It's only TUESDAY??

This has been a long week.  A long, ugly week.  And this is only Tuesday.  *sigh*

Okay, so what's been wrong with this week?

1. Work stuff that I'll refrain from discussing on the internet, since Big Brother may be watching (for those of you who do not understand that reference, please read the excellent book "1984" by George Orwell).
2. Sinus problems that have been dragging on for weeks.
3. Exhaustion caused by items 1 and 2 above.
4. Nothing tastes right; probably caused by item 2 above.
5. I've had a sudden attack of "I hate my hair" syndrome.  Not unusual.  This happens from time to time.
6. I need a snow day.....really, really, REALLY need a snow day.  And the best we're going to get are a few snow showers Thursday.  Phooey.

Now, what's been right with this week?

1. Louise has been in the hospital, but is improving and will hopefully be home very soon.
2. Daddy's improving a little more each day.
3. I finished knitting a scarf for Mom on Sunday.
4. I learned how to crochet one of those Sashay scarves last night from a YouTube video (I've already knitted several, but hadn't learned to crochet one).
5. It's been a gray, rainy day.  I love gray, rainy days.
6. Dessert tonight will be a pear.
7. I'm close to finishing another pair of socks.  I've nearly finished the heel, and the rest of it is just knitting my way up the leg until I run out of yarn.  Good television knitting.

Okay, good outweighs bad, as it usually does.  Sometimes it's just a little difficult to see until you actually make a list.

Maybe it won't be such a bad week after all.  Keep your fingers crossed.

A Family Reunion and A New Toy

To quote Al Pacino's Tony Montana in "Scarface": "Say hello to my little friend!" Yup, I bought myself a Roomba. I've been thinking about it for awhile and finally decided to buy one. This is something I should have done for myself way back when my back was giving me so much trouble! If you'd like to see an admittedly terrible video of Roomba in action, take a peek on YouTube by clicking here.

If you're not familiar with the Roomba, it's a robotic vacuum cleaner. Yes, there is a household appliance that not only vacuums my carpets and sweeps the vinyl flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms, but also goes and parks itself on its charger when it's finished! I think I'm in love! *LOL*

There's a VERY wide price range on robotic vacuums; like a lot of electronics these days, you can pay just about anything you want for one, depending on how many bells and whistles you want.

My wants and needs are definitely middle-of-the-line:

1. I needed a vacuum that could go under furniture. This is the number one requirement. Since my back surgery in 2009 I've been unable to move my unspeakably heavy bedroom furniture, and I suspected that killer dust bunnies lurk in the areas out of reach under my queen-sized bed.
2. I wanted a vacuum that would return to its charger when it finishes its work. I didn't particularly want to have to worry that the little guy would run out of power while chasing the above-mentioned dust bunnies under my bed.
3. I didn't particularly need the "program to run while I'm at work" feature, because I want to be at home when it runs in case there's a problem.

Considering my list of requirements I did some reading online and decided that the iRobot Roomba 540 suited my needs and my budget. Even after making this decision, I hesitated for a bit, just to give myself plenty of time to change my mind.

Last Saturday I dragged out my good ol' Kirby and vacuumed the apartment. After pushing the very efficient but very HEAVY machine back and forth for what seemed an eternity (it wasn't really), I settled into my recliner with my netbook and ordered my Roomba.

It arrived very quickly (on Wednesday!) and was exactly as advertised. I charged it overnight and could hardly wait to get home Thursday to see how it worked. Thursday I had it clean the living room kitchen, hallway and guest bathroom. Keep in mind that I had vacuumed with the Kirby the Saturday before. I was amazed (and a little horrified) at the amount of stuff the Roomba found! On Friday evening I had it clean my bedroom and bathroom. I'd been correct: there WERE killer dust bunnies under my bed!! *LOL* Roomba killed 'em though, bless its little electronic heart!

So, if you're like me and have developed a back problem, or if you're like me and a total geek, consider a Roomba. Robots are cool. :-)

Yesterday I went with Mom and Dad to the 30th Lucas-Sweeney reunion. They had a good crowd this year, and TONS of food! There are a lot of wonderful cooks in the family, so tables were piled with platters of chicken, barbecue, casseroles, fresh garden veggies, pies, cakes, candies, homemade breads....makes me full just to remember it!! I took a couple of Tang pies; I got the recipe from a friend at the office, and several folks commented to me that they really liked them. It was good to see such a good crowd. It was awfully hot, but the building we were in (Copper Creek Ruritan building) was air conditioned, so we were able to go in to cool down if we got too warm.

I (of course) took my knitting along and made good progress on some Christmas gifts I was working on. Today I've spent the day doing a little laundry and resting up from the busy day yesterday. I've also managed to make good progress on a pair of socks I've been working on off and on for awhile. In fact, I've turned the heels and I started on the gussets just before I stopped to write this blog post. I'll get a little more done on them before bedtime, I think.

Well, back to the knitting needles. Have a good week, everyone!

100 Degrees

As I'm writing this, it's 100 degrees on my deck. Not that I'd know that from being OUT there, mind you. That's the reading on my indoor/outdoor thermometer that I can monitor from the comfort of the desk in my bedroom. I've not been outdoors all day today. During the morning I was too busy with household drudgery (and, yes, little knitting. *LOL*), and by the time I'd done my chores, it was just too hot outside to inflict it on myself.

I was out most of yesterday, though. I got my grocery shopping done and filled the car with gas and was back home before the heat got bad. (More about filling the car with gas later.) Mom and Dad and I had a little day trip planned, so I was down at their house by 9:00. During a recent visit to Mann Farms over in Scott County, Virginia, Mom had bought some delicious corn relish. It had been made by a company called the Relish Barn in Rose Hill, Virginia. Mom had said that she'd like to visit the Relish Barn one day, and I'd told them that if they decided to go on a day I happened to be off work, I'd like to ride along with them.

So yesterday we headed for Rose Hill. Though it was a hot, steamy day, we were comfortable in the air conditioned vehicle, so it was a nice trip. From their house to Rose Hill is about an hour and a half, so I got it some good sock-knitting time during the ride. When we arrived in Rose Hill, we made a pass through the small town but saw no signs indicating the location of the Relish Barn. We'd brought along their telephone number from the label on the jar of corn relish, but we didn't have cellular service in that location.

Daddy stopped at a convenience store, and I went in to ask directions. Unfortunately, they weren't very good directions, so I asked Daddy to stop again at a market, where a very helpful gentleman gave me excellent directions that took us directly to the Relish Barn.

We were sad to learn, though, that the Relish Barn didn't appear to have any retail sales location onsite at all. It was just a small processing plant....the delicious aroma coming from the plant led us to believe that they were making chowchow that day. We were disappointed that we weren't able to buy any of their wares. I guess we'll just have to find another place to buy them close by or wait until the next time the folks are in the vicinity of Mann Farms.

We drove on to Cumberland Gap; it was getting to be lunch time, so we went to a wonderful place on Colwyn Street called Webb's Country Kitchen. We happened to arrive just before noon, so we just beat the lunch rush! Daddy had an open-faced roast beef sandwich, and Mom and I each had a reuben. The food was just delicious, and very reasonably priced. Judging from the crowd that came in just after we received our meals, it must be a pretty popular place! If you happen to be in that area around mealtime, I highly recommend it!

A funny thing happened on the way out of the restaurant. They have lots of old photos hanging on the walls, and one of the photographs looked so much like one of my elementary school pictures that it was startling! The owner was running the cash register at checkout, and I asked if she knew who the little girl was in the photo....it was the owner! The funny thing is that except for the fact that she had brown eyes I think I could have passed that photo off as myself to anyone who'd known me at that age.

We toured around Cumberland Gap for a good while, visiting a couple of antique shops and the historic iron furnace. It's a really neat place to spend a day if you're ever looking for a day trip destination.

The day was awfully hot and sticky, so it was a relief to ride back home in air conditioned comfort. Though it was a fun day, I was pretty tired when I got home, so other than the required housework, today's been a quiet day. Other than chores, the only thing I've done today is do some knitting (trying to finish up a pair of baby socks I started this week) and I cooked myself a pot of cranberry beans. I hadn't cooked any in awhile, and I've been craving them. Of all the dried beans available in our area, I think cranberry beans are my favorite.

Ah, I see by the indoor/outdoor themometer that it's now cooled off to 99 degrees. **SHEESH** No knitting on the balcony tonight, THAT's for sure!

Find a cool place, friends, and enjoy the rest of the weekend. :-)

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*

Latest Health News

So why am I awake at this unbelievable hour? Beats me. I was exhausted when I went to bed, fell asleep quickly, and didn't think I was unduly worried about anything. But up I came at 3:33 a.m. I decided it would be a good time to do a little internet research and catch up on some e-mail and blogging since I'm in relatively little pain first thing in the morning.

I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon yesterday about my back cyst/leg pain issue. It turns out that the treatment is going to be a little more involved than just excising the cyst. The cyst was actually caused by some fluid leaking from a damaged facet in my spine. If they remove the cyst, another one will form. Yuck. So, he feels that I'm a perfect candidate for a facet replacement that is currently in FDA trials.

These were my options:

1. Remove the cyst, with the knowledge that this surgery would have to be repeated, probably very soon.
2. Spinal fusion: the cyst would be removed, and the lumbar joints would be fused to prevent further leakage and cyst formation. This would, of course, result in limiting motion.
3. Facet replacement: the damaged facets would be removed and an anatomic implant would be used to replace them. This eliminates the compression and therefore the pain. It also allows proper motion of the lumbar spine.

I asked about the recovery time on a facet replacement. He told me that it's normally a two- to four-day hospital stay and that after I leave the hospital I should be well enough to return to work quickly. He said that he has patients fly in for the surgery, leave the hospital, and go catch a plane home. No "recovery" time really at all. Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Fix it. *LOL*

And so, I'm now waiting for the next appointment (in about a month), which will be a screening to determine my eligibility to participate in the FDA trial program. Back in a holding pattern. Such is my life these days. But that light at the end of the tunnel seems a little brighter.

Well, I think I'll go get my yummy new sock yarn that arrived from KnitPicks today....uh...yesterday and wind it up into happy little cakes. Sock yarn makes me happy. It's great to be a creature who enjoys such simple pleasures. *LOL*

Hanging In

I'm back at work today....still uncomfortable, but not suffering terribly. I'm just so tired. Probably because of the medication. I'm behind closed doors having my lunch and BOY could I use a nap! After I finish my sandwich I'll knit a few moments on a sock I keep here to work on during lunch breaks. That should occupy my head enough to keep me awake. :-)

Happy Easter, Everyone!

This has been a good weekend so far. The office was closed a half-day Friday (a leftover holiday from last Christmas), so I took the other half-day as personal time. I went to Kingsport, returned a sweater (too-short sleeves), went to Michaels (crafting heaven), and went to Hobby Lobby (SOCK YARN!!).

Then I had lunch with a good friend that I hadn't seen in years. *waves to David in case he's reading* *LOL* It was a wonderful visit; it's so good to catch up with old friends. On the way back to Bristol I stopped at Mom and Dad's to drop off some paperwork I'd faxed for them earlier in the week and to pick up some yummy Amish bread that our friends had dropped off for me there.

This morning I had an appointment to trim up my suddenly-out-of-control hair, then had lunch with Mom and Dad. Then I piled up on their couch to knit awhile. I took the photo above this morning to show how much progress I'd made on my latest knitting project. I made great progress at Mom and Dad's this afternoon and should finish this one up tonight, I think. This project is a sweater for our friends' adorable little Yorkie, Heidi. They have three more Yorkies (O'Reilly, Haley, and Holly), and I'm going to knit sweaters for them, as well. Every time I look at this tiny little sweater I'm amazed at how much smaller it is than the sweaters I've knitted for Meggie!

I'd ordered a pattern for the Mother Bear Project (click here to learn more), and it arrived a couple of days ago. I'm anxious to start that, too. And I want to knit a sweater. And more socks. *ROTF* So many projects, so little time!

Mom and Dad are going to a family gathering over in Scott County tomorrow, but I've begged off. I want to stay home and watch a Netflix movie and knit. This weekend has been fun so far, but I admit that I'm looking forward to a quiet, uneventful day tomorrow.

Yikes! What a week....

Well, I'd actually intended to do a whole lot of nothing last weekend, but it didn't quite work out that way. On Saturday, Mom's sister and her family came up from North Carolina for a visit, so I spent most of the day with them. It was good to see them; I hadn't seen them since late last spring, so I was glad to have the opportunity to catch up.

Sunday morning, Mom called to say that she and Daddy were going to visit our friends in Marion, Joey, Beth & Amy, and wanted to know if I'd like to go, too. So I tossed my knitting in a bag (so I could show Beth & Amy the doggie sweater I'm knitting for Meggie) and away we went. We had a really lovely day. Mom & I visited with Beth & Amy while Dad & Joey worked on Joey's boat motor.

They have four of the most adorable little Yorkies you've ever seen. Amy helped me measure them so that I can knit little sweaters for them, as well. I only have a couple of rows left to knit on Meg's sweater. After I get the buttons sewn on, I'll be finished. Hopefully I'll have that completed this evening. I'll post a photo when I get finished.

I've cast on another pair of socks. I really like working on them because it's so different from everything else I've done. Knitting helps relieve the stress from work; in fact it relaxes me so much I sometimes doze off with the knitting (and Meggie) in my lap!

Socks 101 - Finished!

They're finished.....and they FIT!! *YAY* This has been a really fun project, and I'll be knitting another pair really soon. The second sock went much more smoothly than the first, and now I feel like I actually have the hang of it.

One Sock Finished!

And it even fits! *LOL* I'd better cast on its partner before I go to bed, or I'll get out of the notion.

I'm Off Work This Week....and Still Knitting

I've accumulated enough leave now (after nearly 22 years) that I have to schedule my time off pretty carefully to avoid losing any leave. So, this is one of the weeks I planned to take off. It's still too cold at night to go camping. If I went, I'd have to stay in the tent huddled next to a heater. If I have to do that, I might as well stay home!

So, I've managed to stay occupied all the same. I SHOULD be doing some cleaning, but instead I spent Monday out shopping with Mom. Yesterday I spent recovering from shopping....*L* I didn't really do much other than work on the sock I'm knitting. I'm making progress, though. I took the photo above when I woke up this morning.

Today I did a little more shopping at Wal-Mart while having my car serviced. Then I went to Sam's to pick up a few items, stopped for Chinese take-out and headed home. I spent the afternoon in the recliner with Meg and my knitting needles. I dozed for a bit, but didn't really take a good nap. I have a feeling I'll be ready for bedtime when it finally gets here!