Truth in advertising and all...

I've got a good crabby going on. And I think I've earned it!

1) the DSL line went down *again*, about 3 this morning. I got up this morning and found no mail, and it wouldn't connect. Went downstairs grumbling, reset the modem, came back up. Still no connection. Repeat. So I called Qwest, waited through the menu (is it just me or do others feel really stupid yelling 'representative!' at the top of their lungs, trying to get the voice recognition system to get it right?), finally got a human. Who immediately said "It's not our fault." That was BS and I told her so. I explained that when this happens they fart around until I lose my temper and yell at them and then they suddenly fix the problem, and that this time I was willing to skip the farting around part and go straight to my yelling. Got the 'one moment please'. She eventually came back on and said that yes, there did seem to be a problem, it would be a couple of minutes while she worked with the other department to track it down and get it fixed. Fine, I can wait.

And then their phone system dumped me.

One would think that the phone company would have a system that didn't hang up on people that they're supposedly helping, but I guess that's to much to ask. So I had to call and go through the whole thing all over again. Got put on hold again, eventually they put through a 'trouble ticket' and sent it off to another department, and it would be an hour or so.

Luckily, it was only about 40 minutes, and suddenly the email dumped into the inbox. Of course by this time I'd

2) missed my swim class, so I started the day double cranky.

3) To top if off, a fair amount of this phone stuff involved me going up and down the stairs, saying "No, there's the correct row of lights on the box", "No, there's still no connection at the computer", etc etc etc. Being as how I hadn't yet dressed for the day, I did not have the ankle brace on.

Can we see where this is going?

Just wrenched it good- really hardly moved but it's still really touchy and BOY did it hurt! So it's strapped up again and I'm popping the ibuprofen and cussing under my breath.

4) Oh- and yesterday I got a bill in the mail for $67066.29. Who doesn't love opening up one of those, eh? Can I pay it? HAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!!!

5) I have no chocolate. Homeland Security may want to bump the warning up to red...

Bleah.

Nothing much happening, so there's not been much to say. I saw Dr Fickle last Thursday, we upped the anti-depressants a little, but that's about it. Saw Dr Becher on Monday, she says that the ankle may just take awhile to heal up- partly because I'm getting older (noooooo!) and partly because of my weight. Which actually went down by 8 pounds (YAY!). Talked with her about the restless legs stuff, she wrote a scrip for a med for it- it's something that they usually use for Parkinson's, but has been getting good reviews for the restless legs. So far I'm getting about 5 or 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep before the jumping starts. It's a good start, hope that as the blood levels go up I'll get something more like real sleep.

We've had snow a couple of times this past week. Doesn't last very long, but it sure looks nice while it's here.

Still been reading Frankish stuff, much of it Merovinian because there's more artifacts to look at. The Merovingians buried folks with grave goods, which is great for those of us who like to look at that sort of thing. But the Carolingians were more Christianized, and didn't bury with grave goods, so we don't have as much in material culture to look at. Very frustrating.

I really should be upstairs, finishing cleaning the sewing room. But I'm sleep and I don't want to. Maybe if I start getting better sleep I'll be a little more motivated to do stuff...

Underneath all of that clothing...

... is daughter Annie, who like a crazy person went on a road trip and was at the Inauguration! She went with a bunch of friends, they drove all night, had to walk several miles, and ended up in the shadow of the Washington Monument- but they were THERE! w00T!!!!


Second picture is Marine One, taking W away.

Just savor that for a moment...

... ahhh! That's better!

YES WE DID!

Yes indeedy, we have a new President! (And he knew his lines, even if the Chief Justice did not...)

The excitement around here was not just watching the Inauguration on the tv- Today was extra exciting for us because Annie and a bunch of her friends in NYC borrowed a car and drove to DC for the Inauguration! She said they made it- had to walk about three miles and they were in the shadow of the Washington monument, but they were there! She said the crowd was AMAZING and she'll post as soon as she can get somewhere to use an iPhone or something- they're booking on home now because they all have to work tomorrow.

So why am I crying? Wow.

What a beautiful land this is! And a beautiful, brand new day! And such fortune to start it with a President such as this!

(And I can hardly wait to see Michelle's dress! :-)

I'm tired of being cold.

I know that I'll feel differently, say, late August when my brain has been baking, but I'm really tired of winter already! We really have it easy here- we had our annual snowstorm and that's done, and now it's just clear and cold. Whole days go by where the urge to stay in bed and pile on the blankets is overwhelming. (Hence the bed piled over with blankets and the collection of books and magazines on James' side of the bed.)

Nothing much interesting happening. I managed to get myself out to the pool yesterday. And I got my laundry done. And I read the Royal Frankish Annals, Nithard's Histories, Einhard's Life of Charlemagne, and Notker the Stammerer's accounts. And I still haven't found that little tidbit about where Desiderius' daughter went after Charles ended their marriage- somewhere in the past year I have a very clear memory of reading something that said what monastery she retired to. And I can't remember where! And I have this huge pile of Frankish sources that I have to go back through. That'll show me for now marking it or writing it down somewhere. I guess that the days of simply remembering are over. Bother.

Sometime in the next few days we hope to get Zippy the Wonder Volvo down to see Adam and get her clutch fixed, which is needful. And maybe have the window switch fixed so they'll go up and down again. Hopefully the other Volvo will be done, so I'd have access to wheels while they're working on Zippy. I need to get to the pool, and I have an appt with the shrink on Thursday that I'm NOT going to miss- I need to to walk in and tell him that I am NOT THRIVING. To say the least.

Maybe later tonight I'll head upstairs and try to finish the last little bit of work on my coat. Maybe having a new coat would make winter a little more bearable...

Today's self-portrait...

Yes, I'm feeling mighty slug-like. Have been all week- came home from 12th Night and crashed, and not done much since. I did get out for a little bit yesterday, went to pick up my med refills, and before I came home, I went to Burgerville. Heh. It required digging in my purse for change, but I had a Chocolate-Hazelnut milkshake. And it was delicious. :-)

My dress was a hit at 12th Night- the mantle and coat worked perfectly too. I skipped out on morning court and cruised the merchants' room. Lots of keen stuff, but I kept my wallet firmly in my bag. Did chat with Wm. Bjornson about fixing my ring, and if I'm a good girl and save my pennies, I might be able to afford to have that done this summer.

The ankle is still a bit touchy- I was on my feet too much at 12th Night and felt it. And I'm having a really hard time with the restless legs thing at night. Dear Abby said that putting a bar of soap in bed with me would fix it, but I guess I don't have enough faith, because it really hasn't helped. Makes the sheets smell nice though.

And if we can get Zippy's clutch issues sorted out, I'm planning to go visit James for Valentine's weekend, just to spend some alone time together. Things are looking grim on the student-teaching front, and we haven't quite figured out what to do next. * Sigh * Can never seem to catch an even break...

Nearly there-

Well, here's the progress so far. I have yet to do the hem, a little bit of finish work on the cuffs, and the beadwork. I think I can breathe a little easier now. :-) Tomorrow I need to go to the grocery, get my pre-cook done (I'm taking some hand-held pies among other things), and pack. I figure I can leave the beadwork to last, since it's sort of optional (the gown is pretty shiny without). And tomorrow is Thursday, so I might even get to do beadwork during Project Night, depending on what other stuff I'm helping folks finish.

In not-so-good news, I-5 is closed between here and Olympia, due to flooding. If the water doesn't recede, it could be a smallish event!

Short progress report-

Since I've actually been working on my 12th Night stuff...

I have the front and back pieced together, and next I need to do the shoulder seam so I can line up the neckline and put the front stripe down. Adding in the extra embroidered motifs on the center stripe worked well- it looks great, and will look better when I have some beadwork done. The colors in the photo don't even sort of do justice to it- the red is actually a vivid orange-red, the stuff that shows pink is really a pretty cappuccino beige, and the embroidery is gold. I need to dig through my makeup- I _know_ I have a lipstick that is just the right color. ;-) I also have the coat blocked out. Due to the tricks of making it from a sari, it is basically an aba, and I'm not sure if I want to change that or not. I think I will finish the main gown and see what I think then.

In other news- my ankle still hurts and I'm still having trouble with the nausea. James went home Saturday (BOO!). Christene and Victoria came over Sunday afternoon and we got quite a bit done on their stuff, including a hat for Christene- the little black velvet 'flowerpot' hennin. It will look cool. :-) I still need to figure out the camera that Ellen gave me so I can take it to the event and get pictures.

Oh- and the vitamin industry is really digging into us- I decided to do the supplement route for the restless legs I've been having, since yet more drugs is not a good idea. I was shocked at the prices! Shocked, I say! Since when should a bottle of vitamins cost more than the Rx I'm trying to avoid?!?

Got the fancy new medical ID card in the mail the other day- but of course they can't get it right the first time- they arrived without name or ID # or anything- but XXXXXXX where those things ought to be. So this card could belong to Charlie Manson for all anyone knows- certainly nothing on them links them to me! I tried to call Friday to find out what to do, and of course the lines were busy and the state phone system hung up on me. Three times. And this is an improvement how?

And dammit- it's snowing again. So much for hitting the pool in the morning...

Happy New Year!

Dance dance dance my kitties! It's a new year!

(And good riddance to the old one!)

I got my cast off Tuesday, which was a relief! No more crutches! They did another set of xrays, and it still wasn't broken but instead they think I'd just torn the @#%$^& out of the Superior Extensor Retinaculum (i.e. the horizontal band of tissue just above the ankle in the front). They decided that the cast was more trouble than it was worth. So I have a spiffy new brace, and I can manage with just the cane, thankyouverymuch.

I was on my feet for a little too long yesterday though- and I'm feeling it today! We went to Powells (I got a copy of _Beedle the Bard_ and a book for Lydia)

James and I went to the New Year's Eve
concert at the cathedral (he was ushering so I got in early- which was
good- the line was off the campus and down the block when we got there
30 min before the doors opened) and it was spectacular as usual.  :-) 
Complete with bagpipes playing 'Auld Lang Syne'. We came home and James
made a big pot of black-eyed peas with smoked turkey and cornbread, and
I made mustard greens to go with. And we opened a bottle of champagne at
midnight. It was all very tasty.  :-)

I made my usual resolutions (lose weight, finish writing projects, etc) so I guess I'll see how that goes. So far, so good- I haven't eaten myself into a stupor yet! (But then the day is young...;-)