SURPRISE!

All right, I admit it. I have been bested! I have contended for some time that no one can pull a fast one on The Mom, and that I'm so sneaky that I can't be out-sneaked.

Unless, of course, there's a full-out conspiracy against me!

Long story made short- Annie came home for Christmas! She got a flight out to Seattle, visited friends there for a couple of days, took the bus to Eugene, saw her dad and sibs and Kelly and the rest of the gang, and then James picked her up on his way up. When I heard the doorbell, I thought he simply had his hands full. But when I opened the door, there was Annie!

Turns out James knew, Wanda knew, Ellen and Dan knew- practically everyone knew but me! (And, presumably, Alberto Gonzales.) ***AND I WILL GET YOU ALL!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!***

In other news, we got loot. Most of mine is orange. :-D Dan got lots and lots of chocolate, and my diet is, shall we say, kaput at the moment. We've got to eat all of this stuff up so I can start fresh. But there's still a bunch of cheesecake bites and most of a pan of fudge, and James made a huge bowl of chocolate mousse. I'm doomed.

I'm still sleeping a lot and I've not really felt better, but I'm seeing Dr Becher on Friday. Tomorrow James and I are going out to a concert at the Cathedral and then back here for some bubbly and dessert. Ah, life is hard. ;-)

...And now is my turn to plot...

Christmas, Hawaii-kine!

Numbah One day of Christmas, my tutu give to me

One mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Two day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Two coconut, an' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Tree day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Foah day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Five day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Five beeg fat peeg... foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Seex day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Seex hula lesson, five beeg fat peeg (that make TEN!),
Foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Seven day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Seven shrimp a-swimmin', seex hula lesson,
Five beeg fat peeg, foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Eight day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Eight ukulele, seven shrimp a-swimmin', seex hula lesson,
Five beeg fat peeg (that make TWENNY!), foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Nine day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Nine pound of poi, eight ukulele, seven shrimp a-swimmin',
Seex hula lesson, five beeg fat peeg, foah flowah let, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Ten day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Ten can of beer, nine pound of poi, eight ukuklele, seven shrimp a-swimmin'
Seex hula lesson, five beeg fat peeg,
Foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

Numbah Eleven day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Eleven missionary, ten can of beer, nine pound of poi,
Eight ukulele, seven shrimp a-swimmin', seex hula lesson,
Five beeg fat peeg, foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.

(Numbah Twelve day of Christmas the bes', and the bes' stuff always come las'...)

Numbah Twelve day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Twelve TELEVISION, eleven missionary, ten can of beer,
Nine pound of poi, eight ukulele, seven shrimp a-swimmin',
Seex hula lesson, FORTY steenkin' peeg,
Foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree!

************************************

MELE KALIKEMAKA!

(Happy Christmas, everyone!)

Getting ready for a holiday...

can be a bit of a tangle. Especially if you're a kitty!

(This is not one of our kitties- Shadow was the only one in the room when I had the lights out of the box, and he was observing from his 'God-kitty' perch on top of the arm chair. With his usual 'what-on-earth-are-you-DOING!?' look on his face...)

Did you know that Santa is a stalker? He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good...

So, what's news recently...

My replacement debit card finally arrived. Now I have to take it down to the bank to pick a PIN that I can actually remember. And maybe to look for that last couple of gifts. Dunno - I really am stumped for a couple of them.

Dan and Alanna will be here noonish Wednesday- I'm hoping that I'm actually sentient when they get here. (Past few days have been really slow.) That'll liven up the house a bit!

I got the body and sleeves cut out of a new houppelande for James. Also have to get the surcoat started, and then the sideless surcoat for Jill. She bought silk velvet instead of the cotton velvet/velveteen I suggested. There is a vast difference in difficulty in handling the silk velvet and I'm really dreading working on this. :-(

James will cruise on in Sunday evening. Alanna's parents will be in sometime too. The house will be full, and I think we will be drawing lots for showers! Sad part is that none of my kids will be here for Christmas. I'm feeling very empty-nesty.

However, sometime this week I plan to begin making Christmas junk food- rice crispie treats. fudge, cookies, etc. The trick will be in not eating them all myself!

Taking your life in your hands...

1.First, dress for the occasion. A 4-ply rubber wetsuit is suggested, along with a helmet, face mask and welder's gloves.

2.A Bathtub with a glass enclosure is preferred to the one with a shower curtain. A frenzied cat can shred one of these in about 3.5 seconds.

3.Have the Kitty Bubbles and towel in the enclosed
bathtub area before hand. No, blow drying the cat after the bath is not suggested.

4.Draw the water, making it a little warmer than
needed as you still need to find the cat. Position
everything strategically in the shower, so you can
reach it even if you are face down or prone in the tub.

5.Find your cat. Use the element of surprise. Pick the cat up, nonchalantly as if you were simply carrying him/her to the supper dish. No need to worry about the cat noticing your strange attire, the cat barely notices you anyway.

6.Once you and the cat are inside the bathroom, speed is essential. In one single liquid motion, shut the door to the bathroom, step into the shower, close the sliding doors, and drop the cat into the water. While the cat is still in a state of shock, locate the Kitty Bubbles and squirt whatever part of him is above the water line. You have just begun the wildest 45 seconds of your life. Remember that cats have no handles and add the fact that he now has soapy fur. His state of shock has worn off and he's madder than a wet hornet.

7.As best you can, wearing welder's gloves, try to
field his body as he catapults through the air toward the ceiling. If possible, give another squirt of Kitty Bubbles with his body now fully exposed.

8.During the 5 seconds you are able to hold onto him, rub vigorously. No need to worry about rinsing. As he slides down the glass enclosure into the tub, he will fall back into the water, rinsing himself in the process.

9.Only attempt the lather and rinse process about 3 times. The cat will realize the lack of traction on the glass by then and will use the next attempt on the first available part of you.

10.Next, the cat must be dried. No, this is NOT the easiest part. By this stage, you are worn out and the cat has just become semi-permanently affixed to your right leg. We suggest here that you drain the tub and in full view of your cat, reach for the bottle of Kitty Bubbles.

11.If you have done step 10 correctly, the cat will be off your leg and hanging precariously from your helmet. Although this view of the cat is most disgusting, he will be in a much better position for wrapping the towel around him.

12.Be sure cat is firmly wrapped in towel before
opening tub enclosure. Open bathroom door, put towel wrapped cat on floor and step back quickly. Into tub, if possible, and do not open enclosure until all you can see is the shredded towel.

13.In about 2 hours, it will be safe to exit the bathroom. Your cat will be sitting out there somewhere looking like a small hedgehog plotting revenge.

(Gleefully stolen from LynneK at Daily Kos)
**********

Not much in other news. I went to 11th Night Investiture in the Summits- attendance was good, and surprisingly quite a few people came down who I would have expected to be at 3M Yule. Anyway, Bera and I spent a good portion of the day looking for trouble to get into. (Fortunately for the autocrats, there was no whipped cream around!) Met a friend of hers, a Count named Duncan who is apparently working in the area at the moment. Lydia and I didn't stay for the feast- we picked up a pizza and went back to her place. I managed to slip the **** to David while she was changing her clothes. Heh.

Wanda and I got a Christmas tree after brunch on Sunday, and Monday I decorated it. Looks pretty spiffy. Tuesday I got the nutcrackers out and set them up. Maybe later today I'll get some other stuff done. I have the branches that we took off of the lower parts of the tree. I might wind them up with some rosemary if I can find my floral tape.

And if Wanda remembers to bring home the new Harry Potter DVD, I might get some sewing done while watching it. I have Jill's surcoat to do, and tomorrow I think I'll cut out James' houpp. Yup- no rest for the wicked...

Put that kid to work already!

Letting him lay around blowing spit bubbles means an eventual life on welfare, watching Maury Povich, eating cheetos out of the sack and washing them down with Bud Light, right?

(The look on the kid's face says it all...)

Oh man, what a week.

Zippy went off to get glow-plugs, which was Very Good, as she had flat out refused to start just before Thanksgiving. We got her back in time (barely) before Wanda went off to the Annual Training Conference.

I had another blood draw. Talked to Dr Becher's nurse this last Wednesday, and she says that I should hear from sometime Friday. Bleh. Irritating part about getting a blood draw is that they can't get it out of my arms anymore. Had to take it out of the back of my hand, which HURTS. I saw a nutritionist last Thursday (at Dr Becher's behest) to find out what I already knew. But I'm already cutting fat, pretty much cut red meat, and only eating chicken a couple of times a week. Not helping the cholesterol levels. Boo. And I saw Anna on Tuesday of this week, and we're adjusting the Lamictal up and the Lithium down. Yay. More med adjustments...

Four of us met up here at 11 last Saturday and drove out to the yearly openhouse sale at Pastiche. Morgan spent a small fortune. Cathy bought about a foot tall of books. Claire got a book or two. I got three cheap ones (two were Frankish books that Annie has that I wanted copies of my own, and the other was a paper copy of Bullfinches Mythology). We stopped on the way back into town so I could hit the bank, then we got pizza materials. Came back and decompressed awhile, made pizza, went upstairs and puttered (Morgan got her cloak completely finished, Cathy did a bunch of reading and note-taking on 12th c German clothes, Claire scribbled notes for this weeks' lesson plans, as she just landed a short gig filling in someone's maternity leave). Watched the first two tapes of Charlemagne. Cathy and Morgan went home and Claire and I talked till about 4:30am. We crashed and then went to Cameo for breakfast. Both exhausted, and had a great time. Of course I slept most of Sunday and Monday...

The storm came in Saturday (we drove in a mix of snow and rain on our way to Pastiche and back) and made a heck of a racket Sunday and Monday. Rain rain rain rain rain. Flooding all over Oregon and Washington- they've had to close down a huge section of I-5, and they're detouring traffic between here and Portland out to hwy 14, up 97, and over on I-90. Heck of a detour! The Oregon Coast is a mess- large sections are cut off from inland by mudslides and down trees. And speaking of down trees, Robert and Ilonka lost their van to a tree. No people hurt, just metal.

I finished Ned's dress, just have to press it. Looks really sharp- brown wool with yoke and cuffs of copper taffeta. Very nice.

Thursday really sucked. I went out to run errands, and when picking up a present for Stephen, my debit card was denied. They ran it as a credit. Still denied. Fortunately I had just enough cash to pay for it and leave, and then I went straight to my bank. My account had been frozen. We waited *2 HOURS* on hold, as the lines to Corporate in Seattle are all messed up due to the flooding, etc. Finally got through to the Fraud Prevention guy who says that sometime Monday, someone who had my card number and PIN attempted through an ATM to pull over $500 out of my account. The machine refused and froze my account. (Sure wish they'd called me!) So we got cash and check transactions un-froze, and I will be getting a new card in the next week or two.

So the whole time I kept telling myself that it would be ok, that we'd straighten things out, and then that I wasn't actually out any money- just inconvenienced. So why am I so friggin' angry about it? I have to admit that I'd like to find whoever tried to empty my account and punch them in the face. And while I sometimes get angry, this is a lot more than usual. And the deep breathing isn't helping. I really need a neck and shoulder massage but my favorite masseur is not here. :-(

So by the time I finally got out of the bank, it was too late to go to the grocery store- I had to run home, grab something quick to eat, and run back out to make it to the Laurel meeting on time. (Wanda was not home yet- she got out of work at 7:10) I was the only one there who wasn't from Stromgard (it was held at their Baroness' house). This was the meeting before 12th Night. You'd think more people would have showed up.

Went to Safeway on my way home, and the checker acted like he'd never seen a paper check before. <>

I really want to get a tub of rice pudding and eat the whole thing, but I can't do it, thanks to my cholesterol levels. That sucks.

Tonight (Thursday) is Movie Night, and I hope to have some takers. Would be nice to have an excuse to have a little teeny bit of ice cream.

And now, I think I'll take more ibuprofen and go back to bed. :-P

"You and the night and the music..."

"... fill me with flaming desire..."

That song has been stuck in my head for days. I like the song, otherwise I'd be tempted to trot out a certain song from a Disney ride that is guaranteed to replace anything else you're singing. (Problem is, then getting rid of that one...)

Isn't this picture gorgeous? She looks like Cinderella. It's a fashion illustration from the Bon Ton magazine in 1912, and the dress is from Worth. This one is from my collection of Edwardian/Early Teens illustrations of gowns and pictures of existing clothing. I really like the period- it's not as fussy as Victorian stuff, but still very graceful and alluring. There's still some real corsetry going on in this one, but notice how high the waistline is! *sigh* Wish I was still that slim...

And in other news... we had Thanksgiving. James came up Wednesday night, and of course we spent Thursday cooking. I did the stuffing and gravy and cranberries and pumpkin pies. James made rolls and helped with the setup and lugging about the turkey. It was yummy, if a bit overdone (Wanda forgot to turn the oven down after she put it in). The pies came out really creamy and deeeelish! I am probably wearing them on my hips now though.

James had to leave Saturday (church stuff) but at least he was here for my birthday. Which reminds me, yet again, I did not get a birthday party! Whadda I have to do, hire a clown and buy myself a cake? *pout* No one sang Happy Birthday, either. I was bummed. But Wanda got me a very nice Pashmina-style shawl, and James found me a couple of new nutcrackers- both bakers. They're very cute and are on the mantel right now.

I'm nearly done with the dress for Ned (brown wool with copper trimming- turning out really nice), and I'm hoping to get Bera's teal dress done soon too. Thursday night is Project Night, and I want to have them done and out of the way then, because this weekend there's the work party, and I need to move things around to fit folks. And pick out some movies, etc. :-) I'm looking forward to it- I like having people over.

In the not-happy news, Zippy is down. She wants new glow plugs. It's been a couple of years, so she's due. But still- Wanda is leaving Wednesday, so we're hoping that she'll be done Tuesday evening. Hope hope hope. And this coming weekend is the Annual Training Conference, and I will be glad when it's over. Hopefully things will ease off a bit at work for Wanda after then.

James and I did a little shopping Saturday, and I found the dishes I wanted for David and Lydia. A nice set- the ones I'd looked at in Bi-mart were $16 for four 4-piece place settings. The ones I got at City Liquidators were four 5-piece place setting *with* flatware to match. A very nice ivy pattern. I hope Lydia likes them. And then there's the conspiracy with David... heh heh heh... Sneaky Mommy strikes again!

I see England, I see France!

I see a Troubadour's underpants!

(Well, they're right there, for anyone to see...)

More 12th c goodness here- a painted wedding-chest. There's a musician with his vielle, and a woman who appears to be dancing- see how her braid is swinging out? The things I fond most interesting about these figures are:

1) the tightness through the chest, arms, and waists. The necklines are forming sort of a v, and the chest shows a lot of, uh definition. Which to me suggests that the neck is actually the slit kind, which once you put your head through opens into a sort of v shape. This gives a lot of shaping to the bust, and those characteristic lines into the arm pits. The tightness through the torso is pretty obviously created with lacing- whether back or sides is not clear. I would vote for sides simply because these folks don't look quite noble enough to have the body servants to help them into a back-laced gown.

2) His riding slits! They appear to open higher than other men's garments I've seen, and yes, it exposes his undies. I have to wonder if this is some sort of social commentary- jongleurs didn't have the most savory of reputations- perhaps the tightness of the garment, the high slit, and the exposed underpants are a visual shorthand for licentiousness?

3) I think her sleeves are extra cool- notice how the lines seem to indicate that the wrists are extra tight? And the form of the sleeve pendants are a little bit different than I've seen before- it almost looks like they're closed and then have an opening at the bottom. But that doesn't make any sense to me, especially in comparison with similar sleeves from the same time period. I'm tempted to pull out some off-cuts and experiment with forms...

In other news...

I did manage to get my new outfit done in time for Crown Council. And if I do say so myself it looked really good. I especially liked the colors together- the burnt orange silk was an excellent foil for the mulberry and the tweed. And the gold embroidery really tied it all together. I didn't get any pictures, but when I do I'll post them.

We're tentatively planning to do a weekend workshop here the first weekend of December- mostly for people to work on 12th Night stuff, etc. Sounds as though we may make a field-trip out to Pastiche, since they are having their open house that weekend. And I might make pizzas. :-) And might see a movie or two.

My bloodwork came back, and it is not happy. My cholesterol is up, which kind of surprises me, because I'm pretty much off red meat, only eat eggs if I have the scramble at Sunday brunch. I don't think that the little bit of cheese I put in burritos could account for it. But the big one that they are rather exercised about is my platelet count. Normal is between 100k and 400k. They get a little concerned at 450k, and I've been hovering between 400-450k for several years now. Well, my level is now up to 612k, which is Not A Good Thing. Basically my blood (precious little as there is of it in my drugstream) is... lumpy. Bah! They're going to do another blood draw on the 29th, so I guess we'll see where it is then. I'm just a little stressed out about the platelet count, as it adds risk factors of which I have too much already.

And... David and I have a little conspiracy going. :-) More about that later. Now it is time for vacuuming!

The Medieval Chicken Dance

These guys are so funny- every time I look at the picture it just makes me laugh! Get a load of those platform shoes! And the patterned hose, especially worn with the striped tunic on the left. And then there's the peacock.What on earth is going on with that? It looks like the guy holding him is about to slaughter him, but it makes no sense in the context. The picture is Iberian, 11th-early 12th century. Maybe the Spanish had a tradition of dancing with their poultry before killing them...

Stephen was here over the weekend. We didn't do a whole lot- he was on Vicodin for a dental problem and was kinda out of it. We did go to Powell's, which is always dangerous. But a couple of cool books came home with me, so it wasn't a wasted trip. And we had manicotti Sunday night, the leftovers of which Stephen took home with him, so he accomplished his goal. :-)

The new Frankish outfit is coming along nicely- the undergown is done, and the neck, cuffs, and hem are decorated with a broken chainstitch in gold floss. The over gown is pretty close to done- the cuffs and the center stripe are on and are also decorated with the broken chain. I have to set a neckline on it, sew up the side seams and hem it. It should be done for Crown Council this weekend.

Well, it seems to be official- Wanda is not going to do the Turkey Friday this year. The ATC is right after that weekend, and she's seriously flapped about that. We may do something later in the holiday season though. Considering a 12th Night Pity Party, among other things. It appears though that Annie is going to throw an 'Orphan's Thanksgiving' there in Brooklyn, which will involve much cooking. I think she's done a turkey before, but I don't know about the rest.

Now I'm hungry for turkey. And gravy. And potatoes... drat that cholesterol! Boo! I may have to cheat and do penance thereafter...

Polka Dots!

These aren't Carolingian Frankish, but 12th c French- two enameled caskets in a style we associate with the work done in Limoges. One of the things that they have in common that is unique is the polka dots! The first box has a woman dancing and a man playing the vielle. She's wearing a lovely bliaut with pendant sleeves, and it's polka dotted! Wild! *I NEED ONE!* And the vielle player has polka dotted hose! Must.Have.Some! On the second box,the poor unfortunate woman is being sent out of court on the left, and on the right is having a rather extreme hairdo modification! Her dress is virtually identical, with the same pendant sleeves and polka dots. What I want to know though... are the dots woven in? Embroidered? Painted? Or could they be sewn-on bezants? (Inquiring minds want to know!)

In other news...

Stephen is coming to visit this weekend! Yay! He's coming in later tonight, probably on the train. I haven't seen him for awhile so this will be nice. Of course, I'm not going to flatter myself- he's actually coming to visit Mom Food. He already put it a request for manicotti...

This morning (Friday) I went down to PSU to do a short show-and-tell demo with Katrine and Svava. There wasn't nearly enough time, but we had fun. What wasn't fun was the trek to the building- there's construction all over downtown and no matter where you're going, you can't get there from here! I had to drag the boxes several blocks. Not fun. And because I was a dork and didn't read the parking pass (it was early- I hadn't had food or meds yet) I got a $30 ticket! ARGH! Stooopid me!

Thursday night we had movie night- watched Kenneth Branagh's _Henry V_. Terrific film. Morgan finish her neckline, and I worked on some chainstitched edges on a new Frankish gown. It's a soft mulberry wool, and the gown to go over it will be this keen tweedy wool in ivory, mulberry, a soft rose, a bit of burgundy, and- of course- some flecks of burnt orange. Heh. Of course. :-) I'm hoping to get it done for Crown Council next weekend.

Had a blood draw that morning and I was not happy- my veins were refusing to play, and after trying both arms they finally had to take it out of the back of my hand. Owowowowow!

My therapist was transferred to the Tigard office, and that is just plain to far to go regularly, so I have to break in a new one. Joy.

Between sleeping a lot (because I feel crummy) and trying to get some reading done (and falling asleep in the book) I haven't gotten much done but a little sewing. Which is ok. I think I've gotten over trying to push myself when I don't have to. Life is too short for hurrying.

Still fascinated by Frankish Goodness!

Completely awesome garnet brooches, eh? I'd offer to sell my firstborn for a pair, but somehow I think I no longer have the title and registration on her, yanno? Sigh. I still want the brooches...

Lessee, last Thursday Claire came over for Movie Night and we watched The Advocate and I cut out the mulberry wool for an undergown to go with the tweed Frankish gown. Hopefully I'll get them done for 11th Night. Crown Council would be cool too if I could get it done by then. I think I have enough of the burnt orange silk to make banding. I'll have to pencil it out and see.

Lydia got home very late Tuesday and yesterday I drove her home to Eugene. She had a wonderful time in New York and a good visit with Annie. And I sent her home with a hood and a gown, all cut out and ready to sew. And I think I have good ideas for Christmas gifts for she and David.

The drawback to the drive is that I had to drink Red Bull to get home safely- and then when I got home I couldn't sleep. Bleh.

Had my yearly mammogram today. Oooch. There's got to be a better way to get a good scan than to slap 'em on the plate and squarsh 'em down. 'Discomfort', they call it. Riiight. I'd bet those machines were invented by a cranky middle-aged man with 'mother issues'.

Tonight is Project Night and I really ought to get the sewing room cleaned up a bit. Maybe after a nap.

Teh wurdz of Ceiling Cat in LOL!

This is almost too much- there's an effort being made to translate the Bible into "LOLCat," better known as the language of i can has cheez burger. Here's a section from the first chapter of Luke:

Hail, Mary
²⁶Ceiling Cat sended Gabriel, a hovr d00d, to Nazareth (dat is a citi in Galilee) ²⁷ to a virgn naemd Mary. She wuz engajded to a d00d naemd Joseph. ²⁸ Gabriel wuz liek "O hai Mary, u iz realli nice. Ceiling Cat iz wif u." ²⁹ Mary wuz kiend of worrid about dat. ³⁰But teh hovr d00d wuz all "Doant be afraid. Ceiling Cat iz happi wif u. ³¹U iz gonna hav a kittn. Naem him Jesus. ³²He wil be graet. He wil be teh kittn of Ceiling Cat an his daddi will give him David's chaer. ³³He wil r00l Jacob's house forevr."

³⁴Mary wuz liek "O rly, i iz a virgn remembr." ³⁵Gabriel wuz all "Ceiling Cat wil take caer of it." ³⁶Elizabeth iz goin to hav a kittn n evribodi seded it wuz imposubl." ³⁷Nothin iz imposubl for Ceiling Cat."

³⁸Mary sed "I is happi to do Ceiling Cat's work. Liek u sai." N Gabriel lefted.

U can c mur at: http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Main_Page


In other news, Lydia is in NYC with Annie, though getting her there was a bit stressful. Her flight from Portland to Houston was majorly delayed- the 11:45 departure ended up being 2:26, and she missed the connecting flight to NY and had to grab another one. But it worked out and she is probably out on the town with Annie as I type.

Not much in other news. Stephen is coming up the first weekend in November, which should be cool- I haven't seen him for awhile. Wanda is home from her trip to Hawaii and Guam, James is home from Arkansas (he stayed a couple of days here after he got in, which was vairry naice. :-))

I go now. kthnxbi!

You know what they say about messy desks...

This is Al Gore in his office. Just look at his desk! I no longer feel so bad about mine. In fact, I think I'm well on the way to be a Nobel Laureate, don't you think? (Well, if I found the application papers- they're here somewhere, I'm sure...)

Not much happening here. I took James to the airport at an absolutely obscene hour Wednesday. Thursday I had to get up early again to pick up Wanda, who was home from Guam. She is still not sure what day it is. Tomorrow I go to Eugene to pick up Lydia, and put her on a plane Monday. At some point between here and then, I have to get my handout drawn up drawn up and copied for my class Sunday, which I teach after I pick up James from the airport. I think I should get Frequent Dropper-Offer Miles!

In the meantime I have a headache big enough to park a car in. And nausea to go with. Bleah. Back to bed may be the best plan at the moment...

So I staggered through another week...

And hoping that Monday was not an indicator of how the rest of the week will go...

I have a vase full of lilies on my desk right now that look a lot like these --> though the ones in the picture are not dropping petals all over. (I picked them up Wednesday, so I suppose it should be expected.) They do cheer up the place a bit.

So last week mostly sucked. Sunday I took Wanda to the airport. Monday I ran errands during the day, and had planned to get up at a reasonable hour on Tues to go sew or something. Ha! As if!

I had a hysterectomy back in '94, because I had a rather nasty case of endometriosis. They took everything, including my ovaries and the cervix. So I shouldn't have started bleeding Monday night- but I did. Not knowing why, and not being entirely stupid, I drove myself to the emergency room. I ended up in a private exam room, wearing a glorified paper towel, with no tv, no magazines, nothing- for several hours. At least they turned the heat up a bit for me, so I wasn't freezing.

The doctor there couldn't figure out where the blood was coming from, and the gynecologists of call that night were busy with an emergency c-section and a pair of twins. So they didn't have time to come see me. So they sent me home with some pain pills for the cramping, and told me to follow up the next day.

So the next day, I got an appt to see a 'women's health' person at my usual clinic. She was mystified. By then I was only spotting, but we still needed to figure out what was going on. So I got another appt with the gynecologist, who didn't really find the site of the bleeding, but did find some really tender spots. So after the ER visit and spending the week at the dr, the upshot is: I shouldn't have been bleeding but I was. The best guess is that I had a random spot of the endometriosis crop up and break loose. And with the tenderness, chances are pretty good that I have some active nodules and scar tissue around where my uterus and cervix used to be. Add the hot flashes that I'm having a couple of times a week, and it sounds like my hormones are messed up. Joy.

The nice thing about the week was that James came up Weds night and spent a couple of days here with me. It was *really* nice to have him around- the added support was really good for me. Thursday evening I made the first batch of beef stew of the season, which is always really yummy, and then later a bunch of folks came over and we ate ice cream and watched Lion in Winter. It was a lot of fun- especially saying the best lines along with the actors. :-) ("I'm vilifying you, for God's sake pay attention!" is one of my favorites...) Friday was just a grey day, so we slept in, laid a fire in the fireplace, drank cocoa and hibernated. I had to send James home Saturday (Boo!), and took a nap after he left. Went to brunch Sunday with Karl and Linda, at a new place called 'Toast'. The place was really busy, and it was tiny so it took awhile to get a table. But the food was good. And then we went to their place and hassled kitties while talking about the baronial storage unit and stuff- apparently they're trying to reorganize things so they're easier to use and keep track of. Looking down the list, I had no idea that the Barony had so much stuff! Wow! Of course, it really is a very big barony, and they need lots of stuff, but still...

Monday I slept nearly all day with a rather nasty migraine. Only now beginning to feel better.

James will be up Tuesday night again, because he's flying out at an ungodly hour to Little Rock- the family is getting together now, as Aunt Donna isn't well, and they don't want to wait until there's another funeral to see everyone. I'd have loved to go, but I can't afford it, he can't afford to take me, and I'm on kitty duty anyway. Boo.

Speaking of kitties, it's time for their evening nummies. Shadow will be happy of course to share his kitty breath with me. (Blecch!)

And this is what I look like

Without caffeine. There's a reason I take my tea to events!

I found that little gem on line the other day- I don't even remember what I was looking for, but dang! One of my hats even! Now I have documentation for that funny little face I make just before someone dies messily...

Not a whole lot happening. This morning I dropped Wanda off at the airport. She's doing the Pacific tour- Hilo, Honolulu, Maui, and on out to Guam. She's not crazy about Hawaii- too touristy and crowded and she hates having to drive there. But she really likes Guam so I guess it evens out.

The rains have started in earnest, and everything is greygreygreygrey. And damp. And this morning I realized (again) that I've forgotten to get new wiper blades (again) and they really need to be replaced, as they're falling apart. I don't know how to change them, but I think I'm about to learn how.

Not tonight, however. It's time to crawl into bed and make like bear.

Not my fault!

The dog ate it, the cat threw up on it, my good dress was at the cleaners, friends came from out of town...

Ok, that's what the picture looks like to me. It's Charlemagne and one of his wives (probably Fastrada, who was a nasty piece of work), and it looks like he's admonishing her and she's not having any of that. Interesting from a costuming point of view- she has several layers of gowns, it seems, a scarf of veil around her neck and falling behind her, and a mantle or sleeveless coat. Pointy shoes, and her hair seems to be wrapped up with a turban or something. and geez, doesn't she have huge hands!

Sunday was fun- there were eight of us at breakfast- Wanda and I, Karl and Linda, Robert and Ilonka, and Liadan and Conchobar (hope I spelled that right). We were noisy and had fun. I kind of like it where there's lots of us.

We went home and I laid down for a nap as usual, but when I got up a couple of hours later, I had a migraine. Pretty miserable. I went back to bed in hopes of just sleeping it off. Didn't really work but at least I wasn't conscious.

Today (Monday) I went upstairs and sorted out my pile o' fabric.Trying to figure out what it all will be- Some of it is self-evident (like the orange coating wool) but some has not 'spoken' to me yet. But at least the pile is neater. Now I have to get the stuff off of the floor. Eventually there will be sewing happening.

Should have company on Thursday- a woman named Morgan who wants help with garb. Heh. Someone new to play with. Should be fun.

It's been a quiet week in Hotel Drachenwald...

But in other places not so quiet...

James and I day-tripped Summits Coronet- he suggested it rather have have me totally exhausted from loading and setting up and all of that stuff. We took a dayshade and chairs and such, and made do. The event to was ok- the tourney was very clean and Graf Berek won. Court went on and on and on and on... A bunch of local awards, and Geoffy had to blather on about everything. Then there were two Pelicans made. And then we packed up and left. By the time I got home I was really tired. Sure was nice to sleep in my own bed.

The new Frankish outfit worked really well, and I got quite a few compliments- especially on the hat. I was really happy with the hat, too. Need a little more padding in the back, but otherwise very nice. I'm thinking to do some more Frankish gowns- something comfy to wear while I'm trying to drop weight, and even after I've slimmed down, they'll still fit ok.

I found a cool picture online--> it's 12th c Spanish, and what's interesting is the woman's outfit. She seems to be wearing an opensided gown with no sleeves- almost looks like a gates-of-hell surcoat. But it's laced closed (or nearly so). A bit different from the usual French silhouette that is shown as an example of 12th c clothing.

And I think the fabric looks keen, with the stripes and the stars. And one more thing- the picture is titled 'Mariage', and it is supposed to be the woman being handed over to the new spouse. Funny- she doesn't look very happy about it...

I have a new keyboard! Hugh and Muireann were *giving* it away to a good home, and I snapped it up. Five octaves, all sorts of different settings. I ordered a sustain pedal for it, and next month I'll get a stand, and hopefully the music stand for it. I've been playing it a lot. Dug out my old hymnals and have been pounding my way through. Been more than ten years since I've played regularly, and oooh, it shows. But I'm getting better.

I'm hungry. I think it's time to go find something to eat.

A Carolingian Bucket!

It's at the Met-

Situla (Bucket for Holy Water), ca. 860–880
Carolingian; From the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Crannenburg, Germany, possibly made in Reims, northern France
Ivory with copper alloy gilt mounts and inlays; 8 1/2 x 5 1/8 in. (21.6 x 13 cm)
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.45)

Now the question is, is that walrus ivory? How sad for a walrus to give his life for a bukkit! :-(

(Really now, I just thought this was way cool...)

Report from 'Lainie's House of Pain

Poor Larry.

So the new squire needed livery, and a surcoat was a good place to start. Gold and black, quartered, and counterchanged. We went out and bought trigger (the most bomb-proof fabric for surcoats that I know of) and bias tape, and set to work. Larry did most of the work. I sat down and started stuff, to show him how to miter the bias at the corners, for instance. For awhile we had duelling sewing machines going. We had a bit of a setback when we discovered that we'd but it together backwards (why do we always find these things when we're nearly done?) and had to take it apart and put it back together. But it is finally done (after something like four days of work- and hard work at that). Larry took it home, and now I have to start sewing for myself!

I'm making an 8th-9th c Frankish outfit for myself, hopefully to have done this weekend. I have some red wool and some very nice green knotwork trim for it. My hat is almost done. Not sure yet what I'll do for veils. I have some habitai I could dye, but still thinking of heavier stuff. May have to re-watch some of the Charlemagne tapes for ideas.

Not much going on otherwise. Wanda was gone for a week, and I mostly slept or supervised the surcoat project. Pretty much over the little med reaction, which set in right after Sport of Kings. It was not fun.

Heading off to Summits Coronet this weekend. That'll be my last camping event for the season. After that I'm planning to get caught up on my sewing. (HA!) Maybe even deep-clean my room.

I need more bookshelf space. (Doesn't everyone?) And I still have all of the stuff downstairs to go through. No rest for the wicked...

September! When did it get to be September?!?

I was just getting used to the idea of August!

Well, I figured I'd better put up a post before someone started mocking me. (You know who you are!) And I kinda wanted to push the last one down the page a bit. The color that someone adjusted my bukkit to is just a hair too pink- it makes it look like some sort of contraceptive device. :-P

Lessee- the last couple of weeks have been interesting, in the not-so-fun sense. We adjusted my meds again about a month ago, and just about the time that my blood levels caught up to the new dosage, my body finally decided it didn't like.this.at.all. Incredible muscle pain and tension (more so than usual- a lot more), so basically I felt like a giant charley horse. Could barely move. So this last week I was in to see Anna (the shrink who manages the drugs we were adjusting), and we agreed to bring the dosage back down to see what happened. Well, I basically confirmed that it was the drugs and not some new and festive problem- as the blood levels dropped, I felt better. I saw a pen on the floor today and stooped over to get it- something I couldn't have done this time last week. So now we're back to where we were...

Needless to say, I didn't go to Crown. Cedric Rolfson won- I've never heard of him, likely because he's from Wastekeep. (I don't get east of the mountains often.) Name is kinda Anglo-Saxon, so I'm wondering if this will be a Saxon reign or another Viking ruler. I'm hoping that someone puts more info up on the Cathedral or on the kingdom website.

Wanda is out of town again. So I'm taking care of kitties. Susitna is being a putz though- this evening when I mixed up her mushy-food-and-vitamins, she decided that it would be a good time to hide. I saw her on the chair, turned to get the food dish, and turned around and she was gone. I wandered around calling her and looking in her favorite hidey spots but I can't find her. I guess she'll go hungry for awhile. :-P

Oh, woe is me. So sad, to be forced to eat leftovers... from the BBQ we had yesterday. Lamb kabobs. And rice pilaf. Yes, I know, it is a great sacrifice. But someone's got to do it, and as I'm the only human in the house right now...

James is very good at the manly thing of grilling dead animal parts.

Fire good! Bring trees!

Ah has new buhkit!

New bukkit is purty!

(Actually, it's not violet. You already know what color it is...)

(edit: All right, some goofball has changed the color, so now it looks orange. Geek. :-))

Wanda and I went shopping today and brought home much kill, err... stuf. First we had to go to Office Depot for printer cartridges. @#$%^ those things are expensive! I got mine, Wanda bought a new printer, and it is currently in the box in the middle of the kitchen.

We also went to Ross, and I got a nutcracker (they're already out! And it's flippin' August!), a package of heavy wooden hangers for the sewing room (those goofy plastic things will not hold up to a houppelande!) and mah buket. (It's small enough that it tucks in at the desk.) Wanda got a bunch of clothes.

Then we went to Goodwill out on 122nd.Wanda found some clothes and stuff, and I didn't bother to look for clothes (it just depresses me) but I headed right to the fabric- and scored! 5 yards of ivory rayon faille, 8 yards of a pale green linen/cotton blend, and 8 yards of silk shantung, in a lettuce green. And I had a $10 off slip, so I got the whole thing for the low, low price of $6.12!

Heh.

I'm going to make myself a new cotehardie, fat or not fat. I can always take it in later.

And I found my orange hairbrush. Life is looking up. :-)

But I'm not even unpacked yet!

Since Annie has begun the mocking, I suppose I should put up a post.

I slept pretty much all day today, attempting to recover from the weekend. We went to the Sport of Kings, here in Three Mountains, which is basically a four-day collegium for fighters. (Mostly- there were a few non-martial classes too.) James took classes, and I mostly cooked. Saturday night I fed 16 (at least I think that was the final count), and did it with two Coleman stoves. Heh.

We had:

Salad
Perre (a pea soup)
A Tart of Greens (a quiche with spinach and mustard greens)
Chyken in Hocchee (chicken stuffed with garlic and grapes)
Chicken in Oranges and Lemons (and an assortment of spices)
Beef Y-Stewed (beef stewed with red wine, currants, onions, and spices)
Losyns (lasagna noodles layered with cheese and spices)
A dish of carrots and mustard greens (I had to wing it- the fennel for the dish I'd planned had gone bad)
Strawbereye Tart (strawberry puree, eggs, sugar, breadcrumbs- comes out Barbie pink and very tasty)
Rice Pudding
Cheesecake (with blackberries)

All of the recipes (except the carrots) were from 14th-15th c texts. Was very tasty. And I have determined that James and Amalric together are a danger to Western Society. Add Korwyn and you approach critical mass.

(And it rained during pack-up. The Volvo is still half-full of damp gear and I have no stamina for cleaning up yet.)

... that vile, toad-faced...

I have the music theme for Dolores Umbridge stuck in my head, and it will not go out! AARGH! [bangbangbang] Smacking head on floor does not help, either.

Was interesting how it started with a cute, sparkly little tune, and then got heavier and more sinister. And how her clothes got deeper and more violently pink as the movie progressed...

Yeah, saw the movie again with Larry and Cathy (my third- I saw the last one in the theatre four times, so I'm still ahead). After a small adventure- the website I'd consulted for movie times was WRONG and we had 2 1/2 hours to kill, most of which we spent at Jo-Ann's (until they closed). Cathy and I are both dieting, and Larry was pretty broke, or we might have gone for ice cream. But they did in fact eventually let us in. Couple of mildly interesting previews. Eh, I was only there for the movie.

As usual I saw more this time. James is right- those things in the stair well at 12 Grimmauld Place are house elves- under bell jars. If anything, creepier than the heads on the wall.

Why is it that Gary Oldman looks so good in 19thc-ish clothes? That plum/black suitcoat is wicked nice. I wouldn't mind having one (one more thing for the sewing pile...)

Wish we'd seen more of Tonks. And I really liked Kingsley. That was a good casting.

We'd better get the other two movies done fast- the guy who plays Fudge is over 80, and won't last forever. Michael Gambon is not spring chicken, either.

Would have more to say, but I'm tired.

In other news today, I got a cortisone shot in my knee today. Hurt like a bitch and still doesn't feel all that great. They said it would likely be a couple-three days or so, and then should get better. Hope so. Tired of gimping around!

"Message in a bottle..."

I have the Police stuck in my head because they were on the muzak at Goodwill today... It reminded me how much I like Sting- I should maybe fork out some money for some of his tunes.

So I found parts of my SLUG outfit today-

**CRASS COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

The SLUG Queen contest and coronation is Saturday the 11th of August, at Broadway Plaza. Y'all should be there- it's the Silver Anniversary, and 25 years of sliminess is worth celebrating!

**END OF ANNOUNCEMENT**

I'm going with a Harry Potter theme- black pleated skirt, white blouse, striped tie, my pointy boots, the big hat, grad robe, etc. Still need something silver to go with. And have to figure out how to incorporate some fruit...

What else this week?... Had an appt with physical therapy, and we're hoping to strengthen some muscles to help make up for rattly joints. OHP has OKed *one* more visit, rather than the 3x/week for 6 weeks that really needs to happen. Bother. Also had an appt with Anna, and we're boosting my Cymbalta for a bit, as I've been in a funk (a lot of it because of the pain and aggravation from the arthritis) and being depressed is not good for me. Worth a try at least.

I found a gorgeous dress for Annie- slinky, red, long sleeves but the shoulder caps are bare. It will be killer on her. Need to send that out Friday or Saturday.

I want ice cream and there is none in the house. Poo.

"It's a little cat from the village- he's a Reaper!"

I have been way too amused by the Grim Reaper kitty story. And of course the sillies come out- there was the story that the cat has taken up residence in Alberto Gonsalez' office, and I understand that the Onion says he's been following the McCain campaign. Gee- wonder which will go first?

And Hillary and Obama are sniping at each other. Is it too much to hope that they'll damage each other and leave the field for Edwards?

Had a Dr appt on Tuesday. She's sending me in for a cortisone shot in my knee, which has been a real pain (literally) of late. And in for some physical therapy. And got an Rx for a different pain med- haven't decided if I'm better off, but I have noticed that my ears are ringing constantly- very loud. Rather like falling asleep in front of the tv and waking up at 4 am to that white noise...

Larry was over Tuesday, which was cool- I hadn't seen him for quite awhile. He's being squired to Steingrim at Sport of Kings, which gives me another reason to go. He's not sure what day.

And I saw on Leaky Cauldron yesterday that the Half-Blood Prince movie should be released in Nov. '08. Cool...

Hooray for Harry!

Wanda and I went to the book release party (in costume of course) at Powell's Friday night. Lots of people there- the line went back and forth on Couch, the to Burnside, around the block , and 2 blocks down the other side. My best guess- 1000-1200 people. Almost all of them teenagers/college kids. Not many little kids, though it was supposed to rain, so maybe they were at the indoor parties like at Borders and Barnes and Noble. We only got faint sprinkles.

I did a fair amount of walking around, chatting with people. Wore my navy blue houpp with the copper-lined collar. Looked terrific with the tall black hat. And lessee... Dumbledore, Hagrid and McGonaghal were there (store employees). I several Lunas, a really good dementor, a couple of good Bellatrixes (both in prison and the version that showed up at the ministry), Dolores Umbrige showed up! (she was booed.) There was a young Snape, and there was a kid who looked incredibly like Ron Weasley- and the whole first string of the Chuddley Cannons! (Adults, and they obviously had their shirts special made). And towards the end of the evening, the Dark Lord himself showed up! OooOooOoooo...

Took me 7 hours, 10 minutes to read the book. Very good I was satisfied with the ending. All is Well. And now I'm going through a second time. :-)

In other news-

I have an appt with Dr Becher Tuesday. I'm going to BEG her for something better in the way of pain meds. The large amounts of ibuprofen are not cutting it. It's a struggle even to get dressed.

Alanna's folks are here- they came up for the Highland Games. Always nice to see them.

And that's pretty much all the news there is for now.

Two Rants for the Price of One!

Fasten yer helmets, Rangers, there's incoming!


First- a Harry Potter related rant:

This is not meant at anyone in particular, so don't get personally exercised about it. I'm just bloviating.

I am really really really really REALLY tired of the whining about the casting of Michael Gambon as Dumbledore.

Richard Harris wasn't perfect either- in fact, he was pretty much phoning in his performance in COS. And he didn't give a rat's patootie about the books either. He only signed on because his granddaughter threatened to never speak to him again if he didn't.

Harris died, and they had to find a replacement. Someone who they could make up to look similar at least. Someone from the British Isles. Someone with acting chops. Someone who was available and could be available for future films.

Were any of us involved in the call for said actors? Were any of us involved in the casting process at all? Did anyone ask our opinion? The same people who picked Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith also picked Gambon. There must be some reason for that, don't you think?

I would also like to suggest that it may not necessarily be his _acting_ in the latest performances, but the _direction_. I thought Gambon was fine in POA, and I also thought that Cuaron was inspired. I was less impressed with Newell and Yates. I suppose we'll have to wait and see how the next one turns out.

I'm just tired of the second-guessing. No film is perfect, and these films have an incredible weight of audience expectations- more than anything with the exception perhaps of LOTR. Frankly, I'm just glad that they're being made at all.

And oh- I was rooting for Pasty Byrne (Nursie from Blackadder II) to be Umbridge- she would have been perfect. But you know, Imelda Staunton did a very good job. And I'm satisfied with that.

That is all. :-|

____________
Edited to add-

Questions came up when I posted this rant to the Harry Potter For Grown-Ups list. So to clarify: Yes, none of us were in casting process or were asked what we thought. Which means that we don't know the reasons that Gambon was cast and someone else was not. Second-guessing when one has the same info as the original decision was made from is one thing, but second-guessing with none of the information is just stupid.
____________

And now Rant #2...

A General Rant About Life as I'm Getting It.

IT SUCKS!!!

Well, lessee, where to start? I'm sleeping really badly again- in fits and starts, and I'm always groggy and tired. I've tried taking sleeping pills the last couple of nights, and all it does is leave me really gorked the next day. I am also in a fair amount of pain, which doesn't help with the sleeping thing, and also wears down what little energy I had, and shaves my nerves razor-thin. I'm Dealing with some fairly major depression, fueled by the lack of sleep, the pain, and the @#$%^& weather (grey, grey, the skies are grey...),

Money is tight, thanks to a minor fooble last month,

I slept most of Monday and clean forgot about an appointment- and haven't rescheduled it yet.

I'm feeling fat and ugly. And I'm losing large quantities of hair again,

and the man I love above all is 300 @#$%^&* miles away. Again. Still.

I really want some ice cream. And we haven't any. Boo.

Bother, said Pooh.

How much? Not much.

As in not much going on...

We had a nice Project Night on Thursday. Gemma and her husband were here, and Aetheny was here, and Jill was here for awhile. I managed to fix Jill's dress- had to put a whole new neckline on it as the trim had frayed quite a ways down. And had to go over the hem- she'd stepped in it and pulled it out in several places. I went over it on the machine for good measure. And then I worked on Bera's teal dress. The neckline is next, and then comes creative fitting stuff. Joy.

Most of the weekend was spent hunkered down with a monster headache. Wanda was in Seattle so it didn't really matter what hours I kept. I managed to drag myself out for a bit Saturday night and went to see Harry Potter again. I even bought a box of Good n' Plenty at the grocery on my way there. I haven't eaten candy at the movie for ages, and it was kind of fun.

Wanda had a good time- she saw the movie at the IMAX and showed off her robes, and she came home in a pretty good mood, which is nice. We're thinking of going again, maybe Tuesday. (Yes, we're obsessed. Deal with it.) And I'm hoping to finish HBP again before the book release party. Might even work on a new outfit...

LUNA ROCKS!

I went to see the new Harry Potter movie with Bera and Alail last night. Considering that they had to condense 879 pages (the longest of the books so far) into a movie-length feature, I think they did a damn good job of it. I think that the pacing and transitions could have been smoother (a little more clutch, guys!), but I was amazed at how much of the book they managed to get in. And Luna Lovegood was very, very well done. Tonks didn't get much screen time, but she was good. And Helena Bonham-Carter made a very good Bellatrix- she's really quite skilled at playing someone who's unhinged...

I did discover that sitting for four hours (they let us into the theatre about 1 1/2 hours before screen time) was not the best thing I've ever done. And *$3.75* for a slurpee? Highway robbery! Left me with not enough cash to get any Good n' Plenty! Boo!

It was over 100 out yesterday, and the A/C in the theatre felt really good. Nearly that today, but I slept through most of it, and ate popsicles when I was awake.

Sure hope it cools down soon...

Some cheese with that whine?

I may need a loaf of bread to go with it too...

Wanda is in a serious funk. She'd put in for Tues and Weds off to go to Seattle to see a friend and hit the Potter parties. As soon as she got the ok for the time off, Those People (who are trying to force her out- one of them wants her job) scheduled an intake day for Tuesday and specifically invited spouses (which is Not Done) and then insisted that Wanda has to be there. She is really upset. Dunno if she's told Mary Kay yet.

James was up for the weekend, which was lovely. We saw Ratatouille, which was great fun. I just wish that I'd been feeling better. Which brings me to---

I just got back from the specialist I'd been sent to. And I am very unhappy. Not with the specialist- he was great. But about my situation. You know, I'm sorta dealing with the fibromyalgia, and keeping my nose above water with the bipolar crap. Mostly managing the arthritis in my neck and knees ok. Not great, but surviving. But now the arthritis has hit my pelvis. Difficult to walk, really painful to climb stairs. I haven't been able to ride my stationary bike for about two months. The SI joints are showing cartilage loss and some displacement. There's early damage on my hip joints too. But the center of the problem is right on my pubic bone. Can you imagine having arthritis there? Have you just crossed your legs and winced? The normal 1cm or so of cartilage there was worn down to less than 1/8" inch. There's 'irregularities' and bone damage on both sides. And the real problem?- There's really not a damn thing I can do about it. I'm already taking a lot of ibuprofen, and the heavy-duty arthritis drugs don't go well with my other drugs. Cortisone won't help, and likely would hurt. He suggested finding a water exercise class, and Wanda is going to look around and see if she can find one. Other than that, I'm stuck with this. I have to say, I am REALLY unhappy about it. The other stuff I can muddle my way through. But this has serious quality-of-life issues. It hurts to walk. I really don't know how I'm going to cope with this, I really don't.

And to top it off, it's supposed to be 100+ here tomorrow. Much about 85 or so and I get sick. I may spend the day in the bathtub.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones...

Erg.

So, I got the xrays done yesterday. The paperwork was indeed ready, and I didn't have to wait too long. Put on my too-short nightie (why must they make them of such hideous fabrics?), came out from behind the curtain and said "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille, which cracked the tech up. Very hard to get up on the table, but I eventually did it. They let me see the films, which was cool. I got a surprise though. I had expected the off-kilterness of the SI joints. They _looked_ uncomfortable. But it was the front that surprised me. I'd suspected that I had seperated a bit, since I have been feeling a lot like I did just after Lydia was born. But no- instead of 1" or the normal 1cm of separation at the pubic bone, there was... none. It looked like the cartilage was gone. If I have dry bones rubbing on each other, that would explain a lot of the pain...

So we'll see what the learned folk say on Monday, I guess. In the meantime, James and I are off to see a movie. :-)

Body: 1 - Me: 0

So I went down to the radiology dept to get my xrays done today, and thanks to some foo, the paperwork had not been faxed over like I was told it would be, so after driving across the river (ugly traffic!) in a little car with no A/C, winding my way through the parking garages and finding my way to the dept and then waiting 45 minutes while they sat around with their fingers up their noses, I ended up being told to try again tomorrow. Now, I'm the one who's in pain and now I'm cheezed off, so why am I always the one apologizing all over myself?

It's hot here, and my clothes are wet and sticky and I have housework to do but everything hurts. I want to BITE someone- I know I would feel better. Anyone willing to sacrifice some skin to make me happy?

And oh- I sent off a box to Annie- some clothes and stuff, and the requested Hee-Hee Bear and the pink blankie. (I guess Brooklyn is really home now.) And for standard parcel post - not priority- it cost me $21!! Highway robbery, I tell ya!

And it is too hot to think of anything more to say.

Once again, I managed to do it-

It appears that I have broke myself.

Don't know what happened as of yet. I get to go in Thursday for xrays, and maybe a follow-up MRI. It looks like I did something to the sacro-iliac joints in the back- they're making a lot of crunchy noises that they shouldn't be making (as in they aren't normally mobile) and seem to have yanked the cartilage in front pretty hard. Hurts to lie down, to sit, to stand, to walk- and climbing stairs REALLY HURTS. Even just putting my jeans on hurts. So I go to get looked at. In the meantime, SOP. Dr offered me harder pain meds, but they just make me sick- I'd rather have the pain than the headache and nausea.

Nothing else really of note. I packed a box of stuff for Annie, and I'll mail that Thursday. James might be coming up this weekend (I really hope so- I haven't seen him for awhile). I think I will drag him down to Burgerville for their fresh berry milkshakes. Mmmm... of course I can gain weight just thinking about them...

And it's deja vu all over again...

So what is it about this administration that has been bringing out the Watergate-era names out of the woodwork? This evening on Keith Olbermann's show, John Dean came out in favor of impeaching Dick Cheney. On the screen, right there.

No wonder Cheney won't turn over any records from his meetings...

Things are looking very interesting in the immediate future, as subpoenas are issued, because W and company have already made it known that they are going to ignore them. So what does it have to take- do we have to have actual live footage of Dick Cheney eating a baby with the wrong fork? How much of our Constitution are we going to let them dismantle?

*sigh*

Nothing much, otherwise. Everyone appears to be packing for the War, since they weren't here this evening. I slept badly last night and all day was hassled with low back pain. Bother, said Pooh.

That's all I got tonight- come, stick pins in me in the morning, I'll be more responsive then...

'A bird in hand is worth two in the-'

Not gonna go there. Nope. Wouldn't be prudent. And if I were those birds, I'd be getting out of there. With numbers down to 26%, the Bush isn't the best place to be...

I am astounded at the latest outrage, basically declaring the Pres and VP to not be accountable to anyone, and essentially above and beyond the law. Maybe I shouldn't be astounded, and yeah, in a way it doesn't surprise me, but mostly in the 'I didn't think they'd go that far' sort of way.

If the Capitol catches fire, I'm outta here.

Lessee, in other news of the 'Lainie-

Went to Dragon's Mist Defender's, had a pretty nice time. They had it out at Camp Wilkerson, which is where we held Tournament of the Lions 15/16 years ago. Still a beautiful site, even nicer now that they have the flush biffs/showers. I had remembered the hill up to the lodge, but as the day wore on I felt like it got longer and steeper! And I was remembering what a pain it was when I was autocratting there. Boy, do I have some sore muscles!

The pavilion class went really well, I think. Ten victims, very enthusiasic, and I suspect that we'll be seeing some new pavilions in the next year or two. Spiffy, I think.

The excitement for me was on the way home- I got lost on my way out. I was going out the way I came in (or so I thought) andI must have missed a fork or something, because I suddenly found myself in a construction zone that I had not seen on my way in. There was a 'road closed' barrier up and a sign saying 'detour' and pointing to a gravel road. I had this sudden flash of the folks who got lost in the coast range last winter, and thought 'this is how people die in the woods!' I turned Zippy around and found my way back to the fork where hwy 47 peels off, and took 47 down to where it meets up with 26 near Banks. Added about an hour and a half all told, but at least I was not wandering around in the woods in the middle of the night.

47 took me through Vernonia, which is a really pretty little town and once you're through there, it's a fairly easy trip out to the Sunset hwy. I stopped in Aloha and grabbed a chicken sandwich at McD's, which perked me up a bit for the rest of the ride home. Pulled in at the stroke of midnight, which all things considered, wasn't too bad.

Sunday I managed to get my carcass out of bed (no mean feat, as sore as I was from hiking up and down that hill all day Saturday) and off to brunch with Wanda and Karl and Linda. Made a couple of stops on the way home, but then crawled into bed and slept most of the rest of the day. Just really wiped out. Slept most of Monday too. I've really got to get some stamina back. Just not sure how to go about this.

My seester sent me a 'Honeydukes Sweet Shop' t-shirt. :-)

James sent me links with pics from Investiture- and the step-up outfits were... pretty ghastly. I keep trying to recite the 'notmyproblemnotmyproblemnotmyproblem...' but I still cringe. I told James it would be cool to do a full-out High Gothic reign to follow them. I'm sure he thinks I've gone completely mad. (And how would this be different than normal? Maybe we don't want to answer that...)

Heh. The job comes with minions though. Me likey minions. :-)

Fabric juju returns!

I had just enough time today to stop out at Goodwill in between errands, and scored! Whoo-hoo! I found a little knitted tank top in a soft pear green, which I needed, not having much in the way of summer clothing. And I plowed through the fabric in the back and came up with four pieces worth dragging home. A white and robyn's-egg blue weave (that crinkled up a bit when washed! Must have had a twist in the thread- makes it interesting!) that is about 5 yards, a lovely bug/chartreuse green linen that is a yard and a half or so (I think there's enough for a skirt), a navy rayon challis that's 5-6 yards, and a piece of red worsted, about 3 yards or so. Fun stuff to play with and I might get some needed new clothes out of it. Yay!

That done, I am now out of money. But near enough to the end of the month that it is ok.

1-20-09. Meditate on this with me now...

Score one for me!

Well, I may not have had the good fabric juju going the other day, but I think I made up for it today. I had this shelf thingie under my desk, partly to stack files and such in and partly to put my feet up. Well, it was made of particleboard, and it went as things of that nature go- if fell apart.

I poked around a bit last week in Goodwill, etc, for something to replace it, but came up empty. So today I went down to City Liquidators, to their used office furniture section. And found one of those 'hutch' things that go across the top of the desk, the right size, for $20, which was what I was budgeting. Came home and put it together with a minimum of cussing, and slotted it in under my desk. Sorting stuff out and putting them away on the shelves- there's two shelves on this instead of one, which makes me happy- a bit less mess for me to manage. And it's a little bit taller, which is good for putting my feet up. All around I'm pretty pleased with it. Of course now I have a pile of dusty crap on my bed that I have to sort and put away...

Think I'll coast for the rest of the evening, maybe head upstairs tomorrow and start in making messes again (I'm really good at that!)

Surprise surprise!

I actually, really and truly cleaned up the sewing room! Well, most of it at least. Still have to vacuum, etc. But the ironing table has actual flat space on it now and the shelf unit next to the sewing machine has a brown fake-wood print top! Who knew!

So the really cool news was the shopping trip. Cathy (Ursel) and I went to Mill End. I got skunked- everything I liked had not enough on the blot, which was very annoying. But Cathy scored, and big! First was a couple of nice small pieces of wool in the Annex. Then when we went around the corner to Home Dec, I spied a bolt of gorgeous brocade- moss green with a pewter ground. Pattern in rondels about 6" across, with the 2" rondels connecting them. Stylized floral pattern inside, etc. It was $12.99/yd, and she got enough to make a court gown/12th night gown. And then while puttering around in Home Dec, she found a bolt of absolutely jaw-dropping brocade. Blue and gold tapestry brocade, probably a cotton blend. Pattern of 3" rondels with 1" connectors- with animals inside- an eagle, a griffin, a winged horse, and an elephant. It looked for all the world like some of those Sicilian brocades that turn up in the robes of the Holy Roman Emperors, 1th-12th c. Absolutely astounding. It was $19/yd, and she got enough to part it out a bit at a time for royal gifts or trims or whatever. Completely wow.

Then we came back here, and I worked on cleaning and sorting while she drafted and made a wool hood. I also brought the Emdeko machine upstairs and set it up. Runs like a top, virtually unused. I was very pleased with that. We finally knocked off after 11, I think she got home about midnight. When I got home Wanda was back from Seattle. They'd gone to Pike Place and came home with silly little things like a refrigerator magnet set of W with a variety of clothing, paper-doll style. Not at all respectful. :-)

And to day I'm just sleeping off yesterday, which is ok I think. Plenty to do this coming week, so taking today off is a needful thing.

Adventures in and out of 'Lainie-town!

I was out running errands today. And man, am I tired.

The excitement was when I drove across the river- there's a Pendleton Woolen Mills outlet store in Washougal, about 15 miles out from the bridge on I-205. I drove out there to see if they had anything I could afford for new clothes (they did- I brought home a 6-yard piece of a dark charcoal suitweight wool- $3/yd!). And when I went to check out, I handed the lady my Oregon driver's license with my debit card (Washington state has sales tax, Oregon doesn't. If an Oregonian buys something in Wash., they can get the sales tax off by showing their license. I like this. ). And come to find out it's expired. Not the debit card- *the license*. Since November!

I have no recollection at all of getting a renewal notice, and there's no renewal sticker on the license, and flipping through my check register, no check written for it either! Eek!

So I drove ~very carefully~ back across the river to DMV, and got my license renewed. (And was I feeling paranoid all the way there? Oh yes! Last thing I need is a citation for driving with an expired license!) They insisted on making a new one- picture and all. Blergh. I was running errands, had no makeup on, my hair needed combing and I'm wearing my Gryffindor t-shirt. So now I have a driver's license picture that makes me look like the World's Oldest 14-year-old!

And of course simply braving DMV... wait wasn't too long, except there were three of them. And the last two I had to sit between someone who was clearly a heavy smoker, and a fellow who believes that after-shave is akin to godliness, and he wanted to be very Godly! So why is it that when I pull out the albuterol inhaler, they look at me like I'm the problem?

Tomorrow's adventure- Mill End!

A whale of a tale!

So in weird news today, I saw a story on CNN (and other sites) about a whale that was caught in Alaska- and discovered to have a late-19th c weapon deep in it's blubber. Apparently it had been hit somewhere around 1890, but the shot was mostly an annoyance, and the animal has been swimming around with a giant arrow-head in it since. That's a long time to have a sliver...

In other news, I drove down to Fabric Depot today. It was a wasted trip. Went through the Outdoor sale, saw nothing that I wanted enough to pay for. At least that was what I'm needing. There was pretty stuff that would make great indoor garb, but it was all petrochemicals, and I need sturdy tourney wear. So no go. Tried the fabric store across from the Safeway in Rose City. They had a couple of bolts of linenish stuff, but it wasn't really what I want either. So tomorrow I try somewhere else. I need to clean the sewing room too, but I've avoided it so far...

Tomorrow I get to run Zippy through DEQ and get her tags. Ah, it's just money, right? Oy. And a lot of it. Am thankful that Oregon has some of the lower car licensing fees in the nation. I remember ponying up in Washignton state, where the fees varied depending on the value of the car. Not that I ever had a valuable car- I think Zippy's the most valuable car I've driven regularly, which may not seem like saying much, but old Volvos never die, and they retain value really well.

May be saying so too soon, but I'm actually feeling better tonight. I'm tired, but not quite as bone-sappingly so as I have been the past couple of weeks. Maybe I'm beginning to bounce back.

Butter me, baby- I'm toast!

Well, James and I made the trip down to Stinky War today. I am SO glad that we didn't camp. Not cold, but the rain was pretty constant, and it was a bit windy, too. I sat for awhile and watched the fighting, and then I curled up on the rug and went to sleep. Seemed like the thing to do. We packed up and came home. Went to dinner with Wanda and her friend Sharon at the new Chapel pub (McMenamin's), which is a lot less crowded then the Kennedy School. Came home and now I'm having trouble staying awake.

I'm feeling better than I was Wednesday- at least the coughing is not constant. But I get winded *REALLY* easily, and recover a lot more slowly. Feeling absolutely sapped. I sure hope I start to bounce back soon, because this is a real drag.

And oh- I tried to put on my trusty blue gown- the one I wear all the time. Could not get it on, which means more sewing for me, as I only have a couple of things I can wear. Very discouraging.

Back on the sauce...

Crimony, didn't I just post this?

Well, I'm sick again. I'd noticed that the asthma seemed to be ramping up again the past few days and I was trying to beat it back, but no dice. I woke up about 3 am flailing about because I was dreaming that I was drowning. Seems I was having trouble breathing. Did some albuterol and then couldn't sleep. Or read or anything constructive. Finished a game of CivII. (big whoop.) Continued to feel crummy. When it was a rational hour I called the dr and got an appt. Dr Becher is still booked, so I saw Dr Engstrom. Nice fellow, about my age. He said that yes, my lungs are making all sorts of interesting wheezles and squeaks. But he also said that there was a 'burbly' bit on one side. So now I'm on BIG antibiotics and BIG doses (short term, thank goodness) of prednisone. And continuing with the albuterol and the Azmacort.

Life sucks.

And James and I do not agree about Fred Thompson. (OOO... big surprise there.) He thinks I'm in tinfoil territory and I think he's out of his mind. (Another big surprise.) In the long run, I think I would like to be able to chose between candidates who will A) not turn the country over to their friends to have as their private strip-mine, B) not use our soldiers to play GI Joe In The Desert, and C) won't go after the Constitution like a three-year-old with his first pair of scissors. (It's called the Habeas Corpus and it's there for a reason, ya bozos!)

Not that I feel strongly about this or anything...

And now I'm going to bed.

I had this terrific idea for a post

earlier Sunday. Did I write it down? Nope. Par for the course, I guess.

So I went to Eugene Saturday. Took Stephen out to lunch. He decided that Ruby was pretty tasty. We did a walk-through at Saturday Market (it looked just like I remembered), and then went down to the rose garden to hang out in the shade for awhile. It was almost cool under that big old cherry tree. Then we went over to David and Lydia's, where they were making boffers. Watched Robot Chicken for awhile, then I took Stephen home so he could catch a nap- he and his buds were going on a pub-crawl for his birthday. (I don't know how that turned out.)

It's been hot- way too hot for me- I'm okay up to about 80, but over that and I start having problems. It's been in the high 80s to low 90s. Ick. And Zippy has no A/C. And in Eugene there was this little problem called pollen. I was pretty miserable. And it was a good thing that I took my inhaler with me.

I slept most of Sunday- missed the Democrats debate. From what I read and watched clips later on, it looked like Edwards did really well. And the more I see of Hillary, the less I like her. Too bad- Bill as First Lady could be pretty interesting. The pundits seem to have backed off on Edwards a little- past couple of weeks they've been pretty rough, and none of it on anything substantive. They seem to think that nibbling him to death with ducks will bring him down. They don't have anything they can really say about his policy proposals, so they go after his haircuts and his house. Pretty stupid, I think.

I also think I need a popsicle. :-)

I like popsicles!

Last week when we were both sick, Wanda went out and got popsicles. I figured she'd bring home a cheap bag of pops, and that would be it. But no- she couldn't decide which ones, and she wanted ones with real fruit. She ended up bringing home something like 8 boxes of not cheap popsicles. But they are tasty! Oh boy! Especially the strawberry ones, which are basically strawberries smooshed up and frozen onto sticks. Me like.

So tomorrow is June 2, which is Stephen's birthday. I bought him a selection of McMenamin's brews, and a t-shirt to go with. And I'm driving down in the morning- plan to take him out to lunch and goof around a bit. He's going out bar-hopping with his buddies later in the evening. I might drop in on Lydia after I drop Steve off.

It looks like I'll actually make an event next week! I was too sick to go to Egils, which sucked, but I should be able to make it to Stinky War in Nordholt. Nice, small event, a bit lower stress than Egils. Hopefully my lungs (which are a bit irritated at the moment) will cooperate. Would be nice if the weather did too.

And only 49 days to HP #7!!!!! w00T!

Ah, Violetta!

Earworm du jour: the Overture to 'La Traviata'. Hey, if you're gonna die, make a production of it!

So what did I do with my holiday? Not much. Slept more than anything. Ran a couple of errands. Slept some more. I just can't seem to hit the 'reset' button on my body- I am getting really tired, really fast... I'm breathing easier though, down to one dose of albuterol usually in the morning. Still feeling a bit like I have a cat sitting on my chest (and breathing cat-breath in my face, probably), and I'm still having to clear my throat a lot (what's up with that, huh?). Dr Behle told me to stay on the Azmacort for awhile, especially with allergy season. Sigh.

Went to Costco today, came home with enough ibuprofen for the An Tirian army at A&W. Well, not quite, but 1000 tabs, which isn't anything to sneeze at. Also picked up some guaifenesin and half a flat of strawberries. And about half of the strawberries have been eaten already. :-)

My desk chair keeps pooping out large bolts and I can't figure out where they're coming from. I'm sure it's just going to fall apart someday, and I'm not looking forward to it...

I would love to have something really amusing to say, but I don't. *Sigh*

I'm here at home...

...instead of on my tourney bed, huddled next to James to suck the heat off of him. ~sigh~. On the other hand, I'm not totally trashed and aching all over. And my friend Caia, who is a respiratory therapist, called me before they left for the event, to see how I was and give advice if I needed it. Made a depressing afternoon a bit brighter. And I think I am getting better, slowly- I'm not coughing nearly so much, and I'm getting more sleep, which is a good thing. Caia said I'll really be making progress when I don't need the rescue inhaler.

Wanda had the local NPR affiliate play as we drove downto Oregon City to pick up Zippy the Wonder Volvo from the mechanic. By the time we got there I was ready to slit my wrists- they were doing a retrospective on all of the Oregon soldiers who's died in this damn war. My son turns 21 on the 2nd, and I cannot imagine losing him there. (Of course, I can hardly believe that he's 21! Wasn't he just that little boy with the blond curls and little pink toes?)

Tomorrow I'm taking Wanda out for breakfast (she's had a really bad week) and maybe to troll our favorite Goodwills. I think a fun new hat would make me feel better. :-)

Too Pooped to Party

Well, it is seriously looking like I won't be going to Egils after all. The asthma is not calming down enough, I seem to have hurt my ribs on one side from coughing, and I'm exhausted from not being able to sleep. I'm really unhappy about this, because I was really looking forward to seeing friends, spending time with my son, and being with James.

Poop.

Wanda is having serious difficulties at work, so that makes for a rather unhappy household. And Zippy is at the shop, which gives me some concern for costs, and also limits my ability to get out of the house. I think I can handle a walk down to New Seasons though. I might head down there later today (it is Thursday already). Maybe stop by Winston's and drool over that gorgeous library table they have. *sigh*

I did finish the repairs on the pavilion, which is good. Maybe I should work on the tourney gear this weekend. Or sew. If I'm up to it. I have that mulberry wool taht I've been thinkng about making something for me out of...

I got a postcard from Ivar today- he and Juana are in the UK, doing what SCAdians do in the UK. The card had a photo of that one multi-colored embroidered early Jacobean jacket- with a portrait of the owner, Margaret Laton, actually wearing it. Major cool.

Maybe I'll toddle off and see if I can sleep now...

Too much excitement!

Oy oy oy!

The excitement really was all in Brooklyn- I was just here in Portland chewing my nails and waiting for the phone to ring. Annie's throat was tonsillitis all right, but it had abscessed, and she was in pretty bad condition when she went to ER (which turned out to be walking distance and as it was a teaching hospital, she got some really pretty good care). Scary. Anyway, her account of the epic day in the hospital is here: http://theminnick.wordpress.com/2007/05/22/doctor-doctor-give-me-the-news/

She is just amazing. I don't think I could have handled it that well. Hey, I'm still weak in the knees from worrying about her!

My steroid inhaler came today, which is good. Still coughing and gagging, but this evening (after a couple of doses) it seems to be slowing a bit. I hope. My ribs are soooo sore from coughing...

I got jack done today (partly because I was waiting to hear...) but I have an appt with Anna in the morning, which means I have to be up and aware. And then Wanda and I have to drop off Zippy with Adam in Oregon City. Hopefully being up and about will get the blood moving and make me get more done. Yep- that's the plan. Hmm. So I suppose I should go to bed now...

No, no, and no, and for the last time-

I've never been a smoker!

Geez... sometimes medical people... they're standing there, looking at the chart in their hands- the chart that clearly says 'smoking: never'. So clear that I can read it upside down. The chart that was in the hands of the gal at intake, when she asked me if I was a smoker; the chart that was in front of the nurse when she took my vitals and asked if I was a smoker, the chart that was in the hands of the doctor, who then looked up at their fancy new computer system, looked at the SAME INFO there on the screen and then turned to me and said "You've never been a smoker?"

So I dragged myself in to the doctor on Friday. Had to shoehorn myself in- Dr Becher is fully booked until mid-June, so I saw a Dr Behle (pronounced Bailey). She verified that I have the viral crap that is all over the country (and all over Germany now, thanks to Katea and Wanda) . And she said that the crap in my chest is not pneumonia, which is good, but that the virus had jumpstarted my asthma, which is NOT good. They did the nifty peak-flow meter test thingie, which I flunked. And the little finger-clip oxygen thing wasn't happy either. (Which I guess was why they kept asking about smoking.) So they sent me home with an Rx for albuterol and one for a steroid inhaler. Got the albuterol, the steroid had to be ordered- hopefully it will be in Monday morning. The albuterol makes me feel like Hammy the squirrel on several cups of espresso and a Red Bull chaser- you could strap a brush to me and buff the floors. So now I can't sleep because of the cough *and* because of the drugs. Woo-hoo!

Annie is sick, which has me really worried. She hasn't been seriously ill (beside the random cold or tummy bug) since she was a kid. Sore throat, really swollen with the white patchy stuff on her tonsils. Classic tonsillitis. It hasn't been going away with aggressive amounts of home-care and when I called Sunday evening she was in tears most of the call. She can't swallow solids, can just barely get down liquids, barely talk, etc. She's missing days of work now, so she's worried about money. I told her Go.To.The.Doctor, and we'd figure out the money stuff after she'd feeling better. Fortunately there's a teaching hospital close by- she's headed there tomorrow for Urgent Care or ER or whatever- whatever it takes.

It just kills me. I'm thousands of miles away. I can't just say "Mommy fix" and hop in the car. Oooohhh... guilt guilt guilt...

Well, beyond all that, I have to get my rear in gear tomorrow and seriously start in on pre-tourney stuff. Bleh. Hope I feel better in the morning.

News came in from Crown. Tiernan del Cais won. Not really a surprise- he's been in the top gang several times. He seems to be a decent fellow, but I am... a bit woodjy about his wife. The only interaction I had with her was not the best, and a number of people I trust have had problems with her. So I guess we'll see. My participation may be low this tourney season, thanks to gas prices, so it may be a personal non-issue, but I don't have a good feeling about Stromgard, and about possible repercussions to Amalric and Caia. They're adults and can take care of themselves, but still, they're my friends...

I am looking forward to Egils- I like camping, at least our style ;-) and I love puttering in the kitchen all day I just hop the weather is better than it has been the past couple of years!

Geez- what am I going to wear! Ack!