The End of 2013

Here it is New Year's Eve, and we have a big night planned, eating homemade chili and watching TV.  I won't make it to midnight, around 10 I'm ready for bed, if not sooner.  Tomorrow we will take down the Christmas decorations and the tree, and I will be able to get into the cabinet where my yarn is stored.  An exciting day.

I haven't felt too well these last couple of days, but nothing I can put my finger on.  I just want to curl up under a blanket and sleep.  All day.  It's even a struggle to get dressed every day, and not hang around in my jammies until official bedtime. 

One task I did get done was clearing out the computer room.  It was so crammed with junk you couldn't even turn around in it, you had to back out.  I donated the books (around 200 of them) to a local used bookstore, and waded through the remains, ruthlessly purging all the old files, and labeling the organizing boxes that fit into a cabinet.  Looks tons better, and it is so nice to be able to walk in here again.  I have seen a few episodes of Hoarders, and they give me the creeps; still I can relate (somewhat) to not wanting to throw stuff out.  But I like to have things tidy, even if vacuuming and dusting are pretty scant.  Even the kids have complimented me on the result.

DH got a mini RC helicopter for Christmas, but it has been too windy to try it outdoors.  And there isn't much space indoors for any kind of testing, not even counting the cats who either duck and run away, or try to catch the little blighter.  Of course, in addition to being windy, the temps today remained in the 20s, with even colder weather forecast for the rest of the week.  Luckily I have no more appointments this week, and got all my meds refilled today, the last time they will be co-pay free for at least a while. 

Bumper sticker for the day:  "I'm not weird.  I'm a limited edition."

Nearly Christmas

I am done, and done in too.  All the gifts have been delivered, all of them wrapped and under the tree, Christmas food all tucked up in the fridge.  I am exhausted, although I didn't do that much by myself.  Anyway, I thought I would do a quick post here, so you won't think I fell off the face of the earth.  And really, it hasn't been that long since the last post.

The weather here has been one gloomy day after the next.  The temps have been as high as the 70s (yesterday) and yet the temp is plunging down today and tomorrow. The rain is making an awful mess outdoors, and the horses are highly incensed that they have not been able to be outside due to the slippery footing, and them being in their 20s.  The very very worst of it is that with the warmer weather, the #%!*&$ stink bugs are once again active.  Daughter found one in her purse this morning, major ICK.  Husband found three in the bedroom, and no doubt there will be more as they try to find warmish places to hibernate.  I can only imagine what spring will be like (shudder) .  When I lived in FL, many years ago, I had a horror of "palmetto bugs" which most people call roaches.  Big ones, that fly (clumsily) and are a constant battle.  When we fist lived in Memphis, the landlord would have the place sprayed regularly at the first sign of a roach.  I couldn't believe the small things were roaches, granted I didn't want them around, but to me they weren't even close to being MY idea of a roach.  Let's end this subject.

It is almost time to ship out this month's swap package on the Knitting Paradise forum (http://knittingparadise.com if you are interested ).  This month's color wheel swap is black and white, and I have found some excellent items to include (apron, tote bag, mug, notebook, pens, etc. as well as yarn of course).  The site is very informative for knitters and crocheters, as well as one section of "other crafts" where most anything might appear.  And the swaps are fun, a different partner every month.  So far I have done red, blue, green, and pink, and there have been neat items in every one of them.  Sometimes I find readers here who have come from the KP forum, so if that includes you, welcome!

Bumper sticker for the day:  "The best things in life aren't things."

All done

All is well; thank all of you for your kind thoughts.
Bumper sticker for the day:  "Does running late count as exercise?"

December at the speed of light

I can't believe it is the 8th of December already.  I won't bore you with the list of tasks undone; I will say the tree is up.  Not decorated, but the lights are on.  Progress.

I was trying to remember Christmases past, not in general, but specific ones.  The only one I can remember is the Christmas I got my first guitar.  I was 12, and I was so excited, my parents had managed to hide it completely, so even snooping around didn't reveal it.  I have different guitars now, two of them.  I still play, although my hands cramp up pretty quickly and I haven't tackled a new song in a long time.  There is something very soothing about listening to a master guitar player, like Chet Atkins or Eric Clapton (acoustic and when he isn't singing!), or Leo Kotche (jazz) or even Santana (rock and roll).  I wish I had been more consistent in taking music lessons, the last teacher I had passed away from cancer and I haven't looked any further since then.

I can't sleep tonight, I keep waking myself up snoring.  I've tried reading, and writing in my journal, and counting sheep (well, not really), but here I am at 5 am, groggy and drowsy, but wide awake as soon as I get comfortable in bed.   No doubt I'll be dropping off about the time to get up.  Isn't that always the case?

I've been struggling with rosacea and it has flared up in the last few weeks.  I look like Santa with his cheeks so rosy (and a belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly, but let's not go there).  I went to the derm doctor last Monday, and she gave me a sample of a new drug that is a vasoconstricter, works fast and lasts twelve hours.  I have tried it twice, and have not had much success yet, but I am trying to feel when the flare-up starts and not wait until I am beet red to use it.  It would be nice to be able to use blush again.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."

Looking backward

I am fast approaching the 7th anniversary of my retirement,  Dec. 29th, 2006.  I have to mark it as one of my happiest moments.  Above is the photo taken at my retirement party of the folks I worked with for around three years.  Some of them are retired now, and others have moved on to other jobs, but they were a great bunch of people to work with.  That's me on the far left upper row, and that smile didn't leave my face the entire day.  Every Christmas season I think of how frantic it always seemed to be, doing all the necessary daily things, and somehow squeezing in shopping, cooking, baking, wrapping, and on and on.  Since retirement, that has all changed, partly due to having more time; if I get tired shopping (especially for groceries) I just stop with what I have, pay, and go home.  Plenty of time the next day.  I run into other people I worked with, or my daughter does and they ask about me, and whether I enjoy retirement.  The answer is YES I do.  Wish I could have done it sooner, but it's OK now.  I worked 25 years at the university, and 10 years in federal research labs, and 35 years of work like mine, where I was on call for all kinds of hours, really wore me down.  And once the cancer came (three years ago in February), I at least didn't have to worry about a job or family obligations, only taking care of myself with DH's help.

Hope all of you are looking forward to holiday happiness, seeing family and friends, and getting lots of great stuff to eat!

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Stay clam and proofread."

Indigestion

As usual, I ate too much on Thanksgiving and am now paying the price.  Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, deviled eggs, green beans, homemade dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, pickle, pie with whipped cream,; although I have to admit the pie didn't get cut yet.  We certainly did justice to such a spread.  I talked to my uncle and aunt (about 90 miles away) and they had a quiet dinner with their son and his wife.  I'm glad they had someone to share with; their son often works holidays so that those with family can be off (he works in a hospital).  We will try to get down there before Christmas, weather permitting.  The big storm predicted for our area (and actually the entire state) wasn't a hill of beans; we had 2" and most of that melted.  There were places a little icy, but doable if you had decent tires.  We saw one car on Wednesday that spun out, but it had student winter tires; that's any tire with some tread.  As long as they don't plow into someone else, or block the road, I figure they are entitled to make a fool of themselves.

We usually put up the Christmas decorations this weekend, but no one seems up for the job.  Maybe next weekend.  Some  of our neighbors have their outside lights up before Thanksgiving, so at least they could do them when the footing isn't slippery.  One neighbor has Hodgkin's lymphoma, so they may have taken that into account, for an early Christmas.

The Newfs are out in the back yard today, free to bark their heads off.  Luckily we live a fair distance from our neighbors, and the dogs cannot reach the boundary fence line, so it is OK with me.  The neighbor dogs answer back, there is quite a chorus at times.  Naturally, I don't see anything bark-worthy.

I have been working on getting some of my fountain pens up and running, I never should let them sit unused this long.  I sonicated the nibs and feed, which helped most of them.  A few are unrepentantly clogged.  I'll remove the ink and let them soak overnight.  I have oodles of pens, and carry at least 5 or 6 in my purse, though mostly ball points so I don't get ink stains inside the handbag.  Right now my hands are stained and I need to go scrub them with a drop of bleach.  They are a little conspicuous with blue, burgundy and brown ink stains.

I sent off my "green" swap box to my partner in the knitting forum swap exchange.  I got a reply already, it shipped priority in 2 days.  I can't wait to get my package.  The swaps are a different color every month, and it is fun to look for items in that month's color.

Bumper sticker for the day:  " The past, the present and the future walked into a bar.  It was tense."

Snowy day

We just returned from attempting to go to a therapy visit.  We cleaned all the snow off the car, warmed it up, and ventured out into traffic of shoppers and people driving to family gatherings.  When we reached the office, there was a sign on the door that the office was closed from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3rd.  The door was locked, and the doorbell did not produce anyone.  After we got home the therapist called to say we "just missed her"  and that she put a note on the door to ring for admittance.  Too late for us, we went back home and weren't about to venture out again.  This would have been the 4th visit with this therapist, and I can already see we will have problems.  I am rarely/never late, and I think she should have arrived at least 15 minutes before our appointment.  A big waste of makeup today!

The snowfall predicted for overnight didn't materialize here, we had only about 2 inches.  What is falling now is more like rainy mist, and the snow is disappearing.  So much for the 6-8 inches forecast.   Not that I am complaining;  once both son and daughter are home for the holiday (this afternoon) I don't care what it does outside, we have all we need through the weekend at least.  And no, I won't be going shopping on Black Friday, big crowds make me panicky and I like to shop online and just wait for the delivery.  It is much simpler to do that now, when there are only the four of us, than it would be to wander the mall searching for inspiration.

The horses are inside the barn for the next couple of days.  The footing outside is far too slippery for them, when they leap and buck and run after being in for a day or two.  I have a photo of Blondie and Willie running in hock-deep snow, back when they were young and sure-footed.  It is one of my favorite photos.  Now Blondie is gone, and Willie and his sister Maybe are senior citizens.  I don't know what we did when we only had the little wooden barn, open on one side, but the big barn, with hot water, lights, heated water buckets, in the winter and fans in every stall and in the end of the barn roof, automatic fly sprays, every summer, all of this is a dream come true.  Best of all is that it is all paid for.

 Bumper sticker for the day:  "IRS:  We've got what it takes to take what you've got."

The Hostess with the least-est

What is the largest group you have ever catered for, as the principal hostess?  For me it was around 17 or so.  It is not-so-fondly referred to as the Christmas from hell.  My sister-in law, her husband and my brother in law, plus assorted relatives nearby and not so nearby came for the holiday.  My sister-in-law brought another visitor too -- the awfullest virus, and one by one we succumbed.  DS was teasing his sister because she got sick on Christmas eve; so of course, he got sick on Christmas day.  I got sick the day after everyone left, which was the best I could hope for.  The entire episode made fixing meals a nightmare.  I had people who weren't sick (yet) and ate regular food; people who were getting over the worst and wanted soup and jello; and those in the midst of the whole mess who didn't want anything.  Oh yeah, and we had to call a plumber out on Christmas eve.  It was the only time the whole family was together, and we got some good visiting done even at the worst.  But that was the last time everyone came, and it wasn't even my fault!  I spent half my time going around with clorox wipers trying to stem the spread, but if it helped I didn't see it.  Now we have just the 4 of us, and I am sad when I think of all those who have passed away.  Now there is only sister- and brother-in-law, one aunt and uncle who can't make the trip as she is house-bound, of the original list.  I would do it all again if it meant I'd get to see them all again.

We shopped yesterday for the Thanksgiving menu, nothing very elaborate, but the mobs at the store!  The only good thing was that they had all the registers open.  I hope we didn't forget anything, because for sure I'm not going back.

The mail hasn't come yet today, but I know we will have mail - Christmas catalogs!  I don't know how I end up on so many mailing lists, but whatever the cause, there are a lot of them.  Hammacher and Schlemmer is one of my favorites.  They advertise an authentic London taxi cab, including leather upholstery, tinted glass, extra front seat, mahogany trim, chrome fenders and air conditioning.  All for a mere $40,000.   Levenger is another catalog, for leather goods and writing instruments; for example,  they have desk sets, with desk pad, letter tray, pen cup, etc. in leather for $495.  Or a leather tote for $329.  Heck, send me two.  And of course there is all the schlocky stuff in Oriental Trading Company, or Harriet Carter, Miles Kimball, and Collections.  Some of them send me emails as well; a typical list of emails for the day will include 50 or 60, of which 4 or so I will open and read.  That doesn't count the ones caught by my spam filter.

This cold weather has brought the birds flocking back to the feeders.  For a few weeks,  it seemed that the season was over for the migratory birds, but today there were quite a few of them as well as the ones (like cardinals) that don't migrate.  It is funny to watch them kicking out the seeds they don't want to get to the ones they do like, while the birds on the ground have what must seem like manna falling from the sky, to pick up among the grass.  Either way, it all gets eaten.

Bumper Sticker for the day:  "When you stop believing in Santa you get underwear."

50 years??!!

It can't be 50 years since JFK died.  Surely not.  I guess I was 12 at the time; I know I was in Latin class in the 8th grade.  The announcement came over the PA, and, like at any junior high of the day, there was nervous laughter, crying, bewilderment.  We watched the funeral on TV for hours, and felt shocked again when Oswald was killed. I can't replay the whole story that is everywhere this week, it feels too morbid and even after all this time, too bewildering.  Do I believe Oswald acted alone?  Not.  Do I believe  Ruby shot Oswald out of some grandiose patriotic pay-back feeling?  Not.  Will we ever know the entire truth?  Not.

Maybe it doesn't matter anymore?  Dunno.

I certainly hope security for our leaders has vastly improved.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "If you are psychic - think "HONK".

A one, a two...

I can finally move my right knee again.  Just got a cortisone shot, it will be good for close to 3 months if the relief is the same as the last several shots.  It is so wonderful to walk without a limp, or the fear that my knee will collapse when I stand suddenly.  December looks to be a very busy month, and I want to be able to navigate painlessly, even though I do a lot of shopping online.

I ordered a chamois shirt for my son, he wears one as an overshirt, and the one he has really looks tatty.  I couldn't decide which size to get, large or extra large, so I got one of each, and then can send the other one back.  Hope he likes it.  I ordered from Carrheart.

I haven't been able to see my therapist, the time since my last appt. has just flown by, and now she has moved (I think) and can no longer be reached at the phone number she had before.  I tried again today.

I can't tell you where I took this picture, just that it is somewhere near Helvetia WV.  A beautiful little hidden stream.  I put it here as a reminder of the green months, not just the brown crispy ones we are having now.  I have watched the incredible tornado/hurricane devastation across the country and the world, and it feels really trivial to complain about merely fall days.  I can't imagine what all the homeless people will do as winter approaches.  I read somewhere recently of someone gathering up the "gotta keep it" bag with the irreplaceable items to grab as you are going to safety, and I couldn't imagine how I would do this.  My main fears would be for  the horses, the dogs, and the cats.   I couldn't exactly stuff them in a pillowcase and make a run for it.  Photos?  There are probably no more than 50 that I would salvage, but now I have all my photos stored in the cloud, so they are retrievable.  My fountain pen collection?  Maybe, they would all fit in a shoebox, but would I be devastated without them?  I don't think so.  As long as my family and furry ones are OK, so I will be.  It's only stuff.

 Still have some work to be done on my scarf knitting project, so I will get to it.  Take care.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Of course I talk to myself.  Sometimes I need expert advice."

Creaky knees

Bumper sticker for the day:  "We're not old people, we're recycled teenagers!"

Kitty linky

Feline Friday

NaBloPoMo

The cryptic title above stands for National blog posting month, started by Eden Kennedy on BlogHer.  The site gives you a topic every day for the entire month and bloggers are challenged to write a post every day for the entire month of November.  I did it one year and boy was it a struggle, even with prompts.  I have no intention of doing it again, but it is nice to see the posts of the "pro" bloggers.

This is the sunset I took just minutes ago from our back deck.  It doesn't last long, but boy do we ever have gorgeous sunsets.  The trick is to put the sun behind the tree mostly, so that it doesn't blind you and wash the photo away.  Beautiful countryside.  When we lived in San Francisco, many many years ago, we would drive to Lake Tahoe a couple of times a year.  I couldn't get over how beautiful it was, and envied people who could live there year round.  Where we live now, in WV, is every bit as lovely as Tahoe, in its own way, and there are a lot fewer people to contend with too.  Never going to leave; just wish the house was all on one level.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Never trifle with a cat for they are cunning and you sleep with your mouth open."

All Saint's Day.

The black tomcat was in the garage this morning waiting for his morning munchies, so no worry from Halloween.  He is a nice cat, friendly and tame; I bet someone "dropped" him off here thinking he would be good with all the other cats that come and go, there are always 2 or 3 lounging on the front porch or the yard when the weather is nice.  Irresponsible people, what kind of example do they set for their children?  One of my "pet" peeves.  Ho ho.

We were way down on the number of trick-or-treaters this year, I guess because the weather was so bad.  I sat in the open garage rather than on the front porch, to at least have shelter from the rain and some protection from the wind.  I saw a bunch of princess costumes as well as witches and Dracula; some pirates and one Minnie Mouse and one Dorothy, really cute.  *But* this means there was a lot of candy left over; toward the end of the time I just gave out handfuls of candy, and C took a bunch to work this morning, but there is still some left.  Munch munch.

We actually have sunshine today, temp is 64 and it is very welcome.  The dreary cold weather will start before long.  Sunday is 'fall back' day when we gain an hour, meaning starting Sunday six pm will be dark like 7 pm is now.  I never have understood the rationale behind monkeying with the clocks.  About half the time we forgot and ended up going to work an hour early on Monday.  I think.

The power today has been flickering, messing up the clocks and the computers.  I guess the UPS for the desktop isn't holding a charge anymore and needs to be replaced, as a one second outage is dropping the connection and the power.  Right now I am on the MacBook,  so I'm good for several hours.  I hope.

When I was 11 or 12 a neighbor and I arranged to go trick-or-treating together, in our neighborhood in Miami.  That evening my mom picked a fight with me about a trivial thing - dinner dishes, I think - and said I couldn't go.  Looking back, she did this several times, on one pretext or another; I think she was afraid  to let me out on the streets in the dark, but couldn't say so, hence the argument.  After that, we always went to the church- sponsored party, which was fun,  as I recall it was sometimes a barbecue or a haunted house, or in the youth hall.  Our neighborhood was a very safe one, not like now, but kids did still get in trouble, although it was pretty small potatoes, like TPing a house, or soaping a window or the like.  Here where we live now, the houses are far apart and most parents drive their kids from driveway to driveway.  When our kids were young they went with the babysitter's son in their trailer park, almost as good as an apartment building.  I went along, but I have a terrible sense of direction and depended on the boy to get us back to their place.  It was great fun, and the weather always cooperative.  The controversy that churches have about the holiday are pretty much non- existent here, at least so far.  I have never understood the diatribes about Halloween, it is not like the kids are holding ceremonies with the devil, they are collecting candy!  Good fun for everyone and good work for dentists too.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Let's face it:  Your only hope is the"Lottery."

S**wing outside

NO!  I told myself that fall is far too fleeting (alliteration there) to take for granted but myself didn't listen.  This is the view from the dining room at an ambitious snow flurry.  You can see that the trees have not yet shed all their leaves yet, but tonight will probably do them in, as well as the porch flowers.  The flowers are looking pretty whipped already, but there are a few blooms hanging on.  I will  miss them.  We bagged the outside chair cushions and stored them away earlier today; 40 degrees is a little cool to be lounging outside, no matter what the view.

I am totally ticked at my knitting project, a scarf that is supposed to be a gift.  I dropped 3 stitches in the middle of the 125th row (of 250 total) and they 'ran' (like a stocking) down several rows.  I tried to catch them and hang them again, but I just can't.  If I could ravel it back to the row before this I would, but that would only leave me with the entire thing off the needles, all 38 stitches of them.  So I kludged a repair that isn't too awful and went on. Hate it.  The first time on this pattern, I messed up 4 times; the second attempt only one stitch, and now this.  I have been so careful, I don't  know what went wrong.  Grrrr.

Today I got my copy of my blog from Blog2print.  They take your blog between whatever dates and come out with a hard copy, with index, and photos and your selection of a cover, and so on.  It is printed on nice magazine-type paper and bound nicely.  I did this once before, after 7 years of the blog, but I took it to Office Depot and had it spiral bound.  I had the original bound blog done because blogspot had been having trouble ( this is when it was run by blogexplosion) and I was afraid I'd lose the entire thing.  I couldn't figure out how to just download the entries, and in the end, a hard copy is better all around.  Now no matter how the computer interfaces change (floppies to CDs to thumb drives, for example), I have a hard copy.  The copy that came today is for the last 3 years, beginning with the entry when I found out I had breast cancer.  Reading through it, I am pretty pleased, it sounds more coherent than I thought it would,  since usually I only glance back at the previous entries.

Bumper sticker: "Don't get me started.  I don't come with brakes."

Wondering

I have been writing this blog since 2004 and in all that time I think I have gotten less than 150 comments total, on hundreds and hundred of posts.  How do I go about getting a more comment-y response?  I read other blogs and write comments and my blog address, but so far that has yielded very few (like 40) remarks, most from bloggers that I didn't visit myself.  A few exceptions (and I thank you for that).  When I read back over my posts, they sounds reasonably coherent and rant-free; is it that the topics are too boring?

I stand corrected: there have been 430+ comments, including 50 or so from just the last 8 posts.  But why aren't these being posted?  I can read them on the http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8929312#publishedcomments page, but not here with the posts.  What gives?

Any insights into this will be much appreciated.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Does your train of thought have a caboose?"

Photographer extraordinaire

Well, not really.  I have been doing some photos outdoors this week, but I am not satisfied with the results yet.  I wish there were some way to get a higher elevation, so I can look down on the house and the front yard foliage.  I have been known to climb a ladder to photograph the swimming pool (that entry is on here somewhere), but that is not high enough.  I'll wander around tomorrow, weather permitting.

I have taken several photo classes over the years.  The latest is from Better Photo, an online critiqued variety; the problem is a combination of the high price per class, and having to devote a great amount of time to the assignments.  They have been sending me emails nearly everyday, and I guess they are suffering from a downturn of students due to the economics of the day, less discretionary funds to go around;  I know I don't currently have $395, for an 8 week course, to do this.

Am I scary enough?

This is BC who thinks she actually fits in this box.  It looks like she burst out of it.

Bumper Sticker:  "Sometimes life just sucks the jelly right out of your donut."

Sliding Right Along

Well, I kinda let things slide here for a bit, but I promise to do better.  Or at least make the attempt. 

It is 5 am and I am finally sleepy again, so I will work on this tomorrow when I am not so zombie-ish.

This is my daughter, at the pumpkin place we went to on Saturday.  So much to see!  A live band, all kinds of vendors, flowers everywhere.  I amazed myself at all the walking I did, mostly due to having a shopping cart to push and keep my balance.
It has been several years since we were there, we must remember to go again next year.

I am slowly working on the third knitted scarf, like the first one but without the errors.  It is white, with a lovely soft hand.  This one will be a gift.  Assuming all goes well.

It is very foggy here this morning, everything outside sounds muffled.  The bird feeders are still being used pretty much all day, I worry that this mild start in weather will hamper their migration, maybe we should take the feeders down?  This is the first year for them, all the outdoor cats are now too fat and too lazy to lie in wait for a bird snack.  One of the outdoor cats has disappeared, a tomcat; they come and go, looking for love (of the female cat kind) I guess.  Maybe he will turn up again.  He is a black cat, I worry when I don't see them near Halloween.


I got my hair cut and I hate it.  Maybe it will be OK once it grows out a bit.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "I've got a perfect body but it's in the trunk and beginning to smell."

Fall

Fall, my favorite season, has begun, and I love it.  Cool crisp days, a little breeze, the leaves just beginning to turn, it is all so beautiful.  I thought about posting a photo here, but decided to wait until the leaves are more striking.  One good frost will do it.  I do realize that my last post extolled the beautiful fall season, but every day brings more color and the feel of crispy leaves underfoot.

The horses are feeling fall too, jumping into the air and bucking.  For 20+ year old horses, it is pretty neat to watch, although I hold my breath every time, these geriatric horses that think they are still colts.  It will break my heart when it is time for them to go.

My heart catheterization went OK, the worst part was the waiting in the little cubical to get started.  The results were a good heart for my age.  I think the next is to check the electrical circuits, see if I need a new battery or whatever.  I won't know much until I see the heart doctor in October; I  know she will recommend that I lose weight.  Sigh.  I did get the final cap on my broken tooth, so I can eat on both sides of my mouth.  Heaven forbid that I curtail my eating.  My only souvenir of the heart cath is a pretty big bruise on my arm where they inserted the catheter.  

Did I mention the knitting forum swap?  There are a lot of different kinds but they all work the same.  Each swap has a theme, and the one I am signed up for is the color wheel.  Evey month there is a different color.  This month's is pink; you get whatever is pink to send along to your swap partner (a different one every month) and they do the same for me.  There is a dollar amount, but I always overspend and then have to pare down the items.  It is a lot of fun, seeing what you get, anything from candy and coin purses, to (always of course) yarn.  I always love to get packages in the mail.

Time to go.
Here is the bumper sticker for the day:  "If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?"

An Early Fall Day

Having a lovely day today, the sky a clear blue and just warm enough.  I suppose we will still have some hot days, but for this weekend it is pool closing time.  I had only 3 times in the pool all summer.  Even when the water was warm enough, we had lightning storms nearly every afternoon/evening.  A pool is not where you want to be when lightning is around.

My luck with doctors is continuing, as the oncologist I saw sent me for an echocardiogram and chest x-ray, when I told him about my breathlessness.  They showed that my EF (?) was low, and to follow up with the cardiologist who would call me with an appointment.  So far no call, but taking the meds prescribed by the oncologist.  Guess I will have to follow up with the oncology office.  I don't even know the name of the doctor who is to contact me.

I saw the trailer for the new Riddick movie, starring Vin Diesel, a couple of days ago.  I want to see it (I really like the Riddick character), but it looks a little, um, intense.  I think I will wait until it comes out in DVD to watch it.  That way, if it gets to be too much, I can stop it and come back to it after a break.  And the cost of going to the movies!  $9.00 and then the absurd price for drinks and popcorn.  Makes buying the DVD sound quite reasonable.

Can't think of anything else to day, so hang in there, I'll do better next time.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "I've lost my mind and I'm pretty sure the kids took it."