November 12th

The horses are enjoying these nice fall days, cool, no bugs, sunshine. Actually, what they really enjoy is the new hay we've been feeding, they eat every last wisp. Willie is a little on the thin side for going into the winter. It's hard to keep a cribber like him in good flesh, but he does eat well at least. Yesterday we got the winter blankets washed. They've only been in the tack room for 8 months waiting to be laundered. Every year I swear I'll get it done right away after they come off for the season, but every year there I am in November at the laundromat washing filthy and now moldy blankets. Sigh.



This is Willie, eating as usual.

Thought for the day: "Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?"

November 11th

In all of the hoopla about the date of 11.11.11, movie releases, game releases, all kinds of "events" I hope we don't forget that veterans are the reason there is a USA for all of this to happen.

Back in the 70s I worked at the V.A.Hospital in San Francisco. The veterans there were mostly from WWII and Korean War and a high percentage of them were indigent and lived at no fixed address, and many were alcoholics. On top of all that, the ones my boss saw were diabetic. They would show up at an early time and get their fasting blood glucose done; then they would get a voucher for a meal at the cafeteria, eat, then come back for their doctor visit. For some of them, it was a chance to get a good hot meal, free, and a visit to a doctor who would treat them as a responsible person. Anyway, what I remember is that they were an amiable lot, and they told me jokes while I worked. Because they were living rough, they couldn't take care of themselves as a diabetic, even simple things like wearing a well-fitting shoe was beyond their reach, and so they got blisters and they got infected, and could and sometimes did turn to gangrene. Some of them had amputations as a result. The irony is that they came home from the war all in one piece, only to lose a leg to an infected foot blister.

Anyway they are mostly all dead by now, as is my then-boss, and the new patients are from Vietnam and the Gulf War, mostly. Time has a way of erasing while writing the same again. The faces change, but the wounded veterans are much the same.

So on Veterans Day, say thank you, and send some money, if you can afford it, to the DAV (Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati OH 46250, www.DAV.org) or to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (7 Mill Road, Wilton, NH 03086, SupportVeterans.org). It will mean a lot to the heroes who served.

Thought for the day: "Supporting the Fighters, Admiring the Survivors, Honoring the Taken, And never giving up"

November 10th

Wordless Thursday (because I forgot on Wednesday)

November 9th

These are my hawaiian shirts. Aren't they colorful? There are (blush) 12 of them, and I wear every single one of them. Not at the same time. You know. But I wear them. Mostly I got them on ebay, my favorite website. I've been buying on ebay since 1997, back when I had to explain what it was. I love it.

The upcoming cruise in March is very much on my mind, we're still working out the details of hotel, and transfers from and to the ship. I'm sure the travel agent will be heartily sick of us by March, but she is very nice about all my questions. I have mentally begun packing, making lists and so forth. Probably all of you will be sick of this by then too.

But better the cruise than obsessing over the mammogram and surgeon visit in Feb. It is hard not to be pessimistic about this, but I have no reason to believe there is any problem lurking around the corner. I suspect I will always fret about every symptom (this headache! do I have a brain tumor? and so forth) and I would bet this is a common problem among cancer patients. It's a hell of a way to live life, though. Sufficient unto the day...

Thought for the day: "Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation."

November 8th

I found this in a random blog spot, and why I can't remember to include the web address, it must be because I'm getting old. Not, you see, old yet, I'm still in the "getting ready" phase.

Today's blogging prompt is, has anything traumatic ever happened to you? And my answer is yes.

When I was 24 my husband and I bought horses and boarded them at a nearby stable. We had nothing but trouble with his horse, Chacho. About a month after we bought him, we had a three day weekend, and I thought that we would ride a fair amount to see if the problem was just too little exercise. I rode first, being the better rider. I had been riding him about 20 minutes inside the fenced ring, when he began to buck. I lost my stirrups and then I pitched off over his side. I remember seeing his hoof come down, like in slow motion, near my head and thought, oh good, he is past me. Then I hit the ground. I ended up on my hands and knees, and then turned and sat down in the dirt, and then laid down. Everyone rushed over. I got to my feet but couldn't stand up straight. I got in the car and N drove me home; by the time we got there I couldn't feel my legs. Called an ambulance, and to make a long story short, I had fractured two vertebrae in my spine, and spent the next 4 weeks in a body cast, and then a brace for several months. We sold that horse and I never saw him again. So yes, pretty traumatic. I kept my horse for 14 years, he died when he was 23, and a real sweet heart. I miss him still.

So that's my trip down memory lane. I have no back pain, and no after effects at all. And I still have horses.

Thought for the day; "Conspiracy theories are bunk and probably started by the government."

November 7th

Got my nails done this morning, looking good. Not only do I get my nails done, I get all the latest going on in town. N calls the manicurist my "other therapist" which I guess she is. Anyway, lots of talking. That is one thing I really miss about not working. There is, however, lots more that I don't miss at all. Deadlines, reports, audits, and on and on. My replacement started about 4 weeks before I left, and as I showed her the ropes, she couldn't get over how much there was to do. I guess I never noticed because it all got added on a little at a time, but looking at it as a whole it was a lot to learn. I got several calls after I left, but nothing too complicated, so I guess she is doing great by now. It is hard to believe I retired nearly 5 years ago. After working for 34 years I might add.

One of the blog prompts for the month is, if your next meal was going to be your last, what would you have? And all I can up with is, Very Large. It would be stuff I love, and stuff I have never tried. It would include several types of wine, and several kinds of dessert (chocolate turtle cheesecake would figure in there somewhere). It would be served on linen with sterling flatware and crystal. There would be some of Mom's cooking, nothing fancy but really good, like pot roast and veggies, hers never tasted like it had been boiled for hours. There would be baked apples, and sweet potato casserole, and ...
Well, you get the drift... Yum. And no worry about gaining weight, or cholesterol, bring on the alfredo sauce.

Bumper sticker of the day: "You know you're getting older when Happy Hour is a nap."

November 6th

Beautiful day. N is getting really annoyed with the guy who is supposed to be delivering a load of hay. It used to be delivered by the guy's dad, but he died last year, and his son has too many irons in the fire and we must come pretty far down his list. He said he would be here once he "got a bite to eat" but me I'm skeptical. He has promised before. Once the weather turns to rain and sleet and snow we don't want to try to get hay into the barn, the slope is downhill to the barn and getting back out is a good place to get stuck. And horses eat like, well, horses.

Bumper sticker for the day: "Relish today. Ketchup tomorrow."

November 5th

My whole post! Disappeared and presumed dead. Rats.

Today is Guy Fawkes' day in Britain, a chance to do bonfires and fireworks, mainly. Sorta like our Fourth of July, only their holiday is for the defeat of a plot to assassinate King James I in 1605, so a little older than ours. Nothing like burning in effigy for a good cause.

The fall day here is glorious, and probably the last for the colors of the trees. I changed the wreath on the front door from the ghostly one to the fall one, and hung up the turkey windsock. Meanwhile C blew the dust out of my computer and then I vacuumed the computer room, whoohoo. Of course now I can hardly breathe from the dust stirred up! Oh and I folded all the laundry from yesterday, so I am really on a roll.

The neighbors across the road are really nice, the lady sends over homemade food (the last was a pumpkin pie, after the apple pie 2 weeks ago, and the broccoli cheese soup before that), and I have reciprocated with a loaf of pumpkin bread, but I am way behind in the exchanges and now I feel pressured to come up with another food to send over. Clearly she doesn't need dessert things; I am thinking about porcupine meatballs (which are made with ground beef and rice, which pokes out of the meatballs like on a porcupine). It's one of our favorites, and tastes better when reheated the next day. That should put me even I think.



(This is a web picture, mine aren't quite so photogenic.)

Time for lunch, I think I'll have pumpkin pie.

Thought for the day: "Never eat more than you can lift."

November 4th

nightmares. can't sleep. I'll write more later.

Later, more. (hehe)

But seriously, on the NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) website, today's topic is, when you write, do you use a pen or the computer? My answer would have to be, both. If I am writing on my opus, I use the computer because I can't stop editing it as I go along, after I have re-read what I have written. If I am writing in my journal, I write using a fountain pen (I collect them), and also if I am taking notes. My typing is horrible. I cannot break myself from looking at the keys, rather than the screen. Been that way since high school, and it equaled a C- for me, alas! But I like to think my handwriting is pretty nice, and I can do calligraphy too, but it is very slow. So there you have, a piece of useless trivia about me, and aren't you glad I kept this short?

I am working on my Photoshop skills, and here are before and after photos. I mean, where else can I brag but here? (The "before" is a lesson example.)






Thought for the day: "Santa's elves are just a bunch of subordinate clauses."

November 3rd

Laundry. Where is a magic wand when you need one?

I remember having a set of tea towels when I was just married, one for each day of the week, and each one had an embroidered sketch of a girl that corresponded to the day. For instance, Monday was laundry day, and there was this sweet little tyke hanging up washing on a breezy sunny day. There was one for shopping day, and dusting day and on and on. For some reason that escapes me now I thought these were cute; but anyway the habit lingers on that I should do laundry on Monday. This obviously doesn't happen, especially when R gets her stuff in the washer before me. I could just run her loads through and then do my own, but before long I would end up with the entire job, which I refuse to do. Bad Precedent. Now I feel fortunate if I get it washed and folded and put away before midnight on any given day. And I hate to have it spill over to a second day, too depressing.

Yesterday's cancer treatment went smoothly and we were home by 1 pm. The oncologist's office has moved to the hospital where the treatment is done, so much more convenient than it was prior to yesterday, when we had to do a separate trip to see him, then go on to the hospital. Today I feel very tired, but otherwise OK.

It strikes me that when we go to Hawaii in March I will need a whole different wardrobe, as my current one is pretty much all blue jeans, which will be too hot for the on-shore part. Also I will need something a bit more formal for the dining room on board. Gosh, what a terrible burden, shopping. I already ordered a new set of luggage, I picked school bus yellow for the color, should be easy to find at the baggage carousel. And very roomy, as I will over pack I am sure. At least the on board laundry and dry cleaning are free. Although I plan on packing enough underwear for the entire trip, I don't want my undies handled by someone else, that's just me. Right now we are reading up on all the excursions, to book them before we go. There are so many, and so many $$$ for them, but I'm not up for renting a car and taking off on our own, in a strange place with an absolute return time to get back on board before the ship leaves without us. If the excursion returns late they hold the gangway for you...




This is all of us, on board the Westerdam on our first cruise, several years ago. Back when I had hair. And two boobs.

Thought for the day: "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup."

November 2nd -- Wordless Wednesday

Mac, doing what he does best.


Thought for the day: Bad news: It's better to give than receive.

November 1st

It is my goal to participate in NaBloPoMo this month, that is, the national blog posting for a month. I did this one several years ago, and I thought I'd give this year's attempt a whirl.

Last night was Halloween, and we had 42 little kids traipse up to the door. Several of them said not a word, just marched up to the door, opened their bags and then walked away. When my kids were of the age, I went with them and the running joke was that every time they forgot to say "Thank you" I got to eat the candy. I never did get any, but they remembered to thank everyone. Of course, this year it rained and rained (I sat under an umbrella and back against the door for shelter) so it was a pretty bedraggled wet bunch of kids. Some great costumes, there were the usual batman, Spiderman, ghosts and vampires, but there was also one Harry Potter, and one little girl in dress like a southern belle, hair all in ringlets, so cute. The first several years here we had no trick-or-treaters, we were the last house on a very long road; but eventually all the area popped up in houses and now we are in a regular development. Us and the barn, manure pile, and horses. Ah well, we were here first, and the gardeners love us. Free manure, all they can haul away, it's not like there is any slackening in supply.

I'm sitting here in the computer room, trying not to think about the mammoth spider I saw in here several days ago. I couldn't reach it to smoosh it, and boy am I sorry. N sprayed the room for me, and I hope that reached the bug. I am way creeped out by spiders. Partly because I grew up in Miami FL where all the bugs come giant-sized and pushy. Shudder.

I think the wood shaving truck just arrived, time to go and unload the bales. I'll give more Random thoughts tomorrow.

Thought for the day, "I've lowered my expectations to the point where they've already been met..."

Rerun

Today marks the 7 year anniversary of this blog, and in honor (well, sorta) of the occasion, I will re-post that first blog entry below, just in case you are really desperate to read yet another Random Micro bit of prose.


Oct 29, 2004


Having gotten this far in creating a blog, you'd think I'd have SOME idea about what I was going to use for content, but no, not me, just leap into things and look later (ah, I'm falling......). You might even assume (erroneously) that I had perhaps READ a few blogs to gain some insight into the how of things, but no, too logical. I could waste your valuable time meandering on and on (Do you know what you call a caveman who can't find his cave? A Meanderthal) talking about my family, my job, pets, my experiences as a suicide survivor, my thoughts about Life and the Meaning therof, I could even post reams of genealogical data on the family, proven to drive grown men to cry and gnash their teeth. I could talk about therapy (what do you think about that? Why? Is there something you're not saying?) or I could regale you with my treasure trove of blonde jokes (I feel particulary superior since I used to be blonde but am now redheaded). I could post recipes, guaranteed to be un-original, since every combination of ingredients in every possible permutation has already had a recipe published (I could show you the math)--not good recipes, of course, but still pretty much OK if you're hungry . I could write about the latest book I've read, or my favorite musicians or albums (oops, should call them CDs now). I could talk about the pros and cons of driving a really small car, like finding good parking places but getting blindsided on the freeway. I could wax eloquent (well, sort of) about my friends, and the Meaning of Friendship, and why friends come and why they go, while your enemies stay steadfast forever. I could do any of these things, but would anyone read it? Why? Have you already read this far? Surely you have better things to do, like call your mother? Think about this....later.

And that was my first post, and I've come pretty far. I don't post as often as I could, and my topics ARE pretty random. I still don't know how to do strikeouts, and my template, tho not the original one, is still pretty vanilla, but still, 7 years! The only thing longer that I've done is be married (41 years and counting).



Hope all of you are ready for Halloween, with plenty of candy so there will be leftovers for you...

Bumper sticker of the day: "When you're finally holding all the cards, why does everyone else decide to play chess?"

Wordless Wednesday

Canada, I think.

Hawaii bound

I booked our cruise round trip San Diego to Hawaii for March of next year! It's not that far in the future when I look at all there is to do. The kids will take care of the animals, which would otherwise be a huge stumbling block. It's hard to get a house or pet sitter that does dogs, fish, horses and cats! Now my only worry is that I will be having a mammogram in Feb,. and if it shows anything I will need a biopsy, and who knows what might follow? I tell myself I shouldn't borrow trouble, but myself doesn't listen very well. I did opt to include insurance on the trip and the flight to SD, at least we would get our $ back. And could re-book.

I recently took a photo course online, the purpose was to get an understanding of the features of the Nikon D40. Once the class was done, I pretty much forgot all that I learned, so I reprinted the class syllabus today and have been slowly going over it. It sticks better the second time around, I think. In addition I am working thru a training book for Photoshop, and I am quite happy to know all the ins and outs of PS. Like a lot of photographers, I have fooled around with Photoshop, but I am surprised at how easy it is to do pretty complex manipulations of photos. Once I work my way through it I'll post some before-and-after things here. I want to take lots of photos in Hawaii and on the ship (Holland America) since I'm real sure we won't be back there again.

Here's a little blog question that I have seen on other sites: What is a true thing that could be said about you?
Answer: It is true that I am a very fast learner. I can pick up "how to" without someone showing me how, and I even amaze myself; sometimes I make things up as I go along, and at the end find I was 100% correct. Now if only the things I am fast at would prove to be financially rewarding! Ah well.

Thought for the day: "If all else fails... more duct tape!"

Wordless Wednesday

Ides of October

Raven, the black Newfoundland, came through her surgery on Monday just fine, after Wednesday's false start. (She had a bad reaction to the anesthetic.) The main difficulty, as I said before, is getting her into and out of the truck. Anyway, she is walking on her bum leg, limping, but walking on it. She and Magpie will have to get used to seeing each other through the fence, as Maggie is far too rough in her playing, and we CANNOT pay for hip replacement or shoulder surgery or elbow surgery when the most direct way is to separate them, not just now while Raven is mending, but all the time. Forever. Sad, but there it is.





The fall colors are taking a beating now, what with the 20 mile-an-hour wind on Saturday and the torrential rain storms. Sunday is expected to be nice, before starting the week with showers every day. If so, I'll post some photos here. These were taken in the front yard. Fall is my favorite time of the year, but it seems to go by so fast, and then we are in the dreary rainy days of winter. Not to mention those days of s**w that make for lousy driving conditions, and let's not think of them.





I think I will take a page from Lucky Lady and begin a Wordless Wednesday. It will be fun to see what I can come up with. I promise it won't ALL be pics of the cats.

Bumper sticker for the day: "Why is abbreviation such a long word?"

I must flea!

We are waging all-out war against those little buggers, fleas. Everyone says this is a bad year for them, because we had a mild winter, but whatever the reason they are a plague here. We treated the inside cats once last year and they were fine (as far as we could tell.) But this summer!! Gross...

But the cats have been amazingly cooperative as we ply them with pills, collars, and the stuff you dab on their necks. All but one cat, who earned the coveted Vet Visit for flea treatment and two vaccination jabs. Isn't it amazing how cats struggle when they must go in the carrier, then at the vets place they don't want to get out of it? And how they howl on the way there, but never make a peep on the way home? They are looking a little hunted, and won't come to the lap for a snuggle. Which is OK by me, right now.

And in case I haven't said it, I love the internet. I was having a fit with HP Image Zone crashing ever time I started it, and that is the program I use all the time to tweak my photos, leaving Photoshop for the complex editing. It all had to do with a new printer (one that we gave R at Christmas several years ago, and she never even opened the box.) Somehow I messed up the photo editing program with the scanning of an image, and the fix was not intuitive. But what I did was type the whole error message into Google ("An outgoing call cannot be made since the application is dispatching an input-synchronous call." What the hell does THAT mean??) And the first or second hit was the simple answer, through Task Manager. All this was after 3 hours of re-installing printers, restarting the computer numerous times, and looking on the internet under the name of the program. Live and learn.

I have another herceptin infusion on Wednesday. I asked the oncologist about taking that Hawaiian cruise in March, even though the treatments won't quite be finished, and he said, Go for it. So I will call the travel agent this week and start the ball rolling. I will add more in the next post or two. Planning travel out of Morgantown is always a challenge, our airport only flies to Dulles, and only twice a day. Small town, eh?

Bumper sticker of the day: "Double your drive space! Delete Windows!"

Meme for today

This is the “Where I’m From” writing template that I found on I Wasn't Blogged Yesterday. This is my result:

The WHERE I’M FROM :

I am from fountain pens, from the Parker Pen Co. and the smell of blue ink.

I am from the ice cream house, older but just right and filled with the smell of candles and the feel of tall grass.

I am from the marigold flower, the only kind I can get to grow outside.

I am from a family tradition of big meals and big eaters, from Grandma Knight and Mom and Aunt Nina who swapped out Christmas and Thanksgiving at their homes every year.

I am from a family that tells tall tales and laughs loudly.

From being told as a child "your face will freeze that way" and "stand up straight".

I am from a Baptist church that broke up in strife and took my spiritual life with it.

I’m from West Virginia farmers from before the Revolutionary War, from raising horses and growing bumper vegetable gardens (which I also can't seem to grow).

From the family story of a certain speeding ticket in Claxton Co., GA and why Dad would never eat fruitcake; and the story of how daughter R ended up being born in San Francisco instead of WV. (N accepted a job here in WV and we sold our California house, and then I went into labor 10 weeks early; R stayed in the Intensive Care Nursery in California for 2 months while I lived in a friend's home and N, the horse, the cats, the dog, and all our belongings went to WV.) Beach Boys "California Girl" in my head now...

I am from a genealogy index of more than 2500 family members, and I can relate family lore of soldiers and scoundrels, show photos dignified and hilarious and I know the difference between second cousin and first cousin once removed (which no one really cares about). I will probably never finish the family of Knights, but I get a great kick out of looking for all the Peter Knights in WV.

Whew! That all took some heavy thinking...

Bumper Sticker for the day: "If you can read this I've lost my trailer!"

Shopping

I feel like I deserve a blue ribbon for today. My daughter and I went shopping together for 2 small rugs for her bedroom. On Thursday new laminate flooring will be put down, and she needs a rug where her computer chair wheels will be, to avoid scoring it over and over, and another one at the side of her bed. You would think this was a fairly easy task, wouldn't you? AH HA but you haven't been shopping with R. No decision is ever easy, and after two stores, one of which was holding a rug and home decor sale, she still couldn't settle on anything. Finally in desperation I picked up two striped throw rugs around the right size, and told her she could see better how they would look at home, and return them if not satisfactory. She hesitantly agreed and we made our way home (in the pouring rain, I might add). The rugs look great, and she LIKED WHAT I PICKED OUT! Be still my heart.

She doesn't read this, by the way.

So right now the dining room is once again serving as a holding room, this time for two bedrooms full of stuff and the furniture from them. The dining table is completely covered, which doesn't matter since there isn't room to pull out a chair anyway. The last time it was full of stuff like this, was the time the sewer line had to be re-dug and the storage shed had to be moved, the one with all the junk in it that I couldn't fit in the house to start with. Here is the link, if you are interested Moving along

Anyway, this at least will result in a positive improvement in the house, and not just a big muddy filled-in hole. In a few more weeks, the all-wood doors will be installed on all the hall doors, replacing those horrible hollow dark plain doors. I'll try to remember to take some before-and-after photos. The next project will be the kids' bathroom, and I am not looking forward to the turmoil that will result when it is torn out.

I finally got a copy of my PET/CT scan results, which I requested about 4 weeks ago. All 3 pages. They don't say anything the oncologist didn't tell me (his exact words were, "It all looks good"), but I like to read reports like this myself. And keep them in my files with the other breast cancer stuff. My version of compulsive, you could say.

Bumper sticker for the day: "I just let my mind wander and it didn't come back."