What I Did on Vacation

Yes....that's a cast.  For the first time in my life, I have a broken bone.  Here's what happened:

If you're a regular reader of this little blog, you know that the last year of my life at the office has been less than stellar.  Because of all the grief inflicted on our department by the implementation of a bad, bad, BAD computer system, I was unable to take my beloved camping trips during the 2011 season.  Needless to say, I was really looking forward to a week in the woods during a long-anticipated WHOLE WEEK OFF this week!

Rain was predicted for Monday, so I packed most of the camping gear in the car on Sunday evening.  I'm a tent camper, so even though I can get everything in my little Saturn, it has to be packed just so in order to fit.  When I went to bed Sunday night all that remained to put in the car was my medication, my small stash of items to be put on ice in the cooler, and my clothing for the week.

When I awoke Monday morning I heard the rain before I looked out the window.  I packed the last of my needed items into the car and headed for Food City to get a breakfast biscuit, some sweet potato chips, and a bag of ice for the cooler.  While waiting to pay for my biscuit (which was, by the way, delicious) I saw an older gentleman throw one of the biggest fits I've ever seen in public.  If anyone from Food City management in the new Bristol, Virginia store happens to be reading this, the young lady who was operating the check out register at your deli this morning was NOT AT FAULT, and the man who was having such a fit was a TOTAL JERK.  Just sayin'.

Anyway, after I'd paid for my items I headed toward the campground at Sugar Hollow Park.  Even though it's very near where I live, I'd never camped there before.  There were very few campers in the campground when I arrived, and some of them left during the day.  I chose a site at the end of a loop within easy walking distance of both water and the bathhouse.  I checked the electrical connection to be sure it worked (much better than finding out after you've already pitched a tent!), then proceeded to get the tent set up.  It rained the entire time I was setting up, and SO HELP ME as I drove the last tent stake into the ground, the sun came out!!  *LOL*  Oh, well, it all worked out okay any way.

I dried the tent floor with an old bath towel, turned the heater on in the tent to help dry it out, and took a little break.  After a quick call to Mom to let her know that I had cell service (but no wi-fi, thank goodness...I needed a break from technology!!), I unloaded the rest of my gear from the car and got the tent set up and squared away.

After another brief rest, I decided that I'd go out and pick up a salad for my main meal, since it was after 2:00 p.m. by this time.  I went to Wendy's for a pecan chicken salad with pomegranate vinagrette (yum!), then came back to the campground to eat it.  After my delicious lunch-dinner I dragged out my comfy lounge chair, fired up the netbook, typed an entry into a "camping diary" I'd decided to keep for the week.  At my side, waiting for me to finish typing, were my knitting bag and my Kindle.  I had a library loan on the Kindle that I had to finish before Thursday, but I finished it before bedtime that evening.  Though I'd seen the movie numerous times, I'd never read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn".  As much as I love the movie, I liked the book even more.  It's grittier than the movie...sadder in some ways, more inspiring in others.  If you've not read it, you should.

Keeping track of how much wildlife I saw, on the first day I saw two spiders, two bunny rabbits, one chipmunk and heard a gazillion cicadas.  (The 17-year cicadas are in full song in my neck of the woods.)

Early in the evening, I took a walk around part of the campground.  (I intended to walk further, but a thunderstorm was threatening around, so I cut it short.)  I had the opportunity to meet a nice couple just a short distance from my campsite.  That reminds me that I meant to tell you the day's count for campers in the campground:  1 pop-up, 2 camping trailers (but only one was occupied that evening) and 2 tents, including mine!  I zipped up for the night and settled in, comfortable in my cozy tent, listening to far rumblings of thunder and the song of the cicadas.

As is my habit, I awoke early Tuesday morning.  The air was crisp and cool, so I turned on the electric kettle to make myself a cup of hot tea for breakfast and lazily crawled back under the sleeping bag to wait for the water to boil.  I turned on my Zune to see if I could check the local weather on the radio and learned that there was a chance of rain later that afternoon.  After breakfast I cleaned up the tent and dressed for the day.  I sat outside the tent and settled in for a restful session of knitting.  The campground was very quiet, and I enjoyed watching a bunny play while I completed a few rounds on a pair of socks I'm knitting.

The park ranger on duty came by to be sure all was well and that I had passed the night comfortably.  I commented to him that I'd seen one runner and one bicyclist go by on a trail near the campsite and asked where the trail went from there.  From over his sun visor he pulled a nice little map of all the trails in the park and told me that he'd been told that there was enough bicycle traffic on the trails these days to ensure that the trails had been packed down nice and smooth.  I thanked him and said that I might actually get up out of my chair and take a little hike.

The weather began to cloud up, so I decided that if I planned to take a hike I should probably go ahead and do it then, saving my knitting to do in the tent while it was raining later in the day.

Things didn't quite work out that way......

I changed out of sandals into my sneakers, consulted the map, and found a trail marked "easy" that would provide a nice walk beside a creek that runs through the park.  The trail had washed some during the rain of the day before, but was well-marked and enjoyable to walk.  I did find that "easy" is a relative term; for a younger, more fit person I'm sure the trail IS easy.  For me, I'd call it "moderate".  I was being very watchful for tree roots and mud that might trip me.  After all, I was walking alone.  As a precaution I had my "bear whistle" hanging around my neck and had my cell phone in my pocked.  I was carrying a bottle of water and my camera.  I saw several lovely sights and snapped photos that I will post on Flickr soon for your perusal.  On this lovely scenic trail, there was one brief section that veered away from the creek it follows to go around a tree.  In that small portion of the trail, it climbs very steeply uphill, the drops just as steeply downhill on the other side of the tree.  I proceeded cautiously, watching the tree roots and being mindful of the mud.  My caution didn't help.

As I reached the high point of that little section going around the tree I had a brief moment to realize I was losing my balance.  There was nothing to grab onto to steady myself, and down I went.  As it always happens when I have a fall, I really don't know exactly what happened.  All I know for certain is that when it was over, I was lying in the underbrush on the lower side of the trail and my right ankle hurt like the dickens.  My first thought was, "I hope there's no bone sticking out."  My second thought was, "I'm glad I'm here instead of Grindstone!"  Because in Grindstone I wouldn't have had any cell service.  Fearfully, hopefully, I felt my ankle and was relieved to see that nothing was sticking out.  The ankle was beginning to swell, though, and I knew I'd better get out of there as quickly as I could before it got worse.

Quickly consulting my trail map I learned that I was just over half way to the picnic area, so I decided to go forward instead of back-tracking.  I would call the park ranger from the picnic area and ask if he'd give me a ride back to the campsite.

I hobbled to the end of the trail and crossed a bridge into the picnic area.  I could hear park employees working with chainsaws in the upper part of the picnic area but knew that I'd never be able to make them hear me over the noise of the saws.  I flipped open my cell phone; no service.  Oh, man, this was not good.  I sat on a picnic bench in one of the shelters and sipped water for a few moments to catch my breath.  I knew where the ranger's check-in building was, and it was a long, steep climb out of the picnic area.  At least it was paved.

By the time I got the ranger's building in sight, my ankle was really hurting.  I got cell service back within steps of the building.  Figures!  I explained to the ranger what had happened and asked if he'd mind giving me a ride back to my campsite.  He was very kind and was happy to give me a lift.  He waited to be sure I was able to get into the tent okay and said if I needed anything to be sure to call.

I was all muddy and grubby from my fall, so I hobbled to the bathhouse to shower and wash my hair.  When I got back to the tent, I realized I'd left my car keys hanging on a hook outside the shower and had to go BACK to the bathhouse to retrieve them.

When I got back to the tent again I found that my ankle was swelling pretty badly.  I'm diabetic, so when it comes to a foot injury, I always lean to the side of overcaution.  I didn't want to frighten them, but I called Mom and Dad and told them that I thought I probably should have a doctor look at the ankle.  They came to the campground and took me to Urgent Care.

Their office was pretty busy that afternoon, so it wound up taking about four hours to get everything done.  The doctor took a look and said that because it was swollen all around instead of just on the side that whacked the ground, it would be a good idea to get an x-ray.  I agreed.  The x-rays revealed a spiral fracture of the tibia.  Rats.

They immobilized my ankle with a huge, heavy cast (photo above) that I not-so-fondly referred to as the Frankencast.  I had to be taught to walk on crutches, which was a new experience for me.  Armed with prescriptions for pain pills and anti-inflammatories and an appointment with an orthopedic specialist for the following afternoon, we headed for the drugstore to fill the prescriptions.

While waiting for the prescriptions to be filled, we came up with a plan for what to do about my campsite.  I thought I could probably go back to the site and spend the night, then pack up and have things ready to break camp the next day.  My mother would not hear of that.  Not only was I going to be on pain medication, but the walk to the bathhouse on crutches in a campground with very few other campers was not going to be safe.  What if I fell again?  Reluctantly I agreed with her.  She was right.

After receiving my medication, we picked up burgers and went to the campground.  There were things there I'd need even though I would be spending that night at Mom and Dad's house.  After I ate my burger I said that I could sit on my bed and pack up a few things.  This was going pretty well; I'd pack and Mom was carrying what I packed to my car.  Daddy asked if I thought I could finish that up and I said that I believed I could.  So, he went to pick up a friend of his so that his friend could drive my car back to Mom and Dad's house.  (Mom has a valid driver's license, but hasn't driven in years.)

So, with great effort and much gritting of teeth, I got things pulled together and packed up and Mom crammed them into the car.  By the time Daddy got back all that remained was to drop the tent, roll it up, and fold up the ground tarps.

As it turns out it was a good thing I spent the night at Mom and Dad's.  It was a truly miserable night.  Even with the pain meds I was very uncomfortable and couldn't manage to fall asleep until about 3:00 am when exhaustion finally felled me for a few hours.

Wednesday morning I was in less pain and began to get the hang of the crutches.  I was anxious to see what the orthopedic doctor had to say.  I'd been told that my injury might require a screw to hold things in place while the bone healed, and I wasn't particularly looking forward to that.

Luckily for me, the doctor told me that the very fact that I'd been able to walk out to the ranger station was an indicator that the tendons and muscles surrounding my fracture were strong and provided enough stability that surgery would not be necessary (YAY!).  The Frankencast was removed and replaced with a much lighter air cast which can be removed for showers (DOUBLE YAY!).  I'm scheduled to return to the doctor in two weeks to be sure that everything's progressing as expected.  He said that it will take three months for everything to completely heal, but he expects me to be fine, thank goodness.

After we returned home and had dinner, I took a pain pill which knocked me flat on my butt!  Unfortunately, I woke up a little past midnight and haven't been able to go back to sleep.  That's why I'm making a blog entry in the wee hours.  *sigh*

So, the bad news is that on Day Two of a planned week-long camping trip I broke my leg.  The good news is that I'm going to be fine.

Here's hoping your week is less eventful than mine has been so far.  :-)

I'm Baaaaaaaack

I can't believe it's been a MONTH since I posted! It's been a pretty busy month, but that's no excuse. So, what have I been up to for the past month?

Well, I took my last camping trip of the season September 13 - 17 at ... you guessed it! ... Grindstone. *LOL* I love Grindstone, what can I say? Mom and Dad also camped that week, and it was a lovely, cool, restful week. I went up early on Monday morning in shorts and a t-shirt, expecting to get all hot and sweaty as I usually do when setting up camp. I was WRONG! It was crisp and cool and wonderful!

Mom and Dad arrived soon after I'd set up the tent and set up their trailer in short order. We spent most of the week around a campfire, which Daddy kept going all the way up until Thursday night. There were zillions of chipmunks playing all around the campsites, and we kept hearing turkey hens in the brush nearby. One afternoon I managed to get pretty close to one of them (from the sound of it), but a hiker's dog spotted me and began barking, sending the turkey into stealth mode. I really would have loved to had a look at the turkey, but no such luck.

I've really enjoyed camping season this year, and was sorry to see it end. By the time Friday rolled around, though, I have to admit that I was happy to be going home. We'd had very few camping neighbors during the week, but they were beginning to roll in on Thursday evening. I'm glad we were camping during the week when it was lovely and quiet.

Other than the camping trip, my time has been filled with working and knitting...and watching movies and a bit of Doctor Who. (Thanks to Kris, who has given me yet another addiction. *LOL*)

I'd been neglecting my Wii Fit, so last night I started back up again. I couldn't believe how much my stamina had dropped in that short a period. *kicks self* At least I hadn't gained any weight back, thank goodness.

I've got a lot of my Christmas knitting finished. Still a few little items and one pretty big one to finish, but I think I'll get it all done in time. I can't believe it's already time to be thinking about such things.

So, I guess that's about it...I'll try to be better about posting, honest. :-)

Camping....and Why It's Good

Why Camping Is Good:

1. It gets me out in the fresh air, away from air conditioned air and fluorescent lighting.
2. It gets me away from the television set.
3. It gets me away from the computer.
4. I can't get a cell phone signal in the campground. This is a good thing.
5. It gives me a LOT of uninterrupted knitting time.
6. I meet lots of interesting, nice folks from many different areas.
7. I get to get snuggles from lots of sweet doggies owned by other campers.
8. I get to do activities there that I'd never get to do anywhere else....for instance, this weekend I attended a birthday party for Smokey the Bear. HONEST, I DID! *LOL*

Why Camping Is Bad:

1. Um.....I can't think of anything to put on this list.

I took off last Thursday and Friday and had another camping weekend. The weather was much nicer this trip, only one brief shower a little after 9:00 Friday evening which didn't bother a thing. The campground wasn't as crowded as it had been during my July trip, so that made things nicer, too.

Though it was awfully hot at home, the temperatures were really nice at the campground. If you stirred around much during the middle of the day it got pretty warm, but as long as you were lounging under the tall trees (which I did a lot of) it was cool and breezy and wonderful. I took most of my walks during the early morning hours before the heat kicked in, so it was very comfortable.

During my stay, I only left the campground once; on Friday, I made an ice run (no ice machine at the campground) and used that as an excuse to go get a hot, nutricious lunch. Yeah, right. Two Dip Dogs and a Diet Coke! :-) I swear those things are addictive! I guess it's a good thing I live too far from the Dip Dog stand to visit more often.

I'd seen a notice posted that they planned a birthday party for Smokey the Bear Saturday at 2:00 up in the playground, so I moseyed up that direction in time to watch lots of small children enjoying having their photo made with Smokey. (I wonder which park employee drew the short straw and had to wear that hot suit??) I wish I'd taken my camera, because I got a hug from Smokey. I'd like to have had that picture to go with my picture of getting a hug from "Rocky" at Rock City. Yes, I'm easily entertained. *LOL* They had a beautiful cake (I didn't have any, since I'd already treated myself to Dip Dogs the day before) and gave gift bags to the children that had junior ranger badges, Smokey the Bear coloring books, rulers and other neat little things. One of the park employees told the story of the real Smokey the Bear. I thought it was a very nice program.

On Sunday morning clouds began to gather, but I broke camp and got the car packed without anything getting rained on, thank goodness. When I got back home, the heat index was 100 degrees. Ick! I unpacked the car, did a couple of loads of laundry, took a refreshing shower, and hit the recliner. Yes, my living room is still full of camping gear, but I don't care. I'll get it put away eventually. :-)

Another terrific weekend in the woods!

In the Summertime When the Weather is High

If you've read my blog in the past, you know how much I love to go camping. When the weather is hot and muggy like it's been here in my corner of the world lately, there's nothing quite like pulling a lounge chair out under a big ol' tree and stretching out with a cold glass of tea, knitting in your lap, and a new audiobook on the Zune (Microsoft's version of the iPod).

And that, friends, is how I spent last weekend. It was just wonderful! I arrived at the campground around 8:30 Thursday morning, set up my tent and got everything placed inside. After a refreshing shower I was ready to relax. The weather was much cooler than in town, and my campsite was well shaded with big beautiful trees.

On Friday morning Mom and Dad came to visit me and took me to lunch at a little family-owned restaurant about 5 miles from the campground. They had slow-cooked baby back ribs which looked wonderful, and I had a hamburger steak with onions and green peppers. After a little ride through the countryside (Daddy always has to take "the road less traveled"....*LOL*), we went back to the campsite to visit awhile and enjoy the cooler fresh mountain air.

Later that afternoon as I lounged and knitted, campers began to arrive. The peace and quiet of the campground soon was broken by the shrieks and whoops of LOTS of small children. I quickly realized that the campers across from me and beside me were apparently all camping together. As nearly as I could tell, it appeared that at least four (if not five) of the sites were all sharing their camping experience for the weekend. When I say LOTS of small children, that's what I mean....LOTS. It was a little like trying to count minnows in a pond, but there must have been at least eight small children and five pre-teeners.

And they were loud. Oh, man, were they ever loud. Though I'd been knitting and enjoying birdsong, I soon gave up and plugged my Zune earbuds in to try to drown out the racket. Late that night, as the grownups and kids gathered around the campfire next door, yelling and laughing loudly until very, very late that night I found myself hoping that the weatherman was right in forecasting RAIN for the next day. That way, at least the noisy campers might have to stay inside, muffling the noise. How many tent campers do you know that hope for rain? *LOL*

As it happened, I got the rain I'd hoped for. I sat in the shelter of my tent with the door unzipped, knitting and watching the rain. It was very soothing and made me feel dozey and lazy. For lunch, I treated myself to a trip to a local legend, the Dip Dog Stand. I'd heard about Dip Dogs for years but had never had the opportunity to try one. The two items I'd heard the most about were the Dip Dog and their onion rings. So, that's what I ordered, and it was very good. Next time I think I'll skip the onion rings; they were really good, but I don't eat fried food very often so that was a little too much for me. Instead I'll order two Dip Dogs. What's a Dip Dog, you ask? Imagine a corn dog, but instead of the corn bread-type wrapping there's a delicious flour batter, deep-fried. The dog is served with mustard. When you bite into it, there's a satisfying crunch from the fried batter and the tangy taste of the mustard. It makes my mouth water a little to think about it. Maybe it's good that I don't live near the Dip Dog Stand. :-)

By the time I got back to the campground, the rain had subsided and I was able to sit outside in my lounge and knit and listen to more of my audiobooks. I finished "Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes" (a funny tale about three Southern belles seeking revenge against their cheating husbands) and started "The Lovely Bones". I know that movie took some criticism, but I actually liked it. I'm enjoying the book even more.

Though I usually retire very early while camping (or while not camping, for that matter), I didn't see any reason to go in until after dark, since the kids from the surrounding sites were out in force. As darkness fell and the other campers began to scatter to their respective sites, I went in the tent. On my way in, I ran my hand across the dry nylon and thought, "Oh good, everything's nice and dry, so I should be able to pack up pretty early tomorrow."

Wrong. Not fifteen minutes after I'd gone inside, I heard the distant rumble of thunder. The storm came quickly, bringing one of the worst lightning storms I've seen this season. Rain fell like water out of a bucket for awhile, then settled into a steady rainstorm that must have lasted a good while. I can't tell you when it stopped, because nothing lulls me to sleep quicker than the sound of rain on a tent. :-)

Sunday morning the trees were still dripping with the rain from the night before. The humidity level was really high, making it impossible to get the tent dried off enough to pack it up. Luckily, it didn't leak, so everything inside it (including me!) stayed nice and dry. As soon as I realized I wasn't going to be able to get the tent dry by the 2:00 pm checkout time, I packed the car, then rolled the tent and ground tarps up (wet....*ick*) into big trash bags so that I could haul them without having water puddle up in the car.

When I got everything into the car, I checked out and started home. When I got back to a cellphone signal (did I mention that cell phones do not get a signal in the campground? Just another bonus. *L*), I called Mom and Dad to ask if I could borrow a corner of their yard to pitch my tent to leave it up long enough to dry it out.

After I'd set it up and they put my ground tarps over their clothesline to dry, I made my way home, unpacked the rest of the things from the car, took a shower and collapsed into the recliner for the rest of the afternoon. As much as I love my camping weekends, it's always nice to get home again.

After work Monday I went to Mom and Dad's and retrieved my then-dry tent and tarps. As an apartment dweller, I'm especially grateful to them for allowing me to do that. It would be really difficult for me to get everything dried out by stretching it over shower rods and such!

And so ends another camping adventure. I finished knitting a pair of socks, listened to one whole audiobook and most of another one, met some really nice campers, tolerated some really noisy ones, and met lots of wonderful camper doggies. I enjoyed two relaxing thunderstorms, ate my first Dip Dog, and inadvertently fed a few mosquitoes.

All in all, a great weekend.

Luck of the Draw

Yesterday I exchanged a few e-mails with a nice lady from work who's been dealing with an injury she suffered over a year ago. During the exchange I commented that I'm just unbelievably lucky. It's true...I'm lucky, and I know it.

Last June when my leg pain became completely unbearable, an Urgent Care doctor referred me to a specialist that I'd never heard of before. That specialist happened to be involved in a clinical trial that I'd never heard about. When surgery date rolled around in November there was a 1-in-3 chance that I'd be chosen as a test subject who would receive a spinal fusion instead of the stabilization device being tested, but I received the device. My recovery from the surgical procedure was so quick it was nearly miraculous, and the device continues to work even better than I'd ever hoped.

And two weeks ago today, I set up my Coleman tent on a beautiful campsite under tall trees in the fresh clean air for the first time in 18 months.

I am just so lucky.

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*

You Gotta Love Spring

Yup, it's spring all right. Birds are singing, trees are blooming, the narcissus that were so beautiful just a week or so ago have faded away. I'm sneezing, coughing, and constantly dabbing at my watery eyes with a Kleenex. Yup. Spring.

But we had a good steady rain yesterday which finally settled some of the pollen, and I believe it helped everyone's allergy symptoms. Today, however, is supposed to be warmer and sunny, so I know what that will mean for us "snifflers". Oh well. At least we have pretty things to look at, right?

I'm on leave next week, and am really looking forward to some time off that doesn't involve any time spent in doctor's offices! Though I'm not planning anything big, it will be a busy week. I have some photo scanning to do for Mom, I have to have my car serviced, and I'm going to help a friend who's a first-time home computer owner get everything set up. I also have a project planned that I'm really happy about: getting my camping gear out of the closet and ready to go! *happy dance*

I've decided that my goal is to make camping as simple for myself as possible. Less stuff taken is less stuff I have to carry out to the car and then back into the apartment! So, I'm going to be ruthless. Anything that's not absolutely necessary is STAYING HOME. Well. Except for my knitting, of course. *LOL*

Camping Season Approaches!

The weather this past weekend was just glorious....warm (comparatively) and sunny. You could just smell SPRING approaching!

And with Spring comes the thought that CAMPING SEASON is coming....oh, how I missed camping last season! Since I'm a tent camper I have to wait for reasonably warm weather. After all, what's the fun in going to the woods if you have to huddle around a heater inside the tent? So I wait until the days are warm with cool nights, usually in May.

Yesterday I made my first reservation for the season and can hardly wait to pack the car and head for the mountain.

In the meantime, I content myself with knitting and working with my new Wii Fit Plus. Such fun, but BOY what a toll was taken by spending a year in the recliner!! Oh, well, at least I'm making progress even if it is just a little at a time. :-)

One More Week!

I'll have surgery a week from today....and I will be soooooo glad. The cyst in my back must be growing, because the past couple of weeks have been very, very bad. I'll be so happy to get rid of that thing and get off my medication. I don't like taking medicine, and especially don't like the way it makes me feel. Ick.

Oh well, that'll be behind me soon. I told a friend a little while ago how much I'm looking forward to getting back to CAMPING next spring. I've missed that so much this past season. And now that I've become a voracious knitter, I'll have plenty to do while lounging beneath the beautiful trees in the campground. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Gray Monday

Back to work this morning after the holiday weekend. I woke with quite a bit of pain, but took a pain pill after I drove to work, so now I feel much better. I'd like to think that I might hear from the doctor today about my MRI results, but really don't expect to hear anything until tomorrow.

Friday was a rough day; I was in a lot of pain when I got up that day, too. Mom came and did the sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and changing my bed, bless her heart. I'm still just not able to do that for myself. Even though she's very glad to do it for me and I really appreciate it, it just makes me nuts that I'm still not well enough to do it for myself. Hopefully that will change soon.

I'd improved enough Saturday that I went to Mom and Dad's to visit. Mom fixed a wonderful lunch with peanut butter pie for dessert. She hadn't made one of those in a long time, so it was a lovely treat. Our friends Joey and Beth dropped by late that afternoon for a visit on their way to their camper down on Cherokee Lake for the evening. It's always fun to see them. I've not been able to see them much lately because we usually get together for camping, and camping hasn't been an option yet this season. Phooey.

Yesterday I spent the bulk of the day in the recliner with my knitting. My knitting has fallen behind because some days I hurt too badly to sit upright, and I haven't figured out a way to knit while laying on my side. I did make some progress yesterday on a sweater I started a couple of months ago. I finished knitting the sleeves and joined them to the body. I knit about 1/2" more around the body. Another inch and I begin the decreases for the yoke. Hey, I might finish this sweater YET!!

Lunch break's nearly over, so I'd better get back to it. Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth!

Catch-Up Time

I've fallen way behind on my blog posting, so I'll try to catch up now. The much-anticipated camping trip has had to be postponed. Mom is going to have dental surgery, and wouldn't you know it? They scheduled it for Monday, May 11....the first day we were supposed to be camping. Oh well. There's a lot of good camping time left this summer.

Mom was scheduled to have her remaining teeth pulled and get a lower plate last week, but the dentist who was scheduled to do the work found that she has some deterioration of her jawbone (apparently due to Boniva....*grrrrrrrrrrr*) and said the extractions would have to be done by a dental surgeon for safety's sake. I swear, you just don't know what damage you can be doing to yourself by taking medication anymore.

Daddy and I have both been suffering some with apparent tendonitis. His is in his neck, mine is in the back of my right thigh. It was so bad yesterday that I had to cancel plans with friends because I couldn't stay on my feet long enough to get my clothes changed. I don't mind getting older, but I do mind FEELING older. I felt so bad yesterday that I couldn't even knit. And as much as I've knitted lately, that's BAD.

It's been raining a lot over the past few days, and that certainly hasn't helped any.

Kris and Louise have bought a house (hooray!) and are in the process of moving. While I don't envy them all the work and tension involved in moving, I'm very, VERY happy for their new homeowner status. So exciting! I can hardly wait to see pictures.

Well, lunch break's nearly over, so I'll close. I'm going to switch from ibuprofen to naproxen (Motrin to Aleve) to see if that helps my leg any more. If I don't get some relief soon, I'll have to break down and go to the doctor. Yuck.

Yorkie Sweaters

I finally felt well enough today (after a migraine yesterday) to unpin the Yorkie sweaters from the ironing board (I'd pinned them there to dry after I washed them) and photograph them. I was pleased with the way they turned out....sure hope they fit! The sweetie pie Yorkies I knit them for are Haley (top left), Heidi (top right), Holly (bottom left) and O'Reilly (bottom right).

I'm almost afraid to say it, but my leg feels better than it's felt in over 2 weeks. I've only taken 2 ibuprofen so far today. I want to try to wait until bedtime for another dose if I can. I think the migraine yesterday was aftereffects of having so much leg pain for so long. That was a real drag!

I'm getting excited about the upcoming camping trip now. The weather here today was HOT (high 80s); I hope it's warm when we're in the mountain. Last year the May trip was cold and rainy. We'll have to wait and see what happens this year. I'll take along both shorts and sweats...have to be ready for anything!

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. :-)

Catching Up

I've not posted in AGES, so let's see now, what's been going on lately in my little corner of the world?

Daddy's been raising broomcorn (see photo). He and I received instruction from a fellow camper last October in the art of broom making, so Daddy raised broomcorn this summer so we can try it for ourselves. He cut the corn (actually a type of sorghum) this week and has now hung the "straw" to dry. I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

Dad's family reunion was August 8 - 10. I went over on Saturday and spent most of the day. I believe they had the nicest weather I've ever seen for a reunion. It's usually too hot to breathe, but it wasn't bad that day. They have it on Copper Creek in Scott County each August.

MeggieDog and I went to Grindstone for a 4-day weekend to celebrate my birthday August 14 - 17. We had the best weather we've had on a camping trip this year....its was just glorious! Mom and Dad had gone to Pigeon Forge the Monday before, so they weren't camping with us this time. They came up and visited on Saturday, though, so that was really nice.

Fearful that my five-year-old Dell desktop computer (which developed a noticable whine a LONG time ago) might soon bite the dust, I treated myself to a new Dell desktop. I'm still a bit awed by the 500 GB hard drive, remembering that the 80 GB drive on the old Dell was top of the line when I bought it. I wonder what the storage capacity will be the NEXT time I buy a new PC?

Last Saturday my little friend Lindsay celebrated her 16th birthday with a party at the Eastman Recreational Center at Bays Mountain. A great time was had by all!

Tuesday was the first rehearsal of the season for the madrigal singers I sing with during the Christmas season. The first rehearsal is actually an introductory "tea" where we gather at the music studio, enjoy yummy snacks, and look over the music we'll be performing this season. Beth, our Fearless Leader, handed out manila envelopes of sheet music. As I thumbed through mine, I recognized a title. Opening the music and quickly sight-reading it, I said, "Hey, the Monkees sang this one on their Christmas episode." Several of the group laughed, thinking I was kidding. I said, "No, really, they DID." *LOL* After I got home, I found a clip of it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko94b3I0X0Y. It's lovely, and I can hardly wait to hear it performed in 4-part harmony with women's voices.

With Monday being a holiday, the rest of the workweek was busy, busy, busy. I woke up with a headache Thursday, but figured it was the result of sinus congestion (which I enjoy on a regular basis...*ick*). I'd been invited to have dinner with friends at Shoney's after work; by then my head was really pounding. By the time I left Shoney's I was feeling queasy. I hurried home, called Mom, put my jammies on and took a couple of Excedrin PM. Apparently, the sip of water I took with the medicine was all I needed to push me over the edge. Everything in me came up. *YUCK* Luckily, that made me feel better, though. I was able to go to sleep quickly and slept straight through until just before the clock went off at 6:00 the next morning.

I still felt a bit delicate, but was much, much better. So off I went to work, a busy but relatively uneventful end to the workweek! When I got home, I had a fairly quiet evening: a light supper and a DVD from Netflix. I watched "Clerks 2", the latest in a recent rash of Kevin Smith movies I've watched.

Am I the last person in America to discover Kevin Smith? "Dogma" had been recommended to me just after it became available on DVD, and I really enjoyed it. I laughingly referred to it as one of my "guilty pleasures". It's profane (the language is truly dreadful) and irreverent (yes, most would say blasphemous), and sometimes you just need one of those, y'know? However, I had no idea that "Silent Bob" was so hilarious until I happened to catch "An Evening with Kevin Smith" on the "Watch Instantly" tab of my Netflix account. I was hooked!

So I rented "Clerks", "Mallrats", "Chasing Amy", "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", and now "Clerks 2". Funny, funny stuff. I also watched "An Evening with Kevin Smith 2 - Evening Harder". It must be nice to be young and talented.

What else have a been watching? There's absolutely NOTHING on television; after the "Meerkat Manor" season ended, the only thing new on TV I've been watching is new episodes of "Monk". So, I've been watching the 1956-1957 season of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" on Netflix. I've also watched the entire run of "American Gothic" from 1995. I never understood why that show didn't catch on more than it did. It really was wicked fun. Back in July I finished up "The Sopranos". I'd already heard all the hype, of course, so I wasn't expecting the ending to surprise me. Even though I knew what was coming, the sudden cut to black silence was jangling. Adios, Tony. It was an interesting journey.

So what's next? A "regular" weekend, I think. Today I'll do a bit of household drudgery, then go visit Mom and Dad for a bit. Then Kris and I will talk by Skype early this evening (early tomorrow morning Sydney time). I always look forward to that. :-) Then tomorrow I'll finish up the weekly household chores and do something relaxing and fun.

It's nearly 7:30 now, and household drudgery awaits.....so, off I go.

Latest Camping Excursion

I had good intentions, honest I did. I intended to post all about the latest camping trip just as soon as I got home. It just didn't work out that way. *BAD blogger, BAD BAD blogger*

It was a wonderful trip. The weather even cooperated this time....up until Saturday night, that is! *LOL* It started raining about 1:30 a.m. Sunday and I heard three different rainstorms move through. I really didn't mind it raining because I love to listen to rain on the tent. But I did have to stay a little later than usual on Sunday because I was waiting to get the tent dried out so I could pack it away without having to spread it out to dry when I got home.

The new tent worked out just wonderfully. I couldn't believe how much more room it has! Daddy helped me set up when I got to the campground on Thursday, and our friends Janie and Paul came by to visit.

On Friday we went up to the Scales and picked blueberries. When we came back off the mountain, we stopped and Mom and Dad picked blackberries. Then as we came back toward the campground they stopped again to pick some apples. Meggie was getting pretty tired of picking fruit by the time we got back!

Our friends Beth, Joey and Amy came to camp on Friday night. We didn't get to visit much that evening, but on Saturday we had a great Canasta game. Mom and Beth teamed up against Beth's brother and me. What fun! It had been a long time since we'd had a good Canasta match, and it was really great. Dewey and I won, but I suspect that next time we'll have our work cut out for us. *LOL*

This past weekend, I developed a sinus/allergy headache on Saturday afternoon and had it all day Sunday. *YUCK* I just hate it when a headache wrecks my weekend. This weekend is Daddy's family reunion, so I'll be spending most of Saturday over in Scott County. I sure hope the weather cools off a little by then, but it probably won't!

Haiku of the Week

Going to the woods
Tomorrow morning, not one
Dang minute too soon!

A Good, Restful Friday

It was a restful day. And boy, did I need it! It was an ugly, awful week at work and I was very glad to see it end.

I had intended to do a lot of household things today, but didn't feel well when I got up this morning. My best guess is it was a combination of allergies and exhaustion. So, I decided to just do whatever I felt like doing and let the rest of it WAIT. I lazed about this morning, having a leisurely breakfast and playing a little Scrabble on Pogo.com. They are actually running tournament rated games there, and it's a lot of fun.

As it turned out, I did feel better this afternoon after spending the morning resting. So I managed to get several things accomplished. In addition to doing some household stuff, I got my sewing machine out and used an old pair of jeans to make storage bags for the tent poles and stakes for my new tent. The tent came with bags for them, but I decided that denim would probably hold up better than the nylon bags provided. Also, if the denim bags get muddy I can toss them in the washer. *G*

Next week is the first camping trip with the new tent, and I'm anxious to get it all set up and staked out for the first time. On the news this morning I noticed that they're predicting a 30% chance of rain during the trip, but I don't care. It'll give me a chance to be sure the new tent doesn't have any leaks. *LOL*

This afternoon I caved in on my resolution to go "shampoo-free". I'd cleansed my hair with the baking soda solution three times in the last week. It actually looked, smelled and felt clean, so there were no complaints from me there. My big problem was that my psoriasis kicked into high gear. The area where my psoriasis breaks out is on my scalp, right at my hairline above my forehead. This afternoon, the red patch was so sore I couldn't even touch it.

Admittedly, the outbreak may have been caused by the high-tension week I had at the office (my dermatologist says that my psoriasis is stress-induced). However, in any case, I needed to use my prescription shampoo to get the outbreak under control. So it looks like the baking soda hair cleansing routine isn't going to be possible for me. Oh well. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well, I'm a little tired so I think I'll call it a night. I'm sure Meg won't argue with that at all. *LOL*

Is It Friday Yet? Not Hardly.

Dang, what a week it's been so far. I've put in three of my four 10-hour days, but I feel like I'm already on overtime!!

This has been one of those weeks of having to hound people to do what they should have done without being reminded. That's just a waste of time and energy as far as I'm concerned. If ONE MORE PERSON tells me how "busy" they've been, I might snap!!

Oh well. One more day and it's over for a few. And next week will be a short one for me because I'm taking an extra day off on Thursday to go to the woods again. *YAY!* I NEED IT.

A brief update on going shampoo-free. So far I've cleansed my hair twice with the baking soda solution, only using the vinegar solution rinse once. My hair actually looks as clean as it does when I use shampoo. Once really nice effect: even when my hair gets sweaty (which it tends to do just about every time I set foot outside), it doesn't have that icky sweaty smell. Interesting. We'll see how it goes.

Well, since I'm completely bushed, I'll cut this post a bit short. More later in the week.

Grindstone in June

Home Away From Home
June 2008

Mom, Dad, Meggie and I toddled off to Grindstone again during the last week of June. Mom & Dad went up on Wednesday, and Meg and I went on Thursday. We had another trip of scattered showers, but all-in-all a very good, relaxing long weekend!

My site was just across the road from Mom & Dad. Daddy helped me set up, then he grilled pork steaks (yum!) which Mom served with baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw and rolls. I ate too much, but it was really good. Soon afterward, our friends Beth, Joey, and Amy came to visit with their cute little Yorkies, O'Reilly and Heidi. They were camped on another circle in the campground, but it was close enough to walk and visit comfortably.

The Yorkies were so cute....MeggieDog doesn't quite know what to think of them, being so tiny and so full of life! At one point, Beth and I were sitting on the same bench of the picnic table. Meggie was on my lap, and Heidi was on Beth's. Beth put Heidi down on the bench. She didn't make a sound, but bared her teeth at Meggie as if to say, "This is MY bench, and don't you dare move a muscle in my direction!" Meg moved further up on top of me with a "SAVE ME!!" look on her face. It was so funny to see that tiny little Yorkie staking out her territory!

We had rain off and on all weekend....one rainstorm would pass through, the sun would come out for a bit, then another storm would pass through. One day (Friday, I think?) Mom and Dad took me to a neat old antiques store over in Mouth of Wilson. I saw all KINDS of goodies I wouldn't have minded having, but restricted myself to buying a couple of very old (1920's) geography books and some 50-cent copies of Lewis Grizzard books. I also bought a couple of aluminum lids for saucepans for a quarter each. I have a 1-quart saucepan I take camping that didn't have a lid. All the lids I can find now are GLASS, which I don't want to take camping. Too easy to destroy! So that problem was easily (and cheaply!) solved.

Joey and Beth provided us with plenty of great campfire wood, so we were able to enjoy cozy fires on the cool damp days. I'd never have believed it, but there we were in late June wearing jeans....and occasionally sweatshirts! We're going back the end of July. I don't really expect to need a sweatshirt then, but will take one all the same. Just in case. You never know!

I always say that I really don't mind rain on a camping trip, because it gives me a good excuse to curl up with a big ol' book and listen to the rain falling on the tent. The only thing I don't really like to do is set up in the rain or break camp in the rain. Sure enough, Sunday morning when I was trying to get my camping gear all broken down and packed up, it rained off and on all morning. Daddy tried to dry things off as best he could with a leaf blower he gave me to carry with my camping gear. But everytime he seemed to be making a little headway, the wind would rustle the trees and dump rain all over everything all over again!

So, I finally just wrapped the canopy and tent up in a plastic tablecloth and stuffed it in the trunk. When I got it home, I spread it all out over the shower rod in my spare bathroom and over a folding drying rack to get it all dried out good before putting it away. I certainly don't want to risk any mold or mildew!! There's just no getting rid of that once it takes hold.

Driving home that afternoon, I ran through four different rainstorms, all really hard ones. People were pulled off on the side of the road waiting for the rain to let up. It was just awful. When I got back into Bristol, water was running down the streets, gushing up out of storm sewers. Terrible, terrible storms! We still need rain, but DANG, not all at once!

When I got home, I wrapped Meg in one of her baby blankets and carried her in so she wouldn't get drenched. I got the food and cooler out of the car, but waited a while to unload more to give the rain a chance to let up. I unloaded some more later in the afternoon, but got rained on again. I finally gave up and unloaded the rest of it a few items at a time in the afternoons after work!

Even with the downpours at the end, though, it was a fun trip. I always enjoy my camping trips. I'm already looking forward to the next one!

By the way, check out my Flickr site (there's a link to it over on the right) to see photos of the most recent camping excursion.

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!