I really don't want to be a grouchy neighbor

I'm totally exhausted...again.  Not getting much sleep is definitely a factor.  I did try to get to sleep early but the neighbor's friend stayed over last night and his huge truck doesn't sound like it has a muffler because it woke me up...twice.  I was still awake when Tom got home because of it and when I finally got back to sleep about 2:30 a.m. the guy left and came back within a half hour.  It woke Tom up, too.  Plus the idiot parks in front of the fire hydrant on a regular basis.  Sure hope no one has a house fire when he's visiting.  I mean, this is one of those huge pickup trucks.  The kind you need a step to get into.  I can't imagine how anyone can afford the gas to drive those monsters.

These guys are pretty young, probably in their 20s so their money goes into stuff like huge pickup trucks, four-wheelers, fishing boats and such.  Mostly the neighbor himself is quiet and doesn't bother us at all, but his friends are not so courteous.

So I'm a bit irritated today, especially with said neighbor.  I do try to keep Professor quiet at night but occasionally he does bark at something outside or when he's out for a 3 a.m. wee.  But I shush him immediately and get him inside as fast as I can.  So I'm pissed at being woke up twice on a night I had to get up early, but obviously aware that my dog might do that to others as well.

But there should be a law about trucks that loud.  And I know there is one about parking in front of fire hydrants.  I looked it up today.  Regardless of the color of the curb (yellow) it is illegal to park within 10 feet of a fire hydrant.  This guy parks within 2 feet of one.  If not less.

I also had to go to the library today after my mammogram but I opted for coming home first because while Tom kept telling me it was okay if I wasn't home by the time he left for work, his magnanimity was vaguely masking his real desire to drive the truck because he can smoke in it and not in the car.  Plus the truck has a/c and the car's front windows don't roll down so it's incredibly hot driving the car.  So I came straight home and took the car instead.  I had to pick up some flea collars and since I was so frelling tired, I picked up snacks that are not good for me.  I never manage to stay on the diet wagon when I'm this tired.

Zach is fixing supper tonight.  I had some leftover chicken so he's making some Chicken Helper Fried Rice.  I'm thinking of making up the bed already and falling into it.  I deliberately didn't knit last night so I would fall asleep when I could instead of forcing myself to stay awake in order to finish up a row.  And then waking myself up by putting the knitting up.  If not for the loud truck, I would have made it.  But tonight I don't have that problem so if I manage to stay awake, I'm going to try to finish up Zach's sweater back.

And maybe tomorrow I'll finish up the laundry I started a few days ago.  Not to mention the garden that needs hoeing badly.  I have gone out there a few times and done some bits of it, but it's still badly overgrown.  Plus the tobacco, which isn't the kind that grows on stalks, needs to be cut or the leaves will rot on the ground.  I will not plant this kind next year, for sure.

Well, time to crash for the night even though the sun is still high in the air. 

TTFN

Not my best day

I totally screwed up my property tax payment this year.  I always pay it online but they completely changed the way they do things and not having a debit card, I didn't think I could pay from my bank account.  So I looked up credit cards and did the whole thing only to find out I had sent the payment to the city clerk instead of the county clerk.  So I called the county clerk who was used to people like me messing things up.  Apparently the debit card option can be used for your electronic check.  Who knew?  So I called the city clerk a couple of hours ago to tell her what an idiot I was and ask her to write a check to the county when they get my payment.  I got her voice mail and since the office closes in 15 minutes, I doubt I will hear back from her today and I'll be gone tomorrow.  Sigh 

Tom will never hear the phone tomorrow because he spends his time upstairs.  I'll just call back tomorrow afternoon when I get home. The good news is, my payment won't be considered late. 

It rained again today...just a tiny bit but the weather is still fairly nice.  Yesterday was so cool I wore jeans to town but apparently it warmed up during the night because my window fan came on (thermostat controlled) and it was a bit muggy when I woke up.

I'm nearly done with Zach's sweater back although it looked so long that I took it into his room to measure it against him and it does come below his hips but he's fine with that. Prefers it that long, in fact.  As long as I have enough yarn, and I do, it doesn't matter.

I looked at purse patterns yesterday, not really finding one I loved.  The ones I was drawn to were knitted so I might go with that option instead of crocheting.  I was thinking of something long but not deep as finding my keys is such a problem.  Finding anything at the bottom of my purse is a problem.  I'll continue to look around a bit first before I decide.  There are other places to look at patterns besides Ravelry.  I keep forgetting that.

I have to get up early tomorrow and head for Fond du Lac for my mammogram.  I do get nervous about them.  Not the pain, but the results.  In fact, I am finding myself getting more and more anxious as the 10th year anniversary arrives.  You'd think I'd be more confident as time goes on instead of more fearful.

Then I need to make an appointment with the surgeon and I am done with medical appointments, aside from labs and such, for another 6 months.

Well, I'm going to go knit some more and get away from the computer for a while since it doesn't look like the clerk is going to call me back.  Maybe she wasn't in today.

TTFN

What choice do I have?

I woke to wonderfully cool weather and a gentle rain...that ended up in the car since I forgot to roll the windows up.  After we dried the car out, Zach and I headed to town for healthy foods to cook from now on.  Healthy foods are not inexpensive!  I stopped buying the tubes of hamburger because it's mostly just grease anyway but the price on packaged ground meat, even the 85% stuff is outrageous.  Not to mention some pork rounds and a roast.  The only thing cheap was the two chickens.

The impetus behind this drive to eat healthy was my blood sugar reading this morning.  Terribly high for a fasting test.  It doesn't help that affordable pastas are made from white flour and potatoes are a cheap side dish.  And no more sugar for me for a long while.  So I bought some whole wheat pastas.  I've had them before and didn't like the taste but I'm going to have to go with it because I've got to get those readings down.  I can't afford to cook just with the w/w pastas so the boys will get the white pastas instead.  It's disgusting that eating healthy has to cost so much money.

I cut up the roast into three pieces as it will be mostly flavoring instead of a meat-and-potatoes meal.  Same with the ground beef.  I can get two meals out of each chicken so that rounds out the week.  Except I can't afford to pay those kinds of prices every week so I'm going to have to figure out some meatless meals in there, too, that aren't high in fat and sugar...white pastas and cheese are my standby.  My old standby.  I've got a diabetic cookbook but every recipe in it calls for expensive cuts of meat and the meatless ones call for expensive ingredients I don't have.  But what choice do I have?

It doesn't help that I'm an emotional eater or that most people with sleeping disorders tend toward obesity because of the stress hormone, cortisol, that creates that need to feed.  It's going to be an uphill climb for me.  But again, what choice do I have?

On the plus side, I'm making progress on Zach's sweater...having finished the armhole reduction and heading toward the neckline.  On the back that is.  And after looking at purses that don't fit my needs, I'm looking for a pattern to crochet one.  I need to get some crocheting back into my daily routine as well, plus I can work out a purse easier crocheting than knitting.  Faster, too.  I can find some material to line it with and maybe make a smaller purse to fit inside to carry all the loose stuff that ends up on the bottom under everything else.  I have plenty of Red Heart yarn in my closet to pick from.  Lots of colors, too.

Well, I need to start supper.  My last time with macaroni and cheese.  Tomorrow I'll do better but tonight I'm tired and cranky and this is quick and doesn't dirty up every pan in the house.

TTFN

Trying to get back to normal

After a night of 12 hours sleep, I'm moving slowly and achingly but at least I'm moving.  I've trudged up and down the steep basement stairs several times doing laundry and have several more trips to make before I'm done tonight and I'm cooking a real meal for the first time in nearly a week.  Okay I've had a few meals in there but mostly it was fast food or microwaveable stuff.  I really dread the clean up but I much prefer a clean kitchen so my options are limited.

I cooked a chicken in the crock pot.  As soon as it cools I'll take the meat off the bone and freeze half of it for another meal.  Also some chicken-broth rice and a saute of mushrooms, green peppers and onions, barely cooked green beans and a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers with red wine vinegar. I really must learn to cook fancier meals.

I'm up to the sleeves on Zach's sweater.  I knitted it extra long because he likes his shirts well below his waist which is okay.  I like mine nearly to my knees.  I worked a bit today on both the sweater and my shell but mostly laundry took up my day.  And tidying up after everyone.  And taking care of the pets.  And checking my mail and reading blogs.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be moving better.  I didn't take a tramadol yet as I do tend to hoard them, but I've been taking ibuprofen today to deal with the fibromyalgia pain.  My right leg swelled up yesterday for some reason so I drank some tea and water all night and this morning it was back to normal.  It's always a bit swollen...not sure why.  I had thought it was just my knee but it's the whole leg.  I'll mention it next time I see the doctor but I'm not going in for a visit over it since it's been that way for at least 3 years and it's not gotten any worse...aside from last night. 

Well, off to finish up supper and get another load of laundry and do the washer/dryer swap.  And start another load.  Not the last one yet.  I have one more after that.  It was just too hot to wash much last week and with the frenzy to clean the house, no time.  I really hate those basement stairs.

TTFN

The Monday aftermath of the cleaning frenzy

I'm keeping up with the house just fine, but progressing I'm not.  At least not yet.  Today was errand and bill-paying day with a trip to the credit union to transfer the money for the property taxes.  Plus shopping and the library.  And it was 88F out there.  Not ridiculous temps like last week, but hot nonetheless.

The good news is I have an air conditioner in the living room now.  My brother-in-law and his girlfriend gave it to Tom for his help with moving.  They weren't going to take it with them and they didn't want to leave it in the apartment so we got it.  It's a fairly new model so it shouldn't run the electric bill up outrageously like the old one in the wall does.  But I haven't had to use it yet thankfully.  Professor was a bit annoyed Zach didn't have his a/c on this morning.  He sat outside his door wanting in and then found it hotter in there than out here.  He's sitting in the yard in the shade right now, surveying his kingdom.

The bad news is I'm so tired I'm not even cooking tonight.  Didn't get home from errands and shopping until 6 p.m. and I'm exhausted.  I picked up some microwave-able meals which is cheaper than fast food.  Everyone is on their own tonight.  Tomorrow I plan on digging in and making more progress on the house.

And knitting.  I haven't had time to do much of that lately.  As a result my dvr inventory is over 70% full.  I don't know if I can even keep up with that on a daily basis.  I'd hate to have to delete some of the movies I've got on there but I can get them from the library so I suppose I could make room that way.  Tonight I plan on tackling both Zach's sweater and my shell that I haven't been working on lately.  I think I'm going to frog the feather and fan baby blanket because I don't like the way it's turning out.  It's puckered badly where the ripple part is and being acrylic (the pattern was designed for the brand of yarn I'm using) it won't unpucker.  I'm enjoying working on clothing so I want to get back to that.

I also need to get some laundry done tonight...Zach's sheets in particular.  He's miserable from lack of sleep and in a deep funk that makes him unsociable and deeply depressed.  I tried to listen but I'm down myself and it's hard to be strong for everyone all the time.  Still, he needs me right now so I have to be strong for him and hopefully give him the tools he needs to rely on his own strength some day.

In the meantime I'm off to knit and start the laundry.

TTFN

Busy as a bee

I've been pecking away steadily on the kitchen alone today.  The pantry is done and part of the floor mopped, the stove wiped down and one of the counters cleaned.  Now I need to start on the refrigerator.  I hate to do it but I think McSnacky is cooking tonight.  I only have tonight and tomorrow to clean the house before the brother-in-law shows up and if I cook, then I have to clean up afterward.  So that's about 2 hours for cooking and cleaning I just don't have to spare.  Tomorrow I'll be on better footing, I think, with just the living room and dining room to do.  And the bathroom.  I'll stick a chicken in the crock pot for tomorrow night.


I do have the back hallway to sort out as well, but what I've done around the pantry has opened up the space so you don't have to walk sideways to get to the hallway.  Now if we could walk through the hallway without walking sideways.  Problem is that's where we keep the recyclables, hanging on hooks on the basement door.  There's just no other place for them.  And when the bags get full, walking space disappears.   Especially trying to walk through with a basket of laundry.

Then there is laundry that needs to be done.  Zach has sensory issues due to Asperger's (undiagnosed but almost certainly has it) so sleeping is hard for him as he can feel every thread in the sheets.  It's a problem with his clothing as well because the way his shirts rub on his back makes him so twitchy.  Not to mention miserable.  So I broke down and bought him some Egyptian cotton sheets that I have to wash before putting them on his bed.  They feel so much smoother.  I just hope this solves the problem of him not sleeping.  Ever since he was a newborn, he's been unable to just go to sleep like everyone else.  He can only sleep when he's thoroughly exhausted.  He managed to make it through college but most of his classes were in the evening.  Not planned that way.  Most of the classes were at night.

Well, the sheets are in the washer with a load in the dryer and I need to start on the refrigerator now.  That will take at least an hour, I"m thinking.  I'm not doing badly considering but eventually my minute energy levels will run out.  They must last until Sunday morning though.  I have no choice.

I went to sleep early but woke up when I felt something wet and cold on my leg.  Tom was playing with Professor on my bed and his glass of Kool-aid spilled on me.  Quite the wake up!  As a result I was up until 4 a.m.  Still, I managed to hit the floor running when I finally woke up at 11.  It would have been nice if I had slept through but Professor found things to bark at.  The bark sensor is still working; he's not barking incessantly, but he still tries to bark before he gives up.  That's enough to wake me up though.

I knitted a bit on the blue and white baby blanket using the Portugeuse method but I noticed that my stitches are now loose and sloopy between my knits and purls so I switched back to Continental.  It was a good experiment but not as satisfying as I had hoped.  For some people I'm sure it's the answer.  I guess Continental was the answer for me since my stitches are so nice and uniform when switching from knit to purl and cabling.  I'll just prop my left arm up under a throw pillow and I'll be fine.


I'm making good progress on Zach's sweater, too.  It's been a while since I've knit any clothing and I miss it.  I found a sweater by Vicki Howell that I might make for the fall.  I have some black Caron Simply Soft that I need to unravel and wash the kinks out of it.  In fact, I probably have more than enough and could make a beret to go with it.  But I still have many other projects to work on as well.  I'm getting terribly bored with baby blankets, especially since I don't know any parents with babies.

Well, it's getting late and I still have the refrigerator to clean and floors to mop and laundry to finish.  I might get to bed by 3 a.m. if I'm lucky.

TTFN

The heat has left us

Well, my semi-annual visit with the rheumatologist is out of the way.  My blood pressure is always excellent when I visit her, not so much when I see my family doctor.  I like her but she yells at me so I tend to get a bit stressed anytime I walk in the door.  Okay, not so much yelling, but a lot of suggesting.

At any rate, it's out of the way and my next appointment is the mammogram next Friday.  Then, when that is done, I'll schedule my appointment with the surgeon for my annual  post-cancer check up.  I'll be so glad when those appointments are out of the way.  Necessary but bothersome.

At least I only have one boob to smash though.

I'm taking Zach out to eat tonight to celebrate his graduation.  He's feeling a bit down about it all especially since his degree is obsolete already and he's not getting any result on his job search and will probably end up working at McSnacky's again.  Until he can get an academic four-year degree.  My older son just got his Associate's at a better tech college and is in the same position so he's going to Purdue to pursue an academic degree.  Plus he didn't want to go through the ceremony so his only "graduation" was a diploma in the mail.  He didn't want a party either so there was no fanfare at all.  A Cowboy Burger at Appleby's seems to be the present he wants.

I must say it's so much cooler today.  Actually about 20 degrees cooler, factoring in the heat index.  It was 85 (heat index) and breezy this afternoon compared to 105 (heat index) yesterday.  And the wind felt like a convection oven.  It's going to be positively chilly tonight, dipping down to 67F.  It feels like a gift.

Well, I need to get ready to go.  I'm thinking an early night tonight since I didn't sleep well last night.  Professor stayed out with me and either barked or panted in my ear all night.  And Hannibal thought he would join in and try to sleep on my face.  He's had his last dose of medicine and even a few treats, which he handled quite well.  I even gave him some dry food this morning, although not much.  He gulped it down and ignored the mackerel in his food dish.

TTFN

Don't trust people who don't live here to tell you what the temperature is

The Weather Channel is a lying liar.  According to them, the temperature is 93F and the heat index is 101F.  Not true.  Both my thermometers say 96 and the heat index is much higher than 101 for sure.  I've got three window fans blowing out, all the interior fans circulating the air, including the ceiling fan and the temperature indoors is 86F.  Yesterday when the heat index was 105 it was cooler in here.  At StuffMart today my car thermometer registered 99F...all that pavement, you know.  Which is why grass and trees are so terribly important.

Plus it was already 90F at 10 a.m.

Professor doesn't want to go into Zach's room because he wants to be with me.  I'm heading in there in just a moment but I wanted to read my mail first and decided to just go ahead and blog while I'm at it.  Not that I have much to report.  Sleep was good last night thanks to a thunderstorm that brought some cooler weather.  Professor didn't sleep on the bed, though.  He camped out in the foyer on the ceramic tile.  Cooler than wood floors, apparently.

Hannibal now has his last dose of anti-worm medicine.  I'm not sure if I'm supposed to keep him on this diet but it's working and is cheaper in the long run because I'm not throwing food out so I guess we'll stick with it.  His coat is nice and sleek and he's picking up weight.  His face is fuller and he's not bony anymore, especially his spine.  And he's frisky...much to Professor's despair.  The vet thinks it was just a parasite since he's responding so well.  Glad we won't have to go back and have surgery on him.

I picked up another window fan because we still have August ahead of us and those are the days that get up in the 90s.  If July is any indication of things to come, we can look at temps in the high 90s or 100s.  Hence the extra window fans. 

Tom's brother is coming up from Kentucky to help his girlfriend move so Tom is going to help but that means I really have to clean house.  I don't want anyone to think we actually live like this.  I'm concentrating on the kitchen and bathroom because I don't have time for everything else, but next week I have to get the basement cleaned up.  I have to squeegee the floor after every rain but the damp is still setting in on everything down there and I'm sure I have a colony of mold and mildew down that that will ensure I have to take allergy meds as long as I live here.  But I can try to get rid of as much nastiness as possible.

Wonders of the Universe is coming to the Science Channel next week, I think.  I've got it on my dvr schedule.  I loved Wonders of the Solar System so this should be great.  I've been watching Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, too.  Very good shows.

Well, I'm melting and it is NOT a heat index of 100F out there.  It's much hotter today than yesterday.  My thermometers say so.

I was able to knit a while last night.  I gave up on the Portuguese knitting because it was so much slower and while I did manage to get better on my tension, it was harder to keep the yarn flowing from the skein, unlike when I knit continental.  I'll just stick with what works for me.  Since it was cooler, I managed to get a lot done, but I haven't gone near my knitting today and probably won't tonight either.  It's just going to be too hot.  And I got pizzas and tv dinners for supper tonight.  Both can be microwaved so we won't heat the house up at all.  But for now, I'm going to just grab something cold to drink and head to Zach's room.

TTFN

Yep...still hot

Last night was lovely for sleeping though.  A nice rain brought the temps down to the mid 70s and with the fans it was really nice.  I slept very well until around 10 a.m. when the heat woke me up.  I was so sleepy all day long, trying my best to keep my eyes open.  When I did try to doze off for a bit the phone would ring.  We go days without our phone ringing so this was very annoying.  Twice were telemarketers and once was my brother in law trying to reach Tom.  I must leave a note for him to call tomorrow.

Poor Professor crept off to Zach's room sometime during the afternoon.  I looked for him and he was no where to be found.  I hollered through the door and Zach let me know he was in there.  I finally decided I wasn't going to get anything done so I grabbed some stuff and headed in there myself.  I worked a bit on one of the baby blankets but I had made a mistake previously so most of the time was spent looking for the error so I could fix it.  I finally came out at 8:30 p.m. to fix supper, which I really didn't want to do.

And laundry.  I got the load from the dryer but forgot I had one in the washer.  It was not very nice-smelling so I had to re-wash it.  It's in the dryer now with another load in the washer.  I probably won't do anymore laundry tonight.  Tomorrow I need to squeegee out the basement again after all this rain.  It doesn't smell too well down there either.

It's still a bit warm in here.  The thermometer is reading 85F again.  I feel like it's stuck on that, but I have the window fans blowing in because it's cooler out there than in here.  The living room isn't too bad so I should be able to sleep tonight.  Tomorrow is going to be the day from hell though.  Real temps are going to be near 100 so I can only imagine what the predicted heat index will be.  They're saying 105 on the Weather Channel but we had that when the real temperature was only 94 the other day.

I have errands to run tomorrow that I can't put off so we'll put Professor in Zach's room with water and a puppy pad.  I don't want him out in the house while we're gone.  If it gets up to 90 in here he could get very sick.  He's been puny ever since this heat spell started, coughing and hacking.  He has the dreaded "honk" that Chihuahuas get and with this heat it's worse.

I'm off to work on my knitting.  I had to rip back the part I knitted Portuguese style because it was so tight the stitches looked wonky.  I'm practicing on it though because it really does relieve some of the stress on my hands, although I'll still probably knit continental most of the time and save Portuguese for when I'm tired or achy.  I just don't have control of my stitches yet.

I'm really dreading tomorrow and wishing we could afford air conditioning for the whole house.

TTFN

Day 2 of the heat spell

Hot again today although some morning showers brought a tiny bit of relief.  I didn't move into Zach's room until nearly 3 p.m.  But I didn't sleep at all last night, waking up as soon as I dozed off, dripping in sweat.  The interior temps didn't go below 85F with a heat index well over 90F.  I'm cooking supper right now...and sweating... but we have to eat and if I have to eat another salad in the next few days I'm going to scream.  I need something hot.

I've been working on a new way of knitting.  Well, new to me.  I saw it on an episode of Knitting Daily that I had saved back.  It's Portuguese knitting.  It might solve the problem with my elbow digging into my side when I knit, plus purling is so easy with this type of knitting.  Here are some youtube videos of it.

How to hold yarn 
How to knit
How to purl
How to cable

There are several more videos on the sidebar when you get to the links.  It's definitely easier on my shoulders as I'm knitting with straight needles right now and it's a bit of a strain on them.  Plus I'm not digging my left elbow, the one with lymphedema, into my side anymore.  I just need practice to even out my tension though.  And figure out something to use for a pin.  Safety pins don't work because the yarn gets caught in the spring.  I'll look around next time I go to the store.  Maybe springless safety pins.

I think I'll be okay to sleep in the living room tonight.  It's cooling off already and is predicted to be about 10 degrees cooler tonight than last night.  I'm sleepy enough I should sleep well.  Professor slept in Zach's room last night.  He was panting so hard I was afraid for his health so I moved him in there and every time he had to go for a wee, he went right back to Zach's room when he came in.  He's in there now but wouldn't go in until I went in today.  He was content to stay asleep on the bed when I left to fix supper though.

I need to do laundry but it's too hot to run the dryer, even at night.  I think we have enough clothes to last until Friday when it's going to cool off a bit.

We got a bit of rain today so I didn't have to water the garden and with mostly cloudy skies all day, I probably won't have to water again tomorrow either.  I hope.

Thursday I have an appointment with my rheumatologist up in Fond du Lac.  I hate the drive but Tom is letting me take the truck which has air conditioning.  Zach is going with me.  We'll put Professor in Zach's room with a comforter and a bowl of food and water before we leave.  It's going to be so hot on Thursday that I don't want to leave him out in the heat.

Well, off to eat supper, then a quick clean up of the kitchen and on the couch in front of two fans to knit and watch stuff I dvr'd.

TTFN

Sorry...too hot

I've got the pattern written out awaiting a picture to go with it but I'm just too hot and tired.  The heat index got to 103F today and it was most likely that indoors as well.  I spent most of the day in Zach's room where the only air conditioning is.  It got down to about 78F in there with little humidity so it felt wonderful.  But I got nothing done because I woke up at 7 a.m. (after little to no sleep due to a cat who thought cuddling was a good idea in all this heat and a dog who wasn't feeling well) to water the garden before the heat set in.  It was nearly 80F then.

Last night Professor was having trouble jumping up on his ottoman so we had to help him onto the couch ourselves.  He fussed and couldn't find a comfortable position which may have had something to do with taking him walkies earlier.   He was so slow at the end of the second block that I had to carry him.  I gave him a baby aspirin (enteric coated) wrapped in bologna, his favorite treat and he ate it but wasn't terribly enthused by the treat.  I knew he was in pain because of that.  After about 15 minutes he settled down and slept pretty well the rest of the night.  And I would have, too...what little left of it, but for Hannibal and his need to lie on my chest with his back pressed up against my face.  The fan blew his fur into my mouth and nose and I just couldn't sleep.  And I couldn't keep him off of me.  He kept coming back.

I did manage a snooze in Zach's room but was in such an awkward position that I woke up with a stiff neck.  I moved the vcr/dvd player into his room so I have something to do besides watching House Hunters/International and get pissed off at those people who have $700,000US to burn on a house and then complain that 2200 sq. ft. is too small.  And it's just the two of them with a baby on the way.  I wonder what occupation these people have that they can leave their homes behind and buy on tropical islands to "get away from it all."  And they're in their late 20s or so, seemingly retiring, apparently.

Hard not to be bitter when I'm sitting here with no a/c to speak of, melting in this awful and unseasonal heat.  I swear it was like living in an oven.  And it's only going to get hotter.

I bought myself some new shorts and a shirt off the clearance rack today because I have a dr appointment this week and I have no nice clothes to wear.  And since I have no a/c in the car and must travel up to Fond du Lac for this appointment, I need something cool to wear.  And still I felt guilty for spending the money.

I didn't knit much today.  I tried a bit on the Invisibility Shawl from Charmed Knits but even that felt hot on my skin and I didn't do much on it.  Maybe I'll get a little more done tonight.  And maybe I'll get a picture taken tomorrow of the can cozy so I can post the pattern.

And hopefully it will rain tonight so I don't have to get up early to water the garden.  The tobacco plants are woefully short, making me wonder if they will ever grow into stalks.  Sigh.

TTFN

My last born graduates

Zach is finally a graduate!  We went to the campus today so he could find out just where his diploma was and they told him it would be the end of the month before he got it, as his last name begins with a W and they issue them alphabetically.  We got home to find it in the mailbox.  So his date of graduation is May 2011 and he graduated with honors.  He missed magna laude by .002.  Drat!

I'm moving a bit more today but still very tired and very down.  But a bit better emotionally.  Just a bit.  I got a can of beef stew for Tom's supper so I don't have to cook so I'm going to crash on the sofa here in a minute and knit or sleep or something.  But it won't be working.  No more work for me today.  The headache is just a mild one by now but I'm still tired and cranky and depressed.

The weather has been great the past few days though.  Haven't even needed the fans and there is a lovely breeze and temps in the low 70Fs.  Definitely knitting weather.  I still need to knit up another can cozy so I can write the pattern out.  And take a picture of it.  Hope to have that done by tomorrow.

I'm plugging along with Zach's sweater.  It's a Rugby style v-neck pullover in two shades of green.  The yarn is just a bit too heavy for the pattern so I'm using the correct size needle, working the smaller size pattern and adjusting the stripes to 2 inches instead of 14 rows.  He needs deep shoulder insets so I'll keep that the same.  He has very broad shoulders.  I'm just a bit over gauge so this usually solves the problem.  I rarely ever have the right yarn to use on patterns I like so I always adapt them this way.

I'm tired of baby blankets so I'm giving them a rest.  I was thinking about doing the Invisibility Shawl from Charmed Knits with the lace-weight yarn I got from the thrift store.  It's an easy pattern to work on and with it being my first time working with yarn that delicate, it would be a good beginning for me.

I decided not to water the garden today.  The roots need to be trained to dig deeper which won't happen if I water them every day and as the weather has been so mild, I'm leaving it to every other day.  They look perkier so I'm guessing they're rooting better.  I should get the rest of my flowers planted.  They won't grow this summer but they might last the winter, being perennials.  My hostas have finally begun to grow well after 3 years of being puny.  I'm going to wait until they need to be thinned to fill in the spots that are empty.  Maybe next year one of them will be ready to thin.

Well, time to go watch tv or sleep.  Can't decide which one yet.  I might wash another load of clothes, too.  All I need to do is just start the machine since Zach has already taken the shower runoff water and dumped it into the washer.  I've got enough for another load as well but Tom hasn't brought his laundry down yet.  I'll leave him a note.

NH37YP46MKYB

TTFN

Have I mentioned how much I hate depression?

The weather has been perfect for working outdoors...cloudy and cool.  But I'm battling a headache and depression together and can barely get off the couch.  I really, really hate depression.  And I can't take anti-depressants so I'm stuck with trying to pull myself out of this pit of despair all by myself.  Therapy costs money and with our insurance it will go on the enormous deductible first.  I do well to get them to pay for my mammograms.  Which is due this month, along with my annual surgeon's appointment.

If I could just forgive myself and allow the wave to pass over, it would indeed pass, but I feel like I'm shortchanging Tom who works incredible hours without taking time off to be ill.  And I feel like there are things that need to be done at home or I'm not living up to my share of the burdens.

What I really want is a vacation from stress.  I would like time away from my responsibilities for once.  That is something Tom does get from time to time.  Me?  Never.  Where would I go?  Down home to visit family?  Not a vacation from stress for sure.

No, my idea of a vacation is to stay home and everyone else leave.  Oh, and personal servers, too.

But that's never going to happen so I'm going to try to ride this wave of depression out and hope I can get in better shape for the next one.

I did knit some can cozies last night, having had to make up my own pattern because I couldn't find one I liked.  I'll write it up and make a separate entry for it, along with pictures by the end of the week.  Free, of course.  And amazingly simple.  Has to be if I designed it.  I get tired of puddles of water under my soda can in hot weather.  Not that we're having hot weather now, but it will show up again.

Today I worked on fixing a mistake on the blue and white boucle baby blanket because I accidentally knit a row that should have been purled and with boucle, tinking or ripping back is sheer torture so I fixed each stitch individually by dropping back to the row and using a crochet hook.  To be honest, it took less time than it would have if I had ripped back.  I must remind myself how much I hate boucle next time I try to work with it.  Oh, and I found some brown boucle in one of the end tables, a shawl that never got finished.  And may never get finished.

Tonight I might work on the bathroom curtain although it doesn't look like the bathroom will be painted any time soon.  Damn depression and fatigue.

Well, off to McSnacky's for supper.  It hurts my head to bend over and since I'm being such a baby anyway, I'll just let someone else cook tonight.

TTFN

Not enjoying the heat

Yesterday was too hot to blog, knit or cook.  I did sit in Zach's air conditioned room for a while but it was boring because I had my arm bandaged and the wrappings were irritating me so much I couldn't knit.  I finally had to remove the wrappings because they were soaked with sweat.  The second set of the day.  I decided to wait until Tuesday to start this as it's nearly as warm today.  Not as bad, but sticky hot and sweaty.  Professor is outside in the shade and won't come in.

On the plus side we had two thunderstorms over the weekend so I have lost of water in my bin and the garden already watered for two days running.  I have at least 2 days' water for the garden and can use the runoff shower water for laundry tonight...as soon as Zach takes it downstairs since I'm not supposed to lift anything that heavy anymore.  Well with my left arm, that is.

I bought a new vacuum yesterday which seemed to piss Tom off, but my vacuum broke once and for all and I need a vacuum as the carpet sweeper doesn't really pick animal hair up.  I went cheap and bought one for $20.  It's not fancy and has no attachments beyond it converts to a hand vac by removing the handle.  But it has more suction than my ancient Dirt Devil and got the carpets cleaner than they have been for years.  Plus it's so light.  Lugging that huge vacuum around got to me at times.

I woke up to thunder and strong winds early this morning so I got up and shut the windows.  But when I finally did wake up I was as tired as if I hadn't slept at all.  I'm not sure if it had to do with helping build a freeway interchange in my dream but it might have.  I don't know why I don't have restful dreams.

I finished up my mp3 player necklace.  I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow but tonight I'm just wiped out from the heat and plan on sitting in front of the tv and two fans and knitting some can cozies so my soda cans don't get everything wet when the condensation turns into pools of water.

Off to find a pattern, dig up my cotton yarn and settle in.  It's Chinese tonight...a kit...and some fortune cookies, just because.

TTFN

Lymphedema and me

I spent most of the day reading the book on lymphedema and discovered I'm doing nearly everything wrong.  No one told me way back then what exactly it was beyond swelling because I have no lymph system in place to drain the fluids away.  The situation is a much more dangerous situation than anyone told me before.  But to be fair, most of this information came out in the past 10 years after I was diagnosed.

So I've downloaded some exercises and will continue the massages and lose weight.  It has become a life or death thing at this stage what with my diabetes and lymphedema, not to mention the more weight I carry in my belly the more estrogen I have in my system.  And my breast cancer was 90% estrogen positive and 95% progesterone positive.  Which means I need to lose weight.

Not sure how that's going to happen but it must.

I also discovered I'm not supposed to be carrying anything heavy on the affected side, nor wash dishes in hot water or without a rubber glove.  Not supposed to take hot showers and I need to keep my arm elevated as much as possible.  I figured out a way to knit with my arm elevated but it will take some getting used to.  In the meantime my knitting will be much slower.

And I need to keep the bandages on 24/7 for at least 8 weeks, if not more.  Aside from showers and changing bandages.

It's an uphill road after all this time, though.

My garden is looking better.  I have a half dozen tobacco plants standing up now but one tomato plant is nearly dead.  I don't think I'm going to lose anymore tobacco though and I can afford to lose a few tomato plants.

I started a new project because I had empty needles and yarn.  No, seriously, if I'm going to have to exercise, I need my mp3 player with me and a lot of my shorts don't have pockets.  Apparently fat women get to wear elastic shorts with no pockets because we don't need them.  Ha!  So I'm making a mp3 case to wear around my neck.  I decided to use a 1x1 ribbing because of the elasticity.  I'm afraid that a simple case won't prevent it from falling out if I bend over and this one will act like a bandage and "hug" it.  Using leftover sock yarn.  I could make several, in fact.

Tonight I'll finish it up then go back to the baby blanket so I don't put so much weight on my shoulder for now.  Until I see some progress I'll leave knitting on the blanket and shell to the daytime when I can prop my arm up on a couple of pillows.  At night I'm in a reclining position and it's harder to do that and have a lot of weight hanging from it.

Zach got the yard mowed but I didn't get any flowers planted because I was reading.  I hope to get out there and at least do the front gardens tomorrow.

TTFN

Heading into the weekend with a smidgen of energy

Two nights in a row of 7 hours of sleep makes a huge difference.  I'm not bouncing off the walls with energy, but I'm not down on the couch unable to do anything today either.  Plus I found a deposit into savings I had forgotten about so we have enough to pay the second installment on the property taxes.  We only get that statement quarterly so I didn't notice it before today.

I'm beginning to wonder about some designers of knitting and crocheting patterns.  Some of their prices have gone through the roof on Ravelry.  I mean...$20 for a pattern???  And we're not talking about a terribly intricate pattern either.  Even simpler patterns for sweaters and such are going for $6 now.  I wonder if it has anything to do with designers finding out they can't control what knitters do with their finished objects anymore.

Plus it perplexes me when I see designers making patterns for logos and characters that are licensed or trademarked and then want to charge people to buy the patterns.  Did they forget to pay the owners of those designs?  Are these the same designers who were trying to charge people extra so they could sell their finished objects?  Makes you wonder.

In other areas...my tobacco plants are starting to come back.  I have a few actually standing up instead of lying on the ground.  I think I might still lose 6 more but it's too late in the year to re-plant them.  I might be able to grow some in pots over the winter.  Hopefully Zach will have a job and we can afford a bit more heat this winter.  Still, if I put them in front of the southern-facing window, they might do okay.

My tomatoes are starting to come back as well.  I lost that one that Professor broke off and another one looks like it might die, but I had plenty of them.  My pepper plants aren't doing terribly well though.  I might only salvage 3 of them.  Next year the garden will go in much sooner, now that we have a cultivator. 

I'm making some progress on the bathroom curtain.  I just wish I was making progress on the bathroom.  Maybe this energy will be here to stay and I can whittle away at the cleaning and preparations for painting.  I have to take that window out and re-glaze it before painting though.  That will be Tom's job though.

And the baby blankets are all coming along.  I haven't worked much on the shell as I need to lose weight before it will fit anyway.  And as we're heading into the peak of summer, it will be fall before I'll need it.

I got a book on lymphedema today from the library.  I didn't wear my wrappings today because they were hurting and I was sweating so badly under them.  One of the problems of not having air conditioning.  Still, I've got some fresh ones in the dryer that I will put on tonight.  I got some lotion to rub into my arm before putting them on.  That's supposed to help with the flexibility of the skin or something.  I just know the therapist told me it was important.  I didn't buy Eucerin, though, because it was a lot more expensive.  I just got regular lotion.

Well, I can smell the brats and sauerkraut cooking on the stove so supper must be ready.  Mowing the yard and planting flowers tomorrow.

TTFN

I earned my rest tonight

It was a fairly productive day today by my standards.  Two loads of clothes and Zach and I hauled three very heavy pallets up the hill to the wood pile beneath the apple tree.  Not a lot of fun. Watered the pathetic garden from the water in the bin under the rain barrel. Plus cooking supper and all the dishes I had to wash that won't get clean in the dishwasher.  I plan on sitting down and doing nothing but knitting the rest of the night.  I'm behind on my dvr watching and the inventory is adding up fast.

It was a beautiful day today, perfect for the work we got done outside.  I won't be able to let Professor out back unsupervised anymore.  He broke one of my tomato plants off.  I have plenty but I can't afford him to take out the tobacco plants.  Which are so pathetic.  I don't know what the problem is.  I've watered and watered but they look wilted and limp.  The ground is very dry so apparently it's draining too well.  I'll go out earlier tomorrow morning and water and maybe give it another watering before the sun goes down.

I'm not sure what to add to the soil.  I need to get my Encyclopedia of Country Living out and find out what nutrients the soil needs.  I've got a bowl full of coffee grounds on the counter that I save for the blueberry bushes (also pathetic...still as small as last year and no blueberries).  I wonder if that might help.  Or I might just be crap at gardening.  Who knows?

The sonic bark thing is working pretty well.  He still went into a frenzy when the mailman came but he didn't bark as much because it kept interrupting him.  This morning he was trying to bark at a bicyclist going by and kept stopping.  Finally he just looked at the device and sniffed it.  I guess it's working.  He's not barking nearly as much as he normally does.

I tried to wear my bandages all day today.  My hand is swollen and it's hard to knit or do anything else with it like that so I just took it off.  When the swelling goes down I'll put the bandages back on.  I don't think the arm is any smaller than it was before.  I should get those books from the library soon.  I've been doing my massages at night before wrapping my arm, but there are exercises I'm supposed to be doing.  I lost the paper very early on and couldn't find a replacement for them.  The rehab therapist wasn't at that particular hospital anymore.

They do get very hot to wear, too.  My arm is dripping wet in spite of the comfortably warm day today.  What a pain it is to try to regain your health.  I didn't do badly with my eating today but the day's not over yet.  I'm sure I still overate, but I didn't make myself sick like I usually do.  And no candy today.

Well, I'm going to the couch to watch tv and knit.  Remind me next time not to buy anymore boucle.  I really don't enjoy knitting with it.  All splitty and hard to pull a stitch off the needle without grabbing extra yarn somewhere.

TTFN

Trying to find a plan

We had a lovely rain last night which cooled the air off nicely.  Tom had bought a bin and put it under the rain barrel and it's almost full now.  I put the lid on it...actually just set it on top because the weight of the water has bowed the bin and the lid doesn't fit anymore.  I put a plantar with a garbage bag lining it under the gutter by the back door and have a couple of gallons of water there.  That will help as I'm sure our water bill has skyrocketed over the past two weeks in spite of using the runoff water from the shower.

And the good news is, I didn't have to water the garden today.  In fact, I didn't even go near it.  Sometimes you just need a day off.

Today was filled with errands and a massive headache, albeit not of Fred-quality.  I have had migraine-type headaches before but this wasn't one of them.  Still, enough to make my day less brilliant.  I took two ibuprofen before leaving the house and two tylenol on the way home but I had to go lie down and snooze for a while when we arrived at home because I couldn't hold my head up any longer.  I feel better and my sinuses seem to be draining like crazy so apparently it was an allergy headache.  And the allergy pill was too bullied by it to try to overcome it.  I must de-mildew this house and soon.

I watched 1776 again last night.  I confess to loving musicals.  I had a roommate in the Navy who ridiculed another girl in our barracks over her love of them so I always just kept a low profile over it for years. But I do love them.

I plugged in the sonic bark thing again, this time on a lower setting and so far, so good.  While I was trying to nap, Professor barked once, hesitated, barked again and then stopped.  That rarely happens.  But he's not been driven into a frenzy yet by dogs in the yard or across the street...or the mailman...so we'll see how it works when he's hysterical.  Probably not too well.  But it was nice to get a nap in with minimal interruption.

Hannibal is still doing well, although I noticed the past couple of days he's been hungrier.  His next dose of de-wormer is due tomorrow so this seems to imply that parasites are the problem.  I'll give him his dose tonight before I go to bed, and after he's enjoyed a meal.  I have to get a replacement dose from the vet as it got ruined when he wouldn't eat his food.  I have two weeks to get it though.  It's good to know this is the problem and not inflammatory bowel disease.  I do plan on keeping him on this diet though as it's less waste and seems a bit healthier than all those additives in cat food.

He's most definitely gained weight.  Lifting him takes more effort and when he crawls onto my chest in the middle of the night, I have to push him off so I can breathe.  Not as feather-light as he used to be.

Zach and I have come up with a plan for gaining health and stamina.  No diets though.  But I do intend to cook healthier foods, more from scratch and more vegetarian meals.  That way we can get a better quality of meat instead of the cheap rolls of hamburger that are 30% fat.  It's going to take much more effort so I have to ration my energy accordingly.  I just hope it works.

I ordered more lymphedema supplies today.  I've been trying to consistently wear them at night at least and the compression sleeve during the day but I'm not making progress since I run out of bandages before I can wash clothes.  I did start washing them in whatever load I've got going but it's still hard to keep up.  So now I'll have another compression sleeve and two more days' worth of bandages.  I trashed one of my foam padding the other day trying to get it off.  The tape stuck to it like glue and I couldn't get it off without tearing the foam so badly it's going to be too short when I cut that part off.  But those don't need to be washed every day as they don't stretch out like the bandages do.  This stuff is so expensive though.  I did find some books in the library system on lymphedema so I've got them on order so I can try more massage and exercises to help this along.  Tom mentioned that my arm seemed even bigger.  It's not...I measure them frequently, but the fact that it seems bigger to him makes me more self-conscious.  I may have to start wearing shirts with long sleeves so no one notices.  But most sleeves are too narrow and I can't get my arm in them.  That's why I wear a lot of men's shirts.

I've been working exclusively on baby blankets lately because they are so easy and light on the arms and shoulders.  The pink and white baby boucle is going to be a log cabin blanket.  I haven't tried one in just two colors especially as pale as these colors are, but it's something different to knit.  I should get back to the curtain now that it's a bit cooler.

Tomorrow is a lot of yard work getting ready to mow on Friday.  I need to de-clutter the back yard and get more flowers planted, especially my morning glories that will be climbing up my mattress and box springs.  I know it's late in the year though.  At least they'll be ready for next year.

Time to go eat as supper is ready. And my headache is back.

TTFN

Who knew we lived in a war zone?

I had hoped, now that the fourth is over, that Professor would calm down a bit but the neighbors who turned the area into a war zone with fireworks last night have been letting their dogs get loose and since they seem to adore Professor, they show up here daily.  And now in addition to the two Rottweiler's they have a Husky.  I'm afraid to let Professor out on his rope anymore.  The two Rottweilers have always been gentle but it only takes one time for them to snap and I've got a dead or deformed dog.  The Husky is an unknown entity.  I have no idea his temperament. 

I tried to get a nap this afternoon but every time I close my eyes and drift off, Professor starts barking.  I bought a sonic sound thing but when I tried it last week, it made him bark worse and he wouldn't go into the living room anymore.  Walked around with his tail down.  I'm going to try again tonight.  Hopefully it will work better on a lower setting.  His barking collar is too big for him.  He can't lie down with it on and it's heavy around his neck.

I didn't get a lot done today but I'll get another load of laundry done, the kitchen straightened up a bit and vacuuming the living room, dining room and Zach's room.  I have rugs to wash but I'll wait until tomorrow for that.  Aside from watering the garden, I've gotten nothing done outside for days.

It's in the high 80s today but the humidity isn't bad so Zach's not using the a/c today.  Still, I bet it's pretty warm in there.  I'm doing okay out here even without a fan but I think I'm going to go try to nap again in front of the fan in a little bit.  I'll get the housework done after the sun goes down.  And hopefully it will rain tonight.

I haven't been knitting today because my left hand is so swollen from my bandages.  It's one of the problems I've had with trying to get the swelling down in my arm from the lymphedema.  My hand swells up and I have to remove the bandages, then my arm swells back up again and I have to put the bandages back on.  I've got my compression sleeve on and it must be keeping the swelling down in my arm because my hand has only gone down a little bit.  Just one more thing that makes me look like a freak.

I'm thinking of getting a silicone breast form because this foam one is so firm that it's a bit uncomfortable.  Not to mention it sticks out over the top of my bra and you can see it through my shirts.  Plus I need more lymphedema bandages and another compression sleeve.  I don't have enough unless I wash them by hand and that's a pain. Albeit a cheaper choice.

Well, off to get the clothes out of the dryer and maybe get some knitting in.  At least it's my left hand and all I do is hold the needle and yarn with it.

TTFN

Happy fourth of July

After a very short night, I got up around 6:30 a.m., did some laundry (didn't want to use the dryer after it started warming up), watered the garden and did some knitting.  I also straightened up the kitchen a bit.  By 10 I was taking a nap on the couch because I couldn't keep my eyes open and have been alternating chores and naps the rest of the day.

We had hamburgers and kosher hot dogs on the grill.  Zach won't eat any other kind of hot dog, for the taste.  I made some potato salad only to find out as I was chopping up the onions that we were out of pickles.  After polling all members of the house, I have come to the conclusion that a burglar broke in and stole the last pickle and didn't put it on the grocery list.  Because no one in this house would cop to doing so.  So I had to run to the nearest town (we don't have a grocery store here) and pick up a jar of pickles.

Tom and Zach put the air conditioner in his room today.  It was nearly 90 in his room and in the low 80s out here.  Unfortunately he'll need to use it more often than I'd like but it's so hot in his room and he just can't sleep when his room is in the 80s, which it is most of the time.  Until about 4 a.m.  I was glad Tom did it as there were nuances to it I wouldn't have figured out.  At least the pets have a place to go when it's stifling here.

And speaking of pets.  Hannibal is feeling really heavy now.  His hips have muscle on them again and you can no longer feel his spine while petting him.  Plus he's as frisky as a kitten, playing, leaping and chasing anything that moves.  It's so good to see him healthy again.  His second dose of de-wormer is due this week and I'll need to pick up a replacement dose because he wouldn't touch it in his food.  I'm guessing he's over 10 pounds for sure.  Trying to get the weight off of Professor is difficult under these conditions but he's keeping away from the cat's food because he just doesn't like seafood.  He's looking a bit sleeker but I need to walk him for both our sakes.  Plus he's jumping up on the couch and window seat without using the ottoman now.  That's how I tell his weight loss more than weighing him.  He was too heavy before to even jump up on the ottoman.

I just watched the first episode of John Adams and really liked it.  I have until the 8th to view all 8 episodes so I won't try to watch them all.  Besides, I dvr'd 1776, which I try to watch every fourth of July.  I love that movie.

The fireworks have slowed down a bit. Professor sometimes reacts and sometimes just keeps his head down and looks out the corner of his eye at me, as if I had some control over it.  No matter how you look at it, though, he's not a happy puppy.  I know it's too much to ask people to think of the pets when they're out celebrating and we don't call the police or anything, but around here they tend to light them for a week instead of just the day.  It's so annoying.

The reason I woke up early was pain so I took a tramadol at 5:30 and one again at 7:30 but it's not done a lot to help with the pain.  I took a couple off ibuprofen after supper but I'm still pretty stiff and sore.  I knew this weekend wouldn't be a good time to start any new routines so I plan on starting tomorrow with working on diet and exercise in some form...haven't decided what yet.  I'm just so tired of the pain and fatigue.  Mostly the fatigue, to be honest.

I did get my roses dead-headed today.  I've got several buds on my pink bush, one bud on my yellow bush and a full bloom on my red bush.  I really need another bush in there as one of them died last year.  But that will wait until next summer.  I have yet to plant all my flowers for this year.  Which I hope to get done this week.

I haven't knitted much this afternoon and evening.  Mostly because I've been taking naps and partly because my shoulders are bothering me so I'm not going to irritate them.

Off to put my feet up and maybe knit on a baby blanket.  I ended up buying the pink skein and another white skein as they were both $2.50 at StuffMart on the clearance rack...regularly $7 a skein.  I just can't pass that up.  I worked a bit on the bathroom curtain yesterday but didn't feel like having it in my lap today.  I really must locate my cotton yarns so I can knit up some dishcloths.

TTFN

Feeling decidedly unpatriotic about the holiday

This isn't one of my favorite holidays.  For the past two days we've had neighbors shooting off firecrackers and I now have a neurotic dog who is barking hysterically every time one goes off.  I know that to some I'm just a wet blanket, but it's not fun for the pets, which makes it not fun for me.  I'm looking forward to another night of little sleep again.  I thought it was illegal to shoot them off in neighborhoods, but what do I know?  Not to mention, I'm not sure which neighbor is doing it.

Plus I'm not one to call the police for every little thing that goes on. 

There they go again.  Multiple firecrackers this time.

Last night was miserable for more reasons than the fireworks, though.  It was so hot that Professor was panting, pacing and barking insanely at the fireworks.  Poor guy just can't handle the heat so he went out to lie in the cool grass and feel the breeze but then someone would shoot off a firecracker and he would go into a rage and I wouldn't be able to shut him up.  At 3 a.m., my neighbors don't need a yapping dog.  They might have slept through the firecracker but I guarantee they didn't sleep through the aftermath.  Finally I had to just insist he stay inside.  I had the fan on him, an icepack with a towel wrapped around it in his bed and a cup of water on the end table.  It was 5 a.m. before he finally cooled off enough to sleep.

It was cooler today but when I went out to water my garden, I noticed that I had lost several more tobacco plants to the heat.  I had watered them yesterday but apparently I should have watered them again last night.  I soaked the garden good today but I noticed when I went out to get Hannibal that parts of the garden were dry again.  I'll soak it good again tomorrow, but I think transplanting so late in the season was too much for them.  The heat is just not letting them settle in their new home.  I'm going to sprinkle some more seeds out there tomorrow after I water the garden again.  And hope for the best. 

The tomatoes were wilty looking as well.

Today was pretty lazy all around.  No one got up until after 1 p.m. and we just spent the day watching tv and resting.  Tom definitely needs it with his 70+ hour weeks but the heat got to us, too and we were wilty as well.  I'm going to put the air conditioner in Zach's room tomorrow.  I had to wait until I had decided which room to put it in.  Now that I have a living room again, it makes sense to put it there, but it's for a small bedroom and the living room is open to the dining room, which is open to the bathroom and kitchen so it's pointless to waste the electricity trying to cool down that much space.  Zach's room has no air flow in it and it's small so it makes the most sense to just cool off one room that we can escape to if we need it.  He can't sleep in the summer because his room is so hot.  And if he gets a job soon he'll definitely need sleep.

I finished up the pinwheel blanket and really don't care much for it.  I put two rows of double crochet edging on it so it would lie down flat but it's really plain-looking.  I guess since it's for a boy, that's probably a good thing.  I'm working on the feather and fan baby blanket since it's lightweight but my hands keep sweating and it's hard to knit like that.  I should dig out some dishcloth patterns and my cotton to knit for a while.  I really could use some dishcloths anyway.

Well, I'm away from the fan so I'm going to shut this down and go back to the living room...maybe even make up the bed and try to relax a bit before I don't go to sleep because of all the frelling firecrackers going off right now.  This sounds like a show so it might be happening at the park, about a half-mile from here, near the marsh.  If so they should be done soon.  If not, this could go on all night.

I did watch Twilight: Eclipse last night while I was not sleeping and was surprised at how good it was.  I didn't care much for the first two movies but this one was good.  Not a huge fan of the books, but I read them to see what the fuss was all about.  They held my attention but I wouldn't call it great writing.  Plus, I have issues with the author's notion of relationships, especially young girls' relationships.

I really am going to shut it all down now as I'm sweating and getting more and more irritated by these fireworks...the last barrage which was a lot closer...like a few houses away.

TTFN