Gall Stones Don't Kill You

You just wish that they did.

Huge thanks to:

The VIP who took such good care of me for the 96 hours I was in the hospital, and for keeping everyone updated with blog posts and phone calls.

Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers and other ward friends who have called.

The Haddonfield SnB Group, and the Mount Holly Bevy.

My ER doctor and nurse, the ultrasound tech, the CT scan tech, my surgeon, my second surgeon, the house doctor, and most of my nurses.

Mom and Dad and Gram for their prayers and the lovely flowers.

My Cote du Ciel family for all the good wishes sent my way.

My blogging and Ravelry friends for same.

And most especially, Morphine!!

Unavoidable Interruption of Service

We would like to apologise for the current interruption of service of Tola Faery.

This is purely temporary.

For information, please see the VIP blog.

Soxy Pix

Some recent socks knitted for family and friends.

Five Days Without Internet

Is six days too long. Seriously, we had no internet at home from Wednesday evening to Sunday afternoon. We could check web-based email and read the news at work, but after 5pm we had nothing. Thank goodness the cable still worked, otherwise it would have been Very Bad. We did discover though that we could hook up one of the laptops to the cable box, and record stuff off the DVR and clear out some space. There is no need to keep a whole hour of a certain program if I only want to keep a 5 minute segment. Technology is cool! If you should receive a DVD in the mail from us, it's because we yanked it off the DVR and wanted to share it with you.

But we had a good weekend despite that. And finally by the time the internet was back up, all we wanted to do was check email and Alison's progress. Don't forget to keep her in your prayers, please.

Why NPR is My Favourite News Source

You can go here and see if our new president is keeping his promises. Isn't Obameter a great word?

Please

Pray for Alison.

Desperately Seeking . . . . .

Trekking XXL colour 71. Nobody has any on Ravelry. If anyone has it, I'll pay the going rate for Trekking in your LYS plus shipping.

Overheard

I was at Woolbearers Saturday night for their Christmas Finishing Frenzy because I was determined to finish my BFF's socks (and I did!) About half of the people who showed up I have never met before, so it was nice to talk to new people. The conversation turned to the topic of "Stupid Stuff People Ask" and one of the new ladies told one she heard the other day: "Why are the stars so much brighter after an earthquake?"
*blink blink*
"Ummmmmmmmmmm cuz you're special?"


PS The yarn is Trekking 147, 3x1 rib on 56 stitches and size 2 circular needles.

What To See Your First Time to Philly

After going to see the Liberty Bell, and Ben Franklin's underground house, you take your out-of-town guests to the Magic Garden on South Street! In a city chock-full of American history, said guest is more awed by an entire city block covered with mosaics. I agree, it's very cool! Go here to see more photos. I am still waiting for LL to send me his photos, so I'll add them to the set when I get them.

Gratitude

(A day late due to severe turkey-coma)

I am most grateful for my family. My husband the VIP, my DD, and brother LL. My folks and granny, and other assorted siblings and their spawn.

I'm grateful I have a job that isn't too difficult, that I can leave at work at 5 o'clock, and that I work with the VIP.

I'm grateful that I like living here out on the east coast. I can't imagine much worse than hating where you live, even if it isn't what you're used to.

I'm grateful that all our dinner leftovers fit in our fridge, and that we will have lunches for the next week due to my excellent skillz (ha!).

I'm grateful that LL is coming to visit us tomorrow!

And I'm grateful that Tan's daughter wasn't anywhere near Mumbai while travelling in India this week.

8 Things (tagged by Lynn)

My friend Ms Ravelled asked me to play along on the 8 Things meme, so here goes!

8 Favourite TV Shows: (I am including shows that are currently in production)
1-- Criminal Minds
2-- CSI: NY
3-- CSI: Miami
4-- CSI (Las Vegas)
5-- Numb3rs
6-- Pushing Daisies
7-- Top Gear
8-- Martha Stewart

8 Things I Did This Weekend:
1-- Slept a lot
2-- Enjoyed "private time" with the VIP
3-- Was rear-ended while stuck in traffic on Rte 70
4-- Took my Charlotte's Web Shawl out of time-out and knit 4 rows
4-- Finished a pair of socks and decided they were too big, so I gave them to the DD
5-- Cleaned the kitchen after the VIP made dinner and our week of lunches.
6-- Went grocery shopping
7-- Re-organised part of the storage unit
8-- Dropped off some more wool handbags at the consignment shop

8 Things to Look Forward To:
1-- The weekend!
2-- The new episode of Top Gear
3-- Maybe finding a new knitting group in Haddonfield on Tuesdays
4-- Drinking hot chocolate from Wawa
5-- Lower gas prices
6-- Seeing LL the weekend of Thanksgiving
7-- Hoping that most doctors' offices will be closed on Black Friday and therefore *not* calling me
8-- Finding a Queen Victoria shilling on Ebay

8 Favourite Restaurants:
Pass. I am *so* not a foodie!

8 Things on My Wish List
1-- Knit all of my sock yarn
2-- Buy more sock yarn
3-- Acquire a circular sock machine so I can make 1 and 2 happen faster
4-- Learn Irish Gaelic
5-- Go to England/Ireland/Scotland/Wales
6-- Buy a cute, big enough, old house and enjoy its ambience with the VIP and maybe a cat
7-- Not to have to take Prozac
8-- Be happy or at least not unhappy with the way I look

8 People I Tag:
You're all grownups, if you wish to play along please do! Pick a list and leave a comment so I can learn about you.

<3

Yep, It's A Full Moon

It is insane here today! I have had every single crazy in the entire state of New Jersey on my phone today, and it's only noon! I tell ya, I am *thisclose* to seriously asking the next idiot how s/he dressed him/herself this morning. I need to be at home, drinking some Stephen's Hot Chocolate, watching the Kirks Folly show I recorded yesterday, and knitting all manner of things. So who wants my calls?

Our Trip to NYC

Wow what a fun day! I totally recommend a day trip to NYC when you're feeling sad and picked-on.

We left the house about 8:30am, to get to church by 11am. We made it, and met LL (my brother) in the foyer. He was decked out in his tailored grey Italian suit and looking oh-so-metro. We only stayed for Sacrament Meeting, then we went to lunch at a Caribbean restaurant called Malecon. Oh my goodness, the roasted chicken was amazing! We also had fried yucca (a first and last for me), rice, fried bananas, and beans. We all ate our heads off, and still had two take-home boxes stuffed full. We stopped off at his apartment to put the food in the fridge and change clothes. Then we hopped a subway down to Times Square.

I'm glad I had a seasoned subway veteran with me on my first underground excursion. I would have for sure gotten lost and confused if I had been on my own. We came out of the underground, blinking, and acting like tourists. I had forgotten my camera, so I borrowed LL's. He just emailed me the pix yesterday, and I figured out Flickr this morning. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to let you all see them! Until then, click here.

We passed by Radio City Music Hall, and the NBC Studios. We were convinced to go up to the observation floors of the Rockefeller Center, and that's where we got the best photos of the city. Then we had some hot chocolate in the Starbucks downstairs. A panhandler asked me for my spare change; I gave him 23 cents. I think he was offended, because he chased after us, asking for more. After that, we got DD some oboe reeds, and then we hit the M&Ms and Hershey's stores. I overloaded on both chocolate, and pressed pennies. We got back on the Subway headed back to LL's apartment. Three brothers got on, selling bags of M&Ms, "not as a fund-raiser, but to put money in my pocket." We can respect enterprising young people, here's your dollar. It being Sunday, there was someone preaching a bit of fire and brimstone. Although as I listened, I didn't hear anything that contradicted what I believe in.

We got back to the apartment (a space that I cannot believe that four 20-something men occupy, as it is clean) and collected our leftovers and took our leave. We got lost trying to leave, but we ended up seeing the Yankee Stadiums and we didn't get into any too-scary neighbourhoods. We stopped and had dinner at Cracker Barrel (my suggestion, I love comfort food) and fell into bed when we got home. It was a wonderful day!

Rhinebeck Stay-cation

We are not going to Rhinebeck. We want to go, some of our favourite people are going to be there. But we cannot justify the gas money to get there, and 2 nights in a motel, plus spending money. I have been agonising over this for a few weeks, and yesterday was Fast Sunday, so I prayed about it and got my answer. I am sad not to go, but I honestly wasn't properly prepared both financially and mentally. I knew that going to such a huge event takes personal organisation, and mine is in short supply since I seem to be using it all up at home, trying to get all my stuff put away.

However, I will be going to Stitches. My LYS is offering a bus trip that includes transportation and admittance and the price seems very reasonable to me. It will be a very long day, but I'll be able to meet up with AlisonH and I'll be with my friends from Woolbearers. It will be okay, I feel that this is the right decision.

ETA
I found out today why we aren't going to Rhinebeck. We are going to NYC to go to church with my brother instead.

Feeling Different

The house is slowly getting more organised. I try to do something every day, even if it's just putting one thing away. Some days I get a lot more done, which helps in the morale department. Saturday I woke up and showered, then started in on the laundry, cleaning the kitchen, emptying boxes and putting away their contents (easy to do when they are CDs and we finally got the CD shelves stabilised) and taking out trash.

The VIP and his DS went to a nearby U-pick farm and got us three bags of Empire apples. I'm not sure if this is an old breed, which has gotten a new lease on life, or if it's a new hybrid. It's good though! The DD unfortunatly missed her marching band practice, because her room was not cleaned. I felt bad for her, but I finally had to put my foot down and insist. She got it cleaned up wonderfully by Sunday night.

Sunday we had to speak in church. I had stayed up Saturday night writing the talks while the VIP cooked. Okay I totally lifted the talk from the church website, but at least I told everyone that I did. I know it's not really in the spirit of preparing a talk, but at least I know I didn't teach false doctrine. The VIP decided he was too sick to go to church, so I gave both my talk and his. The topic was prayer, so I got him back by saying that I pray a lot when he is driving.

Monday morning I woke up feeling like I was Going To Die, so I didn't go to work. I spent the day sniffling and sneezing and wiping and feeling Like Cr@p. I got quite a lot of the VIP's new sock knitted, and I watched 2 John Wayne movies. I also took out some trash, emptied a box, and eventually took a shower. The DD had to go to the doctor for her yearly school physical, so I had to go along for that. Then we went to Ikea for dinner and to get the screws to put the computer desk back together. I know we saved those stupid things, but we sure can't find the plastic baggie we saved them in. We got stuck in construction traffic on 95 on the way home, so we got home very late. I was tired of feeling the way I did, so I took a Claritin and went to bed.

Now to explain the title of the post: I hate taking cold/allergy meds. The side effects of the darn things are often worse for me than the original symptoms. But after 2 days of sniffling and sneezing and blowing and wiping, I just wanted to not have to. So now I don't have to, but I feel quite disembodied. And Claritin is supposed to be the one that doesn't affect you! I went to work today, but if I still feel this bad at lunchtime, I'm going back home to rest. No movies today, just sleeping. I just couldn't resist Hatari yesterday though. I love that movie. I have the DVD, but I will watch it on tv every time it comes on, all the way to the end.

Scared Out of a Year's Growth

Seminary (catechism) classes started this week. Since we are not in Utah or SE Idaho, we don't have the luxury of release-time classes, so we have to do early-morning. I survived early-morning seminary, mainly because in my senior year my dad was the teacher. (Remember, Shauna?) Personally I don't get seminary. Why does having five more hours of religious instruction per week on top of the three gotten on Sundays plus the whatever-amount on Wednesday nights make a difference? Are teenagers so stupid that they need it? Speaking for myself, I only went because I was expected to, not because I wanted to. Except for spending more time with my dad that final year, I don't really think I got a whole lot out of it. I enjoyed my teachers, and being with the other kids, but I saw them every day at school anyway, plus Sundays and Wednesday nights.

So in our new ward, they have decided that seminary is Monday, Tuesday, and Friday mornings, with another lesson on Wednesday nights. Not Thursdays. Today is Thursday. My alarm went off as usual at 6:15am. I got up and went to go make sure the DD was up and getting ready for school. Her bus comes at 6:50 and if she has ignored her own alarm, she can still get up and ready for the bus when I get up. No child. The house was completely black. No evidence of bathroom activity (except that toilet really needs to be cleaned) and the bedroom is its usual tornado-like state. The computer was asleep, so it had been at least 30 minutes since it had been touched, and the front door was unlocked. Calls made to her cellphone went to voicemail. Panic mode ensued.

Being the practical person that I am, I wasn't about to start calling the cops until I was presentable, so I got into the shower. The VIP called the school, and reported our "missing" child. I called her phone again and left a message this time. I got dressed hurriedly and located my keys, intent on driving the neighbourhood. I was halfway down the stairs when my phone rang, playing Bob Marley's Three Little Birds, which is the DD's ringtone. Apparently, it was decided to hold seminary on Thursday mornings as well, but we the parents had not been informed.

Pass the Xanax, please.

Parenting

So I need to know if I handled this correctly. Last night after work, DD cornered me and begged for a trip to StuffMart for a new backpack. Yesterday before work she had cornered me and begged for the VIP's backpack, which request I politely declined. I told her I would buy her a new one at StuffMart after work. So we went, and it was LOUD. Sometimes I just get over-stimulated and I Can Not Deal with the cacophony of daily life. As soon as we got the backpack and a couple of other items, we got out and went home, and I retired to my bed. At 9:30 she came in and requested another trip to StuffMart for index cards. I told her to ask the VIP to take her as I was in no shape to go out again. I assume that he did, because I saw index cards in her room this morning. So as I was getting ready for work this morning, she called me. She was already at school, and wanted me to bring her oboe to her. She had forgotten it. I declined. I simply did not have time to do that and get to work on time. One day in band class without her instrument of choice is not going to kill her, and it may propel her to remember it tomorrow. So am I awful?

Discoveries

I found the lunchmeat! Unfortunately it was not in the same box as the leftover cheese-and-onion pie. I found that a day later. All had to be dispatched to the great garbage disposal in the sky.

I found my chocolate stash. It's fine. I shoved it under my bed.

I didn't lose my yarn stash. I made sure I packed it and moved it myself, and placed it in the new house and it has not moved. It is still there.

I found the shims that go under the shelves so that they dont fall forward and kill somebody. They are at Lowe's in the pre-hung doors section.

I opened my housewarming gift from DG. She knitted me three beautiful dishcloths and included a bottle of Bath & Body Works antibacterial soap. The computers aren't up yet so no photos have been downloaded off the camera. But believe me, they are lovely and will be loved. I miss her so much!

DD's birthday lasted several days. We finally ended it on Saturday by taking her to dinner at an international buffet with a Mongolian grill. She thought that was pretty cool. The VIP gave her a gift card to Barnes & Noble so we spent another couple of hours there looking for books. She still has one item coming in the mail from England. She asked Grandma for more books, which I gave her the night before her birthday because she had been so helpful with the moving. I think she made out okay.

I am having to be more creative about storing things in this house. One of the bookshelves has been called into action as a space for storing kitchen ware. As soon as we find the cookbooks they will go there as well, but it is also going to hold the rice cooker, the crockpot, and some other like items. I can't really store anything on the balcony and not expect it to get weather-damaged. I'd like to take advatnage of an end-of-summer sale and get some patio furniture, but it would be a shame to have it sitting out there all winter getting ruined. So maybe we will just get a couple of folding chairs that we can take out there on nice days.

I've been re-organising the sidebar, hopefully making it more easy to find what you want to read. All ideas welcome.

And go give Lynn some love. Her children's father is having serious health challenges and it is affecting them all.

And locals, let's meetup at Philadelphia Knit in Public Day.

Heavy Labour

This is just a note to say that I am still here, although I've been AFK during the move. We have one laptop up and running, but using the keyboard and mouse is a pain so I do the minimum on it. We are moved in, and I would like to publicly thank a certain person that works with us by the initials GW for all the incredible hard work he served us with. We could not have done it without him at all. I managed to hyper-extend both knees early on in the game, and had to spend most of the time directing from the top of the stairs. A big thank-you also to the Elders Quorums from both the Pennypack Ward and the Medford Ward.

Now comes the part where I do my best trying to get everything organised and put away. Tonight's job is putting the bed together not only so that we have a place to sleep, but also space to store boxes underneath while I get other things taken care of. I don't even want to think about all the stuff that has to be done, so I'm giving myself one big job at a time to accomplish.

The DD turns 14 tomorrow, September 3. She is a mostly-good girl and I'm proud to say she is my daughter. She has been a challenge to me, but I can see that she is growing up and will be an exceptional adult with wonderful service skills. I love her very much, even when she pushes every button I have. If you'd like to send her a birthday greeting, post in the comments and I'll pass them along to her.

Love you all, forgive my intermittent-ness please?

Two Years

I wear my LiveStrong wristband still, I put it on the day Mark was diagnosed with cancer, which was 3 years ago. He lived 49 weeks, and eventually died from lung, liver, throat, and brain cancer. I still cannot believe he is gone, and even though I believe my religion, I have questions about where he is and what he is doing. I miss him terribly, and I am always seeing things I think he would laugh at.