I'm ba-ack!!!

Fi here again.

Mom’s still doing that silly stitching thing. The only use I can possibly see for stitching is to fix my toys that occasionally need a little surgery. Take, for instance, my platypus. One of my favorite toys ever. Which means that I’ve had him for 6 months, and I still play with him. Best. Toy. Ever. Except for possibly the Treat Filled Ball. But that is in a different category. Mr. Platypus is the king of the stuffie category.

Here’s Mr. Platypus, sitting on top of the toy box, ready to be retrieved (little joke there – I’m half retriever and half poodle *woof*):

He’s really cool, but a little fragile. Mom has had to sew him up a couple of times:

So I can see how using a needle and thread for Important Surgery is a Good Thing. But lots of different colors on a piece of cloth with holes in it? Don’t get it.

Anyway, my last post was all about my family. Because I’m generous that way. Today is all about Me. MEEEE! But not my life history; that is long and complicated, and involves a Very Long Drive for a car race when I was Really Young, and explains why I have no fear of diesel trucks, or race cars, and why the rumble of a good Corvette or Mustang is music to my ears. Don’t ask me why I don’t like the sound of airplanes. I couldn’t tell you that one. But that is for another day.

Fiona’s Day by Fiona Dranow

5:48am: My older (but littler) sister TaiChi has to go piddle. She’s very old (and yes, Mango, she does have magical powers – I have seen her stare at a drawer until she is able to summon treats from it – VERY impressive; apparently rubbing her belly also has healing powers, but you’d have to talk to Mom about that). And since TaiChi goes out, I get to go out too. Mom grumbles a bit, but then she sometimes doesn’t appreciate pre-dawn walks. The picture is fuzzy because Mom was too tired to ‘futz’ – her word, not mine – with the camera.

6:17-9:30am: Sleeping, walking on Mom and Dad, waiting for TaiChi to demand that she get to go outside again. Did I mention that this venerable dog has magical powers? She can make Mom do just about anything. I need to learn her secrets.

10:00-whenever: Power resting. I usually start off on the couch while Mom ‘works’ at the computer.

Then I wander over and join TaiChi. Because she really is the best sleeping partner ever.

When Dad gets up and finishes his work (I think he works harder than Mom, because he talks a lot on the black chew toy that has buttons and makes alerting noises; he just doesn’t seem to appreciate its full value as a chew toy – even though I’ve shown him how those antennae nubs can be quite tasty. Have to get a picture of that!) I like to sit on the couch with him and give him kisses.

He tastes best right after a shower!

Then Mom will take me outside to play. I know they have video of me chasing one of my squeaky balls, but I can’t find it. So trust me on this one. Although her is a picture of me in my younger days investigating the Colorado River. I’m still not sure what is so exciting about this swimming thing, but my Mom keeps telling me that that is my poodle side talking. I have no idea what she’s talking about.

The rest of the day is spent playing, and when it’s not too hot, going on a walk.

Me on a walk, waiting for Mom to break out the water bottle. This seems to be the pretty scenery that Mom talks about. Me? I'm more interested in the lizards and rabbits that pop in and out of the bushes!

Me with another chew toy. I’ve got lots of toys!

But the best part of the day? DINNER TIME!!!!

Here I am, sitting patiently, waiting for Mom to dish out the food.

(C’mon Mom, HURRY UP ALREADY! I’ve been patient ENOUGH. For Long Enough. Sheesh.)

Drumroll, please….. The Great Moment Arrives!

DINNER!!!!

And then it’s back to the grind of playing with toys, napping, and if I’m REALLY lucky, Mom will give me ice cubes. I LOVE ice cubes. They are so cold and portable, and help Mom with mopping the kitchen.

See, now rather than dragging out the bucket, she just needs to get out the mop. I am SOOOO helpful.

Then it is bedtime and back to dragging Mom outside for more late night walks. I still don’t see what’s she’s complaining about. Even she had to admit that the stars were REALLY PRETTY at 3am this morning.

More from me later, because I’ve ‘borrowed’ Dad’s computer.

Fiona here

Fiona here, because Mom NEVER updates. Sheesh, her birthday was 8 days ago, and she’s still going on about her ‘pre-birthday’?!? Clearly somebody has to step in and do something around here.

First, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of other four-legged people such as myself who have their own blogs, and I’m thinking that I might want to take this one over (or start my own), so you don’t have to read about needlepoint all the time. The only thing exciting about needlepoint is attempting to sneak in a chew on the wooden frame (Mom always stops me, though). The rest of it? Bleah. Maybe if I had opposable thumbs it would be more interesting, but I wouldn’t count on it (or me getting opposable thumbs, for that matter).

I don’t think Mom has ever done a proper job of introducing the family, so I’ll do it.

First is Mr. Bufus, The Cat.


You’ll notice that Bufus has one of my chew treats. Pretty funny because He Doesn’t Have Any Teeth!!! But, Bufus rules the house. Whatever wants, Bufus gets. He’s a 19 year old Maine Coon cat, and frankly, he scares me a little bit. He lets me know when I get too close, but he’s got no problem eating my food, and drinking my water. And yet Mom gets mad when I eat his food. What’s up with that?!?

I just pretty much call him Mr. Bufus, Sir, and get out of his way. Although I DID manage to steal the treat back, finally. After Bufus had licked it for a while….

This is my Big Sister, TaiChi.


(Here’s a better shot – she’s the one on top!)


She’s an old lady – more than 17 years old – which, is, well, older than dirt! She likes to sleep a lot, but occasionally I can get her to play with me. I just have to be careful because she’s got snaggly teeth, and she plays to win! I am still learning how to play with her, though, she’s not very big (18 lbs) and sometimes, all in good fun, I get a little rough with her, and then Mom yells at me to stop. Mom is pretty protective of TaiChi. Mom also will then suggest that they get a Jack Russell Terrier to keep me in my place. No thank you! I like my place just fine as it is! I think they’re kidding.

But she’s a great sleeping partner.


Mom and Dad

Dad


Mom


Apparently, they were off doing something silly in the Arizona desert on two wheels. When they could have been playing with ME instead! *ahem. Apparently, Dad hasn’t been feeling well for a while, so they haven’t been doing the two-wheeled thingy for a while.

Dad has been sleeping a lot, which is okay, because I always like sleeping partners:


I think that is actually Mom buried under there, but hey, I was comfortable, and that’s all that matters, right?!?

Here I am with Dad:


Notice that Mr. Bufus (sir) is there, too, but I’m plenty far away from him!

So, that’s us. Right now, we are living in a motorhome, because Mom and Dad didn’t want to deal with snow this winter.



But apparently we’ll be leaving soon, as it is getting HOT down here, and Dad wants to get his back sorted out, so he and Mom can get back to that two-wheeled nonsense. Why should they do anything on two wheels when they can play with Meeee?!?



I’m younger there, but you have to admit, I’m pretty darn cute!

So, that’s us. And I’m pooped. All this typing without opposable thumbs is hard work! I think I need a nap.

Pre-Birthday Birthday Post

38. Thirty-eight. 38, 37, 39, 43; whatever. Trite as it is, age is just a number. My husband, who just recently turned 55 looks like he’s in his mid-40s. If that. It’s disgusting, actually – and genetic; his 83 year old mother looks better than many women in their 60s. And actually, because people typically think that he is younger than he is, they seem to think that I’m older than I am; maybe because a 17 year age gap is unusual. Is it? No idea. Or maybe I just look older than I am. And while I’ve got a few laugh lines, I’ve got no issues with them. And I don’t think that I look a whole lot older than I am. But who’s to say? I mean, what does 38 look like? Can you tell me? I can tell you about 15 different examples just from people I know – all of whom are totally different.

Anyhoo. I don’t really believe in ‘birthdays’ anyway – a birthday – a marking of a passage of a person’s life – can happen whenever; in years where you learn a lot, you might have a few birthdays. In years where things just remain the same, you might not have a birthday, in the personal growth sense of things.

This year? A definite birthday. This last year had a lot of ups and downs, with a lot of challenges, and a lot of great experiences. I am one hell of a different person than I was a year ago today.

And very glad for it. I could throw around a lot of clichés – “That which does not kill us makes us strong”; “Every challenge brings a new opportunity”; “Life is a process”; etc., etc. All I can say is that I am a better person than I was a year ago. And stronger (it’s that Jesuit thing…. St. Augustine was on to something there…). And so yes, this is a birthday. And one that will be celebrated for the fact that I am so much more than I was a year ago.

Okay, so that is all cryptic and esoteric. Aren’t all ‘deep thoughts’? *grin. Seriously though, I’m thrilled to be who I am, and feel luckier than hell that I am who I am.

Am I going to celebrate wildly? Eh, other than maybe buying a bottle of 18 year old scotch (Gary and I have been talking about doing the Boston Legal thing where William Shatner and James Spader sit on the balcony at the end of the episode and have a scotch and discuss the universe – we’ll have everything except the view of Boston – we’ll have the Colorado River sunset instead ), some crab legs for dinner, and a couple of pieces of cake for dessert, I am anticipating a very quiet day. (The weather is supposed to be windy and wet in the morning, which will make it perfect for cross-stitching and watching Fiona bounce off the couch while we watch the Masters.) Quiet is good. I’ve had my learning experiences for the year and am very happy to celebrate them with a quiet day.

It’s funny. After 18+ years of skiing on my birthday, I am SO looking forward to spending my birthday (although because of the weather, it will be the day after) in 85 degree weather, on a bike ride, or kayaking on the Colorado River. I’m STILL not missing the snow, kids!

Does 'Crafty' Imply Shifty Eyes?

Okay, so maybe this is a cross-stitch blog. At times. I am maybe 1/8th of the way through the Gypsy Wagon pattern that I have started. And while I have had a few minor mistakes (a few dropped stitches, but… as I am learning, the more complicated things are, the more places there are to fix mistakes – if you are paying attention, and the pattern has enough intricate parts that can be shuffled around), I am actually quite pleased with my progress so far. And proud of myself; I was wondering if I was going to have attention span issues, but since the thing is so intricate, and fun (I couldn’t tell from the pattern that I was stitching one of many snails, and I am able to make out the hedgehogs, even though I’m nowhere close to doing the backstitching), I am having a ball.

I’m not a crafty person (well, in the sense of scrapbooks, and memory books and things; actually, not really in the “skillful in underhand or evil schemes” definition (as given by Webster’s), either). My mother tried to teach me to knit a few times, and it never stuck. Crocheting? Even less so, although my grandmother was a whiz. Scrapbooks? I can put up an album on Facebook or Picasa. That’s about it. My first memory of cross-stitching was for a Girl Scout merit badge; we had this Girl Scout emblem pattern, and I did the thing in reverse colors (the green was white, and the white was green – oh yes, I was quite the rebel). In truth, I don’t remember if that was because I had mis-read the pattern and didn’t want to start over, or if I wanted to be different from the 13 other girls doing the exact same pattern. And at the time, if I recall correctly (Mom, help me out here), I don’t exactly remember enjoying it. It was sort of one of those things that I had to do to get the merit badge.

But my mother kept encouraging me, and I remember summers where I cross-stitched a circa 1890’s Colt .45 (really – it was this whole ‘old west’ pattern book – wish I could find it now!), and when I first started college, I did a 1980-something Corvette (alas, that one got lost when I moved to Park City). I had a few additional tries at some stitching once in Park City, but I typically got bogged down with work or other stuff.

This winter, however, I’ve had the time, and for whatever reason, the inclination. And I’m LOVING it. Some of it is certainly the enjoyment of actually producing something (I’ve been doing research on a book for ages, and while I write sections here and there, I’m not even remotely close to even having a good solid outline of the entire book). It’s also a tactile thing – the thread moving through the material is cool (the pulling out knots part, and occasionally stabbing myself because I don’t use blunt needles is not so cool, but still tactile). But I guess the part I like most is seeing something emerge out of chaos. Especially on a pattern like the one I’m doing now that has so many colors and sections that it is really hard to get a sense of what this thing is going to look like until you’ve gone so far. Again, I’m maybe 1/8th of the way done, and I’m only just now seeing the Big Picture emerge out of the dots, z’s and triangles on the pattern. But it is really cool to start to see it emerge.

The funny thing is that I still have No Idea what I’m going to do with my ‘finished’ pieces. And I say finished in quotes because I’ve got about 6 pieces that are fully stitched, but haven’t been ironed or framed or anything. Most, I expect, will end up as gifts (so if you get something from me, don’t be surprised if it is on 14 count Aida) as I can’t really see framing these things and having them all over the house. I have a REALLY COOL Noah’s Ark (it’s actually a submarine) pattern that I could see as a baby gift, as long as said baby is about 4 years out, or you don’t mind it being a college graduation present, rather than nursery room decoration!

I am framing one piece tomorrow, as a thank you to some friends of ours who provided much help with Mr. Bufus the cat this winter – both in terms of providing a cat carrier, corn syrup, morale support, and just being generally cool people – and we’ll see how that goes. If all goes well, I think I’ve got presents for people sewn up *heh…. Sorry….couldn’t help myself there! for quite a while.

And if you’ve got requests? Like if you are looking for something for a church fundraiser, or a gift for someone, or, oh hell, I don’t know…. If you want something, let me know. Your requests will be more likely honored if they fit in the animal (particularly dogs, cats, and Arks)/whimsical female/space/”I don’t care how long it takes, but something big with lots of stuff in it” categories.

And on that note? I’m going to eat and get back to my gypsy wagon. Because I’ve almost reached the magical fire. And a magical gypsy fire is NOT to be missed out on.

BTW, Mom, thanks for forcing me to do the Girl Scout cross stitch thing. The more I think about it, the more I think it was on the level of learning my multiplication tables. And while I can still guess at 9 X 6 (54? 57? 63?), I am getting MUCH enjoyment and fulfillment out of the cross stitching! Who'd've thunk it, eh?

No needlepoint, nor even any pictures of doggies.

Meh. It’s Monday, so it seems like a good ‘meh’ is in order.

I’ve been on the phone all morning, mostly leaving messages, but at least finally determining that Gary’s MRIs tomorrow WILL be covered by the insurance. (There was some debate as to whether they would cover it or not, because he hadn’t actually seen a doctor, just had a phone consultation.) This is a good thing. Now, if I can just get his meds handled, his neurosurgeon to understand that he has MRIs coming in that he needs to look at sooner, rather than later (later being the June 17th appointment that he’s got with the guy, this being the soonest that he can get in to see him; unless it is an emergency. I think), and an appointment with the dog groomer (Fiona’s hair grows thick and woolly – and FAST – she’s already a shag carpet again), I’ll be good.

It was super windy last night, and while it looks like it has calmed down for now, we are supposed to have a ‘wind advisory’ in effect until 3pm. With last night’s wind, I swear we were going to end up with a pair of ruby slippers sticking out from under the front wheels; the entire coach was shaking with the wind, and we weigh about 36,000 lbs right now (we weren’t actually moving in our spot, but still…). I am POSITIVE that I saw a lady on a bicycle go flying by.

So, with the wind, and Fiona still thinking that she’s this 8lb puppy that we had up on pillow, and Gary having a rough night, pain-wise, I don’t think anyone fell asleep until about 3am. And, of course, the doggies had to go out about 6, and I had to start making phone calls at 8:30ish. So, meh.

I need to swap out purses today; since Gary’s MRIs are going to take For Ever, I am going to bring along some needlepoint (not the Ginormous Project of Doom, because that one actually requires a little concentration, but another one that doesn’t require lots of color changes), and need a purse into which I can actually fit the little project. At some point, I am going to admit Purse Defeat, and carry a big sack, like my mother does. (Actually, she has said Big Sack, and gets my dad to carry it; I don’t think I’m going to be able to convince Gary to carry my purse for me…)

In other ‘meh’, the diet seems to have stalled. Of course, not getting in a lot of exercise (other than jogging with the puppy, and kayaking when there aren’t a zillion power boats on the water), has likely contributed to that. But, I am still filled with a desire to eat pizza for breakfast and say to hell with it all. Of course, clothes are still fitting better, and my body shape has definitely changed, so I really shouldn’t be whining, but I’d be happier if the scale decided to cooperate, as well. Eh, one morning of pizza won’t kill me; I’m just not certain that I can face another bowl of oatmeal.

Okay. One set of Gary’s meds down, one to go. I’m trying to batch all of this so I only have to drive into town once today. Because driving in to town takes away from quality needlepoint time (where quality needle point time includes watching episodes of Stargate SG-1 on Hulu.com because for some reason my Friday Night Lights addiction was cut short when they didn’t put up the first 6 episodes of season 3 – but have episodes 7-11….).

Mysteriously, the front tire of my road bike has gone flat. Sitting on the rack. Actually, the front tire of my mountain bike has also gone flat, also sitting on the rack, but that one I understand; I ride the mountain bike around the RV park and manage to pick up bougainvillea thorns all the time. The road bike tire just mysteriously went flat. No worries. I’ve got 2 other wheel sets with me; I’ll just swap out the front wheel.

If I ever go riding again. Which may happen; Gary has been moving around more, and if I can get him out on a couple of good walks, we might try the biking thing. Assuming, of course, that the neurosurgeon doesn’t call and tell us to get back to Salt Lake (where it is currently snowing) post haste.

All that said, it is a GORGEOUS day; in the 60s right now (actually a little chilly with the wind), CLEAR blue skies (except for the occasional woman on a bicycle/house/little dog flying through the air), and all the weekend people have left, making it a quiet park again. Heh. I am such an old fogey! Speaking of being an Old Fogey, I’ve got a birthday coming up soon. And while I won’t be looking for Envelopes Stuffed with the Cash, like some people I know (whose name shall remain anonymous to protect the guilty – even though You Know Who You Are!), a gift card to a sewing shop of your choice wouldn’t go amiss.*ahem.

Okay. Enough with the shameless plugs; I have to make a decision about something to eat, make a menu/shopping list, and do some needlepoint.

Not necessarily in that order, mind you.

Yes, it's true

 

But they are so cute... How could I not?!?


By drliz


By drliz

As for the next needlepoint project? I think I'm going to actually try something fairly ambitious.


By drliz

Wish me luck; I'm going to need it - it's big and really complicated. But it looks like fun. Famous last words, I know...

Yes, you get a break. For today.

Just when you were thinking, "Oh my Gawd, not ANOTHER needlepoint pattern; does this woman have NO LIFE?!?" you are spared. Although the answer to that question would be, "No, she doesn't." But that's just in case you were wondering.

At least for a day. Because I'm almost done with the one I'm working on. It's really simple, but very cute. And is dog-related. But I'll keep you in suspense until I'm actually done. It makes me giggle.

And since I have run out of Boston Legal episodes to watch (until my DVDs of season 5 arrive - which won't be until May 5th), I am allowing my brain to turn into gelatinous goo via Hulu (yes, Alec Baldwin, start salivating now....). For some reason, I decided to start watching Friday Night Lights - all episodes from all seasons available (as far as I can tell - I'm only into the middle of season 1). I'm not exactly sure WHY this grabbed me, other than maybe I don't have to pay super close attention while I'm focusing on the cross-stitching. It amuses me, and frankly, I haven't found any really good audiobooks to capture me at the moment.

But all of that is neither here-nor-there. Gary is still having nerve pain, so I've finally managed to get him in to the local hospital for an MRI next week. I doubt that they have the diagnosticians to read the thing here, so we'll have to get copies sent up to his neurosurgeon in Salt Lake to get the news; good, bad, or indifferent. At least we're doing SOMETHING. Because, frankly, it looks like his left thigh, not just his calf is starting to atrophy, and that is what we in the health care support industry (i.e. professional patients) call A Bad Thing.

In the meantime, it the temps have dropped back into the 70s (although we'll be back in the 80s by the end of the week), and it is gorgeous, if a bit windy. Which makes for perfect puppy-ball-chasing weather. And that is good.

Yet another one

I've been a little stressed lately, what with familial health (on a couple of fronts) not being at an all-time high, so when stressed, I need to occupy myself somehow. And needlepoint is just the thing; enough to keep the brain occupied, but not so daunting that I don't do it.

This one is actually for some friends of ours here in Parker who are returning to Washington state next Tuesday. I'll get it framed here and mail it to them, since it won't be totally done before they leave. They've been very helpful with animal issues, and have two cats who have been known to leave their 5th wheel in the throws of chaos from time to time. So, this one seemed very appropriate for them.

 

In other news? Dogs and cat are doing well; TaiChi (the 17 year old miniature poodle) is holding her own with her kidneys, and Bufus the cat seems to be holding his own with his diabetes and the inoperable tumor. TaiChi gets subcutaneous fluids every day, and Bufus gets insulin twice a day, so we've got a mini animal hospital going here. Fiona is fabulous as ever; full of bounding energy. So all of that is good.

Gary is still a mess; we are looking to see if we can get his neck and back MRI'ed down here to see if we can target the debilitating nerve pain that he's been experiencing. As an aside, the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale apparently doesn't do orthopedic/neurologic diagnoses - I called them to see about an appointment, and they were ready to cut if he came in with MRIs and a diagnosis, but didn't do it on-site. I thought that's what the Mayo Clinics DID, but apparently not this one. I think the local hospital can do the MRIs, and then from there we could see what could/should be done. In the meantime, he's in a great deal of pain, and is generally not having a lot of fun. (Lying in bed all day taking medication when he could be kayaking/cycling/playing his guitar is not his idea of a good time.) Again, hopefully the local hospital can start to help us on the diagnostic front.

Anyhoo, that's all the excitement here. Stay tuned for more needlepoint updates! ;-D

Another day, another pattern

 

I haven't quite decided yet if this one is morbid or not. Regardless, I find it quite funny - especially the rather satisfied look on the cat's face. I was also debating on whether or not to add the 'you are what you eat' part, but when I couldn't think of anything more clever to put in its place, I went with that.

Next? I'm going to start on a pattern for some friends of ours here in Parker. They have been very helpful on the cat front; they've loaned us one of their cat carriers numerous times, sacrificed their 'maple syrup' when Bufus had extremely low blood sugar, scoured the park for real sugar (in case he needed that, instead), and offered to go to Lake Havasu with me when I took Bufus in on his emergency visit, where it was unclear whether Bufus was going to live or not. So, to thank them for all their help, I am going to do a pattern called 'A Tale of Two Kitties' with these two cats innocently sitting on a windowsill, having left mass destruction behind them. This couple has two kitties, and I think they'll find it amusing (as their cats have been known to go on rampages throughout their 5th wheel). It won't be done and framed and everything until they get back to Washington state, so I'll be mailing it to them - hopefully it will be a nice surprise for them.

In other news, it's in the 80s - possibly to hit 90 today - and, unfortunately, Gary is still sick. Since the weekend is done (and the big powerboats have gone back to California for the week), I'll probably take a kayak out for a while, and then take Fiona out on a jog when it cools down. It'll be nice when Gary gets healthy enough that we can start cycling again. In the meantime, I'll be a cross-stitching fool!

Just for fun

 

Another gratuituous Fiona picture. This would be her RegalDoodle pose. And yes, she's posing. When the camera comes out, she either poses, or hides. I think the hiding thing might be on Bad Ear Days. But I could be wrong!

And just in case you doubt her goofball-ability...

 

It's finally done...

Here is the finally finished cross-stitch pattern that I've been working on. I really like it because it reminds me so much of Fiona, including the goofy look in her eyes. Because, let's face it, Fiona is such a goofball!


By drliz

When I ordered it, it was described as being a pattern 'for those people who don't have a lot of time' and for beginners. Where not having a lot of time means that if you (personally) can create the world in seven days, this will be a snap. And beginners being those of you who will no longer be beginners by the time you are done, because about 50% of this is half stitches. So maybe I am not quite the stitching goddes that I thought I was, if this is for beginners. Makes me feel a little more trepedation about some of the more ambitious patterns that I've got....

And why does this seem like it's become a needlepoint only blog? Probably only because there's nothing else exciting going on at the moment. And in all truth, no excitement is a good thing. Really.

Actually, thanks for the kind thoughts on Bufus. He seems to be carrying on life as usual; he's not exactly a wildly active cat at this point in his life, so the fact that he's eating and sleeping as usual is all a good thing. And he's still keeping the puppy at bay, so all is good on that front.

Pluth

Pluth.

The 18.5 year old Maine Coon cat is back from his overnight/all-day stay at the vet's. His blood sugar is back where it should be. For now. We've got to make sure that he is eating regularly. Particularly since the vet found a tennis ball-sized growth in his abdomen that is pushing his intestines around, pressing on his stomach a bit, and possibly other organs in the middle of the body that are generally considered essential.

Given the size of the mass, the location of it, and the age of Mr. Bufus, we are electing to do nothing but keep him comfortable (it doesn't seem to cause him pain) and make sure that he's got plenty of food and water. If he stops eating regularly, or has issues related to the result of regular eating, we'll have to re-evaluate. As it is, we've got to make sure his blood sugar level stays where it should; which means that the bottle of 'maple syrup' (i.e. flavored corn syrup) that we 'borrowed' from the neighbors will stay with us, and I'll replace theirs when I go to the store next.

Given that I thought we were going to lose Bufus yesterday, I'm glad that he's alive, and generally acting like his old self. We have no idea how long the mass has been there, or how fast it is growing. It could move very slowly, and essentially have no bearing on his life, or it could be more drastic. Regardless, every day we've got him is a lucky one; we were preparing to not bring him home from the vet when I left him last night. The fact that he's up and down off the bed, hanging out with Gary and 'acking' at Fiona is all good.

It's just been a rough several months with the animals. In future, we get a new child every 4-5 years so we don't ever find ourselves again in the situation of having a very geriatric crew (our miniature poodle is 17); it's been difficult to see 3 animals nearly die, and 1 of them ultimately succumb in a period of 6 months.

But I wouldn't trade the rough parts for all the fantastic parts. Not in a million years.

The bullet point version of life.

Because I've obviously been too busy lazy to post anything, here's my life in bullet points:

1. I'm working on a cross-stitch pattern that isn't super complicated but has A LOT of stitches. Like every single hole in the material gets a stitch. Note to self: in future, don't just look at the difficulty of the pattern, but also at the actual area that the stitching covers. Good thing I really like this pattern.

2. The weather has been very warm (90 yesterday), and I'm loving it. We went on a bike ride yesterday that was (in my mind) just perfect; sleeveless jersey and shorts. Ideal.

3. Gary is recovering from bronchitis/pneumonia, so the bike riding has been a bit curtailed.

4. I've been kayaking a bit, but the river is running fairly fast, and it is a ton of effort to get upstream. Going downstream, however, is a breeze.

5. The 18 and a half year old diabetic Maine Coon cat was hospitalized last night after complications related to very low blood sugar.
I learned several lessons with this one:
a) always keep corn syrup on hand if you've got diabetic animals,
b) a cat going in diabetic shock is a pretty horrifying thing to experience,
c) I hate driving in the dark, especially on 2-lane roads with signs that say 'watch for animals', and
d) even though neither Gary nor I are particularly social at the RV park, we have very good neighbors who are willing to do anything in a pinch (including sacrificing their pancake syrup for our cat), and that is really cool.

6. If things go well, Bufus the cat will be able to come home tonight.

7. Having a house with multiple older animals is stressful. A puppy is a must in situations like ours.

8. My husband is a very handy guy, even if he likes to hide this fact.

Yet another cross stitch

Here is the latest finished pattern. When I pulled the picture off the camera and discovered that it was fuzzy, I was too lazy to take another one...

If you can't read the title on the right bottom, it is 'Baroque'. As in: "The kitteh baroque the bust, and took its spot."

 

This one amused me. I'm not sure what the next project will be, but I've got a bunch of choices. I went a little pattern-happy when I was looking for cross stitch patterns....

Other than that? I just came back from a 4 mile paddle - and the 2 miles up took about 3 times as long as the return trip; the water was moving pretty fast downstream, and I'm tired. Maybe I can convince Gary to have popcorn for dinner, and I can take a nap!

Not your mother's needlepoint

This is the latest finished project. I think it sums things up nicely!

 

And yes, I still need to buy an iron.... Mom and Dad - I'll probably wait until I finish another one before I send them to you for the 'full service' ironing and framing!

Same-old Same-old

I haven’t posted because, well, it’s pretty much the same-old-same-old.

We’ve been cycling, but Gary has been fighting the bubonic plague so he was sidelined today. Actually, he was pretty miserable last night, and as a precaution, I decided to go to the Pharmacy of Death ™ this morning to get a prescription for antibiotics filled (he’s had pneumonia enough times that we are able to diagnose this on our own; it wasn’t clear that he absolutely would need it, but I figured we’d be better to have it, just in case he really did go bubonic). Armed with the prescription from our family doctor, I timed it so I would get to the pharmacy right at 10am when they opened. I was there at 10:01. And the pharmacy was closed. Okay. It’s only 10:01. And I could hear voices (behind the closed counter; not the ones in my head that were telling me that only a crazy person would be at this pharmacy, expecting them to be open on time), so it was all cool. At 10:10, the pharmacy was still closed, and the store’s assistant manager came back and I could hear more voices (most of which were still not in my head). From what I could hear, there were only two employees there, and at least 2 other people had called in sick.

Nifty.

At 10:15, they finally opened the counters. The assistant manager took my prescription and told me that it would be “a while”.

A while. Yippee. Good thing I had brought my needlepoint with me.

Since I had some other prescriptions to pick up, I went to the pickup counter and the one poor harried guy finally got to me. And they only had 2 of the 4 prescriptions that I had expected to pick up (not counting the one I had just dropped off), but the poor guy didn’t have anyone to help him, so he didn’t have time to figure out why the other things weren’t ready. It wasn’t an emergency, so no biggie. But as I was waiting in line, I saw the z-pack (azythromycin) packages on the shelf – the prescription that I had just dropped off for Gary, and had been told would be a while. Since this is not the first time that he’s gotten this particular (nuclear-strength) antibiotic, I know that it is nothing that the pharmacist has to actually count out; they pick a package off the shelf, run it through the insurance and give it to you. But because they were so short staffed, this whole process was going to take a couple of hours – mostly because they had to bring in extra employees from Lake Havasu (50 miles away).

But as I was standing in line I was able to discern that the only other employee was an actual pharmacist. So after I got the couple of prescriptions they DID have for me, I went back to the drop-off counter, and the pharmacist came over. I explained to her that Gary was dying of the bubonic plague, and then I fibbed a bit (okay, I lied) and told her that I was a nurse, and knew that it was a really easy deal to do a z-pack. Much to my great surprise, the pharmacist just handed me the package, and told me that they’d “work it out later”.

Huh. Go figure. So I took the pack and ran like a thief. (I have no idea if/when they will ever figure it out, as the pharmacist made no notes whatsoever on the prescription. Not my problem.)

Luckily, it turned out that Gary didn’t need the prescription. But yet again, the Pharmacy of Death ™ did not fail to mystify.

Other than that, I’ve been out in the kayak a fair amount (again, with Gary being run-down/sick, he hasn’t had as much of a chance to get out), and Fiona is becoming a champion ball-chaser. The kids got their hair cuts, and look great (although TaiChi’s hair is a little short, and since the nights are cool, she’s been wearing her coat).


By drliz


By drliz

Other than that excitement, I’ve been needlepointing up a storm (pictures will follow as I make a bit more progress). Again, same-old-same-old here.

I can actually be pretty crafty at times!

We’ve been a bit sidelined the last couple of days, for a couple of reasons. First, our main road that we ride was taken out of commission as the area was getting ready for the Parker 425 desert race. 260 entries, each with 4 drivers, the main pit area was similar in size to the paddock at the Solo Nationals, and the spectator areas were crammed with people parking their RVs days in advance to get a good viewing spot. I really wish I had my camera out on the last day we were out there, because the number of spectators alone was quite impressive (and we only say one spectator site; there were several).

Anyway, there was the desert race prep, so we hit the river with the kayaks for two days. Which was great fun. I’m so thrilled with the kayaks!

By drliz

But 80 degree days can only last so long. It started raining on Friday evening, and has been raining on and off ever since. And for some unrelated reason, I had decided a week or two ago that I’d like to do a little cross-stitch. I get on a cross-stitch kick every once in a while (I think it is the only thing that stuck with me from my 150 years as a Girl Scout). It’s one of those ‘crafty’ things that I actually enjoy. As an aside, several years ago when I was on another cross-stitch kick, I was early for a meeting at work, and whipped out the pattern I was working on at the time, and the next person to come into the room was a very devout Mormon woman who only knew me as a ski racing, gun-toting tomboy. Her eyes bugged out of her head as I placidly stitched away before she finally stammered, “I wouldn’t have ever expected you to do hand-work.” Hand-work? Okay. I just smiled and told her that it was my deep, dark secret. I forever after that she kept looking at me for horns on my head.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a cross-stitch kit from eBay. One of those things that comes with everything, including a needle. Well, except for a hoop, which you need to keep the material taut so that you can make even stitches. So I ordered one of those, as well. And a pair of little scissors. Because of course, all of my cross-stitch stuff is in Park City, as I didn’t anticipate this whim striking me. And everything arrived just around the time the kayaks did.

So when it started raining, I started cross-stitching. And when it was all said and done, even Gary was impressed (he’s seen me mending things, so I think he was a little skeptical when I started…)

In hindsight, a white dog on a white background meant a lot of white stitches. After several hours of trying to actually see the stitches that I had put down, I finally admitted defeat and stitched the outline of the body before I continued with the white. Of course, this didn’t dawn on me until after I had done the head…. But in the future, I’m going to pay a little more attention to the colors of the stitches and the background material. Another after-thought: I would have liked to have had a reddish/bronze-ish color thread for the dog – it would have been a lot easier to see, and it would have ended up looking more like Fiona… I have since ordered a few skeins of ‘basic’ colors so that I’m not ever stuck in a white-on-white fiasco again.

So here is the fruit of my labors.


By drliz

Yes, I need to find an iron before I frame the thing…. Or maybe I’ll send it to my parents and let them handle that part of things! ;-D

And yeah, I’m actually going to start another one. (And yes, it will be another dog-themed pattern. Because the cat patterned kits that I have ordered aren’t here yet!)

On the water

Day Two with the Kayaks.

 

You can't tell from this, but there was a pretty stiff south wind, so on the way back, we were getting some nice bow splashing going on!

Gary, quickly mastering the whole kayaking thing.

 

Notice that we got the carts for the kayaks, making it a whole lot easier to get the boats down to the river!

 

Me, a very happy camper!

 

I'm exhausted.

I'm exhausted. Happy, but exhausted.

We started off with a 24 mile bike ride (we finally made it to the end of the road. They are doing a desert race this weekend, and it's amazing to see the number of spectators that are staged to watch this 425 mile spectacle. Kicks self for not having camera in the backpack. It was perfect weather (80 degrees), and a great ride. Did I mention that I LOVE this weather?

After the bike ride, we decided to take the kayaks out.

 

This would be my kayak behind the motorhome. I've got to figure out how to take the camera along to get some 'on-the-water' shots. I think a Ziploc bag may help...

It's about a half mile from the motorhome to the water (that would be by NOT cutting through peoples' patios), and the kayaks are pretty heavy; 45 lbs each. Gary carried the front ends, and I carried the rear ends of the boats. Uff da! But we made it to the beach with only minor destruction (an outdoor light might have possibly found itself on the casualty list). And we both got in the water with no issues. We paddled about two miles upstream, and then headed back. And carried the kayaks back to the motorhome.

It was fantastic to get out on the water; the water itself is clear, and fairly warm. And I just love the feeling of flotaing along. I've got to adjust my seat to get a little more power with the paddling (oh, and I guess probably actually find some technique...), but it was a blast! I'm so glad that we got the kayaks.

And I'm so glad that ordered carts to help us transport the kayaks. Because the suckers are heavy.

And after the kayaking? Fiona had to go on a walk, so I took her out on a mile walk. It was actually sort of cute; she picked up a stick about 500 yards into the walk and carried it all the way up the road and back, dropping it off at one of the palm trees inside the RV park. It was her stick, and she wasn't letting go of it for nothin'!

After all of that, it was dinner on the grill so that there would be minimal dishes. And now? I'm ready to collapse.

And do it all again tomorrow. Because today was great!

Monday Morning Observations

1) The commercials sucked.

2) Surprisingly, the game wasn't too bad.

3) Especially since I was watching Boston Legal on DVD at the same time.

4.5) Even though the Cardinals lost.

4) Putting refills in the 'Busy Ball' that the kids got for Christmas resulted in the dogs deciding that 4:15am was the perfect time to start playing with it (on the bed, of course):

 

5) There are a lot of stars in the sky when:

a) you live in the middle of nowhere

b) there are no lights on outside, other than the flashlight needed to keep an eye on whichever dog happens to be outside at the time

c) you are out at 4am with said aforementioned dogs

6) Fiona NEEDS to get some exercise. She's been on bedrest because of her spaying last week, and she's starting to (literally) bounce off the walls. 42 feet of motorhome starts to get small with a 45 lb dog racing around, flying off the couch, the dog beds, and the people bed.

7) I'd really like to get on a bicycle ride.

8) And I'd really like my kayaks to show up sooner rather than later.

The ads are the best part....

Yes, we'll be watching the Superbowl today. Luckily, the actual game starts late enough that we can (hopefully) get a bike ride in, first. And being in Arizona and all, we're sort of morally obligated to root for the the Cardinals. (Except that I've always had a soft spot for the Steelers because I've actually seen them play at Three Rivers stadium. For Mom and Dad, who are now scratching their heads wondering when that happened, it was in high school - it was considered a 'cultural event' - it took us a million hours to get there in those school vans, but I remember having a good time.)

In truth, I really only care about the commercials. Particularly the Budweiser ones, because it's always interesting to see what the Clydesdales are up to. But occasionally someone else runs one that's good. So I'll pay close attention to the first half, when the commercials are generally better.

But speaking of commercials.... Who remembers this one? (Have I just dated myself?) And before you see the end of the ad, do you have ANY idea who the ad is for. After seeing the ad, do you have any idea who the commercial is for?!? Still my favorite tv ad of all time.

And yes, as my Great Uncle Paul would say (have said) "too much TV"....