No more relying on Snopes

A while back, Snopes ran a badly-researched article on the book & movie versions of The Golden Compass. I wrote to them about it (actually, I sent them a thoughtful and amazing post written at the Lush message board by a poster named Shelby), and while they didn't precisely fix the entire article, they did remove some of the more blatant errors and the proof that they had relied on abstracts as opposed to reading the books.

Today, when I was reading about the Kitty Genovese event, I ran across an article from Snopes about an urban legend about a rape during Scream Session week.

I was surprised and dismayed to find that Snopes reiterates the Kitty Genovese urban legend, and really upset to get an e-mail in response to my comment which basically said, "Look up the references if you don't believe us." Upon taking another look at the article, I note that the only reference is to the scream session legend, they have nothing cited to back up their figure on the Genovese case.

You'd think they'd try to not propagate more urban legends.

What a day!

In three weeks, my niece Princess Mathgeek will be visiting my parents for an extended stay. My nephews will join the Princess and Plaid & Flannel Jammies at the Lakeside house for two weeks. Flannel Jammies' sister and four of her six grandchildren will be there also. In August, Plaid Jammies' sister and her family will be at Ogelbay, WV, so the senior Jammies and the younger Pickypants will take part in that reunion.

Two years ago, one of my cousins made family t-shirts for all the kids at Lakeside, and Mom decided she wanted to make two sets of shirts, one for Lakeside and one for Ogelbay. She bought the shirts a while back, and we bought an assortment of iron-on transfer paper. The store didn't have 20 sheets of any one kind, so we wound up with three different brands.

Today, I went out to Mom & Dad's and after I helped Mom weed the front bed where all her roses are and admired her new plant hanger, I tasted-tested the pulled pork and two different sauces she made to take to the Lake (verdict--both sauces were on the bland side but the pork was extremely tender).

After lunch, we loaded the paper into an ink-jet printer, printed off adorable pictures of ice cream cones, sombreros, and logos for the two resorts. Unfortunately, while the small pieces ironed on just fine, the larger pieces refused to melt and we wound up wasting three t-shirts and a lot of printer ink. Fortunately, Mom and I always have fun when we're working together, even if we're both horribly frustrated. I left about an hour after I intended to, having missed both my nap and dinner.

On my way home, I stopped and got gas, and thanks to having yesterday off, I spent about $11 less than I usually do to fill my tank. I figured I would treat myself to Arby's as an antidote to all the frustration. I pulled into the parking lot of the dying little shopping plaza near me, but on my way to the Arby's drive-through, I saw that the guy who sets up a seasonal plant-selling area was having a clearance sale.

I wound up spending $13 and getting two burgundy sweet potato vines, six white petunias, two midnight purple salvias, and eighteen snapdragons. I still haven't eaten dinner because I planted everything and then watered, but a low-blood sugar headache is a pretty cheap price to pay. :)

Oh, and Dad thinks Mom will have better luck using Epson's own iron-on transfer paper, so I saved everything to a folder on his desktop and Mom's going to try again.

Flannel Jammies knows EVERYONE

Last night, I had my first bath in weeks, and it was lovely--all geranium goodness. Then this morning, my car started coughing and hesitating, so rather than tackle the interstate, I came home, called work and called Saturn to see if they could get me in. They were booked for the next two weeks, so they suggested I call the dealership in Middleburg Heights. So let's see--I call the dealership because I'm worried about getting safely to Independence, and you tell me to go someplace even farther away than that. Not helpful, guys.

The place where I had my brakes done in April has a new owner, and he's not honoring the previous owner's warranties, so I sure as hell wasn't going there. In looking at yellowpages.com, I found a place about two blocks from here, and they happened to be open at seven thirty in the morning, so I locked up the car and took it down there. The guy I spoke with brought me home as a test drive, and said he'd call me as soon as he knew what was wrong.

When he did, the $1000 I'd saved by going with Clearwater instead of Culligan went right out the window. Well, most of it--I needed a tuneup, sparkplugs and the big spendy bit was a new EGR valve, to the tune of $870.00. *sigh*

I called Mom to let her know what was going on, and turns out that the owner's daughter was a former student of hers. This happens all the time--we will be at a restaurant and a server or the hostess or maitre d' will be a former student. We go to the Ohio Mart and we run into dozens of former students, former colleagues, former clients. It's amazing and a little humbling to see how very many people remember her with pleasure. Someday, I hope that I will have had a positive effect on lots of people, if not that many.

Honor thy father

means not killing him, right?

Clearwater was typically non-specific about the arrival time of the water softener installer, so I was home and changed out of my work clothes by noon. Dad arrived about quarter after, and was pouty because the work I'd brought home was stuff I had to do on the computer. After his little hissyfit, he stomped out to the garage to hook a battery charger up to my lawnmower while the coffee he'd pretty much demanded I make was brewing. At some point after Dad went to the garage but before he came back in, Bigfoot pooped on the breezeway floor.

On his way back in, Dad not only stepped in it, but failed to notice that he'd done so, and he tracked it through the breezeway, the kitchen, the hallway and the bathroom. When I told him what had happened, he got angry with poor old Bigfoot and angry with me, and bitched and whined about how it would never come out of the treads of his shoes. NB: I took them outside and used the pinpoint setting on my sprayer head and they cleaned up perfectly. Dad put his shoes back on, poured coffee into his traveling mug (leaving a small pond of coffee on the kitchen counter for me) and went to the bank and to do some shopping. He told me to call him when the service guy arrived, but he came back at 2:00 and no one was here yet.

I closed all my files and told Dad he could have the computer for ONE. HOUR. At 3:15, I basically had to bully him into giving it up, and he told me I hadn't given him enough time to put the keyboard, monitor and speakers back where they were. After rebooting and re-arranging, I went back to work on my book. Dad installed the new bathroom fan, and I had to go admire it.

The guy finally showed up at 4:05, and I put Littlefoot in my bedroom and tied Bigfoot up outside. Dad borrowed one of my garden hoses to drain the hot water heater, put a "severe kink" in it and then borrowed my good snips to cut it apart. It started to rain, so I let poor Bigfoot back in and got yelled at for not keeping him out of the basement, despite the fact that Dad is the one leaving the damn door open every time he goes down there.

Right now, the guy's still down there installing, Dad is wandering around being a major grump, the water's still off and I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally need to piddle.

I need to send my mother flowers for putting up with him for forty-six years!

Sweat equity

Mom & I worked for four hours at the law office today, then had breakfast for lunch at a neat little local cafe, then worked three more hours on a house she's cleaning out for a guardianship. For those three hours of working in yucky heat & humidity dragging things down the stairs or up the stairs and out of the house, I earned four plastic outdoor chairs, an aluminum outdoor lounge, a recliner in decent condition, four or five books on gardening and a beautiful old steamer trunk with a domed lid.

I ache in every muscle and while I am clean and no longer sweaty, I miss being able to soak muscle aches out in the tub. I have my bath for Monday night all planned out--Aura Suavis bubble bar & shower gel, plus the spearmint/geranium Winter Stress Relief OOAK perfume from BPAL. Maybe I should have a ticker for hours left until bathtime. ;)

Who, me?

The Little Mermaid put me in for our "Helping a co-worker" award and I got a nice e-mail and a $10 gift card for Starbucks. I'm all blushy and sniffly.

Random

You wouldn't think two hours of work and six hours of training would be more tiring than eight hours of work, but I'm exhausted.

My arm hurts like hell.

Driving home was a nightmare--the rain was so heavy the freeway traffic was at a standstill.

I burned my tongue.

*looks at ticker*

I can haz JammiesFest naow?

Oh, and be jealous--the lovely Kogi sent me a commemorative mug.

Let there be (drinkable) water

Yes, there will be water in time for JammiesFest '08. Rob will not have to worry about remembering which is the potable water if he wakes up in the middle of the night, and I will be a relaxed and happy Jammies owing to my renewed ability to bathe.

On either June 30th (hopefully) or July 7th (more likely), Clearwater Systems will be installing a new AquaSystems Smart Choice 200 model water softener.

I'm so excited I may go organize my bath products, and I am already debating what scent my celebratory bath should be.

Buggre All This Everything

The following is from Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

The book was commonly known as the Buggre Alle This Bible.* The lengthy compositor's error, if such it may be called, occurs in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 48, verse five:

2. And bye the border of Dan, fromme the east side to the west side, a portion for Afher.
3. And bye the border of Afhter, fromme the east side even untoe the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4. And bye the border of Naphtali, from the east side untoe the west side, a portion for Manaffeh.
5. Buggre all this for a Larke. I amme sick to mye Hart of typeƒettinge. Master Biltonn if no Gentelmann, and Master Scagges noe more than a tighte fisted Southwarke Knobbeƒticke. I telle you, onne a daye laike thif Ennywone half an oz. of Sense should bee oute in the Sunneshain, ane nott Stucke here alle the liuelong daie inn thiƒ mowldey olde By-Our-Lady Workeƒhoppe. @*"Æ@;!*
6 And bye the border of Ephraim, from the east fide even untoe the west fide, a portion for Reuben.

*[The Buggre Alle This Bible was also noteworthy for having twenty seven verses in the third chapter of Genesis, instead of the more usual twenty four.

They followed verse 24, which in the King James version reads:

"So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life," and read:

25 And the Lord spake unto the Angel that guarded the eastern gate, saying Where is the flaming sword which was given unto thee?
26 And the Angel said, I had it here only a moment ago, I must have put it down some where, forget my own head next.
27 And the Lord did not ask him again.

It appears that these verses were inserted during the proof stage. In those days it was common practice for printers to hang proof sheets to the wooden beams outside their shops, for the edification of the populace and some free proofreading, and since the whole print run was subsequently burned anyway, no one bothered to take up this matter with the nice Mr. A. Ziraphale, who ran the bookshop two doors along and was always so helpful with the translations, and whose handwriting was instantly recognizable.]

It was this passage (or paƒƒage) which made me realize that I am essentially a high-tech typesetter (not that I mind, it's actually good to have a label to use when I need to answer the "What do you do" question). After last week, I'd replace "Master Scraggs" with "Miƒtreƒƒ Patricia," but other than that, I'm familiar with the temptation.

Got my water softener estimates today. The good news is that it's not $3,500 or even $3,000 but probably more like $1,800-$1,900. The bad news is that is 95 Ladies of the Grindhouse, 158 Body Glaze Samplers or just under 30 dog baths!

Dad was a big help this afternoon, asking questions and letting me think out loud after all the salesmen had left. He also took a look at my bathroom fan, couldn't fix it, and took the carcass away to get a new one (which I hope will be installed before JammiesFest). He also did all my Windows updates and admired my Kogimugs (but refused to use one on the grounds that he would feel awful if he broke it). It was a productive afternoon if not an exciting one.

It looks as if JammiesFest will have usable water but possibly a lot of ramen on the menu. Ahh well, the most important thing is the time with the friends willing to drive all this way to be here. :)

A Jammies without a bath is like

...any unpleasant simile, really. I am sore and cranky and all rumpled up in my soul. Plus my bathtub is blue with orange from my showers (which are so very not the same as a bath) and my dishwasher is a giant drying rack and I'm worried about doing laundry.

On Monday there are three companies coming to give me estimates, and my dad is going to try to be here. Nothing like a Monday full of grumpy old men. :P

Zombies, pants and Oompa Loompa water

My custom sock zombie arrived from Erin. As a result of a discussion Mallie, Becs and I had a while back, his name is Izbin. He is so freaking cute that I keep expecting him to ask "I can has bwains?" and looking into his one big and one small green eye, I would say yes, because he is adorable.

Littlefoot has no pants. He spent last Friday at the groomer's, and came home fluffy, sweet-smelling, wearing a triangle of cloth with a puppy print on it, and pantsless. His formerly Jiffy Pop butt is now sleek and you can see his cute little feet! He keeps nudging the "bandana" as if to ask me to put it back on him, which I will do for JammiesFest.







Speaking of JammiesFest, I am awaiting loan approval so I can get a new water softener. Because my water is dark orange thanks to all the iron in it, I am on both a no-buy (meaning no spending fun money) and a no-bath for the foreseeable future. I just hope I can get it fixed before JammiesFest. *sigh*

I've never thought of myself that way!

Yesterday afternoon, I loaded all of my Home Depot purchases onto one of those big flatbed carts they have and headed up to the register. The cashier asked me, in a tone of surprise, if I had loaded everything in by myself. When I said yes, she asked why I hadn't asked for help (ummm, because I didn't think to!). The only time I have asked for help was the last time I bought topsoil at Ace Hardware, and then only because I stopped on my way to a dinner engagement and I didn't want to get dirty.

I got a similar reaction every time I bought a carload of mulch and helped load it and when I turn down help loading the fifty-pound bag of dog food I buy every month. I keep getting comments about how strong I must be. My internal response is that it's really not all that awesome to be able to heave things around for a short time--"strong" is the people who load all this crap I buy onto and off of trucks, etc.

It makes me wonder if it is my appearance (short, fat, elderly) which makes people surprised about my ability to carry things. Or is it that Americans in general have gotten in the habit of having others do things for us? Perhaps it falls somewhere in between, but I feel a little weird being admired for something that really isn't all that special, although I will cherish the comment the Home Depot cashier made on my way out.

"I sure wouldn't want to mess with you!"

*snort*

I'll admit it--sometimes I am five

From 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., I was a responsible adult. I paid my bills, did my job, drove safely, had yogurt for breakfast, etc.

But when I left work, I went and spent my "allowance" on retaining bricks, limestone gravel, marble chips and potting soil. Then I picked up a soft, slimmer, tangle-free, sweet-scented and very adorable Littlefoot at the groomer's (bless his dumb little heart, he tried to walk out through the picture window).

After dinner, I went out and spread the limestone gravel in the soggy spot in my back flowerbed, then covered it over with the last four bags of mulch. I got four tomatos planted and about 2/3 of the stones on top of the first layer of the round bed in the front yard.

Then the thunderstorm started.

Instead of going inside, I kept potting and playing out in the rain. I splashed around in puddles in the driveway, cleared the driveway drain about three times, sang to myself and had a great time. When I came in, I was utterly drenched and filthy, and while I did towel off most of the dirt and wash my arms, my bath is going to feel amazing tonight. And yes, my inner five year old will be happy with bubbles and glitter!

Because leaving your side door unlocked is exactly like wearing a miniskirt

...it just invites rape.

Never mind that it's a side door.

Never mind that you can't tell if a door is locked unless you try it.

Never mind that anyone trying to open a stranger's door probably doesn't have a whole lot of nice things in mind.

Leave your door unlocked and get assaulted and raped, at least according to one big-mouthed member of the RCMP.

Here's my letter to the editor, feel free to write your own:

I'm sure anyone with criminal intent is very comforted to know that Cpl. Buxley will excuse rape & assault on the basis of an unlocked door which isn't visible from the street. How nice for the bad guys.

I'm so ticked I can't see straight right now.

Fun stuff!

I've fallen absolutely in love with a webcomic called "Narbonic." Evil scientists, computer geeks, genetically engineered gerbils and steampunk. What's not to love?

Things not to do on Monday

At least not in this particular order:

1. Apply hydrocortisone cream to itchy spot on left hand, using fingers of right hand.
2. Alternate between using pen & highlighter with right hand.
3. Nibble thoughtfully on end of pen.
4. Wonder why your lips are numb.

Oops.

I haz a zombie!

He is custom made from socks I sent Erin. You should go look at him and then buy a different zombie from her!

Oh, and Erin gave me a high-water mark in my life. I mean, how often does someone say to you, "Yours [zombie] is done, Jammies, I'm just waiting for his blood to dry"?

Great big scary Littlefoot-eating monsters

apparently have taken up residence in my back yard. Littlefoot will not go outside after dark unless I am with him, and even then, he is more interested in going back inside than he is in emptying his bladder. He started this silly behavior over the holiday weekend, and I chalked it up to the fact that my neighbors were outside having a bonfire until quite late. It's been a week now and he's still timid, so I don't know what's up. It's possible that he's scared of the deer (assuming there are some in the back yard most nights, which wouldn't surprise me) or scared of the little grey catling or who knows. I really hope that what I saw briefly on my way home one night last week wasn't a coyote, although if there are some in the area, that would be a reasonable thing for JiffyPopButt to be afraid of.

Speaking of the little grey cat, all of the no-kill shelters are full, Animal Control offered to send someone out to catch and kill the cats, and the only animal friends-type group I could reach suggested that I either catch the cat and give it a "foster home." Erm, yeah. My former co-worker has "fostered" cats--that's why she has eight. So I've hardened my heart and am following the theory of "if I don't feed it, it will move on."

WTF is going on with my hydrangea bush?

There is another cat living under there. This one is a grey adolescent, in that lanky, leggy, adorably clumsy but not really cute stage.

*chants* I am not buying cat food, I am not buying cat food, I am not buying cat food!

Even more progress

Despite an ugly bout of powerbarfing first thing this morning, I managed to get myself together and get some things done. There are only four bags of mulch left in the garage, and I can get my car in again. Those last four bags are earmarked for the spot in the back flower bed which needs a layer of limestone gravel laid down to absorb the water before I can mulch.

The laundry is almost done, the bathroom has been scoured, and all but eight of the houseplants are now outside where they can revel in sunshine and fresh air. My sheets are changed and I've done a quick inventory of the linen closet. I need another set of nice twin sheets, and I'm down to only fifteen Ice Hotels. If Lush NA ever gets their act together on offering Retro products, I foresee a great poorness in my future, especially with new scents from Skindecent and BPAL. Oh, and my second invention has made the Skindecent scent list. The first, as my few loyal readers will remember, was Treefrog Jammies, a blend of green scents & lavender. The new one is a combo of key lime, maraschino cherries & ginger ale, named Ultrasonic by a fellow Lushie named Andromedi.

Thanks to my assorted addictions, I'm rather spoiled for choice. Right now, for example, I am trying to decide what scent to use for my bath tonight. Whatever I decide on, the bathtub is one of my most important refuges. The other is my garden, especially when I am out there watering.

I was trying to describe to a friend what I love about watering plants. It's hard to verbalize because I am not a particularly philosophical person, but there's a ritual aspect to it, a definite sense of being connected to the earth, the plants, the water and a sort of calm chance to contemplate whatever my little butterfly brain feels like thinking about. I guess articulating the process doesn't really make much difference--it still feels good.

And now I have to go retrieve Bigfoot, who is outside barking hysterically at poor Rooter. *eye roll*

Progress

There are now fifteen bags of mulch left in the garage, and when it cools down some, I'm going to go see how many I can use up. It looks as if buying sixty bags wasn't too many and in fact, I could use a few more.

The new colombines are gorgeous--dark purple, verging on black and double-petaled. My two double clematis (Empress and Crystal Fountain) in the front are blooming like crazy and very healthy, but it appears that only two of the mini-roses I attempted to transplant have made it. The new Korean lilac looks very tiny and alone in the spot where the old one used to be.

Amy's pictures of her beloved Lexi have been loaded to Photobucket and the KogiMug for her birthday commissioned.

Littlefoot has an appointment to be trimmed to within an inch of his fuzzy little hide.

I've had a lovely nap and am now ready to tackle the evening!

Best dinner EVER

A sandwich made with my very first ever homemade dill bread, cream cheese, sliced cucumbers and black pepper. Perfection.

Halfway there

Apparently, I lost count of my trips to the store and loads of mulch, because I've used thirty-two bags and still have about thirty in the garage. It's okay, though, because I can still use the rest. The front beds are all mulched, and I will do the back in the next few evenings. I still need to get some limestone gravel to fill in the squishy spots in the back flowerbed before I plant a few things, and some potting soil for my tomatos and basil, but I'm pretty much on schedule with the gardening.

I half expected to feel as sore as Zayrina and Santa, but evidently losing the weight and heaving all those bags of mulch into and out of my car has toughened me up a bit. I've got that pleasantly stretched-out feeling that comes from actually using some muscles, but *knock wood* nothing painful. The back flowerbed is going to be a challenge because of the combination of weeds and standing water, but I think I can have it whipped into shape by JammiesFest.

Tomorrow, I need to go put in my time at Mom's office, do laundry, make some dill bread and do some work I brought home with me. All in all, I'd say this was a pretty successful holiday weekend.

Ooog

Not much to report here, except that I've had low-grade nausea and been very tired for about a day and a half. I'm done with the antibiotics for the paronychis, so it shouldn't be that, and I'd think if it was some kind of infection, the Augmentin would have taken care of that.

I did get my clockwork scent locket from the Trading Post, and it's even lovelier in person than in the pictures. There is a tradition among BPALz of taking a headless torso pic when you get a locket, and I've taken mine. I'm waiting for the rest of the friends who were in my gang to get their clockets so we can all post our pics together. I did learn not to wear lavender-based scents in the locket when I'm feeling lethargic--I had to take it off while I was driving home so that I wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel. Tomorrow I'll have to wear something bright and sunny so I can snort it and wake up.

It's almost the weekend, and while I'm not thrilled about the sheer amount of work I have to do on the flowerbeds, I am looking forward to how good they will look when I'm done.

Still alive

Even though I haven't been around much. I'm ready for the holiday weekend--there are fifty-five fifty pound bags of mulch in my garage, three forty pound bags of topsoil, a flat of Dusty Miller, four tomato plants, two peppermint plants and four lamium waiting for planting. I've turned down my mother's request that I babysit my nephews this weekend, and I'm excited to get moving on the garden. =)

Stuff I was going to post yesterday...

until Mallie tagged me. :P

On Sunday, I had a weird, sad dream. I was at a conference in a fancy hotel with a friend who, for some reason, was played in my dream by Whoopi Goldberg. There were cute nerds everywhere, and one of them asked for my phone number. However, it turned out that he didn't actually want my number, it was just part of the setup for a practical joke on one of his nerd friends. I can't even get picked up in my own damn dreams.

The guy who messaged me on Yahoo Personals and seemed so cute and nice never got back to me, so I certainly can't get picked up when I'm awake, either.

Tuesday night, I was almost done running a bath when the power went out. I finished my bath by candlelight, which was nice, but then couldn't read or waste time on the interwebbinetz or rot my brain with teevee or really do anything interesting. I did call the police department to make sure there was an outage and not something wrong with the wiring to my house, and apparently there was a bad car accident involving a power pole which then blew a transformer. I really hope no one was too badly hurt.

The geranium air freshener I was so excited to get smells like rose, pleh!

On the good news front, I used up three bags of mulch tonight, and planted 45 gladiolus bulbs, ten lavender plants, one lamium and potted three geraniums, the licorice plant, the helichrysum and one Dusty Miller.

My "stimulus payment" arrived, which means I can pay off some medical bills and stop the annoying messages on my answering machine, plus I got an e-mail indicating that my Clockwork locket will ship soon!

My latest Barnes & Noble order arrived, and I now have almost all of the Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher and almost all of the Women of the Otherworld books by Kelley Armstrong. Thanks to Sherri and Heather respectively for those addictions.

On Saturday, I am going to Columbus to see my nephew get his next new Tae Kwon Do belt, and on Sunday my folks and I are having some dinner with old family friends.

Bigfoot is eating again, hooray!

And I'm going to be totally obnoxious and put my ticker on every post until JammiesFest is here.

I've been tagged!

What were you doing five years ago?

Working full-time for my mom, living and gardening at my old house, dating a Civil War re-enactor.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

Finish drying my comforter
Watch "American Idol"
Read the new books I just got
Balance my checkbook
Take a bath

What are five snacks you enjoy?

Garlic bagel chips
Cucumber sandwiches
Whipped strawberry or raspberry yogurt
Lindt dark chocolate truffles
Pizza rolls

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

Endow a giant no-kill shelter and put Zayrina in charge
Get a private plane so I could travel and take my dogs with me
Add more floor space, a giant, decadent bathroom and a deck to my house
Pay for lifetime maid service

What are five of your bad habits?

I don't vacuum until I can't see the floor for fur
I don't dust unless there's company coming
I'm middling-bad about putting away clean laundry
I eat in front of the idiot box
I correct people (but I'm working on that one!)

What are five places where you have lived?

Edwards AFB, CA
Hudson, OH
Akron, OH
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
(that's it, there is no number five)

What are five jobs you’ve had?

Cashier at a convenience store
Slave labor at a fast food chain
Night desk clerk at a Super 8 Motel
Graduate assistant/tutor/English instructor
Administrative assistant to an attorney

What five people do you want to tag?

Nope. Sherri tagged everyone when she tagged me.

Stuff I learned today

I probably got home before everyone who bailed out of the office early when they heard about the accident on 480, because by the time I got to the on-ramp, traffic was moving.

Even though it makes me writhe with embarrassment, there is some switch that flips inside my brain and makes me sing along to cheesy '80s songs like "Careless Whisper."

It is amazingly fun to stalk an item of which there is a very limited quantity if you do it with a group of friends.

When a friend calls you at work and you are giddy because everyone in your group got one, stop coding. You do not need to put http://www.blackphoenixtradingpost.com/jewelry.html in volume 14 of the Indiana practice series (scroll down to the clockwork locket and die of envy).

First cousins can marry in Indiana, provided they are both over the age of sixty-five.

My noisy young next-door neighbor can be a complete doll--he's out there right now, cutting my horribly overlong grass and only charging me forty bucks.

And I already knew this, but it is so lovely to come home to a big box o'stuff ordered from teh interwebbinetz. Best part? I have two more boxes coming this week and then my scent locket sometime after that.

I am so excited about JammiesFest 2008 that I made a ticker:




Good day!

Thank you, Zayrina

for giving me the phrase "I have a tumor on my greed gland." That's what I tell myself every time I go bananas at the nursery. I did, in fact, stick to my list, yay me, and came in $12 under budget. However, the burgundy sweet potato vines I wanted aren't ready yet and neither are the butterfly bushes and I need two more helichrysum. I also succumbed to two gorgeous Martha Washington geraniums, which was dumb because I have geraniums older than my nephew and taller than I am! Now I have two more that I'll have to bring in and make space for next fall.

It's also a very chilly, very rainy spring day here, the house is a pit, and I've got a screaming sinus pressure/tension/low blood sugar headache. I've divested my car of my morning's purchases, eaten some yogurt, and I'm about to go take a midday bath with a ton of lavender bubble bath and see if a nap will kill the headache.

I got:

Two each Beacon Silver lamium with pink, white or purple flowers
The aforementioned geraniums
Twelve Munstead lavender
Six basil
Two each Big Boy and Beefmaster tomatos
Ten bags hardwood mulch
One helichrysum
One licorice plant
One delphinium
One blue balloonflower

and I totally forgot to get any ibuprofen!

Please, not another one

One of my message board friends is posting about a medical problem she's having right now. She's undergoing tests because her hands keep tingling.

If that sounds only vaguely familiar, check here. It's all too damn familiar to me, and as I read her post about the EMG, all I could think was, "Please don't let another friend have this shitty disease."

A true friend will tell you when you stink! :-)

Granted, Maresche wasn't that blunt today at work, but she did make me aware that I cannot use tea tree oil-based products if I am going to be around other people. I have been using a Lush shower gel to try to tame some severe skin irritation, and while I thought the smell was fading, it turns out I'd just gotten used to it. Thankfully, I'm now aware that I smell like an ancient medicine cabinet when I use it, and will confine my self-treatments to weekends.

I am Jammies, hear me roar!

No more messing around with this "socializing" stuff. I was up at 6:30, back from the grocery store by 8:45, and out grubbing in my garden while it rained.

I planted two baby Korean lilacs and an iris, made a space at the foot of the trellises in front of the compost heap, brought my tray full of starter seeds outside, and weeded,added topsoil and then mulched the round flowerbed in the front yard. Then I picked up sticks & branches, cleaned out the driveway drain so it could do its job, and came inside.

After that, I took a bath and had a nap, and now I'm ready to revel in a boring Saturday night.

What is WRONG with this country?

Today started out well. My e-mail this morning contained notifications that birthday and baby and cheering-up gifts were all on their way to friends, another friend's cat had come home after her owner had given her up, the sun was shining, I smelled yummy and work went well.

Then in the afternoon, my day started sliding downward. I made two mistakes at work, not huge ones, but they involved other people's work, which sucks. Then on my way home, I stopped at the bank and discovered I'd overdrawn my checking account by $10, which was immediately increased by the $30 fee.

I spent the next ten minutes reminding myself that my paycheck would be deposited Friday morning first thing, and even after the NSF fees, there would be enough money in my account to pay bills, buy gas and food and even have lunch out one day next week. I also went over all the ways in which I am rich, both in luxuries like bath products, necessities like half a tank of gas and a refrigerator full of leftovers, emotionally in terms of family, friends and pets. The sun was still shining, which helped, and I had managed to pull myself out of the little dip of despair.

At the big intersection down in the Valley, there was a very young man (early 20s if that) standing on the sidewalk, holding a cardboard sign that read "NO FOOD, NO DIAPERS, NO JOKE, PLEASE HELP."

I had a visceral reaction to this young man and his sign, a combination of pain that anyone with a small child has to beg for diapers, guilt that I was broke because I spend money on luxuries and anger that our President is making noises about starting yet another war because the one we're in now hasn't sufficiently enlarged his dick and that our candidates are all running around smearing mud on each other and that we as a people are more interested in the "next American Idol" or "next Top Model" than we are in making a damn difference.

I just feel sick.

Things you didn't know you needed, but you do!

First of all, everyone needs a Sock Zombie. They're undead and cuddly--what more could you ask for? You should also go read the blog belonging to Erin, the maker of these undead cuddly cuties.

Everyone needs a Squishable. A foot & a quarter diameter stuffed frog, pig, cow, tiger, sheep, puppy--how have you lived this long without one?

And finally, everyone needs to go read "The Perfect Scent" by Chandler Burr.

What are you waiting for? GO!

This is why I walk

I did the MS Walk because it was fun, it was a chance to socialize with two friends I don't get to see very often, because the money goes to a good cause, Bigfoot got exercise and a ton of attention, and I even got two free T-shirts.

I also walked for a number of online friends with MS, people who are struggling to redefine "normal" and live with this shitty disease.

My fundraising total was $340, and Unnamed Co. will hopefully match the $240 that came from co-workers.

We did the 1 mile short course instead of the 3 mile long course because my one friend had her kidlet with her in a stroller and Bigfoot isn't getting any younger. We got there early and got our walk done before any rain (which is still forecast for today but hasn't shown up) and then ate bagels and talked. I'm not nearly as sore as I was the first time I did this, so I won't need an entire box of Epsom salts in my bath, just a few.

Oh, and I wore BPAL's Pain for my perfume. *giggle*

On the way home, I saw that the local nursery I adore is open for the summer, and while my tax refunds are all going for medical bills, I think my stimulus check is going to be spent on flowers.

Yaaaay! Spring!

Rooter is awake.

All but three of my lavender plants made it.

The lilac trees are just about to bloom, even the baby ones that are just two years old.

It's going to be sixty-five degrees tomorrow for the MS Walk.

My state tax refund arrived, so I can start paying medical bills and end all those annoying messages on my machine.

Oh, and Bigfoot got his spring allergy shot last night, and I've been rubbing aloe on his tummy. He is NOT going to be permitted to chew himself into surgery this year.

And I am too busy to go out and get my paws muddy until the weekend after next, but come May 3, I plan on being unreachable and filthy on the weekends. :D

Another good day

I can't divulge the details, because it would give away the real name of Hyphenated Corp., but I can say that I was productive most of the day and spent a portion of it laughing uproariously with several members of my team. We are going to be in so much trouble tomorrow when people complain to the boss about how loud we were, but it was absolutely worth it.

And on the home front, my adorable little white grape hyacinths have flowered.

TGIM

After the Cupcake of Doom that was my weekend, today was absolutely perfect. At work, I got to help out with Florida, Massachusetts and Washington books, then the page proofs on my current Kentucky book came back from the author and I made a start on getting his changes made. Eight hours just flew by.

When I got home, there was a box from Kogi waiting for me--I thought it was replacement mugs for the two leaky ones and was impressed at how fast she got them done and shipped. However, when I opened the box, I found that it was a very early birthday present from Rogue. She had Kogi make me a custom toad house!





The KogiToadAbode is on my breezeway at the moment, as I try to decide where in the yarden it would be best placed. I keep looking at it and feeling so grateful to have such amazing friends (and psychic, too, to know I'd need a pick-me-up after my weekendus horribilis).

Icing on the Cupcake of Doom

Last night, my dad called while I was making Satin Balls. I was literally up to my wrist in raw hamburger, raw egg, molasses, oatmeal and wheat germ, and he wanted me to drop everything and go reconfigure my computer so he had remote access to it.

I was probably a bit oversensitive (I felt like he didn't think I was smart enough to do updates myself) and definitely rude. What came out of my mouth was "I don't want you accessing my computer." Whereupon he said fine, he'd call my aunt and do her computer and he hung up.

Tonight, I went out to the house to help him take Mom's car in for service, since she is in Texas this week. I attempted to apologize, but got brushed off and told a story about how he will never help my cousin again because she turned down his computer help once. "You only have to tell me once to stay away."

Lord. Don't ever question where I get my capacity to hold a grudge.

This weekend has SUCKED and I hope that my books are back from the authors tomorrow so I have something productive to focus on.

ETA: Last night's injection left me with a quarter-sized, raised, itchy welt, and now my father is sending me e-mails along the lines of "neener neener, look at all the eeeeeeeeevil things that are going to happen to your computer now that I'm not going to work on it." Argh.

A light spring rain

A blue spring mood. Although I had a nice dinner with Doc last night, I am sad and irritated with myself for being sad today. I didn't get to go to Pittsburgh and see Imp & Bel & Dampy because my stupid car needs $220 worth of brake work, and I'm just sort of moping around. Pleh.

Robin Redux

Last year, I had a robin bashing himself against my living room picture window.

This year, I have a robin bashing himself against my bedroom windows.

Some people wake to birdsong--I wake to frantic fluttering and thumping.

Ahhh, spring.

Lucky Jammies

Lucky to have a family I love and who love me.

Lucky to have land to garden on.

Lucky to have the house I adore.

Lucky to have cold spring days full of sunshine.

Lucky to have amazing friends.

Lucky to have cuddly puppymonsters.

Lucky to have money for frivolities as well as necessity.

Lucky, lucky Jammies.

Thoughts for a friend

Remembrance candle

Please send good thoughts and wishes to Queen Mediocretia, who lost the Queen Mum yesterday.

Very very funny stuff

I sent a box to a friend from the Lush message board this week, and this was what she posted in the BPAL thread after she got the package:

We interrupt this episode of "Days of Our BPAL" to bring you this special news bulletin.

Today I come on home to find a package waiting for me. ¿Qué? I have nothing from ebay coming, it's too big to be Queenies decants, and it's not from the Lab. What is this curiosity? I do not immediately recognize the name on the return address, although the town is familiar.

Well, I must immediately open this, even if it is a bomb, or a severed head, or some disgusting curse from that crazy woman who thinks she is a Wizard-demon and hates me (I meet such interesting people...)

Well, opened it I did, and I must say that JAMMIES IS THE SHIT!

Yes, it was a lovely and unexpected package from our own RedJammies. And I just remembered that you PM'd me a while back asking about scents and I forgot to respond. Please excuse my rudeness, and anyone else I failed to respond to, I've been sick off-and-on for the past few weeks with a virus with a stupid name I won't even attempt to spell (although there are a lot of x's in it, and possibly a pound sign or ampersand), and even under the best of circumstances I am forgetful and easily distracted.

Jammies was kind enough to send me a little mini-suitcase filled with all sorts of goodies. There were some Julphia scrubs, a wee keychain imp holder, and some chocolatey things I'm just praying are coated with ecstasy. But the pièce de résistance is, naturally, a silver-sparkly phallus-shaped soap, scented with Lurid Library, and filled with...lemons? She said it was supposed to be a clockwork penis, to match my clockwork necklace, and I must believe her. I suppose once I use it, I can discover what those nebulous shapes floating mid-peen really are. Regardless, I love everything you sent me. Konichiwa, Jammies-chan. I just totally inserted four languages into this post, w00t!

RedJammies, thank you. I sincerely mean that from the bottom of my clockwork heart. And thank you, and the United States Postal Service, for the perfect timing as far as delivery goes. For I had a guest at my opening of the Mystery Box Full of Penis.

My mom.

Helpless Lush wrote:
LOLOLOL!!!! I love it! Jammies is the shit!

What did Mom think?


*scene opens on Miss Owls opening the Jammies care package*

ME: "What is this...it's not anything off of eBay..."

*finds card, reads card*

ME: "OH! It's from a friend of mine."

MA OWLS: "Who do you know in Cuyahoga Falls?"

ME: "Oh, it's someone I know from online."

MA OWLS: "You know them in real life?"

ME: "No, we're on the same forum---er, it's like a place to talk and post messages. It's a, uh *embarrassed cough* soap forum. And, uh, those little perfumes I wear that you always manage to describe in such a way that makes me never want to wear them again."

MA OWLS: "So someone online you don't know, and never met, is sending you packages you didn't expect. Is that chocolate? You shouldn't eat that, they could be poisoned."

ME: "What?! Ma, they're not poisoned, it's fine, I know her."

MA OWLS: "They could be, you don't know. You hear things on the news, on the myspace, it's all full of crazy shut-ins."

ME: "MA! I'm online."

MA OWLS: "My point exactly. What the hell is that!?"

ME: "Er, nothing, it's soap."

MA OWLS: "No it's not, I saw it, it's a dildo!"

ME: "MA!"

MA OWLS: "Oh, stop blushing, I know you know what it is. Why are people you met online sending you dildos?! What the hell are you doing online?"

ME: "IT'S NOT A DILDO! It's soap....in the shape of one."

MA OWLS: "Well that's stupid. Won't your body heat just melt it?"

ME: "Wha-MA! That's-tha' *sputter*"

MA OWLS: "You know you're not supposed to use soap down there. You'll get the yeasts."

ME: "Ma, please, for my sanity, just stop talking about it. It's not for...that. It's just amusingly shaped soap."

MA OWLS: "And why do you need strangers sending you perishable dildos anyway? There's that shop down by the U-Haul where you can just buy one."

ME: "MA! Please, for the love of God, don't give me sex-toy shopping advice!"

MA OWLS: "Well, I mean, c'mon, when was the last time you went on a date? Things must be getting dusty downstairs."

ME: "Excuse me, Ma, I have to go...wash my brain off with bleach."

MA OWLS: "Oh, the scrubby-thing smells nice."

*end scene*

Garden update

Some more of the obsessiveness Sherri thinks is cute, i.e. a list of where everything in my garden is right now.

Daffodils: Most are at half-height, some have reached full height and three have bloomed.
White grape hyacinths: Sprouted and budding.
Crocuses: Done blooming.
Purple grape hyacinths: Sprouted.
Lilacs: All have baby leaves.
White pussy willow: Catkins. Yay!
Pink pussy willow: Teeny-tiny leaf buds.
Mock orange: Too early to tell, I hope.
Clematis: New growth on all of them.
Lamium: Teeny leaves, but hopefully in good shape now that I've removed the cover of dead leaves.
Chives: Sprouted, growing vigorously.
Tulips: No sign of them, probably eaten by deer or bunnies.
Dusty Miller: Signs of new growth on about half, this is a victory because these are annuals from last year.
Irises: Apparently didn't make it. :(
Bluebells: Sprouted, some budding.
Hyacinths: Two sprouted & budding, one didn't make it.
Blue columbines: Two sprouted, one didn't make it.
Sweet woodruff: No sign of it, hopefully just because it's early.
Hibiscus & hydrangeas: Hopefully it's just too early for them to be awake.
Campanula: Appears to be growing, but is also a magnet for deer & bunnies, so who knows?
Weeds: Too damn many already.
Butterfly bushes: One didn't make it, the other five are doing well.
Viburnum: Doesn't look alive, but again, might be the earliness.

I'll revisit this list in a month and see how everything is doing. I am trying not to get my hopes up with some of the plants, as we did have a couple of truly vicious spells last winter. I've definitely lost my little Korean lilac. :(

On the other hand, I will be able to fill my house with daffodils soon!

Ahhh, spring

We have had a rare April streak of good weather here in northeast Ohio--four days of sunshine and relative warmth. I spent the weekend working for Mom and cleaning the house, so tonight after work was my first chance to get outside and do a little pre-gardening. I got about ten wheelbarrows' worth of old leaves out of my front flowerbeds and onto the compost heap, then had a quick shower to rinse off the sweat and treated myself to opening the box from my friend Kogi. I finally got around to ordering the mugs I wanted with pictures of the 'Foots on them, and they are gorgeous.







This summer, I am planning to make concrete stepping stones with the dogs' footprints on them. Neither of them shows their true age, but I have to remind myself that they are old in dog years, and I want as many tokens of them as possible.

I haven't decided where those stepping stones will go, but I have decided that this year I will not start any new flowerbeds. I am going to work with what I have until I'm satisfied, and then maybe next year I can add one. I do need to get some planting or something done along the back of the house, because right now it is just one GIANT BORING WHITE WALL and I hate looking at it when I'm out back. I'm taking my garden porn into the tub with me every night and plotting and planning and arranging and re-arranging in my head. That's really pretty much my idea of the perfect evening.

Separated at birth?

You decide!

Deep breath and walk away...

There's a raging argument taking place on a message board that I've been posting at since 2001. Basically, about half the posters are saying that depression is an excuse people use to get SSDI funds and that it can be cured with "a swift kick in the ass."

One poster dragged out Erick Turner's study. Somewhere on Queen Mediocretia's blog is a discussion of this article, but I'm too lazy to look for it.

The bit that caught my attention this time was at the very end of the article.

"About 80 percent of all antidepressant prescriptions are written by primary care providers and other non-psychiatrists. Before the introduction of SSRIs in the late 1980s, almost all antidepressant prescriptions were written by psychiatrists."

My response:

The "non-psychiatrist" who prescribes for me is a neurologist specializing in MS. In fact, he's the 2007 Ohio MS Society volunteer of the year, as well as Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the Cleveland Clinic's Mellen Center. Oddly enough, all of my friends with MS-caused depression get their prescriptions from their neuros as well. I'd like to see some data on how many of those "non-pyschiatrists" are neurologists, oncologits, etc.

And I'd have to see a breakdown of the patients involved in all of the studies to see what the makeup of the control groups vs. the experimental groups is.

I agree that every medicine we have available to us today is over-prescribed. That's why we have things like antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis. However, I don't believe that it's as much of a scourge as it's made out to be.

Right now, I'm just ticked off and disheartened by the number of people who think mental illness, particularly depression, is faked for benefit. Time to walk away from the computer for a bit.

Just so I remember someday

If I ever get my paws on a big wad of money, here's what I'd do for Casa de Jammies:

Have the property line delineated, then have a pro go through the western edge and clean out all the brush and other crap, then put up a fence.

Strip off the siding and have it replaced with brick.

Have an addition put on my bedroom, a big room that is half bathroom, half dressing room.

Have a deck built that wraps around the side and entire back of the house.

Have someone dig, mulch and border some new flower beds for me to play in.

One of these days, I should buy a lottery ticket. There are two problems with that plan. First, I took Probability in college, and it was the only math course in which I did well. I am all too aware of how poor the odds are for winning. Second, the lottery drawings in Ohio are too frequent. In order to sustain a chance to dream about all my ideas for a week, I'd need to buy 7 tickets. So I'll just cherish this thought when it comes to me for fifteen minutes at a time, and then let it go with a sigh.

Inspired by Mike

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CRS Syndrome

I was yakking with Mallie, looking at macros on I Has a Hotdog and playing "Duelling Banjos" on Bigfoot's side, which I do whenever he comes and leans on me. I thought of something I should write about here, opened up the "Create New Post" window, and promptly forgot whatever it was. Yup, I'm getting old.

So instead of whatever it was I was going to write about, I'm reduced to sharing snippets.

I thought of Scott when I got a Spam e-mail titled "The quicker pecker-upper" (a play on a paper towel tagline).

I'm currently reading "The Perfect Scent" by Chandler Burr and enjoying the heck out of it. I just finished "21 Dog Years", and I'm wondering when the subtitle changed from "Doing Time @ Amazon.com" to "A Cube-Dweller's Tale."

Lush's Olive Branch is the perfect smoky orange scent and I wish they made everything in this--I would buy it and walk around smelling like this all day.

Today I had my annual OB/Gyn checkup, and Hot Doctor was cute and funny and charming as always. One funny moment--as I was checking in and going over insurance stuff, the UPS guy arrived, and when asked for the name on the package, looked at it very quickly and said "Dr. Bits." *snerk*

My MS Walk sponsorships are up to six, even if none of you blog readers has offered. :P

Oh, and I am loving the new Lowe's commercial with the bear.

And I still can't remember what I was going to post when I opened up the window.

Nice to have a nice day at work

MegaBookMan reviewed the book I'm going to be building tomorrow, and said that there were things that needed fixed, but none of them were with the stuff I'd done, it was all older stuff from earlier editions. Then he entrusted me with his CD stuff, and I got that done. I also did the CDs for my book for this week, plus a Federal litigation book someone else is building.

The FTC had the nerve to release a new report after I'd converted the old one to TIFF files and uploaded it, so I had to re-do that part of a different book.

On my third in-progress book, I ran around in circles for a while, then asked Galahad for help on the step I was missing, and finally got the new material loaded to the server.

It was nice to have a productive day where I didn't feel stupid and overwhelmed. :)

April 26, 2008

I'm doing the Akron MS Walk this year with Goldilocks and Kat. If anyone happens to be interested in sponsoring me, drop me an e-mail and I'll send you a link. If you don't already have my e-mail address, you don't need my full name. ;-)

"Waiting on the World to Change"

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
there's no way we ever could
Now we see everything that's going wrong
with the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
to rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

These lyrics to the song by John Mayer make me very sad. The song itself is quite catchy--I find myself humming or singing it throughout the day. The lyrics, though, sound defeatist and apathetic. I can't help contrasting them with the lyrics to Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?"

CHORUS #1:
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh what's going on, what's going on
Yeah, what's going on, ah, what's going on
Ahhh....

Mother, mother, everybody thinks we're wrong
Ah but who are they to judge us
Simply 'cos our hair is long
Ah you know we'ver got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today

I just keep thinking that you can't wait for the world to change, you need to change it yourself, and sending out a message that it's okay just to wait is doing the world a disservice.

*sigh*

Goodbyes and hellos

Nothing world-shaking, but my experiment in soap-selling has come to an end. I gave myself a year to see if I could break even, and since I didn't, there is no more Cockamamie Soaps. I'll keep the molds and still make the occasional obscene soap for gifts, but selling them is not going to happen.

Another small goodbye is to the razor I've had since high school. Schick is no longer making blade cartridges for my beloved "Personal Touch" razor, so I've been looking around and experimenting. I have to roll my eyes a bit at razors with boobs on the handle, vibrating razors, razors which have solid lotion surrounding the blades, scented razors--what's next, the iRazor, which plays mp3s while you shave? I just want something that fits my hand comfortably and shaves my legs. Is that so much to ask?

I'm also not sure I'm going to be able to re-read The House that Jack Built by Robert Asprin and Linda Evans, since I just found out that Aleister Crowley, who is a minor character in the book, would have been thirteen at the time the book is set, and not the established occultist/Satanist/author/The Great Beast he later became. Unfortunately, somehow Asprin & Evans neglected to do a little bit of research, and knowing that is probably going to jar me out of the world of the book when I try to re-read it. That's a shame, because I loved the whole series, and I am saddened by the sloppy work on the part of the authors.

My first hello is to Don Foster's Author Unkown: On the Trail of Anonymous. I am absolutely loving this book. The subject matter (literary analysis) is fascinating and the author writes without academic pretension and condescension, which is pretty good for a professor.

I'm also saying hello to all of the paperwork spread across my kitchen table. I absolutely need to get my taxes done so I can pay all of these bills from my January hospital stay, oh joy.

And I'd like to say a welcome back to Scott, who's resumed blogging, and a please stick around to Becs, who was waffling about continuing to blog. I like both of your blogs too much to have either of you disappear, got it?

A little out of step

I spent the first hour at work today wondering why everyone was wearing green. Then someone sent out an e-mail that to celebrate her Irish heritage, she had made soda bread and it was available for everyone.

Oh. Ooops. I work black with royal blue accents today.

There are two reasons I didn't wear green today. The first is that mid-March has always meant middle little brother's birthday. He turned forty last week and he was NOT taking phone calls. It's also the birthday of the inimitable KellyGirl. I'm far more interested in celebrating natal days for friends/family than almost any other holiday.

The second is that I'm still not completely in sync with the whole corporate culture thing. Coming from a small office where we didn't need to do things to "forge a team spirit," I'm out of the habit of dressing in colors for holidays.

Ah well, at least I didn't wear orange.

It's been a bit more than a year

since I had my ovaries removed, and apparently I grew some stones in their place!

A friend had warned me that there was a chance that a check she'd written me would be returned NSF. It was for $10 and she's having a hard time right now, so no biggie and I just allowed for it when I balanced my checkbook.

Last night, as I was doing the telephone banking thing, I discovered that my credit union had taken $10 out of my savings account and charged me $30 for the NSF check.

This morning, I called the credit union, and was polite but persistent. The woman with whom I spoke kept saying that I'd have to ask my friend to cover the fee, as they charged it because it was took time and work to deal with a bounced check. She tried to tell me that they charge "significantly less" than national banking chains, to which I replied, "I had an account with Huntington until last December, and they charge $2 more--that is not a significant difference."

Finally, I said, "If you would like me to go back to a strictly cash economy and stop putting any money at all in your bank, I will do so." She then said she would speak with her manager and call me back. Twenty minutes later, the phone rang, and with much condescension about this being a one-time courtesy thing blah blah blah, they'd remove the charge.

Ha! I didn't know I had it in me. :)

Please don't settle

In the last twelve months, I've talked to a few newly diagnosed MS'ers. Most of the time, the best I can do is offer support--a shoulder to cry on, a promise that it's not the end of everything. A lot of the advice I give came from my MS guru, Patty. If it's an interwebbienetz friend, I point her to Queen Mediocretia's blog as proof that there's life after diagnosis, to the MS Society website for information and/or to Jooly's Joint for chat.

The one piece of advice that I never heard from anyone was "Please don't settle" and it needs to be said to anyone diagnosed with any kind of life-altering disease. For me, that was MS, so I had to not settle for the first neurologist I saw.

That guy was an arrogant, patronizing jerk who was upset because my diagnosis had been made by my primary care doc and the hospital radiologist. He kept insisting lupus hadn't been completely ruled out, ignored at least two pertinent questions from me, and essentially said I needed to subject myself to a spinal tap so he could make a "proper" diagnosis.

Being me, I bitched and stewed about it, but thankfully Zayrina was around to figuratively slap me upside the head and remind me that there are other neurologist in NE Ohio. I got a referral from a friend, went to the Mellen Center, and wound up with a neurologist who listens to me, doesn't talk down to me, and is someone I am comfortable with having a lifelong relationship with.

For anyone who's newly diagnosed with anything long-term and/or life-altering, please don't settle. Keep looking until you find the right doctor.

From Lisa, at Brass and Ivory:

MS Awareness, Blogging Friends, and a little Link Love

There are at least 137 MS Bloggers out there actively discussing whatever suits their fancy. Below you will find many of these suspects....wait... I mean lovely blogger friends who happen to have multiple sclerosis.

Remember how I mentioned a group project was in the works? Well here it is. As the founder of the Carnival of MS Bloggers, I'd like your help in spreading the word, and in doing so we will strengthen the bonds of our own little Multiple Sclerosis Blogging Web (and share some linkie love with each other). If you are not an MS Blogger, but are a regular reader here, please feel free to help spread the word too.

Here's what you do:

Copy the entirety of this post
Create a new post and paste this content
Visit 3 of the blogs listed below which you were unfamiliar
Leave a comment on their blog encouraging them to participate
Please add Brass and Ivory to your sidebar, if it's not already
New editions of the Carnival of MS Bloggers will be presented bi-weekly at Brass and Ivory. Previous editions will be are archived here and the button below has been revised to include the new link. Please update your sidebar.

Names of the Blogs - Name of Blogger (if known)and # of posts in 2008 (as of 3/5)

Tokyo Girl Down Under
Mima's Doings
Mark and MS
Home Sweet Home (Jennifer)

9 Brand New MS Bloggers joined the blogosphere in 2008!!

New! Carole's MS Blog (Carole) 49
New! Great Mastications (Orla) 37
New! Movin' On with MS (Sammie) 26
New! Me, Myself and MS (Emma) 10
New! Being Ammey 8
New! Blogbuster (Daniel) 6
New! Etsy Crest (Shelby) 6
New! Serina's Blog 5
New! I'm Beating MS (Michael) 2

Most Prolific MS Blogger - so far in 2008!!

Jim's Deep Thoughts (Jim) 231

Top 10 Rather Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!

A Stellarlife (Diane) 109
Merely Me's Multiple Synchronicities (& Sclerosis) 90
Friday's Child 70
My Journey - Living Well with MS (Diana) 69
Sunshine and Moonlight (Kim) 65
The MonSter Ate My Branes! (Natalie) 65
Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia 60
Brass and Ivory (Lisa) 56
Brain Cheese (Linda) 52
Maybe I'm Just Lazy (Julie) 51

28 Moderately Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!

Maggsbunny (Maggie) 48
Living with Multiple Sclerosis (TC) 47
MS My Way (Callie) 43
Bugs, Bikes, Brains (Shauna) 39
Dancing with MS (Lazscott) 37
Trying to Catch My Breath 37
A Florida Journal (SwampAngel) 35
Now We Are Six (Tish) 33
Reality Check (Michael) 32
Access Denied (Herrad) 31
Multiple Sclerosis Blog (Charles of MSBpodcast.com) 30
MS Activist (NMSS) 29
Self-injecting Chinese Hamsters since 2007 27
Shirl's the Girl (Shirley) 27
Disabled Not Dead (Anne) 26
Life with MS (Trevis) 26
Living with MS (Blinders Off) 25
White Lightning Axiom - Redux (mdm) 25
Stevers! 23
Word Salads (Have Myelin?) 23
Danieldoo (Vivian) 22
Caregivingly Yours (Patrick) 20
Deo Volente (Lisa N) 20
Down the MS Path (Vicki) 19
Do You Have That in My Size? (Denise) 17
Jenn's Nook (Jenn) 17
Fingolimod and Me (Jeri) 16
Human Life Matters (Mark) 16

51 Mildly Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!

A Life of Learning with MS 15
Behind Blue Eyes (Zee) 15
Katy and Mike's Adventure (Katy) 15
Living Life as a Snowflake (Sharon) 15
Mandatory Rest Period (Kim) 15
MS Maze (Mandy) 15
My Journey with MS (Christina) 15
The Multiple Sclerosis Companion (Pat) 15
'Tis Herself (Kell) 15
A Short in the Cord (Joan) 14
Blindbeard's MS Blog 14
Bubbie's Blog (Cathy) 14
One Crazy Chick (Chris) 14
Pat's Pond (Pat) 14
Rants and Musings (Cutter) 14
G and K's Mom 13
MS Toolkit 13
Newly Diagnosed with MS (Andrea) 13
One Life (Stephen) 13
MS Not Just a Diary (Doug) 12
Rayne's World (Jayme) 12
Chaos Personified 11
My MS Journal (Jaime) 11
Purely Patsy (14 yr old Patsy) 11
Victoria Plum - Technician! (Victoria) 11

26 Less Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!

Broken Clay (Katja) 10
Mark Pickup (Mark) 10
My Chain Driven Ride through Life in Alaska (Michelle) 10
Deborah Does Navel-Gazing (Deb) 9
Funky Mango's Musings 9
Inside the Mind of a Squirrel 9
Living Well with MS (Michon) 9
No Time for MS (Courtney) 9
Sorting It All Out (Michael) 9
Travels With Lucy (Virginia) 9
MS Caregivers (Prudence) 8
Can You Hear Me Now? (Donna) 7
Irreverence is Justified 7
Multiple Sclerosis Notes 7
My Tysabri Diary (Lauren) 7
Chris Has MS (Chris) 6
Diary of MS X (7 Divas) 5
Electrical Disturbance (Stephan) 5
Know Multiple Sclerosis 5
MS in the OC (Frank) 5
MS News and Notes (Deb) 5
MS Recovery Diet Blog (Ann) 5
The Endomorph (Ruth) 5
The Jaws of My Life (Jaws) 5
Time to Deal with MS (Homer) 5
YodaMamma MS & More 5

38 Barely Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!

Some of these folks have multiple blogs or co-blog and are loved none-the-less!! Let's help spread the love and let them know that WE know they are appreciated.

Carolyne's MS Odyssey (Carolyne) 4
Defeating Illness (Chris) 4
Intent, Context, Perception (Chris) 4
Libbi's MS Journey (Libbi) 4
MS Recovery Diet Blog (Judi) 4
My Autoimmune Life 4
The Life & Times of Sancho Knotwise (JM) 4
The Zen Pretzel Trick (Zen Angel) 4
When it's Raining... (Keeley) 4
Kebenaran - The Truth 3
Montana Homecoming (Sister Jane) 3
Ms Quill 3
Reality Chick (Keli) 3
Catch My Disease (Lisle) 2
Clods and Pebbles 2
Dissonance 2
Georgia MS Advocates 2
Lazy Dog Public House 2
Looking Forward with MS (Pamela) 2
Surviving MS in Alaska (Michelle) 2
These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty (Trrish) 2
Troy's Multiple Sclerosis Experience 2
You Me and MS (Judi) 2
Camille's MSadventures 1
Comment Column (Virginia) 1
Erik's MS & Lyme Blog 1
Hop Bloody Hop (Philip) 1
Jenn's Journey with MS (Jenn) 1
Living with MS (Cyndee) 1
Mismorphic's World of MS 1
MS Musings 1
MS Real Life Stories & Issues (Kristin) 1
Postcards of My Life (Sherry) 1
Rebooting Times 1
Shoester (Doug) 1
The BS of My MS (Heather) 1
The Perseverant Pincushion (Trish) 1
Tysabri Help (Deej) 1

Having too many items from various posters to count:

LJ Users with Multiple Sclerosis

And finally - 26 MS Bloggers who have been silent in 2008!!

Angst on a Shoestring (Gina)
Dandelion Wine (Lynx)
Doug's MS Journal (Doug)
It's Not All in My Head (Optimist)
Just Above the Abyss (Heidi)
Life with MS , seeking a cure (Karyl)
Managing MS with Tai Chi (Joel)
Managing Multiple Sclerosis (Vince)
Marciarita
Michele's Blog
Mike's Place
MS - My Scene (Virginia)
My Complications (Amanda)
My Demyelination (Tina)
My MS Experience
Object of My Injection (Michelle)
Say It Isn't So (Mouse)
Talk Story with Kimberly
The Great NetXperiment
To Be Continued... (Jaime)
Truth and Beauty (Baraka)
Tryin' to Imagine Bliss (Suzy)
What is MS to Me (Dave)
Willy's MS Rants
Wind Among the Reeds

Hard to categorize:

I Have MS (Tim)
Huggins' MS Pages (James)
MS - A Personal Account
MS Protocols (Jeff)
MSB's Podcast
MSing Around
Multiple Sclerosis Blog and News
Multiple Sclerosis Sucks
OUCH! It's a Disability Thing
Squiffy's House of Fun

I'm too damn lazy to find, copy & paste all the relevant links. You can find them at Brass and Ivory, linked above, and over at Queen Mediocretia's blog.

Act of Faith or Act of Idiocy--you decide

Okay, all ya'll have seen the pics. There's upwards of a foot of snow all over my yard. So what did I buy yesterday?

Two baby lilac trees, that's what. I can't decide if I was affirming that spring would come, reacting to cabin fever, or grieving for the little Korean lilac that might or might not have survived the high winds which uprooted it last fall.

Either way, there are two teeny-weeny little lilacs on my breezeway, waiting for the snow to melt so I can plant them.

Oh, and Bigfoot has decided he'd rather be inside than out.

March is MS Awareness Month in Ohio

And boy, am I aware!

After my snow day yesterday, I needed to do a ton of stuff around the house today. That included shovelling out the driveway. I got clean sheets on the bed, a load of dishes done, the laundry started and suited up and went outside.

After 45 minutes, ⅛ of the driveway was done and my left arm felt as if it was full of broken glass. Whether it's MS-related or the pinched nerve I've had for twenty years, it hurt.

I caved.

I came inside, got the phone book, and started calling plow companies. After about eight calls, I found one that was open today and taking new customers. Right now, there is a scary young man who looks like an extra from Deliverance, is chain-smoking and yelling to himself plowing my driveway.

Despite all the logical arguments, I feel defeated for not being able to shovel my own damn driveway, as if I should have started yesterday while it was still snowing, instead of goofing off all day. *sigh*

Snow Day!

Six to ten inches predicted on top of the four we got yesterday, and no work at Mom's office today. I am going to clean a bit, test perfumes, maybe do laundry, take a midday bath, follow it with a midday nap, watch Shrek the Third and in general pretend that I am a carefree kid who's been let out of school on a test day. :-)

A few pics:

More enabling

For Mom's birthday, I got her six sample lotions from Julphia, and not only does she like the floral scents I chose for her, she likes "having a stash of bath products." Bwahahaha!

When I was in Florida, I gave Mallie a bar of Lush Snowcake soap, which is a Christmas-only almond frosting scent. She loved it so much I wound up getting her more for her birthday, and I know what one of her Christmas pressies is going to be as well.

On Tuesday, when Maresche and I headed downstairs to get bagels, a coworker was behind us and she said, "One of you smells really good." Maresche indicated that it was probably me, and the coworker asked what I was wearing. I said, "Vanilla, sandalwood and orange," and she looked at me and said, "All together?" Wednesday morning I took in a business card and sample of the Julphia conditioner I'd used the previous day. Speaking of Julphia, she's having a hard time with the MS right now, so if everyone would please send lots of good thoughts, that would be great.

And finally, because of my "cheap date" post on Saturday, I've got Scott interested in bath bombs, as long as they're not "girly."

Pretty good enabling scorecard for the week. *buffs nails*

Bark, bark, woof, woof, WHINE!

Every night, Bigfoot does his best Lassie imitation, running from the bedroom to me and back again. All he really wants is for me to go to bed, but you'd think Timmy was down the well doing crack from the urgency in his manner.

NOW! COME NOW! IT'S IMPORTANT! CRITICAL! VITAL!

And all this is so that I can get into my bed, have him jump up, walk across the bed/over me, and jump down onto his own bed.

Dogs!

Wisdom of the Ages

The World According to Plaid and Flannel Jammies.

Dad: There's no such thing as stomach flu. There are just varying degrees of food poisoning.

Mom: Aspirin cures infections.

Dad: Lock your doors!

Mom: That dog needs more exercise and so do you.

Dad: The only Super Glue that doesn't dry up on you is Loctite.

Dad again: The "Close Door" buttons in elevators don't actually work. They are only operable when a fireman needs them.

And of course after thinking about this all weekend, I can't remember the rest of them, so I guess this post is "To Be Continued."

NB: When we were in Florida, Dad needed some Super Glue to fix his teeth. Sherri provided some and mentioned that Loctite glues are the only ones that close tightly enough. When I gave Dad the glue, he said, "I've been saying that for years!"

Who needs booze?

Not me (I'm a cheap drunk anyway), especially when I can get the same effect by combining MS with a too-hot, too-long bath. Tonight I combined a Lush Amandopondo bubble bar with a Tisty-Tosty ballistic, and followed up with lemon sugar lotion. I smell like roses & lemons, which is much better than most drunks smell when they're at the stage where I am!

Plus, I get to cuddle down in my bed and smell yumminess until I pass out.

*happy sigh*