Unfinished Object

Quote of The Day

Navigation

Home |

Where I Play

Categories

• Plain Old Everyday
• Critters and Such
• Homeless Crafts
• Worth A Second Look
• Home Improvement
• Enough About You
• Crafts & Swaps
• Whats Cooking?

Read

Lurk

Inspire

Green

Diversions

Photos

Monthly Archives

• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007
• June 2007
• May 2007
• April 2007
• March 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• December 2006
• November 2006
• October 2006
• September 2006
• August 2006
• July 2006
• June 2006
• May 2006
• April 2006
• March 2006
• February 2006
• January 2006

Site Credits

Powered by:
ExpressionEngine

Design by:
BlogMoxie

Plain Old Everyday

Yes, that’s right…I’m home.  I’d have posted about it but in the end my exodus was rather sudden.  Sometime Tuesday mom said that she knew in a few days she’d be better prepared to take care of her self so I should start looking for a plane ticket.  Imagine my surprise when I was told the up-charge to rebook would be 600-800 bucks!  Or, I could wait until the 19th.  No offence to my mom (waves – Hi mom!) but neither of those things was a good option.  Eventually a flight was found – 10am Wednesday morning, under 24 hours away.  As you might expect things sorta went into overdrive; grocery shopping, finishing my ‘honey do’ list*, packing, laundry and any other loose end I could think of.  My uncle picked me up at 8am Wednesday morning and one car ride, one bus ride, two plane rides, and a final car ride I was home …shortly after 11pm.  Talk about an all day event!  It was a super long day, but I had my book and iPod for company so I managed.  Oh, how happy I am to be home.  One thing I learned for sure is that home really is where the heart is and D clearly has complete possession of mine. 

In other news, I’m sorta dreading going home today in the daylight…it means I can see the condition of the yard.  Dr Livingston? I presume.

*While I was there I fixed the water valve that feeds the washer, replaced light bulbs in the bath fan and garage door opener, hung a make-up mirror, added a new remote to the existing garage door opener (easy peasy – Thank You Genie!), replaced one shower head and fixed another, and as my coup de gras… corrected the horrifically terrible wiring jog to a floor outlet and replaced the outlet and cover.  That I did all this isn’t terribly impressive, that I did it with two small screwdrivers, an adjustable wrench and the tiniest little hammer you ever saw is

Evidently if you blog that you are ‘sleeping fabulously Mother Nature takes that as an insult. The last two nights I’ve slept like crap. The good news it that it isn’t much different than my normal sleeping habits, so I’ll live. Mom is still in the hospital and it looks like I’ll be blogging from here for a little while longer. D is upset that he cleaned the house in preparation of me coming home since he didn’t actually have to yet. I told him if he was more selective of the dancing girls that he invited over while I was gone he wouldn’t have that problem..."choose the ones that cook, clean andhave big boobs, honey”. I knew you had to train men, but I thought that one would be obvious - sheesh.

I think I’m going to have to take my camera with me to the hospital tonight, the sunsets have been amazing; well, the two I’ve seen have been. You’d have to wait for me to share the pics or I’d have to go buy a card reader as I left my cables at home. Actually, its more honest to say I left the camera cable at home because there’s an entire bag-o-cables that came with me. Wall charger for phone, car charger for phone, wall charger for hands-free device, USB charger for iPod, wall charger for iPod, car charger for iPod. How on earth did we ever travel without all the stuff? Between the books and the cables I barely had room for clothes. At least my priorities are in order - heh.

Entirely off topic here, but I have a poll for you:

Mom and I are on two different trains of thought for this and I’d like to get a feeling for where the rest of the world lies.

The hospital has square, quilted, vinyl lined pads that they use on the beds and in chairs. They do double duty as both ‘people mover’ (grab a corner and slide the patient higher in the bed) and protection for the beds and chairs. Mom thinks one of these at home would be very helpful.

One of us thinks that, give the medical expenses this particular bit of linen is already paid for and ‘just taking it home’ is ok. The other thinks this is stealing...maybe not a federal offense...but stealing just the same.

What do you think?

I don’t know what it is about ‘olympic sitting’ that would make one tired, and yet each night return to the condo to sit blery eyed in front of the computer until I deem it a more proper time to go to bed. In truth I could go straight there as soon as I hit the front door, but who knows what time I’d wake in the morning if I did..3 probably - ick. I will say that I am sleeping fabulously and if you know me you know I cant say that often. I’m sure that has much to do with the lack of snoring man, snoring dog, cleaning-purring-kneading cats as well as alarm clock. I’m a clock watcher even in my sleep. The first few nights I actually padded to the kitchen to see what time it was, by the third I simply went back to sleep. The bed may also have something to do with it, it is a solid chunk of memory foam and quite comfy (I am nonetheless still missing mine - and all that goes with it).

I do think that the memory foam folks are missing a prime marketing opportunity. Sure they market restful sleep and greater durability or their product compared to others but I’ve never seen it marketed as it should be...as a diet aid. I can think of nothing more motivating than getting up from sitting on the edge of the bed to put your shoes on, and turning to find a perfectly preserved impression of your huge tookis staring back at you from the foam!

When I woke up this morning it was just starting to snow so I hurried out the door thinking I’d get to the hospital (45 min away) ahead of it. By the time I had traveled a half a mile it was snowing a lot...by three miles I figured I’d made a mistake...by five miles...dry pavement! By noon you wouldn’t have believed it was the same day. It was bright and sunny, and looked warm out the window...not that it was, it just looked that way. 70’s yesterday, 30’s today...yeesh!

I left a little early tonight, and drove home in the gloaming. That has got to be my favorite part of the day, the sun is set but the sky is still light and colorful and the winter trees stand out black against it. It was nice to drive that road in the semi-light. Up until this point its been full dark when I started ‘home’. The road is hilly and twisty (nothing drastic) and I feel like I’m out-driving the headlights...I tend to err on the side of caution, meaning I’m a little pokey. Last night that paid off when I encountered a deer carcass in the middle of the highway, but it was a narrow miss nonetheless. And oh my, you wouldn’t believe the blood and gore all over the road. My first thought was that a person had been hit. It flipped me out a little until my brain caught up with what my eyes had seen, but I was ultimately glad that I wasn’t the one that hit it.

Other wise there isn’t much to tell, things are plodding along at the expected speed. Mom may be home tomorrow...or maybe not, hard to say; sometimes pulling teeth is easier than getting information. In any case I don’t think she’s bouncing back as quickly as she expected and seems a little discouraged, but I’m expecting she’ll see big improvements in the next few days...fingers crossed anyway.

When I arrived at the hospital yesterday there were two books waiting for me...the two the surgeon mentioned the day before and that I hadn’t read. Evidently she liked me too; just insanely nice of her. Like Kim said yesterday...’she lets herself be a real person’, it is really refreshing. Today, as she is off for the weekend, we will meet her counter part. It will be interesting to see if he shares the same ‘down to earth’ qualities that she has.

Its only day three and I’m beginning to fray...nursing is clearly not the profession for me as I dont have the patience needed for it. The funny thing is that my complaints, the ones that seem so big and exasperating, are really pretty little. If you called me today and I shared them with you you’d hang up the phone, shaking your head. Its interesting how those little splinters fester, isn’t it? I’m trying to remind myself to not sweat the small stuff, and as the author says, its all small stuff. Today I need to get in touch with my inner waitress, the one that never minded ‘stepping and fetching’ for strangers, and put her to work. She used to be fabulous at smiling and carrying on. Of course, we are both (my mom and I) cranky, and that is not helping. I’m a huge reactionary...you come at me cranky and I’m gonna kick it up a notch in return. Tomorrow an aunt and uncle, a cousin and her children will come visit mom, and trot me out to lunch. The break will certainly help.

Tomorrow, hopefully, a better and less whiny post.

After all my moaning, mom ended up in a non-private room; meaning I couldn’t have spent the night even if she demanded it. Worse, she is in the bed closest to the door, meaning the smallest half of the room. Her roommate has accumulated both of the chairs in the room to her side, as well as the full capacity of the closet. She’s too cute a little old lady to argue with, so I balanced my day of sitting with an evening of standing. Its all about balance, I always say. Mom is doing well, pain of course, but she was lucid when I saw her...well, up until a shot they gave her at bed time...after that she was drunk-heh. I drove back to the condo, dropped into bed and didn’t stir again till 4:30 (5:30 by my body’s clock, so not terrible - still, I wish I were still in bed right now).

I’ve had a few people mention privately that I hadn’t given much info on the blog about the surgery. That was not a failing on my part, but a conscious decision. If my posts seem more concerned with my own comfort and well being than my mom’s, it is not lack of care or concern but the simple ‘not telling’ of a story that is not my own. Blogs are many faceted, that’s what I like most about them, but there are some topics that I don’t think should be aired here. Suffice it to say, she is doing well, is a little ‘overly’ happy (good drugs) and is in high spirits that she is finally ‘fixed’. Her hospital time will be longer than expected due to some surprises during the surgery, so she may not be as ebullient five or six days from now...time will tell.

The first part of yesterday I spent keeping her company in the ‘prep’ room. It should have been about two hours...it was four. The next bit was spent in a huge waiting room. Despite its airiness and carefully neutral decor it was a difficult room to be in. It combined waiting family members for out-patients, surgery patients, and ICU patients; the wide range of emotions contained there was exhausting. Based solely on brief outbursts I gathered that at least three families lost someone yesterday. Overheard from my immediate area were stories of a man who mangled his hand in machinery at work and lost it and another who cut his foot so badly they not only had to stitch it back on but had to remove part of the bone that had splintered out. A woman survived a heart attack, another a stroke. Joy, sorrow, relief, agony...the room was so charged with emotion that I expected my hair to lift from the back of my neck and cloud to form in the atrium over the lobby poised to strike the next family being visited by an aide in bright scrubs or doctor in white coat. In defense I buried myself in my book, and after four o’clock when the volunteer went home, I took turns with two other women answering the waiting room phone and calling names of families waiting for news. Seriously.

When the surgeon called for me, one of the other women answered the phone and called for ‘Baker’...my last name is tough, but it doesn’t sound much like ‘Baker’ so I continued reading. So, rather than being called to the conference room the surgeon came out to sit with me. She started to give me the update when her eyes landed on my book, I could literally see the gears shift as her mouth said “I loved that series” and her brain tried to re-formulate words like recuperation and pain management. We had a great discussion about that author and others we both enjoy before getting to serious business. Don’t feel badly toward her, I was kept very well informed each step of the procedure and she knew it...I liked her immediately and wasn’t the least concerned that book banter preceeded talk of my mother. I liked her so much so that I’m more that a little bummed to have met her...another person I could see being a good friend that lives a thousand miles away. Clearly I have got to get out more.

Speaking of far away friends Rox said I would, and she was right so I’ll finish today’s blather with a meme:

The One Word Challenge

1. Where is your cell phone? charging
2. Your significant other? sleeping
3. Your hair? blech
4. Your mother? drugged
5. Your father? home
6. Favorite thing? sewing
7. Dream last night? none
8. Favorite drink? wine
9. Your dream/goal? health
10. Room you’re in? cold
11. Your ex? fake
12. Your fear? unloved
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
14. Where were you last night? hospital
15. What you’re not? easy
16. Muffins? banna-nut (hyphens count, right?)
17. One of your wish list items? ring
18. Where you grew up? missouri
19. The last thing you did? typed
20. What are you wearing? sweats
21. Your TV? off
22. Your pet? pouting
23. Your computer? frustrating
24. Your life? busy
25. Your mood? ok
26. Missing someone? ABSOLUTELY
27. Your car? plush
28. Something you’re not wearing? bra (c’mon...its 5 in the morning!)
29. Favorite store? Sephora
30. Your summer? distant
31. Like someone? Yep
32. Your favorite color? garnet
33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
34. Who will/would repost this? You

It took two planes, two busses an automobile and a long cold walk on the tarmac but for those that are interested I’m here. It will still be a day or two before the blather starts. Tomorrow will be all day and night at the hospital, and the following day probably the same. Hopefully by day three I’ll be able to return to mom’s condo for things like sleep (who need sleep anyway?) She has just moved in so there is very little here...even things to sit on are in short supply..but the computer is pretty good company. Just think of all the blogs I can catch up on that I’ve so terribly ignored the past couple of months. I hope you are all wonderful...I miss you already

I didn’t mean to disappear on you there...but things sorta snow balled and I pushed the blog to the back burner. Friday there as was a little victory at work and I actually went home feeling pretty confident that I’d be caught up before I hit the road Wednesday. This morning when I walked into work I was greeted by the roar of a shop vac and the squish of water underfoot. A compression fitting under the kitchen sink..um...decompressed and made one unbelievably gawd awful mess. Even working till 7pm tonight I’m behind again...surprised aren’t you? I did get my swaps out this morning so that’s a relief...and I’m happy with what I sent, always a plus. Tonight is packing and planning and tomorrow is early to work - probably home late again tomorrow night. Its a good bet that I’ll be dissapearing again, but I’ll be back, probably before the week is out. Thursday I’ll be sleeping in a luxurious recliner at the hospital, but after that I should have computer access in the evenings...and probably little else to do. So, you’ve been warned...possible long winded blogging ahead, heh.

I’m slowly whittling down the pile and slowly getting everything together. I worked late tonight, and then ran errands, one of which was stopping by the bookstore to pick up occupational devices for the pending trip. Turning up the sci-fi aisle I was abruptly stopped by an unexpected road block; a woman of considerable size firmly parked in the middle of the floor. Standing nearby was her significant other other...of equally considerable size. They were discussing a phone call he had just finished and were both semi annoyed with whom ever had been on the other end. Each was dressed in black but I wouldn’t classifiy either as ‘goth’...more gamer geek. I pondered over books that weren’t what I wanted thinking she’d get up or he’d step aside, instead another man moved up the aisle speaking as he came and they all ignored me. Finally I stepped behind her...our combined sizes filling the aisle nearly past capacity. She neither leaned forward nor stopped speaking and my ‘excuse me’ didn’t even earn a look. Again I pondered over books I wasn’t interested in, the shelf I wanted was blocked by the chatty guy. They were talking about writing; the woman had written a book but complained that as the story kept changing in her mind so she didn’t think it would ever end. Besides, she couldn’t seem to find the publishers contact information. The chatty man was only too happy to share all he knew of such things but was interrupted by the couple’s cell phone and the woman’s announcement that she was not only hungry but had spent too much time in the floor. With a great deal of groaning and an ‘ow-ow-ow’ mantra she lurched to her feet, collected her man and pushed past me out of the aisle. For a moment I thought chatty guy would carry on with me but he muttered something about the store not having as many authors as they used to and wandered off. With the aisle to myself I could now search for my book ... ya know, the one that wasn’t in stock - argh!

Plane tickets purchased, plans are in the making and I go in eight short days. I’m less ‘tizzed’ than I was yesterday, but still overwhelmed by all that needs to get done. I dropped two swaps that dont have assigned partners yet...that leaves me with two, both of which need to go before I do. I’ve also got two promises outstanding, but I’m thinking they’ll forgive me if I’m a tad tardy. I’m a good traveler, but getting ready to go I tend to be a little over the top. Suddenly all the ‘undone’ must be done, the house must be cleaned...even the corners, lawn must be mowed, weeds must be pulled, car must be clean...you name it I feel like I gotta do it. I’m sure Freud would have something to say about my needing to put things in order before I travel; control maybe? Fear? Who knows? In the spirit of my first resolution - “take better care of me” - I’ll be doing my darnedest to concentrate on what truly needs doing and let that which will wait, wait. Sure, I’ll still make sure D has things to wear, and food to eat, and sure he could do those things for himself, because thats another way I say ‘I care’. The two pound hair ball under the bed...that can wait.

There was little sleep last night and it had nothing to do with my frenzied mood. I called it quits about 9:30 and D followed at his normal time around 11. On his way across the house, in the dark, he put a hand out to fend off the book shelf. The offending paw landed not on books, but in the midst of a collection of glass sphere lamps sending several to the floor and liquid paraffin all over the carpet. Oh. The. Joy. About the time I drifted back to sleep my work phone rang. A customer wanting service ‘tomorrow’ - grrr. It rang again about 5am and I gave up on any further zzzz’s. Good thing though, poor Rox was working graveyard and she kept me company for a while which almost made being up so bright and ugly bearable. Thanks Rox!

On an unrelated note and quick tale:

D and I shopped for treadmills this weekend. We were standing in a big box sports store comparing two models...the mid model and the Tim Taylor bells and whistles model. I had both spec slips in my hands doing a line-by-line comparison the differences of which came down to motor size and belt length. The 9 (ok maybe 20) year old sales associate was standing patiently nearby when I looked up at D and said something like..."I suppose asking a guy if an extra 5 inches is worth $300 dollars would be a dumb question - eh?” I think I killed the kid...D just rolled his eyes.

Well, as usual I’m behind; also as usual its my own darn fault.  We piddled and played this weekend; spending most of Saturday shopping and Sunday lazing about.  There was some work as the pile followed me home, a surprise party to go to, and a few chores.  I’ve got three swaps due in early March, a promise or two yet to keep, the pile is really no smaller than it was and now there is a deadline.  In two weeks or less I’ll be jetting out of here bound for the great white north.  My mother is having surgery and wants me to be on hand to aid her.  A big chore...made all the bigger by everything that has to be done (yes,things I should have been doing this weekend) and the explitive, explitive, explitive, cold.  And before some well meaning pshcyo analyst reminds me that its mom that’s important here, just let me say “I know”.  She’s good right now, and I’ll worry about her when I get there.  Right now I’m working my way into my patented ‘travel tizzy’, making lists, fretting...ah well, everyone has to be good at something

You know that whining wishing I was doing the other day?  I was moaning about an empty mailbox.  Way back in April I received a surprise package from the ever fabulous Kim, and I participated in the button swap.  But since then I haven’t had time to give a swap my full attention ... and so my mailbox has been as dry as a desert, unless you count the bills.  It seems that my friend Rox is a mind reader because the day before that post she packed a little surprise off to me that arrived today.

SOCKS!** Technically she read my mind twice (maybe three times) because I have coveted hand-knit socks since I fell in with all these knitters back in August ‘05 (holy crap! Has it been that long?).  I didn’t want to break down and ask someone to make me socks for two reasons.  The first being: from my vantage, knitters seem to have a love/hate relationship with socks.  I’ve read blogs loving ‘toe-up’, hating ‘Kitchner’ and begging for help ‘turning the heel’.  I’ve no clue what half of this means but they sound like a pain to me.  The second reason is the crap circulation in my legs.  I can’t wear anything that cuts off the circulation so I usually just opt for anklets.  The socks Rox sent are slightly longer than anklets but are not at all tight, and honestly couldn’t fit any better than if I’d shipped her my foot.

She also sent a very neat bracelet that is reminiscent of woven rattan but is acutally super soft, stretchy fabric.

And this nifty book that I should have had two weeks ago when D tossed out his last remaining 80’s concert T-shirts. It is packed with suggestions for re-fabricating old t-shirts into new things (I see a trip to Goodwill in my future). 

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!  And my not so lonely anymore mailbox thanks you too!

** Rox, I know you said this is from yarn I sent you a while back ... please, please, please don’t tell me you squandered that $30 skein of Cherry Hill on my feet!!! 

I tried unsuccessfully to snap a photo of the new tile choices but the light and the flash just couldn’t cooperate.  We think we have picked out a replacement; the most expensive one, of course.  It is basically the same material as the floor, travertine, but in paler shades.  It is very pretty, but I am a little concerned about the additional care natural stone requires.  I guess we shall live with it and learn.

Today is one of those rare slow days when there simply isn’t much happening; interesting or not.  I’m going to leave you with a link I lifted from a friend (waves to friend).  It is worth spending some time digging around in this site, there are some funny, and sad things there.  The one that made me laugh out loud was ‘coochie wash’.  Any of you teachers out there that passed along the ‘job application’ I shared some time back will find this another fine example to show your students.

Our weekend was much as any other, with a few unexpected hitches in our get along.  D had to work Saturday morning so I took advantage of a quiet house, cranked the stereo and did a speed clean of the main living areas.  It isn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t be embarrassed if you stopped by for a drink. If you do expect all the bedroom doors to be closed, and if you want to use the bathroom you’ll be directed outside.

Libby’s vet appointment was at 11:30 and I managed to be a little early.  As I pulled into the parking lot my nose alerted me that something was amiss in the cat carrier.  When I opened the crate and pulled her out the whole office knew something was amiss.  It was so foul the assistants were coming into the exam room to see what sort of animal created a stink so noxious. I was embarrassed and proud of her at the same time.  Not only that, but her nervous explosion seemed to solve her problem for her and he thinks she’ll be feeling better in a day or two.  I’ll keep watching her with the ‘worried mama eye’.

D and I arrived home around the same time and while he worked on the drywall in the bathroom I mowed the yard, gave the dog a bath and did some laundry.  Then I went to BJ’s and did a little super-sized shopping before returning home with a late lunch.  D finished the drywall, with exception of a few spots to touch up later and emerged looking like a plaster monster.

He’s not really angry in that photo, its just difficult to get him to smile for the camera.  Oh, and the two dots on his head in the second photo?  He tried to vacuum some of the dust from his pate.  Um, didn’t work but it did crack me up. 

After all that hard work we felt pretty justified in sitting down to waste time on the computers for a while, but when we did we discovered the cable was down.  Oh. The. Horror!  So D fired up the DVDR and I fired up the Husqvarna and we relaxed the afternoon away.  By evening the cable had returned and we joined Greenie and her friend for some lengthy game play.

Sunday D did touch ups and I sewed for a bit before taking a card to my dad and hitting Home Depot for further bathroom supplies.  When I returned we hopped back onto the game and finished the mission we had started the day before (thanks Greenie and T).  In fact our only other accomplishment for the day was to decide that the tile we chose for the walls in the shower looks like crap with the floor.  I hope to rectify that tonight by picking up some samples from the tile store.  Its really frustrating, but at least it is easily changed with yet another trip to the tile store. 

The weekend was crammed full of work, rest and play ... a fine weekend indeed.

The weekend will be busy as usual: Libby to the vet, continued work on the bathroom and general house keeping.  Toss in the need for some serious yard work, truck cleaning, and a trip to the tile store and you get a crazy weekend.  And that my friends is what lays ahead.  It may not, however, be what happens.  D and I both have some serious diversions drifting around this weekend and it would not be difficult to succumb to the temptation of taking a weekend off.  Hopefully we’ll find a happy medium between assignments and amusements. 

Me, I want to sew, which surprises me given the amount I’ve done recently.  Usually I move in ebbs and flows, but right now I just can’t seem to get enough.  I suspect that much of that encouragement is the advent of ‘homeless crafts’ ... I’m really diggin’ this gifting away of things.  Not to mention the gradual reduction of my stash.  The most recent gift-away hopped a plane this morning bound for Erika at mmmmbrains.* Up next will likely be coasters.  Yes, coasters.  Its an odd project, but a great way to use up the tiny scraps of material that I just cant seem to toss.  I’m also kinda hot to go through a couple of the fabric boxes and eliminate that which will never be used and I hate to not act on that feeling lest it pass me by.

I also want to start breaking down my growing boxes.  Yes, the very ones that I worked so hard to build.  Garden planting did not happen this year due to several unexpected events, and I think the neighbors might be a bit tired of looking at the weedy eyesores.  In a way ripping them out is part of my little project / big project challenge this year.  Right now they are an ‘unfinished object’ as well as one that I haven’t time to care for properly.  Under the ‘finish it or forget it’ rules off they go.  I’ve ordered some blanket flower and vinca seeds (both natives) and plan to scatter them willy-nilly the full length of the bed and let ‘em go.  Toss in a little plumbago, frangipani, and canna and it’ll still look like a weedy eyesore, but with flowers.

D, on the other hand, is being sorely tempted by the computer (ok, I admit it, so am I).  The game we indulge in is offering ‘double xp’ this weekend, ie double points.  Points are good, and we both have characters that are tantalizingly close to level 50 (the highest level) Yes, it should be very interesting to see what is actually accomplished in the next two days.  Oh, and its going to rain and you should be well versed in my ‘Sunday rain rule’ by now - heh.

* Erika has the best darn links around, including this one that I just couldn’t be more enthralled with.