When Toilets Attack!!!!

Or maybe it should be "Toilets Gone Wild!!!"
Perhaps... "Rosemary's Toilet". "The Haunted Toilet"
"Revenge of the Potty" would just be silly.

So Friday night I got home a bit late. Fell asleep reading, and awakened to the feeling as if the bed had grown a set of "Magic Fingers". Leg spasm, or mini-earthquake? You decide.

Of course, waking in this manner requires the obligatory bathroom visit. In the dark. Because I don't want to turn on lights. Mission accomplished, I reset clothing to rights and reach for the flushing lever. I push it down. Suddenly the floor begins to shake. Clanking noises! Banging! The water tank sounds like there are rattlesnakes in it, hissing and slapping against the sides. My heart races! Adrenaline pumps! The thought of a huge plumbing bill and possible flooding of the entire house looms! I yank up the handle and silence prevails again. I stop shaking. There is no sound of water overflowing anywhere.

Slowly the adrenaline seeps back into wherever adrenaline seeps when it's done scaring the woohoojus out of you.

I turn on the sink to wash my hands.

The water spits and gurgles. The pipes bang and clatter. But only for a few moments. Then the only sound is water rushing into the basin.

Only then do I remember.



On my way to work Friday morning, I saw a fleet of village trucks and a backhoe over near the local swimming pool. Apparently there was some sort of water-main leak.

Bet they had to turn off the water.

Uh huh.

Air gets in the pipes...

No, the toilet is NOT possessed, Sewmouse, you twit.

I flush again.
No problems.

You know - ya can't make this shit up.

I can no longer eat almonds. *sigh*

Bought a can of almonds (dry roasted, lightly salted) - and was enjoying a small handfull at lunch when CRUNCH... CRUNCH... CRUNCH!! but no owie.

But I certainly wasn't gonna keep chewing that really hard bit, so I spat it into my hand (nobody else around. I'm usually not quite that uncivilized) - and found a rather large piece of dental material.

Yes, I broke my tooth. *sigh*

It doesn't hurt, but I sure as hell am not going to be chewing almonds with it anytime soon. I have a dentist appointment on Tuesday evening. Again - no pain, no sensations at all - but you know how your tongue gets all excited and interested in the "something different" like a nosey puppy? grrrrrrr

Hate that bit.


I have gotten the camera to work. The colors aren't quite as screwy as I thought they'd be - still not "right" - but not as bad as I feared. I would love to post photos here, but I asked the Charming Young Man if he would rather see progress reports or have it be a surprise, and he wants to be surprised, so I'm taking the progress report photos anyhow and will post a Flickr slideshow when I have confirmation that he has, in fact, received the package. (which may be a bit yet - do not hold your breaths.)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Updated)

A man went down from Chicago to Atlanta, and along the road he fell among thieves, which stripped him of his clothes, and beat him and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

By chance there came down the same road, Preacher Billy Joe Bob, on his way to tape his weekly Television Sermon in his new shiny Caddillac with the Right-To-Life bumperstickers all over it: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side, muttering about how terrible it was that the Lib'rul Governmint let the roadsides get all cluttered up with these indigents and illegal immigrants.

And likewise a Republican, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side, eternally grateful that he was not paying for "Socalized Medicine" that might be wasted on such a one as laid by the roadside.

But a certain Dirty Fucking Lib'rul Hippie, as he journeyed, came where the man was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, and performed basic first-aid, and set him behind him on his moped, and brought him to an Emergency Room, and and asked the Emergency Room staff to take care of him.

And the Hospital Staff did say unto him "Does this man have Blue Cross/Blue Shield? Is this Hospital in his Network? Who is going to pay his deductible??"

Which now of these, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

The 2-day 4-day weekend

Or maybe that should be the 4-day 2-day weekend. I took some strange naps this weekend and ended up feeling as if I'd had 4 days off instead of just the two.

Which wouldn't be bad if I had actually DONE something more productive, but I'm still having motivational issues.

I did, however, piece the center of the "man quilt" - it looks like it will be fine, and I am well pleased that the size looks as if it will be perfect. It will certainly fit on the frame, which is a HUGE plus, as I think one of the things that got lost with GreenThing Mach1 was the hated hated hated quilting hoop.

I wish I had an extra 1500 bucks, as there is this AWESOME quilting frame that not only has 3-way feed and tension, but also has the ability to work either tiny baby quilts or huge King size ones. Alas, being "poor" has its drawbacks.

The cotton "machine-quilting" thread is working fine so far in the machine whilest doing the piecing, so that is a plus.

Ah well - the sun is coming up. I suppose I should be getting into the shower and getting ready for work.

Kennedy and Camera

So, Teddy Kennedy died this week. I find it hard to work up any tears or any other emotional response. Senator Kennedy wasn't someone who's career I chose to follow. I've heard comments both glowing and disparaging of him in the past days, and I suspect that both are probably based on some amount of truth.

Nobody is a saint, certainly not Edward Kennedy (or me!). However to remember a man solely for his actions as a terrified 20-something young man on ONE NIGHT in his life is just as unfair as choosing to look only at his Senate career and ignoring his drinking, womanizing and possibly supporting the IRA (not Individual Retirement Accounts...)

In the end, if my Christian upbringing was correct - there is only one Judge who can decide whether Teddy Kennedy's heart and soul were in the right place, and it ain't me, it ain't you, and it sure as fuck isn't Rush Limbaugh (much as Mr. Limbaugh seems to THINK he is Deity). I'm quite content to leave these matters in the hands of Deity and not stick my nose in.

The camera is officially dead. RIP camera. Actually, RIGarbagecan, as there is no response from it, even after replacing the batteries. New Digital Cameras are a bit pricey, and I'm not trusting the dubious folks on E-Bay, so I guess I'll wait for the Xmas super-sales.

Thursday again

The days, they all kind of run together. The local market is having a price war with their competitor, and there have been some good prices on beef lately. I got 3 nice steaks for $7.88 and a lovely roast for $6.50. Met my co-worker C in the parkinglot and discussed it - which is funny, as she sits about 10 yards down the hall from me, but we usually don't lunch in the same places. This week we've gone the same place 3 days out of 4.

Tomorrow the boss is buying us pizza for lunch to celebrate co-worker R getting his college degree. Yay R!!!!

The nights are spent mostly working on my quilts or reading. Not playing much computer games, as my hands have been complaining the last week or so. When I play WoW, I use my left hand to work the arrow keys and my right hand to "mouse" - and the odd angle this puts on my wrist had been having the effect of numbing my last 2 fingers on my left hand - and finally became unpleasantly painful. So I'm taking a "rest break for my health" - although I will check in from time to time because us addicts are like that, ya know.

Meanwhile I am sleeping with my hand on a plushy teddy-bear to keep myself from grabbing the mattress and cramming my hand between the bedframe and the mattress in the night, which exacerbates the problem. Don't ask me why my subconscious hand likes to burrow between the mattress and the bedframe. I asked it and it just shook itself at me. The bear doesn't seem to mind.

I've been trying to take photos of the current quilt - but as the twitter tweeter twatter thing says over ---->> there ---->>, I was taking a photo and there was this ginormous POP and no photo and the camera won't power up. I will try changing batteries tonite, but I strongly suspect that my 10-year-old $70 camera has given up the ghost-image. *moment of silence*

So while I don't have a lovely photo of my current work - the fabric for the man's quilt I'm making when cut into strips looked like a batch of neckties hanging off the table - I did get the pieces for part of it cut and I laid them out on the quilt currently in the frame for a trial-run, and WHOOO BOY do I like how it will look.

This doesn't mean the recipient will love it, of course, but *I* am well pleased at how the colours mix and blend and how the pattern works. It's not overly bright, it's not overly dark - although it does have a very dark element to it. Since I RAN OUT OF PINK THREAD *rolls eyes at self*, I'm putting the brown/green/pink thing on hold for now and will work on this one as soon as I find a free bobbin for the machine.

I'm trying something a bit different this time. Going to use 100% cotton thread to put it together. I read somewhere that if you use cotton thread on cotton fabric, the seams are less likely to split along the thread-line, because polyester thread is stronger than cotton, and cuts the threads of the fabric.

I think it made more sense when I read it, because I think I suck at explaining things.

Wet Monday

Most all of this weekend it has been raining cats and dogs and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. Woke up to yet another thunderstorm. I sure do hope Mom Nature is getting all this wet out of her system so this winter will be dry. Cold I can deal with. Sn*w.... Not So Much.

As a result, I've spent most of my time indoors, doing a little housework, and rather a lot of napping - but also working on quilt stuff. Chopping up fabric, for the most part.

There is the Pink & Brown thing to finish - I never did get it completely cut out, and even though it is EASY PEASY to piece, it isn't making me anxious to finish it, which suxxors.

Then there is Amanda's Green Thing MachII - I've cut a few strips out of each color and as soon as I get the blocks done for the Pink & Brown Thing, I'm going to piece a few of the blocks for that one and see how well it looks. I am positively optimistic about it - which may be utterly unfounded - but we shall see.

Then there is a quilt that is a bit of a challenge for me. I got a list of colours (UK spelling intentional) from a friend and am trying to make a special light-weight one for him with them included. Not easy, as he is primarily a Dark One in terms of colour preference, but I think I've come up with something that will work well. I've got the fabric, now I just need to cut and piece. This one is also calling to me to work on it.

I also have the blue&white card trick to cut and piece. I'm really motivated again for some reason, and I'm glad glad glad about it.

I think I'm going to have to take some more pictures.

Warning - Politicallish stuffs and quilts. And flies. ugh.

Birthers.
*snicker*
Ok, there is really only ONE way to deal with people like this. No proof will ever be good enough for them. GOD HIMSELF could come down from the heavens and proclaim in a voice heard by all in the universe "BARACK OBAMA WAS BORN IN HAWAII" - and they'd claim it was the short-form God and wouldn't believe it.

No, the only way to deal with their childish antics is to answer them in kind. POINT... and LAUGH.

The lady who stood up in the town-hall meeting and screeched like a harpy about her birth certificate? How would she have handled it if everyone around her, instead of sitting like headlight-struck-elk, had turned, pointed at her, and laughed their asses off? LOUDLY!!

And that, my friends, is how I intend to handle EVERYONE who mentions this stupid non-issue to me. Point at them. Laugh AT them. Louder than they can screech. I can laugh REALLY LOUDLY when I want to do so.

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I have found some excellent fabric for a couple new quilt tops. One for Manda, as the one I made for her some while back was ... destroyed by accident. Sorta. Long story. Regardless, I am in process of making a new, similar, one. I just need ONE MORE green bit to pull it together. I am determined to find that bit in my stash and not purchase any more.

I also have another top in the works - this one for an offshore friend. Just need to do cutting and sewing. It should be highly dramatic. I love that. Bright, colorful, dramatic... I am so utterly against making dull,insipid, pastel things. Not sure why. I used to like pastels. Now they just turn me right off.

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So last nite I come home from work and discover my entire kitchen has been invaded by small black flies. Not gnats - real flies - but small ones. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Utterly grossed out, I grabbed the cats, tossed them into the upstairs bathroom, shut the door and set off a bug-bomb in the kitchen.

This morning we are fly-free. Thank the Goddess.

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For Croila - this link goes to a photo of a car that is kind of exactly like the Little Blue Neon - except mine is dark blue and has a dent in the driver's door and has no sunroof and the AC doesn't work and there is a 1/2 bowl full of shredded wheat in the passenger foot-compartment that I need to vacuum out tonite.

I have no actual photos of tLBN as far as I know.

Neon Hell - Part 2

So. I got about 2 weeks worth of OK out of tLBN before it decided yet again to refuse to start. *sigh*. This time I got smarter and had it towed to the dealership where I purchased it. I figured if they couldn't fix it, I'd guilt-trip them.

Well, I ended up having to rent a car for one day, but I finally did get them to fix tLBN, and it's worked fine since. Broken wire in the wiring harness to the starter.

Seriously expensive repair, in all, but at least it works now.

Another post a little later on more recent things.

Neon Hell - Part 1

I wrote the following blog post about 1 1/2 weeks ago but didn't post it for no known reason, and while I COULD update it to make it more currently correct, I have no intention of doing so. I will write an updated post later.

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Where in the world has Sewmouse been?

Home, mostly. Buried under a pile of laundry and the inside of a closet. Not in that order.

I've decided to clean out my dont-wear, don't like, don't fit, don't need clothes and feed them to the charity box. This has necessitated my going into my tiny walk-in closet and tossing out stuff I wont/cant wear. This has made a heap in the middle of the bedroom floor, which then becomes a huge laundry pile, as even though these clothes have been hanging in the closet for eons, I feel that it would be rude to give them to the charity box in their current condition, as they are a bit musty and dusty.

In between, I have been sleeping too much. Or maybe it's not too much, because even though it is too much, it seems to be having a beneficent effect on my levels of energy and ambition. I guess being asleep too much but more active when awake is better than being a semi-comotose slug with normal sleep patterns.

I've also found a new addiction - this silly little online version of Civilization or Age of Empires - called "EVONY". It is online and multiplayer. Rather primitive, but addictive too. It's not WoW, but it's a nice little distraction.

It has been raining cats and dogs and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri around here the last few days. The humidity is oppressive, even though the temperature is not. It's like living in a tepid-mist vaporizer. The dehumidifier gets full too fast for it to do any real abatement. Yesterday morning while waiting for D from work to pick me up (more on this later), I started the washer, the dryer and the dishwasher all at the same time. It was like a sauna in the kitchen. I ended up going outside to wait for D in the rain rather than stay in the house. I fully expected the cats to be all fluffed out like cartoon cats when I got home. They weren't. They were sitting on the sofa looking at me like "WTF do you think YOU are doing here?"

So anyhow - I had to have D pick me up because he took me home the night before. The morning before, the Little Blue Neon decided it didn't want to go to work. Unfortunately, the Little Blue Neon does not have this option on weekdays when I have the outside CPA scheduled to come in and still need a couple of hours of uninterrupted time to finish getting things together for him.

Oh well. Called the tow truck, had them drag tLBN to the repair shop near work, and they drove me to work. EXPENSIVE TAXI!!

However, they've had tLBN now for 3 days, and even though they know that there IS a problem, because it screws up for them - it is the dread "Intermittent" problem, and it will not screw up when the repair guy has his tools with him. /facepalm

The CPA and I came up with an answer. We think tLBN has a crush on the courtesy van from the repairs shop. As the CPA put it - "That's why it only gets TURNED ON when it is at the shop".

I do so desperately hope they can find out what is wrong with it today so I can run errands and stuff over the weekend without fearing that I'll get stuck somewhere with a nonfunctional Neon. (Nonfunctional Neon at the Dysfunctional Dennys perhaps? *giggle*)

I also have discovered something about me. I cannot write when people TELL me to write to them. I get all blocked and can't think of dickall to say. Just sayin'.