She Walked Away

Chimay's The Day

Well, probably tomorrow...

The yard is a mess and I have lots of work to do. I will let nature provide rain and settling for a week or two before I try to address the issue too much, but while it's raining tomorrow, I plan to enjoy my Chimay Ale:

More next week about everything.

Vox Hunt: Moving Picture

Video: Show us a documentary or film based on a true story that really moved you.

I love documentaries and I especially love stories about artists and adventurers. When these stories include animals, I'm hooked for certain. Watch this documentary. Watch it!

Alone Across Australia (2005) John Muir and Seraphine

http://www.journeyman.tv/?lid=19060

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7834561419177091807&q=alone+across+australia&hl=en 

The 4-1-1

Things certainly have not settled down since my last post.

My surgery was relatively routine and I am still recovering. I had hoped I would bounce right back, but not so much. Here it is Wednesday and I have been to class and am prepared to leave work early because I'm just not feelin' it. Ah, youth! Wasted on the young, indeed!

My basement/sewer/laundry trouble is nearly resolved. Twice the price I had anticipated and I lost a fence and an air conditioning unit in the process. I'm taking a cue from Scarlett O'Hara and pledging to worry about it tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day!

Olive has a new blanket just for her and I was able to do two loads of laundry, so my misery shall be short-lived.

I think.

 

Lest I forget, I need to give a shout out to some of my girlfriends. They all know who they are, but I am overwhelmed and humbled my their generosity. I didn't have to worry about a thing getting to and from the hospital, and once I was home, I was so delighted to have various comfort foodstuffs from which I could take a bite at a time as the mood struck me. I am also thrilled to have been given a bottle of Chimay Ale, but it's waiting patiently in the fridge for the day I can enjoy it.  

 

The Girls Like Peter Brady, too!

This week has been a real challenge, let me tell you. It is the first week back in classes and it appears that traditional college students do, in fact, take vacations. Me? I got to work all week anyway, deal with the plumbing issues at my house, and deal with my personal health issues without the benefit of medicine - self-prescribed or otherwise. Friday is my surgery and leading up to it I had to cease and desist with pain killers and anti-inflammatories. This made me a little cranky and a whole lot emotionally unstable.

Getting back to classes is a treat, but I am having some trouble with each of mine. Mostly, I just need to suck it up and be a grown-up about it, but I could really use someone to feel sorry for me.

My plumbing contractor is another source of stress. I gave him a heap of cash to start the job and so far he hasn't. Last week when I gave him said cash (I know, how stupid AM I, anyway??) he said that if he couldn't get to it Friday, he'd do it Monday. Monday the sky was falling. It rained all morning and not just a little. No problem, I can see where mud might be a problem. Yesterday, though, was beautiful, sunny and realtively mild. I waited until after noon to call and see how it was going.

Me:   How is it going?

Contractor:   I'm just watching this weather.

Me (thought bubble):   Wh....whaaaa....WHAT? What are you watching it do, anyway??? Be beautiful and ideal for working outside for money you have already been given??

Me (actual):   Uh. Okay. I thought you were doing it today. So are you saying you need two days, no rain?

Contractor:   You're next on my list (and I'm sure he looked like Snidely Whiplash on the other end of the phone).

The forecast shows rain every day through Sunday starting again late tonight. The contractor knew last week that it needed to be done before my trip to the hospital Friday. Editorial Comment: This guy has me by the soon-to-be-shaved short hairs and he knows it. Pass me some vodka. There may not be a good end to this story, but for now I am just hoping to be pleasantly surprised if it's done when I get home tonight (after the second consecutive beautiful day).

At least I can use this as a reason to request double the amount and double the strength of any painkillers they will give me to go home. The surgery center called me today to tell me that there is a vending machine for my go-home drugs. Where can I get one of those for work? My kitchen? Sorry, Olive. Mommy probably needs to sleep through this.

The good news is that even though I have standing water in my basement, can't do laundry and can't do dishes, when I am finally home, I will have my completed "I Slept With Peter Brady" to snuggle up in. Both of my girls like it too, but Lys isn't so great with flash photography.

 

Works In Progress

I couldn't wait. Maybe I just wanted to justify what I do with my spare time - all 2 minutes per day of it. At any rate, here is a photo of my quilt. It's nearly completed, and I have enough fabric to make a second one for a friend:

 

Wipquilt

And... as I mentioned yesterday, here is a photo of "I Slept With Peter Brady" in progress. I have added eight stripes since yesterday afternoon when I took this photo. The photos could be better, but I am waiting to know what the damage is for my plumbing repair before I look into a new camera. Here's the blanket:

 

Wippeterbrady2

The quilt is a small, sized for either a twin bed or a throw. The blanket is 74 inches wide (although I haven't decided whether to have vertical or horizontal stripes). I might just wait and see how it looks as I go through my stash.

Stashbusting and Smokin': Miscellany

It was an unexpectedly beautiful weekend, so I modified my indoor activities to include a few things outdoors. I'm glad that I did, too, as the cold weather will be back by the weekend - if you can believe the weatherman.

I planned to meet a friend for dinner at a favorite restaurant Saturday night. We ended up postponing our night out, but it's still very much on my mind. Maybe we'll have a glass of wine or two there before we go see George Carlin next month. Yes, sir. We've got the tickets already, too.

So, what is stashbusting? I am continuing to refine the quality versus quantity theme and it's time I came to terms with my stockpiling problem. For artists of any kind, stockpiling could be a dilemma. For me, it's reached near crisis proportions. I have a bead store, a yarn store, a fabric store, a book store and an art supply store (probably more, but I'll start here) in my little house. The problem is, I have too much 'stuff' to be inspired by it. Now when I get the inspiration to make something, and I go buy new materials to use for completion of the project. Enter stashbusting. I started a rather large blanket/bedspread on Saturday, using leftover stash yarn. As soon as it's finished, I'll post a photo of it. At any rate, once I got going on it, it was rather fun. Better a utilitarian blanket than a pile of yarn with no direction. The colors are remniscent of the boys' bedroom in the Brady Bunch house, so I am now affectionately calling it "I Slept With Peter Brady." Truth be told, I always preferred Peter to Greg (except as Johnny Bravo - "He fits the suit!"). More recently, though, I'd probably go for Bobby. Yes, Mike Lookinland, I'll post bail for your DUI. We all make mistakes, errors in judgement, whatever.

Finally, I wasn't actually Smokin' this weekend. I was hooking along on "I Slept With Peter Brady" when I heard on the news that Brad Delp, the lead singer for Boston, had died. I loved Boston and still do. I was more of a Scholz fan when they were in their heyday, but Brad had a sound as distinctive as Boston itself. So the upside to the tragic death of a classic rock singer like Delp is that radio stations, even lame ones, tend to play their music more. I heard Smokin' on the radio while I was driving to work today, so I turned it up as loud as it could go without distortion. It was heavenly, and it made me feel 20 years younger, at least. I can still remember the pop and hiss when I played the vinyl version on my turntable in high school. My taste in music is very diverse, however, so this afternoon I have been listening to Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins and Ben Folds. Chances are, I'll have a listen to a little more Boston tonight, too.

Itchy Feet = Wanderlust

I am getting really anxious to go camping. I'm sure it will be a welcome excursion for Olive, too. Our last trip was a quick overnight on December 23rd. It was cold, but just a hint of what the Midwest had in store for us as the winter dragged on. I remember setting up the tent in the wind and it was cold. Climbing into my little Kelty Zen at the end of the day with the wind whipping around outside was awesome. Waking up to find a layer of frost on the tent was even better! Hiking during the two days was muddy, but nice.

Kelty Zen. No longer made, but if you find one used, buy it!

Recently I treated myself to a new cookstove, too. I haven't had a chance to use it, but I am looking forward to it.

 

Mine doesn't have the ignition button, but I figure it's one less breakable part.

I'm considering a quick overnight again sometime next week, when my schedule is only work and I'm on Spring Break from school. My Dad keeps encouraging me to try a place up near where he lives, and I just might take him up on it. He loves to hike with Olive, too, so I'm happy to share her with him if we can synchronize our calendars.

I'm feeling a bit ambitious about what I can accomplish if I keep working on my art projects over my break from school, but a quick mental health break won't disrupt that too much, I'm sure.

He wasn't talking about Olive

When Elvis crooned the words, "You ain't never caught a rabbit," he was referring to a hound dog other than my Olive. Olive caught her first rabbit of the season this morning at about 3:30 am. Poor rabbit. I just can't figure out why rabbits and other fauna haven't sent out a memo to avoid my yard. Maybe this rabbit was hanging out under my canoe for shelter.

This isn't the first catch for Olive by a long stretch. She's caught lots of rabbits, a few possum (which were actually playing dead well enough to survive her), and numerous birds. When she was still a puppy, she caught a few slugs, too. Not too pleasant, I assure you.

Olive just wants to play with these creatures, and the rabbits probably expire from shock or cardiac arrest from the attempt to get away from her. Still, it's upsetting to me that she terrorizes these little animals at all and I really don't like removing dead animals from my yard periodically. This little habit of Olive's just seems to be a behavior I cannot change in her.

Almost daily, Olive attempts to pick Lys up by the head. Lys just stands there as the two of them act out their own version of someone's head in the mouth of a lion. The worst it has ever gotten results in a little cry from Lys and a lot of slobber on her head. These two girls sleep on the bed with me every night! Olive just can't resist a challenge. Nature versus nurture? She must get that trait from me.

QotD: Wise Words

What's one of your favorite quotes? 
Submitted by Georgie-boy. 

That's easy:

"Why, that dog is practically a Phi Beta Kappa. She can sit up and beg, and she can give her paw - I don't say she will, but she can."

I have seen this quote attributed to Dorothy Parker many times, but I have yet to locate it in any collection of Dorothy Parker work. Please send me a comment if you know where I can verify it. I just love Dorothy Parker, don't you?

 

 

ACHTUNG! Gynecological Talk Ahead

It's official. I am having surgery to address some of my ongoing, unpleasant and too-graphic-to-go-into here feminine problems. If you know me, you know what I am talking about. Like my previously-mentioned "Bog of Certain Stench" entry, this problem is too big to ignore. All the attempts to resolve the problems medically have failed and my near nervous breakdown in my gynecologist's office Wednesday has sealed the deal.

Note to [NotReally] Gladys: I am seriously working on the "plan" we talked about last night. Not that I need another project to fill out my spare time, but this is going to happen.

So, on March 23 I will be having some of my reproductive parts removed and others burned beyond recognition. That might seem extreme to some, but to me, it's relief that's been a long time coming. Watch out, Olive and Lys. Mommy is going to come home from the hospital with outrageous misplaced maternal instincts! Okay, so that's nothing new after all.