10 things to do when it’s too hot to go outside
1. Knit
2. Read
3. Play the Autoharp and sing
4. Make some No-Bake Cookies (mmmm-chocolate)
5. Have a pizza delivered for lunch/supper
6. Watch a movie
7. Take a nap
8. Take a cool shower
9. Spend some quality time with the cat
10. Sit and ponder life
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
I should not have done that
I should not have posted my rant on the blog. I feel especially bad for people who feel guilty and have no need to. I know that our friends think about us just as I think about my friends who are enduring trials. Sometimes I have these meltdowns and I felt really alone and scared and anxious last Saturday. I apologize to all who became distressed by reading the post. It’s okay that I vented just not here. However, a lot of really nice things have come my way since and I’ve heard from a lot of folks, so from my point of view-that’s a good thing. Thank you everyone and I’m so sorry if I made you feel bad.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Pity Party
It's been a tough week. You may not want to read this as I'm feeling very sorry for us.
The good news is that Bryan took Richard Saturday and Sunday and Rich had a wonderful time and I had some alone time which was nice. I did some knitting, reading and cleaning.
Then Tuesday, Rich had a heat stroke with a full blown seizure and I had to call 911 cause it scared me so. We spent 5-plus hours in the ER, him asleep while they ran tests and gave him IV's, me all alone--knitting/reading as usual. Our son came over on his lunch hour and I told the girls not to come, that he was okay and we'd be home soon, but none the less it was a really lonely afternoon. I kept thinking do I call anyone? who would that be? I did call our friend George who came over after work to see Richard. He's a very caring and loyal friend. No one ever calls me so do they want to know? People say "call me if I can help" but I'm sure hesitant to call when I never hear from anyone and when I do ask for help and none comes. Even our church! I haven't been to church for the last four Sundays but has anyone called to see if we're okay? no... Even our minister never checks on us and I sort of thought that came under the pastoral care category. The previous one didn't either but I never expected any thing from him!! He never even followed up after I got the diagnosis and hysterically called him and he suggested I call my mother. We've belonged to that church for over 30 years and I've done my best to give of my time, my money, and my talents, and it sure would be nice if I got some support but everyone seems to think we're contagious. Richard's friends have completely vanished. I hope after we get through this curse that I have more compassion for others than I'm receiving. I'm so alone.
Yesterday and today Rich is sick. All he wants to do is sleep and I'm at a loss as what to do here. Should I be worried or is this just the normal progression? I'm afraid to leave him here alone. It's a good thing this isn't written on paper cause tears are falling really hard on the keyboard!
Okay, I've vented a little bit--I don't really feel any better but I have no one to vent to. Who wants to listen when they might be the only person who's called me in the last month?? I think that comes under the heading of "preaching to the choir". I say to myself a doxen times a day "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called" and it helps as I seem to be taking care of Richard pretty well. I think I must have severe caregiver stress. gotta go get some kleenex. I should feel better later...... if you read all the way through this, I'm sorry for subjecting you to my misery, but I gotta tell someone and an anoymous blog screen seems to be it.
The good news is that Bryan took Richard Saturday and Sunday and Rich had a wonderful time and I had some alone time which was nice. I did some knitting, reading and cleaning.
Then Tuesday, Rich had a heat stroke with a full blown seizure and I had to call 911 cause it scared me so. We spent 5-plus hours in the ER, him asleep while they ran tests and gave him IV's, me all alone--knitting/reading as usual. Our son came over on his lunch hour and I told the girls not to come, that he was okay and we'd be home soon, but none the less it was a really lonely afternoon. I kept thinking do I call anyone? who would that be? I did call our friend George who came over after work to see Richard. He's a very caring and loyal friend. No one ever calls me so do they want to know? People say "call me if I can help" but I'm sure hesitant to call when I never hear from anyone and when I do ask for help and none comes. Even our church! I haven't been to church for the last four Sundays but has anyone called to see if we're okay? no... Even our minister never checks on us and I sort of thought that came under the pastoral care category. The previous one didn't either but I never expected any thing from him!! He never even followed up after I got the diagnosis and hysterically called him and he suggested I call my mother. We've belonged to that church for over 30 years and I've done my best to give of my time, my money, and my talents, and it sure would be nice if I got some support but everyone seems to think we're contagious. Richard's friends have completely vanished. I hope after we get through this curse that I have more compassion for others than I'm receiving. I'm so alone.
Yesterday and today Rich is sick. All he wants to do is sleep and I'm at a loss as what to do here. Should I be worried or is this just the normal progression? I'm afraid to leave him here alone. It's a good thing this isn't written on paper cause tears are falling really hard on the keyboard!
Okay, I've vented a little bit--I don't really feel any better but I have no one to vent to. Who wants to listen when they might be the only person who's called me in the last month?? I think that comes under the heading of "preaching to the choir". I say to myself a doxen times a day "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called" and it helps as I seem to be taking care of Richard pretty well. I think I must have severe caregiver stress. gotta go get some kleenex. I should feel better later...... if you read all the way through this, I'm sorry for subjecting you to my misery, but I gotta tell someone and an anoymous blog screen seems to be it.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
HOT
I really do not like this heat. I get all sweaty and itchy when I go outdoors. I have enough trouble with my own personal power surges to spend any "quality" time outdoors right now. It's dash out the door, check the tomatoes, dash back in. My talents lie more indoors: cooking, knitting, singing and playing, etc.
Bryan took Richard yesterday morning for an over-nighter. I've been cleaning all day. Saturday I rested and played. It's hard to even clean when he's here because he follows me around so close and wants to help but...doesn't help even when he tries.
I really need to get rid of some of my "stuff". (Not knitting stuff or music stuff but other stuff.) I seem to have too much furniture for the size of our house but I have several antiques that I absolutely love and the rest of the furniture is necessary for sitting upon or eating upon, so I'm sort of caught between a rock and hard place. (How many of us still eat at the table or do you just trot your plates to TV trays in front of the you-know-what? I'll bet we're not the only ones who do that when it's just the 2 of us!) Anyhow, back to subject, with 2 families living in one house, it's a challenge. We get along just fine but we are crowded. That's okay, I'll really miss them when they leave.
I cut up an ice cream sandwich for Carter the other day and he stared at it a bit (didn't recognize it) picked it up dropped it and said "hot!" which makes sense if you think about it. He knows hot cause he burned his fingers on the iron awhile back. He has learned to jump up in the air and both his feet actually leave the ground at the same time. He's been working really hard on learning that. I don't remember all this stuff from my own kids. Either they're too old, I'm too old, or I was just too busy to take note of these exquisite little moments.
I finally got control of my Forest Canopy Shawl and it's coming along fine now. I can work on it in a group now but it took a while. Yesterday I was at Gourmet Yarn in the afternoon and had to laugh. There was a big crowd and everyone was pawing through the bags of Noro Sock Yarn both Kureyon and Silk Garden. The colors are so absolutely beautiful it's almost impossible to resist it--and I didn't. I brought home 1 skein of S8--greens and blues for probably socks, and 2 of S264 which is turquoise-y and light brown-ish and blue and who knows what other colors are in there that I can't see yet but the whole things looks like my sister so I think she'll be getting a scarf for her birthday or Christmas. It was really funny, Sandy and David were trying to put price stickers on the lables and they couldn't keep up with us. Linda P. came by with Nina and it was good to see them and hear a little bit about camp, but she was headed home for a nap and a ballgame--at the same time I think! Polly was there and Liz and Karen and Martha, and some others but I don't remember who all. I've got to take some pictures and post of my new stuff and projects.
I watched "The Other Boelyn Girl" last night. Good movie but what a terrible time to have lived--royalty being so difficult and all. English history is facinating. I've always enjoyed the Phillippa Gregory books even though uit's been a while since I read them. I'm planning to watch "Knocked UP" this afternoon. I saw the "Waterhorse' a couple weeks ago and it's really cute. I finished "1st. to Die" by James Patterson-wow. I've ordered "@nd Chance" now-I think I'll need to read the whole series. I'm reading "Final Notice" by Jo Dereske a Helma Zukas, Librarian mystery. They're pretty entertaining.
I am so aggravated that Guild was cancelled this month. I coildn't go last month but I can this month but now I can't cause we aren't having it. I should have just invited everyone over to my house!
For now, I think it's lunch time-guess I'll go see what leftovers I have in the fridge! Then possibly nap time if all goes well! toodles, Anita
Bryan took Richard yesterday morning for an over-nighter. I've been cleaning all day. Saturday I rested and played. It's hard to even clean when he's here because he follows me around so close and wants to help but...doesn't help even when he tries.
I really need to get rid of some of my "stuff". (Not knitting stuff or music stuff but other stuff.) I seem to have too much furniture for the size of our house but I have several antiques that I absolutely love and the rest of the furniture is necessary for sitting upon or eating upon, so I'm sort of caught between a rock and hard place. (How many of us still eat at the table or do you just trot your plates to TV trays in front of the you-know-what? I'll bet we're not the only ones who do that when it's just the 2 of us!) Anyhow, back to subject, with 2 families living in one house, it's a challenge. We get along just fine but we are crowded. That's okay, I'll really miss them when they leave.
I cut up an ice cream sandwich for Carter the other day and he stared at it a bit (didn't recognize it) picked it up dropped it and said "hot!" which makes sense if you think about it. He knows hot cause he burned his fingers on the iron awhile back. He has learned to jump up in the air and both his feet actually leave the ground at the same time. He's been working really hard on learning that. I don't remember all this stuff from my own kids. Either they're too old, I'm too old, or I was just too busy to take note of these exquisite little moments.
I finally got control of my Forest Canopy Shawl and it's coming along fine now. I can work on it in a group now but it took a while. Yesterday I was at Gourmet Yarn in the afternoon and had to laugh. There was a big crowd and everyone was pawing through the bags of Noro Sock Yarn both Kureyon and Silk Garden. The colors are so absolutely beautiful it's almost impossible to resist it--and I didn't. I brought home 1 skein of S8--greens and blues for probably socks, and 2 of S264 which is turquoise-y and light brown-ish and blue and who knows what other colors are in there that I can't see yet but the whole things looks like my sister so I think she'll be getting a scarf for her birthday or Christmas. It was really funny, Sandy and David were trying to put price stickers on the lables and they couldn't keep up with us. Linda P. came by with Nina and it was good to see them and hear a little bit about camp, but she was headed home for a nap and a ballgame--at the same time I think! Polly was there and Liz and Karen and Martha, and some others but I don't remember who all. I've got to take some pictures and post of my new stuff and projects.
I watched "The Other Boelyn Girl" last night. Good movie but what a terrible time to have lived--royalty being so difficult and all. English history is facinating. I've always enjoyed the Phillippa Gregory books even though uit's been a while since I read them. I'm planning to watch "Knocked UP" this afternoon. I saw the "Waterhorse' a couple weeks ago and it's really cute. I finished "1st. to Die" by James Patterson-wow. I've ordered "@nd Chance" now-I think I'll need to read the whole series. I'm reading "Final Notice" by Jo Dereske a Helma Zukas, Librarian mystery. They're pretty entertaining.
I am so aggravated that Guild was cancelled this month. I coildn't go last month but I can this month but now I can't cause we aren't having it. I should have just invited everyone over to my house!
For now, I think it's lunch time-guess I'll go see what leftovers I have in the fridge! Then possibly nap time if all goes well! toodles, Anita
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Here's what's happening in Anitaville
It’s been a while since I posted. I'll try to do better in the future.
I kinda-sorta gave up on the Goddess Mystery KAL. Just too busy to concentrate. I did begin a Forest Canopy Shawl but I can’t seem to concentrate well enough on it either to get going smooth. It’s knit a few rows, tink a few rows, knit a few more rows, tink a couple and so on!! I’m also crocheting a pink ruffled baby bonnet for a co-worker. She has two boys and I thought pink and ruffles were just what she needed for this baby girl. As soon as it’s finished I’ll post a picture. A friend is getting married and I thought a knitted washcloth (one of the Fiber Trends patterns) would be nice along with a hand-made bar of soap for her personal shower, but that isn’t happening!! One shower is Friday, the other Saturday and I just don’t have time—work does so interfere with one’s social life….. Crocheting really makes my hands hurt a lot more than knitting does. I guess that’s why I don’t crochet much anymore.
Last Friday I taught autoharp, limberjack, spoons, yodeling and juice harp to music teachers getting the Kodaly Certification at OU. (see picture of my class) It was so much fun! This is the 5th. class I’ve taught for OU. They rotate several of us each year and this was my year. I’ve basically got my hand-outs prepared and in the computer so it’s just a matter of tweaking them a bit and all the printing. Also, OU has this rather famous trombonist who also plays the spoons, and he’s always so gracious to come down and give my class a demonstration. He’s played for the Pope, 4 presidents, and who knows how many other dignitaries. He’s travelled all over the world. I’m including a You-Tube of him for your viewing pleasure. Also a web address detailing his accomplishments. You’ve got to watch him it is just too cool!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSwI9Off-iI
http://www.ita-web.org/about/iwagner.asp
On the Alz. front, we’re doing the best we can. The oddest thing: a few months ago ALL my finger picks disappeared. I searched high and low, (being short I usually forget the high part) up and down, in and out, absolutely everywhere and then some! No fingerpicks anywhere, so I bought some more. Then I spent about $40 on picks for my class for the students. When I got home Friday evening after teaching all day, Rich says (in his fashion after I interpreted) “you’ll never believe what I found today”. I ask what, he said I’ll show you and I followed him to the bedroom where he gets a small cardboard box down from his closet shelf (where I’d already looked at least several times) opens it and there are all the missing fingerpicks. I gasped, where did you find these? With a big smile he says I don’t know and hands me the box. It was like he ransacked the house, found all the picks and put them away. He had to get into my autoharp cases-all 3 of them-to find some of these. Beats me how he does these things. So now I have 40-11 finger picks and probably can’t use them all in this lifetime! But he was so happy to have found them for me…. forget the fact that he's the one who hid them!!
I’m currently reading Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry. It’s the newest in her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. I just finished Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton. I don’t think the writing is great. She overdoes the “sly smile” phrase and the lead character is a little too much smarter than anybody else in the town including the police. And really, it’s kind of dangerous to be her friend-they keep getting killed! But I do like the descriptions of knitting, spinning, dying etc. I’ve read all of hers and will continue to read them as long as she writes them! I’m listening to 1st. to Die in the Women’s Mystery Club series by James Patterson. It’s good I just don’t spend enough time in the car to get much listened to at a time! I’m getting ready to start a non-mystery non-fiction called The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel. I’ve also got at home Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs who wrote The Friday Night Knitting Club.
Well I guess that’s enough for now. Toodles…..Anita
I kinda-sorta gave up on the Goddess Mystery KAL. Just too busy to concentrate. I did begin a Forest Canopy Shawl but I can’t seem to concentrate well enough on it either to get going smooth. It’s knit a few rows, tink a few rows, knit a few more rows, tink a couple and so on!! I’m also crocheting a pink ruffled baby bonnet for a co-worker. She has two boys and I thought pink and ruffles were just what she needed for this baby girl. As soon as it’s finished I’ll post a picture. A friend is getting married and I thought a knitted washcloth (one of the Fiber Trends patterns) would be nice along with a hand-made bar of soap for her personal shower, but that isn’t happening!! One shower is Friday, the other Saturday and I just don’t have time—work does so interfere with one’s social life….. Crocheting really makes my hands hurt a lot more than knitting does. I guess that’s why I don’t crochet much anymore.
Last Friday I taught autoharp, limberjack, spoons, yodeling and juice harp to music teachers getting the Kodaly Certification at OU. (see picture of my class) It was so much fun! This is the 5th. class I’ve taught for OU. They rotate several of us each year and this was my year. I’ve basically got my hand-outs prepared and in the computer so it’s just a matter of tweaking them a bit and all the printing. Also, OU has this rather famous trombonist who also plays the spoons, and he’s always so gracious to come down and give my class a demonstration. He’s played for the Pope, 4 presidents, and who knows how many other dignitaries. He’s travelled all over the world. I’m including a You-Tube of him for your viewing pleasure. Also a web address detailing his accomplishments. You’ve got to watch him it is just too cool! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSwI9Off-iI
http://www.ita-web.org/about/iwagner.asp
On the Alz. front, we’re doing the best we can. The oddest thing: a few months ago ALL my finger picks disappeared. I searched high and low, (being short I usually forget the high part) up and down, in and out, absolutely everywhere and then some! No fingerpicks anywhere, so I bought some more. Then I spent about $40 on picks for my class for the students. When I got home Friday evening after teaching all day, Rich says (in his fashion after I interpreted) “you’ll never believe what I found today”. I ask what, he said I’ll show you and I followed him to the bedroom where he gets a small cardboard box down from his closet shelf (where I’d already looked at least several times) opens it and there are all the missing fingerpicks. I gasped, where did you find these? With a big smile he says I don’t know and hands me the box. It was like he ransacked the house, found all the picks and put them away. He had to get into my autoharp cases-all 3 of them-to find some of these. Beats me how he does these things. So now I have 40-11 finger picks and probably can’t use them all in this lifetime! But he was so happy to have found them for me…. forget the fact that he's the one who hid them!!
I’m currently reading Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry. It’s the newest in her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. I just finished Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton. I don’t think the writing is great. She overdoes the “sly smile” phrase and the lead character is a little too much smarter than anybody else in the town including the police. And really, it’s kind of dangerous to be her friend-they keep getting killed! But I do like the descriptions of knitting, spinning, dying etc. I’ve read all of hers and will continue to read them as long as she writes them! I’m listening to 1st. to Die in the Women’s Mystery Club series by James Patterson. It’s good I just don’t spend enough time in the car to get much listened to at a time! I’m getting ready to start a non-mystery non-fiction called The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel. I’ve also got at home Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs who wrote The Friday Night Knitting Club.
Well I guess that’s enough for now. Toodles…..Anita
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