Update from Narcotic Haze

Hello dear friends! Firstly, thank you all for your well wishes, your offers of help and your compassion. I'll be honest - it hurts like a sonnofabitch. I've added some ibuprofen to my Percoset ritual, though, and that should help. Narcotics always make me weepy/chatty/sleepy in varying degrees, so you never know what you'll get when you talk to me at the moment. One good thing is that I hate the mind-altering drugs so much that I will NEVER get addicted.

At this very moment I'm feeling chatty (remember those Chatty Cathy dolls?), and I thought I'd take it all out on you guys since the boys are out of the house.

OK - so right now I'm just laying around in my recliner, listening to the landline ring (because I can't get up w/out serious help and yelling and stuff). If you want to call me, you'll have to get my cell number. Feel free to share it amongst yourselves.

I'm also trying to control the cat (Sam) who really wants to sit on my lap, but who also has a tendancy to walk on my legs, which would hurt bad. Oh, and did I mention that he weighs, like 20 lb? Right now he's fine, and I"m using a strategically place stuffed animal (thanks, Simon!) to keep him off the bad bits. I think he seriously resents the laptop.

Oh - and I'm watching figure skating! Which I never really get to do when the guys around because they find it "mind-numbingly dull". :-) Mostly I love the music, but I do watch it, too.

I"m doing OK, though, and I promise I'll call for help if/when I need things. You are all so wonderful! (OK, weepy again - dang these drugs!)

Oh, and I've learned that a little lace project is just the thing for getting your mind off the pain in the middle of the night.

Ouchies, and boy do I feel stoopid

Well, it went like this:
I went out to my car to leave work. My right foot lost footing on the ice, and my left foot wasn't helping at all. My right leg hyper-extended - a lot. I fell. I yelled. I cried. I dug my cell phone out of my coat pocket and called the circ desk. Amazingly, Kelly understood when I asked to send security out to save me (I was a little hysterical by then). William . . . and Patty . . . and Gary came out, and they called 911 (exciting, huh?) By the time the squad came, Mary Beth's hubby was there, and they had all gathered up my library stuff (exercise DVDs, ironically) and put them in my car, etc. They had to lift me up (the paramedics and William and Gary - I have no idea who actually did the hoisting) and put me in a chair-like stretcher thing (whoever invented those stretcher improvements was genius) I went to Riverside. X-rays and Cat scan later, and I was diagnosed. There is a small vertical fracture in my tibia, and a bone chip behind my patella. They gave me crutches, pain med prescription and a big velcro immobilizer and sent me home. Don't even ask about the physical comedy of me dragging myself into the house and to the bathroom!

Mike and Si are being fabulous. Seriously fabulous. They're keeping their cell phones with them so I can call for help, even in the middle of the night. My boss, also is wonderful, telling me over and over not to worrk about work. I will call the orthopedic surgeon Monday morning to make an appointment in the coming week. He'll determine if I just need time, or if I'll need some kind of surgery.

So - be careful on the ice!

I'll be off work for a while, and, thanks to DH's great decision to get a cable plan that includes WiFi, I'm able to come to you straight from my recliner! Even more helpful, because, apparently, narcotics make me even more talkative (until I get too sleepy). :-) Lucky readers!

What's on the needles . . . and what's off!

I'm working on several things at the moment, and I'm about to start another! LOL I have a short attention sp . . . . oooh, look! Something shiny!

Anyway, I thought it was high time I gave you all a gander of the yarny goodness that has been keeping my fingers happy . . .

First the done ones . . . these are slippers I made out of 2 strands of Lamb's Pride Worsted Weight on #10 needles. I love them, and I think I'll make more! They're probably from the same pattern my Grandma used when we were kids. I love nostalgia, and I love warm feet! I think I'm using slightly better quality yarn, though, because I recall the ones she made making the bottoms of my feet feel like the skin was peeling off or something.


This is a black and grey chemo hat for a guy I went to college with. He's a cool musician, now, so I figure the colorway would be perfect. This is from Panda Silk (silk, bamboo mix) and it's delightfully soft. I think silk yarn is perfect for chemo caps . . . especially since my pal, Julie, told me so. I really wish my friends would stop getting the big C, but I'm glad that I can do this small thing for them.


These are neck scarves. It's an absolutely perfect pattern for luxurious yarn - easy to do w/o a lot of thinking, uses about one skein (more for me because I'm an ample Woman, and like ample scarves).





This is silk/wool blend and I fell in love with the first one so deeply that I had to make another. I might go back to the Merc againand buy yet another color someday soon. Just see if I don't! I wore the pinky one today with a navy blue dress. Looked great!




Now for the UFOs (unfinished objects):
This is a lovely lacey sampler scarf I'm making with leftovers from the shawl I made Mom for Xmas. It's alpaca/silk blend, very fine lace-weight yarn. I found the pattern in a book and actually BOUGHT the book . . . more of a pamphlet, really. Usually I just get books from The L.




This pic shows the blanket I started crocheting last . . . umm . . . Spring, maybe? I still haven't gotten very far on it, but I wanted to show you that I really AM still working on it now and then. It's out of really horrid acrylic yarn, but that's what the donation places prefer with blankets, so acrylic they'll get! I learned to crochet after seeing a friend whip up an entire baby blanket in about 2 hours. How does she DO that??? Trust me, this is no 2-hour blanket!

These are the toes of the socks I'm making. The yarn is lovely merino, tightly spun and very smooth. It's purples and greens, and it's really nice. I knit on these when I don't have anything else mindless to work on. I'm doing 2 at a time, toe-up with the Evil Sock Genius' pattern, on 2 circs, size 1. And yes, I know what you're thinking - that is a freakin thin needle!

I also still have a sweater on the needles that will eventually be fore my long-suffering DH. Poor thing might need to wait a while because I STILL don't really feel like tackling it again. I've frogged (ripped out) the sweater I made for myself a year or two ago. It never fit right, I never wore it, but I still love the yarn. I'm finally blocking the kinks out of that yarn so I can make myself another sweater with it.

I think that's my complete knitting update.
Over and out.

It's System-wide Post on your Blog Day!

I mean . . . it's a SNOW DAY! WOOHOO!


(Si put a can of Coke into the snow pile to get cold, and marked the spot with an arrow . . . while shoveling)

We are home for the day, so like all my colleagues who blog (CWB), I'm going to post! One of my twitterbuds linked me to this great blog, and I just had to laugh - and it got me thinking that maybe my loyal readership would be interested in hearing about our day here!


First, I woke up at around 4 am. Yes, you read that right! Very early, I know, but Samwise (see his pic to the left) decided that either I should get up, or he should lay on my face, kneading my cheek, drooling into my ear and purring. Lovely. I love you, too, Luxury Cat.

Of course, if you know me you'll know that once I'm awake enough to be snarky, I'm awake. Darn you, over-active brain cells!

Neilson just called me! In the middle of posting - seriously! They wanted to know what I know and think about movies currently in the theaters. HA! He actually started laughing when he was talking/asking about Hannah Montana, the Movie - how great is that?
OK - back to my regular post . . . where was I?

Oh, so this morning, I got up and went right online on my laptop, snuggling on the couch. The cats were annoyed because they don't like the computer in my lap when one of them could be getting warm there! Tough!

For 2 hours I kept checking the closings site, seeing if we were listed. No dice. Then I see a TWEET from a coworker, and voila! SNOW DAY!




Here is a list of all the stuff we've done today so far:

1. laid around on the couch
2. taken a nap (just me)
3. drawn pictures of soldiers (just Si)
4. gone to work (poor DH!)
5. not gone to work or school (Si and I)
6. made homemade brownies - dark choco with choco chips (Si and I) - totally yummers!
7. panicked at not having ground meat for chili (me)
8. made chili with chicken instead (again, just me)
9. talked to the Nielsen dude (me), saying yes, I'll probably see that, and no, I definitely won't see that
   
10. shoveled the driveway (Si)
11. dug through the closet for a pair of gloves for Si (me)
12. knit! (me)
13. goofed around with blogs and crap online (me)
14. watched Iron Man (my first time - it really is as good as Si has been saying!)
15. snuggled with cats (Si and I)

Yea, we've had a very productive day!

Come back later for a knitting update. I just realized I've updated ravelry, but not here. Also, I'm reading a great Ready to Read related book, but I'll tell you about that when I'm done!

Yay! Another Meme!

Have I done this one before? I don't think so . . . taken from AWTB's blog . . .

Bold whatever you have done.
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. (I bolded half of this because I walked as high as they would let us walk 2 different times I was there.)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.--Does the Venetian hotel in Vegas count?
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen and Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke. (Boy, howdy, I need to get back to get me some Karaoke action soon! Bob's Bar, Sunday nights!)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (Si has commandeered most of them by now)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. (well, it FELT like it was speeding, although I'm sure it wasn't, and it terrified me so much I have never gotten on one again . . . I was about 5, I think)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. (I've helped write chapters . . . and I've published book reviews and articles - lots of them)
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car. They were new to me!
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit. I've been subpoenaed a few times for library-related cases.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

I'm In!

I've pledged to volunteer at least 5 hours this year, and I got my free cuppa from Starbucks this morning!



Maybe I should really be considering to pledge ONLY 5 hours of volunteer work this year and spend more time at home? hahahaha!

Good Day - and Poetry Friday!

Greetings, my friends! I know I haven't been posting often lately. I've been thinking a lot about work and about my role at work and about what the role of my work is in the community - lots of big stuff, and let me tell ya, it wasn't all grins and giggles! However, this has been a phenomenal week, Tuesday was fabulously historic, and it's all good! Here we are, nearly at the end of January, and I've not even shared with you my goals for the year or anything! You know I love lists, so here goes (even though some of this won't really fit in a traditional list . . . but hey, y'all know me well enough to know I don't care about being normal, right?):

• I will think about the food I eat, eat healthier, and not let one bad food decision keep me from making a better decision with the next bite (this is my version of WW - you do it your way . . .)
• I will care less about what is on TV than I care about who I'm with when I'm watching (in other words, bring on the geek stuff, Honey, I'm just there to be with you . . . well . . . and to knit!)
• I will not worry about "how it looks to other people" when I make decisions about my career (it's not about moving up, it's about doing what your best at and serving the customers well, or, as our NEW PRESIDENT said, it's about making the hard decisions and doing what is right to change things for the better)
• I will share more book thoughts on my blog (I feel like I've not done a review in a long time!)
• I will exercise more often (which, honestly, won't take much)
  

OK - that's it for now. ON to POETRY FRIDAY!

Today, I give you an old college pal, David. You can read his story and see more of his music, if you like:



Check back in a few days, and hopefully, you'll see a book review or two. :-)

Lurve Poetry Friday!

Cheryl pointed me to the "I Love you more than" website - it's fun!


I love you more than watching what I like on TV.
I love you more than getting my own way.
I love you more than a clean house.
I love you more than sleeping in.
I love you more than dark chocolate . . . with roasted pecans. . . . ok, maybe not with the pecans.


I've also got to tell you that I love the book Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech. It's the sequel to Love that Dog, and it's great. I'm listening to it in the car, and I actually laughed out loud on the ride to work today (even though my toes were froze) It's written mostly in poems, or at least that is how the reader is reading it. Lurve it!

OK - today's extemporaneous Lurve Poem:


I love warm
warm, cozy, snug
cuddled like a bug
cocoa in a mug
chili in my tum
mitten on my thumb
toes not numb
warm.

Poetry Friday!

I was going to write about snow . . . but then decided I needed to compose something extemporaneously . . . with apologies to Robert Frost

Whose mess this is I think I know
His room is down the hallway, though.
He will not see me stopping here
To bend and lift, the trash to throw.

My lazy cat must think I'm queer
To pick up toys and jump with fear
At seeing bits of curdled milk.
A sniff will tell me, yogurt's near.

My son's a slob, the mess is deep,
but I have dusting, things to sweep,
And vacuuming before I sleep
And vacuuming before I sleep.

(oooh - you should see the glare my DS just gave me!)

New Look

I finally got brave and updated the look of the blog. What do you all think? I should add a poll, shouldn't I? I have hundreds of pictures to choose from for the header, but for now I've got the sunset over Lake Erie. Soon, I"ll try a sunrise over the ocean. With DH around, we are never at a loss for lovely, beautiful, miraculous pictures to use!

Let me know what you think. Cheryl has already said she likes it better . . . and it was her previous comment to me in email about all the pink that finally lit a fire under my html butt to change things. Thanks for the gentle prod, my friend!

Thoughts about life

MUSH WARNING - THIS IS A VERY EMOTIONAL POST

Life takes funny twists and turns. There are heartaches, illnesses, disappointments in all of our lives, and there are usually shiny, warm, sparkly things in each of our lives, too. Sometimes the balance between those two sides seems out of whack, but all we can do is keep on plugging and trusting that there is a reason for it all. That's what I believe, anyway.

I don't usually get very intimate in this blog, but there is enough going on in my life right now that there's little else I could do and still keep the blog active. Oh, sure, in another week I'll probably be back to posting knitting pictures and family stuff, and I'm sure you'll get that again, but right now, I feel the need to share just a few thoughts about . . . . well . . . life.

I like lists, and I love memes, so I'll make this list in random order of some of the thinks I've thunk lately.

• The people who are in charge are the ones who get to choose what's important. That's just the way it is. The rest of us need to find a way to let that be OK in our brains.
• My dad always said that you have to figure out what you love to do, and then find someone who's willing to pay you to do it. This is excellent career advice. We should all follow it.
• Sometimes, my dad's advice is impossible to follow, and you just have to suck it up and work for a living, even if the job isn't your dream job.
• Excitement and challenge are sometime over-rated.
• You need to cherish the people you care about, and tell them often that you love them. Trust me, it's important.
• God has a plan for each of us. I do actually believe this to be true. Sometimes I want to grab the power and make my own *&^%ing plans because His don't make sense to me, but that never seems to work out well.
• Each day, you should think about what's most important to you and do something that has meaning. For many of us with kids, that can be as simple as sharing a book or conversation with the kid. Hey, it works for me!
• At the end of the day, you have to be able to be a peace with who you are.
• When it comes right down to it, all of life is really just between you and your creator. Build that relationship, and all the rest will fall into place. . . . at least, that's what I'm thinkin is true.

To my dear friend, Billi, who recently passed away: I wish I'd spent more time with you recently. Your compassionate heart and generosity were always a comfort to me, and the way you cared about everyone's kids was so very sweet. I wish I'd told you, but of course, when I actually did, you brushed it off. You were like that. I only have a few pictures of you, from when you dyed my hair purple at the L. It was so cool of you to come do that.

To my readers: If you are a praying person, please offer up some prayers for our friend, Braeden, who lost his mother last week (and his dad, Michael). Braeden is 14, and he is going to be reeling from this for a long time.

Xmas Memories, vol 2

"Second Christmas" was at my parents' house. Again, there were great presents. I was especially excited to see my mom open the shawl I knit for her (she loves it, of course!)





To block it, I had to stretch it out on our kingsize bed (to give you some perspective), but it's so soft and light it feels like a cloud (without the damp cold).






We spent several days there since it's been months since we've been up there. We did puzzles, played games (together, and individually on their computers), and did some traditional Xmas things.





We spent time with my brother and his GF.







We made some traditional Swedish dishes (from my paternal grandfather's mother's tradition) of Sylta and Barley(made using the broth from Sylta and adding enough barley to choke a horse, then mixing in ground liver - not my kind of dish, but DH lurves it big time) DH has some good bonding time with my 'rental units by making this with them every few years.


and I made Swedish Limpa Rye Bread to go with it. I didn't use the linked recipe, but instead used one from an old cookbook Mom has from the Swedish church in town. This is about the only rye bread I enjoy. It's got a lovely sweetness from the molasses, and a bit of light tang and bouquet from the orange zest.







I also was able to get together with some old HS chums (thanks for having us all over, ma cher femme!)






And I got DH to pose with his new convertable glove/mittens. Isn't he cute? He lurves these, too, and gave them a test-run today for the annual Christmas Bird Count in the Hocking Hills.

Xmas Memories, vol 1

We started our official season a few weeks before Xmas when my sister and our friend Vicky came over for G-bread house decorating. This is Simon's. It's not just a house, it is a Viking Mead Hall . . .




complete with gumdrop Vikings. He had names for them all and regaled the younger boys (Vicky's kids) with tales of King Ragnar, Ivar, Goorton and Eric.





Our First Christmas was with my in-laws. They are really terrific people, and we love to visit with them. They were very generous with gifts, too! Simon is the only grandchild . . . in both of our families . . . so it's always a big deal to unwrap it all.

We take turns, one person at a time opens one gift at a time. We all agree that it's just as fun watching others open what you've gotten them as it is to open your own stuff.

Beau, one of their cats, was enjoying some sun in the afternoon . . . sharing the table with our Christmas Feast.







Simon and I had some fun outdoors trying to make his new RC Dragonfly stay in the air for more than 2 seconds (crash!)

We had a great time in Marietta. Check back later this weekend for more Xmas stuff . . . and at some point I'll have the whole load of pics on Facebook.