3 Days of Work, 5 Days Off

Monday through Wednesday of this week was a mixed bag of assorted frustrating nonsense at the office, and I was exceedingly happy to see the end of it!  Yesterday I did some much-needed housework (the dustbunnies had taken over!) and was pretty worn down at the end of the day.  This morning I did a bit more household drudgery but let the gadgetry do most of the work this time.

I tossed a load of laundry in the washer, then started the dishwasher, then turned Roomba loose to do the vacuuming.  While the gadgets worked away, I treated myself to a half-hour on the deck with a cup of coffee and my knitting.  Such a treat!

I'd been knitting a scarf based on a stitch I found in my stitch dictionary ("Cells", it was called) which was working up into a lovely, honeycomb-like pattern.  Unfortunately, it was working up in a double-thick fabric which was lovely but probably too thick to be comfortable as a scarf.  So, I ripped it out and have now started a different stitch called Diamond Brocade.  We'll see if that works out better.  I hope.

Currently, I'm waiting for a call from the Salvation Army.  They're sending a truck sometime today to pick up a large (27") portable television set I'm donating.  It's still a good set, but I've replaced it with a much lighter flatscreen.

I'm actually more excited about the flatscreen than I expected.  I love having all my usual stuff (DVD/VCR combo, TiVo, and Nintendo Wii) PLUS my computer hooked up to the television set.  Very convenient!

I hope the Salvation Army calls soon....I had a very filling lunch (red beans and rice) and I find that I'm getting unbelievably sleepy.  I'm sure if I doze off for a nap, they'll call just about the time I fall asleep.  Or maybe not.  The phone will wake me, so maybe I'll just give up and snooze a bit.  :-)

Have a safe and restful Labor Day Weekend, everyone!

Hooray!

This morning I finally finished a sweater/jacket I've been knitting off and on for nearly a year!  *happy dance*  Now I can start my Christmas knitting....*LOL*

(If any of you are interested in my knitting projects, I keep a separate blog for those.  You'll find a link over on the right side of the page for it.  If you're not interested in knitting, feel free to skip it.  I promise I won't be offended.)

Once more it's race weekend in my little corner of the world.  Our city is filled to the brim with NASCAR fans.  While I am grateful to the monetary contributions they make to our fair city, I'll be more grateful when they go back home.  I handling the race crowds the way I usually do:  I'm staying home and out of their way!  I always make sure I have all necessary supplies (aka Diet Coke and coffee), then just plan to hole up for the weekend.

I had a week at the office that can only be described as "crappy", so I felt the need for comfort food today.  My solution was to cook a big pot of bean soup.  I love the smell of bean soup cooked slowly on top of the stove!  It's done, but I've not sampled it yet.  I'll have dinner out of it today and tomorrow, then I'll freeze the leftovers to enjoy later.  *yum*

I won't describe my work week, because it'll just make me mad all over again to talk about it.  Take my word for it, it was crappy.  The good news is that I don't have to deal with any of the things that irritated me again until Monday.

I've been reading a lot lately (I ADORE my Kindle); in the wee hours this morning I finished a Kurt Wallander mystery, "Dogs of Riga", which was very good.  Next on the reading list is the 9th installment of James Patterson's "Women's Murder Club" series.  After that is another Wallander mystery, then a reread of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe".  It's so great to be able to check out books electronically from my local library and download them to my Kindle.  I can keep new reading material available at all times and never have to go to the library.  I'm a woman of simple pleasures.  *LOL*

On that happy note, I will now peruse my yarn stash and cast on some Christmas gift knitting.  That always makes me happy!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A Good Week Off

I was off work last week and was actually afraid to post anything about it in fear of jinxing myself!  My time off lately has been few, far between, and an invitation for disaster.

As it turned out, I had a good week.  I ran a few errands, visited with some folks, and got some much needed rest.

One piece of excellent news is that I had a 3-month follow-up visit with my orthopedic doctor, and he said my leg is healing beautifully and that I don't need to come back to see him again.  *cautious happy dance*

The only day that I felt unwell was on Friday (coincidentally my birthday); I had a sinus headache that day, but felt well enough to read a book.  A whole book.  In ONE DAY.  I can't remember that last time I was able to do that.  Such fun!

I also managed to get a lot of knitting done on my nearly-finished sweater jacket.  I just need to knit a few more rows around the neck and hide the ends on it, and I'm done!

I expected today to be rough at the office since I'd been off a week, and it was as I expected.  *bleah*  But the good news is that I survived my Monday, managed to get through it without a migraine, and am happily piled up in my recliner with a take-out dinner waiting for me to finish this entry.

Have a great week, everyone!

I've Had Better Summers

I hate to sound like a whiner, but the truth is that I've had better summers.  It seems like every effort I make to take a little time off and get some rest gets thwarted.

As detailed earlier, my "week off" back in May turned into a mess due to a broken leg.  Since then, it seems that most of my days off have been spent recovering from horrible weeks at the office.  *sigh*

My leg seems to be healing well....still a little swelling if I'm on it much, but otherwise okay.  My next doctor's appointment is on August 13, and I'm hoping he'll see some real improvement in my x-rays by then.

The good news is that I'm taking Monday off, so this will be a 3-day weekend for me.  I had a migraine on Thursday and had to stay in bed all day, so maybe I have my migraine out of the way for a few days and can actually ENJOY this brief break!!  Keep your fingers crossed.

I'm hoping to spend tomorrow catching up some housework and laundry, then I'll try to spend some time with Mom and Dad on Sunday.  I'm really, REALLY hoping that Monday can be spent in the recliner with knitting.  I think that would do me a world of good!

As for this evening, I stopped at Alfredo's on my way home for a Greek pizza.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmm......If you live in my neck of the woods and haven't tried Alfredo's yet, you should!  Everything I've tried there has been just delicious, and the prices are very reasonable, too.

Hope everyone has a great weekend....I'm READY for it!

Progress....Slowly But Surely

This past Wednesday, I went back to the orthopaedic surgeon's office to see his PA and learned that the gap in my break is a little larger than it was. She contacted the surgeon in the operating room (!) and had him look at the new x-rays. He said that the increase in the gap is caused by the formation of new tissue where the bone is healing, and that it's normal. (*whew*) So, I am to continue doing what I'm doing and they will x-ray it again on July 2 to see how I'm progressing. There's still a possibility that they'll have to put a plate in it, but they're still hopeful that it will heal properly without surgery. I'm hoping, too!!

I spent some time today knitting myself a cover for my cast.  There were a couple of reasons for this:  1) the bottom of the cast is beginning to look a little rough, and 2) I thought it might be more comfortable if I had something a little more cushioned on the back of my leg when I have it propped up.  Also, when my leg swells duirng the day, the top of the Aircast tends to bite into my skin a big.  So, when I knit the cover, I made little pockets at the top to slip over the top edges of the cast, making it a little more comfortable.  The cover is a very large version of a "plain vanilla sock" that I like to knit, adjusted as needed to the contours of the cast.  It turned out pretty well.  I'm going to use it a few days before starting another to see if I need to make any modifications.


It's hard to believe I can be tired, since I really didn't exert myself a lot today, but I find that my stamina still isn't quite what it should be.  Walking on crutches seems to take a lot out of me.  So off to bed I go.   I hope you're all having a great weekend!

What I Did on Vacation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Puddle of Waiting Yarn

I'm off work today; those may be the four most beautiful words in the English language.  I was off work yesterday, too, but that day was a busy day involving shopping, having tires put on the car, and a trip to have my eyes examined.  It was a good day (highlighted by a delicious salad from Mellow Mushroom), but a busy one.

At 5:00 this morning I decided that today would be different.  Yes, there's a long list of things I SHOULD be doing today, but the list will hold until tomorrow.  Relocating my printer to a more convenient location and dressing myself have been then only two things I've done today that could remotely be considered "work".  And when I say "dressing myself", that's a debatable phrase.  I'm in sweats and a t-shirt.  Dressed, but not really presentable, y'know?  What's worse is that I don't even care.

I'm in the recliner, having now switched from coffee to Diet Coke.  I've downloaded three library books to my Kindle in case I want to read.  I've downloaded "Angela's Ashes" on audiobook so that I can listen to something while knitting.

As soon as I finish this blog entry I'm going to reach into the untidy puddle of yarn waiting beside my recliner and pull out the sweater jacket I'm knitting.  Rows and rows of lovely mindless garter stitch.  I can knit and knit and lose myself in the glorious Irish brogue of Frank McCourt.

Have you ever used audiobooks?  I began using them initially so that I could "read" while knitting.  Don't misunderstand, I still love to read, and I read a lot.  But sometimes I enjoy having someone read to me.  On occasion you run across a book that is read by a gifted reader.  Some readers are, unfortunately, dreadful.  But some are born with the necessary talents to read aloud.  Frank McCourt is a gifted reader.

Today I am a very happy person.  :-)

Some Fridays Are Better Than Others

I only had to work a half-day today, which was good.  I woke up this morning with an upset tummy and a nagging headache, which was bad.

On my way to work this morning, I heard "These Days" by the Foo Fighters on the radio, which was good.  Traffic was really terrible, which was bad.

My morning at work was relatively quiet, which was good.  My headache got worse, which was bad.

On the way home, I stopped at Cracker Barrel to pick up a take-out lunch I'd called in from the office before I left, which was good.  When I got there they couldn't find my order and I had to wait for them to fix it, which was bad.

I made another stop on the way home at Office Depot and found a nice little laptop stand at a reasonable price, which was good.  My headache continued to get worse, which was bad.

My last stop on the way home was at the post office, where I picked up a package containing my new laptop docking station, which was good.  Traffic downtown was really, really heavy, which was bad.

When I arrived home, my take-out lunch was still warm, which was good.  My headache was so bad by then that I was fairly nauseous, which was bad.

After lunch I hooked up the docking station, and it worked like a dream, which was good.  Right now I'm in the recliner with the laptop hooked into my large monitor, keying this entry on a wireless keyboard, all of which is good.

Yup, the good outweighs the bad.  It's a good, good Friday.

Hope yours is good, too!

It's Been a Good Day

It's race weekend in my little corner of the world.  For those of you who don't happen to live in a town with a NASCAR track, let me tell you that race weekend changes the way things go in your town.

Bristol is a very popular track on the NASCAR circuit; it's a short track, and that makes for interesting racing.  There are a lot of fans who prefer short track races, and Bristol always draws a good crowd.

Having said that, I will mention that we don't get the sell-out crowds we used to get.  Times are hard, and the state of finances in the nation have taken a toll on ticket sales.  Still, there are lots and lots of extra people in town this week, and it's interesting trying to get around right now.

I was off work yesterday and today; I had some compensatory time that I needed to take before it expired.  I lost most of yesterday to a round of some sort of crud that made me headachy and mildly nauseous.  I thought at first it might have been allergies, since everything around here has burst into bloom with the unseasonably warm weather.  It didn't feel like allergies, though; it felt viral.  *YUCK*

But this morning I awoke feeling much better, thank goodness.  I met a friend for lunch at the Mellow Mushroom.  It was my first visit there, and I highly recommend it.  I had a calzone that was just wonderful.

After lunch I went to Best Buy in search of a laptop docking station.  Why do I even try to look for something there?  I've been in there three different times now and have never found a single solitary thing I was looking for!  Oh, well.  I'll go ahead and order one online like I thought I'd do in the first place.  Then I went to Target to pick up a few things; as usual, I found a lot more things that I actually needed, but got some good buys all the same.  After I left there, I went to Sugar Hollow to look over their campground.  I still want to go to Grindstone, but thought it would be good to take a look at a campground nearer home in case I needed it.  I then made a quick stop by the bank to pick up a little money. 

As I was leaving the bank, I witnessed a car accident.  There's nothing as sickening as that horrible crunch of metal hitting metal. Without going into too much detail, one vehicle hit another in the driver's door.  The driver who was hit in the door appeared to be unconscious.  I felt very helpless, but saw that others were coming to his aid, so I left.  Such a terrible thing!  I certainly hope he wasn't badly injured.  There was nothing about it on the local news this evening, so I hope that's a good sign.

I was a little rattled after seeing that and decided I needed to get out of the car for a few minutes.  I pulled into the parking lot at Sam's Club and went in for a little while to walk off my shakes.  I wound up finding a few items I needed, so the stop served two purposes.  In a short while I felt much more settled, so I drove home using the back roads and avoiding all the extra traffic.

I'm always glad to be home, but home looked especially good this afternoon.  Except for witnessing the accident, it's been a good day.

I hope your day has been good, too!

My Computer Croaked!

Adios, dear Dell desktop computer.  Okay, first and foremost, this is not a complaint.  It really and truly isn't.  I'd had my Dell desktop for several years (seven or eight, I really can't remember), and it was a replacement for an older Dell desktop.  They both served me well, and my losses when they croaked are nobody's fault but my own.

Losses, you ask?  Being spoiled by years of faithful service, I got lazy about backing up my stuff.  Photos, videos, correspondence.  All gone.  Not once, mind you, but TWICE.  Dumb.  Just plain dumb.

Here's how the latest loss came about.  Last Friday terrible storms rocked my little corner of the world.  The storms were not as severe as those of April 2011, but there was a confirmed F1 tornado in nearby Lee County last Friday.  As a precaution, I had turned off my Dell desktop.  Keep in mind that this computer was rarely turned off.  It ran happily at a desk in the corner of my bedroom, only occasionally being rebooted due to the eccentricities of Microsoft Vista.

On Saturday following the passing of the storms I realized I needed to turn the computer on to pay some bills and e-file my taxes.  I pushed the power button.  Nothing happened.

A brief wave of nausea ran over me.  Oh, man, how long has it been since I saved my photos?  How many episodes of Knitting Daily and movies from Turner Classic Movies had I not yet burned to DVD?

I fiddled a bit with the computer, doing the few techie tricks I know, to no avail.  So now, the computer sits temporarily beside my bed, unplugged and mourned.

I still had my little Acer netbook, so I wasn't completely out of touch with my online world, but I knew that was a temporary solution at best.  I shopped online for a replacement for my beloved Dell and had settled on a Dell laptop that happened to be on sale.  I didn't order it right away, though, because I had to be out of town for a training session for a few days.

On the first day out of town, my coworkers and I dropped in at Staples to look around.  (We don't have a Staples nearby, so we wanted to see if we found any bargains.)  There I found a heckuva deal in a Toshiba laptop.

So here I sit, tapping away at a new personal computer.  Now all I have to do is try to remember all the useful stuff I had bookmarked on my Dell.  I'll hang onto the Dell, of course, and try later to get it up and running long enough to rescue all the items I hadn't backed up, but there's no huge rush on that.  In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy this new toy.


I am a happy woman.  :-)

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

My little corner of the world is currently under a tornado warning for the next half hour.  We're under a tornado watch until 11:00 pm.  Eeeeek!!

This has been a very unusual season so far.  We don't usually have this sort of weather for at least another month, so everyone in my area is a little on edge.  Last April several areas very nearby were completely devastated by a tornado, and everyone here has very strong memories of that terrible night.

I don't mind thunderstorms....in fact I enjoy them, to tell the truth.  High wind, however, is another matter altogether!  The approaching storm "is capable of producing golfball size hail and destructive straight line winds" according to the National Weather Service.  I've seen golfball size hail.  I have no interest in seeing it again.

According to the local news, the storm is headed our way very shortly, so I'm going to log off now.  I don't like being on the computer during a thunderstorm.  Be safe, friends!!

A Peaceful Saturday Morning

I am an early riser by nature; even without an alarm clock set I normally wake up around 5:15 each morning. This, of course, serves me well on workdays. I can ease into my morning without the blaring racket of an alarm shocking me awake.

On Saturdays, however, this leaves me with a small issue (not a BAD issue, mind you, but an issue).  I'm an apartment dweller, and I try to be a considerate neighbor.  This means I don't want to do laundry or run the vacuum or do anything particularly noisy very early in the morning because I'm sure that either the neighbors below me or above me could be disturbed by this.  (Holy cow, how many words ARE there in that last sentence?  *LOL*)

So, I usually find myself in my recliner with a cup of coffee, the netbook, and some knitting in the early hours on Saturday.  Today is a particularly peaceful morning for me because I chose not to turn on the television set as yet.  I have my beloved Zune hanging around my neck in its little handknit pouch listening to James Horner tunes (currently playing is "Coming Home" from "The Perfect Storm"). I adore James Horner. You might think you don't know who I'm talking about, but if you've seen "The Perfect Storm", "Legends of the Fall", "Braveheart", "Field of Dreams", "Glory", "Apollo 13", "Titanic", or one of several other high-grossing films, you've heard his brilliant work.

I have many things to accomplish today and will be starting what I not-so-lovingly refer to as "household drudgery" very soon.  But for the moment I'm listening to "The Ludlows" from "Legends of the Fall", sipping French roast coffee, and finishing this blog post with a slight contended smile on my face.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Difficult Times

We've lost a member of the family.  My first cousin Tim had fought a valiant battle against esophageal cancer, but lost his battle last Thursday afternoon.  Everyone who knew him remarked that he was one of the kindest people they'd ever known.

Tim was two years younger than me and was the first family member in my generation to pass away.  I'm very sad that he wasn't able to beat the cancer, but very glad that he's no longer in pain.

I have to say, difficult times like these really make you rethink what's important in life.  Hug someone you love.  You never know how many opportunities you might have to let them know how you feel.

A Good Christmas

I had a good Christmas this year, and I sincerely hope each of you did, too.  As is usual, ours was quiet, but really nice.  The only family I have nearby are Mom and Dad, and I'm grateful to have them close.  Our usual holiday routine is for me to have them over to my apartment on Christmas Eve, then I go to their house on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Eve, I had a little spread prepared: cheese ball, ham ball, barbequed meatballs, ham rolls, cranberry salad, snack mix, lemon pound cake, and pumpkin spice cupcakes.  We indulged in holiday goodies, then called Kris in Australia.  After we'd had a good telephone visit with her and Louise, we exchanged gifts.  It was a lovely evening and we enjoyed spending time together.

On Christmas Day, Mom had prepared a delicious dinner: baby back ribs, coleslaw, potato salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and baked beans.  I'd brought rolls and cranberry salad.  After dinner we settled down in the living room for a restful afternoon.  All in all, a wonderful holiday!

That night, just before midnight, my smoke detector went off.  When I hurried to it to find out what was going on, I realized it wasn't the smoke detector,  but the carbon monoxide detector (it was a combo unit).  I pulled the battery out of it, but it was hard-wired as well.  I couldn't figure out how to make it quit screeching except to push the test button each time it went off, so I Googled it.  The instruction manual online was no help at all.  I called the number of the apartment office, but received a recording.  I figured the office would be closed on the 26th for the holiday; with no other ideas, I called the fire department (not 911, but their main number).  I explained that I didn't have an emergency, but that I needed some guidance on how to shut off what was an apparently defective carbon monoxide monitor.  I further explained that I have no gas appliances, and my apartment is all-electric.  The nice gentleman who took my call said that he would talk with his chief, and that someone would call me back very shortly.

Not long after that, I heard a fire truck come into the parking lot.  OH, MAN!!  Thankfully, they didn't have the siren on, but it still embarrassed me that I'd caused so much commotion over a carbon monoxide monitor!!  They were very nice, though, and insisted on using an air quality monitor to be sure there wasn't a problem in the apartment.  As I'd suspected, the monitor was malfunctioning.  They reset it and put it back in the ceiling.  I asked them to show me how to disconnect it in case it went off again.  After they left, it took awhile for me to get back to sleep.  I must have dozed off around 2:00 am; the monitor went off again at 2:45!!  A few brief seconds later, I'd disconnected it, pulled out its backup battery, and dumped it unceremoniously onto the kitchen table.

I'd brought work home from the office to work with on Monday and Tuesday.  I was tired Monday from the unexpected excitement the night before, but managed to make good progress on my office work.  I rested well Monday night, and got even more work done on Tuesday (yesterday).

When I talked with Kris on Christmas Eve she told me that my gift from them was on its way, but might not arrive until the 27th.  Sure enough, UPS delivered it yesterday afternoon: a Keurig coffeemaker!!  I'd been promising myself one for some time and was truly thrilled to receive it!  Setup was quick and easy, and it works like a dream.

Today I went to lunch with Mom and Dad at their favorite local Italian restaurant.  The food was very delicious, and we had a good time.  When I left there, I went to Sam's Club and Wal-Mart to pick up a few items I needed and get the oil changed in the car.

And so, I'm now back at home, still full of calzone but happy to have my shopping out of the way.  Tomorrow Mom has her second cataract surgery, so we'll all be glad when that's over and done.  Her first one went beautifully, so I hope this one goes as well.

So now I think I'll go make myself a hot cocoa in the Keurig and chill out with knitting while watching "Julie and Julia" on TV.  It's probably going to be an early night, which suits me fine.  :-)

Have a great week, friends!

The Fruitcake Fallacy

Every year around this time you begin to hear people making remarks about fruitcake.  You've heard 'em.  Everyone hates fruitcake.  Fruitcake is the worst gift you can ever receive.  My favorite story is that there's really only one fruitcake in the world and that it keeps getting regifted from one person to another year after year.

I'll state it loud and clear:  It's not true.  Not everyone hates fruitcake.  I LOVE it.  Well, let me qualify that a bit; I love GOOD fruitcake.  And yes, there are some really great fruitcakes out there.  Admittedly, there are some bad ones, but some are truly delicious.

My favorite fruitcakes have just enough cake to hold the candied fruit together.  And they must have LOTS of candied fruit.  Even though I hold fruitcake to a pretty high standard, I never bake one.  Too much work for someone who bakes as little as I do.  I've found that Claxton fruitcake meets my requirements very well, thank you very much, and all I have to do is buy it, chill it, and eat it.  I wish the "dark" variety of their delicious fruitcake was available locally, but I never see it.  But that's okay, the "regular" variety is pretty wonderful, too.

Maybe I'll treat myself by ordering a dark fruitcake.  If no one gives me one for Christmas, I think I'll plan to do that for myself.  I've never had a day so bad that it couldn't be improved with a good cup of coffee, a slice of a good fruitcake, or a bubblebath.

Yes, I'm a woman of simple pleasures.  *LOL*

The Return of the Amaryllis Project

Mom and Dad went to visit friends of ours on Sunday (I was laid low by a migraine that day...*ICK*), and when they returned Mom called to check to see if I was doing okay.  While we were talking, she told me that our friends, Jewel and R.C., had given them a Christmas gift to give to me: an amaryllis bulb!

They've given me a bulb each year for the past several years, and I always enjoy watching their progress.  In fact, I've saved the bulbs and have them stored safely in my refrigerator to be replanted.  I just keep forgetting to replant them!!

In order for them to bloom at the proper time, I believe they must be replanted sometime in October.  I'm going to do some research on it and mark my 2012 calendar with the appropriate replant date so that I can have blooms (hopefully) next Christmas!

In the meantime, I've reactivated my "Amaryllis Project" page and will keep you updated on the planting, growth, and bloom of this year's bulb.  Mom and Dad will be coming to my home on Christmas Eve, so I'll probably be receiving (and planting) the bulb then.  Stay tuned!

A Long Short Week

I took the last of my "take or lose" days on Monday and Tuesday this week.  Even though I had those two days off, it was a busy, busy time!  I sang the last three concerts of this season with the Madrigals on Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon, and Tuesday evening.  So much fun!  These are talented ladies, and it has truly been a joy to perform with them this season.

On Monday I went to lunch with a good friend.  We met at Fatz; it was my first visit there, and I had a delicious reuben.  Sometimes it's hard to get a good reuben, but this one was really well done. We enjoyed a good meal and a really good visit.

After lunch I had a dental appointment to have a tooth filled.  It had been a very long time since I'd had to have a tooth filled, so I'd forgotten how very numb I get when I have a filling.  My WHOLE HEAD got numb!  And I developed a lisp that rivaled Sylvester the Cat!  I commented that I was really glad I didn't have to sing that evening because "Good King Wenceslas" would have been really messy with that lisp!  *LOL*

So, after a busy few days off I returned to the office and had an unbelievably busy three days.  Tonight it's raining; I'm all cozy in my apartment, watching the lights on my Christmas tree, watching "Criminal Minds" on A&E, sipping a Diet Coke and feeling drowsy.  I'm tired, but very glad to be home and relaxing.

Not a bad start to the weekend.  I hope you all have a good weekend, too.

'Tis the Season

Busy, busy, BUSY!!  Yes, folks, it IS that time of year.  Things at the office are still crazy-busy, but I have some time that I must take before the end of the year or lose, so I'm taking it a little at a time.  The college closed at noon on Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday, so I took the morning off, too.  This gave me a 5-day weekend, which was much needed and is being very much enjoyed!  :-)

I've really hated my sofa for a long, long time.  It was always too big for my small living room, but I'd just never done anything about it.  A friend called me to say that she and her husband were replacing a loveseat in their living room.  She remembered my moaning about the fact that I should have bought a loveseat instead of a sofa and asked if I'd like to have their loveseat.  Hurray!

So, I donated my sofa to a local charity, Haven of Rest, who not only does good work but were very appreciative of my donation and came to pick it up as scheduled on Wednesday morning.  I spent the rest of Wednesday chasing a few dust bunnies that had been hiding under the sofa and knitting a bit.  I also baked some delicious cinnamon streusel muffins that were almost worth the blister I burned on my finger testing to see if they were done.  Yes, I'm that stupid.

My friends delivered my new-to-me loveseat on Thursday morning, and it's the perfect size for my living room!  It's olive green microfiber with big cushy cushions, and I couldn't be more pleased!  I then made a broccoli casserole (Mom's favorite thing I make) and took that and some of my yummy muffins down to Mom and Dad's to share Thanksgiving dinner with them.  They don't care for turkey, so Mom had put two Cornish hens in her rotisserie.  The house smelled heavenly when I arrived!  Even though we'd discussed several times that she shouldn't cook lots of different dishes, the table was full as always.  *LOL*  And, as always, everything was delicious!

It was a lovely, restful holiday, enjoyed by us all.  Yesterday (Friday) morning, they had planned to visit Dad's Aunt Orpha, who turned 101 this week.  I asked if I could tag along for the visit, and they came by to pick me up (I live really near Aunt Orph).  She had lots of family visiting for the holiday, and it was so nice to spend time with everyone.  We left there just past noon and Daddy suggested stopping at Wendy's for lunch.  I had a Baja salad, which was really good.

When we got back to my apartment, Mom was looking at a stereo cabinet I had in my living room that I'd planned on giving to her.  I had two racks of DVDs and videotapes that I planned to pare down to one rack, then wanted to move it over to the former location of the stereo cabinet.  I'd already removed the stereo (an old one, still in working order, but never ever used anymore) to take to Goodwill.  Daddy looked at the cabinet and said, "Frances, where are you going to put that?"  She confessed that she had no idea; the cabinet was bigger than she remembered.

She asked if I couldn't just keep it and put my DVDs and videotapes into it.  At first, I didn't think I wanted to do that.  In fact, I actually made a call to a charity to see if they could come pick up the cabinet and take the stereo, too.  But there was no answer in the charity's office.  So I pondered; maybe if I could get Daddy to make me a couple more shelves for the unit I could make it work.  So I spent the rest of the afternoon moving all my DVDs and videotapes into it.  It held a lot more than I anticipated, and I was actually able to put ALL of them into the cabinet!  It had glass doors, so it actually looks nicer than the open shelves I originally had everything in.  I'll have to unload it when Daddy's ready to build the shelves, but that will come after the holidays.

I was pretty tired after getting all that done, and just hit the recliner for a bit.  When I caught my second wind, I dragged my Christmas decorations out of the closet and put up my little fiber optic tree.  I set a few Christmassy things around on tabletops and decorating chores were finished.

Today I've been a little draggy (after all it's been a pretty busy few days!), so I've not accomplished as much as I should have.  I've done a little laundry and still have a little more to do.  I think I'll just concentrate on putting away the totes that my Christmas decorations were stored in, maybe put some veggies in the oven to roast, wrap a few gifts, and knit awhile this afternoon.

Gotta love the holidays.....:-)  Hope everyone's having a wonderful weekend!

16,100 Miles

Google Maps says it's 16,100 miles from my house to the home of my Australian daughters (one daughter by birth, a second daughter by a stroke of very good luck).  Tonight, that distance seems unspeakably far.

My daughter Kris is in the hospital.  She had to have her thyroid removed a couple of days ago, and her hospital stay turned out to be longer than anticipated because of issues with her calcium level.  She called me early this morning (Friday evening her time) with the sad news that one of their beloved cats, Winchester, had been killed.

She was devastated.  Not only was she not home (where she thought she'd be by that time), but dear little Winchester was gone.

To make matters worse, tomorrow's her birthday.  In fact, it's already her birthday in her time zone, and she's still in the hospital.  And very upset about losing Winchester.  As she put it in a Facebook post, "Worst birthday ever :*(".

Australia never seemed so far away.

My Week Off

Well, my week off didn't work out quite like I'd planned.  I mentioned in my last post that I was going to visit Mom and Dad on Sunday.  I did, and Mom was not feeling well at all, bless her heart.  She had some kind of upper respiratory illness going on that eventually turned into bronchitis that required some steroids and antibiotics to get her cleared up.  She was feeling so bad that she napped a lot during my visit, but I was just glad to see her get some rest.

On Monday, I went to the park as I'd planned and spent a lovely afternoon looking around in the nature center and walking the lakeside trail.  I walked until I needed a little rest, then sat on a bench and knitted while enjoying the fallish temperatures and the beautiful fall colors.

On Tuesday I woke up sick.  I'd caught Mom's "bug" and just felt miserable.  So, from Monday afternoon until this morning I didn't set foot across my threshold.  Never cranked the car.  Didn't even venture out onto my deck!

Stupid virus.

The good news is that Mom's much better, and I felt well enough to return to the office today.  My brief illness (and I wasn't nearly as sick as poor Mom) gave me the opportunity to pile up in the recliner, sip hot tea, knit, and watch a lot of things I'd accumulated on TiVo.

All in all, not a bad week.  :-)