remains in Afghanistan so maybe next year lightening will strike twice. It's been nice having Adam stationed in Norfolk - we've seen him THREE times in the past year, a record. I took off too - Adam arrived on Friday of last week, it was his first long road trip so we were a bit nervous about it. He of course ignored the directions I had sent because our address does not show up on a GPS so he learned his lesson by having to sit next to a cow pasture until we could figure out where he was. But he made very good time with only a few stops along the way. I had to work until yesterday so on Sunday, he and David took off for NJ to go see Ray. Adam calls Ray on occasion and they keep in touch so he was eager to go see him. That's the one thing that's hard is being so far from Ray - but we've seen him more this year too so hopefully that will continue into the new year. Anyhoo - the past two days at work were a forced march of course -but I know it just feels like that since I was trying to get everything done before I left plus stuff five days into two. I got home last night about 7:30, they had gotten home about 5. They had a wonderful time with Ray, they went to the famous Macaroni Grill, the park and of course the The Stack House, Ray's big favorite. Adam and I are heading out to do some sightseeing this morning, or at least will be trying to. This time of year is a bit on the iffy side for tourist attractions but I'm glad to have someone to do some adventuring with. If not there's always shopping! I have Weight Watchers tonight too, I've been good since I only have I think 3 more weeks to make the Lifetime Member - wish me luck!

A Visitor!

2011-12-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

Adam made it up to our house the other day - David and I were stressing about it a little of course. Adam just got this car of his about 6 months ago and this was his first big trip, but he did fine and got here in pretty good time. He used his GPS and I had sent him directions because our house does not show up - he chose to ignore this and ended up sitting overlooking a field of cows. When he called I said where are you? and he didn't know since the cows weren't that good with directions either. But he figured it out and he was actually only a mile or so from the house, he just needed to go a little further. We spent the day together yesterday in downtown Morgantown which is always fun. There's all sorts of little funky stores and restaurants, we had breakfast at Maxwell's which caters to meat eaters and vegetarians, not bad. I also made him go to the yarn store with me and then he returned the favor by insisting I go to the college store where you can buy hemp shirts and Grateful Dead stuff. After a full day of wandering we headed home and stopped at a farm so I could take pictures of sheep, then off to meet David and then back out to dinner. I'm trying so hard to be good because I have 3 more weeks to go in Weight Watchers to make Lifetime member so I eat and then work out forever.So I had the diet dinner and the big piece of cake - all a balancing act. Pearl as you can see is having a grand time performing her hostessing duties, she darts up and down the stairs at night to make sure the guest doesn't need anything or isn't lonely for a dog. They are going off to see Ray today since I have to work for the next two days,then I'm off until Adam leaves which I'm looking forward to. We might hike Cooper's Rock if it the weather isn't too bad or I might take him to go sight seeing. We'll have to see.

A Walk In The Park

2011-12-13T18:02:00.000-08:00

Sunday was our first walk in over a month since Pearl injured her front leg. It's funny how she can't remember not to eat the cat's food no matter how many times she gets yelled at for it, yet I take out her orange walking harness she hasn't seen for a month and she's bouncing around the kitchen, all barky and spinning. Rat fink. So off we went to meet Charlene and her dogs Sophie and Libby. It's so much more fun to walk with another person, isn't it? I met Charlene over the Internet when I lived in Stroudsburg - then we were face book friends and then when I moved here - we met at the park and went walking together. I like to tell David before I leave that I'm going out to meet the stranger I met over the Internet in the woods. I think it's funny! As you can see by the pictures Pearl has a grand time visiting and playing and I get my exercise in. We probably only have another month before the weather gets too bad to go out walking - if it's nice next weekend we'll go again. So Sunday went well - Monday not so good. I woke up feeling tired but figured it would go away - it didn't. I ended up calling in sick, hello 24 hour virus. I HATE being sick, I get offended and outraged, I am not a good patient. Best to leave me - if I live I live, if I don't the yarn goes with me. I ended up calling into work and having to coordinate a few things from my death bed, but other than that I survived the war and was back at work today. I ended up having to work late of course - not home til 7:30 !! - why is when you least can do it is when you have to do it the most? Murphy's Law. I am still slogging through the Christmas cards, just haven't had the time or inclination. We sent Jackson's Christmas package two weeks ago, still not there. Adam is coming home for Christmas so that should be really fun - I can't wait to see him.

Julia E Goes To Washington.

2011-12-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

The new garage doors I've been going on about - don't they look great?

Yes I did - Washington Pennsylvania that is. I am off call this weekend so we decided to to a run up there this week. David hit the Tractor Store first and bought his Christmas present, a martin house which he's been wanting since he saw it in their weekly ad. I did the Gabe's up there, I got two turtlenecks, 3 long sleeved shirts and a knee length cardigan - for $38. It just kills me that I can go to Jones Of NY in the mall and see the pants for $48 then go to Gabe's and get the same exact pants for $7.99. You just have hunt around more Then we went to Blooming Yarns - one of my favorite yarn shops and I bought my Christmas present while David sat in the truck. When I came in there was a husband parked on the couch they have snoozing away, apparently the excitement got to him. So I got my present - David spent more than he had planned, but I'm worth it, aren't I? Off to the natural food store - they sell Miracle Rice and Shitaki noodles - what's so great about that? NO CALORIES. That's what's so great - and I picked up some other odds and ends. David went to Loafers and got us both lunch, it was very good - but a little pricey - oh well. They do a great vegetarian sandwich and they make all of their own bread, you have no idea how good freshly made multigrain bread is until you have it. I could have run back in and bought 5 loaves but I was good and just horsed down my gourmet sandwich and secretly wished I could have another. I was so full I was ready to throw up but I still wanted another one.We swung by Sam's but it was super packed so we decided to go to the one in Morgantown which is only 15 miles out of our way. When you live here anything under 40 miles is right around the corner. As we stopped my phone rang and it was Jackson calling from Afghanistan so we sat and talked to him for quite awhile. Then off to Sam's Club finally and back home again. We still have to do Christmas shopping but these days that pretty much consists of gift cards - with the distance it's just too hard and really, after awhile you run out of things to buy. Not to mention all the REALLY great sales take place in January - David and I usually take off a day together and just go out to lunch and then shopping so I'm trying super hard not to buy anything. I continue in Weight Watchers, if I can maintain my weight for 6 weeks I get to be a lifetime member - no dues! Of course I choose to do this over Christmas. Sigh. As usual, my timing is impeccable.

David also finished off most of the kitchen this week.

About Halfway There.

2011-12-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

It's coming along a little faster than I thought it would - not perfect of course. If you want perfect go to Macy's and buy one for heaven's sake. I knew I had to keep switching the needles to a larger size as I knit along but I keep forgetting. So every time I think of it I switch the needles, no rhyme or reason but whatever - feel free to refer to my previous comment about being perfect. I knit for the joy of it and when it's done I usually give it away. I am super loving my new bookcases with the storage area behind it, it's the first time in my whole life I've had a real spot for my knitting collection. I've been busily moving all my needles and bags there too so eventually all of my knitting stuff will be in one place. David finishing the kitchen, the closets in the upstairs bedroom and the garage doors are coming Wednesday - then we are taking a break til spring. The list has gotten much smaller and only has a couple major things left on it. We decorated the outside for Christmas, well, David did and I watched. He felt obligated because everyone else has their stuff up. The tree will be in a couple more weeks and hopefully we can locate the decorations. I think they're here somewhere - even though this is a much smaller house we have tons of storage so it could be anywhere. We've been condensing our stuff, it was scattered all over and most of the bins were less than half full. I've gone through most of them and managed to get rid of about a half dozen, Over the winter I want to organize the basement, we have most of our exercise stuff down there but it's here and there. And there. And some over there. You get the idea. But given that we've only been here since July I think we've done pretty good so far

Goal!

2011-12-03T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well, this week has been interesting. I FINALLY hit my goal weight at Weight Watchers - 30 pounds gone! I got my star and if I can keep it off for 6 weeks I can become a Lifetime Member. I will be staying in for awhile yet, with the holidays coming and then the idle hours of deep winter - I think it's in my best interest to keep going. I've been having a rough go of it, as everyone that knows me knows I was hanging out at the same weight for almost a month. Right before I left for NJ was the worst - after a week of dropping the amount I was eating and increasing the amount I was exercising -not only didn't I lose - I gained. I was this far from quitting, what's the use, why bother. But I got it under control - I've come too far now to give up. I realized one of the reasons I got so mad was I was forced to face the fact that I can no longer eat what ever - and when ever I want. I was really angry about it - irrational and childish as that is, that was a hard thing to accept and I still have some issues about it. Getting older for me has been a good thing, I like being in my fifties - I'm not going to go on and on about it because the last time I did that I got a big cosmic fanny smack - but the difficulty in maintaining a healthy weight has been a big change for me. It takes more exercise now and less calories, but I've gotten creative about that too. We have piles of fruits and vegetables around, I keep the bad stuff either out of the house or out of sight. I've started substituting Miracle Rice and Shitake Noodles for the real deal. You can find one or both either in the soy section of our local food store or natural food stores - both have LESS than 20 calories per serving. Just word to the wise - rinse them before you sniff them. And that's all I'm going to say. So, hopefully I'll be able to keep up with my exercise and dieting through the winter, it was hard to take off all that weight, I certainly don't want to do it twice!

Use What You Have.

2011-11-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

I spent part of the day cleaning the fridge and rearranging the food cabinet. David and I still do major shopping every couple of weeks but we seem to have acquired a surplus of food lately. Part of the problem is we just keep stuffing it in and it's not that I had to throw out too much - just some eggs that were not above suspicion and a package of portobello mushrooms I forgot I had and were now spending their free time cheerfully liquifying in the bottom drawer. . Once I got the fridge straightened out, it was still full but not as full as it had been. The cabinet was hilarious of course, I have enough beans that if I actually ate them all could turn myself into a secret weapon and I seem to have cornered the market in pickled ginger (I've never even eaten pickled ginger - obviously). I am considering doing the freezer at some point today. But it's just under consideration. In other news I also found my missing knitting needles and my Buddhas today too so I officially Have It All. David and I went shopping up in Washington yesterday - I got to go to the yarn shop (yay!!) and got 10% off as their Black Friday Weekend Special. We poked around while we were there and found a really nice natural food store while we were there. David got to go to Dick's and we did our weekly food shopping, but lately it's consisted of produce and perishables - I think next week will be a very light shopping week. We have to start Christmas shopping, but the past few years due to time and distance, most of my shopping consists of buying gift cards. I also have my weekly weigh in this week - we'll see. I have been stuck at the same weight now for almost a month and I am getting discouraged. If I wasn't this close to my goal weight it wouldn't be such a big deal but to be that close and to fail week after week. It being Thanksgiving and visiting Ray didn't help - I tried to be good and I didn't go over, but I certainly was skirting it this week. It's back to work tomorrow - I'm dreading it a little, I only worked 3 days last week so this week will be catch up all week - but I'll get through it. Hunting season ended yesterday, David and Pearl got their last licks in. However, Pearl refuses to believe it's over and spent the entire morning sadly moaning and carrying on behind David's every step to get him to look at her Sad Sad Face and take her anyhow. He finally escaped to go clay shooting with Rich - and Pearl is now snoring away on the couch - she knows asking me is definately barking up the wrong tree.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T18:05:00.000-08:00

Grahams in Kearny NJ

We left right after I got home from work on Wednesday - the idea being we could get at least partway there so it wouldn't be so overwhelming in the morning. David and I do NOT travel well together - he hates to travel at night so from the moment we pull out of the driveway he complains, carries on and is a general irratation. The car was not even out of WV before he started talking about stopping for the night! We pulled off the highway after I was pretty much accused of being a terrorist. In the morning I am the pest, I dawdle and play while others are waiting. We got to Ray's around 10;30 - it's been so long since I've seen him, got to be close to a year. I fixed the Facebook password issue and he now has an easy to remember one. David measured for the future washer dryer that he'll put in after Ray makes a decision as to when and where they will go. We had a great day, we walked in the park, visited a historical site - nothing much was open of course since it was Thanksgiving but we didn't come to shop. Ray looks good, a little older of course but so do we. We had dinner at one of Ray's favorite places, they had the turkey dinner, I had eggplant parmigiana. I had a huge piece of cake and a chocolate milkshake - I refuse to diet on Thanksgiving - I'll just run a little more on the weekend. Dinner was like old times, we discussed politics, art - the usual offenders. Then we wandered around town a bit. when we got back to Ray's I suggested we go to the corner bar - it's a real neighborhood bar where all the patrons know each other well. I had the honor of being the only woman in the place aside from the bartender who came down to see if I was offended by the chronic use of the "f" word. Anyone who knows me would laugh at me being offended by the "f" word as that would mean I frequently offend myself multiple times daily. I was not but I was impressed that she had told the bar to tone it down until she cleared it with me. Ray left her a very nice tip. We were there for an hour or so and then back to Rays. We'll visit a bit more before heading back - not a traditional Thanksgiving, but it is a holiday for giving thanks for what you cherish, isn't it?

Bless Me Father For I Have Grinned

2011-11-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

Moundsville Prison. Disney for some of us.

Yes, things are starting to go better - but they always do eventually, don't they? I was out in Moundsville today, eating my lunch outside the prison wishing it was mine before I started back to the office - I was just enjoying being there. I was also considering sneaking up the Indian mound but since it's A) in the middle of town, B) right outside the prison and C )raining a lot dammit I just sat and wanted it from A Far. Being weird does have it's benefits on occasion. On the way home I was flipping the stations and there was an evangelist on the radio - I was envying him too. I love the way they talk, they think they're way more interesting than they are. They remind me of the guy at the party that isn't half as amusing as he thinks he is - just loud and on your last nerve eventually. Anyhoo, he was god this and god that - then got to the real point which was to ask for money so he and his fellows could continue to broadcast god's message. First of all how do we know it IS god's message? did he approve the script? And what if they get extra moo la? Is it theirs? How do we know god didn't tell them to keep it and buy jet skis for their vacation? Since we're taking their word that they're spreading god's message I suppose we would just have to go along with it being a jet ski of god. Totally confusing. This led me to think about the bible I still have from my rather unsuccessful Sunday School Career in which I learned nothing but did receive a rather swanky white bible which ever stranger I have had for 41 years and have yet to crack the cover. Yes I am considering it. I have tried in the past by usually peter out halfway through Genesis - all those Begets. Onward. We're spending our Thanksgiving with an old friend - I am super looking forward to that. I got my headlight fixed today after work - it's hard to find the time to do things these days! - since we live in the Land Without Streetlights having one headlight is very inconvenient - I had to do an after hours visit last week to someone who lived about 40 miles OFF the highway - most of the roads with drop offs have sticks masquerading as guard rails - it was a bit scary at times. Adam is considering coming home for Christmas which will be a fun thing for his old parents. And hunting season is coming to a close, Pearl will have to find something else to do with her afternoons!

I SUPER want to do this next

I would have sneaked but it's surrounded by a fence

Yes It Does All Roll Downhill. Thank You For Asking.

2011-11-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

My kitchen at 10 am yesterday - note the lack of stove
SO - we were having our first Official Inside Guests on Saturday. The stove repairman from San sung was coming to fix the tiny problem of the Hot Surface light not going out - easy easy right? Who are you talking to? I came home late Friday afternoon to the fan going, smoke in the kitchen and the Sam sung NOT repairman speaking hysterically into his phone. Turns out he was A)new, B) not in possession of the correct information and C) a bit of an idiot. Most people would have said they didn't know how to fix it and rescheduled since it was such a small thing but not our guy. Whatever he did caused a small fire, electrical sparks to come shooting out of the stove and in essence, caused the stove to die an untimely death. David called Lowe's who tried to pull an "as is" - but they caved and told him he could return it and get another with a $200 discount since they didn't have that model. In the meantime David had also been replacing the kitchen faucet as the one that came with the house had been invented just after the water pump. He could not get it to stop leaking. Or clogging. Or performing an annoying series of activities that no one wants their kitchen sink to do. We also discovered there is no way to just turn off the kitchen sink. Sweet. So the next morning, after dragging the Dearly Departed out to the truck to go back to Lowe's David rigged up the old faucet set temporarily so I could take a shower as it was now nearing 10 am - guests due at 4. No water, no stove, no problem! David did his usual - even in the most desperate of situations get that discount. He found the same stove on sale for $700 - and then reminded the manager that he had been promised a $200 discount.......so not only did he get the same stove but they owe us $150. He got a new faucet set and had it all hooked up by noon. The food got started, the kitchen swamped and swamped again. Susan, Roger and Buddy the dog found the house despite my amazingly bad directions. We did open the bottle of Ramp wine - and it was just as awful as you think it would be, no wine should have an onion aftertaste. I experimented with no boil noodles for the lasagna - never again. No boil and they also no baked around the edges. But all in all it went well. Pearl enjoyed having a guest of her own and they had a ball racing around the yard and we got to show off our new home. Now that we have had our test run I hope the next time will go smoother

No food, no water

Yet another new stove. I am getting jaded.

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow.

2011-11-14T17:00:00.000-08:00

It's amusing that no matter what happens - the sun always comes up in the morning. Someone told me that years ago and it's my go-to comfort thought - and it does always seem better in the morning. That would be why the Two AM Girl likes to show up in the middle of the night, it's easier to jolt me out of my sleep with her dire words and worrisome conversation ("YOU'RE GOING TO JAIL! YOU'RE GOING TO GET FIRED! YOU'LL LOSE YOUR HOUSE!"). Ah yes, she does like a good time. But she hasn't been too active lately and I've been so tired that even her worst cannot disturb my sleep. And it is getting better - Pearl is recovering, Vincent remains status quo, the house moves along. David finished the kitchen floor and it looks wonderful - we also got a new stove which has all sorts of Fanciness and Spectacular Features. I can make my fries in a regular oven OR a convection oven. And it even has a warming tray built in. David bought it in stainless steel so it matches the fridge and he found so stuff to shine it up with. The last time he shined the fridge up he had read somewhere that you could use vegetable oil. Which you can. And it does work. Until the dog saunters by - Pearl did a double take and then proceeded to lick the entire front of the fridge clean of vegetable oil - it was the single most disgusting display of canine perseverance I've ever seen in my life - I thought I would laugh until my lungs burst. That was the last time we got a helpful hint out of a magazine. We still have some odds and ends to attend to - we need garage doors- can you believe this house has never had them? You can see straight in my garage and see the big mess David has going. And we really need a new TV for upstairs. Somehow we ended up keeping the Toy TV Set which has a 9 inch screen. Everyone is the size of nickel and since it's pretty old it only goes up to channel 80 which means not only is everyone tiny, but they're not my favorite tiny people. We also figured out the On-Demand feature so I can catch up on my favorite shows or watch the movies on the premium channels without having to stay up past my bedtime. The bad thing is we can use the on-demand function upstairs with the pretend TV - that would be David's fault. I am STILL going to Weight Watchers - it's coming off in drops now I think. I thought I had it last week at my weigh in and I was - I kid you not - POINT TWO away from my goal weight. If I can lose Point Two this week I will be a lifetime member and not have to pay $40 a month. Yes that's what it is - and it's not really that expensive if you think of A)how much Jenny Craig is and B)how much your health care costs go up when you're not at your best. So I eat my fruit and vegetables and keep my eye on the prize.

At Day's End.

2011-11-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

The bad week has continued and will be at the end soon. We hope. It wasn't actually a bad week, but we had an unexpected death - well, who ever expects it? But this was especially terrible, a friend and co-worker lost her 22 year old daughter in a car accident - what do you say and what can you do? Nothing really,we sat with her at the hospital and stayed away at the end when the family needed to say goodbye, the whole event has been overly whelmingly sad. I did not know her personally, but have seen her pictures displayed and she was the light of her mother's life, a weekly topic of conversation. The memorial will be on Sunday, the beginning of a long trip back. It affects us all because we know our friend will never be the same again, that we can imagine that horror but never fully know it really. It hangs over us all, at the edges of your thoughts all day, something that should never happen to any of us. Funerals have a purpose in letting you have closure, to say goodbye.

How To Jinx Yourself.

2011-11-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

I should have known better than to write about how great my life is - it's the best way to get a cosmic smack up side the head. This week has been a never ending slide down that slippery slope - work was a race and I ran ran ran and accomplished nothing. I've been lectured and yelled at by my clients, not mad at me, just mad and tired. Vincent, the Best Cat In The Universe went into kidney failure and spent two days at the vets getting fluids. He's better, but not great. Pearl has been hunting all week no problems. A friend of ours threw her toy and she managed to do something awful to her leg - it's not broken, but it's swollen and she can't bear weight on it. There are other things going on, but nothing I wish to mention here. So it's been a bad week, actually more than bad. But there have been little bright spots here and there, I got my new stove, Vincent is home and Pearl will mend. Today was fun, well, after we took Pearl to the vet for an X-ray - just for those keeping track we've spent about $500 in vet fees so far this week. I also had to buy IV fluids for Vincent so if he starts to get dehydrated I can give him fluids. Pearl was a pest at the vet's as it stresses her out. She refused to go for for X-ray so Dr. Kenny just picked her up and carried her whining butt in there. She was not gracious about it at all but we were relieved her leg was not fractured. We gave her her pain medication which we have hidden high up - it's the same stuff she overdosed on as a puppy and she would still gladly suck down the entire bottle of beefie flavored pills. Yarns and Tall Tails: O Is For Overdose. We also put a deposit on a puppy for the spring the other day, it will be coming from Ohio Land That I Love. We've discussed it at great length and as much as I would love a puppy right now, it makes more sense to wait until the spring when it's warm and we have the time. We're also currently trying to make plans for Thanksgiving, so busy since we moved back! I started a shawl the other day, it took a couple of tries but I'm good now. I have all my knitting books out on the bookshelves David bought me and I'm thrilled of course - they came out so nice and it's so wonderful to have my stuff back.

Fifty

2011-10-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm OK. I really am. It's funny how there are certain, unexpected times in your life that you thought would be - I don't know, terrible or depressing and strangely - they are not. Fifty has turned out to be one of my better moments I think - I look my age but inside - I feel 24. Right now, right here I feel happy. I'm not rich, not poor, my house is just right. My weight is almost where I'd like it, my cat is the best cat in the universe and I like my little corner of the world. Not that everything is perfect mind you - I worry about Adam getting out of the navy and Jackson being in Afghanistan, Claw the Evil cat spends her days sleeping in the root cellar and I think it will not be long now. Not a day goes by that I don't miss Setsu and Mikio or think of them - I still can't figure out how I could forget that I liked peanut butter at some point in my life when I can't even remember ever eating it. But I get the privilege of being fifty - being young enough to go hiking and old enough to spend the weekend sitting and knitting. I'm young enough to enjoy my job and find it exciting - and old enough to know how to do it. I get to be past all the very bad stuff, it's way back there in my rear view and I look to the future of puttering about, trips to Ohio - when I mean to and when I -oops! - didn't mean to - life is no longer a race but a canoe in the river. I enjoy feeling safe. I have no idea what the future holds - will our money hold out, will the economy stagger and sink? Am I going to be healthy? Or not? Will I run out of yarn before I run out of time? I could ponder and worry, but right now I just don't want to - this weekend I'm on call so I can't go hiking (no cell service in the woods) - but I'm going to be putting my knitting book collection up on my new bookshelves that David built for me, I'll walk the dog and go grocery shopping. I'll read and knit, knit and read, watch TV and talk to David. It's not always true but sometimes, sometimes happiness is in your own backyard. And more importantly - if you find happiness you need to appreciate it for what it is, because it goes away much faster than it comes.

A Visit A Hostess A Weekend.

2011-10-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Fred, The Hostess, Mom

Mom and Fred were the first Official Subjects Of Hostessing, they visited Janet and Diane first and then made their way to our house. I must have given good directions as they arrived no worse for the wear. We had a very good time and except for a few little bumps and bobbles it went pretty well. Fred is unable to walk too far due to his spinal stenosis so we went to the Gallitan Wilderness House which is historic but is a limited amount of walking. I would like to say here that if people visit us again and wish to drive around the country side it might behoove everyone involved to take their water pills AFTER we get back and that's all I'm saying. We did the Boston Beanery and I had my beloved Beanwich - I spent about 20 minutes picking all the tiny bits of bacon out but believe me, if you ever come to West Virginia and go to the Beanery have that for lunch - you'll be hooked forever. They left yesterday morning and I went back to the Salt Mines. David is now working down the list, we were approved for a home equity loan but that doesn't mean we need to spend the entire thing so we have a list of things we want to complete the house. For now. We'll be shopping for a new stove this weekend, the one that came with the house the owner's son had thought it didn't shut right. Actually what it does is sneaky incinerates your food every time you leave the room. I put frozen pizza in there last Friday and it was like cooking. cooking, coooookking..... then when I left the room it magically transported the pizza to the Fiery Pits Of Hell and back so when I checked on it I discovered we were having hockey pucks. Three pizzas later we had dinner. David is doing the bookshelves this week, we are extending the driveway - we're buying bedroom furniture but that's when we find something we like so it's no hurry. Most of it is small stuff - a kitchen faucet, a new dresser, maybe new counter tops, maybe not. We're also considering a swimming pool but that will be in the summer and we'll revisit that then. We've started looking for another dog, we might wait until spring if we don't find one we want, warmer weather is better for puppies and babies anyhow. I'm on call for the first time this week, not looking forward to it but it tends to be a necessary evil in my part of the world.

Plots And Plans

2011-10-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

I love LOVE graveyards - the more remote, the older, the more Gothic I'm there! I feel about headstones, crypts and mausoleums the same way some would view the Louvre or the Mona Lisa. The thought and care that was put into the construction and the amazing artwork leaves me wandering amongst the dead in open admiration. I stopped at a mausoleum, it's a place where there are no markers, just flat little names on stone. In order to dress it up they stick fake bunches of flowers in plastic cones all over which makes it look a bit like Tacky Land but that would be one woman's opinion. There was a big structure in the middle which I assume houses the Hoity Toity Bunch - it was super pretty. I parked behind it and tried the door - score! - it was open. It had a pink puffy couch in one corner, some pew like seating and pulpit. I considered having my lunch there instead of in my car (I was out seeing patients) but I think the people in the office were peeking at me. I had a 50/50 chance of being able to eat in peace and I did have a back up plan that if someone came to see what I was doing I would kick my lunch under the couch and look all pious and stuff. I would have to pick and memorize a name on the Wall Of Our Dearly Departed so I could pretend to be grieving or something but then that would most likely be going to far so I just did a little bit more of peeking about and off I went. To Work. Did too. Yes I did. Shut up. I saw a couple more patients and then had a little time before the next one and I found another graveyard - with three crypts all in a row. One had a broken door that looked like you could push it open....... BONUS!! Oh yes I did - are you kidding?? When opportunity knocks, well you should open the door. And I super did! It was just like I thought it would be but fancier. All the coffin shelves where made of marble and the entire interior was lined in white marble too. There were no coffins by the way, I have no idea - maybe they didn't pay their rent or moved on to a fancier piece of real estate. And that got me to wondering - if I bought a grave plot right now, would it be mine to use until I passed on to that Great Yarn Shop In The Sky? Could I eat my lunch there? Read? Take a nap or better yet - camp for the weekend? Would I just own the top or would I get to utilize all the way down six feet? Would I have to put my gravestone up - I would rather have something cheerier before the Big Event. And since I'm planning on being cremated could I sublet it? If I built a crypt of my own with little windows it would be a great place to get away from it and since most crypts have little air holes it would be perfect. And I have no idea why they have little air holes but I'm sure there's a good reason. ZOMBIES!

Someday I'll Be Living In A Big Ole City And All You're Ever Gonna Be Is Mean

2011-10-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

I was thinking of you all day today - it's a shame we've given all this lip service about bullies - and yet nothing changes. I won't give you another It Will Get Better speech - we both know it will, I told you that and so did your aunt. It's that crappy middle getting to the better part. The mean kids seem to know who to target - Priscilla certainly did. For 3 years I had to use the bathroom in the nurse's because that stupid bitch and her sidekick would lay in wait for me - along with the locker room, hallways, when the teacher wasn't looking, two against one most of the time - and given the fact she outweighed me by at least 50 pounds never a fair fight. Everyone knew and no one tried to help. She wasn't the only one - but she was the most persistent - and it was at a time in my life I really didn't need anyone to make me feel worse about myself - I had been told from the time I could remember I was nothing and worthless - and that was at home - I just didn't have the self esteem to fight back. So I won't tell you to keep your chin up or other crap you don't need to hear. I will tell you what I did - and you can do with it what you want. Find a couple of teachers you trust - mine were Mrs. Brisel, Mrs. Ringers and Coach Fitz. They listened and even helped me - they gave me a reason to keep coming to school. Try to stay where they can't get to you - and I'm not just talking about physical damage - those kids tend to keep their mouths shut in front of adults - they're not stupid you know. It won't stop it but it will help cut down on the crap. Join the school newspaper or something like that - everyone fits in there. And use your guidance counselors - they're a great sounding board at times. I had two (I was only supposed to have one, but given my circumstances both of them made sure I could see them). When the shit hit the fan, one of them had me placed in a group home on an emergency admit - I'm not recommending it, but at the time it saved me. And stay away from drugs - I know I know - taking drugs probably won't keep you living in Allys as an adult but it will delay you from succeeding. I got into that briefly and then I not only had to deal with personal and social problems but then I had to deal with that on top of the mountain of problems I couldn't deal with in the first place.And make a few friends - good ones that mean something. Once I hooked up with Liz, Richard and Kim my life got so much better. Then we attracted more friends - then we had people that wanted to be friends with US - go figure. I guess what I really want to say to you is what I wish someone had said to me - that it will end when you graduate. When you get out of that microbe and leave it will disappear faster than a library fine, it will be yesterday's news. Concentrate on getting your grades good enough to get the hell out or get into the service - every day you go is another day down. You'll go on and you won't forget - none of us ever do. But the real friends you make in that school will have your back forever.

A Walk In The Park

2011-10-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Today was the farthest we've ever walked, Pearl and I did 3 and a 1/2 hours, we were dragging it back to the car, but I was so proud of us! My legs are killing me because we did not take the easy paths either - well at least not easy for me, Pearl is another story. Pearl was off the leash for most of the walk as we went early and we had the place to ourselves, she enjoys it so much more when she can run - she darts around and harasses the chipmunks relentlessly. She's doing better people-wise too, we saw two joggers and she ran to the them - but to visit, not because she was scared. I did have to remind her she did not know one of the joggers as she started jogging after him, much to his amusement. She is still waiting for Gabe, it's not as intense as it was, but it's so sad - there's nothing you can do about it but let time take care of it. But she's a busy dog between hiking and hunting season starting soon - and David came home with the news today he was asked to do some guiding next week at the local hunting preserve - she'd better eat her Wheaties! We got approved for the home equity loan so we'll be putting in the electric fence - and then maybe then, we can think about getting Pearl a live in friend. We're excited too because now we can finish the house the way we want to. We've learned that being debt free is nice, but buying cheap and then replacing it later down the road just ends up costing more money - you're better off borrowing and just paying it all off once instead of twice. I finished the socks I've been working on and balled up the yarn I bought on my vacation last year. it's a 60% pima cotton 40% merino wool mix from Peru - now I have to find a project for it. This is a little different because I want to make a shawl out of it BUT I only have exactly 900 yards so the project will have to fit the yarn. And I can't buy more as it's a specific dye lot - made once, never again. In progress on my diet - I've hit a wall, not only have I not lost anything in the past two weeks but I gained a pound. I know I've plateaued but that doesn't make it any easier - you feel like you've done all this work for nothing. And I know I've lost steadily but I guess the big issue is I was only 7 pounds away from my goal - so I have to regroup and go on. Dammit.

Rain Rain Rain.

2011-10-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Pearl and I stayed home today for the first time in a month - the weather this weekend has been grey, cold and rainy. Pearl continues to watch Gabe's house, she either sits on the hill or lays on the property line, gently watching. She plays of course, but always stops to look for him. But like with us, it will fade eventually. Not being able to go to the park today didn't help - but we will go next week. I did a lot of cooking today, I try to make at least a couple of meals ahead of time so that during the week we can just pop them in the oven when I get home. David is 80% done with the master bedroom - I'll take pictures later in the week. He painted it a mustard gold color and with the white ceiling it looks amazing - it's actually the same as this blog. He's got to install the fans and lighting next and then we'll be up there. There's a few more things that need to be done but it will have to wait for now. I'll be glad when my stuff comes back out, my books and things. Right now everything is still stored - my clothes are in the walk in closet but I'm still missing a few things. Work on Monday, still working on the sock, nothing much. I heard from Jackson, he got the care package we sent and we will be sending another one of course. We sent him snacks and magazines, his hat that he loves, this and that. It's hard with him so far away for so long - we did it with Adam so it's not a new thing, but it's difficult when you know you won't see them for a year or two.

Buckwheat

2011-10-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

It was finally time for the Buckwheat Festival - and the day of course dawned Dark and Gloomy with Intermittent Spats Of Rain. The temp has dropped down so much we have the heat on, but I'm certainly grateful I HAVE heat now! We parked at the church - $5 a car and then headed in for buckwheat pancakes. All of the churches, firehouses, etc charge for parking and it goes to that facility so you don't mind paying. The breakfast is all you can eat but if you've ever had a buckwheat pancake you can't eat much so they make out well with that. It was fun walking around the fair grounds, looking at the 4-H farm animals and seeing who won a prize for the best in show, etc. 4-H is pretty big around here and the way it's done is you get two animals, one to raise as your show animal and the other to raise and give back to 4-H. They sell it and buy more animals for other 4-H kids to raise, at least that's the way it was explained to me years ago. I bought buckwheat flour for Ray and Ramp Wine for myself - I'm very curious about how it will taste! I saw the knitting exhibits and I have to say I could have won it hands down! Next year I will win it - the entries had to be in by the end of April so it was too late for me but it's on my list for next year. I did manage to stay on my diet, I've lost over 25 pounds so far and have only about 5 (or so) to go. The last few pounds are the hardest - before it was sliding off, now it's going ounce by ounce. I guess however it goes is okay - as long as it goes. On the way back we stopped at one of my favorite farm stands, when I was a visit nurse I was there every other week at least. It's so inexpensive and you can buy all sorts of stuff! We just sort of meandered home after that, a little here, a little there. I did some knitting in the car, I'm almost halfway thru sock number two and am sort of plotting what my next project will be. I have some wonderful blue yarn I'd like to knit a shawl with - I know I have 900 meters so I have to sort of match the yarn to a pattern because I know I can't get anymore of it. Pearl is still mourning her friend Gabe - she doesn't know what happened to him of course and that makes it harder. When we go outside she stands and stares at his back porch as if she can will him to come out. She snuck over there this morning and was looking for him, he had a favorite spot under the porch. She has not quite realized he won't be coming back, I guess it takes awhile. We are playing around again with the idea of getting another dog but we're going to wait until we can think clearly. I know Gabe was not ours, but we saw him everyday since we've moved in - if he wasn't on my back porch peeking in and wagging his tail waiting for his friend to come out, Pearl was over there on his back porch. He will be greatly missed.

An Unexpected Turn Of Events.

2011-09-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

"I can accept all of the economy of life and all of human activities and human nature except one thing: what is the use of grief?"
Thomas Jeffereson

We saw Jim early this morning walking home carrying Gabe - and knew the worst had happened. Another neighbor had called to tell them Gabe was on the side of the road. It was too late of course, There is nothing more heartbreaking than a sudden death - whether it's human or canine - a hole is there. We all cried this morning, I cried off and on all day, just thinking we will never see Gabe again or laugh watching Pearl play keep away - unsuccessfully I might add - again is not imaginable. David helped Jim bury Gabe later on this morning, a sad task, Pearl keeps racing around the yard, then stops to watch next door for him to come racing over to play. She'll stop eventually, I don't know if they ever forget though.

Down On The Farm

2011-09-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm pooped. We had a busy day today. Pearl and I were at Friendship Hill before 8 am this morning - we hiked over 2 1/2 hours without a break. Well, I did use the bathroom once and Pearl was annoying as usual. When you hike the dog goes everywhere with you - bathroom included. So she got tied to the door and survived but insisted upon Carrying On which is unfair -I don't fuss when she goes! We also looked at the historic buildings - The Gallatin Wilderness House,Sarah Gallatin's grave site, etc but if I do the tour it will have to be without Pearl. Although I must admit the idea of bringing Pearl to museum does make me laugh - can you imagine Pearl The Squirrel in a place filled with historical artifacts? We just had a really good morning, it was a perfect day for walking in the woods and just hanging with the dog. After we got back I did a few things around here - I did get my clothes swapped out for fall and I got the vacuuming done, etc. Then I headed out to the Alpaca Farm for the open house. I saw the woman I saw at the covered bridge festival - her name is Rebecca's and I have her number - yea! another knitter! - she was doing a spinning demonstration. The alpacas were cute but out of my price range. A male can maybe go for $1000, a female can go for as much as $10,000 depending on blood lines. Eek! I'll just have to buy it by the skein I suppose. They had a shearing demonstration which was interesting and I skipped the hayride. I did get a skein, it was the same one I bought at the festival so now I have enough for knee socks. I also met the owner of the alpacas and she took my number and email address as she's trying to get a knitting group started. There was a local winery there and I got their information - they do dinners at the winery which sounds great - I might run it by Jim and Robin to see if they'd like to do that. Work will be busy this week and at the end of October I'll start taking my turn being on call - not looking forward to it, but part of the job. The good with the bad and all of that stuff. I finished the one sock of the ones I'm currently knitting and started the next one - onward!

Fall Is Here!

2011-09-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

I'm making excellent progress on the sock - another few rows to go and then I start the toe. Then the other one of course. I wore a pair of socks I made last year to work today - I've never worn any socks I've made so it was an experience. A good one! They fit and they were comfortable which is all you can ask. This weekend I'm going to an open house at an Alpaca farm in Waynesburg, next weekend I'm off to the Buckwheat Festival, the weekend after that I am planning to finally hike Cooper's Rock. The neighbors have said they'd be interested in playing cards with us some weekend, Susan is going to come over to help me figure out the sewing machine - we are busy bees in West Virginia. But I'm glad we're back and it feels like we've never been gone. We are getting ready for the winter - we have heat - the furnace and hot water heater we had installed is 95% efficient. We had talked about fixing the old system but since we had planned on replacing it was silly to spend money on it. We also had the cesspool pumped - David ran into a neighbor at the covered bridge festival last week and they were brainstorming as to where it might be. Then the neighbor said he'd never seen it pumped out - David had a renewed interest in finding it!! He did locate it and pulled the cover off and well, we wont' go into Great Detail but the cesspool guy came the very next day after speaking to David and was amazed our drains had not backed up. Eek. But disaster averted and on we go. I'm going through my clothes tomorrow - the ones I can find - and get the winter clothes swapped out. It's been raining again, I'm so tired of rain! But better than snow I suppose. I put the ghosts out as it's their time of the year again and will buy a few more Halloween decorations. I hate the holiday but love the trappings of it! I guess it's the B Movie Girl in me.....

Back In The Woods

2011-09-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

Pearl and I hit the trails again today - we did almost two hours this time and although I had my compass I didn't use it too much - just checked to make sure it was working. I debated bringing the backpack but after thinking about it - it's just easier than trying to stuff this and that in my pockets. I take my camera and phone, water, treats for Pearl - and it's easier to carry. Pearl wears her electric collar as I do let her off the leash to trot about on her own if no one is around so I have to bring the beeper end of it too.. When we got back there was a group dressed as revolutionary figures and they all loved Pearl, she tends to get a fan base where ever she goes. She's doing a bit better in that department but we had a little issue with the joggers on the trail - Pearl feels anyone traveling faster than her must be Up To No Good and she barks to make them stop. It is uber annoying. After I came home David and i went to the Covered Bridge Festival - more colonial outfits. It was a small affair but we actually ran into people we knew so that was exciting for me - and even more exciting were the alpacas! Apparently there;s an alpaca farm local and they produce (TADA - drum roll please!) Alpaca yarn of course. I bought only one skein of yarn since the Yarn Hater left most of our money at home. In an envelope. he has been at this for two weeks - he claims he has five hundred dollars and every time we go out he announces he left it home in the envelope. This is what stopped me from buying the subsoil mineral rights at the auction yesterday (well, even if he'd brought the envelope we would have still been $35,500 short so I suppose that wasn't his fault) and from buying the entire basket of yarn. That and he could not believe a skein of yarn could cost $19. Oh, how little we know.........Anyhooo - they're having an open house next week and I will be there perusing the alpacas. I was talking to someone there that spins and she'll be there too - I didn't get her name but she's from Missouri originally - so maybe I'll make a friend out of the deal too.

Socks, Auctions and Other Stuff

2011-09-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

The weekends have become a fun event lately - there's so much to do you don't know where to start! Today we had a lot to do - shopping, I needed a haircut, we needed to fill out paperwork for a home equity line of credit, on and on. David took my car BACK to Monroe Muffler and Brakes AGAIN first thing this morning - this is time #4 but who's counting? They (hopefully!) finished bollixing it up and actually fixed it - maybe they're as tired of seeing us as we are of seeing them - and David came back to get me. Next stop was the bank to sign paperwork - once we get settled financially we apply for a line of credit, it's easier and safer than credit cards and you have that "just in case" cushion. We ended up at an auction right after by following the signs posted along the road, what a fun surprise thing to do - I bid on and won the sewing machine. It's an older model but I only paid $22 so if I decide sewing is not for me it's not a huge investment. They were auctioning off the house and the subsoil mineral rights after that - we were standing behind two guys that were bidding hot and heavy on the mineral rights and I was terrified to move. I figured my luck I would scratch my ear and the next thing I would hear would be "SOLD! $40,000 to the lady right over there!" The mineral rights went for $36,000!! and the house with the 20 acres went for $255,000. My sewing machine came with a basket that contained attachments and Crap, the crap being uber fun. One of the items was a disposable pair of cataract glasses which David was like TAKE THEM OFF - I thought I looked like a spy but apparently I was the only one of that opinion. We went to the book store next, groceries of course since it is Saturday and then I got my haircut. I tipped the girl a lot because she did a great job I think. We are going to the covered bridge festival tomorrow - just the White Bridge near us. You can do the whole ten but it's a whole lot of driving! If I get up early enough I'll take Pearl back to Friendship Hill to walk tomorrow, we'll see. I've got to get my winter clothes out this week, no sense in putting it off anymore. Our furnace went Kaput this week - we had planned on replacing it as it's original to the house but we had planned on it next year. Oh well - no time like the present I suppose. I'm currently working on a simple pair of socks - I had started them when we went down to Norfolk but ended up frogging it as it just didn't look right. Socks give me a chance to plan the next project and hopefully by then I'm not only have bookshelves but my books out so I can see them without having to burrow through the whole house. Since David is renovating my knitting stuff is on all three floors. Yikes!

I Walk The Line

2011-09-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Today we finally dared it - after a year we returned to the trails. Pearl The Pest and I got ready in our usual manner - she jumped around and barked like an idiot and I yelled at her. I went out and started the car, leaving the back car door open because she knew she was going walking. I opened the kitchen door and she went firing straight out the door like a shot - catapulted into the car and resumed barking and jumping around like an idiot. I resumed yelling. She rode with her head out the window, ears flying straight back - I have no idea why she finds this so much fun, but it's dime not mine. The trail we did was Friendship Hill Park, it's historic so there's little graves and stuff along the way if you do the long way. We were just on a trial run for both my foot and my digital compass which is sort of like a GPS but you hit your start point and then off you go. You can even turn it off and turn it back on later - and it will tell how far you are away from your start point and the miles (or feet ) decrease as you get toward it. Pearl is sort of a mixed bag as far as hiking partners go - she can walk forever without tiring since she is a Vizsla, however she insists on trying to do it as Fast As Her Legs Will Carry Her And You Too, HURRY UP DAMMIT. It sort of takes the relaxing part out of it. We did have a few tricky moments as apparently people can ride their bike on the trail which Pearl views as an Evil Contraption and behaves accordingly. Thank the stars for leashes! And then when I turned my compass on it just read "00.6" - and it wouldn't change. I started to panic a little since I'd been lost once in the woods and that was enough thank you very much - but then noticed it had changed to "00.5" finally - I realized then that we had never gone very far while practicing in the backyard and it had never read more than feet before. Whew! So it did work after all and then I really enjoyed the walk. We only did a couple of hours as I didn't want to over do and headed home so I could get a jump start on the cooking for the week. When I have time I try to at least cook a couple of dishes for the week so we can just stick em in the oven and it's done. David got his first beef stew of the season and stuffed green peppers for later in the week, I did the vegetarian version of the peppers, Hippie Loaf and mushroom burgers. I love feeling like I'm a little head before I start the week, don't you?

Hiding Out

2011-09-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

We have only lived here for a couple of months and we need a week off already. We are going to spend the next few weekends at home - no more here and there until we get the house under control. I cannot believe we've only lived here for about 10 weeks, so much has happened and we are rolling along, trying to get it under control. I've been back to Long Island for a week, then raced to PA to say good bye to Jackson, then down to Norfolk for a family weekend. I've been settling into work and racing about there - it's hard to get 30 or more clients all at once. It's like starting a novel in the middle - you'll eventually figure out the plot but in the mean time there's a lot of guessing and figuring out how things work. My clients are spread from the upper panhandle down past Fairmont, which was daunting but then you figure it's not the same as visit nursing - I'm seeing them once every 60 days, not 3 times a week so it is a bit more do-a-ble. But I'm so enjoying being back on the road, my timing is getting a little bit better and this week I actually got some time to visit my favorite graveyards and take some pictures too. I finally found Friendship Hill Park too so if the weather co-operates Pearl and I will be going on our first trail in a year - we've not hiked at all since I developed plantar fachiitis - it's a little scary. But we're only going to be doing about two miles or so just to see how things go, hopefully we'll get back to Cooper's Rock before winter sets in. In other news I started a pair of plain socks, they're small, easy, and pretty mindless. I had to restart them once as I was not happy with the way they looked but the second try is going much better. I love knitting socks because you can take them everywhere. We went out to breakfast this morning at Bob Evans and I took my little sock bag with me and knit a few rows while we waited for our breakfast. My Weight Watchers continues to go well, I made my 10% goal and got my Weight Watchers key chain, I only have about 10 more pounds or so and I'll get my lifetime membership. David continues to work on the upstairs and we are most likely looking at a new furnace. Not a surprise - the one that came with the house is most likely original and we'll save money in the long run. We replaced the toilet a few weeks ago- David kept saying there was something wrong with it but it was just old. You get so used to the low flush toilets that you forget how slow the old 15 gallons a flush jobs were! Oh well - wish me luck tomorrow!

Norfolk Navy Base

2011-09-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

We were invited by John to come down for Labor day - our family is so scattered at this point more than two of use getting together is an event - 13 of us is epic! We left after work on Friday and drove until we couldn't - we stayed over in Fredricksburg - the hotel was nice, the breakfast they served would have inspired prison riots - good thing I have my cooler along. I've discovered with all the traveling I've done in the past few years is junk food is plentiful, good food is not so I pack a cooler with coffee creamer, fruit, yogurt, etc so I'm not stuck eating something i really shouldn't. The original plan was Busch Gardens but due to the labor day traffic we hung out at the Navy Museum and downtown Norfolk. Amy and Jim had their two little boys who loved the museum due to the Gift Shop - they're both hilarious. It's fun to watch them, they are both in great awe of their cousin John Jr and fought to be near him, to hold his hands, etc - I have to say John Jr. was exceptionable great about it and provided all the attention they wanted with no complaints. His older sister Katie is equally polite, I have to say I'm impressed with both of them. We went out to eat together a few times - it's a little difficult to find a table for more than ten people but John managed. I did finish the sweater for John - the sleeves were not fixable. They were great big bell sleeves and a bit long so I folded them up and pulled them in. The problem was if I pulled them in too tight then they would be poofy sleeves and I think that would be worse. John was gracious enough to try it on but I think Carleen might end up wearing it - which is fine, Once I'm done I'm done. On Sunday everyone went their separate ways and then met up for one last dinner. We spent the day with Adam, something we only get to do a couple of times a year - and that's if he's on shore and we're lucky enough to time it right. Having both the boys in the navy I think makes us take them much less for granted, we will run hundreds of miles just to see them for a day. Adam is doing well and getting geared up to get out next year, I think he's a bit nervous but looking forward to it. He's going to stay in Norfolk and he has John and Carleen down there for advice and moral support so it's all good. Janet and Diane came down too so it was a great weekend, it really felt like old times again, didn't it? It' so hard to think that 20 years ago we all lived down the road from each other and now we live so far it's mind boggling. Tommy in Nebraska, Henry in Georgia, Uncle Harry and Bette in Colorado, Jackson in Afghanistan - it goes on and on. I've heard from Jackson a few times, he's doing well and getting to work so the next project will be a care package for him. It never stops, does it?

At Loose Ends

2011-08-31T17:41:00.000-07:00

The sweater is actually done - I just need time and a sunny day to take a final picture of it. Of course now I have to figure out what I want to make next. This is the part where I glom over my books, magazine, start, frog, start, frog, different yarn, different needles, different bag. I start and stutter about half a dozen times then I'll find a project. I'm thinking socks since I haven't made them in awhile. Things are swinging along lately, the materials came in for the job David's doing so he's back to dividing his time between here and there. Our custom window came in so that is done, he's been busy peeling up the carpet and pulling down the walls upstairs - when it's done it will be amazing. The weather is slowly turning to chill, it's that odd time of the year where you wake up clutching the covers and racing to slam the windows shut, then when you come home from work you're racing for your shorts and flipping on the air. But I cannot wait for fall! I took Pearl on a practice walk last night, it's funny how you think you're all that and going so far - but you're not. I clocked what we had walked last night with the car this morning and we barely did half a mile. Stinks. But we will get better. Vincent is here with me right now, we have gotten into a routine in the evenings, I sit in the big chair and he drapes himself on top of the cushion behind me, dangling his paws over my shoulders. He is such a wonderful boy cat - all furry and purring, too bad Claw the Evil can't take a page out of his book. I had my Weight Watchers meeting tonight and finally met my 10% goal - they give you a key chain which is very swanky. I met with the leader and we figured out my final destination - it's a good weight and one that I can (hopefully) stay at. I am so tired of up and down, with more up every time I go there and it seems to get harder to take off each time. This I can do - because it's not a crazy thing and it allows you to eat what you like - you just can't eat it all the time and you can't eat 5 of them. I mean, let's face it - all diets comes down to the same thing - diet and exercise. This is just manageable.

I Spy With My Great Eye

2011-08-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

David always has a neighbor to spy on - when we lived in Maidsville we had the Deck People. When we moved there it was just a single-wide trailer - but they went to work on improvements. First they added a peaked roof, an addition, siding, an above ground pool and then the piec`e de resistance - the biggest wrap around deck you'd ever seen in your life. It was HUGE - and they both changed into snappy black stretchy bathing suits and that was their life. They hung wash, talked on the phone, mowed the lawn and bobbed around the pool in their stretchy suits, by the end of the summer they were so tan they looked like wrapped kidney beans with legs. And I received constant reports from David and Jackson as to the latest activity of The Deck People. It was endlessly fascinating and even I found myself peering at them. Now we have the RV people that we pass daily - they seem to occupy two old, leaning houses with a large assortment of dogs, cats, cars, relatives, RVs, stuff as far as the eye can see - the overflow is housed in an old RV, with blankets for curtains and fans Galore. It's hard not to slow down and ogle, you just can't take it in in one pass, can you? If no one is outside I slow down and get an eye full, if someone is outside I pretend I don't notice them as staring is not polite. It's not easy being a good neighbor. If the hurricane came through here it might help them with the yard, don't you think? But it won't. I know it won't because we were mulling over whether a hurricane had ever blown through WV - and I said I would ask Susan because she's from Mannington. And people from Mannington know everything - so Susan said no and we can all sleep tonight. David and I have stuff to do this weekend, I have the sweater all pinned together and ready to go - I had to re-pin it the other night but hopefully will get it stitched and the collar done. It seems to be taking forever! As you can see from the picture I've started back skipping around the graveyards - what fun is that! We have heard from Jackson a couple of times, he sounds well and excited, very much ready for this big adventure. That sounds odd doesn't it? After all he is overseas in a war zone, but that's the way kids are. We see the danger, they see the excitement of it all. Oh well, they do what they do, don't they? We just sit back and hope they do it safely and come back to us in one piece.

Earthquakes, Commodes And Other Items Of Interest.

2011-08-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today at work we had an earthquake! It was actually tremors but since I've never been in an earthquake I fully intend to take credit for the event. However, to put the Dreadful Event in perspectiveI have to admit I didn't even get off the phone - since the other manager decided to take a vacation day I was left to man the phone calls and hunt stuff down, earthquake or no earthquake. I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment - it will settle down after I get a real schedule going and meet all the patients. The hard part of being a manager in private duty is you have introduce yourself to all sorts of families - all with a common goal of taking care of someone that cannot take care of themselves. I'll survive of course. Last night we went to a benefit for foster kids and it was great. I won a Christmas prize which I will picture at some point - but it was just fun hanging out with the office. It doesn't feel like I'd been gone for almost 3 years, things are pretty status quo. Jackson is doing well and sounds great - that's all I'm allowed to say and got a talking to about posting things. I'm being careful as I don't want to land in the "unfriend" pile again! I have yet another busy day tomorrow - I'm going to working with vents this week and of course Weight Watchers tomorrow. Last weigh in I didn't lose anything, but I didn't GAIN anything either and given I'd gone to a couple of BBQ's in a row it probably wasn't a bad thing. I have the sweater edges pinned and waiting to be finished - I should do some tonight and a little each night. David will be back on his job next week I think - he's been working on our bathroom too of course, he replaced the toilet this week - or as it's called here, the commode. David kept going on how there was something wrong with the toilet /commode - it was the same thing that's wrong with us - it was old! It used about 15 gallons every time you flushed it and since were used to the low flush and "green" toilets it was a rather lazy trip downstream. So to speak. So that's been the past two days - we are already plotting the weekend - we have a ton of stuff to do already and it's only Tuesday!

Off You Go

2011-08-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

We didn't know if Jackson could see us before he left for Afganistan until the meeting they had at 4:30 pm on Friday. In anticipation we had incarcerated Pearl thinking we could pick her up Saturday if it was a no go. Jackson texted me at 4:31 he not only could see us but he could leave the base and at 4:35 Janet texted me they were going over to Fort Dix to get him and we should head out ASAP - of course when I got home David was in the yard going "here kitty kitty...." - ARRGH! But Tammy had let me leave work early and we found both cats - we were packed and out the door by 6pm arguing for the first 20 miles from the stress. But we have gotten better over the years, we just argue as we go knowing we will run out of steam shortly - dysfunctional multi-tasking I suppose. We arrived at Janet and Diane's about 11:30 pm. Jackson looks wonderful as you can see in the pictures, all excited and a bit nervous about going to Afganistan - we're so proud of him! All of my parents arrived the next day, mom and Fred, dad and Maryann with Rhiannon so we ended up having a very nice send off for him. Diane and Janet had a BBQ with cake as there is no point in heading off to war unless there is a cake involved somewhere. Our family seems to have a cake for every occasion - if we were ever in a hostage situation I swear a cake would show up from Wegmans or Shop N Save with the appropriate saying inscribed in icing ("Sorry you got kidnapped - Good Luck with that!). Diane and Janet also took him to Best Buy to get the Ipod he's been saving for - he bought the ipod they bought the rest. Part of the day was spent with him loading up with music, I sent him a gift certificate for his Kindle so he's loaded up with books, David gave him money for the trip. We left about 5:30 - Janet and Di were bringing him back to the base around 6pm. I hugged him tight but I've gotten good over the years about waiting to cry after I leave them. I know he's doing the right thing - he is a big believer in serving his country and because he volunteered no one ended up being made to go. But we will miss him and be a little scared for him - it will be a long year.

The World Is Going Well At The Moment

2011-08-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

I am finally almost finished with the sweater - but the last sleeve has been dragging along. I make myself do a few rows each night hoping to be done with it - it's just taking too long and I keep casting my roving eye in other directions. But I refuse to start a new project as I know it will just linger, making me feel guilty every time I come across it. This weekend was great - David and I did some fun shopping Saturday morning with a lot of browsing involved. I bought an outfit with two skirts for the fall that are a bit stretchy on clearance so I'll have a couple more outfits that I can wear while I (hopefully!!) continue losing weight and that will fit after I'm done. I have my weigh in tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed! Tommy came up from Fairmont on Saturday evening, he brought the wine and we provided the pizza - we ate outside because the weather has cooled and gotten wonderful. Sunday Robin and Jim from next door came over to our house for a BBQ, they brought sangria and stuffed peppers, we did the rest. They brought Gabe who is Pearl's favorite neighbor dog with them and tried to make Max who is no one's favorite neighbor dog stay home but he came anyhow. We got rained out but we were done eating so we just moved to our front porch which is uber comfortable and has swanky wicker furniture we bought off of someone else for $50. It originally included a beautiful arrangement of fake flowers but I threw them out when David wasn't looking. Work has been going well too - we did a lot of driving today to do an admit but it was fun and we spent part of the ride laughing over some of the funny things that had happened when I worked at Interim previously. David continues to hurry working on the master bedroom upstairs - fall is coming fast and so is hunting season!

I Wanna Be Your Ghoul-friend

2011-08-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

David has taken to not making eye contact with me when we go past graveyards - he can see me pressing my nose against the window and squirming in my seat but drives on. He claims we'll never get anywhere if I have to skipping down Burial Drive every time we leave the house. But it's not like I insist on stopping at every graveyard I see, I am picky about my bone yards - there has to be something to catch my eye or be weird of course, but I have plenty of time and on occasion The Yarn And Grave Hater will accede to stopping so I can snap a few pictures of my favorite subject. I haven't made a visit to the Reverend John Corbly yet - I was going to try today but the rain is pouring down and I'm stuck on the front porch. And yes we do have a real front porch with furniture and All Weather Carpet. Pearl is currently hiding behind the little wicker couch as there is lightening on occasion and she prefers I be in the line of fire which will give her a chance to find a better spot to hide. She's sort of like Lassie's evil twin - if she was a person she would be called a jerk but we are what we are. I had my first week of work, a bit overwhelming but do-able. My patient population here will be more high tech including vents, trachs, and other assorted things so there's a lot of learning to be done plus authorization and meeting the families and clients that will be mine in a few weeks. I have not touched a trach in about 10 years and I've never done a vent so I'm a bit freaked out but will get over it, I'm supposed to work a couple shifts with someone and after I get comfortable I'll be fine. It's just when you start doing anything you're all thumbs for awhile - even doing the admissions this week you'd swear I'd been working in Wal-Mart the way I've been acting. But I tend to hang back and observe - then do it myself, then I'm fine. The other issue for us is David and I both went back to work and with the longer drives there is no time for anything. We ran out of bread, fruit, milk, etc during the week which led to a bit of You Get It, No YOU Get It, etc. I ended being the chosen one but not a happy chosen one. I get home first so I'm hit with a wall of Hysterical Animals who have been in all day lying on the couch with nothing to do. They all have to pee, need to be fed and are dancing racing howling things. It got better at the end of the week but the first couple of weeks when we are rearranging our schedules is the hardest. I'm waiting for the David to get back from the dump and then we have a ton of stuff to do including a bank run as I actually have a total of 74 cents left in my wallet. I think we invited the neighbors over for dinner tomorrow, I'll have to go over later and ask - David did ask but can't remember what they said so if not this week, next will be fine too. I'm almost done with the second sleeve of the sweater I've been knitting Forever and a Day - the upside is I've done the pattern so long I don't have to think about it but the downside is I've done the pattern so long it is B-O-R-I-N-G. I am continuing with Weight Watchers, my weight loss of course has slowed down but as long as it continues I'm happy. I have to 2/10th's of a pound to have a 10 pound weight loss, I like the way they break it up so it's not overwhelming or feel like you can't do it. I did my 5% weight loss, now I'm working on my 10% so it's a bit at a time, not this big, huge undo able number.

Hello. Goodbye. Hello. Goodbye.

2011-08-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

Since I live in a unique situation - 4 miles from the border of the next state and actually work in both I have the opportunity every morning to leave one state (Goodbye From Pennsylvania!) and a few miles down the road enjoy a warm Wild and Wonderful West Virginia greeting. In the afternoon I say good bye to WV (Come back and see us again!) and it's back to You Are Now Entering Pennsylvania, the state Of Independence. It can get a little silly! But I have my camera ready and will be back on the road as soon as I'm done orientating. Work is fun, there's only a couple of people I don't know and they're very nice, I've spent the past day or so catching up on Who's Still Here and Who Is Not. The weekend before work was nice, David got home Saturday and Sunday he finally got to go to Cabela's, we had a great time just looking at everything and all the taxidermy. We didn't make it to the White Tail room but we did do the gun library, the African animal display and ate at the restaurant upstairs. We did the bookstore and stuff, then hit the grocery store on the way home. David has started work too so Pearl is having a little adjustment issue - she went from everyone home to no one home, that sucks in her world. David is home tomorrow awaiting Atlantic Broadband - the remote STILL doesn't work. I had called on Saturday and went through the paces, the girl on the phone said oh, you're a VIP customer and promised someone would be out that day. I am assuming VIP stands for Very Irritated Person since no one showed up - and nor did I really expect anyone to. Whatever. David is planning on working on the house so it's not an issue. So things are getting back to normal - well, as normal as we'll ever get!

Wheeling WV!

2011-07-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a fairly quiet week - David went back to LI on Monday to visit family and will be returning tomorrow. I had asked him to go while I was still off so when I return to work next week it will be a little less stressful without worrying about the dog and the house, etc. David will be starting soon too, but I'd like to get my feet wet while he holds down the fort for another week or so. I haven't been doing much - I go out in one direction or another each day, exploring my area, seeing what's what. I went up to the outlets one day - there's a Harry and David's so I stocked up on Charred Pineapple relish and so forth. Yesterday I headed out to Wheeling - I checked out a yarn shop of course - word to the wise, if they don't answer the phone and they don't list hours it is NOT a good sign. But I went in there not expecting much and was not disappointed - my main goal was just seeing Wheeling which is fairly nice although I just stayed on the outskirts. I was only a few miles from Ohio but will save that for when David can ride shotgun AND my camera is here - he took it to LI with him so I'm stuck with my crappy cell phone for snapping pictures. Anyhow The Yarn Cellar should have been named the Yarn Slum, even if it had been open I would have thought twice about actually going in and might have skipped it. Yes I would. Would too. Shut up. I did find a HUGE Cabela's surrounded by an even bigger shopping complex - SCORE!! - so the day was so not wasted. There was a Michael's where I scored knitting needles super cheap, wandered around the bookstore and then went to Cabela's so I could take pictures and Ha Ha send them to David. He called an accused me of Cruel and Unusual Punishment, especially when he got the shot of the rows and rows of shotguns. They had koi ponds and a museum of taxidermy so I had a great time wandering around and will bring David when he gets back. Our neighbor gave me more vegetables, she has a huge garden and is at the point of overload - I had to borrow a wheelbarrow to get it home - but I'm grateful for all the free produce. I'm still in love with my Ereader and have downloaded the entire Anita Blake series, I'm on book 7, nine more to go. But it's so relaxing, I sit in the backyard under the trees with my acres of green grass ( I have grass! I have grass!!) with Pearl busy bee-ing around. She goes and visits the neighbors, she and Gabe are still having fun being Neighbor Dogs, I see Jim and Robin once in awhile. I finally got my replacement remote from Atlantic Broadband, there's a month out of my life I'll never get back. If your remote doesn't work they will send you a replacement BUT you have to wait until they get 5 customers that need remotes as then they can send them bulk and it's very expensive to mail things you know. No, I'm not kidding. So Kudos to Atlantic Broadband for having a low rate of remote malfunctions but that didn't help us poor schmucks that were remote-less for a month. I suppose I could go around the neighborhood vandalizing the remotes but that would be difficult and probably not make me Neighbor Of The Week. I'm getting ready to head back to work Monday morning, I can't believe I've been off for a solid month, but glad I did it. There are few opportunities in life that you get a chance to do that without worrying.

Current Events

2011-07-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

Adam is a car owner as of yesterday. My cousin John and he went car shopping with loan in hand - the Navy exchange was having a car sale event with insurance and everything on site - why can't they do that for rest of us? What a great idea! Adam got an 04 Mustang convertible with only 55,000 miles all within budget - so he's now fully on the road. Jackson sent us a picture of himself in body armor - looks like a toughie, doesn't he? It won't be too long now until he goes overseas - he's enjoying the training and the army toys, glad he's happy and very proud that he's chosen to serve his country. My mother's cat Jingles passed away this morning after his many valiant battles with the squirrel population, I know we'll all miss him. He was my Grandmother Carter's cat and after she passed away my mother and Fred took him. Things will not be the same without him. We've been busy for the past couple of weeks - the fridge that came with the house up and croaked - after 5 pm of course - so it was Commando Appliance Shopping for David while I frantically potted everything down to the Hide-A-Body sized freezer the former owner left behind. I put all the fridge stuff in coolers so it only froze a tiny bit - David managed to find a fridge on clearance so it ended up being OK in the end. We attended a birthday party Friday for friends and then the friends were over here yesterday for our first BBQ - Pearl was hostessing her butt off of course. We did dessert in the house, the weather continues to be oppressively hot and humid and even sitting under an umbrella didn't help. We're going to the neighbor's tonight for another BBQ - I'm trying to be careful as my weigh in is Wednesday and I would hate to start gaining already - I've lost about 8 pounds so far. I did keep within my parameters on the point system so I'm proud of that. In knitting news I started the second sleeve and have a couple of inches done, but it's at the point of Slow Going and I Wish It Was Done. I'm busy looking for my next project, will probably be a shawl or socks, we'll see. Today I'm just hanging out as I cleaned the house yesterday - I'm on my last week of vacation, can you believe that? I can't!

Casey Anthony - Lizzie Borden

2011-07-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

Lizzie Borden took an axAnd gave her mother forty whacks,
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one.

Just for the record, the total number of whacks delivered to her stepmother and father was 29, not 81 - but twenty nine doesn't rhyme with much, does it? The Casey Anthony trial reminds me so much of Lizzie Borden - the evidence was overwhelming, she was caught multiple times in untruths, and yet, walked. The arriving officers noted Lizzie standing calmly on the landing on their arrival mere feet away from the body of her stepmother, there was no sign of a break in, the neighbors saw no strange activity. The family had been fighting quite bitterly over the father's money and lack of generosity with his daughters, both of whom feared everything would go to their stepmother. At the time of the murder Lizzie stated she was in the barn looking for sinkers (the temps that day had been over 100) - the subsequent investigation showed a thick layer of undisturbed dust - Lizzie offered no explanation. She also burned a dress 3 days after the murder stating she had ruined it. Officers found a cleaned axe head with the handle missing. The media became a circus with the local society women supporting her - after all how could this young woman have murdered her own parents - and not be remorseful at all? After the trial was over and the money inherited she became shunned by the very society that had supported her and spent the rest of her life as a curiosity. She was sued by family members and was forced to settle claims. A lot of people think Casey has gotten away with with her crime and it's true she won't be going to jail. But it's started - she's forced to go into hiding, death threats dog her every step, she's being sued for over $100,000 to reimburse the rescue group that searched for that little girl even though she was very much aware she had died weeks prior. Her parents have disowned her and the chance of her every having any life is slim to nothing. They say history repeats itself - and that's not always a bad thing, is it?

Settling In

2011-07-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

David and I have different styles of relaxing - I'm under a tree with my ereader or on the couch with my knitting or computer. I sort through clothes (no matter how many times I do it, I can always come up with a bag for donations), I cook things I usually don't have time to cook, I walk, browse, snuggle the cat. David is on the phone, in the truck, up the ladder, down to the shooting range, plotting planning shopping visiting. He has been to Hunting Hills two Sundays in a row, that's the sporting clays and hunting club, conveniently located right down the road. This way you'll never be bored as you can shoot clays when the game lands, which are also conveniently located right down the road, are closed for the season. And of course he isn't going alone - our phone rang at 6:45 am this morning to see if David could come out and play, we are right back in the swing of things. I met the neighbor - her name is Robin -today too so we've got tentative plans to get together and we are having the Bucklews over for a BBQ this weekend. Hopefully Susan can get over to the see the house too, busy! I've started letting the cats out a little - Bad Vincent heads right for the road so he gets jettisoned back in the house, Claw has not been out as much as I do worry about her. She doesn't go far but I worry about her not being able to find her way back to the house if she does wander. I continue with my diet, I am doing well so far and hopefully can keep it up - and off! In knitting news I finally have the first sleeve finished and now will be starting the second sleeve. I'd like to have it done before I go back to work but we'll have to see about that. David might go home for a few days before I go to work to see his parents and then he has to get moving too. We're very much taking advantage of the fact we can afford to take a month off - I'm sure this opportunity will never come our way again so we're trying to get the most of out it, for my part I'll just continue to drift towards August..........slowly

Back Home

2011-07-13T03:01:00.000-07:00

The ride back through NYC was the usual - I'm convinced they've hired someone to beep at me at least once during my sojourn through the big city and it's super annoying. Here I am just trying to see if I should be in this lane or that, maybe a tiny bit of sightseeing from the highway and then BEEP, so rude. Apparently New Yorkers are not big fans of my Superior Driving Skills. By the time I got to my sister's I was pretty beat so my shopping was limited to Barnes and Nobles - I did try to find one of the knitting stores on my list but it was a false lead, so off to Janet and Di's to go play with Cooper who is super cute. He's also a bit of a pest, but aren't they all? Janet made us a great vegetarian dish and Di followed with a great WW dessert - they just got back from multiple vacations so we were all pretty wiped out. TV was an issue, Diane likes Victorian stuff but Janet warned her it would not go over big with me unless they were Flesh Eating Victorians so we settled on True Blood, it wasn't a big deal because we all pooped around 9. I left the next morning a little after 8 and headed off to the first yarn store - it didn't open til 10 so that was a bust. The next one I hit was pay dirt - one of the staff came out and curiously asked me why I was taking a picture of her sign with my phone. I told her that my husband had told me not to buy anymore yarn so I was sending him a picture with HA HA written underneath it - that got a laugh from the other shoppers on the porch since we all know what I'm talking about. I did buy a bit of yarn, not much since we are getting past that and then I just meandered my way home. And I'm glad to be here - I missed David and my own dog, Vincent and even Claw a little bit. I have my second weigh in at Weight Watchers today and I'm curious as to how I did after a week of vacation. After this I'm going to start exercising, my ellipse and exercise bike are still in the garage so maybe David will bring them down to the basement for me. We have to start getting some more stuff done, although I still have a couple weeks of time off it's slipping away so fast! You always think you have all this time and really, you don't.

So Long To The Duck!

2011-07-11T03:28:00.000-07:00

Of course I didn't get to do and see everything I intended while I was here but that's the way vacations are, aren't they? I did manage to pack a lot into the past four days though - I saw (almost) everyone I wanted to see, I went (almost) everywhere I wanted to go and I did worship the Big Duck while I was here. My visit with Liz was nice and Kirstan remains the same great kid she's always been - I wish things were going better for Liz but it will all straighten out. We went to the party for the boys on Saturday, Amy had rented one of those giant inflatable bouncy things - it was a huge hit with the 5 and under crowd. Alex only came out long enough to get cake and darted back in, Matthew right behind him. The next day I headed off to Liz's and on the way back stopped at Tanger Shopping mall, wow was it crowded. I quick went into Eddie Bauer and that was it! I spent a quiet evening with Mom and Fred. This morning I'll stop by the ocean to take some pictures before I leave, I didn't go swimming after all. It just seemed to be too much trouble and too many people. This time of year is vacation time for a lot of folks so every where you go takes forever and a day to get there. I'm going to Janet and Diane's for a day to go shopping and hang out with them, then back to the salt mines. David has been doing all sorts of things while I was gone but more needs to be done. He's been having a good time too, he went shooting clays at Hunting Hills - a hunting club conveniently located right down the road from our house with an old friend and then spent the afternoon playing with Tommy's new ATV back in the woods, then he, Cecil and Tommy have some activity planned for Wednesday. So he is not lacking for entertainment while I'm gone. Oh well, I guess I'd better get moving, my bag will not pack itself!

Homeward Bound

2011-07-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

The original plan was to leave from E. Stroudsburg - it would have been a 3 1/2 hour drive. Instead, due to the quick sale of the house - for which I'm eternally grateful - it was a 91/2 hour drive. I left at 7:15 and was going to stop over, but by the time I was close enough to stop - I was almost there. When I hit traffic in NYC I wondered if I'd made a mistake in doing the whole trip at once - it's bad at the beginning of a trip but you get through it - at the end of a 10 hour trip though it's just torture. I arrived around 5 pm and just hung out with Fred and Connie, nice to be back. Yesterday Mom and I went to visit Grandma Hendrickson, she's 94 today. I brought her roses, I know she can't see them but they smell lovely and she was in good form. She asked about the boys and David, she's gotten so tiny! After that we headed off to Dad and Maryann's their new dog is a hoot and Rhee of course is growing in leaps and bounds. Mom and I stopped at a local farm stand - you can't beat fresh produce and then I picked up some wine for a friend in WV. We ate at the Modern Snack Bar - when we visited my grandfather in Mattituck or after a bingo game that was the place to eat. Mom had her favorite fried soft shell crab, I had the egg salad which was keeping with my diet. I've been on it for 3 days and so far, so good. The new Weight Watchers Diet is much easier to follow and it seems to be keeping me on the straight and narrow. We did toy shopping for the birthday party and then back home. Last night we had a horrible thunderstorm and I woke up around 10:30 feeling a bit damp. Turning on the light revealed a very large leak centered over the bed with a big bubble forming behind it - just a little advice, don't touch the bubbly thing, just saying.... so I put the trash can on the bed and moved to the other room which was a little confusing for Janet and Diane when they arrived as I appeared to be using all the rooms. They went into our old room and everyone was settled for the night. The skies cleared overnight and because I caught the leak when it started no harm done. I'm off to see inlaws today, then the party, Liz's tomorrow and then I'm debating my game plans for Monday as I'm considering staying overnight in Hershey to do a little sightseeing and shopping while I'm there - might as well. The month is ripping by fast of course, last week I was looking at an endless vista of time to get things done, today less than three weeks. We are having friends over in a couple of weeks and the neighbors asked David when I'm coming back so they can have us over to dinner so we'll have to have them over too.......I'm planning on making the most of my time off, can you tell?

Day Six

2011-07-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

I know it's a stupid cartoon, it's what we're stuck with until the Geek Squad gets here - again - as I can't remember how to access my photos file off the old computer. Not any one's fault, the night he came to set up the wireless router was the same night we had horrible thunderstorms that of course knocked out the Internet half an hour before he arrived - and restored 10 minutes after he left. We have a super busy day today, the computer guy comes back tonight, the furniture comes at some point today - David has the front door frame ready to be pulled out due to the size issue so cross your fingers! - we dropped David's truck off this morning as the guy got the parts to fix the AC and compressor and I'm going to my first Weight Watchers meeting in Carmichael's this morning. I need to lose 25 pounds and a little more AGAIN. I can lose it but my problem is I can't seem to keep it off. Liz has been having great success with the meetings so now that we're moved I am starting this before I start work. My big problem is I lose the weight and think I deserve to eat anything and everything that I want. I tried on bathing suits last week and was confronted by a store mirror designed to make me look as awful as humanly possible. It was hard admitting I need to lose the weight but I've done it so off I go in 20 minutes to be discreetly weighed - it would only be discreet if they didn't share the information with me, but that is my opinion. After all of this I'm heading off to LI tomorrow and will most likely stay over night in the Lancaster area. My Grand Scheme originally had been we would sell the house in the 60 day period and I would go to LI from East Stroudsburg. However due to the mad scramble and subsequent landing in a pile of stuff that whole plan got jettisoned. The big issue aside from leaving David holding the bag would be I would have ended up in the Hamptons on a holiday weekend - no thank you! We have a BBQ planned in a couple of weeks with some friends of ours and we have been exploring the area, even though we lived here before we are now rummaging around in the other direction, up instead of down. I guess I'd better get moving - the scale awaits!

Day Four.

2011-07-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

David and I have a running list that changes daily and is never finished - every time we get back one of us goes"oh no! we forgot the........" - fill in the blank here. Yesterday was Furniture shopping day - the first place we stopped was EV Rooms, we found a set we liked, got the dimensions and tried to put in an order. First we were told unless we took the floor models it's a special order (?? we were ordering the exact model off the floor) that would take 4 - 6 weeks. OK, we can live with the floor models. Delivery is $60 and wouldn't be until near the end of July even though we only live 16 miles from the store. OK, David will come get them himself if we can't wait. Oh, more bad news - we do have to special order the coffee tables and then two more weeks to deliver and a separate delivery charge because we will have to deliver twice - it is now two months to get the coffee tables plus and extra $60 since they can't be delivered with the couches. I felt very bad for the salesgirl as we all knew she was losing her commission on this one and she was very nice-it obviously wasn't her fault. We took the card just in case, left and headed over to Chucks furniture where we found a set we liked more for the same price and it will all be here Wednesday. Problem solved. We have the Geek Squad from Best Buy coming today to hook up a router so we can go wireless, we now have a washer and dryer and I have to call Atlantic Broadband again today, there's always one in the bunch isn't there? Pearl is beside herself with glee these days, she spends all day rummaging in the dense undergrowth around the property and we get to hear the squeaks and squeals of Very Annoyed Wildlife as she gets great delight out of disrupting their day. When we were in the back of the property the next door dog Gabe came to visit, Pearl loves him. They romped and ran, then I ran as she ran off with him. I met the neighbor Jim and will be meeting his wife later - they're both nurses and she works down the road from where I'll be working. Pearl and I also took a short tour of the neighborhood but it's so hot and humid this morning we turned back after about 15 minutes. We're firing up the BBQ tomorrow I think but today I am planning on doing a little laying around!

Atlantic Broadband

2011-07-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to put a picture on this entry - I am beginning to realize why only two of our neighbors have cable for their services. It took about 15 minutes for the pictures to load and I must've accidentally posted this - you'll just have to live with it. We don't have wireless (cable won't set that up so we will have to find computers guys) so I'm on our old computer. The TV is not much better, the remote they gave us either doesn't work or it does things like run through all the channels repeatedly. I called customer service - and they didn't know. So rather then send a tech out they are MAILING me a new remote that most likely won't work. The sad thing about their customer service is they really don't know anything, it's not like they're outsourced or anything. Oh well - listen to me! We are just decompressing right now, the sale of the house in East Stroudsburg did go through on time thanks to all of David's hard work so we're done with that. But since we ended up closing a full month before we had thought we would - we had planned on a 60 standard closing but because of the buyer's mortgage we did it in 30 - it was a mad scramble to get everything packed and done. I ended up working literally up to the last day, I finished work Wednesday afternoon and was on the road on Thursday so there was no breathing room at all. But in this economy I'm not complaining, the fact that it sold when it did is a great thing and we don't have to deal with renters. But now that we are here there is major sorting out. We did some big shopping yesterday - and have more to do. David's AC decided to conk out - the place down the road ordered the part but told him not to drive the truck as it there is something on the compressor that could damage the belts if it let go. We're without couches - they didn't fit through the doorways so we gave them to someone who really needed them so we'll be looking for that today. We have tons to do, but we have a whole month to do it in, that may or may not be enough time. I got the kitchen fairly put together, the living room was easy as we have a wicker couch and a coffee table - the bedrooms are in limbo as we are not moving up to the master until David does a full renovation on it so we're in the guest room, our clothes are upstairs and in the basement and stuff is piled all over as there is no where to put it. But we got the lawn done yesterday, we have a phone, lights, hot water and TV, Pearl is already harassing the local wildlife so life is good for Day Three.

Here We Go!

2011-06-30T04:08:00.000-07:00

I slept fairly well last night - except for Vincent The Purring Thing. He purrs for every occasion -sometimes the mere sight of you is enough to get him going. I think he was nervous so he kept snuggling and purring, me and Vincent on the blow up mattress. David called earlier to let me know that the couches we debated on and decided to keep, then he hauled all the way to WV will not fit through the 1930 doorways of our home. So he will now be hauling them down to Bubba Garage in an effort to get rid of them and we will be shopping for new furniture as soon as we get the chance. I am taking a break from shuffling everything down the stairs, you would think it was all mostly gone but when you put it in a pile it's awful - I despair just looking at it - and the cats will be occupying most of the back. The walk through is today at 3pm, then the closing is at 4, we will be glad to shut the door on this adventure. I'll be down there for a week then will head up to LI for awhile, then back down the finish the house, then off to work. I'm glad I decided to a little more time off this time so I can devote my attention to the house and then will be able to go to work without feeling like I'm under the gun every day. I suppose I should get moving - this stuff isn't going to pack itself!

Wagons Ho!

2011-06-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

We were up well before dawn, I was told if I asked what we were going to do with the old mattress one more time my life was in danger and that was that. David finished packing out the truck and the U-haul trailer, I mopped and so forth and then off to work, David left with Pearl riding shotgun - a little anxious to get going. I headed off for my last day at work, tied up loose ends, updates, summaries. It was so hard saying goodbye to all my clients and their parents, the aides and the nurses. The office did a cake and gift certificate - not to mention a picture of the Creepy Baby - it's an office joke. It was difficult, the office is a lot of fun and everyone gets along - I'm really going to miss everyone a great deal. It's hard to find a place to work that you enjoy. . So now - I wait. All the furniture is gone - I have a TV, blow up mattress, my laptop and ereader - and of course my knitting bag. I'm trying to convince Vincent not to prickle the blow up mattress with his claws - we'll all be sleeping on the floor! I made my last visit out to see Jan at The Gentle Arts in Honesdale - I will miss her so! She gave me a lovely tee shirt as a going away present and a big hug. I bought the last of what I needed and that was it. Its very weird here and echos all over, I will be packing and off with the two cats in tow in the am. I called David who cut me short - fink. He's having dinner at the neighbor's house tonight, he was quite delighted to be invited for a hot meal and company. So we're off to a good start, I've taken some time off this time around so I can make a quick trip to Long Island and then back to get settled in and acquainted with the neighbors. I'm so excited that I will NOT be missing the Buckwheat Festival again (although I did miss the Sheep and Wool Festival in Waynesburg not fair!) - but I wanted to take the time to really enjoy it this time around - to be able to explore around, go out to dinner with Binky, all that jazz. Off to bed early - I have lots to do tomorrow!

Run Away! Run Away!

2011-06-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

We're getting down to it this morning - whatever we don't pack will be given away, whatever isn't given away will be thrown away. My closet holds enough clothes to get me through the week, we have enough food to make it too. There are a few loose ends here and there, a few unexpected surprises like the fact that cable is coming Thursday MORNING not the afternoon and all the electronics need to front and center. So no one will be attending the closing now. David and Pearl will be slinging their way down Wednesday afternoon after the walk through and I will be following either that night or early the next morning, cats in tow. I've decided to join Weight Watchers after we are in the new house, I bought the cookbook yesterday but realized it was useless since I was perusing it while I snarfed down Ring Dings. David and I are trying desperately not to break the house, we are experts at that. We see something we think needs sprucing up and the next thing you know we have a major disaster on our hands. We did go out yesterday to Bethlehem in the morning just to do a few things and get away from it all, we did the yarn shop, Asian market, Wegmans ( we can't remember if there is a Wegmans near our new house so we stocked up on the stuff you can only get there). We went out to lunch - the people at the table behind us had a Continuously Shrieking Child - of course they couldn't take it outside for a few minutes to calm down - they had to sit there and let us all enjoy the screaming. It did finally calm down - and then that moron who barely passed for a parent thought he wasn't behaving and decided to discipline him! So back we went to the screaming ( I felt like turning around and giving HER a whack), sigh here. The waitress came back to get our plates and I asked for the bill. Now. She asked if we wanted dessert and one look at my face stopped that line of inquiry and the bill was on the table two seconds later. And yes I know children cry - my two certainly had their moments, but when they did that either David or I would take the offender outside and let them walk it off, then come back in when they could behave. It got the message across that we don't act like that in public and we didn't subject an entire room to our child. I cannot stand a parent that will sit there expecting everyone to understand while their out of control child screams and carries on. A couple of minutes is understandable - this child shrieked, yelled, cried and whined for over 45 minutes while they just sat there - I was embarrassed for them. Arrgh. In other news I am finally almost half way done with the sleeve for the sweater, then it' just one more sleeve, the collar and it's done. I might visit the yarn shop in Honesdale tomorrow - I will miss that place.

Lazy Sunday

2011-06-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

We have reached that point. David is currently back in WV with yet another load - the house is down to things we need to exist and just enough food to get by. David took a bag of stuff from the freezer too to transfer the fridge down there. So the dog and I are just lazing the day away, I am outside reading, inside knitting. We had an two days of horrible drenching rain again - it comes down in buckets and torrents, sheets and so forth. It is so tiresome. I'm running out of things to do - well, interesting things to do. Stress of course is interesting, but loses it's novelty after awhile. And of course most of my yarn, all of my books, etc are stored in the WV house - shopping also has lost it's fun because anything I buy has to be packed and transported so it's pick it up, put it down. I did more packing yesterday, continued cleaning - scrubbed the fridge, mopped the floors. The closets are getting empty and I'm this close to living out a box. Tomorrow it starts in again with work and running - bank will be open, real estate will need answers, off we go. I cleaned up the yard some more today and did massive weed whacking - I love my weed whacker. It's such a fun gadget with everything flying and being decimated - you feel like the Queen Of Destruction when you wield it, but this one is an electric one so my Path Of Desecration has a limited area. Pearl is a pest because she does not like it (she would be a TERRIBLE Evil Minion, she flees at the first hint of trouble and will not come back for love or money. How embarrassing would that be when you're trying to vanquish your Arch Enemy and your minion is off, quivering under the bed. But I digress). so I have to leave the door open so she can go hide in the house until I unplug it. I'm starting to tie up loose ends at work, saying good bye to my clients and their parents, they're interviewing for my position but I doubt it will take long to fill it. I straightened up my car today and only have one box of supplies to return, not bad. I'll start emptying my desk this week too - unbelievable that it's come up so fast! Like anything else you think you have all this time........ and it's gone in a blink.

Hello, hello hello............

2011-06-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

David has spent the day packing, so the house has developed that funny church-like echo effect. You speak in the kitchen in very low tones or it sounds like your talking through a bull horn. He's left most of the living room furniture, part of the entertainment system, more to do tomorrow. Then he's back to WV and our friend Tommy will be meeting him at the house to help unload. Then back up here for another round. We have so much to do, not a break in sight - we resume packing this weekend and giving the house a final clean before the walk through, unless that falls through then it will be getting ready for renters. Work has been hilariously miserable - it's like every crazy situation has come to roost this past week, running does no good as they gave me a phone to be called on. David just yelled up the stairs that all the tests came back fine - septic, insect, radon - all passed. We also got confirmation that we will indeed have health insurance, the Underwriters God has smiled upon us mere mortals once again. Heard from Jackson, he's doing well despite the heat. He's made a few friends to hang around with and has discovered the local watering hole where you can order a sandwich and a beer.

So not much going on, plenty going on depending on your point of view. I started working on the sleeve of my blue sweater, I've hit the boring part of the work as it's the same pattern as the rest and after completing the front, then the back - it gets a bit wearisome. But i will soldier on so that way I can move on to other things.

Rolling Along

2011-06-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

I'm just posting random pictures that I happen to like - a little eclectic I suppose. Cats, dogs, outhouses, grave yards.......no end to my madness. David is busy trying to get us health insurance - since I'm going back to my old company we have to self insure for a few months, how annoying. If you've never bought health insurance on your own you have no idea what a huge pain in the ass it is . First David called, then filled out an application on line, then they called to discuss it, then back to online. They then announce it will have to go to The Underwriters and this is proclaimed in reverent tones. I imagine the underwriters are troll like creatures milling around the basement. When they receive your information, they dance a bit and then toss and read the chicken bones, then send their Evil Minions back up to call you and ask 45 more questions about the hysterectomy you had back in 99. They ask you very silly questions after making 110% sure you had a hysterectomy by asking 14 or 15 hysterectomy related questions in an effort to trip you up - after asking a bunch of sneaky pete ovary related questions the Evil Minion then asked are you peri-menopausal or post-menopausal - I vollied back I would need a uterus to be able to answer that question. And we've already established I don't have one. I could feel his wee little brain mulling over that one and we moved on as there was no possible way to ask that question in a different manner. Then he was done and announced he was heading back to the Underwriters and I would Hear From Them Soon. So here I wait for a yea or nay in that direction. If it is a nay then we'll have to COBRA which is a hateful thing, twice the cost and half the coverage. David rented a U-Haul trailer today and he's taking most of our stuff down so we can finish off the house up here. We passed the inspection, haven't heard the appraisal and are still awaiting the Radon Testing which is something everyone worries about and no knows what it is or what it does. It's supposedly some sort of gas that leeches out of the rocks and if you have a certain amount of radon free floating around you need to get this swanky pump system that will pump the radon gas out and it will drift over and get the neighbors you don't like. Are you taking notes Donna? I'm not sure what the Radon Gas does, maybe it turns you into an Underwriter. But things are moving along, all of our possessions are flowing downstairs and collecting in the last room downstairs. The guest room is dismantled, most of the pots are packed. We don't have a closing date yet so that sort of drifts in the air, lala. lala. Vincent the cat seems to be noticing something is up, I bought a barrier for my car so the cats can ride free in the back, it's too hot to stuff them into carriers for such a long trip. I am getting so tired of waiting.

Two Weeks And Counting

2011-06-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

We really do have just a couple more weeks left in this house - that's it. It's compounded by the fact I only have the weekends to do the packing and final cleaning - a little bit of stress there. David will be hauling down the lion's share in the next week or so -the we'll be hanging out on the floor and trying to figure out what kinds of meals can be prepared with an 10 inch frying pan and a small pot. But it's all good of course. We have not gotten the appraisal or inspection results and most likely won't until next week - then we'll know if we're sellers or landlords. They left a Mystery Box downstairs to test the radon, we are supposed to keep the doors shut and no touching! Of course Claw The Antagonist was patting it with a nasty little cat paw this morning, such a trouble maker. I'm exhausted, hit the point of work where you just want to be done with it, a wall flower at a the prom. I'll miss my job and my co-workers, it's a great office and a great company to work for. But I'm going back to my old office and old friends so I guess it's an even trade off. Jackson has called a couple of nights running, he claims he's bored but I think he's just getting antsy, like us ready to move on. Not much else happening, the heat went down a bit - thankfully! so we are not just sitting around sweating in our underpants. I'm glad to have my ereader these days since all my books are down in WV already. I cringe at what the lawn must look like! But I am starting to get very excited, aren't you?

ACK! Who Turned On The Heat?

2011-06-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

We are rather charmingly, holed up in the bedroom with the air conditioner - the temps have soared into the mid-nineties so going outside will bake your butt! It's not too bad if you head down towards the trees and it is not as hot as town, so there is that. But summer is one of those oddities, you wait and wait for it to get here, the temps tease you endlessly and then WHAM you can't find your shorts quick enough. The house is being inspected tomorrow so David is dithering around and making everyone crazy - you can wind him up with a blink of an eye at this point. This morning he started in with Where Did That Stain In Front Of The Bathroom Door come from - I was on a different floor so I was rather hard pressed to answer that one. I came up to investigate - it was not a leaking pipe or backup (the way he was carrying on I figured the ceiling would be buckling at any moment.......) - it seems someone needs to be a bit more careful while walking around with his coffee in the morning. After the stain was ID'd a little Resolve and a sponge and we could move on. Worst case scenario is the house will be rented for awhile - we're pretty jaded after our experience with The Freeloader - as far we know she took our money and is now cheating some other poor bastard with her sob stories, ratty children and of course "the fiancee" (also known as Who I'm Sleeping With This Week) - yes I still harbor a grudge, thank you for asking. But we learned our lesson and are smarter now - I can't imagine she'll ever amount to anything so we'll move it along. I'm this far from finishing the front part of the sweater, I'm starting the neck tonight and then the sleeves. Not sure what I'll be making next but I'll be using my new swanky yarn, you can be sure of that. And yes I did post a picture of our soon to be home - I can't stop looking at it!

Get A Move On

2011-06-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

It's funny how no matter how much you look forward to something, there are always things that you will miss - even though you didn't think you would. When I was talking with someone about our imminent move they said all those memories - but we've only lived in this house for a year and a half so what memories? On the way home I was musing this - I had plenty of time since the Poe-Leese were sneaky pete hiding on 402 and I had to be all law-abiding - and there are things I will miss. I'll miss The Gentle Arts yarn shop in Honesdale and the owner Jan. When I'm in that area I always stop in - partly because the yarn is to die for and also to see the owner. She's someone that, if I lived closer, I would have definitely cultivated as a friend. She's one of those people you meet in life and when you go, you sort of feel like you missed the boat somehow - she's certainly someone who would never be less than interesting. I picked up that much talked about 3rd skein of yarn so I'll have more than enough to make a shawl - it's so lovely and perfect, isn't it? She also carries Knitpicks products so I got a couple more needles for my interchangeable circular set. David and I are packing it up, we will hopefully be selling the house before we go, but if not we'll figure something out. We have traveled this road before, we know where turns and spills are - we hope. I'm hoping for no more surprises - I'll be starting back at Interim in August, doing the same thing I'm doing now but I'll be working with children and adults which will be a fun thing. I'll miss my current office a great deal, Bayada has been good to me. I've started saying good bye to my clients and their aides, their nurses. The house is already starting to get that echo feeling, your voice booms in the kitchen. We're trying not to buy anymore food and to eat what we have - since David is going to be making a few trips he'll bring half the contents of the freezer down with him on his next trip. As much as I will miss some things here, I cannot wait to get back home.

Let The Countdown Begin

2011-06-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you not in the know - we are moving back to WV. Strangely enough no one seems surprised. Oh well. The work situation is much better for David down there and our cost of living will be less - this will be our last move as we are tired of packing up and going. It's no longer a fun thing and the stress has increased each time. The new house suits our tastes much better and it's smaller - more suited to two people. We'll still have a nice guest room and plenty of room to dork around around it, but the space will not be overwhelming or take two days to clean on a regular basis.We have started packing our things, sorting, donating, tossing out. David started making trips with our trailer so hopefully by the time we are ready to go, we will be mostly moved into the new house. He plans on renovating the bedroom upstairs first, then we'll work on the rest of it. Fortunately this time, it will all be cosmetic - no more rats, mice, cockroaches, cat pee, brambles, bats, wasps, whistling hot water heaters, hot pink paint, mice infested refrigerators or any of the other things that have plagued us through all the houses David has renovated - do you realize this will be our SIXTH house we've redone and moved into? No more! Stick a fork in me I'm done. Liz was down to visit this weekend, she arrived Friday night and we barbecued. She brought wine so that made her the perfect house guest in our eyes. We did the outlets on Saturday, talking more than shopping and in the afternoon I taught her to cable - Liz enjoys knitting as much as the next guy. We went out to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner, Margarita for me of course, wine and beer for the rest of the hooligans. Liz took off this morning and we have been packing every since. The second picture on the blog is a Dragon Fruit - I got it at the Asian market last week. I like to try new things and isn't it a pretty thing? Sadly it was a bit disappointing, the inside is white with little black seed and honestly it didn't have a whole lot of taste. It was sort of a spongy texture which made it completely unpleasant - I was going to mash it and put in a smoothie but it had so many little black seeds i figured it would end up being really gritty. But you don't know if you don't try it so it wasn't a waste. So I decided to give it to the chipmunks, they seem to be an adventurous bunch and they do appreciate it! I've heard from Jackson, he's on the army base but they were able to get out and see a movie so he was feeling a bit better about things. We got the Small Pox Vaccine Report which he seems to enjoy updating us - he's doing well. I continue on with the navy blue sweater, I'm almost done with the front, then it's the sleeves and I'm finished. I am still debating whether I should buy the third skein of the $24 yarn or not - I am leaning towards Yes because once we move the opportunity will be lost. On the other hand if I didn't, I could simply find a pattern that used the amount of yarn I already have thus avoiding adding yet another skein to the pile. Decisions, decisions.

Sunday.

2011-05-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

I am sticking to my game plan of doing pretty much nothing this weekend -well, I did do some stuff of course. Try as I might I do need to shower and eat - and I did clean the entire house from one end to the other. David had left on Thursday back to WV to get some more stuff done, having the two houses has gotten a bit difficult - the grass tends to grow whether we are there or not we've noticed. David also installed a white vinyl fence - he is a huge Craig's List watcher and manages to get some real bargains. The fencing he bought is very expensive new but used he got it for less than a third of the price, he met the guy in Washington and brought it back - once he gets it fully installed it's maintenance free. So I had some time to myself on Friday and Saturday - aside from the above mentioned cleaning I mainly read, knitted and watched TV. Hung out with Crybaby Pearl who seems to think I have nothing better to do than sit in the yard and watch her perform Squirrel Patrol. I didn't mind it, except for the mosquitoes and so forth - they are fierce and I am allergic, so now I'm all full of bug bites. So now I'm old and lumpy, but my eyes are not pink so that's a bit of improvement. I'm currently watching Lion heart, an old Jean Claude Van Damme movie - most of his movies tended to have fighting scenes mixed in with amazingly lame excuses for him to run around in his underpants. Why the excuses? If I was a guy built like that all I would wear would be underpants, but that's me. I am almost done with the front half of the sweater I'm making, then the sleeves and then I'm done. I have a bit of a quandary for the next project - I bought lace yarn I love but it's only 450 yds a skein - I have two skeins for a total of 900 yards. Most shawls knitted in the round are 1200 to 1400 yards so if I want to make that my next project, I need at least one more skein. The yarn I love is $24 a skein. I have two skeins so I''m already $50 into a shawl I don't have enough yarn to make. So I am wondering if it's worth the Wrath Of The Yarn Hater if I sneak out and buy one more skein. Hmm. A conundrum. Hmm. Just putting it out there. The alternative would be to find a project that uses 900 yards of lace weight yarn and not buy anymore yarn. Hmm. That would not be my favorite choice.

I Spy With My Pink Eye

2011-05-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

Finally - Friday! It's been an interesting week, hasn't it? I started off stressed and worked my way down. I ended up with a lovely case of pink eye early in the week too! - I awoke with my lashes stuck together, itchy grainy snarky!- so I was out one day to get the antibiotic eye drops started so I wouldn't be passing along my new gift. Pink eye is one of the most annoying maladies, you spend all of your free time feeling like a four year old with everyone reminding you to STOP TOUCHING IT. I declared several times that I had not touched it but apparently that was maybe not true. And all you want to do is touch it, give it one good hard rub, just enough to make it stop itching but you can't so you put your hands down and ...........well, you'd better go wash your hands again you are so immature! That was pretty much my whole day. But 24 hours on the eye drops and I was back in business. The weather has gotten pretty hot and sticky - with thunderstorms to go along with it of course. Last night we had a tornado alert and there was a brief period during the evening when I thought they might actually be serious. The wind took it to new heights and I was frantically trying to think of what people are always desrcibing - a freight train? Shaking walls? I couldn't google it because the electric kept going off and on - so I figured in the event there was a tornado I would be on my own to identify it. It came to nothing - no flying cows, no munchkins, no winged monkeys. Just my annoying whining dog. As for the weekend I am doing - as promised - nothing. Maybe a little shopping, maybe not. We'll see. Jackson had his frocking ceremony and officially became a 3rd class petty officer today at 1pm California time - we are still pretty proud of him. I'm hoping this weekend will have at least slightly decent weather, I'm also staying home because apparently this area gets the overflow of the horrible rude New Yorkers on vacation - and they are out in force!

This And That

2011-05-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

The fun thing about working in an office is the conversations you end up having - The Tapeworm Diet came up with all parties mulling over Would They or Wouldn't They. The Tapeworm diet has been on tv (as per Barbara who couldn't finish watching a show on the subject) - and it's exactly how it sounds. You ingest a tapeworm and you (and you're new friend) can theoretically eat whatever you want. I did look it up and according to sources you would actually only lose one to two pounds a week. The tapeworms come in a jar - they are not little Cute Tapeworm Pills - and you have to somehow get yourself to swallow the damn thing AND the real kicker - as the worm ages sections (up to 4 feet) die off and they fall out your butt. No, I'm not kidding. How embarrassing would that be at a party. The upshot of the conversation was no one seemed to be able to figure out how to swallow a worm without gagging, the idea is fairly icky and of course having large worm bits dropping out unannounced, well, that's just beyond nasty. So no one will be trying that one soon. Of course that 's not the only thing we do - sometimes we work and stuff. I had to take one of the higher ups out on a home visit today, I'm no good at that sort of thing - I got 100% but only after driving the aide on the case crazy, my co-workers crazy and spent the previous night on the couch because I was this far from Taking It Out On Others and figured that was a good solution to skipping the argument I was working on starting. Arguing is an excellent distraction when you're stressed but it generally doesn't work out too well. La la. I have been so stressed out lately, everything hangs and hinges, swings and sways, checks and balances. I take deep breaths, in and out - life is static, ever changing. Hard to forget - hard to hang on to. But I'm letting it all resolve one step, one issue at a time. “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”

Bragging Rights

2011-05-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of Jackson - he made rank and is now an E4. It's a big deal, trust me. He's getting ready to head off to parts unknown - he'll be in boot camp for awhile and then off he goes. It's so strange when they come home now, since we don't see either of the boys much they seem to change instantly - and then not at all. David has been busy doing all sorts of things lately, he is going to Ray's one weekend or next to work on his stuff with him and then we have other pots boiling. Of course. I continue on with the blue sweater I'm knitting - I haven't been taking pictures of it because it's Navy Blue (of course!!) and it's hard to get the pattern to show up. It just looks blue and blobish. We're doing NOTHING next weekend at all - this past weekend was the Bayada Weekend which was fun but overwhelming. It was in Philly this year so I drove out early, got in my room and then ran all day from luncheon to ceremony to dinner to dancing. A manager from the other office was there so we were drinking most of the night - then you remember the hangover part and that is Not So Fun. I drove back Sunday morning as we had stuff to do - but I'm tired. I need a weekend of just nothingness and hanging out. So this weekend the doors are shut and the shades are pulled. Down tight.

Love Means Always Having To Say Goodbye.

2011-05-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

Everyone left at once today, heading in different directions. I took Jackson to the airport, he was reminiscing about his childhood and it was a pleasant ride - we laughed about Copper the Not Bravest Dog, Mr. Lee, friends, boats, fishing poles. I always cry when I drop them off - not as much as I used to but it's hard - I know it will be months or even years before I see them again. We had a great time, Jackson saw everyone he hadn't seen previously. He very much enjoyed all the extra time he got to spend with the Aunts and Christine. He played with the dog and of course his cat Vincent pranced and paraded for him. David and I took alternate days off so we could spend time with him, he only had one day of real down time - but given there were video games, soda and a couch it was not much of a hardship. Ray arrived on Friday and they hung out for the day, then we went out to dinner. Saturday was like old times - we saw Priest in the little theater down the road, off to the bookstore and then out to Ruby Tuesdays - that's been one of our favorite restaurants and everyone loves it. As I said before Jackson's leaving is inevitable and as much as I love him and would love to keep him here, I know that's no good for anyone. I know he's going to Afghanistan and doing something very noble for our country - and he volunteered for it because that's what he believes is the right thing to do. But oh, when they go - I get a pressure in my chest that just won't let go and the sadness for the fact that their childhood never is long enough - to spend just one more week waking up in our own beds with the sun shining and the possibilities stretching out as far as the day will allow - that is the grief that overwhelms me at times. But I hugged him good bye and left him at the airport a few hours before his flight - we both enjoy bopping around the airport shops and people watching - and turned and headed home. Adventure awaits us both, but his adventures are his own now, aren't they? We are so proud of both of our boys.

The Sound Of SIlence

2011-05-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

David and Jackson had made plans to go out to NJ to visit our friend Ray - we are only an hour and a half from him so it's not a bad ride. I didn't go because it would be too long of a day for the dog and I didn't want them to have to hurry back - and quite frankly, I had stuff to do - cleaning stuff. I don't know about you but when I want to really clean I cannot do it with someone else in the house. It's just too distracting and I start off trying to clean the bathroom and the next thing I know I'm at the bookstore. Go figure. So they set out in my car about 7 am so they could have breakfast and hang out. They got home a few minutes ago and had a great time, I'm glad Ray got a chance to see Jackson before he heads back. They went to Ray's house, did breakfast and early dinner out and went to the park with Ray. As for me I CLEANED, I scrubbed the bathrooms, emptied out the fireplace, did the wash, washed up the dishes, vacuumed, mopped,dusted took out the garbage, sorted out my books (again),cleared off the counters and the tables and washed them all down. I took a million breaks playing Zuma Blitz (I confess - I am totally addicted!) and went outside with Pearl so she could do the Daily Squirrel and Chipmunk Patrol while I read my ereader - for my birthday I got the entire collection of the Sookie Stackhouse series which I'm super enjoying.. In other news Jackson finished up his antibiotics today, taking the very last one when he got home, I know he's glad to be done with that! Claw seems to be recovering from her injury - she fell off the table a few days ago - she wasn't supposed to be up there in the first place but she glossed over that - and really hurt her back leg, limping and all. This becomes a major issue as the only time we've ever managed to get her to the vet was when she was so bad off she was totally incapacitated - and unable to slash vital organs out of our bodies while we loaded her into a cat carrier. Unfortunately it was her BACK leg that was injured, there was nothing wrong with both of her front legs - so we decided to wait til morning. She was able to put weight on it - even looking at it brought on a fit of hissing, swiping and spitting so it was a true once over! - and it's improved over the past few days, disaster averted. Jackson enjoys her and her random hissing - he was standing in the living room and Claw sauntered by, stopped and looked at him, then hissed, flipped her tail and continued on. It's fun to be Claw I suppose.

Home For Awhile

2011-05-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Jackson had a wonderful time at Janet and Diane's - AND they gave him a Kindle to take to Afghanistan, lucky boy that he is. He's still recovering from his Strep/Tonsillitis Fiasco, he's got a few more days of antibiotics to go but he's over the worst of it. We didn't do too much on Monday - we took him out to the Chinese buffet and then watched a B-movie at home, my version of The Perfect Evening. Tuesday we went to the mall, stopped home and then went to the little theater down the road. I actually wanted to go to the Regal which is super huge but they were only playing kid movies and a garden variety of crappy stuff. The little movie theater was playing Hanna - ONLY at 4:45 but whatever. Watching a thriller at 5 pm on a Tuesday, well, let's just say you don't need to fight the crowd. We sat and munched on our popcorn for a couple of minutes and then I yelled to the projectionist "you can start the movie now, we're here!" - and he did indeed start the movie for me and Jackson. Nerdiness has it's privileges. I had to work Wednesday and Thursday but as luck would have it, David got rained out on Wednesday and had a dentist appointment at 1 today so they got to spend some time together. I took half a day tomorrow and I think they are going to see Ray this weekend. I am taking off Thursday next week and I'm pretty sure Jackson's looking forward to just hanging out before heading back to California and then overseas. David and I are busy - he's making plans to go back to WV to mess with the house, right now friends will be taking care of the lawn mowing and so forth until he gets down there again. I have to say I've only been 50 for a week, but so far so good -actually it's been pretty great!

Back From The Wild West (Virginia)

2011-05-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

The trip was fun - and overly eventful. But that's not always a bad thing, is it? The house - so far, so good. It's the first place we've bought that hasn't smelled of cat pee, been infested with bugs or garbage - or both, that things worked as they were supposed to - what a lovely little house. We went to visit Cecil and Bertha yesterday afternoon and then off to Tommy's for dinner. His house is off road, no cell phones, no internet - and his garage is literally twice the size of his house. He said no women participated in it's design and he likes it so that's that. I took off this morning about 6 am to head off to Janet and Diane's. It was raining (of course) but since it was Sunday I made good time and got here around 11 am. Jackson looks great despite being deathly ill just a few days ago and is back to being his normal self. Janet is still recovering from shoulder surgery but everyone is doing well. We went out to a mexican restaurant for my birthday (you can never have too many birthday dinners!) and then to the book store. Their newly adopted dog is cute but it's hard getting used to a 6 lb dog when mine is nothing more than a big palooka. We are heading back to East Stroudsburg in the morning to spring Miss Pants from the pokey and then off until Wednesday. It's been a good week.

I am Officially Older Than Dirt.

2011-04-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

Birthdays never go as you plan them - Susan and Roger bailed on me, we didn't go to a swanky hotel - it rained all the way down here. And yet - I am having a great time. David went to the closing on his own - did I forget to mention we were buying a house? With 5 acres? Well, we did! So since David didn't need me I spent the night at our house and meandered down - the pictures of the house are on Facebook and it will indeed be our final resting place. I went to my old office on my birthday to meet Susan and get the bad news that her second job couldn't find a replacement so it would be me and David for dinner. I had a great time chatting and seeing everyone - all the changes! David and I headed out for dinner - and I changed my mind so off to the Beanerty we went. I had a beanwich and Margarita and cake for dessert. I've been checking on Jackson throughout my vacation, he ended up in the ER with strep and tonsillitis, thank goodness for Aunt Diane! He is much better today and his aunts have taken him out to the Victory Brewing Company, he will live I suppose. I'm heading off to Fairmont to stay with friends and then off to Janet and Diane's to collect the sailor. He's home for a couple of weeks and then will be shipping out to Afganistan. As for me - at the moment I'm in a parking lot surfing the bookstore's wireless, I'll write more tomorrow.

The Peeps Win

2011-04-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

I was going to eat no Easter candy this year - I was being Strong. David and I decided to go out for an early dinner, but first we went to the bookstore and hung out, then we went to Home Depot. I was waiting out in the car of course because Home Depot is the most BORING place in the universe. I think you would reform more criminals if you just sent them to Home Depot and made them shop for hinges and stuff every day for however long their sentences were - the judge could be like " I sentence you to the Lighting Department!" and you would have to do hard time peeping at light fixtures for 2 years with time off for good behavior. Being sent to Plumbing would be the equivalent of the Death Sentence. Anyhoo, while sitting there I noticed the car across from ours had a Club on the steering wheel - anyone from the 80's or so will recognize this device - it's this bulky do-hickey you lock on your wheel so no one will steal your Honda Civic. Honest to Gods - I have never seen a Mercedes or a Benz with a Club for protection, it's always a Gremlin-like vehicle that only the visually impaired or the Truly Desperate would cast their Thieving Gaze upon. I wondered about the owner and she came out - I just KNEW IT! It was a real live Fussy Pants and she very carefully unlocked her car with a real key (pre- electronic door opener) and then she UNLOCKED the Club and off she zoomed, safe and sound again! David finally came out of Home Depot before I developed a death rattle from sitting so long and we went to Ruby Tuesday that I LOVE and that's also where I'm going for my birthday. David said if I mention my birthday one more time I might not see 51, he is such a wet blanket. After dinner I couldn't stand it and we stopped at CVS for Peeps and a chocolate bunny. But I didn't get carried away and I even shared my bunny with David since he said he didn't want one and then not so secretly envied mine. Oh well, Easter comes once a year so what's a few peeps now and then?

I am This Far From Being Officially Halfway There. If I'm Living To 100

2011-04-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

This first picture is Vincent - we play this silly game EVERY morning. Without fail. I have a feather I keep in the bathroom which I wiggle under the door. Vincent swats it like his life depends on it - he actually waits outside of the bathroom for me to finish my shower and get dressed so he can hone his Feather Whacking Skills. Like a ninja. Yee ha. Anyhoo, not sure if everyone is aware of it, but at some point next week I will officially become Older Than Dirt. I will start sliding towards the Other Side gaining speed year by year. Yes, I will be 50. I did get my first AARP thingie in the mail, I don't think it's actual card, it looks like an auto insurance offer. I already have that so I will wait for something better to come along . Pearl, in honor of my birthday has decided to go into heat, what a pain. I think we will be getting her fixed this year, we talk about breeding her but the idea of that seems to be the only thing that happen. Other than that it's just super annoying - strange dogs that are below her show up, she acts base, it's very upsetting to those of us with some sort of morals. In Knitting News I'm almost done with the back of the sweater - I love the color, the love the pattern but it might be a bit long. Oh well. That's life, things don't always turn out the way you think they will.

Beyond The Grave

2011-04-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have passed this graveyard about 50 times the past year - it took awhile to figure out where the entrance was - it's directly off the road and at an angle so you can only get in if you're coming, not if you're going. Then I needed time to go - and this week I had time between clients and I was there. Most of the graveyards here are BORING, the same little squares over and over. This one was old and hit the right era, during the late 1800's to early 1900's for some reason this country got creative in honoring their dead - there was a definite Keeping Up With The Jones attitude going on! I wandered about half of it - maybe - there is something so fascinating about graveyards, especially if a lot of effort has been put into it. I myself will not be buried, I think it's a waste of good earth unless of course you're going to put up a massive, ornate over the top gravestone. It should involve Gothic angels, statuary resembling The Dearly Departed or a super creepy crypt with an overbearing religious figure, then it would be OK for you to be buried. I once had a patient that had made a Jesus in ceramic class and they learned the technique of painting those eyes that follow you back and forth so it would look like you were being watched over by Our Lord and Savior. Every time she left the room I would quicky get up and march back and forth in front of it and the little tiny holy eyes did look like they were peeping at you. I didn't like it, but it was a pretty interesting effect - and when the patient would come back I would dart back to the couch as it would look unprofessional to be marching around the living room. Anyhoo, I had a boffo time in the graveyard and will hopefully find the time to go back and finish touristing the rest of the place. I also got pictures of REAL coffins, don't ask! Actually I found the holding room thing and there were little decoration holes so I stretched up high and got a picture - I have perfected the art of putting my camera where I cannot go, it has gone down mine shafts, holes in crypts, holes in the ground - you never now what you're going to see!

Absolutely Fabulous!

2011-04-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm watching the Ab Fab marathon on the LOGO channel - I haven't seen it in forever and it's still as hilarious as ever.I love when Patsy feels faint and Eddie asks her when the last time she ate. Patsy takes a huge drag on her cigarette and says "1973 I think". I am so tired. Last night it rained like the ocean had been transported to the air and was coming down - thunder and lightening included free of charge. The electric must've gone out at some point of course. I woke up around 5:30 with a bit of a start - I had to be out of the house by 7-ish as I was doing a shift at the MS walk today as a volunteer. and it's a bit of a drive. I stumbled out of bed, pushed the dog out the door and got some surprised looks from her. The cats looked a little confused also as I gave them breakfast. The coffee hadn't gone off so I started it- and then glanced at the battery operated clock on the wall - which read a cheery 3:25 am. My digital clock had reset itself to the wrong time. So I tried to go back to sleep but since the cats had eaten breakfast they wanted to go out and I could smell the coffee.......so up I got. The MS walk was FREEZING - the wind was howling like a banshee and we were hanging on to the give away stuff - we wanted to give it away before it blew away! I had to go see a client so I left around 10:30 and sat in my car fully appreciating my heat. A lot. The wind continues to blow, it's sunny but miserable outside, Pearl prances and I huddle. So I'm inside watching my Ab Fab (how can you not love that show!) I thought this weather belonged to March not April.

Easter is looming near!

2011-04-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Yes I still have the ghosts and yes I am still putting holiday outfits on them. I took their St. Patty's day stuff off last week and put on the Easter stuff. After that there's no real holiday except for Memorial Day and 4 rth of July. I can't possibly think of what kind of Memorial Day outfit I could do and I don't want them hanging out in their red white and blues for months on end so I'll have to think about it. I'm trying to avoid Easter candy due to my current weight problems but those peeps they are acalling me! They sit in rows at the grocery store and the drug store with their soft marshmallowy goodness calling my name - arrgh - so not helping! But when I'm not pouting over peeps I've been having a good time with my ereader - ever since that guy fixed it it works fine and it's so great! I especially like the book bundles you can get, one of my favorite author's books had two bundles and with the discount I got the equivalent of 10 books for $40 - can't beat that! I have plenty on it now, I admit to be a little panicked after all I went through with Borders Customer Service - if you want to know why things shouldn't be outsourced try calling Borders with a problem - an entire country that cannot find it's ass with both hands is in charge of your concerns and complaints - so I overbought a little following the theory of striking while the iron is hot. But I've stopped (for now) and have plenty to read and it's so cool it's all in that little thing!

It's That Time Of The Year

2011-04-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

The last of the snow melted last week - there's a bit here and there peeking about but for the most part it's gone. It was nice Saturday, crappy today and there's a rumor going around it will be 80 tomorrow. I got my hair cut today and we did the shopping - we've been discussing our future plans the past couple of weeks. David and I had agreed to not discuss things for awhile so we could figure out what we were doing - or not doing. It's an ongoing sort of thing, back and forth, here and there, to and fro. On and on it goes, we take it out and turn it like an old toy that you can't quite figure out what it is. You run it under the tap, turn it here and there, pick it up, put it down as if looking at this thing of mystery at just the right angle will suddenly make it all clear. One of the big decisions we've made is we are not rehabbing the pool - we've peered at that bad boy six ways to Sunday and though the idea of having a pool is attractive, the expense and work are not. It's not big enough to swim in, the depth is only about 4 feet and it's 16 feet across, I'm sure the pipes for the pump are all but destroyed, there is no pump either, etc.. So we'll be filling it in, landscaping and planting and it will be beautiful. I washed down the spiral staircase yesterday, that needs to be re-blacked and the staples on the bottom need to be banged in - David had pulled the cat-pee soaked carpeting off of it - but the rest of the house is a short list and it's Done. Whew. We looked at the free-standing air conditioners at BJ's today and that might be the way we will be going. The lower part of the house stays cool year around so that's not an issue but the upper part is like being dropped into the depths of hell come August. Except for the bedroom the windows all slide across so they aren't the type you can put a window unit into and central air would be VERY expensive. But I already told the other half I am NOT spending this summer holed up in the bedroom again with the tiny air conditioner with the dog and cats jockeying for position. We sold the other house this winter so are no longer in financial straits - we just have to figure out which one we need. Before summer!

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head

2011-04-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

It's been raining for a couple of days now, the skies remain steel grey and dull, it's that bone chilling cold you just can't get rid of. I called in yesterday - I woke up sick but it was better by early afternoon which leads to believe it might be allergies. But I'm over it and always happy not to vomit. I continue working on the blue sweater I started, it's a very nice pattern but it interferes with my TV watching a bit. I've had to fix it twice having acquired two mystery stitches while Pawn Stars was on. As you can see I've started picture taking again, I try to make sure I get enough time as I drive - sometimes it's a big U-turn as it's easy to whiz right by the cool stuff. Today I was in the office except for my last dentist appointment, I'm glad I took the plunge and got a new dentist. I'm still a little angry - I've been seeing the other guy for almost a year so there's no reason why he should have missed FIVE cavities and yes I know he missed them because I had X rays in Sept and January, jerk. Dr. Eberhardt is painless, fast and does a wonderful job so I'm happy. I had cavities under my crowns so my mouth is pretty sore but at least I know all the cavities are taken care of this time.

Let The Sunshine In!

2011-04-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

We know that here in Pennsyltucky the sunshine is an iffy thing until sometime around mid-August. Then the sun will not only stay out, but the temperature will shot up to a hellish number and stay there until you feel like a baked ham. But for now - the sun came out and the snow is melting - slowly - but it is melting and that's good enough for me. I posted a picture of the hat I made - it only took me about 3 evenings. It's made out of bamboo yarn so can be worn through the spring and will be ready for Easter.I might make one more little hat and then it's back to the sweater I started. Twice. I got about 3 inches of the back done before I realized it would be too small and just dismantled the whole thing. I went out walking this morning for the first time in months. I got Pearl's harness and leash and off we went around the neighborhood. We only walked for about half an hour, I would have liked to head straight down to the hiking trails but I need to see if my foot will hold up or not. My foot hurts but not a lot and I won't really know until tomorrow if it's good or not. In other things I haven't done in awhile is download anything onto my ereader. With with all the trouble I've had with the Kobo I was going to wait until I'd finished all the books I've already bought. But it's silly to own something I won't use so I went ahead and downloaded another mystery bundle (that is the BEST deal - 3 mysteries for $8.49!) and the rest of a series I bought. And it worked! Whoo Hoo! I'm still annoyed, the fix was so simple it's ridiculous but it took me almost 2 months to find a tech that could do it. And that particular fix is not on the Internet - if I'd followed that (that's presuming the 30 step list was possible) I probably would have screwed it up worse. But it works so I'll take that too.

Keep It Real

2011-03-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

First off, that is a hat I made for a shower I'm going to this weekend. Isn't it cute? It was pretty fast to make and I liked the simple design. Most stuff for babies and toddlers I make is very simple, detail is lost among the little people, isn't it? On their clothes they don't appreciate and on the toys they really don't like it. It's a kid thing. Anyhow, David and I have recently become snagged by reality TV like everyone else - the appeal is endless. I love the ones with stuff the best - Extreme Hoarders, Auction Kings, Pawn Stars, Antique Road Show - it's like peeking in some one's attic. You see stuff you've never seen before and you can't believe how much it's worth! Then there's the ones with people, my favorites are Sister Wives, My Strange Addiction, and any hoarding show. I don't like Intervention (that is an hour of people that REALLY need to put their Big Girl Pants on), 600 Pound Mom (an hour of someone laying in a bed and yelling) and that show where they bid on abandoned storage bins - that was the show that really made me question my viewing choices. Sister Wives gets discussed at work, I've decided I would like to be the 3rd wife - she seems to have it the best. The first wife is in charge of everyone, the second is obviously Second In Command - all of the work none of the glory. The 4rth wife seems to get stuck with ALL the low man jobs, cleaning babysitting - no thanks. But the 3rd wife! What a deal - no responsibility, no work, doesn't get stuck doing the dishes and everyone likes her - she doesn't even have to work! - sign me up! In other news the snow is still here, all 8 inches of it, sigh. I was at the dentist's office and someone in the office was fondly remembering the year they got over 18 inches in the middle of April. Yuck!

Happy 29th To Us

2011-03-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to a nice restaurant down the road from us Sunday afternoon to celebrate our 29th anniversary. It's kind of an upscale country inn sort of deal - it was quiet of course in the middle of the afternoon. We were taken to the dining room and there were about 5 other tables and two waitresses. After we were seated and given menus, the waitress left but returned in about 5 minutes took our drink orders - and disappeared into the abyss. We chatted, looked at the menu, checked our watches, swung our feet, peeked down the hall for signs of life. About 15 minutes passed with the other abandoned diners behaving the same when there was movement in the hall - the hostess came in trailed by two more people, sat them at the table next to us and then she turned to leave. I must have been rolling my eyes or something because the woman grabbed my chair arm and said "What's the matter? Why do you look so upset? What's wrong?!" so I told her that we had been waiting for over 15 minutes and not only didn't we have our wine but our order hadn't been taken and the waitress hadn't been back once. The other tables were quiet and looking at each other - I obviously was not the only one entertaining that train of thought - and the woman looked at her husband and wondered aloud if maybe they should leave too..... the hostess went darting down the hall and all of the sudden the waitress came flying in the room with a tray full of drinks followed by another waitress depositing appetizers at the table with the family with young children, our order was taken while the couple next to us got ready to give their order - there seemed to be a renewed interest in the clientele. We ended up having a great time, the couple at the next table was down for the weekend at their cabin so we chatted through our meals as our tables were right next to each other, it was a pleasant way to pass the afternoon. If you're wondering about the food - it was pretty good, a bit overpriced but it was our anniversary. Next up is my 50th birthday which I am planning on spending in West Virginia with Susan and Roger - and hopefully in a restaurant with better service!!

What A Week

2011-03-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

What a crazy week! The audit concluded yesterday at 2 pm - we did VERY well. The auditor complimented us on how well the office was run, that our patients loved us, the charts were excellent. We loved that auditor. We were so relieved, the rest of the afternoon we all kind of bumbled around, no one could concentrate. But at at 5 pm our sense of purpose returned and there was a minor stampede to the bar around the corner - the other office joined us and I had my first ever Margarita. Which I needed. Badly. We all had a drink and appetizers, oh I slept well that night! Today started off a little chill but the sun came out and at the end of the day it was in the 60's, my coat flung on the backseat as I drove out to my clients, the window down. I had some time between patients and stopped at the yarn shop in Honesdale, The Gentle Arts. I was talking to the owner, half the reason I stop in is because I really like her. I think she likes me too because she invited me to stop by with my knitting, we would sit on the sidewalk and knit. I think she was a little disappointed I live so far, I haven't done the knitting group thing really since we left West Virginia excluding that botched attempt up here. I used to knit every other Tuesday night in the little shop in Morgantown, I sat next to the Sheriff's deputy. She used to hide yarn in her squad car so she could sneak it in the house when her husband was out which I found pretty hilarious. When I got home David said Borders had called about the locked books on my Kobo and they could fix it. Don't ask. They told me to call Kobo. Again. After suggesting I call Apple which I responded WHY would Apple be able to fix THEIR product and would they be footing the $50 tech support charge. Please Hold. I called Kobo and ended up speaking to Kim the only person so far that knows what they're doing. He had me put it back to factory settings, re-download and HA! They are all readable. I think if someone had told me to do that back in January I could have skipped this whole miserable experience at the hands of The Borders Moron Squad, also known as Customer Disservice. I am reading all the books I bought before attempting to buy or download anything else. If it ain't broke, don't touch it.

Uncharted Territory

2011-03-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

If you want to have your heart pound like a drum, hands wringing and wet, the air shudders and stills around - have all your charts audited. All eyes upon your office, the big bosses are there in the background waiting waiting. Feels like that, doesn't it? But we survived - and survived well. The auditor was very nice, patient, was looking for us to succeed - I wish all audits were like that! One more day and it's out to dinner. I've put everything on the back burner all week, at the office late checking the charts checking the charts. Again again - and at the last minute found them lacking. But all was found and we have no issues - so far - so everyone went home breathing a little easier. David has been busy finishing the house up, with the warmer weather and a little money in the bank we can do the bathroom and when it gets a little warmer, finally the pool. Done. So I'm relaxing this evening, for the first time in what feels like weeks, I'm watching Mary And Max (those of you that enjoy the quirkier things in life would love this movie!). The weather is supposed to be warming up this weekend and the sun finally came out today - it was a bit chilly but I'll take it. I'm trying to start a new knitting project - a sweater. I have some great dark navy blue yarn I've been dying to use so now I just need to get started.

At Loose Ends

2011-03-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

It's finally finished - after all that time, all the whining and complaining - done! I finished it last night and this morning soaked and blocked it. It's currently drying on the downstairs guest bed and should be done in a couple of days. But now - what do I do now? I usually have a couple of projects in the pipes but since I've been pretty busy the past couple of weeks I haven't had time to sit and consider it. I have some beautiful navy blue yarn so perhaps I'll make a sweater, I have more than enough for that. And there's always socks, I have some extremely beautiful sock yarns, so pretty it would make you cry. Socks are a pretty good in between project but I just don't feel like it. I just don't. Stop asking. We have an audit on Tuesday so we are all freaking out of course. I spent all day at the office going over charts, even though I know I missed something VERY VERY important. This will not show itself until Tuesday 10 am. I will die a thousand deaths. Yes I will. Will too. Shut up. So I left around 6 pm and had to turn around as my road is closed again -with all the rain and tons of melted snow and ice everything is a waterfall or a lake. The sides of the road are amusing with tiny streams shooting down the sides, pooling in the dips. The potholes are not as amusing, Kabanging my tires and making me shriek. The ones that are lying beneath the water are the worst as you can't see them and there you go again, ka-bang ka-bang. Adam and Jackson are fine, for all those concerned Jackson did not wash out with the tide this morning. He was asleeping and then went to work. Adam is enjoying being a renter, has all sorts of plots and plans afoot. It's good to be him these days.

Bumps In The Road

2011-03-09T01:41:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I had a bit of a stretch where I was really enjoying myself. I've been fairly antisocial playing with my books and computer, knitting and so forth. I have always be able to amuse myself, it's less effort isn't it? I never get stuck doing things I don't like when I'm by myself - if I don't like it I just stop. No one else will be disappointed or try to make feel guilty, perfect! But all good things must come to an end -we're having a big inspection at work so everyone's on edge, our hours creep longer and longer. It seems like all my patients have developed issues all at once, but I know it's just because we're all stressed so any little bump looks like a mountain right now. My foot was doing well and is now starting to hurt again, I'm not sure what my next plan of action is. And my ereader - I got a Kobo from Borders and it's essentially a $109 coaster. I've called and Border's customer care service has an interesting way of putting you off. They take your name and number, assure you a tech will contact you in 48 hours - and then I suppose they hope you go away. I'm not sure what I'm going to do from here - they've already refused to give my money back as I'm past the 30 day return policy. Apparently the fact that I have emails dated back to the beginning of January when I first started having problems doesn't count. David has told me to just shelve the whole mess and buy a Kindle but I'm giving it a couple more days. It's just frustrating, I just want it to work and I'm tired of spending time on hold waiting for a customer care representative to once again take my name and number. In Shawl News I'm only a couple of rows away from being finished - finally! I stopped counting rows awhile ago - when I run out of yarn it's done.

Mud Slinging

2011-03-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

On the upside, the weather is slowly, but surely getting warmer. Our driveway is a place of daring and danger, David got the mail, parked the truck and it cheerfully reparked itself a little further down the driveway. The 4 inches of ice that layers most of the yard is melting a little at a time which makes it super slick during the day and then it refreezes at night, on and on. We headed out to Milford today just for a change of pace. David wanted to show me where he likes to hunt since according to him it was on the way to Milford - it was interesting for like the first 45 minutes then it was not. I got annoyed and David said, well are you on a schedule or something and I said apparently NOT since I was mucking around the woods. So he gets out of the woods back onto the road and we come out like FIVE MILES from the house, right across from the Fernwood Resort. I said I thought you said this was on the way to Milford and he said it is, sort of - arrgh. So 25 miles later we arrived in Milford and I went to Jill Deal Yarns, it's one of the most charming little yarn shops which contains the Rolls Royce selection of yarns. I was mainly browsing, at this time I really need no more yarn so if I see something really special I'll buy it, but otherwise I'll pass it by. I did get some nice stitch markers and size 2 DPNs that are 8 inches - I wanted them because I think the next pair of socks I make it will be easier to keep the stitches on the needles. David and I had an early lunch at Apple Valley Restaurant, it's surrounded by kitschy tourist stores where you can buy cute little knick knacks and signs declaring Our Little Piece Of Heaven for your weekend shack, that sort of thing. We have enough crap of our own so we headed straight to lunch - I had a veggie burger and David did not. Everything was great except for the coffee which was REALLY bad. It was so bad we were laughing while trying to drink it - I can't even begin to figure out what was wrong with it but we drank it anyway because I will never leave a cup of coffee behind, no matter how weak or strong, funky or stinky I will drink it. I stopped by the supermarket on the way home and then well, we went home. I'm watching Armageddon which is very dramatic. I was watching The Walking Dead marathon last night but shut it off at 11 figuring I could finish watching it on Hulu. But they only have clips - like 152 of them, how stupid is that so maybe I'll see if I can buy season one while we're out tomorrow.

Knit And Pearl

2011-03-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

I am FINALLY getting a little closer to finishing the Shipwreck Shawl - the entire middle went fast, was very interesting - the entire outer mesh portion - Blah, Acck, Eww. It is as I said before two stitches together, yarn over. No matter how many thousand of stitches I've done, they stick, come off, I dig at them with the needles, it is taking forever... at this point I would love to run out of yarn and have an excuse to stop. But as they say - in for a penny in for a pound so I soldier on with no end in sight. Pearl continues to recover, we still have to prod her out in the morning but she dances around after I get dressed in the morning excited to race out and chase whatever is hanging around the yard OUT so she's back to being annoying. We had an internal audit at work today - they audited about 12 charts and I think 11 of them were MINE. I wilted with each chart - mine are neither better nor worse than anyone else's, it just looks like they are en mass! so I was pretty happy to skedaddle out the door a little early on a visit. The weather was super cold but annoyingly sunny so when you looked out the window you thought you were Florida and then you go out and it turns out you are really Alaska. It's now seventeen more days to spring, it feels like it will never arrive some days. But there is a hint of spring in the air, at least I've managed to delude myself into thinking there is - and for now, that's enough.

State Of The Union

2011-02-26T16:48:00.000-08:00

Pearl is slowly on the mend - we have to make her get up in the morning, make her eat, make her go out. But for the past couple of days it seems once she gets going she's fine. Today was the first day she wanted to go out and do a little Squirrel Patrolling so we were relieved and the squirrels were annoyed. She has a month or so on antibiotics so it's a twice a day cheese fest for now - David has also had to gourmet her food as the medication keep her from being hungry and if she doesn't eat she barfs the pills up. I think she's on to us though and is now liberally abusing the whole situation, she peers in her bowl t o see what's good. And if it's not good, she's OK, she can wait. Today too, I took off my immobilizer off for the first time in a month. If you want to know how my foot is - it hurts. But it's not as bad as it was and it's only been one day. It will either improve or it won't - time will tell. I'm hoping it will improve if I don't over do it and I'll be back to hiking when the warm weather hits. We did some shopping today in town, all the weekenders were about. On the way back 209 was slowed down going the other way and all the license plates were NY, NJ and a few other states. But once the sun was up it was chilly warm and I know everyone is getting excited about spring. My birthday is coming up too - it's the big Five Oh this year so I've decided I'd like to turn 50 in West Virginia, with the mountains and hills around me. I've missed my friends so it will be an excellent excuse to go home and just hang out for a few days. Pearl may be coming with us so she can visit with her pals Gypsy and Sage and have a Vizla party. We can leave her with Ricky during the day if we want to be dog-less so it will work well. But that is a couple of months from now - people ask if turning 50 is a big deal - I guess it's a big of a deal as you make it. I don't dread it or feel that I'm officially old - I don't mind it in most ways. We'd all like to keep that 20 year old body, but what you'd like and what you get are two separate things. All in all I look forward to my turn in the sun, my turn to be the Old Lady telling everyone what I think and having no never mind what they think of it.

Pearl Is Sick!

2011-02-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

First of all, you need to understand Pearl greets each day like she has never seen such a day. She starts dancing and bouncing the second she opens her little beady eyes. She snuffles the blankets to see if you're up, cries in case you didn't notice her catapulting across the room, at the first sign of movement she races around, chasing cats and up heaving rugs. She inhales her breakfast races around her little yard and launches herself back on the bed - TODAY IS THE DAY! Of course everyday is THE DAY in the world of Pearl, but that's what makes her so lovable - and so annoying. So you would think her being quiet and refusing to get up would be a relief. It would have been if something hadn't been wrong but she wouldn't eat, sadly did her business in her little yard and tucked up in a little ball on the end of the bed. David took her to the vet where she cheerfully tired to climb on David's head in an effort to avoid the doctor and was eventually diagnosed with two forms of tick borne diseases, one is Lyme's of course and the other one is similar. She received a battery of injections (she was also due for some vaccines) and is on antibiotics for a few weeks. Hopefully it will not keep her down for too long - as annoying as she is, we do enjoy her daily antics.

I'm Melting.

2011-02-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

That's an old picture, but my only alternative is to take a picture of my melting muddy nasty yard. Not that I'm sorry to see the snow going, but there's so much of it! The path is sinking with mud and I've watched my car slide back about half a foot so far on the water slicked ice. It's a little startling as I'm currently sitting on the back porch, my Honda is just sitting there and then suddenly moves, then stops. Pearl is slinging and sliding about the yard - he has no issues with it, she's just glad to be out in the warmer temps. It's about mid fifties I think and the sun is just starting to graze the horizon. It's noisy out here with all the dripping water but after this long snowy winter I'm not complaining. I'm so glad the week is over! Its been a stomach churner every day this week, one of my co-workers suggested yesterday we just scrap the whole thing and start over next week. I had to perform a Do - Over at work - and yes that is possible in the medical field - it was tough but paid off in the end. David is off tomorrow so I think we'll be off and running for the weekend, nothing special but hanging out. I know it's still winter but it's hard to remember that this of year, isn't it? When you get that first big hit of spring and suddenly you're all full of plots and plans and playing in the yard.

The Socks Of Guilt

2011-02-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

I started these socks back in March - they were cast on so I could take my little sock bag to Florida with me. It was the perfect solution, I could knit on the plane and in the airport and yet not become a Suspected Terrorist. From then on I worked on the socks here and there, at the doctors, the dentist's, waiting on line, they were my emergency project. But two issues have to come to pass - so much time has passed between sock One and sock Two it was difficult to remember how I turned the heel (the pattern was off so I adjusted it successfully - but didn't write it down so I ended up ripping the heel back on sock Two about a gazillion times) and the other issue is, well, after months they are still not done. They've been occupying the bookshelf, 5th shelf up on the right tucked in my favorite sock bag glaring at me nightly. I could see them. They could see me. So after I finished the toy snake I decided to finally finish them. The other reason is the Shipwreck Shawl has entered the Very Very Boring Part (2tog, YO, 2tog, YO - repeat until insanity sets in). I usually don't mind repetition but because you have to make sure you knit two stitches together every other stitch you actually have to look at it, making watching TV impossible. So now the socks are well on their way to being finished and the shawl is on the floor filling me with guilt. In other news, our office finally moved. We packed up on Friday, Monday the moving van came and we are now in our new office space. It's huge - and everyone is a bit discombobulated - nothing is where it should be, everyone forgets the storage room and the chart room are now separate entities, but we will get used to it. I hope!

Winter Wonderland - Bite Me.

2011-02-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

It is frigging snowing AGAIN - it's piled all over the place, we have no room for anymore. I am finally tired of it, I never thought I'd say that but I am. I suppose the bigger part of it is that the yard could support the NHL and this boot makes maneuvering in good weather can be a bit of sticky wicket - in the ice rink outside it becomes a hat trick every time I step out the door. David bought 5 sixty pound bags of ice and we're down to the last two already. The driveway is a mess, it once again melted/froze melted/froze and this morning my car literally slid all the way down to the road. The snow is flying again - thick and heavy of course. We have been keeping a large plastic bin filled with water just in case and I'm convinced it holds off the ill effects of Murphy's law. Since we filled the bin with water so if the electric goes out we'll have water - the electric has stayed on. I'm sure if I dumped it we would be in the dark so it sits there - big, annoying and in the way, just daring me to empty it. I got some stuff done this morning, finished cleaning out the cabinets and so forth, did the weekly shopping and I was quite pleased to walk away from the store with a grocery bill of under eighty dollars. We had a few high priced weeks but we're back on track - I've started keeping a running list so when we do the shopping we have a plan instead of just racing willy nilly up and down the aisles flinging whatever suits our fancies. The end result is usually a food bill of about $170 and all the Frito's you can eat. I have my foot up now - it's finally FINALLY starting to feel a little better, not much but at this point I'll take what I can get. The problem is every time they change the treatment it feels better to start with just because I'm doing something different, then it hurts then it's back to square one. I tried wearing skirts this week as it's easier to get dressed but the Velcro on the boot rips the bananas out of my panty hose - if it's not one thing, it's another.

Snake In The Grass

2011-02-10T15:42:00.000-08:00

The fun thing about working in pediatrics is it's an excuse to knit silly hats, stuffed animals and pretty much anything amusing. The snake only vaguely resembles the original pattern - I made the colors brighter, the eyes smaller and less realistic, I didn't make the split tongue and made a big smile instead. He turned out a little bigger because he's made of stretchy cotton instead of wool - it was important the yarn be completely without small fibers. Since the recipient is fairly young I made the face much simpler than the original - I once read somewhere that newborns, infants and toddlers will recognize two dots and a line as a face and that stuck with me. I've found the little people seem to prefer a very simple face on whatever I make and really if you look at it, he's looks like a pretty friendly guy. I didn't think he would be done in time - between trying to find the right yarn,the false starts (gauging was a nightmare!), making it up - I was working like crazy last night to get it done in time - and I did it! I'm back to the shipwreck shawl next for a little while, the rest of the shawl is the same stitches, over and over and over... in other news it is still Winter. Yes it is. Is too. Shut up. Our yard is a frigid mess - we had the drive plowed, it snowed, it rained, it melted a little and then it froze solid. It looks like a mirror it's so smooth in some areas. The snow is frozen so solid Pearl has a reflection as she runs along the top of it through the woods - it's hilarious watching her do Squirrel Patrol, I'm sure they're all wetting their pants watching her skid and slide through the trees.

The Winter Of Our Discontent

2011-02-06T16:41:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again, when winter has held on a tad too long and everyone is getting snappy. David and I are bickering back and forth, my foot hurts, he hates his job, yada yada yada. I got some unexpected news - I'm not happy or sad about it, just a bit stunned. I'll get over it. I put away the shipwreck shawl for now, I've started knitting a toy snake for a client's birthday, bought a back up gift just in case it's not finished in time. It's hard enough to be interesting but not hard enough to be annoying. David and I did a little shopping today, I bought a teeny tiny food processor - I just need it for an occasional shredding so I wasn't looking to get carried away. It cost ten bucks and holds a cup and a half, perfect! It rained last night, then warmed up just enough to start melting and then froze again - the driveway was alarmingly shiny this afternoon. Forget about actually walking in the yard, I let Pearl run around but I stayed under the deck and read. I have a couple of chairs set up under there where they stay dry and I'm out of the wind so we can be outside. I figure I can sit and read outside just as easily as inside and since I can't walk too far that about all the outside time I get. The immobilizer is getting old already, it's just annoying at this point and it's hard to tell if it's doing any good yet or not. The doctor said 2 weeks to a month - it's been one week and counting.I bought some low impact exercise tapes this afternoon too, that's another issue in itself. I can use the exercise bike but it can't put any strain on my foot so in order to burn any amount of calories I would have to pedal about 5 hours a day. Staying out of the fridge is even harder, aside from TV, reading,computer and knitting I am bored. Arrgh. Did you look at the picture of Claw I have here? She's holding Pearl's rawhide hostage again - even the cats are peevish!!

The Happy Herbivore

2011-02-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

I just bought a copy of The Happy Herbivore last week - even if you're not vegan or vegetarian it's an excellent cookbook if you're looking to eat less meat - or if you just enjoy playing with your food. What's making me so happy about it is you can make the recipes with stuff you have in your kitchen or can be easily purchased. And the recipes don't have a lot of ingredients or steps (I've had vegan cookbooks that should have included Nap Time their concoctions had so many steps!). If you want to get an idea of what The Herbivore is about here's the website -

http://happyherbivore.com

Anyhow, the only two things I couldn't find at Weis's would be nutritional yeast (used for flavoring) and vital wheat gluten - that you can find at any organic food store. Except for Organic Foods Warehouse - I have no idea why I enjoy disappointing myself but like rain showers in April it's bound to happen so why fight it. So I went in with my little list of about 4 items, got shot down on each one, declined leaving my name and number in case they accidentally tripped over something vegan and they would call me - I hopped back in my car and drove down to Earthlight where I got all the stuff I needed plus a boffo walnut and date bar. My one true is issue with natural food stores and organic stores is the cost - there is no way I could afford to shop there exclusively if I wanted to. Everything is triple or more in price so I just tend to buy the items I can't find anywhere else - which is very few at this point, most grocery carry vegan and vegetarian products - and it's a shame because I would love to support more of the independent stores. Why they have to be so overpriced is beyond me, I shop the Asian grocery places which are just as small and specialized, but they tend to be cheaper than the larger stores, not more expensive. And given the line on Saturdays they're not hurting for customers. But what ever. Off I went to other stores, Borders to get a client a birthday present, AC Moore's for some odds and ends, Dad and Maryann's birthday cards and gifts, my foot was starting to give out so back home I went. The roads are a super mess, rain, ice, salt, dirt, eww. Though we're moving through February winter is forever at this point, isn't it? I was sick on Friday - 1st 24 hour bug of the season - no fun at all. Achy burning, sleeping yucky day. Vincent took advantage but he's a cat and does things like that - he was snuggled up all day. He's been pretty friendly since the temperature dropped. I guess he's the opposite of a fair weather friend!

I've Got My Tonic, Got My Gin - If It Snows I'm Stayin' In!

2011-01-31T16:20:00.000-08:00

The biggest problem with the snow here is not that it snows. It's that it never goes away. No melting or reducing just layer upon layer upon layer - deeper deeper deeper. The deck is piled up pretty good, someone asked if I was going to shovel it off - no. The house stood empty for 2 or 3 years before we got here and no one shoveled it off then, did they? Hopefully they will not be famous last words. They're predicting a massive storm starting tonight and ending Thursday morning - 6 to 18 inches, ice, sleet - the works. We shall see. I have a good stock pile of yarn just in case and I'll probably fill an extra bucket or two of water so we can at least wash up and flush the toilets. Everyone here is tired of the never ending forecasts, the red draping our area on the weather maps at all times. I'm tired of snow in my brace - why didn't the person who invented this thing think of a way to close the toe up?? I'm shaking snow out of it 14 times a day no matter how careful I am. I've been asked about 300 times if it's helping - it's only been on for 3 or 4 days so it's a bit early in the game to tell if it will help long term. It still hurts, but a little less. Even though it's a clunky thing I can walk more than I've been able to in the past month and this morning, before I got up, it didn't hurt at all. Just for a minute - but it's funny how when it doesn't cause you pain that you realize how much it does bother you. I've gotten used to the constant pain, I anticipate it's going to hurt before I even move and brace myself for it - but it takes so much out of you, doesn't it? It's just.....it's just there and you learn to deal with it. Taking something does no good since it doesn't hurt the same amount all the time, not moving makes it tolerable - how do you medicate that? So, I'll wear the clunky brace as long as I have to - the only really thing that's becoming an issue is keeping track of my left shoes. Since I'm not wearing the left shoes they stay in the closet and the rights are all over the house. So at the end of the night I pair up my shoes since someday, I might wear two again!

Day Two

2011-01-29T14:46:00.000-08:00

This immobilizer is a pain in the neck. I can actually walk fairly well in it - once you get the hang of walking without bending your foot it's a bit awkward but do-able. The pain part is A) answering WHY I'm wearing it, it's not like I can say I have a bad sprain or something. It's severe plantar facscitis and that leads into yet another conversation as most people don't know what that is. The other issue is I can't walk that far but that's not a big deal, I couldn't walk that far before. We went shopping today but all of my grand plans were scaled down - I was going to the mall, two bookstores, the yarn store, the Asian grocery, Wegmans and BJ's. My foot can only do so much so it was the Asian grocery, one bookstore and Wegmans. The Asian grocery was hilarious, we usually go early so it's in and out - we got a late start so the very small parking lot was overly full - they were parked out front, on the sidewalk, behind us.... while we were trying to get out there were two people trying to get in - the person next to us for some reason decided to do a 3 point turn in a perilously tight area, we just sat tight til she was done (it was actually like a 16 point turn and the whole thing was silly, if she'd just backed out it would have been a 2 second operation) and then we skedaddled. That store is a small affair on a side street but it gets seriously packed, I've been in there when the line extends halfway through the store. The reason being of course the food is great and the prices are better. I pay about $3 for 12 oz of tofu in the supermarket and there for fresh tofu it's a $1 a pound. Specialty rice is about the same as opposed to a much higher price in the regular store. But back to the immobilizer - so far, so good. My food still hurts but not as badly and I can a walk without a lot of pain. When I got up this morning for the first time in months it was not an ordeal, so maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.