catch up . . .

Thursday:  4.02   Today was a better day for sleeping than walking!

Homemade . . . sort of . . . chicken soup for dinner.  It's a Tyler Florence recipe . . .  made using a rotisserie chicken from your local store.  Fast, easy, tasty.  The 9TS wanted it for dinner. Unfortunately, his altered taste buds make everything taste metallic.  Boo!

Still transferring everything over to my iMac.  And downloading Lion.  Forever.  Five hours so far and still not half way.

Friday:   Took 9+ hours to download Lion and 33 minutes to install.  Monster program!!!!   Yoga/lunch/nap day.  YAY!   The only bummer . . . the 9TS was feeling too poorly to go to Carrabba's for dinner.  Sigh.

Saturday:  3.47  Oh how I would have liked to pull the covers over my head instead of getting up to walk.  LOL.  But now I feel accomplished and soggy.  Love the summer humidity. 

Happy Birthday Biker Boy!!!!  You know who you are, Mr. Bass.

so there we were . . .

happily noshing on corned beef and cabbage . . .  the 9TS, Kidlet and I, when Kidlet exclaims, "Holy Smokes!!!"  Look in the tree, there's a raccoon.  Well, really that isn't so surprising.  Behind the pool is an easement of woods and it is home to possums, coons, snakes, feral cats, and various and sundry other critters.  We see them all the time.

But Kidlet's voice was an octave higher and she was pointing to the tops of the far trees . . .  those engulfed in kudzu.  Glasses on, I got up from the table and peered out the sliding glass doors.  Nothing.  Kidlet kept giving my eyes directions.  There on the very top of a tree, out on the kudzu was a rather obese coon.  But wait, it wasn't a raccoon, it was kudzu shaped like an animal head.  Silly Kidlet.

She was insistent as only Kidlet can be.  "Go grab your camera mom and take a shot from the loft."  Obligingly, I did, but only because I had already finished stuffing my face with cabbage, corned beef, rye bread and butter.

It took me a minute to focus on the right area.  It's a jungle out there:

Sorry for the flash reflection, we had a storm coming in.  Do you see it?   Need some help?  Here is what my eagle eyed Kidlet spied:

and once again!!!

The vines are actually thick enough to hold this porker way out on the limb.

And that folks, was our dinner time entertainment.

disjointed . . .

• You know the conundrum?  When you are on meds that make you feel lousy so you don't want to eat anything, but if you don't eat anything, the meds make you sick?  Meet the 9TS.  GAH!!!!  

• It's Kelli's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Kel!!!!

• You know when you spill catnip all over your daughter's floor while making cat toys and you really want to leave it there and sprinkle patchouli around the room and see if the cleaning lady says anything.  Yeah, it's that kind of day.

•  Last night you put all the ingredients in the crock pot and stuck it in the fridge so this morning all you had to do was put the entire mess in its base and turn it on low.   Yes!  Fist pump!  A complete corned beef and cabbage dinner with no effort. 

• Kidlet is coming home so I can sign her rental agreement for another year, which is really, my rental agreement.  Which means I live in two places at the same time?  One for each side of my brain.  Works for me.

• Pippin:  Mom, I need more kitten dope!  Me:  You're already higher than a kite.  Pippin:  Higher and higher.  Me:  Patience, Grasshopper!  Namaste.

• You're going to lunch at a local fish joint and one friend says she'll bring the linens, another volunteers to bring the china, while the third offers finger bowls.  That leaves you with the sterling . . .

• 0.00.  It's my day off.

this a house shot from Cassadaga last fall:

Credits:  Paper:  Roben-Marie Smith, File, Stuffed Papers, Recorded Stamp: Katie Pertiet, Stitched, Splotches, Story Transfer:  Anna Aspnes, Frame:  Lynne Favreau, File Tag and Tape:  Dawn Inskip, Keys: Derek M Designs, Push Pin:  Pattie Knox, Paper Clip:  Agnes Biro, Lyrics:  Rosemary Clooney, Fonts:  Georgia and LB_Typewriter.

More goat cheese smeared on grilled french bread, topped with thinly sliced grilled zucchini and olive oil infused basil.   Will I never tire of this dish.  NEVER.

3.49+

moral of the story . . .

don't let the village idiot play with sharp knives.

A couple of weeks ago, mushroom man/child called the 9TS to see if he could practice on us for his new gig.  He got a job selling Cutco.  The 9TS quickly agreed.  Gee thanks, sloth. 

And so I quickly ran to my computer to see how good this stuff was or was not.  Epinions rated it very highly.  Pricey but 5* for the most part.  The biggest disgruntlement seemed to be that they were too sharp.  That should have been my first warning.

And so since none of our knives can cut their way out of a paper bag, we ordered two knives, a pair of kitchen shears and got a free whatchamcallit.

They arrived a couple of days ago and sat around until I decided to pick them up, wash them and get them stashed away.  The first time I touched a blade lightly to my skin, I thought to myself, OK not too sharp, but of course not being suicidal, I didn't press hard at all.  And then I looked down and saw the trickle of blood.  Hummm.

These things evidently were dangerous to the dimwitted.  After reading the instructions which recommended hand washing, I set carefully to work with a sponge and some hot soapy water.  It was the second knife that got me.  Slipped sideways out of my hand and clipped not only my palm but also the inside of my middle finger.  Gusher!!!!

After dinner tonight, being very careful to play nice with the nefarious knife, I went to scrub the stove top with the sponge, only to find it nearly severed in half with just a quarter of inch of material keeping it from a complete amputation.  GAH!!!!

I dug the cardboard guards out of the packing box I had marked for the dumpster and carefully replaced them on each blade.

The 9TS and I very well may have matching digits if this keeps up.

*******************************************************************

2.00 (+-)  Went for speed rather than mileage.

miles, animals, nooks and other fancy things . . .

2.11.   I didn't want to push it with new sneaks, not to mention ungodly humidity.  When you walk a lot, boredom is sure to set in at some point . . . especially when taking the same old paths.  And so, we started counting animals:  three dogs, three cats, two armadillos and a hawk.  Not bad for 2.11.  Today I will be the 10th animal . . . a sloth and drift around the pool, paperback in hand.

Speaking of books, I have a woeful tale.  The other night as the 9TS wandered from room to room in the wee hours of the morning, trying to feel comfortable in his own sloth skin, he put my laptop on the highboy on top of a pile of clothing.  Not good because apparently, it lost its balance and came crashing four feet down.  Wide awake, I booted it up and found that my Mac was sturdy indeed.  No harm, no foul.  Back to bed.  Come the following afternoon, I turn on my Nook and discover that a half inch of screen is all blurred out.  Can't read the bottom line of each page and the page numbering was MIA.  Hum.  Rebooting it didn't work.  Neither did taking out the battery, waiting for it to reset.  Grrrrr.  Down in the kitchen I am still mumbling and grumbling about electronics that don't make it past the first year of life and also that I had opted not to pay for the warranty . . .  when the 9TS blurts out that the Nook was on top of the laptop in the great crash of July 2011.  He offered to buy me another.  I am now the proud owner of a new Nook with warranty and the nice woman at B&N said it looked like something had been dropped on it.  My Nook sacrificed its life for my Mac.  Awwwww!

6.06 . . .

dragging butt.  GAH!!!

But since I blew out my sneaks, I had fun buying a new pair.  There's a place in town that custom fits athletic shoes and do these guys know their business!  I ended up with a pair of Brooks very similar to my old pair and I love them.  The blowout was caused by my orthotic inserts.  Since they are the only thing between me and plantar fasciitis we had to work around the fact that they raise the foot slightly above the natural heel of the shoe.  New socks and a new way of lacing and I am good to go.

I stuffed the sloth back into the gray goose and took him with me . . .  he needed some fresh air.   He was up all night and miserable.   This morning we started him on his new pain meds and they seems to give him some relief.  I just have to make sure he doesn't wander away from me. 

Oh and the scales were my friend this morning.  Total loss of 10 big ones.  YAY!!!!

0.00 . . .

I know, I know, two days in a row without walking but today was yoga and that nullifies one day . . .  the world according to me!  And lunch . . . .  oh, how I love me our ladies lunch.

Between the two, I didn't melt down, jumping the bureaucratic hoops to get the 9TS's medicine.  One of the scrips was for 10 mg of a controlled substance.   Our pharmacy doesn't carry that size.  No problem says I, give me double the amount of 5 mgs.  Made perfect sense to me.  No can do, it is a controlled med and cannot be modified.  Also, they only had 44 of the requested 60 pills of another script.  Once filled for 44, the other 16 pills cannot be added.  It's a controlled med, you know, can't be modified.

And so I asked what to do.  Well, try Walgreen's or CVS.  Walgreen's won't answer any questions over the phone.  It's a controlled substance, you know.   A little begging and the pharmacist tells me they don't make 10 mg any more.  OK.

Called my doctor, could he rewrite the script for double the number of 5mg?  They will call me back.  In the meantime, I call CVS.  Can I bring the script in?  It's a controlled substance you know.   Surprise, they do make the 10 mg . . . booyah Walgreen's . . . and they filled it for me.  YAY.  Two seconds later, my doctor calls back, yes they will reissue it.  Love the good guys.

Round and round the merry-go-round the monkey chased the weasel!!!!

o.oo . . .

we drove to Tampa instead for the 9TS's third infusion.  It was touch and go.  He was in so much pain as we started out, I called Moffitt asking if we should keep on going or head for the nearest ER.  No response so we kept on driving.  GAH.

The pain is probably a result of the sensitivity of tissue from the body plumping itself up.  It will resolve on its own but the 9TS is now a walking pharmaceutical house of upper echelons pain meds. If we get low on rent money, we can hock the stuff on the corner for big bucks.  Think things ended there?

Last night the pain struck again.  Another trip to the ER.  Seems as a result of the infusion his body was full of gas.  Think helium balloon.  Nothing a little dilaudid couldn't handle.  Helium boy was higher than a kite!

And on that note, I am going back to sleep.

4.20 . . .

why, oh why, did the scale say I gained weight?  How is that possible??  Sigh.  Tomorrow is another day.

Speaking of which, tomorrow, Kidlet and I are bundling the 9TS up, plopping him in the gray goose and heading back to Tampa for infusion #3.  Hopefully . . . unless they decide his side effects are too epically fearsome and they have to stop.  Please . . .  not that!   I bought him three bottle of anti itch goop yesterday.   That plus his Atarax and Claritin and he still breaks out it itchy blisters.  Not nice Mother Nature.  Not nice at all.   He thinks the back and stomach pains are caused from the Restoril, so he quit taking it.  He's turning into an owl. 

Kelli sent me this wonder:

“Only she who attempts the absurd can achieve the impossible.”

― Claire Goldberg Moses

Amen.

o.oo . . .

I forgot I had a dentist appointment at 9:00.  Sigh.  Maybe I will try this evening.  My big honkin' blister and I need at least two miles in.

:::::::::::::::NEWS FLASH:::::::::::::::::

Squeaked in another 2.29 tonight!!!   Looked at the inside of my sneak to see what was causing the blister.  It seems I have worn a hole through the lining and the rough edges are the culprit.  Hello new sneakers tomorrow.

3.58 . . .

I had what I thought was a piece of cat litter stuck in my sock.   Decided it was too much effort to stop and fix it.  Now I have a big honkin' blister.  I am going to name it Pippin-Too.

The caterpillar is finally off my chest.  Clear margins.  YAY!

The 9TS is one giant hive.  Sigh.   We'll see what they say when he goes in for infusion #3.

OK, that was all the news that's fit to print.  Here comes the rest.   I love the off kilter brain of Jenny Lawson.  She just makes me laugh.  But if you are easily offended, she might not be for you.  Not that I think anyone who follows my blog is easily offended.  So with that said, click the link and watch the video of her speech at the recent EVO conference.  Hysterical, poignant, truthful and irreverent.  As I finished watching it for the second time, the theme song got stuck in my head.  I had to YouTube it as see what it was. Check it out here, but I'm warning you, it may just get stuck in your brain.

Be furiously happy!!

4.09 . . .

and we beat the rain by seconds!!!!

It makes it easier to walk when you get an eyeful of this . . .  even if it was taken by my little iPhone and of course have the company of joyous Joanie, who almost came home with another cat . .

5.52 miles . . .

oh, yes we did.  we traipsed out of our neighborhood, crossed the road and wandered through a second neighborhood, tramped down a back road and into the third hood.  This one was gated.  Happily, a car was coming out, so we just eased on in.  The two of us turkeys weren't by ourselves either.  We had plenty of company:

Happily, along came another car just as we reached the front gates and we scrambled out and across the highway into hood 4.  A quick cut through the woods and hood 5 gave us a break due to a garage sale.  Finally we headed back to our own hood and another garage sale.  Whew!  Take that chocolate muffin.  Take THAT!

a very magical if not confusing day . . .

no walking yesterday due to it being YOGA day!!!!  YAY!!!  Well sort of . . .    Our regular yoga instructor takes a hiatus every summer and we are desperately waiting until August 23rd for classes to resume.  D.E.S.P.E.R.A.T.E.L.Y.   Sob.  Whine.  Moan. Yes, those very same classes full of the occasional green mist.  How I miss them.

In the meantime, we found a FREE class sponsored by a nearby town.  Every Friday from 10:30 to noon.  Blessed relief for those suffering from yogi withdrawal.  Sort of.

And for various and sundry reasons like trips to Moffitt and chest caterpillars, we missed the last two classes, so imagine our excitement when we actually made it to class today.  YAY!  Sort of.

Being a city sponsored class and a free one at that, beggars can't be choosers but it did make for a rather interesting hour.   Their auditorium is divided by an air wall.  Normally, there is nothing going on in the other half and we can happily OM ourselves into oblivion.  Today however, the other half was ripe with the booming voice of a verbose insurance salesman touting his wares.  YIKES.  And the city boom box, from which emanates our soothing dose of ambient music, was locked in their side.  Add to that our instructor being laden down with her sick grand toddler and perfectly perfect granddaughter and you start to get the picture. At some point, a city employee wandered in and put the instructors CD on the main sound system at full volume.  Now we could not only not hear Holly but it almost drowned out Willy Loman.  The upshot being, while the rest of the class was sitting in position for closing prayer, Joanie and I were still flat on our backs in the rear of the room enjoying relaxation time.  Yes, we were.  ACK!! 

But lunch with the girls followed and who cares if you didn't reach yoga induced nirvana when you have an overly large bottle of Ativan stashed in your medicine chest.  I mean really!?!?!?

And being Friday, we stuffed the still swollen, slipper clad 9TS into the gray goose and headed to Carrabba's where THE most exciting thing happened.  We officially have our own booth, thanks to manager Kim!!!

So technically, we share it with another couple of regulars . . .   not at the same time mind you  . . . but still and all, there was our name plastered on the booth wall! 
Giddiness all around.  And to further celebrate, my Jen

 brought me two homemade chocolate/chocolate chip muffins in for dessert.

Does this place ROCK or what.  MMEL, the devil you say, I inhaled both muffins at lightening speed.  Slurp.  

The 9TS promptly snored his way through his nightly shows while I buried my brain amongst the jpegs and pngs on my EHD.  It was a very good day!

3.17

ok, so the body wasn't quite so willing to walk as far this morning after yesterday afternoons stay at the Paradise Resort for the infirmed . . .
***************************************************************
These wonderful words appeared on my screen this morning:

On Fedex vehicle for delivery

Yes, indeed, that would be my brand spanking new iMac.  All 42 pounds of it . . .  with a honking 27" screen, 16 GBs of Ram and a 1T hard drive.  Screaming fast . . . .  I can't wait to get my paws on it.  Visions of jpeg. png. and abr. files dancing in my head.  The wonder of it all.  I am delirious!!!

***************************************************************

Another hit of good news!!!!   The 9TS awoke so I could run in and hop on the dreaded scale.  I am eight pounds lighter this week!!!!  Hooray!!! Remember Oprah with her wheelbarrow full of beef fat???  I do that.  Well, I don't exactly go rolling onto a stage with 80 pounds of suet but I do vision eight packages of Publix hamburger wrapped in their plastic coverings and sitting on various parts of my body . . .

Life is good!!!

This message . . .

is brought to you from our friendly neighborhood emergency room. Beside itching like a camel with armpit fleas and a stunning level 10 rash, the 9TS's left leg has swollen to the size of Babar's hind thigh. This has been going on for three days with my sloth forbidding me to call Moffitt. Last night I overruled him as I am want to do, and called Dr. K this morning. To rule out a deep vein thrombosis, she wanted an ultra sound done locally as a five hour round trip car ride was not on her top ten list of options. And so, we called our local oncologist who would not order said test because he had not seen the 9TS since February.  GAH!!  Try your primary care physician said they. He's not in the office this afternoon was the reply. Go to emergency room they recommended. And here we sit. Twiddle, twiddle, twiddle!

To be continued.

EDIT:  Seven hours later . . .  we just got home from the ER.  It is not a DVT.  YAY!!!  Probably the effect of Yervoy.  We will fax the results to Moffitt tomorrow and see what the good Dr. K. says.

Never a dull moment!!!!

Ajo Kazoots Kazoo Marching Band, 4 July 2011 and other things . . .

This is my college friend, Muffet and her Kazoo playing friends, celebrating the 4th of July!!!
I FREAKIN' LOVE THIS VIDEO!!!

p.s. Muffet is the second red T-shirt in the line. Go Muffet!!!

 ***********************************************************************
 4.06

yep, we're ramping up the mileage.  My legs may fall off but it does a body good.  Back to eating less and moving more . . . day 6.  I am determined.  I am woman, hear me roar . . . well at least until I fall back into bed and whimper into my pillow.

***********************************************************************

my hair is now five days old and ripe with humidity and perspiration and other nasty things.  It needs a bath desperately and yet my caterpillar must remain dry.  Short of paying to have a wash and blow dry, I was pulling those filthy little hairs out in clumps looking for a solution.  And then Kidlet made me an offer I couldn't resist.  She would wash my hair in the tub with the sprayer.  YAY!


So there she is, wearing her boxer shorts and a T, barefoot dancing around in the tub while I knelt on the floor, head perched downward into the vast pot of porcelain.  Our spray head has enough water pressure that it does its own matching dance  . . .  think cobra in Ali Baba.  Soon I was awash with glorious white foam, getting a wonderful scrub under just right temperature water, all the while peeking at the kidlet's tip toeing shuffle.  She washed, rinsed, creamed, rinsed and I smiled like the Cheshire Cat.  Life is excellent when your kidlet doesn't mind getting half drowned doing you a favor.


Kidlet, you ROCK!!!!

on trying to burn down the house and other mayhem . . .

to be fair, let's start at the beginning.  I woke up at 6:30 this morning after a fretful night's sleep and did a 3.88 mile walk with the eloquent miss Joanie, which I promptly rounded up to a full four miles considering my morning trips to the bath room.  For those who have lost your gallbladder, you'll understand the validity of claiming the extra .12th of this mile.  I was exhausted. 

After a quick bath, which is kind of difficult to do while making sure the caterpillar on my chest stays dry, I jumped into clean clothes and headed out with Kidlet to an appointment, followed by a grocery shopping expedition for the weeks noshes. Upon returning home, I sweetly asked the 9TS if he would grill my chicken breasts for my daily lunches.  Always the obliging soul, he puttered out to do his thing while I dragged ass my butt upstairs to stare longingly at my bed.  However, in short order, the 9TS yelled up that we were out of gas pointing proficiently at a plate full of grill marked raw chicken.  Not to be deterred, I popped them in a casserole dish and shoved them in the oven at 350 and set the alarm for 30 minutes.

I still am not clear on what woke me some hour and a half later but I ran downstairs past the sleeping bodies of the rest of the family and threw open the oven door.  I guess being marinated in olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper made them impervious to the heat . . . they were still edible when tossed with black olives, bits of bleu cheese, radish and cucumber slices, sunflower seeds and a couple of Texas Toast Caesar croutons.  Yummo!

My Le Creuset dish may never be the same but house and home were still standing and for my money, that's all that counts.

Now comfortably ensconced back in bed, I'm looking out the window at the pouring rain, listening to the not so gentle snores of the 9TS, and realizing that a gas tank exchange may not be on the list of chores completed this afternoon and wondering how dinner  will fare.

still chugging along . . .

on our last cruise.  Wasn't sure if the 9TS was going to like a zip line or not but it was on my bucket list.  Turns out, he LOVED it!!!!

Credits:  Paper: Robin Marie Smith, Ruler:  Kellie Mize, Alpha: Pattie Knox, Mosquito and Mask: Anna Aspnes, Dots: Dawn Inskip, Fonts:  Pea Jay, Myriad Pro, Frames: LHabis.

oh mind . . .

I am now spotless and sporting a caterpillar on my chest.  LOL. 

I went back to the dermatologist yesterday because she wanted to recheck the site of the basal skin cancer on my chest.  Well, wouldn't you know, the darned thing came back.  She checked her schedule and told me to come back at 1:30.  A little Novocaine, a cookie cutter and bingo . . .  Out Damned Spot. 

So now I have a pressure bandage until this afternoon and then I get to see the cocoon from which my little caterpillar sprouts.  10 days and out they come.  YAY!

Grumble, grumble, grumble I have to miss yoga this morning.  Sigh.  But lunch with the girls is still on!!!

ut oh . . .

and so, if you have a wine colored sisal rug that has been bleached out in one spot, what do you do? 

Why dab it with wine!  of course.

happy belated . . .

fourth of july!!!!!   Kidlet came home in time for dinner and the 9TS grilled some chickens, and beefs and ribs and more ribs and wings and stuff.  enough for a week . . .  well maybe the wings disappeared.

and then it was off to the fireworks!!!!   YAY!  I love fireworks.  and we brought some of our own . . . mainly the amazing wild child, miss lee.  and the three of us trudged off in search of good plunking grounds from which to watch the festivities.  and we did . . . Kidlet having decided to go in search of sparklers instead.

and so when the 9TS and I returned home, we went out in the driveway to play with the sparklers and
my camera.   the result?  light writing!!!!!

 

isn't that too cool?!?!?!?   Actually I cheated a little bit here with photoshop so you could read it all at once.  but too stinkin' cool beans.  I mean it.  And here is an original before I darkened it up and flipped it horizontally:

 I'm married to the 9TS and have a 6LK.  Hummmmm.  Happy 4th everyone!!!

more honkin' around . . .

with Photoshop:

Credits:  Template:  Tiffany Tillman, Paper: Amy Teets, Stitches and Water Drops: Anna Aspnes.

'shrooms . . .

it's been a long time since the 9TS was a top cop but we still get the occasional phone call asking for clarification of the law.  Last night's was a doozy.  One of his cronies is housing his 19 year old grandson who seems to be having a little trouble deciding what to do with himself having been kicked out of high school some years back.  Some of his antics are reminiscent of the early 70's but this was definitely a flash back.

Seems said friend came home to find his grandson had spent quite a bit of time on the internet followed by and equal amount of time in the family garage.  Something to do with kitty litter, a drying rack and some 'shrooms.    The grandfather wanted to know what was going on and if it was legal.  

I know I shouldn't have let that little guffaw slip out through my lips but I had no idea kids were still drying psilocybin mushrooms.  Let the magic begin.  And so, I started to sift through the internet for the 9TS, to see the ramifications of possession in the state of Florida.  And wouldn't you know, dear old Florida is semi forgiving of the matter.  The only of 50 to do so.  Who'd a thunk it?

At the latest report, the grandson was told to eliminate his 'shroom oast and find a less . . . hallucinogenic  pastime. 

peace out and pass the doobie!

went digital shopping and then had to play with the goodies:

Credits:  Template: Tiffany Tillman, Papers:  Amy Teets, Katie Pertiet, Vinnie Pearce, Mask and Stitches:  Anna Aspnes, Brads:  Vinnie Pearce.

infusion #2 . . .

5:30     up up and away
6:30     out the door and trek across the state
8:45     arrive at Moffitt
9:15     lab work done
10:00   check into cutaneous clinic
10:15   see doctor T
11:45   check in infusion clinic
1:00     infusion starts
3:00     on the road
4:00     sit in bumper to bumper traffic in Orlando over a holiday weekend
6:10     pull into Carrabba's
7:15     arrive home

But it's all in a day's work for SUPER 9TS:

He can handle anything!!!!!!