Things.

Nope. Not dead yet. Just had nothin' to say.

Was looking at some magazine photos at the checkout at the grocery the other day and noticed how many of the celebs/models smiles show both up and down teeth. Perhaps this is a "beauty" feature that isn't mentioned often? Dunno.

I do know that I can't smile with both up and down teeth showing unless I wrinkle up my nose, which then makes it look like I've got rabies and am about to bite your throat out. So being fat and round-faced isn't enough, I don't have a suitable smile either. This works. I hope the guy in the parking lot who saw me grimacing at my rear-view mirror didn't think I was going to bite him.


Got a cup of coffee from Burger King this morning. It has a graphic on it that says "Happily Serving Seattle's Best Coffee". Not wearing my glasses. It looked like it said "Happily Starving".

Seriously.

My letter to the airlines:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter to thank you all for the many flights I have enjoyed with your Airline company over the last 40 years. It has been for the most part a pleasure to fly with you all, and the service has been exceptional.

I regret to inform you that I will never be using your services again. Due to the intrusive, and to my mind illegal, searches being performed by the “TSA” on passengers, I will never board another airplane.

It saddens me to know that I will never again be able to whisk from O’Hare or Midway to destinations in the US or abroad, but I will not subject myself to the indignity of an unwarranted, intrusive, and constitutionally illegal search which demands that I either allow an unknown person to view my naked body, or submit to fondling in intimate places by an unknown individual.

(Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.)

I don't think walking into an airport, or wanting to fly down to see my Dad constitutes "probable cause" that I am a "Terrahist".

It also appears from recent news stories, that even showing up at the airport and then attempting to leave without boarding the flight when refusing to submit to these indignities is being met with outrageous threats of tens of thousands of dollars in “fines” and threats of legal actions. This is patently unacceptable.

I will endure the discomfort and tedium of driving to my destinations here forward as a result. No “safety” can be assured by these authoritarian, police-state methods, and as an American Citizen, I refuse to submit to this.

Unfortunately, I cannot wish you well. I hope with all my heart that these TSA atrocities cause you to lose sufficient revenues that you and your fellow airlines team together to address the issue with airports and the government to remove the scanners and cease the intrusive “pat-down” methods.

Until then – fly safely – and please, please lose a lot of money.

Vote vote vote vote

vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote
stop reading. go vote.

Vote early

Vote often.

Go. now. vote.

vote vote vote vote

CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE

oh my.

I don't usually stay up too late - and I don't have a functional TV, so it is really rather unusual that I stayed up late last night to watch as the first 2 of the Chilean miners were rescued. The joy on their families faces was so heartwrenching.

Congratulations to all who helped, all who waited, and all who survive. I know there are still about 1/3 of the guys to bring up-and then the brave souls who went DOWN to help them also, but truly, this is a happy, happy thing.

A LIFE - I haz one!

sorta.

This weekend I had what other people might call a "normal day", but it was chock-full of happening things for me.

First off, I was awakened at 7 am by the phone - SPTLM calling to tell me that Dad collapsed at church and was being taken by the paramedics to the hospital. Ok. I'm awake.

Picked up a little, ran a few small errands, then came back and got ready for my treat of the fiscal quarter - Lunch at the Dysfunctional Dennys with my kids - yes, Manda and Brad were in town and we had lunch at the DD. We laughed at their menu, we talked and talked, and Manda told me about "Origami Boulder" - which you really should check out on the web because it is funny.

Then I got back home - not enough time to vacuum - and Co-Worker "R" and his lovely wife came over and helped get my window back into the track! I will not have snowballs in the livingroom this winter!!!!

Then I made a small steak and some lovely veggies and yorkshire puddings for dinner. Yes, I know yorkies are supposed to be for going with a roast, but I didn't have a roast, and besides of which a roast is too much for just big fat old me, so phlllhhhbbhhhttt - I like yorkshire puddings.

It's like.... a life! I must do this again.

PS: Dad didn't have a heart attack or a stroke, according to the tests. They're keeping him for a few days to see if they can figure out what happened. SPTLM has a good physician, and he's having that guy look at Dad. For now, I'm going with "no news is good news", although I don't entirely discount that SPTLM could call at any minute with dire news presented dramatically.

I'm Not Christine O'Donnell

I'm not Christine O'Donnell

I'm a bitch.

But that's really the only thing we have in common.

I don't want to go to Washington and do what she would do.

I'd rather stay home and masturbate.

I'm sure we can all see all around us all the things that have been broken by Washington over the last 10 years - and if you elect me, I'll fall down on my ass laughing because I know just exactly how unelectable I am!

I'm not Christine O'Donnell

I'm Sewmouse And I approve of this message.

The Teabaggers Dream

So the "tea party patriots" want no government, just a military - and no regulations, and no taxes.

Ok.

This means no FCC. Anyone and everyone can transmit anything they want on the airwaves on any frequency they desire. Kiss your radio programs goodbye - every frequency will be like bad CB radio - breaker breaker, any takers, good buddy? Forget about free TV - either you pony up for cable or you will get just a mish-mash of bleuch.

No FDA - no such thing as a "prescription" drug, because they will all be available over-the-counter, with dosages and potency all dubious, because there will be no labelling laws, and no warnings, no oversight into business practices. That insulin you just injected may well be tainted with digitalis - but no worries!

No FAA. Anyone can drive any airplane anywhere anytime. No air-traffic-controllers, no NTSB to oversee safety - why bother with maintenance, it is only costly! If ya lose a plane full of folks because the wings fell off - oh well.

None of these things are mentioned in the Constitution (never mind that radio, tv and the airplane had not been invented yet when the constitution was written...), so according to the Baggers, we should not be spending Your Tax Dollars® on such "entitlement" fripperies!

Idiots.

Kili gets a physical

Nothing quite like having a lumpy cat.

They were small lumps, and at first it was just one or two on her neck. Now it appears to have spread all over her body. Small hard lumps that don't move if I scratch (gently) at them. I was concerned.

Then a bout of 4 day fecal unpleasantness.

Vet appointment made and kept.

Cash outlaid for "senior panel" blood and urine tests.

Results today.

Apparently the Illegal Alien Kitteh brought a few not-so-nice friends with it. Flea medicine prescribed. Will pick up tonite. 18 years as an indoor cat and never a hint of fleas on either one of them. Damn outside intruder destroys my screens and then infests my cat. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Serious housecleaning and disinfecting and vacuuming and steam-cleaning and maybe even a bug bomb or 2.

Everything else - WAY normal, especially for an old lady like Kili. WOOT.
Except. Thyroid is in the "grey" area. Hyperthyroidism is apparently an old-cat possibility. Can be treated - hopefully cheaply. We will keep an eye on her so she doesn't lose any more weight and hopefully she'll be ok.

Since some kind of feline skin-cancer (untreatable, fast-killing) was a possibility, I am greatly relieved.

Tea Parties and Mad Hatters

Sleeping in a teapot sounds patently uncomfortable.


For the last couple of years, I've been thinking about "Socialism" and the fear and loathing the term brings out in people around my age or older.


I belong to the tail-end of the "Baby Boom" - those of us born in the decade following the termination of hostilities in WWII. We grew up with the spectre of BIG RED hovering over us, sending spies to kill our Kennedys, driving submarines loaded with dreaded nuclear weapons right up the Delaware Bay. FLASH! BANG! DUCK AND COVER!


Yes, I actually was shown that movie in grade school. As ludicrous as it seems now, we were taught to look for fallout shelter signs, taught to duck under our desks and cover our heads with our hands. (As opposed to the more useful sticking your head between your legs and kissing your ass goodbye...)


We were taught to FEAR the great Red Menace - the evil Bear of the Soviet Union - the Union of Soviet SOCIALIST Republics. The USSR.





We were shown photos of sad-eyed, cold looking children, standing in long lines to get food. We were innundated by the Reader's Digest stories of Russian women who would "wait in any line, not knowing what it was for, just to get something to eat, or maybe to trade". Forced to work in slave-like sweatshop conditions, not given the opportunity to learn or choose their own career paths. Large families living in 2 room apartments, starving in the cold and turning to vodka as the only way to dim the pain of their miserable lives. Living daily in mortal fear of being swept up as a "Dissident" for even looking sideways at a government official or building and carried away mysteriously in the night to frozen hell in Siberia for eternity.



Reading Russian novels didn't make it any less frightening. Believe me. I've read a few. I cannot believe the grim, angst-ridden, hopelessness portrayed.


I've been thinking about this - especially when I see older folks on the news following after the Baggers with signs saying "Keep your Government Hands Off My Social Security/Medicare"


Socialism - Communism - Red Threat - Godless Commies


It all kind of makes sense, if your world-view is stagnated in the Cold War Era and all. Thank you, Tom Clancy.


And I'll be honest here. I don't think there is any way that we can fix that. And Karl Rove knows it. He knows the word "Socialism" hearkens back to those fear-filled news reports with the hidden missle silos and the mushroom clouds and Tom Brokaw and Walter Kronkite intoning gloom and doom and fear.


And now that we don't have the godless Russkies to pick on anymore, the Corporate Powers have decided to pick a new Boogie-man - Muslims. Unfortunately, the folks in the middle east don't play the game the way the Russkies did. It isn't all about fear and assured mutual destruction. The government in Iran is not Moscow - Ahmedinajfuckicantspellit is no Gorbachev. These guys don't just pound the podium with their shoes - they throw them!


And the hell of it all is - I have no answers. I don't know that there ARE any answers. I suppose I should read the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Maybe I can start writing the Rise and Fall of the American Dream....


*sigh*

CLOSE CALL!

So there I am, driving down the street, minding my own business. It is very dark, as it is after 9 pm. I usually don't go out late on a work night, but there it is, I needed a burrito. No, not wanted. Needed. So I schlepped out to Taco Hell Bell.

Driving up Barrington Road, suddenly 2 shiney eyes in the road in front of me! Low to the ground, I see a black mass in the road. I yank the wheel to the right, then hold my breath...

I did not hit the skunk.

Thank the Goddess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Window is Stuck

BAH

I hate the windows in this house. If someone wants to contribute the 3k or so it will take to replace them all, I'll send you my paypal info. *grin*

I took out all the windows (inner and storm) to replace the screen that IAK (Illegal Alien Kitteh) had shredded. It wasn't easy. These windows are very large, quite heavy, and it is awkward to get them out of the slides. (Windows in my house go sideways < > instead of updown ^ v). I got 2 of the 3 windows back in but one of them is being ornery. I am not sure how the heck I got it OUT!

I am probably going to have to have a co-worker come help me put it back in. *sigh*

I prefer being independent, you damn window!

Attempted Break-in

Last night I actually SAW the culprit. Squatting down on the roof of the neighbor's house, just outside my upstairs hall window, looking for all the world as if she were expecting me to hand goodies out to her.

Fortunately, her choice of wearing apparel gave her away. Had she been all in black, I probably would have missed her, especially if she'd closed her eyes - but the whispy grey was ghostly, shining in the darkness.

Yes - it was the Illegal Alien Kitteh. Finally spotted. This time not at the window in the livingroom where it had torn the crap out of screens (the new anti-pet screening seems to be working) - but on top of the neighbor's roof. I hissed at it. She scooted back a few steps, but kept looking at the window. I hissed again, louder and raised my hand... she scampered off. I closed the window down over the screen.

This morning there are 2 small holes in the screen. I have put a spray bottle of CleanUp on the windowsill. Fucking cat comes back, it will get a face full of Chlorox.

I am NOT happy with this little housebreaker.

Songs to which I do not understand the Lyrics of.

Listening to the "Oldies" station. Because I am.

Song lyrics have always fascinated me. Some of them more so than others. Some of them are supposed to - like "Lookin' out my back door" by CCR and the ghastly "American Pie". I realize this and just enjoy the former and switch stations on the latter.

Today, however, a couple have played that I am confused about, and I realize I've always been confused about them, and I don't think they are SUPPOSED to be confusing.

"Big Old Jet Airliner, Don't carry me too far away. Big old Jet Airliner, 'cause it's here that I've got to stay"

Ok. Why exactly is this singer at the damn AIRPORT if he has to stay where he is?
Moron.

Then there's:

"Heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend who heard it from another you've been messing around. I'm telling you, Babe, that I don't think it's true, Babe, and even if it is, keep this in mind... {snip} I don't believe it, not for a minute"

Ok. So he doesn't believe it. Not for a MINUTE! He doesn't think it's true! Yet, he feels the need to harangue and threaten her over FOURTH HAND GOSSIP????? Yeah, we can tell how much you love her, you scumbag. No wonder she's cheating.

Emotional

I am angry. I am horribly angry - and I have no outlet. Carolyn, my soul-sister is gone, and with her my outlet for things like this - guilt and anger that have no place to go, but swirl around in my brain making me feel powerless, inadequate, small and frightened and even more angry.

Oy - Wench - I miss you so much right now. I know the words you would begin with, but my mind keeps swirling in this miasma of emotion and I can't hear your voice and feel the absolution wash over me, the permission to feel, and the forgiveness I can't bring myself to give myself just yet.

I can only catch portions of phrases, and it's not enough.

Logic only goes so far - emotion is overriding it and oh, how I wish you were here to help me screw my head back on correctly again.

I have to go it alone now. I know eventually (as UncleHBK used to say) "This too shall pass". I suppose it's time to grow up a little more and find an outlet that doesn't require another human being to get involved. I know housework does it for some - exercise for others - meditation...

Meditation is out. I'd brood and sulk. Exercise?..... dunno. I'll try some housework tonite. I doubt it, but I'll try.

Hey Mick - Emotional Rescue, please?

It was so much easier when they were on strike...

Construction on the Eisenhower Expressway extention (near which I live) had halted for a while this month while the workers went on strike. This was lovely for me, as the on-ramps were still closed so the usual morning backup was still missing - plus nobody rubbernecking at the workers causing accidents or just slow-downs.

Yesterday they were back at work. *sigh*. *sigh again*

They for some ungodly reason decided to screw up the traffic signals so they were blinking red instead of doing their correct red/green/yellow rotation. This meant that I creepy crawled to work thru a 5 mile backup. Even worse, I creepy crawled back HOME through a 2 mile backup in 90 degree heat with heavy humidity, bright sunshine and a dark blue car with no A/C.

I am dreading the commute this morning.
*sigh yet again*

Illegal Alien Kitteh tries to break into my house!!!*

*please note - I have never seen this kitty, nor have I any clue to whom it belongs. It might be the cat belonging to a member of the DAR. The Kitteh, however, is not a legal resident of MY house!

Ok, for a few days, I've been worried about Kili. She ate, but she would hide. Constantly. I couldn't figure it out, and she was acting as if she didn't know me. Everything seemed to frighten her, and that's not normal.

I even called the vet office to see if there might be something that I'd need to watch out for.

Yesterday morning my neighbor clued me in. Apparently there has been some free-ranging kitteh who has been clawing at my window screen and trying to get in. I heard Kili snarling at it one night, but had heard nothing since so I figured it was ok. It wasn't.

There is a HUGE rip in the screen just at a spot where I can't easily see it from inside the house because of the vertical blinds. Apparently the Illegal kitteh was trying to enter. No wonder Kili's been spooked.

So yesterday AM I closed the window so that even if Illegal Kitteh does get thru the screen, it can't get inside the house.

Yesterday after work Kili came out when I came home and "talked" to me. Then she got on the back of the sofa and peeked thru the blinds for a long time before running off to get some kibble noms. This morning she was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs and gave me the usual nagging until I gave her the canned food.

Spending Money

This last weekend I went shopping. I bought a new chair for my computer desk because the old one broke and I am sick and tired of getting backache from sitting on a metal folding chair. I went to Office Max and sat in EVERY single chair they had. I ended up buying the 2nd best one there - because the very best one cost twice as much and was only a TINY bit comfier.

Then I went to the mall. It was really rather sad. More than 1/2 of the stores were out of business. I broke down and went into Macy's - which I swore I'd never do when they bought out Marshall Field's and changed the name (and I won't go back - the only things I ever bought at Field's were good leather gloves, cooking equipment and Frango mints). They did NOT have the cooking pan I wanted, but there WAS a sale on bedding, so I purchased my first set of 450 thread-count pima cotton bed linens.

Oh

My

Goddess.

It's like sleeping in a cloud. They're so SOFT!! I want to get at least 1, maybe 2 more sets. One for the wash, one for the bed, one for the linens closet.

I ended up getting a replacement pan for the one that gave it's life in the Great Kitchen Chicken Fiasco at K-Mart. It's a nice enough pan, and it's actually a double-boiler so I can melt chocolate and stuff like that without doing a stupid balancing act with 2 pots and a rubberband.

By the time I got home, I was toast. I haven't gone power-shopping like that in years. Traipsing all around through the (shudder) Mall and all was quite exhausting. After wrestling my purchases into the house (the chair box was VERY heavy and exceedingly awkward), I made myself a huge glass of iced tea, smashed my toe into the chair box, swore vigorously and then plunked myself down on the sofa and read for several hours.

The toe is bruised, the chair is still unassembled, (although in progress), and the sheets are... heaven.

I need more hands and another body or 3.

And the energy of an ADHD toddler.

Things are slowly improving at La Casa de Sewmouse. I have had another "burst" of energy, and used it fairly well. The upstairs is in muh better shape, the downstairs still needs a lot of work.

However. My biggest concern right now is my quilt dilemma. I have 3 quilts that I use for my own sleepingness. Veggie I, The Yellow Thing, and Turquoise Stars. The Yellow Thing has issues, as it was the VERY FIRST quilt that I ever made, and I kind of... well... I was stupid then, and I used whatever fabric I had to hand which was, unfortunately, made of all sorts of fibers, and now a lot of the squares from it are just falling apart into clumps of yuk.

It isn't all that hard to fix, since all I need to do is sew another patch of fabric over the one that has disintegrated. Unfortunately, this has to be done by hand in order to not make an utter crap mess of the entire quilt. Also, this is the quilt I assembled and quilted 100% by hand, so I am loath to use any newfangled technological claptrap like a sewing machine on it.

Turquoise Stars also has the disintegration problem. Again due to injudicious fabric selection during my noobie quilter period. I've already patched over one of the stars, but it appears at least 4 more (possibly more) may need attention as well. These stars are BIG, (18") and have to be hand-repaired also to avoid puckering on the reverse. *sigh*

Veggie I has only 1 bad spot - but it is the central square of a rather specific pattern, and AS GODDESS IS MY WITNESS - I do not have even so much as a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of that fabric left in the old stashola - so I'll have to patch the ENTIRE pattern with a new, similar, fabric.

*sigh*

I would LOVE to use the Ocean quilt in the meanwhile, however that one is off the frame while I work on Kal's Surprise quilt (which after all this time, I suspect he will consider the surprise to be that he actually gets it at all... *slaps self*)

I only thought about the Ocean quilt this morning because co-worker M has a big bag of goldfish crackers on his desk.

New Fire Alarms

Ok, after the Great Kitchen Chicken Fiasco of a week ago, I purchased new batteries for my (current) smoke alarms. After 3 days it became abundantly apparent that this was not the "fix" that was needed.

The alarms went off if the cat walked past. They went off when I opened the bathroom door after taking my shower (that is STEAM, not smoke!!) they went off if the wind blew through the windows. They went off if I cooked bacon. They went off if you looked at them funny, and they LOVED to go off at 2 am. Obviously with fresh batteries, this was not a "low battery" warning - they were just being snots.

So yesterday I went to Menards to Save Big Money, and looked into some new smoke/fire detectors. I figured that after 20 years they probably had advanced in smoke-detector technology to where one could live with a smoke alarm without hearing from it every 20 minutes or so.

Pedro, the nice guy in a blue vest at Menards showed me where the alarms were and we went through them. I bought a more expensive one, because it has a feature that I simply WILL not live without ever again. You can use ANY television remote control and tell it to STFU if it goes off when there really isn't a valid reason for it to do so. You can also tell it to STFU if it decides it's battery is low at 2 am, and it will wait for a more civilized hour to get it's power supply replaced.

Now, granted, the Great Kitchen Chicken Fiasco was a valid reason. There was certainly smoke, lots of smoke, and it was certainly a BAD THING®. But it's now been over a week, and the house barely has any smoke smell anymore, so there is literally NO reason for the alarms to be having fits anymore. The new alarms are somewhat more "hi-tech" looking as well. No more large white lozenges on the wall. These look more like blobs of marshmallow fluff.

They better work. I'll be putting them up this weekend.

Mr. Nibbles takes a shower?

Mr. Nibbles is a little grey squirrel who hangs out on the top of the fences around our back yards/gardens. I call him Mr. Nibbles because he LOOKS like a Mr. Nibbles. (Stock Photo - this is NOT the real Mr. Nibbles, but it might could be his cousin Phil.)

Usually he looks very cute and fluffy, and scampers ahead of me along the fence as I go in or out of the gateway. I talk nice to him, and although he remains respectfully far from arms length away, he doesn't scamper frantically, but hops along as if he knows I won't hurt him.

Today, however, part of me was a little afraid. Perhaps there was no reason, but Mr. Nibbles was soaked. Wet thru and thru, his tail looked like a bottle brush, and he looked a little fierce.

It's been raining a lot here lately, sometimes with some really heavy drenchpours that seem to come out of nowhere - and I guess that I would be grumpy too if I got into one of those, but Mr. Nibbles was also a little less "wary" - I got awful close before he scared me enough that I stopped - pointed to where I was headed and suggested he hop on down.

He did hop that way, so I continued on, talking to him the whole way, and got through without incident.

I hope he is ok. I hope he is not sickly or something bad. I hope he is just angry and wet.

We have a bumper crop of skunks in the neighborhood this year. Every night one of them goes off. It is not nice to wake up to the fragrance of Eau de Pepe LePeu.

I hope Mr. Nibbles is all right...

Ginormous Gophers Take Over My Subdivision

Film whenever I get around to it... (edit: Photos Below Now!!)

There are ENORMOUS holes all over the subdivision. Surrounded by yellow crime-scene tape on sticks and covered (partially) by weatherbeaten plywood slabs. There are small hills next to them. One can only assume there are exceptionally HUGE gophers invading the subdivision!

Well, either that or ComEd is replacing their underground cables.

And while option 2 is probably much closer to the truth (considering that is what the guy in the hi-vis vest who was operating the digger thingy told me this morning), the mental image of ginormous gophers is much, much, much more fun to contemplate.

Photos:

Hmm. I wonder if this thing still works?

Ok, yes, I am a lazy blogger. Whatever.

There's a lot going on at work, a lot going on at home, and just so many hours in the day.

How about that Rand Paul, huh? What an interesting (Translation: Idiotic) person! Apparently he thinks that there should be NO government regulations at all on any "private business". So there should be no consequences for BP, there should be no oversight on the financial markets, there should be no reason for Woolworths to let dark-skinned people eat at their lunch counters. Take this a step further - and I do honestly believe that Rand Paul is just FINE with child pornographers - it is their private business, and if enough people are disgusted by it, it will magically go away, even without government involvement.

Did you hear that, Glenn Beck? Rand Paul supports Child Pornography!

Speaking of BP - Shame on you, British Petroleum. I for one will never again purchase gas at one of your stations, and I will make sure that the investments for my IRA do not contain any of your stock. If they do, I'll divest the holdings and go greener. Boycott BP. Please.

I remember back when I was a kid - we were taught that there were 5 "Great Lakes" in North America - but only 4 of them were actually "living". Lake Erie was dead. The fine people of Ohio had dumped so much industrial toxins into it that there were no fish, no plankton, nothing, living in what had once been a great lake. The Cuyohoga river used to catch on fire every summer (spontaneous combustion!). It saddens me greatly that although we've managed to rejuvenate Lake Erie, and the Cuyohoga river is ... well... much less polluted and not prone to conflagrations anymore, the British have managed to destroy the Gulf of Mexico. I suspect it will be "dead" for generations. *sigh*

The weather has gone from chilly to "I wish I had air conditioning" rather quickly. I also wish I had a nice outdoor grill. My old one got destroyed by the aluminum siding guys a few years back and I haven't bothered to replace it yet. Perhaps this year. I got some "greek marinade" chicken breasts from Caputos. I have a feeling they would taste awesome if they were grilled, but since I don't yet have a grill, I'll just broil them in the oven.

224 of 625 Yes, I know - I'm a sloth.

My Maserati does 185....

Wow. Never saw one of those before! An actual Maserati - driving down the street in the lane next to me. Pretty blue with silver shineys on it. I don't think it was Joe Walsh. $125,000 dollar car. Imagine that. You could buy TWO of my house for that much.

WTF it was doing in Bloomingdale is beyond me. While Bloomingdale does have it's share of lawyers and assholes and business owners (was that redundant?) it has never been what I would consider a hot-spot of Maserati ownership. Perhaps this was a STRANGER in a Maserati. Sounds like a great title for a cheap, trashy murder mystery.

I got called a motherfucker this morning. I find this interesting. Most guys don't refer to women as motherfuckers. Bitch, etc, yes - but motherfucker is usually reserved for other males. Of course, this was a wetback* who screeched it at me, so perhaps it is a cultural thing.

He was not the guy driving the Maserati. Just in case there was any confusion about that. He was the passenger in an older-model conversion van with dingleballs hanging from the top of the windshield. Not to be stereotypical or anything... At least he wasn't playing Mexican Oompah Polka.

So Comcast sent me a new modem. Apparently my old modem is antiquated. It certainly is big and clumsy and ugly as sin. So they want me to replace it with this new modem. The letter inside the box says to follow the directions in the enclosed booklet. Right. The enclosed booklet is for someone who does not have Comcast set up yet. My guess is that if I followed their instructions they'd reset my home page to Comcast.com, erase all my bookmarks, and add a bunch of annoying toolbars. So I did the online chat thing with "Jennifer" this morning who says I can just plug-n-play the new modem. Will try it tonite. Better to do it tonite than discover tomorrow that I can't get into the weekend raid group!



*Yes, I know it is un-PC for me to call him a wetback. I have no proof that he's a potential member of the Mexican Olympic Team. It is rude and unkind of me to suggest it. Unfortunately, that is the risk he took by calling me a motherucker. Paybacks are, like me, a bitch.


218 of 625. Would have been more, but I BROKE the needle!

Being Counted

This whole Census thing has me laughing. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota (R-loonytunes) has complained that it is an "invasion of her privacy" - even though said Congressdoofus seems to have forgotten that the Census is Constitutionally mandated - and that she SWORE AN OATH to uphold and defend said Constitution in order to get her cushy job.

Apparently the criminal trespassers don't want to answer it either. I'm ok with that. See, the Census is used to determine congressional representation in the different states, and I personally don't think that the illegals deserve representation. No Representation Without Taxation!!!

Now, I don't like the idea of splitting up families, and I understand the folks who scream about sending baby Americans back to Mexico - or Poland - or Rumania - or WHEREVER - with their parents who are illegally trespassing on American Soil. I am, however, opposed to the "anchor baby" part of the Constitutional 14th ammendment. I would much prefer that the words "born to a legal resident or citizen", rather than just "born" be part of the wording. We really don't have to worry about the whole "negro slave" issue anymore, as it is no longer relevant. Emancipation Proclamation and all that.

Commuting

Stuck in the traffic jam that is the entire city of Addison this morning - and has been ever since they began road work on the Eisenhower Expressway - for absolutely no reason I can even vaguely fathom.

I am driving alongside a Porsche ragtop Carrera (sp?), a lovely little silver beastie with shiney, shiney, shiney chrome wheels. We stop, yet again, for the aforementioned unfathomable reason, and I notice that there is something red inside the shiney, shiney, shiney chrome front wheel. It looks vaguely like a McDonalds french-fry box. I am embarassed for the poor Porsche driver, in his sexy, expensive automobile that I could no more afford to insure than purchase - but then I notice that there is another red thing in the shiney, shiney shiney chrome rear wheel as well. On more intense scrutiny, it appears that the red thing has the word "Porsche" on it in white.

Probably something to do with the brakes.

However - Porsche? It looks stupid. It looks like someone stuck McFries in the shiney, shiney, shiney chrome wheels of your hideously expensive sporty automobile. Nothing says "appropriate color for brakes" than black, dears. Think little cocktail dresses and unobtrusive stereo systems and I'm sure you'll get my drift. Verstehen Sie?

Oh the apple trees are beautiful. All covered with little white flowers (that will doubtless all end up stuck to my car windshield when it rains next) - but for now, it's as pretty as the fairy lights that cover the same trees at Xmas time. One can notice these things while sitting in the middle of the road like a dead oppossum

It really is true, here near Chicago we only have 2 seasons - Winter and Road Construction.

Progression

In WoW, I belong to a "progression" group - we meet once a week and work on progressing through a very large, very difficult dungeon. It's co-operation, strategy, tactics, expertise and fun all rolled up.

IRL (In real life), I've managed a bit of progression as well. I have managed to fill the LARGE tin with cookies and mailed them off to the girl-child. I hope she likes them. The first batch are small and a few of them are kinda "burned-y" on the bottoms. The second batch are larger, totally unburnt, but not made the "traditional" way, because I couldn't find the right kind of chips. I think they'll be ok, though, because I kind of sneaked a little taste off the edge of one.

So... COOKIES AWAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Kal's quilt is progressing again - I managed to get past the mental blockage that was keeping me from finishing the 2 rows I'd been working on. So, 8 of 25 rows done, or 200 of 625 squares - almost 1/3 done, and the Radio is playing "Bad, Bad Leeroy Brown".

There are just not enough hours in the day for me to do all the stuffs I'd LIKE to do along with all the stuffs I GOTTA do. This sucks, and not in the good way. I need longer days. 27 hours, maybe.

One of these days, I gotta get me a passport. I need to travel. I need to go see somewhere that isn't USA, Niagara Falls or Tiajuana. Hell, I can't even go back to Tiajuana or Niagara without a passport anymore, TYVM, George W. Asshole.

Found the charger for Dad's cell phone. Now all I need is to get him to get me the phone numbers of SPTLM and his neighbors/friends so I can program them into the phone so he has one-touch dialing.

Driving In My Car...

Without question - without the slightest hesitation - I can confidently assert that Male drivers in the State of Illinois are the most impatient, rude and annoying individuals ever to roll around this planet on from 2 to 18 wheels.

In fact, one would be tempted to call them "Fucktards".

As a matter of fact, I think I will. *sweet smile*

Stop light. 4-lane divided road. Fairly narrow lanes. Young lady stopped appropriately at traffic light. Fucktard in car behind her honking and threatening to mash her rear bumper because she won't pull up into the intersection so he can make a right turn.

Stop light. Same 4-lane divided road. Young lady doing approx. 5 mph OVER the posted limit. Fucktard behind her making hand gestures, honking, shouting himself red in the face - because there is more than a car-length between her vehicle and the one in front of her.

Never mind the fact that there is a red light. He's NOT going to get any more than a few feet further along...

All I can say is - it's worse in Indiana.

**********************************************************************************
I have very sore knees. I suspect this is due to overconsumption of caffeine, as it is a known difficulty for me. So I've cut out most of the caffeine in my life for the moment, attempting to calm down the knees so I don't have to creep up and down the stairs.

I have a headache. Caffeine deprivation headache.

I can't win.

Tall Skinny Guys and School Busses

Was a little late to work yesterday. Traffic was incredible. Considering I live out in the 'burbs and have no appreciable traffic woes usually if the weather is nice, this was somewhat unusual. However, once I got up to the stoplight in front of the children's rehab center, I found out why.

Traffic in the opposite direction was being funnelled from 3 lanes into 1 lane to bypass a collision. A Nissan Sentra had hit a school bus.

Yes. Rear-ended a school bus.

Now - how the bloody hell do you hit a schoolbus from behind? I mean, REALLY???? They are HUGE. They are BLINDINGLY YELLOW, they have flashy red lights on top.... HOW in the blazes could you possibly run into one?

The Jiffy Lube and one of the Shell (petrol) stations have these balloon skinny floppy guys in front. Some sort of blowing hot-air thing, a long, tall tube with arms and eyes and ribbon hair on top. I am not 100% certain WHY they annoy me so much, but... They really annoy me.

I suspect I am probably the only person who finds them so annoying, however. Everyone else on the planet probably thinks they are cute.

*sigh*

Odd things - #2 - office Supplies Edition

Somewhere along the line, it became somewhat akin to pulling teeth to get a real, honest to Goddess "Rubber Stamp" made. I love rubber stamps - the old fashioned kind. SLAM into the ink pad. SLAM onto the paper. VOILA - a lovely image perfectly stamped exactly where you want it. Simple, easy and essentially effortless. Not to mention an excellent means of burning off excess "pissed off" when necessary.

Instead we are now sent "self inking" stampers, where you push down on the box thingy and it rotates as it descends, and allegedly makes a stamp with only ONE motion.

Right.

Which would be fine - if in fact the damn thing worked for more than 2 or 3 images, after which point you need to let it "rest" a while so the ink can shoogle back to the spots where the lines/letters are. And far too fragile - I've broken one already. AND, since you have to farking disassemble the whole bloody thing in order to re-ink the pad, (as opposed to just rolling more ink onto it from a roller-ball inking bottle, not unlike liquid deodorant), it is actually considerably LESS efficient than the SLAM SLAM VOILA type.

Now the one I have will not completely return to it's upright and locked position in preparation for takeoff. I am not happy about this.

I am tempted to lock it in the "down" position somehow and get the office supply person to order me an old-fashioned stamp pad and roller-ball inker.

*grouchy grumble*

Edit In:

OMGWTFBBQ!!!!!!!ELEVENTYONE!!!!!!11111111111111
No sooner do I blog about this stamp from hell, than the bastard breaks in a most spectacular way! I have taken a photo and will upload it tonite when I get home. Damn Stamp!!!

What exactly is "saving" about losing an hour's sleep?

Dear Benjamin Franklin:

Die in a fire.

Sincerely sleepy,
Sewmouse

Angry

Ok, it's no question I come from a dysfunctional family. I'm not 100% sure where it all went wonky, but... Dysfunctional R Us. It isn't just SPTLM. It isn't just me. There is just this undercurrent of dysfunctionality, it seems to have reared it's ugly head yet again, and to be honest, I'm sick and tired of it all.

I'm tired of having my words twisted around to mean/say something I had no intention, desire or thought of saying. I'm sick to death of having to watch every word that comes out of my mouth for fear it will be misinterpreted and misunderstood and considered an insult or worse. I KNOW that in some ways I am "socially retarded" and make mistakes of saying too much, or the entirely wrong thing to entirely the wrong person. Thing is, much as I try to keep from doing it, it still happens - and as I'm 53 years old, it is seriously unlikely that I'm going to change any time soon.

To address this issue, I've made the decision that from here forward, ALL communications with my family will be done to ALL of them. Every telephone communication will be documented and distributed via e-mail. All e-mails will be cc'd to ALL of the "interested" parties.

I'm angry.

This is not the moment to address the issue that caused my anger. When I am able to manage it without seething, I will begin my e-mailing.

191 of 625.

I'm mostly angry because of that - because I had managed to find the quiet and calm place where I am comfortable and not seething with rage under a deliberately, deceptively barely-controlled neutral exterior.

And now I have to find the balance point again.

Odd things

Odd Thing #1

I can't throw away clothes.

Other people can throw out clothes when they get too ripped or stained, or whatever. It takes an ENORMOUS act of willpower for me to throw out something, even something as hideous as the pair of black slacks that are so threadbare you can see my legs thru them if I put them on. "They're still good for gardening", I rationalize.

Stained t-shirts are great for around-the-house chores. Nevermind that I have to spend more time getting ready if I want to go out because I have to change clothes.

My closet is packed with stuff I don't wear. It's embarassing. Some of it I give away to Goodwill or whoever has the bins out by the car wash now - but a lot of it is VERY dated (nobody would want to wear it any more than I do..)

Let's face it - I'm NEVER getting back into those size 8 jeans in the bottom drawer...

I need to adjust my mind-set on this one, but it is difficult.

190 of 625.

Back to Work

Ah, home sweet home.

How nice to lay in my own bed, eat my own food, have my cat back from the kennel, and best of all - my computer and net connection back!

(Doing the ninja thing on my dad's neighbor's conn just felt rather naughty - not to mention the signal strength was poop.)

Back to work today. And month-end closing to boot. Yahoo. Yippee. I think I will need a triple espresso to face the stack of mail...

Dreamed about work last nite. How sad is THAT???

Ok - off to the grindstone. I'm glad I had time off.

Why I can't live in Florida

So we went to this Bok Singing Tower yesterday. 60 miles drive to hear some yahoo play a carillon - for about 20 minutes. Then a swan tried to eat my shoe.

Damn swan.

Anyhow. I watched the entire way down there - there were like 40 grocery stores, endless tire outlets - and not one single book store.

This morning I went online to check. There isn't a Barnes and Noble within a 45 mile radius of here. That is just unacceptable. I can't concieve of living in a place where all they do is eat and never read.

The swans near my house never tried to eat my shoes, either.

Granted, right now the weather is damn near perfect. Not too humid, not dry, sunny most days and cool at nite and warm in the day - just like Springtime. There are flowers blooming, and grapefruits on the tree are big and round and yellow. There are tons of oranges, tangerines, &etc all over the place. It's lovely - but no bookstores, and in a few months it will be hot and humid and miserable and all the grapefruits will be gone.

And they still wont' have any bookstores.

I'm flying home tomorrow. Out of Springtime and into Winter again.

I am homesick

I want to go home.

Not that I don't love my Dad and all - I want to pack him up in my luggage and take him along. But I want MY bed, MY stuff, MY car, etc. Vacation is ok and all but I really do like my comfortable little hermit cave.

I'm making crock-pot beef stew with beer and caraway seeds for dinner. I put in extra caraway seeds in honor of Zac. *snicker*

It is raining here today - but it is supposed to go away and be mostly sunny in the afternoon and about 76 F. It is sn*wing at home. hehehehe

I suppose I'd want to take the weather along with me as well.

Today we are going to the Bok Singing Tower. Some tower in a bunch of gardens, with a guy at the top in the tower playing carrilon bells. *shrug* Dad wanted to go right when I got here, but my legs and feet were so sore from the airport hiking I asked for a few days respite before the uphill hike to the tower.

I've been helping him clear out some of his mail as well. He gets a HUGE pile of mail every day - almost all of it one form or another of solicitation for his money. They play on his patriotism, religiosity, and sympathy - a few even try the "fear" tack. I had to LMFAO at one - "This letter double sealed for security" - So inside is another sealed envelope "To be opened ONLY BY (dad's name)"

So of course, I opened it up - and inside was this frantic plea for money to "defeat the godless lib'ruls" - and one sentance cracked me up so bad "This letter must NOT EVER fall into the hands of the liberals"....

Oops.

*giggle*

It not only fell into my hands, it also fell straight into the trash can.

Another one boldly advertised "American Currency Enclosed". There were THREE PENNIES taped to the letter. I almost wet myself laughing.

I finally got fed up with Dad's nightly dose of Beck, O'Reilly and Hannity - so last nite I watched "Julie and Julia" on the laptop with the headphones on while he got his dose of Faux Noise. I must say that I really did enjoy the movie. I know it got mixed reviews, and there were a few things that I wasn't all that hot on, but in total it was a movie I would watch again, even if it doesn't have any car chases in it.

Thanks to 4-Dinners, I am probably going to have to make Yorkshire Puddings today to go with the beef stew, which is not traditional, I realize, but will have to do as I don't have a roast just to hand and I have a taste for them.

Maybe I can go swimming while Dad plays bocce tomorrow.

Survival

Sooooo

Dinner with SPTLM and family was not all that bad. Mostly I kept my big mouth shut, complimented the food, talked with my pretty little niece and avoided any of the uncomfortable topics.

My brother and I have diametrically opposing views on most everything - primarily Politics and Religion. I was determined not to start a fight, but it was tense for me because I wasnt sure what would be said at me.

Fortunately, the two topics were avoided and thus although I was still tense, it went OK.

My dad brought his bottle of "Pisco" (sp?) - some Peruvian liquor - that required a degree in rocket science to assemble into a beverage - or experience as a bartender. Since SPTLM was a bartender, we brought all the "fixings" and had him make the drink. Disappointingly, it tasted almost exactly like a whisky sour, which does not require all the various and sundry ingredients, and doesn't also require sending off to Peru for the booze.

Which means that if I ever crave one of those drinks again, I can just make a whisky sour and be happy.

Yesterday we went to Church. I knew it was inevitable, so I brought a nice sweater and skirt along with me. Will probably get stuck going again on Wednesday nite (Mental note - Florida is nice in February, but do try to avoid LENT next time...)

The wind chimes are gently clanging as I sit out here on the screened patio. There is a cool breeze, lots of birdsong and a baby squirrel wandering around in the grass under the grapefruit tree, and a cardinal in the leafless deciduous bush next to it. Very nice morning.

I still feel a bit lazy for not having any handwork to do. I want to quilt every morning. This is probably a good sign for when I get home.

Dad wants us to "do something" while I am down here, so as soon as I finish this little post I am going to google some "central Florida activities" and find something to do so he feels hospitable.

I haven't put my jacket on ONCE since I've been down here.

*grin*

Vacations are good

Went to the grocery market yesterday and got the stuff to make Shepherd's Pie for me and Dad. It came out very yummy. Easy peasy too.

This morning I am going to make a cheese and chiles pie for breakfast, which will be something Dad's never had.

This evening we are going to SPTLM's for dinner. *sigh*.

I miss my quilting rather a lot. I brought NOTHING to do for hand-work this time, and it is nagging at me a bit that I should be DOING something. Well, I will have 3 days to do somethings in after I get home before I have to go back to work so that will all be good.

MY FEET HURT

And I am going to blame it on Zac - just because - and because he's not here to thwap me.

Kili is at the boarding kennel. She was NOT A HAPPY KITTY yesterday morning, as I had to once again put her into the dreaded cat-carry-box and then we went out in the COLD.. MOM IT"S COLD.. PUT ME BACK IN THE WARM HOUSE IT IS COLD OUT HERE. HELP!! ANYBODY? IT IS COLD AND SHE IS RIPPING MY FUR OFF!!!!!!

(No fur was ripped off. The neighbors, however, may not realize this.)

I believe it may have been around this time that my cell phone made a break for it and fell out of my purse. Back in the back foot-well of the car, I presume. That is where it usually hides.

The limo came right on time to get me to the airport. Yes, I said Limo. Surprisingly it was cheaper than a taxi. Embarassingly, they sent a white stretch limo like they use for weddings. Very plush, but... a bit over the top. I'd have settled for a nice town car.

Then the adventure began. First I couldn't figure out how to work the check-in screen at the airport. So I stood like a doofus until a lady helped me. Got boarding pass. Lovely. The gate is a mile and a half down the damn concourse. Security was a cakewalk, which was nice as I am always terrified of the TSA. Then more walking, walking, walking. Luckily I managed to snag a seat in the boarding area and parked my fat white ass in it until the plane arrived.

NOT so fortunately, this family of 7 with 3 sneezy, snotty, coughy kids (gorgeous, beautiful kids, but germy too). "No liquids, gels or creams allowed through the security checkpoint" - which means no Purell - which means I will probably get the sneezy, snotty, coughy thing. I hope Mickey Mouse spits in their cokes.

Landed in Nashville, the pilot SANG. Southwest Airlines is so weird.

Had to walk thru Nsshville airport from gate B208 to gate C789. Ok, maybe it was just Gate B15 to C22 - but it FELT like a 10 mile hike. I stopped 1/2 way and got a bottle of water.

The flight to Orlando was uneventful. The waiting for Dad was fraught. He got lost on the way to the airport, and I got a bit nervous waiting 2 hours on the pavement looking at EVERY SINGLE Toyota that came down the ramp, because I didn't remember if his car was red or beige.

Once I got picked up, Dad dropped the bombshell.

Dinner on Saturday with SPTLM and family.

*sigh*

No cell phone to vent to S or Pirate.

I am a big girl. In more ways than one. I can do this. I am an adult. I can manage a few hours with SPTLM.

*sigh*

A City Adventure!

So, my friend Zac - who is really just this kid I met in WoW - and his lovely ladyfriend came to Chicago this last weekend for Valentine's day.

What could be more romantic than Valentine's day in Chicago in Fucking February? Ummm....

Gosh.... I really am at a loss to think of anything LESS romantic. But then, Zac is different.

I mean, here he is, in the Big City with his lovely lady - and he wants to spend the day with a crabby old curmudgeon like me????

Obviously nuttier than a fruitcake.

Anyhow - seeing as they are from Pencil-Vane-Ya, we did the obligatory visit to the top of the SEARS Tower.

Way up there in the 103rd floor there is a "Skydeck", which lets you look out over the city. The view was awesome Saturday afternoon - you could see Indiana easily, and you could almost see all the way past O'Hare. They have these plexiglass things built into the western side of the Tower now, that hang out over the edge of the building and you can see all the way down to the street.


I did step onto it. Just barely. For once in my life I was glad of not being able to see my feet standing on "thin air" - I stayed close enough to the inside of the building so I could jump back in if it even WIGGLED.

Zac wouldn't go within 10 feet of it. *chuckle*

Anyhow, after that we went and browsed the many shops of Chicago Kitsch Souviniers (there was a mug I seriously coveted, but not $15.00 worth of coveting and besides of which it was heavy and I didn't want to lug it around) - then we made our way down the street SORTA with the help of their GPS except not exactly... I saw the sign for where we were going before the GPS could tell us where to go. Oh how we laughed.

Well, I did. So did his g/friend. Zac just gave us dirty look.

We went to Giordano's Pizza - a nice little pizzaria, very crowded.



They make a to-die-for spinach & mushroom deep dish pizza.



By the time we got done talking and all, it was time for me to turn into a pumpkin, so we caught a cab back to Navy Pier.




We were all surprised that the Ferris Wheel was operating - even with the extreme cold. We did not attempt to ride it. I'm not that insane. Besides, I had to hike back to my car, which was several blocks away, in the cold.



In all, a fun time, and I only wish we'd had more time, and less transportation issues. Cabs are farking EXPENSIVE - and so is parking. Maybe next time I see them, we can take the "Sewmouse Tour of Chicago" - which includes some memorable Blues Brothers sites. *giggle*

Oh - and 186 of 625!

More Ideas Formulated While Commuting:

So I'm driving to work this morning and there's this car in front of me with a license-plate holder advertising someone's website - except that the fastener to hold the plate to the car was positioned in just such a way that it blocked out the top of the letter "O" in the (dot)com part of the URL.

Which got me to thinking. Since EVERYONE knows that "The Internet is for Porn" - and 100's of 1000's of dollars go into Pr0n advertising, and there are like 2 Pr0n websites for every "normal" one - not to mention Rule 34 - and considering the amount of time and energy wasted on things like "net-Nanny" and such - why not just give all the Pr0n providers their very own extention? "(dot)CUM". They could have all the addys - and parents would only have to block the one extention - well, maybe two, if they got "(dot)ORGY" as well... They could even have their very own search engine "OOGLE".

Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone...

This is not an environmental activism post.

This post is about hot water.

Specifically hot water from a heater of hot water that delivers said hot water directly into one's bathtub. Or shower. As JRR Tolkien tells us:

Sing hey! for the bath at close of day
That washes the weary mud away!
A loon is he that will not sing:
O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain.
and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;
but better than rain or rippling streams
is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

O! Water cold we may pour at need
down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;
but better is Beer, if drink we lack,
and Water Hot poured down the back.

O! Water is fair that leaps on high
in a fountain white beneath the sky;
but never did fountain sound so sweet
as splashing Hot Water with my feet!

So Friday I discover that my water heater has stopped heating water. There is nothing for it, I will have to call a plumber - but! The hell if I'm going to call a plumber on Friday night - because there's no way I want to spend "emergency call" type money on what is probably a simple repair.

So I would have called on Monday, but the CPA was in, so I called on Tuesday and the guy came out yesterday. No. I did not go from Friday to Wednesday without washing, you gits. I hotted up water on my stove, poured it into a bucket and took it up to the bathtub. It was soooooo very 18th century...

No wonder they had servants back then.

Anyhow - the hot water heater is again working (something about a clogged filter and some other plumbery-talk stuff I didn't understand) - and I had a lovely, lovely long hot shower last night - and another this morning - and will probably do again tonite just because I CAN!!!

O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

OMG!! WTF??? BBQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111ELEVENTYONE!!!!

What is that STRANGE - UNEARTHLY GLOW IN THE SKY?????????????????


Oh. Yeah. Sunshine. Forgot about that. Heh.

So, I took Kili to the vet on Thursday to get her vacinations caught up so she can be boarded at their facility while I am in Florida. ($$$!!) Someone was decidedly NOT HAPPY at travelling yet again to the V-E-T in the cat-carry-box-of-DOOM. She peed on the towel I have on the bottom to keep it warmer. *grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

Anyhow, vet tells me that for a 17 yr old, almost 18 yr old cat, she's pretty healthy, the only bad thing is that her kidneys are starting to lose mass, which means they are starting to "go". *sigh*. I have a feeling I won't have a cat in the house anymore much longer. Still and all, the vet says I take good care of her, and that most cats don't make it this far, so I'm glad we've had as much time together as we have had.

All this advance planning for the trip is making me stress out some (I haven't flown in YEARS) - and so work on things like the quilt for Kal and my diningroom makeover are kind of falling by the wayside. I need to finish all the arrangements for Florida so I can get back to being happily busy on house stuff.

Channelling my Inner Martha Stewart, as it were.

I'm feeling good, though - a bit on the sleepy side still, but otherwise fine and happy. Makes for boring blog posts, though.

Sorry.

Crawling out of my hole for a bit..

So I've been cranky and unable to post or do much of anything for a couple 3 weeks here. I had a Dr. appointment coming up, and I was not doing so well and I was all kinds of stressing over it.

Well, it turns out things were not as bad as all that, and the Dr. changed my medicine (again!) and it seems to be easier for me to tolerate, so maybe I can get back onto track again.

The downstairs bathroom is acting up again, but I think I know what is the problem, so I should be able to fix it maybe. I started in by turning off the water to the faucet, so now I just have to get up the courage to get in there with a wrench and see if I can fiddle with the guts.

I am not fond of plumbing.

Gonna go visit Dad next month. Should be nice, going to Florida in February. I get to miss out on a bunch of cold days, I hope.