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.

Meggie's Sweater

I just realized that I never posted a picture of the sweater I knitted for Meggie! It turned out really cute. She seems proud of it. *G*

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!

More Knitting

I took a break from knitting Meggie's sweater to finish up a few gift items. These are two dishcloths I posted photos of in the earlier post, but now they've had their ends woven and were blocked:



Blocking improved the hummingbird, but I still think the butterfly is much prettier. Now here are the two latest additions to the stash, the "granny" or "idiot" dishcloth I'd mentioned in my last post and a pattern I hadn't tried before, posted on the internet as "Sue's Easy Knit Dishcloth". It really was easy, and worked up nicely, I think.

By the way, if I didn't mention it before, I found all these patterns on the internet....free! Clicking the links in the descriptions of the cloths will lead you to the internet locations where I found the patterns.

Now, I have two more cloths to knit, then I can get back to Meggie's sweater.

The weather here is absolutely glorious today. The sun in shining, and it's 70 degrees outside. Meggie and I will be headed for the deck shortly, where I will sit in the sun and knit while she's baking her little body. Ahhhhh, SPRING!!

Knitting, Knitting, Knitting

I'm trying to branch out into knitting something other than scarves, but something I can actually DO. That doesn't actually leave a large selection of projects, since I'm still a beginner. *LOL*


I have been knitting some dishcloths (small, portable, nice gifts) in various designs just to get the practice of the basic stitches without tying myself up with a huge project. Here's one I knitted last weekend as a gift for a kitty-loving friend:

As you can see, the piece hasn't been blocked. In fact I haven't even woven in the ends yet. I'll get that done (on this piece and the others pictured) tonight, I hope.

Here are a couple of dishcloths I knitted for another friend:

I like the butterfly a lot, but probably won't knit the "hummingbird in flight" again. It's okay, but it's not pretty enough, I think.

If I want to do "mindless knitting" (for instance, while watching a movie I really have to WATCH), I do a really simple dishcloth pattern I found on the internet listed as the "idiot dishcloth"....*LOL* I've also seen it listed as "Granny's dishcloth" and other variations. I think it would make a lovely baby blanket (doggie blanket, too) by just making it larger. I've got one started, but have other things I want to finish first.

For instance, last night I started a doggie sweater for MeggieDog. It's started well, but I have a looooong way to go. It may never see the light of day. *L*

I also have some crochet projects I need to finish....for instance, the rug I'm making for my tent from plastic grocery bags.

So much I want to do.....so little spare time. *sigh* I just don't understand those people who won't retire because they're afraid they're going to be BORED. Not me. The only thing that might slow me down from retiring is fear of poverty! I have LOTS of things I can do when I retire!!

Ah well....time to get back to work. Lunch break seemed to zip right by today!

Cellular Frustrations

Okay, I'll say this up front: I do not use my cell phone for text messaging. I carry a cell phone just for safety's sake and use it only on rare occasion. I do not send text messages, therefore I do not have a cellular plan that allows text messages. If I happen to receive a text message (whether I want it or not), it costs me 20 cents.

Since everyone I know is aware that I do not text, this has never been a problem. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I began receiving text messages from someone who loves her aunt and felt the need to express this in a text message......but I'm not her aunt. I don't know her or her aunt. When the first message arrived, I thought, "Okay, wrong number, no biggie." But, since her aunt didn't reply, she sent me ANOTHER text message.

So, I dialed the number the text was coming from, and explained to what sounded like a pre-teen girl that her texts were going to the wrong number and costing me 20 cents everytime she sent an erroneous text to me. (Okay, so 20 cents won't break the bank....but it's MY 20 cents, right? If I'm going to throw away 20 cents, I'll throw it away on what I WANT TO. *grrrrrr*) She apologized, I hung up, thought it was over. Wrong.

Not only did I continue to receive fascinating texts from this young lady ("Are you goin 2 church" "Whats up"), but I began receiving texts from ANOTHER number as well. I dialed the other number and got hold of a man who was mystified that I received texts from his number. He had NO IDEA who could be texting me. (So lock your cell phone up and keep it away from your kids. Please.)

Because I was having no luck convincing these people that THEY WERE TEXTING THE WRONG STUPID NUMBER, I called my provider, T-Mobile, and asked that text messaging be blocked on my account. I had checked their website and learned that text blocking was a free service; I'd tried to update my account online, but their website was misbehaving that night. Their friendly customer service rep (and they really ARE friendly; it's a lovely change from some other customer service departments I've dealt with) assured me that she had updated my account to reflect text blocking and I shouldn't have any more problems. Wrong.

I continued to receive unwanted texts. A week after my first call to T-Mobile, I called again. I spoke with a young man this time and explained my problem and told him about my earlier call to Customer Service. He told me that the first rep I'd dealt with had, unfortunately, misinformed in. As it turns out, my cellular service was originally with SunCom. SunCom sold out to T-Mobile. Because my account was "grandfathered" into T-Mobile, the text blocking service was not available on my account. The only way I could get it is to convert my account to a T-Mobile plan. Same price, but with 100 fewer minutes each month.

Now, let me say here and now that losing 100 minutes on my plan is not a catastrophe for me. I never EVER use all my minutes and always have plenty to spare. But, as I told the rep, it just didn't make sense that I should have to give up 100 minutes (whether I use them or not) so that I could stop receiving text messages I didn't want in the FIRST PLACE. He transferred me to another rep (female) who confirmed what I'd been told, as nonsensical as it seemed. I told her I appreciated her confirmation, but didn't want to change my plan at this time.

About 10:30 last night, I heard the dreaded "bleep bleep" indicating that I'd received a STUPID TEXT MESSAGE. I checked the phone.....sure enough, the kid who's trying to text her aunt had sent me ANOTHER TEXT. I called T-Mobile, went through the whole story again, and asked them to convert my account to a T-Mobile plan and turn on the text blocking.

As I told the last rep I spoke with, to me it's the same principle as low-sodium canned vegetables. Why are "no salt added" canned vegetables more expensive that regular canned vegetables? There's an ingredient that's not been added, so why do I have to pay more to have something omitted?

Same with this cellular weirdness....why do I have to pay the same money for less service and fewer minutes? Nonsense.

But at least my text message notification "bleep bleep" has remained blessedly silent for the past 13 hours.

Let me say again that T-Mobile's customer service representatives are friendly and helpful. They were very sympathetic and just great to deal with. But I still think the policy is nonsensical.

Did I mention that I hate my cell phone? I do. I just hate it.

Catch Up Time

I've been a perfectly dreadful blogger....I have no excuse except that work at the office (not to mention TENSION) has been so high that I have been coming home exhausted each evening. Weekends have been spent catching up on things I was too tired to do after work during the week. I've just been coming home, feeding myself, and colllapsing into the recliner until time to go to bed.

I decided to use my lunch break today to make a quick entry just to let everyone know I haven't kicked the bucket. *L*

We're having spring-like weather here today....mild and rainy. Of course, we're expecting snow flurries tomorrow night. *sheesh* I'm tired of having to bundle up to go outside, and am more than ready for spring, thank you very much.

MeggieDog seems a bit sluggish, too. I think she's as tired of winter as I am. It was warm enough when I went home last night to go out on the deck for awhile. She happily went "on patrol", pacing back and forth, sticking her pointy nose out between the bars on the railing, keeping close tabs on anything happening in the parking lot below. A rainstorm blew in soon after we went out and cut our "porch sitting" session short, but it was very nice while it lasted.

Better get back to work now. I'll try to be more prompt with postings in the future. I'll TRY. :-)

Snow Day.....Again!

You gotta love it. When the temperatures are in the single digits, there's no more welcome sound than my cell phone telling me I have a text message. That's because the only text messages I get are from the automated message system that informs me about schedule changes at the office. (I don't text....I refuse to text....someday in the distant future I may be the last cell phone owner in America to send a text message.)

Sure enough, this morning when I heard my cell phone "bleep bleep" I knew they'd changed our altered schedule from "snow schedule" to "closed".

SNOW DAY!!! I took this photo just after 7:00 this morning from my deck. It was 9 degrees at the time. In the past couple of hours it's warmed up to a balmy 14. It makes me very happy to be able to sit at my home computer and look out at the snow blowing across the parking lot, knowing I don't have to go out there.

I finished knitting my first hat last night. It's just a simple little stockinette cap, but I'm pleased with it all the same since it's the first thing I've knitted that wasn't a scarf.

Mom and Dad had a terrible bout with an upper respiratory "bug"; they were sick for nearly two weeks, but seem to be well now, thank goodness. As for me, I was home sick with a migraine Monday. I'd been having lesser headaches off and on for a couple of weeks, so I knew a bone-crusher was coming. Yesterday I was okay, a little tired like I always am after a migraine, but much, much better. Today I feel great, but that may be partially due to the fact that I'm in sweats and fuzzy slippers. *G*

Okay, enough gloating about the fact I didn't have to go to the office today. I think I'll go pour myself another cup of coffee and put a Dura-Flame log in the fireplace. Seems to me I started knitting a scarf a few days ago that I can work on today. *contented sigh*

Monday Holiday....and SNOW

Yesterday we had ICE....agggggggggggh. I hate being on ice. I was going to visit Mom & Dad, and told them I was going to wait until 12:30 or so to give church traffic time to clear the roads. When I left home, my sidewalk was coated in ice, my car was covered in ice, and 3 cars had been deserted on the hill coming into the apartment complex! Yikes!

I didn't have any problems driving to their house, but there were cars sitting by the road all the way down there. People had apparently just couldn't drive on the ice and parked their cars and walked away. I heard later that there were 30 different accidents on the interstate in our area. I made sure that I was back home before dark; I was afraid the ice would glaze back over after the sun went down.

We were off work today for Martin Luther King Day, so I didn't have to worry about the weather. It snowed off and on all day, though. It was really pretty to watch if you didn't have to be out in it. I did a little housework (VERY little), put a DuraFlame log in the fireplace and crawled into the recliner with Meggie and my knitting needles. I finished up a little scarf I'd started yesterday for myself, then just loafed all afternoon. The photo in this post is the view from my deck this morning. The snow actually got deeper after this.

I received a cellular message a couple of hours ago that we're going to be on a snow schedule tomorrow morning, so I'm going to wait until I get up to wash my hair. They're predicting another couple of inches of snow tonight, so I may get lucky and have a snow day tomorrow. What's better than a 3-day weekend? Why, a 4-day weekend, of course!

I want SPRING.

Six degrees. So help me, it was SIX degrees on my deck when I went to work this morning. Of course, that was warmer than it was at the office, where it was 1 below zero. Now it's warmed up to a balmy NINE. *sheesh*

I don't mind snow (which, of course, we don't have), but I don't like this bitter cold one little bit. There was a note on my door when I got home last night from the apartment management asking that we leave our water faucets running a bit to prevent freezing. Oh, how I hate even having to think of such things!

At least it's Friday, and I don't have to be out defrosting the car early tomorrow morning. And, even better, it's a three-day-weekend! *YAY*

When I get home tonight I need to post some photos of the amaryllis. When I got home yesterday, the blooms were fading. So sad to wait so long for them, then see them go away so quickly. They were beautiful while they lasted, though. Believe it or not, the bulb Mom had from last year is finally beginning to send up shoots. I think mine from the year before is a lost cause, though.

Well, lunch break's nearly over, so more later.

A Busy Morning

I've spent some time this morning putting a few things on the blog:

1. I've updated "The Amaryllis Project" to include photos of this year's plant and its progress to date.
2. I've added a post to "Meanderings" about a trip made yesterday to my very first home.
3. I've added a new section about a new project from the days of my childhood, "The Salt Crystal Garden".

And now, I must get up from the keyboard and do a bit of household drudgery so that I can spend the afternoon doing as little as possible. I eagerly await a bit of loafing, since I have to go back to work tomorrow. *sigh*

A New Year

The sun is coming up as I write this....well, I THINK it's coming up. This morning the skies are gray and a skiff of snow has dusted the grass and sidewalks in my little corner of the world. As I look out on the shiny parking lot (is it wet or is that black ice?), I'm very grateful that I don't have to go to the office today. The temperature is hovering right around freezing, so I'm happy to be at the keyboard in my flannel jammies, hot mug of tea by my side.

I've had a great holiday break so far. I had problems during the first part of the break with my sleep pattern being all out of whack (waking up progressively earlier each day), but I think (I hope) I have that straightened out now. I forced myself to stay awake on New Year's Eve until the ball dropped in Times Square. (It's been AGES since I've been awake past 10:00 on New Year's Eve!) That allowed me to sleep in until 7:00 am New Year's Day. So, last night I was in bed at 10:00, which is normal for me. I was awake this morning at 5:00, which is within 30 minutes of normal for me. I can settle happily for that.

My plans for the day? Nothing spectacular. I have a few little household chores to go through, but I don't plan to do anything much other than watch the latest Netflix arrival. It's going to be a cold, wet day, so I think it's a day to pile up, watch movies, sip tea, read a bit, and burn a DuraFlame log in the fireplace. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

I just heard Meggie go through her "first stretch and shake of the day". I can tell because I hear her ears flap against the side of her head when she shakes. That means she'll be getting off the bed to go have a sip of water and a few crunches of dog food for breakfast. That also means I must get up from here so I can get the bed made before she goes to get back on it. *L* I wish you all a very Happy New Year a day late. :-)

Merry Christmas!

I had a great Christmas Eve....relaxed and happy. The only thing that would have made it better would have been for Kris and Louise to be here.

Poor little Meggie was just exhausted when it was all over, though. She'd had a very eventful day:

1. I was home all day instead of going to work and leaving her to have a nice long morning nap.
2. A car caught fire in the parking lot (we could see it from my deck), so she had to patrol the deck for awhile to be sure no monsters came in on that big noisy fire truck.
3. Three words: CHRISTMAS BOODA BONE.
4. Mom and Dad arrived to share Christmas Eve with us and brought DOGGIE TOYS!
5. We talked to Kris and Louise on Skype; she always gets excited when she hears familiar voices over the computer speakers.
6. Time had to be spent under the table during Christmas Eve dinner in case anyone dropped crumbs. (No one did.)
7. UPS Guy knocked on the door to deliver a package....the NERVE of him, knocking on Meggie's front door!! *LOL*

She was so tired that she went to bed ... without me! ... about 6:30. In fact, she's still in bed. She usually gets up once during the night to have a drink of water and visit the piddle pad, but she never got off the bed last night. I'm going to Mom and Dad's to visit today, so I'm sure she'll sleep like a rock while I'm gone.

Well, I think I'll have a cranberry-orange muffin and a cuppa tea for Christmas breakfast.

I hope everyone who reads my little blog has a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

Crocheted Tote Bag

Daddy's aunt (98 years young) has been crocheting items using plastic grocery bags for some time now. I've seen hats she's crocheted, and just a short while ago she sent me some neat little coasters she's made. Our local newspaper even wrote an article about her craftiness a year or so ago. She's really something.

When she sent me the coasters it prodded me to wonder how she prepared the bags in order to get a ball of plastic to crochet. So, a-Googling I went and found that there are actually two schools of thought on how to do it: 1) by cutting the bags spirally in a long continuous strip, and 2) by cutting the bags straight across, forming loops that you then connect together in a chain. Because it seemed quicker (and required less ability to cut in a continuous line while keeping the width of the strip pretty even....*LOL*) I chose the loop method.

After I had a ball of "plarn" (plastic yarn) larger than a softball, but smaller than a volleyball (probably 40 bags or so), I started crocheting with a plastic "Q" hook, using a patttern I'd Googled for the tote bag pictured here. It's about 2 feet long and 1 foot wide. The handle is crocheted using a slightly smaller hook to make it nice and sturdy. The day after I finished it, I was talking with Mom on the phone and told her it was all done. She said, "What's it look like?" I answered, "It looks like a tote bag crocheted from grocery bags." *LOL*

Gorgeous? No, not particularly. Functional? Absolutely. It's sturdy, and I'm sure it's going to be a very handy item. I think I'll wind up crocheting several to use while camping. They're roomy, lightweight, and would be very easy to crush down into your purse to take along on shopping trips.

My next grocery bag project is a granny-square rug for the floor of my tent. I'll post a photo of it when I finish. Maybe I'll work on that while having my "recliner day" during the holidays. *G*

Holiday Insomnia

I was just exhausted when I came home from work this afternoon. Trying to get everything tied up nice and neat before closing for the holidays is nerve-wracking! I have to work tomorrow....well, really later TODAY, then I'm off until January 5. And BOY am I ready for a break!!

I got the holiday shopping and gift wrapping all done nice and early this year. So, when I get this last day of work over with I have a restful break planned. Well....sort of. *L* I want to do some serious reorganizing in my home office. That will actually take a couple of days, I'm sure. Mom and Dad are coming to my place for Christmas Eve; I'm making a lasagna according to a decades-old family tradition, started by Mom. Then I'll go to their house for Christmas Day. On Friday I have an appointment to have a few inches lopped off my unbelievably-long hair, then I'm having lunch with friends. On Monday I have to run to the office briefly for a mailing that MUST go out. Other than that, my schedule is my own until the 5th! *YAY* I have a lot I want to do, but have faithfully promised myself at least one day in the recliner with MeggieDog, a lap quilt, and the remote control. On that day, the most strenuous thing I plan to do is feed myself and knit. Maybe crochet. But nothing that makes me wear shoes or break a sweat!

Crochet...that reminds me. I need to take a photo of the tote bag I just crocheted from plastic grocery bags! I'll do that and post it in the next post.

It's been a really stressful time at work, what with state budget concerns and the national financial situation. It'll be nice to be able to forget all that for a few days.

So, if there are any regular readers out there in cyberspace, I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year!

ELEVEN DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS???

Sheesh, where did this year GO? I was doing a snow dance when I last posted...I had limited success; we were on a snow schedule the next morning. *L*

The next week brought an unwelcome day off, though. On Monday we received word at the college that one of our students had been the victim of a terrible crime apparently committed by her ex-boyfriend. He'd broken into her home very early on Monday morning, stabbed the girl's father to death, then attacked her mother, her, and her new boyfriend. Because the criminal had made threats on our campus (not only to his ex-girlfriend, but to some other students as well), our campus closed Monday afternoon and was closed all day Tuesday. It was a spooky, troubling time. The fugitive is still on the run with his new girlfriend. I hope they're captured soon.

Because of the closing Tuesday, our annual Christmas concert (which was scheduled for that evening) was postponed until Friday evening. There was an unfortunate lapse in communications that resulted in some folks not getting word of the rescheduling. Some showed up on Tuesday to find the road into the campus closed by law enforcement. Others didn't get the word about the Friday concert and didn't come.

Bottom line was that we did the concert, it's over, and in 100 years no one will know or care that it was a little out of the ordinary. *LOL*

Yesterday I was a little draggy and my throat was scratchy. I was afraid I was taking a cold, but feel fine this morning. A little lazy, maybe, but otherwise well. Yesterday I had a terrible craving for chocolate. The only chocolate I had in the apartment was a box of Hershey's cocoa. Luckily I already had all the other ingredients to make a small batch of brownies. They turned out chocolaty, chewy and utterly delicious. My chocaholic craving has once again been satisfied!

If you need an easy, quick batch of brownies, here's the recipe:

Brownies
Yield: One 8" x 8" pan

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup toasted pecans (I don't like nuts in my brownies, so I leave this out and it works fine)

Preheat the oven to 325 deg. F and grease and flour an 8" x 8" baking pan.
In a microwavable mixing bowl, melt the butter completely. Stir in the cocoa powder; add the sugar, vanilla, salt, flour, and eggs. Mix well. If you want to add pecans, do that now.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake at 325 for 35 to 40 minutes. The brownies are done when and inserted toothpick come out clean. Cool in the pan until slightly warm, cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

Doing the "Snow Dance"

So, how pathetic am I? I just had a 5-day break (Wednesday - Sunday) for Thanksgiving, worked today, and am hoping VERY hard for a snow day tomorrow! *LOL* Oh well, in my defense, it WAS a tough day at work.

I was a little under the weather the last couple of days I was off...no headache, no tummy troubles, but chills and fever. VERY strange. Yesterday I was very weak. In fact, I had to stop halfway through unloading the dishwasher to rest. Any effort whatsoever caused me to break out in a sweat and feel just awful. I checked my glucose, and it was okay. My blood pressure was fine, too. It must have been viral. I swear, if a virus passes within 100 miles of me, I seem to pick it up! Sure gets tiresome.

At least I was able to go back to work today. I have to admit that I was really happy to see 4:30 roll around this afternoon, though.

I think Meggie must have really missed me today; I'd been at home with her for the past three days and she'd gotten used to having me around. She kept bringing me toys this evening so I'd play. She finally got tired and crawled up into my lap for a nap while I was knitting. Now (not quite 9:00 pm) she's all ready for bed. Actually, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know, I'm a day early. *G* But tomorrow I'm going to visit Mom & Dad for the holiday and might not have a chance to post. I'm off work today; we had a half-day holiday, so I took annual leave for the other half day so I didn't have to go in at all. Five glorious days off! *happy dance*

So what will I do with these five glorious days? Well, today I'm going to make cranberry salad and do some general household drudgery. I also hope to get my Christmas cards ready to go in the mail. I didn't send any last year (in protest of postage rates) and felt a bit like Scrooge afterwards, so this year I'm sending out a few. I'm not actually going to mail them until Friday, though. It just seems WRONG to mail Christmas cards before Thanksgiving!

I still have a little knitting to finish up, so I'll probably work on that this afternoon. I was able to get my grocery shopping done yesterday afternoon after work and before Madrigal practice, so I don't have to leave home today if I don't want to. And since it's currently 22 degrees outside, I probably won't want to!

I need to do some serious decluttering in my home office; I hope to get some real progress made in there this weekend. I'd better make myself a list, or I won't get anything done. I know me too well!

Madrigal rehearsal went well last night. We've worked hard, but it's been fun. We only have one more rehearsal before the concerts, so I hope we have our act together! There's one number I'm not confident about at all. I brought my music home so that I can work on it some on my own this weekend. I need to add that to my "To Do" list.

So, it's my day off, and what time did I wake up? 4:30. Sheesh. And, being a considerate apartment dweller, I don't want to make too much noise this early. Even though I have one neighbor who shall remain nameless who currently has visitors for the holiday who apparently live in a barn because they have kids who run, yell, jump off furniture, etc. The only thing that has saved them from my wrath thus far is that they do put the kids to bed at a decent hour.

Bah. Humbug.

Well, since it's too early to start noisy housework, I think I'll make myself a pot of good strong coffee and get out the Christmas cards and go ahead and get that done. Off I go to begin my day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jack Bauer's Back....Sorta

Bleep...Bloop...Bleep...Bloop

"24" returned this evening as a 2-hour "event", "24: Redemption". I was happy to see Robert Carlyle, who I adored in "The Full Monty" and "Angela's Ashes". Unfortunately, he didn't survive the episode. Dang it.

So, how was the return of "24"? I don't know. I don't feel like it's returned yet. Sure, Jack Bauer was in it....there was gunfire and violence and even a brief bout of torture. But too much time was spent in Washington with the transfer of power from Powers Booth to a new president, Allison Taylor. That's right, boys and girls, a WOMAN president. She has an extreme case of helmet hair and speaks in cliches, but may prove interesting in the long run. I hope so.

Jon Voight is apparently going to be Evil Guy this season. *yawn* Powers Booth appears to be in cahoots with him. *double yawn* The new Madame President's son is mixed up in a mess thanks to a junkie friend who got caught with some information by the Bad Guys. *triple yawn* Worst of all, Jack just doesn't seem to be his usual self....he's softer, somehow. Not the Jack of the "Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas" fame.

Hopefully, January will bring improvements. If not, I'm giving it up. After the last season was so dreadful, I swore I wouldn't waste my time on another full season if things didn't look up right away. Tonight didn't give me a lot of hope. The only really interesting character in the 2-hour episode got blown up. Dang it.

Oh, Goodie, A Snow Day!!

Anyone who knows me (or reads this blog, for that matter) knows how much I enjoy a snow day. As a child, I waited anxiously for that magical announcement on a snowy morning that school was closed for the day. Now, at 54, I still watch for that magical announcement to scroll across the bottom of the television screen.

Yesterday morning, I was happily surprised to see our announcement change from "snow schedule" (2-hour delay) to "CLOSED"!! *YAY!*

Now, what to do with my snow day.....I consider them a gift, not to be wasted. I spent the first part of my day doing household chores. Less to do over the weekend! I called Mom & Dad (currently in Pigeon Forge) to see what kind of weather they were having (cold, but no snow to speak of). They were enjoying a chili bake for lunch. That made me crave one as well, so I made one for my lunch, too.

The afternoon was spent knitting and watching things I'd TiVo'd this week and hadn't watched yet. As I rummaged in my "pantry" kitchen cabinet for canned chili for the chili bake, I ran across some applesauce and apple cider I'd bought some time ago with the intention of making apple butter in the CrockPot. So, I went online to find the recipe that had set off the initial purchase and assembled everything I needed. I put everything in as directed and let it cook all night. This morning I awoke to the heavenly aroma of cinnamon and cloves, all mixed in with freshly-brewed coffee (my coffeemaker has an automatic timer). It was just GLORIOUS!

The apple butter is still cooking, thickening gradually. I hope it turns out well. If it does, I'll make it from time to time just to make the apartment smell like it smells right now.

My plans for today? I want to rearrange my dining area a little. I changed things in there several months ago and have never really liked it, so I'm going to change them again. That should keep me out of mischief for awhile. Then later, I have more knitting to finish up. It's awfully cold outside today (17 degrees as I'm writing this), so there's no incentive to go out. I think I'll get my apple butter finished up, move the dining room around a bit, then throw a DuraFlame in the fireplace and pile up in the recliner with Meggie, my knitting, and the remote control. Ahhhhhhhhhh....gotta love a snowy Saturday!

Snow!

When I woke up this morning and turned on the local TV news, I saw school closing announcements crawling across the bottom of the television screen. Unfortunately, the school where I work wasn't on this list. Oh, well. There's enough snow out there to be pretty, anyway. It's awfully cold, though...25 degrees as I'm writing this. I can do without that!

And to top it all off, yesterday I learned that the Madrigals are going to have to sing a few numbers at a tree lighting ceremony this afternoon. Outside. In the bitter cold. Ho-ho-ho.

Mom and Dad are in Pigeon Forge...sure hope they have better weather there, but I kinda doubt it. I'll bet that Cades Cove is pretty, though.

Better get off here and eat my lunch so I can get back to work on time.

A Good Weekend

It's been a good weekend. I was off Friday and spent the morning running errands (oil change, Wal-Mart, grocery shopping, gas fillup) then after lunch went to Mom and Dad's to visit. The weather was nice Friday....warm enough to be out without a jacket.

Saturday morning, the weather turned seasonally cool and rainy, which made me VERY glad I didn't have to go anywhere. I did a bit of household drudgery, did a little knitting, burned a few movies I'd TiVo'd onto DVDs, and rested. Late that afternoon, Kris and I had a good Skype visit.

This morning (Sunday) I burned a few more DVDs, did a little laundry and made some lo mein soup from a recipe I'd seen on television. (Not bad at all.) I dug around in the Christmas decoration bins enough to find Meggie's reindeer antlers and took her picture to go on this year's Christmas cards. She really, REALLY hates those antlers! She quickly became bored, as you'll see from this photo:

Cute, huh? *LOL* I did manage to get a pretty good photo of her, though, and ordered the cards. After I got all that taken care of, I settled into the recliner, with Meggie and my knitting in my lap, a DuraFlame log in the fireplace, and the remote control by my side. All in all, a perfectly lovely afternoon! I heard there were snow flurries this morning (and more flurries expected early tomorrow morning), but I didn't see them. I love being able to stay inside near the fireplace on a cold, gray day!

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. :-)

The Harvest

As you can see by this photograph, Daddy has harvested the broomcorn. It looks just beautiful, and I hope we can put it to good use!

I had my first big disaster with my new computer last Saturday. A message popped up from my internet security suite stating that an important update was available, and all I needed to do was click on the link to load it. So I did. Dumb. No, it wasn't a virus. It was really and truly an update from the company who wrote my security program. Unfortunately, the update was REALLY buggy. Not only did I have to completely uninstall the security program, I also had to reinstall WINDOWS, for cryin' out loud!!

At least I know it wasn't just me....the message board on the company's website was full of irate messages from customers who'd had the same experience I'd had. I was up until 3:00 am Sunday morning trying to get everything back to par. After that, I dozed while waiting for Windows Vista to reinstall (a lengthy process). To say that I felt a bit draggy yesterday is an understatement. Luckily, all I really had to do was a load of laundry. I had a lot of other projects that I should have worked on, but they'll just have to wait!!

Today is a "dull sinus headache" kinda day, so I'm probably going to call it a night pretty early. I've already had my dinner. I'm waiting for a thunderstorm to pass (I can hear distant rumbles as I'm typing this) so that I can have my shower and get into my jammies. I think a warm shower, a cool glass of tea, and a good night's sleep will be very helpful. :-)

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.

Haiku of the Past Several Weeks

No longer posting
Haiku; Can't remember to
Post them every week.

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 Last Week

Late posting haiku.
Sick in bed with bad headache
Most of the weekend.

:-(

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*

Haiku of the Week

Very tired today.
Vitameatavegamin
Needed right away.

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.

Shampoo Free? Honestly??

I just happened across a post on a blog that referred me to another blog entry from December 2004 about going shampoo-free: http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html. Here's the gist of it:

1. Commerical shampoo is harsh and costly
2. It's a detergent which strips necessary natural oils from your hair, causing it to be brittle and damaged.
3. It can contain potentially harmful stuff (granted, in very low levels that probably won't hurt you anyway)

So, how do you go shampoo free?

1. Use one tablespooon of baking soda in a cup of warm or hot water. If you need to increase the amount because your hair is long or thick, be sure to increase it in the same ratio (2 tablespoons of baking soda in 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of baking soda in 3 cups of water, etc.)
2. Put it in a recycled shampoo bottle and apply it to your hair with warm water.
3. The mix should not be gritty and should be a liquid.
4. Let the mix sit on your hair for about a minute, then rinse with warm water.
5. Every 2 to 3 washes, follow the baking soda cleansing with an apple cider vinegar rinse as follows: Make up a solution of 2 to 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water. Apply to wet hair, massage into scalp, and rinse off with cold water.

So why am I even considering this? I have what my dermatologist refers to as "stress-induced psoriasis". This manifests as a red scaly patch on my hairline above my forehead. Not only is it unsightly, but during flare-ups it actually HURTS. There've been times (during unusually high-stress times at work) that my scalp has hurt so bad that I'd have to grit my teeth while brushing my hair. The dermatologist gave me a prescription for some really expensive prescription shampoo. It removed the scaling and relieves the inflammation for brief periods of time. Sometimes only a day or two.

So I'd love to find a natural approach to cleansing my hair and scalp and reducing the scaling and inflammation of the psoriasis.

I'm off to the shower now to try it out. I'll keep you posted.

Haiku of the Week

Work week is over.
Ready for relaxation.
Don't care if it rains.

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.

Haiku of the Week

Hope all my readers
Had a safe and happy Fourth!
Mine was damp, but great.

Haiku of Last Week

Couldn't post last week;
Was out in the great outdoors
Sleeping in a tent.

*big happy smile*

Saturday Weirdness and the Loss of Carlin

Daddy had a strange Saturday morning. A friend of his had invited him to go to an equipment sale in Hiawassee, Georgia. They planned an early start and left about 5:30 Saturday morning. They were on Interstate 26 and had just crossed into North Carolina when a deer hopped across a concrete barrier separating north-bound from south-bound lanes and directly in front of the truck.

Thankfully, the deer died instantly; however, the friend's truck was damaged so badly that they had to call his father to bring his flatbed to haul the truck back to Bristol! Daddy estimated the damage to be $4,000 - $5,000. After seeing the truck, I think his guess is probably pretty close.

So, the trip to Hiawassee came to a sudden stop! Luckily, no one in the truck was injured. The only problem any of them had was that Daddy found a tick on him (probably from moving the deer out of the road). After he got home, he immediately removed his clothing and took a hot shower with strong deodorant soap to discourage any ticks from hanging around. Mom found a tick in the floor where his clothes were piled. *full body shudder*

George Carlin is gone. Not only is it strange to think of the loss of his lovely wry view of the world, but I had a few moments of feeling really old when I realized I can only remember six of the "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television". *sigh*

Haiku of the Week

The only thing that
Beats a 3-day weekend is
A 4-day weekend.

*big happy smile*

Good Journey, Tim Russert

I can't believe Tim Russert is gone. How will I be able to get through the rest of this election year without Tim pulling all the political hoopla down into clear, concise plainspeak?

Tim was not only a great journalist, but just plain fun to watch. No one enjoyed the drama of politics more than Tim. He made it fun for the rest of us.

Not only did he teach us about the political scene, he taught us more about family. His deep love for his family was well-known.

Even in death, Tim was teaching us. Though he had asymptomatic coronary artery disease, he was controlling the condition with medication and exercise. As recently as late April, he performed well on a cardiac stress test. His doctor said that if Tim had been given a stress test the morning before he died, he would STILL have performed well. His fatal heart attack was caused by a rupture of cholesterol plaque in an artery, causing sudden fatal coronary thrombosis. And so, Tim was teaching us. Even if you THINK you're in good health, live each day as fully as you can. There are no guarantees that you'll get another one.

I'll miss seeing that open, smiling face sparkling with the excitement on election night. It's just not going to be the same this year.

Good journey, Tim. You'll be missed.

Friday the Thirteenth

*insert scary "Jason" music here*

I'll be honest....the only movie I ever saw of the "Friday the 13th" series was the first one. Long, long ago. I like scary movies, but not those of the Jason/Freddie/slasher type.

I'd actually forgotten that today was Friday the Thirteenth until I heard it mentioned on the radio this morning. While I avoid stepping on sidewalk cracks when possible (Step on a crack, break your mother's back.) and feel a little ill at ease if a black cat crosses my path, I can't honestly say that Friday the Thirteenth has ever been a bad day for me.

Today's a pretty heavy scheduled workday, though, so this may be the one that makes me feel differently about seeing Friday the Thirteenth on my calendar.

I'm normally off on Fridays in the summer, working four 10-hour days Monday through Thursday. However, with a revamped payroll schedule for June because of end-of-the-fiscal-year things happening, I need to be in the office today. So, I adjusted my schedule a bit.

Have to admit it, though.....I'll miss having that extra cup of coffee at home and lounging around in my jammies a little longer this morning. *sigh*

Haiku of the Week

Friday the Thirteenth:
At least it's not Monday, right?
(Looking at bright side.)

Haiku of Last Week

(Yup, I forgot to post one last week.)

The weather was hot
Last weekend, so Meg and I
Stayed indoors and cool.

Finally Back to "Normal"

Well, it took DAYS, but I'm finally feeling well again. That virus really knocked the stuffings out of me! I felt well enough to go on to work Monday and Tuesday but felt like I was dragging myself through the whole day.

I was just worn out by the time I got home last night. I called Mom, ate a light supper, and crawled into the recliner. Miraculously, I began to get my "second wind" about 8:00 pm and decided to move things around in my little dining area. Naturally, I was right in the middle of a big ol' mess when bedtime came around. So, I really hope I have another energy spurt after supper tonight so I can finish cleaning it up! *LOL*

A Long Ugly Weekend

I look forward to my weekends so much that I really resent it when I don't feel well on a weekend. Well, this past weekend was the pits to say the least.

On Friday morning I woke after a fitful night's sleep (asleep one hour, awake two, etc.) and decided to go get my errands run. So I made a trip "around the block"....K-Mart, Kroger, Walgreens....and came back home to unload my purchases. When I was in K-Mart, the temperature was HOT in the store. I'd arrived very shortly after the store opened and the air conditioning was turned on after I got there. When I went to Kroger, their store was very cold, but I was still feeling kind of clammy by the time I'd finished shopping. I wasn't feeling well by the time I finished in Walgreens.

I talked to Mom on the phone, fixed myself a little lunch, and sat down for a bit. Unfortunately, my lunch didn't stay down. *yuck* I spent most of the afternoon in the recliner. By suppertime, I felt hungry, so I fixed myself a small steak and baked potato. I didn't even finish it. Sick again. *sigh*

Saturday I was able to keep food down, but felt just awful all day long, feverish and miserable. *bored, bored, BORED* Sunday I felt a little better, but was achy and weak.

Luckily I felt well enough to go to work this morning, but am really tired now. Of course, it was a pretty difficult Monday in the office and that didn't help. This is definitely going to be a "salad for supper, go to bed early" night at my place. I'm sure Meggie won't mind. *G*

T-Shirt Wisdom

Truth seen on a t-shirt:

"We the underpaid, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much for so long with little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing at all."

Haiku of the Week

How much more can the
Powers That Be expect us
To do in one day???

Obviously a Case of Denial

I just noticed that on last Thursday's "Obligatory Rant About Gas Prices", I referenced gas prices as being $2.559 and $2.779 and $2.899. Oh, how I wish it was true! They were $3.559, $3.779 and $3.899.

Who'da thunk I'd ever be nostalgic for gas prices under $3.00???

Haiku of the Week

The IRS should
Have sent my stimulus check
Straight to Chevron Oil.

Obligatory Rant About Gas Prices

Okay, I wasn't going to make a big deal about gas prices. I really, truly wasn't. But COME ON, people, this is getting ridiculous!

On the morning that I went to Grindstone (May 11), I noticed that regular gas was $2.559 per gallon. (And by the way, what is it what that .9 cents, anyway?? Like we don't KNOW that it's very nearly $2.56?)

Yesterday morning I noticed that regular at the same station was $2.779 per gallon. "Twenty-two cents in just over a week," I thought to myself. "How awful!"

Well this morning.....ONE DAY LATER....regular at that same station was $2.899 per gallon. That's an increase of THIRTY-FOUR CENTS in ELEVEN DAYS.

Gee. Must be a holiday weekend coming up, eh? *grumble, grumble, growl*

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!

Apartment Dwelling

I woke up at the unbelievable hour of 3:00 am and have been pretty much killing time for the past four-and-a-half hours. You see, I am an apartment dweller. If I was an inconsiderate apartment dweller, I could have been cleaning, doing laundry, packing up camping equipment for the trip tomorrow, and such. However, I am a considerate apartment dweller and don't wish to disturb my upstairs neighbor or my downstairs neighbor by making noise in the middle of the night.

This brings me to consider the pros and cons of apartment dwelling:

PROS	CONS
No yard work.	No yard.
If something breaks, all I have to do is pick up the phone and someone comes to fix it.	I do, on occasion, have a noisy, inconsiderate neighbor. That, thankfully, is rare.
No painting, no upkeep, no condo association fees. They even have someone come periodically to clean the chimney.	There are limits to what I can change ; wall and carpeting colors are selected for me (they are neutral, thank goodness).
I feel safe here. I have a steel door and a deadbolt, and since I'm on the second floor, no one is likely to come in through the door on my balcony.	I'm on the second floor. If I had a fire, I have a pretty good drop to the ground. I could do it if I HAD to, though.
I have an assigned parking space. I always know where I'm going to park.	My apartment complex doesn't have a garage, so my parking space is outdoors. My car is always exposed to the elements. Also, people parking beside me are not always careful about not allowing their car doors to bump my car.
I have a small deck out on the balcony I can sit on it the evenings and enjoy a glass of tea while watching the world go by. MeggieDog likes it, too, because she can patrol the parking lot in complete safety from her wicker chair.	In the past, I had an inconsiderate upstairs neighbor who dropped live cigarette butts through the spaces in the decking above and burned holes in the cushions on my deck furniture. Jerk.
If I had an intruder and had to scream for help, someone would hear me.	I always worry that if Meggie hears something and barks, she might be disturbing someone. Thankfully, she rarely barks when I'm home, and I always make sure I'm home by the "quiet hours" established in my lease.

So, for me, apartment dwelling isn't such a bad deal. It's not for everyone, but it works well for me. Ah, nearly 8:00. Time to get to the drudgery!! As mentioned in yesterday's post, we're headed to the woods tomorrow, so I'll be away for a week.

I hope your week is as nice as I expect mine to be! :-)

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!

Haiku of the Week

Even allergies
Cannot make me blue today.
I'm CAMPING next week!

Haiku Clarification

For those of you who don't understand the past two haikus (*LOL*):

1. My friends, Deb and David, recently took a trip to Vegas, and I checked on their beloved doggies while they were gone.
2. When they returned, they brought me a terrific souvenir (photo below).
3. My daughter, Kris, is a big CSI fan (as am I).

Haiku of the Week

Kris will be jealous
When she sees my souvenir
From the Vegas trip.

*VBEG*

Haiku of the Week

Deb may come home from
Vegas to find her doggies
More spoiled than before.

At Least It's Not Monday

It's been a busy, busy morning. So busy in fact that I decided to take a quick coffee break and post to clear my head.

The weather is cloudy and about 10 degrees cooler than they'd predicted for today. Of course, the weather never changes here in my "concrete cell" of an office.

My Aunt Sandy is home from the hospital (as of last Saturday morning), recovering nicely from surgery to repair an aneurysm. I wonder if I spelled that correctly. *opening webster.com* Hey, I DID. I'm impressed.

From all reports, her surgery and recovery have been better than usual. The nurses even told her she's done remarkably well. We're very relieved that things have gone so well for her.

I found a new family tree site on the internet, by way of Pop Culture Junk Mail: it's Geni.com, and it looks like it might be a fairly simple way to share some genealogical information with friends and family. I'll look into it a bit more over the next little bit and see if it's something worthwhile. First glance looks pretty good, though.

Ah, well, long enough at coffee break....back to work!

Haiku of Last Week

(I just KNEW I'd forget to post a haiku last Friday!)

My memory lapse
Caused me to post this haiku
Nearly a week late.

One Year Ago Today

On April 16, 2007, the unthinkable happened. A deeply disturbed man (whose name will not be mentioned here....he's already received too much press as it is) went on a rampage at Virginia Tech that resulted in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Thirty-two were killed, and many others wounded. My little corner of the world was deeply affected by this tragedy. Nearly everyone I know either attended Virginia Tech or had relatives who did.

At noon today, our campus had a brief memorial service. I did not attend. I still feel deep sadness at the thought of thirty-two productive lives ended so tragically. I still feel deep sympathy for the families of those victims....and for the family of the assassin. I, however, grieve privately. This is my choice.

If it comforts others to gather together to share their grief, they should certainly do so. For me, however, grief is a private matter not to be aired publicly unless absolutely necessary.

A year.....how quickly it has passed. I hope that these 365 days have provided some small measure of healing for those dealing with their unimaginable grief.

Passage

The man who was principal of my high school during my sophomore, junior, and senior years passed away yesterday. I read about it in an area newspaper this morning. I was sad to hear that he was gone. I hadn't seen him since my high school graduation in 1971, but I remember him as being a good and fair man.

I Googled his name to see what he'd been up to since I'd seen him last, and found a blog that his son had been posting for the last few months. I was saddened to learn that he had Alzheimer's. Such a cruel disease.

I hope his family knows what a difference he made in the lives of so many young people. Farewell, Mr. Fugate. You were one of the good ones.

Sleepless Night

Well, not COMPLETELY sleepless, but pretty close. I dozed off just after 9:00 pm and woke up just after midnight. I tried various things to make me sleepy, but nothing seemed to work. I watched a documentary on TV that upset me: "Mississippi Cold Case"....I was horrified that I knew nothing about this brutal double murder in the '60s. I finally gave up on sleep and got on the computer and surfed to learn more about the documentary I'd seen. Then I played Jungle Gin on Pogo.com for a bit. Then surfed some more.

I've no idea why I'm having trouble sleeping. I feel fine....tired, now, but fine. Nothing in particular is bothering me. Must be a hormonal thing. Think I'll go stretch out for a bit and see if I can catch at least a short nap before breakfast. What a way to start a weekend!

Haiku of the Week

A new feature.....for as long as I can remember to post it weekly. *L* A haiku representing my thoughts at the moment, interesting or not:

Friday comes each week,
Though some weeks it seems to take
Longer than others.

Homemade Hair Conditioner

Okay, it SEEMED like a good idea. I have so many allergies that I try to avoid extra chemicals on my body if I can. I use unscented soap, unscented shampoo, unscented (or lightly scented) detergents and fabric softeners, and clean with baking soda and vinegar as much as I can.

I'm letting my hair grow, and lately I seemed to have a lot of flyaway split ends. Any time I go to have the ends "trimmed", I lose at least an inch of growth, so I was trying to avoid that route a bit longer.

So, I Googled "homemade hair conditioner" and found what looked like a very promising recipe: 2 beaten egg yolks, 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 1/3 cup of olive oil. You mix it all together, slather it on your hair, leave it for 30 minutes, and shampoo it out. So I measured, mixed, slathered, waited, and shampooed.....and shampooed.....and shampooed.....and shampooed. YUCK.

I guess it was a success in the area of conditioning.....my hair is (after FOUR SHAMPOO SESSIONS) hanging limply and is conditioned within an inch of its life. This morning I finally gave up after the fourth shampoo (2 last night and 2 this morning), dried and fluffed it as much as it would fluff (which wasn't much), and went on to work. All day I've been hiding in my office (AKA "The Dungeon") as much as possible and hoping I don't get called to an unexpected meeting with any of the Powers That Be.

So, if you have really dry, damaged hair and don't mind your hair hanging in greasy ropes for a few days, go ahead and use the recipe above. Oh well, not the first hair disaster I've been through, and most likely not the last. At least my hair didn't fall out.....yet.....where's that pocket mirror I keep in my desk???

A Good Evening

I had a good time last night doing something I hadn't enjoyed in a long time....changing my closet from one season to another. Now, I'll be honest, that's usually a dreadful chore for me. This time it was actually enjoyable because when I pulled out spring/summer things, I was able to wear several things that were too small for me this time last year. What a welcome change!

I took advantage of the opportunity to put some things in a bag for Goodwill. I had several things that were too big (hooray!), and a few things that were so old and out-of-style that I'll never wear them again. So, I now have a few loads of laundry to do, just to freshen everything up, but at least it looks like I won't have to buy many new things this season. Maybe a blouse or two, but that will be all.

I saw on MSNBC a little while ago that Stanley Kamel passed away....heart attack. Most people would say, "Who's Stanley Kamel?", but would be more likely to respond if you said, "The guy who played Dr. Kroger on 'Monk' passed away." So, that makes two celebrities in the past few days.....Charleton Heston passed away last Saturday. They seem to come in threes, so I can't help but wonder who'll be the third. Morbid.

The weather here today is glorious, sunny and mid 70s....makes me wish I had the day off. Rain's moving in, though. Tomorrow is expected to be wet and cooler, and the weekend is looking pretty bad. In fact, they're still predicting SNOW SHOWERS Sunday night. Weird.

Oh, well, I have plenty of household drudgery to do, so maybe it's just as well that the weather's going to be lousy.

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.