Hit Me, Baby, One More Time

I was sort of grumpy about some spam-like incidents going on Monday, and was tired and ready to be home when a car pulled into the parking lot and stopped right in the area I would have pulled into. I stopped backing up, and the driver (a little lady approximately 873 years of age) gave that “go ahead” arm wave. I did a bit of fiddling (blessing the merits of an Echo, the car that can fit into your pants pockets when needed) and managed to pull out and past her, when she pulled around the corner (no where near where I had been) and into a separate parking space.

Now, my car has these cool blinking lights that I can turn on and off at will. I use them to let other cars know what I’m going to do. I thought it was standard, but I don’t see a lot of other cars using them, so it must be some expensive option the salesman duped me into. She certainly didn’t have them.

Anyway, I pulled out and was waiting for traffic to open up enough for me to pull out of the lot and onto the main road. That same car pulled up behind me (she apparently just dropped someone off) and we sat there waiting.

And then she hit me. Not hard, not fast, but just rolled right into me. Obviously just took her foot off the break and let the car roll until it stopped on its own (or hit something - me).

I gave that universal wave that means “what are you doing?” (seriously, the full arm wave, not “the finger”) and she sort of gestured in a vague way that I took to mean “sorry.” So we sat waiting for a few more minutes (it was rush hour).

And she hit me again.

This time I got out of the car and said “You’re running into me!”

“What?”

“You’re hitting me!!!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”

The loud thump and jolt in your car was what, exactly?

“Well, you’ve hit me twice now, would you back up, please?!?!?!”

There are more scratches on my bumper, but no dents or anything, and I just didn’t feel like getting into it, so I just got in the car and pulled out a moment later. She pulled out right behind me and I saw someone swerve to keep from hitting her, so I wish I had gotten her license and other fun stuff.

Grrr.

Later that evening, my mood had apparently rubbed off on my housemates. I found a small blizzard in Oscar’s room, where a pillow he sleeps with met it’s untimely demise.



Trevor played innocent,



but Aslan... wait, where’s Aslan? I don’t see him, do you?



Ah, you just aren’t looking hard enough.



Sometimes when Mommy gets in a mood it's best to just hide in the closet and be cute.

Can't Trust That Day...

After a nice weekend, I woke up this morning and felt extremely luxurious that I had all of Sunday to relax and knit and not have any schedule...

Then I realized it was actually Monday.

BLECH.

Let me instead dwell on some random miscellany from my weekend. Friday I had a knitting class, and on the way home stopped by Best Buy to get an AOL disk so I could get back on the internet at home, and to look for a specific adaptor (microphone mini-plug to USB port). I got the disk, and was asked if I needed "help finding anything" from the associate, which I thought was a good sign, since at least he didn't just walk past me, cuz there I was a girl who had obviously wandered into the electronics department by mistake. I say, I thought it was a good sign, but obviously I was wrong.

"I'm looking," said I, "for a mini to USB adaptor. I have a microphone which has a mini-plug, but also has a larger plug adaptor, so if that's the only USB adaptor we can find that will work too."

"Doesn't exist. Buy a sound card."

"I have a sound card, but that doesn't provide the kind of sound quality I need."

(rolling eyes and becoming almost 13-year-old-girl in his snottishness) "Then buy a better sound card."

I considered very briefly having a discussion with him on the "better sound card" only improving output on the sound, and microphone involving input, and if we really wanted to get specific the greatest sound card on the planet would record extra fuzz and sound and air if it was using an internal microphone on a computer, or an external omni-directional microphone, instead of the unidirectional microphone that I have. Very briefly.

Instead, I wished him good day and wandered off to look at video games.

There I found a game that had really pretty pictures on the box, and didn't list massive violence or anything else like that on the rating section, so I thought I'd give it a try (it was Echo, for those interested) I couldn't find a box that listed Mac compatibility, so I decided to ask. I wandered for a while, since everyone who looked available for help was standing in a huddle by the computers where I had just left my sunshiney helper from before, but I finally found someone. He said "Oh, didn't know there was a difference between PC and Mac. Let's go ask Geek Squad" and walked me to the front of the store.

He stood there with me while I talked to the guys from Geek Squad, and when I was done said "I'm glad you came in - I learned something new! Thanks!"

THAT, my friends, is customer service.

(no, it's not available for Mac, I got the 10th Anniversary of Myst instead)

I spent Saturday with my family - big brother and Brother-Out-Law came down from PA. It was really nice, since we almost never see BOL, and what was going to be a moderate day, then suddenly became a shorter day, and then at the last minute ended up being a rather long day was really nice.

Then yesterday I spent playing with the new computer (yesterday's task was to calibrate the battery) and knitting (trying to catch up on some commission pieces that I got WAAAAYYY behind on when life attacked me this summer). One of the geeky little toys on the new computer is the calendar (iCal) which I can color code each different category however I choose, so I've scheduled in that commission work and hopefully if I bust my butt for a while I'll be able to catch up without too much embarrassment.

At home, Oscar is his normal goofy self, but Trevor has been really clingy and that means Aslan hasn't been spending as much time with me, so he's getting a little depressed. Ah, the emotional health of cats.

Otherwise there aren't any good pictures, but I do have three more yarn samples for AC Moore that I might be able to finish this week, so maybe I'll have shots of that this week.

Phot-Overload

Not only did I remember the camera, but I'm about to head into another three day weekend away from work's high speed internet, so I will appease you with a multitude of photographic mish-mosh.

First, those yarn reviews I promised of the new goods at AC Moore. I can't tell you how thrilled I am that they're getting higher quality wools and things. But take that, and then imagine how thrilled I am that I get to play with the new lines for free by knitting samples. Not just for free, but I actually get paid! HA!

First the finished multi-directional scarf. This is the yarn I compared to Noro - it's 100% acryllic called Marble. It's as soft as Noro, and though the colors aren't as spectacular, it's less than half the price at $4.99 for a 200-something yard ball. So it definitely beats out Noro for me...


Next is umm... Magellan maybe is what it's called? Something like that. It's a 100% wool with gorgeous colors, but a bit scratchy, and a bit pricey - 242 yards for $11.95. Felts really well though, and again, stunning colors - so great for bags and things. For this sample I knit identical swatches

and then felted one

This was the most garrish color combination, and I actually liked how bright it is. But there were some fall colors - shades of orange and red and yellow and brown - and a gorgeous navy/burgandy blend, along with some other combos that I imagine would be just breath-taking felted up...

My very favorite - the one that inspired me to actually buy three balls of my own - was this one - Peru Chunky (I bought the worsted weight) a SINFUL alpaca/silk blend that is lofty and elastic and soft and smooth and heavenly. My only complaint would be low yardage - $5.95 for 73 yards. But luscious to work with, and no one who looked at the swatch could stop touching it.

Gorgeous colors, too. I love this deep peacock blue, but I bought a rich copper, a deep plum, and an earthy sage.

I'm also knitting a loooong swatch of the Lion Brand Magic Stripes sock yarns they carry - they aren't too bad, and I'm surprised by some of the combinations that I liked on the ball but hate knit up (only one) and that I didn't care for on the ball but really like knit up (two!) I'll show pictures of that when it's done. It's a long on-going project of mindless knitting, but I'll maybe finish it this weekend.

The biggest news of all though is that I am back

(okay, not "on air" more like ON LINE)
because this was delivered yesterday

and in that box was this box

and in that box was this

(well, the cat-head in the corner wasn't in the box, that came later when Trevor-the-bomb-sniffing-cat showed up on the scene. All clear.)


That's right! The 14" iBook finally arrived, and once I can find a disk for AOL, I'll be up and running again at home!

(oh, and while I was at Target looking for a laptop bag they have that I like, I found this really cool two-sided message lamp for $12 and I thought it needed to come home with me, don't you?)

Where's Godot already????

This week I've been waiting....

And waiting....

And waiting...

I finally ordered my computer, and it's been sitting on a FedEx truck for several days now. Not in my house, some truck somewhere.

I did finish the multi-directional scarf "on time," and did another sample for the store, and also continued work on a long-term sample (that involves 8 balls of sock yarn or something obscene like that) but I keep forgetting to set the camera aside to bring it into work to load the pictures. Wouldn't have to if my own computer would just arrive. Did I mention that I'm waiting for my computer to arrive?

I'm also wanting to get back to a few other projects just to get them over and done with, but I can't find the pattern I need everytime I start to work on them.

I'm waiting to be able to sing. My speaking voice is back to nearly 100%. That is, for short periods of time, I sound normal to everyone, including myself. After the slightest bit of exertion (teaching for 2 hours, for example) I start sounding hoarse again. I can sing at about 70% power for one song, then I'm done for the next two days, whereas I used to be able to sing at 100% for several hours before having vocal stress, and then I was pretty much good again the next day.

I haven't yet had the energy to tackle the bedroom. I intended to, I really did, but everytime I walk in there, Aslan hops on the bed and coyly bats his eyes and chirps at me, and the debate between cuddling with a handsome guy like him or cleaning until I hurt doesn't seem to be that stirring an arguement.

I now feel as good as I ever have... but have had enough people tell me that, no, you actually aren't supposed to be ready for a nap two hours after waking up, so that I'm impatient with feeling as poorly as I've apparently felt most of my adult life. It seems I should have complained more. When I said "I'm tired" I shouldn't have let it drop. I should have pressed on. I should have been clear about exactly how tired I was. Then maybe this could have been fixed a decade ago, instead of me going through the surgery and the mess with my voice, and (oh yeah) the cancer.

It would appear I'm also waiting for the grumpiness to pass, but I'm sure no one else noticed that, right?

RIGHT?

That's what I thought.

So maybe tomorrow I'll have a barrage of photos and yarn reviews and maybe some of that (non-existant, RIGHT?) grumpiness will have passed too...

My doctor upped my Synthroid dosage by 150% based on my latest blood tests, and I'm starting to feel perkier already. You may have guessed that by the limited fiber content on this blog since all this mess began. I seem to be making up for lost time now.

I apologize, though, because it turns out a navy blue sock is only slightly more interesting to photograph than a solid black.

If you see the tiny scrap of yarn in the upper right corner, that's all that's left of the ball. I love toe-up.

I didn't start that sock yesterday, but I did finish it yesterday (that's two socks finished, two days in a row. This finishing things could get to be a habit. Wouldn't that be a kick?)

I did start this yesterday. It's 100% acryllic yarn from AC Moore that I grabbed to make a sample from... (sorry, "from which to make a sample")

It screamed 'Multi-directional' at me, so I'm doing a simple short-row pattern. I'm not the world's biggest Noro fan by any means, so I actually like this yarn (even though it's acryllic) better than Noro! It's as soft or softer, and probably half the price... Of course, this does you no good, because I can't remember what it's called. Anyway, like I said, I started yesterday and got a good amount done - it's about a foot long on the longer edge.

But I started another project of AC Moore yarn yesterday, too. This one I do remember the name of, because it confuses me. I grabbed the only three colors they had out

(though we suspect there will be more to come) and made this:

That's one repeat for a hat in the Rose pattern from Simply Socks. The next repeat will have the grey background, and by then I'm hoping the other colors will be in and I'll get to toss them in there, too. We'll see.

The yarn is actually quite nice to work with, but I'm not sure what it's made of. It's called "Alpaka". The label claims it's made in Peru, and that it's made from "100% Alpaka!" ... but the camelid animal whose fiber I love above all others is "alpaCa"... so I'm not sure what an alpaKa is unless it's the Cheez Whiz of fiber animals. There was a discussion on KR that led to the belief that maybe this is the German spelling of Alpaca, but I'm not convinced, since nothing on the label even mentions anything else remotely Germanic.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have the multi-directional scarf finished by the end of my tomorrow, and then I'll work on the hat all weekend, and then I'm not allowed to start anything new until I finish some other projects that have been languishing away... This urge to complete is overwhelming, so I have to use this power for good, instead of evil.

So the Knit-Blog Police don't shut me down

I have a picture of a half-finished object.

Well, it's a fully finished object, but it's only half because it's one of two needed:

It's the finished sock from the ball of yarn I found in the kitchen the other day. I can't for the life of me get a good picture of the colors, but it's "guy colors" - greens and browns and a smidge of purple and a tiny touch of white.

Now begins the panic. GB likes his sock legs long, and I have an eternal and deep-seated fear of running out of yarn (this might explain my stash). This is the main reason I do socks toe-up (although there are many other benefits). But I wanted to learn the Strong Heel, so I did this sock leg-down, and now I have to spend the entire next sock praying that I have enough yarn left over to finish it, or he's getting a bright pink toe or something to punish him for wanting an 11 inch leg.

There. See? I do knit. Some.

Loopy asked how the boys were getting up to their lair-on-high, so I took the best wide shot I could without actually showing you how ugly my house is:

You can see each of the steps in the journey here - first to the top of the computer, than the top of the bookshelf, then the leap to the top of the dish cabinet.


Getting down is much easier. You can follow the reverse path, if you're dignified, like Aslan. Or you can make a thunderous boom and leap from there to the counter, then to the floor, if you're Trevor. This sometimes means things get knocked off the counter and broken, but if you're Trevor, you don't have to clean up, so who cares?

I did notice something amusing about a snack the other day (yes, snacks can be quite amusing. I don't need to get out more. Yes, my totem is a hermit crab. Why do you ask?)



I was munching away on some dried apricots, which I quite like, and noticed the date on the back. You know, the date that warns you when the item will suddenly go bad.



Catch that?

It would seem that I can enjoy this to its full potential right up to 7:52 on the Fourth of June, 2006. At 7:53 it will no longer be "best".... which bothers me, because I don't know if they mean 7:53 AM or PM!!!!

How does one synchronize one's watch to match the factory that packaged these particular dried apricots?

Old Friends and New Friends

(or: I finally figured out how to get pictures off my camera and onto the computer at work)

First the "old friends"

Trevor is a bit of a daredevil. He's just about one growth-spurt away from having thumbs, and can get into any cabinet in the house, and if there is trouble to be had, he'll find it. This is one of his favorite summer hang-outs - on the very TOP of our kitchen cabinets. That ceiling is about 4 inches from his head. He's a nutty guy, that Trevor. He's bouncy, and high-strung, and fickle, and unpredictable.

Aslan on the other hand is unshakeable. He doesn't startle easily, he has no fear of thunderstorms, or vaccuums, or dogs, or any of the other stereotypical cat fears. But he's not an adventurer. He takes what comes to him completely in stride, but he doesn't go looking for trouble. So last night's adventure was a rare occurance. Trevor had left the room, and Aslan decided to see what the fuss was about.

He found his way up (and back down again) to Trevor's lair, and spent the rest of the evening battling bugs and chasing toys and walking around with his little chest puffed out as though he'd climbed Everest. I guess, for him, he did.

And not to leave anyone out, a picture of a sleeping position that looks like I broke my dog, but I promise he did this to himself.



Now the new friends!

As I mentioned at some point in the past few weeks, for some reason one of our schools of fish has been dwindling. They aren't going fast enough (or acting weird) for me to think it's a sickness, they're just sort of slowing dying off, so it might be an age issue. But we got down to just one of that particular school, and the sole remaining "student" was looking a little depressed.

Yes, fish can look depressed, why?

Anyway, I decided to go to the store to get a few more of his particular breed so he'd have some buddies (since the ghost catfish were apparently blackballing him) but they didn't have any of that kind. So instead, I tried to get something close in color, and also got some Neon Tetras, for an alternate color to add a little more zip to the tank.

And zip they did - in no time the fish were all darting around the tank like old pals, playing chase or touch football, or whatever little guppy critters do for fun. The tetras seem to find great joy in gang-rushing the catfish (who all just hover at the middle of the tank facing the same way like they're suspended in jello) and making them split up and rush around the tank in a panic until they find their ways back to hovering again.

And the final new friend is this guy:

(this is an immense close up, he's under an inch long at this point)
He came home Saturday and has been given the name "Twisty Boy" in honor of a loved one. The snail is completely assexual, and will reproduce on his own... so in a way, Twisty Boy will never really be gone...

Well, I'm pretty sure I've made my selection as far as a computer goes, but I reserve the right to remain my fickle (yet loveable) self and change my mind another 80602686.8 times before making the actual purchase, likely sometime next week. At this point, I can say that my Mac pushers family seem happy with my choice.

And Bess and I seem to be channeling each other somehow. We've often commented that our husbands seem at times to have been separated at birth. While that's often said in moments of frustration, I feel the need to point out that we each have married quite exceptional men of astounding honor, who at the very least have exquisite taste in women!

But lately she and I have also been feeling the winds of Fung Shui swirling around our homes, and begging us to do something about the Chi in our homes. Now, I've been in Bess's home, and she is a FAR better housekeeper than I am. But for some reason we each have spent our weekends doing deep cleaning on our kitchens, when physically we maybe weren't up for it.

Why?

Because sometimes one realizes that emotional cleansing is more important than physical.

I have a lot of funky little links in my sidebar (down under "X-Files"). I have always been fascinated with questions that have no answers. Are there ghosts? Is reincarnation real? Do fairies exist? And the Loch Ness Monster? I have my own answers to those questions, but they are answers that can be found only in my heart, and not really in any science books (although I can find science books to back up my beliefs, what I feel was solid before I found "evidence" to support me)

For me, feng shui is sort of like that. Does it really matter if the bathroom is at the center of your house? Fung Shui teaching says if this is the case, you will flush all the positive energy out - better to have the kitchen, the room full of warmth and creation, at the center of your home instead. Does it matter if you can see straight to the backdoor from the front door? Good energy will zip right out without enriching your home. I don't know. But I know that in every home I've had, when I began following rules of Fung Shui - even the simplest ones of balencing all four elements (earth, wind, fire, water) other aspects of my life "coincedentally" began to balence as well. Does it work? Who cares. It feels better to have the order than to have entropy.

It just takes time to get there once you've allowed your home to submerge itself into that complete state of entropy, which we have.

And so we'll have another full cleaning weekend. The bedroom this time, and it will take well more than two weekends, I'm sure.

In the process of cleaning the kitchen this weekend, I found a ball of yarn and half-finished sock that I've been missing for several months. We don't need to discuss what this says about my house-keeping skills that it took me several months to find a ball of yarn, and that I then found it in the kitchen. I prefer to think that yarn in the kitchen (and in every other room of the house) is as it should be. But this means that I have yet another unfinished sock, so this one came to work with me today. I have a few (maybe three) more inches on that before I finish, and then I'll start the second. The fun will be remembering how many stitches I used for the various heel configurations.

But other than the socks I'm really not doing a lot of fiber stuff. I did do a tiny bit of spinning - the first I've done since the surgery. But mostly I'm torn between still feeling pretty tired and rare bursts of energy that leave me desparate to clean up my surroundings - it's all about the feng shui! This coming weekend I'll do some work on the bedroom, I think, and maybe get one of my fountains up and running. I haven't had them going since I moved in here, and while the fish tanks accomplish the same chi, I still miss the fountains (particularly my fairy fountain, but that's rather large and takes up more space than I have right now). I think once I get the house much more organized in a reasonable (ie: non-bachelor-pad kinda way) I'll feel a lot better over all.

AC's wife-figure just came to pick him up from work since he's having car trouble. I've seen her maybe three times in the year+ that AC and I have worked together, so needless to say we are not close. And she did that thing I hate. Really hate. That "How are you feeling?" with the pitying eyes. And then, because I probably wouldn't recognize her if we passed on the street and I'm certainly not going to tell her how I'm really feeling, when I say "Good thanks, how are you?" she does this weird thumbs up "Atta girl" thing with wayyyy too much enthusiasm, like I'm a toddler taking my first steps. Perfectly well meaning folks (and I do know she means well) get very condescending when something like cancer gets tossed into the picture. It doesn't help that AC is beyond asinine about it (if I'm not wearing a scarf and we have a new client come in, he likes to point out my scar and tell them I had a botched tooth-pulling proceedure and then laugh like a hyena as though he was the wittiest thing on the planet) and I figure if she's dumb enough to spend every waking moment with a repulsive creature like him there must be something pretty seriously wrong with her too. But I do know she means well.

My guild meeting is tonight, and I'm trying to decide if I have enough energy to go...

Well, I have a loaner computer from my parents set up at home, but it's a ten year old Mac and I can only get to some sites sometimes. Most important was being able to access e-mail, and that's taken care of, and I really do appreciate the loan, as well as the help setting it up and cleaning this weekend.

While working on the loaner at home, I am shopping for a laptop for myself. My brother is a firm believer in Macs, whereas I have no particular brand loyalty at all.

So I am opening this up to blogland and seeing what you all brilliant (and, might I add, attractive) folks think.

Here's what I want:
* ease of use for someone who's not particularly gifted in the computer department,
* a good sized screen, although I'll be using it a lot for audio work, so it doesn't need to be all that fancy like for advanced gaming or anything...
* CD burner
* the fastest whatever and best memory I can get for under, say $1500 (well, I'm saving up anyway)
* I don't know anything about the numbers and stuff that go along with all that stuff.

Thoughts on that?

(if you offer suggestions, please be sure to include a model number or something, so that I can find the computer you think I should get!)

Dear Karma,

I would like to profusely apologize for everything I did wrong in my youth. I thought I had already done that, but it would appear from this summer's events that I was erroneous in that thought.

I apologize for that error as well.

I also realize it was cocky of me to think I could figure out how to put a temporary fix on my phone problems. While my idea of stringing a phone line from the outdoor phone box through a window did work, it was clearly silly of me to think that I could outsmart you in anyway, althought I promise that was not my intention. Sure, the phone now works, but I hope you feel better knowing my home computer is still positively fried, and the mess I made rearranging the furniture in my living room so I could reach all the outlets while trying to figure out the problem with the phone and the computer will probably take me several weeks to recover from.

And I understand I should have been more frightened by the frog you sent to attack me last night. Here we are, miles from any actual bodies of water, and a frog the size of a small Toyota leaps out at me in the darkness. How were you to know I'm not actually afraid of amphibians? I hope you got some satisfaction in the mental trauma you caused my pitbull, and feel that your job of terrorizing me was at least slighly continued because of that.

I admit that this morning I thoughtlessly tempted fate by wondering out loud about the strange situation of Trevor having only caught one mouse when normally mice seem to travel in herds. It was foolish of me to then put my foot into my shoe without looking, but you have to admit, I did give you a great opportunity. Kudos to you for rising to the occasion.

You've done a fine job of reprimanding me for that pack of bubble gum I stole when I was four. And who ever thought I'd feel so guilty for drinking wine coolers in back of the gym in middle school, now, fifteen years later? All in all, in a summer wrought with life-threatening disease, death, unemployment, separation from loved ones, a hit-and-run, flat tires, running out of gas, vandalism to my car, mice infestation, sick dogs, destruction of the computer, loss of phone lines, illness of friends and marital troubles of other friends, I have to say to you, brilliant work, Karma, truly brilliant.

And so it is now that I say to you, with nothing but the greatest sincerity in my heart, I am sorry.

For whatever I've done, whatever I've thought of doing.

I am sorry.

You have found my limit and passed it, all because of your committment to getting the job done - for which I can only commend you. But I think it's safe to say now that I have been duly reprimanded, and you can move on to someone else now.

Thank you.

Officially Absurd

Someone keyed my car

My phone lines are dead (for no apparent reason, yes, it's paid, yes, it's plugged in)

Trevor caught a mouse (and left it's corpse on my freshly mopped floor)

Well, my attempts at resurrecting my home computer with some Franken-computer parts of old bodies has failed so far. I did get online briefly this weekend, but could only check AOL, no other websites. Not enough memory for anything else, the Franken-computer complained. My efforts will continue in my abundant spare time, but in the meantime, my blogging, blog-reading, and other surfing will be greatly reduced. I'm sure you're all completely disheartened. Feel free to paypal me money to buy a new computer!


Apparently acting in solidarity with the computer, we've also lost two fish this week. One of whom managed to hide it's little body behind a plant until it was really and truly disgusting to the nth degree. The other has mysteriously vanished. And I'm afraid. Very, very afraid. Saturday, I checked the tank, saw it's little body, scooped it out with the net, carried it in the aforementioned net down the hall to the bathroom, flipped the net over the toilet for the burial ceremony, and the corpse was gone. Seriously. I saw it in the net before I flipped. Then I flipped, and it wasn't in the toilet, it wasn't in the net, and it wasn't anywhere to be seen. I'm now having nightmares that the thing somehow got flipped onto the ceiling and is sticking up there like a spitball, and will fall on me at 3 in the morning when I least expect it. I may need a little fishy exorcist.


Saturday as I was putting Oscar out for the day, one of the neighbors who isn't Charles (that is, I don't know his name and he's never spoken to me or acknowledged me in anyway before) yelled out his car window "Hey, Honey, you're getting a flat" and I wisely chose not to take this as a sexist complaint about my chest, and instead walked around to see that, indeed, one tire was saggier than the others (again, we're talking about actual tires, not metaphors for my breasts).

I drove to AC Moore, where I had to be all day teaching, and in between committments there took the car (almost exactly) across the highway to Mr. Tire. By this time it was almost completely flat, although not damaging to the rim yet. They couldn't fix the tire, so I had to replace it to the tune of $75 for a new tire. Cuz when does someone have an extra $75 if NOT when they've just had unpaid time off from work for surgery, are now working reduced hours, still have medical bills coming in, have just taken the dog to the vet for two infected ears (did I not mention that? Oscar hates the vet and had to go for one red icky ear, and we discovered the other just wasn't complaining as much) and had her computer die???

I also hurt like a demon today. It was the first weekend in AGES that I felt like I could get up and do something, instead of just languishing away hoping Rhett would bring me another mint julep (and yet, he never does, not a one)

and so I gutted our kitchen. I mean that almost literally. I emptied it out except for what was on the counters (which in most worlds would be the mess, but in our house was not) and mopped the floor THREE times, and rearranged things, and replaced things and got rid of TWO giant trash bags worth of junk, and now I feel much as if I'd competed in a triathelon. Muscle weakness is yet another side effect of this lovely mess going on in my life, so even what most would likely consider "light housework" was enough to leave me aching and moaning today. But the kitchen easily looks twice the size (ex: we had all my small appliances from my own apartments two years ago still in boxes from the move, just sitting on the floor, and they are now hidden in cabinets)

I'll take it easy for the rest of the week - dare I say, spend some time knitting and spinning??? - and reorganize the cabinets and countertops this coming weekend. No involving my parents this time.