you know you're old when...

...you go to a pub on a Friday night to see a rock band....

...and the drummer is your kid!!

(Sent via iPhone, cross yer fingers this even works LOL)

off the wagon

I'm not even off track. I'm entirely off the wagon, aren't I.

Well, the best I can do for either of us right now is to share with you this video of MyFavoriteKid's performance at their final drumline competition this weekend.  It's sort of a big deal because while they placed 2nd out of the 3 bands in their division, the Percussion section (yes, capital "P") took FIRST PLACE OVERALL.  That means that Percussion (and MyFK is on snare) took 1st Place out of 15 bands, and several of the bands they overtook are bands that are two categories higher than then in terms of proficiency during the winter drumline season. BIG DEAL.

If you want to spare yourself the full performance, I suggest clicking forward to the 6:10 minute mark where you can see an isolated percussion-only section.  Oh, and if you wait for the 7:15 minute mark...? The kid making that freakin' awesome catch on the rifle??? He's part of the Hands In Motion Club that I facilitate at the high school, the group where the kids make things by hand and donate then to charity. In other words, he's a knitter ;-) 

error message

Something isn't working between me and blogger and trying to upload post with photos using my phone. 

I'm fine. And I love it that some of you check on me to see if I am dead or not when I miss a day :-)

I haven't had much actual computer/laptop access is all, but I have posts in que that I'll upload by the end of the weekend, so join me for a cuppa something and a game of catch up Monday!
xo

upcycle

This picture isn't current, and I'd probably posted it way back when, when I took it.

I'm just in a wonky mood (nothing like an hour in therapy discovering you have yet more issues to work on), and so here I am, looking through old photos trying to unwind so I can get some sleep.

Here.
Here's another.

Happy bunny in the garden.

No?

Ducks in dumpsters, maybe?

Hahahaha.
Yah. Okay, that worked. 

Nothing like a good chuckle for a nightcap ;-)

looks way too familiar

boxes on the brain

Planter boxes, that is.

Now that we are done remodeling the interior of TheNewDiggs, our attention is turning to the yard.  We're going to start by fixing up the front yard, the border beds, really....and trying to figure out how to hide (but leave accessible) the city back-flow thingy that is an ugly eyesore right there on the front lawn.

But I'm also starting to more seriously ponder vegetable gardening in TheBack40, as we call it.  It's a huge space to garden in. Over the past 2 years while we've worked on the interior, I've been watching the sun and the water, to see where everything lands naturally. We've taken some gardening classes, started to compost (sort of...we need to ramp it up, though).

I'm not ready to install a full vegetable garden until I am living there full time (another year and a half away), but it's not too early to start the design process.  It's not to early to start researching surfaces that are wheelchair friendly, beds that are narrow and easy to reach across from a seated position, raised beds that have a edge on them that can be sat on.

I made the mistake at YeOldHouse of putting in some raised bed that I can't get a wheelchair out to. Stupid!  I have the perfect spot to grow stuff, and I can't get out there to prattle around in the garden.  I wont make that mistake twice!





So that's what I'm doing. Planning, planning, researching, researching....saving up for pathway materials and someone to help install them. Daydreaming, really.  But hopefully with a tangible end in sight!

i...i....

....I am at a loss for words.

(info)

snaps on saturday

Local (very local) Open Mic Night....

...featuring one very little girl singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (and a couple of other songs, all made up, and all to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) :-)


Today MyFavoriteKid had an all day rehearsal/competition day, and I sat it out!  I went to a "Crafternoon" hosted by a local artist's group in town called TheHub, where I was steered to a divey (and most excellent) Indian Food Restaurant that we'd never discovered because it was hidden in a strip mall we never pull into.

Good Day. Got ahead on my knitting, as I also knit at the open mic night!

happiness is....

Rolling in late to the Friday morning knitting group, only to find the a birthday party is in full swing....

...complete with fancy cheeses and olives and pastries....
mimosas and handmade liquers.

Then heading straight from there over to the Interweave KnitLab to do a little shopping with a few of the girls...

Good times.
Good company.
And a little bit of good yarn came home with me too! :-)

happy halloween!

Another delayed post hung up between my cell phone and the blogger app. 
I must be doing something wrong. 
I'll investigate....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poor Riley. All dressed up with no place to go. Not even a kid to bark at!!

It was 8:15pm and  even with all of our awesome Halloween decorations in place at TheNewDiggs, not a single trick-or-treater!  I was starting to tap into that "I throw awesome parties, but nobody comes" feeling, so I decided to distract myself in the kitchen (this also kept me from dipping into the cauldron full of Halloween candy).

Thanks Bon Appetit magazine for the my new favorite fall cocktail recipe:
The New England Express  
(choo choo!!!) 
thyme flavored simple syrup, dark rum, angostura bitters, apple cider, lime juice and fizzy water


I watched people outside for a bit, and realized that people were driving by, slowing down seeing our decorations, and almost pulling over to get out....but we were pretty stand-alone in terms of other houses handing out candy, it seems....so folks would just keep driving by since we weren't a "cluster" of homes "in the spirit".   We didn't  have a ton of actual foot traffic because a) there isn't a sidewalk on our side of the street!!, and b) our house is on a busier street, and there are quieter residential streets directly behind us (hmm! maybe next year we hand out candy from the back entrance?!)

We finally got several waves of kids around 8:45.  Got rid of most, but not all, of the candy.  The little kids across the street sat for a long time on their front stoop just watching the shadow display in the window loop 'round and 'round, which tickled me to no end.

All in all, a good time. But I'd like a little more excitement! I think we need to become a "destination" address :-)

as I often say: shop, drop!

I don't know about y'all, but I am feeling SO exhausted lately!  This getting up in the morning in the dark is for the birds! (well, actually...even the birds aren't up as early as I am!!) 
I'm seriously looking forward to the time change.

Today was nice.  I had some free time to myself in the morning, and I used it to go through a few stacks and piles that have built up over the last few weeks.  Liberating. 

In the afternoon MyFavoriteKid needed some shuttling around, but since he has his learner's permit and needs to get more hours under his belt, I let him do the driving.  He's doing great, but I'm still white knuckling it a little bit.  I wonder if I'll ever get comfortable enough where I can knit in the car while he drives.
Ha! That'll be the day!

Hmmm.
I wonder if I WAS knitting....would I be white knuckling less....??
Can any of you out there chime in on that??


This evening I went to a little party that involved clothes shopping. I went to one of these parties last year, and I was very skeptical.  Basically, it's a clothing designer that retails her line sort of like a Tupperware party (anyone remember those?!).  A person agrees to be a hostess and invites a bunch of her friends.  The representative shows up with a ton of samples, does a presentation, and then you get try on the goods (because this is clothing and not tupperware, it looks like a lot of women ripping off their clothes and drinking wine though...much more fun!)
You pick out what you want, you fill out an order form, and your order gets sent to you the following week or so. The hostess gets a bonus gift or credit or something based on how her friends buy.

Like I said, I was skeptical last year.  The prices seemed a little steep, and some of the things I really wanted to try on weren't sampled in my size (ie big), so I just had to hope it would all work out.  It turned out that once my shipment arrived, there was only one blouse I didn't care for, and they had no problem accepting a return.  Everything else I ordered I kept. I have been amazed to find that the fabrics are totally what you are paying for. Nothing has faded or pilled, nothing looks worn. The fabrics have totally held their shape, and the look and feel like quality.  There was one item I ordered and kept last year that I haven't worn much, but only because it's a little on the fancier side, and honestly, I just dont get out that much!  But I do love it, and it fits and looks great!! 

This year I learned from that and spent my money on a few things that are more on the casual side. I know that they will get worn to death. 


Alrighty. Tired. Early wake up again tomorrow (5:30am...gah!) and then probably up late tomorrow with Halloween!  So I'm hitting the hay.  xo!

:-)

our spooky window!

I loooove Halloween.
Every year I add one (ok ok, sometimes two) new decorations to the collection. 
Last year, it was Helsa. 

This year I picked up some jumbo spiders with a 3-foot leg span to crawl over the side of the house (whee!).....and thennnnnnn....since TheMostImportantGuy now has a good quality projector, I bought a spooky DVD that you aim towards your window: 

  

thanks to TheMIG for the upload!

TheMIG's video was shot to show how it looks in relation to the house, but you can get a clearer shot of the actual video, click here.  I bought our copy by way of Grandin Road, where I also bought Helsa last year!

We already had a little audience (the neighbor kids from across the street) sitting outside and watching and squealing....and then I spotted another adult neighbor getting into it, too.  This is by far my favorite decoration ever. 

snaps on saturday

oops! I just discovered that this post got hung up in the system as a draft! 
day late, dollah short ;-)
sorry!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner at South Park Cafe in San Francisco....

Local Tomato Salad with Shallots....for me the Skirt Steak, for TheMostImportantGuy a Braised Vegetable CousCous, some beet puree and roasted brussel sprouts.  There was a delicious dessert, too....but I uhhh...
ate it. LOL

Then we met up with MizzCraftini and her hubby to see Dorado Schmitt & the Django All-Stars at the new SF Jazz Center.

SUPER great music. This is the stuff I listen to around the house most weekends. I have Hot Club of Paris CD's, but usually just plug "Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli" into Pandora, and of I go. Hours of Happy.

That really should have been a complete enough evening, but MyFavoriteKid was spending the night at a friend's, the dogs were at the pet sitter's, and TheMIG and I had the itch to keep going, so we stopped at a local dive bar on the way home.....

....where we saw a highly entertaining band that sang songs about things I can't mention here (because I don't want hits to the blog from people that are searching for lewd terms for male body parts LOL) 
A real hoot, though.  And there is nothing like a rock band that also has a trumpet.
We liked them A LOT :-D

I think we got to bed around 2am, which 15 years ago used to be early for both of us, but now is ridiculously late.  

 
 

last hurrah

Final regular season football game, which means final half time show for the marching band this fall season. Two off-campus competitions left to go....

But let's not pretend.
Then Winter Percussion Season begins, including auditions in December for next summer's Drum Corp stuff.

So I guess it aint a last hurrah at all!

while we're at it, one more

my great grandparents ;-)

present and vintage family

Great day with the cousin. We got up early and took a little driving/sightseeing tour of the town, and then we dropped Teeny off at my parents for some dog-sitting (she's still on meds and supposed to be resting).  Then my cousin and I took his 8 month old standard poodle Manou and my other dog Riley for to what we refer to as the CrazyCrazyDogPark.  

We had brunch at the dog park at the "Sit & Stay Cafe", and then we let the dogs go bananas running around like crazies.  Meanwhile, we talked a whole lot....and we caught each other up on ....well, our whole lives, basically!

We came back home, looked through some of the things my Grammy had left after she passed that he was so graciously delivering (he's an angel for taking that on). A bit later my folks came over and we all had a lovely dinner.

Oh, but before dinner was drinks and an appetizer while we waited for TheMostImportantGuy to make it home from work.  While we sipped and noshed, all sorts of awesome old photos were being whipped out.  My favorite of them all was this one:
 

That's my Great Grandparents (my dad's mother's parents), 

Nathan and Rosa

This picture tickles me to no end. 
That being said, every picture of Bubbie & Zadie tickles me to no end ;-)

cousin time!

I'm busy being the hostess with the mostess!! 

good day, bad day

Well, good thing yesterday was good.
Today?
Not so good.

 

Poor Teeny.  At the vet today.  In her special blankie. Racking up another $500+ vet bill. 

I am not kidding. Over the past two years, this dog has proven herself to be the most expensive pet I have ever had, and she is the tiniest. I guess you don't pay by the pound when it comes to dogs, do ya'.

It's her back. She has a couple of slightly flattened discs in her thoracic vertebrae (the lowest ones that are still attached to the ribs, sort of the middle of back for her).  The discs might be the problem, or she may have just really pulled something (doing something stupid like jumping off high furniture chasing after Riley when he goes nuts because there is some wildlife in the yard).  Only time will tell if its the muscles or the discs.  Meanwhile, I'm supposed to make sure she's not jumping up and down or making any sudden movements (yah. right.) for a few weeks.

Just when I got home from the vet and got her all settled in, I got a call from the convalescent facility telling me that James is being transported back to the hospital-hospital due to some really low numbers with his kidneys.  Odd, because I'd seen him only a few hours earlier!  When Teeny was at the vet and they said they'd have to keep her for a couple of hours to do x-rays and check her kidneys, I used that time to make a visit to James. He looked great! 

After I got off the phone with the convalescent hospital I just stood in my kitchen and yelled. At no one in particular. Well, maybe I was yelling at the universe.  MyFavoriteKid came out of his room because he thought I was yelling at him for forgetting to do something.  

Nope. 

I was just yelling. 

Felt good.

And then I heated up some of that soup.

Which felt good, too.

I don't always remember to take care of myself when I'm busy taking care of others, so soup is progress.  Actually, my therapist suggested that perhaps I might start "collecting soups".... hahaha!  She said I didn;t have to make them. Just pick up some good once from restaurants or a deli or gourmet market or something.  

I can see it now.   "Hello! My name is AmpuTeeHee, I am 46 years old, a single mom, and my hobbies include dancing, and knitting, and soup collecting."  hahahahaha

Can you tell I am getting tired and goofy?!  *sigh*

Well, I expect the next few days to be rather interesting.  Dopey medicated doggy on restriction, a trip or two the hospital, my cousin visiting for a couple of days, and a family dinner to host on Wednesday. 

Wait! I know! SOUP FOR EVERYONE!!! hahahaha

a good sunday

Wow, after that long day yesterday accompanying the kids on their competition, I "slept in" (and that's in quotes, because sleeping in only meant sleeping until 8:30am, but that's late for me!) and I woke up feeling like I had a hangover. But I didn't even drink yesterday!  I felt trashed most of the day, and I wasn't even the one competing yesterday!  I can't imagine how the kids must feel.

After a late breakfast, MyFavoriteKid headed off with his dad for their band practice together (rock band, with their first gig with MyFK as dummer set for mid-November).  TheMostImportantGuy and I went up to Napa and stocked up on groceries because my cousin is coming to visit this week.

We took a break in the middle of our shopping excursion for some lunch.

So great was the fake hangover feeling that I couldn't even consider pairing my lunch with a cerveza or margarita.

This place had some wacky-chic Mexicano decor.

My crappy cell phone pic doesn't show well that framed the Giants baseball jersey actually says "Gigantes"...hahaha! Awesome :-)

After shopping we came back home to YeOlHaus, I did some much neglected housework and laundry, and I also made two big pots of soup for us to dig into for the next few days.  A banged out a really delicious veggie lentil soup, and then I experimented with a mushroom miso soup that turned out so great it just about knocked my sock(s) off. I love fall!! Soup season!!


This week will be a bit busy, but fun. The cousin visiting is actually my dad's first cousin.  He just moved to Portland, and he was gracious enough to go up to Washington the week after Grammy passed to pick up several items that she left for family members.  This week he is taking a little tour of California delivering items to my family, and then he is headed down to Southern California to make more deliveries to his sister and one of my first cousins.  He might even stop and stay with us on his return trip back home.  I don't know him nearly as well as I would like to, and I plan to remedy that this week!

Alrighty, it's time for me to pack up the soups now that they have cooled, and catch some more much needed zzz's.....

snaps on saturday

Ahhhh, the first Fall Season Marching Band Competition....

....and look at all those hungry hardworking kids in line for dinner (I think we have 117 total!).

Super long day.  I was up with MyFavoriteKid at 8am helping him get ready and he started practice at 10am. TheMostImportantGuy and I ran errands, got our portion of the group food together, and then we met up with the other band parents around 1pm. I am posting this remotely using my phone from the event site, and after we pack up and drive home, we probably wont get there until about 1am! Ouch!

 MyFK's band was 1 of 7 in their category.  The band and color guard took 5th place overall....but the percussion section???  They took the trophy for "High Percussion" in their category!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(if you are wondering why there are so many exclamation points, it's because MyFK plays snare drum in the percussion ensemble! woohoo!)

I am so proud of them. They battery section meets separately for extra rehearsals, and their extra effort and dedication have really paid off.


Two more big competitions to go....

catbird seat

a significant change of status

Hang around here long enough, and you'll finally get some content, right?  LOL

I know there have been a lot of fluffy "filler-ish" type posts here lately, and I'm sorry for that, but behind the scenes, I am really busy working through A TON of stuff.  Some of it's logistical and has had me a in a time-sucking vacuum, but a lot of it has been emotional, and I have been left feeling quite drained.

Grab a Cup o' Joe. It's a long one.
A little rambly, too. Sorry.



For those who are new here, I am a volunteer with an organization that matches you up to do one-on-one visits with people in convalescent hospitals that don't get visitors.  I started volunteering when I was 23 or 24 (?) and I'm now 46 (gah. nearly half my life!!). Over the years, most of my matches have been short term (the longest was 1 year).  This latest match has been different, though. I have been visiting James for 9 years.  You can pick up the tone of our relationship in posts like this one, or this one, or this one (that last one is oddly related to this post, actually)....and there are probably a few other posts I have made over the years that I cant put my finger on right now. I swear that somewhere I have posted a photo of James, but I just can't spot it.  Feel free to have yourself a little scavenger hunt ;-)  Sort of a Where's Waldo, I guess.

Anyhow.
Here's the poop.

Last Thursday, James went back into the "hospital-hospital" (as we call it, to differentiate from the "convalescent hospital", where he is a permanent resident).  I never got a call when he went into the ICU because I am not family. I had to find out from James himself once he was able to use the phone.  He called to let me know as soon as he got out of the ICU and was moved to a regular room.  He told me he was sent to the hospital, "because he was having trouble breathing due to all the fluid in his tummy, and they drained 5 liters off, and it wasn't all gone, but he was feeling much better."

That call with James took place Friday evening. I called him Saturday and he sounded like he was feeling better and in good spirits. Of course, I can't ask the nurse for a medical update. Well, I can ask. But they wont tell me anything. Because I am not family.

Well, it was Sunday afternoon when I got a phone call from his doctor saying that even though I wasn't family or legally listed as able to speak for him, James had asked the doctor to call me and explain what was happening because he didn't understand, and he knew that I would help him make sense of it all.

Much of what I was heard was new to me. I was told by the doctor that James has End Stage Congestive Heart Failure, and this was being accelerated by kidney failure. The general gist is that his heart is pumping around 50%, his kidneys are now around 50% as well, he has a persistent infection in his foot (complicated by diabetes) that has resulted in having two different surgeries over the past year or so to remove parts of his foot (and he'd already lost a leg 10 years ago).  He's filling up with fluid that his kidneys can't precess, and it's leaking everywhere. It's in is abdomen, lungs, and basically just all of his organs and tissues like a sponge. They can't get any more off surgically, and they can't it off with medication because nothing is circulating well. The heart is not pumping the blood enough to get the meds distributed throughout his body (especially to his extremities), and his kidneys aren't doing their job to filter the blood, either. And he's not really a good candidate for dialysis given everything else that is going on.  

It's sort of a perfect storm.  A very sucky, very complicated storm.

And James can't make sense out of what the doctors are saying because there are so many specialists coming and going, and he's exhausted from being woken up every time he dozes off by a nurse or a doctor, and the information being given is so great that he can't absorb it all. So the doctor asks if I could please come in and support him on Monday and Tuesday, because he is going to have a meeting with a Palliative Care Team and it might be overwhelming for him.

Well, of course I was there for those meetings.  I've been at the hospital every day this week, actually.  Sometimes more than once each day. Not only have I been in even more meetings than I was warned about, I've also had a few conference calls with James' sister on the line as well. 

And so. Here it is. Thursday.  And I am now the Durable Power Attorney for Health Care for James.

(I know some of you are yelling "finally" at the screen, but please don't let me hear you. I had to be quite ready within myself to take this on.  I mean....it's....ummm...kinda huge.... and I have a whole host of responsibilities of my  own already, and it's usually you same "finally people" out there that are the first to nag at me to cut back on commitments so I can take care of myself better, so just shut yer traps!  LOLOL)

I'm not taking on James' financial stuff (I am only signing on to manage the health care). His sister is still going to need to deal with his finances.  James' sister is 17 years younger than him. She loves him, but she also barely knows him. She remembers him going off into the military when she was a very little girl, and then she remembers that when he came back, he married someone that their mother and her father (James' stepdad) didn't approve of, so after that he basically kept a distance.  James' sister cares about him, but she's 300+ miles away, and she cant look into his eyes and see what he needs, nor does she feel she knows him as well as I do, and James is the first to agree.  He's been asking me to speak for him for a couple of years, and I just wasn't ready.

I have to be honest. On some level, I feel like I had to accept this responsibility. When it all comes down to it....if I do not step in and help James with the medical piece, he is going to be flying blind. It is not in my nature to leave someone I care about in that state. Heck, it's really not even in my nature to leave someone I DO NOT care about in that state! (you hear that, InvisibleSister??! Oh, and happy belated birthday! Sheesh.)  And I don't have it in me to know that James will be alone in his last hours because I might not be allowed to be with him, and he might not be able to talk at that point and ask for what he needs.

*sigh* this is all so hard

Ok. So.
This week, James started asking me if I would please speak on his behalf once he couldn't do so any longer. That's when I pretty much realized I don't know him all that well...I might not eve know him any better than his sister!  I mean, I do know some things. I know that I can "read" him pretty easily, and I can tell when he is upset even when he is trying not to say so.  I know what questions to ask to get to the root of what is bothering him or to figure out what his needs are.  But never in our 9 together years have we ever talked about feeding tubes, "do not resuscitate" instructions, whether or not he believes in organ donation for himself, cremation versus burial, etc.  That's just not what we do with our time together! I visit him to cheer him up, man!  We talk about what movies he watched on Netflix that week, or about what he's reading. He asks me about what I'm knitting, he follows along with stories about my family (most of whom he has met over the years, including my late grandmother), and he asks about how the house and the remodeling are going.  We have light conversation. We chit-chat. We don't talk about death. Who in this (crazy upside down) society talks about death??! (we are so weird).

This week our visits have been nothing like light chit chat, let me tell you.  This week has been the crap-ton of meetings I described a few paragraphs ago, followed by two hard days of "getting to know you" discussions on a whoooole new level, so I could help him fill out his Advance Health Care Directives forms. Then I needed to deal with getting his ID in my hot little hands (which of course was not with him at the hospital-hospital, and I wasn't authorized yet to go into his convalescent hospital room and take something)....but I needed him to have his ID so I could bring in a mobile notary to notarize the documents we were filling out. Bah.  I got 'er done, but it was epic.




I'm exhausted. Partially from all the driving back and forth (he's 30-45 minutes away), but mostly from the energy it takes me to "hold space" for a person who is hearing that they probably only have 6 months to a year to live and that they aren't going to get any better and that they really should try to "take care of a few things" (no matter how hard it is) and before they can no longer think clearly.  Joyous. Right?  *sigh*

It was a whole lot of tough conversations for James and I, but I am so glad we got it done. 

You know, I am fully capable of speaking on James' behalf.  And I'm fully capable of honoring his wishes.  But up until a few days ago, I also had no friggin' idea about what his wishes are, and as we dipped our toes into the waters of these difficult topics, it became clear to me immediately that what I would want for myself, or even what I might wish for him, are not at all the same things.  He has a whole different set of cultural beliefs about dying than I do, that's for sure. I'm sort of in the "fling my ashes anywhere" category, and if you are a good listener, I'll send you messages from the other side ;-) I'm in the camp that says, "don't keep me alive on machines for an extended period if I am completely gone."  James is more in the "I need my ashes near my family's ashes" category, and he believes that since we can't prove what happens after death, it must just be that we go in the ground. He's also camped out in the keep me alive no matter what, category...because they might figure out some way to fix me. (this has changed since the meetings with the docs...he is now opting to be let go once his heart stops...and that was a very hard thing for him to come to)

Neither thinking is right or wrong, neither is good or bad, but holy cow, are they different positions! And so my job in all of this is to know him and his desires, inside and out, so that I can make sure his needs and desires are met, whether I agree with them or not.

It's been a bit of work for me to do that.  Not only getting to know him better, but widening my own belief system to not just accept his beliefs, but to be willing to accept them to the point of being willing to move into action and honor things I don't exactly believe in.  It's sort of wild.  He's choosing for himself some things that I think may increase his suffering. And I am going to need to honor that. 

After 3 days of meetings and paperwork and very hard conversations and a few tears and some hugs and hand holding....I know I can do it.  I know what he wants, and I know I have it in me to stand by him as he works his way through his choices.  And I know how to be there for him and see if he's changing his mind as he goes along about anything.   

Again, it's wild. And I actually can't wait to watch me in action. I think I'll be a super-star, but it's something I've never done before, so it's really going to be a trip and a half.



I have more to say on the topic, volumes, I am sure....but I'm beat.
And more new things to say about all of this will come up over the next few months, as his health shifts, too. 

I think it's safe to assume you'll be hearing more about this over the next few month, so stay tuned. 






 

i know i'm supposed to focus on the message, but....

....it's really hard sometimes to do that while I'm laughing my ass off.

And yes.
I know.
I'm on the fastrack to hell.

lonely hearts club

Filched from my own Facebook page, so pardon if you've seen it already (because after two Redd's Apple Ales I cant come up with anything more creative!).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lonely Hearts Club. That's what we call it when you are the only one to show up at Knit Night. Which is at a sports bar. So at least I'm knitting and having a cold one with CardboardCowboy!

 It's not so bad being the President of The Lonely Hearts Club after all.  A) I'm actually getting some knitting done  B) We're a small knitting group and we've all had a term as President, it's only fair  C) Not Only amd I with CardboardCowboy, but I'm also wtih FlatCheerleader and SmallScaleNascarChic!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the end, it wasn't lonely at all.  TheMostImportantGuy showed up for a beer and a veggie burger, and he shared his fries ;-)

daily ritual

Every morning the chihuahua is the last one out of bed.

Is she sticking her tongue out at me, or what?!?!

soap!

All around good weekend.
One of today's highlights was taking a soap making class at the Vallejo People's Garden!

snaps on saturday

Compliments of TheMostImportantGuy....

...drinks on the patio with Rocky and Riley

hey!

Hey! What are all those football players doing on the marching field?!?!?!!

(hehe)

way back a million years ago...

...when I started this blog, part of my plan was to keep track of all the stupid things people say to me (a person with a visible disability).

I kid you not, it is daily. It's way too predictable. Seriously. There is not one single day that goes by that someone doesn't say something to me about missing a leg, and usually what they say is stupid. (sorry, but it's true. and to all you stupid people out there, I do forgive you LOL) 

But. For all the stupid shit that has been said to me.... every once in awhile, someone says something that makes me smile.

Today I went grocery shopping after teaching knitting at the senior center. I parked my car at the supermarket.  Before I even put my car in park I spotted the guy out of the corner of my eye.  An older guy. I'd even very affectionately call him TheOldCoot type of guy.  He was standing in an awkward spot right outside the door smoking a cigarette (it turns out he was waiting for someone he was with to come out).  I got out of the cab by using my crutches and I crutched to the rear of my car so I could unload my wheelchair out of my hatchback (I have a Honda CRV).  I could feel him watching me, and I could feel him trying to decide whether or not to offer help.  I could see the outline of him stepping in closer to assist, and I could see him stopping himself when he was seeing I wasn't going to need any help.  I got my wheelchair out, opened it up, sat in it, pulled down the hatchback door. Rolled back up to the cab of my car to get my purse and shopping list, and I thought for sure I was going to just get into the store without him saying a word, but then he opened his mouth and sounds starting coming out and I thought to myself "Oh, lordy...here we go. Here comes the stupid."

"You look live you've done that a thousand times."

"Man, I wish it was only a thousand times! But it's been way more than that."

"Well....you aint lettin' any moss grow between yer toes there now, is ya'."


I don't know why exactly.
But I loved that. Totally.

And nope. No moss here ;-)

my knitterly dilemma

Please tell me I am not the only one this happens to.

I have a whoooole lotta yarn in my stash.  I have a pattern I want to knit.  And I don't enough yardage of the right type of yarn in a color that works for the project.  How is it possible that if I want to knit this thing, that I need to buy more yarn?!

*sigh*

i wish i looked this cute right now

Unfortunately I have crashed much harder than that.
Exhausted is an understatement.

let's spray for dancers in here, okay?

...I think they live in the rafters. 

bwahahahahaha!



I laugh my ass off every time I see this.

leftovers on sunday

More Snaps On/From Saturday.  We had gone to the Vallejo Art Windows event last night, where empty shop windows (and sadly, there are quite a few) were filled with all sorts of interesting local art!  During the tour hours, the artists held meet and greets out front of their displays.  A few art cars were spotted on the streets as well.

This artist had some really amazing photos taken on Mare Island....man, I'd love to have one some day on our wall at TheNewDiggs (go Vallejo!).

I loved this little ditty. It was a contraption made out of all sorts of old bits and bobs of machinery and toys, and it was wired up to make sounds a had lots of components with flashing lights. 

Buddha head on an altar with ninja tiger and friend....hahahaha

I know I'm an odd one, but I just loved this one.  It was a skeleton lady watching tv, and skeleton man painting a portrait (he had a long handlebar-ish moustache made out of a mop for something). Kooky. Right up my ally.

And one of the art cars.


Lots of people walking around, taking it all in....including MyFavoriteKid and his three buddies, whom I'd had over for the whole weekend. Lots o' teenage boy energy around the house, let me tell you!  It's really great to host them over at TheNewDiggs.  There's so much more space there for them to spread out, and I was actually able to go to bed early and sleep through them staying up watching movies into the wee hours, because the place is laid out so well.  Damn, I can't wait until I can actually live there full time. It's just so easy to be there. It's got an awesome flow.

I had a nice time at TheNewDiggs while I was there this weekend. TheMostImportantGuy and I spent some time a project we've been waiting to tackle in the livingroom.  We're working on a cool system for displaying family photos, and I think once we're done the results are going to be fantastic.  We also got out all of the Halloween decorations (my absolute favorite holiday to decorate for!!).  We watched a movie projected onto the wall with the kids last night, and then another movie just the two of this afternoon while chilling on the couch.  There might have been a cocktail or two involved.  Oh, and I got to play with my knitting and my darling barbeque grill for a bit this weekend, too :-)  

It's been a good long while since I have felt even a small pocket of  time to just chill and relax and enjoy a little unstructured time.  Happy :-)

snaps on saturday

self preservation

I have a story, but I'm going to have to owe you that story.  For tonight, it's 10pm and I am just not feeling quite right....so I'm tucking myself in....toot sweet!

I made two more shopping deliveries today to people at home not feeling well, and one of them had "the plague", as she called it.  Well, I am either showing signs of catching it....or actually, I might just be showing signs of not having had enough sleep, doing too much in one day today, and perhaps I might not be responding well to all the smoke in the air from nearby fires (I can indeed smell it, plus we've had a lot wind here, too).

Whatever is going on, I don't feel as well as I should, and I don't have the luxury of down time, so I have to see if I can get some rest and get ahead of this bugger!! 
Not much going on tomorrow (yay!) so I will have time for actually sitting and writing something by the light of day for a change!

Nighty night, loves...

takes one to know one

Tonight I delivered a bag of groceries to a friend who is under the weather.  She met me on her porch for the food swap, but didn't invite me in, I think because she was worried her place was a mess.

There was no need to fear judgement. Little did she know she was accepting a delivery from a woman who had just finished a dinner of cereal eaten right out of the box while driving. Ha.

haaaaalllllp!!!

College Fair at the high school tonight.

I am so not ready for this.


edited for clarity:  Oh, I'll be plenty ready for MyFavoriteKid to go off to college. What I'm NOT ready for is the pile of paperwork and logistics that are going to have to be navigated to get him there!