My Life's Just Not That Fascinating

I've been a little lackadaisical about my blog posting in the last little bit. I actually HAVE been a little busy with the normal summer work-load increase at the office and getting ready for my most recent camping trip (more about that later) and getting some knitting done on some summer socks.

But the truth of the matter is, my life's just not fascinating enough to feel the need to post daily. I have a Twitter account, but honestly who has enough happening in their lives that they must share it on a minute-by-minute basis? I check in every once in awhile to read whatever Brad Paisley is posting because his posts are always amusing and often hilarious.

I have a Facebook account, but the only reason I go in there pretty often is to take turns in a few Scrabble games I have going there. Have I mentioned lately that I am a long-time Scrabble addict? I'm not good enough to play in tournaments, but I do love to play. How else would I know that "qi" is a word?

I have a MySpace page, too, but rarely post there either. The only places I post regularly are here and on my knitting blog. The only reason I keep two separate blogs is to keep from boring my non-knitting friends with my excitement over sticks and string. *LOL*

Now, on to the latest non-knitting news: I'm finally CAMPING again!! I spent last Thursday, Friday and Saturday at my all-time favorite campground, Grindstone. Mom and Dad were camping, too, and it was a lot of fun. I have to admit that I wondered how it would go, since this was my first camping trip since I had back surgery last November. Happily, I had no ill effects at all except a little soreness in my legs from using muscles I hadn't used in awhile. There were a few brief showers, but they occurred at times that didn't interfere with any camping fun.

Our friends, the Cooks, were there as well, complete with their four adorable Yorkies. I had a few nostalgic moments thinking of little Meg since it was my first camping trip without her. Another expected hurdle in the grieving process.

I really had a good time and thoroughly enjoyed listening to birdsong in the pre-dawn stillness while snuggled under my sleeping bag. I don't have words to properly express how relaxing I find that time away from all the electronics and stress of my daily life. I love that the most "high tech" thing in my camping gear is a set of circular knitting needles and self-striping sock yarn!

As soon as I came home Sunday afternoon I fired up the home computer and made reservations to go camping again next month. I could get used to this. *G*

Catching Up AGAIN

I've been a delinquent blogger....two MONTHS, for crying out loud. Time gets away from me sometimes, that's for sure. Okay, so what's been going on since September?

Well, MeggieDog and I made our last two camping trips of the season, one four-day trip in September at Grindstone and one six-day trip in October at Hungry Mother State Park. That was the first (and probably last) time I camped at Hungry Mother. Mom and Dad were camping, too, so that was great. We went up on Monday morning and left on Saturday morning. The first part of the week was wonderful; we nearly had the campground (Camp Burson, just outside the actual park) all to ourselves. I don't think there were more than 10 occupied campsites at any time including our two sites. The weather was great, warm for October with cool crisp nights. The fall color was beautiful, and we had a wonderful time walking some of the trails around the lake and across the dam.

Unfortunately, on Friday, campers started coming in bunches! The campground doesn't afford much privacy for tent campers when there are people camped on the neighboring sites. Not only were the campers noisy, but the proximity of the campground to heavily-traveled Route 16 proved to be a problem on Friday night. I was camped (for sake of convenience) near the bathhouse. Well into the wee hours of the morning, traffic would pull off Route 16 so that carloads of people could use the bathroom facilities. Not only was it noisy, but I didn't feel particularly safe. Even though I have a set of walkie-talkies that Mom & Dad & I use while camping (one in the tent, one in their camper), I still felt ill-at-ease. Never again. If something happens that I have to camp there again, I'll be as far away from the road as possible, even if it means having to take a long hike to the bathhouse! I said I was going to try not to grouse too much, though. After all I had 4 great nights and only 1 crappy one. *L*

Good news about gas prices: a couple of months ago, regular gasoline was running $3.999 here. When I left work Friday, the Shell station at Exit 14 had their regular gas priced at $1.999! I don't remember the last time I saw gas less than $2.00 per gallon. It's certainly a welcome relief.

Of course, the Presidential election was last week; I'm relieved it's finally over and hope for a few weeks of no political ads before the next round of campaigning kicks in.

Heidi the Yorkie, owned by my friends Beth, Joey & Amy, is the proud mama of 3 puppies....I've posted a photo on Flickr (link on the right). Last I heard, all was well. They sure are cuties!

I've been doing a little crocheting of small Christmas gifts while watching TV. Nothing fancy. I've also got a couple of knitted gifts that I've started but need to finish. I want to try to get those completed so I'm not in a last-minute rush. You know all about good intentions, right? *L*

We've already had our first "snowfall"; when I woke up on Wednesday, October 29, I found just a small amount of slushy snow on my windshield. But the closer I got to the office the more snow I saw. In fact, there was a brief period of hard blowing snow just a mile away from work. People just a few miles further north said they had a pretty good covering of snow on the ground, but I didn't get that at home. It'll be coming soon enough, I'm sure.

We've had pretty warm temps this past week....low 70s during the day. Some rain moved in Friday evening, though, and things cooled down quite a bit. In fact, it's only 43 degrees outside right now. Cloudy, too. A good day to stay in and be cozy with a cup o' coffee.

Unfortunately, I'm in for another reason today. Meg wasn't well yesterday; it seems to have been something viral. She was awfully sick, but PeptoBismol and canine aspirin seemed to have pulled her through it, thank goodness. Today she's much better, able to walk up and down the hall on her own (she was too weak for that yesterday morning). She lapped up some warm chicken broth a little while ago and seemed to enjoy it. It was great to see her appetite back! I'm awfully tired today (probably from the stress of watching her feel bad as much as anything else), so I'm staying in to rest up for work tomorrow.

I made myself a pot of delicious Columbian coffee earlier, so I'm freshly showered, in my comfy sweats, sipping coffee, and preparing to pile up in the recliner with Meggie beside me, knitting in my lap, and the remote control nearby. It's such a gray day I might even light a DuraFlame log in the fireplace and really treat myself.

First, though, I'm going to check in on my friend Mare's blog and catch up a little on her. :-)

First Camping Trip of 2008

Boy, what a week it was! MeggieDog and I were on the road by 8:20 on Sunday morning (May 11) on our way to Grindstone Campground. The weather was rather dreary and cool, but my big concern was that the wind was really whipping around. That could be REALLY bad news when you're trying to set up a tent!

The good news was that just as we pulled onto the campsite, the wind calmed a bit, and I was able to get both the tent and the screen house up with no problem at all. I had a slight head start on getting to the campground over Mom and Dad, so I was nearly all set up by the time they arrived. Mom came over to my site (right beside theirs) to tell me that Daddy wanted to grill steaks for us for lunch, and they'd let me know when to come on over. I'd purchased an inexpensive set of walkie-talkies for us to use, so I gave her one of them to take back with her.

After unloading and getting things set to rights inside the tent, I got Meggie settled into the sleeping bag, all snug and toasty. Daddy called on the walkie-talkie to let me know that lunch was ready, so I left Meg in the bed (safely secured by a tie-out cable to one of the tent pegs with free access in and out of the tent in case she needed to take a potty break).

Just as we settled at the dinette in Mom and Dad's camper, it began to rain. The steaks and baked potatoes were really great; Daddy sure knows his way around a grill. As soon as I finished lunch, I went back to the tent, because I didn't want to leave Meg alone too long. I was horrified to see that she'd been outside, wrapped her tie-out cable around the water spigot, and backed out of her halter!!! I hurried into the tent and found her (thank goodness) wet and unhappy and snuggled down under the sleeping bag. I got a fresh dry towel and dried her thoroughly and dried her halter on the small electric heater I use to heat the tent in cool weather. As soon as I got her dry and back into the sleeping bag, she slept happily all afternoon while I read and listened to the wind and rain.

The noise of the wind and rain was so loud in the tent that I didn't even hear our friends, Joey, Beth and Amy, pull into the driveway of Mom and Dad's site. I didn't know they were there until I came out to make a trip to the bathhouse! I went over to visit for just a few minutes (didn't want to take a chance on Meg having another back-out-of-the-halter episode), then went back to the tent and settled in for the night.

Unfortunately, when I woke up Monday morning I was sick with a cold. *YUCK* I realized then that the allergy attacks I thought I'd been having since the Thursday before were really signs of a cold coming on. The weather was rainy, windy and cold again, so I just settled in and read most of the day, allowing myself to just rest and wait for my cold to improve.

Tuesday's weather was MUCH better....sunny and warmer. I dragged my lounge chair out into a sunny spot and baked my poor head long enough to sunburn my face a bit. It really made me feel much better, though. Meggie laid on the lounge with me and sunned herself happily.

Clouds and drizzly rain set back in again on Wednesday and stayed off and on until I left the campground Friday. I really didn't mind, though. I got a lot of rest and did a lot of reading, both of which were much needed.

We had enough non-rainy time for Daddy to keep a campfire going, which we enjoyed. He and I had the opportunity to talk together a lot, which was really great. We strolled around the circle at one point, choosing possible sites for future visits. After consulting with Mom, we agreed on dates in June and July when we could all come camp together again.

I was sorry to see my camping trip come to an end on Friday, but was glad I'd decided to go back home early enough to get everything unloaded and put away and have the weekend to rest before going back to work on Monday. Poor Meg slept so much Saturday and Sunday that I was concerned about her. When I came home from work Monday evening, though, she was well rested and back to her usual self.

I'm already looking forward to the next camping trip!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Almost the end of the day on Friday before a week off! Hooray!!

Mom, Dad, MeggieDog and I are going camping. We're all going up on Sunday (Grindstone, which we all enjoy very much); Meg and I will be coming back on Friday, but Mom and Dad will be staying through the next weekend.

We've been through some concerns with Mom in the past couple of weeks. After she told her doctor (during a routine visit) about Sandy's aneurysm, he sent her for an ultrasound on Monday, April 28. That test revealed that Mom had an aneurysm, too. So, they scheduled a CT scan on April 30. That revealed that the aneurysm was 4.1 cm. So, her doctor sent her to a surgeon for a consultation. She talked to the surgeon yesterday; he told her that he didn't feel that surgery is necessary, thank goodness. He wants to send her for another scan in 6 months to be sure there's been no change, but said that she doesn't have to change anything about her regular routine. She's to just go on doing anything she usually does. *WHEW*

Needless to say, we're all very relieved and grateful that the news was so good. I'm glad she was able to get her surgical consultation behind her before the camping trip. Now she can relax and enjoy herself.

Well, back to the grind to get everything squared away before leaving for the next week. It will be great to get out in the fresh air and sit out in some natural light instead of this poisonous fluorescent ickiness!

You Gotta Love Spring

Spring....finally! Fall is my favorite season, but spring is a really close second. Trees and plants are coming out of their winter slumber....pink and white blossoms everywhere. (Which, of course, kicks my allergy attacks into high gear, but it's still great.)

I see that, yet again, I've fallen way behind in my blogging. My only excuse is that, following a vicious virus (which was actually coming on when I posted the last time), I just didn't have the energy or the inclination to post for ages. Now, thank goodness, I'm much, much better.

Lots of things going on in my little world. Mom's sister, Sandy, is having surgery Monday to repair/bypass an aneurism and a couple of blockages. She's had a solid month of tests and waiting for test results, but they finally got everything scheduled. She has great confidence in her surgeon, so I'm sure everything will go well.

I have a reservation to spend some time camping at Grindstone next month. Boy, am I READY for that. MeggieDog and I need to get out and do some walking to get ready for the physical labor involved. We've admittedly turned into recliner potatoes. *LOL* Now that the weather is finally nice and spring-like, though, I'm more inclined to get outdoors and inhale a few more allergens.

Having said that.....the temperature right now is 70 degrees, and they're predicting a chance of snow flurries Sunday night. Sheesh. You gotta love spring.

A Milestone

I drive a 1998 Saturn SC1 that I bought new. This week (September 10 to be exact) my Saturn and I reached a milestone...100,000 miles!

I knew I would probably reach the 100,000 mile mark on my way to work Monday morning, so I put my camera in the car when I left home. I kept an eye on the odometer, intending to pull over and snap a picture when it happened. Just as I reached the parking lot at work, it rolled over 100,000. I actually took this photo while my car was sitting in my usual parking place at the office. How weird is that?

Meggie and I enjoyed another weekend at Grindstone two weeks ago. Tomorrow I'm headed to Clintwood with Mom and Dad to attend Mom's family reunion. I'm taking my trusty camera, because both of Mom's sisters are expected to be there, and it's been AGES since I got a photo of the three of them together.

On Sunday, Mom and Dad will be headed for Grindstone. Meg and I will be going up on Friday for the weekend. Camping season is, sadly, winding down. As much as I love that crisp cool whiff of fall in the morning air, I know that it means it's nearly time to pack away the camping gear until spring. After the Grindstone trip, I have one more camping trip planned: a week in North Carolina. *happy sigh* I'm really looking forward to that!

The Tuesday after I came back from Grindstone last time, I stopped on my way home from a rehearsal to pick up some take-out Moo Goo Gai Pan. I was up all night, violently ill. I thought I'd gotten hold of a bad batch of Moo Goo, but that would have been really unusual. I bought it from my regular Chinese place, and they'd never let me down before. As it turns out, it was apparently viral because a lot of people had it. Mom and Dad even had what seemed to be a lighter case of it.

I was home sick Wednesday, but dragged in to the office and worked Thursday and Friday. Saturday I woke up sick, feverish and miserable, so I stayed in all weekend. I was still feeling really terrible Monday, but dragged myself into work yet again. I had so many things that simply HAD to be done at the office that I forced myself to go in each day. Last night (Thursday), I was feeling sick and exhausted by the time I came home from work. I took a couple of Excedrin right after supper and went to bed pretty early. I'm sure I was asleep by 10:00. At 1:00 am I woke up just as thought the alarm had sounded. *eeeeeeeeek* I finally gave up about 1:30, got up, and paid some bills. Then I played a little on the Pogo game site. I began to feel sleepy again about 3:30 and went back to bed. I began to doze a little after 5:00; my alarm woke me up at 5:30. *LOL*

Happily though, I've felt much better today. Tired, but better. In fact, I'm beginning to yawn now, so I think I'll call it a night.

Upcoming Christmas Fun

Apparently, Kris still reads my blog when I get around to posting on it (see entry below)...*LOL* I got an e-mail from her that says:

Hi Mom,
I just wanted to let you know 3 things.
1. Greg approved my leave
2. We've paid for our tickets
3. We'll be home for Christmas
:)
So, you can start getting excited now, because it's a done deal!

I am now officially getting excited!

MeggieDog and I are off to Grindstone tomorrow for the holiday weekend. I've really missed camping during the heat wave the past few weeks. They're predicting some rain tomorrow, but we won't care a bit. I just hope it holds off long enough for me to get the tent set up!

C'mon, Thursday!

Why am I anxiously awaiting Thursday? Because I'm taking Thursday off, Friday is my regular day off, and I'm going to spend four days camping at Grindstone.

This week has been pretty rough so far, so I'm really looking forward to a few days off. Mom and Dad are already at Grindstone; they went up on Sunday morning. It'll be great to have the cool mountain air instead of the hot muggy weather in town.

The weather guys are predicting scattered thunderstorms through Friday (in fact, according to the radar map, it's raining just a couple of miles from the campground right now), but I don't even care. I've got a new paperback novel to take with me ("Hannibal Rising"), so I don't mind if I'm cooped up for a while.

I'll get most of my stuff together tonight; that way tomorrow night all I'll really have to do is stop by Wal-Mart to pick up some of their excellent turkey pastrami and a few tomatoes. That will just leave a stop on the way out Thursday morning for ice, bread, and buns.